The Lady Rogue by Jenn Bennett {review}

The Lady Rogue
by Jenn Bennett
♦publisher: Simon Pulse 
♦release date: September 3rd, 2019
♦hardcover, 372 pages 
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦stand-alone (currently)
♦source: ARC from publisher for honest review

Some legends never die…

Traveling with her treasure-hunting father has always been a dream for Theodora. She’s read every book in his library, has an impressive knowledge of the world’s most sought-after relics, and has all the ambition in the world. What she doesn’t have is her father’s permission. That honor goes to her father’s nineteen-year-old protégé—and once-upon-a-time love of Theodora’s life—Huck Gallagher, while Theodora is left to sit alone in her hotel in Istanbul.

Until Huck returns from an expedition without her father and enlists Theodora’s help in rescuing him. Armed with her father’s travel journal, the reluctant duo learns that her father had been digging up information on a legendary and magical ring that once belonged to Vlad the Impaler—more widely known as Dracula—and that it just might be the key to finding him.

Journeying into Romania, Theodora and Huck embark on a captivating adventure through Gothic villages and dark castles in the misty Carpathian Mountains to recover the notorious ring. But they aren’t the only ones who are searching for it. A secretive and dangerous occult society with a powerful link to Vlad the Impaler himself is hunting for it, too. And they will go to any lengths—including murder—to possess it.  

{Review}

Some legends never die…

Traveling with her treasure-hunting father has always been a dream for Theodora. She’s read every book in his library, has an impressive knowledge of the world’s most sought-after relics, and has all the ambition in the world. What she doesn’t have is her father’s permission. That honor goes to her father’s nineteen-year-old protégé—and once-upon-a-time love of Theodora’s life—Huck Gallagher, while Theodora is left to sit alone in her hotel in Istanbul.

Until Huck returns from an expedition without her father and enlists Theodora’s help in rescuing him. Armed with her father’s travel journal, the reluctant duo learns that her father had been digging up information on a legendary and magical ring that once belonged to Vlad the Impaler—more widely known as Dracula—and that it just might be the key to finding him.

Journeying into Romania, Theodora and Huck embark on a captivating adventure through Gothic villages and dark castles in the misty Carpathian Mountains to recover the notorious ring. But they aren’t the only ones who are searching for it. A secretive and dangerous occult society with a powerful link to Vlad the Impaler himself is hunting for it, too. And they will go to any lengths—including murder—to possess it.Some legends never die…

Traveling with her treasure-hunting father has always been a dream for Theodora. She’s read every book in his library, has an impressive knowledge of the world’s most sought-after relics, and has all the ambition in the world. What she doesn’t have is her father’s permission. That honor goes to her father’s nineteen-year-old protégé—and once-upon-a-time love of Theodora’s life—Huck Gallagher, while Theodora is left to sit alone in her hotel in Istanbul.

Until Huck returns from an expedition without her father and enlists Theodora’s help in rescuing him. Armed with her father’s travel journal, the reluctant duo learns that her father had been digging up information on a legendary and magical ring that once belonged to Vlad the Impaler—more widely known as Dracula—and that it just might be the key to finding him.

Journeying into Romania, Theodora and Huck embark on a captivating adventure through Gothic villages and dark castles in the misty Carpathian Mountains to recover the notorious ring. But they aren’t the only ones who are searching for it. A secretive and dangerous occult society with a powerful link to Vlad the Impaler himself is hunting for it, too. And they will go to any lengths—including murder—to possess it.Some legends never die…

Traveling with her treasure-hunting father has always been a dream for Theodora. She’s read every book in his library, has an impressive knowledge of the world’s most sought-after relics, and has all the ambition in the world. What she doesn’t have is her father’s permission. That honor goes to her father’s nineteen-year-old protégé—and once-upon-a-time love of Theodora’s life—Huck Gallagher, while Theodora is left to sit alone in her hotel in Istanbul.

Until Huck returns from an expedition without her father and enlists Theodora’s help in rescuing him. Armed with her father’s travel journal, the reluctant duo learns that her father had been digging up information on a legendary and magical ring that once belonged to Vlad the Impaler—more widely known as Dracula—and that it just might be the key to finding him.

