For me, this book is a lesson in actually reading the summary before picking up a book. I thought this was about sapphic pirates and it definitely is not. But that doesn't mean it's bad! It's just different than what I was expecting.

I will say, this book has one of my least favorite tropes (basically insta love), so that kind of took me out of the story a bit. I don't believe someone call fall in love in like 5 days. I just don't. But! The themes about power and who is controlling the power and taking the power back for yourself were great. Especially from Rosa's POVs. Overall, I liked her as a character more than I liked Mariano. 

By the end, there are some great twists and turns in the plot that kept me reading. Overall, it is pretty fast paced, keeping the reader engaged the entire time. All in all, this wasn't quite what I was expecting, but it was entertaining nonetheless.

This is an interesting twist on the Persephone tale from Greek mythology; I did enjoy the liberties that Salisbury took with the myth to make it her own. If you're familiar with Greek mythology, you will see the influences throughout the story and honestly, I think it will make you appreciate it more.

The main thing that didn't make me absolutely love this is I don't think there's a whole lot of character development. Corey does a not so great thing, but then doesn't seem to learn anything from it. I didn't see a lot of growth in her character, and while yeah, what her best friend did wasn't great, did it mean she should die because of it? Definitely not.

Also, the narrator of the audiobook had an Irish accent, but I'm pretty sure Australia was mentioned at one point in the book, so I'm not sure what was up with that. All in all, if you enjoy Greek myth inspired things and don't mind not a lot of character development, this might be for you!

Bly lives in a human village trapped between witches and vampires. For most of the year, they live in a peaceful truce. But during The Revenant Games, anything can happen. Humans can play for either side. The witches promise to resurrect someone from the dead for anyone who captures the highest ranking vampire. The vampires promise immortality to whoever captures the highest ranking witch..

A year ago, Bly’s sister died. Now, she’s determined to play the Games and win in order to bring her sister back. But when her best friend, Emerson, suddenly finds himself with a death curse, Bly finds herself in an impossible situation. How can she save them both?

Thanks to NetGalley and Simon & Schuster for an advanced copy of The Revenant Games to review! If you like dark fantasy romance sort of like The Cruel Prince (but without the Fae), I think this will be up your alley! Especially if you like a little bit of The Hunger Games thrown in.

I’m going to put this early in the review because I thought this was a standalone. Here is your warning that it is not. This book actually ends on a pretty big cliffhanger, so it’s at least going to be a duology. At least, it better be. There’s no way the book would just end there.

At the beginning, I struggled a bit with the world building because it didn’t quite feel clear what was going on. Especially when it came to the requirement for the actual Games. As you read further, the plot starts to get clearer, but I wished that some of those details were a bit more fleshed out at the beginning.

For the most part, the characters were all pretty well developed, even if they weren’t always the most likable. There is kind of a love triangle that goes on here, though not as much drama as a Twilight love triangle. It’s more of love triangle in the sense that Bly was attracted to the same guy for a long time and isn’t necessarily ready to be attracted to someone else. Even though she is. Maybe this will play out more in another book!

All in all, if you like dark fantasy romance with detail packed worlds, this will definitely be up your alley. Check it out when it comes out in March!

No One Left but You is about trans teen Max, who is newly out and struggling a little bit with that at school. At least, until he meets Gloss. Gloss throws him into the sort of party scene, and eventually, they find themselves at a party that leaves someone dead. One of the comps for this is Euphoria, and though I've never watched the show, from what I know of it, this is a good read-a-like for that.

Alternating between Before and After definitely helps with building the suspense; it gives you small details throughout, trying to piece the different events together. At its core, this is a thriller, but it also gives you themes of friendship, coming of age, and just trying to find your place in the world.

The characters are really compelling; getting to see Max's thought process and glimpses of what life was like before he came out brought the whole thing full circle. If you're looking for a YA thriller to start your year off with, definitely pick this one up!

