Crown of Coral and Pearl

Crown of Coral and Pearl
Author: Mara Rutherford
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Release Date: August 27th 2019
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

For generations, the princes of Ilara have married the most beautiful maidens from the ocean village of Varenia. But though every girl longs to be chosen as the next princess, the cost of becoming royalty is higher than any of them could ever imagine…

Nor once dreamed of seeing the wondrous wealth and beauty of Ilara, the kingdom that’s ruled her village for as long as anyone can remember. But when a childhood accident left her with a permanent scar, it became clear that her identical twin sister, Zadie, would likely be chosen to marry the Crown Prince—while Nor remained behind, unable to ever set foot on land.

Then Zadie is gravely injured, and Nor is sent to Ilara in her place. To Nor’s dismay, her future husband, Prince Ceren, is as forbidding and cold as his home—a castle carved into a mountain and devoid of sunlight. And as she grows closer to Ceren’s brother, the charming Prince Talin, Nor uncovers startling truths about a failing royal bloodline, a murdered queen… and a plot to destroy the home she was once so eager to leave.

In order to save her people, Nor must learn to negotiate the treacherous protocols of a court where lies reign and obsession rules. But discovering her own formidable strength may be the one move that costs her everything: the crown, Varenia and Zadie.

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Crown of Coral and Pearl is a great book. The story is so unique and interesting and the plot is fast paced. Plus Nor is such a badass you couldn’t have a better MC.

I loved Nor. Nor is absolutely what made the book for me. She is brave and fearless and doesn’t take anyone’s crap. Even when maybe she should calm it down a little. She also have such a severe love for her family and her sister. Even when her mother is crap to her. She still understands where she is coming from. She can see what lies beneath people’s exterior.

One of the reasons for this is because Nor grew up in Varenia. A kingdom that survives by harvesting pearls from their deep waters and creating an alliance with the kingdom of Ilara by sending their most beautiful girl as a bride. The people of Varenia are not allowed to leave and they live in fear of these rules that they follow them closely. It’s almost like a prison, even though they love their home and their people. Very complicated in a way. They also hold beauty to an impossibly high standard because they want one of their daughters chosen at the choosing ceremony. Not only for the bride price but also the honor. So these girls are severely judged on their looks. Nor was scarred as a young child and therefore is out of the running for the ceremony. This however gives her an unexpected freedom and allows her to see how the beauty standards are ridiculous.

We actually spend a lot of time on Varenia before a bride needs to be sent and when Zadie can no longer go. Nor must go in her place. Once she gets to the Ilara and sees that things are not as they seem. The plot really picks up and gets very crazy with politics and court mysteries. It keeps you reading. We are also introduced to a host of characters that I did develop a fondness for.

The romance is sweet and cute. There is definitely a large difference between Ceren the crown prince and Talin, his half brother.

I don’t want to say too much about the characters because i don’t want to give any of the story away. I did really really enjoy it and I’m curious what the sequel is going to be about. I imagine it will be great too.

Mara Rutherford began her writing career as a journalist but quickly discovered she far preferred fantasy to reality. Originally from California, Mara has since lived all over the world, from Russia to Peru, along with her Marine-turned-diplomat husband and two sons. A triplet born on Leap Day, Mara holds a Master's degree in Cultural Studies from the University of London and would rather study the folklore of her next post than the language (which she has found is a lot more fun but not nearly as useful). She is a former Pitch Wars mentee and three-time mentor. Her debut YA fantasy, CORAL AND PEARL, will release from Harlequin Teen in Fall 2019.

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Ends: 2nd September 2019
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Song of the Abyss by Makiia Lucier

Song of the Abyss (Tower of Winds #2)
Author: Makiia Lucier
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Release Date: August 27th 2019
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Ancient grievances, long-held grudges, and dangerous magic combine in this sweeping standalone fantasy perfect for fans of Tamora Pierce and Rachel Hartman.

They came in the night as she dreamt, in her berth, on a ship sailing home to del Mar. After, they would be all Reyna thought about: two carracks painted scorpion black. No emblem on either forecastle, no pennants flying above the mainmasts to hint at a kingdom of origin.

