Where Fiction and Reality Meet
Title: I Shall Never Fall in Love Author: Hari Conner Publisher: HarperAlley Length: 288 Pages Category: Graphic Novel, YA/Teen Romance, Historical Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: Gorgeous artwork complements this story of pride, prejudice, and queer joy. Reviewed By: Lisa Blurb: George has major problems: They’ve just inherited the failing family estate, and the feelings... Continue Reading →
Title: Don't Let the Forest In Author: CG Drews Publisher: Feiwel & Friends Length: 336 Pages Category: Dark Fairy Tale, Fantasy, YA, Horror Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: Don't Let the Forest In is esoteric and honest, unhurried and delivers some great twists that made me go back and read chapter one again to... Continue Reading →
Title: Compound Fracture Author: Andrew Joseph White Publisher: Peachtree Teen Length: 339 Pages Category: YA, Suspense/Thriller, Horror Rating: 3 Stars At a Glance: Compound Fracture offers a little wish fulfillment through vigilante justice, and while I agreed with its broader message in principle, it was too limited in world view and lacked enough nuanced critique... Continue Reading →
Title: My Dear Henry Series: Remixed Classics: Book Six Author: Kalynn Bayron Publisher: Feiwel & Friends Length: 272 Pages Category: Gothic Horror, Gaslamp Fantasy, Young Adult Rating: 4.5 Stars At a Glance: Kalynn Bayron does a great honor to the source material, working in characters who fit into this story, some in new ways, and... Continue Reading →
Title: The Strangest Forms Series: The Adventures of Holloway Holmes Author: Gregory Ashe Publisher: Self-Published Length: 290 Pages Category: YA, Murder Mystery Rating: 4.5 Stars At a Glance: The Strangest Form is on-brand Gregory Ashe—the pining, the missteps, the pining, the misunderstandings, the pining . . . Jack and Holloway are a convincing and competent... Continue Reading →
Title: The Taking of Jake Livingston Author: Ryan Douglass Publisher: G.P. Putnam's Sons Length: 255 Pages Category: YA, Paranormal Thriller, Horror Rating: 5 Stars Content Warnings: See below as part of my review At a Glance: The Taking of Jake Livingston is a tour de force of horror, an absolute spectacle of storytelling, and the... Continue Reading →
Title: Hell Followed with Us Author: Andrew Joseph White Publisher: Peachtree Teen Length: 412 Pages Category: YA, Fantasy, Monster Fiction Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: Hell Followed with Us is not my story. I will never know firsthand what it means, or feels like, to walk in Benji’s shoes. That doesn’t mean I can’t... Continue Reading →
Title: Spellsworn Series: Journals & Journeys: Book One Author: Justin Schuelke Publisher: Amazon/Kindle Unlimited Length: 322 Pages Category: YA Fantasy Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: I may have never rolled the dice in a single game of Dungeons & Dragons, but I appreciate the imagination that went into bringing this story and its characters... Continue Reading →
Title: The Temperature of Me and You Author: Brian Zepka Publisher: Disney Books Length: 416 Pages Category: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy Rating: 2 Stars At a Glance: It's entirely possible I had unrealistic expectations for this book, given the powerhouse that is Disney editing and publishing behind it. I wish I could say The Temperature of... Continue Reading →
Title: If This Gets Out Authors: Sophie Gonzales and Cale Dietrich Publisher: Wednesday Books/Macmillan Length: 408 Pages Category: Young Adult, Contemporary Rating: 3.5 Stars At a Glance: There's a lot to unpack in If This Gets Out, and I think Dietrich and Gonzales do a darn good job of addressing it all. I liked that... Continue Reading →
Title: The City Beautiful Author: Aden Polydoros Publisher: Harlequin/Inkyard Press Length: 330 Pages Category: Young Adult, Gaslamp Fantasy, Paranormal, Murder Mystery Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: The City Beautiful is exquisite in its storytelling, its characterizations, and the ways in which Aden Polydoros grounds his readers in the time and place, giving readers the... Continue Reading →
Title: The Fell of Dark Author: Caleb Roehrig Publisher: Macmillan Publishing Length: 384 Pages Category: Young Adult, Urban Fantasy At a Glance: Excellent world building, a creative use of historical figures, and an abundance of danger and intrigue come together to make The Fell of Dark one of the best books I've read so far... Continue Reading →
