Daisy Chain Book Reviews

Title: Empress of All Seasons Author: Emiko Jean Release Date: November 6, 2018 Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers Pages: 384 Source: ARC provided by Raincoast Books Add to Goodreads | Amazon.ca | Indigo Overall: 5 STARS SUMMARY In a palace of illusions, nothing is what it seems. Each generation, a competition is held to find the next empress of Honoku. The rules are simple. Survive the palace's enchanted seasonal rooms. Conquer Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall. Marry the prince. All are eligible to compete-all except yokai, supernatural monsters and spirits whom the human emperor is determined to enslave and destroy.  Mari has spent a lifetime training to become empress. Winning should be easy. And it would be, if she weren't hiding a dangerous secret. Mari is a yokai with the ability to transform into a terrifying monster. If discovered, her life will be forfeit. As she struggles to keep her true identity hidden, Mari's fate collides with that of Taro, the prince ...

Title: Body Swap Author: Sylvia McNicoll Release Date: September 15, 2018 Publisher: Dundurn Pages: 248 Source: PDF provided by publisher Add to Goodreads | Amazon.ca | Indigo Overall: 4 STARS SUMMARY   A fatal collision — who’s to blame? Two bodies, two souls switch in search of justice. When fifteen-year-old Hallie gets knocked flying by a Hurricane SUV, her life ends without her ever having kissed a boy. At an otherworldly carnival, she meets and argues with the eighty-two-year-old driver, Susan. Both return to life, only with one catch — they’ve swapped bodies. Now Hallie has wrinkled skin and achy joints while Susan deals with a forehead zit and a crush on a guy who’s a player. Hallie faces a life in a long-term care residence. Susan gets picked up for shoplifting. As they struggle with technology, medications, and each other’s fashion foibles, they start to understand and maybe even like each other. But can they work together to prove that a defect in the Hurricane caus...

Title: Julia Unbound (Witch's Child #3) Author: Catherine Egan Release Date: August 28, 2018 Publisher: Doubleday Canada Pages: 480 Source: Hardcover provided by Penguin Random House Canada Add to Goodreads | Amazon.ca | Indigo Overall: 4 STARS SUMMARY In this heart-pounding conclusion to the Witch’s Child trilogy, Catherine Egan’s masterful world-building and fiercely flawed heroine will thrill fans of The Rose Society , Graceling and Six of Crows . Julia has been ensnared in so many different webs it’s hard to see how she’ll ever break free. She must do Casimir’s bidding in order to save the life of her brother. She must work against Casimir to save the lives of most everyone else she knows. Casimir demands that Julia use her vanishing skills to act as a spy at court and ensure that a maleable prince is installed on the throne of Frayne. But Julia is secretly acting as a double agent, passing information to the revolutionaries and witches who want a rebel princess t...

Title: House of Darken (Secret Keepers #1) Author: Jaymin Eve Release Date: June 1, 2018 Publisher: Jaymin Eve Pages: 340 Source: Bought Add to Goodreads | Amazon.ca   Overall: 3 STARS SUMMARY   Some rules are made to be broken. When Emma moves to Astoria, Oregon, she is given two rules: #1 – Don’t cross to “their” side of the street. #2 – Don’t mess with the elites, especially Lexen Darken, top elite and resident bad boy. While she finds this both weird and insulting, Emma has no actual intention of breaking these rules - until her guardians go missing. Now all bets are off. Only a single line separates her side of the street from the elites', and she's crossing it. Captured and held by Lexen and his brothers, she learns the rules are in place for a very good reason. There's a secret world hidden in this small town which goes far beyond the one she knows and understands. A world not for humans.   MY THOUGHTS Jaymin Eve's House of Darken is pure entertainment. It'...

Title: Sadie Author: Courtney Summers Release Date: September 4, 2018 Publisher: Wednesday Books Pages: 320 Source: ARC provided by Raincoast Books Add to Goodreads | Amazon.ca | Indigo Overall: 5 STARS SUMMARY   A missing girl on a journey of revenge and a Serial ―like podcast following the clues she's left behind. Sadie hasn't had an easy life. Growing up on her own, she's been raising her sister Mattie in an isolated small town, trying her best to provide a normal life and keep their heads above water. But when Mattie is found dead, Sadie's entire world crumbles. After a somewhat botched police investigation, Sadie is determined to bring her sister's killer to justice and hits the road following a few meager clues to find him. When West McCray―a radio personality working on a segment about small, forgotten towns in America―overhears Sadie's story at a local gas station, he becomes obsessed with finding the missing girl. He starts his own podcast as he track...

Hi, everyone! I have a special post on the blog today... a Q&A with Canadian author Catherine Egan on her amazing YA fantasy series, The Witch's Child trilogy!  The third and final book in the series, Julia Unbound , was released earlier this week and promises to be a heart-pounding, thrilling conclusion! If you're the kind of reader who likes waiting for all the books to be available, now's the perfect time to begin. And if you're already an avid fan, then I hope you have Julia Unbound at the top of your TBR stack. 😊 My review for Julia Unbound will be up on the blog early next week, but in the meantime, please enjoy learning more about this fantastic trilogy! Spies. Magic. Witches. Danger. Absolutely gorgeous book covers! What's not to love? Julia Unbound - Catherine Egan Add to Goodreads | Amazon.ca | Indigo | Review for Julia Vanishes | Review for Julia Defiant     In this heart-pounding conclusion to the Witch’s Child trilogy, Catherine Egan’s m...