Happy Pub Day to these authors!
Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada and Candlewick Press for sending me copies of these books!
What books are you most excited for this week?
Title: True Beauty, Vol. 2
Author: Yaongyi
Genre: Graphic Novel, Contemporary, Young Adult, Romance
Publisher: Webtoon Unscrolled
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: May 30, 2023
Rating: ★★★★
Episode 14 – 26
After binge-watching beauty videos online, a shy comic book fan masters the art of makeup and sees her social standing skyrocket as she becomes her school’s prettiest pretty girl overnight. But will her elite status be short-lived? How long can she keep her real self a secret? And what about that cute boy who knows her secret?
This is a great sequel to True Beauty! Jugyeong has to keep the secret of how different she looks without makeup. People treat her differently when she wears makeup and looks traditionally pretty, from when she looks like her natural self. I think she’s starting to understand the problem with becoming someone she’s not, just to conform to society’s standards.
True Beauty, Vol. 2 is a great graphic novel!
Have you read True Beauty, Vol. 2? What did you think of it?
Title: Realm United (The Felserpent Chronicles #3)
Author: Katie Keridan
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: SparkPress
Source: Bookinfluencers.com
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 8, 2024
Rating: ★★★★★
This enemies-to-lovers YA romantacy is the last book in the popular Felserpent Chronicle series, bringing the story full circle with timely themes of sacrifice, war, and love.
Sebastian Sayre and Kyra Valorian, the former Felserpent King and Queen, thought they knew what reuniting the divided realms of Aeles and Nocens would require of them. But fulfilling their promises to stop Tallus and bring peace between those with silver and gold blood will require sacrifices they didn’t expect to make.
Furious over Kyra’s refusal to help him turn Daevals into Astrals, Tallus assumes control of Aeles and announces he’s developed a weapon capable of killing everyone with silver blood. Kyra discovers a way to defeat him, but it will require her to perform a terrible act she isn’t sure she can live with. Sebastian loathes becoming a recognized public figure, and given his dark past, there are those who don’t trust him to hold a position of power, even as he and Kyra race to reunite the realms.
Filled with old friends and new allies, devastating betrayals and surprising revelations, this heart-pounding conclusion to the Felserpent Chronicles ends where it began: in the grey waters of Death. Controlling the past might change the future, but will saving their world cost Sebastian and Kyra the very bond that binds them across time?
This book is a great finale to the Felserpent Chronicles! Kyra and Sebastian had a lot to do to complete their goal of uniting their two realms, and I wasn’t sure if they would be able to do it in the space of this novel. I loved the ending! All of the questions I had were answered, and there was also a heartwarming surprise!
Realm United is an exciting conclusion to the Felserpent Chronicles!
Thank you Bookinfluencers.com for providing a copy of this book as part of a paid campaign!
Content warnings: kidnapping, death, murder, death of parent (off page)
Have you read Realm United? What did you think of it?
Title: Missing Clarissa
Author: Ripley Jones
Genre: Young Adult, Thriller, Contemporary
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Source: Purchased
Format: Hardcover
Release Date: March 7, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★
In a gripping novel perfect for fans of Sadie and A Good Girl’s Guide to Murder, two best friends start a true crime podcast—only to realize they may have helped a killer in the process.
In August of 1999, dazzlingly popular cheerleader Clarissa Campbell disappears from a party in the woods outside the rural town of Oreville, Washington and is never seen again. The police question her friends, teachers, and the adults who knew her—who all have something to hide. And thanks to Clarissa’s beauty, the mystery captures the attention of the nation. But with no leads and no body, the case soon grows cold. Despite the efforts of internet sleuths and true-crime aficionados, Clarissa is never found—dead or alive.
Over twenty years later, Oreville high-school juniors and best friends Blair and Cameron start a true crime podcast, determined to unravel the story of what—or who—happened to this rural urban legend. In the process they uncover a nest of dirty small-town secrets, the sordid truth of Clarissa’s relationship with her charismatic boyfriend, and a high school art teacher turned small-town figurehead who had a very good reason for wanting Clarissa dead. Such a good reason, in fact, that they might have to make him the highlight of their next episode…
But does an ugly history with a missing girl make him guilty of murder? Or are two teenage girls about to destroy the life of an innocent man—and help the true killer walk free?
