"Hollywood Witch Hunter" Cover Re-Reveal!

Hello everyone! I (among other bloggers) am so so happy to reveal the BRAND NEW cover for Hollywood Witch Hunter by Valerie Tejeda, which was first revealed earlier today on USAToday.com! Now, before I reveal the new cover, here's a little intro about Val and the links to find her! (p.s. she and her husband, Brent, are absolutely HILARIOUS on Snapchat so make sure to follow them! (*username in the About section!*)

And there's also a Rafflecopter GIVEAWAY for HWH swag, a gift card, & more! So make sure to check out the link to the giveaway all the way at the bottom of this post!

About Valerie: 

Entertainment journalist and author Valerie Tejeda spends her days reporting on books, television, and all things pertaining to pop culture, and spends her nights writing novels for teens. She holds a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology and is currently based in California with her husband where she reads loads of books, binge-watches Netflix, and drinks tons of coffee. Hollywood Witch Hunter is her debut novel.

Twitter // Instagram // Website // Facebook // Tumblr // Goodreads // Snapchat username: authorvaltejeda

And now for the cover reveal!

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Here it is!! Hope you guys like it, because I absolutely LOVE IT!! Leave in the comments if you like it too! ♥

Synopsis: 

From the moment Iris first learned the truth about witches she knew she was born to fight them.

Now, at sixteen, she’s got witch hunting down to a science. As the lone girl on the Witch Hunters Special Ops Team, Iris has to work twice as hard to prove her worth. But when an A-list actress is murdered on her watch, that task becomes a hell of a lot harder.

But murdered celebrities are just the start…a mysterious new hunter has arrived on the scene, and he’s as cute as he is deadly. But there’s more to Arlo than meets the eye, and there’s more at stake than Iris’s reputation.

Evil is rising in the hills of Hollywood, and it’s up to Iris and Arlo to end this battle. Iris is ready to protect the human race at all costs, even if it destroys her.

Because that’s what witch hunters do.

Places to buy "Hollywood Witch Hunter":

*To celebrate the new cover, HWH is on SALE now for $0.99 until Friday, October 2nd*

B&N

Amazon

iBooks

Kobo

Google Play

Books-A-Million (BAM!)

GIVEAWAY link!
(*It begins September 28th and ends on October 4th!*)

*CLOSED*

Thank you for visiting my blog and reading this post! I highly recommend this book to everyone who loves supernatural/fantasy YA books with a kick-ass heroine! Plus there's tons of swooning and heart pounding action! Make sure to check out Val's social media links, because she's such an amazing person that I had the pleasure of meeting and continuing to support since I know there will be great things coming her way!

"Hollywood Witch Hunter" (ARC Review)

My rating: ★★★★★

Author: Valerie Tejeda

Series: Book #1 ("Hollywood Witch Hunter" series)

Genre: Supernatural, Action, Romance, Young Adult

Page Count: 232 (e-book)

Release Date: July 20th, 2015

Publisher: Bloomsbury Spark

Places to order:
Amazon (Kindle)
Barnes & Noble (eBook)
iBooks
Kobo

About Valerie:

Entertainment journalist and author Valerie Tejeda spends her days reporting on books, television, and all things pertaining to pop culture, and spends her nights writing novels for teens. Her stories have appeared on a variety of different publications, including but not limited to: Vanity Fair, MTV, The Huffington Post, Teen Vogue, She Knows, Latina, The Fix, Salon.com, Cosmopolitan, and more.

As a journalist, Valerie has conducted interviews with best-selling authors as well as fashion designers, celebrity stylists, including Selena Gomez’s stylist Basia Richards, professional athletes, and actors and producers from hit shows on FOX, CW, and ABC.

With Latina, North African and Jewish ancestry, Valerie is passionate about not only promoting diversity, but also, writing stories with diverse characters.

Valerie Tejeda holds a Bachelors of Arts in Psychology and is currently based in California with her husband where she reads loads of books, binge-watches Netflix, and drinks tons of coffee. Her debut young adult novel HOLLYWOOD WITCH HUNTER will be published worldwide by Bloomsbury Publishing under their Spark imprint in 2015.

Website // Twitter // Instagram // Goodreads

Synopsis:

From the moment she first learned the truth about witches…she knew she was born to fight them.

Now, at sixteen, Iris is the lone girl on the Witch Hunters Special Ops Team.

But when Iris meets a boy named Arlo, he might just be the key to preventing an evil uprising in Southern California.

Together they're ready to protect the human race at all costs. Because that's what witch hunters do.

My review:

Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury Spark for a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review. (This is a *NON-SPOILER* review!)

Step aside Katniss Everdeen and Tris Prior, get ready to meet the new heroine on the block. Iris Maria Bently is a kick-ass, Latina witch hunter who's ready to show Hollywood what she's made of.

