Ignite the Stars by Maura Milan (Ignite the Stars book 1)

¨Keep your enemies close¨

“Everyone in the universe knows his name. Everyone in the universe fears him. But no one realizes that notorious outlaw Ia Cocha is a seventeen-year-old girl.

A criminal mastermind and unrivaled pilot, Ia has spent her life terrorizing the Olympus Commonwealth, the imperialist nation that destroyed her home. When the Commonwealth captures her and her true identity is exposed, they see Ia’s age and talent as an opportunity: by forcing her to serve them, they will prove that no one is beyond their control.

Soon, Ia is trapped at the Commonwealth’s military academy, desperately plotting her escape. But new acquaintances—including Brinn, a seemingly average student with a closely-held secret, and their charming Flight Master, Knives—cause Ia to question her own alliances. Can she find a way to escape the Commonwealth’s clutches before these bonds deepen?” - taken from Goodreads.com

OMG! I don't know what it is about a strong-willed but flawed female main character with a space setting, but those books are becoming my new fav of mine. Told from three different POV, readers are quickly immersed into the life of Ia Cocha, Brinn Tarver and Knives at a prestigious military academy where the Commonwealth sentences Cocha for her crimes. The generals reasoning is who better to fight are the Commonwealth when it's most notorious criminal is only a 17-year-old girl. Loved where this story took our three heroes on separate but intertwined soul-searching journeys to reach that climactic conclusion.

Not exactly a cliffhanger but I'm super excited to see where these three characters go next.

Book two, Explore the Skies, is to out on September 9th, 2019. 

Visit Maura Milan’s website.

The Witch Hunter by Virginia Boecker

Nicholas Perevil is a wizard and the leader of the Reformists, a group of wizards and non-wizards who support magic. Their aim is to have the Thirteenth Tablet, the one outlining the the laws against magic and the penalties for those caught practicing, abolished, thus ending the witch burnings. Magic was legal until the plague came. Perevil had the ear of the king and was one of his most trusted advisors. He was the most powerful wizard in all of Anglia. He started the plague in an attempt to kill his enemies and place himself on the throne. He didn’t count on the king’s son Malcolm or Blackwell, his Inquisitor, surviving. Now he is in hiding and King Malcolm and Blackwell are burning suspected witches on a weekly basis.

Elizabeth Grey is hiding a secret that no one, including her friend and partner Caleb, know. Both witch hunters, they live at Ravenscourt to blend in with the king’s servants so as not to become Reformist targets. She has made numerous mistakes over the past month, losing focus, because of her return to Ravenscourt. When the two go to arrest five necromancers, Elizabeth loses focus and one necromancer is killed. Caleb covers for her with the guards who haul the prisoners to Fleet, the prison. The guards leave and Elizabeth tries for some levity but Caleb wants to know what happened. She will have to tell anyone who asks the same story Caleb offered to the guards. If it gets back to Blackwell, he warns her that she knows what will happen. If she is questioned by Blackwell, he will wear her down during questioning and she will confess everything. No one, not even Caleb can learn her secrets. The two head towards The World’s End pub to meet some friends but pass by protests over that morning’s witch burnings. In the pub, Elizabeth is disheartened to realize that Caleb pulled out a chair for himself. When the talk turns to Christmas masque, her hopes are further dashed to hear that he has been seen in the company of Katherine Willoughby, one of Queen Margaret’s ladies-in-waiting. When the boys stand to leave, Elizabeth doesn’t initially notice, lost in her thoughts over Caleb. He is worried when she decides to stay behind, drinking the horrible ale, but she needs to be alone.

She orders lunch and moves to sit by the fireplace. Elizabeth is shocked to see when the door opens, that it is dark outside. She has spent the whole day there. Standing to leave, she finds that she is unsteady on her feet. A man catches her before she can fall and eventually introduces himself as Peter. He goes to lead her outside to get some fresh air and the two come across Peter’s friend, George. George tells Peter that she is the one he is looking for. Even though she is drunk, Peter questions whether or not she is able to talk. George thinks that they need to get her some place more private. The two men offer to take her back to the palace. She notices that they take less traveled paths on their way. Peter begins to question her. Even though she is drunk, Elizabeth is able to stick to her cover story about being a scullery maid. The two are disappointed when they realize that she is just “ordinary”. Peter comments that Veda must have wanted them to find someone else. They get to the palace gates and Peter tells Elizabeth  that George will help her get safely inside. The guard unlocks the gate and lets them inside. George announces that they are home. Looking puzzled, he laughs at Elizabeth and finally tells her that he is King Malcolm’s new fool.

