Category Young Adult Books

Oct 21 2016
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Book Review: The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

The Fixer by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Title: The Fixer

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Series: The Fixer #1

Genre: Teen Fiction

Rating: 4.5/5 stars!

The Overview: Sixteen-year-old Tess Kendrick has spent her entire life on her grandfather’s ranch. But when her estranged sister Ivy uproots her to D.C., Tess is thrown into a world that revolves around politics and power. She also starts at Hardwicke Academy, the D.C. school for the children of the rich and powerful, where she unwittingly becomes a fixer for the high school set, fixing teens’ problems the way her sister fixes their parents’ problems. And when a conspiracy surfaces that involves the family member of one of Tess’s classmates, love triangles and unbelievable family secrets come to light and life gets even more interesting—and complicated—for Tess. -Goodreads

The Review:

I can’t get enough of Jennifer Lynn Barnes! Her books are smart, engaging, and so well constructed that she’ll always have your brain reeling. I read The Fixer (The Fixer series #1) with the hope that it would help hold me over for when Bad Blood (The Naturals series #4) comes out November 1st. And you know what? The Fixer completely satisfied my crime novel craving!

While The Naturals series is a YA version of the show Criminal Minds, The Fixer series is very reminiscent of Scandal (which I love). Tess, the main character, is thrust into a world of intrigue when she’s forced to move in with her “fixer” sister in Washington DC. Her involvement starts out minimal, but soon grows into something of epic proportions. The book has excellent momentum and pacing, and I found it super difficult to put down!

Part of that addictiveness comes from how well it’s written. Barnes is one smart cookie. With advanced degrees in psychology from Yale University, her smarts really translate to her stories – they are written brilliantly! She weaves such a compelling mystery that I spend the entire book analyzing every character to try to figure out whodunit. Barnes is so good at misdirection that I haven’t been right yet, but the beauty is that in hindsight all the clues were there to figure it out. I’ve never casually read a Barnes book and am always totally engaged/engrossed/enamored the whole way through.

The mystery was the funnest element of The Fixer, but I also loved the characters. If I’m honest, they were slightly more animated than real people, but that only made me like them more. One character in particular, Asher, had me busting a gut left and right.

Overall Jennifer Lynn Barnes is one of my top authors and current favorite to recommend. The Fixer is just one more example why I think she’s so brilliant.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Oct 17 2016
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Mini Book Review: Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer

Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer

Title: Bloodrose

Author: Andrea Cremer

Series: Nightshade #3

Genre: Teen Paranormal Romance

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

The Overview: Calla Tor wakes up in the lair of the Searchers, her sworn enemy, and she’s certain her days are numbered. But then the Searchers make her an offer–one that gives her the chance to destroy her former masters and save the pack–and the man–she left behind. Is Ren worth the price of her freedom? And will Shay stand by her side no matter what? Now in control of her own destiny, Calla must decide which battles are worth fighting and how many trials true love can endure and still survive. -Goodreads

The Mini Review:

Bloodrose provided the most adventure yet. Cremer used several exotic settings as hiding places for the mythical weapons the characters had to retrieve (which was probably my favorite part of the book). The seek and find adventure kept me engaged through most of it, and I thought the story escalated to a fitting climax. Although I admit I have mixed feelings about the story-ending itself.

There’s really not much left to add. As I mentioned in my reviews of Nightshade and Wolfsbane, the real beauty of this series are the characters and the fun dynamics they have with one another. All characters were written well, but there was one that I just could not stand – Shay (one of the love interests). Any scenes involving him set my teeth on edge and definitely stole a bit of my enjoyment for the story. This final book also had a lot of boy angst, which, although consistent with story, might have been a little too much for my tastes.

Overall, I’d recommend Nightshade series, but would take caution handing it to younger teens (it kind of encouraged underage sex). That said, it’s still one of the better teen werewolf books I’ve read and I definitely enjoyed Cremer’s writing style.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Oct 10 2016
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Duology Review: Reboot by Amy Tintera

Reboot by Amy Tintera
Rebel by Amy Tintera

The Reboot Duology
by Amy Tintera
4/5 stars

Reboot (5 stars) was one of the best YA books I’ve ever read. And not necessarily because it was flawless, but because the elements that worked well really stole the show.

It starts out with a great concept – humans who are “rebooted” after dying (from a virus) and given a number to indicate how long they were dead. The bigger the number, the less humanity the individual retains. Wren is a 178 and every bit the cold, calculating soldier she supposed to be (or so it would seem). She never questions authority and always does what she was supposed to do. Then in walks my favorite dynamic of the story – Callum, a 22 who is relatable and endearingly human, challenging everything about Wren’s paradigm. The interplay between the two is easily the magic of the series, especially at the beginning were they’re still learning how to relate to one another. I loved every moment.