Hollywood Witch Hunter is fast-paced and witty with a unique set of characters that aren't what you typically see in an action-packed, supernatural YA novel. This book will surely capture the attention of fans of "Supernatural," The Mortal Instruments and "Buffy The Vampire Slayer."

When Valerie emailed me about her debut book, I was immediately intrigued and had to look up the synopsis, because the title Hollywood Witch Hunter got me wondering what kind of book this was going to be. After I read the synopsis, I definitely wanted to get the chance to read this and thank god I looked it up on NetGalley. This novel is a new favorite, for sure, because Valerie incorporated so much into this novel AND was able to keep the story rolling at an incredible speed to point where I was sitting, wondering where the rest of the pages went and realized that I was already done (you can imagine how upset I was that there wasn't more...). Now I'm going to talk about the main characters and how I liked their roles in the story.

Iris. This girl is definitely a new favorite amongst the list of heroines that I feel each represent a different side of YA that a reader can relate to. Iris is a half Columbian witch hunter--the first ever female witch hunter--and she is tough, snarky, loyal, and passionate. She has the characteristics that I feel that everyone wants to have and admires because even though she's stubborn at times, she's passionate about her job as a with hunter and just wants to feel like she's truly part of the witch hunting world. But throughout the novel, Iris has to go through a lot as a first-ever female witch hunter and being a teenager, as if that wasn't already hard enough. As a witch hunter, she has to deal with the men witch hunters who tell her that she has not right to work in the field and that she wasn't good enough just because she's a girl (*insert eye-roll*). And on top of all that, she has to deal with being a teenage girl: dealing with boys, jumbled up emotions, and finding her way in the world.

Knox. As someone who's an only child, I would love to have Knox as an older brother. He's a flirt that likes to goof-off with Dex (Iris and Knox's cousin) like any other 18-year old, but he protects Iris and loves her fiercely, which is something I admire in an older brother. When his and Iris's father has to leave for a witch hunting job, he puts Knox in charge which makes him responsible for Iris and the decisions that he has to make for the Hollywood witch hunters. With all this responsibility, he has to step up and make the hard choices while also trying to give Iris the opportunities to advance as a witch hunter since he's fully aware of the crap she has to go through as the only female witch hunter.

Arlo. Out of all the YA I've read in my life, I don't think I've ever encountered a character quite like Arlo. For the closest comparison that I could think of, Arlo is similar to Simon Lewis from The Mortal Instruments series by Cassandra Clare. Arlo is nerdy (in the best kind of way), easy-going, open, and kind. He is one of the two love interests in this story that is brand new to the witch hunting world. He was found by the witch hunters in San Francisco and because he had no idea he was a witch hunter, they decided to send him Hollywood since the witch hunters in Hollywood have a better training facility and program for him. Immediately upon arrival, something sparks between Iris and Arlo. He's extremely friendly and curious about the world that Iris lives in and it's her job to help and guide him through what the witch hunters do and the rules that are set. As the story goes, him and Iris have an interesting relationship that gets complicated because certain people enter the story (aka Silos and Belinda).

Silos. OK, this guy is a YA character that I would love to meet in real life. He's from Scotland (*swoons*) and his role in this story is rather interesting since he is the other love interest and he shares the same strange dreams as Iris, which draws them together. Silos is extremely good looking but mysterious as he enters Iris's life, which complicates her feelings for Arlo. There are multiple things that occur between Iris and Silos that bring them closer together but there are also instances where, as the reader, you know that there's something not quite right about him and that he's keeping something from Iris. At the end of the novel, it made it very hard to pick between Silos and Arlo because Silos starts to really care for Iris, which makes him even more swoon worthy (besides his Scottish accent).

Belinda. In the witch hunter world (well, at least in Hollywood), Belinda is the witch that you wouldn't want to mess with. The books start off with a story about Belinda and how the witches were all cursed by her; in order for her to stay young and beautiful, Belinda takes the lives of young women who fit the profile of a stuck-up rich girl. And because of this, Belinda placed a curse on all the witches in Hollywood that forces them to take these types of lives in order to survive. In the beginning, things are black and white: witches are bad and witch hunters kill them. There are deaths that begin to occur in this story, and Iris immediately believes that Belinda is to blame since she's the leader of the witches and the first death to occur was a very high profile actress. But as the story continues, we get to see a different side of Belinda and this upsets Iris because, first, she gets jealous when Belinda meets Arlo and things happen between them, and two, Iris has been told to believe that all witches are bad, especially Belinda--so it's hard for Iris to change her opinion about her. Belinda plays a significant role in this story and especially in the ending. I enjoyed this character and can't wait to see what she's going to do in the next book.

I know that a lot of readers are sick of books with love triangles, but I assure you, this love triangle isn't crazy intense like Bella, Edward, and Jacob status; this book keeps most of the focus on the deaths that are occurring in Hollywood and how Iris, the other witch hunters, and some unlikely allies solve this mystery.

