Never Saw Her Coming

 By: Vera Kurian

Location: FIC KUR

Genre:  Thriller

“In real life, we don't get to edit out the painful parts.” 

Meet Chloe Sevre. She’s a freshman honor student, a leggings-wearing hot girl next door, who also happens to be a psychopath. Her hobbies include yogalates, frat parties, and plotting to kill Will Bachman, a childhood friend who grievously wronged her.

Chloe is one of seven students at her DC-based college who are part of an unusual clinical study for psychopaths—students like herself who lack empathy and can’t comprehend emotions like fear or guilt. The study, led by a renowned psychologist, requires them to wear smart watches that track their moods and movements.

When one of the students in the study is found murdered in the psychology building, a dangerous game of cat and mouse begins, and Chloe goes from hunter to prey. As she races to identify the killer and put her own plan into action, she’ll be forced to decide if she can trust any of her fellow psychopaths—and everybody knows you should never trust a psychopath.

Never Saw Me Coming is a compulsive, voice-driven thriller by an exciting new voice in fiction, that will keep you pinned to the page and rooting for a would-be killer.

Review by Chelsea

We all know that sociopaths are self-centered, manipulative, and sometimes even dangerous, but what happens when the sociopaths who thought they were attending school for a secret observation program become targeted for murder?

Before diving into Never Saw Me Coming, I'd seen all kinds of reviews regarding the plot. Some people loved it, some people thought it was outlandish, but everyone seemed to agree that it is a compulsive read. I'm happy to report that it indeed is compulsive, and while the last 25% is a bit wild and unbelievable, it did not hinder my enjoyment of this novel one bit. A fabulous example of how character driven suspense can be even more engaging than plot, plot, plot, and I love how the interactions between the characters in the program were just as intriguing as the actual mystery at hand of who is murdering the campus students. 

A Far Wilder Magic

 By: Allison Saft 

Location: FIC SAF

Genre: Fantasy, Romance

“Girls like her don’t get to dream. Girls like her get to survive. Most days, that’s enough. Today, she doesn’t think it is.”

A MAGICAL SECRET. A MYTHICAL HUNT. AND A LOVE THAT COULD RISK EVERYTHING.

In the dark, gothic town of Wickdon, Maggie Welty lives in an old creaking manor. Maggie's mother is an alchemist who has recently left town, leaving Maggie with just her bloodhound for company. But when Maggie spots a legendary ancient fox-creature on her porch, her fate is changed forever. Whoever tracks down and kills the hala in the Halfmoon Hunt will earn fame and riches - and if Maggie wins the hunt, she knows her mother will want to celebrate her. This is her chance to bring her home.

But the rules state that only teams of two can join the hunt, and while Maggie is known as the best sharpshooter in town, she needs an alchemist.

Enter Wes Winters. He isn't an alchemist ... yet. Fired from every apprenticeship he's landed, this is his last chance.

Maggie and Wes make an unlikely team - a charismatic but troubled boy, and a girl who has endured life on the outskirts of a town that never welcomed her. But as the hunt takes over, the pair are drawn together as they uncover a darker magic that may put everything they hold dear in peril...

A rich and tender YA fantasy love story. Perfect for fans of Sorcery of Thorns and Finbar Hawkins.

Sick Bay

 By: Nova Weetman

Location: FIC WEE

Genre: Health, Identity, Middle grade

This was so raw and real - full of friendship, family and feelings with a really authentic voice. I loved it.

Meg uses Sick Bay to hide from other kids. She’s struggling with changes at home, wears slippers to school and buries her head in books.

New girl Riley is a type 1 diabetic with an over-protective mother. She’d rather chat with her friends than go to Sick Bay, but sometimes she has no choice.

They think they’ve worked each other out, but what if they’ve got it all wrong?

On the brink of high school, Meg and Riley need a place where they can find the courage to be themselves.

