Title: What the Woods Took
Author:  Courtney Gould    
Genre: YA   
Rating:  4 out of 5

Devin Green wakes in the middle of the night to find two men in her bedroom. No stranger to a fight, she calls to her foster parents for help, but it soon becomes clear this is a planned abduction—one everyone but Devin signed up for. She’s shoved in a van and driven deep into the Idaho woods, where she’s dropped off with a cohort of equally confused teens. Finally, two camp counselors inform them that they’ve all been enrolled in an experimental therapy program. If the campers can learn to change their self-destructive ways—and survive a fifty-days hike through the wilderness—they’ll come out the other side as better versions of themselves. Or so the counselors say.

Devin is immediately determined to escape. She’s also determined to ignore Sheridan, the cruel-mouthed, lavender-haired bully who mocks every group exercise. But there’s something strange about these woods—inhuman faces appearing between the trees, visions of people who shouldn’t be there flashing in the leaves—and when the campers wake up to find both counselors missing, therapy becomes the least of their problems. Stranded and left to fend for themselves, the teens quickly realize they’ll have to trust each other if they want to survive. But what lies in the woods may not be as dangerous as what the campers are hiding from each other—and if the monsters have their way, no one will leave the woods alive.

There’s a solid level of creepiness going on here. Like, I won’t be walking in the woods with my overactive imagination anytime soon. Solid writing and descriptions, and I enjoyed the relationships between the characters, who had all just met, so the growing camaraderie and trust was done well. Devin was a bit too…pushy and brash for me, but I did enjoy this read and thought the secondary characters were great.

Courtney Gould lives in Salem, Oregon. What the Woods Took is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of St. Martin’s Press in exchange for an honest review.)

Title:  Heist Royale  
Author:  Kayvion Lewis
Genre: YA        
Rating:  4.5 out of 5

It’s been six months since the end of the Gambit. Instead of winning an impossible wish, Ross has the threat of her family’s execution hanging over her head. Devroe, the only person Ross thought she could trust, could wish the Quests into oblivion at any time. Shockingly, despite his betrayal, Devroe is still making a play for Ross’s heart as the two work together pulling jobs for the Organization. But Ross has learned her lesson: A Quest can only trust another Quest.

When Ross finds herself at the center of a power struggle within the Organization, she sees her chance to change her fortunes. As a new deadly Gambit develops for control of the criminal underworld, Ross strikes a risky deal to guarantee protection for herself and her family.

In this final clash, Ross will square off against a ruthless opponent who will stop at nothing to seize power, and in their corner will be not only Devroe but his mother, who wants to destroy the Quests at any cost.

This was a lot of fun to read! I actually enjoyed it more than the first one. Non-stop action, danger, and tricky situations kept me glued to the page, and the different characters and their intrigues kept me invested. This was just solidly fun.

Kayvion Lewis lives in Louisiana. Heist Royale is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Penguin Group in exchange for an honest review.)

Title:   The New Camelot
Author: Robyn Schneider  
Genre:  YA      
Rating: 

Everything is finally going right for Emry Merlin. Now that Arthur is the king and her wayward magic is under control, she’s enjoying life as Camelot’s official court wizard—and as Arthur’s girlfriend.But when an unexpected visitor arrives at court, Emry finds her hard-won position threatened. And Arthur is torn between listening to his advisors and following his heart. Even more troubling, war is on the horizon, with King Yurien’s access to dark magic ensuring Camelot’s doom. That is, unless Emry, Arthur, and Lance can find a way to defeat the evil sorceress Bellicent with magic from her own world. But undertaking a quest to Anwen is perilous business, and our young heroes will face many obstacles on their journey—from dangerous beasts to suspicious nobles to cursed maidens determined to find someone to marry. Can Emry and Arthur save their kingdom and fix their relationship, or will they have to choose between their future and Camelot’s?

I haven’t read the other two books in this trilogy, but this was a lot of fun! I liked how the Arthurian mythos was twisted and modernized. Some of it really made me laugh! What if King Arthur wasn’t so impressed with his job, and Merlin was a big faker? This was a quick, fun read.

Robyn Schneider is a bestselling author. The New Camelot is her newest novel.

(Galley courtesy of Penguin Group in exchange for an honest review.)

Title:  Kisses, Codes, and Conspiracies    
Author:  Abigail Hing Wen       
Genre: YA      
Rating:  4 out of 5

After a magical kiss at Prom, best friends Tan Lee and Winter Woo agree to cool it off, a plan that goes awry when their parents jointly head off to Hawaii and leave Tan and Winter to babysit Tan’s sister Sana together. If that isn’t complicated enough, Tan’s ex-girlfriend from Shanghai arrives on his doorstep with money stolen from her billionaire father and thugs on her heels.

Tan soon finds himself on the run, trying to out-manuever international hackers and protect his friends, family and sister – and his own heart.

Okay, the premise sounded a little bit far-fetched to me, but this was a fun read. I liked Tan and Winter a lot, and Sana was such a handful! If you’re looking for a cute, fun read with a happy ending, this would be perfect. Fortunately, there wasn’t a lot of talk of code to eliminate the fun

Abigail Hing Wen is a bestselling author. Kisses, Codes, and Conspiracies is her newest novel.  

(Galley courtesy of Macmillan’s Children’s Publishing in exchange for an honest review.)