A Farewell to Charms by Lindsey Leavitt

A Farewell to Charms by Lindsey Leavitt
"Desi Bascomb is a princess substitute prodigy—she's the fastest employee ever to advance to level three in the Facade Agency, and the youngest to ever be a full-time sub. But now with all eyes on Desi, the only thing she wants is a moment alone to talk to Reed, who's a Façade legacy and secretly a sub for princes!

As Desi trains for her new role, she spies more than a few cracks in Façade’s perfect appearance. But uncovering the agency’s dark past might require more than a princess sub can handle by herself. Desi is no damsel in distress, but sometimes a girl needs a knight in shining armor."- summary from Amazon

This series is SO ADORABLE and I hate to see it go, but I do think Leavitt left it in a great place. I felt very satisfied after finishing this book. I loved returning to Desi's voice and world; it's such an interesting concept and learning more about Facade and how it works was very cool. Desi's first princess adventure in this book was very fun and action-packed too.

I liked her relationship with Reed and felt it was pretty realistic in dealing with all the obstacles and secret-keeping that arose. I also liked this specific moment with Kylie, Desi's best friend, and of course the general friendship they have. There's a couple great twists at the end too that worked perfectly.

Overall, this is a fantastic end to a wonderful trilogy. It's a perfect middle-grade series and if you haven't read it yet, do so now!

FTC: Received hardcover from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Me, Him, Them & It by Caela Carter

Me, Him, Them and It by Caela Carter
"When Evelyn decided to piss off her parents with a bad reputation, she wasn't planning to ruin her valedictorian status. She also wasn't planning to fall for Todd-the guy she was just using for sex. And she definitely wasn't planning on getting pregnant. When Todd turns his back on her, Evelyn's not sure where to go. Can a distant mother, a cheating father, an angry best friend, and a (thankfully) loving aunt with adopted daughters of her own help Evelyn make the heart-wrenching decisions that follow?"- summary from Amazon

Wow. This was a really well-written book, and Evelyn made for a great main character. Carter wrote her in such a way that she's defiant, vulnerable, witty (I did laugh out loud a couple times), and so much more. She felt like a real person and how I imagine many teen moms feel when they learn they're pregnant.

Evelyn has a wonderful emotional arc over the course of the book, and I loved reading along, watching her grow, regress, and grow again. It's a difficult book to put down and I was scrolling through pages faster than usual. I liked the inclusion too of the different types of parents and parenting styles; there's her parents, her Aunt Linda and her partner Nora, her friend Lizzie's mom, a fellow pregnant teen and her boyfriend as well as her family. It was interesting to see all these, and Evelyn comments on all of them, wondering if she'll be like them as a parent.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book and reading about these characters' lives. Carter is a fantastic new voice in YA and I can't wait to read what she writes next!

FTC: Received e-galley from Netgalley. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Altered by Jennifer Rush

Altered by Jennifer Rush
"Everything about Anna's life is a secret. Her father works for the Branch, at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There's Nick, solemn and brooding; Cas, light-hearted and playful; Trev, smart and caring; and Sam . . . who's stolen Anna's heart.

When the Branch decides it's time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape. Anna's father pushes her to go with them, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs.

On the run, with her father's warning in her head, Anna begins to doubt everything she thought she knew about herself. She soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they're both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away."- summary from Amazon

I LOVED this book. I had so much trouble putting it down, even when it was clearly time for me to sleep. There's a lot of twists and turns throughout this book, and Rush does a good job pacing the reveals and building this world.

Anna and Sam's relationship was interesting to read, and it certainly wasn't an insta-love sort of thing. It was always a nice little break from all the action and suspense going on. Rush also isn't afraid to kill characters off, which was good to see, even though I wasn't always happy about it.

Overall, a great debut thriller (also, no cliffhanger which was AWESOME) and I'm really intrigued to see how Rush continues the story in the next book.

FTC: Received e-galley from Netgalley. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson + Contest

The Madness Underneath by Maureen Johnson
"After her near-fatal run-in with the Jack the Ripper copycat, Rory Devereaux has been living in Bristol under the close watch of her parents. So when her therapist suddenly suggests she return to Wexford, Rory jumps at the chance to get back to her friends. But Rory’s brush with the Ripper touched her more than she thought possible: she’s become a human terminus, with the power to eliminate ghosts on contact. She soon finds out that the Shades—the city’s secret ghost-fighting police—are responsible for her return. The Ripper may be gone, but now there is a string of new inexplicable deaths threatening London. Rory has evidence that the deaths are no coincidence. Something much more sinister is going on, and now she must convince the squad to listen to her before it’s too late."- summary from Amazon

I really enjoyed Johnson's first book in this series and had been looking forward to this book basically ever since I finished Name of the Star. This book does not disappoint at all. I absolutely loved it.

First off, I like that Johnson's signature voice is still on display even with all the creepy, thriller stuff going on. There's quite a bit of humor that made me giggle out loud while reading. Rory is a wonderful character and her voice is just really compelling and fun. I loved being able to see all the secondary characters again; Johnson always does a great job making all her characters memorable.

The plot takes a lot of twists and turns, and where the story ends up is not where I expected to be when I started the book. It's interesting how Johnson plotted this whole story arc and it was great fun to be along for the ride.

Overall, please check out this series if you haven't already. It's simply awesome, funny, and creepy. The book is out next Tuesday, and Maureen is doing a pre-order campaign where you can win some great prizes. Check out her website for details!

I also have a copy of the book to giveaway, courtesy of Penguin! Just leave a comment on this post by Wednesday, Feb 27 at 9pm EST if you want to be entered. US residents only! If there are any questions, let me know.

FTC: Received ARC from publisher. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.

Blog Tour- Hysteria by Megan Miranda

Hysteria by Megan Miranda
"Mallory killed her boyfriend, Brian. She can't remember the details of that night but everyone knows it was self-defense, so she isn't charged. But Mallory still feels Brian's presence in her life. Is it all in her head? Or is it something more? In desperate need of a fresh start, Mallory is sent to Monroe, a fancy prep school where no one knows her . . . or anything about her past.But the feeling follows her, as do her secrets. Then, one of her new classmates turns up dead. As suspicion falls on Mallory, she must find a way to remember the details of both deadly nights so she can prove her innocence-to herself and others."- summary from Amazon

Damn, this book was good. I really liked Miranda's debut and with this sophomore effort, she hit another home run. I had problems leaving this book's world every time I sat down to read it. Miranda lets the book go back and forth between present day and the past, many of the flashbacks going back to the night of Brian's death. It's an interesting way to tell the story and really makes it compelling. Toward the climax, I was on the edge of my seat, flying through the pages, trying to get to the end. There's some great twists and turns throughout the book.

Mallory's voice is done really well, and I liked reading from her perspective, especially when there's doubts about the reality of the situation. It becomes an interesting point of view, to have the narrator constantly questioning her sanity. But there's also some good humor in the book too, which I liked, particularly between her and Reid.

Overall, another fantastic book from Miranda. This is definitely one to check out and if you haven't read Fracture, do so now!

FTC: Received e-galley from Netgalley. Link above is an Amazon Associate link; any profit goes toward funding contests.