From Little Tokyo, With Love by Sarah Kuhn

 

“If Rika's life seems like the beginning of a familiar fairy tale--being an orphan with two bossy cousins and working away in her aunts' business--she would be the first to reject that foolish notion. After all, she loves her family (even if her cousins were named after Disney characters), and with her biracial background, amazing judo skills and red-hot temper, she doesn't quite fit the princess mold.

All that changes the instant she locks eyes with Grace Kimura, America's reigning rom-com sweetheart, during the Nikkei Week Festival. From there, Rika embarks on a madcap adventure of hope and happiness--searching for clues that Grace is her long-lost mother, exploring Little Tokyo's hidden treasures with cute actor Hank Chen, and maybe...finally finding a sense of belonging.

But fairy tales are fiction and the real world isn't so kind. Rika knows she's setting herself up for disappointment, because happy endings don't happen to girls like her. Should she walk away before she gets in even deeper, or let herself be swept away?” - taken from Goodreads.com

Rika feels like she doesn't fit in anywhere. Orphaned at birth, she lives with her doting aunts and cousins. Biracial, she is often made to feel out of place in her Japanese American community. When she bumps into a famous movie store at a parade, Rika’s life is turned upside down when she realizes that her mother may be alive after all. With the help of the handsome Henry Chen who just so happens to be filming a movie with her supposed mother, the two go on a quest to uncover the truth. Rika must confront not only her own insecurities but fight against a racist bully and society's preconceived notions in order to uncover her own happily ever after.

Visit Sarah Kuhn’s website.

Epic Fail by Claire LaZebnik

“At Coral Tree Prep in Los Angeles, who your parents are can make or break you. Case in point:

- As the son of Hollywood royalty, Derek Edwards is pretty much prince of the school--not that he deigns to acknowledge many of his loyal subjects.

- As the daughter of the new principal, Elise Benton isn't exactly on everyone's must-sit-next-to-at-lunch list.

When Elise's beautiful sister catches the eye of the prince's best friend, Elise gets to spend a lot of time with Derek, making her the envy of every girl on campus. Except she refuses to fall for any of his rare smiles and instead warms up to his enemy, the surprisingly charming social outcast Webster Grant. But in this hilarious tale of fitting in and flirting, not all snubs are undeserved, not all celebrity brats are bratty, and pride and prejudice can get in the way of true love for only so long.” - taken from Goodreads.com

Epic Fail is based on Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice. This book was a cute rom-com where new student Elise Benton goes to Coral Tree Prep school in Los Angeles where her mother is the new principal. The unwanted king of campus is Derek Edwards. The son of Hollywood royalty. when Elisa's older sister begins dating Derek's best friend, the two are thrown together. The interactions between Elise and Derek are what make this book worth the read.

Lord of Shadows by Cassandra Clare (The Dark Artifices book 2)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read Lady Midnight, 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.

“Would you trade your soul mate for your soul?”

“A Shadowhunter’s life is bound by duty. Constrained by honor. The word of a Shadowhunter is a solemn pledge, and no vow is more sacred than the vow that binds parabatai, warrior partners—sworn to fight together, die together, but never to fall in love.

Emma Carstairs has learned that the love she shares with her parabatai, Julian Blackthorn, isn’t just forbidden—it could destroy them both. She knows she should run from Julian. But how can she when the Blackthorns are threatened by enemies on all sides?

Their only hope is the Black Volume of the Dead, a spell book of terrible power. Everyone wants it. Only the Blackthorns can find it. Spurred on by a dark bargain with the Seelie Queen, Emma; her best friend, Cristina; and Mark and Julian Blackthorn journey into the Courts of Faerie, where glittering revels hide bloody danger and no promise can be trusted. Meanwhile, rising tension between Shadowhunters and Downworlders has produced the Cohort, an extremist group of Shadowhunters dedicated to registering Downworlders and “unsuitable” Nephilim. They’ll do anything in their power to expose Julian’s secrets and take the Los Angeles Institute for their own.

