YA books

Review: A Mastery of Monsters (Master of Monsters #1) by Liselle Sambury

~ megs14malloy

A Mastery of Monsters (Mastery of Monsters Trilogy)A Mastery of Monsters by Liselle Sambury
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Before his Sophomore year of University, August’s brother, Jules, goes missing. The general consensus is that he was overwhelmed with school, and other things going on in his life, and decided to skip town.

August knows that is impossible. Jules has been her rock since their family fell apart, and he would never do that to her. Especially considering how upsetting it was when their mother disappeared. Their family spiraled from there.

August is one tough cookie though, and she doesn’t care what anyone says. She will find Jules. He left behind a note, and although cryptic, she knows he is in trouble.

After a 10-foot tall creature, resembling a mix between a werewolf and a psychotic Easter Bunny, attacks her in the park, she realizes her brother might be in way more danger than she ever could have guessed.

Virgil Hawthorne, a bookish and mysterious boy she met after a night of partying a little too hard, could be the key she needs to get to the bottom of the creatures existence, and Jules whereabouts.

As it turns out, Virgil needs assistance with something as well, and he feels like August could be the answer. All she has to do is join the Secret Society he’s a part of. The two strike a deal and set out to achieve both of their goals.

I love Liselle Sambury, and this is a great start to an all-new series for her. I am already anticipating the next book. I wouldn’t say this was a perfect reading experience, but it definitely intrigued me and held my attention.

It’s such a nice blend of SFF-concepts, and I loved the complexity of the ‘magic’ system, for lack of a better word. It’s not really magic, but I’m not quite sure how to describe it. Whatever you want to call it, it’s so interesting.

Additionally, this contains one of my favorite tropes, a competition, and I loved learning about the politics and factions within this Secret Society. I’m just hoping I don’t forget all of the details by the time the 2nd-book releases.

Even though I enjoyed this quite a bit, I’m not sure I would want to reread it before picking up the sequel. It’s a long one and that’s quite a time commitment.

I sort of had this same thought before picking up the 2nd-book in the Blood Like Magic duology. However, if my memory serves me correctly, Sambury did such a sensational job opening up the 2nd book, refreshing the Readers memory without making it repetitive, that I truly had nothing to worry about.

I have a feeling this one is going to be the same. Either way, I’ll be grabbing a copy of the sequel as soon as I possibly can.

Thank you to the publisher, Margaret K. McElderry Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. If any of the following buzzwords sound intriguing to you, you need to pick this one up:

Monsters, dark SFF, Dark Academia and a competition trope.

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Review: A Girl Walks into the Forest by Madeleine Roux

~ megs14malloy

A Girl Walks into the ForestA Girl Walks into the Forest by Madeleine Roux
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

A Girl Walks into the Forest follows Valla, a teenage girl selected for her beauty to marry a member of the aristocracy of a neighboring kingdom.

Valla sees her betrothal to mysterious Count Leonid as a blessing. It’s not just a way for her to escape the confines of her small desolate village, but it’ll also win favor for the village. Life should be easier for everyone after this.

Unfortunately, in order to get to her new husband, and new kingdom, Valla must traverse the infamous Gottyar Wood, where many dangerous creatures lurk.

Valla is escorted by her brother and sister-in-law, and it seems their journey is cursed from the start. After a vicious attack leaves Valla in a feverish stupor and her face maimed, they’re lucky to make it through alive.

The Count isn’t pleased when presented with Valla’s new, altered appearance. Where is the beautiful bride he was expecting? Ugh, how frustrating for him…

Valla feels the same. Where is her beautiful prize? The luxurious lifestyle and extravagant castle, not to mention the sweet Prince, she was expecting? Because she’s not finding any of those things here.

But Valla’s shock and surprise at the state of the castle, her soon-to-be husband and his family is just scratching the surface of the unpleasantness she is in store for.

