Review of The Beginning of Everything

This book was suggested by a bookstore owner and I really loved it (thanks, Kathleen!).  Robyn Schneider has created some wonderful characters - you immediately feel their joy and pain.  Ezra is a sports jock/future homecoming king when an accident changes his life.  He no longer feels like a part of the popular kids crowd and reconnects with an old friend from grade school.  When a new girl appears at his high school, he falls hard and so does she.  But, the past comes back to haunt both of them.  This novel is for older teens, but the messages are universal.  4 Elves - highly recommended.

Review of The Bone Season

Samantha Shannon's debut novel (the first of seven in a series) is an adult read, but older teens will also enjoy the book.  The year is 2059 and Paige, a rare type of clairvoyant, is captured in London and taken to a prison in Oxford.  The city has been kept secret and is governed by aliens.  Paige's trainer is called Warden and a curious relationship develops between them.  Shannon creates an interesting world with a complex society of clairvoyants.  You find yourself rooting for Paige and Warden to escape the prison, and the ending is open to a sequel.  3 Elves - Recommended

Reviews of The Magic Thief: Lost & Found

Since I read these back-to-back, I thought I'd combine the reviews of these two sequels to The Magic Thief.  Once again Sarah Prineas takes us to the world of Wellmet, a city that is run by magic.  Her hero, Conn, has lost his locus stone, a magical item that helps him talk to magic and do spells, when he fought the evil Underlord Crowe and the wizard Pettivox.  So Conn has taken a journey into pyrotechnics so he can talk to the magic.  But in Lost, his explosions backfire and he destroys much of his master Nevery's home, Conn is exiled and forced to fight a sorcerer-king in a distant city.  In the next book, Found, Conn is still in exile and evil is creeping nearer to Wellmet.  Conn must fight this evil with the help of his new locus stone, more forbidden pyrotechnics and his friends who still support him.  These books are full of excitement and adventure and highly recommended. 4 Elves

Review of Throne of Glass

Sarah J. Maas's debut novel is a winner!  Her protagonist, Celaena, becomes an orphan at a young age and is trained to be an assassin.  Her job is fight against a vicious and corrupt king who has banished magic and is trying to defeat all of the kingdoms in the land.  But Celaena is captured and thrown into the Salt Mines of Endovier.  After a year of captivity, she is suddenly taken from her prison to defeat twenty-three killers and warriors in a competition to become the hated king's champion.  Knowing that she wouldn't last another year in the mines and promised her freedom after four years, she agrees to the competition.  But political intrigue and forbidden magic abound at the king's palace; Celaena must keep her wits to defeat her opponents and win her freedom.  Awaiting the sequel!  4 elves - Highly Recommended

Review of Castle of Shadows

Ellen Renner's debut novel is a charmer.  What's not to like?  Eleven-year-old Princess Charlie is scappy and hates to wear dresses; her buddy Tobias is mysterious and resourceful; her mother disappeared years ago and her father, the king, seems to have gone mad.  Will she find her mother and save her father? Full of plot twists and thrilling adventures, the ending leaves an opening for a sequel.  3Elves- Recommended

Review of Magic Below Stairs

This is a charming, short fantasy novel.  Frederick is an orphan whose luck suddenly changes, joining a household led by an eccentric wizard.  Worth reading.  3 Elves - Recommended

Review of The Apprentices - Maile Meloy

In this sequel to The Apothecary, Janie has been separated from her friend, Benjamin, and is now living in New Hampshire.  She is attending Grayson Academy while her parents are working in Wisconsin, and Janie misses her parents, Benjamin and Pip, plus Jin Lo and Benamin's father, the apothecary.  But evil has followed Janie to her new school and with Benjamin traveling in Asia with his father, she is all alone.  Soon, she is kidnapped for a formula she developed at school, and her captor is waiting for Benjamin to rescue her so he can obtain his magical formulas, too.  The ending is exciting and since one of the bad guys escapes, we can expect more action in the next book in the series.  3 Elves - Recommended