DRC: Zenith by Sasha Alsberg and Lindsay Cummings

2 stars Androma Racella is known as the Bloody Baroness, a powerful mercenary who terrorizes the Mirabel Galaxy. She and her three girl crew upon the ship, Marauder, has a bad mission and they find themselves in a treacherous situation at the mercy of a bounty hunter ex-lover Dax from Andi's past and forced to complete …

The Hearts We Sold by Emily Lloyd-Jones

5 stars The Hearts We Sold is a delightful paranormal novel about choosing your own path in life. Dee Moreno makes a deal with a daemon--selling her heart for two years in exchange for money so she can go to school and escape her emotionally abusive home life. But selling her heart ends up being …

Blood Rose Rebellion by Rosalyn Eves

2 stars In 1847 Britain, magic is all over high society. The upper class, or Luminate, have magical powers that let them control either illusions, elements, or feelings. Given power from the Binding, they are the only ones with magic, or at least, that's what most people believe. Anna is Barren, meaning she doesn't have …

The Hidden Oracle by Rick Riordan

4 stars Another year, another growing pile of Rick Riordan books I need to read. The Hidden Oracle, the first of Riordan's new spinoff series, The Hidden Oracle, involves Apollo, the god of music, healing, and archery, and his fall from grace (or rather, Olympus). He is cast down from Olympus and is stuck in …

Two Roads from Here by Teddy Steinkellner

3.5 stars Teddy Steinkellner's latest young adult novel, Two Roads from Here, revolves around the lives of five seniors and their life-changing decisions. Brian is a football player. In an accident shortly before the homecoming game, he falls and has a concussion, and his head still hurts. He needs to decide whether or not he'll …

DRC: The Love Letters of Abelard and Lily by Laura Creedle

5 stars Lily Michaels-Ryan thinks she's broken. She's ditched her ADHD meds because she doesn't like how they make her feel and accidentally lands herself in detention with Abelard, a boy in her grade with Asperger's. Abelard is brilliant and beautiful, and although her mind seems to be perpetually thirty seconds ahead while his is …

DRC: The Midnight Dance by Nikki Katz

3.5 stars In the Grande Teatro, a finishing ballet school in Italy, Penny and eleven others train to be the finest ballerinas in Italy. The school is tucked away and almost isolated completely, and it's the only life Penny's really known. But this life is more than she thought as flashes of a different life …

The Edge of Everything by Jeff Giles

3.5 stars The Edge of Everything is a paranormal fantasy revolving around our main female protagonist Zoe and the mysterious bounty hunter from the Lowlands she meets and names X. It's an edge-of-your-seat kind of urban fantasy that introduces magical and paranormal aspects to our modern world. I enjoyed reading this novel--the action and adventure …

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

3.5 stars Three Dark Crowns is a fantasy novel about three queens, Katharine, Arsinoe, and Mirabella, who have to fight to the death for the crown when they turn sixteen. This has been the tradition on the island of Fennbirn for many years as in each generation, female triplets are born with magical gifts. There …

Caraval by Stephanie Garber

4.5 stars An enticing, fantastical adventure, Caraval will capture the hearts of readers looking for intrigue, magic, and misdirection. Scarlett Dragna lives in a world where one can encounter magic in the annual show Caraval where the audience participates in the show. She's dreamed of receiving an invitation for years, and when it finally comes …