Review of Salvage-Alexandra Duncan

Part sci-fi & part fantasy, this debut novel is a winner.  The heroine, Ava, is raised on a ship with a view of Earth as it rotates in the void.  She doesn't know her parents, cannot read or write and being a girl, isn't allowed to do the type of tasks she'd excel at - like fixing mechanical things.  When she is banned from the ship for an indiscretion, she lands on a shattered Earth and meets women who pilot ships and are good at it.  After a journey to find a relative in Mumbai, she meets more people who accept her skills and respect her.  When she finally finds her former love, will she give it all up and go back to her old life or stay with her new friends?  4 Elves- Highly recommended for teens

Review of Conjured-Sarah Beth Durst

This is an extremely odd book, but I kind of enjoyed it.  The main character, Eve, is in a witness protection program because a serial killer is after her.  Things get more complicated when we find out that Eve knows magic, has lost her memory and comes from another world (along with the killer).  The ending is the strangest part of the book, although it's generally an entertaining read.  3 Elves- recommended for teens

Review of The Testing-Joelle Charbonneau

This book has been kicking around my library for awhile; I have become tired of dystopian YA fiction and needed a break.  But, I finally read the novel and thoroughly enjoyed it.  Set in a bleak future (natch), the heroine Cia is resourceful under extreme odds.  Undergoing a brutal testing, she learns more than she wanted about fellow teens put under pressure to survive the testing while they feel they have to eliminate the other candidates.  This book is similar to The Hunger Games in its violence against young people but still worth reading.  4 Elves - Highly recommended for older teens

Review of Into the Still Blue-Veronica Rossi

A very satisfying end to the trilogy!  Rossi wraps up the story neatly, with just the right amount of tragedy and victory.  Her characters, Aria & Peri, continue to fascinate and their friends also have hidden depths.  The conclusion is thrilling and you don't want to the book to end.  4 Elves - Highly recommended for teens

Review of A Cuckoo's Calling-Robert Galbraith

I usually only review fantasy, especially children's or YA fantasy, but I couldn't resist an adult novel by J.K. Rowling.  This book is fascinating, complex and thoroughly entertaining.  Two dysfunctional families, a private detective who is rough around the edges and celebrities in London make for a great murder mystery.  I guessed "who done it" but that was probably just dumb luck; most readers will be surprised at the ending.  I can't wait for the next Cormoran Strike mystery which comes out sometime this year!  4 Elves - Highly recommended for adults only