Dream Within A Dream

Title: The Trouble with Unicorns Author: D.T. Dyllin Series: Team Unicorn Talia, #1 Publisher: Tik Tok Press Publication Date: April 30, 2018 Synopsis: Part-time demon tracker, full-time optimist … Talia White does what comes naturally to a unicorn: Balances the scales between light and dark with hefty doses of love and joy. Faced with a string of high profile demon possessions, Talia is determined to do her job, despite the fact that she finds herself strapped with a brooding dragon warrior as her new guardian. That’s the trouble with unicorns … they’ll accomplish their goal one way or another, even if they have to get a little stabby to do it. Goodreads | Amazon About the Author: D.T. Dyllin is a bestselling author who writes paranormal, sci-fi, and contemporary romance. Basically, anything with a love story is her kryptonite. Her obsession with affairs-of-the-heart is what first drove her to begin twisting her own tales of scorching romance. D.T. was born and raised in Pitts...

Title: Everywhere You Want to Be Author: Christina June Publisher: Blink Publication Date: May 1, 2018 Synopsis: From author Christina June comes Everywhere You Want to Be , a modern tale inspired by the classic Red Riding Hood. Matilda Castillo has always done what she was told, but when she gets injured senior years, she watches her dreams of becoming a contemporary dancer slip away. So when Tilly gets a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to spend the summer with a New York dance troupe, nothing can stop her from saying yes--not her mother, not her fears of the big city, and not the commitment she made to Georgetown. Tilly's mother allows her to go on two conditions: one, Tilly will regularly visit her abuela in New Jersey, and two, after the summer, she'll give up dancing and go off to college. Armed with her red vintage sunglasses and her pros and cons lists, Tilly strikes out, determined to turn a summer job into a career. Along the way she meets new friends ... and new enemie...

It's September 1944 and fifth grader Billie Packer is anxiously awaiting her big brother Leo's visit, the first one since he joined the Marines. There's so much she wants to talk to him about, like how to get Hazel to be her best friend again. But when Leo arrives, much to Billie's disappointment, he isn't alone, he's brought his buddy Denny, a Navaho, and an injured dog they found near the highway. It doesn't take long for Billie to get friendly with Denny, and to fall the dog, that Denny had named Bear.   Before Denny leaves, he tells Billie that he thinks Bear's purpose is to help her find what she is looking for. Soon, Leo ships out to the Pacific, Denny is recruited as a Navaho code talker, and Billie's life settles into a routine of school, chores, taking care of Bear, and hanging out with Tito, a Mexican boy in her class. Although Billie has been bullied by two boys in her class, their real target is Tito. When the bullying gets ugly and somet...

Title: The Unbelievable, Inconceivable, Unforeseeable Truth About Ethan Wilder Author: Cookie O'Gorman Publication Date: April 5, 2018 Synopsis: In the south, everyone has a secret--and murder is served with sweet tea. The word's out: Ethan Wilder’s coming back to town, and the people of Bowie, Georgia are in a southern tizzy. Everyone knows the story. He shot and killed his sister four years ago, and people say his father, Jim Wilder, the biggest holy roller this side of the Mississippi, sent him packing for just that reason. Even if her death was unofficially ruled a suicide, Ethan’s return has everybody talking.  Seventeen-year-old Delilah Doherty can’t go anywhere without hearing his name. Born and raised in Bowie, Delilah knows firsthand about the gossipmongers and how they love a good scandal. The daughter of a wild child and niece of the local psychic, she’s also the only one who doubts Ethan’s guilt. After Ethan saves her life, the two start a slow and steady burn ne...

Title: Evolved Author: N.R. Walker Publication Date: April 23, 2018 Synopsis: In 2068, androids are an integrated part of human life. Big Brother no longer just watches from the shadows. It’s in every household.  Lloyd Salter has OCD issues with noise, mess, and he’s uncomfortable with human interaction. When his ex claimed the only thing perfect enough to live up to his standards was an android, Lloyd dismissed it. But two years later, after much self-assessment, Lloyd thinks he may have been right.  SATinc is the largest manufacturer of androids in Australia, including the Fully Compatible Units known as an A-Class 10. Their latest design is the Synthetic Human Android UNit, otherwise known as SHAUN . Shaun is compatible with Lloyd’s every need; the perfect fit on an intellectual and physical basis. But Lloyd soon realises Shaun’s not like other A-Class androids. He learns. He adapts. Sure that SATinc is aware Shaun functions outside of his programmed parameters, Lloyd mu...

I mentioned in my review of Voices from the Second World War  that writer/artist Shirley Hughes was one of the people who contributed her wartime experiences to that excellent collection of oral histories, and that she had also written a book based on them (see Whistling in the Dark ). Ruby in the Ruins  is Hughes' latest picture book, one that takes place just at the end of WWII. Everyone in Ruby's London neighborhood is celebrating the end of the war with block parties, including Ruby and her Mum.  But, though the fighting may have ended, the memory of the Blitz is still fresh in their minds. There were all those nights when the air raid sirens went off, and people were supposed to go to their nearest shelter. And kids had been sent out of London for safety, but Ruby and her Mum stayed - just in case her dad, who is in the army, got leave and could come home to visit for a visit.  Those scary days and nights may be in the past, but all around her, Ruby sees houses ...

Title: Moonlight Seduction Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout Series: de Vincent, #2 Publisher: Avon Books Publication Date: June 26, 2018 Synopsis: The de Vincent brothers are back—and so is the intrigue that surrounds them—in New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout’s sizzling new novel... Nicolette Bresson never thought she’d return to the de Vincents’ bayou compound. It’s where her parents work, where Nikki grew up... and where she got her heart broken by Gabriel de Vincent himself. Yet here she is, filling in for her sick mother. Avoiding Gabe should be easy, especially when so much of Nikki’s time is spent trying not to be stabbed in the back by the malicious hangers-on who frequent the mansion. But escaping memories of Gabe, much less his smoking-hot presence, is harder than expected—especially since he seems determined to be in Nikki’s space as much as possible. Gabriel spent years beating himself up over his last encounter with Nikki. He’d wanted her then, but f...

