Karenschoice books

Whispered Visions by Tammy Blackwell Series:   Shifters & Seers #3 Source:  Kindle version Publisher:  Indie Publication Date: September 8th 2015 Age Genre: Young Adult Where do you go when there is nowhere left to run? For years the Society for Human Preservation has been waging a quiet war against the Shifters & Seers of the world, and now they've taken two of the Alpha Pack's own. With the ability to See inside a person's mind, Lizzie Anders is one of the most powerful Seers in the world, but all that power comes with the responsibility of protecting herself and others from what she can do. And now, after years of suppressing her Sight, the SHP is intent on tearing down the walls she's carefully constructed to further their cause. Layne Hagan is the boy no one wanted. Abandoned by his mother when he was a baby and orphaned by his father in Scout's battle to become Alpha Female, he was handed off by his grandparents to live with Charlie and the rest of t...

CLICK HERE TO READ THE UPDATED VERSION OF THIS REVIEW!  Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo Series:   The Grisha #1 Source:  Kindle Edition Publisher: Henry Holt and Co. Publication Date:   June 5th 2012 Age Genre: Young Adult Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee. Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire k...

CLICK HERE TO READ AN UPDATED VERSION OF THIS REVIEW!  Uprooted   by  Naomi Novik  N/A Source:  Gifted Hardcover Publisher:  Macmillan Publication Date:  Published May 21st 2015 Age Group:  Mature YA Agnieszka loves her valley home, her quiet village, the forests and the bright shining river. But the corrupted wood stands on the border, full of malevolent power, and its shadow lies over her life. Her people rely on the cold, ambitious wizard, known only as the Dragon, to keep the wood's powers at bay. But he demands a terrible price for his help: one young woman must be handed over to serve him for ten years, a fate almost as terrible as being lost to the wood. The next choosing is fast approaching, and Agnieszka is afraid. She knows - everyone knows - that the Dragon will take Kasia: beautiful, graceful, brave Kasia - all the things Agnieszka isn't - and her dearest friend in the world. And there is no way to save her. But no one can predict how ...

Blue Lily, Lily Blue by Maggie Stiefvater Series:   The Raven Cycle #3 Source:  Bought signed Hardcover Publisher: Scholastic Publication Date: October 21st 2014 Age Genre: Young Adult There is danger in dreaming. But there is even more danger in waking up. Blue Sargent has found things. For the first time in her life, she has friends she can trust, a group to which she can belong. The Raven Boys have taken her in as one of their own. Their problems have become hers, and her problems have become theirs. The trick with found things though, is how easily they can be lost. Friends can betray. Mothers can disappear. Visions can mislead. Certainties can unravel. "...But what she didn't realize about Blue and her boys was that they were  all  in love with one another. She was no less obsessed with them than they were with her, or one another, analyzing every conversation and gesture, drawing out every joke into a longer and longer running gag, spending each moment eithe...

Dead Witch Walking by Kim Harrison  Series:   The Hollows #1 Source:  Bought Paperback Publisher:  Harper Voyager Publication Date:  January 5th 2012 Age Group: Adult Challenges: TBR-Cleaning my Shelves Challenges: Flights of Fantasy Welcome to the Hollows... Forty years ago a genetically engineered virus killed half the world's human population and exposed creatures of dreams and nightmares that had, until then, lived in secret alongside humanity. Rachel Morgan is a runner with the Ireland Runner Services, apprehending criminals throughout modern-day Cincinnati. She's also a witch. Used to confronting criminal vampires, dark witches and homicidal werewolves, Rachel's latest assignment - apprehending cable-stealing magic students and tax-evading leprechauns - have prompted her to break her thirty-year contact with the I.S. and start her own runner agency. But no one quits the I.S. Marked for death, Rachel is a dead witch walking unless she can appease her fo...

AN UPDATED VERSION OF THIS REVIEW CAN BE FOUND ON AFTERWORDS! Written in Red by Anne Bishop Series:   The Others #1  Source:  Kindle Copy Publisher:  Roc Publication Date:  March 5th 2013 Age Genre: Adult (graphic violence) Challenges: TBR-Paid For Challenges: Flights of Fantasy Meg Corbyn is on the run. Alone and desperate, she stumbles into the Lakeside Courtyard, where the Others reside. Meg knows entering a Courtyard is a dangerous risk - most people who tangle with the Others end up dead - but it's the only place she'll be safe from the people chasing her. For Simon Wolfgard, leader of the Others residing in Lakeside, Meg is a puzzle and he has to decide if she is worth the fight to keep her in the Courtyard. It will be a fight not just with the humans hunting her down, but with some of the Others - as well as a fight with his own confusing feelings towards Meg. For Police Officer Montgomery, Meg is the property he's supposed to recover - and the spark ...

