Category: Young Adult

Review: Sing Me to Sleep (Sing Me to Sleep #1)

Title: Sing Me to Sleep (Sing Me to Sleep #1)
Author: Gabi Burton
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: June 27, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

In this dark and seductive YA fantasy debut, a siren must choose between protecting her family and following her heart in a prejudiced kingdom where her existence is illegal.

Saoirse Sorkova survives on lies. As a soldier-in-training at the most prestigious barracks in the kingdom, she lies about being a siren to avoid execution. At night, working as an assassin for a dangerous group of mercenaries, Saoirse lies about her true identity. And to her family, Saoirse tells the biggest lie of all: that she can control her siren powers and doesn’t struggle constantly against an impulse to kill.

As the top trainee in her class, Saoirse would be headed for a bright future if it weren’t for the need to keep her secrets out of the spotlight. But when a mysterious blackmailer threatens her sister, Saoirse takes a dangerous job that will help her investigate: she becomes personal bodyguard to the crown prince.

Saoirse should hate Prince Hayes. After all, his father is the one who enforces the kingdom’s brutal creature segregation laws. But when Hayes turns out to be kind, thoughtful, and charming, Saoirse finds herself increasingly drawn to him-especially when they’re forced to work together to stop a deadly killer who’s plaguing the city. There’s only one problem: Saoirse is that deadly killer.

Featuring an all Black and Brown cast, a forbidden romance, and a compulsively dark plot full of twists, this thrilling YA fantasy is perfect for fans of A Song Below Water and To Kill a Kingdom.

Review:

Saoirse Sorkova is a siren pretending to be a powerless fae in her soldier training. At night, she works as an assassin for an anonymous source. When she graduates from the academy, Saoirse is given the top job as a guard for Prince Hayes. However, she hates him, but she needs the money for her family. The royal family were responsible for destroying the sirens and other creatures, leaving Saoirse and her sister to grow up under false identities. Saoirse ends up helping Hayes investigate a series of deaths in the city. The problem is that Saoirse is the killer, giving her one more secret to hide. 

This story is a fantastic debut! I loved the unique world and setting. Saoirse is a bit of a morally grey character. She didn’t mind killing people to keep her family’s secret, without thinking of that person’s family or friends. Even though she was supposed to hate Prince Hayes, they had an undeniable chemistry. I can’t wait to read the sequel!

Sing Me to Sleep is a beautiful fantasy debut!

Content warnings: death, murder, poisoning, kidnapping

Have you read Sing Me to Sleep? What did you think of it?

Review: The Brothers Hawthorne (The Inheritance Games #4)

Title: The Brothers Hawthorne (The Inheritance Games #4)
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Thriller
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: August 29, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Four brothers. Two missions. One explosive read. Jennifer Lynn Barnes returns to the world of her #1 bestselling Inheritance Games trilogy, and the stakes have never been higher.  
 
Grayson Hawthorne was raised as the heir apparent to his billionaire grandfather, taught from the cradle to put family first. Now the great Tobias Hawthorne is dead and his family disinherited, but some lessons linger. When Grayson’s half-sisters find themselves in trouble, he swoops in to do what he does best: take care of the problem—efficiently, effectively, mercilessly. And without getting bogged down in emotional entanglements.
 
Jameson Hawthorne is a risk-taker, a sensation-seeker, a player of games. When his mysterious father appears and asks for a favor, Jameson can’t resist the challenge. Now he must infiltrate London’s most exclusive underground gambling club, which caters to the rich, the powerful, and the aristocratic, and win an impossible game of greatest stakes. Luckily, Jameson Hawthorne lives for impossible.
 
Drawn into twisted games on opposite sides of the globe, Grayson and Jameson—with the help of their brothers and the girl who inherited their grandfather’s fortune—must dig deep to decide who they want to be and what each of them will sacrifice to win.

Review:

Though the games that Tobias Hawthorne left for his family have been completed, there are still games for the Hawthorne brothers to solve. When Grayson finds out that his half-sisters are in trouble, he goes to Phoenix to help them, since their father won’t be able to. Jameson finally finds his father in London, who asks him to infiltrate an exclusive and private club to win back his family’s estate. Both brothers have to solve these puzzles with the help of their two other brothers and Avery, their grandfather’s heiress. 

This book started out feeling a little different from The Inheritance Games trilogy, since this book followed two of the Hawthorne brothers instead of Avery. She was still in many of Jameson’s scenes though since they’re a couple. I liked the alternating plot lines between Grayson and Jameson. The story really picked up in the middle when they both had intense puzzles to solve. I also liked that the puzzles were related to their fathers, who we didn’t know that much about in the original trilogy. The ending set up the next book in the series, which I can’t wait to read!

