Poison's Kiss by Breeana Shields {guest review}

Poison's Kiss
by Breeana Shields
♦publisher: Random House BYR
♦release date: January 10th, 2017
♦hardcover, 304 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦series: Poison's Kiss, book 1
♦source: from publisher for honest review
♦reviewed by: Amy

Marinda has kissed dozens of boys. They all die afterward. It's a miserable life, but being a visha kanya, a poison maiden, is what she was created to do. Marinda serves the Raja by dispatching his enemies with only her lips as a weapon.

Until now, the men she was ordered to kiss have been strangers, enemies of the kingdom. Then she receives orders to kiss Deven, a boy she knows too well to be convinced he needs to die. She begins to question who she s really working for. And that is a thread that, once pulled, will unravel more than she can afford to lose.

Review: Marinda is a lethal weapon and one kiss from her, is the last kiss you will ever have.

For Marinda, kissing and killing is the only life she has ever known. From childhood she was raised at the hand of cruel caretakers with ulterior motives; who trained and poisoned her until her kiss was poisonous enough to make her a visha kanya. Bound to serve the Raja, she must kill anyone who betrays the kingdom with her venomous kiss. To them she is merely a creation to do their bidding, leaving scars not even her sari can hide. 

Lucky for Marinda, every man she’s killed has been a stranger, until she meets Deven; the charming, attentive boy at bookstore. And for the first time, Marinda can dream about love’s first kiss, if only it wasn’t deadly. Now, Miranda is left with a choice; follow through with her appointed duty, or risk betraying her kingdom to save the one she loves. 

Caught between love, war, duty and family, Marinda is suddenly left questioning the one reason she was put on earth. Pondering if her caretakers are really who they claim to be, leaving her with the ultimate question of staying loyal to those who may be traitors, or watch it all fall for love.

Breena Shields captures the allure of Indian folklore in her thrilling debut, Poison’s Kiss. With treachery and love mixed in with surprising twists and turns, this book has everything you need for a riveting page-turner. Filled with exciting adventure, readers could be left with the desire for more detail to carry out the richness of the scenes, the settings, and the characters. Yet, the great fantasy elements and story building carries readers quickly through to the end.

With intense scenes and impressive writing, Breena Shield’s truly unique storyline gives this book strength and presence, while weaving in conflicts between right and wrong with deception and truth. Smooth as a serpent’s tongue, this remarkable tale will catch you unaware while leaving you anxiously waiting for the next book in the series. 

•ABOUT THE AUTHOR•

Breeana graduated from Brigham Young University with a BA in English. When she’s not reading or writing, she loves traveling, eating good food–especially if it’s pasta or chocolate–and spending time with her husband, her three children and an extremely spoiled miniature poodle.

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Purchase the book:  Indiebound  •  BookDepository  •  Amazon

Fiendish by Brenna Yovanoff {guest review}

Fiendish 
by Brenna Yovanoff
♦publisher: Razorbill
♦release date: August 14th, 2014
♦hardcover, 352 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦source: from publisher for honest review
♦guest reviewer: Amy

Clementine DeVore spent ten years trapped in a cellar, pinned down by willow roots, silenced and forgotten.

Now she’s out and determined to uncover who put her in that cellar and why.

When Clementine was a child, dangerous and inexplicable things started happening in New South Bend. The townsfolk blamed the fiendish people out in the Willows and burned their homes to the ground. But magic kept Clementine alive, walled up in the cellar for ten years, until a boy named Fisher sets her free. Back in the world, Clementine sets out to discover what happened all those years ago. But the truth gets muddled in her dangerous attraction to Fisher, the politics of New South Bend, and the Hollow, a fickle and terrifying place that seems increasingly temperamental ever since Clementine reemerged.

Review: For ten years, Clementine lay buried in the cellar, eyes sewn shut, ensnarled in willow roots.  Bound by a magic so strong, no one even remembers her existence. Until one day a boy hears the faint magical pull of her breathing, unearthing not only a lost and forgotten girl but quite possibly the magical curse that may be responsible for trapping Clementine. 

