Tag Archive | magic

Reader response to Kat, Incorrigible, by Stephanie Burgis! TBT book review

Jan17
book cover of Katt Incorrigible by Stephanie Burgis. Published by Simon Kids | recommended on BooksYALove.com

Would a proper young lady in 1803 raise her voice?
Dress like a boy? Use magic? Never!
But of course, Kat would!

I love to hear from readers, especially when they’ve just read a great book I recommended some years ago – and it’s still in print! Happy #throwbackThursday!

Bethany recently found my recommendation of Kat, Incorrigible (here) while doing homework research about fashion during the Regency period in England.

She suggests visiting this website to learn more about Regency fashion – no wonder Kat wanted to escape all those petticoats and wear trousers (shocking!) to walk outdoors for secret magic practice!

All three volumes of this magical series are available in paperback.

Thanks for adding to our resource list, Bethany!
**kmm

She must learn Rules for Thieves to survive! by Alexandra Ott (book review)

Nov21

book cover of Rules for Thieves, by Alexandra Ott. Published by Aladdin | recommended on BooksYALove.comEscape or be a servant?
Starve or steal?
Trust someone or be captured?

Alli has very few choices when Beck arrives on the scene, but taking his help will involve her in a dangerous guild – only way she can stop the curse from killing her, though!

Read chapter 1 free on publisher’s website, then scurry to your local library or independent bookstore for the first part of Alli and Beck’s adventure – book two, The Shadow Thieves, was published in June 2018!

What’s your moral compass when survival is at stake?
**kmm

Book info: Rules for Thieves (Rules for Thieves, book 1) / Alexandra Ott. Aladdin Books, 2017 hardcover, 2018 paperback. [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: As the curse moves toward her heart, 12-year-old orphan Alli must decide if she can sacrifice her principles to join the Thieves’ Guild for a chance to buy the cure.

Escaping from the orphanage is easy; not being caught by the city Protectors (again) is more difficult, so Alli accepts a strange boy’s offer to help – what a mistake!

A glancing blow of magic lodges a deadly curse under her skin; Beck knows how she can get money for the cure, so they head for his country – such a journey!

Of course he didn’t tell her the whole truth… entering the Thieves’ Guild is near-impossible for outsiders, but as the curse’s dark tendrils wind ever-nearer to her heart, she’s got to try!

When her initiation quest goes terrible wrong, Alli balances on a knife’s edge – her life or the lives of many?

In a foreign city, on a desperate mission – follow the Guild rules or what she knows is right?

Book one in the series, followed by The Shadow Thieves.

The merest Touch of Gold endangers all, by Annie Sullivan (book review)

Nov16

book cover of A Touch of Gold by Annie Sullivan. Published by BlinkYA | recommended on BooksYALove.comGold calls to her,
like the Sirens call sailors on her ship,
like a friendly voice finally calls her from the castle…

Dangerous waters ahead for the golden-hued daughter of King Midas, restored from entrapment as a living gold statue to human form by a sacrifice that ages her father and keeps her locked away.

Only she can retrieve his stolen treasure trove and save his life – but at what cost to herself and superstitious companions?

This retelling of the King Midas story sails the seas, bringing Kora closer and closer to the stolen gold which could trap her once again.

What have you wished for and ultimately were glad not to get?
**kmm

Book info: A Touch of Gold / Annie Sullivan. BlinkYA, 2018. [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Locked away for years after sacrifice saved her from being a statue forever, golden-skinned Kora must travel foreign seas to save her father Midas’s kingdom.

Her uncle will gladly marry Kora off in an alliance to bolster the kingdom, if anyone is brave enough to see if she’s inherited her father’s Touch.

King Midas is slipping deeper into madness after his Touch-made treasures are stolen – can Kora bring them back before it’s too late?

The gold hoard’s call to her is as alluring as the Sirens’ song is to sailors – can she resist keeping it for herself?

Every person hides secrets – are any as dangerous as Kora’s glittering abilities?

As long as her gloves keep gold from touching her skin,
as long as Duke Royce can help her find her father’s treasures,
as long as her best friend and cousin Hettie believes in her…
perhaps the Touch won’t consume Kora after all.

Feathered Serpent, Dark Heart of Sky: Myths of Mexico, by David Bowles (book review)

Nov2

book cover of Feathered Serpent, Dark Heart of Sky: Myths of Mexico, by David Bowles. Published by Cinco Puntos Press | recommended on BooksYALove.comGods walk the earth,
demigods arise, humans also,
in the lands we now call Mexico.

As a single narrative, this recounting of the traditional tales of creation and learning, good and evil, progress and conquest runs from the pre-dawn of the First Age through the rise of civilization with the Toltecs, Maya, and Aztecs to the coming of the Spanish whose swords and diseases killed so many and whose religion silenced these stories.

Encounter Aztec and Maya names that you might recognize, like Kukulkan and the ancient city of Chichen Itza, and many more whom you need to meet (some from as far away as possible, like god of war Huitzilopochtli).