Journeying into Romania, Theodora and Huck embark on a captivating adventure through Gothic villages and dark castles in the misty Carpathian Mountains to recover the notorious ring. But they aren’t the only ones who are searching for it. A secretive and dangerous occult society with a powerful link to Vlad the Impaler himself is hunting for it, too. And they will go to any lengths—including murder—to possess it.Some legends never die…

Traveling with her treasure-hunting father has always been a dream for Theodora. She’s read every book in his library, has an impressive knowledge of the world’s most sought-after relics, and has all the ambition in the world. What she doesn’t have is her father’s permission. That honor goes to her father’s nineteen-year-old protégé—and once-upon-a-time love of Theodora’s life—Huck Gallagher, while Theodora is left to sit alone in her hotel in Istanbul.

Until Huck returns from an expedition without her father and enlists Theodora’s help in rescuing him. Armed with her father’s travel journal, the reluctant duo learns that her father had been digging up information on a legendary and magical ring that once belonged to Vlad the Impaler—more widely known as Dracula—and that it just might be the key to finding him.

Journeying into Romania, Theodora and Huck embark on a captivating adventure through Gothic villages and dark castles in the misty Carpathian Mountains to recover the notorious ring. But they aren’t the only ones who are searching for it. A secretive and dangerous occult society with a powerful link to Vlad the Impaler himself is hunting for it, too. And they will go to any lengths—including murder—to possess it.
Some legends never die…

Traveling with her treasure-hunting father has always been a dream for Theodora. She’s read every book in his library, has an impressive knowledge of the world’s most sought-after relics, and has all the ambition in the world. What she doesn’t have is her father’s permission. That honor goes to her father’s nineteen-year-old protégé—and once-upon-a-time love of Theodora’s life—Huck Gallagher, while Theodora is left to sit alone in her hotel in Istanbul.

Until Huck returns from an expedition without her father and enlists Theodora’s help in rescuing him. Armed with her father’s travel journal, the reluctant duo learns that her father had been digging up information on a legendary and magical ring that once belonged to Vlad the Impaler—more widely known as Dracula—and that it just might be the key to finding him.

Journeying into Romania, Theodora and Huck embark on a captivating adventure through Gothic villages and dark castles in the misty Carpathian Mountains to recover the notorious ring. But they aren’t the only ones who are searching for it. A secretive and dangerous occult society with a powerful link to Vlad the Impaler himself is hunting for it, too. And they will go to any lengths—including murder—to possess it.
This was SO FUN.  The adventure is nearly non-stop, virtually starting from the get-go as we find Theo already in hot water at a Turkish market on the very first page! I haven't read this author before but I do love the writing style in this book, the plot was tightly woven and I absolutely adored the bouncy dialogue that  captured the 30s era setting perfectly.

Being the daughter of a well-known archeologist definitely gave this a very Indiana Jones feel to it as well, which I really enjoyed. And with the historical twist of Vlad the Impaler's legacy at the heart of this story, Theo and Huck's quest takes a dark turn. The story unfolds as the two race to track down Theo's father, Richard whose short journal entries interject the story with little hints that propel the plot. From Turkey to Hungary to her mother's homeland in Romania, each clue drives them closer to the truth...and further into danger as the quest becomes about much more than finding her missing father. Theo and Huck were such fun characters, their banter was spot on and funny, but also showed a hurt in both of them that you know they would have to come to terms with eventually. It was a love story with history---my favorite kind. ♥ I'm not sure you could pack many more characters into one story and have nearly all of them be so intriguing in their own way. And what a conclusion---quite surprising and darkly satisfying. Really, really enjoyed this one!

•ABOUT THE AUTHOR•

 

Jenn Bennett is an award-winning author of young adult books, including: ALEX, APPROXIMATELY; STARRY EYES; SERIOUS MOONLIGHT; and THE LADY ROGUE. She also writes romance and fantasy for adults. Her books have earned multiple starred reviews, won Romance Writers of America’s RITA Award, and been included on Publishers Weekly Best Books annual list. She lives near Atlanta with one husband and two dogs.
 

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Winterwood by Shea Ernshaw {review}

Winterwood
by Shea Ernshaw
publisher: Simon Pulse
release date: November 5th, 2019
hardcover, 336 pages
intended audience: Young adult
stand-alone
source: received ARC for review at author event

Be careful of the dark, dark wood…

Especially the woods surrounding the town of Fir Haven. Some say these woods are magical. Haunted, even.

Rumored to be a witch, only Nora Walker knows the truth. She and the Walker women before her have always shared a special connection with the woods. And it’s this special connection that leads Nora to Oliver Huntsman—the same boy who disappeared from the Camp for Wayward Boys weeks ago—and in the middle of the worst snowstorm in years. He should be dead, but here he is alive, and left in the woods with no memory of the time he’d been missing.