Now, in this book, there are different types of witches! Valerie did an amazing job creating and making up different classifications of witches instead of just saying that a witch does magic.

1. Ethas witch has access to elemental spells such as fire, water, air and earth. 
2. Matas witch has access to spells that can summon animals or insects.
3. Protas witch has access to telepathic and telekinetic spells.

At the end, Valerie dropped a couple cliff-hanger bombs for us.

One of the cliff-hangers got me like...

and another cliffhanger got me like.....

and now, this is me dying to read the next book

I NEED TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS NEXT, VAL!

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and gave it 5 out of 5 stars because this is Val's first novel and for a first novel, this one was packed with a little bit of everything and leaves you wanting to know what's going to happen next for Iris and the other characters! I think Val created an great, new-take on the world with witches and witch hunters, and I really liked how this novel is a diverse YA, because many readers these days have troubling relating to a protagonist and connecting with the story on a different level, but this novel is something that everyone can relate to and enjoy fully.

Here's the *super* shortened version of what goes on in this book:

• Fast-paced 
• Fun(ny)
• Variety of interesting characters 
• Not-too-complicated love triangle
• Kick-ass, Latina heroine
• New take on witches (Ethas, Matas, Protas)
• Plot twists

On a side note, I had the wonderful opportunity to meet Valerie when she came down for the YA Book Bash and she was an awesome host! You guys, she's honestly so so kind and super sweet and it would amazing if you guys check her out via social media (in the "About Valerie" section at the top) and buy her book online!

"P.S. I Still Love You"

My rating: ★★★★☆

Author: Jenny Han

Series: Book #2 ("To All The Boys I've Loved Before" series)

Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult

Page Count: 352 (Hardcover)

Release Date: May 26th, 2015

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Places to order:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Book Depository
Chapters Indigo
Target

Synopsis:

Lara Jean didn’t expect to really fall for Peter.

She and Peter were just pretending. Except suddenly they weren’t. Now Lara Jean is more confused than ever.

When another boy from her past returns to her life, Lara Jean’s feelings for him return too. Can a girl be in love with two boys at once?

In this charming and heartfelt sequel to the New York Times bestseller To All the Boys I’ve Loved Before, we see first love through the eyes of the unforgettable Lara Jean. Love is never easy, but maybe that’s part of makes it so amazing.

My review:

This first half of my review will be *SPOILER FREE*, then the other half will contain spoilers (i'll notify when that will happen)

I have to admit, the first half of this book was slow, but I enjoyed how Jenny introduced the readers more to the Korean side of Lara Jean and the rest of the Song sisters as well as getting to meet other family relatives. Since I am Korean myself, I felt more connected to the story and the characters because Jenny talks about Korean New Year's and the traditions that take place (i.e. clothing, meaning, food). I also think this is really important for the readers to read about different cultures (for example, Korean culture in this series) because it shows that this book/series is considered "Diverse YA" and that's something that the YA community needs more of and I'm so so glad that Jenny was able to contribute to this new trend that we want to keep evolving and growing.

Another aspect of this book that I felt was important (-ish) to have was the world around Lara Jean and how she's growing up which means that she has to think about college, internships/jobs, and finishing high school, but Jenny wrote the story in a way that didn't make all of those outside factors feel overwhelming and make it feel like the central part of the story.

This book has new characters that play important roles in Lara Jean's life and old ones that are still involved in the story but not as much like in the first book (Margot and Josh), which is something I like in sequels or continuations. We get to see more Kitty (Margot and Lara Jean's youngest, feistiest sister) and meet a new character named Stormy, who lives in a retirement home that Lara Jean will meet and grow close to.

Onto Lara Jean.

Lara Jean Song Covey is the same as ever: super awkward, asks a lot of questions, extreme baker  and hopeless romantic. She finally decides that she wants to be with Peter and not Josh (her next door neighbor that she was in love with in the first book) at the end of "To All The Boys I've Loved Before" (at least from what I remember) and now, she's ready to dive into a relationship with Peter Kavinsky--aka total heartthrob and the boy she pretended to be dating in the first book. Well, maybe she's ready....

There were multiple times when I rooted for Lara Jean, but then with of the other times, I felt that she was acting childish and stubborn and defensive. But to be fair, those characteristics revolve around Lara Jean being extremely careful with her heart since she's never really dated anyone before and that she's terrified of getting her heart broken. One of the things I was a little disappointed about was how Lara Jean didn't really grow as a character; through most of the book, she had really bad trust issues with Peter (about certain things I won't say because spoilers) and kept making assumptions without getting all the facts/listening to him. But you still love her awkwardness and inability to think sanely when she's with Peter.

Now Peter Kavinsky.

