"A Door in the Dark" by Scott Reintgen

 Wow, I definitely have mixed feelings about some of the events in this one, but there is no denying that this was a great story. 

If "Harry Potter", "The Unfortunates" by Kim Liggett and the movie, "Knives Out" had a baby, it would be this book. It is a fantasy, psychological thriller.

To sum up: 

Six gifted students from an elite magical school find themselves in a survival situation when a simple travel spell goes wrong. Now, one of them is dead, the other five are stranded in deadly forest far from civilization and tensions are running high as no one knows who they can trust.  While two of the students come from powerful and magically wealthy families, the other four are gifted scholarship students and each one of them has their own secrets and personal vendettas against the wealthy families. But with a dangerous monster stalking their steps, they have no choice but to work together in order to get back home alive.  As the danger stalks closer and the bodies begin to pile up, the surviving students have to make hard choices about what they will do in order to survive, and who they are willing to let die to further their own agenda. 

The main character is has major Hermione vibes. Ren is a brilliant and gifted magical student, but she has very few options for her future since she was born into the lower classes. She is determined to do whatever it takes to rise to the top, and the dark memories from her past won't allow her to accept anything less.

Ren's best friend is also low-born, but her rare magic has secured her a spot in one of the most powerful houses in the city. Their two fellow low born classmates, a gifted medical student and a wrestler with a bright future, are stuck with them in the deadly forest along with the sons of two of the most prominent and powerful families in the city.  So how are these four outcasts going to work together with their spoiled and entitled classmates without wanting to kill each other?

Well, you'll have to read the book to get the answer to that question. 

If you are familiar with Harry Potter at all, then you will slide right into this magical world and hit the ground running. Once the action starts, it doesn't let up. This book will make your heart pound, break, and stop completely before the story is over. 

I highly recommend it if you enjoy fantasy, horror, or thrillers. 

"Dungeons & Drama" by Kristy Boyce

 Holy cuteness, that was adorable!!!

This book had me laughing out loud at the one liners between the main characters and then tearing up during the intense moments with the main character and her family. I was smiling throughout most of this book and getting weird looks when I would giggle out loud.

I honestly wasn't expecting much when I picked up this book. After reading two paranormal suspense novels followed by a thriller, I was just looking for a fluff novel to break up the intensity of the books I have been selecting lately. 

But I LOVED this book!

I loved the characters, their interactions, the friendships, the family discord and the resolutions, and I LOVED that the theater and gaming were such as integral part of this story.  There aren't many romances out there featuring an outside-of-the-box theater kid and a die hard Dungeons & Dragons gamer. 

THE PREMISE:

After borrowing her mother's car without permission (note: she doesn't have her driver's license) and driving across the state to see the Broadway Musical "Waitress" on tour, musical enthusiast Riley finds herself in deep trouble with her parents. As punishment, Riley is grounded for eight weeks, and to make matters worse, she is forced to take an after school job at her father's gaming store. Dreading spending countless afternoons with a father she hasn't been close to since the divorce, Riley can't help resent working in a store that she believes is part of the reason her parents split. Also, she knows next to nothing about gaming, so how the heck is she supposed to sell gaming products?

Riley would rather be spending her time trying to figure out a way to save their school's spring musical, which has just been cut due to budget reasons. To make matters worse, her ex-boyfriend, who dumped her for his co-star at the community theater, is constantly hanging around giving her pitying looks and showing off his new girlfriend.

However, Riley is not going to sit back and take it. She is going to find a way to save the musical and get back at her ex, but she is going to need the help of her father's supper annoying, if somewhat cute, classmate in order to accomplish her goal. Nathan is a die hard gamer and he has been working with Riley's father for years. After a misunderstanding upon their first meeting, Nathan quickly decides that the sooner Riley is gone, the better. 

But Riley offers him a deal he can't refuse. If Nathan agrees to be Riley's fake boyfriend for the next few weeks in order to wipe the condescending look off of her ex's face, then she will join his D & D group with the sole purpose of flirting with him in front of his crush, Sophia, in order to make her notice him. 