"It All Begins with Jelly Beans is a sensitive middle grade book about unlikely friendships, living with Type 1 Diabetes, and coping with the loss of a parent. Set in Australia, this book also features a main character with anxiety, tackles bullying, and is written from the perspective of two narrators. This heartwarming story of connection and finding one’s voice makes for a satisfying read."

Hine and the Tohunga Portal

 By: Ataria Sharman

Location: TER SHA

Genre:  Fantasy, Maori

Hine and the Tohunga Portal is a fast-paced fantasy adventure. Hine and her brother, Hōhepa, unwittingly step through a portal into an ancient realm inhabited by the atua Māori (Māori deities), Kea bird tribes, patupaiarehe (fairy people), moa and giant eagles. This world is in turmoil as evil sorcerer Kae has built a cursed army and intends to rule this world and everything in it. He sees the opportunity to dominate the modern world as well, by kidnapping Hōhepa and using his life force to reopen the portal between the worlds. This sets Hine on a quest to learn ancient knowledge from the goddesses Hineteiwaiwa and Mahuika and her ancestors, find the medicine to revoke the curse on the warriors and gain the support of the Kea and patupaiarehe to fight Kae and rescue Hōhepa.

 LEARN ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

Ataria Rangipikitia Sharman (Tapuika, Ngāpuhi) is a writer of essays, poetry and articles. She is the Editor at The Pantograph Punch and creator of Awa Wahine. Ataria has a Master of Arts in Māori Studies and spent a year researching mana wahine and atua wāhine as well as interviewing Māori women about their experiences with atua wāhine. The manuscript for her children's fiction novel Hine and the Tohunga Portal was one of five selected for Te Papa Tupu in 2018. She has self-published a collection of writings by wāhine Māori on the atua wāhine and has a printed magazine for Awa Wahine coming out soon

REVIEW BY TALES WITH THOMAS

"Hine and the Tohunga Portal by Ataria Sharman (Tapuika, Ngāpuhi) is an enthralling and endearing middle grade fantasy novel. Siblings Hine and Hōhepa are transported to a another realm after a fight on the way home from kura. There they learn about Kae, an evil sorceror, who uses a treaty to decieve, curses animals and starts a gruelling war. Alongside patupaiarehe, Kea, ancestors and atua Māori they must find one another, a rongoā, and their identities.

This is for kids who crave books with constant action and adventure. It’s packed with taniwha, various battle scenes, an army of birds, no eyes men, a talking dog, multiple missions and a very dark villan.

In the first few pages I smiled seeing the consistent use of te reo Māori - as a bilingual whānau this means everything to us.

I adored the intuitive āhua of young Hine. On various occasions she taps into her power through karakia, matakite and her profound intuition. Hine is also exposed to her divine whakaapa connections in the meeting of wāhine Māori atua Mahuika and Hineteiwaiwa.

I felt the power of our connection to our ancestors in this story and was able to see the similarities between atua and the characters throughout. It felt so right.

Mahuikas grudge against Maui was hilarious, the kai described was mouth watering, the kapa haka elements were on point and the animal characters were pure joy.

The ending was also very special as it tied together the important lessons of loving your siblings, being wary in the taiao and the importance of knowing your whakapapa.

This is a story you can give to tamariki Māori knowing full well that it will uplift them, their culture and their worldview.

Really beautifully done and definitely recommended."

The Way of Dog

 By: Zana Fraillon

Location: FIC FRE

Genre: Verse Novel and Dogs and disability

“Be strong. Be fierce. Life is more than a concrete floor."

A fiercely original verse novel from the ABIA and CBCA award-winning author of The Bone Sparrow.

Scruffity is born into the harsh, grey world of a puppy farm. Taken from his mamma and locked in a concrete cage, what he yearns for most is Family. To belong is The Way of Dog. But no one wants him.

Just as his chances of adoption grow dangerously thin, Scruffity is set free by a boy as unwanted and lonely as
he is.

Outside, Scruffity learns all about The Way of Dog – it is to run, to dig, to howl and, biggest of all, to love. But when tragedy strikes, Scruffity is suddenly all alone.

