A huntress, an assassin, a general, a magical being, and a fighter seeking revenge all come together on this hunt for a magical artifact that will restore magic to the world. Zafira is a Hunter, she disguises herself as a man and braves the cursed forest to feed her people. Nasir is the sultan’s son... and his personal assassin, he is known as the Prince of Death. In a world where women are seen as less, Zafira strives for more and to not diminish her achievements she disguises herself as a man and builds up a reputation as a notorious hunter. When Zafira and Nasir both are tasked by different people to find the mystical object, they both go in it with different goals... only to end up clashing into one another. Soon death ensues and bodies start dropping, they both find that they’ll need the other to survive the dangerous place their in, and are joined by General Altair, Benyamin, and Kifah to make up a misfit survival crew who must rely on one another to get out of this place alive... if their secrets don’t tear them all apart first. Theres friendship, romance, betrayal, trauma, healing, and grief all wrapped in one on this story. While the book was a bit slow to get into the plot, it was an overall fun read and the characters were fun to get to know. I will admit i am a SUCKER for enemies-to-lovers tropes, I know, it’s cliche, but I can’t help it. While there might be some gaps and holes, I didn’t mind it all that much and did enjoy the story. The arc of the plot was simple and it was essentially a retrieval story but with two “enemies” teaming up only to find out there’s another big bad overall. I will admit Altair and Kifah were AMAZING. I loved the banter between the entire group and the chemistry between Zafria and Nasir, albeit, a bit of insta-love/hate, was great. I loved the whole “two people who don’t believe in love but desperately want it” and end up falling for each other? yes... only to have one of them screw it up again and instantly regret it? angst? yes i live for it.

A huntress, an assassin, a warrior, and a general... continuing their journey in defeating the Lion of the Night. Picking up where the last book left off, Altair is still being held captive but Zafira, Nasir, and Kifah are heading towards the Sultan’s keep to finish the plan Altair had set in motion before finally going to rescue him. They must restore the hearts of the Sisters ofOld and finally return magic to Arawiya. Too bad they are low on resources, allies, and Zafira is battling with the darkness from the bond between her and the newly acquired Jawarat... constantly pushing her to the edge of chaos that she could unleash. Not to complicate things further but the feelings between Nasir and Zafira are also getting more complicated.. with both of them falling in love with the other but Nasir not being able to voice his emotions and Zafira fearing that she might become a monster and that she is not worthy of being his partner. Altogether we have a complicated rescue mission, emotional damages, and oh look at that more people have joined the mission to further complicate feelings. This was a beautiful ending to the story and adventure. I loved the characters and the emotional depths they all had. Altair ( my sweet boy) really went through it in this book and someone just needs to hug him. Nasir and Zafira’s feelings for one another were sweet and at times you'd want to shake one of them and just tell them to just communicate with the other one and voice their feelings, it would save them a lot of misunderstanding and heart ache. Zifah really remains a QUEEN. Overall, this was a gorgeous series and I had a great time reading it.

In the Kingdom of Aloriya there is the daughter of a gardener with blood that has magic, a hungry fox, and a crown that could destroy them all. The Kingdom of Aloriya has been free from droughts, disease, and famines and has had peace for hundreds of years since the first king made a bargain with the Lady who ruled the forest that borders the kingdom. While the kingdom prospers... the woods grow darker and more cursed. Cerys ins the royal gardener’s daughter and knows just how dark the woods are after she barely escaped it when she was younger and it had killed her friends and her mother. She was cursed that day, but only a little bit, and now she still carries the magic in her blood, as a reminder of the bday she lost everything. On the day of her friend’s coronation, the woods unleash themselves onto the kingdom and now Cerys is forced to go on the run with the annoying fox that has followed her. Now it is up to her to use her magic to discover the secrets of the wood and try and find the legendary Lady of the Wilds to beg her to save the kingdom. Cerys blood and magic might be more than she can control, especially when it accidentally turns her fox into a human.. and soon a bear joins their company too. Cerys will have to fight magical beasts in the forests, her past, and even someone she thought she would never see again. This is a story about friendship, survival, magic, romance, and nature. I loved the lush storytelling and the forest and nature feel of the book. I loved Cerys and Fox and their dynamic was just very sweet. The overall story was a nice one and wraps up well (even leaving a little bit open ended for the side characters to possible be given a book (WHICH I WOULD TOTALLY READ).

Magic, romance, and a world up in flames. Picking up where the last book left off royal heir and secret vigilante Adraa is being falsely accused for masterminding the destruction of her kingdom of Belwar and is being forced to stand trial. It doesn’t help that no one will believe her and that her people see her as a monster. Her punishment is to be imprisoned in the Dome, an impenetrable, magic-infused fortressed where things will only get worse for her and she will soon learn that her being sent there wasn’t a coincidence at all and that there are darker things at play here. Jatin, the royal heir to Naupure, Adraa’s betrothed and fellow vigilante must figure out how to not only save their kingdoms but unmask the true villain behind this and help Adraa escape from prison. He will be met with someone from his past who will be an unlikely hero and soon Jatin and Adraa will both be fighting to get back to one another and finally face the true villain behind the corruption of their kingdoms. Filled with magic, friendship, romance, and family this was a beautiful ending to the duology. I have always loved Adraa’s resilience, her ability to keep striving and her determination to fight for what is right. Jatin is the perfect partner for her, he loves her for her and will do anything to get her back and support her. They make a beautiful pair and I would definitely recommend this book series!