He's still as charming and hot as ever, but this time, he's giving LJ a run for her money. He and LJ get serious in this book, since they're no longer pretending to be in a relationship, but what he doesn't really understand is the fact that LJ is going doubt or look for the worst possible things/outcomes of their relationship since she 1) doesn't want her heart broken and 2) has never been in a real relationship before, which scares the hell out of (because she doesn't want to lose him/feel inexperienced or lower to Genevieve since she was with him before LJ).

Hellooo John Ambrose McClaren.

John ("Johnny") appeared in the first book for a short hot second when LJ was at the Model UN event and saw him there (but didn't go up and say hi to him or anything). After that, John finally gets her love letter in the mail and now, LJ is all he's thinking about. He was Peter's best friend in middle school before he moved and was the kid that was "second" to Peter. He's sweet and awkward (not as much as LJ) and kind to LJ when he comes back, but then figures out that she and Peter were together. I liked how when he wasn't blatantly trying to get with LJ; he was polite and stuck by her side as a friend and never tried to make a move on her (which was very gentleman-like if I do say so myself). He's a great character to have in this story and because he was very different from Peter, I liked how LJ was when she was with him.

And finally we have KITTY.

God, I loved Kitty in this book. As the reader, you get to see more of her in this book and how she has grown as a character (unlike LJ) and how she's grown-up a little since TATBILB. Again, she is sneaky and very straightforward and strong headed, but she still has a soft side, and I also think it's good for her to watch how Margot and LJ handle their lives as teenagers so that she could learn from them (especially about love) when she grows older. Her role in this book has definitely increased and becomes a more involved character (unlike the first book where I feel like Margot was more involved).

*SPOILERS AHEAD*

*PROCEED AT YOUR OWN RISK*

Okay, let's get to the specifics.

When the end revealed how Genevieve's father was cheating on his wife/her mom with an 18-year old, I honestly felt bad for her; I knew that she was going through something really bad and but I was getting a little annoyed that LJ was so freakin' oblivious and didn't catch on that something was OBVIOUSLY wrong or upsetting her, and she should have trusted Peter a little bit more when he said he couldn't tell her what Genevieve's secret was (and it was a huge, personal secret)--granted, he should have told LJ the second he figured out that it was Genevieve who sent that hot tub video to "Anonybitch" since they made the contract saying that they wouldn't lie to each other--but LJ should have trusted him when it came to Genevieve...

I loved John because when I read the part where he confessed to LJ that he was planning to ask her to the dance in 8th grade, I almost fell out of my chair from feels. HE LIKED HER at the same time when SHE LIKED HIM. I was actually hoping that the end would have LJ with John and Genevieve with Peter because LJ could have easily been happy with John and he would, for damn sure, have tried to make her the happiest girl in the world. The part when he gave her the snow globe made my heart burst. *sighs* Also, I only say that I would have approved of Peter and Genevieve because he does know a lot about her family enough for Genevieve to turn to him since she couldn't talk to anyone else. But I guess I'm glad that LJ and Peter got together in the end, but I feel so SAD for John since he truly loved LJ. *cue deep sigh*

About the ending, I don't like how it ended so abruptly; when John came to see LJ at her school to give her her birthday gift, I was like, "YASSS I'm ready to ship LJ and John together." But then Peter comes out of NOWHERE and is like, "Oh, here, you can have the necklace back even though I was a total ass for taking it back. Now let's get back together." UGH that part didn't work for me at all... and then two pages later, LJ tells John that she wants to get back together with Peter and then *BOOM* they're back together and the book ends....

Like, wait... she IMMEDIATELY takes back Peter even though LJ is clearly leading John on and he even showed/proved to her that he wanted to really be with her. AND he doesn't have any baggage (*cough cough* ex-girlfriends *cough cough* Genevieve) and has been nothing but honest and helpful and supportive to her.

Yes, I totally agree that Peter is charming and caring and sexy and all, but he lied to her about knowing that Genevieve sent the video and that he couldn't have been more honest with LJ about Genevieve (i.e. telling LJ AHEAD OF TIME that he would be seeing Genevieve because she was suffering or alone). LJ probably wouldn't have liked the idea of that either, but at least she trust Peter more since he would have been more honest with her (if you catch my drift).

Also, I love Stormy in this book! She was a great add-in character who's connected with LJ (because she needed a job so she works at the retirement home) and John since she's his great-grandmother (by the way, I TOTALLY CALLED IT in the beginning when Stormy was trying to set LJ up with her grandson hehehe). She's a sassy, old woman who gives LJ advice about boys since Stormy has had her share of boyfriends when she was young and is a different adult figure that LJ looks up to and enjoys talking with her.

