Infinite

This is a first. One of my students wrote this book last year during NaNoWriMo. Her name is Riley Esparza. She went the extra mile and got it published. I am so proud of her. She is 14. This book is about Atlanta, a time traveling former pirate with a murky past. She finds herself in one predicament after another with her best friend/love interest James. She meets all kinds of shady people she can't trust. I loved reading the names of people I know and could put their personalities with their characters. It was fun knowing that she is hooked on writing more books. I'm super excited for her success. This is a student book, but if you are a young reader or writer, give it a try! Looking forward to seeing her grow into an accomplished writer. Behind her 100 percent! Happy Reading my friends!

Unhooked

I loved the premise of this book, Captain Hook as hero. Pan as villain. Gwen is kidnapped from London and brought to Neverland. But up is down and she is in the clutches of Captain Hook- a young Hook of course. He tries to convince her that Pan is evil, but Gwen is stubborn and believe the stories she was told as a child. She escapes with Pan in hopes of finding her friend Olivia, who was kidnapped with her. But Pan is not the Pan of stories. Nor is Gwen a mere mortal. She is a pawn in a deadly game to wake the sleeping Fay Queen. It's tough to decide who to trust when nothing is clear. She must make herself remember her life or be lost to Neverland forever. I don't know if I would recommend this book. I didn't really like any of the characters too much, except Hook. I think the ending was super sad and unsatisfactory. Like I said at the beginning I liked the idea of the hero, villain switch, but as I read somewhere this week, all villains are the heroes of their own stories. I wanted more from Gwen, but that may be because I spent the week reading books with dynamic heroines in them. If you love the tale of Peter Pan, this is a definite twist you may enjoy. Happy reading my friends!

We Are Ants

I took this with me to the beach yesterday. I wanted a non-supernatural read. This is the story of Henry who has lost his boyfriend Jesse to suicide. Henry has a history of being kidnapped by aliens. Or so he says. The aliens have given him the task to decide if he should save the earth or let it end on January 29^th. That gives him 144 days to decide if life is worth saving. Now, is he really being kidnapped? Henry is destroyed by the death of Jesse. He is now in an abusive relationship with the most closeted popular boy in school. Marcus is horrible to Henry, calling him Spaceboy, attacking him with his friends and eventually leaving Henry so bruised and battered greater consequences arise. Henry lives with his miserable mother, wallowing in her divorce, not following her dreams and his obnoxious older brother Charlie. None of these things give Henry a reason to save the Earth. He can’t find a reason to live. Until Diego Vega walks into his classroom. Diego is full of life and mystery, but he is straight. Or so Henry thinks. Diego tries to break through Henry’s walls and show him the beauty in the world, but he comes with his own troubled past. Will he be able to break through in time to save the world? Or at least save Henry? This book is filled with heartbreak and drama. So many of the issues are current and timely. Henry is truly not sure of his worth and so many teens today are probably feeling the same feelings. This book will give you hope along with the heartbreak. It’s an interesting read. Happy reading my friends!

Falling Kingdoms

Well the cover says this is for Game of Thrones fans. I don’t know if I  feel as certain of that, but I will say it is a promising start to a fantasy series. There are three kingdoms at play. One is lush and rich. One is barren and harsh and one can only grow grapes for the wine that they are taken advantage of for. Cleo is the princess of Auranos. On a wine seeking adventure one day, her friend kills a boy form Paelsia. She is horrified. The brother of the slain boy is determined to get revenge, not only on the slayer but on the cold princess as well. This sets Jacob on a path of destruction to avenge his brother. Then there is Magnus, the prince of LImeros. He is born of a cold hearted father. As of late, Magnus begins to have feelings for his beautiful sister Lucia. He knows it’s wrong, but he doesn’t know what to do about it. Don’t worry friends, they aren’t really related. Lucia is a stolen child who is prophecied to be a sorceress of the greatest power. Magnus’s father plans to use her to conquer all the kingdoms and put them under his power. These four are bound to cross paths and bring misery to each other. But it may be that the only way they can save themselves is to team up and fight the evil together. But that is just a guess, as this one ends in a cliffhanger. Of course. I’m not sure I like any of the characters that much yet. They each have major flaws and are so narrow minded, but I’m sure I will grow to love them- or not. (but none as much as Jon Snow) I’m looking forward to the next adventure in Rebel Spring but I am on vacation so it will have to wait until I get home. Happy reading my friends!

Wrath and Dawn

Have you heard the tale of Shahrzad? How she charmed her husband with endless stories just to keep herself alive? This is that story retold. Shahrzad has sacrificed herself to get revenge for her best friend Shiva, who was killed by the Caliph after her wedding night. One of 72 girls to meet the same fate. Shazi plans to charm Khalid and convince him to keep her alive long enough that she can kill him and get revenge for her friend’s death. Khalid is intrigued by her and lets her live to see one dawn after the next. As she gets to know him better her heart begins to betray her mind. Is he really the evil that everyone thinks he is? Or might there be a reason for the deaths that no one knows. As Shazi finds herself more drawn to him each passing day, she has to decide if she should go through with her plan or fight by his side. Of course, forces beyond her control are working against her, her childhood love Tariq and her father are planning to save her. But does Shazi even want to be saved? This was a great twist on the age old tale.  I loved the characters and the conflicts they had to face. I can’t wait to continue the story with the next book in the series. It was nice to read a different genre book for a change. Happy reading my friends!

Crooked Kingdom

I am such a fan of this author. I loved the Grisha series and I think I may love this series even more. This is the sequel to Six of Crows the story of Kaz Brekker and his gang who run the streets trying to survive in the time of the Grisha. Kaz is broken, not only in body, but in spirit and the crew he surrounds himself with will have to try and bring him back from the dark place he dwells in. He has just gotten Inej back, the Wraith, who he loves more than he will ever admit. Jesper, the crackshot, who longs for Kaz’s approval is determined to help Wylan get revenge on his evil father Jan Van Eck. Wylan, the illiterate son of a wealthy businessman who finally admits that his father is not ever going to be the man he hoped for. Then there is Nina, the Grisha Tailor, who may have lost her powers after her run in with jurda parem. She will rely on Matthias, who must overcome his hatred and distrust of Grisha, to  bring her back from death to find a reason to live again. This crew faces challenges from within and without and must use all the cunning of the streets to break those who oppress them and leave them with nothing. I love the way this is set in the same universe as the Grisha series and several make the crossover. My favorite being Strumhold- man I missed that guy. From the beautiful cover art to the bright red pages, this book was an adventure from start to finish. Happy reading my friends!