SplendeurCaisseBooks

The Forest and the Sea: A Cinderella Retelling Tracy Zumwalt Publication date: November 12th 2024 Genres: Fairy Tales, Retelling, Romance, Young Adult Reynette is desperate to escape the servitude of her step family at Laudermann Manor and the lustful desires of the loathsome, Sir Bjorn. Lord Ehrhart seeks to please his father and their subjects by securing a future wife and future Duchess of Badenberg. Will a chance meeting in the woods lead them to find their hope and future within each other’s arms? The people of Badenberg are preparing to celebrate the anticipated, Midsummer Festival. In the worn hallways of Laudermann Manor, a young servant girl longs for freedom and love. Bound by duty to her cruel step family, she yearns to attend the festival and meet a kind, brave suitor who will seek her floral wreath and therefore, declare his intent to pursue her. Her hope takes a turn when her wreath is sought by a mysterious, yet somehow familiar man. Meanwhile, Lord Ehrhart, son ...

  Jessica Goodman meets The Agathas in this taut, twisty YA thriller set in the glittering world of Mardi Gras in New Orleans, where secrets—and bodies—never stay buried. For the New Orleans elite, the Les Masques Ball is sure to be the social event of the season—if they can avoid another dead Queen. When debutante Margot Landry was found dead the morning after her reign at last year’s ball, it was a tragedy, but not a shocking one. Margot was a wild child with a self-destructive streak, nothing like this year’s Queen, Lily LeBlanc. With a perfectly poised debutante on the throne, everything is going according to plan…until the ball is hijacked by a mysterious figure in a Jester costume. That night, Lily sends a text to three of the Maids on her royal court—her best friend, Vivian; her boyfriend's sister, Piper; and April, her former frenemy—asking them all to meet the next morning. But Lily never shows up. On the surface, these three debutantes don’t have anything in common except...

Wow!  This is one of the first ARCs I ever read. The program was First To Read. But I didn't share this on my original blog, so I thought I'd share it here because I didn't have anything else ready to post. My review style has changed since I read this book.  Maybe I need to re-read this book so I can write a better review. Mila Flores and her best friend Riley have always been inseparable. There's not much excitement in their small town of Cross Creek, so Mila and Riley make their own fun, devoting most of their time to Riley's favorite activity: amateur witchcraft. So when Riley and two Fairmont Academy mean girls die under suspicious circumstances, Mila refuses to believe everyone's explanation that her BFF was involved in a suicide pact. Instead, armed with a tube of lip gloss and an ancient grimoire, Mila does the unthinkable to uncover the truth: she brings the girls back to life. Unfortunately, Riley, June, and Dayton have no recollection of their murders...

  A Strange Affinity Rebecca Rook Publication date: March 26th 2024 Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult A Strange Affinity is a hypnotizing cross between the television show Deadwood and Tamora Pierce’s renowned Tortall Universe . This young adult fantasy novel, set in an alternate nineteenth century American Wild West, will appeal to fans of Vengeance Road and Retribution Rails by Erin Bowman, Revenge and the Wild by Michelle Modesto, and Upright Women Wanted by Sarah Gailey. In the Wild West, magic is real. When two strangers arrive in her small town, Gloriana Rue learns that she has the magical ability, or Affinity, to manipulate metal. She also learns that her mother was a renowned magical scholar but had abandoned the world of Affinities. Glory is desperate to know why her mother hid her past, and so agrees to attend an academy for magicians in the hopes of finding answers. Glory is soon immersed in magic and mystery when she stumbles upon a disturbing discovery: A killer ...

Invocation Aileen Erin (Days of Iron and Clay, #1) Publication date: March 19th 2024 Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult From USA Today Bestselling Author Aileen Erin comes an all-new action-packed, romance-filled paranormal series. There are three things I know without question. One: demons are real. Two: humans make awful mistakes that get them in demonic trouble more often than you’d think. And three: I’m the only one who can help them. I straddle the line between the mortal and spiritual realms every day. People might think they’re two different places, but they’re not. They lay on top of each other. It’s messy, and that’s why so many people need my help. Since I was little, I’ve been called all kinds of names— unusual, abnormal, even insane . Which is fitting, since they keep throwing me in to mental facilities. I’ve been in and out of them my entire life. But no matter what people say, no matter what I’m risking, I will always help those in need. Because there’s an...