Overall, I really did enjoy this book and I think Jenny's writing, plot, and feels for these two boys make up for the things that I didn't really like and it breaks my heart that there won't be a third book since this was a duology, but I'm satisfied (-ish) with LJ's story ending here. ♥

That's it for this review and I hope you all enjoyed it! I would love to hear your thoughts on "P.S. I Still Love You" and if you either felt the same or differently than I did! :)

~Whitney Lauren

"Hello, I Love You"

My rating: ★★★★☆

Author: Katie M. Stout

Series: Stand-alone

Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Music, Travel, Fiction, Young Adult

Page Count: 304 (Hardcover)

Release Date: June 9th, 2015

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Hardcover: 978-1-250-05259-9

Places to order:
Amazon
Barnes & Noble
Book Depository
Booksamillion
Indiebound

About Katie:

I'm from Atlanta, Georgia, but I have a passion for travel, which has taken me all over the world. I've lived in Thailand and England, and I've visited five continents. I love Southern sweet tea and English sticky toffee pudding, and I work in social media and marketing for a Christian charity.

I wrote this book called HELLO, I LOVE YOU, which is my YA debut and will be released in 2015 by Thomas Dunne Books/St. Martin's. It's about cute boys, sassy girls, and K-pop, and it was described by one reader as "the country, Asian, YA pop version of PRIDE AND PREJUDICE," which sounds about right to me. I'm excited to get to share it with readers!

Website // Twitter // Instagram // Tumblr // Pinterest // Goodreads



Synopsis:
A teen escapes to a boarding school abroad and falls for a Korean pop star in this fun and fresh romantic novel in the vein of Anna and the French Kiss.

Grace Wilde is running—from the multi-million dollar mansion her record producer father bought, the famous older brother who’s topped the country music charts five years in a row, and the mother who blames her for her brother’s breakdown. Grace escapes to the farthest place from home she can think of, a boarding school in Korea, hoping for a fresh start.

She wants nothing to do with music, but when her roommate Sophie’s twin brother Jason turns out to be the newest Korean pop music superstar, Grace is thrust back into the world of fame. She can't stand Jason, whose celebrity status is only outmatched by his oversized ego, but they form a tenuous alliance for the sake of her friendship with Sophie. As the months go by and Grace adjusts to her new life in Korea, even she can't deny the sparks flying between her and the KPOP idol.

Soon, Grace realizes that her feelings for Jason threaten her promise to herself that she'll leave behind the music industry that destroyed her family. But can Grace ignore her attraction to Jason and her undeniable pull of the music she was born to write? Sweet, fun, and romantic, this young adult novel explores what it means to experience first love and discover who you really are in the process.

My review:

Thank you to Michelle Cashman and St. Martin's Griffin for a finalized copy of this novel in advance in exchange for an honest *non-spoiler* review.

Stout delivers a debut that will instantly have you packing your bags for South Korea to look for your own musical heartthrob and to get a taste of a different culture. This novel pulls on the heartstrings of family, unexpected first love, and learning to heal from the past to move to a better future.

When I first heard about this novel, I was immediately intrigued by the idea of South Korea being the main focus/setting in a young adult (YA) novel, because it's something new that most YA novels don't have. I, myself, am Korean but have never been to South Korea, nor know enough of the language to consider myself fluent. It's fun to see new diverse YA out in the world because it's fascinating to read about different cultures and characters with different ethnicities because it makes the story richer and full of life.

The main character, Grace Wilde, starts off in this book practically running away from her hometown in Nashville, Tennessee to an international boarding school in South Korea to escape from her family and some sort of conflict that she had with her brother--and famous country singer--Nathan Cross. She travels to South Korea essentially with no knowledge of the language, culture, people, and what she plans to do after her graduates--well, that's if she is able to pass her tough classes. But with the help of a new, bubbly roommate and her twin brother, Grace's rough transition begins to take a whole different turn.

Sophie Bae is Grace's roommate and constant companion when she first arrives at the Korean School of Foreign Studies. She is the type of friend that I would love to have because she immediately welcomes Grace to this foreign country by staying by her side and taking her under her wing. Sophie is sweet, dependable, and unafraid to be adventurous, especially when it comes to trying new things. As a character, Stout has done a great job of writing Sophie as the roommate/best friend, because the truth is that when you get a roommate, you have no idea what to expect and sometimes, you and your roommate aren't going to agree on certain things; this aspect makes this story much more believable and realistic.

Jason Bae. *sighs* He is Sophie's twin brother who also happens to be part of a KPOP (Korean pop music) group called "Eden" with two other band members Tae Hwa and Yoon Jae. Jason likes to wear skinny jeans, leather jackets, and secretly likes to play old school American rock music. In the beginning, he's an extremely tense character that doesn't reveal much to us, as the readers, and to Grace. As the story progresses, there's this tug-of-war thing that he has with Grace because they both start to fall for each other, but they both have reasons and secrets that keep them from trying to admit it to one another.

