ARC REVIEW: Almost Impossible by Nicole Wlliams

Title: Almost Impossible
Author: Nicole Williams
Publication Date: June 19th 2018
Publisher: Crown Books for Young Readers
Part of a Series?: No, A Standalone
I Got A Copy Through: PRH International (THANK YOU!)
Buy Links: Amazon || Barnes and Noble || Wordery || Books A Million || Chapters Indigo || Google Books

Blurb Description: Fans of Sarah Dessen, Stephanie Perkins, and Jenny Han will delight as the fireworks spark and the secrets fly in this delicious summer romance from a New York Times and USA Today bestselling author.
When Jade decided to spend the summer with her aunt in California, she thought she knew what she was getting into. But nothing could have prepared her for Quentin. Jade hasn't been in suburbia long and even she knows her annoying (and annoyingly cute) next-door neighbor spells T-R-O-U-B-L-E. 
And when Quentin learns Jade plans to spend her first American summer hiding out reading books, he refuses to be ignored. Sneaking out, staying up, and even a midnight swim, Quentin is determined to give Jade days--and nights--worth remembering.
But despite their storybook-perfect romance, every time Jade moves closer, Quentin pulls away. And when rumors of a jilted ex-girlfriend come to light, Jade knows Quentin is hiding a secret--and she's determined to find out what it is.

THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS

I love reading the occasional feel good high school contemporary romance. They’re easy to get through, fun, cute and well, they’re this kind of silly pleasure I indulge in once in a while. 

Almost Impossible started off rather slowly. I struggled to connect with Jade and the kind of live she lived. It was just this description of things that she had experienced, but there were no real emotions behind anything, even with things like ‘Oh, I’ve travelled the world,’ and ‘My mom is in a world famous brand.’ 

Jade also wanted to spend a summer as a normal teenager with family, but family was barely involved in the story. She wanted to know the rules, but then when her aunt and uncle imposed restrictions on her, she was annoyed that they thought they could. I guess I didn’t really like her much, or even understand her. She didn’t seem overly invested in anything – her job, family or anything at all, except her OWN spur of the moment decisions. 

I also figured out the biggest twist in this book very early. In fact, the first time I met a certain someone, I pretty much knew.

It was the thing I liked the most about this book, in fact. I loved that, for ONCE, we saw a teenage boy who was responsible enough, and cared enough to stick around and be a parent. I loved that he was worried for her, and he was trying whatever he could to make things work. 

Honestly, I didn’t like Quentin and Jade as much as I liked the representation of a teenage father. I wish there was more to Jade's story than just Quentin (because, let’s be honest, that’s all it really was) like her family, her mom and even her co-worker friend and just MORE ABOUT JADE AS A PERSON, FEELING THINGS. 

3 stars.

I'm a wife, a mom, a writer. I started writing because I loved it and I'm still writing because I love it. I write romance because I still believe in true love, kindred spirits, and happy endings. 

Nicole loves hearing from her readers. You can connect with her on:

Facebook: Author Nicole Williams
Instagram: author_nicole_williams
Twitter: nwilliamsbooks

Have you read Almost Impossible? What did you think of it?

What are some high-school// summer romances that make your FAVOURITES list?

I'd love to hear from you!

 

DNF Rant-Review: The Accidental Bad Girl by Mazine Kaplan

Title: The Accidental Bad Girl
Author: Maxine Kaplan
Publication Date: May 15th 2018
Publisher: Harry N. Abrams Books
Part of a Series?: No, A Standalone
I Got A Copy Through: A&CB International
Buy Links: Amazon || Barnes and Noble || Wordery || Foyles || Waterstones || WHSmith || Books A Million || Chapters Indigo || Google Books

Blurb Description: After getting caught hooking up with her best friend’s ex on the last day of junior year, Kendall starts senior year friendless and ostracized. She plans to keep her head down until she graduates. But after discovering her online identity has been hacked and she’s being framed for stealing from a dealer, Kendall is drawn into a tenuous partnership with the mastermind of a drug ring lurking in the shadows of her Brooklyn private school. If she wants to repair her tattered reputation and save her neck, she’ll have to decide who she really is—and own it. The longer she plays the role of “bad girl,” the more she becomes her new reputation. Friends and enemies, detectives and drug dealers—no one is who they appear to be. Least of all Kendall. 

