ARC Review: Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams

Blood at the Root by LaDarrion Williams
Publisher: Labyrinth Road
Publication Date: May 7, 2024
Library: Already on it's way!

Synopsis

Ten years ago, Malik’s life changed forever the night his mother mysteriously vanished and he discovered he had uncontrollable powers. Since then, he has kept his abilities hidden, looking out for himself and his younger foster brother, Taye. Now, at 17, Malik is finally ready to start a new life for both of them, far from the trauma of his past. However, a daring act to rescue Taye reveals an unexpected connection with his long-lost grandmother: a legendary conjurer with ties to a hidden magical university that Malik’s mother attended.

Review: Troubled Waters by Mary Annaïse Heglar

Synopsis

In this intimate portrait of two generations, a granddaughter and a grandmother come to terms with what it means to heal when the world is on your shoulders.

The world is burning, and Corinne will do anything to put out the flames. After her brother died aboard an oil boat on the Mississippi River in 2013, Corrine awakened to the realities of climate change and its perpetrators. Now, a year later, she finds herself trapped in a lonely cycle of mourning both her brother and the very planet she stands on. She’s convinced that in order to save her future, she has to make sure that her brother’s life meant something. But in the act of honoring her brother’s spirit, she resurrects family ghosts she knows little about—ghosts her grandmother Cora knows intimately.

ARC Review: Safe Passage by G. Neri & David Brame

Synopsis

Thirteen-year-old Darius is going through a rough time. It's almost been a year since a terrible act of violence took the life of his mother and left him with a wound both in his leg and in his heart. With his stepdad out of work; his little sister, Cissy, always on his case; and the looming prospect of foreclosure on their house, he feels his world closing in on him.

Book Review: You're Breaking My Heart by Olugbemisola Rhuday Perkovich

You're Breaking My Heart by Olugbemisola Rhuday Perkovich
Published by Levine Querido
Publication Date: February 6, 2024

Synopsis

Harriet Adu knows that her brother’s death is her fault. I mean, it’s not actually her fault, but it still kinda is, isn’t it?

ARC Review: Thieves' Gambit by Kayvion Lewis

Thieves' Gambit by Kayvion Lewis

Publisher: Nancy Paulsen Books
Publication Date: September 20, 2023
Library Purchase: We already own it. Perfect for our book bundles!

Synopsis

At only seventeen years old, Ross Quest is already a master thief, especially adept at escape plans. Until her plan to run away from her legendary family of thieves takes an unexpected turn, leaving her mother's life hanging in the balance.

In a desperate bid, she enters the Thieves' Gambit, a series of dangerous, international heists where killing the competition isn't exactly off limits, but the grand prize is a wish for anything in the world--a wish that could save her mom. When she learns two of her competitors include her childhood nemesis and a handsome, smooth-talking guy who might also want to steal her heart, winning the Gambit becomes trickier than she imagined.

Can't Wait Wednesday: The Black Girl Survives in This One Edited by Desiree S. Evans & Saraciea J. Fennell

 

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released. Find out more here.

Another horror book. I really can't help myself even in the holiday season. 

ARC Review: Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé

Where Sleeping Girls Lie by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (Macmillan)
Publication Date: March 19, 2024
Library Purchase: Absolutely.

Synopsis

In Where Sleeping Girls Lie — a YA contemporary mystery by Faridah Àbíké-Íyímídé, the New York Times-bestselling author of Ace of Spades — a girl new to boarding school discovers dark secrets and coverups after her roommate disappears.

It’s like I keep stumbling into a dark room, searching for the switch to make things bright again...

Can't Wait Wednesday: American Wings by Sherri L. Smith; Elizabeth Wein

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released. Find out more here.

I've always said that I don't like historical fiction, but I think it was just the historical fiction that was pushed on my to read in school. It was also really hard to find historical fiction books for black people doing anything other than being slaves. I'm really excited to learn about the black people in history who fought for their piece of the aviation pie.

Can't Wait Wednesday: Bad Like Us by Gabriella Lepore

Can't-Wait Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Wishful Endings to spotlight and discuss the books we're excited about that we have yet to read. Generally they're books that have yet to be released. Find out more here.

I'm a sucker for a good thriller. I want someone to have gone missing, someone to have been missing magically reappear, death. I'm here for all of it. This book checks all of my boxes. 

Review: What Stalks Among Us

 

What Stalks Among Us by Sarah Hollowell
Publisher Clarion Books
Publication Date September 12, 2023
Genre Horror
Library Purchase It's already in the cart

Synopsis

From Sarah Hollowell, author of A Dark and Starless Forest, comes a spine-tingling, deliriously creepy YA speculative thriller about two best friends trapped in a corn maze with corpses that look just like them. 

Best friends and high school seniors Sadie and Logan make their first mistake when they ditch their end-of-year field trip to the amusement park in favor of