I'm pretty sure I read this in 8th grade, because there are bits and pieces that came back to me while reading it. But also, what a dark book to read in middle school. We also read the Diary of Anne Frank that year, though, so maybe it was par for the course.

Anyway! The writing in this is so well done, showing Charlie's transition throughout the book. It's an interesting look at intelligence and emotions and how to be intimate with people. Charlie might be gaining intelligence at a very fast rate, but it's clear that his emotions don't always follow as quickly. It will definitely make for an interesting discussion at book club tomorrow! 

A delightful teen rom-com featuring fake dating and family rivalries. It's set in December around the holidays, but doesn't really give off holiday romance vibes (maybe because it's set in Florida?). Definitely felt like more like summer camp to me. 

Anyway! Devin and Julian have an adorable romance, and of course they end up falling for each other despite only fake dating and their family history. The side characters are pretty well developed--Devin's family more so than Julian's, though they all have their quirks. There's also this theme of grief in the background, as Devin is still sort of trying to come to terms with his mother's death.

This is overall a fun, entertaining rom-com with a lot of elements that I think would make a great screen adaptation. If you're in the mood for something lighthearted and fun, definitely try this one out!

This is a tough one to review because while the story and the characters are pretty well developed, and it is an engaging story, I think the art style pulls away from that. It is very hard to follow what's going on becuase of the way the pages are organized, which took away from my reading experience. Sometimes chaotic can be fine in a graphic novel, but it needs to be clear from the beginning how the story is supposed to be read.

There were also a few story elements that I wish were focused on more. Jay clearly isn't a huge fan of Double Dutch, and while that apect of the story was interesting, I wanted to hear more about their music interests. All in all, this was just an okay reading experience for me.

Honestly, what a strange little book this is. From start to finish, this feels like a dark folktale, pulling elements from tales that we know: Johnny Appleseed and Paul Bunyan and adding a little Mexican American flare. From the summary, I wasn't sure how it was going to play out, but it actually works really well for the overall story.

While the stories mentioned above don't seem like they would lend themselves to horror, Krause puts a spin on it that absolutely makes this a spooky, atmospheric book. The way Catalina and John's stories are interwoven works adds intrigue to the story, and honestly, builds up the overall folklore element. It would work so well as a fall read.

This is also a pretty quick read, so if you like folklore inspired horror, this is definitely for you!

This book was recommended to me by at least two different people, and I can see why! The only Brandon Sanderson I've read before this is the Skyward series and Mistborn, but you don't have to have read other Sanderson to jump into this book. I think there are some connections to other books, but the story works if you don't pick up on those.

I listened to this, so I'm definitely going to have to pick up a physical copy just to look at the art. From the world building to the characterization to the narration, I don't think there was anything about this I didn't love. The little comments throughout from the narrators were great. The audiobook narrators also do an excellent job bringing the story to life!

Listening to Sanderson explain why this might be his favorite book he's written and the reasoning behind it also just adds to the book, in my opinion. If you like manga, this is very heavily manga inspired, and though I'm still just getting into the manga scene, even I could see that influence on the story. And it's so enjoyable!

I have Tress of the Emerald Sea also on hold, so this has made me excited to listen to that!

For a debut, I thought this was pretty good! If you like the typical YA fantasy, or are just looking to ease into the genre, this would be a good entry level. it reads like a lot of other YA fantasy, and especially reminded me of Red Queen with a little bit of a Hunger Games influence. If those books are your vibe, then this definitely would hit the right notes for you.

The main thing this book has going for it is the romance; a sort of enemies to lovers, with a touch of a love triangle. The characters were also pretty well developed, possibly the overall strongest aspect of this book. What I wanted more of was the world building; there were aspects of the Trials and the world that still felt a bit confusing for me towards the end of the book. Always something that can be added in later books, though!

The plot does have a few twists and turns in it, but a lot of the main events you'll likely see coming. Not sure it waranted being a 2023 best YA fantasy nominee, but it's still enjoyable nonetheless.