In the beginning half of the book, certain conversations or situations between characters seemed a little choppy or awkward, and there were times when Grace acted a little out of character too suddenly after an event has happened. Also, I feel like there were one-too many back-and-forth emotions/actions whenever she interact with Jason (i.e. Grace will want to be with him and then Jason starts to show interest, but then Grace will immediately shut down on him and he's left confused). This happens a couple times in the book and gets me a little confused of her actions and the way that she responds to Jason (this was the only reason why I gave it a 4 out of 5 stars). But later on, it was nice to see Grace grow and heal, especially when she has to deal with her past and confront her problems head-on.

Overall, I really enjoyed reading this debut, and the ending was the cutest thing that made my heart swell up like a bright pink hot air balloon. As I got deeper into the story, I love love LOVE how Stout weaved in an appropriate amount of Korean culture and language (food, greetings, etc.) into this book to make it a great learning experience (or I guess, re-learning experience in my case) for me, as the reader. The storyline was intriguing and charming, yet had dark undertones that I didn't really expect at the end (thanks for making me cry, Katie...), which makes this a pretty great contemporary debut novel. I definitely wish that there was a sequel or a companion book from Sophie's POV, but alas, we'll have to wait to see what Stout has in store for us in her future novels!

~Whitney Lauren

"The Conspiracy of Us"

My rating: ★★★★★

Author: Maggie Hall

Series: Book #1 ("The Conspiracy of Us" trilogy)

Genre: Mystery, Thriller, History, Romance, Fiction, Young Adult

Page Count: 336 (Hardcover)

Release Date: January 13th, 2015

Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

Places to order:
Amazon
Barnes and Noble
Book Depository
Chapter Indigo

About Maggie:

Maggie Hall indulges her obsession with distant lands and far-flung adventures as often as she can. She has played with baby tigers in Thailand, learned to make homemade pasta in Italy, and taken thousands of miles of trains through the vibrant countryside of India. In her past life, she was a bookstore events coordinator and marketing manager, and when she's not on the other side of the world, she lives with her husband and their cats in Albuquerque, New Mexico, where she watches USC football and dabbles in graphic design.


Website // Twitter // Instagram // Tumblr // Pinterest // Goodreads






Synopsis:

A fast-paced international escapade, laced with adrenaline, glamour, and romance--perfect for fans of Ally Carter.

Avery West's newfound family can shut down Prada when they want to shop in peace, and can just as easily order a bombing when they want to start a war. Part of a powerful and dangerous secret society called the Circle, they believe Avery is the key to an ancient prophecy. Some want to use her as a pawn. Some want her dead.

To unravel the mystery putting her life in danger, Avery must follow a trail of clues from the monuments of Paris to the back alleys of Istanbul with two boys who work for the Circle—beautiful, volatile Stellan and mysterious, magnetic Jack. But as the clues expose a stunning conspiracy that might plunge the world into World War 3, she discovers that both boys are hiding secrets of their own. Now she will have to choose not only between freedom and family--but between the boy who might help her save the world, and the one she's falling in love with.

My review:

To everyone who continues to read on, I'm terribly sorry about the number of overwhelming gifs that I use... it seemed like the best way to show you guys how I was feeling while reading this amazing book!

"The Conspiracy of Us" is definitely one of my favorite books of 2015. Why? Well, one, I read the book in less than two days--which makes it an excellent book in my standards. Two, the storyline is unique and original--qualities that I look for in a brand new series! Three, the characters (mostly Avery, Jack and Stellan) are all three-dimensional with secrets that build suspense to the storyline. "The Conspiracy of Us" is a fast-paced story full of mystery and romance with a unique plot centered about a specific historical period that takes the characters on an adventure of discovering the secrets from the past that can have the potential of bettering or destroying the future.

Avery West is the main female protagonist, who constantly moves from city to city due to the nature of her mother's occupation, and has no idea that she had family from her father's side; this is important in the novel because her mother had told her that her father died and that he didn't have any family on his side, but that was a lie. Avery learns that her father's side of the family are part of a secret society called, The Circle of Twelve. Apparently, this "Circle of Twelve" was formed back during the time of Alexander the Great, and plays a huge role in the events that happened over the course of history. I also happen to be a fan of the Ancient Greek time period, so the storyline was fascinating to me! Avery is then thrown into the world of The Circle of Twelve full of politicians, national leaders, royalty and riches with a side dish of murder. She learns that someone is out to get her, but she has no idea why...until she learns the truth about herself later in the book. Because someone is out to kill her, she runs from the world that she just learned about to find answers and the truth about a certain prophecy that could possibly be about her.