How does a dog find his way home when he never had one to begin with? 

"Just as desperate to escape as Scruffity, a young boy decides that he and Scruffity need to escape and so Scruffity finally gets to experience the wider world and learn the Way of Dog - just like his mother told him.

But the outside world can be harsh and dangerous and when the boy Is struck down in an accident, Scruffity must make his own way and try to survive.

This book is beautiful, heartbreaking, hopeful and basically amazing."

Faraway Girl

 By: Fleur Beale

Location: FIC BEA

Genre: Time travel, Wellington NZ , Ghostly a bit...

A contemporary young-adult novel with mysterious goings-on, time travel, a curse and a strange painting.

Etta is worried about her brother, Jamie. The doctors can find nothing wrong with him, but he is getting weaker by the day. At breakfast one morning, he seems to have lost it completely:

In a voice as pale as his face, he said, ‘I think I can see a ghost.’

However, when they all turn to look, sure enough, materialising on the window seat is a girl about Etta’s age, wearing a beautiful Victorian wedding dress. Etta has to get off to school, she has no time for this, but she is about to discover that time has a whole new significance. She and her ghost companion have no choice but to work out what is going on before Jamie is lost for ever . . .

Review form Jen the Baker Book reviewer

This Young adult novel is set in Wellington, New Zealand in 2019 and in England in 1869 and features TIME TRAVEL.

Modern teenager Etta & her family are a little bit surprised when Victorian teen Constance appears in their house one morning during breakfast wearing an elaborate wedding gown. Etta's little brother is desperately ill and his illness is somehow connected to Constance's unexpected time travel.

After Constance has been thrust into the modern world, learnt about cars, cell phones, jeans and high school something timey wimey occurs again and now both girls are in 1869 with Constance's horrid parents and fiance.

I enjoyed watching Constance's character grown from a neglected & occasionally physically abused pawn into a strong and courageous woman who dares to break free and fight for her independence with a little bit of support from Etta as they both seek to unravel the reason for the time travel & save Etta's little brother from his illness before its too late. The book is part YA historical feminist adventure and part genealogical mystery with a magical painting and time travel as framing.

There were a few twists and big reveals towards the end which made for an emotional and enjoyable ending.
Etta's reactions to the Victorian Era and her interactions with characters were entertaining. The book felt middle grade at first and has no real romantic plot line but Etta is pretty sweary (like most modern New Zealand teenagers) which puts the book firmly in the Young adult category.

I also enjoyed reading a bit about life in colonial and early 20th century Wellington. My great grandfather built several buildings in Central Wellington in the 19th century & my family in lived there until after World War One when my Grandmother was a teenager & Wellington is my favourite city in New Zealand so it was nice to see it featured.

I Must Betray You

By: Rute Sepetys

Location: FIC SEP

Genre: Historical Fiction 

Jo says...

"‘when justice cannot shape memory, remembering the past can be a form of justice.’

powerful and haunting. a story to give proper justice to an often forgotten memory.

thank goodness for books like this - books that teach us and help us remember."

A gut-wrenching, startling window into communist Romania and the citizen spy network that devastated a nation, from the number one New York Times best-selling, award-winning author of Salt to the Sea and Between Shades of Gray.

Romania, 1989. Communist regimes are crumbling across Europe. Seventeen-year-old Cristian Florescu dreams of becoming a writer, but Romanians aren’t free to dream; they are bound by rules and force.

Amidst the tyrannical dictatorship of Nicolae Ceaușescu in a country governed by isolation and fear, Cristian is blackmailed by the secret police to become an informer. He’s left with only two choices: betray everyone and everything he loves—or use his position to creatively undermine the most notoriously evil dictator in Eastern Europe.

Cristian risks everything to unmask the truth behind the regime, give voice to fellow Romanians, and expose to the world what is happening in his country. He eagerly joins the revolution to fight for change when the time arrives. But what is the cost of freedom?

