Plus One by Kelsey Rodkey

 

“They say that those who can’t do, teach.

Lahey Johnson is notorious for helping her friends and classmates find love. Sure, she’s never had a boyfriend herself. But she could. If she wanted to. Right? She just hasn’t had a reason to focus on her own love life—but now, with her detested cousin Summer’s sweet sixteen coming up, she’s got the ultimate reason: revenge.

Lahey will do anything to prove that she can get a date to Summer’s party—anything, including juggle six prospective suitors in seven days. She’s matched people before—all she needs to do is figure out who these guys are looking for and become that girl. Easy.

The only issue? Her older sister’s irritating friend Adler has decided to take a front-row seat to the spectacle that is Lahey’s life. He can bother her all he wants—nothing will distract Lahey from her goal of one-upping Summer.

But as the party creeps closer, the panic sets in.

Can a matchmaker ever really meet her own match?” - taken from Goodreads.

I really enjoyed this book even though I wanted to shake Lahey at times for her selfishness. For someone who was so good at being a matchmaker for others, she failed miserably when it came to herself. Thankfully, she came to her senses before it was too late.

Visit Kelsey Rodkey’s website.

Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White by Amelie Wen Zhao (Song of the Last Kingdom book 2)

 

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read the first book in the series, Song of Silver, Flame Like Night, Stop! I don’t want to ruin the story for you.

“The Demon Gods have risen. Skies’ End has fallen to the colonizers. And Lan and Zen have chosen sides.

But they will not fight together.

Though Lan inherited the power of the Silver Dragon, she understands the path she must take. She believes the Demon Gods to be the cause of war, conflict, and turmoil, and that the future of the Last Kingdom depends on their being eliminated forever. Worse, she knows that if the Elantians manage to bind one of the legendary beings, their army will be unstoppable and any hopes of Hin rebellion will be crushed. To save her kingdom and her people, Lan will need to find the only mythical weapon capable of destroying the Demon Gods: the Godslayer.

Zen knows the only way to defeat the Elantians and free the Last Kingdom is to use the power of the Demon Gods. When he bound the Black Tortoise, he paid the ultimate price: to inherit its strength, he will forfeit his body, his mind, and his soul. Yet one Demon God is not enough against the might of the Elantian Empire. In the ruins of the northern Mansorian lands slumbers a magical army of demonic practitioners capable of facing off against the Elantians—but Zen must find the Seal to awaken them to fight by his side.

At the center of both Lan’s and Zen’s journeys is the fabled desert city of Shaklahira, a former stronghold of the Imperial Court that vanished without a trace when the Elantians invaded. Its location is a mystery, and both are sure that it holds the answers they need, but the past it hides might be more dangerous than anything they’ve faced yet.

The battle for the Last Kingdom rages on. But to win the war, Lan will have to face the ultimate choice—will she kill the boy she loves to free her people?” - taken from Goodreads.

I don’t want to give too much away about the ending of this story but fans will be satisfied with the ending.

Visit Amelie Wen Zhao’s website.

The Reappearance of Rachel Price by Holly Jackson

 

“Lights. Camera. Lies.

18-year-old Bel has lived her whole life in the shadow of her mom’s mysterious disappearance. Sixteen years ago, Rachel Price vanished and young Bel was the only witness, but she has no memory of it. Rachel is gone, long presumed dead, and Bel wishes everyone would just move on.

But the case is dragged up from the past when the Price family agree to a true crime documentary. Bel can’t wait for filming to end, for life to go back to normal. And then the impossible happens. Rachel Price reappears, and life will never be normal again.

Rachel has an unbelievable story about what happened to her. Unbelievable, because Bel isn’t sure it’s real. If Rachel is lying, then where has she been all this time? And – could she be dangerous? With the cameras still rolling, Bel must uncover the truth about her mother, and find out why Rachel Price really came back from the dead . . .” - taken from Goodreads.

Bel has never known her mother, only what she knows about the day she disappeared and left her behind. Now, sixteen years later, a documentary filmmaker is in town telling the story of the disappearance of Rachel Price. Bel cannot wait for the nightmare to be over and get back to her normal life. Having left filming one day, she comes across a woman who looks like her mother. Running home to safety from her worst nightmare, Bel realizes that she cannot hide from the truth, her mother has come back from the dead. 

The reunion isn’t what Bel expected and everyone’s reactions seem to be of relief. The more time Bel spends with her mother, she begins to realize that Rachel’s story doesn’t seem to add up. Why has Rachel Price suddenly reappeared after sixteen years? And is Bel justified to question her mother’s return?

This book kept me on the edge of my seat until the very end! Definitely my favorite book of 2024.

Song Like Sliver, Flame Like Night by Amelie Wen Zhao (Song of the Last Kingdom book 1)

 

“Once, Lan had a different name. Now, she goes by the one the Elantian colonizers gave her when they invaded her kingdom, killed her mother, and outlawed her people's magic. She spends her nights as a songgirl in Haak'gong, a city transformed by the conquerors, and spends her days scavenging for remnants of the past. For anything that might help her understand the strange mark burned into her arm by her mother, in her last act before she died.

No one can see the mysterious mark--an untranslatable Hin character--except Lan. Until the night a boy appears at the teahouse and saves her life.

Zen is a practitioner--one of the fabled magicians of the Last Kingdom, whose abilities were rumored to be drawn from the demons they communed with. Magic believed to be long lost. Magic to be hidden from the Elantians at all costs.

When Zen comes across Lan's unusual qi, he recognizes what she is: a practitioner with a powerful ability hidden in the mark on her arm. He's never seen anything like it--but he knows: if there are answers, they lie deep in the pine forests and misty mountains of the Last Kingdom, with an order of practitioning masters planning to overthrow the Elantian regime.

Both Lan and Zen have secrets buried deep within. Fate has connected them, but their destiny remains unwritten. Both hold the power to liberate their land. And both hold the power to destroy the world.” - taken from Goodreads.

This book was a bit of a beast to get through. There is lots of worldbuilding and back story to get through before the plot really gets going. With a slow burn romance between Lan and Zen and plenty of mystery surrounding each of their backgrounds, readers will be flipping the pages at the end to see all of the secrets that are revealed. Because of a cliffhanger ending, readers will be ready to start book two, Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White.

Visit Amelie Wen Zhao’s website.