Title: Ruthless Magic Author: Megan Crewe Series: Conspiracy of Magic, #1 Publication Date: May 30, 2018 Synopsis: In the contest to keep their magic, the only options may be die... or kill.  Each year, the North American Confederation of Mages assesses every sixteen-year-old novice. Some will be chosen. The rest must undergo a procedure to destroy their magical ability unless they prove themselves in the mysterious and brutal Mages' Exam. Disadvantaged by her parents' low standing, Rocío Lopez has dedicated herself to expanding her considerable talent to earn a place in the Confederation. Their rejection leaves her reeling—and determined to fight to keep her magic. Long ashamed of his mediocre abilities, Finn Lockwood knows the Confederation accepted him only because of his prominent family. Declaring for the Exam instead means a chance to confirm his true worth. Thrown into the testing with little preparation, Rocío and Finn find themselves becoming unlikely allies—and poss...

Title: Everything Under the Sun Author: Jessica Redmerski Publisher: Amazon Digital Services Publication Date: August 28, 2017 Synopsis: Thais Fenwick was eleven-years-old when civilization fell, devastated by a virus that killed off the majority of the world’s population. For seven years, Thais and her family lived in a community of survivors deep in the heart of the Appalachian Mountains. But when her town is attacked by raiders, she and her blind sister are taken away to the East-Central Territory where she is destined to live the cruel and unjust kind of life her late mother warned her about. Atticus Hunt is a troubled soldier in Lexington City who has spent the past seven years trying to conform to the vicious nature of men in a post-apocalyptic society. He knows that in order to survive, he must abandon his morals and his conscience and become like those he is surrounded by. But when he meets Thais, morals and conscience win out over conformity, and he risks his rank and his li...

Title: Wings of Flesh and Bones Author: Cathrina Constantine Publication Date: April 13, 2018 Synopsis: An Angel. A Witch. A Demon. And A Choice. Creatures from outer realms suck, as any gatekeeper worth their salt will tell you. Welcome to Rogan’s life, an orphaned seventeen-year-old who lives and trains with other misfits under her uncle’s roof, keeping Earth safe from non-human realm jumpers. Rogan’s biggest issue concerns her uncle’s short leash with her freedom—that is of course, until she’s taken by a notorious witch, and her life begins to unravel. Soon, the supernatural beauty discovers there’s a reason her uncle kept such a tight lock on her whereabouts, and that she has more than angel blood running through her veins.  Eighteen-year-old Max is an angel, and Rogan’s mentor and guardian. He’s well aware of her tenacious inability to obey orders, though he also knows she’s a fierce fighter. When he’s involved in a scheme that ultimately gets Rogan kidnapped, he must battl...

Title: Maybe Someone Like You Author: Stacy Wise Publisher: Entangled Publication Date: April 16, 2018 Synopsis: Katie Capwell is a bright and accomplished recent law school graduate, and she has her shiny future all mapped out. It's brimming with courtroom victories and creating change. Ryan Brincatt is a tattooed and impossibly cool martial artist, and he’s mastered a fierce roundhouse kick.  Their paths never should have crossed. But when Katie lurks outside the kickboxing gym where Ryan works as a trainer, she’s immediately drawn to his casual confidence and playful green eyes. Without making her usual list of pros and cons, she impulsively signs up to train with him. She never imagined that one decision would change. Absolutely. Everything. About the Author: Stacy Wise is the author of BEYOND THE STARS (Entangled Embrace, 2016) and MAYBE SOMEONE LIKE YOU (Entangled Embrace, 2018). She has a B.A. in Communication Studies from UCLA and a Masters in Teaching from Chapman Unive...

When I was in college, I discovered a book by Studs Terkel called The Good War: An Oral History of World War Two . Terkel had collected the memories of a wide variety of people, providing a good overview of how each interviewee was impacted by the war. If you haven't read The Good War yet, I highly recommend it. Oral histories have always fascinated me, so when I heard about Voices from the Second World War, I was pretty excited to see what it was all about. It turned out to be a unique collection of short, first person recollections (most are only 1-2 pages, some longer) told to some of today's young people, and though the book is basically Britain-centered, there is still plenty included for all children to appreciate. The book is organized into 16 sections that follow the course of the war from outbreak to the fall of Japan. Interviewees relate their experiences in the RAF, the U.S. Navy, working as a Land Girl or a code breaker, being evacuated to London in 1938 with the ...

Title: Beyond a Darkened Shore Author: Jessica Leake Publisher: HarperTeen Publication Date: April 10, 2018 Synopsis: The ancient land of Éirinn is mired in war. Ciara, Princess of Mide, has never known a time when Éirinn’s kingdoms were not battling for power, or Northmen were not plundering their shores.  The people of Mide have thankfully always been safe because of Ciara’s unearthly ability to control her enemies’ minds and actions. But lately, a mysterious crow has been appearing to Ciara, whispering warnings of an even darker threat. Although her clansmen dismiss her visions as pagan nonsense, Ciara fears this coming evil will destroy not just Éirinn, but the entire world. Then the crow leads Ciara to Leif, a young Northman leader. Leif should be Ciara’s enemy, but when Ciara discovers that he, too, shares her prophetic visions, she knows he’s something more. Leif is mounting an impressive army, and with Ciara’s strength in battle the two might have a chance to save thei...