Elizabeth takes George through a hidden passageway and tells him how to get back to his room. He keeps talking with her and she just wishes he would leave. She almost blows her cover when she asks him to the masque. Maids aren’t allowed to attend, but he could take her as his guest. She is able to recover and excuses herself to her room. Elizabeth is shocked to find Caleb waiting for her at the end of the hall outside of her room. He has been worried about her and wants to know where she has been. Still hurt over his unknown rejection earlier, she snaps at him. Caleb comments that she hasn’t seemed herself lately. He tells her that she can come to him for anything. Elizabeth allows him to help her to her room. The two are shocked to see Richard, one of King Malcolm's guards, waiting outside the door. Caleb thinks Richard is there for him but he uncomfortably states he is there to... you know. Caleb wheels on Elizabeth to ask what is going on. Elizabeth is too horrified to speak and Caleb gets agitated, demanding to know what is going on. She begs Caleb to stop, dizziness over taking her. Richard states that she needs to come with him but Caleb isn’t about to let that happen. There is a brief scuffle in the hallway. Caleb pulls a handful of herbs from Elizabeth’s pocket. Caleb realizes that they are witches’ herbs to prevent a woman from having a baby and wants to know why she has them. Caleb asks why she is going to see the king at midnight. Caleb tries to buy Richard’s silence but he will have nothing to do with. Caleb proclaims that Elizabeth isn’t a witch but Richard places her in handcuffs and reads her her rights. Instead of taking her to prison, he will take her to Blackwell immediately. Caleb says that he will be awaiting her return. This is all just a misunderstanding.  

Standing before Blackwell, Elizabeth finally tells him of how the king sends a guard to her room so that she can be escorted to his chambers. Elizabeth tried to avoid the king’s written messages as long as she could. She only had the herbs on her because she doesn’t want to become pregnant with the king’s child and sent away. He wants to know how long she has known that she was a witch. She vehemently denies his accusations. Her behavior is unexpected, especially since she surprised him by living past the first week of training at Ravenscourt. Now she is one of his best witch hunters. Blackwell informs her that she broke the law by possessing the herbs and another by killing the necromancer. He sees her as a liability and she needs to be punished. He hands her a sheet of parchment and asks if she knows what a Bill of Attainder is. Knowing that it isn’t a pardon, Elizabeth is shocked to learn that she is being accused of witchcraft and her punishment is death. She denies his claim and begs. Blackwell doesn’t hear her and has his guards escort her to Fleet to await the pyre.

Caleb finds Elizabeth at the Fleet. He promises to get her out and wishes he had known about the king. He confesses that he hadn’t noticed that she was no longer a scrawny little girl and believes that Blackwell hasn’t seen her for the woman she has become either. Caleb reluctantly leaves her behind to go plead her case to Blackwell. As the days pass and there is no word from Caleb, Elizabeth knows that time is running out. She realizes that she is ill and may actually die from sickness before she is burned. Exhausted, she falls asleep only to be awoken by footsteps. Thinking it is Caleb, she calls out but a man dressed in a robe stands at her cell door. She knows that he is not a guard but she doesn’t know who he is either. Elizabeth realizes that he is a wizard and she pleads for him to leave before Caleb arrives. He disintegrates the door and comes into her cell. He realizes that she is sick and tells Elizabeth that they must hurry. It is Saturday and the guards will be coming soon to take her to the pyre. He was told to find her.  They first thought it was a mistake but now knows that it’s not. He begs her to leave with him. She will be helping him as much as he will be helping her. Elizabeth tries to escape but he thwarts her efforts. She swings a punch but her fist passes through him and then one wizard becomes two. Another swing and two are now four. He begs her to stop and come with him. He can help her, keep her safe. Elizabeth makes another run for it but a coughing fit stops her. The wizard comes to her and pleads again. She sees him as a way to prove her innocence to Blackwell and agrees. Elizabeth ends up collapsing and the wizard picks her up. Walking by the other cells, she is mystified when the prisoners don’t shout for the guards but instead act reverent toward the wizard. She asks who he is. He apologizes for not telling her sooner and introduces himself as Nicholas Perevil. They reach an opening to the sewer and Elizabeth plots her attack to take him down. They hear the guards coming and Nicholas urges her on. She is barely able to follow him through. He carries her through the sewer tunnels until they come to an opening where a horse waits for them. Nicholas helps her on and sits behind her. He promises to take care of her. Elizabeth wonders if Caleb will miss her when she dies.

