Today I’m featuring THE VERDIGRIS PAWN, a timeless middle grade fantasy full of danger, betrayals and intrigue! Check out my review, along with Alysa’s list of top ten addictions and a giveaway of the book!

The Verdigris Pawn by Alysa Wishingrad
Published by HarperCollins on July 13, 2021
Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade
Pages: 368
Source: NetGalley
Cover Artist: Júlia Sardà

A boy who underestimates his power . . .

A girl with a gift long thought lost . . .

A Land ready for revolution . . .

The heir to the Land should be strong. Fierce. Ruthless. At least, that’s what Beau’s father has been telling him his whole life, since Beau is the exact opposite of what the heir should be. With little control over his future, Beau is kept locked away, just another pawn in his father’s quest for ultimate power.

That is, until Beau meets a girl who shows him the secrets his father has kept hidden. For the first time, Beau begins to question everything he’s ever been told and sets off in search of a rebel who might hold the key to setting things right.

Teaming up with a fiery runaway boy, their mission quickly turns into something far greater as sinister forces long lurking in the shadows prepare to make their final move—no matter what the cost. But it just might be Beau who wields the power he seeks . . . if he can go from pawn to player before the Land tears itself apart.

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Today I’m featuring REA AND THE BLOOD OF THE NECTAR by Payal Doshi, an engaging Own Voices middle grade fantasy adventure set in India (and beyond!).

Read on for my review of the book, and then make sure you also check out Payal’s list of top ten addictions to find out more about the author!

Rea and the Blood of the Nectar by Payal Doshi
Series: The Chronicles of Astranthia #1
Published by Mango and Marigold Press on June 15, 2021
Genres: Fantasy, Middle Grade
Pages: 350
Source: The Publisher
Cover Artist: Beverly Johnson

Perfect for fans of the Aru Shah books and The Chronicles of Narnia.

A middle-grade fantasy about twelve-year-old Rea Chettri, who portals into an otherworldly realm to go on a secret quest to find her missing twin brother Rohan. The clock is ticking in this fast-paced, thrilling, and exciting adventure rife with evil creatures, a ruthless villain, and unforgettable friendships.

It all begins on the night Rea turns twelve. After a big fight with her twin brother Rohan on their birthday, Rea’s life in the small village of Darjeeling, India, gets turned on its head. It’s four in the morning and Rohan is nowhere to be found.

It hasn’t even been a day and Amma acts like Rohan’s gone forever. Her grandmother, too, is behaving strangely. Unwilling to give up on her brother, Rea and her friend Leela meet Mishti Daadi, a wrinkly old fortune-teller whose powers of divination set them off on a thrilling and secret quest. In the shade of night, they portal into an otherworldly realm and travel to Astranthia, a land full of magic and whimsy. There with the help of Xeranther, an Astranthian barrow boy, and Flula, a pari, Rea battles serpent-lilies and blood-sucking banshees, encounters a butterfly-faced woman and blue lizard-men, and learns that Rohan has been captured. Rea also discovers that she is a princess with magic. Only she has no idea how to use it.

Struggling with the truth her Amma has kept hidden from her, Rea must solve clues that lead to Rohan, find a way to rescue him and save Astranthia from a potentially deadly fate. But the clock is ticking. Can she rescue Rohan, save Astranthia, and live to see it all?

Rea and the Blood of the Nectar is Payal Doshi’s stunning middle-grade fantasy debut about understanding complex family dynamics, fighting for what is right, discovering oneself, and learning to make friends.

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Today I’m featuring MADE IN KOREA by Sarah Suk, a fabulous Own Voices Korean-American YA romance about two entrepreneurs who put everything on the line when they make a bet about whose business can sell the most.

Read on for my thoughts on the book, and then make sure you also check out Sarah’s list of top ten addictions—learn about what inspires her!

Made in Korea by Sarah Suk
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on May 18, 2021
Genres: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 336
Source: The Publisher
Cover Artist: Anne Pomel

Frankly in Love
meets Shark Tank in this feel-good romantic comedy about two entrepreneurial Korean American teens who butt heads—and maybe fall in love—while running competing Korean beauty businesses at their high school.