Never a good sign.

As the granddaughter of a famed navigator, seventeen-year-old Reyna has always lived life on her own terms, despite those who say a girl could never be an explorer for the royal house of St. John del Mar. She is determined to prove them wrong, and as she returns home after a year-long expedition, she knows her dream is within reach. No longer an apprentice, instead: Reyna, Master Explorer.

But when menacing raiders attack her ship, those dreams are pushed aside. Reyna's escape is both desperate and dangerous, and when next she sees her ship, a mystery rises from the deep. The sailors--her captain, her countrymen--have vanished. To find them, Reyna must use every resource at her disposal . . . including placing her trust in a handsome prince from a rival kingdom.

Together they uncover a disturbing truth. The attack was no isolated incident. Troubling signs point to a shadowy kingdom in the north, and for once, the rulers of the Sea of Magdalen agree: something must be done. But can Reyna be brave enough to find a way?

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I loved Isle of Blood and Stone and even though this is the second book in the Tower of Winds series, you don’t need the first in order to read Song of the Abyss. They happen in the same world and some characters make reappearances (which of course makes me smile) but this is Reyna’s story.

I loved the characters! Especially Reyna, Levi and Blaise. I would also like to see more with Vashti in a future book. If there are not going to be anymore books. I would be very very sad.

So Reyna was a little fireball in Isle of Blood and Stone, which she continues here. She’s been studying to be a Master Explorer and doesn’t let her gender get in the way. She’s dealt with some very serious prejudice against her but she still prevails. She has a strong will and won’t let anything get in her way of protecting her maps. Which shows her dedication to her work.

I love the interactions between her and Levi. Levi is a Captain of his own ship but also second born son to the King of Lunes. In his country, the oldest his heir and it doesn’t matter if you are a boy or girl. So his sister Vashti takes up the throne when their father passes away. You kind of expect him to be either rough or snotty. He is neither and his actually very kind and even a little sensitive. He cares greatly about his crew and works hard as captain of his ship. The way he treats Reyna is so cute at times. Even though their little romance is not a main focus of the story, it’s very sweet and the perfect amount to dose you with.

The plot is great. Crews of ships are going missing and nobody knows why but there is suspicion that they might be taken for the human trafficking. Reyna is sent to investigate with the help of Levi. I really enjoyed the mystery behind the story and where it would take us. As pieces fall together, I’m like I know. I know what is happening and I am itching to tell someone. I wish I was buddy reading because I really want to tell someone and then I thought about how clever it was.

So Miramar and the Miranese are a very interesting culture and I like the way their world was built. We know they are isolated and that it reminded me of the first emperor of China’s domain. Especially something in particular……. So I really enjoyed getting not only to see Miramar but a little bit of Lunes too. Again we need another book to explore more!!!!

I really loved Song of the Abyss. I recommend both books, but of course you can read either alone.

Makiia is the author of historical fiction and historical fantasy for young adults. She grew up on the Pacific Island of Guam (not too far from the equator), and has degrees in journalism and library science from the University of Oregon and the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee.

Her debut novel, A Death-Struck Year, was called a "powerful and disturbing reading experience" by Publishers Weekly, and was a finalist for Germany's top book prize for children, the Deutscher Jugendliteraturpreis. Her second novel, Isle of Blood and Stone, was inspired by her love of Indiana Jones movies and old, old maps.

She lives with her family in North Carolina.

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Ends: 4th September 2019
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House of Salt and Sorrow by Erin A. Craig

Title: House of Salt & Sorrow
Author: Erin A. Craig
Publisher: August 6th 2019 by Delacorte

In a manor by the sea, twelve sisters are cursed.

Annaleigh lives a sheltered life at Highmoor, a manor by the sea, with her sisters, their father, and stepmother. Once they were twelve, but loneliness fills the grand halls now that four of the girls' lives have been cut short. Each death was more tragic than the last—the plague, a plummeting fall, a drowning, a slippery plunge—and there are whispers throughout the surrounding villages that the family is cursed by the gods.

