Young Adult – Fiction Aficionado

Best of 2020 – Emoji Files, Part V: The LOL Awards

Greetings, reader friends! Today we reach the end of my annual Emoji Files celebrating my best reads of 2020. If you’ve missed my previous posts for 2020, make sure you check out The Swoony Awards, Got Me in the Feels, The WOW Awards, and Take Me Away.

The LOL Awards are, not surprisingly, for those books that have made me laugh this year. I’m always on a quest to find books that make me laugh, and for that reason, I’ve branched out a bit in my search for romantic comedy, which means there are some general market reads on this list that aren’t clean reads (Chateau of Happily Ever Afters by Jaimie Admans and Because of Miss Bridgerton by Julia Quinn).

2 January 2021

First Line Friday – Reckless (Tamara Leigh)

Happy Friday, and welcome to First Line Friday, hosted by Hoarding Books. And happy week, since it delivered a new book by Tamara Leigh straight to my Kindle! Reckless is book number five in the Age of Conquest series, the story of Saxon warrior Vitalis and Norman-born Lady Nicola D’Argent. And what a story it is. The appellation “Reckless” is not unjustified, but I found it impossible to dislike Nicola, and I was a very willing captive until their tale was all told. Look for my review coming soon!

2 October 2020

Forsaken Island (Sharon Hinck) – Review + Giveaway

On an uncharted world, happiness is effortless and constant … but can true joy exist without sacrifice?

The people of Meriel have long believed their island world floats alone in the vast ocean universe, so they are astonished when another island drifts into view. With resources becoming scarce, Carya and Brantley quickly volunteer to search the new land for supplies.

After navigating a barrier of menacing trees, the pair encounter a culture of perpetually happy people who readily share their talents and their possessions. But all is not what it seems. At the core of the island is a horror that threatens everyone, including Brantley and Carya.

30 September 2020

First Line Friday – The Price of Valor (Susan May Warren)

Happy Friday, and welcome to First Line Friday, hosted by Hoarding Books. I love Sharon Hinck’s Hidden Current when it released last year, so I’m looking forward to diving into the second in the series, Forsaken Island, very shortly. It’s a great read for the YA readers in your circle too—my fourteen-year-old really enjoyed it, and I’m pretty sure she’ll be diving into it once I’ve finished!

25 September 2020

First Line Friday – Forsaken Island (Sharon Hinck)

18 September 2020

Cover Reveal: Fortune’s Fall (Katherine Barger)

Welcome to the cover reveal for Fortune’s Fall by Katherine Barger.

While her classmates prepare for elite careers across America, Nyssa Ardelone trains for her secret job as the president’s dream interpreter. But when her mentor lies to the president about the prophecy in his latest dream, Nyssa must figure out why before the lie unravels. What she learns could destroy her own future.

Fearful of a rumored rebellion, the president has launched a gas attack on Nyssa’s hometown, and her mentor lied about the dream to protect the survivors from more harm. When Nyssa learns her parents were injured in the attack, she flees with a stranger sent to steal the antidote—a stranger who claims to know her.

9 September 2020

Cover Reveal: Petrified Flowers (Joiya Morrison-Efemini)

Welcome to the cover reveal for Petrified Flowers by Joiya-Morrison Efemini.

In a fractured world, Flowers bud in the deluge of God’s favor.

Tragedy uproots Iris and her sisters, all named after flowers, from the solid ground of middle-class life and plants them, unsupervised, in the rocky terrain of low-income housing. In a world where rain falls only on the privileged, Liam, a student who attends the elite private school directly across the street, proves refreshing as a summer gale, gushing joy into the sisters’ lives. Further nurtured by Ma Moore, a church elder who sprinkles the Flower sisters with spiritual wisdom, Iris embraces her Heavenly Father with steadfast urgency.

6 June 2020

The Story Hunter (Lindsay A. Franklin) – Review

Redeeming the past is a fatal quest.

In the wake of a deadly coup, the capital city of Urian has descended into chaos. Heartbreak and bloodshed await Tanwen and her friends as they discover the unlikeliest leader now rules Tir.

If they want to save the realm, Tannie and the Corsyth weavers must rescue Queen Braith and unmask the Master, ending the strife once and for all. But the success of their hunt depends upon an ally no one trusts.

The Master has a new target in sight: fragile, trauma-scarred Digwyn, whose unique weaving ability could turn the tide of any war. When the desire for vengeance proves too powerful for Digwyn to resist, Tanwen must face a terrifying truth: the fate of Tir rests in the hands of a volatile, shattered girl.

30 May 2020

The power of fiction, the beauty of words, and the God who made us to wield them for His glory.