Jan B wrote this review in Goodreads

"I applaud the author shedding a light on this dark time in history. In the author notes, she highlights the amount of research she did to ensure her story was historically accurate. I’m old enough to remember the fall of the Berlin Wall and Communism and recall the Romanian uprising in the news. In 2019, my husband and I also had the opportunity to visit a Communist museum in a former Eastern Bloc nation, a memorial in the actual building where atrocities took place. Included were video recordings of those imprisoned, interrogated, or tortured. It was a devastating experience, but one we were glad to experience. History that is forgotten is doomed to be repeated.

The deep desire to be a free people is built into the human spirit.
In 1989 the Romanian citizens rose up against a totalitarian government. Although the circumstances aren’t the same, we are currently watching the events play out on our TV screens as average Ukrainian citizens rise up against the Soviet invaders, using all means at their disposal to defend their right to be free."

Under the Whispering Door

 By: T J Klune

Location: FOC KLU

Genre: Fantsy, Fiction, LGBGT

“The first time you share tea, you are a stranger. The second time you share tea, you are an honored guest. The third time you share tea, you become family.”

A Man Called Ove meets The Good Place in Under the Whispering Door, a delightful queer love story from TJ Klune, author of the New York Times and USA Today bestseller The House in the Cerulean Sea.

Welcome to Charon's Crossing.
The tea is hot, the scones are fresh, and the dead are just passing through.

When a reaper comes to collect Wallace from his own funeral, Wallace begins to suspect he might be dead.

And when Hugo, the owner of a peculiar tea shop, promises to help him cross over, Wallace decides he’s definitely dead.

But even in death he’s not ready to abandon the life he barely lived, so when Wallace is given one week to cross over, he sets about living a lifetime in seven days.

Hilarious, haunting, and kind, Under the Whispering Door is an uplifting story about a life spent at the office and a death spent building a home

Review by Jessica

“its life, wallace. even when youre dead, its still life. you exist. youre real. youre strong and brave and im so happy to know you.”

just call me the the grinch because i swear my heart grew a size with every chapter. this is honestly one of the most wholesome books i have read in a very long time.

it reminded me a lot of ‘a monster calls,’ as this is also a whimsical story that so gently and lovingly explores grief and how to cope with loss. but in the same vein as ‘the midnight library’ and ‘the five people you meet in heaven,’ this also insightfully shows what it means to live a good life, who to live it for, and how it is never too late to make it mean something.

It’s the same wonderful, cozy, hilarious, kind, caring, gentle goodness we fell in love with when we read Cerulean. Only this time around, rather than themes of self-love and acceptance of others, Klune tackles a much heavier subject – death.

But he lightens it up, shines it up, just as he did in Cerulean. He adds love, laughter, and tears to it. And as we follow newly-dead Wallace Price on his path to the hereafter, as we watch him learn to live, our insides melt to marshmallow mush.

Spark Hunter

 By: Sonya Wilson 

Location: FIC WIL

Genre:  Kiwi, Adventure

Over a million hectares of wild bush-clad land and one young hunter …

Nissa Marshall knows that something is hiding deep in the forests of Fiordland National Park – she’s seen their lights in the trees. But what are they, and why does no one else seem to notice them?

When Nissa abandons her school camp to track down the mysterious lights, she finds herself lost in a dangerous wonderland. But she’s not the only one in danger – the bush and the creatures are under threat too – and she wants to help. What can a school kid do where adults have failed, and can she find her way back? In Fiordland, the lost usually stay lost.

'Spark Hunter' is an epic Kiwi adventure-fantasy – a story of survival in one of the world’s last great wildernesses.

"FOR YOUNG READERS OR THE YOUNG AT HEART 😀

Wow! There are so many reasons to love this book and as an adult who loves being transported to places of beauty (Fiordland rating right up there!) I was hooked.