But Nora can feel an uneasy shift in the woods at Oliver’s presence. And it’s not too long after that Nora realizes she has no choice but to unearth the truth behind how the boy she has come to care so deeply about survived his time in the forest, and what led him there in the first place. What Nora doesn’t know, though, is that Oliver has secrets of his own—secrets he’ll do anything to keep buried, because as it turns out, he wasn’t the only one to have gone missing on that fateful night all those weeks ago.

For as long as there have been fairy tales, we have been warned to fear what lies within the dark, dark woods and in Winterwood, New York Times bestselling author Shea Ernshaw, shows us why.

From New York Times bestselling author of The Wicked Deep comes a haunting romance perfect for fans of Practical Magic, where dark fairy tales and enchanted folklore collide after a boy, believed to be missing, emerges from the magical woods—and falls in love with the witch determined to unravel his secrets.

{Review}

What can I even say about this? The writing was absolutely gorgeous. Though after Ernshaw's debut, The Wicked Deep quickly and easily became one of my favorites last year I was not the least bit surprised.  In her second standalone YA novel, Shea Ernshaw once again brings all the spookiness and atmospheric writing that I love.  In Winterwood, we are introduced to the legacy of the Walker women of Fir Haven and the dark magic hiding in the surrounding woods. Nora Walker is floundering, feeling uncertain about not having really found a magic in herself to connect her to the long line of women in her family. Her mother has left her alone in more ways than one---always trying to distance herself from their family's legacy. When a winter storm leaves the Fir Haven residence snowed in, Nora finds Oliver Huntsman in the woods and the mystery begins.

This story is such an interesting balance of  being steeped in ancient magical atmosphere and modern social ways.  Nora, being mostly raised by her grandmother, feels so out of a different time, but she can certainly handle herself in tough interactions with the boys from the reform camp across the lake. Her solitude does put her in a vulnerable position when it comes to the possibility of making friends or even falling in love. I adored every moment in the woods---the weird ways of the magic there were just so strange and lovely. The mystery unfold beautifully, and although there was one major twist that readers will likely see coming a mile away, watching it all unravel was so enjoyable.  

If you haven't experienced Ernshaw's unique and haunting storytelling yet, I highly recommend both of these for your winter TBRs. Both are so enchanting.

•ABOUT THE AUTHOR•

Shea Ernshaw is an Oregon native and YA author. She often writes late, late, late into the night, enjoys dark woods, scary stories and moonlight on lakes. She drinks loads of tea and believes sunrises are where unicorns hide. She lives with her two cats, a dog, a husband, and a stack of books beside her bed she still needs to read. Her debut THE WICKED DEEP will be published by Simon & Schuster/Simon Pulse in 2018. She currently calls Boston home, where she manages an independent bookstore, drinks too much Diet Coke, and pets every dog she meets. 

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The Kingdom by Jess Rotherberg {blog tour review}

Today I'm helping to kick off the tour for 

THE KINGDOM

by Jess Rothenberg!!

UK cover

US cover

{My Review}

Short review:    I. Loved. This. Book.

A little longer review:  The Kingdom is not to be missed.  No matter if you "don't usually like sci fi. Or you "don't normally go for dystopia". This latter one is me, actually. The Kingdom takes science fiction a little deeper in taking an imaginative look at what it means to be human. Told in a fast-paced unique format that includes, interviews, trial transcipts, security footage, and more, this mind-blowing novel is Westworld meets a crazy exaggerated DisneyWorld. 

Ana and her "sisters" are hybrid A.I. theme park princesses, called Fantasists, created to help visitors to the park fill their everywhere fantasy adventure. The story captured my attention from the very beginning by making one thing clear---Ana has been accused of murder. And as the story unfolds, it poses the questions, not only did she do it? But as an A.I., can she be held responsible if she did? In any given situation, she is programmed to react a certain way---does that make her ultimately innocent? All of this spins off in a wild tale as Ana seems to grow a consciousness that isn't in her programming, meets and is baffled by her growing fascination with Owen, a park maintenance worker, and starts to feel unrest among her sisters and in her own role as a fantacist. 

They are led to believe that they world has gotten so bad outside their gates that people flock to the park to escape their misery. Even most animal life has gone extinct so the park scientists have recreated them for the visitor's experience. The line starts to blur when other aspects of the park prove not to be all she thought they were and Ana's trust in the people closest to her starts to unravel. It smartly touches on potent subjects such as human rights, humane treatment of animals, artificial creation of life, self-harm, and most of all, the objectification of women, whether they be A.I. or not. 

