"Bring Me Your Midnight" by Rachel Griffen

 Romeo and Juliet.... but with magic.... and a better ending. 

What if Romeo and Juliet were both witches but from rival covens? 

If that catches your interest, then you will enjoy "Bring Me Your Midnight".

Tana Fairchild has her whole life laid out before her. As the only daughter of the coven leader on their island, it is her job to help bring peace between the witches who live on their island and the humans who live on the mainland. She follows all the rules. She only practices "low magic" during the day at her parent's perfume shop, she never practices magic after dark, and she would never practice the "dark magic" that taught the mainlanders to fear witches in the first place. 

The job Tana's parents have given her is simple. Marry the human governor's son and bring peace and protection to her coven. 

Tana has never questioned the path her parents set her on when she was just a child, but all that changes when she meets a stranger on their beach. A stranger who practices "dark magic" and he will make Tana question everything she has ever known about magic, her coven, and herself.

This book had a bit of a slow start for me as the world building and magic system was established and the characters were introduced. However, I am glad I stuck with it because I flew through the second half of the book. The magic system with it's two different types of magic was very original and well thought out, and the sweet romance in the story set my heart aflutter. I was content with the ending but I do feel like there could be more to the story. Maybe from another character's point of view.

Overall, I gave this one 4 stars.

"Into the Sunken City" by Dinesh Thiru

 A great addition to the Dystopian genre!

In a world of constant rain and danger, only one thing is certain: the waters will continue to rise. 

Jin and her younger sister, Thara, are all that's left of their family. After their father died in an attempt to pull up lost treasure from the depths of the ever expanding ocean, Jin promised herself and her sister that they would never dive again. Instead, they will run the dilapidated inn their father left them and continue to scrimp and save so they can pay their taxes and avoid being conscripted by the navy. 

But surviving in this world of water isn't easy. So when a suspicious woman shows up at the inn offering gold in return for an indefinite stay, Jin knows the stranger is trouble and she should throw her out. But times are hard, and her younger sister is getting closer to conscription age with everyday that passes. Without the stanger's money, Jin may not be able to save herself or her sister from a life of forced service at sea.

However, this stranger wants more than just a warm bed and a meal. She is looking for a crew to help her retrieve the largest treasure ever to be discovered in the depths of what used to be Las Vegas, and she wants Jin and Thara to once again put on the diving suits their father left them and help her retrieve it in return for part of the treasure. 

Jin swore she would never go back in the water, but Thara is desperate to go in the hopes that the treasure will buy them a new life far from the coast and the inn. Jin is torn until one night the stranger's past catches up with her, and Thara, Jin, and her hot ex-boyfriend are drawn into the adventure of a lifetime. 

Sea beasts, pirates, deadly storms and much more. 

If you are looking for an exciting adventure story, then look no further! 

This book was fast paced with engaging characters, and engaging plot and intricate world building. Jin was a little hard to like at times, but with everything that had happened to her in her life, it is totally believable that she would be such a hardened character despite her young age. 

I give this book 4.5 stars!

"The House of Salt and Sorrows" by Erin A Craig

 "A House Of Salt and Sorrows" is a haunting Gothic retelling of the fairy tale classic "The Twelve Dancing Princesses". 

This book definitely get 5 stars for its creep factor. 

Our introduction to the story begins with a funeral. 

The Duke of Highmoore, Orten Thaumas, once had twelve beautiful daughters, a loving wife, and an almost perfect life on their island estate. But tragedy struck when his beloved wife died giving birth to their 12th daughter, Verity, and since that fateful night death seems to follow the Thaumas women.

 One died of plague.

One died in the bathtub.

One died after falling from a library ladder.

And now the fourth eldest daughter, Eulalie, has died under questionable circumstances after falling from a high cliff and smashing into the rocks below. 

Was it an accident?

Did she jump?

Or was she pushed?

Annaleigh Thaumas, now the 2nd eldest daughter of the Duke of Highmoore, is determined to find out what really happened to Eulalie and why her sisters keep dying.

The towns people whisper that their family is cursed, and that anyone who gets too close to the Thaumas girls risks meeting the same fate. But Annaleigh doesn't believe in curses. 

That is, until she starts seeing the spirits of her departed sisters. And these spirits are definitely not at peace and seem to have sinister intentions towards the household occupants. 

However, only Annaleigh and Verity can see their spirits, and no one believes Annaliegh when she tries to tell them that her sisters' death were no accident. 