Other mythic traditions we should pay more attention to?
**kmm

Book info: Feathered Serpent, Dark Heart of Sky: Myths of Mexico / David Bowles. Cinco Puntos Press, 2018. [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: The myths threading through the ancestral memories of Mexico’s native peoples are brought together here in an entrancing narrative that spans the five ages.

World-shaking jealousy between bright-burning Heart of Sky and knowledge-bringing Feathered Serpent raged over millenia, the Hero Twins journeyed down into the lands of Death, the gods toyed with human kingdoms throughout time to turn peaceful allies into feuding neighbors – so many stories of loyalty and betrayal wind through the history of the place now called Mexico.

Discover the origin of the mosquito and spider monkey, learn how the Mixteca-Cloud People were born of river trees and challenged Lord Sun himself, wonder as eagle, wolf, and jaguar journey with Ce Acatl Quetzalcoatl as willing sacrifices to the temple where his bloodthirsty uncles await.

Weaving together separate Toltec, Maya, and Aztec traditional tales with accents from Purepecha, Zapotec, and many more kingdoms, this deeply researched story-stream begins before humankind existed and ends with the near-erasure of the peoples of Mesoamerica by Spanish conquistadors.

Can her Sleepless knight find the assassin? by Sarah Vaughn & Leila Del Duca (book review)

Oct25

book cover of Sleepless, by Sarah Vaughn and Leila Del Duca. Published by Image Comics. | recommended on BooksYALove.comHer father dead, a new king crowned.
Her destiny unclear, her life in peril!
O, that she could read the stars as her mother does, so far away!

As a royal daughter, Lady Pyppenia (Poppy to her friends) knows she has little control over her future, but she hadn’t imagined falling in love with her protector!

See the first few pages here (thank you, artist preview service) to meet Lady Poppy, her late father, and the Sleepless knight Cyrenic who swore to protect her by staying ever-awake (burning the candle of his own life at both ends). Her adorable long-eared animal friend Bini has an important role in this multicultural story, too.

If healing now would take away time from the end of your life, would you do it?
**kmm

Book info: Sleepless / Sarah Vaughn, illustrated by Leila Del Duca, with Alissa Sallah and Deron Bennett. Image Comics, 2018. [artist Twitter] [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Shadows deepen in Harbeny as assassins target Lady Pyppenia, teen daughter of the late king and Mrebeshi star-reader Amena, under the protection of a magically Sleepless knight.

Each minute that Cyrenic is Sleepless removes time from his life; the strength of his bond to Lady Poppy may weaken his hold on the present as well, just as three attempts are made to kill her!

The new king orders lovely dark Poppy as companion to his pale daughter just arrived from Etland, but can the cousins ever become friends?

Princess Rellen will someday become queen, while Lady Poppy never could – why is Lord Helder wooing them both?

Poppy just wants to leave Harbeny and go back to her mother’s country – what reason does King Surno have for keeping her here?

May the Stars watch over Lady Poppy amid court intrigue, and Time keep her Sleepless knight Cyrenic in the present as his increasing drifts into the past could rob him of full attention to the dangers of now in this richly colored graphic novel collecting volumes 1-6 of the ongoing comic series.

Light ever has a shadow – The Crescent Stone, by Matt Mikalatos (book review)

Sep27

book cover of The Crescent Stone by Matt Mikalatos, published by Tyndale | recommended on BooksYALove.comNo cure for her lung disease,
so little time remains –
how should she live to make the most of it?

Who could blame Madeline for making a bargain with the shimmering man who promises that if she leaves this world for just a year, the teen’s fatal lung disease will vanish?!

However, there’s more to the story, including a grieving classmate who goes with Maddy to the joyously bright magical kingdom and now must fight their war against an impoverished and bitter nation, one night soon with no magic to protect her, and beings of many descriptions and temperaments.

Bargain to avoid death or stand fast?
**kmm

Book info: The Crescent Stone (The Sunlit Lands, book 1) / Matt Mikalatos. Tyndale, 2018. [author site]  [series website] [publisher site]  [book trailer] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: A year serving the beautiful Elanil in exchange for curing her fatal lung disease sounds like a worthwhile bargain to Madeline, but when she and classmate Jason leave behind our world for realms of magic and war, they rethink their choice – between battles and luxury, alliances formed and broken, secrets kept and told.

Being acclaimed by competing nations as “the one foretold” to save them, Maddy worries about Jason on the front lines with his war unicorn, her boyfriend left behind on human Earth before she could tell him about leaving, and what other unexpected things will be required during her year of service.

If the vicious Scim warriors can capture her, the Elanil kingdom will be in dire peril.
If Maddie heeds the advice of other nations, both could fall.
If she isn’t true to her agreement with the Elanil, this breath will be her last…

First in a series with many good questions and few answers yet!

