ARC Review: ON THESE BLACK SANDS (Aisling Sea #1) by Vanessa Rasanen

ON THESE BLACK SANDS (Aisling Sea #1)

by Vanessa Rasanen

Release Date: August 10, 2021; Crab Apple Books

From Goodreads:

AN HEIR ON THE RUN 

In one month, Aoife Cascade will turn twenty and take her seat on the Council of Cregah, an honor she’s been preparing for her whole life. But when she lets a secret slip to her mother with devastating consequences, all her plans for the future crumble. Believing her people to be better off without her, she flees Cregah, stowing away aboard a pirate ship bound for dangerous waters. 

A PIRATE CAPTAIN WHO NEEDS HER HELP

Captain Declan McCallagh is young compared to the pirate lords, but after twelve years on the grueling sea, he has earned a well-respected ship and the attention of the lords, who’d like nothing better than to see his ruin. All he wants is to leave the Aisling Sea—and his past—behind him. But when his sister demands he find the enchanted dagger her rebel faction needs to overthrow the ruling Council, he’ll have to decide whether to cast off all family ties or take the perilous voyage to waters guarded by sirens, only passable with the help of the last remaining fae, currently imprisoned by the Council. 

ARC Review: STOLEN THREADWITCH BRIDE (Stolen Brides of the Fae #6) by Clare Sager

STOLEN THREADWITCH BRIDE (Stolen Brides of the Fae #6)

by Clare Sager

Date Published: June 11, 2021

From Goodreads:

True names hold power. Fae cannot lie. And the women they steal become their brides. 

When threadwitch Ariadne is taken by a fae lord as part of a centuries-old bargain, she expects to marry him whether she likes it or not. But, desperate to return home, she won’t give in easily. Even if Lysander claims he doesn’t want her hand in marriage but for its skill with needle and the threads of magic, everyone knows the fae are not to be trusted.

Plotting her escape, she sews spells into cloth and tries her hardest to ignore his charms as well as the fae realm’s equally alluring beauty. 

But she soon discovers his world is as dangerous as it is beautiful. With dark creatures in the forest and enemies who wear friendship as a mask, Ariadne must make every stitch perfect if she wants to not only escape but also keep Lysander alive. Which, it turns out, is something she wants far more than she ever expected. 

Cover Reveal: THE BOUND WITCH (The Osseous Chronicles #3) by Ivy Asher

THE BOUND WITCH (The Osseous Chronicles #3)

by Ivy Asher

Release Date: July 28, 2021

About the book:

What do you do when you thought it was all over, only to realize it's all just begun? 

I died. 

I looked into Rogan Kendrick’s eyes, told him I loved him…and then I died. 

So how the hell am I standing naked in the middle of a morgue, doing my best not to freak the fuck out? 

I’m a Bone Witch, or at least I was before Rogan bound us together. Blood magic now flows through my veins too, and I think somehow the man I shouldn’t love, the one who betrayed me, who couldn’t choose me…has saved me. 

If the High Counsel finds out they’ll hunt us, and they won’t be the only ones. A certain bastard demon did promise to see me soon. 

Review: THE JASMINE THRONE (Burning Kingdoms #1) by Tasha Suri

THE JASMINE THRONE (Burning Kingdoms #1)

by Tasha Suri

Date Published: June 8, 2021; Orbit

From Goodreads:

Author of Empire of Sand and Realm of Ash Tasha Suri's The Jasmine Throne, beginning a new trilogy set in a world inspired by the history and epics of India, in which a captive princess and a maidservant in possession of forbidden magic become unlikely allies on a dark journey to save their empire from the princess's traitor brother. 

Imprisoned by her dictator brother, Malini spends her days in isolation in the Hirana: an ancient temple that was once the source of the powerful, magical deathless waters — but is now little more than a decaying ruin. 

Priya is a maidservant, one among several who make the treacherous journey to the top of the Hirana every night to clean Malini’s chambers. She is happy to be an anonymous drudge, so long as it keeps anyone from guessing the dangerous secret she hides. 

