Category: Young Adult

ARC, books, Review, Young Adult

Book Review: The Lighthouse by Alex Bell

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Book Review: The Lighthouse by Alex Bell

I’ve been reading more spooky books this year than I have any year before, and I’m glad that a few of them have been for review. Though this is a book that I’d have definitely picked up for myself. This is a fun but creepy-sounding horror novel set on a deserted island in a historical lighthouse. It gave me reminders of watching the St Augustine lighthouse episode of Buzzfeed Unsolved, and I easily read this in a single night. Thanks so much to Little Tiger for sending me a copy of this one.

Jess and Rosie are stuck visiting a remote Scottish island with their Dad’s new family for a summer. But from the start, they can tell that something is off about the lighthouse. Jess is counting the days until they can leave, until one day, Rosie disappears, and no one remembers her. Now she can’t leave until her sister is back but trying to find her could put her in more danger.

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Adult, books, Challenge, Reading, Young Adult

Getting Through Those Series

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger Books1 Comment on Getting Through Those Series
Getting Through Those Series

God, I should’ve done this earlier in the year. Steph started her Final Book Support Group, and that would’ve been a perfect time. But alas. I’ve decided to leave it until October/November to finally get through all those final books I need to read.

Ahhhhh.

So why am I talking about this? Sometimes it helps encourage you to get yourself into gear and do these things yourself. So use this as your sign that if you have a good few series you need to finish off? Now might be the time.

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ARC, books, Review, Young Adult

Book Review: Good Enough To Eat by Gina Blaxill

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Book Review: Good Enough To Eat by Gina Blaxill

I really am a massive fan of fairytale retellings. Especially those marketed as dark or those that twist the stories around. Because of that, I’ve had my eye on All The Better To See You With for a while. I didn’t know that Gina Blaxill was coming out with a second book in this series. When I got the email about this one from Scholastic, I just had to ask for it.

This is a retelling of Hansel and Gretel, a fairytale we all know but rarely see retellings of. The village of Westerleen has been losing young boys to a witch in a gingerbread cottage for years. When Hansel and Gretel return from the woods alive, the villagers assume that Hansel saved them. But it was actually Gretel. What will she do to actually get her freedom and be recognised?

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ARC, books, Review, Young Adult

Book Review: All The Jingle Ladies by Beth Garrod

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Book Review: All The Jingle Ladies by Beth Garrod

I won’t lie, it is a little early to be reading Christmas books. But when I got the email from Scholastic about this one, I thought it sounded like a lot of fun. And I’m definitely glad that I read this one. It was an easy read that had me smiling quite a lot.

In this book, we follow Molly Bell, a teenage girl who tries to avoid anything and everything to do with Christmas. When she was little, her parents released a Christmas single where she dressed up as a little green elf and spoke up at the end. So embarrassing! She’s done so well making sure no one would connect her to the role until a new hit rom-com decides to use the song on its soundtrack. Going to the premiere is the last thing Molly wanted, but while there, she meets a cute boy, and suddenly? Things seem to spiral out of control.

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Adult, books, Challenge, Reading, Young Adult

These Books Will Self-Destruct 2022/2023

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger Books2 Comments on These Books Will Self-Destruct 2022/2023
These Books Will Self-Destruct 2022/2023

It’s been a while since I did one of these posts. Unfortunately, I’m starting to get a build-up of books that I still want to read but I’m just not reaching for. I really need to start picking these up so I’m using this as an opportunity to start doing so. Especially those I’ve had for a while, though some of them are a little more recent.

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books, spotlights, Young Adult

Spotlight: A Rebel’s Path by I.L Cruz

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Spotlight: A Rebel’s Path by I.L Cruz

Back in 2020, I had the opportunity to be part of a blog tour for A Noble’s Path by I.L Cruz. Since then, I’ve been regularly checking out Amazon to see when the third book would come out. Then the other week, I got an email asking if I would be interested in reading and reviewing it. My answer was a firm yes! But unfortunately, I’ve not got time currently. I still wanted to support this book though and tell you all to grab a copy.

