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Brief synopsis  (no spoilers) Owen is the king's most trusted duke, and in charge of his personal security forces, the Espion. The king commands him to go to a neighboring kingdom and bully the duchess into marrying him. If she refuses, it will lead to a war with her kingdom and with the kingdom beyond hers. But Owen finds more than he expected in that land, and his path leads back to his own kingdom, and to overthrowing his corrupt king. Category YA fiction, Fantasy Why I chose this book Next in series My personal opinion  (the review) This story was excellent. I enjoyed the suspense. I'm a sucker for stories with magic, and this one did not disappoint. I highly recommend this book, and the entire series. Warnings Language: None Violence: Some, but not graphic "Adult" situations: None Death: Yes, and of major character(s) Movie rating equivalent PG Protagonist description Owen has left his shyness behind, and is much more confident. But he has traded that for grumpin

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Just about everyone is dead. The first 4 "waves" of destruction, from the alien "mothership" hanging in low Earth orbit, were devastating. Roughly 98% of humanity was wiped out. Those that are left are either the incredibly strong, or the incredibly lucky. Probably both. Category YA, Dystopian Why I chose this book I sometimes like movie-book combinations My personal opinion (the review) It was decent, but I definitely won't buy it. The story was good, the characters were well-developed, and I got lost in the book several times (good thing). But the language was bad and the violence was pretty hairy, so I don't recommend it. Warnings Language: A few scattered f-bombs, and occasional other bad words Violence: Abundant, and intense "Adult" situations: Got close a couple times, but nothing graphic Death: about 7 billion Movie rating equivalent R, for language Protagonist description Cassie is a survivor- she'll do wh

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Owen is now a Duke, and is still very much in love with Elysabeth Victoria Mortimer. They are both loyal to King Severn, pricing that loyalty many times. Two nearby kingdoms are each planning their attacks on Ceredigion, and Owen must work to stop both. And in the background, there is a second story line of magic and history, that is moving slowly to the foreground. Category YA fiction, Fantasy Why I chose this book Next in series My personal opinion (the review) I found myself enjoying the middle of the book more than the ending, which is unusual. The ending definitely built towards the next book. Sometimes a second book in a series spends most of its time building plot for the future, but this one had plenty of its own story line. I recommend it highly. Warnings Language: None Violence: Some, but not graphic "Adult" situations: None Death: Yes, and of major character(s) Movie rating equivalent PG Protagonist description Owen has more self-conf

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Smitha lives in a small village that has strong fears of foreigners- especially wizards that live far to the north. But one lives among them, and has taken a liking to Smitha. But she doesn't care for him. Her cold heart leads to an amazing series of dangerous adventures. Category YA Fiction, Fantasy Why I chose this book I loved the Paper Magician series My personal opinion (the review) If you love happy endings, you're in for a real treat. This is a great book- compelling story, credible characters, and a fun read. Good job, as always, Charlie (we're on a first name basis). Warnings Language: None Violence: Some, minor "Adult" situations: Not really- some descriptions of physical attraction, but the most graphic action is a kiss Death: Yes Movie rating equivalent PG Protagonist description Smitha is clever and talented with languages Point of view of story First, focused on Smitha Book length Medium-long Story

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Caroline Auden has a past, and has experience in the tech world. But she's working to reinvent herself as a lawyer.  Category Legal fiction Why I chose this book Kindle First My personal opinion (the review) The story line started great. It had a captivating story line, and great depth to the characters. There had been just a couple of bad words in the first third of the book, but nothing major. But as soon as artist Henrik Stengaard enters the story, I exited. This could have been a great book, but I will not recommend it. Warnings Language: Starts out fine, but degrades suddenly Violence: Nothing graphic "Adult" situations: None, for the first third Death: Opening scene Movie rating equivalent R, for language Protagonist description Caroline is haunted by her past, so she's motivated to change it Point of view of story Third, focused on Caroline Book length Medium Story flow Fine Grammar and spelling issues None

