Renegades by Marissa Meyer (Renegades book 1)

“Secret Identities. Extraordinary Powers. She wants vengeance. He wants justice.

The Renegades are a syndicate of prodigies — humans with extraordinary abilities — who emerged from the ruins of a crumbled society and established peace and order where chaos reigned. As champions of justice, they remain a symbol of hope and courage to everyone... except the villains they once overthrew.

Nova has a reason to hate the Renegades, and she is on a mission for vengeance. As she gets closer to her target, she meets Adrian, a Renegade boy who believes in justice — and in Nova. But Nova's allegiance is to a villain who has the power to end them both.” - taken from Goodreads.com

I have been holding off reading this book since it first came out. With the second book out, I decided to go ahead and give the audio version a listen and I'm glad I finally did. I will say that the story starts out extremely slow. With this being the first book in a new series, the world building and background stories of the two main characters takes several chapters to flesh out.

Nova Artino is an Anarchist, the bad guys, and the niece of Ace Anarchy, who was killed by Captain Chromium, the head of the Renegades, the good guys. Ace was the last remaining member of her family. Her parents and sister were killed by a rival villain gang as she hid hoping that the Renegades would come to save her. They didn't, but Uncle Alec/Ace did and took her in. Nova, aka Nightmare, became the youngest member of the Anarchists.

When Nova’s assassination attempt on Captain Chromium fails, nightmare becomes wanted by the Renegades. Nova's Anarchist family believes the best way to exact Revenge would be for Nova to compete in the Renegades trials as a renegade, Nova could glean inside information on how to bring them down. What she doesn't count on is finding new friends.

The most important thing Nova and readers will discover is what does it really mean to be a hero or a villain. As it turns out, there really isn't a clear-cut answer. And that last sentence is a game changer!

Book two, Archenemies, is now out.

Visit Marissa Meyer’s website.

Queen of Air and Darkness by Cassandra Clare (The Dark Artifices book 3, Shadowhunter Chronicles book 12)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read Lady Midnight and Lord of Shadows, Stop! I don’t want to ruin one of my favorite series for you. It will also help if you have read the previous books in the Shadowhunters’ world to avoid spoilers. 

“What if damnation is the price of true love?

Innocent blood has been spilled on the steps of the Council Hall, the sacred stronghold of the Shadowhunters. In the wake of the tragic death of Livia Blackthorn, the Clave teeters on the brink of civil war. One fragment of the Blackthorn family flees to Los Angeles, seeking to discover the source of the blight that is destroying the race of warlocks. 

Meanwhile, Julian and Emma take desperate measures to put their forbidden love aside and undertake a perilous mission to Faerie to retrieve the Black Volume of the Dead. What they find in the Courts is a secret that may tear the Shadow World asunder and open a dark path into a future they could never have imagined. Caught in a race against time, Emma and Julian must save the world of Shadowhunters before the deadly power of the parabatai curse destroys them and everyone they love.” - taken from Goodreads.com

Book three picks up immediately following bloodbath that occurred at the end of Lord of Shadows. Without giving away too many details, Julian and Emma are in a race against time to find a way to keep them from succumbing to the parabatai curse. All of our favorite Shadowhunter and Downworlder characters make an appearance. As this portion of the Dark Artifices trilogy comes to an end, the groundwork for the Wicked Powers trilogy, centered around Ty Blackthorn and Kit Herondale is laid out. Unfortunately, it will be several years before the trilogy will be in the hands of readers. The Last Hours trilogy, beginning with Chain of Gold, is expected to be published on November 19, 2019, will allow readers to step back in time to 1903 and will tell the stories of the next generation of Shadowhunters after Will, Tessa, and Jem, and introduces readers to the Blackthorn and Carstairs families. 

Visit Cassandra Clare’s website.

Visit Shadowhunters.com

An Assassin's Guide to Love and Treason by Virginia Boecker

“When Lady Katherine's father is killed for being an illegally practicing Catholic, she discovers treason wasn't the only secret he's been hiding: he was also involved in a murder plot against the reigning Queen Elizabeth I. With nothing left to lose, Katherine disguises herself as a boy and travels to London to fulfill her father's mission, and to take it one step further--kill the queen herself.

Katherine's opportunity comes in the form of William Shakespeare's newest play, which is to be performed in front of Her Majesty. But what she doesn't know is that the play is not just a play--it's a plot to root out insurrectionists and destroy the rebellion once and for all.

The mastermind behind this ruse is Toby Ellis, a young spy for the queen with secrets of his own. When Toby and Katherine are cast opposite each other as the play's leads, they find themselves inexplicably drawn to one another. But the closer they grow, the more precarious their positions become. And soon they learn that star-crossed love, mistaken identity, and betrayal are far more dangerous off the stage than on.” - taken from Goodreads.com

I really enjoyed this historical twist involving a murder plot centered around William Shakespeare's play, Twelfth Night. Our assassin, Katherine Arundell/Kit Alban, watched her father killed by the local sheriff during a raid on their house for being practicing Catholics during Elizabeth I’s reign. Protestantism was the official religion of England at the time. Escaping, she travels to London to meet up with one of her father's friends. Disguising herself as a boy, Kit becomes involved in an assassination plot for the queen to take place during a private showing of Twelfth Night.

Her plans become a bit derailed when she meets her co-star. Without going into too many details, this book was a great read. I loved the ending of the story. 

Visit Virginia Boecker’s website.