Sophie Reads YA: March 2016

March summary

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What I've read this month:

Star Struck

Series: The Ladybirds #4
Author: Jenny McLachlan
Published March 10th 2016 by Bloomsbury Childrens (eARC)
Read: March 1-2 2016
My Rating: 4 Stars

The Shadow Queen
Series: Ravenspire #1
Author: C.J. Redwine
Published March 3rd 2016 by Scholastic Press (ARC)
Read: March 3-12 2016
My Rating: 5 Stars

The Square Root of Summer
Series: None
Author: Harriet Reuter Hapgood
Published May 5th 2016 by Macmillan Children's Books (ARC)
Read: February 27 - March 13 2016
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2016 Debut Authors

These Vicious Masks
Series: These Vicious Masks #1
Author: Tarun Shanker & Kelly Zekas
Published February 9th 2016 by Swoon Reads
Read: March 13-16 2016
My Rating: 5 Stars
Challenge: 2016 Debut Authors, #RockMyTBR

A Study in Charlotte
Series: Charlotte Holmes #1
Author: Brittany Cavallaro
Published March 1st 2016 by Katherine Tegen Books
Read: March 17 2016
My Rating: 5 Stars
Challenge: 2016 Debut Authors, #RockMyTBR

Head Over Heels
Series: Geek Girl #5
Author: Holly Smale
Published April 7th 2016 by Harper Collins Children's Books (eARC)
Read: March 19 2016
My Rating: 5 Stars

Walk the Edge
Series: Thunder Road #2
Author: Katie McGarry
Published March 10th 2016 by MIRA Ink (eARC)
Read: March 20-21 2016
My Rating: 4 Stars

When We Collided
Series: None
Author: Emery Lord
Published April 7th 2016 by Bloomsbury Children's (ARC)
Read: March 23-27 2016
My Rating: 3 Stars

The Unexpected Everything
Series: None
Author: Morgan Matson
Published May 5th 2016 by Simon & Schuster Children's (ARC)
Read: March 29-31 2016
My Rating: 5 Stars

Challenges Update:

2016 Debut Authors: 3 (8 total)
#RockMyTBR: 2 (4 total)

Summary:

I've done a lot better this month, especially after I submitted my assignments and went home for Easter. Even with my holiday in New York, I managed to read quite a bit :) I now have a proper back log of reviews to write though, so that's one downside of reading a lot :(

How have you done this month? Let me know below.

Anna Breslaw

Waiting on Wednesday: Scarlett Epstein Hates It Here by Anna Breslaw

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Blitz

Release Week Blitz: Walk the Edge (Thunder Road #2) by Katie McGarry (+US giveaway)

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About the Book:

Title: Walk the Edge

Author: Katie McGarry
Release Date: March 29th 2016
Publisher: Harlequin TEEN
Find it: Goodreads | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | iBooks | Kobo

One moment of recklessness will change their worlds.

Smart. Responsible. That's seventeen-year-old Breanna's role in her large family, and heaven forbid she put a toe out of line. Until one night of shockingly un-Breanna-like behavior puts her into a vicious cyber-bully's line of fire—and brings fellow senior Thomas "Razor" Turner into her life.

Razor lives for the Reign of Terror motorcycle club, and good girls like Breanna just don't belong. But when he learns she's being blackmailed over a compromising picture of the two of them—a picture that turns one unexpected and beautiful moment into ugliness—he knows it's time to step outside the rules.

And so they make a pact: he'll help her track down her blackmailer, and in return she'll help him seek answers to the mystery that's haunted him—one that not even his club brothers have been willing to discuss. But the more time they spend together, the more their feelings grow. And suddenly they're both walking the edge of discovering who they really are, what they want, and where they're going from here.

About Katie:

Katie McGarry was a teenager during the age of grunge and boy bands and remembers those years as the best and worst of her life. She is a lover of music, happy endings, reality television, and is a secret University of Kentucky basketball fan.

Katie is the author of full length YA novels, PUSHING THE LIMITS, DARE YOU TO, CRASH INTO YOU, TAKE ME ON, BREAKING THE RULES, and NOWHERE BUT HERE and the e-novellas, CROSSING THE LINE and RED AT NIGHT. Her debut YA novel, PUSHING THE LIMITS was a 2012 Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction, a RT Magazine's 2012 Reviewer's Choice Awards Nominee for Young Adult Contemporary Novel, a double Rita Finalist, and a 2013 YALSA Top Ten Teen Pick. DARE YOU TO was also a Goodreads Choice Finalist for YA Fiction and won RT Magazine’s Reviewer’s Choice Best Book Award for Young Adult Contemporary fiction in 2013.

