Mistwood by Leah Cypess

Mistwood

by Leah Cypess  

The Shifter is an immortal creature bound by an ancient spell to protect the kings of Samorna. When the realm is peaceful, she retreats to the Mistwod.

But when she is needed she always comes.

Isabel remembers nothing. Nothing before the prince rode into her forest to take her back to the castle. Nothing about who she is supposed to be, or the powers she is supposed to have.

Prince Rokan needs Isabel to be his Shifter. He needs her ability to shift to animal form, to wind, to mist. He needs her lethal speed and superhuman strength. And he needs her loyalty—because without it, she may be his greatest threat.

Isabel knows that her prince is lying to her, but she can't help wanting to protect him from the dangers and intrigues of the court . . . until a deadly truth shatters the bond between them.

Now Isabel faces a choice that threatens her loyalty, her heart . . . and everything she thought she knew.

 

(summary from goodreads.com)

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Interesting read, I found it frustrating to know only as much as the main character. Which was … annoying. I HATE not knowing things in books. I didn't love any of the characters as much as I wanted to, though I enjoyed the book enough to want to know what happened to them after. I had the second book already waiting for me, but after skimming it I realized it didn't contain any of the characters from the first one (well, maybe one) with only a brief sentence mentioning them. So … I didn't love it enough to read the next book or want to semi-care about another set of characters.

Mom note: As a mother of readers, I also want to make a note to myself (and others if they care) why I would or would not have my children read this book, because honestly, sometimes I forget. This is a YA book, so everything is within YA strictures. Violence: moderate; Profanity: no; Sex: no

The Enchanter Heir by Cinda Williams Chima

The Enchanter Heir

by Cinda Williams Chima 

They called it the Thorn Hill Massacre—the brutal attack on a once-thriving Weir community. Though Jonah Kinlock lived through it, he did not emerge unscathed: like the other survivors, Jonah possesses unique magical gifts that set him apart from members of the mainline guilds. At seventeen, Jonah has become the deadliest assassin in Nightshade, a global network that hunts the undead. He is being groomed to succeed Gabriel Mandrake, the sorcerer, philanthropist, and ruthless music promoter who established the Thorn Hill Foundation, the public face of Nightshade. More and more, Jonah’s at odds with Gabriel’s tactics and choice of targets. Desperate to help his dying brother Kenzie, Jonah opens doors that Gabriel prefers to keep closed.

Emma Claire Greenwood grew up worlds away, raised by a grandfather who taught her music rather than magic. An unschooled wild child, she runs the streets until the night she finds her grandfather dying, gripping a note warning Emma that she might be in danger. The clue he leaves behind leads Emma into Jonah’s life—and a shared legacy of secrets and lingering questions.

Was Thorn Hill really a peaceful commune? Or was it, as the Wizard Guild claims, a hotbed of underguild terrorists? The Wizards’ suspicions grow when members of the mainline guilds start turning up dead. They blame Madison Moss and the Interguild Council, threatening the fragile peace brokered at Trinity.

Racing against time, Jonah and Emma work to uncover the truth about Thorn Hill, amid growing suspicion that whoever planned the Thorn Hill Massacre might strike again.

 

(summary from goodreads.com)

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Wow. This book wasn't what I expected. Each of the other "Heir" books have been stories in themselves, usually wrapping up fairly well without leaving things hanging, but with a definite story progression throughout the books. This book is an entirely different beast! The writing reminded me a lot more of Demon King than other Heir books, which was kind of fun. I loved the Demon King series. Chima took the basics from her other Heir books but threw in a whole different set of problems and made me throw what I thought I knew of her "guilds" out the window. This book definitely leaves us hanging, so she'd better write the next few quickly. I loved her characters, her "tormented" hero, and the musical threads throughout the whole book. There were a few cameos from our favorite Heir books but this book could definitely be considered the start of a separate series. I look forward to seeing where she goes with her savants and hope there is an information dump in the next book, I wanted to know more than I was given.

Mom note: As a mother of readers, I also want to make a note to myself (and others if they care) why I would or would not have my children read this book, because honestly, sometimes I forget. This is a YA book, so everything is within YA strictures. Violence: moderate/heavy; Profanity: no; Sex: infrequently mildly suggestive

Just One Year by Gayle Forman

Just One Year

by Gayle Forman

 

Just One Day. Just One Year. Just One Read.

