[ARC Review] Lunar Court by Aileen Erin

Title: Lunar Court (Alpha Girl #8)

Author: Aileen Erin

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy / Paranormal

Format: eBook (ARC)

Length: 300 pages

Publisher: Ink Monster, LLC

Publish Date: June 11, 2019

Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★

Recommend: Yes!

Queen of the Warrior Bees by Jean Gill (ARC Review)

One misfit girl and 50,000 bees. Together they must change the world. As the Mages of the Citadel fight amongst themselves and prepare for war against the Forest, Mielitta, a despised servant, has her own battle to face. Bastien and Jannlou, the boys who terrorised her as a child, have grown into their status as Mages and she cannot escape them forever.

In desperation, she flees to the forbidden Forest and its dangerous attractions. Her scent angers thousands of bees and, although she survives their attack, she has changed. A strange bee symbol glows on her thigh and her senses are altered. She learns that her connection with bees enables her to summon their aid and gives her the power to shift shape.

This new-found bond works both ways and the bees need Mielitta's help as the rift widens between Forest and Citadel. Can one girl and a colony of bees reunite Man and Nature, or is the split irreversible?

Block Nature out and she'll force a way in.

Book Overview:

Author: Jean Gill | Series: Natural Forces | Format: eBook - ARC | Length: 273 pages | Publish Date: June 7, 2019 | Genre: YA Fantasy | Rated: ★ ★ | Recommend: Maybe

The Future Will Be BS-Free by Will McIntosh (ARC Review)

In this terrifyingly timely tale for fans of The Eye of Minds, a teen and his group of friends find themselves on the run after using a genius lie-detector contraption to expose their corrupt government.

In a Putin-esque near-future America, the gifted and talented high school has just been eliminated, and Sam and his friends have been using their unexpected free time to work on a tiny, undetectable, utterly reliable lie detector. They're all in it for the money--except Theo, their visionary. For Theo, it's about creating a better world. A BS-free world, where no one can lie, and the honest will thrive.

Just when they finish the prototype and turn down an offer to sell their brainchild to a huge corporation, Theo is found dead. Greedy companies, corrupt privatized police, and even the president herself will stop at nothing to steal the Truth App. Sam sets his sights on exposing all lies and holding everyone accountable.

But he and his friends quickly realize the costs of a BS-free world: the lives of loved ones, and political and economic stability. They now face a difficult question: Is the world capable of operating without lies, or are lies what hold it together?

Book Overview:

Author: Will McIntosh | Series: None | Format: Hardcover - ARC | Length: 352 pages | Publish Date: July 24, 2018 | Genre: YA Dystopia | Rated: ★ ★ ★| Recommend: Maybe

Queen of Thieves by Katherine Bogle (ARC Review)

Ruthless commander. Cunning thief. Deadly blademaster. 

Narra is a second generation thief raised in the Guild by her iron-fisted father. Growing up, she dreamed his death would free her, but when he shows up dead in the wreckage of a train destroyed by the Revolution, the happiest day of her life is ruined by one word: traitor. 

Her father is accused of betraying the only thing she thought he ever really loved; the Thieves Guild. To prove his innocence, and remove the stain from her name, Narra will go to darker places than she ever thought possible and be forced to work with people she doesn’t dare trust. 

If she fails, she’ll lose more than her sanity or her life. 

She’ll lose the Guild. 

Set in a steampunk world on the cusp of civil war, Queen of Thievesintroduces a dark tale where family lies, magic might be real, and thieves fall for revolutionary princesses. 

Book Overview:

Author: Katherine Bogle | Series: Clockwork Thief | Format: eBook - ARC | Length: 368 pages | Publish Date: August 21, 2018 | Genre: YA Fantasy | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Yes

Dreadmarrow Thief by Marjory Kaptanoglu

“A novel that celebrates life and love the way only the best fantasy tales can.” -Kirkus Reviews

SEEKING LOVE, REVENGE, AND A CURE FOR DEATH...

In this thrilling fantasy adventure, sixteen-year-old Tessa Skye shapeshifts into a sparrow using a windrider—a forbidden magical amulet. When she accidentally reveals herself to the wicked Conjurer Lord Fellstone, the tyrant has her papa killed. Overcome by guilt and remorse, Tessa sets out for the castle to steal Fellstone’s Dreadmarrow, his most prized magical artifact, which has the power to restore life. She’s joined by Calder, searching for his lost love, and Ash, whose growing attraction to Tessa distracts from his plan to avenge his murdered twin.

