Once Upon a Moonlight Review...

Fyre  by Katherine Bogle Series:  Chronicles of Warshard #0.5 Published by  Patchwork Press on 15th February 2017 Pages:  122 Source:  *Received from the Publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review* Join Haven and her siblings on four unique adventures in a time when war ravaged the six kingdoms…  HAVEN has always hated royal gatherings, and jumps at the chance to sneak away for a race through town on horseback. But when the young princess is injured, her ancestry is brought into question. Much is expected of the heir to the Rythern throne, but when LUCIAN is forced to leave the warfront by his father, his reluctant agreement comes at a price. The battle for Helms Keep has disastrous consequences for MARCEL. Soon he finds himself fighting both enemy forces and his own memories. ASTRID is sent to the family summer home in the Cinder Mountains for her own safety. Only she doesn’t expect the knee-high snow and frigid tem...

Stealing Snow  by Danielle Paige Series:  Stealing Snow #1 Published by  Bloomsbury Childrens on 6th October 2016 Pages:  384 Source:  *Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review* Seventeen-year-old Snow lives within the walls of the Whittaker Institute, a high security mental hospital in upstate New York. Deep down, she knows she doesn't belong there, but she has no memory of life outside, except for the strangest dreams. And then a mysterious, handsome man, an orderly in the hospital, opens a door – and Snow knows that she has to leave …  She finds herself in icy Algid, her true home, with witches, thieves, and a strangely alluring boy named Kai. As secret after secret is revealed, Snow discovers that she is on the run from a royal lineage she's destined to inherit, a father more powerful and ruthless than she could have imagined, and choices of the heart that could change everything. Heroine or villain, queen or broken girl...

Trust Me, I'm Trouble  by Mary Elizabeth Summer Series:  Trust Me #2 Published by  Delacorte Press on 13th October 2015 Pages:  368 Source:  *Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review* Staying out of trouble isn’t possible for Julep Dupree. She has managed not to get kicked out of her private school, even though everyone knows she’s responsible for taking down a human-trafficking mob boss—and getting St. Agatha’s golden-boy Tyler killed in the process. Running cons holds her guilty conscience at bay, but unfortunately, someone wants Julep to pay for her mistakes . . . with her life. Against her better judgment, Julep takes a shady case that requires her to infiltrate a secretive organization that her long-gone mother and the enigmatic blue fairy may be connected to. Her best friend, Sam, isn’t around to stop her, and Dani, her one true confidante, happens to be a nineteen-year-old mob enforcer whose moral compass is as questionabl...

The Beloved by Alison Rattle Published by  Hot Key Books on 5th March 2015 Pages:  286 Source:  *Received from the Publisher in exchan ge for an honest review* Escape from a bullying mother takes one young woman to an even more dangerous place. Alice Angel has known only a life of rules, restriction and punishments as she strays from the rigid path of Victorian proprietary that her mother has set out for her. A constant disappointment to all but her doting father, she longs for the day that she might break free from the stifling atmosphere of her mother's rule. After a chance encounter with a charming stranger, and a final incident with her family that sees her condemned to the madhouse, Alice sees her opportunity to run and grasps it with both hands. She escapes to join the Agapemonites in their Abode of Love, where ex-Reverend Henry Prince rules his isolated colony of women as their Beloved. Prince ignites a passion in Alice that she never knew existe...

Reawakened  by Colleen Houck Series:  Reawakened #1 Published by  Hodder Paperbacks on 13th August 2015 Pages:  400 Source:  *Received from Publisher in exchange for an honest review* NYT bestselling author of The Tiger’s Curse series, Colleen Houck’s newest YA novel in which a visit to an Egyptian exhibit brings teen Lilliana Young face to face with a recently awakened mummy-turned-handsome-sun-god as she gets caught up in an adventure with more twists and turns than the Nile itself, to Krista Vitola at Delacorte Press, in a two-book deal, for publication beginning in Spring 2015, by Alex Glass at Trident Media Group (NA). Such a disappointing read, I gave up half-way through mainly because of the characters, but also a lack of interesting progression of plot. But the cover is so beautiful and abstract, and I love the different shades of blues, it adds a space-like tone. When Lily finds a live Egyptian prince in a museum, she takes him u...

Vengeance Road by Erin Bowman Published by  HMH Books for Young Readers on 1st September 2015 Pages:  336 Source:  *Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review* Revenge is worth its weight in gold. When hers father is murdered for a journal revealing the location of a hidden gold mine, eighteen-year-old Kate Thompson disguises herself as a boy and takes to the gritty plains looking for answers—and justice. What she finds are untrustworthy strangers, endless dust and heat, and a surprising band of allies, among them a young Apache girl and a pair of stubborn brothers who refuse to quit riding in her shadow. But as Kate gets closer to the secrets about her family, a startling truth becomes clear: some men will stop at nothing to get their hands on gold, and Kate’s quest for revenge may prove fatal. I really struggled with Vengeance Road,  and sadly this meant I had to DNF at 220 pages. I was just no longer interested in how it ended...

