Love this series so much. And While I like Emmy and Cyrus, I missed Willa in this one.

**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**
The Forest Queen is a young adult fantasy retelling by Betsy Cornwell. It is labeled as being book 0.5 in the Mechanica series. While I have not read Mechanica, I believe this is a standalone story that is set in the same world. Mechanica is a retelling of Cinderella but The Forest Queen is a female retelling of Robin Hood. I loved that Robin Hood was in fact our main character, Sylvie. In fact, the Forest Queen has a very strong female empowerment vibe throughout. I enjoyed The Forest Queen. I am a fan of the tale of Robin Hood and I thought the Forest Queen provided a new spin on that story. That being said, while I liked this book, it didn't completely blow me away. It was a good novel, but something stopped me from completely falling in love with it. 

In the Forest Queen we meet Sylvie and her brother John. I got the impression that Sylvie and her brother John used to be pretty close, but I never really felt any of the effects of their previous closeness. John was every bit the tyrannical sheriff, and I didn't feel like he had a ton of depth. But Sylvie was a great character. I liked seeing her and her friends band together to rid their town of inequality and social injustice. I also liked her friends, Bird and Little Jane. They made a good group, and I would have liked to see more form them as a whole. The plot of the Forest Queen was very intriguing to me, but because of the short length of the novel, we didn't have enough time to delve into the level of depth I was hoping for on the character side or plot detail side.

I can see this book being perfect for young adult readers who want a quick read and who love retellings. The gender swap for Robin Hood is an idea I am really into and I enjoyed the way Betsy Cornwell told this retelling. I enjoyed The Forest Queen but ultimately it was over too quickly for me to fully fall in love. If you are looking for a retelling that you can read in one sitting, check out The Forest Queen. 

This review was originally posted on Book Briefs

**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**Royals is the first book in a young adult series by the same name from author Rachel Hawkins. I loved this super fun read for many reasons. First, I am all about all things wedding at the moment with the Royal wedding happening this summer and me planning my own wedding. This was right up my alley and second, because of the characters. I cannot tell you how much I love that the main character of this story is the sister of character engaged to the prince. This was a great idea on Rachel Hawkins part. It sets Royals apart from all of the other, I fell in love with a prince books.

Daisy's sister, Ellie is engaged to Prince Alex. But the real star of the story is Daisy. I loved Daisy. She is a bit of a hot mess at times, but she is always feisty and spunky and has no problem speaking first and dealing with the consequences later. I was hoping that Royals would have a princess diaries-esque vibe, and I it did! I love Meg Cabot's humor in her books, and Rachel Hawkins made royals a super cute, dramatic read that was so much fun.

On Goodreads, Royals is listed as the first book in a series. I am really interested to see where the series is going to go. I can see it going in a few different directions. We might get to see some companion novels focusing on some of the characters, which would be my preference because we got to meet a ton of people and I want to know more about a lot of them- especially the Wreckers. I liked the overall fluffy fun of the book, and I do always enjoy a good bit of drama so Royals was right up my alley. Because there were so many characters and because the book was on the shorter side, I did find myself confused because of a lack of details a few times, but it was nothing too bad. And I think a lot of the details will flesh themselves out in future books. Overall, Royals was exactly what I wanted it to be- pure fluffy fun! I think it would be great for fans of the princess diaries, all things royal family and gossip and for fans of reality tv. This review was originally posted on Book Briefs

**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**The Lantern's Ember is a standalone young adult novel by Colleen Houck. I don't normally mention a book's cover, but I have to talk for a moment about just how stunning the cover of The Lantern's Ember is. I think it is the perfect cover for this story, and it helped to set the mood of the story for me. I really, really love it. And speaking of love, I thought this novel was the perfect read to get you into the Halloween spirit. I think this is a great read for young adult readers (even some on the younger end that are ok with a romance) . The characters are age appropriate and the novel has a wonderful magical atmosphere that will draw you in.

The Lantern's Ember gave me HalloweenTown vibes. In a strange way, because the setting is not really like Halloween Town but the concept of journeying into another magical world with a guide of sorts. Plus, while the atmosphere was totally spooky and had a hint of a darker vibe, the overall feel of the story was not overly scary. But  I kind of enjoyed that about the story. It gave me a chance to get to know the characters and feel a part of the world. Ember is our main character, and I think she was a very age appropriate young lady. (or should I say young witch...) She is someone that grew on me. She starts out a bit too trusting and naive, but we get to see her grow as the novel progresses, which is fantastic in a standalone novel. (I love seeing characters grow over the course of a series, but I always find it really impressive when an author can depict that type of growth in a standalone novel as well.) Despite Jack's warnings, Ember crosses over to the otherworld, which in turn makes Jack follow her, and off we go on Ember's adventure. 

I also really enjoyed Jack and Ember's friend Finney. Jack is Ember's guide to the Otherworld- he is a gatekeeper of sorts for the otherworld. I would personally like to see more of Jack's time as a portal guardian. And Finney is my favorite (but I love a nerd, so this should be a surprise to no one...)

If you are looking for a really scary, dark novel, this might not be your best bet. But if you are looking for a fantastic atmospheric Halloween read that still manages to be creepy, yet lighthearted, I think this will be the perfect novel for you. I think it will be perfect for the younger, young adult audience as well as anyone looking for a fun Halloween read with other world magic and some romance.

