Reviews written by Colleen (C.M. McCoy) North of Normal Book Reviews

Dark, edgy, thrilling! ROYAL BASTARDS by Andrew Shvarts is a stand-alone teen epic fantasy, suitable for readers aged 16 and over due to graphic violence, alcohol consumption, and one sexual situation. What in the frozen Hell did I just read? I...

Panic by Lauren Oliver, a standalone YA novel about girls and friendship. In the small town of Carp, there wasn’t much for high school students to do. For years, the seniors have been participating in a game called Panic as a source of adventure. The game involves...

* Reviewed for North of Normal Book Reviews BEAUTIFUL BROKEN GIRLS by Kim Savage is a dark YA stand-alone mystery with some elements of suspense and fantasy. Kim Savage is a new author to me. I first saw this book as a recommendation to...

VIOLENT ENDS by Shaun David Hutchinson and 17 other authors is a young adult contemporary fiction, standalone novel. I chose this book to read because I have previously read WE ARE THE ANTS and TH FIVE STAGES OF ANDREW BRAWLEY by the Hutchinson. Since I considered both...

*This is a first pages review by North of Normal Book Reviews I really enjoyed the first page – the mystery, the cool powers, the competition, and the uncertainty left hanging in the air. I mean Liam is obviously going to win the...

The Deathday Letter by Shaun David Hutchinson is a young adult standalone novel. This is not the first book by Shaun David Hutchinson that I have read; in fact it’s the third one. Since the first two books I read by this author did not disappoint, I...

CARAVAL by Stephanie Garber is a YA/Fantasy standalone novel that has me hoping for a sequel ? Sometimes, I judge a book by its cover. That was definitely true when I picked up Caraval. I honestly had no idea what the story was about, but the exquisite...

THE BONE WITCH by Ren Chupeco is a YA high fantasy (witches) novel with a cliffhanger that promises a sequel. The eye-catching cover and the ironic opening line of the blurb piqued my curiosity and excited my inner nerd. I requested and received an advance copy eBook...

Confessions of a First-Page Whore (by Colleen) I grab a book from the shelf and devour its first page. Some sentences wind up on my Post-It Note Wall of Great-Line Fame and some get rewritten inside my head as I read. I love them all. I am...

If you liked The Crucible, you’ll love this YA re-imagining of the Salem Witch Trials. Elizabeth is sixteen, and she and her family have been hiding the fact that she’s a witch her entire life. There’s a good reason: they live in Salem, and it’s the late...