ARC Review: GLEAM (The Plated Prisoner #3) by Raven Kennedy

GLEAM (The Plated Prisoner #3)

by Raven Kennedy

Date Published: May 31, 2021

From Goodreads:

King Midas made me the woman I am today. Notorious. Unattainable. His. 

The thing about being confined is that you believe it’s to keep the bad out... Until you realize it’s about keeping you in. 

I’m now in a strange kingdom surrounded by liars, with no allies of my own, but I won’t sit idly by and let myself wither. No, there’s something that’s bloomed from the pit of my repression. Something dark. Something angry. 

But the last thing I expected was for my anger to call out to him. King Ravinger. 

He’s sinister and powerful and entirely too seductive. I’ve learned my lesson with trusting manipulative kings, so why does my chest constrict every time he’s near? I need to tread carefully, or I’m at risk of losing much more than just my freedom. 

ARC Review: FOR THE WOLF (Wilderwood #1) by Hannah Whitten

FOR THE WOLF (Wilderwood #1)

by Hannah Whitten

Release Date: June 1, 2021; Orbit

From Goodreads:

The first daughter is for the Throne.

The second daughter is for the Wolf. 

For fans of Uprooted and The Bear and the Nightingale comes a dark fantasy novel about a young woman who must be sacrificed to the legendary Wolf of the Wood to save her kingdom. But not all legends are true, and the Wolf isn't the only danger lurking in the Wilderwood. 

As the only Second Daughter born in centuries, Red has one purpose-to be sacrificed to the Wolf in the Wood in the hope he'll return the world's captured gods. 

Red is almost relieved to go. Plagued by a dangerous power she can't control, at least she knows that in the Wilderwood, she can't hurt those she loves. Again. 

ARC Review: A WAR OF SWALLOWED STARS (The Celestial Trilogy #3) by Sangu Mandanna

A WAR OF SWALLOWED STARS (The Celestial Trilogy #3)

by Sangu Mandanna

Release Date: June 29, 2021; Sky Pony

From Goodreads:

A prince without his kingdom. 

A kingdom without its princess. 

The destruction of the stars themselves. 

War is destroying the galaxy. Esmae has vanished without a trace. A terrifying, ravenous beast is devouring the stars one by one. Titania is offered a gift that may well be a curse. Alexi, the exiled prince, is asked to pay a heavy price for his mistakes. And far, far away, on a dark, mysterious planet, a sleeping god stirs awake. 

War or family. 

Pride or peace. 

ARC Review: THE WOLF AND THE WOODSMAN by Ava Reid

THE WOLF AND THE WOODSMAN

by Ava Reid

Release Date: June 8, 2021; Harper Voyager

From Goodreads:

In the vein of Naomi Novik’s New York Times bestseller Spinning Silver and Katherine Arden’s national bestseller The Bear and the Nightingale, this unforgettable debut— inspired by Hungarian history and Jewish mythology—follows a young pagan woman with hidden powers and a one-eyed captain of the Woodsmen as they form an unlikely alliance to thwart a tyrant. 

In her forest-veiled pagan village, Évike is the only woman without power, making her an outcast clearly abandoned by the gods. The villagers blame her corrupted bloodline—her father was a Yehuli man, one of the much-loathed servants of the fanatical king. When soldiers arrive from the Holy Order of Woodsmen to claim a pagan girl for the king’s blood sacrifice, Évike is betrayed by her fellow villagers and surrendered. 

But when monsters attack the Woodsmen and their captive en route, slaughtering everyone but Évike and the cold, one-eyed captain, they have no choice but to rely on each other. Except he’s no ordinary Woodsman—he’s the disgraced prince, Gáspár Bárány, whose father needs pagan magic to consolidate his power. Gáspár fears that his cruelly zealous brother plans to seize the throne and instigate a violent reign that would damn the pagans and the Yehuli alike. As the son of a reviled foreign queen, Gáspár understands what it’s like to be an outcast, and he and Évike make a tenuous pact to stop his brother. 

