Curious Minds by Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton

Curious Minds

by Janet Evanovich and Phoef Sutton
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(3.5 stars)

Format: Kindle/ ARC

Published: Aug. 16th 2016 by Bantam Dell

Genre: Fiction, Mystery & Political suspense

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“Emerson Knight is introverted, eccentric, and has little to no sense of social etiquette. Good thing he’s also brilliant, rich, and (some people might say) handsome, or he’d probably be homeless. Riley Moon has just graduated from Harvard Business and Harvard Law. Her aggressive Texas spitfire attitude has helped her land her dream job as a junior analyst with mega-bank Blane-Grunwald. At least Riley Moon thought it was her dream job, until she is given her first assignment: babysitting Emerson Knight.

What starts off as an inquiry about missing bank funds in the Knight account leads to inquiries about a missing man, missing gold, and a life-and-death race across the country. Through the streets of Washington, D.C., and down into the underground vault of the Federal Reserve in New York City, an evil plan is exposed. A plan so sinister that only a megalomaniac could think it up, and only the unlikely duo of the irrepressibly charming Emerson Knight and the tenacious Riley Moon can stop it.”  –Goodreads

Paper and Fire (The Great Library #2) by Rachel Caine

Paper and Fire (The Great Library #2)

by Rachel Caine
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Format: Kindle/ ARC

Published:  July 5th 2016 by NAL

Genre: YA lit, Fantasy

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“With an iron fist, The Great Library controls the knowledge of the world, ruthlessly stamping out all rebellion, forbidding the personal ownership of books in the name of the greater good.

Jess Brightwell has survived his introduction to the sinister, seductive world of the Library, but serving in its army is nothing like he envisioned. His life and the lives of those he cares for have been altered forever. His best friend is lost, and Morgan, the girl he loves, is locked away in the Iron Tower and doomed to a life apart.

Embarking on a mission to save one of their own, Jess and his band of allies make one wrong move and suddenly find themselves hunted by the Library’s deadly automata and forced to flee Alexandria, all the way to London.

But Jess’s home isn’t safe anymore. The Welsh army is coming, London is burning, and soon, Jess must choose between his friends, his family, or the Library willing to sacrifice anything and anyone in the search for ultimate control…” –goodreads

Ink and Bone (The Great Library #1) by Rachel Caine

Ink and Bone (The Great Library #1)

by Rachel Caine
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Format: Hardcover | 351 pgs.

Published:  July 7th 2015 by NAL

Genre: YA lit, Fantasy

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“Ruthless and supremely powerful, the Great Library is now a presence in every major city, governing the flow of knowledge to the masses. Alchemy allows the Library to deliver the content of the greatest works of history instantly—but the personal ownership of books is expressly forbidden.

Jess Brightwell believes in the value of the Library, but the majority of his knowledge comes from illegal books obtained by his family, who are involved in the thriving black market. Jess has been sent to be his family’s spy, but his loyalties are tested in the final months of his training to enter the Library’s service.

When his friend inadvertently commits heresy by creating a device that could change the world, Jess discovers that those who control the Great Library believe that knowledge is more valuable than any human life—and soon both heretics and books will burn…” –goodreads

Flawed (Flawed #1) by Cecelia Ahern

Flawed (Flawed #1)

by Cecelia Ahern
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(1.5 stars)

Format: Kindle/ ARC

Published: April 5th 2016 by Feiwel and Friends

Genre: YA lit, Dystopian

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“You will be punished…

Celestine North lives a perfect life. She’s a model daughter and sister, she’s well-liked by her classmates and teachers, and she’s dating the impossibly charming Art Crevan.

But then Celestine encounters a situation where she makes an instinctive decision. She breaks a rule and now faces life-changing repercussions. She could be imprisoned. She could be branded. She could be found flawed.

In her breathtaking young adult debut, bestselling author Cecelia Ahern depicts a society where perfection is paramount and flaws lead to punishment. And where one young woman decides to take a stand that could cost her everything.” –goodreads

Salt to the Sea by Ruta Sepetys

Salt to the Sea

by Ruta Sepetys
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Format: Kindle/ ARC

Published: Feb. 2nd 2016 by Penguin Teen

Genre: YA lit, Historical Fiction

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“The author of Between Shades of Gray returns to WWII in this epic novel that shines a light on one of the war’s most devastating—yet unknown—tragedies.

In 1945, World War II is drawing to a close in East Prussia, and thousands of refugees are on a desperate trek toward freedom, almost all of them with something to hide. Among them are  Joana, Emilia, and Florian, whose paths converge en route to the ship that promises salvation, the Wilhelm Gustloff. Forced by circumstance to unite, the three find their strength, courage, and trust in each other tested with each step closer toward safety.

