The Elite by Kiera Cass (The Selection book 2)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the series, The Selection, Stop! I don’t want to ruin one of my favorite series for you.

“35 girls came to the palace. Only 6 remain.”

There are only six girls left in the Selection. The winner becomes the Princess of Illea and the wife of Prince Maxon. The public opinion polls place America Singer at the bottom of the pile but Maxon wants to spend the rest of his life with her. He is willing to wait until she is over the boy who broke her heart back home in the Carolina province. Unknown to Maxon, that boy, Aspen, is now one of the guards at the palace and therefore helps guard America. He isn’t ready to let her go but will if Maxon is her choice. Aspen only wants what is best for her and will make her happy.

America is torn between two boys but also whether she is capable of being a princess. With the competition heating up, Maxon seriously begins to look for a second choice should America turn him down. As his attentions start to fall elsewhere, America discovers she has a jealous streak when it comes to Maxon. She begins to entertain a future with Aspen when he makes time to be with her. As Celeste continues to push America’s buttons, she continues to make unfavorable statements and disastrous actions. After writing to her father about her perceived lack of leadership qualities, she decides she has what it takes for the job. America decides she needs to step up her game if she has any hope of being Illea‘s princess.

Will America be able to choose between Aspen and Maxon? Can she navigate the political climate of the palace to survive elimination? Will Maxon see through Celeste? What happens when the rebel forces attack the palace? And in the end, will America be The One Maxon chooses?

The Selection trilogy will conclude with The One due out in April 2014.

Visit KieraCass’s website.

Fragments by Dan Wells (Partials Sequence book 2)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the series, Partials, Stop! I don’t want to ruin the story for you.

“Their world ended. Their war didn’t.”

Kira Walker discovered the cure for RM but also discovered that she was a Partial. For now, only Samm and Dr. Morgan know her secret. She hasn’t even told her best friend/boyfriend Marcus the truth about herself. Kira may be a Partial but she ages like humans do. Also she isn’t able to link up with other Partials and lacks certain traits. Kira is on a quest for answers about herself.

Working from a photograph of herself as a young child, Kira is shown as a young child with her father and her guardian, Nandita, in front of a ParaGen building. Having lived with Nandita for the past twelve years, Kira wonders how much she really knew about her origins. Dr. Morgan was horrified when she found out what Kira was. She decides to travel to Manhattan to search the ParaGen office for answers. On her second day there, she discovers that Nandita was on the payroll with one of the largest salaries. The following day, Kira searches the second floor where she finds mostly cubicles. She sees evidence that two computers have been removed sometime after the Break. Kira also notices a few offices along one wall. One has been emptied of everything and recently. The office door is labeled Afa Demoux, IT. Kira wonders who Afa is and why his office was emptied.

Madison’s baby is the only newborn in twelve years to survive RM. Kira figured out that the Partials carried the cure. Time is running out and infants are once again dying. Marcus and the other medical research teams have repeatedly failed to replicate the cure. Now there is talk of kidnapping a Partial to extract more of the cure. On the other hand, Partials only “live” for twenty years and they are now “dying off.” They believe humans are the key to survival. War once again between humans and Partials seems imminent. Feeling the weight of human existence on his shoulders, Marcus heads outside. Heron, a Partial, reveals herself and asks Marcus to keep quiet. She shows him a photograph (the same one Kira has) and he immediately recognizes Nandita. Heron tells him to look at the child she is with. Marcus realizes that it is Kira. Heron asks him if he knows where they are and he doesn’t. She tells him that Dr. Morgan believes Kira and Nandita are vital to solving to solving the problem of the Partial expiration date. She warns Marcus that things will get interesting if they aren’t found.

Kira scavenges an abandoned electronics store. She notices that someone recently took a generator and a HAM radio from the shelves. Kira realizes that someone else is looking for the same information that she is and they are one step ahead of her. Marcus is at another Senate meeting. Humanity’s situation is growing direr. Word arrives that the Partials have come ashore and war may be closer than anyone thought. Marcus knows their only hope is to stall the Senate until he hears something from Kira.

