Midnight Strikes by Zeba Shahnaz

“Seventeen-year-old Anaïs just wants tonight to end. As an outsider at the kingdom’s glittering anniversary ball, she has no desire to rub shoulders with the nation’s most eligible (and pompous) bachelors—especially not the notoriously roguish Prince Leo. But at the stroke of midnight, an explosion rips through the palace, killing everyone in its path. Including her.

The last thing Anaïs sees is fire, smoke, chaos . . . and then she wakes up in her bedroom, hours before the ball. No one else remembers the deadly attack or believes her warnings of disaster.

Not even when it happens again. And again. And again.

If she’s going to escape this nightmarish time loop, Anaïs must take control of her own fate and stop the attack before it happens. But the court's gilded surface belies a rotten core, full of restless nobles grabbing at power, discontented commoners itching for revolution, and even royals who secretly dream of taking the throne. It's up to Anaïs to untangle these knots of deadly deceptions . . . if she can survive past midnight.” - taken from Goodreads.

Anaïs keeps reliving the night of the Anniversary Ball over and over again trying to find a way to stop the destruction that takes place as the bells toll midnight. Never forgetting what had happened the previous nights, Anaïs is able to continually build in the information she has already gathered. As the recurring days go on, will Anaïs be able to discover why the time curse started and how she can hope to stop it, before it's too late. 

Visit Zeba Shahnaz’s website.

Evermore by Sara Holland (Everless book 2)

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

Check out Book Series Recaps for a refresher of the first book.

Please visit the Recaptains blog if you need a refresher of the first book.

“Time is a weapon only she can wield.”

“Jules Ember was raised hearing legends of the ancient magic of the wicked Alchemist and the good Sorceress. But she has just learned the truth: not only are the stories true, but she herself is the Alchemist, and Caro—a woman who single-handedly murdered the Queen and Jules’s first love, Roan, in cold blood—is the Sorceress.

The whole kingdom believes that Jules is responsible for the murders, and a hefty bounty has been placed on her head. And Caro is intent on destroying Jules, who stole her heart twelve lifetimes ago. Jules must delve into the stories that she now recognizes are accounts of her own past. For it is only by piecing together the mysteries of her lives that Jules will be able to save the person who has captured her own heart in this one.” - taken from Goodreads.com

Picking up immediately where Everless ended, Jules continues her journey to find a way to stop Caro before it's too late. The way this story ended came as a complete shock to me. I wasn't expecting the twist that came at the end. My only regret is that I didn't pick up the second book sooner. 

Visit Sara Holland’s website.

Everless by Sara Holland (Everless book 1)

“Time is a prison. She is the key.”

“In the kingdom of Sempera, time is currency—extracted from blood, bound to iron, and consumed to add time to one’s own lifespan. The rich aristocracy, like the Gerlings, tax the poor to the hilt, extending their own lives by centuries.

No one resents the Gerlings more than Jules Ember. A decade ago, she and her father were servants at Everless, the Gerlings’ palatial estate, until a fateful accident forced them to flee in the dead of night. When Jules discovers that her father is dying, she knows that she must return to Everless to earn more time for him before she loses him forever.

But going back to Everless brings more danger—and temptation—than Jules could have ever imagined. Soon she’s caught in a tangle of violent secrets and finds her heart torn between two people she thought she’d never see again. Her decisions have the power to change her fate—and the fate of time itself.” - taken from Goodreads.com

I don't remember what exactly brought this book to my attention but I bought it fairly soon after it came out. For one thing, I don't think there is one single thing about this book that I didn't enjoy! Full of mysteries and deadly secrets, Jules is desperate to spare her father's life that she will go against his wishes. Going back to the place where she grew up and was banished from in order to earn a little money, Jewels reconnects with old friends and enemies when making new ones. Stepping into the lion's den, Jules doesn't realize how much danger she is in until it is too late. 

Filled with secrets and jaw dropping revelations, readers will devour this book only to find themselves waiting for the next one.

The story continues with Evermore in 2019.

Visit Sara Holland’s website.