Please Note: This is the second book in a series that is best if read in order. If you are new to this series, you can check out my review of Book one- HERE

Warriors of Wing and Flame is the second book in a new young adult fantasy series Sisters of Shadow and Light by author Sara B. Larson. I loved the first book and I was completely enchanted by the tale of the two sisters and their bond in Sisters of Shadow and Light , so I was really excited to get the second book and dive right into it. The Sisters of Shadow and Light series will appeal to fantasy lovers young and old. It is reminiscent of classic fairy tales, and the story still manages to feel fresh and unique. I know this was originally meant to be a duology, but I am still holding out hope that there will be more books, whether they are a continuance of this series or a spin off. Warriors of Wing and Flame ends at a good place, with the story nicely wrapped up, but I can still envision plenty of things that would allow the story to continue on in this world, and I am really hoping that Sara Larson gives us another book! (or several)

My Favorite aspect of the first book was the bond between sisters, Zuhra and Inara, and I have to say that was my favorite aspect of the story again. Warriors of Wing and Flame, like the first book, was told in dual narrative between the sisters; however, this story focused more on Inara. I loved that it did because Zuhra was more of the main character in the first book. It was nice to see Inara shine in this one. I love Sara B. Larson’s ability to make a story feel magical. Her writing is beautiful and easily transported me back to the magical world of Visempirum. This book takes place right after the events of the first book, which puts our main characters right in the middle of a continuing adventure. View Spoiler » Along the way, the sisters have help from family and friends and I just adored everything about their journey. It was heartfelt, and though sad at times it was so wonderful.

The Sisters of Shadow and Light series makes me feel a whole spectrum of emotions. The Sisters of Shadow and Light series is a story of adventure, magic, friendship and the bonds of sisterhood. Sara B. Larson does a fantastic job of making the story feel sweepingly epic and magical. I love Sara’s story telling abilities. As much as I loved the characters, I think Sara’s writing and story telling stole the show for me. I will read anything she writes because her stories are always so beautifully written. If you are a fan of fantasies, then Sisters of Shadow and Light and Warriors of Wing and Flame is a must read duology for you. I loved the writing, I loved the world and I really loved the two sisters. This book was great, and I am still keeping all of my fingers and toes crossed that we get another book in this world! blue4.5

*Note: this review may contain spoilers. This is the second book in a series that should be read in order.
If you are new to this series, you can check out my review of book one- The Orchid Throne- HERE*

The Fiery Crown is the second book in the Forgotten Empires series by Jeffe Kennedy. The Forgotten Empire series is a fantasy series and the first book, The Orchid Throne totally knocked my socks off. I loved this book so much! I was so excited to read the second book in the series, and then life happened and the next thing I knew it was October and the Fiery Crown has been out for 5 months already! But I am so glad that I finally picked this one up because I was so happy to get transported back to the land of Calanthe. I didn’t love this book as much as The Orchid Throne but I still really enjoyed it and I am excited to read the third book in the series!

In the Fiery Crown we are dealing with the aftermath of The Orchid Thrown, namely, the marriage between Lia and Conrí. Conrí is Lia’s opposite in many ways, which made their pair all the more interesting. I loved the wittiness of their banter. They are so clearly intellectual equals of each other, and that was a big draw for each of them, which is exactly the kind of slow burn romance I love watching unfold. In The Fiery Crown, I loved seeing the characters different perspectives and opinions played out which how they each thought they should respond to the various events that were happening around them. The world is at war and is dealing with the aftermath of the false king that overthrew many of the kingdoms, and they each have different ideas of what to do, how to get revenge, how to advance and respond in a war, etc. It was all very interesting. I really loved seeing them work together and watch as their marriage of convenience turned into something a little more real for the both of them. The romance aspect of the book was fantastic. It was easily my favorite element of the story and it is the part of the book that I can’t wait to continue on with in the series.

The plot didn’t capture me as much as the plot of The Orchid Throne did. I felt like not a whole lot happened in this book. I felt like as I was reading, I kept waiting for something big to happen, for the action to start, and it was a very slow build up to the action, which did eventually occur in the last portion of the story. And I really did love the last portion of the book, and I loved the character development throughout, but the action in the plot fell a little short of the first book, in my opinion. Overall, I really enjoyed this follow up to The Orchid Throne. This is a great fantasy series. The first book is still my favorite, but The Fiery Crown was a great read.

