THE CASQUETTE GIRLS by Alys Arden

The Casquette Girls (The Casquette Girls #1)

by Alys Arden

From Goodreads

Seven girls tied by time.
Five powers that bind.
One curse to lock the horror away.
One attic to keep the monsters at bay.

After the storm of the century rips apart New Orleans, sixteen-year-old Adele Le Moyne wants nothing more than her now silent city to return to normal. But with home resembling a war zone, a parish-wide curfew, and mysterious new faces lurking in the abandoned French Quarter, normal needs a new definition.

As the city murder rate soars, Adele finds herself tangled in a web of magic that weaves back to her own ancestors. Caught in a hurricane of myths and monsters, who can she trust when everyone has a secret and keeping them can mean life or death? Unless . . . you’re immortal. 

My Review

Let me preface this by saying that I'm very hesitant to read anything set in New Orleans. Very hesitant. I've been burned before. People who write New Orleans who've never lived here tend to get sooooo much wrong that it's painful to read. 

Alys Arden is not one of those writers. She gets everything right. 

I found THE CASQUETTE GIRLS by accident. B&N had their book fair and some of their events were sort of advertised and some weren't mentioned online at all. I got there early for an advertised event (which never ever happens) and Alys Arden was doing a talk/book signing. Kismet. Fate. I'd say karma, but that'd take me in the wrong direction. Ahem.

New Orleans is beautifully done. Post-storm New Orleans at that. I could've read this for the setting alone, but, sigh, the characters... The first quarter, maybe less, of the story has a lot of character development and setting, with snippets of intrigue and a nice slow-build on the fantasy elements. We get to know Adele as she gets adjusted to post-storm living. Things start a little slowly, but when they pick up, OMG, they pick up. I lost sleep. Plenty of sleep. And I don't regret it.

This story feels so true to New Orleans, and the characters are so alive that I found myself comparing them to actual people. Even secondary characters. They are so lifelike it feels like she plucked the off the sidewalk and stuffed them between the pages. I love how she weaves history with fiction to create such a rich, nuanced story. I am DYING for the next book in this series, THE ROMEO CATCHERS, and highly recommend this book, especially to those who love YA, fantasy, and New Orleans. 

Find links to buy and more reviews on Goodreads.

Follow my blog for more reviews and let me know what you think. What are you reading? What's your most anticipated book of 2016? 2017? Give me a book recommendation. Find me on twitter @chellypike. 

Happy Reading,

Chelly

The Matchmakers of Minnow Bay

by Kelly Harms

From Goodreads:

A young painter, Lily has reached a crossroads in her life. Her career hasn't taken off, her best friend may no longer be the trusted friend she thought, her boyfriend is a disappointment, and now she can't keep up with the rising cost of living in the city. With no one to turn to, Lily is forced to move from her beloved apartment, but while packing she comes across a piece of mail that had slipped to the back of her junk drawer: a letter detailing further action needed to finalize the annulment of a quickie Vegas wedding. Ten years ago!

Lily decides it's time to turn over a new leaf and the first item on her list of things to fix is getting the annulment... but you can't just send a reply ten years later, "Hey by the way we are still married." This is something that must be addressed in person. Lily takes to the road to track down her husband - the charming, fun, and sexy man she connected with all those years ago - Ben Hutchinson.

Ben Hutchinson left a wealthy dot-com lifestyle behind to return home to his family and the small town he loves, Minnow Bay. He's been living off the grid and the last thing he expects is a wife he didn't know he had to show up on his doorstep.

By chance, Lily arrives at the magical Minnow Bay Inn, and there she will discover not just a place to lay her head, but new friends, a thriving art community, and maybe even the love of her life.

What I thought:

This is not a genre I usually read and now I'm wondering why this isn't a genre I usually read. The big picture items here are art and small towns, of which I know very little, but I was sucked into this story about old friends and new friends and learning who to trust and who to forgive. I love Lily. We have nothing in common but I connected with her because she's so alive on the page. The second-chance-at-love trope is one of my favorites, only after the enemies-to-lovers trope, which this story sort of...straddles. Ahem. Very well done and I highly recommend it. It's five stars for me. *****


Find more reviews and links on Goodreads.

Follow my page for more reviews and let me know what you think. What are you reading? What's your most anticipated book of 2016? 2017?

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Happy reading,
Chelly
@chellypike

*I received an eARC copy of this title from the publisher via NetGalley

Waiting on Wednesday: THE READER by Traci Chee

Waiting on Wednesday:

The Reader (Sea of Ink and Gold #1)

by Traci Chee

Expected publication: September 13th 2016 by Putnam

From Goodreads:

Sefia knows what it means to survive. After her father is brutally murdered, she flees into the wilderness with her aunt Nin, who teaches her to hunt, track, and steal. But when Nin is kidnapped, leaving Sefia completely alone, none of her survival skills can help her discover where Nin’s been taken, or if she’s even alive. The only clue to both her aunt’s disappearance and her father’s murder is the odd rectangular object her father left behind, an object she comes to realize is a book—a marvelous item unheard of in her otherwise illiterate society. With the help of this book, and the aid of a mysterious stranger with dark secrets of his own, Sefia sets out to rescue her aunt and find out what really happened the day her father was killed—and punish the people responsible. 