AN UPDATED VERSION OF THIS REVIEW CAN BE FOUND ON AFTERWORDS Shadow Study by Maria V. Snyder Series:   Soulfinder #1 / Study #4 / Chronicles of Ixia #7 Source:  e-arc via Netgalley Publisher:  Mira Ink P ublication Date: March 1st, 2015 Age Genre: Young Adult Once, only her own life hung in the balance… When Yelena was a poison taster, her life was simpler. She survived to become a vital part of the balance of power between rival countries Ixia and Sitia. Now she uses her magic to keep the peace in both lands—and protect her relationship with Valek. Suddenly, though, dissent is rising. And Valek’s job—and his life—are in danger. As Yelena tries to uncover her enemies, she faces a new challenge: her magic is blocked. And now she must find a way to keep not only herself but all that she holds dear alive. WARNING: I HAD TO GUSH. I COULDN'T NOT GUSH. THAT MEANS I GO INTO DETAILS. NOT REALLY SPOILERS, BUT NOT REALLY HOLDING BACK EITHER. Okay, wow . Where do I even start?! I w...

The Woman Who Ride Like a Man by Tamora Pierce Series:   Song of the Lioness #3 Source:  Bought paperback Publisher:  Atheneum Books For Young Readers Age Genre: Young Adult Challenges: Flights of Fantasy Challenges:  Prequel-Sequel Challenges:  TBR-Cleaning my Shelves Alanna fights on... Newly knighted, Alanna of Trebond seeks adventure in the vast desert of Tortall. Captured by fierce desert dwellers, she is forced to prove herself in a dual to the death. Although she triumphs, dire challenges lie ahead. As her mysterious fate would have it, Alanna soon becomes the tribe's first female shaman, despite the desert dwellers' wariness of the foreign woman warrior. Alanna must battle to change the ancient tribal customs of the desert tribes--for their sake and for the sake of all Tortall. That's me. With everyone else clapping in the background. Once again, I find myself unimpressed with the Song of the Lioness. It's not that I dislike the books. It's just that th...

Spy Glass by Maria V. Snyder Series:   Glass #3 / Chronicles of Ixia #6 Source:  borrowed from library (on wishlist) Publisher:  Mira Ink Publication Date: Sep 6th, 2013 Age Genre: Young Adult Challenges: TBR Challenges: Prequel-Sequel Challenges: Flight of Fantasy After siphoning her own blood magic in the showdown at Hubal, student glass magician Opal Cowan lost her powers. Immune to the effects of magic, Opal is now an outsider looking in, spying through the glass on those with the powers she once had. Powers that make a difference in the world. Suddenly the beautiful pieces she makes begin to flash in the presence of magic and Opal learns that someone has stolen some of her blood. Finding it might let her regain her powers or discover that they're lost forever... BE WARNED: UNHIDDEN SPOILERS AHEAD FOR THIS BOOK Honestly, I am not 100% certain how I feel about this book. I enjoyed it, no doubt about that--I mean, how can you not enjoy a Maria V. Snyder book? But at t...

Sea Glass by Maria V. Snyder Series:   Glass #2 / Chronicles of Ixia #5 Source:  bought paperback Publisher: Mira Ink Publication Date: Sep 6th, 2013 Age Genre: YA Challenges: TBR - Cleaning my shelves Challenges: Prequel-Sequel Challenges: Flight of Fantasy Find on Leafmarks! Like the colorful pieces of sea glass washed up on shore, Opal has weathered rough waters and twisting currents. But instead of finding a tranquil eddy, Opal is caught in a riptide. Her unique glass messengers which allow instant communication over vast distances have become a vital part of Sitian society. Once used solely by the Councilors and magicians, other powerful factions are now vying for control. Control of the messengers equals control of Sitia. Unfortunately that also means control of Opal. If that isn’t enough of a problem, Opal’s determination to prove blood magic is still being used is met with strong resistance. The Council doubts her, her mentor doubts her, and even her family is conce...