If you like that genre that's like a blend between sci-fi and fantasy with characters full of heart and hope, this is the book for you. Bonuses include: violin music, fantastic descriptions of food (especially donuts), and a lovely little found family.

Shizuka Satomi made a deal with the devil in order to play music again: give him seven souls of violin prodigies in exchange for her own. She's given him six. She's now looking for the seventh. That's when Katrina Nguyen enters her life. A transgender runaway, she's had no formal violin training. But she catches Shizuka's attention with her music. As Shizuka trains her, gets closer to her, she realizes this might be the hardest soul to let go.

What an unusual book. The writing style in this definitely isn't going to be for everyone, as Aoki switches quickly between points of view, sometimes without any warning. This is one of the only reasons I'm not giving this five stars, because the format didn't always work for me, especially at the beginning of the book. Once you get into the groove of it, though, you'll be swept away by these characters.

The characters! Your heart will break for all of them at some point in the book. Katrina's story in particular is hard to read at times, because she struggles with abuse and severe transphobia from her parents. The kindness Shizuka shows her makes her suspicious, and her journey to realizing that she can just be herself and there are people who will accept her is beautiful. I would recommend it for that alone.

Shizuka's story is also an interesting one. In meeting Katrina, and also Lan Tran the owner of Starrgate Donuts, she realizes how much love can alter her persepctive. Her character transforms beautifully throughout the book as well, moving from this cold "Queen of Hell" to someone who loves and has helped to create a safe space for someone who needed it.

I also enjoyed the blend of science fiction and fantasy in this. You get a little bit about space and space travel wtih Lan and her family, and a little bit of magic with Shizuka and the deal with the devil. All of these elements work seamlessly together, making the story and the writing difficult to put down.

All in all, if you're looking for something different and unique, I'd definitely recommend picking this one up!

If you like Victorian England, cooking, and subtle romance, you'll probably thoroughly enjoy this book! It's a fun read, especially if you like things like baking shows and books like Pride and Prejudice. The characters are fully developed and there are just some marvelous descriptions of food throughout this book.

I would definitely recommend reading/listening to the author's note at the end, as it brings into the context the gender-swapped nature of history that the author is reimagining. I think it's a fun way to reimagine history, especially since women were so restricted at this partciular time. The emphasis on the fact that these women could do what they wanted was honestly a great take for this kind of book.

While some of the character swapping was difficult to follow (at least for me, listening to the book), I had fun reading this book and would defnitely recommend to those looking for a fun, light historical read.

 Thanks to Clarion Books and NetGalley for an advanced copy of this to review! I feel like I've been reading a lot of Asian-inspired fantasy books lately, and I am here for it. Plus, teens seem to love this kind of story, so I can't wait for the library to get this one!

First, if Japanese-inspired mytholoyg is your thing, you'll love this book. Chee infused this book with many different elements of Japanese mythology, and it feels incredibly authentic. The story-telling style of the writing also lends itself to the mythology aspects of the book. From the beginning, this fantasy almost feels like something you'd read in a mythology class. Throughout, Chee included footnotes to help provide context, which I actually really enjoyed as well.

In addition to the great mythology, A Thousand Steps Into Night also has an excellent cast of characters. Miuko is a fully realized character, with flaws and a sense of purpose thorughout. It's through her character that we see the patriarchal oppression. Her journey is one of realization, one of knowledge. Miuko doesn't want to reliquinsh the power she's gained, and for good reason. Overall, her character arc felt realistic and authentic.

However, Geiki, the magpie spirit who becomes sort of a guide, is one of my favorites. He's easily distracted and makes for some fun asides throughout some of the darker aspects of the story. Seriously, you might want to read this just for him!

All in all, this was a great mythological adventure from start to finish. Definitely check it out when it comes out next week! 
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Magical storytelling, great characters, an adventure feel. This book has so many great things going for it! Stay tuned for a full review later this week.

Swapped at birth by the Fay, Edmund and the Childe have never met until now. After the throne in the World Below is overthrown, the Childe goes to Edmund to help. In order to save both worlds, they must work together.