While trying to solve the mystery of the "Thaumas curse", Annaleigh also tries to comfort her sisters, especially her oldest sister Camille. While Camille is also grieving the deaths of her sisters, she is also lamenting the fact that every eligible bachelor on the island believes them to be cursed and it is unlikely that she will ever find love. And with the near constant deaths of her sisters, the remaining Thaumas sisters are never able to end their mourning period to attend balls and functions where they could meet potential beaus. 

So when Annaleigh hears rumors of a magic door used by the gods that can transport a person anywhere they wish in the entire world, she and her sisters begin to search for it, hoping to find a way to leave their island home and their grief behind for just a few hours so they can enjoy their lives and search for love. 

What follows are nights filled with music, dancing, and handsome partners who escort them around ballrooms throughout the entire world. For the first time in a long time, the Thaumas girls are happy. 

But death never seems to be far from Annaleigh and her sisters, and something far more sinister than they could ever imagine is waiting for them. 

This book is a great choice if you are looking for a spine-tingling supernatural read. I kept thinking to myself as I read this book that it would make a great horror movie. The descriptions of the spirits and the scenes they appear in are down right chilling. And what is creepier that a small child talking about the ghosts of her dead sisters and making drawings of those ghosts in their death states? Eerily accurate drawings of sisters who died when she was just an infant and she should have no memory of. 

I was immediately pulled in by the mystery surrounding the curse, and the cute romance included in the story provided a nice break from the sinister ghosts, the deaths, and the grief that surrounded Annaleigh. 

The only downside of this story was that is got a little confusing at the end. This is in no part the author's fault, it is simply a natural result of the plot and the reveals that are made toward the end. I had to read several parts a couple of times to keep track of what was happening and what had already happened. I can't really say more without giving too much away, but overall, it was a satisfying conclusion to the story. 

This was a great retelling of "The Twelve Dancing Princesses" and the dark Gothic elements just pushed it to the next level. I will definitely be recommending this one to other readers. 

The narrator for the audiobook version of this story did an amazing job as well! 

Deep Water by Watt key

I found myself in a bit of a reading slump lately. A weird reading slump. The kind of slump where there are dozens of books I want to read, but when I pick them up to begin, I can't get past the first few pages. 

So frustrating...

I think the problem was I was picking up the same type of book over and over again. I needed something different. 

So I picked up...

Now, I am a sucker for almost any type of ocean survival story. I love movies like Jaws, The Meg, Underwater, Open Water, The Shallows... You get the idea. So when I came across Watt Key's Deep Water, I thought I would give it a shot. 

The story begins when 12 year old Julie Sims goes out with her somewhat irresponsible father to charter a spearfishing dive in the Gulf with a wealthy businessman and his son, Shane. When her father becomes ill, Julie faces the decision of having to guide the dive herself, or risk her father losing the much needed money from this charter. 

Seeing no other option, Julie descends the 105 feet to the ocean floor with two reckless divers in unsavory dive conditions. Things quickly go from bad to worse, and the trio finds themselves in a life or death survival situation as they battle sharks, withstand lightning storms, and fight off dehydration. Julie has to use every bit of her knowledge about the ocean and survival techniques to get them out of Deep Water alive. 

I felt something rough brush against my leg. I yelped and jerked it away instinctively.

                    "What?" Shane asked.

                    Before I even lowered my head, I knew. Underneath me I saw the sleek 

                    gray body gliding below. 

While the main character, Julie Sims, is 12 years of age, a little younger than the MCs of most of the books I read, her characterization and maturity in the face of a life-threatening situations made her seem much older. Thus, it was easy for me to connect with her as a character. 

I really enjoyed the pacing of the story. I think it would be easy for a survival story set in the middle of the ocean to become boring because so much of surviving in the ocean is just not dying. There is not a lot Julie, Shane, or his father can do except stay alive and hope that help arrives. To break up the monotony of their ocean survival situation, Julie's survival story is interspersed with flashbacks of her life that help explain how she got into this situation in the first place. 

Fun Fact: This story is also somewhat based on a real-life experience the author had when he and a friend went scuba-diving. He didn't have near as many obstacles to face as Julie, though. 

I flew through the story in just two days and I found it to be a highly enjoyable survival story that kept me guessing about the outcome. My only regret is that I felt like the friendship between Shane and Julie could have been a little more developed. If you think you are going to die, you don't really need to keep all your fears, hopes and dreams to yourself. While Key did work this into the story to some extent, I feel like he could have taken it a little farther.

Overall, if you are looking for an engaging survival story with interesting characters and plenty of suspense to keep you turning the pages, then be sure to pick up a copy of Deep Water by Watt Key.

"When do we give up, Julie?" he said.

"I don't know," I said. "Maybe you can't even if you want to." 

  

HAPPY READING!