Let's just say that hilarity ensues and the second hand embarrassment is real in this book. And the slow turn from enemies, to friends, and then to Riley wanting more is just..."Chef's Kiss".

"A Taste For Love" by Jennifer Yen

 "The Bachelorette" meets "The Great British Baking Show" in this romantic comedy about food, family, and finding what makes you happy.

Liza Yang has never been good enough for her mother. She's not a model like her beautiful, intelligent older sister, she doesn't want a sensible career like accounting, and she does NOT want to date any of the Asian American boys that her mother is constantly trying to set her up with. 

The one thing Liza has always been passionate about is baking. Liza's mother is the owner of one of the most popular bakeries in the city, and Liza's passion for creating and experimenting with new recipes is one of the few things she has in common with her mother. 

In an attempt prove her skill and passion for baking, Liza agrees to help her mother judge their annual junior baking challenge contest, which her mother's bakery puts on every year as a scholarship opportunity for young bakers.  However, on the first day of the baking challenge, Liza finds herself the star of her own personal bachelorette reality show. Instead of choosing talented, aspiring bakers, her mother has selected 10 Asian American young men that have been pre-approved to date Liza.  If that isn't embarrassing enough, her mother also provided them a detailed bio on Lisa and offered her up as a prize. Not only will the winner receive a scholarship, but this year's winner will also receive six private baking lessons with Liza. 

When Liza realizes what her mother has done, she is beyond embarrassed and her rebellious tendencies urge to her to push back against her mother's ridiculous plan. There's only one problem: James Wong. He's handsome, stoic, gruff and surprisingly kind at times, and Liza finds herself irresistibly drawn to him despite her resolve to not give in to her mother's scheming. 

As Liza battles her growing feelings for James, and fights for her mother's approval, she realizes that just like some of her recipes, life doesn't always go as planned, and the best recipes are often created when you follow your heart. 

This was a super cute romantic story that is perfect for readers who are looking of a light, feel-good read. The descriptions of all the different food that appeared in this book made me want to crawl inside it so I could taste it all for myself!

Begin Again by Emma Lord

 Need a cute, sweet college romance?

Then, look no further than "Begin Again" by Emma Lord. 

"Begin Again" is Emma Lord's 4th book and is a cute romantic comedy about what happens next when all of your carefully made plans go awry. 

Andie Rose has dreamed all her life of attending Blue Ridge State University and following in her mother's footsteps. She's going to go to Blue Ridge State with her High school sweetheart Connor, major in Psychology, compete in the ribbon hunt so she can join a secret society, graduate, start a radio show, become a TV personality, marry Connor, and write a memoir about her amazing life.  It's the perfect life, mapped out in detail. 

What could go wrong?

The answer is...a lot. 

Andie doesn't get accepted into Blue Ridge State after high school. Despite being very bright, Andie's grades suffered after she devoted too much time and energy ensuring that her boyfriend, Connor, got the grades he needed to get accepted in Blue Ridge State with her. Ironically, Connor heads off to Blue Ridge State and Andie goes to a local community college after high school. 

But Andie always has a plan. 

She will go to the community college for a semester, raise her grades, get accepted as a transfer to Blue Ridge State at semester, and everything will be back on track. She will be attending her dream school, following in her mother's footsteps, and she will be with Connor.

This is where the story begins. 

Andie has been accepted into Blue Ridge State as a transfer student, which is almost unheard of . Her life is finally back on track.

Now, she is going to surprise Connor at his apartment tell him the good news. 

Only, Connor isn't there.

After finding a stranger living in Connor's apartment, Andie calls her boyfriend, excited to begin their life at Blue Ridge together, only to find out that Connor has transferred to the local community college. To be with her.

With her carefully laid out plans once again starting to fall apart, Andie has to make some tough decisions about her future, and how she is going to "fix" this mess.