This is a fun fantasy graphic novel adventure, even if it isn't necessarily the most original story. There's a lot of emphasis on the idea of found family in this story, which is great for kids that don't necessarily feel like they fit in. Our three main characters are fully fleshed out and I loved the dynamic between the three of them. It worked so well for this fantasy adventure story.

The world was also pretty well fleshed out, and while the art style maybe wasn't my favorite, it suited the world pretty well. If you're looking for a fun adventure read, I would definitely recommend this!

Thanks to Little, Brown for an advanced copy of this to review!

After her grandmother passes away, Shania and her mother move to Blue Rock for a fresh start. However, Shania's troubled by something her grandmother said before she died, apologizing for the lies. Shania doesn't understand what her grandmother meant until she learns more about her histroy in Blue Rock. A history Shania didn't know existed.

Let me start by saying I appreciated what this book was trying to do. Shania is white, and for most of her life, she never really thought about her race or the way race impacts her privilege. Before moving to Blue Rock, characterized as a big city, she didn't really believe she had to think about it. A lot of this book is Shania working through her own thoughts about the fact that her family's histroy is colored by racism, and that she's confronted with it every day at school. There are some important conversations that happen in this book because of that, and I think they are good conversations for what is probably a white target audience. There aren't necessarily a lot of YA books that deal with racism in this particular way, and I appreciate what the author tried to do.

However, I don't think the writing was particularly strong and overall, I don't think Shania changes enough throughout the book. The ending feels kind of abrupt, with not much resolution after a very, very slow moving story. There are hints throughout that her boyfriend, Prescott, is a bad (racist) dude, but his portrayal felt a bit disjointed? Or at least, we get more telling about what he's actually like rather than showing. We get most of our information about Prescott second hand from other characters, and while this gives the feeling that he's an incredibly violent white supremacist, it's still not really shown in the interactions we do see with him.

The interactions between characters also don't necessarily feel realistic. The plot, the characters, and the setting don't feel like they meld together very well, making the writing itself feel choppy and not very well put together. There are a lot of inconsistencies in the plot and small details, which I know it's partly because this is an ARC, but still. Shania's character didn't feel very consistent throughout, and I wanted the information about her family history to have more of an impact on her. Like, it has an impact on her, but it generally doesn't seem to change how she views the world.

Finally, this is one of those YA books where it feels like an adult writing teenage characters. There was just something about the way they were characterized and written that felt off to me. A lot of the time, they didn't really feel like teenagers in the way they talked, interacted, and just their general actions throughout. I just got a general weird vibe from the characters and didn't really care about any of them, to be honest.

All in all, even though this book is definitely tackling an important message, the overall writing left something to be desired for me. It felt very much like a debut YA, and a debut YA that needs a lot more editing before the final draft.

Set in 1758 in the Joseon-era of Korea, Hyeon is a nurse at the royal palace, hoping to win her father's approval. But when somone at the palace murders 4 women in one night, Hyeon suddenly finds herself in the middle of the investigation, helping the young police inspector Eojin, who is searching for the killer.

So apparently 2022 is going to the be year of great historical thrillers! I've read three already that are coming out this year, this one, I Must Betray You, and Daughers of a Dead Empire. They're all set in such different times, but they're stories that you definitely can't put down!

I'd definitely recommend listening/reading the author's note at the end of this, because I didn't realize it was based on a true story! I appreciated everything about the writing in this, from strongly developed characters to great pacing and little historical details that put you into this world. You can feel Hyeon's desperation to prove herself to her father, but also balance the feelings she develops for Eojin. The way the mystery unraveled also fit well with the historical era and is guaranteed to keep you on the edge of your seat.

Do yourself a favor and pick this one up, especially if you love historical thrillers!

I think this is an important story to tell in graphic novel format, I'm just not sure a DC graphic novel was necessarily the best way to go about it. From the summary on the back of the book, it seems like we're going to get a story about how this journey affect Jessica Cruz as a Green Lantern. Putting that in the blurb definitely makes it seem like it will be in the story at some point, even if it's just at the end. However, it never came up at any point and doesn't seem to tie into the comic book character at all (not that I know that much about Jessica Cruz, but still).

The writing wasn't necessarily bad, and the art was different and unique, especially if you've been reading these DC YA graphic novels. On its own as a standalone story, I think it's perfectly fine. There's not a whole lot that stands out about it. I think I just wanted something more to connect it to the overall DC universe, especially since it's published and marketed as that. Definitely mixed feelings about this one!