Smart by Kim Slater Published by Macmillan Children's Books Pages: 240 Source:  *Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review* I found Jean’s friend dead in the river. His name was Colin Kirk. He was a homeless man, but he still wanted to live. There’s been a murder, but the police don’t care. It was only a homeless old man after all. Kieran cares. He’s made a promise, and when you say something out loud, that means you’re going to do it, for real. He’s going to find out what really happened. To Colin. And to his grandma, who just stopped coming round one day. It’s a good job Kieran’s a master of observation, and knows all the detective tricks of the trade. But being a detective is difficult when you’re Kieran Woods. When you’re amazing at drawing but terrible at fitting in. And when there are dangerous secrets everywhere, not just outside, but under your own roof. This was one of my most anticipated reads when I first heard about it, and ...

Perfect Couple  by Jennifer Echols Series:  Superlatives #2 Published by  Simon Pulse on 13th January 2015 Pages:  336 Source:  *Received from Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review* Perfect Couple is #2 in the Superlatives series about seniors at a Florida high school who are selected for their class's superlative categories in the yearbook, and how the labels change the way they view themselves and alter the course of their lives. Can your heart be put to a popular vote? As yearbook photographer, Harper is responsible for capturing those candid moments that make high school memorable. But her own life is anything but picture perfect. Her parents' bitter divorce has left her wondering what a loving relationship would look like. And ever since the senior class voted her and star quarterback Brody the “Perfect Couple That Never Was,” her friends have been on her case to ask Brody out. Brody doesn’t lack in female admirers, but Harper c...

Lips Touch by Laini Taylor Published by  Hodder & Stoughton on 24th October 2014 Pages:  266 Source:  *Received from Publisher in exchange for an honest review* In Victorian times, goblins offered sumptuous fruits in exchange for maiden's souls... and were usually successful. But what does it take to tempt today's savvy young women? Discover the answer in GOBLIN FRUIT. In SPICY LITTLE CURSES a demon and the ambassador to Hell tussle over the soul of a beautiful English girl in India. Matters become complicated when she falls in love and decides to test the curse placed upon her. And in HATCHLING, six days before Esme's fourteenth birthday, her left eye turns from brown to blue. She little suspects what the change heralds, but her small safe life begins to unravel at once. What does the beautiful, fanged man want with her, and how is her fate connected to a mysterious race of demons? I have never read anything by Laini Taylor yet I have heard abs...

Deep Blue  by Jennifer Donnelly Series:  Waterfire Saga #1 Published by  Hachette Children's Books on 1st May 2014 Pages:  368 Source:  *Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review* When Serafina, a mermaid of the Mediterranean Sea, awakens on the morning of her betrothal, her biggest worry should be about reuniting with handsome Prince Mahdi, her childhood crush. Instead she finds herself haunted by strange dreams foretelling the return of an ancient evil, and dealing with the deaths of her parents as assassins storm the betrothal ceremony, plunging the city into chaos. Led only by her shadowy dreams and pursued by the invading army, Serafina and her best friend Neela embark on a quest to avenge her parents' death and prevent a war between the mer nations. In the process they discover a plot that threatens their - and our - world's very existence. Sadly this novel I have to DNF after three quarters of the way through, I rea...

The Name On Your Wrist by Helen Hiorns Published by Random House Children's Publishers UK on 24th July 2013 Pages: 272 Source:  *Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review* It’s the first thing they teach you when you start school. But they don’t need to; your parents tell you when you’re first learning how to say your name. It’s drummed into you whilst you’re taking your first stumbling steps. It’s your lullaby. From the moment it first appears, you don’t tell anyone the name on your wrist. In Corin's world, your carpinomen - the name of your soul mate, marked indelibly on your wrist from the age of two or three - is everything. It's your most preciously guarded secret; a piece of knowledge that can give another person ultimate power over you. People spend years, even decades, searching for the one they're supposed to be with. But what if you never find that person? Or you do, but you just don't love them? What if you fall for so...

Title: Poor Little Dead Girls Author: Lizzie Friend Publisher: F+W/Adams Media Date of Release: 18th December 2013 Pages: 288 Source: *Received in exchange for an honest review* Perfect people aren't just born. They're made. The first time she is blindfolded and kidnapped, star-athlete and posh boarding school newbie Sadie is terrified. She wakes up in a dark room surrounded by hushed whispers, hooded strangers, and a mysterious voice whispering not-so-sweet nothings in her ear.  But once the robes come off, she realizes it’s just an elaborate prank designed to induct her into the group that’s been pulling the strings at Keating Hall for generations. The circle has it all--incredible connections; fabulous parties; and, of course, an in with the brother society’s gorgeous pledges.  The instant popularity is enough to make Sadie forget about the unexplained marks on her body, the creepy ceremonial rituals, and the incident that befell one of her teammate...