This is such an engrossing, beautifully-told YA Dark Fantasy. The blending of Horror elements with the Fairy Tale-feel captured my attention from the start.

I loved the incorporation of the Baba Yaga lore, and the atmosphere was very well done. I was also impressed by the level of body horror included, and how far Roux took some of the darker elements.

I will say the 1st-half was stronger for me than the later half, but overall, I was happy with the conclusion, and the story as a whole. We like it dark!

I’ve never read from this author before, but I’m definitely interested in checking out more of their work. If you have a favorite, drop it below.

The writing was so readable. I liked that Roux didn’t get too flowery with it. I hate when a plot gets lost with overly-purple prose. The way this was told was easy to follow, yet still complex and exciting as far as the themes and action.

I liked the feminist elements as well, and feel like this would be such a great story for younger Readers looking to expand further into the Horror genre. I think this is a great transition novel from YA to Adult, though it can clearly be enjoyed and appreciated by Readers of all ages.

Additionally, if you are a Reader like me, who craves lush, creepy atmosphere, you have to check this out. Starting with the forest, and then into the castle, Roux riddled this story with an atmosphere to get under your skin.

I also appreciated how Roux paced the story. Once the main action in the castle kicks off, things escalate fairly quickly, until everything starts to unravel at once. I was so attached to Valla; I was at the edge of my seat wishing for her safety.

At the end of the day, I think this is a must for Readers of Dark Fantastical Fiction. Particularly, if you still enjoy novels in the YA-space. Bonus for the Feminist Feels.

Thank you to the publisher, Quill Tree Books, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I’m definitely excited to pick up more from this author!

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Review: Out of Air by Rachel Reiss

~ megs14malloy

Out of AirOut of Air by Rachel Reiss
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Out of Air is a YA Thriller novel that follows a group of scuba diving teens, who get in too deep after discovering a legendary cave, and the power that dwells there.

This sounds creepy, right?

And that’s exactly why I picked it up. I love the idea of following a group of teen divers, and honestly, caves kind of scare me, particularly those you access via water.

I think there so much that can be hidden there, or go wrong, so the possibilities are endless!

This story is full of teen drama, and mainly follows Phibs Ray, and her five friends, who 6-months ago discovered a handful of ancient coins while on a dive. This find boosted them into some social media stardom.

In the current timeline, they have just graduated high school and are taking one last scuba trip together to an island off the coast of Australia. It’s there that they discover the cave, which seems to cause strange changes in some of the young explorers after surfacing.

From there we have some interactions with other treasure hunters, as well as spooky physical and mental ailments going on with the teens.

Overall, this was a good story. Reiss brought some interesting concepts to the page, and I loved that we were following teen divers. With this being said though, I did find the construction a little messy and I’m not sure how memorable it’s going to be long-term.

Even a few hours after finishing it, I had already forgotten all the character’s names except for Phibs, which to me just sort of shows that it lacked that special something to make it lurk around in my brain.

Also, the Horror aspects of the plot were slow to get going, and there wasn’t a ton of distinction between Past/Present in the audio version, which made it slightly confusing.

It would say it at the top of the chapter, but it all felt very one note, so was easy to get lost in time.

These are small quips though, overall, it’s entertaining, and I think it would be a great Summer Read for Teens interested in diving and ocean exploration.

Thank you to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I would definitely pick up future work from this author. I’m intrigued!

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Review: Gallant by V.E. Schwab

~ megs14malloy

GallantGallant by V.E. Schwab
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Olivia Prior has never been a quiet girl. She has always made a point of making noise, everywhere she goes, in part to remind people that just because she cannot speak, does not mean that she is silent, and in part because she simply likes the weight of sound, likes the way it takes up space.

Gallant has been sitting on my bookshelves since 2022. Recently, for Disability Pride month, I was scouring my shelves to see what sorts of representations could be found.