Anyone else dying to read this one? What else is on your list of must-have-this-now books?

Happy reading,
Chelly

AND I DARKEN by Kiersten White

And I Darken (The Conquerors Saga #1)

by Kiersten White 

Goodreads Blurb:

NO ONE EXPECTS A PRINCESS TO BE BRUTAL. And Lada Dragwlya likes it that way. Ever since she and her gentle younger brother, Radu, were wrenched from their homeland of Wallachia and abandoned by their father to be raised in the Ottoman courts, Lada has known that being ruthless is the key to survival. She and Radu are doomed to act as pawns in a vicious game, an unseen sword hovering over their every move. For the lineage that makes them special also makes them targets.

Lada despises the Ottomans and bides her time, planning her vengeance for the day when she can return to Wallachia and claim her birthright. Radu longs only for a place where he feels safe. And when they meet Mehmed, the defiant and lonely son of the sultan, who’s expected to rule a nation, Radu feels that he’s made a true friend—and Lada wonders if she’s finally found someone worthy of her passion.

But Mehmed is heir to the very empire that Lada has sworn to fight against—and that Radu now considers home. Together, Lada, Radu, and Mehmed form a toxic triangle that strains the bonds of love and loyalty to the breaking point.

From New York Times bestselling author Kiersten White comes the first book in a dark, sweeping new series in which heads will roll, bodies will be impaled . . . and hearts will be broken. 

What I thought:

The story starts at the very beginning with Lada's birth. Then her brother Radu is born a year later. We skip ahead four years. Lada is 5 and Radu is 4. Their father is scheming for political gain, barely noticing them. He's absent most of the time and their mother leaves. Raised by the nursemaid, Lada is allowed to run free and we see the girl she's becoming. We skip ahead another six years. Lada is 11 and Radu is 10. 

Following an infant from birth to age 11 should be tedious, but OMG it isn't. The writing here is fabulous, visual and dynamic, with not a word out of place. 

Lada is a daughter instead of son in a world where men have all the power and women are items to be traded. Lada knows her place and refuses to accept it. She fights for everything a daughter can't have, and I love her.  I am a huge sucker for the anti-hero and Lada has that in spades. She is a fighter. She's dark and surprising and she knows what she wants.

Her brother Radu is everything she isn't: pretty, gentle, soft-spoken, and emotional. But they're both vulnerable, which is why this is such a powerful story. The first half of this book is character-driven and the second half is plot-driven, which I think is absolutely necessary here. First, given Lada's nature, we need to know why she is the way she is in order to feel for her. Second, without seeing the process, the end results would be unbelievable. 

And the ending! OMG the ending. I need the next book right now. I loved this book from cover to cover and give it five dark stars. 

Find it on Goodreads for more reviews and links to buy.  Find me on Twitter @chellypike. I love comments.  Are you dying to read AND I DARKEN? What's your most anticipated book of 2016?

Also, for a chance to win 3 shiny new books, enter my June Giveaway here.


Happy Reading,

Chelly

*I received an eARC of this title from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 

CHASING CHAOS by Katie Rose Pryal

Chasing Chaos (Entanglement Series, #3) 
by Katie Rose Guest Pryal 




From Goodreads:

Daphne Saito, a beautiful and talented Hollywood screenwriter, might look like she has the perfect life, but on the inside she’s lost. She’s wandered from one meaningless relationship to the next—and now, just as she breaks up with her longtime boyfriend, Dan—she finds herself facing someone new, someone she could fall in love with. But Daphne, still traumatized by an accident involving her best friend, Greta, five years earlier, is afraid to love. Harm has always come to those close to her. 

Over five life-changing days, Daphne lets her guard down and steps toward this new love. But trouble is never far behind. Dan, angry at Daphne’s departure, has targeted an innocent young woman, someone close to Daphne’s new love, as part of a plan for revenge. And an enigmatic woman from Daphne’s past returns with revenge plans of her own. Danger is on the horizon for all of Daphne’s friends—and for her. 

What I thought:

Daphne is a great, flawed character and I really enjoyed her story. I loved the friendships here and how the other relationships developed. There was a bit more narrative distance here than I'm used to, but Daphne is a more closed-off character, so it feels organic and juxtaposes nicely against the moments of deeper POV. Overall, it works well, and the places where we get closer to the characters gave me all the feels. Like, seriously, major feels.