Tintera is a good writer who builds characters and relationships really well and writes with great pacing and clarity. But her work does have a couple of issues – world building and accuracy among the most prominent. It was mostly just a few little things here and there that made me pause and think “Hmmm… I’m not so sure that’s consistent with the laws of physics.” Or something to that effect, but I would always decide to just roll with it. For the most part, I was enjoying all of the things she did brilliantly enough that the shortcomings didn’t bother me.

Rebel, the second book in the duology, maintained momentum from the first but I admit it lost a little of the magic that made Reboot so amazing. That said, I’d still give it a solid 3 stars (I liked it) rating and appreciated as a series-ender.

Overall, this duology is great for dystopian/post-apocalyptic fans, and I’d even hand it to someone who likes zombie stories (even though it doesn’t dive very deep into that genre). If you still have a Hunger Games hangover, this might be the book for you.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Oct 7 2016
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Book Review: All In by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

all inTitle: All In

Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Series: The Naturals #2

Genre: Teen Fiction

Rating: 5/5 stars!

The Overview: Three casinos. Three bodies. Three days. After a string of brutal murders in Las Vegas, Cassie Hobbes and the Naturals are called in to investigate. But even with the team’s unique profiling talents, these murders seem baffling: unlike many serial killers, this one uses different methods every time. All of the victims were killed in public, yet the killer does not show up on any tape. And each victim has a string of numbers tattooed on their wrist. Hidden in the numbers is a code—and the closer the Naturals come to unraveling the mystery, the more perilous the case becomes. Meanwhile, Cassie is dealing with an equally dangerous and much more painful mystery. For the first time in years, there’s been a break in her mother’s case. As personal issues and tensions between the team mount, Cassie and the Naturals will be faced with impossible odds—and impossible choices. -Goodreads

The Review:

The Naturals Series by Jennifer Lynn Barnes might be my favorite YA series of all time. I devour each new book with a passion I don’t experience often with books, having read so many. Here are just a couple of the many reasons why I LOVE it:

The concept!! The series revolves around teens who are ridiculously talented in certain areas useful to crime solving (emotion-gadgers, statistical-analysists, lie-detectors, and so on). What I love is that these talents are totally feasible (albeit rare), so it feels like reading about real-world superheroes. It fascinated me to no end to see their analytical skills put to the test. My favorite was probably Sloane – the statistician. She’s really quirky and endearing, but also incredibly smart, using numbers and statistics to predict where the killer would strike next, deciphering commonalities for whom the killer might target, and analyzing things like security camera footage to pinpoint criminals based on trajectory and all sorts of other complicated math that I only half pretend understand (;P). All In gave Sloane more of a spotlight and it was awesome to get to know her even better.

Basically, take these cool characters with cool talents and add to that a complex mystery, and I’m in love.

As if it wasn’t fun enough reading about these super talents, the mystery within each novel is what I think really draws me in. It’s nothing like those old Nancy Drew novels where the criminal is always the nicest persona in the book. In the Naturals series, the killer could literally be anyone, and Barnes does a masterful job of incorporating a lot of plausible misdirection to keep you guessing. When I read these novels, I always have SO MANY THEORIES about who the killer could be. And each new chapter gets me that much closer to figuring it out. It’s seriously the most engaged I’ve ever been in a book, making it also one of the funnest books I’ve ever read. Additionally, each book gets more complex without also getting more convoluted. There’s a different mystery in each novel, but they are all tied together by one big story arc (that’s also a complex mystery) which has gained so much momentum that I’m absolutely DYING to read Bad Blood (the final book in the series) which comes out November 1, 2016.

In fact, I think the reason I loved All In in particular was that it did an excellent job advancing the overall story arc while still giving me a killer mystery to help solve (I say “help” ironically… I didn’t do shit). All In also delved into a bit more background of The Naturals (the characters, as that’s how they refer to themselves) and you start to see even more how they ended up with such honed talents. Ugh, I really can’t say much more than that without dipping into spoilers, so I’ll leave it at that.

Overall, for any of you Criminal Minds fans out there, this is the series for you! This is one of my favorite books to recommend because 1) I love geeking out about it 2) it’s one of the most engaging books I’ve ever read and 3) I think it appeals to a wide range of readers. I call a lot of things my favorite, but I really, really mean it this time, haha. :)

 Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Sep 23 2016
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Book Review: Uprooted by Naomi Novik

uprooted-by-naomi-novikTitle: Uprooted

Author: Naomi Novik

Series: N/A

Genre: Teen Fantasy

Rating: 4.5/5 stars

The Overview: Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted Wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life. Her people rely on the cold, driven wizard known only as the Dragon to keep its powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as falling to the Wood. The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows—everyone knows—that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia, all the things Agnieszka isn’t, and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her. But Agnieszka fears the wrong things. For when the Dragon comes, it is not Kasia he will choose. -Goodreads

The Review:

Uprooted was such a cool book! I picked it up on a total whim. I mean, I didn’t even know what it was about, only that the blogosphere was going nuts over it and that it had something to do with a dragon (Newsflash! The Dragon is actually a person, go figure). Anyway, I was prepared to commit to only a few chapters, but before I knew it I was halfway through it and completely enamored. I’m so used to reading series (in fact, I couldn’t tell you the last time I read a standalone) that the pure awesomeness of experiencing a complete start to finish story in one well woven little package caught me off guard. I really liked it!