The Brothers Hawthorne is a fun continuation of The Inheritance Games.

Other books in the series:

Have you read The Brothers Hawthorne? What did you think of it?

Review: Their Vicious Games

Title: Their Vicious Games
Author: Joelle Wellington
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Thriller
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: July 25, 2023
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

A Black teen desperate to regain her Ivy League acceptance enters an elite competition only to discover the stakes aren’t just high, they’re deadly, in this searing thriller that’s Ace of Spades meets Squid Game with a sprinkling of The Bachelor .

You must work twice as hard to get half as much.

Adina Walker has known this the entire time she’s been on scholarship at the prestigious Edgewater Academy—a school for the rich (and mostly white) upper class of New England. It’s why she works so hard to be perfect and above reproach, no matter what she must force beneath the surface. Even one slip can cost you everything.

And it does. One fight, one moment of lost control, leaves Adina blacklisted from her top choice Ivy League college and any other. Her only chance to regain the future she’s sacrificed everything for is the Finish, a high-stakes contest sponsored by Edgewater’s founding family in which twelve young, ambitious women with exceptional promise are selected to compete in three mysterious the Ride, the Raid, and the Royale. The winner will be granted entry into the fold of the Remington family, whose wealth and power can open any door.

But when she arrives at the Finish, Adina quickly gets the feeling that something isn’t quite right with both the Remingtons and her competition, and soon it becomes clear that this larger-than-life prize can only come at an even greater cost. Because the Finish’s stakes aren’t just make or break…they’re life and death.

Adina knows the deck is stacked against her—it always has been—so maybe the only way to survive their vicious games is for her to change the rules.

Review:

Adina Walker has always been on a scholarship at Edgewater Academy, an upper class (and mostly white) school, because her parents work there. After losing control in a moment with a former friend, Adina had her admission to Yale revoked. Adina will do anything to get that admission back, even compete in a high-stakes game that the Remington family hosts called the Finish. Several young women in Edgewater compete in the Finish to be accepted by the Remington family and have all the advantages of their wealth and power. However, the stakes of this game aren’t what Adina predicted. She must change the rules to survive the Remington’s vicious games. 

This was an intense competition story that reminded me of The Hunger Games and Ace of Spades. The game had deadly stakes, which wasn’t what Adina had expected. There was some racism and classism in the story, since Adina was the only Black girl in the game as well as the only girl who didn’t move in the same circles of the Remingtons. I found myself holding my breath while reading this because I didn’t know what twists the games would reveal next. 

Their Vicious Games is an intense and twisty story!

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book!

Content warnings: racism, death, murder

Have you read Their Vicious Games? What did you think of it?

Review: We Ship It

Title: We Ship It
Author: Lauren Kay
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: HarperTeen
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: June 20, 2023
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

This rom-com debut has the fierce girl energy of the movie  Booksmart,  blended with the awkwardness of Kelly Quindlen’s  Late to the Party,  topped with a thrilling international meet-cute a la  Love and Gelato. Olivia Schwartz has a plan. It’s even color-coded. And the plan is a perfect SAT score, a prestigious college, and a straight path towards her dream of becoming a doctor. The last thing she wants to do—the summer before her senior year of high school, no less—is go on a cruise. Especially with her parents, younger brothers, and all the unspoken things between them since her older brother’s death so many years ago. Then Olivia meets Sebastian. He’s everything she’s charming, exciting, willing to take risks and run with them. For the first time, Olivia feels like she can have  fun… But there’s a lot bubbling up under the surface on this cruise, and when past secrets begin to come to light, Olivia must face all the truths that she’s ignored for so about herself, Sebastian, her brother, the past she  thought  she understood, and the future she’s always planned.

Review:

Seventeen-year-old Olivia Schwartz has a plan to become a cardiologist. During spring break, she plans to do a project with her friend so they can win an internship. However, her parents surprise her with a cruise for their whole family, including her younger twin brothers. This cruise would have been a dream come true for Olivia’s older brother, who died when he was seventeen of a sudden heart attack. Olivia isn’t that close to her parents since they never want to talk about her older brother. Then Olivia meets Sebastian, a charming boy who gives her feeling she’s never had before. She opens up to him about her brother and starts to learn more about herself. Olivia decides to let loose and have fun on this cruise, but then she has to face the truths that she’s been avoiding for a long time. 

