” See, the problem in this world ain’t sinners, or even the dead. It is men who will step on anyone who stands in the way of their pursuit of power. “ Title: Dread Nation Series: Dread Nation Author: Justina Ireland Published: April 3, 2018 Medium: Audiobook Narration: Bahni Turpin Length: 11:00 Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction, Horror (Zombies) Rating: Summary: At the battlefields of Gettysburg and Chancellorsville, the dead begin to walk the earth, bringing the American Civil War to a screeching halt. Slavery is outlawed, but replacing it is the Native and Negro Reeducation Act, which forces Native and African Americans to undergo training to fight the dead and protect white people. Jane McKeene is one of the African American woman being educated at a specialized school in Baltimore. She plans to finish her schooling and return to her mama, but she gets caught up in a sinister political plot and gets herself into a boatload of trouble. She must fight for her life, and not against the zombies. Thoughts: I thoroughly enjoyed this book. Typically zombie books are predictable and dull, but this one was a new take on it! Placing the zombies in the past, rather than the…

” Lies are as dangerous as a sword. They can cut to the bone “ Title: The Belles Series: The Belles Author: Dhonielle Clayton Published: February 6, 2018 Medium: Audiobook Narration: Rosie Jones Length: 11:30 Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy Rating: Summary: Camellia is a Belle, a talented young woman who can control beauty and is devoted to doing so in the service of others. In a world where beauty is everything, Belles are in high demand and have full schedules, and strict rules. Every Belle wants to be favored by the queen, but being favored isn’t all that it seems to be. Camellia must come to terms with the fact that much of what she has been told, even about her own existence, is a lie. She must navigate through sinister plots and figure out who she truly is, before it’s too late for her and her sisters. Thoughts: This book was strongly recommended to me by my friend Cat and it did not disappoint. Knowing this was a Disney- Hyperion book, I was not surprised by a lot of the fluffy writing or handsome boys and love story arcs, however, it still had it’s very dark aspects. Overall, I felt it…

“Greatness takes time, Banu Nahida. Often the mightiest things have the humblest beginnings. “ Title: The City of Brass Series: The Daevabad Trilogy Author: S. A. Chakraborty Published: November 14th, 2017 Medium: Audiobook Narration: Soneela Nankani Length: 19:37 Genre: Fantasy Rating: Summary: A Cairo con-woman, Nahri, finds herself on an unexpected journey when one of her cons goes awry and she accidentally summons a Djinn warrior. The Djinn tells her of a land known as Daevabad, the City of Brass, where she truly belongs. We follow Nahri as she journeys to Daevabad and learns to adjust to the culture she was born into, where she must navigate through dangerous enemies, weak alliances, and old grudges. Nahri must learn the history of her people so she can make a name for herself and avoid the deadly consequences of missteps in the City of Brass. Thoughts: As a huge Dungeons and Dragons nerd, I Loved this book! Arabic folklore is rarely so potent in popular culture today, but this book put a unique spin on the tales of Djinn and Efreets. The culture and history that Chakrborty has created within these pages is so detailed and I loved how she handled introducing us into…

“I’m starting to believe that hell is everywhere. “ Title: Daughters Unto Devils Series: N/A Author: Amy Lukavics Published: 2015 Medium: Audiobook Narration: Jorjeana Marie Length: 5:17 Genre: Horror, Paranormal Fiction Rating: Summary: Taking place in the pioneer days, a young teen and her family make the trek to move from their mountain home out to the prairie. Amanda, the main character, is happy for a fresh start after last winter (a mystery that we do not learn until most of the way through the book) and after she finds out she is pregnant from a boy she has been fooling around with who won’t marry her. The prairie is a strange place though, it seems. As Amanda is plagued with horrible visions, unexplained circumstances, and many other mysteries, things start to get creepy fast. Thoughts: This book got off to kind of a slow start. Nothing too notable or creepy happens until halfway through the book (which, to be fair, it is only about a 5 hour long book) but once things start to get going, they go fast! The ending was nothing close to what I might have expected. There were more religious tones than what I typically like, but it…

“ I believe it is the mark of a great leader to question the decisions that came before him ” Title(s): Cinder (#1), Scarlet (#2), Cress (#3), Winter (#4), Stars Above (#4.5), Fairest (#3.5) Series: The Lunar Chronicles Author: Marissa Meyer Published: 2012-2015 Medium: Audiobook Genre: Sci-Fi/Fantasy & Young Adult Rating: Summary: The Lunar Chronicles is set in a futuristic earth (and moon) and takes all your favorite fairy tales on a crazy adventure! Think: Star wars meets childhood tales. Each book brings a new set of characters to add to the party and more excitement. Thoughts: I LOVED these books! It was a unique spin on some classic stories. who would’ve thought Cinderella would be a cyborg? Each book takes on a new fairy tale with new twists and new super badass female protagonists.

