Book Review: Just One Day by Gayle Forman

Title: Just One Day

Author: Gayle Forman

Series: Just One Day #1

Genre: Contemporary YA

Publisher: Dutton Juvenile

Release date: January 8, 2013

Amazon | Goodreads

Challenge: YA Contemporary Challenge

Source: Bought

Summary: When sheltered American good girl Allyson “LuLu” Healey first meets laid-back Dutch actor Willem De Ruiter at an underground performance of Twelfth Night in England, there’s an undeniable spark. After just one day together, that spark bursts into a flame, or so it seems to Allyson, until the following morning, when she wakes up after a whirlwind day in Paris to discover that Willem has left. Over the next year, Allyson embarks on a journey to come to terms with the narrow confines of her life, and through Shakespeare, travel, and a quest for her almost-true-love, to break free of those confines.

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Book Review: The False Prince by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Title: The False Prince

Author: Jennifer A. Nielsen

Series: The Ascendance Trilogy #1

Genre: Fantasy YA

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Publisher: Scholastic

Release date: April 1, 2012

Challenge: TBR Challenge

Summary: In a discontent kingdom, civil war is brewing. To unify the divided people, Conner, a nobleman of the court, devises a cunning plan to find an impersonator of the king’s long-lost son and install him as a puppet prince. Four orphans are recruited to compete for the role, including a defiant boy named Sage. Sage knows that Conner’s motives are more than questionable, yet his life balances on a sword’s point — he must be chosen to play the prince or he will certainly be killed. But Sage’s rivals have their own agendas as well.

As Sage moves from a rundown orphanage to Conner’s sumptuous palace, layer upon layer of treachery and deceit unfold, until finally, a truth is revealed that, in the end, may very well prove more dangerous than all of the lies taken together.

An extraordinary adventure filled with danger and action, lies and deadly truths that will have readers clinging to the edge of their seats.

Book Review: Shadowlands by Kate Brian

Title: Shadowlands

Author: Kate Brian

Series: Shadowlands #1

Genre: Mystery/Thriller YA

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Publisher: Hyperion

Release date: January 8, 2013

Source: NetGalley

Summary: Rory Miller had one chance to fight back and she took it. Rory survived… and the serial killer who attacked her escaped. Now that the infamous Steven Nell is on the loose, Rory must enter the witness protection with her father and sister, Darcy, leaving their friends and family without so much as a goodbye. 

Starting over in a new town with only each other is unimaginable for Rory and Darcy. They were inseparable as children, but now they can barely stand each other. As the sisters settle in to Juniper Landing, a picturesque vacation island, it seems like their new home may be just the fresh start they need. They fall in with a group of beautiful, carefree teens and spend their days surfing, partying on the beach, and hiking into endless sunsets. But just as they’re starting to feel safe again, one of their new friends goes missing. Is it a coincidence? Or is the nightmare beginning all over again?

Book Review: The Gleaning by Heidi R. Kling

Title: The Gleaning

Author: Heidi R. Kling

Series: The Spellspinners of Melas County #2

Genre: Paranormal YA, Witches

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Publisher: Coliloquy

Release date: December 12, 2012 (BANANAS!)

Source: e-ARC from the Publisher

Summary: In the second installment of the Spellspinners saga, Lily’s worldview is rocked by fear, mistrust, and heartbreak, as she deals with the fallout from the night of her enchantment.

Someone powerful is determined to keep her and Logan apart. But who? And why?

As the covens prepare to do battle in the Solstice Stones, the lines between good and evil, dark and light, begin to blur. Allegiances are called into question. Trust is broken. And all Lily knows may just be an illusion.

Will the star-crossed lovers unearth the seeds of betrayal before it’s too late? Or will the witches and warlocks of Melas County be forced to say goodbye to their magic—and any chance of reconciliation between the covens—for good?

In The Gleaning, nothing is as it seems. And Lily and Logan will have to tread carefully if they hope to uncover the truth in time to save their love and break the curse.

Book Review: The Lost Prince by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Lost Prince

Author: Julie Kagawa

Series: The Iron Fey: Call of the Forgotten

Genre: Urban Fantasy YA, faeries

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Publisher: Harlequin Teen

Release date: October 23, 2012

Source: NetGalley

Summary: Don’t look at Them. Never let Them know you can see Them.

That is Ethan Chase’s unbreakable rule. Until the fey he avoids at all costs—including his reputation—begin to disappear, and Ethan is attacked. Now he must change the rules to protect his family. To save a girl he never thought he’d dare to fall for.

Ethan thought he had protected himself from his older sister’s world—the land of Faery. His previous time in the Iron Realm left him with nothing but fear and disgust for the world Meghan Chase has made her home, a land of myth and talking cats, of magic and seductive enemies. But when destiny comes for Ethan, there is no escape from a danger long, long forgotten.