Tag Archives: young adult

Six Strings Review

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  Six Strings

Author:  Jen Sanya Williamson

Published:  June 2014 by Booktrope

Genre:  Young Adult,

Purchase:  Amazon

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Blurb

Riley Witt is running out of time. 

Battling Alzheimer’s disease, Riley’s grandmother Mary suffers from memory loss, mood swings, and a tendency to wander off. 

As senior year approaches, Riley has to face the reality that the one person she depends on most is slowly fading. Making matters 
worse, when Mary does remember the past, she tells tales of time travel and visions. As Mary’s version of the past gets more confused, Riley knows they are running out of time together. 
But when Riley discovers a guitar belonging to a famous rock star at Mary’s house, the truth behind the crazy tales finally comes out. 

SIX STRINGS tells the story of Riley’s journey back to 1973 where she enters a world of music, long-lost family, and first love. Her adventure is all about discovering her past, understanding her present, and figuring out how to step into her future.

(Blurb from publisher.)

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Let’s be honest here, I read this book in two nights.  It was so good I couldn’t put it down.  I got pulled back into my teenage years, but in a good way.  I’m not saying that Riley had it easy though, because she definitely didn’t.

Riley’s summer leading into senior year is basically taking care of her grandmother who has Alzheimer’s.  Riley and her grandmother were/are super close, so this is heartbreaking.  Sometimes her grandmother is perfectly coherent, other times she wanders off and is in her own world.  So when Riley’s grandmother tells her that Riley is going to have the ability to travel through time soon, Riley doesn’t know if it’s just her grandmother’s illness talking.

But it’s not, and Riley travels back to the 70’s.  I loved it.  I felt like I was back in time with Riley, living with the hippies.  Riley meets a guy, well two guys in a band, but I’m not going to say much more because I don’t want to give anything away.

You guys should really read this book.  It’s the first in a series, and it’s fantastic.  Although the time travel is in there, it doesn’t feel like a fantasy, more like contemporary young adult, with a little romance added in.  I can’t wait until the next one comes out!

My Rating:  4 ½ stars

***I need to disclose that I received this book free from the publisher, Booktrope.  And I also work for Booktrope, but in no way did that sway my opinion on this book.  I also receive no monetary gains from giving this book a good review.  This review is based solely on my honest opinion.***   

 

 

Twisted Reflections Release Day Blitz

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Twisted Reflections Cover

Alexis Davenport is learning to come to grips with her ability to travel through time, but she still hasn’t been able to stop the evil Drifter and his Master from trying to alter the past.

When she travels back to ancient Egypt, Alex gets a most unexpected surprise; she meets someone who can help her figure out how to use her powers, another Traveler like herself.

But can Alex learn how to control her gift before Drifter finds a way to stop her from meddling in his Master’s plans?

Twisted Reflections is the highly anticipated Book Two, in The Adventures of Alexis Davenport Series.

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Author Bio:

Shay West was born in Longmont, CO and earned a doctorate degree in Human Medical Genetics from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical. Dr. West currently lives in Shay West PictureGrand Junction, CO with her two cats. When not writing novels, she plays with plushie microbes and teaches biology classes at Colorado Mesa University. She is the author of the Portals of Destiny series and the Adventures of Alexis Davenport series. She has also been published in several anthologies: Battlespace (military sci-fi), Orange Karen: Tribute to a Warrior (fundraiser), and Ancient New (steampunk/fantasy).

You can find Dr. West and more of her work at Shay-West.com.

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New Release: Dangerous Reflections

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Dangerous Reflections

 

Alexis Davenport wants to go home. She hates her new school, her mother for moving her away from her friends, and her father for walking out.

To make matters worse, Alex is haunted by images of strange girls reflected in her mirror. It’s bad enough juggling homework, a relentless bully, boys, and a deadbeat dad; now, she must save the world from an evil presence hell-bent on changing the past – and our futures. Who knew her A+ in history was going to be this important?

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Author Bio:

Shay West was born in Longmont, CO and earned a doctorate degree in Human Medical Shay West PictureGenetics from the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical. Dr. West currently lives in Grand Junction, CO with her two cats. When not writing novels, she plays with plushie microbes and teaches biology classes at Colorado Mesa University. She is the author of the Portals of Destiny series and the Adventures of Alexis Davenport series. She has also been published in several anthologies: Battlespace (military scifi), Orange Karen: Tribute to a Warrior (fundraiser), and Ancient New (steampunk/fantasy).