“Life is a gift. Don’t forget to live it.” Title: Everything Everything Author: Nicola Yoon Published: September 1, 2015 Medium: Print (softcover) Pages: 307 Genre: Romance   Rating: Summary: Everything Everything is about a “bubble girl” who has a super rare disease that makes her allergic to everything so she can’t go outside without potentially dying. But ~SHOCKER~ a cute boy moves in next door, romance ensues, she risks everything, and there is a mostly happy ending.  Thoughts: I don’t really read cute romance novels (or non-fiction in general). Perhaps it’s some sort of leftover bias from my teenage-self, but they’ve always seemed pretty pointless to me. Why would I want to read about real world things when I already live in the real world? But I saw this book at BookCon and it sounded cute and looked like a quick read and  I’ve been really trying to expand my horizons a little, so I bought it. And I loved it! It was cute, had an interesting (albeit odd) twist, and made me smile a lot. It even had a happy ending, which I don’t get a lot of with many of the other books I read. So I highly suggest this one!

“When decisions like that are made by the government, it emboldens those who are already prejudiced to speak their deepest thoughts of hate. They assume they are simply brave enough to say what everyone really thinks.”   Title: Lord of Shadows Series: The Dark Artifices #2 Author: Cassandra Clare Published: May 23, 2017 Medium: Audiobook Narration: James Marsters Length: 23:30 Genre: Fantasy Rating:   Summary: *excluded to avoid spoilers – discussion will be posted soon* Thoughts: I enjoyed this book even more than the first one, but it did get off to a slow start for me. I love when authors take important issues and integrate them into their books, especially in the fantasy genre. I think people are more open to acknowledging things like racist and injustice when the races they discuss aren’t human, but I don’t think this distinction lessons the message at all. It forces people to realize that these things are happening in the real world and that maybe they should be paying better attention. Story-wise, this book made me cry a bunch of times, but none as much as the ending. It was an improvement to the series, and makes me want to read the final book as soon as it comes out in December.

“No one really wishes to be queen.” Title: Three Dark Crowns Series: Three Dark Crowns #1 Author: Kendare Blake Published: September 20, 2016 Medium: Print (hardcover) Pages: 398 Genre: Fantasy Rating: Summary: Three triplet queens are born every generation on the island of Fennbirn. They are separated by “gift,” or special power (Elemental, Naturalist, or Poisoner) and sent to live in the communities that share their specific gift so that they can learn and become stronger. When they come of age, they will be expected to fight to the death so that only the strongest remains to rule and birth the next set of triplets.  Thoughts: I had tried listening to the audiobook for this several months ago and I couldn’t get passed the first two chapters, but a friend suggested I try reading it instead and lent me the book. I was surprised that I loved it! Many other reviewers thought that the love-interest parts were too heavily focused on, but I disagree. Only one of the love interests was super focused on, and that became very important for the end of the book. The other love interest that was frequently shown was a focus, yes, but less so than overall survival. This book was excellent though, and…

“I am different from what my world demands I be. And I am not worse for it.” Title: War Storm Series: Red Queen #4 Author: Victoria Aveyard Published: May 15, 2018 Medium: Audiobook Narration: Amanda Dolan, Erin Spencer, Sashia Maarleneld, Vikas Adam, Charlie Thurston Length: 22:23 Genre: Contemporary Science Fiction Rating:   Summary & Thoughts: I cannot possible separate these two sections in my head, let alone on this page. Therefore, I will be posting a full discussion post on this book soon. Link will be posted here when ready:)

“You don’t need a prince to save you. I don’t have a lot of patience for stories in which women are saved by men.” -Neil Gaiman Title: The Sleeper and the Spindle Author: Neil Gaiman  Illustrator: Chris Riddell Published: October 23, 2014 Medium: Print (hardcover) Pages: 72 Genre: Fantasy, Fairy Tale Rating: Summary: A queen is notified by her dwarf companions that a sleeping curse has come over a nearby kingdom. The curse stems from the princess castle, where the princess sleeps under the same curse. Despite the fact that it is the day before her wedding, the queen strikes out to save the princess alongside her three dwarves. When she gets to the top of the castle and awakens the princess, she gets a dark surprise. Thoughts: I thought everything about this book was beautiful! The artwork throughout was gorgeous, with golden ink to bring out some of the details. The story was interesting and the twist at the end, though a little telegraphed, was still a new twist on the original story that I had not yet seen. The queen gets to be the hero, in all aspects. She even awakens the princess with a kiss. From what I have read of other reviews, many of the…