Bibliophile Support Group

Faerie After is the YA post-apocalyptic fantasy conclusion to Janni Lee Simner’s Bones of Faerie trilogy. Of course, you want to read Bones of Faerie and Faerie Winter before Faerie After – click on the titles to read my reviews. In my opinion spoilers are never good, so even though it probably wouldn’t be dire to the overall story, I recommend you don’t read my review/synopsis of Faerie After until you’ve read those first two books… Liza has been away from her home, learning more about her magic from Karin over the last few months. Though she misses her mother, Matthew, Kyle and others at home, life has been steadier than it was for quite some time. And the spring seems strong. But when Liza stumbles across a new danger – piles of ash where living creatures once stood – Liza comes to the realization that both the world of Faerie and the human realm are still deteriorating since the War. Everything will eventually turn to dust. Searching for a solution may mean crossing...

The Dream Thieves is an incredible YA contemporary fantasy, the second in The Raven Cycle , by the ever-awesome Maggie Stiefvater. The Raven Boys , the first book in this cycle, is undeniably fantastic – so if you have yet to read it, check out my review here and then go grab a copy, you crazy person!!! In other words, you may want to avoid this review of the second book until you’ve already sunk your teeth into book one. Only looking out for you, bibliophile! Final chance to turn away… Blue and her Raven Boys all have secrets. Ronan’s is that he can steal things from dreams. While Blue, haunted Ronan, damaged Adam and the always-charismatic Gansey continue their search for the dead king Glendower amidst the enigmatic ley lines of their small town, Ronan begins to realize that his ability to take things out of his dreams may be an ability sought after by others. And may be connected to his father’s brutal murder… Okay, this synopsis is pretty bare-bones, I agree. Bu...

A Spark Unseen is a YA historical suspense novel by Sharon Cameron, as well as a sequel to The Dark Unwinding . You know what I’m going to say. If you haven’t yet read The Dark Unwinding , you should avoid this review for potential spoilers of the first book. Read my review of The Dark Unwinding here . Last chance to avert your eyes before the synopsis begins! Katherine Tulman has been in life threatening situations before. That’s why when she wakes in the middle of the night to hear strange men’s voices, she is instantly alert. It doesn’t take much to deduce that they want to kidnap her uncle – a man with childlike innocence yet a mind with genius enviable by nations at war. Katherine’s Uncle Tully’s sprawling manor Stranwyne Keep is not as secure as they need as the Crimean War creates an ever stronger desire for his elusive inventions. So, Katherine decides to have them flee to Paris. And while she is there she will search for Lane – the young man who knows her Unc...

When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears is the third and final book in the YA contemporary fantasy trilogy The Goblin Wars . I am absolutely serious when I say this trilogy is far too remarkable to spoil yourself by reading this review – or book – without reading the first two books. So, if you are a lucky duck and haven’t yet read The Goblin Wars novels, therefore getting a chance to experience them for the first time, you can check out my review of Tyger Tyger here and In the Forests of the Night here . Don’t go perusing this review and ruining any surprises! They are TOO excellent for that!!! Okay, now on to When the Stars Threw Down Their Spears : Teagan has declared war on the Dark Man – knowing that her family will always be hunted unless she faces those who wish them harm head-on. But the danger is very real. Creatures of destruction and death are spilling out of Mag Mell into the streets of Chicago, Teagan’s little brother Aiden has been marked with a new so...

Gorgeous is a YA contemporary fantasy by Paul Rudnick. When Becky Randle reaches her eighteenth birthday, life isn’t so great. Her mom has died, and she won’t be able to afford the trailer she’s lived in all her life if her fast food job lays her off. Then she meets Tom Kelly. A recognizable name to almost anyone in the world – Tom Kelly has a hand in almost any industry, but primarily is known for fashion – and being insanely wealthy. He offers to make her three dresses – one red, one white, and one black. He tells her that by wearing these dresses Becky will be transformed into the most beautiful woman in the entire world. Thinking he’s insane, but not seeing a better offer, Becky accepts. And Becky becomes Rebecca – gorgeous, stunning, publicity-hounded Rebecca. Underneath, though, isn’t she still just Becky? First off I want to say that the cover of Gorgeous , I think, is very pretty and eye-catching. Agree? Second, what was the first thought that came to mind wh...

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a YA contemporary fantasy novel by Holly Black. In Tana’s world, Coldtowns exist. They are walled cities in which quarantines were set up to house the monsters that came into the spotlight long ago – blood thirsty vampires, and the humans that are desperate to be them – or were trapped behind the walls when they went up. With a tragic past that left an ugly scar on her arm, Tana knows the effects of getting Cold, the vampire infection that occurs when you are bit, first hand. When one morning Tana wakes up, disoriented after a long night of partying, she finds herself surrounded by corpses. Everywhere she looks she sees people she’s gone to school with for years – bloody and lifeless. A vampire attack. At first it seems she is the only survivor of the massacre, but then she finds her ex-boyfriend tied up in a room, fighting the first impulses of going Cold. He was bit. With him is a painfully gorgeous, terrifyingly dangerous vampire – also...

The Path of Names is a middle grade contemporary fantasy novel by Ari Goelman. Dahlia Sherman doesn’t want to go to a sleep away camp highlighting learning Hebrew and focusing on her Jewish roots. She loves magic – magic tricks, sleight of hand, math and video games. Yet her parents did not give her much of a choice when they dropped her off at Camp Arara. Amidst her glowering and sulking, Dahlia can’t help but acknowledge that there are a few things of interest going on. Such as two little girls who appear to walk right through the wall of a cabin. Also, she starts to have vivid dreams of a young Jewish man decades ago being chased through New York. Someone she’s never seen in her life. Not to mention a huge maze with a mysterious caretaker that won’t let anyone near it… Dahlia figures she can manage a few weeks at Camp Arara if she has something to do. The Path of Names lacked the humor, zaniness and quirkiness I expected from the cover and premise, sadly. It focus...

Half Lives is a YA sci-fi apocalyptic novel by Sara Grant. It was an ordinary day for Icie. She was being consoled by her best friend over the break-up text message she had gotten when her parents started to urgently reach out to her – telling her she had to get home immediately. When she did, she didn’t expect to be strapped with cash and given a backpack full of survival supplies – but that’s what happened. Then the gravity of what her parents were telling her started to sink in. They were privy to knowledge that a major, world-changing bio-terror event would be happening very soon and they wanted to get to a bunker in Vegas before it happened. Or rather, get Icie to a bunker. Getting there and then staying there ends up being more terrifying than she could imagine. Hundreds of years in the future, life has changed. People live and worship in the very bunker Icie is desperate to reach. They don’t leave. They fear terrorists. Their leader is Beckett, a teenager th...

The Watcher in the Shadows is a YA supernatural thriller novel by Carlos Ruiz Zafon. In the summer of 1937, fourteen-year-old Irene Sauvelle’s family has moved to the coast of Normandy for a fresh start. Still mourning the death of her father, they are struggling to find happiness once more – a new normal. When Irene’s mother receives a job offer from a wealthy, reclusive toymaker she takes it. The toys he makes are automatons – some of which almost appear to have a life of their own… Their slowly healing family gets a shock when a young girl is found dead in the forests surrounding the toymaker’s mansion. Suddenly all of the ghost stories they’ve heard since moving to their foggy home become more possible. It seems that there is an evil – and a mystery surrounding it – pervading their new town. In order to keep her family from undergoing yet another loss, Irene knows that she must figure out what it is… The Watcher in the Shadows is very successful at being quietly s...