Excerpt:
“I’m here about your mother.” The asshole knows he has me when my eyes snap to his.
“She’s dead.” Like the other times I say the words, a part of me dies along with her.
This guy has green eyes and they soften like he’s apologetic. “I know. I’m sorry. I’ve received some new evidence that may help us discover what caused her death.”
Anger curls within my muscles and my jaw twitches. This overwhelming sense of insanity is what I fight daily. For years, I’ve heard the whispers from the gossips in town, felt the stares of the kids in class, and I’ve sensed the pity of the men in the Reign of Terror I claim as brothers. It’s all accumulated to a black, hissing doubt in my soul.
Suicide.
It’s what everyone in town says happened. It’s in every hushed conversation people have the moment I turn my back. It’s not just from the people I couldn’t give two shits about, but the people who I consider family.
I shove away those thoughts and focus on what my father and the club have told me—what I have chosen to believe. “My mother’s death was an accident.”
He’s shaking his head and I’m fresh out of patience. I’m not doing this. Not with him. Not with anyone. “I’m not interested.”
I push off the railing and I did out the keys to my motorcycle as I bound down the steps. The detective’s behind me. He has a slow steady stride and it irritates me that he follows across the yard and doesn’t stop coming as I swing my leg over my bike.
“What if I told you I don’t think it was an accident,” he says.
Odds are it wasn’t. Odds are every whispered taunt in my direction is true. That my father and the club drove Mom crazy, and I wasn’t enough of a reason for her to choose life.
To drown him out, I start the engine. This guy must be as suicidal as people say Mom was because he eases in front of my bike assuming I won’t run him down.
“Thomas,” he says.
I twist the handle to rev the engine in warning. He raises his chin like he’s finally pissed and his eyes narrow on me. “Razor.”
I let the bike idle. If he’s going to respect me by using my road name, I’ll respect him for a few seconds. “Leave me the fuck alone.”
Damn if the man doesn’t possess balls the size of Montana. He steps closer to me and drops a bomb. “I have reason to believe your mom was murdered.”

Giveaway:

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Emery Lord

Waiting on Wednesday: When We Collided by Emery Lord

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March

Stacking the Shelves: March 19th 2016

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Jodi Meadows

Waiting on Wednesday: The Mirror King (The Orphan Queen #2) by Jodi Meadows

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5 Stars

Blog Tour & ARC Review: The Shadow Queen (Ravenspire #1) by C.J. Redwine

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The Shadow Queen

Series: Ravenspire #1
Author: C.J. Redwine
Published March 3rd 2016 by Scholastic Press

Goodreads Synopsis
Lorelai Diederich, crown princess and fugitive at large, has one mission: kill the wicked queen who took both the Ravenspire throne and the life of her father. To do that, Lorelai needs to use the one weapon she and Queen Irina have in common—magic. She’ll have to be stronger, faster, and more powerful than Irina, the most dangerous sorceress Ravenspire has ever seen.

In the neighboring kingdom of Eldr, when Prince Kol’s father and older brother are killed by an invading army of magic-wielding ogres, the second-born prince is suddenly given the responsibility of saving his kingdom. To do that, Kol needs magic—and the only way to get it is to make a deal with the queen of Ravenspire, promise to become her personal huntsman…and bring her Lorelai’s heart.

But Lorelai is nothing like Kol expected—beautiful, fierce, and unstoppable—and despite dark magic, Lorelai is drawn in by the passionate and troubled king. Fighting to stay one step ahead of the dragon huntsman—who she likes far more than she should—Lorelai does everything in her power to ruin the wicked queen. But Irina isn’t going down without a fight, and her final move may cost the princess the one thing she still has left to lose.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

When I first heard about this book, it was because of a lot of US reviewers who adored their copies, which came out last month. Once I found out Scholastic would be publishing The Shadow Queen over here, I immediately requested a copy, and was so grateful to be approved - thanks, Scholastic!

The Shadow Queen told the story of Lorelai, the crown princess to Ravenspire, who has been on the run from her evil stepmother, since her father was killed. She's learnt how to utilise her magic, and is ready, along with her younger brother, Leo, to take back her kingdom. In the kingdom of Eldr, Prince, turned King, Kol is coming to terms with the deaths of his parents, and older brother, abruptly placing him on the throne. The ogre war in his nation has become so bad, he's had to travel to Ravenspire to ask queen Irina's aid in magically defeating them, once and for all. When Kol and Lorelai meet, there's a distinct connection, made worse when Irina realises this, and uses it to her advantage. Everything is dangerous, and you can't help thinking that maybe, for once, the evil queen will win.

