Whiteout by Dhonielle Clayton, Tiffany D. Jackson, Nic Stone, Angie Thomas, Ashley Woodfolk, and Nicola Yoon

 

“Atlanta is blanketed with snow just before Christmas, but the warmth of young love just might melt the ice in this novel of interwoven narratives, Black joy, and cozy, sparkling romance—by the same unbeatable team of authors who wrote the New York Times bestseller Blackout!

As the city grinds to a halt, twelve teens band together to help a friend pull off the most epic apology of her life. But will they be able to make it happen, in spite of the storm?

No one is prepared for this whiteout. But then, we can’t always prepare for the magical moments that change everything.” - taken from Goodreads.

It almost seems like the previous collaboration between these authors, Blackout, was the warm up for the awesomeness that was Whiteout. The setting of Atlanta during a snowstorm is the backdrop for a group of friends trying to help a friend make a grand gesture of apology while making their own love connections. Working towards a common ending caused me to be more connected with the entire story arc. A definite read.

These Twisted Bonds by Lexi Ryan (These Hollow Vows book 2)

 

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

“Brie finds herself caught between two princes and two destinies while the future of the fae realm hangs in the balance.

After Abriella's sister was sold to the fae, she thought life couldn't get any worse. But when she suddenly finds herself caught in a web of lies of her own making ­- loving two princes and trusting neither - things are not quite as clear as she once thought.

As civil war wages in the Court of Darkness, Brie finds herself unable to choose a side. How can she know where she stands when she doesn't even know herself anymore? In this darkly romantic thrill ride, the more Faerie is torn apart from the inside, the clearer it becomes that prophecies don't lie and Brie has a role to play in the fate of this magical realm - whether she likes it or not.” - taken from Goodreads.

This book was the conclusion to Brie’s journey to fae and the deception that she found there. With never a dull moment and a few surprises thrown in along the way, fand of the series will be satisfied with the ending.

Visit Lexi Ryan’s website.

Serious Moonlight by Jenn Bennett

 

“After an awkward first encounter, Birdie and Daniel are forced to work together in a Seattle hotel where a famous author leads a mysterious and secluded life in this romantic contemporary novel from the author of Alex, Approximately.

Mystery-book aficionado Birdie Lindberg has an overactive imagination. Raised in isolation and homeschooled by strict grandparents, she’s cultivated a whimsical fantasy life in which she plays the heroic detective and every stranger is a suspect. But her solitary world expands when she takes a job the summer before college, working the graveyard shift at a historic Seattle hotel.

In her new job, Birdie hopes to blossom from introverted dreamer to brave pioneer, and gregarious Daniel Aoki volunteers to be her guide. The hotel’s charismatic young van driver shares the same nocturnal shift and patronizes the waterfront Moonlight Diner where she waits for the early morning ferry after work. Daniel also shares her appetite for intrigue, and he’s stumbled upon a real-life mystery: a famous reclusive writer—never before seen in public—might be secretly meeting someone at the hotel.

To uncover the writer’s puzzling identity, Birdie must come out of her shell…discovering that the most confounding mystery of all may be her growing feelings for the elusive riddle that is Daniel.” - taken from Goodreads.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book about Birdie, who is a mystery enthusiast. She gets a job at a local hotel on the graveyard shift but is shocked to find that the cute boy she ran out on after an embarrassing first encounter is a coworker. Unable to stay away from one another, the two bond over the curious comings and goings of a reclusive mystery author who frequents the hotel. As the two grow closer, they learn that each is hiding secrets that need to be discovered.

Visit Jenn Bennett’s website.

Talk Santa to Me by Linda Urban

“Francie was born in a stable. Really. Granted, it was the deluxe model with the light-up star on the roof, one of the many Christmas items for sale at her family’s Hollydale Holiday Shop. Their holiday gift empire also includes the Santa School, which was founded by Francie’s beloved grandpa, who recently passed away.

Francie’s always loved working in the shop, but lately Aunt Carole has been changing everything with her ideas for too-slick, Hollywood-inspired Santas and horrible holiday-themed employee uniforms. Aunt Carole’s vision will ruin all the charm and nostalgia Francie loves about her family’s business…unless she does something about it.

But this winter is about more than preserving the magic of Christmas. Francie is saving up for a car and angling to kiss the cute boy who works at the tree lot next door—hopefully it will be good enough to wipe her fiasco of a first kiss from her memory.

As the weather outside gets more and more frightful, can Francie pull off the holiday of her dreams?” - taken from Goodreads.

