Read This!: THESE VICIOUS MASKS by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas

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These Vicious Masks (These Vicious Masks, #1)These Vicious Masks by Tarun Shanker and Kelly Zekas

Summary: England, 1882. Evelyn is bored with society and its expectations. So when her beloved sister, Rose, mysteriously vanishes, she ignores her parents and travels to London to find her, accompanied by the dashing Mr. Kent. But they’re not the only ones looking for Rose. The reclusive young gentleman Sebastian Braddock is also searching for her, claiming that both sisters have special healing powers. Evelyn is convinced that Sebastian must be mad, until she discovers that his strange tales of extraordinary people are true—and that her sister is in graver danger than she feared.

What a terrific story! I loved Evelyn, our restless, sometimes reckless, heroine, to whom propriety matters but saving her sister matters more. I loved Mr. Braddock, our dark and brooding hero, who would rather not be dark and brooding, but can’t help it. I loved Mr. Kent, Evelyn’s ardent, smooth, sometimes-smarmy suitor. I REALLY loved Tuffins, the butler with a heart of gold. (I need a Tuffins. I think we all do.) And I loved the way the Victorian setting, complete with its underbelly of humans with secret powers and even more secret motivations, leapt off the page. Running through it all is Evelyn’s distinctive wry narrative voice. Can’t wait for the second book!

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Read This!: THE SERPENT KING by Jeff Zentner

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The Serpent KingThe Serpent King by Jeff Zentner

Summary: Dill has had to wrestle with vipers his whole life—at home, as the only son of a Pentecostal minister who urges him to handle poisonous rattlesnakes, and at school, where he faces down bullies who target him for his father’s extreme faith and very public fall from grace. 
He and his fellow outcast friends must try to make it through their senior year of high school without letting the small-town culture destroy their creative spirits and sense of self. Graduation will lead to new beginnings for Lydia, whose edgy fashion blog is her ticket out of their rural Tennessee town. And Travis is content where he is thanks to his obsession with an epic book series and the fangirl turning his reality into real-life fantasy. Their diverging paths could mean the end of their friendship. But not before Dill confronts his dark legacy to attempt to find a way into the light of a future worth living.

The characters in this book, especially Dill and Lydia, are people I wanted to hang out with long after I turned the last page. I loved the way this book showed three young people taking on the world in all its vibrantly hopefully and tragically unfair glory.

THE SERPENT KING is out now.
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More Mati

Contests and Giveaways, Extras, Sword and Verse, Young Adult Fantasy

Last Friday, Nicola at Queen of the Bookshelves hosted the first post-publication extra from Sword and Verse: “Exposed“, a story from Mati’s point of view about what happened when his father found out about him and Raisa.  You can read the story here.

This is the first of several extra stories and deleted scenes I will be posting over the next few months.  Want to get early access to the next one?  Here’s how:

Read This!: INTO THE DIM by Janet B. Taylor

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Into the Dim (Into the Dim, #1)Into the Dim by Janet B. Taylor

Summary: When fragile, sixteen-year-old Hope Walton loses her mom to an earthquake overseas, her secluded world crumbles. Agreeing to spend the summer in Scotland, Hope discovers that her mother was more than a brilliant academic, but also a member of a secret society of time travelers. Trapped in the twelfth century in the age of Eleanor of Aquitaine, Hope has seventy-two hours to rescue her mother and get back to their own time. Along the way, her path collides with that of a mysterious boy who could be vital to her mission . . . or the key to Hope’s undoing.

What an adventure! Hope is still reeling from the news of her mother’s death when she is sent to her aunt’s Scottish manor and finds out that her mother has been keeping a great big family secret from her for her whole life. And it’s a doozy – there’s a time travelling portal in the basement and her family has visited many eras, all while fighting against an evil group called the Timeslippers who care nothing for the impact of their actions on history. Hope has to travel back to 12th-century England to save her mom, and she’s aided by new friends and a handsome Timeslipper boy who may or may not be playing her false. Despite her photographic memory and wide ranging knowledge, Hope has to struggle against her own demons to fight for the people she loves. Fans of romance, adventure, and Scottish hunks will love this book!

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Read This!: THE MAYPOP KIDNAPPING by C.M. Surrisi

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The Maypop KidnappingThe Maypop Kidnapping by C.M. Surrisi

Summary: In the coastal village of Maiden Rock, Maine, Quinnie Boyd’s teacher has disappeared. Quinnie thinks it’s a kidnapping case, but her mom, the town sheriff, just thinks the teacher has left town. Still, Quinnie’s going to follow her instincts that something’s wrong.  Her investigation takes her through a damp and smelly marsh, a lobster pound, and more of Maine’s messiest places. She even gets help from her glamorous new neighbor, Mariella. As the girls hunt for clues around Maiden Rock, they encounter a cast of unlikely characters. And if Quinnie’s hunch is right, the search may lead them right into danger . . .

The characters in this mystery crackle and snap with life. At thirteen, Quinnie leads a pretty quiet life in the tiny town of Maiden Rock on the coast of Maine – a town so tiny that her crusader mother plays the parts of real estate agent, mayor, sheriff, AND postmaster. (And, in my absolute favorite detail, her office contains a separate desk for each role.) But things change when Quinnie’s beloved tutor disappears under suspicious circumstances, and no one else seems alarmed. Quinnie is determined to figure out what’s happening, and she’s aided by Ben, her childhood crush, and Ella, the daughter of a famous crime novelist staying in town. Maiden Rock is drawn in loving detail, from the diner run by Quinnie’s dad that serves as a central meeting place for the residents, to the slightly batty nuns at Our Lady of the Tides convent. There’s just enough scary stuff to keep readers on edge, but characters, setting, and details of the crime keep the book firmly in middle grade territory. The only problem is that now I really really want to vacation in this fictional town…guess rereading this terrific mystery will have to suffice!

THE MAYPOP KIDNAPPING is out now.

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