I discovered via some research that this MC, Olivia, is mute, which I didn’t know previously. I’m so happy that I learned that and it that it finally provided me with the kick in the butt I needed to pick it up.

I know a lot of Readers weren’t crazy about this one, but it was exactly what I was hoping for. Darkly magical and the perfect escape for my recently overwhelmed brain.

In this story we are following, Olivia, who at the start of the story is living in a orphan group home. She was abandoned there by her mother, with a journal as the only clue to her mother’s identity.

One day she receives a letter from her Uncle, saying he has been desperately searching for her and wants her to return to their family estate, Gallant.

She’s quickly ushered there and introduced to a cousin, Matthew, she never knew she had, as well as the two caretakers of the property, Hannah and Edgar. It’s also there that she learns of the truly tragic nature of their family.

It’s not an easy time trying to settle in. Matthew is hostile, and she’s seeing ghouls around every corner. It’s clear Gallant is hiding many secrets, among them the truth of what happened to her mother, so Olivia is bound and determined to figure it all out.

When she discovers the door in the crumbling garden wall, she feels like she’s that much closer to learning the truth of her parents, originally laid out in her Mom’s journal.

I really enjoyed myself reading this one. I became completely immersed in Olivia’s journey. I loved her as a character. She’s smart and determined. Even in the face of the unknown and at times, great danger, she stood strong, gallantly, as a matter of fact.

I also loved the journal entries included, as well as the illustrations, which were just gorgeous and did bring that dark magic feeling to the page.

It’s actually a pretty tragic little story, but I like that Schwab didn’t shy away from making it so. Life doesn’t always deal you sunshine and rainbows, but that doesn’t mean there’s no hope for future growth and life.

I’d love to see this adapted to film. I feel like the gothic atmosphere and darker imagery could be translated really well into that medium. I’d definitely watch it. Paired with the right soundtrack? Yes, please.

Overall, I am so happy that I finally picked up this story. I found it to be beautiful and engaging, with a sympathetic protagonist I wanted to see succeed.

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Review: Where the Library Hides (Secrets of the Nile #2) by Isabel Ibañez

~ megs14malloy

Where the Library Hides (Secrets of the Nile, #2)Where the Library Hides by Isabel Ibañez
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Where the Library Hides is the 2nd-book in the Secrets of the Nile series by Isabel Ibañez. I really enjoyed the 1st-book, What the River Knows, when I read it a couple of years ago and had been looking forward to returning to these characters.

If you aren’t aware, these books follow Inez Olivera, who travels from her native-Argentina to Egypt, in the 1st-book, to try to decipher what happened to her parents, who had both disappeared while exploring there.

After all the events of the 1st-book, this sequel picks up with Inez trying to sort out her life, which has been turned upside-down by her Egyptian excursion.

This follows her relationship with her beau, as it grows, changes and goes through various iterations. Sadly, the drama and upheaval isn’t quite over for Inez yet.

This was an entertaining story. I’m glad I continued on with Inez’s story, even though I didn’t find this quite as captivating as I did What the River Knows. I feel like there was something a bit more magical and unknown about that 1st-story, that kept me slightly more engaged.

Additionally, I didn’t feel the Egyptian setting was as much a focus in this one, and I loved that aspect of the 1st-book, so missed that feel. This is full of action and drama though, so I was still pretty invested, it just felt different in tone.

Nevertheless, I’m glad I made time for it, and highly recommend the audiobook for the fabulous dual narration. It did succeed in bringing these characters to life.

Inez is a sympathetic character, and you can’t help but feel for her and all she goes through over the course of these 2-books. All she wants is a family to be a part of, and to be loved, and her bio-family, spoiler alert, is absolute trash.

I did enjoy going on this journey with her, and although this mentions this is the conclusion, I could totally see there being a 3rd-book. I still feel like we have more to mature through with Inez.

I would actually really love to see her story continue. I would recommend this to anyone who enjoyed the 1st-book, I would just caution that it does feel a little different. Nevertheless, it’s still a fun adventure and absolutely worth picking up.