Completely compelling, thought provoking, beautifully diverse, and just all-around wonderfully done. The ending manages to be just as completely jaw-dropping as it is hopeful. This is definitely one that I'll be adding to my shelf of favorites and recommending every chance I get. 

{Book details}

♦published by Henry Holt & Company

♦release date: May 28th, 2019

♦hardcover, 352 pages

♦intended audience: Young adult

♦stand-alone

{About The Author}

JESS ROTHENBERG is a writer and freelance editor who grew up in Charleston, South Carolina. A former editor of books for young readers, including the #1 International Bestselling Vampire Academy series, Jess lives in New York City with her husband, son, and cat-who-thinks-he’s-a-dog, Charlie. Her debut novel for teens, The Catastrophic History of You & Me, has been translated into more than a dozen languages. 

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The Lovely War by Julie Berry {audiobook review}

The Lovely War
by Julie Berry
♦publisher: Viking Books for Your Readers
♦release date: March 5th, 2019
♦hardcover, 480 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦stand-alone

A sweeping, multi-layered romance with a divine twist, by the Printz Honor-winning author of The Passion of Dolssa, set in the perilous days of World Wars I and II.

It's 1917, and World War I is at its zenith when Hazel and James first catch sight of each other at a London party. She's a shy and talented pianist; he's a newly minted soldier with dreams of becoming an architect. When they fall in love, it's immediate and deep—and cut short when James is shipped off to the killing fields.

Aubrey Edwards is also headed toward the trenches. A gifted musician who's played Carnegie Hall, he's a member of the 15th New York Infantry, an all-African-American regiment being sent to Europe to help end the Great War. Love is the last thing on his mind. But that's before he meets Colette Fournier, a Belgian chanteuse who's already survived unspeakable tragedy at the hands of the Germans.

Thirty years after these four lovers' fates collide, the Greek goddess Aphrodite tells their stories to her husband, Hephaestus, and her lover, Ares, in a luxe Manhattan hotel room at the height of World War II. She seeks to answer the age-old question: Why are Love and War eternally drawn to one another? But her quest for a conclusion that will satisfy her jealous husband uncovers a multi-threaded tale of prejudice, trauma, and music and reveals that War is no match for the power of Love.

{My thoughts}

What an outstanding reading experience! The story is lovely, to begin with, but with an excellent full cast narration on the audiobook, complete with musical interludes, this was something special.

The tale told in The Lovely War is so compelling---the goddess Aprhodite relays the love story of two couples to prove a point to her husband and her lover, Hephaestus and Aries. It's the tale of Hazel and James, and of Colette and Aubrey---four young people caught up in the Great War. It's a glaring look at the ugliness of war, the effect it can have on family and love and growing up, and a heartbreaking look at the how African American soldiers were treated, even by their own countrymen. The romance was sweet, made all the more charming by Aphrodite's telling of how she had a hand in nudging them all in the right direction and her own sheer delight at watching it all unfold.

Despite the serious subject matter and the moments it has it's readers bawling their eyes out ...The Lovely War was such a beautiful tale of bravery and kindness, music and passion, friendship and most of all, love.

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{About The Author}

Julie Berry is the author of the 2017 Printz Honor and Los Angeles Times Book Prize shortlisted novel The Passion of Dolssa, the Carnegie and Edgar shortlisted All the Truth That’s in Me, and many other acclaimed middle grade novels and picture books. She holds a BS from Rensselaer in communication and an MFA from Vermont College. She lives in Southern California with her family.

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To Best The Boys by Mary Weber {review}

To Best The Boys 
by Mary Weber 
♦publisher: Thomas Nelson Books
♦release date: March 19th, 2019
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦stand alone, fantasy
♦source: from publisher for honest review

Every year for the past fifty-four years, the residents of Pinsbury Port receive a mysterious letter inviting all eligible-aged boys to compete for an esteemed scholarship to the all-male Stemwick University. Every year, the poorer residents look to see that their names are on the list. The wealthier look to see how likely their sons are to survive. And Rhen Tellur opens it to see if she can derive which substances the ink and parchment are created from, using her father’s microscope.

In the province of Caldon, where women are trained in wifely duties and men are encouraged into collegiate education, sixteen-year-old Rhen Tellur wants nothing more than to become a scientist. As the poor of her seaside town fall prey to a deadly disease, she and her father work desperately to find a cure. But when her Mum succumbs to it as well? Rhen decides to take the future into her own hands—through the annual all-male scholarship competition.

