Series: None
Author: Sara Barnard
Published January 12th 2017 by Macmillan Children's Books (ARC)
Read: January 1-4 2017
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2017 Contemporary Romance
The Memory Book
Series: None
Author: Lara Avery
Published January 26th 2017 by Hachette (ARC)
Read: January 4-7 2017
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2017 Contemporary Romance
Windwitch 
Series: The Witchlands #2
Author: Susan Dennard 
Published January 12th 2017 by Tor UK (ARC)
Read: January 7-12 2017
My Rating: 5 Stars
Challenge: 2017 Flights of Fantasy 
Coming Up for Air
Series: Hundred Oaks #8
Author: Miranda Kenneally
Published July 1st 2017 by Sourcebooks Fire (eARC)
Read: January 13 2017
My Rating: 5 Stars
Challenge: 2017 Contemporary Romance
Series: Lady Helen #2
Author: Alison Goodman
Published January 26th 2017 by Walker Books (ARC)
Read: January 13-15 2017
My Rating: 5 Stars
Wayfarer
Series: Passenger #2
Author: Alexandra Bracken
Published January 12th 2017 by Quercus Children's Books
Read: January 17-18
My Rating: 5 Stars
Challenge: 2017 RockMyTBR
Heartstone
Series: None
Author: Elle Katharine White
Published January 17th 2017 by Harper Voyager
Read: January 19-20 2017
My Rating: 5 Stars
Challenge: 2017 RockMyTBR, 2017 Flights of Fantasy, 2017 Debut Author Challenge
Geekerella
Series: None
Author: Ashley Poston
Published April 4th 2017 by Quirk Books (ARC)
Read: January 20-21 2017
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2017 Contemporary Romance
Forever Geek
Series: Geek Girl #6
Author: Holly Smale
Published March 9th 2017 by Harper Collins Children Books (eARC)
Read: January 25-26 2017
My Rating: 5 Stars
Challenge: 2017 Contemporary Romance
Any Boy But You
Series: North Pole, Minnesota #1 
Author: Julie Hammerle 
Published February 13th 2017 by Entangled: Crush (eARC)
Read: January 29 2017
My Rating: 4 Stars
Challenge: 2017 Contemporary Romance
2017 Contemporary Romance: 6 (6 total)
2017 Flights of Fantasy: 2 (2 total)
2017 RockMyTBR: 2 (2 total)
2017 Debut Author Challenge: 1 (1 total)

I feel like 2017 is getting off to a fantastic start. I've read a few different books, and all of them have been wonderful. Hopefully this'll remain the same for the rest of the year!

How have you done this month? Let me know below.

December 3-9, 2016

Rating
3 Stars

December 29-30, 2016

Rating
3 Stars

Wing Jones
Series: None
Author: Katherine Webber
Published January 5th 2017 by Walker Books

Goodreads Synopsis
Jandy Nelson meets Friday Night Lights: a sweeping story about love and family from an exceptional new voice in YA. With a grandmother from China and another from Ghana, fifteen-year-old Wing Jones is often caught between worlds. But when tragedy strikes, Wing discovers a talent for running she never knew she had. Wing's speed could bring her family everything it needs. It could also stop Wing getting the one thing she wants.
Goodreads

Review
I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher. This in no way impacted on my view.

This was one of the 2017 debuts that I'd been interested in for ages, and when I was able to review a copy, I jumped at the chance. Wing Jones is about the main character, Wing, who has to deal with her brother being in a coma, and she does so by running. For years, she has struggled to find her identity, as her grandparents are from China and Ghana, and she's never really fit, within school. When she discovers her ability to run, and do it well, she finds herself relying on it, to take her mind off the tradegy her family is facing.

Firstly, I found the writing in this book perfect for the content. From the first page, you were drawn into the environment and era, and I could easily picture what I was reading about. Set in 1990s Atlanta, Webber doesn't gloss over the social issues facing Wing, and her family. They're struggling to earn and save enough money to live, and when they have to pay for more and more medical bills, it makes the problem even harder. Wing finds herself thinking that she's their only hope, and with her running ability, she could help if she can find a scholarship, or sponsorship.