Title: Frankenstein Builds a Boyfriend Series: Fangville High: Book One Author: Dylan James Publisher: Deep Hearts YA Length: 142 Pages Category: Young Adult, Fantasy Rating: 4 Stars At a Glance: Dylan James put a lot of heart and imagination into Frankenstein Builds a Boyfriend. At times sweet, funny, and delightfully quirky, the story is not... Continue Reading →
Title: 19 Love Songs Author: David Levithan Publisher: Knopf Books/Random House Length: 289 Pages Category: LGBTQ Fiction, Love and Romance At a Glance: 19 Love Songs is a diverse and sublime collection of love stories, it’s a love note to the written word, an homage to music, and a celebration of both the fleeting and... Continue Reading →
Title: We Are Lost and Found Author: Helene Dunbar Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire Length: 304 Pages Category: Young Adult At a Glance: We Are Lost and Found is not a teen romance. It is wholly character driven, deals with myriad heavy subjects that make it less than a light read, and I was so drawn in... Continue Reading →
Title: We Contain Multitudes Author: Sarah Henstra Publisher: Little, Brown Books Length: 385 Pages Category: Young Adult At a Glance: This book isn’t going to be for everyone. But, I LOVED it. I hope some of you are willing to give it a try!! Because the pay off is so worth it. Reviewed By: Jules... Continue Reading →
Title: Keep This to Yourself Author: Tom Ryan Publisher: AW Teen Length: 320 Pages Category: Young Adult, Murder Mystery At a Glance: Keep This to Yourself is some outstanding Young Adult fiction, a fantastic whodunit, and comes highly recommended for its taut and suspenseful delivery. Reviewed By: Lisa Blurb: It's been a year since the... Continue Reading →
Title: Black Wings Beating Series: The Skybound Saga: Book One Author: Alex London Publisher: Macmillan Length: 432 Pages Category: Young Adult, Fantasy At a Glance: Overall, there’s some really nice world building to enjoy in this story, but it’s home to characters that I didn’t grow to care for in spite of the author’s efforts... Continue Reading →
Welcome to the Exclusive Cover Reveal of author Aidan Wayne's Showers, Flowers, and Fangs, coming December 11, 2018 from Harmony Ink Press! From the Author Hello! Thank you so much for stopping by and checking out the cover reveal for Showers Flowers and Fangs. I have, no joke, been sitting on this cover ever since... Continue Reading →
Title: A Change of Worlds Series: Killian Kendall Mysteries: Book Five Author: Josh Aterovis Publisher: MLR Books Length: 383 Pages Category: Mystery At a Glance: If you enjoy a good mystery in the YA genre, I highly recommend reading the series. A Change of Worlds is another amazing addition to the Killian Kendall Mysteries. Reviewed... Continue Reading →
Lisa: We’re so pleased to have author Mia Kerick with us today to celebrate the release of her latest novel, My Crunchy Life. Welcome, Mia! Let’s start by having you tell us something about yourself that most people don’t know. Mia: Hi!! I’m (Mama) Mia Kerick. And as of September 2018, I will finally have... Continue Reading →
Title: Burro Hills Author: Julia Lynn Rubin Publisher: Diversion Books Length: 240 Pages Category: YA/Teen Fiction, Coming of Age At a Glance: Check this one out, guys. I was sucked in from the first page. Definitely recommend this worthy debut. Reviewed By: Jules Blurb: Jack Burns is a resident—though oftentimes he feels like an inmate—of... Continue Reading →
Title: The Love Interest Author: Cale Dietrich Narrator: Michael Crouch Publisher: Audible Studios Run Time: 10 hours and 29 minutes Category: Young Adult, Suspense/Thriller At a Glance: While initially these characters were fun, after a short while they began to feel more and more over-the-top and borderline ridiculous, but I thought Crouch did a good... Continue Reading →
Title: The Prince and the Dressmaker Author/Illustrator: Jen Wang Publisher: First Second/Macmillan Category: Young Adult, Fairy Tale, Graphic Novel Length: 288 Pages Rating: 5 Stars At a Glance: The graphics are as bright and engaging as the narrative is warm and heartfelt in this story about being true to oneself. Reviewed By: Lisa Blurb: Paris,... Continue Reading →
The Novel Approach Reviews 