One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

One True Loves by Taylor Jenkins Reid

352 pages

★★★★

Emma Blair marries her high school crush, Jesse, and they spend their young lives traveling the world together. On their first wedding anniversary, Jesse goes on a trip to Alaska and doesn’t return after the helicopter he was in crashed. With the love of her life missing, Blair is crushed so she moves back home and begins working with her parents at their bookstore that she hated growing up. Over the next two years, she falls in love with her hometown, reading, her parents bookstore, and her childhood best friend. Vowing to never forget Jesse, Blair creates a comfortable life with Sam. Until she picks up a call and hears Jesse on the other end.

This was a wild ride from the very beginning and the premise was so interesting to me as I had never heard of it before. While reading it, I realized that there are other movies and books with similar plots but as this was my first one, I thought it was great. The middle dragged on a little but it was an emotional push and pull between two loves of her life.

A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

A Court of Mist and Fury (A Court of Thorns and Roses #2) by Sarah J. Maas, 624 p.

"Feyre has undergone more trials than one human woman can carry in her heart. Though she’s now been granted the powers and lifespan of the High Fae, she is haunted by her time Under the Mountain and the terrible deeds she performed to save the lives of Tamlin and his people.

As her marriage to Tamlin approaches, Feyre’s hollowness and nightmares consume her. She finds herself split into two different people: one who upholds her bargain with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court, and one who lives out her life in the Spring Court with Tamlin. While Feyre navigates a dark web of politics, passion, and dazzling power, a greater evil looms. She might just be the key to stopping it, but only if she can harness her harrowing gifts, heal her fractured soul, and decide how she wishes to shape her future—and the future of a world in turmoil."--Goodreads blurb

Continuing to re-read this series to get to the fourth book I haven't read yet. The complete change in the romance of this story was quite a ride. Having Rhysand come much more into play this book made for a really good story. The push and pull of the love triangle is very emotional. Looking forward to the third and fourth in the series. 

 

Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton

Strange Grace by Tessa Gratton - 390 pages

Long ago, the town of Three Graces made a deal.  Every seven years during the Slaughter Moon they must sacrifice a young man of the town to the devil in the forest.  In exchange, the town suffers no ill -- illness, famine, premature death.  But something has changed.  It's only been three years since the last Slaughter Moon.  Now sacrifice Rhun, witch Mair, and outcast Arthur will learn the secrets behind the deal and what must be done to restore balance.

I was surprised to enjoy this book.  When I started it I didn't think I would like it.  But about halfway through I discovered I couldn't put it down.  I was invested in the characters and wanted to know what happened to them.  I would highly recommend this book to teens who enjoy fantasy or even dystopian fiction. 

Skirting the Grave by Annette Blair

Skirting the Grave by Annette Blair - 277 pages
A Vintage Magic Mystery #4

Maddie has her hands full planning her sister's baby shower and organizing her other sister's fundraiser.  She doesn't have the time to also take on the intern she was coerced into mentoring.  But when Maddie goes to pick up her intern from the train station, she discovers the woman already dead.  Later that evening, a woman claiming to be the intern, and looking identical to the dead body, arrives at her doorstep.  Now Maddie must figure out who was killed and why.

This is the fourth book in the series.  I enjoyed the story and liked the character of the mysterious intern  I do think the romance took more of a central role in the this book which was a little distracting to the mystery.

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty

The City of Brass by S.A. Chakraborty, 533 pages

"Nahri has never believed in magic. Certainly, she has power; on the streets of 18th century Cairo, she’s a con woman of unsurpassed talent. But she knows better than anyone that the trade she uses to get by—palm readings, zars, healings—are all tricks, sleights of hand, learned skills; a means to the delightful end of swindling Ottoman nobles.

But when Nahri accidentally summons an equally sly, darkly mysterious djinn warrior to her side during one of her cons, she’s forced to accept that the magical world she thought only existed in childhood stories is real. For the warrior tells her a new tale: across hot, windswept sands teeming with creatures of fire, and rivers where the mythical marid sleep; past ruins of once-magnificent human metropolises, and mountains where the circling hawks are not what they seem, lies Daevabad, the legendary city of brass, a city to which Nahri is irrevocably bound.

In that city, behind gilded brass walls laced with enchantments, behind the six gates of the six djinn tribes, old resentments are simmering. And when Nahri decides to enter this world, she learns that true power is fierce and brutal. That magic cannot shield her from the dangerous web of court politics. That even the cleverest of schemes can have deadly consequences."

I listened to this on audio, and while I got through it fine, there are a lot of characters that get mixed up quickly, so I think this might lend itself a little better to print reading. Very fantastical story line with djinn, flying carpets, love triangles, fanaticism, betrayal, and sea monsters. I will be picking up the next in this series quickly.

My Life With the Walter Boys by Ali Novak

My Life With the Walter Boys - 358 pages

After her family is killed in a car accident, Jackie moves from New York City to rural Colorado to live with her mother's best friend and family.  It's complete culture shock made worse by the fact that there are 12 children in the Walter family -- all boys.