ARC Review: DON'T HATE THE PLAYER by Alexis Nedd

DON'T HATE THE PLAYER

by Alexis Nedd

Release Date: June 15, 2021; Bloomsbury YA

From Goodreads:

By day, Emilia is a field hockey star with a popular boyfriend and a mother obsessed with her academic future. But by night, she’s kicking virtual ass as the only female member of a highly competitive eSports team. Emilia has mastered the art of keeping her two worlds thriving, which hinges on them staying completely separate. 

When a major eSports tournament comes to her city, Emilia is determined to prove herself to the male-dominated gaming community. But her perfectly balanced life is thrown for a loop when a member of a rival team—Jake—recognizes her . . . 

From an exciting new talent, this sweet and charming YA romance will win the hearts of gamers and non-gamers alike.

ARC Review: UNDER BLACK SKIES (Beneath Black Sails #3) by Clare Sager

UNDER BLACK SKIES (Beneath Black Sails #3)

by Clare Sager

Release Date: May 25, 2021

About the book:

Enemies-to-lovers-to-enemies. Now they’re ‘just friends.’ Sure.

Reunited with her crew, Vice is on the hunt for Drake’s treasure. But there’s a good reason it hasn’t been seen in two hundred years – it’s hidden by fiendish clues and deadly traps. To keep her crew – her family safe, she can’t afford a single misstep. That’s easier said than done with a distraction like Knigh Blackwood around. 

Knigh might not sail for the Navy anymore, but he’s found a new place in the world – home with Vice on the Venatrix. Even as he longs for more than ‘just friends’, he battles with demons from his past and one from his present. To save his family, he needs money. Lots of it. A legendary treasure would be the perfect solution. 

But traps and troublesome feelings aren’t the only dangers they face. When treachery strikes at the heart of pirate-kind, no one is safe: not their home, not Knigh’s family, not even the Pirate Queen herself. 

ARC Review: THE SHAADI SET-UP by Lillie Vale

THE SHAADI SET-UP

by Lillie Vale

Release Date: September 7, 2021; G.P. Putnam's Sons

From Goodreads:

In this witty and heartfelt rom-com debut for fans of Jasmine Guillory, Emily Henry, and Tessa Bailey, an Indian-American woman signs herself and her boyfriend up for a matchmaking site to prove they’re a perfect match, only to be paired with her ex instead. 

High school sweethearts Rita Chitniss and Milan Rao were the golden couple, until the day he broke her heart. Now, six years later, Rita has turned her passion for furniture restoration into a career and has an almost-perfect boyfriend, Neil. The last thing she needs is for Milan to re-enter her life, but that’s exactly what happens when her mother, an unfailing believer in second chances, sets them up. Milan is just as charming, cocky, and confident as he was back in school. Only this time, he actually needs her business expertise, not her heart, to flip a hard-to-sell house for his realty agency. 

ARC Review: THESE FEATHERED FLAMES (These Feathered Flames #1) by Alexandra Overy

THESE FEATHERED FLAMES (These Feathered Flames #1)

by Alexandra Overy

Date Published: April 20, 2021; Inkyard Press

From Goodreads:

A queer retelling of “The Firebird,” a Russian folktale 

When twin heirs are born in Tourin, their fates are decided at a young age. While Izaveta remained at court to learn the skills she’d need as the future queen, Asya was taken away to train with her aunt, the mysterious Firebird, who ensured magic remained balanced in the realm. 

But before Asya’s training is completed, the ancient power blooms inside her, which can mean only one thing: the queen is dead, and a new ruler must be crowned. 

As the princesses come to understand everything their roles entail, they’ll discover who they can trust, who they can love—and who killed their mother.