Well written and researched, with a strong young female protagonist, Nissa Marshall, at its centre this book is a treasure. The storyline weaves important themes: including the impact of climate change on nature and our birdlife. I loved the mix of history and Māori language woven throughout this modern-day adventure story. The author's passion for Fiordland, one of the world's last great wildernesses, shines through. This is a story where survival requires a touch of fantasy and good-old-fashioned imagination to transport and delight the senses. Highly recommended" review by  P J McKay

The Key in the Lock

 By: Beth Underdown 

Location: FIC UND

Genre: Historical Fiction, Mystery

I still dream, every night, of Polneath on fire. Smoke unfurling out of an upper window and a hectic orange light cascading across the terrace.

By day, Ivy Boscawen mourns the loss of her son Tim in the Great War. But by night she mourns another boy - one whose death decades ago haunts her still.

For Ivy is sure that there is more to what happened all those years ago: the fire at the Great House, and the terrible events that came after. A truth she must uncover, if she is ever to be free.

Brimming with secrets, this lyrical haunting historical thriller is perfect for fans of Elizabeth Macneal, Sarah Waters and Diane Setterfield.

"This is a beautifully written novel with a great sense of location in Cornwall, with a sadness and heartbreak that lingers in the pages of the book. The characterisation is wonderful, the flawed Ivy who goes on to marry the coroner, making questionable decisions, in this story of love, loss, tragedy and family in this particular historical period. It is an emotionally gripping read, utterly engaging, with a strong streak of ambiguity, and with compelling characters, that I think will appeal to a variety of readers, including those who love their historical fiction. Many thanks to the publisher for an ARC." Paromit

Strange Exit

 By: Parker Peevyhouse 

Location: FIC PEE

Genre: SCI FI

Strange Exit is Parker Peevyhouse's next suspenseful, near-future, stand-alone thriller, perfect for fans of Kass Morgan's The 100 and Patrick Ness's More Than This.

Seventeen-year-old Lake spends her days searching a strange, post-apocalyptic landscape for people who have forgotten one very important thing: this isn’t reality. Everyone she meets is a passenger aboard a ship that’s been orbiting Earth since a nuclear event. The simulation that was supposed to prepare them all for life after the apocalypse has trapped their minds in a shared virtual reality and their bodies in stasis chambers.

No one can get off the ship until all of the passengers are out of the sim, and no one can get out of the sim unless they believe it's a simulation. It's up to Lake to help them remember.

When Lake reveals the truth to a fellow passenger, seventeen-year-old Taren, he joins her mission to find everyone, persuade them that they’ve forgotten reality, and wake them up. But time’s running out before the simulation completely deconstructs, and soon Taren’s deciding who’s worth saving and who must be sacrificed for the greater good. Now, Lake has no choice but to pit herself against Taren in a race to find the secret heart of the sim, where something waits that will either save them or destroy them all.

I said that I was ready for mind-bending alternate realities and crazy twists...but wow, I was not prepared for this level of awesomeness.

Strange Exit was everything I hoped it would be.

It was unputdownable, and I read it in a day--and it was a busy day, at that. There was so much intrigue and suspense, and the stakes kept getting higher and higher. This book made me question what was reality and what was virtual, my head spun around and around, I made theories that were proven wrong...

And then I reached the end. After hours of guessing, it was all revealed, and it was just the kind of ending I expected from Parker Peevyhouse. An ending that put it all in perspective, and had me looking back on the story with a newfound understanding I never expected.

If you want a thriller that will keep you guessing to the end, or a virtual reality/alternate dimension book, Strange Exit is the one.

The Agathas

 By: Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Lawson

Location: FIC LAW

Genre: Mystery 

Part Agatha Christie, part Veronica Mars, and completely entertaining'

-- Karen M McManus, #1 NYT bestselling author of One of Us Is Lying


Welcome to Castle Cove —
a town cursed with missing girls,
bad boyfriends, family secrets,
and some very steep cliffs.

Last summer, Alice Ogilvie's basketball-star boyfriend, Steve, dumped her. Then she disappeared for five days. Where she went and what happened to her is the biggest mystery in Castle Cove. Or at least it was. Because now, another one of Steve's girlfriends has vanished: Brooke Donovan, Alice's ex-best friend. And it doesn't look like Brooke will be coming back ...

