Defy the Nightby Brigid Kemmerer is a YA fantasy novel that has a lot of political intrigue with a side of romance. Tessa is a young woman who is appalled by the sickness spreading throughout her kingdom and works with her friend Wes to help distribute a healing elixir. Wes, however, has a secret identity that would make it so Tessa would never want to see him again.
A Curse So Dark and Lonely by Brigid Kemmerer is a modern fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast. It follows Harper, who lives in Washington D.C., and how she gets sucked into the fantastical world of Emberfall, where Prince Rhen resides. Prince Rhen turns into a beast every night, and unconsciously and unwillingly hurts his own people. If he can get a girl to fall in love with him, then the curse will be broken.
A Court of Mist and Fury is the second installment in the ACOTAR series by Sarah J Maas. It is one of the best books I have ever read and is my favorite in the entire series. The adventures the characters experience are so intriguing and forces you to keep turning the page. The plot twists are exciting, and you don’t even see them coming. The dialogue is also well written and fun.
Two Twisted Crowns, by Rachel Gillig, is the sequel to One Dark Window, in which Elspeth and Ravyn’s journey to unite the deck of Providence Cards continues. However, in addition to these two perspectives, Gillig introduces Elm’s point of view, allowing the reader a glimpse at both sides of the story.
One Dark Window, by Rachel Gillig, is a young adult gothic fantasy set in Blunder, an ancient world cursed by magic. Elspeth Spindle has her own magic, in the form of a spirit trapped in her head whom she calls the Nightmare. However, all magic comes with a cost, and Elsepth must find the twelve Providence Cards to cure Blunder and banish the Nightmare from her mind before it is too late. Luckily, she stumbles upon the Captain of the King’s guard, who just might be able to offer her the help she needs.
Grendel, by John Gardner, is a mythological retelling of the classic epic Beowulf through the perspective of Beowulf’s antagonist, Grendel. As the novel progresses, the reader, for the most part, follows the chronological events of Grendel’s life, and how he came to be the unforgivable and widely feared monster in Beowulf’s tale.
The fourth book in Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson series, The Battle of the Labyrinth, is in my opinion the worst of the series. Despite being the worst, it is still a solid book. The Battle of the Labyrinth begins after Percy and friends return to camp where they find an entrance to the labyrinth. They are given the information that Luke is planning to lead an army of monsters through the Labyrinth in order to attack Camp Half-blood.
The Titan’s Curse, Rick Riordan’s third book in the Percy Jackson series, is another great book in the series. In my opinion it is the most underrated of the series. The story starts with Percy and his friends heading back to Camp Half-blood with two new recruits. Artemis, a goddess, decides to go on a quest and sends her hunters back to Camp Half-blood in the meantime. While there, the oracle gives a quest stating five should go, and two will die.
Rick Riordan’s second book in the Percy Jackson series, The Sea of Monsters, continues the story with Percy and his friends finding trouble with the tree protecting Camp Half Blood when they try to return. Realizing this, they try to get a quest, however Percy’s nemesis Clarisse gets the quest instead. Percy decides to sneak away from Camp Half Blood anyways with Annabeth and his half-brother Tyson.
Gilly is a thief, and she doesn’t really see a problem with it. Her family needs to eat and isn’t everyone just using their skills to get by? She does however have a problem when her talent gets her sent to fairy tale reform school, a school taught by the villains in the stories of the princesses, not that she likes them much either but still, who all claim they changed their ways and are teaching others as well. Gilly has to play nice for the next three months to get back to her family to help them again but what will happen to her in that time?