With her cousin, Seleni, by her side, the girls don disguises and enter Mr. Holm’s labyrinth, to best the boys and claim the scholarship prize. Except not everyone’s ready for a girl who doesn’t know her place. And not everyone survives the maze.

{My review}

Ah, this book. It easily takes its place among my favorites shelf.  And as a longtime fan of author Mary Weber, I can also say it's become my new favorite of her works. It's a feminist tale, for sure, as Rhen fights her way to what she wants and needs in a world that seems only geared toward the success of young men, but the author spins a tale that gracefully shows that feminism doesn't have to be about showing all men as monsters, but about empowering women and putting men who think women deserve to be thought of as powerless in their place.  She's created an enchantingly rich fantasy world full of sirens and ghouls and a terrifying and magical labyrinth competition, and a group of fun characters to carry each other through it all.

I loved the lighter and humorous tone at the beginning, drew me right into the story and put even me at ease with the fact that they were, in fact, cutting into corpses in the very first scene. You quickly get to know Rhen through her snarky interactions and inner dialogue. But further in, the story also puts her through quite a heart-wrenching and time-sensitive challenge---one that becomes her motivation and strength behind her brave decision to sneak into the labyrinth competition.

The plot is so engaging, every twist and turn through the labyrinth is sure to keep readers enticed, thinking through mysterious clues right along with the characters and holding your breath as Rhen, Lute and the others face each puzzle and run a treacherous race to the finish. The subtle romance that grows between Rhen and Lute is perfection---and I love that she makes clear from the beginning that she doesn't have time for any drama and nonsense. I also love how she doesn't back down from Vincent, her childhood friend who seemed to think his declaration of courtship meant he owned her. Grrr. Did not like him. The way things ended with Lute and Rhen---wow. I absolutely loved how everything turned out and the direction it was going, the support and assurance that poured from him. Read it, you'll see. :)  I know this is a stand-alone, but I would absolutely love more of Rhen and Lute and Seleni and goofy Beryll.  Another absolutely stunning story from Mary Weber that just leaves you wondering in awe at what she will come up with next. ♥

{About The Author}

Mary Weber is the bestselling HarperCollins author of six books, including the Storm Siren Trilogy, The Evaporation of Sofi Snow series, and this year’s highly-acclaimed To Best the Boys. When not writing, Mary sings 80’s hairband songs to her three muggle children, and ogles her husband who looks strikingly like Wolverine. They live in California which is perfect for stalking aging superstars while wearing sweatpants and fannypacks.

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source: book provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

Echo North by Joanna Ruth Meyer {review}

Echo North
by Joanna Ruth Meyer
♦publisher: Page Street Kids
♦release date: January 15th, 2019
♦hardcover, 389 pages
♦intended audience: Young adult
♦stand-alone

Echo Alkaev’s safe and carefully structured world falls apart after her father leaves for the city and mysteriously disappears. Believing he is lost forever, Echo is shocked to find him half-frozen in the winter forest six months later, guarded by a strange talking wolf—the same creature who attacked her as a child. The wolf presents Echo with an offer: for her to come and live with him for a year. But there is more to the wolf than Echo realizes.

In his enchanted house beneath a mountain, Echo discovers centuries-old secrets, a magical library full of books-turned-mirrors, and a young man named Hal who is trapped inside of them. As the year ticks by, Echo must solve the mystery of the wolf’s enchantment before her time is up—otherwise Echo, the wolf, and Hal will be lost forever.

{My Thoughts}

Beautiful.  Absolutely gorgeous writing and storytelling. From the moment I started this, I was lured in and completely enchanted until the final page. Echo North definitely exuded the feel of fairy tales of old. Grimm, Anderson,...you'll expect to find this one tucked in among these collections. The language, the atmosphere, the determination of the heroine. It all melds together to unfold this special story of redemption and love. 

In this retelling of East of the Sun, West of the Moon, Echo Alkaev finds herself fleeing her home and tricked into living with the mysterious wolf who seems to have followed her through life since he scarred her as a child. What she finds is an enchanted house containing dangerous rooms that must be bound by a magical thread. Toward the middle the story ambles a bit, but I never felt bored. Echo's bond with the wolf is in constant flux as she works to both uncover his secrets and save him from his own imprisonment in the house. each door reveals a new secret, and her world opens up even wider with the discovery of the mysterious library of mirrors. The second part takes on a wildly unexpected turn---the whole feel and direction of the story shoots off in an expected direction. It was a little jarring but surprising and exciting as well! 