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Review: Deadstream by Mar Romasco-Moore

~ megs14malloy

DeadstreamDeadstream by Mar Romasco-Moore
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

**3.5-stars**

Deadstream is a new YA Horror release told mainly through mixed media format, but also through the perspective of a teenage recluse, Teresa.

Teresa had a bit of a complex backstory, as she’d recently survived a car accident that took the life of her best friend. Because of that, she was battling a lot of guilt and fear, as she struggled to move past the traumatic event.

Teresa has been unable to leave her home since. As a matter of fact, she never really leaves the safety of her bedroom, interacting with the world mostly through various streaming channels, including her own.

She’s been able to find distraction and comfort within the online community. That safety is threatened though, when one night while watching one of her favorite streamers, a shadowy figure appears in the background.

Though everyone in his chat is warning him of the danger, he doesn’t seem to see it, or sense it, except through his video feed. After the strange interaction with the shadow entity, his behavior rapidly changes, until he finally dies a few days later in front of thousands of viewers.

The community is in an uproar, confused, but also weirdly excited. Is this real, or was it some sort of a stunt?

Teresa knows in her heart it was real, and quickly finds herself immersed in a life-or-death investigation. Whatever that entity was, it’s spreading, infecting other people’s streams and compelling them to open the door.

Deadstream was an entertaining story. I listened to it on audio and I’m really glad that I did. I feel like the content and the heavy use of mixed media, focusing a lot of the various stream chats, played quite well to that format.

I’m actually not sure if I would have enjoyed it as much if I would have just read a hard copy. Nevertheless, I thought the premise and the set-up were both very well done.

At times, it started to lose me towards the end, but for the most part, I was fully engaged with it. I listened to the entire thing this afternoon while doing housework, and it definitely made all those tasks more bearable.

I would agree with the publisher’s synposis that it is a mix of Rear Window and The Ring. I do feel like that’s a great way to think of this one if you’re picking it up.

It is super-modern as well, and I think it will really appeal to the age range for which it is intended. For me, as a more advanced Horror Reader, I can’t say that it will be particularly memorable, but I do believe the author achieved what they set out to do, and I’m glad I read it.

I would also love to read more from this author. As mentioned above, I enjoyed the MC, Teresa, a lot. I feel like a lot of thought went into making her believable.

I’m looking forward to see what creative concepts Mar Romasco-Moore brings in their next release!

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Review: The Bitter End by Alexa Donne

~ megs14malloy

The Bitter EndThe Bitter End by Alexa Donne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I really enjoy the way Alexa Donne writes a YA Mystery-Thriller. Her novel, Pretty Dead Queens, is one of my favorites of all-time. It was like she wrote it for me.

When I was first learning about this release, everything about it was working in its favor; the cover, the title and this incredible synopsis opener:

When a winter storm traps eight teens in a remote ski cabin, they find themselves stranded with a killer…

Happy to report, this gave me exactly what I was looking for!

The Bitter End is such a fun Teen Scream Thriller. We follow a group of high school students, who go on a school trip, and end up stranded in a posh Colorado ski chalet.

As bodies start dropping one-by-one, and a blizzard has cut them off from outside contact, the remaining teens need to figure out who the killer is before it’s too late.

This is a classic set-up and I loved it developed in Donne’s capable hands. The characters are so messy and full of drama; it got intense. I was getting all the tea and drinking it up. These kids were bitter and a bit twisted.

Alexa Donne has really found her lane with this type of juicy, drama-filled Teen Thrill-Ride and I hope she keeps them coming. I will be first in line to get my hands on any future releases, that’s for sure.

I highly recommend this if you love YA Mystery-Thrillers, particularly if you enjoy inclement weather stories, or whodunits. The execution of this is great. It’s claustrophic and a bit frantic. I couldn’t put it down.