This review was originally posted on Book Briefs

An Assassin’s Guide to Love and Treason is a young adult historical fiction by Virginia Boecker. I loved this book. Honestly, it reminded me of all the reasons why I love a well crafted young adult historical fiction. This book was giving me major Cindy Antsy vibes, which is a huge compliment in my opinion, but with more adventure dashed in. I also really loved that this book is a standalone novel. An Assassin’s Guide to Love and Treason is a fun read full of shakespearean drama, spies, secrets and great characters.

An Assassin’s Guide to Love and Treason is told in multiple perspectives, which was a bit hard to follow at first, because there are so many characters, but once I met allt eh players so to speak, it was easier for me to keep track of everyone and of their points of view. I am not going to lie, one of the big immediate selling points for me is the fact that it takes place in Shakespeare’s London, which is always a huge plus for me. But on top of that, I really loved the two main characters- Katherine and Toby. They are so different, but at the same time they have a lot of similar qualities that I really admired about them. They are both survivors and both very plucky.

An Assassin’s Guide to Love and Treason does have a lot of danger woven into the plot. I mean, the story starts out with a murder and another one is plotted early on as well. But there is also a lot of romance woven in, which you all know is something I am drawn to. I really admired Virginia Boecker’s ability to include romance while still not compromising the seriousness of the danger present. The whole thing was really well done. I don’t feel like I have read this book before. It felt unique, and completely able to hold its’ own as a standalone novel. An Assassin’s Guide to Love and Treason is a really well done story that will keep you invested and interested right till the very end. Bravo, Virginia. I really enjoyed this novel.

**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**Silver Hollow is the first book in the Borderlands saga by Jennifer Silverwood. The borderlands saga is a young adult fantasy romance that blended arthurian legend with fae legend. I have never seen this type blending before but I have to say I was loving it! I cannot wait for the next book in the saga because this was unlike anything I have read before. I am a huge fan of fae stories, and I have always been a fan of the legend of king Arthur. I'm not going to tell you exactly how the two things intertwine in the story (because...spoilers!) but I will say it is pretty cool.

In Silver Hollow, we meet Amie. One of my not so favorite tropes was used to kick start this book (parents tragically dying) but it did serve it's purpose in propelling Amie on a surprise adventure. She is whisked off and finds herself in a town that feels like another world. Amie gets to know a long lost relative of hers and slowly, sometimes a bit too slowly, she uncovers pieces of her family history, and learns of something much more magically than she dreamed she would find herself in. I love watching the development of magical powers, but Silver Hollow was a very slow build novel. There is a lot going on, with multiple storylines and layers upon layers of secrets. I feel like every single character, even all of the secondary characters in the town had secrets. It was fun and it kept the reader engaged in the story, but I did find myself feeling like the book was dragging a bit in parts. I'm sure the second book will pick up the pace, now that we knw the lay of the land. However; there are still tons of secrets that were left unanswered in Silver Hollow, so more uncovering to come.

The magic in Silver Hollow was pretty cool as well. They call your inner magic your nixy, which I have never heard before. And learning about the seelie and the unseelie courts the way Jennifer Silverwood imagined them was neat. There are plenty of fighting and action scenes, because there are plenty of masty creatures in this story. And they seemed to be drawn to Amie like a beacon. I know there will be lots more to come on this front in the next book, but I can't wait to see how everything unfolds. 

I loved the romance in Silver Hollow. It was my favorite part, largely due to the fact that the romantic interest has so many secrets of his own and he is so intricately tied into the past of the a lot of the characters. That was pretty cool to see.  If you are a fan of fantasy mash ups and you love mythology and fae tales, the borderlands saga is going to be a great book for you to check out. It was previously released in 2012, but it was totally revised and expanded in 2018. So if you are an old fan of the series, you might want to do a re-read of this one before continuing on to book 2.This review was originally posted on Book Briefs

**You can see this full review and more at Book Briefs: https://bookbriefs.net**
Triplicity is a young adult mystery by J. Mercer, that takes place on a cruise ship. I was completely intrigued by this idea. I love the idea of a story taking place on a cruise ship, and I hardly ever read young adult mysteries. Most mysteries I read are adult, so I knew this was going to be a cool book. And it was! Triplicity is something than I am used to reading, but it was a lot of fun. I really enjoyed this novel. The blurb of Triplicity says this book is perfect for readers of Kasie West and Jenny Han, and I think that is a good description. Triplicity certainly had that adorable light hearted feel, but maybe not quite as lighthearted as Kasie and Jenny because of the added mystery element.

Triplicity is told in multiple points of view, with the chapters switching off between the various main characters. I loved that all of the main characters met for the first time on their cruise vacation, no one came in with a best friend. I will say at the beginning, it was a bit confusing bouncing back and forth between the different chapters because I would forget who was speaking. So it took a little longer than usual for me to get to know the characters, but once I did get to know them, I was able to distinguish between their perspectives easily.

I loved how quickly our three main characters, Navy, Jesse, and Isaiah, bonded. They quickly became friends as they set out to solve the mystery of the cruise thief. I loved the mystery element, and shockingly, I liked the mystery even more than the romance. I liked Navy, but she was so flip floppy that it was starting to irritate me. As much as I enjoyed Navy, Jesse, and Isaiah, I also really liked their travel companions. Learning more about Navy's mom, Isaiah's grandma and Jesse's dad really helped to flesh out the main characters and given them extra depth. 

Overall, I think Triplicity was a really fun read. I loved the mystery. I think J. Mercer does a great job of keeping the plot interesting and keeping the readers guessing. This was not a mystery that I solved right away (though I am far from an expert). If you are a fan of young adult mysteries or of books that take place on a cruise, I think Triplicity is a book you will be interested in reading. 
This review was originally posted on Book Briefs