Warrior Witch (The Malediction Trilogy #3) by Danielle L. Jenson

Published by: Angry Robot

Genre: Young Adult Fantasy, YA, Romance.

Tagline: Sometimes, one must become the unimaginable

Rating: ****

Warrior Witch picks up from the events of Hidden Huntress with a bang. Okay not literally, but you get the point. We're inserted back into the narratives of Cecile and Tristan, something that started in the second book, and it is hard to describe how this book made me feel. It's the last book. Kept continuously on my toes, I tried to force myself to finish this book in the brief slow parts, but when I was past them, then it was straight forward and easy going. 

We start with Cecile who's desperately trying to save the people of Trollus and of course, her husband. She's strong and fierce in one moment, and vulnerable the next. A perfect queen, even if she doesn't know it yet. Tristan on the otherhand comes across as a right pain. There's something about the gap between the books that has made me grow to dislike him. 

However. it's a good ending. A bit different, but good.

You can buy Warrior Witch from Amazon UK now.

With Malice by Eileen Cook

Published by: HMH books for Young Readers

Genre: Young Adult, Mystery/Thriller, Contemporary

Rating: ****

With Malice follows the disjointed narrative of protagonist Jill Charron. She's eighteen, about to go to college, and is currently under investigation for an incident that happened abroad. Something that she doesn't really remember due to amnesia and other injuries.

The worst part, though?

The victim was her best friend.


I found this book absolutely fascinating. These kinds of books either frustrate or fascinate me. Cook writes a thrilling story of one girl's attempt to find out what exactly happened in Italy and whether it was actually Jill's fault. Yet, there was something about the ending, the lack of information for after the events of the book, that made me stop at four stars.

Without actually knowing the aftermath of the events, the book seemed to crumble slightly and feel more and more unfinished. Especially since it's supposed to be a stand-alone. But who knows, maybe Eileen Cook will write a sequel, or just publish a short story about the events. I'll cross my fingers for now.

You can buy With Malice from Amazon now.

If I Was Your Girl by Meredith Russo

Published by: Flatiron Books

Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Romance

Rating: ****

Meredith Russo is an absolutely wonderful writer who has created such a brilliant and incredible story that is needed in this day and age. Writing about a teen who is struggling with identity, Amanda, the protagonist, was born as Andrew but surgery has allowed her to be who she is supposed to be. However, Amanda has had issues fitting in. Not many people are open to the idea of going to school with her, or even dating her which has left the poor girl scarred. But things are about to change. Amanda is starting anew with her father in a new state and so her life is beginning again.

I found the book promising. One of my friends and fellow students recently wrote on the topic for a creative writing deadline and it was absolutely beautiful and so powerful. Again, for a book of this topic it is so rare for me to actually get past the first few pages, but with this one, I was captivated and could not put it down. I was in book-love with it and wanted to find out what was next in Amanda's life.

If I Was Your Girl can be purchased at Amazon UK now.

Race Girl (The Go Girls Chronicle #3) by Leigh Hutton

Race Girl (The Go Girls Chronicle #3) by Leigh Hutton

Published by: Port Campbell Press

Genre: YA Contemporary, Sports, Equestrian

Rating: ***

This has got to be a really weird book to review purely because of how it varies between being really good and quite blah. Of course, that can be because I might not be the intended target audience of the story (it's clearly meant for a younger audience). 

However, the story follows the life of Tully Athens and her endeavor to be like her idol, the great Michelle Payne. But there is a problem. Her family farm is no longer able to afford the basic luxuries that come with racing. Yet there is another issue. How can Tully ride when her mother only just died from a racing incident? 

My honest view of this was how amazing the story was at first. It was only until the middle of the novel that the novel took a nosedive into a ridiculous tale that made no sense at all. I could not, for the life of me, wrap my head around the many different plot twists introduced in the last 100 pages or so.

Therefore, I end my review with a link to buy the book from Amazon.

Burn Girl by Mandy Mikulencak

Burn Girl by Mandy Mikulencak

Published by: Albert Whitman and Company

Genre: YA, contemporary, romance

Rating: ****

Burn Girl is the type of book I read every summer purely because it provides a getaway from reality. It's like reading Sarah Dessen, everybody reads Sarah Dessen in their lifetime because she writes wonderful stories about characters who are different and have pasts or troubles that they need help or support with.

Arlie's scarred. Her face is disfigured thanks to her stepfather and his accomplices when they blew up a Meth lab. Her mother has just died of an overdose, yet Arlie suspects there's more to the story and to top it off, she's being forced to live with an Uncle she didn't know existed until now. 

Her new school isn't kind. What school is? But Arlie gets by through her best friend and the kindness of her newly discovered Uncle. But that isn't enough turmoil for the poor girl. Instead the dreaded stepfather returns claiming her mother owed him money and now Arlie has inherited the same debt and must pay it off.

But what can a sixteen year old do? She's got no job or access to the kind of capital that the stepfather wants. In the same time as his reappearance, she's got her own problems like school, boys and her home life. The poor girl is so traumatised that she can't even taste or smell, and it's all this idiot's fault.

It's a tough cookie of a story and maybe that's why I liked it so much. Mikulencak writes a very gritty and interesting story that put me in Arlie's perspective and admire how she overcame a lot in what could be considered a short period of time. A very strong lead indeed.

Burn Girl can be bought from Amazon UK and Amazon US.

A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

A Madness So Discreet by Mindy McGinnis

Published by: Katherine Tegan Books

Genre:Young Adult, Historial, Thriller?
Rating:****

Debating whether to read this book for a few weeks, I finally took the plunge and downloaded it onto my Kindle and here we are. 

Grace Mae is different. She's locked away in an asylum whilst her proud, rich and powerful parents tell their friends and connections that she's abroad. The truth is that Grace is pregnant and that alone is enough to make this  young woman cower away into the dark corners of her very very intelligent but also rather stupid at times, mind. 

But as she's paraded around as the perfect insane patient, a posterchild for the asylum to cover up their secrets, Grace cracks and is thrown into the depths of those secrets. She meets a promising physician by accident. Her voice adding to her mystery but aiding her as she escapes the asylum only to run around Ohio looking for a murderer.

Of course noone suspects that the insane woman is a threat or that because of her previous condition, that she's no longer a lady or rather a human in their eyes. Grace is able to gleam all the information she can from the public whilst shifting into a completely new woman.

The book isn't just a tale of starting over, it's a story about growing as a person and becoming a leader, a strong and intelligent person.

A Madness So Discreet can be bought from Amazon UK and Amazon US.