This is not the first book in the series, but it is the first one I've read. It definitely stands alone. That said, there is a major event--Greta's accident--that is hinted about repeatedly, but never explained. I assume the actual event is in one of the earlier books. Here it's a mysterious thing that happened. If that sort of thing eats at you, then read the series in order. Earlier books might also give characterization that is missing here, but all the characters are well-realized so it would just be a bonus.

I'm hooked. I will definitely keep up with the series to see where it goes. 4.5 stars. *I received an eARC via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Find more reviews and links to buy on Goodreads. If you pick this up, I'd love to hear what you thought about it. I adore comments. What are you reading? What is your most anticipated book of 2016? If you like my reviews, follow my blog via email (I'll never use your email address for evil. Acutally, I'll never use it at all), google+, or bloglovin.

Happy reading,

Chelly
@chellypike

SPELLS OF BLOOD AND KIN by Claire Humphrey

Spells of Blood and Kin

by Claire Humphrey

From Goodreads

Where we love, we ruin…

Some families hand down wealth through generations; some hand down wisdom. Some families, whether they want to or not, hand down the secret burdens they carry and the dangerous debts they owe.

Lissa Nevsky's grandmother leaves her a big, empty house, and a legacy of magic: folk magic, old magic, brought with Baba when she fled the Gulag. In the wake of her passing, the Russian community of Toronto will depend on Lissa now, to give them their remedies and be their koldun'ia. But Lissa hasn't had time to learn everything Baba wanted to teach her—let alone the things Baba kept hidden.

Maksim Volkov's birth family is long dead, anything they bestowed on him long turned to dust. What Maksim carries now is a legacy of violence, and he does not have to die to pass it on. When Maksim feels his protective spell fail, he returns to the witch he rescued from the Gulag, only to find his spell has died along with the one who cast it. Without the spell, it is only a matter of time before Maksim's violent nature slips its leash and he infects someone else—if he hasn't done so already.

Nick Kaisaris is just a normal dude who likes to party. He doesn't worry about family drama. He doesn't have any secrets. All he wants is for things to stay like they are right now, tonight: Nick and his best buddy Jonathan, out on the town. Only Nick is on a collision course with Maksim Volkov, and what he takes away from this night is going to crack open Nick's nature until all of his worst self comes to light.

Lissa's legacy of magic might hold the key to Maksim's salvation, if she can unravel it in time. But it's a legacy that comes at a price. And Maksim might not want to be saved…

My Review:

The language here is stunning and so visual. The world building is layered and feels effortless. The characters are multi-dimensional. Told in multiple POVs, each voice was distinct and every character was alive on the page. The pacing was steady all the way through and kept me reading. I like my stories dark and this was definitely that. My only complaint was the end felt a little abrupt, but maybe that's because I didn't want it to end. Not sure if this is a stand-alone or a series, but I can't wait to see what comes next from this author. I give this book 4.5 stars and I'm adding Claire Humphrey to my auto-buy list. *Received an eARC of this title from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. Find more reviews and links to buy on Goodreads. Leave me a comment and let me know what you think of SPELLS OF BLOOD AND KIN or tell me which book you can't wait to read. Happy Reading, Chelly @chellypike

The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You by Lili Anderson

The Only Thing Worse Than Me Is You

by Lily Anderson

Blurb from Goodreads:

Trixie Watson has two very important goals for senior year: to finally save enough to buy the set of Dr. Who figurines at the local comic books store, and to place third in her class and knock Ben West--and his horrendous new mustache that he spent all summer growing--down to number four.

Trixie will do anything to get her name ranked over Ben's, including give up sleep and comic books--well, maybe not comic books--but definitely sleep. After all, the war of Watson v. West is as vicious as the Doctor v. Daleks and Browncoats v. Alliance combined, and it goes all the way back to the infamous monkey bars incident in the first grade. Over a decade later, it's time to declare a champion once and for all.

The war is Trixie's for the winning, until her best friend starts dating Ben's best friend and the two are unceremoniously dumped together and told to play nice. Finding common ground is odious and tooth-pullingly-painful, but Trixie and Ben's cautious truce slowly transforms into a fandom-based tentative friendship. When Trixie's best friend gets expelled for cheating and Trixie cries foul play, however, they have to choose who to believe and which side they're on--and they might not pick the same side. 

What I thought:

I loved this book. Smart and funny, fast-paced, and the mystery kept me guessing until the end (which hardly ever happens). The characters are so well drawn and (no spoilers--though I did see it coming pretty early on) this trope is one of my favorites.

Trixie is the quintessential unlikable/lovable character from page one, and I adored her. Ben is her nemesis, complete with a villainous curly mustache. Lili Anderson paints a vivid picture on every page and I couldn't stop turning them. Can't recommend this book enough and I'm giving it all the stars!  *****

Find it on Goodreads for more reviews and links to buy. Drop me a comment and let me know what you think or find me on twitter @chellypike.




Happy Reading, 

Chelly



*I received an eARC of this title from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange

for an honest review, and I honestly loved it.