This was a rom com with a serious undertone. Olivia went on a fun cruise with her family but they had the secret of her older brother’s death hanging between them. Her parents didn’t like to talk about him, but she didn’t know why. The romance between Olivia and Sebastian was cute, but it seemed short lived since they didn’t live anywhere near each other. I was surprised at the ending, when all the secrets everyone was keeping were revealed. I didn’t expect the ending to be so emotional, based on the cute cover and the rom com description. 

We Ship It is a cute vacation rom com with an emotional side to it. 

Content warnings: death of sibling, underage drinking, heart attack, overdose

Have you read We Ship It? What did you think of it?

Review: DeadEndia: The Watcher’s Test

Title: DeadEndia: The Watcher’s Test
Author: Hamish Steele
Genre: Graphic Novel, Fantasy, LGBTQ, Young Adult
Publisher: Union Square and Co.
Source: Publisher
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: May 2, 2023
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Barney Guttman’s life has been turned upside down. His family is struggling to fully embrace his trans identity, but thanks to his best friend Norma, he’s just landed a job at Phoenix Parks, a Dollywood-esque amusement park inspired by the long life and career of mysteriously youthful actress and singer Pauline Phoenix. Soon, Barney and his dog, Pugsley, secretly move into the haunted house attraction. Little does Barney know, the house contains a portal to the demonic planes of Hell. When Courtney, Barney’s devilish new roommate, invites a demon king to Earth through the portal, they offer Barney and Norma as flesh vessels for the king, but in a strange twist, Pugsley is possessed instead! It’s a race through the park to save Pugsley—and the world—from the demon king’s reign of terror that leaves Pugsley with strange and magical side effects. With all of this chaos going on, Barney is also discovering he has crush on park employee, Logan, so he must face his biggest fear of all… talking to someone he likes.

Follow the lives of this diverse group of friends in this hilarious and moving graphic novel series, complete with talking pugs, vengeful ghosts, and first love.

Part workplace comedy, part supernatural horror adventure, with a splash of LGBTQ+ romance, The Watcher’s Test is perfect for fans of author Hamish Steele’s TV series Dead End: Paranormal Park who are in search of more adventures, for graphic novel lovers who want more diversity in their reads, or simply as an introduction to the zany, creative, and laugh-out-loud funny world of DeadEndia.

Review:

Barney Guttman’s parents aren’t completely accepting his trans identity, so when he gets a job at a haunted house in an amusement park, he leaves home and moves in there. Barney is working with his best friend Norma and he brought his dog Pugsley to live with him too. He soon discovers that this haunted house contains a portal to Hell. A demonic ambassador named Courtney invited a demon king to Earth which sets off several events including giving Pugsley the ability to speak and do magic. The group of friends go on a series of adventures throughout the amusement park to save Earth. 

This was a hilarious and entertaining graphic novel with some serious moments too. I liked how the story focused on Barney’s present. Since his parents weren’t accepting his trans identity, they didn’t take up space on the page other than him mentioning them a few times. The other characters were fun and diverse. The characters were well developed right from the first page, so the story could focus on the events happening at the amusement park. This is also a beautifully illustrated graphic novel!

DeadEndia: The Watcher’s Test is a fun book!

Thank you Union Square and Co. for sending me a copy of this book!

Content warnings: transphobia (mentioned), death, death of dog

Other books in the series:

  • DeadEndia: The Broken Halo

Have you read DeadEndia: The Watcher’s Test? What did you think of it?

Review: Throwback

Title: Throwback
Author: Maurene Goo
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Zando Young Readers
Source: Manda Group
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: April 11, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Back to the Future meets The Joy Luck Club in this YA contemporary romance about a Korean American girl sent back to the ’90s to (reluctantly) help her teenage mom win Homecoming Queen.

Being a first-generation Asian American immigrant is hard. You know what’s harder? Being the daughter of one. Samantha Kang has never gotten along with her mother, Priscilla—and has never understood her bougie-nightmare, John Hughes high school expectations. After a huge fight between them, Sam is desperate to move forward—but instead, finds herself thrown back. Way back.

To her shock, Sam finds herself back in high school . . . in the ’90s . . . with a 17-year-old Priscilla. Now this Gen Z girl must try to fit into an analog world. She’s got the fashion down, but everything else is baffling. What is “microfiche”? What’s with the casual racism and misogyny? And why does it feel like Priscilla is someone she could actually be . . . friends with?

Sam’s blast to the past has her finding the right romance in the wrong time while questioning everything she thought she knew about her mom . . . and herself. Will Sam figure out what she needs to do to fix things for her mom so that she can go back to a time she understands? Brimming with heart and humor, Maurene Goo’s time-travel romance asks big questions about what exactly one inherits and loses in the immigrant experience.