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Don't really know- see review below Category Fantasy Why I chose this book Kindle First My personal opinion (the review) Couldn't get past the first handful of pages- the language was bad. Didn't finish. Frankly, I barely even got started. So disappointing. Warnings Language: Bad Violence: Unknown "Adult" situations: Unknown Death: Unknown Movie rating equivalent R, for language alone Protagonist description Unknown Point of view of story Third Book length Probably medium Story flow Decent, for the 10 pages I read Grammar and spelling issues None Character connection (no spoilers) None

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Ethan Burke is a Secret Service Agent, wandering around Wayward Pines, Idaho, trying to find 2 missing Special Agents. A fourth Special Agent, assigned with Burke, was killed before the story even started. The town is idyllic, but there's something "off" about it. Same with Burke- he seems like a genuine "nice guy", but there's something a bit "off" about him, too. Category Mystery Why I chose this book Kindle First My personal opinion (the review) The first 29% of the book only had 1 or two bad words, but at 30% there was a huge rash of them, and I was done. The book seemed really interesting- the plot was crazy confusing, so I was looking forward to pieces and parts coming together later in the book. The vulgarity was just plain unnecessary. Could have been a great novel, but you had to ruin it, Crouch. Warnings Language: Not frequent, but harsh Violence: None (up to 30%) "Adult" situations: Non

Brief synopsis : This is the prequel to the Lunar Chronicles series; the backstory of Queen Levana. Category : YA fiction, sci-fi, fantasy Why I chose this book : Prequel in series My personal opinion  (the review): For a prequel, this was good. I thought I might have a bit more compassion for Levana, after reading her story, but that is not the case at all. She's exactly as terrible as she was portrayed in the previous books. This was a good, quick read. Probably not going to buy it, but it was worth the time reading. Warnings Language: None Violence: Fairly frequent, but mild “Adult” situations: Frequently mentioned, but not in detail. If you don't want to have "that discussion" with your kid, hold off. Death: Several, including major character(s) Movie rating equivalent : PG-17 Protagonist description : Levana is the younger sister of Queen Channary. She's delusional, unstable, and emotionally scarred. Point of view of story : Third,

Brief synopsis : Winter is the step-daughter of Queen Levana, and suffers from Lunar sickness- a disease that affects Lunars that choose not to use their “gift” of mind-control, on others. The Lunar people adore her, but Levana resents her beauty. Cinder continues to work on organizing a revolt, to overthrow Levana. Scarlet, Wolf, Thorne, Cress, and Iko continue to help her. Kai is in the agonizing position of being both sympathetic to Cinder’s cause and determined to save his people, sacrificing anything necessary. Category : YA fiction, sci-fi, fantasy Why I chose this book : Next in series My personal opinion  (the review): If you prefer stories with happy endings, this one won’t disappoint. Not every part of the story is happy (see the warnings below), but if I overgeneralize, I would say the ending is happy. I don’t consider that a spoiler because, after all, the story is based on a fairy tale. Warnings Language: None Violence: Fairly frequent, but mild “Ad

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) What if this life is just a simulation? What if our bodies are in another world, plugged into a virtual reality game, and our entire life is just one play in that game? What would our real life be like, if we could experience several full simulated lifespans, in our teen years, and then enter adulthood? That is the premise of this story. Category Sci-Fi Why I chose this book It was either free or discounted on Amazon, and sounded interesting My personal opinion (the review) Too many inconsistencies. For example: The real world is able to view the players in the game in "real time", but time in the game is sped up, so that a week in real life is worth a decade in the virtual world. How do real world people have enough time to experience the virtual world, in real time, while still being accelerated? Danielle enters the game 3 days behind Trew, but she only ends up being 1 year younger. If a week is a decade in the game, then 3 days should have be