DNF on page 163 (49%)

When I initially read the synopsis for this book, I thought it sounded like The Accidental Bad Girl would be a really interesting read. A good girl turning bad and… liking it? After she slept with her best friend’s boyfriend? It seemed like a fun, different read and I was all for it

.

It took me a while to pick it up from my TBR, but when I did, I immediately took a disliking to it.

It was a lot of small reasons that added themselves together, and suddenly, I found me forcing myself to read on just BECAUSE it was a review copy, which just seemed so silly to me when I realised – what is the point in attempting to recommend a book that I was forcing myself to read? – that I put it down. 

THINGS I DIDN’T LIKE:

1.       The Main Character, Kendall: I mean. She was sad, but not about her friend and betraying her friend’s trust, but about being ostracized. The whole concept was so strange. If the trigger to all the bad events in Kendall’s life was her BEST FRIEND, and then she didn’t really CARE about the best friend, what was the plot even?

ARCs from the Author's Twitter

2.       AUDREY: This is the best friend, by the way, and I ABSOLUTELY HATED HER GUTS. She was rude, RUDE and even the even ruder. I didn’t understand the things she was trying to do, from the perspective of a friend.

I guess, more than the both of them individually, I HATED WHO THEY WERE AS FRIENDS TO EACH OTHER. In fact, using the word friend to describe them is probably stretching it. For Kendall, there was no remorse. Also, WHY WOULD YOU GO AFTER YOUR BEST FRIEND’S EX-BOYFRIEND? Haven’t you heard of the GIRL CODE// THE BEST FRIEND CODE? And for Audrey, she was pissed off with Kendall just because Kendall had stolen something – not someone – that she used to have. That’s it.

3.       THE PARENTING: The interactions and reactions between Kendall and her parents were so incredulous and unbelievable that I cringed EVERY TIME. THIS IS NOT HOW PARENTS TALK TO CHILDREN. Also, if you never returned homw because you’d passed out DRUNK of the school steps (or that’s what your parents knew) ARE YOUR PARENTS FIRST REACTION GOING TO BE ‘You are not expelling my daughter, she’s done nothing wrong.’ Or actually PARENT THE CHILD and not call her a day later saying ‘I think you’re grounded.’

Honestly, I was forcing myself to read this so much, I flipped to the end to see if there was any point in continuing and HONESTLY, I WAS SO ANNOYED AT THE WAY EVERYTHING ENDED.

Would I recommend this book? No. I couldn’t even bring myself to finish it. 1 star. 

Maxine Kaplan was born in Washington, DC. She and her twin sister spent their early childhoods trotting behind their journalist parents as they traveled around the world, eventually settling in Brooklyn, NY. Maxine graduated from Oberlin College in 2007. Following a long stint in the world of publishing, she has worked as a private investigator since 2009. She lives in her adopted hometown of Brooklyn, NY, with her lovely husband and complex cat. THE ACCIDENTAL BAD GIRL is her debut novel. Follow Maxine on Twitter @MaxineGKaplan

What was the last book you thought you'd like, but didn't?

Have you read this book? What did you think of it?

 

BLOG TOUR: Star-Touched Stories by Roshani Chokshi

Hello Everyone, and welcome to my tour stop on the 

Star-Touched Stories Blog Tour by Roshani Chokshi!

It is indeed an honour to be a part of this blog tour for an author I admire, and for a collection of short stories that stole my heart. Let's begin!

Title: Star-Touched Stories (The Star Touched Queen #2.5)

Author: Roshani Chokshi

Publication Date: August 7th 2018

Publisher: Wednesday Books

Part of a Series?: Yes, Book 2.5 of the Star Touched Series

I Got A Copy Through: Wednesday Books via NetGalley

Buy Links: Amazon || Barnes and Noble || Wordery || Books A Million || Chapters Indigo || Google Books

Blurb Description: Three lush and adventurous stories in the Star-Touched world.
Death and Night
He was Lord of Death, cursed never to love. She was Night incarnate, destined to stay alone. After a chance meeting, they wonder if, perhaps, they could be meant for more. But danger crouches in their paths, and the choices they make will set them on a journey that will span lifetimes. 
Poison and Gold
Now that her wish for a choice has come true, Aasha struggles to control her powers. But when an opportunity to help Queen Gauri and King Vikram's new reign presents itself, she is thrown into the path of the fearsome yet enchanting Spy Mistress. To help her friends, Aasha will have to battle her insecurities and perhaps, along the way, find love. 
Rose and Sword
There is a tale whispered in the dark of the Empire of Bharat-Jain. A tale of a bride who loses her bridegroom on the eve of her wedding. But is it a tale or a truth? 