When Kira finds Afa Demoux, he is more than she bargained for. Alone for the past twelve years, Afa believes that he is the last human on Earth. He has brief moments of lucidity. At these times, he is a wealth of information, having collected newspaper articles and every email message sent through the ParaGen server. Filed in hundreds of boxes that make sense only to Afa, Kira is a bit disappointed that he knows nothing about the Trust. Afa does have radios set up to monitor Partial communications and Kira is shocked to hear her friends are being attacked back home by Partial forces. Finding a microphone, Kira is able to radio a warning to Marcus. Two Partials find Afa’s hideout and enter. When his defense systems fail to stop them, Afa leaves for another safe house. Kira is left alone to stop them. She is surprised to find that the intruders are Samm and Heron. They heard her radio transmissions and they came to find her before Dr. Morgan does.

Realizing she was wrong about the Trust and needing to find out what she is before Dr. Morgan locates her again, Kira decides she needs to get to the ParaGen server to find the information she needs before anyone else beats her to it. With Afa’s computer expertise and Heron and Samm’s military skills, the four set out for Chicago where the server was kept.

Who and what is Kira? What secrets did Nandita keep from her? What information does she discover in Chicago? Why is Dr. Morgan looking for her? What is so important about Kira to warrant a Partial invasion? Can Marcus and the others survive until Kira comes back? Will the cure for RM and the partial expiration date be found? What is the Trust and can Nandita be found?

The Partials Sequence will be continued with book three.

Visit Dan Wells' website.

Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers (His Fair Assassin book 2)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven't read the first book on the trilogy, Dark Triumph, Stop! I don't want to ruin one of my favorite series for you.

Some readers may find it helpful to reread the last ten chapters of Grave Mercy.The events that transpire at the end of that book overlap and are told from a different point of view in Dark Triumph.

"Vengeance is divine."

Brittany 1489

Told from Sybella’s point of view, Dark Triumph picks up just before she goes out on the north tower to warn Ismae that d’Albret has set a trap to ensnare Anne, the Duchess of Brittany. Seeing that her warning was heeded and the duchess escaped, Sybella begins watching the small contingent of guards being slaughtered. Her attention is drawn to a beast of a man, the last one standing to fight against d’Albret’s legion of men. Knowing that his death is imminent, she wishes for her own. Sybella is startled when her half-brother Julian discovers her. She tells him the duchess escaped. They both know d’Albret will be furious and leave to prepare for his arrival.

Sybella escaped from her father’s household three years earlier and arrived at the convent of Saint Mortain. Now the abbess has sent her on a mission, back to the personal hell she once fled. She is to look to see of d’Albret is marqued for death. D’Albret is her cruel and murdering father. Believing she has been at the convent of Saint Brigantia, he is openly distrusting of her return. Julian keeps her secrets but at a terrible price. He forced an incestuous relationship upon her. Only the knowledge of being a handmaiden of death and the task of killing her father gets her through the days.

With each cruel act and murder, Sybella is desolate to find that d’Albret has yet to be marqued. When word arrives from the abbess, she is dismayed to learn that her father’s death has not been ordered. Instead, she is to determine if Baron de Waroch is d’Albret’s prisoner. If he is, she must rescue him if the duchess has any chance of keeping her throne. Angry over not being ordered to kill her father and his plans to use her to seduce men on order to obtain information, she heads to dinner. Signaled by d’Albret, Sybella sits with her intended target. Looking across the room, she sees that Jillian is not happy. Later, she meets up for her rendezvous. Before she can decide how to get away, Julian has slain the man because Sybella is his.

