#Thursday Review - Break Me Like a Promise by Tiffany Schmidt (Young Adult, Contemporary)

Series: Once Upon a Crime Family # 2
Format: E-Galley, 416 pages
Release Date: June 7, 2016
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary

No one is unbreakable.

All Magnolia Vickers has ever wanted was to follow father’s path as head of the Family Business. But new legislation is poised to destroy the Family’s operations in the black-market organ trade and Maggie’s recent behavior has wrecked the business-savvy reputation she’s worked her whole life to build.

She’s given an ultimatum: shape up or step aside.

Then Maggie messes up: she downloads a virus onto her father’s computer, and must sneak it off-estate for repair. When Alex, a tech whiz, uncovers the type of information on the machine, he offers Maggie a choice: her Family can give him a kidney, or he’ll irreparably scramble the data. Maggie agrees, but has no intention of keeping her promise or ever seeing him again. That night Alex shows up at her Family estate with copies of confidential Family files and a shocking revelation—the kidney is for him.

The Vickers aren’t willing to let Alex out of their sight, so he moves onto their estate and Maggie is assigned to be his keeper. A task she resents and he enjoys making as challenging as possible. But procuring black market organs is becoming increasingly difficult, and as Alex’s health declines, she’s surprised to find herself falling for him.

Like it or not, Maggie must accept that if she wants to save Alex’s life and carve out a place in the new legalized organ business, she’s going to have to fight for both.

Tiffany Schmidt's Break Me Like a Promise is the sequel to Hold Me Like a Breath and the second installment in her Once Upon A Crime Family series. This time around the story revolves around 19-year old Magnolia Grace Vickers, the daughter and heir apparent to her families black market organ business. In this world, there are only THREE main families who control the black market organ business; Vickers (Maggie), Landlow (Penny), and Zhu (Ming). 

For those who haven't read the first novel in the series, the story actually takes place FIVE months after Maggie lost the love of her life, Carter Landlow in a brutal massacre that has left the families in shambles. Schmidt does a fairly decent job of summarizing previous events including bring back Penny and Char back for this installment. Maggie is in a very dark place as the story opens. She can't move forward, and she chooses to hide her pain away instead of talking about it. 

Maggie and Carter were lovers, best friends, roommates, and each other's secret crush for years. So many years, in fact, that nobody took Maggie seriously when she claimed she had a boyfriend who she rushed off to see every chance she got. Now that Carter is gone, and her best friend Penelope Landlow is living with a relative in DC, it is up to Maggie to find a way to recover and recover quickly as the fate and future of her families business rides on an Organ Bill slowly making its way through Congress. 

Maggie is given an ultimatum by her father Holt Vickers. Either Maggie can pick herself off the ground, and by all means take off that dirty and disgusting smelling sweatshirt and take a shower! Or, she will get left behind in the shuffle that is sure to be forthcoming. Maggie's determination ends up putting her in a situation where she has to reach out to the most unlikely source for assistance. Assistance that comes with blackmail terms. With the Organ Bill making its way through Congress, Maggie must make her mind up on what side of the issue she will fall.

Organ donation, legal or illegal, is a serious topic folks and one that needs to be handled carefully. Hundreds of people die each year after being rejected by the FDA for everything from disabilities to making honest mistakes. Too often those who are on the waiting list die before the necessary organ is found. Bottom line. There are too many people waiting for organs that just don't exist. 

If you believe in the organ donor system, YOU SHOULD sign up. Get tested today. The life you may save by doing so is an incredible feeling. While I agree that organ swapping should be illegal, I can understand why people look for an alternate route to surviving. I would never, ever blame someone for trying to live longer than what they've been told. 

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#Wednesday Review - Julia Vanishes by Catherine Egan (Young Adult, Fantasy)

Series: The Witches Child # 1
Format: E-Galley, 384 pages
Release Date: June 7, 2016
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Fans of Marie Lu, Leigh Bardugo, and Kristin Cashore will be captivated by this stunning first book in a must-have new fantasy trilogy about a spy who can vanish at will and who discovers that monsters, mystery, and magic are also lurking—just out of sight.

Julia has the unusual ability to be…unseen. Not invisible, exactly. Just beyond most people’s senses.

It’s a dangerous trait in a city that has banned all forms of magic and drowns witches in public Cleansings. But it’s a useful trait for a thief and a spy.

And Julia has learned—crime pays.