I am A HUGE FAN of Roshani Chokshi’s absolutely breath-taking writing style, and I have been since I read The Star Touched Queen, more than two years ago. I don’t usually describe writing like this, but if you’ve ready any of Roshani’s books, you’ll know what I’m talking about.

In fact, it was so good, that this short story collection didn’t even feel like one. I was immersed, spell bound and Star Touched Stories is one of my FAVOURITE reads of the year and also, probably the BEST short story collections I’ve ever read.

I’ll review the three short stories separately:

Death and Night:

This was probably the story I was MOST excited for. I loved the PLOT behind book one, The Star Touched Queen, but somewhere in the middle, the story lost structure. Death and Night is the story of how Maya and Amar met for the first time, before the Shadow Wife’s curse and I ABSOLUTELY LOVED IT. Where The Star Touched Queen was tortured and lacking structure, Death and Night was witty and filled with such beautiful lines and AAAH I LOVED IT!

Poison and Gold:

Truth be told, that while A Crown of Wishes is one of my FAVOURITE books and Vikram and Gauri are one of my favourite desi couples, I didn’t care much for Aasha, who debuted in Vikram and Gauri’s books. Poison and Gold is about Aasha’s story after A Crown of Wishes, and while it was nice, and I LOVED THE LGBT REPRESENTATION, I just wasn’t as into this story as I was with the other two.

Rose and Sword:

I honestly didn’t know what this story was about, before I started reading it.

And when I found out, MY TINY HEART FREAKED OUT BECAUSE OH. MY. GOD.

I honestly didn’t expect to see this plot twist that was hinted at in The Star Touched Queen, about a character I fell in love with in A Crown of Wishes, but this story, YOU GUYS, THIS STORY WAS ONE OF THE BEST THINGS I’VE EVER READ AND IT WAS JUST SO GLORIOUSLY BEAUTIFUL AND IT ALMOST BROKE MY HEART.

With the small short story, (and I don’t even LIKE most short stories) Roshani Chokshi’s characters have permanently cemented themselves in my heart and I AM JUST SO HAPPY AT THIS MOMENT.

Would I recommend this book? YES, but only after you’ve already read The Star Touched Queen and A Crown of Wishes. ESPECIALLY A Crown of Wishes. It’s absolutely beautiful.

Roshani Chokshi is the New York Times bestselling author of The Star-Touched Queen and A CROWN OF WISHES. Her middle grade debut, ARU SHAH AND THE END OF TIME, released April 3, 2018 from Disney/Rick Riordan Presents. Her next young adult novel, THE GILDED WOLVES, is slated for Winter 2019. Chokshi's work has appeared in Strange Horizons, Shimmer, and Book Smugglers. She was a finalist in the 2016 Andre Norton Award and the Locus Top Ten for Best First Novel. Her short story, "The Star Maiden," was longlisted for the British Fantasy Science Award.

Have you read any of Roshani Chokshi's books? What do you think of them?

Who do you like better - Maya and Amar or Gauri and Vikram?

I'd absolutely love to hear from you (and what you thought about the creatives I made above!)

Lyrical, Mystical and Sensual Writing // ARC REVIEW: Invitation to a Bonfire by Adrienne Celt

Title: Invitation to a Bonfire
Author: Adrienne Celt
Publication Date: July 12th 2018
Publisher: Raven Books (Bloomsbury)
Part of a Series?: No, A Standalone
I Got A Copy Through: Bloomsbury India (THANK YOU!)
Buy Links: Amazon IN || Barnes and Noble || Wordery || Infibeam || Foyles || Waterstones || WHSmith || Books A Million || Google Books

Blurb Description: A seductive, sensual and sinister love triangle set in 1930s America and inspired by the infamous Nabokov marriage
Zoya Andropova, a young Russian refugee, finds herself in an elite New Jersey boarding school. Having lost her family, her home and her sense of purpose, Zoya struggles to belong, a task made more difficult by her new country's paranoia about Soviet spies. 
When she meets charismatic fellow Russian émigré Leo Orlov – whose books Zoya has obsessed over for years – everything seems to change. But she soon discovers that Leo is bound by the sinister orchestrations of his brilliant wife, Vera, and that their relationship is far more complex than Zoya could ever have imagined.

“I wanted you dead. You put flame to paper. We both had our reasons, didn’t we?”