ARC Review: AGAINST DARK TIDES (Beneath Black Sails #2) by Clare Sager

AGAINST DARK TIDES (Beneath Black Sails #2)

by Clare Sager

Date Published: September 23, 2020

From Goodreads:

Enemies. Lovers. Enemies once more. Now they must work together to survive.

Notorious pirate Lady Vice has lost everything: ship, crew, and friends. Even her body has betrayed her, leaving her magic weak. To make matters worse, she’s stuck at sea with the man who stabbed her in the back. 

Knigh Blackwood is no longer a captain, no longer a pirate-hunter, no longer … anything. All he has left is the woman he betrayed, and she’d rather cut out his tongue with his own dagger than forgive him. 

There’s just one thing that might make up for what they’ve lost: Drake’s treasure. But they’re not the only ones searching for clues and the elusive X that marks the spot. Between them and the treasure stand a scheming duke, a former lover, and a sea monster thought the stuff of legends – not to mention Vice and Knigh’s complicated feelings for each other. 

ARC Review: LUCKY GIRL by Jamie Pacton

LUCKY GIRL

by Jamie Pacton

Release Date: May 11, 2021; Page Street Kids

From Goodreads:

A hilarious and poignant reflection on what money can and cannot fix 

58,642,129. That’s how many dollars seventeen-year-old Fortuna Jane Belleweather just won in the lotto jackpot. It’s also about how many reasons she has for not coming forward to claim her prize.

Problem #1: Jane is still a minor, and if anyone discovers she bought the ticket underage, she’ll either have to forfeit the ticket, or worse . . . 

Problem #2: Let her hoarder mother cash it. The last thing Jane’s mom needs is millions of dollars to buy more junk. Then . . .

Problem #3: Jane’s best friend, aspiring journalist Brandon Kim, declares on the news that he’s going to find the lucky winner. It’s one thing to keep her secret from the town — it’s another thing entirely to lie to her best friend. Especially when . . . 

ARC Review: SUNKISSED by Kasie West

SUNKISSED

by Kasie West

Release Date: May 4, 2021; Delacorte Press

From Goodreads:

A lighthearted and swoony contemporary YA romance by fan-favorite author Kasie West about a girl who finds that a summer spent at a family resort isn’t as bad as she imagined…and that falling in love is filled with heartache, laughter, and surprises! 

After being betrayed by her best friend, Avery is hoping for a picture-perfect summer. Too bad her parents have dragged her and her sister to a remote family camp for the entire summer. And that’s not even the worst part. Avery also has to deal with no internet, a cute but off-limits staff member, and an always-in-her-face sister. 

But what starts as a disaster turns into a whirlwind summer romance as Avery embarks on an unexpected journey to figure out what she truly wants and who she wants to be.

ARC Review: A WICKED AND BEAUTIFUL GARDEN (Witches of the Island #1) by Katie McGarry

A WICKED AND BEAUTIFUL GARDEN (Witches of the Island #1)

by Katie McGarry

Release Date: May 5, 2021; Katie McGarry LLC

From Goodreads:

Twenty-eight year-old Cassie Strega can’t escape fate. 

All she wants is to live a normal, quiet life delivering the babies in her small town. But when she discovers she comes from a lineage of witches, her life becomes extraordinary—in the gravely dangerous type of way. 

Then, she’s reunited with her first love. 

Orion, the sultry Fae warrior who broke her heart years before, is searching for a baby. Not just any baby, but the queen of the Fae who will one day lead them in their final battle against the demons determined to rule the world. The same baby who has been calling to Cassie for help in her dreams. 

Fighting the intense attraction of their former blood bond, Cassie and Orion work together to find the child. But when the heartbreak that nearly destroyed Cassie nine years before looms once more, she’ll have to decide whether getting involved in the supernatural war is worth losing everything, including her life.

ARC Review: BENEATH BLACK SAILS (Beneath Black Sails #1) by Clare Sager

BENEATH BLACK SAILS (Beneath Black Sails #1)

by Clare Sager
Date Published: March 30, 2020; Independently published 

From Goodreads:

Sometimes it takes a pirate to catch a pirate. 