  A deliciously dreamy urban fairytale about a dryad who risks immortality for love, from debut author Devin Greenlee All seventeen-year-old Quill wants is a break from the family business. Flowers, plants, the generations-old garden. What he wouldn’t give for a taste of the outside world. Normalcy. But his mom won’t let him out of the house, telling him he’s just not ready… All because he’s a dryad. Well, not just any dryad, but a male dryad—the first ever. And unlike everyone else in his family, he hasn’t a lick of magic. Just a shock of green hair, matching green eyes, and a growing frustration that there’s an entire world out there waiting to be discovered. Until the night when the outside world—specifically his new neighbor—discovers him. Liam Watson lives in a culture filled with electronics, mobile devices, and social media—where there is no magic or even the belief in it. And as much as Quill finds Liam irritating (he’s so cute it’s annoying), he can’t help himself. Now Qui...

  The captivating sequel to the Gothic-infused Belladonna, in which Signa and Death face a supernatural foe determined to tear them apart. A duke has been murdered. The lord of Thorn Grove has been framed. And Fate, the elusive brother of Death, has taken up residence in a sumptuous estate nearby. He's hellbent on revenge after Death took the life of the woman he loved many years ago...and now he's determined to have Signa for himself, no matter the cost. Signa and her cousin Blythe are certain that Fate can save Elijah Hawthorne from prison if they will entertain his presence. But the more time the girls spend with Fate, the more frightening their reality becomes as Signa exhibits dramatic new powers that link her to Fate's past. With mysteries and danger around every corner, the cousins must decide if they can trust one another as they navigate their futures in high society, unravel the murders that haunt their family, and play Fate's unexpected games—all with their d...

My twin sister is the true queen of Aryd. She survives, hiding and clinging to life in the desert, while I reign as the false queen alongside the monstrous King Eidolon. There’s only one escape from this gilded prison: Reven. My Shadowraith. My heart. Only the shadows that he struggles to control are growing more sinister, more powerful. It’s just a matter of time before they turn on him…and on me. Even escape doesn't mean true freedom, though, when we're still on the run from Eidolon’s unstoppable armies. And when we discover there’s a traitor among us, I have no choice…I must become the queen I was never meant to be. Because as one evil hunts me, the other loves me more than himself. And my fate lies with both. My Review   The Stolen Throne by Abigail Owen My rating: 4 of 5 stars  🌟🌟🌟🌟 There was so much going on! It took me a minute to get reacquainted with some of the story but once that happened I was transported back into it all. As they embark on their quest to st...

  Starseer Katya Hernández Publication date: April 22nd 2023 Genres: Fantasy, LGBTQ+, Young Adult A fate traced by the stars… Fifteen-year-old Etar can see the future in the stars—a rare skill even among magicians. But while other Starseers before him have become the stuff of legend, Etar has never predicted anything more exciting than the weather. Orphaned at age five and living under his uncle’s disapproving gaze, he yearns to prove his worth. Disaster strikes when, in defiance of his uncle’s orders, Etar breaks into the Starseeing Dome—an ancient structure built to potentiate the powers of Starseers. Aided by the Dome, the stars send Etar a vision of ironclad warships destroying Skalland, the tiny island he calls home. Hunted by a bloodthirsty admiral who seeks to enslave his newly awakened powers, Etar will have to fight to protect his friends while grappling with his past, his out-of-control magic, and a budding friendship turning into something more. Goodreads ...

