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Showing posts from October, 2021

Little Thieves / Margaret Owen / Book Review

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A little girl and her mother walk into the woods. Only the mother returns. That is how Vanja's story begins.  Once upon a time, Death and Fortune adopted a little girl abandoned in the woods. They raised her as their own, found a household where she could serve among the living, even offered her a choice of which of them to serve forevermore. But Vanja doesn't want to be a servant, not to petty mortal masters and most certainly not to her godmothers, those who raised her--those she considered mothers more than mistresses. And so she is on the run. Posing as the Princess Gisele--her former mistress, may she rest wherever she ended up after Vanja took her enchanted pearls--things have never been easier for this thief and liar. She's amassed a fortune in stolen jewels taken from the elaborate parties where Gisele is a guest. She's amassed a fortune almost great enough to get her out of the country, away from the power of the Low Gods Death and Fortune--away from anywhere s

Luminous / Mara Rutherford / Book Review

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Luminous Blurb When the stars come out, Liora starts to glow. Beautiful, incandescent, secret: no one can know about Liora's peculiar ability. No one can know she is a witch, because witches are not free. Witches belong to the wicked Lord Darius, a master warlock and right hand to the king. If Darius heard so much as a whisper about Liora, her life as she knows it would be over, and the lives of her father and sisters, too--for harboring an illegal witch. Liora has hidden all her life to keep herself and her family safe, suppressing her magic, hiding her glow. But when her youngest sister Mina goes missing late one night, Liora has no choice but to sneak into the world, endangering herself to find her sister. And once her glow is out in the open, others can't help but notice--most especially Liora's nearest neighbor Margana, a powerful sorceress in Darius's employ.

The Lost Girls: A Vampire Revenge Story / Sonia Hartl / Book Review

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The Lost Girls: A Vampire Revenge Story Blurb Eternity seemed a lot better before the breakup. Since Elton dumped her, however, things have been looking down for Holly. Perpetually sixteen and still stuck with the bad perm she gave herself the night before she became a vampire, Holly is condemned to an eternity of fast food jobs and gross motels. Even worse, she's stuck following her ex around. He was her maker, after all. That's how it works. Holly is resigned to this miserable existence until she meets Rose and Ida. Rose and Ida were once Elton's girls, too, and just like Holly, Elton left them behind. And he's moved onto a new target now. Spurned by their ex, the lady vampires decide to team up to stop another girl from falling for Elton's eternal trap. What's the best way to get revenge on your vampire ex? By killing him, of course. 

Fools in Love: Fresh Twists on Romantic Tales / Ashley Herring Blake & Rebecca Podos, Editors / Book Review

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Fools in Love: Fresh Twists on Romantic Tales Blurb Fifteen tales, fifteen new takes on love. They are stuck in a blizzard in the middle of a wolfsled race. They confess their love under the influence of magical malfeasance. They're an angsty artist and a preppy valedictorian secretly in love. They're a love triangle turned throuple. They're superhero arch-nemeses who might have been on the same side all along. These stories weave between fantasy and fact, our contemporary age and a space age entirely unlike our own. Popstars and space stations, fairies and coffeeshop meet-cutes: this collection has everything for those who love to love love. 

A Lesson in Vengeance / Victoria Lee / Book Review

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A Lesson in Vengeance Blurb There are ghosts in the halls of Dalloway School and not just the long-dead kind. Sure, Felicity Morrow spent her senior year--well, her first senior year--studying the infamous witches of the school's founding for her thesis, but new blood has since marred the halls. It was Alex's death, after all, that had Felicity pulled from Dalloway the first time around. It is Alex's ghost now that makes Felicity so nervous to return to finish  her senior year. But the girls who knew Felicity and Alex have long since graduated, and new girls have taken their places--like Ellis Haley, award-winning teenage author. Ellis is curious about Felicity's past--both in regards to her best friend Alex and the research Felicty was doing on the Dalloway Five, the original girls--witches?--who ruled the school before their grisly on-campus deaths. Being back on campus isn't good for Felicity's fragile health, tormented by too many ghosts, but Ellis is much m