Review - Sea Witch by Sarah Henning

Title: Sea Witch

Author: Sarah Henning

Pages: 416

Publisher: Harper Collins Children's Books

Release Date: 31st July 2018

Blurb from Goodreads: 

The fairy tale you thought you knew… 

The story of the Sea Witch, the villainess from Hans Christian 

Anderson’s classic tale The Little Mermaid, told from the viewpoint 

of the Sea Witch when she was a twelve-year-old girl… 

Evie has been wracked with guilt ever since her best friend, Anna, 

drowned. So when a girl appears on shore with an uncanny 

resemblance to Anna, Evie befriends her in an effort to make amends. 

And as the two girls catch the eyes – and hearts – of two charming 

princes, Evie believes that she might finally have a chance at happy ever 

after. But is Evie’s new friend really who she says she is? Or will Evie 

discover, too late, the truth of her bargain? A gripping story of friendship, 

betrayal and the power of hope…Because ‘though magic can shape life and death… love is the one thing it 

cannot control.

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US

My Review:

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Thanks to HarperCollins UK, Children's and NetGalley*

 Evie has magic like the other women in her family, but magic is forbidden.

She tries to use her magic to help people but it wasn't enough to stop 

her best friend Anna from drowning. 

Years after the accident, a girl appears in the town who looks just 

like Anna. Evie befriends the girl, Annemette, and as they grow 

closer she finds out the real reason Annemette is there.

The girls spend time with Nik, the prince and a close friend of Evie's, 

and his cousin, Iker.

Is there more to Annette than meets the eye?

Can Evie have a future with Iker?

I'm a fan of fairytale retellings so when I saw Sea Witch on NetGalley 

I instantly requested it.

I didn't mind Evie as a character and felt a bit sorry for her. There 

weren't really any characters that stood out for me.

The plot was okay. It look a long time to get going for me and it was 

only at the end that I thought there were some good twists.

The writing style wasn't one of my favourites and I struggled at times 

to stay interested. I contemplated DNFing this once or twice.

I'm disappointed that I didn't enjoy this more.

Overall this was an okay but disappointing read. 

 

 

Release Week Blitz + Giveaway - Paper Girl by Cindy R. Wilson

 

Welcome to the Release Week Blitz for

Paper Girl by Cindy R. Wilson

presented by Entangled Teen!

We've got 2 fabulous giveaways available for you at the end of the post!

CONGRATULATIONS, CINDY!

   

 

I haven’t left my house in over a year. My doctor says it’s social anxiety, but I know the only things that are safe are made of paper. My room is paper. My world is paper. Everything outside is fire. All it would take is one spark for me to burst into flames. So I stay inside. Where nothing can touch me.

Then my mom hires a tutor. Jackson. This boy I had a crush on before the world became too terrifying to live in. Jackson’s life is the complete opposite of mine, and I can tell he’s got secrets of his own. But he makes me feel things. Makes me want to try again. Makes me want to be brave. I can almost taste the outside world. But so many things could go wrong, and all it takes is one spark for everything I love to disappear…

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Cindy lives at the foothills of the Rocky Mountains, and loves using Colorado towns and cities as inspiration for settings in her stories. She's the mother of three girls, who provide plenty of fodder for her YA novels. Cindy writes speculative fiction and YA fiction, filled with a healthy dose of romance. You'll often find her hiking or listening to any number of playlists while she comes up with her next story idea.

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Book Blitz + Giveaway - Valiant by Merrie Destefano

Valiant by Merrie Destefano
Published by: Entangled: Teen
Publication date: December 4th 2018
Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult

The Valiant was supposed to save us. Instead, it triggered the end of the world.

Earth is in shambles. Everyone, even the poorest among us, invested in the Valiant’s space mining mission in the hopes we’d be saved from ourselves. But the second the ship leaves Earth’s atmosphere, our fate is sealed. The alien invasion begins. They pour into cities around the world through time portals, possessing humans, forcing us to kill one another.

And for whatever reason, my brother is their number one target.