So instead I’m leaving you all with this spotlight post.

Read on to find the summary, cover and some buy links.

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Adult, book tag, books, tbr, Young Adult

Top Ten Tuesday: Books On My Fall 2022 To-Read List

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger Books11 Comments on Top Ten Tuesday: Books On My Fall 2022 To-Read List
Top Ten Tuesday: Books On My Fall 2022 To-Read List

I thought I’d take advantage of this Top Ten Tuesday as I wanted to post a spooky or autumn TBR post sometime soon anyway! I’m not much of a seasonal reader but over the last year I’ve picked up a few good horror, thriller and mystery novels and I want to get to them. I thought this season would be a great opportunity to finally do so.

The Top Ten Tuesday tag was originally created by The Broke and the Bookish and is now held over on The Artsy Reader Girl. It’s a weekly tag where everyone is given a bookish prompt for bloggers to curate a top ten list. You can then share your blog post over on The Artsy Reader Girl’s post for that week. Just make sure you check out and comment on other people’s blog posts too!

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ARC, books, Review, Young Adult

Blog Review: Big Bad Me by Aislinn O’Loughlin

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger Books2 Comments on Blog Review: Big Bad Me by Aislinn O’Loughlin
Blog Review: Big Bad Me by Aislinn O’Loughlin

I love getting emails asking if I’m interested in reviewing a book. It allows me to find books that I might not have stumbled across. Big Bad Me is one of those. I was a big fan of the paranormal fantasy craze in the 2000s and I was so glad to find a new book harking back to this craze.

In Big Bad Me, we follow sisters Evie and Katie Wilder, whose mum has recently disappeared. After a strange man tries to attack Evie, she realises she’s actually a werewolf. The two sisters run away looking for their mum and wind up in a guesthouse in the town their mum was last seen. He’s dorky hot, but there’s something strange about him, and when animal attacks are reported in town, he and the sisters look into what’s going on.

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anticipated releases, books, Will I Like This Book?, Young Adult

Will I Like This Book? – She Is A Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger Books1 Comment on Will I Like This Book? – She Is A Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran
Will I Like This Book? – She Is A Haunting by Trang Thanh Tran

It’s time for another Will I Like This Book post! I’ve not gotten through all the YALC samplers yet! But since this one comes out early next year, I think now seems like a good time to get a post up, so we all have plenty of time to preorder what sounds like an amazing book! This one is being published by Bloomsbury, so keep an eye out.

She is A Haunting follows teenager Jade Nguyen who desperately needs money for college. She’s always lied, so summer with her estranged father in Vietnam should be something she can survive. She agrees to help him with the dilapidated French colonial house that he’s been renovating. One morning she wakes up feeling like something clawed down her throat from the inside, and a ghost bride visits her and tells her not to eat. When Jade’s dad and sister don’t believe her, she recruits Florence, who has been helping her with the house, to stage hauntings and scare them out of there. But the house has other plans. It’s hungry, and it won’t be abandoned again.

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ARC, books, Review, Young Adult

Book Review – Mindwalker by Kate Dylan

by Rosina @ Lace and Dagger BooksLeave a Comment on Book Review – Mindwalker by Kate Dylan
Book Review – Mindwalker by Kate Dylan

I’ve been anticipating Mindwalker since I heard about it at the end of last year. I think I actually requested an ARC of this book back then too. That’s how excited I’ve been. So when I got the email about this book, you can guess how loud I screamed. I’m glad I’ve been able to read this book early as it was so enjoyable. A big thanks to Kate Keehan and the team at Hodder and Stoughton for sending me a copy.

Sil is only 18 years old but the computer in her brain burning out means she could soon be dead. For the last 10 years, she’s been saving soldiers for the Syntex corporation, and she’s proud of her record. Until one day, she fails, and she’s accused of being a traitor. She has to flee her home and her friends, but she’s determined to prove her innocence. To do so, she infiltrates the Analog Army in the hope of destroying the group from within. But as she investigates, she discovers a truth which means that the Syntex corporation might not be the good thing she thought it was.

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