Enter Iris Adams, Alice's tutor. Iris has her own reasons for wanting to disappear, though unlike Alice, she doesn't have the money or the means. That could be changed by the hefty reward Brooke's family is offering. The police are convinced Steve is the culprit, but Alice isn't so sure, and with Iris on her side, she just might be able to prove her theory.

Luckily, Alice has exactly what they need to crack the case — the complete works of Agatha Christie. If there's anyone who can teach the girls how to solve a mystery, it's the master herself.

But the town of Castle Cove holds many secrets, and Alice and Iris have no idea how much danger they're about to walk into ..

"With great supporting characters that kept me guessing and plenty of action to move the story along, I absolutely loved THE AGATHAS, and hope this writing duo has plans to write more together in the future!

Grab a friend to devour this one with; with plenty of fun twists and turns, you'll want to gush and guess what's next with someone and won't be able to put it down until you solve the mystery!"

League Of Liars

By: Astrid Scholte

Location: FIC SCH

Genre: Fantasy, Mystery

 In this fantasy thriller, four teens charged with murder and the illegal use of magic band together to devise the ultimate jailbreak.

“Don’t be one of those people who hates their life but doesn’t have the courage to change it,”

Ever since his mother was killed, seventeen-year-old Cayder Broduck has had one goal--to see illegal users of magic brought to justice. People who carelessly use extradimensional magic for their own self-interest, without a care to the damage it does to society or those around them, deserve to be punished as far as Cayder is concerned. Because magic always has a price. So when Cayder lands a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to apprentice under a premier public defender, he takes it. If he can learn all the tricks of public defense, the better he'll be able to dismantle defense arguments when he's a prosecutor. Then he'll finally be able to make sure justice is served.

But when he meets the three criminals he's supposed to defend, it no longer seems so black and white. They're teenagers, like him, and their stories are . . . complicated, like his. Vardean, the prison where Cayder's new clients are incarcerated, also happens to be at the very heart of the horrible tear in the veil between their world and another dimension--where all magic comes from. 

My Fine Fellow

 By: Jennieke Cohen 

Location: FIC COH

Genre: Historical Fiction

"A charming historical romp and fitting tribute to My Fair Lady. With pitch-perfect prose and a sly, observant voice, Jennieke Cohen serves up a spectacularly unique rom-com confection. I absolutely loved it!"

Culinary delights abound, romance lingers in the air, and plans go terribly, wonderfully astray in this cheeky and charming historical tale, perfect for fans of Bridgerton or Dickinson.

It’s 1830s England, and Culinarians—doyens who consult with society’s elite to create gorgeous food and confections—are the crème de la crème of high society.

Helena Higgins, top of her class at the Royal Academy, has a sharp demeanor and an even sharper palate—and knows stardom awaits her if she can produce greatness in her final year.

Penelope Pickering is going to prove the value of non-European cuisine to all of England. Her contemporaries may scorn her Filipina heritage and her dishes, but with her flawless social graces and culinary talents, Penelope is set to prove them wrong.

Elijah Little has nothing to his name but a truly excellent instinct for flavors. London merchants won’t allow a Jewish boy to own a shop, so he hawks his pasties for a shilling a piece to passersby—but he knows with training he can break into the highest echelon of society.

When Penelope and Helena meet Elijah, a golden opportunity arises: to pull off a project never seen before, and turn Elijah from a street vendor to a gentleman chef.

But Elijah’s transformation will have a greater impact on this trio than they originally realize—and mayhem, unseemly faux pas, and a little romance will all be a part of the delicious recip

Kill All Your Darlings

 By: David Bell

Location: FIC BEL

Genre: Mystery, Thriller

"If you have not read a David Bell novel before, you need to get reading! Seriously, his books are beautifully written, gripping, and intelligent page turners. Debra

After years of struggling to write following the deaths of his wife and son, English professor Connor Nye publishes his first novel, a thriller about the murder of a young woman.