Brief synopsis : Cress, short for Crescent Moon, is a prisoner on a satellite. She's a special hacker for Queen Levana’s right-hand woman, and she’s secretly in love with Captain Thorne. Scarlet and Wolf are on Cinder’s side, but certainly aren’t getting their “happily ever after” anytime soon. Iko, Cinder’s android helper, remains loyal, despite having to work as the crew’s ship controller. Dr. Erland is still looking for a cure to letumosis, and something else- not sure what, yet. And poor Emperor Kai is still stuck with Queen Levana. Category : YA fiction, sci-fi, fantasy Why I chose this book : Next in series My personal opinion (the review): Sometimes series books are somewhat self-contained. They have a beginning and an end, and they naturally lead from one to the next in subtle ways. I like those. This one left us with a total cliffhanger- drat! But I’m loving the series, this book did not disappoint, and I’m going to stick with it. Excellent, clean drama, with a good mixtu

Brief synopsis (no spoilers):  Being sent away from her home by an otherwise occupied father, Alanna doesn't want to go to the convent to become a lady and her brother Thom doesn't want to become a knight. So they decide to switch places and Alanna, pretending to be a boy, heads to the palace to begin her training as a page while Thom goes to study sorcery at the convent. It is a difficult world physically, mentally, and emotionally as Alanna must learn to fit in at the palace. Category: YA Why I chose this book: Read a few books from the same author when I was younger My personal opinion (the review): I was hoping for more from this book. It was good and I will continue with the series, but it just seemed to leave something to be desired. For one, there was more magic/fantasy elements than I expected. Also, we don't get to see a lot of the behind the scenes struggle. Alanna struggles with sword combat. We are told she practices her skills after everyone else goes to

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Two stories, running simultaneous. Cinder was captured by Kai's soldiers, and is scheduled to be handed off to Queen Levana's forces. But there's no way that's going to happen (fairy tale, come on). Meanwhile, in Europe, a young woman named Scarlet was living with her grandmother on their farm, when her grandmother disappeared. 3 weeks later, grandma still hasn't resurfaced, and Scarlet will need help to find her- possibly from a big, bad wolf. Category YA Fiction, Fantasy, Sci-Fi Why I chose this book Next in series My personal opinion (the review) Excellent book, but not as good as the first (sequels rarely are). I really enjoyed the Scarlet story, and how it melded beautifully with Cinder's story. And I appreciate the sci-fi feel to it. But there's MUCH more fighting in this one, and it gets pretty graphic. My wife would love the first book, but she would cringe at this one, about a dozen times. The roma

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Jaden has plans to spend the summer with her father, step-mother and new step-sister in a new StormSafe neighborhood. The entire neighborhood has a contract in place, stating that the company, StormSafe, guarantees that no storms will enter the property. And they appear to have the technology to block all storms. That's particularly important because the global environment has degraded to the point that major storms (tornadoes) are a daily occurrence. But Jaden can't help but feel there's more to the story. The storms may not be going to her neighborhood, but where are they going? Category Fiction Why I chose this book Trying to keep up with what my kids read in Middle School this year My personal opinion (the review) Very good book, interesting plot line, and a fun, quick read. Some of the explanations of the technology were a bit weak, but interesting nonetheless. I like that in several cases, I found myself guessing at what would hap

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Cinder is a cyborg, and consequently a second-class citizen, just barely higher than the androids. Her guardian treats her poorly, and her step-sisters treat her like a servant. She earns all of the money of the family, working as a mechanic in the center of town. One day she is asked to repair the personal android of the Prince, and her life is changed forever. Category YA Fiction, Fantasy, Sci-Fi Why I chose this book Cover caught my eye at the library My personal opinion (the review) Loved it. Excellent story, great use of sci-fi and fairy tale, no language or adult content. It's an all-around great book. One of the best I've read this year. Warnings Language: none Violence: some, but mild "Adult" situations: none Death: several, including major characters Movie rating equivalent PG Protagonist description Cinder feels like a nobody. She's a cyborg, an orphan, and a mechanic. Not a great recipe for popularity