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

Witches, sorority sisters, secrets, and betrayals. Kappa Rho Nu isn’t your regular sorority... in fact its a secret and elite coven for witches. Vivi Deveraux has been running all her life, but after receiving a full scholarship to Westerly College, this is her chance to finally settle down. Scarlett Winters is a legacy, she is a witch, and she is set to be the president of Kappa Rho Nu. Everything in Scarlett’s life has been planned, the perfect boyfriend, the perfect future, and the perfect coven.... until dark secrets from the past threaten to tear it all down. Vivi doesn’t realize that she is a witch and when she attends the Kappa Rho Nu recruiting event... she surprisingly gets in and is soon opened to a world of magic and sisterhood... too bad shes starting to fall for her big’s boyfriend. Scarlett is trying to maintain a unified and powerful coven, she wants to make her chapter the best one yet... except she’s dealing with guilt from mistakes that might destroy her. It doesn’t help that there is an irritating boy who just keeps egging her on. Scarlett and Vivi get off on the wrong foot, but they’ll have to find a way to work together to stop a more sinister evil that is killing off their sisters. I’m sorry to say that this book was really lacking for me, no matter how hard I tried to get into it, I just wasn’t as invested as I had originally hoped. The premise was interesting and I was so excited for this book but it just didn’t live up to expectations. The story is told from alternating POVS between Vivi and Scarlett. For the life of me I couldn’t like Vivi, she was so bland and boring and seriously, going after a guy who already has a girlfriend? classy. Though to be fair I disliked Mason (Scarlett’s boyfriend just as much) he is a senior who has been in a relationship with Scarlett for years and suddenly decides to dump her for a freshman he’s talked to a few times??? Scarlett deserved better anyways. On the other hand Scarlett and Jackson were my favorite parts about this book, she was the only reason I was able to slog through this book. Scarlett is ambitious, caring, and just an overall interesting character. I loved her dynamic with Jackson, and he was just a much better fit for her (and an overall more interesting character than even Vivi). He was funny, charismatic, and just charming. The whole mystery thing took a bit to start up but the overall ending was okay. It ends off at a point where this could be a standalone (but I would definitely read the next book just to get more Scarlett and Jackson). This is the first book in a duology so I am curious where the next book will go and wrap up.

Witches, secrets, demons, and sorority sisters. Picking up where the last book left off the Kappa Rho Nu witches are still picking up the pieces and reeling from the damages and disaster of what had happened to their coven, with one sister trying to kill the others to gain more power. Vivi is struggling with her family secrets, with a possible secret brother that her mother never mentioned. Scarlett is trying to maintain her sorority and get back to being the best sorority house, but with the consequences of wiping her crush’s memory and another sorority coming for her house’s position, there is a lot on her plate, not to men when Jackson starts icing her out and a new mysterious cute boy appears who has some secrets that could definitely impact her. But a bigger problem for the Kappa girls are at hand... their magic is going haywire and even disappearing... and there might be a demon on the loose threatening to open up hellsgate and destroy them all. Magic, action, sisterhood, and romance drama all come together in this conclusion to the Ravens. The sisters will have to stick together through this test if they want to make it out alive and with their magic. This book was definitely an improvement on the first book, I found myself much more interested in the mystery. I still liked Scarlett the best out of all the characters and was sad to see Jackson so sidelined so that Xavier (the other mysterious boy that has a thing for Scarlett appears) but i could definitely see the potential for the Scarlett and Xavier dynamic. As for Vivi, her issues in her relationship were easily solvable, but her insecurities and decisions weren’t the best but i can’t really blame her with the whole explanation later on explaining why she acted a certain way. Overall, I came for Scarlett and wasn’t disappointed in her overall journey. The story did get more interesting and wrap up nicely.

*Thanks Netgalley and Clarion Books (formerly HMH Children's Books), Clarion Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Eerie, gory, mysterious, and with a slight touch of fantasy. So let me first begin by saying this is a story about a mother and daughter... and the thing that plagues them. The story is told in two timelines, in 2004 with Coraline and in 2019 with Coraline’s daughter thirteen year old Lila. The main mystery is what is happening to them and who this serial killer is that is around them. There is a serial killer named The Cur who kidnaps mutilates, and kills young girls, particularly young girls who do not obey and are not “good girls”. They had been doing it during Coraline’s time and now have resurfaced again in Lila’s tine. The Cur mutilates girls and has never been caught. On top of that Coraline is dealing with the possibility that she might be seeing and hearing things (in 2004), and now in 2019 Lila feel’s as if someone is talking to her and that she is seeing things. The story draws a slow connection between these two timelines and the events of both mother and daughter. Both having faced a mysterious man with the head of a dog and the body of a man... and voices in their heads. What’s real and what’s not starts to plague them, and unraveling the mystery might have consequences neither had anticipated. To be super honest, I got a bit lost reading this, the tone shifts from mystery to a disturbing fairytale, to family drama to growing up teen drama. I couldn’t really tack down the tone of the book since it kept shifting and while some parts pulled me some parts lost me, overall the story ends on a note that just left me saying “ huh, so it ended like that” I am still unsure about how I feel about this book. The story doesn’t necessarily commit to a tone and shifts between mystery, fairytale, and family drama, as well as being a young woman growing up. It was interesting and I would definitely recommend people check it out for themselves and see what they think.

