Reviews written by Ashley Sickora

A hit for fantasy lovers! Hidden dragons and a race-against-time mission kept everyone hooked, though some found the plot a bit dense

I went into Song of the Yellow Dragon was a heartfelt adventure wrapped around memory, identity, and the fragile belief in magic. Told through the intertwined journeys of Mengyao and Kai, this story pulled me in almost instantly. Mengyao’s quiet determination to hold onto magic,...

Our teen book club dove into Girl of Lore and WOW this one gave us spooky vibes, small-town secrets, and a main character we couldn’t stop rooting for. Set in the eerie and oddly charming town of London, Georgia, this story follows Mina Murray a...

Reading Princess Academy by Shannon Hale felt like stepping into a quiet, windswept mountain village and discovering a story that’s so much more than tiaras and ballgowns. I followed Miri, a girl who’s always felt a little out of place in her own home, as...

A Potion, a Powder, a Little Bit of Magic by Philip C. Stead was a wildly clever, laugh-out-loud adventure that completely played with my brain and I loved every second of it! From the very first page, I was thrown into a kingdom where a...

I picked up The Traitor Moth by Katharine Orton not knowing what to expect, and wow this turned out to be such an emotional, atmospheric ride. From the start, I felt for Catclaw. He’s dreaming of something bigger wanting to reclaim the lost gift of...

Seventh grade is hard enough, but for Olivia, it’s getting weird. While everyone else is obsessed with crushes and the fall formal, Olivia just isn't. When she rejects the school's most popular boy, she starts literally disappearing whenever romance is mentioned. The Vibe: Magical realism...

Prepare to have your heart melted. Written by a Newbery Honor author, this moving story follows an anxious, orphaned cheetah cub and a rescue dog with a broken heart who team up to build each other's confidence. It is a stunning, emotional look at how friendship crosses all boundaries....

I had so much fun reading InvestiGators: Weather or Not by John Patrick Green. This series somehow gets sillier and smarter with every book, and this one had me laughing from start to finish. Mango and Brash are back solving another chaotic mystery, complete with monkey-scientists, weird weather, and an...

Scandal, secrets & a royal target this sequel came for drama & did NOT miss! If you thought book one was messy, Royal Scandal by Aimee Carter takes everything to a whole new level & our book club was absolutely eating it up. ...

Royal drama, scandal, AND a murder mystery? Yeah, we were OBSESSED! Our book club took on Royal Blood by Aimee Carter, and let’s just say the group chat was chaotic! Here’s how our reactions broke down: ...

This is the first book in a new series Belladonna and it was a good young adult mystery story with a touch of romance and horror. The writing was good. I did find the book a little predictable but the twists that came were still good! The connection between Death...

A beach, a mystery, and secrets that refuse to stay buried... Blue Beach had us hooked from page one! Our teen book club loved diving into this gripping historical mystery. Set in 1929 Santa Monica, Blue Collins finds herself caught between friendship, family expectations, racism,...

You know a fantasy is going to be wild when the hero starts the story disowned, sent on a suicide mission, and left for dead. I had a really fun time reading Downfall by Marc J. Gregson. The stakes feel huge right from the start,...

Hold onto your high-top sneakers because I just found the Dark Academia romantasy of my dreams! I just finished Storm Breaker by Nisha J. Tuli, and let’s just say I am still mentally recovered from the shock. Imagine being nineteen year old Poet Graves,...