Kiss Me Deadly builds a really interesting contemporary-adjacent world in which vampires, necromancers, ghosts, and other paranormal events feel like the norm. The characters are voicy and there’s lots of action as we follow the disappearance of a child vampire, but while I liked the characters, the enemies to lovers dynamic between Nathaniel and Seraphina didn’t really pop for me. But, if you’re into urban paranormal with a side of slowburn romance, I’d definitely recommend checking this one out!
This was a fun urban fantasy with a unique dual POV between Riley, a shifter waiting to come into her powers, and Riley’s mom, who’s searching for Riley’s dad after he’s been abducted. The magic and world of the shifters and elementalists seamlessly fits into our own, and I really enjoyed Riley’s authentic YA voice as she she struggles to understand her powers and the people around her. The dynamics between Riley and the other characters kept me guessing and definitely made me curious to see what would happen next. There were a few times I did get frustrated with Riley, but there was a clear explanation of why she was acting that way. Definitely recommend to anyone looking for a fast-paced YA Urban Fantasy that’s easy to get into.
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Thumbs up for this YA fantasy, and definitely curious to read more by Shelby Elizabeth!
Mirrorfall by Stormy Sto Helit really hooked with the premise (think Men in Black meets the magical realm), and it starts strongly with the action. The plot follows Stef, a hacker with a rough start, and she finds herself in the middle of some darkly magical mayhem. The magical world has everything and the kitchen sink and I found the characters she meets there to be interesting (Ryan is my favorite, but I also like Curt and Dorian as well.) However, Stef herself was a little difficult for me to connect with, and after about the first 25% I was wishing for a little more plot coherency. However if you’re into found family vibes and pop culture references, definitely check this urban fantasy out! Thanks so much to the publisher for the free copy!
When the Divine are Dead by E.K. Barnes follows Bradley, a fourteen-year-old boy with special Diviner abilities, Type I diabetes, and a string of deadly kind of bad luck.
We follow Bradley as he endures a school-shooting and a death of a family member, and then his family tries to start over in a new city with other Diviner families. We get bits an pieces of the horrible things that have happened to Bradley, his difficulty with his abilities, and the internal survivor’s guilt that plagues him as his family tries to start anew.
I really thought the author nailed Bradley’s authentic lower-YA voice, and I really felt for him as he tried to learn how to cope with his situation. Learning about the Diviners’ ability was super interesting, and in general, the tension and tight writing kept my attention straight through the end.
There were a lot of characters and siblings to keep track of, and I did find myself wishing we got a little more development from some of the other main characters. There were also a few strands I was expecting to get answers to that we didn’t quite get. However, this definitely seems like the first of the series, so they could have been left for future books. I also really enjoyed the audiobook narration, and the I think the narrator did an excellent job of telling this story. Would definitely recommend for all fans of YA urban fantasy. Thanks so much to the publisher for the free audible code!
Hayley Reese Chow 