When Downworlders turn against the Clave, a new threat rises in the form of the Lord of Shadows—the Unseelie King, who sends his greatest warriors to slaughter those with Blackthorn blood and seize the Black Volume. As dangers close in, Julian devises a risky scheme that depends on the cooperation of an unpredictable enemy. But success may come with a price he and Emma cannot even imagine, one that will bring with it a reckoning of blood that could have repercussions for everyone and everything they hold dear.” - taken from Goodreads.com

Once again, Ms. Clare knocks this latest installment in the Shadowhunter universe out of the ballpark. Readers are thrust back into the world of Emma Carstairs and the Blackthorn family in the aftermath of Malcolm Fade’s betrayal. The action picks up immediately and leads to the jaw-dropping, cliffhanger end. Fans will be left hanging until 2019 with Emma and Julian’s story will wrap up with Queen of Air and Darkness. In the meantime, readers will be able to begin the Last Hours trilogy with Chain of Gold in the fall of 2018.

Visit Cassandra Clare’s website.

Visit Shadowhunters.com

Tell Me Three Things by Julie Buxbaum

“What if the person you need the most is someone you’ve never met?”

“Everything about Jessie is wrong. At least, that’s what it feels like during her first week of junior year at her new ultra-intimidating prep school in Los Angeles. Just when she’s thinking about hightailing it back to Chicago, she gets an email from a person calling themselves Somebody/Nobody (SN for short), offering to help her navigate the wilds of Wood Valley High School. Is it an elaborate hoax? Or can she rely on SN for some much-needed help?

It’s been barely two years since her mother’s death, and because her father eloped with a woman he met online, Jessie has been forced to move across the country to live with her stepmonster and her pretentious teenage son.

In a leap of faith—or an act of complete desperation—Jessie begins to rely on SN, and SN quickly becomes her lifeline and closest ally. Jessie can’t help wanting to meet SN in person. But are some mysteries better left unsolved?” - Goodreads.com

Jessie Morris’s life has been turned upside down since her mother’s death from ovarian cancer and her father’s surprise remarriage. Marrying a film executive that he met through an online bereavement group, she finds her life upturned when she and her father move to Los Angeles to live with his new wife and her son. Not fitting in at her new school, Jessie receives an email from Somebody/Nobody or S/N for short. The anonymous writer offers to help Jessie navigate the halls of Wood Valley. Jessie accepts the help and it’s not long before the two move from emails to instant messaging.

As Jessie tries to fit into her new life, things aren’t going well at home. Soon she begins to rely on S/N even as she finds herself attraction to Ethan, her English partner. Jessie begins to try and uncover the true identity of S/N even while it seems someone is interested in her. I had my suspicions about the true identity of S/N about ⅔ of the way through. And that ending! More than one boy shows up for the big reveal to keep the reader on their toes until the very end.

What happens when Jessie discovers the identity of S/N? Is it who she hopes it to be? Does she act on her feelings for Ethan? Can she repair her relationship with her father and her new family? Will Jessie ever feel like she fits into her new life in Los Angeles?

Visit Julie Buxbaum’s website.

Lady Midnight by Cassandra Clare (The Dark Artifices book 1) (Shadowhunters book 10)

SPOILER POTENTIAL! This is the start of a new series in the Shadowhunter world but most of the characters in this book have appeared in the Mortal Instruments series. Both of the main characters in this book were introduced in City of Heavenly Fire. Events that transpired in the Tales of the Shadowhunter Academy also play a part since they occur before this book.

“It’s been five years since the events of City of Heavenly Fire that brought the Shadowhunters to the brink of oblivion. Emma Carstairs is no longer a child in mourning, but a young woman bent on discovering what killed her parents and avenging her losses.

