Publisher: HarperCollins

The Verdigris Pawn by Alysa Wishingrad: Review, Giveaway & Alysa’s Top Ten Addictions

Today I’m featuring THE VERDIGRIS PAWN, a timeless middle grade fantasy full of danger, betrayals and intrigue! Check out my review, along with Alysa’s list of top ten addictions and a giveaway of the book! This book is not your typical middle grade fantasy; not only does it have a timeless, almost classical feel, it also has the complexities of an epic fantasy that you’d expect from YA or even adult books. But the story […]

Posted July 6, 2021 in Author Top Ten Lists, Giveaways (Ended), Reviews / 36 Comments

Bite-Sized Reviews of Cybils Nominees: Paola Santiago and the River of Tears, Mañanaland, The Copycat, & Shuri

As my regular readers know, I’m a round one judge for the Cybils Awards in the Middle Grade Speculative Fiction category. Because of that, I’ve been reading LOTS of books lately! I’m not allowed to share any details about our process for choosing the finalists, but I am allowed (and encouraged) to review the books as I read, so I figured I’d share four of them with you today. I hope these bite-sized reviews will […]

Posted November 12, 2020 in Cybils, Reviews / 4 Comments

I’m a 2020 Round One Cybils Awards Judge! Plus, Quick Reviews of Last Year’s MG Speculative Fiction Finalists

I really enjoyed being a round-two judge for the Cybils Awards. The process for picking a winner was WAY harder than I expected it to be, but it was also great to have in-depth discussions about each of the finalists. I was surprised how many of the books I absolutely loved! This year, I said I’d be willing to be either a round-one or round-two judge, and I was chosen for round one for the […]

Posted September 23, 2020 in Cybils, Reviews / 8 Comments

Bite-Sized Reviews of Deeplight, More to the Story, The Female of the Species, and Knockout

I’ve got four reviews for you today: a YA fantasy, a MG contemporary retelling, a YA contemporary and a MG contemporary in verse. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! A fascinating YA fantasy with incredible worldbuilding! Deeplight had me entranced from the very beginning. It reminded me of books by my favorite fantasy author, Robin Hobb, because of its unique worldbuilding and epic-but-not-overly-ponderous fantasy feel. Hardinge’s gorgeous writing […]

Posted July 8, 2020 in Reviews / 16 Comments

In the Red by Christopher Swiedler: A Stunning Survival Story Set on Mars!

Get a SIGNED (can be personalized) copy of the book from Florey’s Books. You know those awesome survival books where someone gets stuck on a mountain somewhere and barely makes it out alive? Well, this is that, but on MARS! If that doesn’t sound cool to you, you’re obviously not reading it right. Go back and try again. (I was going to write a bite-sized review for this, but I just had too many things to […]

Posted March 30, 2020 in Reviews / 8 Comments

Bite-Sized Reviews of Freaky in Fresno, Descendant of the Crane, Frazzled: Everyday Disasters and Impending Doom, & A Dash of Trouble

I’ve got four reviews for you today: a YA paranormal, a YA fantasy, and two MG reads. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! This is one of those books that’s just plain fun to read (or listen to, as I ended up doing). It takes the basic Freaky Friday premise and gives it a modern twist by making it about two cousins who couldn’t be more different. […]

Posted March 13, 2020 in Reviews / 14 Comments

Red Hood by Elana K. Arnold: Review & Giveaway

Amazon, B&N, iBooks, Kobo, TBD, Google This book is a dark, brutal retelling of Little Red Riding Hood, an unflinching exploration of the victimization of women. It is not for the faint of heart, and I’m honestly a little unsure if I’d recommend it to the average YA reader. If you’re going to read this book, you need to know what you’re getting into. Not only are there many triggers in it, but Arnold pulls […]

Posted February 20, 2020 in Giveaways (Ended), Reviews / 22 Comments

Bite-Sized Reviews of Every Other Weekend, Storm and Fury, The Afterlife of Holly Chase, and All of Me

I’ve got four reviews for you today: a YA contemporary, two YA paranormals, and a MG book contemporary in verse. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! I had no idea this was going to be such an emotional read! I’ll confess that at first, I wasn’t sure if I was going to like these characters: Jolene is rebellious(ish) purely for the sake of aggravating her stepmom (who I […]

Posted January 15, 2020 in Reviews / 30 Comments

Bite-Sized Reviews of Vow of Thieves; Fame, Fate, and the First Kiss; The Okay Witch; and Narwhal: Unicorn of the Sea

I’ve got four reviews for you today: a YA fantasy a YA contemp, and two MG graphic novels. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! First off, I didn’t realize when I started reading this that the series is a duology. So I was expecting perhaps a bit of middle-book syndrome and was surprised when the book didn’t feel sluggish in the least. In fact, I found myself eager to […]

Posted September 9, 2019 in Reviews / 20 Comments

Bite-Sized Reviews of The Lady Rogue, The Silence Between Us, The Kingdom, and Sorry for Your Loss

I’ve got four reviews for you today: a YA historical fantasy, a YA sci fi, and two YA contemps. I hope these bite-sized reviews will be enough to feed your fiction addiction! If you’re a fan of historical fiction with a gothic feel and a paranormal twist, this book will make your heart happy. The story follows Theodora as she travels across 1930’s Romania with her ex (who she has no closure with) in order to […]

Posted August 23, 2019 in Reviews / 20 Comments