3.5/5

A Golden Fury is a young adult fantasy by author Samantha Cohoe. I found this book to be a magical tale about alchemy and the creation of the coveted philosopher’s stone. I really liked the world that Samantha set the story in and I loved the strong females that the story featured. It was a cool twist on the philosopher’s stone, and I ended up enjoying this one. I can’t wait to see what Samantha Cohoe creates for us next! This was a good debut from her.

In A Golden Fury, we meet our main character Thea, and right off the bat Thea brings us into her life and into the story. She does a great job giving us the backstory. She is a budding alchemist, who is helping out her mother. Her mother is trying to create the first philosopher’s stone, when they stumble across not only how they think it is created but also the cost of the stone, which is madness. I loved this twist on the creation of the stone, with female alchemists being the creator. It was a great strong feminist vibe, but at times I found myself wishing that Thea’s mom was a better character. Don’t get me wrong- I understand why she had to be so hard at times because she is in the Victorian era, which is so restrictive for women, but I still found myself wishing that she was a little warmer, at least to Thea.

Thea was a good character. I enjoyed her journey and her romance story. I loved how much she cared about the people in her life, and throughout the book she does show some impressive strength and growth. When Thea is sent to Oxford, she encounters many people who want to use her because the allure of the Philosopher’s stone is very strong. I liked the plot of A Golden Fury, and the characters were good as well, but this is definitely more of a plot driven story and not a character driven tale.

Overall, I enjoyed A Golden Fury. I thought it was an inventive take on the Philosopher’s stone, and I really enjoyed the depiction of female alchemists set in the Victorian era. I think plot driven readers that like fantasy and magic will enjoy A Golden Fury.

Welcome To Superhero School is the first book in the middle grade fantasy series called The Vork Chronicles by Gracie Dix. I really enjoyed Welcome to Superhero School and I can’t wait to continue on with the series. I was particularly impressed by Gracie Dix is a teen author, and I think she did a fantastic job creating a fun and super interesting book. If you are a fan of middle grade and of superheroes, then this is a book you do not want to miss.

In Welcome to Superhero school we join our main characters twins Oliver & Jess, as they attend superhero school. There they meet up with a great group of friends with all kinds of cool powers. At school, the students are taught how to grow and harness their powers. This book gave me major the Incredibles vibes, which is awesome and fun. I loved the variety of powers that the students have and I loved how they all came together to fight the villains. I loved that Gracie put together strong friendships in this super crew. I loved how everyone teamed up to fight evil. It was a great message and worked well with the overall fun vibe of the book.

This book is pure middle grade action/adventure fun. If you love fast paced stories with great characters and fun superpowers, then I think you will love Welcome to Superhero School. I can’t wait to see where the story is going to go from here. I am sure that our crew of young superheroes in training are going to get up to many more hijinks and world saving in the future and I cannot wait to dive in with them!

Instant Karma is a young adult contemporary romance/light magical realism by Marissa Meyer. I adored this book. It is one that I recommend everyone pick up and read if you want to put a smile on your face. It has everything you could hope for in a young adult romance- characters that exhibit great growth, a sweet romance, animal rescuing, and plenty of laugh out loud and swoon worthy moments. If you can't tell- I really, really loved Instant Karma. 

In Instant Karma we meet our two main characters- perfectionist and control freak, Prudence and her would be love interest- mysterious, slacker Quint. This is a hate to love romance that took me by surprise. At first, I wasn't so sure that I was going to like Prudence. Quint is such a nice guy, and we learn early on that he really isn't a slacker, he is just spending all of his time helping out his mother's struggling animal rescue center. But Prudence does not cut him any slack, and she is just plain rude to him. They are partners on a science project and Prudence wrote Quint off so quickly that she wouldn't let him help and she basically set him up to disappoint her. But when they get a redo and Prudence starts helping out at the animal rescue the real magic between the two of them starts. I will say, once the story got going, the plot was a little predictable, but in the best way. Instant karma gave me all the warm fuzzies.

I loved everything about this book! I loved the hate to love romance between Prudence and Quint. I loved all the adorable animals we got to meet at the rescue. I loved the character growth that Prudence exhibited. And I loved how her magic instant karma helped her see the light on some of her flaws, which is no easy feat for a teenager. Yes, Prudence is flawed, but seeing her recognize and strive to do better was just as heartwarming as the romance was. And I even flipped flopped between favorite characters. I started out loving Quint hardcore, but Prudence won me over in the end. I was really hard on Quint with something that happened at the end of the book. I felt like he knew the real Prudence so well by that point that he should have known better! (let me know what you think in the comments below if you have read Instant Karma! You will know what I am talking about!) 