There's also some romance in this book, which I did enjoy, but I much preferred the running aspect of the book. It was swoony at times, but I wasn't as invested in the romance as I would have liked to be. The ending was also a bit 'meh', and just ended, when I felt there needed to be a bit more tied up, but that's what I've found with many contemporary books.

All in all, this was a debut worth waiting for, and I look forward to reading more from Webber in the future.

A Shadow Bright and Burning
Series: Kingdom on Fire #1
Author: Jessica Cluess
Published September 20th 2016 by Random House Books for Young Readers

Goodreads Synopsis
Henrietta can burst into flames.

Forced to reveal her power to save a friend, she’s shocked when instead of being executed, she’s named the first female sorcerer in hundreds of years and invited to train as one of Her Majesty’s royal sorcerers.

Thrust into the glamour of Victorian London, Henrietta is declared the prophesied one, the girl who will defeat the Ancients, bloodthirsty demons terrorizing humanity. She also meets her fellow sorcerer trainees, handsome young men eager to test her power and her heart. One will challenge her. One will fight for her. One will betray her.

But Henrietta is not the chosen one.

As she plays a dangerous game of deception, she discovers that the sorcerers have their own secrets to protect. With battle looming, how much will she risk to save the city—and the one she loves?
Goodreads

Review
This was a debut that I'd had my eyes on ever since the ARC reviews started coming in. I asked for the book for Christmas, and started it as soon as I got it.

In A Shadow Bright and Burning, Victorian London is under attack by the monstrous Ancients, that suddenly appeared to terrorise the country. The teams of royal sorcerers are fighting a losing battle, and when a prophecy is discovered that states a female sorcerer, the first in hundreds of years, will be the key to defeating these beasts, Henrietta finds herself being thrust into glamorous London. The problem is, she doesn't think she is actuallly the sorcerer they have in mind, because although she is skilled with fire magic, all other kinds allude her, and she might end up doing more harm than good.

If you've read my blog for a while now, you'll know that historical fiction is a love of mine, and the Regency and Victorian eras are some of my favourites. I just love the rules and environment of these eras, and I think it works really well with fantasy elements added - and this book didn't disappoint. We see the different parts of Victorian life - both the squalor and suffering of the lower classes, and the opulence and grandeur of the upper classes. Henrietta is from a mix of both; though she was born with some status, she was sent to a boarding school when her parents died, and resigned herself to a job as a teacher in said school, in the Yorkshire Dales. When she is taken from this world to the protection of London, and all the finery that suggests, she struggles with the culture shock, but soon recovers. 

Henrietta, as a character, I really liked. She was a real character, and nothing about her seemed fake - other than when she was lying to the others, but we knew she was doing that. Even though she felt like she couldn't do what everyone wanted her to, she still tried, because she knew that the fate of Britain depended on her, and she would rather die, than do nothing at all and see everyone else suffer. She was also fiercely loyal to her friends, and made sure her best friend, Rook, an Unclean who had been attacked by an Ancient, was cared for, and didn't suffer.

There is romance in the book, and at times it was a bit annoying because I think we got up to a love square at one point. One of the love interests I wasn't keen on from the beginning - it didn't seem sincere. There's also a Mr Darcy-like character, who I can see perhaps having a bigger role in the future, because of what part of the prophecy said.

I really enjoyed this book, and can't wait to read the sequel. If you enjoy YA historical fantasy, this is a book for you.

Take the Key and Lock Her Up
Series: Embassy Row #3
Author: Ally Carter
Published January 26th 2017 by Orchard Books

Goodreads Summary
The third and final instalment in the thrilling Embassy Row series.

Grace has discovered that she's the lost princess of Adria ... but some people would prefer she stay lost. With her brother's life hanging in the balance and secret assassins everywhere, life on Embassy Row has never been more dangerous.

Review
See my review for book 2, See How They Run.

I received an Advance Reader Copy from the publisher via NetGalley. This in no way impacted on my view.

