Don’t Forget Me – Victoria Stevens

I was disappointed. I guessed the big “secret” quite easily — the letters gave it away. Was that intentional? The book was just so angsty and melodramatic. Listen, life happens. Death happens. Time goes on.

Synopsis

Seventeen-year-old Hazel Clarke is no stranger to heartbreaks, and being sent to live with a father she’s never met is the latest in a string of them. Even the beauty of eastern Australia isn’t enough to take her mind off her mother and the life she had to leave behind in England. But when Hazel meets the friendly, kindhearted Red and his elusive twin, Luca, she begins the slow process of piecing together a new life—and realizes she isn’t the only one struggling with loss. As friendships deepen and love finds its way in, Hazel also learns that when you truly love someone, they are always in your heart.

This sparkling debut novel is a touching testament to coming of age, falling in love, and finding home in unexpected places.

A Torch Against the Night – Sabaa Tahir

“Elias and Laia are running for their lives.” Well, that sentence sums up the majority of this book. To be fair, I read An Ember in the Ashes in 2015, and it’s now 2018. So it took some time for me to delve back into this world and these characters. But when the punches and twists come, watch out! Amazing.

Synopsis

Elias and Laia are running for their lives. After the events of the Fourth Trial, Martial soldiers hunt the two fugitives as they flee the city of Serra and undertake a perilous journey through the heart of the Empire.

Laia is determined to break into Kauf—the Empire’s most secure and dangerous prison—to save her brother, who is the key to the Scholars’ survival. And Elias is determined to help Laia succeed, even if it means giving up his last chance at freedom.

But dark forces, human and otherworldly, work against Laia and Elias. The pair must fight every step of the way to outsmart their enemies: the bloodthirsty Emperor Marcus, the merciless Commandant, the sadistic Warden of Kauf, and, most heartbreaking of all, Helene—Elias’s former friend and the Empire’s newest Blood Shrike.

Bound to Marcus’s will, Helene faces a torturous mission of her own—one that might destroy her: find the traitor Elias Veturius and the Scholar slave who helped him escape…and kill them both.

Warcross – Marie Lu

Oh my freaking stars. I understand why Marie Lu is such a highly revered author now. The world building is exquisite. The motives and realistic characters are exemplary. And the lessons… my goodness, they left me in a tizzy. I don’t know what’s right or wrong; I don’t know who’s the enemy. My head is spinning, and it’s glorious.

Synopsis

For the millions who log in every day, Warcross isn’t just a game—it’s a way of life. The obsession started ten years ago and its fan base now spans the globe, some eager to escape from reality and others hoping to make a profit. Struggling to make ends meet, teenage hacker Emika Chen works as a bounty hunter, tracking down players who bet on the game illegally. But the bounty hunting world is a competitive one, and survival has not been easy. Needing to make some quick cash, Emika takes a risk and hacks into the opening game of the international Warcross Championships—only to accidentally glitch herself into the action and become an overnight sensation.

Convinced she’s going to be arrested, Emika is shocked when instead she gets a call from the game’s creator, the elusive young billionaire Hideo Tanaka, with an irresistible offer. He needs a spy on the inside of this year’s tournament in order to uncover a security problem . . . and he wants Emika for the job. With no time to lose, Emika’s whisked off to Tokyo and thrust into a world of fame and fortune that she’s only dreamed of. But soon her investigation uncovers a sinister plot, with major consequences for the entire Warcross empire.

The First to Know – Abigail Johnson

This book wrecked me. It was unputdownable! Dana was put in an impossible situation and served as the primary punching bag for a lot of the fallout. This book is important to understand the “Jay-Zs & Beyonces” of the world. It’s important because it counterbalances the harsh, black-and-white perspective of self-righteousness promoted on sites like Reddit. It’s brave in its display of forgiveness.

Synopsis

Dana Fields’s father never knew his parents. When Dana secretly does a DNA test for her dad, hoping to find him some distant relatives for his birthday, her entire world implodes. Instead of a few third cousins, Dana discovers a half brother her age whose very existence means her parents’ happy marriage is a lie.

Dana’s desire to know her half brother, Brandon, and the extent of her dad’s deception, clashes with her wish not to destroy her family. When she sees the opportunity to get to know Brandon through his cousin, the intense yet kind Chase, she takes it. But the more she finds out about Brandon, her father’s past and the irresistible guy who’ll never forgive her if he discovers the truth, the more she sees the inevitable fallout from her own lies. With her family crumbling around her, Dana must own up to her actions and find a way to heal the breach—for everyone—before they’re torn apart for good.

Genuine Fraud – E. Lockhart

Harrowing and dark. How does E. Lockhart come up with this stuff? Actually, scrap that. Take the privilege of Frankie Landau-Banks and We Were Liars, and throw a gnarly wrench into it. You think Jule is a sociopath, and then you realize: no. This is a tale of a cold, hard psychopath; a force of nature. And I, for one, am completely fearful that someone like her exists in the world.

Synopsis

Ed note: Trust me, this book will be way better if you DON’T read this synopsis.

The story of a young woman whose diabolical smarts are her ticket into a charmed life. But how many times can someone reinvent themselves? You be the judge.

Imogen is a runaway heiress, an orphan, a cook, and a cheat.
Jule is a fighter, a social chameleon, and an athlete.
An intense friendship. A disappearance. A murder, or maybe two.
A bad romance, or maybe three.
Blunt objects, disguises, blood, and chocolate. The American dream, superheroes, spies, and villains.
A girl who refuses to give people what they want from her.
A girl who refuses to be the person she once was.