DREADMARROW THIEF is an enchanting coming-of-age story about a girl who seeks to wield great power, only to learn it comes at a terrible price.

“The quest narrative is exciting and compelling... a work of classic fantasy.” -The BookLife Prize

Book Overview:

Author: Marjory Kaptanoglu | Series: The Conjurer Fellstone Series | Format: eBook - ARC | Length: 225 pages | Publish Date: October 9, 2017 | Genre: YA Fantasy | Rated: ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Maybe

Dead Serious: Breaking the Cycle of Teen Sucide by Jane Mersky Leder

Are you under a lot of stress? Feeling too much pressure to get good grades? Trying to avoid social media because you’re being bullied? Grappling with your sexual/gender identity? Feeling depressed—even suicidal?

What are the reasons why teens decide to take their own lives? What can be done to stop them? Through stories, studies and strategies, Dead Serious helps teens, parents and educators navigate the choppy waters of adolescence and provides tools that can help break the cycle of teen suicide. 

Teen suicide is preventable.

Book Overview:

Author: Jane Mersky Leder | Series: None | Format: eBook - ARC | Length: Unknown | Publish Date: January 23, 2018 | Genre: Nonfiction Psychology | Rated: ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Yes

Sweethearts by Gemma Gilmore

When seventeen-year-old Ingrid Harper realizes she may not have the talent to pursue a scholarship for the most prestigious art school in Australia, she turns to pink hair dye as a distraction.

Her new hair captures the attention of a fellow art student, Kat, who introduces Ingrid to the LGBT clubbing scene, and although Ingrid enjoys partying with her new friend, she becomes caught up in confusion about her sexuality. Her fear is overwhelming—she can’t think about anything else.

Until her best friend, Summer, reveals that she is pregnant.

As her best friend faces the realities of being pregnant at seventeen, Ingrid is shown the true definition of courage. It motivates her to come out about her sexuality—she likes girls. Only girls. Now she just has to work out what that means for the other areas of her life.

Book Overview:

Author: Gemma Gilmore | Series: None | Format: eBook - ARC | Length: Unknown | Publish Date: January 29, 2018 | Genre: YA Contemporary/LGBTQ+ | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Yes

Looking for Dei by David A. Wilson (ARC Review)

Fifteen-year-old Nara Dall has never liked secrets. Yet it seems that her life has been filled with them, from the ugly scar on her back to the strange powers she possesses. Her mysterious father refuses to say anything about her origins, and soon, she and her best friend must attend the announcement ceremony, in which youths are tested for a magical gift.

A gifted youth has not been announced in the poor village of Dimmitt for decades. When Nara uncovers the reason, she uses her own powers to make things right. The decision sets her on a path of danger, discovery, and a search for the divine. In the process, she learns the truth about herself and uncovers the biggest secret of all: the power of broken people. 

Book Overview:

Author: David A. Wilson | Series: None | Format: eBook - ARC | Length: Unknown | Publish Date: March 23, 2018 | Genre: YA Fantasy | Rating: ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Maybe

See All the Stars by Kit Frick (ARC Review)

We Were Liars meets 13 Reasons Why in this thrilling debut novel that sweeps readers away as they try to solve the mystery of what happened then to make Ellory so broken now.

It’s hard to find the truth beneath the lies you tell yourself.

Then: They were four—Bex, Jenni, Ellory, Ret. (Venus. Earth. Moon. Sun.) Electric, headstrong young women; Ellory’s whole solar system.

Now: Ellory is alone, her once inseparable group of friends torn apart by secrets, deception, and a shocking incident that changed their lives forever.

Then: Lazy summer days. A party. A beautiful boy. Ellory met Matthias and fell into the beginning of a spectacular, bright love.

Now: Ellory returns to Pine Brook to navigate senior year after a two-month suspension and summer away—no boyfriend, no friends. No going back. Tormented by some and sought out by others, troubled by a mysterious note-writer who won’t let Ellory forget, and consumed by guilt over her not entirely innocent role in everything and everyone she’s lost, Ellory finds that even in the present, the past is everywhere.

The path forward isn’t a straight line. And moving on will mean sorting the truth from the lies—the lies Ellory has been telling herself.

Book Overview:

Author: Kit Frick | Series: None | Format: eBook - ARC | Length: 320 pages | Publish Date: August 14, 2018 | Genre: YA Contemporary | Rating: ★ ★ ★ ★ | Recommend: Yes