"The Children on the Hill" by Jennifer McMahon

In The Children on the Hill by Jennifer McMahon, in 1978 a young boy and girl are introduced to a young girl who does not talk.  They are told to get along with this girl.  They start a monster club to hunt them down.  When it's 2019, a monster has been sighted.  Lizzy, who hosts a popular show about monsters, is coming to hunt this one down.  This was a great book!  I loved the characters and story line as well as the great ending!  (Gerard's review, 5++ stars)

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"The Deepest Blue" by Sarah Beth Durst (Fantasy) We Both Loved This One!

The Deepest Blue by Sarah Beth Durst is a fantasy about bloodthirsty nature spirits, love, adventure, sea monsters and politics on the Belene Islands south of Renthia.  Mayara successfully kept her spirit power a secret for years, only confiding in her best friend, Kelo who is now her fiance.  Unfortunately, on her wedding day, she used her special power to stop the big spirit storm from destroying her island.  That is when her adventure starts and she finds out what she is truly made of.  When the "Silent Ones" eventually find her, she is faced with a difficult choice:  denounce her family, leave her home forever and don't talk to join the Silent Ones or take her chances at trying to survive for a month on an island that is home to many nature spirits who are hungry and then become heir to the queen of Belene with the opportunity to visit her loved ones again.

I enjoyed reading this book very much, it is so good!  I liked the humorous parts and the characters.  The plot had twists I did not see coming at all and I was turning pages quickly eager to find out what would happen next.  My emotions were all over the place with this one--amusement, sadness, joy and curiosity.  This is a stand alone with a great ending!  I finished reading this one in just two days and recommend to anyone who enjoys uncomplicated fantasy.  (I received a free copy in exchange for an honest review--this book comes out March 19, 2019.)
(Karen's review 3/15/19, 5 stars)

Gerard's review 3/18/19:
In The Deepest Blue by Sarah Beth Durst, it starts off with Mayara's wedding day--a day to celebrate. But even before the vows are said, Mayara makes a decision that puts her future in doubt!  Can she get her and her husband's plans back on track, or is their future doomed?  The pacing of this book is very well done.  The best thing about this book to me was the interaction between all of the characters.  I really cared about what was going to happen.  The ending of the book was a wild ride to say the least!  Great job, Sarah!  (5++ stars) 

Teaser from page 73:  "Because you've arrived, we all get to die that much sooner.  Hurray.  So happy to meet you."

Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!

"Everwild" by Neal Shusterman (Skinjacker series book 2)

Everwild by Neal Shusterman is the 2nd book in the Skinjacker series.  In this book, a lot of new characters are introduced.  I enjoyed Moose and Squirrel the best!  This book started out good with Allie the Outcast and Mikey as the main story line; however, then it got into a bunch of story lines and I did not know who was good and who was bad.  I thought the ending was okay.  I am in no hurry to read book 3 though!
(Gerard's review, 3.5 stars) 

Karen's review, 5 stars:
Everwild by Neal Shusterman, book 2 of the Skinjacker trilogy, is as good as the first.  Ally finds her parents in the real world and skinjacks a 7-yr-old boy that was pretty funny.  Milos leaves Ally and sides with Mary Hightower who also has Jackin Jill with her.  Mikey continues to stew about losing Ally, but is reunited with her temporarily when she is on her way to warn Nick about Mary's plans.  Poor Nick runs into a major problem of his own!  There is lots of action in this book and the plots thicken.  I loved it and laughed out loud at some parts!  Can't wait to move on to book 3 and see how it all turns out!  I highly recommend this series, but read Everlost first or this book won't make much sense to you.

Teaser from page 8:  "I'd still rather be alive," Speedo would say whenever she spoke of how blessed they were to be here in Everlost.
"If I had lived," Mary would remind him, "I'd be long dead by now . . . and you'd probably be a fat, bald accountant." 

STOP READING HERE UNLESS YOU HAVE READ THIS BOOK--SPOILER ALERT!

IF YOU READ THIS BOOK, PERHAPS YOU COULD EXPLAIN A FEW THINGS TO ME:

• When Ally was trying to get into her parents house, why didn't she just walk through the wall or the door, staying in Everlost but being able to see them?  OR 
• Why didn't she skinjack her parents so she could talk directly to them?
• I didn't get why Mary turned back to alive just because she went into the real world.  Was it only skinjackers that could go into both worlds?  Maybe I missed something.
• Why did Nick keep getting more chocolatey?  Was it just because he was made more aware of it when other afterlights started referring to him as the Chocolate Ogre?
• I wondered why Mikey didn't go with Allie to help her save Nick.

Maybe we could get some discussion going on this in the comments?  Please let me know your thoughts on these questions.


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"This Savage Song" by Victoria Schwab

In This Savage Song by Victoria Schwab, V-City is split in half.  One side is the human side and the other is the monster side.  There is a truce for the time being.  Now meet Kate Harker and August Flynn, a monster who wants to be human.  They cannot be any more different but form a relationship.  The truce is falling apart.  Can Kate and August remain friends and can they survive?

This book started slow for me, but once the story sorted itself out, I thought it was great!  I really enjoyed the two main characters and the writing was good too.  Sign me up for book two!
(Gerard's review, 5 stars)
  
Have you read this one? What did you think of it? If you reviewed this too, feel free to share your link to your review in the comments. To find books on a specific topic, scroll to the bottom and click on the topic you want. Happy Reading!