She’s being paid very well indeed to infiltrate the grand house of Mrs. Och and report back on the odd characters who live there and the suspicious dealings that take place behind locked doors.
But what Julia discovers shakes her to the core. She certainly never imagined that the traitor in the house would turn out to be…her.

Murder, thievery, witchcraft, betrayal—Catherine Egan builds a dangerous world where her fierce and flawed heroine finds that even a girl who can vanish can’t walk away from her own worst deeds.

Julia Vanishes is the first book in author Catherine Egan's Witch's Child trilogy. 16-year old Julia is an orphan who has found a home among a group of criminals (Esme, Gregor, Csilla, and her own brother Benedek) after her mother was drowned in the Cleansing for being a witch. Julia and friends live in a fictitious country known as Frayne, where hunting down and drowning those suspected of practicing witchcraft is normal as breathing. After all, if you can't burn a witch, why not drown them? 

Julia has a bit of an unusual ability that others don't have. She has the ability to be unseen by nearly everyone around her. By stepping into another place, eyes of those she is spying on pass over her. This makes for a rather awesome skill to have while she is spying on a home owned by a Mrs. Och and those like Professor Baranyi, and Frederick. Julia aka Ella, finds herself deeply involved in the happenings of the home as a housemaid. When things get even more weird and strange, the mission becomes one of utmost importance. 

She knows that there is something highly unusual about those who live in the house, especially Mr. Darius who lives in the basement of the house where a steel door keeps everyone out. Julia's attempt at sniffing out the facts from fiction ends up putting her and her friends in places that not even she could ever guess. Something dangerous is afoot. Something even older is looking for a vessel that may have a whole lot of magic and power withing. And, something even more powerful may become Julia's ally against the former. 

Julia Vanishes, told in the first person narrative, is an intriguing start to this series. The story features adventure, intrigue, betrayal, and a new form of magic where witches may be powerful and strong, but not unless they put pen to paper. One could say that Egan twists several genre's in order to make this story plausible and entertaining. Those elements are Steampunk, Fantasy, Adventure, and Magic. 

The story features a cast of characters who are powerful, yet need their own puppets to get things they want. I must offer my support for Dek, Julia's older brother. I loved this guy! Seriously how cool were his inventions? How cool was it that he left let his disabilities slow him down? There more than a fair share of villains, and there are those like Julia who may be a spy, and a thief, but in the end, finds her own strengths and determination to cut through the facts and the lies to discover an entirely new truth. 

Julia Vanishes is a story that is slow to develop, but will absolutely grab you by the shoulders and demand that you finish the story to find out what happens next! 

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#Tuesday Review - The Invisible Library by @GenevieveCogman (Science Fiction / Time Travel) @AceRocBooks

Series: The Invisible Library # 1
Format: E-Galley, 352 pages
Release Date: June 14, 2016
Publisher: ROC
Source: Publisher
Genre: Science Fiction

Collecting books can be a dangerous prospect in this fun, time-traveling, fantasy adventure from a spectacular debut author.

Irene is an undercover Librarian—a professional spy for the mysterious Library, a shadowy organization that collects important works of fiction from all of the different realities. Most recently, she and her enigmatic assistant Kai have been sent to an alternative London.

Their mission: Retrieve a particularly dangerous book. 

The problem: By the time they arrive, it’s already been stolen. Now Irene is caught in a puzzling web of deadly danger, conflicting clues, and sinister secret societies. And failure is not an option—because it isn’t just Irene’s reputation at stake, it’s the nature of reality itself…

Story Locale: England

Series Overview: Undercover Librarian Irene and her assistant Kai travel through time and dimensions, fighting supernatural creatures of chaos, to track down the most important books in all of the worlds in this fun and adventurous fantasy series.

The Invisible Library is the first installment in author Genevieve Cogman's new series. Gogman's main character is a woman named Irene, no last name. Irene is a junior grade Librarian/Spy who has been traveling to alternative worlds in order to collect unique works of fiction. In doing so, she tethers those worlds to the secretive library she works for. A place that is out of time and space from actual reality. The Invisible Library is a mixture of steampunk, adventure, mystery, and a whole lots of twists and turns.

"No strategy ever survived contact with the enemy."

Upon completion of yet rather interesting mission where she was forced to survive against gargoyles, hellhounds, and magical teens trying to prevent her escape, Irene is not only given a rather serious new case, but an apprentice who is cocky and a mystery. Irene and Kai find themselves in an alternative London that is very much straight out of Victorian times. They must retrieve a rare Grimm brothers book and bring it back to the library while also facing off against Vampires, Fae, Werewolves, and the Library's own past secrets.

