Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Kingdom of the Feared by Kerri Maniscalco | Kingdom of the Wicked #3

Posted January 2, 2023 in Books, Reviews / 0 Comments
Kingdom of the Feared by Kerri Maniscalco | Kingdom of the Wicked #3

Kingdom of the Cursed was one of my top (if not the top) books of 2021, so I definitely had high hopes coming into the final book (I think?) in the series. I even reread KotC to make sure I remembered everything when diving into Kingdom of the Feared, including reading some deep dives on potential theories on Reddit, lol. When my pre-order came in, I promptly retied to my library and read the first half in one sitting, then slowly savored the remaining half over a period of weeks because I did not want it to end. While it […]


YA Mini Reviews: The Inheritance Game and Majesty

Posted January 25, 2021 in Books, Reviews / 4 Comments
YA Mini Reviews: The Inheritance Game and Majesty

The Inheritance Games was one of my most anticipated books of 2020, so I was excited to be able to squeeze it in as my last book of the year! The description was giving me major The Westing Game vibes, one of my favorite middle grade novels, so I was excited to dive into the story. As expected, it was a very twisty plot with Barnes’ signature plot twists, puzzles and opportunities for readers to be kept on their toes. The whole wish-fulfillment premise was really fun (who doesn’t like to daydream what they’d do if they unexpected came into […]


Mini Reviews | Midnight Sun and Girls on the Verge

Posted October 5, 2020 in Books, Reviews / 2 Comments
Mini Reviews | Midnight Sun and Girls on the Verge

I have to admit, back in the day when the initial chapters of Midnight Sun were available to read on Stephenie Meyer’s website, I adored the manuscript. I was SO thrilled to be in Edward’s head and I was heartbroken when she decided to no longer pursue the project. When I heard that she was finally revisiting it years later, I was equal parts excited and apprehensive, because I know my tastes have changed since my tween years and I wasn’t sure I’d still love this series as much as I originally did. In preparation of Midnight Sun’s release, I […]


Mini Reviews: Deadly Little Scandals, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, and Broken Things

Posted August 17, 2020 in Books, Reviews / 4 Comments
Mini Reviews: Deadly Little Scandals, The Two Lives of Lydia Bird, and Broken Things

Despite my saltiness about a mid-series cover change, I was excited to pick up the sequel to Little White Lies relatively soon after reading it (so refreshing to actually remember what happened in book 1, lol). I was a little apprehensive going in because even though the first book ended on a huge cliffhanger, I heard that the multiple timelines that happened in book 2 were convoluted and a bit confusing. While there WAS a lot going on in flashbacks in this book, I didn’t find it too difficult to follow and the story delivered quite a few twists! Seriously, […]


The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black | Review

Posted February 10, 2020 in Books, Reviews / 4 Comments
The Queen of Nothing by Holly Black | Review

I always start the books in this series with a sense of skepticism. Not because they have personally done anything wrong to me, but because I’m 1) Not always a fan of fae books and 2) Always skeptical of a fantasy book that’s under 400-500 pages. But Holly Black always pulls through and manages to write a tale of intrigue, action and simmering tension without all of the boring fantasy fluff, and The Queen of Nothing was no exception. It was a gripping conclusion to a trilogy that focuses on a purposely plotted narrative that gives readers the romance, magic […]


The Diviners Series Review by Libba Bray (Books 1-3)

Posted February 3, 2020 in Books, Reviews / 7 Comments
The Diviners Series Review by Libba Bray (Books 1-3)

I tried the start The Diviners several years ago (I think in 2013 or 2014), checking it out from the library but quickly returning it unread as I was intimidated by its size. However, I really do love historical fiction and knew a lot of readers who adored the series, so when The Diviners Readalong was announced by some of my favorite folks in the book Youtube community, I knew it would be a great opportunity to finally commit! I decided to tackle these giant tomes via audio book and am so glad I did- it’s really the best way […]


The Wicked King by Holly Black (Folk of the Air #2) | Review

Posted March 4, 2019 in Books, Reviews / 3 Comments
The Wicked King by Holly Black (Folk of the Air #2) | Review

*Warning: This review will contain spoilers for The Cruel Prince* While I enjoyed The Cruel Prince, I’ll be the first to admit that I didn’t really get the HYPE surrounding it- it was good but it was also full of excessively cruel bullying, confusing court politics (at least for me) and non-romances that didn’t do anything for me. But oh, how I stand corrected. Once I got into The Wicked King it was compulsively readable, and it finally CLICKED for me why this series is so successful. Also, infinite bonus points to Holly Black for managing to write a super […]


Finding Yvonne by Brandy Colbert | ARC Review

Posted July 23, 2018 in Books, Reviews / 2 Comments
Finding Yvonne by Brandy Colbert | ARC Review

This year at YallWest I was lucky enough to have a chance to meet Brandy Colbert and receive a signed ARC of her newest novel, Finding Yvonne. I’ve been wanting to read a Brandy Colbert novel for a long time, since I’ve heard amazing things about her ballet book, Pointe. I was excited to pick up this quick contemporary novel that drops some major themes in its synopsis and seemed like it wasn’t afraid to confront controversial topics head on. Finding Yvonne is on the shorter side for a contemporary novel (under 300 pages) but in its pages its able […]


The Astonishing Color of After | Review

Posted May 7, 2018 in Reviews / 4 Comments
The Astonishing Color of After | Review

The Astonishing Color of After caught my eye as it’s a mix of a lot of wonderful elements that I hadn’t quite seen put altogether before: magical realism, death & grief, mental illness, and an Asian protagonist. Excited by the synopsis and by the prospect of a setting in Taiwan, I dove into the novel curious to see how all of the elements meshed together. What I encountered was a beautifully written story with vivid settings and prose that was literary without being too weighed down or pompous. A longer contemporary (clocking in at almost 500 pages), there are quite […]


Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin | ARC Review

Posted December 9, 2015 in Boyfriend Book Reviews, Reviews / 13 Comments
Wolf by Wolf by Ryan Graudin | ARC Review

Boyfriend Book Reviews is a feature where my book-loving boyfriend, Max, reads and reviews YA that I either haven’t yet read or is outside of my current TBR. If you want a thorough and thoughtful perspective on a guy’s take on YA, keep reading!   “Once, just once, Henryka had been thoughtful enough to ask Yael what she really looked like… Yael opened her mouth to answer and realized, with a start, that she did not remember. She did not remember. She did not remember. What kind of person forgets her own face?” –Graudin, 44-45. I don’t think I can […]