Just when it seems freedom is within their grasp, tragedy strikes. Not country, nor culture, nor status matter as all ten thousand people aboard must fight for the same thing: survival.” –goodreads

Mini Reviews #1

This set of Mini Reviews contain reviews for The Photograph by Beverly Lewis, Illuminae (Illuminae Files #1) by Amie Koffman and Jay Kristoff, and The Dirt on Ninth Grave (Charley Davidson #9) by Darynda Jones

Art in the Blood: A Sherlock Holmes Adventure by Bonnie MacBird

Art in the Blood: A Sherlock Holmes Adventure

by Bonnie MacBird
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Format: Kindle/ ARC

Published: Oct. 6th 2015 by Collins Crime Club

Genre: Mystery

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“London. A snowy December, 1888. Sherlock Holmes, 34, is languishing and back on cocaine after a disastrous Ripper investigation. Watson can neither comfort nor rouse his friend – until a strangely encoded letter arrives from Paris.

Mlle La Victoire, a beautiful French cabaret star writes that her young son has vanished, and she has been attacked in the streets of Montmartre.

Racing to Paris with Watson at his side, Holmes discovers the missing child is only the tip of the iceberg of a much larger problem. The most valuable statue since the Winged Victory has been violently stolen in Marseilles, and several children from a silk mill in Lancashire have been found murdered. The clues in all three cases point to a single, untouchable man, an art collector seemingly beyond reach of the law.

Will Holmes recover in time to find the missing boy and stop a rising tide of murders? To do so he must stay one step ahead of a dangerous French rival and the threatening interference of his own brother, Mycroft.

This latest adventure, in the style of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, sends the iconic duo from London to Paris and the icy wilds of Lancashire in a case which tests Watson’s friendship and the fragility and gifts of Sherlock Holmes’ own artistic nature to the limits.” –Goodreads

Princess of Thorns by Stacey Jay

Princess of Thorns

by Stacey Jay
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Format: Kindle/ ARC

Published: Dec. 9th 2014 by Delacorte Press

Genre: Fairytale Retelling/Fantasy, Young Adult

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“Game of Thrones meets the Grimm’s fairy tales in this twisted, fast-paced romantic fantasy-adventure about Sleeping Beauty’s daughter, a warrior princess who must fight to reclaim her throne.

Though she looks like a mere mortal, Princess Aurora is a fairy blessed with enhanced strength, bravery, and mercy yet cursed to destroy the free will of any male who kisses her. Disguised as a boy, she enlists the help of the handsome but also cursed Prince Niklaas to fight legions of evil and free her brother from the ogre queen who stole Aurora’s throne ten years ago.

Will Aurora triumph over evil and reach her brother before it’s too late? Can Aurora and Niklaas break the curses that will otherwise forever keep them from finding their one true love?” –Goodreads

The Heart Goes Last by Margaret Atwood

The Heart Goes Last

by Margaret Atwood
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Format: Kindle/ ARC

Published: Sept. 29th 2015 by Nan A. Talese

Genre: Dystopia/ Sci-fi/ Contemporary

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“Living in their car, surviving on tips, Charmaine and Stan are in a desperate state. So, when they see an advertisement for Consilience, a ‘social experiment’ offering stable jobs and a home of their own, they sign up immediately. All they have to do in return for suburban paradise is give up their freedom every second month – swapping their home for a prison cell. At first, all is well. But then, unknown to each other, Stan and Charmaine develop passionate obsessions with their ‘Alternates,’ the couple that occupy their house when they are in prison. Soon the pressures of conformity, mistrust, guilt and sexual desire begin to take over.” –Goodreads

The Haunting of Sunshine Girl by Paige McKenzie and Alyssa B. Sheinmel

The Haunting of Sunshine Girl (#1)

by Paige McKenzie and Alyssa B. Sheinmel
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Format: Kindle/ ARC

Published: Mar. 24th 2015 by Weinstein Books

Genre: Paranormal/Thriller, Young Adult

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“In that place where you’re more asleep than awake any more, I hear something else. A phrase uttered in a child’s voice, no more than a whisper: Night Night.

Something freaky’s going on with Sunshine’s new house . . . there’s the chill that wraps itself around her bones, the giggling she can hear in the dead of night, and then the strange shadows that lurk in her photographs. But the more weird stuff that happens, the less her mum believes her. Sunshine’s always had a quirky affiliation with the past, but this time, history is getting much too close for comfort . . .

If there is something, or someone, haunting her house, what do they want? And what will they do if Sunshine can’t help them?

As things become more frightening and dangerous, and the giggles she hears turn to sobs and screams, Sunshine has no choice but to accept what she is, face the test before her and save her mother from a fate worse than death.

The first in a frighteningly good new series based on the popular YouTube sensation The Haunting of Sunshine Girl Network, created by Paige McKenzie.” –Goodreads