Upon arriving in this new universe where magic and paranormal are normal, Irene and Kai discover that this mission will be anything but easy. They have to deal with the fact that the book is missing, and there are other factions that are eager to get their hands on the book. Irene also has to deal with her new apprentice who is obviously more than he appears. I think the most interesting aspect of this story is the chaos theory that the author has created. Fae are creatures of chaos and magic, while Dragons, yes, Dragons, are supposed to interfere if a world tips too far in the wrong direction.

Irene is an interesting character who isn't afraid to get her hands dirty. She's grown up in and around the Library thanks to her parents who she rarely sees. She has faith in its mission, but tends to be a bit on the daring side. She has made mistakes, and she has her fair share of haters including Bradamant, a fellow Librarian who is older and more experienced. Although I am not 100 percent sure why their is hatred between the two, one can hope that they will eventually parlay their way into a partnership, maybe even a friendship.  

I also loved the so called Librarian magic that allows Irene to access magic and open doors back to the Library or make inanimate objects alive. I liked Peregrine Vale as well. He is an outsider that becomes an ally, that becomes a friend, that becomes someone who finds himself deep in a world that blows all his theories to hell and back. There are a whole lot of curious questions about the Invisible library that I hope will be addressed in future installments. After what happens to Irene and Kai, you have to ask yourselves if they can truly be trusted.

As this is the first installment in a new series, there's more than enough from for character growth, and a discovery of what makes Kai tick. The next installment is called The Masked City. It has already been released in the UK, and will apparently hit the US September 6, 2016. 

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#Monday Review - The Long Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (Young Adult, Mystery) @bloomsburykids

Series: The Fixer # 2
Format: E-Galley, 368 pages
Release Date: June 7, 2016
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult, Mystery

Tess Kendrick, teen fixer extraordinaire, returns in a pulse-pounding thriller about a deadly conspiracy at the heart of Washington.

For Tess Kendrick, a junior at the elite Hardwicke School in Washington D.C., fixing runs in the family. But Tess has another legacy, too, one that involves power and the making of political dynasties. When Tess is asked to run a classmate's campaign for student council, she agrees. But when the candidates are children of politicians, even a high school election can involve life-shattering secrets.

Meanwhile, Tess's guardian has also taken on an impossible case, as a terrorist attack calls into doubt who can--and cannot--be trusted on Capitol Hill. Tess knows better than most that power is currency in D.C., but she's about to discover first-hand that power always comes with a price.

Perfect for fans of Harlan Coben and Ally Carter, the second book in this thrilling series will leave readers breathless.

The Long Game is the second installment in Jennifer Lynn Barnes'

The Fixer series. The series features 16-year old Tess Kendrick-Keyes as the daughter of one of the best Fixers in the political arena; Ivy Kendrick. Tess's whole life took a major turn in a strange direction when she was uprooted from the only home she's ever known, flown to Washington, DC, and enrolled at the elite Hardwicke School where the kids who go there are all related to some of the most powerful people in the entire world. That includes Tess and her new found connection to Kingmaker William Keyes.

Tess's world is anything but boring or safe these days. She found herself helping the Vice President's daughter out of a serious jam, got caught up in a major conspiracy involving the murder of a Supreme Court Justice, and found herself with an interesting group of friends including best friend Vivvie Bharani, Asher Rhodes, and Henry Marquette who love to go on "Hedgehog Hunts." I am going to add Emilia Rhodes to the list of friends even though they have had, and still do have some silly issues to resolve. I am also adding her because Tess owes her a favor, and that favor comes due. 

The Long Game picks up shortly after The Fixer. I'll say this about the story, be prepared for anything and everything to happen as Barnes really raises the stakes to the point where you are gasping for air by the time this story is over. Tess, in a way, is a mini-Ivy, but she is also a Veronica Mars doppelganger. She's been called upon to help her fellow students out of situations where nothing subtle will do. Then, a brutal reality slaps her and her friends in the face with the murder of a fellow student. Once again, Tess finds herself in the middle of something so dangerous that it will take a modern miracle to come out unscathed.