Nothing says "Hey Amanda, read outside your comfort zone!" like an adult Southern Gothic horror novel. I mean it when I say this is probably pretty far from what I typically read, and yet I was still invested in this story. This book was making its rounds on Instagram last fall, and honestly, I was intrigued. A weird time of year to read it, but what are you going to do.

The essential premise of this book is Andrew's best friend, Eddie, appeared to die by suicide, but Andrew thinks it was murder. The two of them are involved in some supernatural curse related to Eddie's family, and as Andrew investigates what happened to him, nothing is really as it seems. Especially with the friends Eddie made along the way.

Part Southern Gothic horror, part dark academia, the premise of the story is interesting and Madelo fleshes out the characters pretty well. While overall, some of the mechanics of the supernatural aspect of the story aren't super clear and the plot gets pretty messy at times, (which tracks with Andrew and his general life), there are some great lines and the description was 100% there. I should have written down some of the lines that impressed me, because there was some great descriptive imagery in this book.

All in all, even though this is definitely not what I typically read, I was invested until the end. This is a great addition to any spooky queer list, and would definitely be a perfect choice for spooky season. Or you know, read it whenever if you like spooky season year round.

Eh...this was okay. Set in a world where magic is forbidden, Josslyn accidently comes in direct contact with magic when she stumbles upon a robbery. In order to get rid of the magic and back to her somewhat normal life, she has to trust the man who took part in the robbery, Jericho. They make a deal, but as Josslyn learns more about magic and her past, the more she realizes she's missing a lot of the story.

One of my first issues with this was the world building. It's like a modern world, but it didn't feel like one? Like, I would be vibing with the magical system and the class system, but then random technology would be thrown in, like phones. While yes, a good majority of the novel takes place in an area without electricity (which is a whole other thing), I just felt the world building itself was inconsistent and hard to get a handle on. Which make it difficult for me to get fully immersed in the story itself.

This also makes use of a lot of typical YA fantasy tropes, and doesn't really turn much on its head. Do I read more than the average person? Yes. So, that might partly contribute to it. But I wanted Rhodes to do something different with our expectations, and I just didn't find that she did. This is the first in a series, so there might be hope for future books. But I didn't find that I was invested enough to find out.

Finally, the characters. Josslyn was...fine. Jericho was fine. Most of the characters were just fine. Most of them fell flat to me, and I just wanted a bit more of a spark. Something that took them out of the general fantasy tropes they were fufilling. Something that made them leap off the page. Just something more overall!

Overall, if you don't mind YA fantasy where you don't really have to think a lot, you'd probably enjoy this book. But it was a bit of a miss for me.

 Thanks to NetGalley and Bloomsbury for an advanced copy of this to review! Can’t Take That Away was an enjoyable read, so I was interested in getting to this one. Especially snce the cover is great! I really enjoy the color palette and just the overall style.

However, I have generally mixed feelings about this book. So, I’ll start with what I think Salvatore did well. One of the strongest aspects of their writing is character. Even if some of the choices and the aspects of the art program weren’t the most realistic, I think Chase and Jack are fully realized character. But, they weren’t my favorite. Benny, Chase’s roommate, might have been the best part of this book. They have a little group at college, and the way that the relationships evolve felt realistic for the most part.

Outside of the characters, some of the plot points felt a little clunky. Specifically surrounding the art school aspect of the story. While I only minored in art, I’m not sure freshman students would be making full on animation films in their first semester. From my knowledge of art programs, you start with the basics first, and then work your way up from there. Not to say freshmen couldn’t do it, but it just didn’t seem realistic to me.

Also hi, it’s 2022, please stop putting in comments about people being virgins when they go to college. Like, we know better than that, please stop doing it. Speaking of that, there are some pretty steamy scenes in here, so just be warned before going in if that’s not your thing. One of them happens kind of Titanic style?

All in all, I’m not really sure how to rate this one. Some good characters, but overall, a bit of a chaotic plot. 
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Hmmmm not really sure how to rate this one, to be honest. Stay tuned while I process my thoughts for a full review later this week!