Brief Synopsis Described by others as "Vignettes of a young Latino girl" and her life in Chicago in some previous decade (20th century). She tells about what she sees, experiences, and thinks about through her young perspective. Category Fiction, contemporary classic Why I chose this book: It's on my 8th grade son's book list for school this year My personal opinion (the review) It was easy enough to understand what she was saying (or sometimes referring to in her young language), but sometimes I got lost in all the characters. It didn't have a plot exactly, more just stories or pieces of stories.  I'm glad I read it (as my child will be reading it later this year in class), but I wouldn't recommend it as a "fun" read. I originally had thought it was on my 6th grader's reading list and I was a little concerned as I read through it. Some of the things it refers to made me a little unsure about its appropriateness for her tender

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) The magical Families of the town all host a yearly competition, and this year Lila is part of it. The best fighters of each family all compete for a gold cup. And there's a party each day of the event. In the meantime, Lila and the Sinclair family still need to figure out what Victor Draconi is planning. Category YA Fiction, fantasy Why I chose this book Next in series My personal opinion (the review) The story is great, the competition is vivid, the antagonists are rotten to the core, the romantic aspect peaks at just the right moment, and there are even some surprises along the way. Warnings Language: mild Violence: more frequent and graphic than the first book, but still moderate "Adult" situations: none, just romance Death: some, including major characters Movie rating equivalent PG-13 Protagonist description Lila is a fighter, to the core. Point of view of story First, from Lila Book length Medium Story flo

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) The town of Cloudburst Falls is magical. Faeries, monsters, and trolls run around. And some people have magical abilities. Tourists flock to the town to see the sights, but they believe it's all fake. Several magical families run things in town, and much like gangs, they have territories, specialties, and constant fighting. Lila is one, insignificant part of this magical world, but her part just might get bigger when one family pulls her into their service. Category YA Fiction, fantasy Why I chose this book Kindle First, I think My personal opinion (the review) This book was excellent! I'm excited to buy the next book in the series. Yes, it had language and fighting, but nothing too graphic. The narrator was flippant, so the story seemed lighter than it could have. Despite the monsters and magic, the arc felt believable, because Lila believed it all. My wife won't like this book, because it has too much violence, but she'd approv

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Story of a young woman coming to America (Ellis Island) - story begins as she arrives, but has 'flashbacks' or memories of what happened before. She comes seeking justice for wrongs done to her/family. (I can't make it sound better without giving away spoilers.) Category Christian Romance (I'm not sure if that's an official category, but that's what I'm calling it.) Why I chose this book Amazon Kindle Free book of the month. (And my husband didn't like it for reasons that made me think I might.) My personal opinion (the review) I enjoyed it. It wasn't a fast paced book, but it had a lot of thinking in it (main character). I liked to see how her relationships with others around her affected her own personality/goals and the goals, opinions, personality of those she met. I liked the love story. (of course! - a clean love story - my kind of book.) My synopsis doesn't sound like it's a great read, but it is better

Brief synopsis (no spoilers) Clary is a typical teenager, who feels very isolated, but happy with her life. She can see things that others can't see. Jace is a typical "bad boy" teenager, who catches Clary's eye, and also happens to be demon killer. Clary follows Jace into a world of myth, story, and peril. Category YA Fiction Why I chose this book Kindle First, I think My personal opinion (the review) The story line jumped around too much, not explaining things that were important, but dwelling on the mundane. It was a pretty classic teen angst novel ("no one really gets me"), with the stereotypical vampires, werewolves, and demons. I'm glad I didn't buy it, and I don't plan to buy the next one in the series, but it was a fun, light read. Warnings Language: Minor Violence: Nothing graphic "Adult" situations: None Death: Referenced Movie rating equivalent PG-13 Protagonist description Clary is pretty flat, as character