I picked Shutter for review primarily because of my recent experience with Holding Smoke by Elle Cosimano. I was deeply impressed by that story of a young juvenile offender and the girl who helped him solve the mystery behind his incarceration and I was hoping this story would be more of the same. But while…
One of the hardest things about reviewing is grading a book with strong writing that for some reason leaves you cold. Bright Smoke, Cold Fire is such a book. Normally, I love books that put a different spin on classical literature, and stories featuring lovers from rival clans is one of my favorite tropes. But…
After I DIK’d My Life Next Door by this author, I immediately went after her other books. Happily, What I Thought Was True possesses much of what I enjoyed reading that book, including a strong setting, likeable protagonists, and an intense story without teen drama. In some ways, like its respectful portrayal of a sexually…
One of the amazing things about the novel Gone with the Wind is that the book is intensely popular in spite of the fact that many dislike heroine Scarlet O’Hara. I would agree that Scarlet is hard to like, at times hard to understand and never comfortable to be around; yet she is an enduring…
Did you read the first book in the Royals trilogy, Paper Princess? I have good news for you: Broken Prince is just as addictive and compelling and its ending is just as frustrating! Love, blackmail, betrayals – Broken Prince has all those and more. Happy ever afters? Not so much. When the book concludes, you’ll…
This is the second in the author’s Custard Protocol series, following up on last year’s Prudence. This time, in addition to the usual silliness I adore, we also get some bittersweet moments as Prudence Alessandra Maccon Akeldama – or Rue to her friends – faces serious issues with her birth parents. If you haven’t read…
Most readers probably recognize Sherry Thomas as an author of superb historicals. The Burning Sky, set in an alternate world that intersects somewhat with 1880s England, marks her first foray into YA. I enjoyed the characters and the world created for them, and this book would definitely go on my DIK shelf. Our heroine, Iolanthe…
Like Rapunzel, compliant and affluent Samantha Reed has watched the boisterous Garrett family from her window for years, because her icy control freak state senator mother simply doesn’t interact with “that kind of people.” When Jase Garrett finally introduces himself, Samantha finds herself not only falling in love with him, but with his family and…
Paper Princess is the YA brainchild of authors Jen Frederick and Elle Kennedy (both of whom write terrific and sexy NA sports romances), writing under the pen name Erin Watt – and I couldn’t put it down. The pace is fast, the characters are complex and the ending… well, I don’t want to give anything…
You Know Me Well is a funny, bright YA coming-of-age story about love, friendship and identity – I loved it and would be happy to have it with me on my Desert Island. This is a beautifully paced novel with alternating points of view, a structure that works very well here. The protagonists are Katie…
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