Disturbed by a series of ghostly visions, Annaleigh becomes increasingly suspicious that the deaths were no accidents. Her sisters have been sneaking out every night to attend glittering balls, dancing until dawn in silk gowns and shimmering slippers, and Annaleigh isn't sure whether to try to stop them or to join their forbidden trysts. Because who—or what—are they really dancing with?

When Annaleigh's involvement with a mysterious stranger who has secrets of his own intensifies, it's a race to unravel the darkness that has fallen over her family—before it claims her next.

House of Salt and Sorrow is one of those amazing books that you just can’t put down. A retelling of one(I have many) of my favorite Fairy Tales (Another one I would rewatch on Fairytale Theater) the Twelve Dancing Princesses. It takes the story and changes it up into something completely new and exciting.

The one thing I really really liked how about the story is how close the sisters are. They truly love and rely on each other. When we open the story we are at one of the twelve sisters funerals and as the story progresses you start to feel sad that you didn’t get to know the sisters that are missing. Due to the deaths though, the family is considered cursed and the girls find that they are feeling trapped. There is no one that is willing to even dance with them, let alone court them for fear that they will be cursed as well. So the girls decide to find their own way to have fun.

There is also some thriller/mystery parts of the book as well. Which leads me to do my best not to give the plot away because it is good. It keeps you wondering what exactly is going on and when all is revealed you kind of have that. Ahhh moment.

I love Annaleigh and her thirst for truth. She also kind, in the face of not wanting to be kind. Which is where we see a lot of her interactions with her father and her stepmother. It was interesting to see how much interaction we get from them. I also like how she isn’t so easily swayed and does not easily back down. She knows there is more to the story and she will find out. I also really enjoyed Cassius and her interactions with him.

So this book does have Gods. The most prominent in the girl's life is Pontus. He is the creator of the island and the island people. So with that they have a different culture than the mainland. One of the main things being the treatment of heirs and girls. Having twelve daughters was joyous for their father. He didn’t need a boy. There are other Gods and different parts of their world are considered those Gods/Godesses people which is all explained in the story.

I loved the writing style and the pacing. I felt both were perfect for this type of story. I could see how it might feel slower for others though.

I loved House of Salt and Sorrow and you should absolutely pick it up. Especially if you love retellings that use the framework but turn the story into something completely new.

A Touch of Gold by Annie Sullivan

A Touch of Gold by Annie Sullivan
Publisher: BLINK
Release Date: August 14, 2018
Genres: Young Adult Fiction -- Mythology, Retelling

King Midas once had the ability to turn all he touched into gold. But after his gift—or curse—almost killed his daughter, Midas relinquished The Touch forever. Ten years later, Princess Kora still bears the consequences of her father’s wish: her skin shines golden, rumors follow her everywhere she goes, and she harbors secret powers that are getting harder to hide.

Kora spends her days locked in the palace, concealed behind gloves and veils, trying to ignore the stares and gossip of courtiers. It isn’t until a charming young duke arrives that Kora realizes there may be someone out there who doesn’t fear her or her curse. But their courtship is disrupted when a thief steals precious items from the kingdom, leaving the treasury depleted and King Midas vulnerable. Thanks to her unique ability to sense gold, Kora is the only one who can track the thief down. As she sails off on her quest, Kora learns that not everything is what it seems—not thieves, not pirates, and not even curses. She quickly discovers that gold—and the power it brings—is more dangerous than she’d ever believed.

Midas learned his lesson at a price. What will Kora’s journey cost?

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Kora is cursed and not because of anything she did but because of what her father did. I felt so sorry for her character and the way other people judged her. She’s trapped in this life that she didn’t want and there is nothing she could do about it. I was thinking what would be like if she wasn’t a princess and protected. I like how she rises to challenges though. Almost heedless of her own safety and is willing to do anything to save her father. Even though he cursed her she can see what happened, how it happened, why it happened and have empathy for the situation.