*Thanks Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

How mean can you be? This is a story about two girls... and the cruelty and lengths they go to to destroy one girl. Ambrosia Wellington has moved on since she graduated from college, she’s created a new life, a new version of herself.... but the past comes back to haunt her when she receives an invitation to her ten-year reunion and an anonymous note saying “ We need to talk about what we did that night.” Ambrosia thought she had escaped the consequences of her past, but this reunion is going to bring them all out and she just might not make it out alive. Ambrosia is joined by two other people who received similar notes, Sully (a reckless, posh mean girl who was Ambrosia’s best friend) and Kevin (the one guy Ambrosia actually fell in love with). Now the secret of the one terrible night from her college years will be unraveled and so shall she.

Spoiler

Ambrosia and Sully were the worst people I’ve had the displeasure of reading about. They tormented, tortured, and sabotaged Ambrosia’s sweet roommate Flora to the point where she died. Ambrosia was obsessed with Flora’s cheating boyfriend Kevin and Sully just hated Flora. They were absolutely despicable and Ambrosia kept denying everything and justifying her actions... even when Flora was raped she did nothing and she was there. Ambrosia, Sully, and Kevin all got what they deserved and I honestly wish there was an alternative POV with more of Poppy, Flora’s sister who gets revenge for her. Poppy was the interesting character and her reveal at the end was nice.

It’s hard to read a story with such unlikable characters but the way the mystery plays out and the events of the horrific year for Flora plays out was heartbreaking. Your heart just breaks for Flora, she deserved so much better. The story wraps up nicely and overall it was an okay read.

A cyberpunk sci fi mystery. The story follows Lin Vu, a gangster/private investigator who lies in a Chinese-occupied Hanoi in 26 Streets. She was born in Vietnam, raised in Australia, and an outsider everywhere. She finds a place for herself working for the underworld of Hanoi’s crime boos Bao Nguyen who has brutally trained her to become a fighter. When a strange new addiction takes root known as Fat Victory- a dangerously addictive immersive simulation of the US-Vietnam War, an Englishman comes to solve his friend’s murder and hires Lin to help him. Soon she finds herself in the middle of a bigger conspiracy, filled with difficult choices, Lin has to pick between family, country, or gang. This was definitely an odd read for me, I was drawn in by the premise but the end result was a bit meh for me. The protagonist is a tough character, who drinks and does drugs, has a heart of gold (sort of), and definitely isn’t a “good” person. She was a unique one to follow, but the overall mystery fell flat for me. I just couldn’t find myself invested in the story despite it being a unique one. While this didn’t work out for me, definitely give it a go if you’re a fan of sci-fi or cyberpunk mysteries.

*Thanks Netgalley and Titan Books for sending me an arc in exchange for an honest review*

Not your typical love story. Boy meets girl. Boy stalks girl. Girl kills someone. Boy blackmails girl into dating him... only one of them is going to get out of this alive. Looking for something to fill the “YOU” void? Definitely gave me Candace & Joe vibes. Logan is what some people might call an obsessive stalker... but what he likes to refer to himself as is a romantic who loves with his full heart. Delilah on the other hand is struggling to just get by after her father’s death, her mother begins dating an abusive cop who physical and emotionally hurts both Delilah and her mom. Logan falls in love with Delilah at first sight, he is reeling from the death of the previous girl he was in love with, Sophie... who Delilah has a striking resemblance to. Logan knows this is meant to be, he just has to prove to Delilah he is her soul mate. When Delilah has had enough of her stepfather abusing her and her mom... a opportunity presents itself.... and she doesn’t hesitate to kill him. Too bad for her, Logan has it all on video. Logan has been stalking Delilah in order to “protect her” and when he reveals to her he knows what she did and that he will show the video to the cops if she doesn’t give him a chance.... Delilah is going to have to take matters into her own hands once again, because really, having two abusive men who appear to be good on the outside but controlling? That’s not going to work for her. Now it becomes a game of cat and mouse between the two with Logan trying to get Delilah to love him and with Delilah trying to avoid the police finding out what she did and dealing with Logan’s obsession. I had a blast reading this. I loved “YOU” and this definitely was a great read. I loved Delilah, she was a strong and interesting protagonist. Overall a fun read that was face paced and interesting. Definitely check it out if you liked YOU (both the book and show!)