But despite the chaos going on in her personal life, Blue Ridge State is everything Andie hoped it would be and more. 

An amazing roommate, an underground radio show, and a potential new love interest cause Andie to take a closer look at her life and force her reevaluate all of her carefully laid out plans. Because sometimes when everything seems to fall apart, the only thing you can do is "Begin Again".

This sweet romance, despite it mostly lighthearted tone, had a lot of depth to it and addressed issues such a parent death, grief, dysfunctional families, guilt and much more. 

Andie was a sweet, endearing character who found a place in my heart simply through how much she cared about the people around her. Her friendship with Shay and Valeria is what every new college student dreams of. 

At times, I did find the pace of the story a little slow, but the witty banter between Andie, Shay, Valeria, and their RA Miles kept me engaged. I even laughed out loud a few times.

So if you are looking for a story to warm your heart and put a smile on your face, then get your copy of "Begin Again" today. 

"Eat You Heart Out" by Kelly Devos

 Eat Your Heart Out is a funny but edge of your seat story about a group of teens who are forced to go to a "Fat Camp" by their rich parents. However, not long after they arrive, they realize something is very wrong with this camp as their fellow campers begin turning into crazed zombies with an insatiable hunger that they will do anything to satisfy. With the power out and no cellphones or landlines available to them, this ragtag group of teens will have to work together is they are going to survive. 

So I literally just finished "Eat You Heart Out" by Kelly Devos. All I knew going into this book was that is was a satirical story about a group of kids who get sent to a "fat camp" by their wealthy parents and they end up facing a zombie hoard that starts eating everyone at camp.

Before starting this expected some gore, some humor, and even potentially some light romance. I mean, look at that cover. 

The valentine pink background and all the pastels did not prepare me for how sad and tense this book made me feel at times. 

This story dealt with guilt, fat shaming, dysfunctional families, sacrifice, and so much more. It really had all the feels. 

The overall story is great and I truly enjoyed all the characters. This story is written in first person from the perspective of  six teens who find themselves at Camp Featherlite. Five of the teens have been sent there to begin "their weight loss journey" and the sixth teen took the job as a camp counselor out of desperation as he needed money to pay for his college tuition. 

Each chapter starts with the first and last name of the character who is narrating that section of the story. It did get hard for me at times to keep track of which character was narrating. I would have to flip back to the beginning of the chapter to reference which character's mind I was currently in. However, this style did allow me a much deeper look into each characters' motivations, their backstory, and their internal response to the situation the found themselves in. Kudos to the author for creating six realistic characters that all had some form of character arc or development throughout the book. No static characters here.

I also enjoyed how the story connected to horror movies by highlighting the stereotypical roles that usually appear in these types of films. Allision, the movie buff of the group, pointed out the connection between these stereotypical roles and their own ragtag group pretty early on in the story. There was Action Girl, the Courageous Captain, the Jerk, the Outcast, the Nerd, and the Basketcase. But who was who? This lead to a lot of speculation on my part on who would survive and who would be zombie food, and I was very invested in finding out if the characters stuck to their "assigned rolls".

My favorite part was probably when "action girl" was beating off zombies with a yellow oar. That was epic!  Makes sense why that scene made it on the cover as well. 

I loved that the heroes of the story weren't your typical "All-American" teens, but just regular kids put into an impossible situation and forced to do what ever they have to in order to survive. 

This story was fast paced, action packed, and at times humorous and surprisingly emotional as the characters faced challenge after challenge and the loss of their camp mates and their friends.

Teaser: The tension was ramped up even more when one of six teens reveals a secret that raises the stakes for the rest of the group and creates an even greater sense of urgency for the characters to get help as fast as they can. 

I highly recommend this book if you are looking for something to read that is different from so many of the other YA books out there.  There is great character development, a powerful social commentary on the way "fat" people are viewed or portrayed by society, and strong messages about that way we treat people who are different than ourselves. Definitely put this one of your TBR list.