King Midas is a Greek myth but I think I enjoyed this version more. A flushed out adventure that has us traveling across the sea and dealing with pirates! Of course Pirates I love a good pirate story. This a good one. I also loved all of the grew aboard the Swanflight, even the ones that weren’t originally supposed to be there.

There is love, loss, betrayal and twist so I won’t give away anything about the plot. Except that it’s well written and fast paced. I couldn’t put the book down once I started reading and I had those moments of oh wow I’m already this far. It is a really fun read.

So I really loved the book and I can’t wait for the next one. However, I have to say you could read this one and possibly be satisfied with the end but I can’t wait to see where the characters adventures could take them next.

Annie Sullivan is a Young Adult author from Indianapolis, Indiana. Her work has been featured in Curly Red Stories and Punchnels. She loves fairytales, everything Jane Austen, and traveling and exploring new cultures. When she’s not off on her own adventures, she’s teaching classes at the Indiana Writers Center and working as the Copy Specialist at John Wiley and Sons, Inc. publishing company, having also worked there in Editorial and Publicity roles. You can follow her adventures on Twitter and Instagram (@annsulliva).

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Prize: 5 BLINK Summer Reading Tour Book Bundles (A Touch of Gold, Meet the Sky, No Place Like Here, Pretty In Punxsutawney, and Swing by Kwame Alexander) (USA)

Starts: 7/22/19
Ends: 8/9/19

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Before I Disappear by Danielle Stinson

Before I Disappear
Author: Danielle Stinson
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Release Date: July 23, 2019
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi, Fantasy

Rose Montgomery parks her family’s trailer in Fort Glory, Oregon with one goal: to carve out a new life for herself and her little brother, Charlie. They need a fresh start for their family, and she thinks she's finally found it in a town where nobody knows them.

But Rose’s plans come crashing down when, in an instant, Fort Glory disappears and every person in town vanishes into thin air—including Charlie.

Rose and four other teens become trapped in the Fold, a patch of woods caught halfway between the real world and the lost town. In the Fold, a mysterious force suspends the laws of physics, and everyone’s inner darkness has the power to kill.

To survive the Fold, Rose must unravel the clues Charlie sends her from the missing town. And Rose has to find Charlie soon—or he'll be gone forever.

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Before I Disappear was an interesting book that I don’t think I was quite expecting. I wanted to read it because as a kid I loved a movie called Brigadoon, which is about a disappearing town. This book is absolutely nothing like that, except the town disappears, ha ha.

I did really like the story. At first I wasn’t so sure because there were things, about Charlie especially, that confused me. If you stick with it though, the story becomes really intriguing. Especially as the characters deal with the darkness, which has a lot of connection to the darkness inside themselves.

I would definitely call this book Sci-Fi because it deals a lot with Atom Smashing, Alternate Universes and Wormholes. There is actually a place by me called Fermilab that used to have an Atom Smasher. So I really liked this idea of a program that was built under the town, shut down and recently revived for another use that was affecting the town. So even though the book is Sci-Fi, I felt like it has that thriller aspect that I really love in stories like this. So some of my confusion was good confusion. Like what is happening with this town!! Kind of good way. Plus once you get more and more into the book, things start to make more sense.

I absolutely love the sibling bond between Rosie and Charlie.Charlie is full of wisdom that he gives to her in tid bits and she is his protector. The way they work together is sweet and is a major part of the story. The most important part of the story.

Rosie is a character that has been through a lot. Her history is not pretty and it has made her very skeptical of everyone. She keeps people at arms distance but she also realizes she can't live like this forever. You get to see her struggle with finding a home in the world. She truly loves her brother and mother and would do anything for them. So even though she seems way to prideful at times, she is really trying and that is commendable.

We do end up with a band of characters that work together. Rosie, Ian, Jeremy, Blaine and Becca. I’m always a big fan of having a strong group of characters that work together and play off each other.

It’s hard to talk about the plot because it would ruin the mystery. I definitely found it intriguing though and it is a quick read because the pacing keeps you moving. If you enjoy Sci-Fi thrillers this would be one to check out.