This is my first visit into Naomi Novik’s work, and I can tell you that after my experience with Uprooted, it definitely won’t be the last. Because the book was a standalone, it made it easier for me to appreciate how well the story was constructed. It had a lot of layers and dynamics which kept me glued to the pages the whole way through. Novik has a beautiful writing voice that was sophisticated without taking itself too seriously. I especially appreciated the bits of humor throughout.

And the characters! They really were the main reason I kept reading with such gusto. The story essentially revolves around an apprentice (a girl named Agnieszka) and her master (The Dragon). The two had an interesting dynamic together and both had great character arcs throughout the story. Agnieszka was one of the most endearing characters I’ve come across. Far from perfect (and having those imperfections thrown in her face constantly), she still somehow managed to grab hold of her inner confidence and stay unapologetically true to herself. Even going so far as to use those flaws to her advantage. I adored her and wish the book actually was a series so I could spend more time with her.

Overall, Uprooted was a breath of fresh air and one of the best books I’ve read this year. I find it very easy to recommend, with one disclaimer: the book has some sexual content.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes

Sep 16 2016
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Book Review: Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer

wolfsbane by Andrea cremerTitle: Wolfsbane

Author: Andrea Cremer

Series: Nightshade #2

Genre: Teen Paranormal Romance

Rating: 3.5/5 stars

The Overview: Calla Tor wakes up in the lair of the Searchers, her sworn enemy, and she’s certain her days are numbered. But then the Searchers make her an offer–one that gives her the chance to destroy her former masters and save the pack–and the man–she left behind. Is Ren worth the price of her freedom? And will Shay stand by her side no matter what? Now in control of her own destiny, Calla must decide which battles are worth fighting and how many trials true love can endure and still survive. -Goodreads

The Review:

I read Nightshade as an ARC back before it was released in 2012 (and loved it). I’d always had the best intentions to continue on, but before I knew it the entire 6 book saga had been written and I’d gone from way ahead to laughably behind. So I reread the first book in 2014… then never got back to it again(:/). Anyway, I’m glad to finally be continuing on because it’s a fun series with memorable characters, a cool concept, and great writing.

The biggest take away from this book were the characters. I got the impression that Cremer had a lot of fun creating them. All the characters are interesting and well-rounded on their own, but the real brilliance is how they interact and build off of one another – the dynamics are a blast to read. This series is great because it gives equal attention to being both plot and character driven.  There were only a couple of places where I thought the dialogue might be trying too hard, but they were few and far between.

While Nightshade focused on the Guardians (the werewolves) and the Keepers (the authoritative magic-users), Wolfsbane dealt more with the Searchers (the anti-Keepers, for lack of a better description). I LOVED all the settings and stories involving the Searchers – they live in a glamorous academy/training facility where they learn how to use magic and fight (O_o!). Cool, right? But we really didn’t get to see more than a surface-level description of this place – I want to experience SO MUCH MORE!!! So hopefully (fingers crossed) the prequel series expands on it, otherwise what an opportunity wasted.

Okay, now for some boy talk: in most teen series, I find both options in a love triangle fairly equally appealing (say, 60/40). In this case, however, I CANNOT STAND SHAY. Like, at all. Here are my reasons:

  • He has little regard for Calla’s safety. I keep getting the impression that he’d be appropriately bummed if something happened to her, but clearly not enough to help prevent harm.
  • He’s possessive and jealous.
  • He doesn’t let her be independent and beats her up (figuratively) every time she tries to do anything on her own.
  • He encourages other girls to flirt with him, maintaining that oblivious “I didn’t know what was going on” facade.
  • In every interaction, he pushes for sex.

And then you have Ren who is loyal, unselfish, and protective without being overbearing. He has flaws to, but they aren’t in relation to how he treats Calla. Anyway, I think my point of this rant is, go team Ren. Also that I think my overall enjoyment of this series would increase if I liked Shay more than I do. It has been a bit difficult getting behind a romance I’m not feeling…I roll my eyes a lot, is all I’m saying.

Overall, Wolfsbane was a very entertaining sequel and I’m excited to see what happens next… Hopefully it won’t take me another couple of years to continue on, lol.

Other books you might like:

by Niki Hawkes