Is Elizabeth really a witch? What was Blackwell’s reasons for proclaiming Elizabeth a witch? Why did Nicholas Perevil rescue her from the Fleet? Who asked him to and why? Where is he taking her? Why was Blackwell so quick to find her guilty? Who are Peter and George? Who did they think Elizabeth is? Will Caleb come looking for her? What happens when Nicholas discovers that Elizabeth Grey is a witch hunter?

Elizabeth Grey’s story will be continue with book two in the series expected out in 2016.

Visit Virginia Boecker’s website.

The Testing trilogy by Joelle Charbonneau

Book one – The Testing 

The Seven Stages War left Earth a damaged and devastated world. The first four stages were brought about by manmade warfare on the Asian side of the planet and spread. During the last three stages, Earth retaliated against man for the biochemical destruction and radiation by unleashing earthquakes, hurricanes and tornadoes. The United Commonwealth chose the former site of Wichita, Kansas as its capital because of its non-strategic location and the fact it escaped the first four stages of the war. Its new name is Tosu City.

Malencia "Cia" Vale resides in the Five Lakes colony with her parents and four older brothers. Five Lakes is one of the smallest and farthest colonies from Tosu City. She is graduating today. At sixteen, she is by far the youngest member of her class. Cia is hoping that she will be chosen for The Testing. Only the best and brightest graduates are chosen by the Commonwealth for the program. Her eldest brother, Zeen, was disappointed when he wasn’t chosen for The Testing. Their father was and attended the university where he learned to genetically alter plants and trees to be able to survive in Earth's blighted soil. His sons work with him. Cia has also been offed a job but she is more mechanically inclined and usually kills plants. Rumors swirl at the ceremony that a special guest will make an announcement. Cia is disappointed when no one is chosen for The Testing. The rumor was just a rumor after all.

The next morning, Cia's mother persuades her to go to Kip Drysten's to ask him for a job. He repairs farm equipment. Cia is relieved when he is out on a job and won’t be home for several days. She rides to the town square and is relieved that most people there are too busy to speak to her. Cia finally begins the ride back home to help her mother prepare for her graduation party that night. On the way, she runs into one of her brothers. Magistrate Owens had sent a message to their father requesting Cia's appearance at her house in just under an hour. She has to hurry to make it.

It turns out that Cia is the last to arrive. Also sitting at Magistrate Owens's house are three of her fellow graduates; Tomas Endress, Malachi Rourke and Zandri Hicks. Cia sits next to Tomas when he smiles and motions for her to sit next to him. Owens apologizes for the short notice and introduces Michal Gallen, a Tosu City official. He was supposed to attend the graduation ceremony but was delayed. He reads from a sheet of paper explaining The Testing. He ends his speech by announcing that all four of them have been chosen. They will leave in the morning. When Zandri ask if she can decline, Michael informs her that she doesn't have a choice; it is the law. Failure for not presenting oneself for The Testing is a form of treason. Everyone in the room knows that treason is punishable by death.

Cia returns home to tell her family and finds her party is in full swing. Her father is the first to notice the official United Commonwealth bag hanging from her shoulder and he immediately announces to everyone what it means. Her brothers are the first to congratulate her but she notices that her eldest brother Zeen slipping out of the room. The party turns out to be Cia's last chance to tell her friends goodbye. While helping her mother clean up afterwards, her mother weighs in on what Cia take with her. Her father comes and asks if he can take a walk with Cia to spend a little quiet time. They head out into the garden. He tells her that should have never been chosen. Shocked and angry at first, Cia cannot believe the secrets that her father divulges. He tells her to trust no one. She is no longer sure what she should expect at The Testing.

What is the purpose of The Testing? Why was Cia and the others from Five Lakes chosen after so many years of no candidates? Are the horrors that her father remembers really true? Can Cia trust the one boy from home who wants to form an alliance? Will Cia or anyone else survive? 

Book two – Independent Study

“Failure is not an option.”

Book three – Graduation Day
 
“The final test is the deadliest"

 Visit Joelle Charbonneau’s website.

Prized by Caragh O'Brien (Birthmarked book 2)

SPOILER ALERT! If you haven’t read Birthmarked, Stop! I don’t want to ruin the story for you.