Now the fate of the world lies in the hands of me, a seventeen-year-old girl, but with the help of my best friend, Justin―who’s suddenly starting to feel like more―maybe if we save my brother, we can save us all…

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—

EXCERPT:

There’s a pain in my chest as I remember the first time I stumbled across a man with fists lined with metal spikes. I was walking through downtown Santa Ana with Justin, and it was one of those times when I thought, He’s totally going to kiss me tonight. It was back before I began traveling through time, before I found out just how dark the world could be. We were laughing and heading toward a frozen yogurt shop, and he slid his arm around my waist.

It might have been the first time I thought, This guy is it; he’s the one I could fall for. I knew he was a Genetic and that nobody wanted us to be together. But I didn’t care. He was sunshine on a dark night. He was heat when the cold winds blew.

I put my head on his shoulder.

It was only natural.

It was exactly right.

Then I saw the metal man, his brow furrowed as if his heart held all the anger in the world. He was chaos and destruction and he was walking toward us, eyes like fire, like he wanted to kill us both.

Maybe he was looking at Justin. Metal men hate Genetics, because in a real battle, Genetics win. It doesn’t matter how much metal you’ve grafted onto your skin or bones—it might make you stronger, but you’re slower, too. Nobody can match the speed and natural strength of a Genetic. So, this guy might have been looking at Justin and challenging him, but it felt like I was going to be collateral damage.

One swing of his spike-covered fist and I’d be dead.

But I didn’t have to worry about it for long, because Justin pushed me behind him. I couldn’t see his face, but I could see the metal man. Doubt flickered in his eyes; he paused and glanced to the side. He was probably looking for a way out.

Justin took a step forward, his hands curled in fists. When he spoke, his voice came out like thunder, a loud, low growl that rumbled through my spine.

“Don’t even think about it,” Justin said. “Take one more step and I’ll rip out your metal implants, one by one. They hurt going in, so you better believe it’ll be a mother when I pull them out.”

He paused to laugh, but I’d never heard him laugh like that before. It was chilling, like he was a different person. He continued to warn the metal man. “Especially when I twist those implants sideways and the roots tear off chunks of your flesh.”

The metal man narrowed his eyes, and there was a split second when I thought he was going to tackle Justin.

Maybe he would have.

But he didn’t get a chance. It was like Justin knew the metal man’s plan, like it was an open football playbook. Justin rushed him, grabbed the guy around the waist, and slammed him against the brick wall of a local tattoo parlor. It took the wind out of the metal man’s lungs, and he was temporarily stunned. Justin could have slugged him; he could have broken the guy’s arms; he could have killed him.

All he did was lean close enough to whisper in the guy’s ear.

Then Justin stepped back and let the thug slide to the sidewalk in a heap. The metal man caught his breath, his eyes flickered, and he glanced up at us. Then he floundered to his hands and knees and crawled away as fast as he could. By the time he got to his feet, we were surrounded by a Friday-night club crowd, most of them drunk and all of them laughing at the metal man as he ran away.

Justin didn’t even hit the guy.

Sometimes you can win by intimidation alone.

So, do I melt every time I see this boy, who was willing to fight to protect me?

You better believe it.

Author Bio

Born in the Midwest, former magazine editor Merrie Destefano currently lives in Southern California with her husband, two German shepherds, a Siamese cat, and the occasional wandering possum. Her favorite hobbies are reading speculative fiction and watching old Star Trek episodes, and her incurable addiction is writing. She loves to camp in the mountains, walk on the beach, watch old movies, and listen to alternative music—although rarely all at the same time.

 

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Review - The Book of M by Peng Shepherd

 

Title: The Book of M

Author: Peng Shepherd

Pages: 496

Publisher: Harper Voyager

Release Date: 28th June 2018

Blurb from Goodreads: 

A vivid, touching and original debut, following the effects of an 

extraordinary catastrophe on very ordinary people.

In the middle of a market in India, a man’s shadow disappears. As 

rolling twenty-four-hour news coverage tries to explain the event, 

more cases are discovered. The phenomenon spreads like a plague 

as people learn the true cost of their lost part: their memories.

Two years later, Ory and his wife Max have escaped ‘the Forgetting’ 

by hiding in an abandoned hotel deep in the woods in Virgina. They 

have settled into their new reality, until Max, too, loses her shadow.

Knowing the more she forgets, the more dangerous she will become 

to the person most precious to her, Max runs away. But Ory refuses 

to give up what little time they have left before she loses her memory 

completely, and desperately follows her trail.