There’s nothing Valerie Kwon loves more than making a good sale. Together with her cousin Charlie, they run V&C K-BEAUTY, their school’s most successful student-run enterprise. With each sale, Valerie gets closer to taking her beloved and adventurous halmeoni to her dream city, Paris.

Enter the new kid in class, Wes Jung, who is determined to pursue music after graduation despite his parents’ major disapproval. When his classmates clamor to buy the K-pop branded beauty products his mom gave him to “make new friends,” he sees an opportunity—one that may be the key to help him pay for the music school tuition he knows his parents won’t cover…

What he doesn’t realize, though, is that he is now V&C K-BEAUTY’s biggest competitor.

Stakes are high as Valerie and Wes try to outsell each other, make the most money, and take the throne for the best business in school—all while trying to resist the undeniable spark that’s crackling between them. From hiring spies to all-or-nothing bets, the competition is much more than either of them bargained for.

But one thing is clear: only one Korean business can come out on top.

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Today I’m featuring BETTER THAN THE MOVIES  by Lynn Painter, an adorable YA rom-com that will give you ALL the feels!

Read on for my thoughts on the book, and then make sure you also check out Lynn’s list of top ten addictions—her fun writing style shines even in this one small guest post, and I think you’ll see why I love it so much.

Better Than the Movies by Lynn Painter
Published by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers on May 4, 2021
Genres: Romance, Young Adult
Pages: 368
Source: The Publisher
Cover Artist: Liz Casal

In this rom-com about rom-coms, in the spirit of Kasie West and Jenn Bennett, a hopeless romantic teen attempts to secure a happily-ever-after moment with her forever crush, but finds herself reluctantly drawn to the boy next door.

Perpetual daydreamer Liz Buxbaum gave her heart to Michael a long time ago. But her cool, aloof forever crush never really saw her before he moved away. Now that he’s back in town, Liz will do whatever it takes to get on his radar—and maybe snag him as a prom date—even befriend Wes Bennet.

The annoyingly attractive next-door neighbor might seem like a prime candidate for romantic comedy fantasies, but Wes has only been a pain in Liz’s butt since they were kids. Pranks involving frogs and decapitated lawn gnomes do not a potential boyfriend make. Yet, somehow, Wes and Michael are hitting it off, which means Wes is Liz’s in.

But as Liz and Wes scheme to get Liz noticed by Michael so she can have her magical prom moment, she’s shocked to discover that she likes being around Wes. And as they continue to grow closer, she must reexamine everything she thought she knew about love—and rethink her own ideas of what Happily Ever After should look like.

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Today I’m featuring LIST OF TEN by Halli Gomez, a heart-wrenching #Own Voices contemporary about a boy with Tourette Syndrome and OCD who’s counting down to the day he will commit suicide.

Read on for my thoughts on the book and then make sure you also check out Halli’s list of top ten addictions! (But don’t worry—it’s much more lighthearted than the list of ten in the book—I feature this list a lot because it goes along with my blog name, but this is the first time it goes with the book title too!)

List of Ten by Halli Gomez
Published by Sterling Teen on March 16, 2021
Genres: Young Adult, Contemporary
Pages: 360
Source: The Publisher
Cover Artist: Elizabeth Lindy

A harrowing yet hopeful account of a teen living with Tourette Syndrome and Obsessive Compulsive Disorder . . . and contemplating his own mortality.

Ten: three little letters, one ordinary number. No big deal, right? But for Troy Hayes, a 16-year-old suffering from Tourette Syndrome and Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder, the number ten dictates his life, forcing him to do everything by its exacting rhythm. Finally, fed up with the daily humiliation, loneliness, and physical pain he endures, Troy writes a list of ten things to do by the tenth anniversary of his diagnosis—culminating in suicide on the actual day. But the process of working his way through the list changes Troy’s life: he becomes friends with Khory, a smart, beautiful classmate who has her own troubled history. Khory unwittingly helps Troy cross off items on his list, moving him ever closer to his grand finale, even as she shows him that life may have more possibilities than he imagined. This is a dark, intense story, but it’s also realistic, hopeful, and deeply authentic.

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