  Francesca Flores's  The Witch and the Vampire  is a queer Rapunzel retelling where a witch and a vampire who trust no one but themselves must journey together through a cursed forest with danger at every turn. Ava and Kaye used to be best friends. Until one night two years ago, vampires broke through the magical barrier protecting their town, and in the ensuing attack, Kaye’s mother was killed, and Ava was turned into a vampire. Since then, Ava has been trapped in her house. Her mother Eugenia needs her: Ava still has her witch powers, and Eugenia must take them in order to hide that she's a vampire as well. Desperate to escape her confinement and stop her mother's plans to destroy the town, Ava must break out, flee to the forest, and seek help from the vampires who live there. When there is another attack, she sees her opportunity and escapes. Kaye, now at the end of her training as a Flame witch, is ready to fulfill her duty of killing any vampires that threaten the t...

Shadows of Nightshade Lyla Oweds (The Garden of Eternal Flowers, #1) Publication date: March 8th 2023 Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult I dream of a time where I was warm, safe, and loved. But my waking reality is starkly different. Anxiety plagues me and spirits haunt the shadows. No matter how fast I run, I can’t seem to escape my past. The only solace and steady force in my life is my best friend, Finn. And now… there’s a ghost haunting me. And I’m not certain if it wants help or if it wants to kill me. There’s only one person who can understand: Finn’s brother, Damen. However, in reaching out, I’m betraying Finn and setting things into motion that cannot be undone. But nobody ever said that doing the right thing was easy. — The Garden of Eternal Flowers is a re-envisioning of my Grimm Cases series. Eternal Flowers has taken my original vision of Bianca’s story and transformed it into something new and beautiful. Some chapters are similar, and some dialogue is the same, as...

The Dollmaker Morgan Shamy Publication date: February 28th 2023 Genres: Young Adult, Historical, Mystery No one is safe. Not when the Dollmaker lurks in the shadows. When Dawn Hildegard’s best friend Rose is kidnapped by “The Dollmaker,” a crazed serial killer who creates “art” from women’s bodies, she drops everything to find her—including her dream of becoming a doctor. With the help of a handsome new acquaintance and his mysterious brother, they set off to find the killer. Although they quickly become friends, Dawn cannot shake the uneasy feeling that the brothers know more about the murders than they admit. As more and more victims are found murdered and displayed throughout town, Dawn must use her wits to find Rose before it’s too late. And before she too becomes the Dollmaker’s next victim. Goodreads / Amazon / Barnes & Noble / Google Play / Kobo — EXCERPT: He slowly began to pace in front of her, his shaded head tipped in thought. His legs were long in the dark...

  BookBub Links The Liar’s Crown Abigail Owen Some shadows protect you…others will kill you in this dazzling new fantasy series from award-winning author Abigail Owen. Everything about my life is a lie. As a hidden twin princess, born second, I have only one purpose—to sacrifice my life for my sister if death comes for her. I’ve been living under the guise of a poor, obscure girl of no standing, slipping into the palace and into the role of the true princess when danger is present. Now the queen is dead and the ageless King Eidolon has sent my sister a gift—an eerily familiar gift—and a proposal to wed. I don’t trust him, so I do what I was born to do and secretly take her place on the eve of the coronation. Which is why, when a figure made of shadow kidnaps the new queen, he gets me by mistake. As I try to escape, all the lies start to unravel. And not just my lies. The Shadowraith who took me has secrets of his own. He struggles to contain the shadows he wields—other faces, ident...

  Crossing the Line Lynn Rush & Kelly Anne Blount Published by: Entangled: Teen Publication date: September 5th 2022 Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult A patch of black ice is all it takes for Ryan “Preach” Armstrong’s perfectly planned future to skid out of control. The car crash shatters his hockey dreams…and injures Woodhaven’s newest student, Grace Milner. As much as this feisty track phenom gets under Preach’s skin in all the best and worst ways, she might just be his path to redemption… Grace can’t believe that all it took was seriously bad timing and a hot but prickly hockey player to threaten her lifelong dream of joining the Air Force. Now, instead of prepping for the track season and upcoming start of basic training, she has to complete community service with the absolute last person she would ever want to be stuck with—the guy who shattered her future. When two fierce competitors collide this hard, the only result is heartbreak…or an epic victory as...