The Fixer has been compared to Scandal by many a reader, including yours truly. Tess's sister Ivy is this world's Olivia Pope. She is called on to fix things when situations get ugly. She knows where the bodies are buried. She knows who has the power and who is just a charming pain in the backside. She's friends with the President and First Lady and has a back up plan should something go wrong. But, Ivy also shuttered Tess behind a veil of secrecy that caused a major rift between them. A rift that hopefully will be healed after the events of this book.

Now let's get to some of the head shaking issues I have with this series that hopefully have been resolved. Ivy and Tess's relationship is a bit on the bitter side, and for good reasons. Secrets are never good between those who are supposed to care about each other. I must ask you to go back to The Fixer and discover what I am talking about. There is also Tess's relationship with Henry. A relationship that I no longer support and am glad that a wall now stands in the way of any reconciliation. 

I do look forward to the third installment in this series to uncover who is really behind the mysteries and conspiracies that have been at the center of Tess's life since she arrived in D.C. If you are looking for a nice relaxing non-violent or happy-happy read, this book may not be suitable for your sensitive feelings. Things are ugly, they are violent, there are serious betrayals, and violence touches the lives of almost every single character we've come to love or hate in some cases.  This book may even be better in than The Fixer , and that's saying a whole lot.

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#Stacking the Shelves / Bought, Borrowed, & Bagged # 20

Bought Borrowed and Bagged is all about the latest additions to your library – virtual or actual, with books that are  bought, borrowed, won or ARCs  you will be reading soon. Bought Borrowed and Bagged is a homage to to Barron’s Books and Baubles from Karen Marie Moning’s amazing Fever series, and is hosted by Braine over at Talk Supe. 

Thanks for Shopping by! 

Have a great weekend!

~Shelley~

This Weeks Reviews: 

Monday - A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J Maas (Fantasy)

Tuesday - The Vanishing Throne by Elizabeth May (YA, Fantasy)

Wednesday - The Ghost Rebellion by Pip Ballantine/Tee Morris (Steampunk)

  Thursday - City of the Lost by Kelley Armstrong (Mystery, Thriller)

Friday - With Malice by Eileen Cook (YA, Mystery)

 Saturday - Relentless by Terry Lynn Childs/Tracy Deebs (YA, Syfy)

Scheduled for Next Week: 

Monday - The Long Game by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (YA, Mystery)

Tuesday - The Invisible Library by Genevieve Cogman (Fantasy)

Wednesday - Julia Vanishes by Catherine Egan (YA, Fantasy)

  Thursday - Break Me Like a Promise by Tiffany Schmidt (YA, Contemporary)

Friday - Steeplejack by A. J. Hartley (YA, Steampunk)

 Saturday - Reliquary by Sarah Fine (Adult, Fantasy)

*Received from Publisher, Edelweiss, NetGalley, & Library*

#Saturday Review - Relentless by Tera Lynn Childs/Tracey Deebs (YA, Science Fiction)

Series: The Hero Agenda # 2
Format: E-Galley, 288 pages
Release Date: June 7, 2016
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Source: Publisher
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction

Revenge is easy, but justice is worth fighting for…

Kenna is tired of being lied to—and hunted by the very allies she once trusted. Unearthing the dark secrets of the superhero world has not only endangered her life, now her boyfriend faces execution for crimes he didn’t commit and her mother is being held captive in a secret governmental prison.

Kenna is determined to stand up for what’s right and save those she loves from unspeakable fates. It’s time for the betrayal to end. It’s time for the real criminals to face justice.

But the truth is even more terrifying than Kenna could imagine. A conspiracy threatens the fate of heroes, villains, and all of humanity. If Kenna’s going to survive, she must draw on her deepest strength: her resilience. Because when Kenna’s pushed to the limit, she doesn’t break down. She fights back.

Relentless is the second and final novel in The Hero Agenda duology by co-authors Tera Lynn Childs, and Tracey Deebs. Kenna Swift grew up believing that she was powerless; ordinary in a world of super-heroes and villains. But, by the end of Powerless, we discovered that Kenna's reality is a place where black and white are blurred. Where heroes are not always the good guys. Where villains are not always the bad guys.

"Power tends to corrupt, and absolute power corrupts absolutely."

On top of Kenna's awakening to this new reality, came with the fact that her boyfriend and fellow villain Draven Cole was captured by Rex Malone along with Kenna's own mother Dr. Jeanine Swift. Dr. Swift is something of an urban legend when it comes to developing cool new weapons and technology. Kenna has since learned that those in power can easily be corrupted, while her new villain friends are only trying to survive to see another day. She has also found herself with powers of her own; the ability to affect electromagnetic forces. 

