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Month: November 2020

Book review: Millie’s Encounter with the parallel world, by K. Taylor

| Gifted | YA fantasy |

Rating: 4 out of 5.

Millie’s encounter with the parallel world was such a magical adventure! Millie is a sweet 13-year-old girl that becomes a target for bullying after her best friend switches schools. She has loving parents and an older sister Carla. They used to be really close however as Carla entered adolescence, she has no care whatsoever for family anymore. Millie is going through a really difficult time in the beginning of the novel, feeling alone at school and lacking the strong support of sisterhood.

I love how the story shows us the concept of true friendships, which we see with the side characters Oliver and Jenna. Oliver seems really mature for his age and I was hoping for a future love interest, which we see mentions of at the end of the novel. My favorite part was Carla’s redemption arc, I really enjoyed how her character was developed and the ending redemption was great.

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The world building was intriguing, it has a lot of potential to be further explored in future novels. The parallel world seemed in the beginning as a form of escape for Millie, however it is where we watch her grow and find her strength. The magical creatures of Morendale are very unique, my favorite was the fawn. The story has some plot twists which make the tale even more captivating.

Overall, for young adults and middle grade this is a perfect tale of friendship and family, full of magic and royals, as well as bringing important mentions related to the subject of bullying.  

You can check out more about the book and the author here.

Book review: The Glass boxes in which we live, by B. Sylvie

| Gifted | romance |

Rating: 4 out of 5.

A beautiful and emotional romance, very relevant and updated with recent world issues and which really brings out important elements of family, race and cultural diversity. The story is told in alternating timelines between the present and the past, which gives us a deeper insight to the backstory of the two main characters.

I like Alienor’s point of views the most, I was able to relate to her even though there is a big age difference between us, I went through similar experiences in my life (not only the fact I am also divorced) while moving around between America and Europe throughout my life.  I found it hilarious her comments of the cultural differences and difficulties she encountered. Alienor has these two kids, Alex & Ben, that were funny and adorable. I really admire Alienor’s character, being a single (recently divorced) mom of two moving to a different country alone with her children takes a lot of courage, and you can see that she puts her family first always. 

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I love the romance between her and Wesley, and how these two are so different yet their dialogues were so captivating. Wesley is able to make his way into my heart, just by the way he loves her family. I was rooting the entire time for these two to end up together.

My favorite quote: ” YOU have all the colors of love. You have the colors of our love” 

You can check out more about the book and the author here.

Book review: Masked, by S. Cross

| Gifted | YA fantasy |

Rating: 5 out of 5.

One of the things I love most about reading is getting completely emotionally attached to the characters. Masked delivers an amazing cast of characters, I was hooked. This book kept me reading into the late hours, crying and screaming and feeling everything as if it was all happening to me. Young Addalynne saves this mysterious boy who appears from the forbidden kingdom of Incarnadine. 

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With his memory forgotten after the incident, Addy guards the secret of his origin, with fear of what could happen to him. We witness their love grow throughout the years, these two are inseparable. Their love is so fiece, so passionate, I found myself longing for this intense love.

So many obstacles are thrown at these two, the hardships they must endure to try to be together is heartbreaking. The story feels like a darker fantasy, with mentions of physical abuse, rape and death. At the same time their romance is refreshing and makes the reader hope and root for these two throughout the story. The side characters are also amazing, I love Addys sister and her brother. I am enchanted and thrilled by the mystery behind the kingdom of Incarnadine and await eagerly for the sequel

You can check out more about the book and the author here.

Book review: Disenchanted, by B. Sugalski

| Gifted | Dark fantasy |

Rating: 5 out of 5.

Disenchanted is a story that will draw you in from the first page. It starts with Princess Lilac, who sets out on a perilous journey in pursuit of an enchantress. There is a sense of mystery and intrigue immediately, which compels you to continue reading. At the beginning it feels like it is heading towards the well known plot: princess sets out on journey, meets a stranger, and the romance flows, however I soon found out I was wrong.

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Enter Garin: mysterious, eluding, and sexy! I rooted for them to get together right from the start! I loved him as a character, and I couldn’t get enough of the dialogue between him and Lilac. There was a constant smile on my face whenever those two got in a heated discussion! The world the story is set in is broad, but you get enough details and pieces of information to get a good sense of the world, and I was able to form a coherent image in my mind, which made the story much more richer

Overall I really enjoyed Disenchanted, and I can highly recommend it if you love dark fantasy with some explosive romance in it! I will keep an eye out for the upcoming sequel!

You can check out more about the book and the author here.

Book review: The Straight Crimes, by M. Juhl

| Gifted | romance suspense |

Rating: 5 out of 5.

This novel reads like a romance suspense, and it follows the life of Harper and Nik; 2 teenagers that as soon as Harper arrived in town they immediately fall in love, high school sweethearts. Now the twist to this novel is the society, which has as a way of life homosexual relationships. Therefore, the straight romance between Nik and Harper opposes the norm.

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This was a very enlightening read, where the author brings to the surface this alternate reality in a way that we can place ourselves in someone else’s shoes, to better understand and comprehend their experience. This novel has touched me deeply, it is such an eye-opener. I could feel immensely the love between the two characters and all the difficulties they had to endure, and most importantly I was able to visualize the pressure from society and understand their struggle to fight just to be together.

The plot is amplified with crime and suspense all alongside the romance, where society fights to destroy their love at all costs, thus the amazing title: The Straight Crimes. It is a fast-paced book, where you will find yourself rooting for these two lovers who must go against society to fight for their love. The story has a bitter-sweet realistic touch. I was heartbroken at certain moments, which portray masterfully a devastating emotional effect. I really congratulate the author for this brilliant heartbreaking work. Love is love.

You can check out more about the book and the author here.

Book review: The Summoning, by SV Filice

| Gifted | YA fantasy |

Rating: 4 out of 5.

The Summoning presents an entirely unique view to angels & demons, and I found myself completely intrigued by the magic system in the novel and how each person needs to find a proper balance in their Senses in order to keep darkness at bay. Isabelle attends a psychic with her sister and boyfriend in hopes to lighten her sister’s suffering after their mother’s death.

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Upon discovering that she lacks balance in the sense of Sight, the psychic sends Isabelle (completely unaware and separated from her sister and her boyfriend) to a camp to train to strengthen her senses. Isabelle is immediately a very likeable character; she questions everything that she is going through and is very suspicious of the psychic at first, which made her relatable (I love it when characters are not naïve). The storyline is very intriguing and fast paced! Once she is headed to camp, I found myself rereading paragraphs to better understand the Senses and the purpose of the balance. It becomes clearer as the story progresses.

The best part of the novel is Calix, you guys KNOW how much I love a mysterious love interest, specially a brooding one. The tension and angst between these too are overwhelmingly addicting, I found myself rooting for her to leave boring Jeremy for him! The Summoning is definitely a great debut fantasy novel and I am super excited for the sequel!

You can check out more about the book and the author here.