Review:

Samantha Kang has never gotten along with her mom, Priscilla Jo. Her mom has bougie goals her family, wanting them to join a country club and for Sam to win Homecoming Queen, but Sam doesn’t care about those things. After a huge fight, Sam is left standing by herself as her mom drives away. She calls a rideshare company, which ends up sending her back to 1995, when Priscilla was in high school and competing to be Homecoming Queen. Since her fight with her mother sparked this time traveling, Sam must figure out how to fix her mom’s Homecoming experience so she can return to her time. 

This story was similar to the movie Back to the Future, which I love! It was such a fun story, especially being a reader who was born in the 90s. The references were fun and authentic. There was one character who Sam met in the past who I really liked seeing her with. I wasn’t sure how that relationship would follow her to her real time, but I loved the twist that made it happen! 

Throwback is such a fun 90s story!

Thank you Manda Group and Zando Young Readers for providing a copy of this book!

Have you read Throwback? What did you think of it?

Review: Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment #1)

Title: Divine Rivals (Letters of Enchantment #1)
Author: Rebecca Ross
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: April 4, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

When two young rival journalists find love through a magical connection, they must face the depths of hell, in a war among gods, to seal their fate forever.

After centuries of sleep, the gods are warring again. But eighteen-year-old Iris Winnow just wants to hold her family together. Her mother is suffering from addiction and her brother is missing from the front lines. Her best bet is to win the columnist promotion at the Oath Gazette.

To combat her worries, Iris writes letters to her brother and slips them beneath her wardrobe door, where they vanish—into the hands of Roman Kitt, her cold and handsome rival at the paper. When he anonymously writes Iris back, the two of them forge a connection that will follow Iris all the way to the front lines of battle: for her brother, the fate of mankind, and love.

Shadow and Bone meets Lore in Rebecca Ross’s Divine Rivals, an epic enemies-to-lovers fantasy novel filled with hope and heartbreak, and the unparalleled power of love.

Review:

Eighteen-year-old Iris is struggling with the new war that has broken out between gods. Her brother is missing from the frontlines and Iris is at home with her ill mother. Iris’s goal is to win the columnist position at the newspaper Oath Gazette, but she must compete against the wealthy and privileged Roman Kitt. To bring her comfort, Iris writes letters to her brother, then slides them under the door of her wardrobe where they disappear. She doesn’t know that these letters land in the bedroom of Roman Kitt. Roman writes back to her, anonymously, though Roman knows it’s Iris writing to him, and they develop a pen pal relationship. Their relationship grows, following Iris to a job at the frontlines, until they come to life and death decisions. 

Enemies to lovers is quickly becoming one of my favourite tropes. There was a lot of world building and setting up the story at the beginning. There was some magic in this world, particularly with the typewriters that Roman and Iris could use to send letters back and forth. The characters weren’t all likable at the beginning, but I grew to love them. The ending of this story had my heart pounding. It’s going to be a long wait until the sequel comes out next year. 

I highly recommend Divine Rivals!

Content warnings: alcoholism, war, PTSD

Have you read Divine Rivals? What did you think of it?

Review: The Final Gambit (The Inheritance Games #3)

Title: The Final Gambit (The Inheritance Games #3)
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Genre: Young Adult, Mystery, Thriller
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: August 30, 2022
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Avery’s fortune, life, and loves are on the line in the game that everyone will be talking about.

To inherit billions, all Avery Kylie Grambs has to do is survive a few more weeks living in Hawthorne House. The paparazzi are dogging her every step. Financial pressures are building. Danger is a fact of life. And the only thing getting Avery through it all is the Hawthorne brothers. Her life is intertwined with theirs. She knows their secrets and they know her.

But as the clock ticks down to the moment when Avery will become the richest teenager on the planet, trouble arrives in the form of a visitor who needs her help—and whose presence in Hawthorne House could change everything. It soon becomes clear that there is one last puzzle to solve, and Avery and the Hawthorne brothers are drawn into a dangerous game against an unknown and powerful player.

Review:

The countdown is on until Avery Grambs reaches one year living in Hawthorne House, giving her control of her inheritance. Before she can inherit everything that Tobias Hawthorne left her, there is one more grand puzzle for her to solve with the Hawthorne brothers. 

This final book in the trilogy had as many twists and turns as the first two books! It was really hard to decide who to trust, especially when Avery was left the ominous message “don’t trust anyone.” Everyone became a suspect in my eyes. I won’t explain the final game/puzzle Avery had to solve since it gives away the endings of the first two books, but it was very suspenseful! I really liked the way the ending wrapped everything up but I’m still eager to read more about these characters. I’m excited to read the next Hawthorne book next month!

