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Sunstruck: A Young Adult Fantasy Adventure by Melissa Bellis

An utterly readable tale… Bellis’s debut is a gripping YA fantasy featuring an authentic cast and atmospheric settings. The world is a dangerous place, especially during the day when the sun’s rays can kill in minutes. Nineteen-year-old Dustin is in…
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The Conjurer’s Curse by Stephanie Cotta

Incredibly immersive and tightly plotted… A page-turner. Cotta’s fantastical tale is steeped in secrets, betrayals, magic, and mayhem. Rowan has always known he is an outsider in Karahvel: he is supposedly cursed, bringing death to those around him. When his…
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Dreams of Song Times by Amy L. Bernstein

Poignant, raw, original, and thoroughly absorbing…  Vivid characters, a dash of romance, and ratcheted-up stakes keep readers invested in Bernstein’s gripping coming-of-age novel. Sixteen-year-old Ell Gossamer has always struggled with her human-mermaid hybrid identity. When Ahr and Per, her two…
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The Bridge to Magic (The Sundered Web, #1) by Alex Thornbury

Expertly crafted and highly readable… Mesmerising.  A horde of surprizing plot twists and magical intrigue mark Thornbury’s debut installment in The Sundered Web series. With magic and its guardians banished to the deadlands, the Blight is advancing rapidly to destroy…
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Deep As The Sea (A Pendale Tale Book 3) by Jorma Kansanen

Exhilarating, action-packed, and thoroughly compelling. Well realized characters, a complex plot, intricate storyline, and an authentic setting mark Kansanen’s third installment in A Pendale Tale series. Thirteen-year-old Sebastian Ferriman has joined the top private school in the country but adjusting…
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Trine Revelation, The Kinderra Saga: Book 3 by C. K. Donnelly

A thrill ride from the first page to the last… Riveting. Donnely strikes a perfect balance between powerful worldbuilding and rich thematic exploration as Mirana and Teague struggle against their fates in Donnelly’s third in The Kinderra Saga. Though her parents’ lives are…
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Grady Whill and the Templeton Codex by Carole P. Roman

Evocative, intelligently written, and emotionally stirring… A page-turning YA fantasy. In this engrossing series kicker, Roman explores themes of self-doubt, identity, and self-discovery via a vibrantly conceived, SF-tinged tale. The middle school at Middlebury Middle is mostly bullying and petty…
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The Toki-Girl and the Sparrow-Boy, Book 8: The Shadows of War by Claire Youmans

A sprawling, heady, engrossing tale… Azuki grapples with mysterious happenings, secrets, and the tumultuous meanings of what it means to stand for one’s family, friends, and nation in the eighth installment of Youmans’s addictive, layered historical fantasy series. Japan, 1877.…
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The Urban Boys: Discovery of the Five Senses by K.N. Smith

Breathless, nail-biting… Brimming with intriguing paranormal details, Smith’s latest, a tale of supernatural action, boasts vividly wrought characters and a satisfying, carefully paced narrative following five teenage boys’ gradual transition from regular high school kids to the saviors of the…
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The Stars Forgot Us by R.J. Garcia

A captivating fantasy tale of mystery and intrigue… Garcia’s latest is a dark, complex web of mystery, magic, and supernatural intrigue. Struggling with his parents’ divorce and his older brothers’ diagnosis of schizophrenia, fifteen-year-old Jacob Kelly is less than thrilled…