A little witchy, a lot of Undead Girl Gang! by Lily Anderson (book review)

Sep18

book cover of Undead Girl Gang by Lily Anderson, published by Razorbill | recommended on BooksYALove.comUnsolved deaths of teen girls!
BFF didn’t commit suicide, Mila knows…
Now, to find the right spell to bring her back…

But of course, things don’t go the way that the teen Wiccan planned, and soon there are three zombie-like girls in their small town (two of whom she and Riley really couldn’t stand when they were alive), trying to figure out who killed them before they die for good in a week!

And the undead girls – whether they like each other or not – must stay close to Mila or their bodies go back to eewww…

Any other not-quite-zombie books to recommend?
**kmm

Book info: Undead Girl Gang / Lily Anderson. Razorbill, 2018.  [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

My book talk: Bringing back her best friend Riley from the dead was a little easier than Mila expected, but when her spell also calls back two classmates they can’t stand, the California teen finds herself with three undead teen girls who won’t stay out of sight during the seven days they have back on earth find out who killed them all.

What if their families see them?
What if they can’t solve the mystery?
What if Mila’s coven is right about this spell being wrong?

Listen, listen to maker-stories – free this week!

May24

This week’s free audiobooks from SYNC include stories about young women creating something personal and important.

Download these complete audiobooks from Thursday through Wednesday 24-30 May, so you can listen to them using a free Audible app, as long as they’re on your computer or electronic device.

Click on the link for either or both books to start the simple download process.

CD Cover of When Dimple Met Rishi, by Sandhya Menon | Read by Sneha Mathan, Vikas Adam Published by Dreamscape Media | recommended on BooksYALove.comWhen Dimple Met Rishi (download here free from May 24-30, 2018)
by Sandhya Menon
Read by Sneha Mathan, Vikas Adam
Published by Dreamscape Media

Dimple wants to win the app development contest, Mom wants to arrange the ideal Indian marriage, and Rishi wants Dimple to agree with their parents that he is the one for her! Was a summer after graduation ever so complicated?  (I recommended this fun book last May at https://booksyalove.com/?p=8797)
 
Baker’s Magic (download here free from May 24-30, 2018)CD cover of Baker's Magic, by Diane Zahler | Read by Tavia Gilbert, Michael Crouch, Stephen DeRosa, Kenneth Cavett, L.J. Ganser, Robin Miles, Stina Nielsen, Elisabeth Rodgers Published by Live Oak Media | recommended on BooksYALove.com
by Diane Zahler
Read by Tavia Gilbert, Michael Crouch, Stephen DeRosa, Kenneth Cavett, L.J. Ganser, Robin Miles, Stina Nielsen, Elisabeth Rodgers
Published by Live Oak Media

Bee discovers that her baking reflects her moods, a rare gift that takes the 12 year old orphan from small village to castle to pirate ship as she helps a new (and royal) friend escape an evil mage.

What stories about creating and making would you recommend?
**kmm

M is Messenger with psychic gift she doesn’t want! by Carol Lynch Williams (book review)

Apr14

book cover of Messenger by Carol Lynch Williams, published by Simon & Schuster BFYR | recommended on BooksYALove.comHer Gift arrives at age 15!
For cookery or fixing any hair, like her aunts?
Oh no! Not talking to ghosts?!

Maybe Evie will be the one Messenger in her family line who doesn’t have a psychic gift…nope! The Florida teen can see and hear and communicate with dead people!

How can that girl Tommie get into their house without Evie’s momma and stepdad hearing her?

Should Evie really kiss cute Buddy from across the street?

Wild thunderstorms, seeing dead people, and going to a new high school – what a birthday week!

Yes or no for seeing dead people yourself?
**kmm

Book info: Messenger / Carol Lynch Williams. Paula Wiseman Books (Simon Schuster), 2016 (hardcover), 2017 (paperback). [author site] [publisher site] Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.

Is ARROW OF LIGHTNING power enough? by Joseph Bruchac (book review)

Mar29

book cover of Arrow of Lightning by Joseph Bruchac published by Lee and Low | recommended on BooksYALove.comBecome the hunters, not the hunted.
Avoid the monsters, human and otherwise.
Survive without killing the human ones?

So many genetically-modified creatures are out to get Lozen, Hussein, and the others who’ve escaped from the Ones who torture for fun. Perhaps she can protect her family and friends without taking a human life…

As Killer of Enemies (my review here) in the tech-blasted future, Lozen had to obey the Ones, or her family would be killed.

Along the Trail of the Dead, Lozen’s family is larger and the dangers are immense.

Arrow of Lightning is a super wrap-up of this #ownvoices trilogy – Lozen is on my heroes list.

To save your family, what lengths would you go to?
**kmm

Book info: Arrow of Lightning (Killer of Enemies, book 3) / Joseph Bruchac. Lee and Low Books, 2017. [author site]  [publisher site]  Review copy and cover image courtesy of the publisher.