On their separate journeys, each searches for answers: for Ory, about 

love, about survival, about hope; and for Max, about a mysterious 

new force growing in the south that may hold the cure. But neither 

could have guessed at what you gain when you lose your shadow: the 

power of magic.

A breathtakingly imaginative, timeless story that explores fundamental 

questions about memory and love—the price of forgetting, the power of connection, and what it means to be 

human when your world is turned upside down.

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US

My Review:

  

*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Thanks to Harper Voyager and NetGalley*

 The world changes when a man loses his shadow in a market in India 

and then his memories.

The phenomenon soon spreads throughout the world.

Two years later, Ory and Max are living in an abandoned hotel. They 

appear to have escaped losing their own shadows until the worst 

happens - Max's shadow disappears.

Knowing that the shadowless can be dangerous, Max runs away so 

that she can't harm Ory. But when Ory finds that Max has gone he 

sets off in search of her.

Why are people losing their shadows?

How are memories linked to shadows?

Can Ory find Max?

The Book of M was a very intriguing and thought-provoking read.

The chapters focus on four main characters - Max, Ory, Naz and the 

amnesiac. Each storyline was interesting and I liked how they linked 

together.

The concept of the Book of M was very intriguing. The idea that 

memories are stored in shadows was interesting, as was the 'magic' 

that the shadowless could do by forgetting things.

The plot was interesting and held my attention despite being nearly 

500 pages long.

The writing style was easy to follow and I would definitely read 

another book written by the author.

Overall this was an enjoyable, unique read that I would recommend. 

Review - Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game, #1) by Amanda Foody

 

Title: Ace of Shades (The Shadow Game, #1)

Author: Amanda Foody

Pages: 416

Publisher: HQ Young Adult

Release Date: 24th April 2018

Blurb from Goodreads: 

Take a card. The price is your soul. Welcome to the City of Sin, 

where secrets hide in every shadow. 

Enne Salta was raised as a proper young lady, and no lady would 

willingly visit New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin. But when 

her mother goes missing, Enne must leave her finishing school—

and her reputation—behind to follow her mother's trail to the city 

where no one survives unchanged.

Frightened and alone, her only lead is a name: Levi Glaisyer. 

Unfortunately, Levi is not the gentleman she expected—he's a street lord and con man. Levi is also only one payment away 

from cleaning up a rapidly unraveling investment scam, so he doesn't 

have time to investigate a woman leading a dangerous double life. 

Enne's offer of compensation, however, could be the solution to all 

his problems.

Their search for clues leads them through glamorous casinos, 

cabarets and into the clutches of a ruthless society. As Enne unearths 

an impossible secret about her family, Levi's enemies catch up to 

them, ensnaring him in a vicious execution game where the players 

always lose. To save him, Enne will need to surrender herself to the 

city…

And she'll need to play the game.

Goodreads | Amazon UK | Amazon US

My Review:

*I received a eARC of this book in exchange for an honest review. 

Thanks to HQ and NetGalley*

The City of Sin, New Reynes, is not a place that a young lady 

attending finishing school should go, especially by herself. But 

Enne Salta has no choice - her mother is missing.

Enne enters the city with a trunk of belongings and the name of 

someone she hopes can help her.

Levi Glaisyer is a con-man and a street lord. Levi is desperately 

trying to gather money together to pay back investors of a scam. 

Desperate enough that he'll even help Enne, a young woman clearly 

out of her depth, if she will pay.

Enne and Levi's investigation leads them into dangerous territory 

and Enne might not like what she finds.

Can Enne survive New Reynes?

Will Levi evade his enemies?

The blurb for Ace of Shades really intrigued me so of course I 

requested a copy on NetGalley. Fortunately, my request was approved!

Enne and Levi were both interesting characters. Enne in particular 

surprised me by how much she changed throughout the book.

The plot kept me guessing and held my attention but there were a 

couple of things that bugged me.

The setting of New Reynes and its history were interesting and I'd 

like to find out more about the city.

The romance wasn't one of my favourites but I didn't dislike it.

The writing was atmospheric and easy to follow.

I definitely want to see what happens in the sequel.

Overall this was an enjoyable read that I would recommend.