Such a great story and I definitely plan on reaching for more from this author in the future, and possible checking out her debut, Beneath the Haunting Sea, as well! 

{About The Author}

Joanna Ruth Meyer hails from Mesa, Arizona, where she lives with her dear family, a rascally feline, and an enormous grand piano. When she’s not writing, she’s trying to convince her students that Bach is actually awesome, or plotting her escape from the desert. She loves good music, thick books, looseleaf tea, rainstorms, and staring out of windows. One day, she aspires to own an old Victorian house with creaky wooden floors and a tower (for writing in, of course!).

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source: book provided by publisher in exchange for an honest review

Keeper of the Bees by Meg Kassel {review}

Keeper of the Bees

by Meg Kassel

♦publisher: Entangled Teen

♦release date: Septemeber 4th, 2018

♦hardcover, 304 pages

♦intended audience: Young adult

♦series: companion to Black Bird of the Gallows

♦source: from publisher for review consideration

KEEPER OF THE BEES is a tale of two teens who are both beautiful and beastly, and whose pasts are entangled in surprising and heartbreaking ways.

Dresden is cursed. His chest houses a hive of bees that he can’t stop from stinging people with psychosis-inducing venom. His face is a shifting montage of all the people who have died because of those stings. And he has been this way for centuries—since he was eighteen and magic flowed through his homeland, corrupting its people.

He follows harbingers of death, so at least his curse only affects those about to die anyway. But when he arrives in a Midwest town marked for death, he encounters Essie, a seventeen-year-old girl who suffers from debilitating delusions and hallucinations. His bees want to sting her on sight. But Essie doesn’t see a monster when she looks at Dresden.

Essie is fascinated and delighted by his changing features. Risking his own life, he holds back his bees and spares her. What starts out as a simple act of mercy ends up unraveling Dresden’s solitary life and Essie’s tormented one. Their impossible romance might even be powerful enough to unravel a centuries-old curse.

{Becky's Thoughts}

I could not have been more enthralled by this book!

This second story by author Meg Kassel plunges us back in to the world she first introduced in Black Bird of the Gallows. It's a spin off that takes us deeper into the lives of the ominous beekeepers and harbinger crows that follow disaster from town to town, feeding off human fear and death. And while I really enjoyed Black Bird of the Gallows, I loved Keeper of the Bees so much. A rich Beauty and the Beast type story, where the true spin is that both of our main characters have beauty and beastliness in them. Both of them will face down their curses and find each other waiting at the end of the battle.

Who knew I could ever be enchanted by a character who shoots bees from his mouth?? 😄Dresden is a beekeeper, the bees inside him sting a person and turn them dark and violent. His face morphs between the faces of all his victims, but Dresden remembers who he once was, and there is kindness and compassion and humanity in him that makes him hate what he is. It's that compassion that lets him see into the gentle soul of a girl who struggles with the delusions and hallucinations. Essie is shunned in her town because of her family's "curse"--- a mental illness that seems to have been passed down through generations. She doesn't know what to make of Dresden with his changing faces and bees---it intrigues her more than anything else. Both of them seem fascinated that the other can see past what others see and assume of them, so they find themselves drawn together. There was such a sweetness to this love story.  I love how the mental illness was handled--Essie knows how sick she is, but aside from sometimes being scared by her hallucinations, she doesn't fear it or feel shame or spite. It is what is it is and she owns it with grace.  

There is one truly terrifying new addition to the supernatural world in this story. The Strawman sent shivers down my spine at his every appearance, but even this chill-inducing creature is written with such great complexity. And there is one other that absolutely had my skin crawling---but you'll have to read to find out more!

There is so much heart to this story. Both Essie and Dresden have such challenges to face on their own, but they strengthen each other so much in coming together. And I have to say, Meg Kassel knows how to write a crazy twist ending that will leave her readers breathless. Pick this one up asap---it's perfect for Halloween (or anytime!). 

• About the Author •

Meg Kassel is an author of fantasy and speculative books for young adults. A graduate of Parson's School of Design, she’s been creating stories, whether with visuals or words, since childhood. Meg is a New Jersey native who lives in a log house in the Maine woods with her husband and daughter. As a fan of ’80s cartoons, Netflix series, and ancient mythology, she has always been fascinated and inspired by the fantastic, the creepy, and the futuristic. She is the 2016 RWA Golden Heart® winner in YA and a double 2018 RITA® finalist for her debut novel, Black Bird of the Gallows.

Author Links:   Website  •  Twitter   •   Instagram  •   

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