You can find Dr. West and more of her work at Shay-West.com.

 

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Tales of Aradia: The Last Witch Review

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  Tales of Aradia:  The Last Witch

Author:  L.A. Jones

Published:  2012 by CreateSpace

Genre:  Young Adult, Teen Fantasy, Paranormal

Buy: Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

Unknown to the humans who hanged innocent people at the Salem Witch Trials, real witches of the hidden race were slaughtered on the belief that they had betrayed the hiddens to the humans. Not one witch survived the genocide, or so it was believed for more than three hundred years. One day a girl named Aradia moves to Salem, Massachusetts, and all that changes.  

(Blurb from Goodreads)

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Ross and Liza are coming home from a doctor’s appointment in which they just got bad news; the chances of them ever having children are slim to none.  Driving home they almost get in an accident and swerve off the road.  With the car now broken, Ross decides to look for help and hears a baby crying.  Long story short, that baby becomes their daughter, the child that they wanted but couldn’t have, Aradia.

This was a good book.  I liked how Aradia knew she was special, but didn’t know why.  She has no clue that she’s a witch, and it takes them moving to a town of other ‘hidden’ beings to figure out what she is.  The story had a nice flow and kept me interested and wanting to go back for more.

However, Aradia did get on my nerves.  Her sense of humor was pretty dry, and I kind of felt embarrassed for her on occasion when she tried to be funny.  She felt a little immature as well, but it is a young adult book and she is a young adult.  So it was just her personality, and that’s fine, she just got on my nerves a bit.

It wasn’t just Aradia who got under my skin; it was her friend Roy too.  I just wish he had more self-confidence; the lack of it was unappealing.  But again, they are young characters.  I’m hoping that he’ll gain some confidence through the series.

Another little thing that stuck out to me was the mentioning of CVS.  This was when Aradia had just moved to Salem, Massachusetts and she was talking to a student at her school.  She was telling him to pick up some medicine.

“Pick some up on the way home.  It’s easy to find.  They’ll have it at CVS.”

“What’s CVS?”

“Oh, right.  Um, Walgreens?  Any drug store (—)”  (location 31 on Kindle)

Again, this does not affect my rating; I’m just throwing it out there.  I’m from the area, and I promise, we know what CVS is (and Walgreens too).  Lol.

Besides Miss Aradia not being my favorite person, she did grow on me, and I did enjoy the story.  All in all, a good young adult book and I recommend it.

 

My Rating:  3 1/2 out of 5 stars

 

~Pam

 

*****I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.*****     

The Tower (Deck of Lies #2) Review

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  The Tower (Deck of Lies #2)

Author:  Jade Varden

Published:  2012 by Jade Varden

Genre:  Young Adult

Purchase The Tower from Amazon

 

 

 

This is the second book in a series, and the story continues right away.  Who killed Laurel?  River is still the prime suspect and Rain still believes he is innocent.  She decides that since most others are out for his blood, she’ll have to be the one to prove his innocence.  On Rain’s quest for clues the police take interest in her.  They think that she might have been involved in Laurel’s death.  That she might have been an accomplice to River.  Rain’s flabbergasted and scared, but she doesn’t let it stop her from moving forward to try to find the real murderer.  But in her pursuit she finds more than she’s looking for.  Maybe she would have been better off in the dark….

As I mentioned this is the second book in a series; I definitely wouldn’t recommend reading it as a standalone.  (But the first one is really good, so go read it!)  The story picks up right where it left off.  I was hoping for more Rain and River interaction, but he was jail.  Also, Rain’s father was his lawyer, so her going to see him was out of the question.

There were a lot of names and family history going on in this book, and I had to keep backtracking and thinking about who was who.  I probably just should have written it down, but that was something that I didn’t really like in the book.  I like to read to enjoy, not think too much about what it is that I’m reading.  You know?

A lot more facts about Rain’s life were revealed, and we were left with another cliffhanger!  I did really enjoy the story though, and I’m looking forward to the next one in the series.

 

My Rating:  3 1/2 out of 5 stars

~Pam

*****I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.*****