Together with her parabatai Julian Blackthorn, Emma must learn to trust her head and her heart as she investigates a demonic plot that stretches across Los Angeles, from the Sunset Strip to the enchanted sea that pounds the beaches of Santa Monica. If only her heart didn’t lead her in treacherous directions…

Making things even more complicated, Julian’s brother Mark—who was captured by the faeries five years ago—has been returned as a bargaining chip. The faeries are desperate to find out who is murdering their kind—and they need the Shadowhunters’ help to do it. But time works differently in faerie, so Mark has barely aged and doesn’t recognize his family. Can he ever truly return to them? Will the faeries really allow it?”

Ms. Clare takes the reader back into the Shadowhunter world, but this time to Los Angeles. Emma Carstairs and Julian Blackthorn are life long friends and parabatai. Emma is on track to become a great Shadowhunter, like Jace Herondale. Her parents’ unsolved murders and need for revenge are what has drove her the past five years. Over anything else, she will protect the Blackthorns as if they were her family, which after living the past five years with them at the LA Institute, they are. Julian became a man before he could finish being a child, tasked with the care of his four younger siblings. The older Blackthorn half-siblings are part fey and have been outcast from the Shadowhunter world after the Dark War and Cold Peace. He also lives with the nightmare of killing his own father in order to protect his brothers and sisters. Julian is truly alone, even with Emma by his side, as he keeps his own secrets. The two were virtually inseparable before a Blackthorn summer trip to a relative in England. Once back at the Institute, Julian has withdrawn from Emma and even stated that he wished that he didn’t have a parabatai. She is left wondering what has gone wrong with their relationship.

When a new series of murders hit LA that mirror her own parents’, the fey come to the institute to ask for help and bring Mark Blackthorn as a bargaining chip. With time passing differently in fey, Mark is no longer the older brother. With the introduction of a new cast of characters and the return of some old favorites, fans of the book series will be left hoping that everything will work out in the end but will have a bumpy road to get their.

The story will continue with the next book in the Dark Artifices series with Lord of Shadows.

Visit Cassandra Clare’s website.

Struck by Jennifer Bosworth

“It never rains in California
But girl, don’t they warn ya

It pours, man, it pours”
Albert Hammond


Mia Price describes herself as a human lightning rod. She will tell you she is a lightning addict, craving its Strike. Her need is the reason her family moved to Los Angeles, a place where it rarely rains and lightning strikes are virtually nonexistent. Mia trades lightning for earthquakes and her life forever. The day the worst natural disaster to occur in the U.S., it pours down rain

.The Puente Hills earthquake has struck LA and some people believe it was caused by lightning. Ten square miles, including downtown LA, were destroyed and the city government is on the verge of collapse. The federal government is of no help with too many problems of its own. The Midwest has been battered by drought and wildfires causing food shortages and unseasonal; hurricanes along the Gulf Coast wiped out the fishing industry. Tornadoes have destroyed communities where they don’t normally happen and the US is involved in more conflicts than ever. Humanitarian organizations are stretched too thin with famine in Africa and plague in India. Los Angeles and its residents are left to fend for themselves.

Life has been in constant disruption since the Puente Hills earthquake four weeks prior. For Mia and her younger brother parker, their mother is no help. She was trapped for three days before rescue workers pulled her free, the only survivor. Not badly injured, she was quickly released from the hospital to make room for more life threatening injuries. With no psychiatric care, she spends her days in her darkened bedroom watching Rance Ridley Prophet on television proclaiming that the end of the world is upon us. Suffering from Acute Stress Disorder, Mia has been treating her mother with medications bought off the black market. Parker is distraught over the fact that he cannot fix her, but in order to get free lunch, extra food rations and priority aid, both must start attending school again. This means that their mother will be left alone.