This is a suspenseful thriller! It really kept me guessing until the end. I couldn’t figure out what could have happened to Clarissa or who could have killed her. I really liked Cam and Blair. They were a fun pair of best friends to read about because they were similar but also different in a lot of ways. The ending was very fast-paced and exciting! I’m looking forward to reading the sequel!
Missing Clarissa is a suspenseful and exciting thriller!
Content warnings: death of parent (off page), kidnapping, stalking, grooming (off page)
Have you read Missing Clarissa? What did you think of it?
Title: Miss Match
Author: Susan Hughes
Genre: Middle Grade, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: April 15, 2025
Rating: ★★★★★
Thirteen-year-old entrepreneur Polly Corbert has a good idea―no, a great idea―for the upcoming end-of-year dance at her middle school.
While almost everyone in the seventh and eighth grades has a crush, none of them are brave enough to ask anyone to the dance. That’s where Polly and her friends’ matchmaking service comes in. But setting up dates for middle-schoolers isn’t as easy as it seems. Polly and her friends face unexpected obstacles and uncomfortable truths as they discover the ups and downs of running a business and dating.
This short novel is a high-interest, low-reading level book for middle-grade readers who are building reading skills, want a quick read or say they don’t like to read!
This is a fun middle grade story about a girl and her friends who start a matchmaking service at their school. This story brought back so many memories of middle school. My friends and I had our first relationships in middle school, so I could relate to these characters. This story was also quite short, so I think it is accessible to reluctant readers. Despite the story being short, all of the characters were well developed!
Miss Match is a fun middle grade story!
Thank you Orca Book Publishers and Susan Hughes for sending me a copy of this book!
Have you read Miss Match? What did you think of it?
Happy Pub Day to these authors!
Thank you Wednesday Books, W by Wattpad Books, and Orca Book Publishers for providing copies of these books!
What books are you most excited for this week?
Title: Magician and Fool (Arcana Oracle #1)
Author: Susan Wands
Genre: Historical Fiction, Fantasy
Publisher: SparkPress
Source: BookSparks
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 2, 2023
Rating: ★★★★
Pamela Colman Smith, newly arrived from New York to her birthplace of London, is received as an oddball in Victorian society. Her second sight helps her in her new illustrating tarot cards for the Golden Dawn, a newly formed occult group. But when Pamela refuses to share her creations with Aleister Crowley, a controversial magician, he issues a give up the cards’ power, or he’ll harm her muses.
In the midst of this battle, two of Pamela’s idols, the actors Henry Irving and William Terriss, take her under their wing. Henry, who tutors her as the leader of the Lyceum Theatre, becomes the muse for her Magician card. William Terriss, teaching her by examples of instinct and courage, becomes the muse for her Fool card. As Pamela begins to create the tarot deck, she is almost overwhelmed by the race to possess the magical power of her cards. In order to defeat Aleister, Henry and William will have to transform into living incarnations of the Magician and the Fool—and Pamela will have to learn how to conjure her own magic.
This book is an intriguing historical fiction about an occult group in the Victorian era. The men who created the group were all well known men in their fields, such as Bram Stoker and Henry Irving. The story also followed a young girl, Pamela Colman Smith, as she experienced strange magical powers during her childhood until she became an adult. I recognized some of the characters as real historical figures, but I didn’t realize Pamela was a real person too until the end. I’m looking forward to continuing the series!
Magician and Fool is an interesting magical historical fiction!
Thank you BookSparks for providing a copy of this book!
Content warnings: death of parents (off page)
Have you read Magician and Fool? What did you think of it?
Title: The Mafia Nanny, Vol. 1
Author: SH00, Violet Matter, Rouusuu, Drawniels
Genre: Graphic Novel, Contemporary, Romance
Publisher: Webtoon Unscrolled
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback
Release Date: February 4, 2025
Rating: ★★★★★
For fans of romances with dashes of action and comedy, this hit WEBTOON comic with over 1.7 million subscribers follows Davina on her first assignment out of the Elite Nanny Academy: protect the young son of notorious mafia underboss, Gabriel Angelini.
