The Princess Trap by Kirsten Boie

When new “princess” Jenna, her long lost cousin Melena and their friend Jonas save their country, everything is great, right? Not so much. After an unflattering picture of Jenna appears in newspapers around the world and she discovers her boy-crush kissing another girl she has had it. Jenna runs away but stumbles across mother’s boyfriend’s son, Perry, who is on the run for his own reasons. They decide to hang low for awhile but when Perry gets back from buying some food, you’ll never believe what he has found: An explanation of the shortages of food and necessities which having been occurring in Scandia, their beloved country, that everyone assumes was caused by the rebels. But last year, when the rebels helped Jenna, she found that things aren’t always as they seem and that includes people. Could her father, whom she just met for the first time last year before he was forced into exile, be the cause of another crisis in Scandia? If he’s isn’t in charge, then who is?


This was an excellent book with cliff-hanger ending chapters. I highly recommend it but advise reading the first book in the series, The Princess Plot by the same author first. I loved that the book had different viewpoints so there were many different things and sub-plots going on. I really enjoyed both of the books. They are a great combination of mystery, fantasy & politics.

~Taylor

Starry, Starry Night: Three Holiday Story by Lurlene McDaniel

Lurlene McDaniel is an amazing author. I have read a few of her books before so I was really interested in this book about the holidays. It contains three short stories, each with a powerful message. 

The first, “Christmas Child,” begins with 15-year-old Melanie being very excited about this Christmas because her mother is expecting her second child. When the baby is born, something is terribly wrong. After finally hearing the prognosis Melanie is upset that she will never truly know her baby sister, Jennifer, and begins to question why Jennifer was born in the first place. Jennifer teaches Melanie and her family the power of love.

The next story is about Brenda who finds out a boy, Doug, who has cancer, thinks the world of her, and he isn’t getting much better. She has never met him but once she does, Brenda likes him, but just as friends as her heart is set on Matt Forrester. She mistakenly accepts dates with both boys on the same night.  How will she solve this dilemma and live with her conscience? “Last Dance” is a true friendship story.

 In “Kathy’s Life,” Kathy seems to have it all, a beautiful house, a great life and the perfect job, she is a live-in babysitter for a wealthy couple. Ellie, another girl, is from a broken family whose mom is working two jobs just to get by. The girls get paired for an English project and Ellie is extremely jealous of Kathy’s life. Though a series of events, Ellie discovers that things are not always as they seem and learns to be careful what she wishes for.

Even if you don’t have time to read a whole novel, each of these stories is special on its own, especially if you enjoy books about teenagers who overcome challenging and unusual personal situations.

- Taylor

Wishful Thinking by Alexandra Bullen

When Hazel turns 18, her “step” father gives her the birth certificate with her biological mother’s name on it. She had been put up for adoption at birth and when her adoptive mother died she was moved from foster home to foster home until her adoptive father became sober and asked her to come back home until she graduated that summer. After doing some research, Hazel finds out her birth mother is a painter, much like Hazel who likes photography, and has a show in a few months in San Francisco, where Hazel lives. After finding the perfect dress for the show and picking it up from the seamstress who fixed a hole in it, Hazel realizes she was given the wrong dress back. The dress she received by mistake is very pretty and fits her perfectly so she wears it to the show. Once there, Hazel discovers something that changes her future and makes her realize she has three wishes to change her life. Hazel also realizes the more things change, the more they stay the same. It’s really about finding the truth in yourself.

This is a great book and an easy read especially if you like books about the challenges in family relationships with a touch of fantasy and romance. I really enjoyed reading Wishful Thinking.

~ Taylor

Red Riding Hood by Sarah Blakely-Cartwright

For generations, the people of Daggorhorn have been plagued by the wolf. Every full moon, they leave their best animal as a sacrifice and the wolf has left them alone. That is, until Valerie’s sister is killed by the beast, the first person it has killed in 20 years. The men of the town go off to try to kill the wolf and come back thinking they’re successful. When an experienced wolf hunter comes into town, they realize this isn’t just any wolf they were dealing with - it’s a werewolf that lives among them. It could be anyone in town and it only wants one thing…..Valerie before the blood moon is over. Otherwise everyone she loves will die. 