It took me a WHILE to get into this book. In fact, I picked it up and dropped it a few times before I managed to get invested enough that I simply had to read till the ending.

Invitation to a Bonfire was a highly bizarre book, told through letters and journal entries from different points of view, in a non-linear style that it took me a while to enjoy, but I ultimately did. Let me break it down so I can explain it better:

PLOT:

Zoe Andropova is an orphan from Soviet Russia, brought to the United States on a ship filled with orphans and enrolled in a girl’s school. The story is told half from her point of view, and half from a celebrated author of Russian origin, Lev Orlov. Even though we don’t hear from Vera, Lev’s wife, I feel like we get to know her, both through Zoe and Lev’s descriptions of her. Invitation to a Bonfire is a story of the past, entwined with the present.

CHARACTERS:

I feel like I knew a LOT about Lev, Zoe and Vera, and still nothing at all. They were monotone characters, with singular purposes and yet, made all the sense in the world as well rounded people.

WRITING:

If there’s one thing I KNOW I loved, it was Adrienne Celt’s writing. It was deep, sensual, haunting, lyrical and gorgeous all at the same time, and without the mystical tinge to it all, I probably wouldn’t have liked this book at all.

CONCLUSION:

Truth be told, I’m CONFUSED as to what I feel about this book. I struggled to connect with it, and, then, as soon as I did, the story was over. I feel like we were left at the edge of a cliff, with so many unanswered questions about Lev, Zoe and Vera just left hanging in the air and yet, the story had come to an end.

In a nutshell, I got a piece of literature completely contradictory to both my expectations and predictions, and maybe that’s what the best mystery novels do, but it also all feels just incomplete and needless to a degree, especially the REASON behind the killing of one of the three in main characters.

DO I KNOW I’M BEING CONFUSING? YES. But ‘confused’ accurately describes what I feel about this book, even a week after I put it down.

Would I recommend this book? If you’re looking for something to completely defy what you think you expect from it, definitely. 

Adrienne Celt is a writer, cartoonist, and avid reader living in Tucson. Her debut novel THE DAUGHTERS won the 2015 PEN Southwest Book Award and was shortlisted for the 2016 Crawford Award. Her second novel, INVITATION TO A BONFIRE will be published in June 2018.

Winner of a 2016 O. Henry Prize, her short fiction and essays have appeared in Esquire, The Kenyon Review, Epoch, Zyzzyva, Ecotone, The Tin House Open Bar, Prairie Schooner, Electric Literature, The Lit Hub, and many other places. Also a cartoonist, her comics have been published by The Rumpus, The Toast, Bat City Review, Broad! Magazine, The Southeast Review, and other places, as well as appearing on her weekly webcomic: loveamongthelampreys.com. A collection of her comics, APOCALYPSE HOW? AN EXISTENTIAL BESTIARY was published in 2016.

What are some of your favourite mystery novels?
Have you read Invitation to a Bonfire? What did you think of it?

 

A Disappointment // ARC Review: As She Fades by Abbi Glines

Title: As She Fades
Author: Abbi Glines
Publication Date: April 3rd 2018
Publisher: Feiwel and Friends
Part of a Series?: No, A Standalone
I Got A Copy Through: Macmillan INTL (Thank You!)
Buy Links: Amazon US || Barnes and Noble || Wordery || Foyles || Books A Million || Chapters Indigo || Google Books

Blurb Description: On the night of her high school graduation, Vale McKinley and her boyfriend Crawford are in a terrible car accident that leaves Crawford in a coma. They were supposed to spend the summer planning for college, for a bright future full of possibility. Together. Instead, Vale spends long days in the hospital, hoping Crawford will awaken.
Slate Allen, a college friend of Vale's brother, has been visiting his dying uncle at the same hospital. When he and Vale meet, she can't deny the flutter of an illicit attraction. She tries to ignore her feelings, but she's not immune to Slate's charm. Slowly, they form a cautious friendship.
Then, Crawford wakes up . . . with no memory of Vale or their relationship. Heartbroken, Vale opts to leave for college and move on with her life. Except now, she's in Slate's territory, and their story is about to take a very strange turn.

DISCLAIMER: I read from an ARC and as I have no access to a finished copy, I'm unable to check if any of the quotes from below have changed.  

*THIS REVIEW CONTAINS SPOILERS*

THIS BOOK LET ME DOWN.