Thank you to the publisher, Random House Books for Young Readers, for providing me with a copy to read and review. I can’t wait to see what Donne comes up with next!

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Review: The Summer I Ate the Rich by Maika Moulite and Maritza Moulite

~ megs14malloy

The Summer I Ate the RichThe Summer I Ate the Rich by Maika Moulite
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

The Summer I Ate the Rich was a mixed bag experience for me. I’m not even sure how best to explain my thoughts and feelings on this one, but let’s give it a whirl, shall we?

In this story we follow Brielle, a Haitian-American girl, living in the Miami area with her Mom. Brielle has big dreams of becoming a world-renowned chef.

Her Mom works in a domestic-capacity for an extremely wealthy family. It’s not easy work and she’s also dealing with a chronic illness that leaves her dealing with constant pain, and a lot of medical bills, but she does her best to provide for them.

Unsurprisingly, Brielle spends a lot of her time and energy trying to help her Mom, worrying about her, and trying to make sure she gets the care she needs.

After her Mom’s job is no longer there, Brielle has to step up in a big way; using her culinary skills to support them.

Brielle’s menu items are far from mainstream, and she keeps the rich families eating her food guessing about what exactly is titillating their taste-buds.

The short answer: human flesh.

I’ll be the first to admit, a lot of this story flew over my head. I enjoyed Brielle, and followed along quite well in the beginning, but then it got to a point where my eyes sort of glazed over.

I understand and appreciate the important topics these authors touch upon in this story, and I think their own inspiration for writing it is compelling ((be sure to read the Author’s Note at the end)), however, a lot of it lost me, NGL.

The synopsis mentions it being a modern-day fable, and that is quite apt. In addition to Brielle’s perspective, we also get these sections, they might have been called Intermissions, or Interludes, but they are told in a very whimsical-style by beings I believe were supposed to be Brielle’s ‘sisters’.

Those sections were a complete wash for me. They were so jarring in comparison to Brielle’s perspective, and they were taking me out of the story every time.

In the audiobook, they also had different narrators, which was great, I love multiple narrators, but these sections, the Muses, all I could picture was the ladies from Disney’s animated movie, Hercules.

And I guess for me, that felt more out of place and distracting than I think the author’s intended. I’m sure this is just me, I’m most likely missing a very real reference, or connection, to some greater story, or folklore, but I still need to be honest about my experience.

At the end of the day, I was hoping this would be much darker and clear in its execution than it turned out to be. I was into it at times, but then it would veer off and leave me spinning my wheels, wondering what was happening.

Nevertheless, I would recommend it for any Reader who feels the synopsis sounds intriguing. It’s definitely worth giving it a shot, and I would be interested in reading more from these authors.

Thank you to the publisher, Farrar, Straus and Giroux, as well as Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review.

There’s def a good story here. I appreciated the themes and risks the authors explored and took, however it just wasn’t suited to my tastes, and I do rate based on my overall experience in comparison to other books of the same genre.

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Review: Pride or Die by C.L. Montblanc

~ megs14malloy

Pride or Die: A NovelPride or Die: A Novel by CL Montblanc
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Pride or Die follows Eleanora Finkel and her friends during their Senior year of high school in Texas. Eleanora has founded a LGBTQ+ Club at their school, which ends up playing a large role in this story.

During one of their meetings, the school’s head cheerleader, Kenley, is attacked right outside the classroom that the Club is meeting in, and she’s fairly badly injured.

Hearing the assault, the Club members rush out into the hall and find Kenley there on the floor. Suddenly, they find themselves the main suspects. Why?

I have no idea.

In order to clear their names, and ensure the survival of their Club, they must now investigate the crime and find out who really attacked Kenley.

I found the whole mystery a bit lackluster. Eleanora was running around like the sky was falling in, claiming she had to protect her friends because there was a homophobic murderer on the loose, yet no one was murdered and the person attacked was a popular straight girl who wasn’t even a member of their club?