Back at Skyline High School, Mia immediately notices that the Prophet’s student followers are now numerous. She sees white everywhere. While trying to pull herself together in the bathroom, a girl by the name of Rachel Jackson comes in. Before the quake, Rachel was a Goth. Now she is one of Prophet’s followers and tries to convince Mia to join them. Suddenly, a refined girl that Moa doesn’t recognize comes in and tells Rachel to leave Mia alone. Skyline is Seeker territory. Rachel eventually relents and leaves. Katrina introduces herself and goes to shake Mia’s hand. Mia notices a reddish, circular scar on the palm of Katrina’s right hand. They shake and Katrina pulls back quickly. She tells Mia that she has the Spark. Mia is a little unnerved and she doesn’t know what Katrina is talking about. Katrina then pulls out a deck of antique tarot cards and asks Mia to draw one, an invitation of sorts. Mia ends up pulling the Tower card. The Tower was the only building in downtown LA to survive the quake. Katrina grabs the card, reshuffles the deck and has Mia draw again. Once more, Mia pulls the Tower card. Katrina tells her to keep it and to meet her after school in room 317. Mia refuses but Katrina tells her she will see her then.

Mia goes to lunch but doesn’t see Parker. The softball team tries to cut in line but is stopped by a small group of random kids who normally wouldn’t hang out together. Mia recognizes one of them as a friend of Parker’s, Quentin. He tells them to go to the back of the line with the authority of an adult. They obey. Mia also sees that Quentin has the circular scar in the palm of his hand. He tells Mia it is good to see her and goes to shake her hand. She refuses and he briefly grabs her wrist and reacts the same way that Katrina did. Mia leaves the cafeteria to go in search of Parker. She finds him in the hallway were missing person and memorial posters are on display. Parker is depressed that all of his close friends have left the area when he shows Mia earthquake survivors’ group meeting sign that is held in the evenings in room 317. They discuss whether they could get their mother to attend when Mia spies another sign for a lightning strike survivors’ group to meet after the earthquake group in room 317.


Mia’s last class of the day is English lit with Mr. Kale in room 317. She arrives late and Mr. Kale immediately draws her into the discussion on Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein and how it relates to the Greek myth of Prometheus. Mia gives him a blank stare when a male voice gives the answer. Mia is immediately attracted to him but realizes that something is off about him, just like Katrina. She finds out that his name is Jeremy Parish. In class, Mia keeps looking at Jeremy and he notices. Mr. Kale asks who Prometheus was and Jeremy answers again without being called on. Mr. Kale chastises him and turns the discussion to lightning. Several students bring up the theory that a lightning strike triggered the earthquake. When class ends, Mia is in a hurry to leave before Katrina arrives, but she fails. Katrina joins Mr. Kale and Jeremy comes over to Mia’s desk.


Several things happen at once. Jeremy tells Mia that he needs to talk to her. She tells him to wait as she realizes she senses a storm off in the distance, even though there are no clouds in the sky. Mr. Kale and Katrina are watching the exchanger when Quentin enters the classroom. Jeremy tells Mia that they need to leave and to trust no one. Mia blacks out and dreams of being on the Tower in downtown during a lightning storm where the lightning is red, not white in color. She awakens to find Parker leaning over her and Jeremy gone. Katrina wants to know what he said to her but Mia doesn’t respond. Katrina tells her not to trust him. Mia wants to leave but Parker is willing to them out. Five minutes tops responses Mia and Mr. Kale explains that they are members of the circle of Seekers and are looking for people like Mia. Katrina tells her that they are going to save LA from the Prophet and his followers and then save the world. And Mia is the one to help them.


What happened to Mia’s mother when she was trapped by the earthquake? How did Rance Ridley Prophet correctly protect the earthquake and are his predictions for the end of the world accurate? Was the quake caused by a lightning strike? Who are the Seekers and why do they need Mia? What happened in Arizona that caused Mia’s family to flee to Los Angeles? Why is Mia so addicted to lightning strikes? Who is the mysterious Jeremy? And who can Mia trust when there is a storm brewing on the horizon?

Visit Jennifer Bosworth’s website.