Being an Elite Nanny is simple: protect the charge, obey the principle, and don’t get emotionally attached.
This is easier said than done when Davina’s first client is a dangerously compelling Venetian underboss who’s determined to get under her skin. What he wants from her, she can’t imagine, but Gabriel Angelini drags her back into the glittering world of organized crime she thought she’d left behind forever.
Davina might get answers about her past if she digs deep enough, but her challenges will be protecting Mikey from his father’s ambitions and keeping her heart from getting tangled up in their treacherous web.
This volume collects episodes 1–12 of the smash hit WEBTOON series The Mafia Nanny.
This graphic novel follows Davina, a nanny from the Elite Nanny Academy, on her first assignment to protect the son of a mafia boss. The young boy tried to outsmart her many times, so Davina had to keep on her toes. There were some hints to her backstory that led her to this kind of job, which I hope will be explored more in the next books.
The Mafia Nanny is a funny action graphic novel!
Thank you Wattpad Books for sending me a copy of this book!
Content warnings: death of parent (off page) kidnapping, knife violence
Have you read The Mafia Nanny, Vol. 1? What did you think of it?
Title: Blood Divided (The Felserpent Chronicles #2)
Author: Katie Keridan
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance
Publisher: SparkPress
Source: Bookinfluencers.com
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 3, 2023
Rating: ★★★★★
Kyra Valorian and Sebastian Sayre have finally remembered their pasts as the former Felserpent Queen and King, and now it’s time for them to change the future―by reuniting the realms and bringing peace to Astrals and Daevals. But tensions between Aeles and Nocens have never been higher, and those of silver and gold blood are more divided than ever.
In addition to improving her recovrancy abilities and completing internship, Kyra is determined to uncover her father’s role in the evil Astral experimentation program, no matter the danger. As Sebastian learns to be in a relationship, he finds himself facing the traumas of two very different pasts, forcing him to make tough decisions about his chosen profession and who he wants to be. Meanwhile, Tallus, arch-enemy to the Felserpent monarchy, has also returned―and it will take help from Cyphers, as well as friends both old and new, to find and stop him.
As Kyra and Sebastian struggle to navigate the differences between their past and current relationship, one thing’s part of fulfilling their destiny means accepting their fate. The choices they make will reach all the way into Death in this thrilling found family sequel to Reign Returned .
This book is a thrilling sequel to Reign Returned! There was more action in this story since the characters and world were introduced in the first book. I loved how more of Kyra and Sebastian’s past lives together were slowly being revealed to them. They found more people who were also been reincarnated with them. I’m excited to read the final book in the trilogy!
Blood Divided is a great fantasy sequel!
Thank you Bookinfluencers.com for providing a copy of this book as part of a paid campaign!
Content warnings: death of parent, knife violence, child abuse, fire
Have you read Blood Divided? What did you think of it?
Title: A Corpse and a Cat (Cass Peake #4)
Author: Rena Leith
Genre: Cozy Mystery, Contemporary
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Source: Publisher
Format: Ebook
Release Date: October 28, 2024
Rating: ★★★★
What’s a ghost to do when she needs a little excitement? In Doris’ case, she hitches a ride inside her human roommate’s big black cat Thor. But she didn’t intend to find a dead body.
With her smarmy ex-husband in town trying to cozy up to her, romance with a local cop cooling, and a St. Patrick’s Day party to plan, Cass Peake already has her hands full.
But the loss of her most lucrative client yet and the near-loss of her ghost pal forces Cass to consider a shocking idea. Is there a killer among the DNA relatives vying for a lucrative conservatorship? And did she really see someone load a body-sized canvas bag into a car?
This book is an entertaining cozy mystery! Cass lives in a house with a ghost named Doris, who likes to inhabit Cass’s cat Thor so that she can leave the house. This is the fourth book in the series so it took a few pages to figure out what was going on with Doris. This book could be read as a stand-alone. Though this was a murder mystery with a lot of characters and suspects, it was quite funny at times.
A Corpse and a Cat is a fun cozy mystery!
Thank you The Wild Rose Press and Bookinfluencers.com for providing a copy of this book as part of a paid campaign!
Content warnings: death, asthma attack, murder
Have you read A Corpse and a Cat? What did you think of it?
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