Bottom Line- I think this book is great for fans of magical realism and straight up contemporary romances alike. The added light tough of karma magic woven in to this great story was a lot of fun. I loved Instant Karma and I think you will to. This was one of my favorite YA contemporary reads of the year!

Throwaway Girls is a young adult mystery by Andrea Contos. I have become a big fan of mysteries and thrillers this year, and I thought Throwaway Girls was a book that got better as it went on. The ending of this mystery truly surprised me, which made the whole book even better in my opinion. I had a few issues with the characters in the story, but I was a fan of the overall mystery. If you are a fan of mysteries that have a slow build but a good climax, then I think Throwaway Girls is a book you will want to check out. 

In Throwaway Girls, we meet our main character Caroline. Caroline is a senior in high school, who can't wait to move away and go to college. There are a lot of things going on in Caroline's life, including parents who are not supportive of Caroline being a lesbian, so they have her in conversion therapy. Those things we very secondary to the main mystery plotline and at times, I felt like they were just thrown in there as an aside, but they didn't really add all that much to the overall story. The main mystery involves Caroline's best friend Madison, who goes missing. When Caroline tries to help find her friend, she uncovers so many secrets. The whole thing becomes much bigger than she expected, and honestly bigger than I expected initially. I didn't love Caroline to be honest. I loved how hard she tried to find Madison, which redeemed her in my eyes, but she came off as a little whiny in my opinion. 

Throwaway Girls has a bit of a slow start. But once I pushed through the first 20% of the story or so, the pacing really started to pick up, and from there I was hooked. I loved uncovering each secret because the story seemed to expand and just kept getting better and better. The mystery was twisty and surprising and I loved the ending. My least favorite part of Throwaway girls were the sheer number of minor characters. I had a bit of a hard time keeping everyone straight, but the number of characters did make it a lot harder for me to guess or try to solve the mystery. Mystery fans will enjoy Throwaway Girls. I really liked this book. I did have some issues with it, but I enjoyed the overall mystery presented. 

4.5/5 stars

Love & Olives is the third book in the young adult contemporary romance series called Love & Gelato by author Jenna Evans Welch. Each of the books in the Love & Gelato series can be read as standalones, and I think they are the perfect books for anyone looking for a cute romance and who is currently experiencing wanderlust. (Which I think is all of us these days!) Love & Olives is the first book in this series that I have had the pleasure of reading, so I can attest to the fact that it really does work as a standalone. However; I loved this book so much that I am currently kicking myself for not reading the other books in the Love & Gelato series. I need to grab copies of books 1 and 2 immediately so I can dive into those stories as well! Love & Olives transported me to the beautiful county of Greece. I was super excited to see that this story takes place in Santorini Greece, because that is on my bucket list of places to visit, and though I am not traveling anywhere these days, this book transported me while I was reading it. I could smell the sea breeze and practically taste all of the yummy food that was referenced in the book. I loved Jenna Evans Welch's writing- she made everything come to life while I was reading. This book was fantastic!

In Love & Olives, we meet our main character Liv as she travels to Greece to try and reconnect with her father than left when she was little. I loved that her and her dad reconnected over their shared interest in the city of Atlantis, because I also find that to be a fascinating subject, so I was super pumped to see that as such a main feature of the story. Watching Liv experience Greece, dig into Atlantis research, and have a bit of summer romance was all so perfect. There are lots of issues and emotions to be dealt with between Liv and her father, and also things that Liv needs to sort out about herself. I loved seeing her come into her own and decide what type of person she wants to be. It was really satisfying to see her decide that she doesn't want to pretend to be someone she isn't anymore.

This is a book that will leave your heart full, give you all kinds of warm fuzzies and put a huge perma-smile on your face. It is equal parts heartwarming for the family aspect of the story as it is for Liv's journey of self-discovery, with a splash of romance. And speaking of romance. I have major swoons going on for Theo. Though he can be a bit full of himself, I thought he was the perfect compliment to Liv. Theo works with her father on his quest to find the lost city of Atlantis, which means lots of time with Liv once she gets there. The romance undercurrent is there, but it felt secondary to the overall development of iv and her father's relationship. I loved all of it!

