Tag Archive: young-adult


Review: A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik

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May 12, 2025

A Deadly Education (The Scholomance, #1)A Deadly Education by Naomi Novik
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This was a fun, young adult read. The writing amused me. Naomi Novik presented literary fun.

Anisha Dadia narrated the audiobook from Libby, which I was privileged to read. Sometimes I wish I could have glanced at a word in a real book. There were fantasy/magical words that I didn’t recognize. Still, Ms. Dadia kept the characters and story more fun than I think it would have been in a dry paper book read.

I think if I were into YA right now or Harry Potter-type stories, I would love this, but I just didn’t love it. I think it is me not the book. So I don’t think I will move on to the rest of the series. But, hey, you may love it. Give it a try!

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Review: Kat Drummond Ten Book Box Set by Nicholas Woode-Smith

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April 28, 2025

Kat Drummond Ten Book Box SetKat Drummond Ten Book Box Set by Nicholas Woode-Smith
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This series took me a while to read. A South African monster slayer, post-apocalypse, still in college in a time when monsters now roam. Kat Drummond is a ghost-inhabited student just trying to get by. She can be sassy, but mostly a new adult full of the normal insecurities we all have in our late teens and early twenties.

This was fun, if not downright bloody. The gross scenes were vivid and not the best for a bedtime read. But before long, the characters grow on you, and the story holds up over the scarier or grosser parts.

I can see young adults and new adults loving this series.

The coolest part of this book was that it took place in South Africa. It is a nice diversion from the usual books we can access here in the States. This is a fun series if you can handle monsters to learn about how real people operate in less than the best circumstances.

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Review: Clarity 2: Clarity, Book 2 by Loretta Lost

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April 6, 2025

Clarity 2: Clarity, Book 2Clarity 2: Clarity, Book 2 by Loretta Lost
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Don’t get me wrong. This book was good. But I HATE cliffhangers. I forgave book one. But this one was way worse. The world is a mess right now. I don’t need the angst. I am quitting on this series. If you are rich enough to get all the series, enjoy. Luckily, enough of the answers are given in the blurbs, so you don’t have to continue buying to find out if it works out. But NO book is worth this nervous energy,

Still, I raised the star rating to two stars because the writing was well done. And the narrator, Elise Arsenault,  did a marvelous job of acting out the characters.

Trigger warnings are all over, from rape and abuse at the top of the list. But I don’t feel the character who is supposed to help is helpful in the long run. So, read at your own risk.

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Review: Clarity by Loretta Lost

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April 1, 2025

Clarity (Clarity, #1)Clarity by Loretta Lost
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Reaching to the bottom of my currently-reading shelf I found this at 79.

Look straight up, I will warn you. The main character is blind and experiences a rape. So you will have to decide for yourself if this is something you can handle. The author covers the situation with all her senses, as she does with the rest of the book. Though I didn’t like the rape, the next bits of the story are quite interesting.

Elise Arsenault narrated the Audible version I listened to. Her voice is a great addition to the story.

Now I have to say what I didn’t like. Say it with me? Cliffhanger! The worst! Good thing it happened at night with me awake enough to want to read more. I often don’t buy the next if that’s how the authors do it. Somehow, I moved on and am reading book two. But I feel violated when an author does that!

Still, I do like the main character and how she chooses to live her life. And I do want to read more.

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Review: Passage by Liz Shipton

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February 24, 2025

Passage (Thalassic, #5)Passage by Liz Shipton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I hate to admit that I got confused between ‘Paz’ and ‘Passage’ about what happened in which book. I read them both in one night. So what I said for Paz can go here, too.

[These are] the least favorite of this series. I understand the need to view from another character than Bird. It is her friend turned lover, Sargo’s point of view. But sadly, he isn’t as perfect as we thought in previous books.

[And now Paz is falling for Johnny. Our lead man is confused on so many levels. We all get there sometimes. The best fictional characters show a lot of flaws and confusion.]

Another thing I didn’t like was all the fighting with or without weapons. I love visiting all the alternate dimensions, but the good guy and bad guy stuff was hard to take. And though the sex scenes before were fun, now it got weird, and with drugs involved, especially from the drug-free anchor partner, it just made Sargo even less appealing to me.

Still, as part of the series, I felt this part of the story needed to be told. And I’ve already moved on to #6! There is still a lot of interesting adventure to be had here.

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Review: Paz by Liz Shipton

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February 23, 2025

Paz (Thalassic, #4)Paz by Liz Shipton
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is the least favorite of this series. I understand the need to view from another character than Bird. It is her friend turned lover, Sargo’s point of view. But sadly, he isn’t as perfect as we thought in previous books.