Waking to a world that is scared of the craft that dwells in Wixby Hollow, Clementine rediscovers a world where magical beasts, hell hounds and fiends dwell. A coalition of townspeople are waiting to once again burn the magic from the Hollow to purify those who possess the craft, saving themselves from the plague that they call The Reckoning. This leaves Clementine to not only try to discover who trapped her in the cellar, but where she fits in a town where politics and truth are buried deeper than the cellar she has emerged from. 

Brenna Yovanoff, once again captures her readers with a gothic tale of horror and mystique. Painting a story that is both horrific as well as alluring, she combines old magic with witchcraft, unraveling a town that is built upon fear itself. Taking that which is seen as unnatural and wrong, it fits together to make a beautiful and enchanting story.

Find Brenna Yovanoff online: Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Buy Fiendish:  BN.com  •  BookDepository  •  Indiebound

Amy's View: Forevermore by Cindy Miles

Forevermore by Cindy Miles
♦publisher: Scholastic Point
♦release date: July 1st, 2013
♦paperback, 288 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦source: ALA midwinter

On a misty cliffside, mystery and romance await. . . .

Ivy Calhoun's life has been turned upside down. Her new stepdad has uprooted Ivy and her mom, bringing them to live in an actual castle in the misty Scottish countryside. There are stone-faced servants and shadowy corridors, and the ancient walls seem full of secrets. Ivy is at once frightened and intrigued.

Especially when she meets Logan, a gorgeous, elusive ghost who has haunted the castle grounds for decades. Ivy is immediately drawn to him . . . but Logan is not the only spirit around. Something dark and deadly is afoot, and soon Ivy finds herself in mortal danger.

Is Logan exactly what he seems? Could his mysterious past be tied to Ivy's present? And can Ivy stop herself from falling in love with him?

Review: Charming and engaging from the very start. Forevermore, gently whisks you away to a land of Scottish mores, creepy resounding castles and stories of old lore. Wrapping you into a short story that sweetly enraptures you, leading into a haunting tale of old ghosts and family secrets. 

 Ivy’s world couldn’t be in more of an upheaval. Her mother remarried a Laird of Scotland and suddenly they are swept off to live in his castle, but not all lives are made of fairytales. Ivy knows life will not be easy the moment they land in the cold damp sunless world of Scotland, still when they pull up to her new home her heart crumbles. Instead of a glorious fairytale castle, a cold dark eerie castle lays before her. Filled with servants, cooks, dinner times with proper etiquette and an evil grandmother whom Ivy knows is out to get her. 

However, the evil grandmother isn’t the bulk of her problems. Ivy feels that there is a presence lurking around the castle and when she goes out to discover the truth,  the truth proves to  be more than she ever thought possible. The stories aren’t old time lore of make-believe ghosts; a real ghost haunts the castle and wants Ivy out, doing anything possible to get her to leave. 

With cursed spells, her mother getting ill and a grandmother lurking in the shadows, Ivy is left to solve the mystery behind the ghost herself. Soon Ivy finds out that confronting the ghost isn’t what she thought it would be, especially when one of the ghosts is a charming, handsome ghost named Logan. As time passes, she realizes that they not only share a beautiful love of music, but of love itself. Forcing them to solve the 200 year old mystery of how Logan became trapped in the castle, and who wants to harm Ivy and her mother. 

Cindy Miles is a magical story teller, who weaves a young adult book so pure and beautiful that fans of all ages will be swept away to the Scottish castle of Glenmorrag.  I found myself unable to put down this book as its enchanting spell glimmered within its pages. I was quickly caught up within the intrigue and romance between Ivy and Logan, rooting for love to find a way for these two to be together. Characters are gently woven into the storyline where each one easily finds their own place, without distracting or overwhelming from their purpose. Cindy Miles artfully enthralls you with her story but magically creates an alternate storyline within Forevermore. It would be equally thrilling as well and I anxiously look forward to her next haunting romance that awaits us.  

Find Cindy Miles onlines:  Website  •  Twitter  •  Facebook

Purchase Forevermore:  Amazon  •  BookDepository  •  Indiebound