I loved this book as I have always loved the story of Little Red Riding Hood. This however, was a unique interpretation and I found the different twists it has on the classic tale quite interesting. You think you know the whole story but you don’t. The author keeps you guessing at who the wolf really is throughout the story until the very end. I recommend this book for any teenaged fairy tale fan.

~Taylor

The Hunt Of The Unicorn by C.C. Humpherys

The only things Elayne cares about are her dad and the cancer that is poisoning his body. When he tells her about the family history and how one of her ancestors came into this world through a tapestry, she thinks it is great story. Maybe it will take their minds off the fact that he’s going to the doctors the next day for more tests.

The next day while on a school trip to the local art museum Elayne sees the unicorn that was so famously in her ancestor’s tapestries along with her own initials, also known to be in the tapestries. Suddenly the emergency lights go on and everyone leaves except Elayne who leans against one of the tapestries. She finds herself in another world called Goloth which she recognizes from the family history. Within a minute, a huge creature she also recognizes from her father’s history started to attack her. She is saved by a unicorn named Moonspill. Suddenly the story from last night is being re-enacted almost right in front of her eyes. This time though, she’s in it. Next she finds herself riding the unicorn, being taken by the soon-to-be king and attempting to find her place in this new world. Elayne knows from her history that the king “Leo” was evil and is attempting to stop a prophecy from occurring that centers on Moonspill and herself. Eventually she escapes from the dungeon with some inside help so she can make the rendezvous with Moonspill. They find themselves among many mirrors in the forest, and Moonspill unable to negotiate his way, yet this is the only way Elayne can get back to the normal world. Elayne has been gone for a week and her father illness is worse. Moonspill’s horn has the power to help her father with its magic power to take away poison. The New York climate affects the unicorn though and he is weaker here than in his usual world, Goloth or the Land of the Fabulous Beasts. Will he be able to help her father? What about Moonspills’ mate? She is back home, locked in the soon-to-be king’s dungeon with all other fabulous beasts that will be sacrificed in The Games that will make the new king official if he can kill a unicorn. Suddenly, Elayne is back in Goloth, with the future king considering her as his future wife. She and the two unicorns have a plan to change the future in the Land of the Fabulous Beasts.

It was fascinating to read about unicorns as one would mostly think of them in young children’s books but this proved that they have their place in young adult fiction as well. I loved how the story had all different creatures and it was up to your imagination combined with the writing as to what they look like. I would recommend this for teen girls who love fancy and love to see female domination. Teen boys may like the action. 

~ Taylor

Incarceron by Catherine Fisher

I would describe Incarceron as a thriller-fantasy novel with cliff-hanger endings to every chapter. This story weaves around the lives of two people from very different background. Finn is an inmate at Incarceron, a prison like no other. Claudia is the daughter of the Warden. Their lives become intertwined as the result of some bizarre and unusual circumstances and they find they need each other’s help. Finn is looking to escape from Incarceron and Claudia wants to get out of her arranged marriage. 

What I like most about this book is that it keeps you guessing until the very end. It allows your imagination to run wild about the fate of the main characters and the true power of the prison. I found it started slow but if you can get through the first few chapters, the excitement picks up quickly it is a great read! 

~ Taylor

The Book Of Spells: A Private Prequel by Kate Brian

n 1915, a young girl names Eliza Williams begins to attend Billings School for Girls. After finding a spell book, her and her friends form a coven and begin to cast some spells. Everything seems good until one spell goes wrong….very wrong. 

I thought this was a great book. I was nervous about reading it at first; having not read any of the Private series before, but found I could easily follow the story line. The book was fast-paced, had cliff-hanger ending to each chapter and turned out to be an easy read. I am now very interested in reading the Private novels and seeing how this book intertwines with the series.

~ Taylor