Another thing I didn’t like was all the fighting with or without weapons. I love visiting all the alternate dimensions, but the good guy and bad guy stuff was hard to take. And though the sex scenes before were fun, now it got weird, and with drugs involved, especially from the drug-free anchor partner, it just made Sargo even less appealing to me.

Still, as part of the series, I felt this part of the story needed to be told. And I’ve already moved on to #5 and, as of last night, #6! There is still a lot of interesting adventure to be had here.

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Review: Spellbound Box Set, Books 1-10: Paranormal Cozy Mysteries by Annabel Chase

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February 10, 2025

Spellbound Box Set, Books 1-10: Paranormal Cozy MysteriesSpellbound Box Set, Books 1-10: Paranormal Cozy Mysteries by Annabel Chase
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This boxed set has probably been on my ‘currently reading’ shelf for quite a while. Library books always take preference due to due dates. I think it was at the 85th position. I am trying to read the earliest between the newest and borrowed books. It’s a work in progress.

This set is so fun. Each book could hold its own, but I think it is more fun to binge-read them all. Think of it as a long book. Still, it didn’t take me long to get through.

I think the best part of these books is the characters. A ghost vampire, an owl familiar, a fallen angel, and a witch who didn’t know she was a magical being. But there are others, like her gorgan receptionist.

By the way, this is free with Kindle Unlimited. Text-to-speech works well with this set. We all need a little levity. Here’s a fun adventure to lift the mood.

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Review: Courageous by Willow Rose

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January 28, 2025

Courageous (Afterlife, #4)Courageous by Willow Rose
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a satisfying ending to a semi-completed boxed set. I found the whole story a bit confusing until I let go of my preconceived notions of what the afterlife should be and accepted this as the author’s young adult fantasy.

The whole story is fun and a little different. Give it a try if you need an escape from the confusion of the real world.

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Per Linda: Hello! I’m here with our twenty-eighth prompt for Just Jot it January 2025. Today, our prompt is courtesy of our dearest Dan. Thank you, Dan! Please visit Dan’s blog to read his posts and say hello. And follow him while you’re there if you’re not already.
Your prompt for JusJoJan January 28th, 2025 is “confusion.” Use it any way you’d like. Have fun!

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Review: The Afterlife Series Box Set by Willow Rose

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January 27, 2025

The Afterlife Series Box SetThe Afterlife Series Box Set by Willow Rose
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I have finally finished reading not only this but the fourth book. This book was supposed to be the complete series. And probably when I got it, it was all the author had ready. But the ending was a cliffhanger. Had that been all, I would have been very disappointed.

Still, the three-book set was fun. One has to put aside theology and think of this as fantasy; the characters’ abilities were so fun. I loved the main character, Meghan, and how she cared for others.

On the other hand, the antagonist is too much.

Oh, the people you meet along the way. Einstein, can you believe it? No? Well, it’s fantasy, okay?

This is definitely a young adult series. There is far too much romance. Ugh! But hey, it’s a story, and it was a fun read.

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~~~

 

Our prompt today comes to us from the sensational Sadje. Thank you, Sadje! Please be sure to visit Sadje’s blog to read her posts and say hello. And follow her while you’re there if you’re not already.
Your prompt for JusJoJan January 27th, 2025 is “glamorous.” Use it any way you’d like. Enjoy!

So, to add the Jot to the above review, it was one of the abilities that appear in in fantasies is the gift of glamour. Bingo! It is used in this book set.

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Review: My Sister’s Keeper: A Novel by Jodi Picoult

Filed under: Audible, Blogging, Reading, Reviews — 2 Comments
January 14, 2025

My Sister's Keeper: A NovelMy Sister’s Keeper: A Novel by Jodi Picoult
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Finishing a book early on at bedtime, I was left shuffling. Libby had a Jodi Picoult. I thought I could never go wrong with anything of hers. Yet, within the chapter, I realized I had already read Small Great Things. I enjoyed that book, but I wanted something new. So I searched Libby and found My Sister’s Keeper.

This one immediately intrigued me. The younger daughter shows initiative in fixing her problems.

Richard Poe, Julia Gibson, Barbara McCulloh, Tom Stechschulte, Carol Monda, Jennifer Ikeda, and Andy Paris narrate this book, keeping the reader/listener engaged. However, I could not get to sleep at a decent hour.

I loved hearing the characters’ separate points of view.

I’m trying not to give spoilers. There is a great blurb on GoodReads and Amazon if you are interested. But make sure the Kleenex is near the end of the book.

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his post is part of Just Jot it January, and the prompt word, “initiative,” comes to us from Fandango. Check out his blog here!

See what I did there?

okay
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