A couple of weeks have passed since the climatic ending of Birthmarked. Gaia Stone and her newborn sister, Maya, are traveling to the dead forest in search her grandmother, Dani Orien. With both of her parents dead, her brother missing and Gaia herself a wanted girl. She flees the Enclave and Leon in hopes of securing her freedom. But when the formula for Maya runs out and it looks like she won’t live, Gaia is found by a man and he takes the two by horseback to his village. At Sylum, Gaia meets the Matrarc. A wet nurse is found for Maya and the Matrarc informs Gaia that her grandmother has been dead for ten years and she is her replacement. Maya will remain in the village if she lives but Gaia has a choice to make. Visitors can only remain in the village for two days before becoming tied to it. If anyone tries to leave after that time, they become sick and die.

Gaia learns that Sylum is ruled by the women. Their population is steadily dwindling since only one in ten babies born is female. Since she knowingly risked her sister’s life, Gaia is imprisoned. During the night, she thinks she hears Maya crying. Breaking the window slats keeping her prisoner in the lodge, Gaia walks around the village searching for her sister; she soon realizes that the cries are that of a woman in labor. She goes in the cabin and meets Dinah and Josephine. Gaia helps Josephine deliver her daughter and Dinah gives her the scoop on village life. Both Dinah and Josephine are outcasts or libbies since they refuse to marry and have the requisite ten children to repopulate the village. They tell Gaia as a woman and a midwife, she could become influential figure in the village if she chose to stay.

Gaia discovers the window has been fixed and she has no choice but to go to the neighboring lodge for assistance. Norris lets her in and tells Gaia that the Matrarc is waiting for her. He gives her a tea tray and tells her where to go. The Matrarc has Gaia sit down and asks where she has been. She is pleased to learn that Gaia is a midwife and that it changes things. The Matrarc asks to feel/study her face since she is blind. Gaia is uncomfortable due to her scar but eventually relents. The Matrarc can tell she is full of loss not only for her parents but a boyfriend she left behind. In the end, she offers Gaia a deal, stay and be the village midwife and go to school. She can see her sister on occasion but she will have a mother who can care for her. Or she still has time to leave Sylum behind. She lets Gaia know that there are a few rules to life in the village. Men cannot touch women and women speak first. Gaia is surprised but the Matrarc explains with such a disparity between the number of men and women, a woman can be free to choose who she wishes to marry. Finally she lets Gaia know that “any tender touch, any kiss, is strictly illegal until you choose the man you want to marry.”

Will Gaia decide to stay in Sylum? What happens when she butts heads with the Matrarc over personal choice? Why is the male to female ratio in the village so disproportional? And when Leon comes looking for Gaia, what does the Matrarc do?

Join Gaia on her journey of self discovery. Her story will be concluded in Promised due out in 2012.

Visit Caragh O’Brien’s website.

Mistwood by Leah Cypess

"The Shifter is an immortal creature bound by an ancient spell to protect the kings of Samorna. When the realmis peaceful, she retreats to the Mistwood.
But when she is needed she always comes."

Her ankle was hurt or she would have ran. But something made her wait for the prince. He made it through her old forest and called out to her, "Isabel?" She was unable to flee and instead claws at the prince's face. The prince pulls a crystal bracelet out from a pouch and she instinctively holds out her wrist. The prince says "Isabel, by the Shifter's Seal on your wrist, do you swear to serve me and mine with all your abilities and powers, to defend us and protect us and keep us safe from all harm?" Then he asks if she will come to his castle with him and she accepts.Isabel is a Shifter, or at least that is what they tell her she is. Unfortunately she doesn't remember, anything. Not who she is or what her powers are. Prince Rokan has brought her to his castle because he needs her powers to ensure his reign. As Iasbel tries to keep her ignorance under wraps, Prince Rokan and his domineering sister Clarisse begin to see through her. Fortunately Isabel realizes that Rokan is lying to her but she still feels the overpowering need to protect him. Isabel soon finds that Ven, the sorcerer's apprentice who wishes to study the Shifter, may be her only ally, especially after an attempt is made on Prince Rokan's life.

Isabel knows something is wrong, not only in the kingdom, but with her. She is unable to shift on demand. Isabel can make minor changes to her appearance or to her body while in the heat of battle. A full change is not possible. Isabel struggles with her feelings but feelings are a human trait, something that the Shifter should not have to deal with. What happens with the trust is shattered between Isabel and Rokan? Will Isabel figure out what exactly is happening to her since she cannot shift? And where do Isabel's loyalities lie, with Prince Rokan or the Kaer, the "true" prince?

The plot twist at the end of the novel really caught me off guard. I wasn't expecting it. Leah Cypess is currently working on a companion novel, Nightspell.

Visit Leah Cypess website.