The Unrealistic Expectations of Perfection | Crit Your Faves

This post is a part of the #CritYourFaves event Aentee from Read at Midnight.

(P.S. There will be spoilers for the Divergent series by Veronica Roth in this discussion. You have officially been warned.)

Perfection is abundant in YA, or at least at first glance, it seems so. There is always the stunningly handsome love interest who is somehow smart, funny, popular, and well, perfect. There is always the "flawed" main character who can ace her classes, fight monsters, all while still getting the boyfriend at the end. Perfection has become a standard in YA, and one of my favorite book series is a major culprit. 

Waiting on Wednesday | October 2016

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme (or monthly in my case), hosted by the amazing Jill at Breaking the Spine.

Over four years blogging, and I still have not participated in Waiting on Wednesday. 

But that is going to change today as I debut my first ever WOW post. I hope you are as excited as I am because I got some great books to share with you today. Just so you know, all of these books will be releasing in November 2016.

How to be a strong independent witch | Spells and Sorcery by S. Usher Evans

Welcome to my stop on the Spells and Sorcery blog tour hosted by Xpresso Book Tours. My post consists of a spoiler-free review of this magical tale, as well as TWO giveaways for a chance to win this great book. I hope you are ready for a dose of magic for your day!

Spells and Sorcery
By S. Usher Evans
Lexie Carrigan Chronicles #1
Released on October 4th, 2016

386 pages
Young Adult, Fantasy




This book was provided to me from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. I swear on my bookshelf that this has not affected my opinion of the book.

You have magic.
One sentence, three words, four syllables. Enough to change my life forever. And I'm not talking about the whole spells and sorcery thing.
Lexie Carrigan thought the weirdest thing about her was she preferred watching documentaries and reading the newspaper to reality TV and Twitter. But on the eve of her fifteenth birthday, her aunt and sisters drop a bomb--she's magical.
Now the girl who never made waves is blowing up her nightstand and trying to keep from wreaking havoc on her school. When a kind stranger shows up with all the answers, Lexie hopes he'll be able to help her control her newfound powers. But Gavon may not be as kind as he seems, and soon Lexie finds out that being magical is the least weird thing about her.
Spells and Sorcery is the first YA fantasy from S. Usher Evans, author of the Razia series, the Madion War Trilogy and Empath.

Amazon * Barnes and Noble * iBooks * Kobo

Heir to the Sky by Amanda Sun | When adventure falls flat

Heir to the Sky

By Amanda Sun

Published April 26, 2016

293 pages

Young Adult, Fantasy, Romance

As heir to a kingdom of floating continents, Kali has spent her life bound by limits—by her duties as a member of the royal family, by a forced betrothal to the son of a nobleman, and by the edge of the only world she’s ever known—a small island hovering above a monster-ridden earth, long since uninhabited by humans. She is the Eternal Flame of Hope for what’s left of mankind, the wick and the wax burning in service for her people, and for their revered Phoenix, whose magic keeps them aloft.
When Kali falls off the edge of her kingdom and miraculously survives, she is shocked to discover there are still humans on the earth. Determined to get home, Kali entrusts a rugged monster-hunter named Griffin to guide her across a world overrun by chimera, storm dragons, basilisks, and other terrifying beasts. But the more time she spends on earth, the more dark truths she begins to uncover about her home in the sky, and the more resolute she is to start burning for herself.

The Daemoniac by Kat Ross | Historical fiction at its finest

Welcome to my stop on The Daemoniac blog tour hosted by Xpresso Book Tours. I am so happy to share with you my third Kat Ross book of the year. All I can say is that they keep getting better and better. If you stay to the end, you can also enter in our giveaway!

The Daemoniac

By Kat Ross 
A Dominion Mystery #1
Published on October 12, 2016
Historical Fiction, Mystery, Young Adult

This book was provided to me from Xpresso Book Tours in exchange for an honest review. I swear on my bookshelf that this has not affected my opinion of the book.

It’s August of 1888, just three weeks before Jack the Ripper will begin his grisly spree in the London slum of Whitechapel, and another serial murderer is stalking the gas-lit streets of New York. With taunting messages in backwards Latin left at the crime scenes and even more inexplicable clues like the fingerprints that appear to have been burned into one victim’s throat, his handiwork bears all the hallmarks of a demonic possession.But consulting detective Harrison Fearing Pell is convinced her quarry is a man of flesh and blood. Encouraged by her uncle, Arthur Conan Doyle, Harry hopes to make her reputation by solving the bizarre case before the man the press has dubbed Mr. Hyde strikes again.From the squalor of the Five Points to the high-class gambling dens of the Tenderloin and the glittering mansions of Fifth Avenue, Harry and her best friend, John Weston, follow the trail of a remorseless killer, uncovering a few embarrassing secrets of New York’s richest High Society families along the way. Are the murders a case of black magic—or simple blackmail? And will the trail lead them closer to home than they ever imagined?

Amazon * Barnes and Noble * iBooks * Kobo