Gathering Darkness - Morgan Rhodes

Title: Gathering Darkness
Authors: Morgan Rhodes
Publication Date: December 9th 2014
Publisher: Razorbill
Pages: 416
Link to Goodreads: Here
Part of a Series: Book 3 of  Falling Kingdoms

Plot: In GATHERING DARKNESS, book three of the New York Times bestselling Falling Kingdoms series, the stakes have never been higher as three teams push forward on a race to find the Kindred, the four elemental crystals possessing ancient all-powerful magic, first:

Prince Magnus has just witnessed torture, death, and miracles during the bloody confrontation that decimated the rebel forces. Now he must choose between family and justice as his father, the cruel King Gaius, sets out to conquer all of Mytica. All Gaius needs now are the Kindred - the four elemental crystals that give godlike powers to their owner. But the King of Blood is not the only one hunting for this ancient, storied magic...

• THE KRAESHIANS join the hunt. Ashur and Amara, the royal siblings from the wealthy kingdom across the Silver Sea, charm and manipulate their way to the Kindred, proving to be more ruthless than perhaps even the King of Blood himself.

• THE REBELS forge ahead. Princess Cleo and vengeful Jonas lead them, slaying with sweetness, skill, and a secret that can control Lucia's overpowering magic - all so they can use the Kindred to win back their fallen kingdoms.

• THE WATCHERS follow Melenia out of the Sanctuary. They ally in the flesh with King Gaius, who vows to use Lucia's powers to unveil the Kindred.

The only certainty in the dark times is that whoever finds the magic first will control the fate of Mytica... but fate can be fickle when magic is involved. 

Reading Period: 21 April, 2017 - 30 April, 2017

The Copper Gauntlet- Holly Black & Cassandra Clare

Title: The Copper Gauntlet
Authors: Holly Black & Cassandra Clare
Publication Date: September 1st 2015
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Pages: 304
Link to Goodreads: Here
Part of a Series: Book 2 of  Magisterium

Plot: Callum Hunt’s summer break isn’t like other kids’. His closest companion is a Chaos-ridden wolf, Havoc. His father suspects him of being secretly evil. And, of course, most kids aren’t heading back to the magical world of the Magisterium in the fall.

It’s not easy for Call . . . and it gets even harder after he checks out his basement and discovers that his dad might be trying to destroy both him and Havoc.

Call escapes to the Magisterium -- but things only intensify there. The Alkahest -- a copper gauntlet capable of separating certain magicians from their magic -- has been stolen. And in their search to discover the culprit, Call and his friends Aaron and Tamara awaken the attention of some very dangerous foes -- and get closer to an even more dangerous truth.

As the mysteries of the Magisterium deepen and widen, bestselling authors Holly Black and Cassandra Clare take readers on an extraordinary journey through one boy’s conflict -- and a whole world’s fate.

Reading period: April 17, 2017 - April 20, 2017

Book Review: A Study in Charlotte- Brittany Cavallaro

Title: A Study in Charlotte
Authors: Brittany Cavallaro
Publication Date: March 1st 2016
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
Pages: 321
Link to Goodreads: Here
Part of a Series: Book 1 of  Charlotte Holmes

Plot: The last thing Jamie Watson wants is a rugby scholarship to Sherringford, a Connecticut prep school just an hour away from his estranged father. But that’s not the only complication: Sherringford is also home to Charlotte Holmes, the famous detective’s great-great-great-granddaughter, who has inherited not only Sherlock’s genius but also his volatile temperament. From everything Jamie has heard about Charlotte, it seems safer to admire her from afar.

From the moment they meet, there’s a tense energy between them, and they seem more destined to be rivals than anything else. But when a Sherringford student dies under suspicious circumstances, ripped straight from the most terrifying of the Sherlock Holmes stories, Jamie can no longer afford to keep his distance. Jamie and Charlotte are being framed for murder, and only Charlotte can clear their names. But danger is mounting and nowhere is safe—and the only people they can trust are each other.

Reading period: April 14, 2017 - April 17, 2017

Book Review: Forged - Erin Bowman

Title: Forged
Authors: Erin Bowman
Publication Date: April 14th 2015
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 389
Link to Goodreads: Here
Part of a Series: Book 3 of  Taken

Plot: The time has come to make a stand.

Gray Weathersby and his group of rebels are determined to bring down the Franconian Order. But they may be too late. The Order is closer than ever to its ultimate goal—building an unstoppable army—and every generation of Forgeries is more sophisticated, harder to detect, and deadlier than the one before.

Now the rebels have joined forces with new allies, the Expats. But when even the most familiar faces can’t be trusted, Gray will have to tread carefully if he wants to succeed—or survive.

Reading period: March 9, 2017 - March 15, 2017

Book Review: Matched- Ally Condie

Title: Matched
Authors: Ally Condie
Publication Date: November 30th 2010
Publisher: Dutton Books for Young Readers
Pages: 369
Link to Goodreads: Here
Part of a Series: Book 1 of the Matched

Plot: In the Society, officials decide. Who you love. Where you work. When you die.

Cassia has always trusted their choices. It’s hardly any price to pay for a long life, the perfect job, the ideal mate. So when her best friend appears on the Matching screen, Cassia knows with complete certainty that he is the one…until she sees another face flash for an instant before the screen fades to black. Now Cassia is faced with impossible choices: between Xander and Ky, between the only life she’s known and a path no one else has ever dared follow—between perfection and passion.

Matched is a story for right now and storytelling with the resonance of a classic.

Reading period: 

Book Review: Scythe- Neal Shusterman

Title: Scythe
Authors: Neal Shusterman
Publication Date: November 22nd 2016
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Pages: 439
Link to Goodreads: Here
Part of a Series: Book 1 of the Arc of Scythe

Plot: Thou shalt kill.

A world with no hunger, no disease, no war, no misery. Humanity has conquered all those things, and has even conquered death. Now scythes are the only ones who can end life—and they are commanded to do so, in order to keep the size of the population under control.

Citra and Rowan are chosen to apprentice to a scythe—a role that neither wants. These teens must master the “art” of taking life, knowing that the consequence of failure could mean losing their own.

Reading period: February 16, 2017 - February 21, 2017

Book review: Stolen - Erin Bowman

Title: Stolen
Authors: Erin Bowman
Publication Date: February 4th 2014
Publisher: HarperTeen
Pages: 104
Link to Goodreads: Here
Part of a Series: Book 0,5 of the Taken

Plot: Before Gray Weathersby uncovered the truth about Claysoot and the Laicos Project, a girl named Bree came of age in the coastal settlement of Saltwater—and made her own surprising journey to the world beyond its borders. In Stolen, discover the story of Bree’s life before she was Snatched from her home, before she joined the rebellion, and before she met a boy named Gray…

Reading period: February 02, 2017 - February 05, 2017