Kenna has come a very long way in a very short period of time. She takes charge of the villains mixed with sympathetic heroes group to rescue Draven and her mother. She cobbled together an assortment of both villains and heroes to fight against Rex Malone. They include Riley, Deacon, Dante, Jeremy, V, and Nitro. Over the course of this story, Kenna really is the ultimate leader of the Hero/Villains team that tries to take down a megalomaniac who has done a whole lot of bad things to villains and heroes alike, including his own daughter Rebel.

Relentless is a fantastic story with fun action scenes, romance, intrigue, and surprises. I am on V's bandwagon like others I respect. I liked that she took her babysitting duties seriously. I loved her call signs for each of the villains and heroes. HB1, HB2, etc. I loved that she has a sense of attitude, honor, and humor. I loved that she became one of Kenna's team and even played a not so small part in bringing the story to it's conclusion.

I would have liked more of Anton, the supposed leader of the villains. He plays a bit part, and then totally and absolutely disappears without any hints of returning to help Kenna and her gang against Rex. I was happy with the way things are wrapped up, but was devastated by a heart breaking loss. I could see another book in the future since there is more than enough possibilities for Kenna and her new family and friends.     

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#Friday Review - With Malice by Eileen Cook (Young Adult, Mystery)

Series: Standalone
Format: E-Galley, 320 pages
Release Date: June 7, 2016
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Source: Publisher
Genre: YA, Mystery

It was the perfect trip…until it wasn’t.

Eighteen-year-old Jill Charron wakes up in a hospital room, leg in a cast, stitches in her face and a big blank canvas where the last six weeks should be. She discovers she was involved in a fatal car accident while on a school trip in Italy. A trip she doesn’t even remember taking. She was jetted home by her affluent father in order to receive quality care. Care that includes a lawyer. And a press team. Because maybe the accident…wasn’t an accident.

As the accident makes national headlines, Jill finds herself at the center of a murder investigation. It doesn’t help that the media is portraying her as a sociopath who killed her bubbly best friend, Simone, in a jealous rage. With the evidence mounting against her, there’s only one thing Jill knows for sure: She would never hurt Simone. But what really happened? Questioning who she can trust and what she’s capable of, Jill desperately tries to piece together the events of the past six weeks before she loses her thin hold on her once-perfect life.

With Malice, by author Eileen Cook, is a story that could be considered realistic contemporary fiction bringing back memories of the Amanda Knox story. But, there's more to it than that. 18-year old Jill Charron awakes in a hospital bed. Apparently she's been involved in a car accident that has left her with memory loss of the past 6 weeks, plus an assortment of broken bones and bruises, and questions from the police both here, and in Italy about what really happened to her and her best friend Simone. 

Cook tells an intriguing story that has perspectives from various factions, including Facebook posts, and interviews, while debating whether or not Jill is actually a Femme Fatale who intentionally murdered her best friend. If Jill isn't responsible, then who is? One could say that Jill's perspective isn't all that reliable, especially since she has word finding issues and can't remember anything. How are we, the readers, supposed to trust what she tells us when she can't remember the last 6 weeks of her life? 

How are we supposed to take the intermittent memory returns that may actually make things even harder to understand what happened on that fateful day? What are we supposed to feel about someone who gets into an accident overseas (Italy), and is rushed home to get the best treatment possible thanks to their rich daddy? Outside of the obvious comparisons of the Amanda Knox trial, I have seen some comparing this book to Dangerous Girls. I can see the comparisons. You have two best friends in a foreign setting enjoying their time away, when something awful happens to one of them. 

Outside the attempts of Jill piecing her life together, attempting to regain her memories, finding a friend who stands by her side, and a short trial, With Malice takes a hard look at what happens to a person with Traumatic Brain Injuries (TBI). Cook does a fairly good job in putting the memory loss in perspective. The brain is a finicky thing, but luckily those who are young can and have bounced back from TBI. I did like the fact that Cook didn't dance around the situation. Losing your memories can destroy a person's life so badly, that they are a shell of their former selves.

Personal note: I have lived with word finding issues for years thanks to PTSD, depression, anxiety and anger issues. I understand what Jill was going through. I understand the inability to remember the word that was on the tip of my tongue, then was suddenly gone. Some doctors have linked my situation to the onset of dementia. For my sake, I do hope not since I don't really have anyone to take care of me. 

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