Like everyone else who's read this series, I was desperate to get my hands on book 3, Take the Key and Lock Her Up, after the shocking revelation and cliffhanger at the end of See How They Run. Grace now knows she's descended from the lost princess of Adria, and more to the point, her and her brother, Jamie, are in danger from either the Royal Family, the Society, or both. She only has her friends to rely on, and she can't risk putting them in any more danger.

First things first, I adore this series, and love Ally Carter's world building and characters. I knew reading this book would be somewhat bittersweet, due to the fact it's the last in the series, but I needed to know how Grace's story ended. Over the past two books, she's been through so much, and uncovered what would give most people nightmares, and she's still fighting. Now that Jamie has been shot, and she's on the run to save everyone she cares about, she finds herself thinking that she is the only one who can fix everything, and may just have to sacrifice herself to do so.

Grace is one of the best characters I've ever seen. She's so strong, considering she's been through so much, and she doesn't let her problems stop her. Her love and loyalty for her friends and family is one of the best things about her. She'd rather die than let anything happen to someone she cares about, and throughout this book, her wish might just come true.

Throughout the series, there's been a budding romance growing between Grace and her brother's friend, and neighbour on Embassy Row, Alexei. From the start, Ives loved seeing their chemistry, and relationship blossom, and this book was perfect for my shipper feels. There were some ups and downs, but it wouldn't be a YA contemporary if angst wasn't a big player.

All in all, I adored this book, just like I have the entire series, and though I'm sad to see the series end, and having to say goodbye to Grace, I couldn't have asked for a better end to the series. Ally Carter is one of the best YA authors I've ever read, and if you haven't picked up any of her books, you definitely should.

Rites of Passage
Series: None
Author: Joy N. Hensley
Published September 9th 2014 by Harper Teen

Goodreads Synopsis
Sam McKenna’s never turned down a dare. And she's not going to start with the last one her brother gave her before he died.

So Sam joins the first-ever class of girls at the prestigious Denmark Military Academy. She’s expecting push-ups and long runs, rope climbing and mud-crawling. As a military brat, she can handle an obstacle course just as well as the boys. She's even expecting the hostility she gets from some of the cadets who don’t think girls belong there. What she’s not expecting is her fiery attraction to her drill sergeant. But dating is strictly forbidden and Sam won't risk her future, or the dare, on something so petty... no matter how much she wants him.

As Sam struggles to prove herself, she discovers that some of the boys don’t just want her gone—they will stop at nothing to drive her out. When their petty threats turn to brutal hazing, bleeding into every corner of her life, she realizes they are not acting alone. A decades-old secret society is alive and active… and determined to force her out.
At any cost.

Now time's running short. Sam must decide who she can trust... and choosing the wrong person could have deadly consequences.
Goodreads

Review
When I first heard about this book, I was immediately intrigued. Between the ages of 12 and 16, I was in the army cadets, and had never seen any books that dealt with something like this. In Rites of Passage, Sam's whole family had gone to the Denmark Military Academy, and this year, the school is open to girls, for the first time. She knows that being there will be difficult, but she made a promise to complete the dare set by her late brother. However, she didn't anticipate how much the other cadets wanted her gone, and the dangers she would be facing. To top it all off, there's also the issue of her falling for the drill sergeant, something that was explicit prohibited.

I loved Sam! She reminded me a bit of myself, but a lot stronger and capable to dealing with the tough things - I reckon I would've dropped out if I had to deal with everything that was thrown at her. Being from a military family, she had the stamina and experience of physical aspects of military school, but the mental aspects sometimes got too much - and this is what made the book seem more real. Sam wasn't perfect, she struggled just like anyone would, she just had a stronger threshold than most.

All of the characters in the book were well written, especially the ones you hated. Each character had a back story, and were extremely well fleshed out. Sam's relationships with secondary characters were each unique, and I loved how she had a support network around her, even when she felt like it was Sam against the world.

The romance wasn't a big part of the book, but it was a nice interlude here and there that let the strong, angsty parts settle in our minds. Sam and Drill's relationship wasn't just about lust, but they cared about one another, and it grew and blossomed from a simple friendship, to more.

This book was what I needed, and was one of the first audiobooks I've read. If you haven't already read this, do so, you won't regret it.