The Keeper’s Realm

The Keeper’s Realm by Bre Faucheux (2013)
-Review Request-

the keeper's realm
YA Fiction | Paranormal | Romance
3.5 Stars
Blurb:

“Ashlyn Drakes doesn’t know if her ability is a gift or a curse. Since she was a child she could see things no one else could, the memories of those long past. Scenes of violence and human atrocity display before her as if she has stepped back in time to witness them.

That is until Damien appears, and tells her the truth. She’s a Keeper, a guardian of the Realm of the Living, charged with closing portals so darker forces can’t be released.

But Damien has a past, one that could haunt and potentially devastate Ashlyn’s very existence.”
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The Host

The Host by Stephenie Meyer (2008)

The Host

(NA) Fiction | Science Fiction: Aliens4.5 starsBlurb:

“Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of human hosts while leaving their bodies intact. Wanderer, the invading “soul” who has been given Melanie’s body, didn’t expect to find its former tenant refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

As Melanie fills Wanderer’s thoughts with visions of Jared, a human who still lives in hiding, Wanderer begins to yearn for a man she’s never met. Reluctant allies, Wanderer and Melanie set off to search for the man they both love.”
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Kit’s Wilderness

Kit’s Wilderness by David Almond (1999)

Kit's Wilderness

Middle Grade Fiction | Ghost Story4 StarsBlurb:

“The Watson family moves to Stoneygate, an old coal-mining town, to care for Kit’s recently widowed grandfather. When Kit meets John Askew, another boy whose family has both worked and died in the mines, Askew invites Kit to join him in playing a game called Death. As Kit’s grandfather tells him stories of the mine’s past and the history of the Watson family, Askew takes Kit into the mines, where the boys look to find the childhood ghosts of their long-gone ancestors. Written in haunting, lyrical prose, Kit’s Wilderness examines the bonds of family from one generation to the next, and explores how meaning and beauty can be revealed from the depths of darkness.”
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Cruel Beauty

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge (2014)

cruel beauty

YA Fiction | Romance | Paranormal
2.5 Stars
Blurb:

“Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she’s ever known to Continue reading

The Great Gatsby

The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald (1925)

Great Gatsby

Fiction | Classic4 StarsBlurb:

“THE GREAT GATSBY, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s third book, stands as the supreme achievement of his career. This exemplary novel of the Jazz Age has been acclaimed by generations of readers. The story of the fabulously wealthy Jay Gatsby and his love for the beautiful Daisy Buchanan, of lavish parties on Long Island at a time when The New York Times noted “gin was the national drink and sex the national obsession,” it is an exquisitely crafted tale of America in the 1920s.

The Great Gatsby is one of the great classics of twentieth-century literature.”
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In Place of Never

In Place of Never by Julie Anne Lindsey (2016)
-eARC Review-

In Place of Never

YA Fiction | Contemporary | Romance | Mystery4.5 starsBlurb:

Can the truth set her free?…

A part of Mercy died the summer her sister tragically drowned. Now Mercy has a chance to discover if Faith’s death was an accident—or murder.  Her first step is to confront the lead suspects: a band of traveling gypsies—the last people who saw her sister alive. But Mercy finds an unexpected ally in Cross, the soulful musician in their ranks. He’s a kindred spirit, someone who sees into her heart for the first time in, well, forever. Yet stirring up the past puts Mercy in danger…   Continue reading

A Grimm Curse

A Grimm Curse (Grimm Tales, prequel) by Janna Jennings (2015)
-NetGalley Review-

A Grimm Curse

YA Fiction | Fantasy4.5 starsBlurb:

“In this form you shall remain until a princess shows no disdain.”

Long before Andi woke up in a world that was not her own, her grandmother, Cynthia was entangled in the palace’s circle of glitter and privilege. Explore the dramatic history of Elorium in this standalone prequel to the Grimm Tales series.

Lady Wellington’s obsessive quest to thrust a crown on one of her daughters’ head at any cost has ensnared Cynthia in a scheme that has her sidestepping the arrogant Prince Wilhelm who is determined to make her his bride. With a twist that could only transpire in a fairy tale, Cynthia rescues her own prince, Remington Landry III—cursed by a spiteful witch into the form of a frog.  Continue reading

Of Mice and Men

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck (1937)

Of Mice and Men

Fiction | Classic4.5 starsBlurb:

“The compelling story of two outsiders striving to find their place in an unforgiving world. Drifters in search of work, George and his simple-minded friend Lennie have nothing in the world except each other and a dream–a dream that one day they will have some land of their own. Eventually they find work on a ranch in California’s Salinas Valley, but their hopes are doomed as Lennie, struggling against extreme cruelty, misunderstanding and feelings of jealousy, becomes a victim of his own strength. Tackling universal themes such as the friendship of a shared vision, and giving voice to America’s lonely and dispossessed, Of Mice and Men has proved one of Steinbeck’s most popular works, achieving success as a novel, a Broadway play and three acclaimed films.”
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The Spirit Trap

The Spirit Trap by Veryan Williams-Wynn (2015)
-eARC Review-

the spirit trap

Middle Grade Fiction | Historical Paranormal2 StarsBlurb:

“When her grandmother’s ashes along with a family portrait arrive at her home in England, fourteen-year-old Tatiana finds herself being tormented by supernatural forces. To free herself from the increasingly persistent hauntings, she has to find and release the ghost of an ancestor caught up in the terror of the French Revolution. With the aid of her cousin, Marcus, she sets out on a mission, which leads them through the dramas of present-day life in Paris and the frightening upheavals of Revolutionary France.”
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Expected Publication Date: December 11, 2015  Continue reading

Animal Farm

Animal Farm by George Orwell (1945)

animal farm

Fiction | Historical | Classic5 starsBlurb:

“Tired of their servitude to man, a group of farm animals revolt and establish their own society, only to be betrayed into worse servitude by their leaders, the pigs, whose slogan becomes: “All animals are equal, but some animals are more equal than others.” This 1945 satire addresses the socialist/communist philosophy of Stalin in the Soviet Union.”
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