When her attendants talk about ghosts in the tower, Sybella suspects this is where d’Albret is keeping his prisoner. Devising a plan, she makes two trips to scout out the situation. Unfortunately, she is caught on the second trip by Julian. A bit suspicious, nonetheless he takes her to see the “ghost” she is looking for. Distressed at the sight of the prisoner, Sybella is horrified to learn d’Albret plans to use him to send a message to the duchess. He is to be hanged, drawn and quartered before being delivered to her. Julian questions Sybella on how she got into the tower and she realizes that he is more involved with their father than she ever imagined.

The following day at the midday meal, d’Albret announces that the next day he will send the duchess his message. Sybella knows that time is up. Sneaking into the tower that night, Sybella is surprised to find the jailor more than willing to help her get the prisoner to safety. In bad shape and a giant of a man, she has no way to carry him out. Playing on his sense of duty to the duchess, Sybella calls on his “battle lust” to get him moving. Once outside, she sees that time is running out if she hopes to dispatch d’Albret that night as well. Goading him one last time to make it to the awaiting cart, the prisoner swings at Sybella and she is knocked unconscious.

Blinking awake in the daylight, Sybella finds herself in the cart with the Baron and his jailing traveling in the countryside. Her chance to kill d’Albret is gone. Why did the jailor help Sybella? How will d’Albret retaliate for her betrayal? Will he ever be marqued for death? Why did the abbess send Sybella back to her personal hell? Can she ever escape from Julian’s “love”? What happens when Sybella finds herself growing to care for the Baron? And can Sybella find herself worthy for love?

Book three, Mortal Heart is due out in the spring of 2014. This time the story will focus on Annith, who escapes the confines of the convent to strike out on her own.

Visit Robin LaFevers' website.



Rise by Anna Carey (Eve book 3)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first two books in the Eve trilogy, Stop! I don’t want to ruin a fantastic story for you.

“How far will you go when you have nothing left to lose?”

Two and a half months have passed since that fateful night when Eve and Caleb were discovered by the New America forces. Caleb was shot and taken prisoner while Eve was returned to her father, The King. He later informed Eve that Caleb dies in custody. Reginald, Head of the Press and leader of the rebel forces encouraged her to go through with her wedding to Charles, Head of Development. That way she can continue to be close to the King and carry out the rebellion’s assassination plans. In a loveless marriage, Charles keeps up the pretense to protect Eve, who he really loves.

With the rebellion growing, the King has the girl schools relocated to the old hospital in the city. Hoping to find her old friends Pip, Ruby and Arden, she and Charles go to look for them. Locating her former school, she finds that her friends escaped several weeks earlier. She wonders why her father has kept this news from her. Reginald comes the next morning to finalize Eve’s assassination plans for her father. Feeling a bit queasy over her role in the plot, Eve becomes physically ill and passes out. Her father is worried about the reemergence of the plague but the doctor assures them it’s not. Eve is pregnant. The King is overjoyed and insists that he accompany Eve right then to tell Charles at the construction site.

Knowing that the gig is up (Caleb not Charles is the father), Eve is filled with dread. To her surprise, Charles goes along and plays to role of ecstatic father. Later she asks why he didn’t rat her out, Charles lets her know that he still has hope that something more will develop between them. Feeling guilty, Eve begins to wonder if she can leave Charles behind to die.

After putting the assassination plot into motion, Eve begins to feel at fault about hurting her father. Clara confronts her and tells Eve she is her only true friend and has always kept Eve’s secrets. Eve begins to feel guilty about leaving Clara behind as well. She must find Reginald to ensure the safety of Charles and Clara after she departs. The rebel siege happens earlier than expected and is quickly squashed when the outlying colonies don’t join the rebellion. Eve hastily makes plans to leave. Gathering the necessary items for her escape, Eve is caught before she can leave. Taken to her father, she sees that Reginald has been detained as well. The King questions which one of them was poisoning him but he believes it to be Eve. Trapped, the two attempt to escape. Reginald is shot. He dies in the elevator with Eve. She makes it to the streets but Clara is determined to leave the city with her.