The Final Gambit is a great ending to this trilogy!

Content warnings: murder, death of parent, death of grandparent, attempted suicide (mentioned)

Other books in the series:

Have you read The Final Gambit? What did you think of it?

Review: Imogen, Obviously

Title: Imogen, Obviously
Author: Becky Albertalli
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance, LGBTQ
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: May 2, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Imogen Scott may be hopelessly heterosexual, but she’s got the World’s Greatest Ally title locked down.

She’s never missed a Pride Alliance meeting. She knows more about queer media discourse than her very queer little sister. She even has two queer best friends. There’s Gretchen, a fellow high school senior, who helps keep Imogen’s biases in check. And then there’s Lili—newly out and newly thriving with a cool new squad of queer college friends.

Imogen’s thrilled for Lili. Any ally would be. And now that she’s finally visiting Lili on campus, she’s bringing her ally A game. Any support Lili needs, Imogen’s all in.

Even if that means bending the truth, just a little.

Like when Lili drops a tiny queer bombshell: she’s told all her college friends that Imogen and Lili used to date. And none of them know that Imogen is a raging hetero—not even Lili’s best friend, Tessa.

Of course, the more time Imogen spends with chaotic, freckle-faced Tessa, the more she starts to wonder if her truth was ever all that straight to begin with. . .

Review:

Imogen Scott is the heterosexual girl in her group of queer friends. She’s the proudest ally in their Pride Alliance at school. Her two closest friends are Gretchen and Lili. Gretchen always points out when Imogen is misappropriating queerness, whereas Lili has recently come out and is attending college nearby. When Imogen visits Lili at college for a weekend, Lili tells her that she told her new queer college friends that she used to date Imogen. Now, Imogen has to masquerade as a bisexual during that weekend and no one questions it. Imogen connects with Tessa at the college, and she has feelings for her that she doesn’t really understand. She has to figure out if she isn’t as straight as she thought. 

I absolutely loved this story! Imogen was adorable in the way that she was figuring things out as she went along. She was loyal and supported her friends, even when they didn’t deserve it. Her friend Gretchen acted as the queer police, explaining Imogen’s feelings to her rather than actually listening to how she felt. Everyone’s identity is different and unique, so one person or group shouldn’t try to define it. I loved Imogen’s growth throughout the story!

Imogen, Obviously is an adorable new queer story!

What to read next:

Perfect on Paper by Sophie Gonzales

Have you read Perfect on Paper? What did you think of it?

Review: Something More

Title: Something More
Author: Jackie Khalilieh
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Tundra Books
Source: Publisher
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: June 6, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

A contemporary teen romance novel featuring a Palestinian-Canadian girl trying to hide her autism diagnosis while navigating her first year of high school, for fans of Jenny Han and Samira Ahmed. 

Fifteen-year-old Jessie, a quirky loner obsessed with the nineties, is diagnosed as autistic just weeks before starting high school. Determined to make a fresh start and keep her diagnosis a secret, Jessie creates a list of goals that range from acquiring two distinct eyebrows to getting a magical first kiss and landing a spot in the school play. Within the halls of Holy Trinity High, she finds a world where things are no longer black and white and quickly learns that living in color is much more fun. But Jessie gets more than she bargained for when two very different boys steal her heart, forcing her to go off-script.

Review:

Fifteen-year-old Jessie Khassis has just been diagnosed with autism the summer before starting high school. This diagnosis has explained why she has always felt different, but she wants to have a fresh start in high school and keep her autism a secret. Jessie makes a list of goals as she begins to navigate the confusing landscape of high school. She makes new friends who don’t always behave the way she thinks they would, and there are boys who she likes but they send her mixed signals. Jessie must find her place in high school while learning more about herself along the way. 

I found this story so relatable. Jessie is neurodivergent and understands the world in a way that is different from neurotypical people. However, I think neurodivergent and neurotypical readers could relate to her struggles in high school. Being a teenager and figuring out high school can be difficult. Some people can be confusing, like Jessie’s friends who said one thing but acted a different way. Even though Jessie’s autism makes her view the world in a unique way, these kinds of mixed signals can be confusing for anyone. Even when something is right in front of us, we may not want to believe it if we don’t want to be real. 

Something More is one of the most authentic and relatable contemporary young adult novels I’ve read in a long time!

Thank you Tundra Books and Penguin Teen Canada for providing a copy of this book!

Content warnings: bullying, cheating, death of grandparent

What to read next:

Queens of Geek by Jen Wilde

Have you read Something More? What did you think of it?