There's just one problem: Connor didn't write the book. His missing student did. And then she appears on his doorstep, alive and well, threatening to expose him.

Connor's problems escalate when the police insist details in the novel implicate him in an unsolved murder from two years ago. Soon Connor discovers the crime is part of a disturbing scandal on campus and faces an impossible dilemma--admit he didn't write the book and lose his job or keep up the lie and risk everything. When another murder occurs, Connor must clear his name by unraveling the horrifying secrets buried in his student's manuscript.

This is a suspenseful, provocative novel about the sexual harassment that still runs rampant in academia--and the lengths those in power will go to cover it up.

When a student disappears and is presumed dead, her professor passes off her manuscript as his own--only to find out it implicates him in an unsolved murder in this new thriller from the USA Today bestselling author of The Request.

If These Wings Could Fly

 By:  Kyrie McCauley

Location: FIC MCC

Genre: Contemporary, Magical Realism

“When the legacy is anger, the inheritance is fear.”

“This is what I know of pride. I know that it keeps the secrets of cruel men. I know that it holds us in the shadows, because we are too proud to admit we need help. I know that pride values a man's reputation over a woman's life. It calls her selfish for speaking up, even when she speaks the truth. Especially then.”

Perfect for fans of Laura Ruby, Laurie Halse Anderson, and Mindy McGinnis, Kyrie McCauley’s stunning YA debut is a powerful story about the haunting specter of domestic violence and the rebellious forces of sisterhood and first love. Winner of the William C. Morris Award!

Tens of thousands of crows invading Auburn, Pennsylvania, is a problem for everyone in town except seventeen-year-old Leighton Barnes. For Leighton, it’s no stranger than her house, which inexplicably repairs itself every time her father loses his temper and breaks things.

Leighton doesn’t have time for the crows—it’s her senior year, and acceptance to her dream college is finally within reach. But grabbing that lifeline means abandoning her sisters, a choice she’s not ready to face.

With her father’s rage worsening and the town in chaos over the crows, Leighton allows herself a chance at happiness with Liam, her charming classmate, even though falling in love feels like a revolutionary act.

Balancing school, dating, and survival under the shadow of sixty thousand feathered wings starts to feel almost comfortable, but Leighton knows that this fragile equilibrium can only last so long before it shatters. 

Burningblade and Silvereye Series

 By: Django Wexler

Location: FIC WEX

Genre: Fantasy

Standing on opposite sides of a looming civil war, two siblings discover that not even ties of blood will keep them from splitting the world in two.
Long ago, a magical war destroyed an empire, and a new one was built in its ashes. But still the old grudges simmer, and two siblings will fight on opposite sides to save their world, in the start of Django Wexler’s new epic fantasy trilogy

Gyre hasn't seen his beloved sister since their parents sold her to the mysterious Twilight Order. Now, twelve years after her disappearance, Gyre's sole focus is revenge, and he's willing to risk anything and anyone to claim enough power to destroy the Order.

Chasing rumors of a fabled city protecting a powerful artifact, Gyre comes face-to-face with his lost sister. But she isn't who she once was. Trained to be a warrior, Maya wields magic for the Twilight Order's cause. Standing on opposite sides of a looming civil war, the two siblings will learn that not even the ties of blood will keep them from splitting the world in two.
Four hundred years ago, a cataclysmic war cracked the world open and exterminated the Elder races. Amid the ashes, their human inheritor, the Dawn Republic, stands guard over lands littered with eldritch relics and cursed by plaguespawn outbreaks. But a new conflict is looming and brother and sister Maya and Gyre have found themselves on opposite sides.

At the age of five, Maya was taken by the Twilight Order and trained to be a centarch, wielding forbidden arcana to enforce the Dawn Republic's rule. On that day, her brother, Gyre, swore to destroy the Order that stole his sister... whatever the cost.

Twelve years later, brother and sister are two very different people: she is Burningblade, the Twilight Order's brightest prodigy; he is Silvereye, thief, bandit, revolutionary.