In what way was the rebellion thawed? How will Eve escape the City of Sand? What happens to Charles and Clara? Can Eve reunite with the rebellion? Is the King of New America overthrown? Will Eve be able to locate her friends? And what happens to the rest of her life?

Visit Anna Carey’s website.

Light by Michael Grant (Gone book 6)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first five books in this series, Stop! I don’t want to ruin a fantastic story for you.

“It has been over a year since all of the adults disappeared. Gone.”

It’s been two days since the barrier between the FAYZ and the rest of the world went transparent but didn’t come down. For the first time in a year, children could see their parents although they cannot hear them. The written word is the only form of communication with the outside world. Instead of gaining sympathy from the world when the barrier went clear, his mother and everyone else saw Sam burn Penny to death as well as severely injuring young Gaia. The world is disgusted by the horrific and desperate actions the children had to endure and take part in to survive. Soon the media dubs them “little monsters.”

Gaia has gone off to heal herself. Repulsed that the gaiaphage is using her daughter’s body as a host, Diana is unable to leave her side. When Gaia admits that she has no powers of her own and accesses those of the others, Diana realizes why Caine wasn’t killed in the battle. Drake/Brittany devotes themselves to the gaiaphage and work to meet its needs. The gaiaphage is readying itself for the battle against Nemesis, aka Little Pete. Diana attempts to not raise Diana’s ire and begins to plot the destruction of the gaiaphage.

On opposing sides since day one of the FAYZ, Sam and Caine realize that the two of them are the best chance to defeat the gaiaphage. Putting their differences aside, the brothers go off to meet Gaia and Drake for the endgame.

It all comes down to the final showdown. Will the barrier finally come down? Who lives and who dies? Will the gaiaphage or Little Pete be victorious at the end? What does life bring for those who survive?

Don’t miss out on the epic conclusion to the Gone series that spans over six books and three thousand pages.

Visit Michael Grant’s website.

Deep Betrayl by Anne Greenwood Brown (Lies Beneath book 2)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the series, Lies Beneath, Stop! I don’t want to ruin the story for you.

“It’s been thirty days, two hours and seventeen minutes since Calder left Lily standing on the shores of Lake Superior. Not that she’s counting.”

Lily Hancock isn’t counting until her high school graduation but the time since she last saw Calder White. She was sent back to Minneapolis to finish high school after the tragic events at the family’s house on Laker Superior. Reunited with both her family and Calder at her graduation, Lily is determined to let her father know about his true identity. Trying to talk her out of it, Calder thinks it is a bad idea. Shocked and confused, Calder agrees to show Jason Hancock the ways of being a merman.

With her father monopolizing all of Calder’s time, Lily finds the draw to the water too irresistible to ignore. Seeing if she has any mermaid characteristics, Lily spends time in the lake and discovers she can hold her breath for longer than normal periods of time and hear voices under the water. Not heeding Calder’s warnings to stay out of the water, her continued existence is soon discovered by Maris and Pavati. When they learn of Talluah’s death, Maris is devastated. With his sisters grieving, Calder fears not only for the Hancock family’s safety, but for anyone that enters the water.

Jason Hancock spends most of his time now in the water and begins to ignore his family. Maris and Pavati seem to be in hiding. Jack Pettit is telling everyone that there are mermaids in the lake. No one really believes him and thinks he is crazy. The reports of boaters and swimmers encountering rip currents begin to surface. Calder and Lily suspect a mermaid is behind it. Soon bodies are found in the area. The race to stop the killings is on before someone begins to believe Jack’s ramblings and begins searching the lake.

Who is behind the killings; Maris and Pavati, Jason Hancock or someone else? Is Lily beginning to transform into a mermaid? Can Jason Hancock find his way back to his family? What will happen if someone begins to take Jack Pettit seriously?

Lily and Calder’s story will conclude in Promise Bound in 2014.

Visit Anne Greenwood Brown’s website.