Jack Bishop is one of the main male protagonists that plays a huge role throughout this adventure and in Avery's love life (*insert emoji with heart eyes*). The book introduces him through Avery's POV as the super good looking new guy with a compass tattoo on his forearm, who--similar to Avery--didn't really talk to others or make a lot of friends. But then after an event occurs, Jack reveals to Avery that he only enrolled in her high school to keep an eye on her for The Circle of Twelve, or more specifically, for the Saxon family. He goes along with Avery on the quest to find out the truth about the prophecy and who is trying to kill her. I really like how Avery and Jack connect with one another and learn to trust one another as they run for their lives to find answers in different countries while breaking a whole bunch of rules and laws along the way.

Stellan is the other main male protagonist, who is also part of the The Circle of Twelve but works for the Dauphin family. Avery first sees him when she almost hit him with her car while he walked out onto the crosswalk out of nowhere then again at the dance, which was strange since she was sure that he didn't go to school with her. A couple characteristics about him that stood out to Avery included his blondish hair, a slight Russian accent, and a sun tattoo. One thing I really liked about Stellan is that he understands things about Avery that no one else sees; despite his harsh attitude towards Avery, he somehow "gets" Avery and knows more about her than she knows herself. When his past and secrets were revealed, it made more sense about why he acts the way he does and his role in this story, which happens to be a pretty big role.

After certain events (which will not be named because *spoilers*) occur, Avery and Jack team up to figure out the secret behind an ancient puzzle that dates back to the time of Alexander the Great that also includes a prophecy about her and her role in the future for both The Circle and the world (*le gasp*). The whole idea of a prophecy and puzzle that link to a well-known historical greek figure totally intrigued me and kept me flipping page after page so that I can see what would happen next!

But another thing that kept me turning pages like a mad man was the relationship between Avery and Jack, which there shouldn't be any kind of relationship since The Circle has rules that forbid them to be together (*duh duh DUH*). They have a rocky start in the beginning, but over the course of the story, Avery and Jack help and depend one another as they search for clues and answers; they learn to open up--something that they both have in common--with one another, which helps build their character. It was so fun to read about their epic adventure filled with danger and mystery and how I kept getting *the feels* whenever they had a "moment" with one another.

Here's a gif that perfectly expresses my reaction every time an "Avery and Jack" moment happened:

Like OMG THEY ARE SO CUTE TOGETHER. I SHIP #JAVERY. Sorry Stellan, you sound hot and all with your Russian accent, but I totally ship Avery with Jack. However, I do see the appeal of Stellan since he's the typical bad boy with a troubled past and has that shutting-people-out vibe about him that makes him even more mysterious. But since he didn't go on the adventure with Avery the same way that Jack did, I think that's why I'm not as fond of Stellan like I am with Jack, plus, Jack is so much nicer to Avery.

After Maggie decided to drop bomb after bomb after bomb, she decided to end the book with a nuclear explosion. The last page--the last sentence--was something I didn't see coming, not even from a mile away.


My initial reaction after I read it the first time...

Then I started to process the words from the last sentence and then I thought... WHAT ON EARTH JUST HAPPENED. HOW COULD THE BOOK END LIKE THIS??

Then I was like....

For those of you who haven't read this book yet, when you do, make sure you don't have any sharp objects near you and that you put yourself at a safe distance from others (to protect them from yourself) because it's highly possible that you could either fall over from complete shock or feel the need to stab something or both (which is how I felt). I am being 100% honest when I say this, I had absolutely NO idea that the book would end like THAT. So I encourage you to pick up a copy of this book, read it, then come back and chat with me about because I NEED TO EXPRESS MY FEELINGS WITH SOMEONE ABOUT MY SHOCK AND HOW I CAN'T ACCEPT THE LAST SENTENCE.

I kid you not, the last gif (the "NONONO" one) was my exact reaction. You can even tweet Maggie and ask because I sent her multiple tweets--some including gifs--expressing my shock and outrage about the last sentence...

After taking a couple hours to slow down my heart rate and taking my shock out on Twitter, I checked to see when the sequel would be released.

Then I saw that the sequel called, MAP OF FATES, won't be released until "early 2016"....

And that, ladies and gentlemen, was how I died... (just kidding!.... but seriously.... *sobs*)

Now that I've explained my love and shock and other emotions about "The Conspiracy of Us," I highly HIGHLY recommend this book to everyone in search of a new, fresh YA story to begin because this one was absolutely amazing and will take you on a rollercoster ride. Maggie is also such an incredibly kind author who will answer any questions that you have for her about herself or her novel (so make sure to check out her social media located in the "About Maggie" section). Hope that this review/rant (hahaha) was enjoyable or helpful in some way!

~Whitney Lauren

"Red" (ARC Review)

My rating: ★★★☆☆

Author: Alyxandra Harvey

Series: Stand-alone

Genre: Fantasy, Supernatural, Young Adult

Publisher: Entangled Teen (Entangled Publishing, LLC)

Page Count: 198 (Kindle)

Release Date: March 10, 2015

Places to order:
Amazon (Kindle)
Barnes & Noble (Nook)
Indigo (eBook)

Synopsis:

Bad girls burn hot…

Red is the color of Kia Alcott's hair.
It's her temper, which blazes hot and always gets Kia into way too much trouble.
And it's the color of fire. Fires that Kia can start…just by thinking about them.