Bottom line: If you are a fan of stories that are full of heart, and that will transport you to a different place for a while, Love & Olives is the perfect book for you to check out. It was a ton of fun, and completely adorable. I loved this book hardcore, and I am super excited to pick up the first two books so I can fall in love all over again!

Ninth House is the first book in the adult supernatural Urban Fantasy Alex Stern series by author Leigh Bardugo. This book blew my socks off. I loved it so much, and the audiobook version is great! It was such a job to listen to. It is easily one of my favorite reads of the year! Leigh Bardugo has created such a rich supernatural magic setting within the campus of Yale. And to accompany this fantastic atmospheric setting, is a superb multilayered plot that kept getting better and better as the story went on. Suffice it to say, I completely fell in love with Ninth House and now I am chomping at the bit for book 2! I need to know what happens next!

In Ninth House we meet our main character Alex Stern, as she is a freshman student at Yale. The book alternates between past and present timelines. In the present we learn that something bad has happened, but we don't learn the full extent of it until much farther into the book and much farther into the past timeline as it comes to meet the present timeline. I found this to be a very effective storytelling technique both for the air of mystery, but also for plot development and character development. I loved how this story was laid out. We quickly learn that Alex has led a very tough life. You might be thinking...how tough could it have been if she ended up at Yale. But you would be wrong. Alex ended up at Yale for the same reason that she had a tough life...she can see ghosts. Ghosts are called grays in this book, and Alex's ability to see them made her the perfect candidate to join Yale's Lethe House, also known as the Ninth House in Yale's secret society of magical houses. The first eight houses are secret societies where magic is performed and spells are cast. The ninth house oversees the magical activity of the first eight houses and makes sure they all stay in line. Alex is

I was fascinated by the idea of these secret societies, and I loved the idea of a ruling body so speak that monitors all of the magic. Alex is brought in under mysterious circumstances because of her ability, and she quickly learns that there are so much more going on in the houses than meets the eye. Then you weave in a seemingly unrelated murder, and I was completely hooked. I don't get to say that a book completely surprises me very often, because I am pretty good at picking up hints and clues left by the author, but there was more than one twist in this book that literally had my jaw dropping in utter shock! I bow down to Leigh Bardugo. This book is dark, twisty, complicated and completely delicious! I need so many more books in the Alex Stern series. I love everything about it! I love the setting, I love the characters (hello- I didn't even mention Darlington, but I adore him!), and the plot blew my mind. Fans of dark supernatural fantasies will fall in love with Ninth House. I need book two right now!

P.S. I have seen a few of the more negative reviews state that this book was too descriptive and too hard to get through. I didn't find that to be the case at all, and that might have been because I listened to the audiobook. If that's the case- then I highly recommend the audiobook. It is excellent. 

Ruinsong is a young adult fantasy by author Julia Ember. The author describes the book as a "queer Phantom of the Opera retelling with music magic", which is a pretty good description, and sounded super unique to me. Overall the novel ended at a good stopping place, but I can see, and maybe hope for more trips to this world, because the world and it's unique magic system were my favorite aspects of this story. The music magic is something that really appealed to me, and obviously it lends well to a Phantom retelling. It felt a little reminiscent of another new release, Divided Fire which also has a magic system based on the users voice, so I was really loving how different the authors made their magic systems. 

In Ruinsong, we meet our two main characters, Cadence and Remi. Cadence is the Queen's newest musical prodigy, who uses her voice to weave magic to do the Queen's bidding. And Remi, is the daughter of nobles. Both girls are drawn together over their dislike of the Queen. Ruinsong is very much a book about choices. Choosing who you are, choosing what you support, and choosing what kind of a stand you want to talk against the things you don't support. It felt like a magical singing version of a revolutionary novel, which I liked. I loved the magic system, but I did find myself searching for more detail on how it all worked within the world. Nothing major, just a few more details. The author does such a beautiful job painting pictures of the scenes, that I was hoping for an equally descriptive imagery of the magic system, mainly the how and history of the magic system. 

The romance in Ruinsong was great, and I loved the character representation that was present. However both in the character development and in the plot, I felt like the pacing was kind of all over the place at times. It was either too slow and not much was happening, or it was sped up so quickly and abruptly that I had to reread pages to make sure I wasn't missing something. The ending of Ruinsong felt a bit rushed. Overall, I liked this book and I was super intrigued by the world and by the characters, but I wish the pacing felt a bit more even throughout the story. Ruinsong was a solidly good novel, and I hope we get to visit this world again.