This is basically a love triangle story.  While there is a lot of grief over the loss of her family, most of Jackie's time is consumed with how to deal with the two brothers that want to date her.  This was a novel written by a 15-year-old on Wattpad that eventually was published.

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas; narrated by Elizabeth Evans, 404 p.

There's nothing more I love than diving into a new series, especially one that is well-established and has a few books already published. The Throne of Glass series hasn't disappointed.

We meet Celaena Sardothien as she's being "rescued" from the Salt Mines of Endovier by the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her freedom, but at a steep price. If she can become the King's Champion in the upcoming competition, she may earn her freedom. You see, Celaena has quite a reputation for being an untouchable assassin, so she's a sure bet for King's Champion.

As she starts training, she meets Captain Westfall, who seems to understand her. But things become complicated when competitors come up dead and mysteries unfold. Also, Prince Dorian is paying attention to Celaena as well. Will she find out what is going on, and will she ultimately find her destiny?

Hexed by Michelle Krys

Hexed by Michelle Krys, 384 agonizing pages

The books description had me excited about reading the story. A witch that doesn't now she's a witch with a mom that is murdered for her Witch Bible and now Indigo has to do everything in her power to obtain that bible or lose everything. However, it ended up being a very dumb, horrible waste of time. The characters are the kind you love to hate. The main heroine is suppose to be in the top three of her class, but she's as dumb as a box of rocks. The love triangle is ridiculous as well.  Too much time is spent wallowing at teen parties and other silliness that drags the story on.

Elemental by Anthony John

Elemental by Anthony John, 326 pages
Book 1 of series

The population of Earth suffered a huge blow in the form of a rat borne plague. Cities have been replaced by colonies and modern technology no longer exits. Thomas has always been an outsider in his colony because he possesses no elemental gift unlike every other resident of the island... or so he's been told. The island is buried in secrets and Thomas knows none of them until one fateful night when truths began to reveal themselves one by one. Thomas, his deaf/lame brother Griffin, and other children born in the colony, will have to use their gifts to outsmart pirates, live through a hurricane and protect their home and family.

Almost to Die For by Tate Hallaway

Almost To Die For by Tate Hallaway, 241 pages
(Book one of A Vampire Princess series)

16 year old Anastasija Parker just wants to pass her witch test so she can be part of her mother's coven. Generation after generation of Parker women have passed their initiation and joined the ranks of the coven ... until Anastasija. The trouble is for some reason Anastasija cannot perform any spells. She can feel magic, but that's as far as it goes. Failing the test means not being included on the family tree or being a part of the coven. She'll just be a spectator from a distance. When her absentee father shows up before her test, Anastasija's life is sent spiraling out of control. Add to the mix two very opposite guys vying for her love and you have the perfect teenage fantasy drama story. Love triangles abound in Teen Fiction these days and the author does not disappoint in this book.

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins, 327 pages
(#3 Hex Hall Series)

In possibly the final installment of the Sophie Mercer story, Sophie alone has escaped the clutches of the evil Casnoff sisters with her demon powers bound inside of her. As she tries to discover what has happened to her vampire bestfriend, demon father, warlock fiance and her "works for the enemy" love interest, Sophie will uncover far more than she imagined. After having her world rocked by several revelations, Sophie must pull her self together to: 1. Find her friends and her father. 2. Unlock her magic that has been tucked away inside her. and 3. Stop the Casnoff sisters thereby ceasing their plot to amass a demon army by changing all of her classmates into demons. Being powerless is a problem until Elodie steps in to save Sophie's skin more than  few times. By far my favorite of the series save for a few story-lines that went sour in my opinion. Most notably was Cal's story. I really thought the author could have done more for Cal than she did. Other than the few flaws, I was overall happy with the "ending."

Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith

Tantalize by Cynthia Leitich Smith, 310 pages

 Quince Morris is a 17 year old orphan who has lived with her young and distracted Uncle since her parents' death years before. Together they run a soon-to-be vampire themed restaurant that is Quince's legacy.  Her only solace is her longtime bestfriend/ love interest/ half-werewolf, Kieran, who will be leaving her soon to join his werepack. When the longtime chef of the restaurant is murdered within hearing distance of Quince, she and her uncle scramble to find a replacement "vampire" chef.  Young, idealistic "Bradley" steps into the position and Quince is quite taken with his culinary gifts. Soon Kieran starts to fade to the background as Quince starts to notice there is more to Bradley than meets the eye. In the meantime, a killer is on the loose in her town and many have fallen victim. When the killer once again stalks closer to home, Quince is shocked to discover who it is. This vampire/were-creature tale and love triangle teen story was predictable and a little hard to digest (pun intended). I did get a kick out of the menus and how the chapters are divided up into food courses, however, and that kept it entertaining.

The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan

The Beautiful and the Cursed by Page Morgan, 340 pages

An exciting and well-written tale about a young lady, her twin brother, younger sister and the gargoyle that is guardian to them. Filled with romance, danger, adventure, mystery, murder and suspense, this is a "must finish in one sitting" kind of book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. This book is newly published 5/13.