Reviews written by Jan Farnworth, Digital Manager/Blog Assistant and Staff Reviewer

What I liked: Roses & Violets is a murder mystery within a magical school; the characters are four girls from different backgrounds. Some know the school from their parents, while others know absolutely nothing. All have been invited to the school and go through tests to...

What I liked: City of Vicious Nights is a fast-paced, neon-drenched cyberpunk romp filled with imaginative tech, gritty settings, and fierce female-fueled romance. I liked this sequel's added cyber-punk hunger game feel as they join a trial race to become the matricah of the Rio Oscuro syndicate....

Bea Black has just moved to a tiny two with two schools Modern Academy and another school, which is for magic and is secret. Her dad bumbles her enrollment, and now she is an Accidental Witch, and these chapters you read are her diary entries of how she fakes being...

6th grader Bea is having a hard time. I love that she is in a school of witches by accident, and now it's time for Halloween. There are decorations and tasks to be completed. The book is set up in short chapters with diary entries written in...

Crimson Twill Witch in the Country is an adorable continuation of this series, where this time around, Crimson Twill gets to show her city friends around her country life. Crimson Twill is a witch you want to know; she is kind, thoughtful, and curious. When her friends from...

What I liked: Never a Hero is the second book in the Only a Monster Trilogy; I was wary of starting it as it is a second book, and we all know second books, while they add to the overall story, they seem to be a bit on...

What I liked: City of Shattered Lights is a debut young adult cyberpunk novel about two sisters whose dad is using one of them for scientific research and the other to work on the mechanics of the project. I felt for these two sisters who want to be...

What I liked: Anytime an author uses a book inside a book and breaks the fourth wall to talk to the readers, it makes for an interesting tale. James Riley has created a wonderful world in his Once Upon a Time book with characters from just about every...

What I loved: Only A Monster pleasantly surprised me with how much it sucked me in. It was thrilling, with high stakes, potentially catastrophic losses, and exciting secrets. It contains the general tropes of a YA Urban Fantasy-teen girl with newfound powers, hints of a love triangle, and...

What I liked: Dark academia, Secret Societies, Dark Magic, High Fantasy, and Swoony Romance all inside an intricate woven plot. House of Marionne has all of this in an epic action that you will want to read till the very last page and enjoy the story too. Quell...

The Jules Verne Prophecy is a middle-grade mystery set in Paris, and a young man is taking a class all about Jules Verne. One day his book for the final test is stolen on the street, and he needs a replacement to take the test. The Jules Verne book he...

A Hunger of Thorns is a wild ride about a girl obsessed with holding on to her best friend from childhood and a magical power plant filled with corrupted magic. It sounds like a wild ride, and I appreciated the nods to various fairy tales in this gothic wonderland,...

What I liked: If you read Game of Strength and Storm, you know that the Empresses hold the world in their clutches; if you want the impossible, you ask them. Gen did that in the first book and completed most of the tasks given to her, but...

What I liked: The Wingfeather Saga is an adventure fantasy about three siblings, Janner, Tink, Leeli, and their adorable dog Nugget. There is nothing too special about the siblings; they don't have magic, live in a town terrorized by evil creatures called fangs, and all they have is...

What I liked: The Blood Gift completes The Blood Gift Duology, and Ikenna brings us to a satisfying conclusion. The story is action-packed from start to finish as Ikenna comes into her power and learns to harness it to the full extent. Ikenna is a wonder as a...