This book was not the cute holiday romance story that I thought it was. Instead, Francie’s family business is Christmas but since the death of her Grandpa Chris, things have been strained, especially since the arrival of her aunt. She is working to save money for a car but she wouldn’t mind a kiss from the cute boy who works across the street at a tree lot. When her father is unable to fulfill his role as Santa for a cable TV broadcast, Francie is forced to become Santa’s intern. When the letters to Santa’s intern start flooding into the store, can Francie rediscover the magic of Santa in the wake of her healing?

Visit Linda Urban’s website.
 

A Show for Two by Tashie Bhuiyan

 

“Mina Rahman has a plan for her future:

• Finally win the Golden Ivy student film competition

• Get into her dream school across the country

• Leave New York City behind once and for all

Mina’s ticket to winning the competition falls into her lap when indie film star—and known heartbreaker—Emmitt Ramos enrolls in her high school under a secret identity to research his next role. When Mina sets out to persuade Emmitt to join her cause, he offers her a deal instead: he'll be in her short film…if she acts as a tour guide to help him with a photography contest.

As Mina ventures across the five boroughs with Emmitt by her side, the city she grew up in starts to look different and more like home than it ever has before. With the competition deadline looming, Mina's dreams—which once seemed impenetrable—begin to crumble, and she’s forced to ask herself: Is winning worth losing everything?” - taken from Goodreads.

Mina Rahman cannot wait to Leave New York City and head to California to attend film school. In order to make her dreams come true, she is determined for her school’s film club to win a prestigious competition. Her golden ticket arrives at her school in the form of Emmitt Ramos, a up and coming bad boy movie star, who is there to prepare for an upcoming role. The two make a mutual deal. Emmitt will appear in the film if Mina will help him with a photography contest he has entered. When the pressure of Mina’s home life and desire to escape from her parents begins to affect her various relationships, will she risk everything and everyone in order to leave NYC? A great story about who and what makes a family and home for a person.

Visit Tashie Bhuiyan’s website.

Rust in the Root by Justina Ireland

 

“It is 1937, and Laura Ann Langston lives in an America divided—between those who work the mystical arts and those who do not. Ever since the Great Rust, a catastrophic event that blighted the arcane force called the Dynamism and threw America into disarray, the country has been rebuilding for a better future. And everyone knows the future is industry and technology—otherwise known as Mechomancy—not the traditional mystical arts.

Laura disagrees. A talented young mage from Pennsylvania, Laura hopped a portal to New York City on her seventeenth birthday with hopes of earning her mage’s license and becoming something more than a rootworker

But six months later, she’s got little to show for it other than an empty pocket and broken dreams. With nowhere else to turn, Laura applies for a job with the Bureau of the Arcane’s Conservation Corps, a branch of the US government dedicated to repairing the Dynamism so that Mechomancy can thrive. There she meets the Skylark, a powerful mage with a mysterious past, who reluctantly takes Laura on as an apprentice.

As they’re sent off on their first mission together into the heart of the country’s oldest and most mysterious Blight, they discover the work of mages not encountered since the darkest period in America’s past, when Black mages were killed for their power—work that could threaten Laura’s and the Skylark’s lives, and everything they’ve worked for.” - taken from Goodreads.

Rust in the Root is another great historical fantasy by Justina Ireland. Told in an alternative history of the US Great Depression during 1937, Laura Ann Langston has dreams of sing her abilities in the mystical arts to create cakes that are works of art. Down on her luck in New York City, Laura must join the Negro Conservation Corp in order to survive. Never properly trained in her abilities, she and her mentor learn that dark and dangerous forces are behind the Great Blight that will test their abilities.

Visit Justina Ireland’s website.

With and Without You by Emily Wibberley & Austin Siegemund-Broka

 

“If high school seniors Siena and Patrick were a superlative, they'd be the Couple Most Likely to Marry. They've been dating for three solid years, and everyone agrees they're perfect for each other. But with college on the horizon, Siena begins to wonder whether staying together is the best idea. Does she really want to be tied down during possibly the most transformative years of her life? So she makes a decision to break up with Patrick, convincing herself it's for the best. Before she can say the words, though, he beats her to the punch: his family is moving out of state. Caught off guard by the news, Siena agrees to stay with Patrick, believing their relationship will naturally fizzle out with time and distance. But over a series of visits throughout the school year, Siena begins to see a different side of Patrick--one that has her falling in love with him all over again.” - taken from Goodreads.

After three uneventful years of dating, Siena is ready to break things off with Patrick. Before she can end their relationship, Patrick announces that he is moving from Phoenix to Austin, Texas for their senior year of high school. The two decided to try their relationship long distance. Taking place over the next year, will Siena decide to stay with Patrick or finally end things between the two of them?

Visit Emily & Austin’s website.