Before you find out how their story ends, remember how it began....

When he opens his eyes, Willem doesn’t know where in the world he is—Prague or Dubrovnik or back in Amsterdam. All he knows is that he is once again alone, and that he needs to find a girl named Lulu. They shared one magical day in Paris, and something about that day—that girl—makes Willem wonder if they aren’t fated to be together. He travels all over the world, from Mexico to India, hoping to reconnect with her. But as months go by and Lulu remains elusive, Willem starts to question if the hand of fate is as strong as he’d thought. . . .

The romantic, emotional companion to Just One Day, this is a story of the choices we make and the accidents that happen—and the happiness we can find when the two intersect.

 

(summary from goodreads.com)

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Gayle Forman! I love you. I love your real, flawed, beautiful characters. I love the trauma and heartache and healing and closure that every book holds. I've been looking forward to reading this book since I read the last page of the first one and it didn't disappoint. I loved getting in Willem's head, learning of his past and seeing his progression. You will want to have the first book handy when you read this one, several times I had to check to see Where In The World Is Lulu during Willem's travels. SO many near misses, which was delightfully frustrated. I loved Willem's travel and his mother and his uncle and his friends and India and freakin BOLLYWOOD and the whole book was just so much fun. One thing wasn't perfect with this book - the ending. Yes, it was fabulous and happy but it WASN'T ENOUGH! I wanted more! More more more! I was greedy and wasn't sated enough. She needed an epilogue, because I have a feeling there won't be another book. Hopefully she will at least give us a lovely long cameo in some other book. Was there a Mia/Adam cameo? Not that I noticed. Darn. But I still loved it. One of my very favorite authors.

Mom note: As a mother of readers, I also want to make a note to myself (and others if they care) why I would or would not have my children read this book, because honestly, sometimes I forget. This is a YA book, so everything is within YA strictures. Violence: mild; Profanity: yes; Sex: YES, way too descriptively steamy for a YA book

Across a Star-Swept Sea by Diana Peterfreund

Across a Star-Swept Sea

by Diana Peterfreund  

Centuries after wars nearly destroyed civilization, the two islands of New Pacifica stand alone, a terraformed paradise where even the Reduction—the devastating brain disorder that sparked the wars—is a distant memory. Yet on the isle of Galatea, an uprising against the ruling aristocrats has turned deadly. The revolutionaries’ weapon is a drug that damages their enemies’ brains, and the only hope is rescue by a mysterious spy known as the Wild Poppy.

On the neighboring island of Albion, no one suspects that the Wild Poppy is actually famously frivolous aristocrat Persis Blake. The teenager uses her shallow, socialite trappings to hide her true purpose: her gossipy flutternotes are encrypted plans, her pampered sea mink is genetically engineered for spying, and her well-publicized new romance with handsome Galatean medic Justen Helo… is her most dangerous mission ever.

Though Persis is falling for Justen, she can’t risk showing him her true self, especially once she learns he’s hiding far more than simply his disenchantment with his country’s revolution and his undeniable attraction to the silly socialite he’s pretending to love. His darkest secret could plunge both islands into a new dark age, and Persis realizes that when it comes to Justen Helo, she’s not only risking her heart, she’s risking the world she’s sworn to protect.

In this thrilling adventure inspired by The Scarlet Pimpernel, Diana Peterfreund creates an exquisitely rendered world where nothing is as it seems and two teens with very different pasts fight for a future only they dare to imagine.

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I loved the last book in this series (Persuasion! One of the best and yet least lauded Austen) and had high hopes for this book. And loved it! This is based on another book that is fabulous but not lauded as often as others, Scarlet Pimpernel. Super fun book, both the original and this post-apocalyptic tropical redux. I loved the characters, I loved knowing the behind the scenes movements (I hate being in the dark) and loved seeing Kai and Elliot again. I wonder what the next book will bring - I didn't feel completely finished with these characters, it would be nice to see them again as more than a cameo.

Mom note: As a mother of readers, I also want to make a note to myself (and others if they care) why I would or would not have my children read this book, because honestly, sometimes I forget. This is a YA book, so everything is within YA strictures. Violence: mild; Profanity: none; Sex: mild

Hero by Alethea Kontis

Hero

by Alethea Kontis 

 

Rough and tumble Saturday Woodcutter thinks she's the only one of her sisters without any magic—until the day she accidentally conjures an ocean in the backyard. With her sword in tow, Saturday sets sail on a pirate ship, only to find herself kidnapped and whisked off to the top of the world. Is Saturday powerful enough to kill the mountain witch who holds her captive and save the world from sure destruction? And, as she wonders grumpily, "Did romance have to be part of the adventure?" As in Enchanted, readers will revel in the fragments of fairy tales that embellish this action-packed story of adventure and, yes, romance.