When her latest “episode” gets her kicked out of school, Kia is shipped off to her grandmother, who works for the wealthy Blackwoods. It's an estate shrouded in secrets, surrounded by rules, and presided over by a family that is far from normal…including the gorgeous and insolent Ethan Blackwood.

Ethan knows far more about the dangers of the forest surrounding the estate than Kia can ever imagine. For this forest has teeth, and Ethan is charged with protecting the outside world from its vicious mysteries.

But inside, even the most vibrant shade of red doesn't stand a chance against the dark secrets of the Blackwood family…

My review:

Thank you to NetGalley and Entangled Publishing, LLC for a digital ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

This story is told from the perspectives of two teenagers, Kia Alcott and Ethan Blackwood. Kia is your average new girl--the one who immediately gets branded as a "psycho" because of her unfortunate past at her previous school. What those students don't know is that Kia didn't set the fire at all, or at least not intentionally.  She has the ability to conjure up fire if her emotions get the best of her.

At the beginning of the novel, I immediately liked Kia because of her witty attitude and smartass remarks which is very entertaining to read throughout the story. It's also easy to understand her feeling of isolation in her POV since she had to move to a new place with a grandmother she hardly knew and because of her strange powers that can hurt others. But when it switched to Ethan's POV, there wasn't much flow to the transition from one person's POV to the next, instead, as the reader, I felt thrown off and had to figure out where Ethan was and what he was doing. I totally understand that when there's more than one character narrating the story, it's okay to break the flow to show a different voice; but it felt too disjointed and disconnected to the point where I had to reread the beginning of the chapters to get a sense of where Ethan was (since it was mostly his POV that kept confusing me).

Despite some of the things I didn't like about the book, something that I did like was Alyxandra's writing style; it was simple, easy to understand (no complex diction or talking "pig latin") and effective. One example I saw throughout "Red" to show the simplicity/effectiveness of her writing style are the times when you can see Kia's character and attitude (which made me laugh multiple times though the story). Kia, as I stated earlier, is the classic new girl but instead of shrinking away and avoiding people like the plague, she's sarcastic, stubborn and gets herself into trouble with the "popular girl" (which would be Justine, who is also part of Ethan's strange group of friends). She's my ideal protagonist, period.

Pros:

• Beautiful cover
• Interesting plot & concept
• Witty, sarcastic female protagonist 
• Multiple secondary characters to help build the story

Cons:

• When changing from Kia's POV to Ethan's POV, it became disjointed and confusing/lack of flow
• Too fast-paced 
• Some of the characters' personality would change drastically

Overall, I really did enjoy this book, but everything felt rushed and didn't flow right to me. The overall idea and concept of the story is what kept me wanting to continue reading since there were a couple of unanswered questions and mysteries that weren't resolved until the last 50 pages. I applaud Alyxandra for coming up with the plot and storyline for "Red," and if she writes new novel in the future, I would pick up a copy to see more of her writing style as well as if she improved on it! :)

~Whit Lo

COVER REVEAL: "Lead Me Back Home" by Brandi Lynch

Here is the cover of LEAD ME BACK HOME by Brandi Lynch, which is releases on October 6th, 2015 from Spencer Hill Press, and this Brandi's debut YA paranormal novel! Make sure to send her some love via social media links down below or via email at brandi.m.lynch@gmail.com

"Lead Me Back Home"
by Brandi Lynch
Release Date: October 6th, 2015
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

Synopsis:

High school junior Trisha Myles thought her sister loved her, but her sister's suicide note revealed that she'd wished Trisha had never existed. In the aftermath, Trisha abandons her old life to become a social ghost. Not existing is sort of peaceful... until a vicious bully targets her.

She’s saved by Jesse Reagan--the one guy in Hoghfield, Alabama who outranks her as an outcast. Trisha’s desire to live blossoms, but spending time with Jesse is more than she bargained for. After she freaks over the slashes on his arms, he explains he’s cursed--a curse that can only be controlled by blood magic. Trisha thinks he’s insane--especially when he tells her someone has cursed her, too. But when freak accidents almost crush Jesse with a truck and destroy her attempts to reclaim her old life, Trisha knows it’s not just a delusion. 

A ritual can free them from their curses, but only if they can shed their guilt and anger. However, if Trisha and Jesse can’t let go, the curse will bleed Jesse dry, and Trisha will lose the person who brought her back to life. 

About Brandi:

Brandi Lynch lives in rural Arkansas with her fiancé. When she’s not reading or conjuring stories of her own, she enjoys delving into the rich world of an RPG or chatting on Twitter. Oh, and there’s work in between.

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