It just seemed like, out of all the mysteries you could have developed, a very odd choice to me. Even after the Scooby-Doo like reveal, I was left scratching my head about it all.

Sadly, Pride or Die was not a hit for me. I love YA Mystery-Thrillers and do read a lot of them. Going into this, I was excited to get a strong Mystery, set in high school, following the members of an LGBTQ+ group.

Unfortunately, the MC, Eleanora, I found her personality to be so incredibly-grating, it was hard to focus on anything else. I’m happy she had a bit of self-reflection at the end, but it almost felt like too little, too late.

Honestly, I feel like the author did the story a disservice by only having that one perspective. I really enjoyed Noah and Tyler, Eleanor’s friends, as well as Kenley.

I wish I would have had the opportunity to get to know all of them more, but Eleanora was so self-absorbed, I really feel like I didn’t know anything about anyone else.

I hated the way every SINGLE PERSON, besides Eleanora’s three friends, were portrayed. Even the people showing her kindness, Eleanor judged and said critical things about.

I just found her perspective and outlook completely exasperating. There was zero nuance allowed and every single character was a stereotype of what that ‘type’ of person should be.

There were also so many odd, cringe-worthy moments, that I can’t really get into here without giving away important plot points, but yeah, chapter after chapter of that type of thing gets old quick.

I will say, the audiobook narrator, Ina Marie Smith, was really great. She was believable, vocally, as a teen, and she exuded emotion and sincerity throughout.

At the end of the day, this just wasn’t to my tastes. If you think the synopsis sounds intriguing though, I certainly encourage you to pick it up. Please don’t take my word for it. I’m sure many Readers will have fun with this one.

Thank you to the publisher, Macmillan Audio, for providing me with a copy to read and review. Even though it didn’t necessarily work for me, I’m glad I gave it a shot.

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Review: Boys with Sharp Teeth by Jenni Howell

~ megs14malloy

Boys with Sharp TeethBoys with Sharp Teeth by Jenni Howell
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

After her beloved cousin, Sam, is found dead in a shallow creek on the campus of Huntsworth Academy, Marin James vows to get revenge. She knows his death was not an accident, and better than that, she knows who is responsible.

Adrian Hargraves and Henry Wu, two untouchable rich boys, who are among the most socially elite in the school had befriended Sam, and pulled him into their toxic world.

Marin is determined to find the truth of what happened to Sam. She ends up infiltrating Huntsworth as a totally new person: Jamie Vain. She’s after one thing, revenge.

From the very start, this novel gave me HEAVY Foul Is Fair vibes. Everything from the set-up, to the strong focus on getting revenge, and the narrative voice, all reminded me of that book, which I loved.

I listened to the audio and thought the narrator did a great job with the initial tone; it was morose, and felt heavy and serious. However, as it continued, I couldn’t help but feel that it was too one-note, which started to get old.

I feel like the further I read, the more it started to lose me. It was a progression of disinterest.

The first half was really strong, I did love the set-up and how mysterious it all felt, but the closer it got to the end, the more it went off the rails for me.

I will say, I do feel this is categorized well as Dark Academia. Over the years, it seems a lot of books get called that, but only loosely fall into that category. This does have all the necessary components of a solid Dark Academia, even though the execution fell a little short, IMO.

I enjoyed the philosophical concepts that were incorporated into the story. I liked how much of a personal battle the MC was having with her own mission and place in this story.

That aspect was really well done. I think if you enjoy this sort of dark tone, paired with a more cerebral storyline, you’ll like this one a lot. Sadly, for me, the ending just left me lost. IDK what the heck happened.

Nevertheless, I am glad that I picked this one up. I would definitely read more from this author in the future, and I know a lot of Readers are going to enjoy this one.

Thank you to the publisher, Roaring Brook Press and Macmillan Audio, for providing me with copies to read and review. I really appreciate it!!

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