I've never really read a Snow White retelling, except for Winter by Marissa Meyer, and Snow White has got to be one of my favourite Disney princesses. I've got to say, I was not disappointed with this book. If you've seen the Snow White and the Huntsman movie, this book had a real vibe of that. Lorelai was a strong Snow White figure, a la Snow in Once Upon a Time (when she's actually Snow, not as Mary Margaret). She'd had a hard upbringing on the run, and never really complained about it. She has felt the struggle that her people felt everyday, and wished beyond anything to relieve them of pain. However, there's also the small part of her that worries that she won't be a good enough queen, not one that Ravenspire deserves. I honestly adored reading from Lorelai's point of view, and she grew in strength as every chapter progressed.

Reading from Kol's perspective was really nice too. He had a distinctive voice, and learning about the dragon law, and how the Draconi people worked was fun. He kept his emotions quite close to the surface, and it was really easy to see how much he cares about his people too, just like Lorelai. It wasn't hard to see why they connected to easily, and why they grew closer the more time they spent with each other. Even with all the angst ridden situations they were thrown into - and there were a lot of them - they overcame all obstacles, and where in a very good place at the end of the novel. I've just put the book down, and I'm already waiting anxiously for book 2.

I've never read any of C.J.'s books before, but I think I definitely will now. The Shadow Queen was a wonderful high fantasy/ fairytale retelling, and I would definitely recommend this to lovers of both genres. The main characters were enjoyable to read about, and from their perspectives, and there was never a dull movement. It may have taken me over a week to read, but honestly, it only took just over a day - university has killed me the last few weeks, and I couldn't wait to be finished my essays to read more of this! Thanks again, Scholastic, for allowing me the opportunity to read this fantastic book, and for taking part in the blog tour.

Dates Read:
March 3-12, 2016

Rating
5 Stars

March

Stacking the Shelves: March 12th 2016

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Marie Rutkoski

Waiting on Wednesday: The Winner's Kiss (The Winner's Trilogy #3) by Marie Rutkoski

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4 Stars

ARC Review: Star Struck (The Ladybirds #4) by Jenny McLachlan

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Star Struck
Series: The Ladybirds #4
Author: Jenny McLachlan
Published March 10th 2016 by Bloomsbury Childrens

Goodreads Synopsis
Following on from Flirty Dancing, Love Bomb and Sunkissed, Jenny McLachlan's next book is perfect for fans of Geek Girl and Louise Rennison.

In a huge fantastic final hurrah to our lovable heroines - Bea, Betty, Kat and Pearl - Jenny McLachlan's latest book tells Pearl's story. Pearl is the 'bad girl' of the group - she drinks, she smokes, she swears - and she's mean to Bea and Betty. But she did fly halfway round the world to rescue Kat in Sunkissed. If there's one thing Pearl knows deep down, it is how to be a friend. And now, more than ever, she could really use a friend.

There will be laughter, there will be tears and there will definitely be kissing. Most importantly, Pearl will be keeping it fierce!
Goodreads

Review
See my reviews for the previous books:
- Flirty Dancing (#1)
- Love Bomb (#2)
- Sunkissed (#3)

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

This series soon became a favourite of mine last summer, and I was waiting with baited breath for the final instalment. Pearl, the MC in Star Struck, has been a cow for the past books, but she somewhat redeemed herself in Sunkissed when she flew to Sweden when Kat needed a friend. Well, it's safe to say I understand why she has been so abrupt and bitchy, when you read from her PoV.

In Star Struck, Pearl wants to play Juliet in the school production of Romeo and Juliet. Her plan is scuppered when new girl, Hoshi, arrives from Japan, and 'steals' her role. Pearl, in her usual bitchy self, plans to get even, and make Hoshi's life hell. However, she soon becomes friends with Hoshi, and learns why she had to leave Japan.

I loved Pearl. Her attitude in the previous books had been a bit grating at times, but after I read Sunkissed, I was dying to read more about her. Her home situation is not great - I mean, I was scared for her at times, it was that bad - and she had to put on this facade to deal with it all. She's just re-making friends with the Ladybirds, but they are still on egg shells, mainly because of her. The only thing I can say I wanted more of, was interacting between the Ladybirds, as there wasn't too much.

Pearl's friendship with Hoshi was wonderful to read. It started off really bristle-y, as Pearl was jealous of pretty much everything about Hoshi - she was pretty, she was an amazing singer/actress, and she made friends with the Ladybirds really easily. In short, she seemed like Pearl x2. However, once they became proper friends, and Pearl stopped hating on her, they became really close, and Hoshi was the only person who she told about her home situation.

Like the synopsis said, there is kissing in this book, and it was wonderful to read. No spoilers, but I was so happy with it! Really, it was definitely swoony :)

Star Struck wasn't my favourite book of the series, but I think it was a close second. That title still goes to Flirty Dancing, because Bollie are the cutest! Pearl was nothing like I was expecting, she definitely had hidden depths that we're only just able to see. If you've loved this series, or are a fan of fun, but sometimes serious, contemporary UKYA, this is the book for you!

Dates Read:
March 1-2, 2016

Rating
4 Stars