Previous SFF Author: John Wyndham
Fantasy Literature for Young Adults (over the age of 12).
Fans of Meg Cabot’s MEDIATOR series thought it was over back in 2005 with Twilight, but in 2016, Cabot published this novella as book “6.5” before publishing another full novel (Remembrance) that year. This review will have some spoilers for the series, so please don’t read further if you intend to read MEDIATOR.
Suze is now in college and Jesse is in med school.
November 7th, 2018. Kat Hooper´s rating: 2 | Meg Cabot | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Umbertouched by Livia Blackburne
Livia Blackburne’s second novel in the ROSEMARKED duology, Umbertouched (2018) follows the story of plague-infected Zivah and -recovered Dineas as they escape imperial quarantine to return to their tribe and village, prepare them for imperial attack, and try to widely expose the rogue physician who had used the plague to deliberately infect imperial troops.
Tension between Dineas and Zivah remains consistent and credible, despite Zivah’s having restored his memory. Zivah feels guilt for the lingering negative impact of the treatment and psychological burden of having,
November 2nd, 2018. Taya Okerlund´s rating: 3 | Livia Blackburne | Young Adult | Giveaway!, SFF Reviews | 7 comments |
The Book Thief by Markus Zusak
“Here is a small fact. You are going to die.”
It is Death who speaks the novel’s opening lines. And Death himself, for the duration of Markus Zusak’s bestselling novel, will be our narrator. It is 1939 in Nazi Germany and whilst he takes away an increasing amount of souls, Death muses on the unravelling of humanity.
Upon taking the soul of a young boy on a train, Death notices a girl. Her name is Liesel Meminger and she has just watched her brother die.
November 1st, 2018. Ray McKenzie´s rating: 5 | Markus Zusak | Edge, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 4 comments |
Twilight (2006) is the sixth novel in Meg Cabot’s MEDIATOR series. The first five books are Shadowland, Ninth Key, Reunion, Darkest Hour, and Haunted. I’ll assume you’ve read them (though, as I explain below, I think you could have skipped Haunted).
October 26th, 2018. Kat Hooper´s rating: 2 | Meg Cabot | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 3 comments |
Shadow of the Fox by Julie Kagawa
Shadow of the Fox (2018) is the first of Julie Kagawa’s books that I’ve read, but based on how much I enjoyed reading it, this certainly won’t be the last. Readers don’t have to know anything about feudal-era Japanese culture, language, folklore, and customs that influenced the SHADOW OF THE FOX series, nor do they have to be ardent fans of manga/anime to appreciate what this first volume offers, but having even a little background in either will greatly enrich their reading experience.
October 10th, 2018. Jana Nyman´s rating: 4 | Julie Kagawa | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 2 comments |
The Wizard’s Daughter by Jeff Minerd
This YA novel is a steampunk adventure filled with deft airship handling, daring mid-air rescues, and the dauntless search for long-estranged family ties.
The Wizard’s Daughter (2018) is the second book in the SKY RIDERS OF ETHERIUM series, and I haven’t read the first, The Sailweaver’s Son, but nevertheless found this book a perfectly accessible entry point into the series. Our narrative follows Brieze, the adopted/apprenticed daughter of a wizard resident within the west-lying Kingdom of Spire.
October 5th, 2018. Taya Okerlund´s rating: 3.5 | Jeff Minerd | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 5 comments |
The Vampire Diaries 1: The Awakening & The Struggle by L.J. Smith
Elena is the ice-blonde queen of the school, admired by girls and boys alike. With her friends, Bonnie and Meredith, she enjoys her status and uses it to snag the most eligible boys. However, Elena always feels as though something is missing. When new boy Stefan starts at the school, she suspects she has found what she is looking for, but Stefan manages to resist her charms. Elena makes a vow with Bonnie and Meredith that she will have Stefan no matter what — little suspecting that he hides a deadly secret.
October 1st, 2018. Amanda Rutter (guest) and Rebecca Fisher´s rating: 3 | L.J. Smith | Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
You May Now Kill the Bride by R.L. Stine
If you’re an adult who enjoyed R.L. Stine’s GOOSEBUMPS series as a kid and/or his FEAR STREET series as a teenager, then his new RETURN TO FEAR STREET series, beginning with You May Now Kill the Bride (2018), will surely pluck some of your nostalgic heart-strings. (The distressed, much-read appearance of the cover is an obvious nod to that very appeal.) I devoured Stine’s work as a young reader, so I wondered,
September 27th, 2018. Jana Nyman´s rating: 3 | R.L. Stine | Horror, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Summers at Castle Auburn by Sharon Shinn
Summers at Castle Auburn (2001) was my first exposure to Sharon Shinn‘s fantasies, and it was pretty much insta-love for me (I like to think that Shinn returns my affections in a distant and anonymous fan-appreciation kind of way). It instantly set me off on a search for more of her books.
Corie is the teenaged illegitimate daughter of a nobleman who died before the story begins, but the royal family is still keeping close tabs on her.
September 27th, 2018. Tadiana Jones and Kat Hooper´s rating: 4.5 | Sharon Shinn | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | 1 comment |
Haunted (2003) is the fifth novel in Meg Cabot’s MEDIATOR series. You’ll want to read the previous books first: Shadowland, Ninth Key, Reunion, and Darkest Hour.
In my review of Darkest Hour I said that the series was getting more complex after we meet a guy named Paul (super rich and super hot,
September 26th, 2018. Kat Hooper´s rating: 2 | Meg Cabot | Audio, Young Adult | SFF Reviews | no comments |
Previous SFF Author: John Wyndham
What a fascinating exploration of Edwige Fenech's contributions to the giallo genre! I love how the post highlights her unique…
Pretty challenging book. Cut by half, speed up the cadence. Trying to figure out the plot, the main point of…
Thanks for the kind words, Marion! Coming as they are from a professional writer, they are much appreciated!
Wonderful review, Sandy.
The "body count" bothered me a bit less because being dead seemed more like an inconvenience than anything else... unlike…