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Super super super cute book. Just delightful in every way. I liked it even more than the first one, with it's gender bending mash up of fairy tales and stories. I love Saturday, loved getting to know her better as well as finding a bit more about some other sisters and brothers in their family. I can't wait for the next book! Lovely quick delightful reads.

Mom note: As a mother of readers, I also want to make a note to myself (and others if they care) why I would or would not have my children read this book, because honestly, sometimes I forget. This is a YA book, so everything is within YA strictures. Violence: mild; Profanity: none; Sex: just kissing with random bathing nudity

Behind the Shattered Glass by Tasha Alexander

Behind the Shattered Glass

by Tasha Alexander  

A ruined abbey on a beautiful estate in Derbyshire, a murdered peer, and a most unlikely romance make New York Times bestseller Tasha Alexander’s new novel Behind the Shattered Glass absolutely irresistible

Anglemore Park is the ancestral home of Lady Emily Hargreave’s husband Colin. But the stately calm of country life is destroyed when their neighbor, the Marquess of Montagu, bursts through the French doors from the garden and falls down dead in front of the shocked gathering.  But who has a motive for murdering the young aristocrat?  The lovely cousin who was threatened by his engagement, the Oxford friend he falsely accused of cheating, the scheming vicar’s daughter he shamelessly seduced or the relative no one knew existed who appears to claim the Montagu title?  Who is the mysterious woman seen walking with him moments before he was brutally attacked?

The trail takes readers into the gilded world of a British manor house and below stairs to the servants who know all the secrets. One family’s hidden past and a forbidden passion are the clues to a puzzle only Lady Emily can solve.

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Another fun "let's solve a murder with Colin and Emily!". I liked catching glimpses of their home life, it seems like in past books they just aren't ever home. A pleasant and enjoyable book, so happy Emily got over her funk. She's not fun to read about when she's in a funk. Just one thing, this book screamed "anachronistic" much more loudly than the others, though they are all hugely anachronistic. Maybe I've just been watching too much Downton, but the whole Lily/Simon thing seemed a little (and by little I mean a LOT) far fetched, even for progressive Lady Emily. I also think they are making much ado about nothing in regards to Tom, hopefully that will simmer down in subsequent books. But still a fun read.

Mom note: As a mother of readers, I also want to make a note to myself (and others if they care) why I would or would not have my children read this book, because honestly, sometimes I forget. This is an adult book, so everything is NOT within YA strictures. Violence: moderate (murder mystery!); Profanity: none; Sex: mild innuendos, attempted rape

Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

Enchanted

by Alethea Kontis 

It isn't easy being the rather overlooked and unhappy youngest sibling to sisters named for the other six days of the week. Sunday’s only comfort is writing stories, although what she writes has a terrible tendency to come true.

When Sunday meets an enchanted frog who asks about her stories, the two become friends. Soon that friendship deepens into something magical. One night Sunday kisses her frog goodbye and leaves, not realizing that her love has transformed him back into Rumbold, the crown prince of Arilland—and a man Sunday’s family despises.

The prince returns to his castle, intent on making Sunday fall in love with him as the man he is, not the frog he was. But Sunday is not so easy to woo. How can she feel such a strange, strong attraction for this prince she barely knows? And what twisted secrets lie hidden in his past - and hers?

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This was a fun fairy tale mashup - Frog Prince, Cinderella, Jack and the Beanstalk, the Golden Goose, with references to Rapunzel and Rumpelstiltskin. And probably others. I loved the sisters, expected the instalove (it IS a fairy tale), and enjoyed the book a ton. And even though the story ended well I also feel that there is SO MUCH more she can give us. I want to know about Jack and Monday and all the other sister's stories.  I look forward to the next book!

Mom note: As a mother of readers, I also want to make a note to myself (and others if they care) why I would or would not have my children read this book, because honestly, sometimes I forget. This is a YA book, so everything is within YA strictures. Violence: mild; Profanity: none; Sex: mild