Stories were a central part of Danielle Stinson's childhood. Growing up in a military family meant frequent moves across the US and abroad. She spent many summers in her room surrounded by unpacked boxes and stacks of library books. She cur-rently lives with her husband and four boys in Virginia, where she writes fiction for young adults. Before I Disappear is her debut novel.

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Cover Reveal : Crave by Tracy Wolff

Crave by New York Times bestselling author Tracy Wolff

Release Date: April 7, 2020

Crave is a romantic and thrilling tale of forbidden love, about the undying battle between feeling nothing and feeling so much, it could destroy everyone you love.

Sea Witch Rising by Sarah Henning

Sea Witch Rising (Sea Witch #2)
Author: Sarah Henning
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Release Date: August 6th 2019
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult, Retellings

“The Little Mermaid” takes a twisted turn in this thrilling sequel to villainess origin story Sea Witch, as the forces of land and sea clash in an epic battle for freedom, redemption, and true love.

Runa will not let her twin sister die. Alia traded her voice to the Sea Witch for a shot at happiness with a prince who doesn’t love her. And his rejection will literally kill her—unless Runa intervenes.

Under the sea, Evie craves her own freedom—but liberation from her role as Sea Witch will require an exchange she may not be willing to make. With their hearts’ desires at odds, what will Runa and Evie be willing to sacrifice to save their worlds?

Told from alternating perspectives, this epic fairy tale retelling is a romantic and heart-wrenching story about the complications of sisterhood, the uncompromising nature of magic, and the cost of redemption.

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Sea Witch Rising brings the world and Evie back from Sea Witch. Following a new story that revolves around one of two sisters and I really enjoyed it.

I have never thought of Evie as Ursla, or even the Sea Witch from the Hans Christian Anderson version. Evie is her own person and I’ve had a fondness for her since reading The Sea Witch. I was really sad at the end of that book and really wanted her to catch a break in this one.

The first half of the story actually reminds me of the Hans Christian Anderson original The Little Mermaid. Only with a kinder prince, despite him still referring to her has his little foundling. I do not like that at all. When I was a kid I used to watch something called Faerie Tale Theatre and they have a version of The Little Mermaid. Which closely follows the original. I just remember this dress with these awful puffy sleeves. Anyway, it reminded me of that. Although even though the story of The Little Mermaid is unfolding another story is also flowing around it. That of Evie and Runa. Who are our main POV’s. I really liked both characters. Something more complex between both the sea and the land kingdoms.

I really loved Runa. She’s such a fighter and it was fun to follow along with her story. She starts out fighting for her sister but sea there is a greater cause and plunges full into it. I like how her relationship develops with Evie as well. She starts to see that what she was taught and what the true story is are two different things. She also has a little side love that is sweet but not overpowering to her story.

As far as world building is concerned, it’s very similar to the first book. We are seeing the same places that we did before. I like the little nod to the cottage. I’m not sure what exact time and place it has happening. Being the U-boats kind of threw me off. I know we are fifty years from Evie’s story and the Prince is Nik’s grandson. I think in my mind I just keep putting it in fairy tale land for some reason.

I really like Sarah Hennings writing style. It has a lot of descriptions and a little more lyrical. It was also fast paced and the story being the two parts like it is also keeps it interesting.

I really liked Sea Witch Rising. Probably more than I did Sea Witch. Only because I hated Anna so much and really liked Evie. Ha ha. Evie still makes me sad because of how things turned out for her in the first book but I really liked Runa and I was glad that she took a stil little sad but different track.

Sarah Henning is a recovering journalist who has worked for the Palm Beach Post, Kansas City Star and Associated Press, among others. While in South Florida, Sarah lived and worked through five hurricanes, which gave her an extreme respect for the ocean. When not writing, she runs ultramarathons, hits the playground with her two kids and hangs out with her husband Justin, who doubles as her long-suffering IT department. Sarah lives in Lawrence, Kansas, which, despite being extremely far from the beach, happens to be pretty cool.

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Starts: 16th July 2019
Ends: 30th July 2019

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