With weather magic on her side, Lady Vice is the bane of the high seas, but she isn’t captain of her own ship. Yet. If she can persuade her captain to give her a command, she’ll be in charge of her own fate. 

To pay off his family’s debts, Knigh Blackwood hunts pirates for the Royal Navy. And he’s damn good at it. When the bounty on Lady Vice increases, he’s determined to make her face justice, even if that means using unorthodox methods. 

Forced to work together, neither can deny their mutual attraction. As they face battles at sea and schemes aboard their ship, they discover hints about a long-lost treasure that could be the answer to both their problems. 

ARC Review: SHIPPED by Meredith Tate

SHIPPED

by Meredith Tate
Release Date: May 18th 2021; G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

From Goodreads:

Can two IRL enemies find their happily ever after online? 

Stella Greene and Wesley Clarke are Gene Connolly Memorial High School's biggest rivals. While the two have been battling it out for top student, it's a race to the bottom when it comes to snide comments and pulling the dirtiest prank. For years, Stella and Wes have been the villain in each other's story, and now it's all-out war. 

And there is no bigger battle than the one for valedictorian, and more specifically, the coveted valedictorian scholarship. 

But Stella and Wes have more in common than they think. Both are huge fans of Warship Seven, a popular sci-fi TV drama with a dedicated online following, and the two start chatting under aliases--without a clue that their rival is just beyond the screen. They realize that they're both attending SciCon this year, so they plan to dress in their best cosplay and finally meet IRL. 

ARC Review: BLADE OF SECRETS (Bladesmith #1) by Tricia Levenseller

BLADE OF SECRETS (Bladesmith #1)

by Tricia Levenseller

Release Date: May 4, 2021; Feiwel & Friends

From Goodreads:

Eighteen-year-old Ziva prefers metal to people. She spends her days tucked away in her forge, safe from society and the anxiety it causes her, using her magical gift to craft unique weapons imbued with power. 

Then Ziva receives a commission from a powerful warlord, and the result is a sword capable of stealing its victims' secrets. A sword that can cut far deeper than the length of its blade. A sword with the strength to topple kingdoms. When Ziva learns of the warlord’s intentions to use the weapon to enslave all the world under her rule, she takes her sister and flees. 

Joined by a distractingly handsome mercenary and a young scholar with extensive knowledge of the world's known magics, Ziva and her sister set out on a quest to keep the sword safe until they can find a worthy wielder or a way to destroy it entirely. 

A teenage blacksmith with social anxiety accepts a commission from the wrong person and is forced to go on the run to protect the world from the most powerful magical sword she's ever made.

ARC Review: 10 TRUTHS AND A DARE by Ashley Elston

10 TRUTHS AND A DARE

by Ashley Elston

Release Date: May 4, 2021; Disney-Hyperion

From Goodreads:

It's Senior Week, that magical in-between time after classes have ended but before graduation, chock-full of gimmicky theme parties, last-minute bonding, and family traditions. Olivia couldn't be more ready. Class salutatorian and confident in her future at LSU, she's poised to sail through to the next phase of her life. 

But when the tiny hiccup of an unsigned off-campus P.E. form puts Olivia in danger of not graduating at all, she has one week to set things straight without tipping off her very big and very nosy extended family. Volunteering to help at a local golf tournament should do it, but since Olivia's mom equipped her phone with a tracking app, there'll be no hiding the fact that she's at the golf course instead of all the graduation parties happening at the same time. Unless, that is, she can convince the Fab Four--her ride-or-die cousins and best friends Sophie, Charlie, and Wes--to trade phones with her as they go through the motions of playing Olivia for the week. 

Sure, certain members of the golf team are none too pleased with Olivia's sudden "passion" for the game. And sure, a very cute, very off-limits boy keeps popping up in Olivia's orbit. But she is focused! She has a schedule and a plan! Nothing can possibly go wrong . . . right?