No, let me correct that statement – this book MORE THAN LET ME DOWN.

In all honestly, As She Fades MADE ME ANGRY, and BORED ME ALL AT THE SAME TIME. Angry because these characters were NOT well developed, the writing was SO AWKWARD AND STILTED AND UNBELIEVABLE and also BORED me because the story was predictable, the characters felt 2-d and unrealistic and THIS JUST WAS NOT A BOOK I ENDED UP ENJOYING.

In fact, it got SO BAD that by the time I was at around page 180, I just flipped to the end and read the last chapter, just to be done with it all.

THINGS I DID NOT LIKE ABOUT THIS BOOK:

1.       THE WRITING:

“I watched as he walked out of the room. He really did have his own special swagger. It was hard not to watch. The bad-boy persona fit him well. But now I had been given a peer into his heart. And apparently it was pretty big. Not self-centred like I had thought."

IT JUST DOESN’T READ WELL, YOU KNOW? The writing made me not like the plot and the characters (BOTH OF WHICH I WILL GET TO LATER)

It was like the concept of commas, semicolons or hyphens were LOST on this book. It might have changed in the finished copy, but I simply couldn’t get into this stilted writing.

2.       THE CHARACTERS (The Vale Edition):

This story is told from ‘GOOD GIRL’ Vale and ‘BAD BOY’ Slate’s points of view. And, quite honestly, I couldn’t like either of them.

Even when things were told from Vale’s point of view, I just couldn’t connect with her. She made major life decisions within one page, and they held almost no emotion. She was jealous, petty and when the plot twist came to life, I JUST DIDN’T KNOW WHAT TO DO.

HOW CAN YOU POSSIBLE BE A “CHANGED” PERSON WHEN YOU’VE SPENT OVER A MONTH IN A COMA, LITERALLY UNCONSCIOUS? It just felt like such a cop-out story, the way the narrative changed purely for the ‘shock’ factor even though it didn’t make any sense.

3.       THE BAD BOY TROPE (The Slade Edition):

If I read this book six to eight years ago, I probably would’ve liked it. But, as my feminist side has evolved. HORRIBLE TROPES LIKE THE ALMOST EMOTIONALLY ABUSIVE BAD BOY TROPE are things I’ve come to HATE.

SLATE: “I didn’t need a verbal answer. Your eyes told me. Now I’m asking you why.”

?? EYES DO NOT GIVE OUT ANSWERS, RIGHT??

SLATE: “…Vale asked. She had a really good voice. The sadness in her eyes was hard not to look at. It bothered me. A girl like her should be protected. Not have to face hard shit.”

I CANNOT EVEN EXPLAIN ALL THE THINGS WRONG WITH THAT LINE. So BOYS can face “hard shit” but girls are delicate princesses that just need to sit on their feather beds all day? WHAT EVEN.

In my honest opinion, I don’t think this book is worth it. I can see how some people MIGHT think it is romantic, and I would’ve thought so too, almost a decade ago, but it’s JUST NOT. TREAT GIRLS EQUALLY. CONSENT AND VERBAL CONSENT ARE IMPORTANT.

I didn’t have a good time reading this book. 1.75 Stars. 

Abbi Glines is a #1 New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestselling author of the Rosemary Beach, Sea Breeze, Vincent Boys, Field Party and Existence series. She never cooks unless baking during the Christmas holiday counts. She believes in ghosts and has a habit of asking people if their house is haunted before she goes in it. She drinks afternoon tea because she wants to be British but alas she was born in Alabama. When asked how many books she has written she has to stop and count on her fingers. When she’s not locked away writing, she is reading, shopping (major shoe and purse addiction), sneaking off to the movies alone, and listening to the drama in her teenagers lives while making mental notes on the good stuff to use later. Don’t judge.

You can connect with Abbi online in several different ways. She uses social media to procrastinate.

Have you read any book by Abbi Glines?

What did you think of it?

