Character Madness and Musings

Superhero High  T.H. Hernandez Published by: Soul Mate Publishing Publication date: July 5th 2018 Genres: Adventure, Science Fiction, Young Adult Sixteen-year-old Annarenee Stevens is the sole member of her family without a super power. The only time she feels powerful is in the pool. With her sights set on swimming for U.C. Berkeley, she’s ready to win it all at the State championship and secure her future. When the government unexpectedly ends the secret Genetically Enhanced Asset (GEA) program, Annarenee is uprooted from Dayton, the only home she’s ever known, and relocated to San Diego with all of the other GEA families. Queen of her public school, Annarenee is just another zero at Superhero High, a school without any sports teams. With the end of the program, her hero older brother now needs a college education, too, meaning the only way Annarenee is getting into Berkeley is on a scholarship. Her dream is slipping through her fingers, no matter how tightly she ...

Destiny Calls Phenice Arielle (The Phoenix Rising #1) Publication date: December 26th 2013 Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult College student Kay Morowa goes up against warlords, poachers and human traffickers in The Phoenix Rising – Destiny Calls. After Kay’s parents reveal that they haven’t been honest with her about her past, Kay flies to South Africa feeling bitter and anxious. Her excitement on arrival is cut short when she becomes a victim of a human trafficking ring operated by a large-scale poaching operation. Kay flees and finds her way to a dazzling refuge called Ipharadisi. There, she meets the majestic, menacing Queen Zaina and a handsome doctor named Erec. Although impressed by Ipharadisi’s beauty and noble reason for existence, Kay’s sole desire is to return home to her college beau (whom she has much unsettled business with) and to her mom and dad, whom Kay never thought she could miss so much. If Kay can survive the hand-to-hand combat she’ll need to learn t...

My Crunchy Life by Mia Kerick Genre: YA Contemporary - LGBTQ Release Date: June 26th 2018 Harmony Ink Press John Lennon fought for world peace, but sixteen-year-old hippie hopeful Kale Oswald’s only made it as far as tie-dying his T-shirts with organic grape juice. Now he’s ready to cement his new hippie identity by joining a local human rights organization, but he doesn’t fit in as well as he’d hoped. After landing himself in the hospital by washing down a Ziploc bag of pills with a bottle of Gatorade, Julian Mendez came clean to his mother: he is a girl stuck in a boy’s body. Puberty blockers have stopped the maturing of the body he feels has betrayed him. They’re also supposed to give him time to be sure he wants to make a more permanent decision, but he’s already Julia in his heart. What he’s not sure he’s ready to face is the post-transition name-calling and bathroom wars awaiting him at school. When Kale and Julian come face-to-face at the human rights org...

Cardboard Castles by K.L. Young Genre: YA Fantasy Release date: May 17th 2018 Graye Castle Press When seventeen-year-old Josilyn begins to see the fantastical world of her father's imagination, she can't help but wonder if he isn't insane at after all, or that she might be. Living in a crumbling cardboard castle under the park bridge and struggling to care for her mentally ill father, Josilyn's life has been anything but regal since her mother's death. But when a former friend discovers Josilyn's secret and leads Child Protective Services directly to her, her father's visions of grand feathered dragons and treacherous dark knights become the least of Josilyn's problems. Now separated from her father and terrified for his safety, Josilyn sees his imaginary world, forcing her to consider the possibility that someone may be desperate to see her father dead--and her in chains. In a stunning twist of reality, survival may not be a matter of ...

Chosen Paulina Ulrich (Fighting Fate #1) Publication date: October 31st 2013 Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult Nothing can stand in the way of outspoken, rule-breaker-extraordinaire; Kaddy Richston…except destiny. She set her sights on being in a rock band and leaving her small Wyoming town along with the painful memories of her past. But destiny had other plans for her. The observant Cole Huntington enters her life and becomes the bump in the road Kaddy is trying to pave for her future. Striking blue eyes, features to make any girl swoon, he’s everything but the new-to-town bad boy. Calm, cool, and always collected, he plans on unraveling every one of Kaddy’s dark secrets. Kaddy is determined to undermine whatever intentions he has until she learns of a destiny she never asked for. The only person she can turn to for answers is the last person she’d want help from: Cole Huntington, who seemed to dislike her rule-breaking as much as she dislikes his rule-fol...

Alpha Jus Accardo (The Infinity Division #3) Published by: Entangled: Teen Publication date: July 3rd 2018 Genres: Science Fiction, Young Adult “A fun YA sci-fi story with a compelling cast of characters.” —Kirkus Reviews on Infinity Sera is the obsession of a killer chasing a ghost. G is a soldier with too much blood on his hands. Dylan lost the only person he ever loved—and will stop at nothing to get her back. In a whirlwind chase that takes them back to where it all started, Sera, G, and Dylan will have to confront their demons—both physical and mental—and each other, in order to win their freedom. Goodreads / Amazon /  Barnes & Noble / iBooks / Kobo EXCERPT The rain stopped, and the wind outside had settled, leaving an uncomfortable silence in its wake. I didn’t have a problem with the quiet. I liked it, in fact. But this was something a little different. This was uncomfortable. The kind of stillness that came from forced proximity to someone or someth...

The Lilac Code The Sisters, Texas Series Book 7 by Becki Willis Genre: Cozy Mystery Will a case of mistaken identity be the death of her?  Madison Reynolds is looking forward to a few days of rest and relaxation. Her best friend Genny is judging a celebrity bake-off near DC, so it’s the perfect opportunity for a girl’s getaway. With fun-loving Granny Bert in tow, the trio heads to the very heart of the Intel community. Deep in alphabet soup territory—surrounded by CIA, NSA, FBI and more—it takes only moments for things to go awry. A mix-up at the airport leaves Madison with the wrong luggage, and a last-minute change in accommodations lands them at The Columbia Inn at Peralynna. How can they know its ties to the spy world will soon spin them into its web? Designed as a CIA safe house, the inn has a fascinating history. When it seems a mysterious man in a dark coat is following her, Madison scoffs at her over-action imagination. She’s listened to too many spy tales, spun...