A neo-noir adventure that reimagines vampire lore. Set in Mexico City, in a world where there are various types of vampires... Domingo, a lonely garbage-collecting boy meets Atl, the descendant of Aztec blood drinkers... and together they find themselves intwined. Domingo is living a mundane life, just trying survive day by day. He suddenly meets Atl, a vampire who is on the run after her family was killed and is trying to escape from the rival narco-vampire clan that is after her. From the moment they meet Domingo is entranced, Atl is smart, beautiful, and dangerous.... and he just can’t seem to stay away. Soon she draws him into her world and if she wants to escape he will be the one to help her. The story is told from Atl’s, Domingo’s, Nick (son of the narco vampire clan who is obsessed with Atl after she rejected him, Rodrigo (narco vampire clan’s helper who is in charge of watching Nick and tracking down Atl), and Ana ( a cop/vampire killer). The romance is slow burn and very light, the depiction of hunger vs feelings was well done and overall just a great story.The story and flow of events is smooth and exciting, I definitely see this being a super cool movie or mini series. I loved getting to know all the characters and can I just say I WANT MY OWN CUALLI!!! A genetically modified doberman that is a sweet dog?? sign me up. The story was a fast read and I would definitely recommend this for anyone who enjoys reading vampire stories!

Twilight meets YOU in this story about vampire love gone wrong. Rain Delaney is 17, and she is in love with Guy, the stunning vampire who lives in her attic. They’ve been together for two months but it feels like its been forever. She has finally agreed to take the next step in their relationship.... the turning into a vampire and spending all of eternity together...or so she says. When her childhood crush comes back into town Rain is starting to re-evaluate her relationship with Guy, especially when his jealousy starts to get out of hand. Soon she finds herself seeing her relationship in a darker light... and maybe turning into a vampire isn’t what she should be planning... but the real question is how will she survive getting out of this relationship when Guy’s obsession has gotten out of hand.. and can she save all her friends and her crush from him. This was definitely an interesting mix between Twilight and YOU, it definitely has elements of both with the manipulation, intense love after only meeting each other once, dying for the other, and jealousy and manipulation.

A new take on the story of Mulan, set in world that takes on the events of what happens after Mulan saves China (after the first movie essentially), now she si a renowned hero who spends her day in her home vilalge training a militia of female warriors. However, one day she is summoned by the Emperor and is escorted by General Li Shang, whom she has not seen since she left him healing. The Emperor has decided that she is the new heir to his throne and that she will be the Empress of China since he is dying and no one else fits the position as well as her. Mulan now is struggling with accepting the responsibilities and sacrifices of being the Empress, and following her heart.... it does not help that the ministers are all plotting against her and want her to marry the Hun prince... when her feelings for Shang have grown complicated. Soon Mulan must deal with assassination attempts, politics, and the threat of the Huns invading China while juggling her emotions and struggles with being the ruler of China.... and seeing if she is truly fit to be the ruler of China. This was a wonderful spin off of the original story. It was so well done and definitely a great continuation of the Mulan story! It is the second book in the series but can be read as a standalone. I loved seeing the dynamic between Mulan and Shang, and the struggles she is constantly dealing with, with being a warrior and just a girl who wants to follow her heart.

*Thanks Netgalley and Disney Publishing Worldwide, Disney Hyperion for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

A girl, a soldier, a pirate, and an automaton. The story revolves around Karis, an orphan who has been sold to work for the Scriptorium. She has been trying to find her brother who has been separated from her and escape her enslavement. One day she awakens an automaton that was hidden, and his name is Alix. Alix has his own conscience and when he wakes up... its been about 200 years since his creator/father has died and everyone thinks his father is a war criminal. He has no memories and now Karis and Alix go on an adventure along with Karis’s soldier friend Dane and the pirate that helps them Zara, to recover Karis’s brother Matthias and Alix’s memories.... and maybe even fight against the powerful Scriptorium that is controlling the country. The one thing I really enjoyed about the book was that there was an aroace character.... but the story fell flat for me and the plot didn’t hook me as much as I had hoped. It started out fine but dragged and fell flat as it went along. In the end it was just a meh and unmemorable read for me unfortunately. Don’t let my review stop you from giving this a try though, maybe it’ll work for you, but sadly it just didn’t for me.

Practical Magic except with sex, or Bewitched and Sabrina and a little bit of Halloweentown mixed in with a hallmark movie. This is a great read for the halloween time! The story follows semi-magic practicing witch Vivienne Jones, she cursed her ex Rhys Penhallow 9 years ago after she found out he was dating her while being betrothed to another witch and not telling her. 9 years later, he has returned and suddenly finds his life in danger and that maybe in fact the little hex that Vivienne did while drunk actually worked. There are bigger consequences however, and that is the curse is affecting the town and if they don’t break it before Halloween both the town and Rhys will die. Throw in complicated feelings and family relationships and now both Vivienne and Rhys are dealing with the 3 months fling they had in the summer 9 years ago and all the emotions coming back. Rhys Penhallow has never really taken anything serious in his life and he thought he was over Vivienne, but now that he’s back in town she just keeps coming into his head and he can’t stop himself from wanting her. The story was okay and the romance was okay, i just didn’t really connect with the couple or ship them together. It definitely feels like it could be a Netflix halloween rom com movie and it was kind of forgettable and a bit overly sweet. I usually adore witchy romance novels but this one was just an okay read for me sadly. But definitely give it a try if you are looking for a sweet halloween romance read.

A contemporary take on the Lizzie Bordon story that explores the depths of grief. What would you do if after your mother’s death... your father’s mistress has moved in, you find suspicious poison in your kitchen cabinent, and a strange girl at schools claims that she has letters written from your mother before her death....what if your mother’s death wasn’t as natural as you had thought. Sisters Charlotte and Maddi are grieving their mother’s sudden death. They are not happy that not after two months their mother’s personal assistant is now moved into their home and is now their father’s fiancee. Things start to become suspicious when the girls start to uncover more and more clues that implicate that their mother’s death wasn’t as natural as it appeared... and that they can’t trust anyone. They are both grieving in their own ways and the anger that builds in them is palpable. This was such a unique take on the Lizzie Bordon story. I have always been fascinated by the story and the mystery, and this book explores the depths of grief that can impact you and have a new take on why our Lizzie Bordon might be lead to do what she did, why she did it, the powerlessness and emotions that could occur. This was a brilliant read and honestly highly recommend. I was rooting for Charlotte and Maddi and honestly everyone else was kind of horrible. I could empathize with their grief, with their anger, with the way they were processing the loss of someone they cherished dearly.

*Thanks Netgalley and Random House Children's, Delacorte Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*