 

Dark and Magical, But It Didn't Live Up To The Hype // REVIEW: Furyborn by Claire Legrand

Title: Furyborn (Empirium #1)
Author: Claire Legrand
Publication Date: May 22nd 2018
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Part of a Series?: Yes, Book 1 on 3 of the Empirium Trilogy
I Got A Copy Through: Sourcebooks via NetGalley + I BOUGHT ONE!
Buy Links: Amazon IN || Barnes and Noble || Wordery || Foyles || Waterstones || WHSmith || Books A Million || Chapters Indigo || Google Books

Blurb Description: Follows two fiercely independent young women, centuries apart, who hold the power to save their world...or doom it.
When assassins ambush her best friend, the crown prince, Rielle Dardenne risks everything to save him, exposing her ability to perform all seven kinds of elemental magic. The only people who should possess this extraordinary power are a pair of prophesied queens: a queen of light and salvation and a queen of blood and destruction. To prove she is the Sun Queen, Rielle must endure seven trials to test her magic. If she fails, she will be executed...unless the trials kill her first.
A thousand years later, the legend of Queen Rielle is a mere fairy tale to bounty hunter Eliana Ferracora. When the Undying Empire conquered her kingdom, she embraced violence to keep her family alive. Now, she believes herself untouchable--until her mother vanishes without a trace, along with countless other women in their city. To find her, Eliana joins a rebel captain on a dangerous mission and discovers that the evil at the heart of the empire is more terrible than she ever imagined.
As Rielle and Eliana fight in a cosmic war that spans millennia, their stories intersect, and the shocking connections between them ultimately determine the fate of their world--and of each other.

Furyborn was surrounded by ALL THE HYPE for MONTHS before it released. It was EVERYWHERE, and as a huge YA Fan, I knew I would have to read it, sooner rather than later.

Furyborn was essentially:

1)      A magnificent tale told across two millennia by two young girls

2)      One lives in a land surrounded my magic, and the other in a land where magic is a fairy-tale of the past and all they know is the Empire that conquers all

3)      One of these girls is an assassin and one is a temple acolyte

4)      A story surrounding a prophecy about these two girls – a Sun Queen and a Blood Queen, one with the power to destroy the world and the other with the power to save it.

5)      It has kingdoms, swoony princes, power, magical trials, angels and it’s just SUCH A GORGEOUS BOOK TO OWN!

MY THOUGHTS:

1)      I expected a LOT going into this book. A majority of the early reviews I read RAVED about this book, and I was very hopeful that I had found the NEXT THING I WOULD FALL HEAD OVER HEELS IN LOVE WITH. Now, as I sit at the end of Furyborn, I find that while I ENJOYED it, for the most part, this story was predictable and kind of MEH, except for ONE TWIST on page 343.

2)      If I had to choose between Rielle and Eliana, I would definitely choose Rielle’s story. They were both a little predictable, but I definitely loved Rielle’s dark and twisty viewpoint better!

3)      Furyborn was QUITE a long book. I feel like a lot of it was running around, especially in Eliana’s story when she kept travelling from place X to place Y, and not much happened that we DIDN’T ALREADY KNOW?

4)      I ABSOLUTELY LOVED Audric and Rielle together, with their forbidden, best-friend romance.

Honestly, I liked Furyborn, but I didn’t fall in love with it. There was a lot of hype around it, and it just didn’t live up to all that hype for me. A 3.5 star novel, but I hope I will continue on with the series!

Claire Legrand used to be a musician until she realized she couldn't stop thinking about the stories in her head. A native Texan, she is now a writer and librarian living in central New Jersey.

Her first novel is THE CAVENDISH HOME FOR BOYS AND GIRLS, one of the New York Public Library's 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing in 2012. She is also the author of THE YEAR OF SHADOWS, a ghost story for middle grade readers, WINTERSPELL, a young adult re-telling of The Nutcracker, and SOME KIND OF HAPPINESS, a middle grade story about mental illness, family secrets, and the power of storytelling. SOME KIND OF HAPPINESS is a 2017 Edgar Award nominee and one of Publishers Weekly's Best Books of 2016. Her latest novel, FOXHEART, is a fast-paced fantasy-adventure and a 2016 Junior Library Guild selection. She is also one of the four authors behind THE CABINET OF CURIOSITIES, an anthology of dark middle grade short fiction that was a Junior Library Guild selection, a Bank Street Best Book, and among the New York Public Library's 100 Titles for Reading and Sharing in 2014. 

Coming up for Claire is FURYBORN, the first book in the Empirium trilogy, due out May 22, 2018, followed by SAWKILL GIRLS in fall 2018, and THORNLIGHT, a companion novel to FOXHEART, coming in winter 2019.

Visit Claire at claire-legrand.com and at enterthecabinet.com.

Have you read Furyborn or any other of Claire Legrand's books? What did you think of them?

What are some of your FAVOURITE YA Fantasy novels that you've read recently?

I'm always looking for more recommendations!