COVER REVEAL: Consent by Nancy Ohlin

Today I am pleased to present you with the cover for Nancy Ohlin's Consent. This is a contemporary Young Adult story that features some rather topical material. Due for publication on November 10th, 2015 from Simon Pulse, I think Consent sounds and *looks* like the kind of book I'd have a hard time putting down. 

Check out the blurb:

Bea has a secret.

Actually, she has more than one. There’s her dreams for the future that she can’t tell anyone—not her father and not even her best friend, Plum.

And now there’s Dane Rossi. Dane is hot, he shares Bea’s love of piano, and he believes in her.

He’s also Bea’s teacher.

When their passion for music crosses into passion for each other, Bea finds herself falling completely for Dane. She’s never felt so wanted, so understood, so known to her core. But the risk of discovery carries unexpected surprises that could shake Bea entirely. Bea must piece together what is and isn’t true about Dane, herself, and the most intense relationship she’s ever experienced, in this absorbing novel from Nancy Ohlin.

I just read a couple of articles written by young adults who had affairs with their teachers and they were really, really intriguing. I'm very curious to see how Consent handles this very charged material.

Now for a drum roll please! Here's the very compelling cover:

Forbidden by Lori Adams

The Basics:
Forbidden by Lori Adams
Flirt
Book One in the Soulkeepers series
New Adult (Young Adult?), Romance
Published April 15, 2014
Source: Received via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Amazon.ca

Why I picked up this book:

I was on board for a high school girl moving to a small town with secrets that she's instantly in on, plus being caught between sexy Guardian Angel who wants to resist her and Demo Knight who is actively courting her....

Drawn by Cecilia Gray

The Basics:
Drawn by Cecilia Gray
Gray Life, LLC
Mystery/Thriller, YA
Published December 15, 2013
Amazon.ca Kobo.com

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb:

Take a journey into the gritty world of political espionage through the eyes – and lies – of one extraordinary girl. A wholly original tale of friendship and betrayal.

Sasha has a secret – that she can make you spill your secret with nothing more than a question. Her strange gift makes her a burden to her foster family and a total freak of nature. Not that Sasha cares. Why should she when no one cares about her?

Then the CIA knocks on her door. They want to give Sasha a new identity and drop her into a foreign country to infiltrate a ring of zealous graffiti terrorists. They want to give Sasha something to care about.

To survive a world where no one is who they seem, Sasha needs to make people trust her. But when that trust blossoms into love, Sasha is forced to decide between duty and friendship, between her mind and her heart, and whether to tell the truth or keep her secrets.

Why I picked it up:

Having read two books from Gray's Jane Austen Academy series, I was curious about this standalone foray into the paranormal. The story also sounded like something I hadn't read before, and that appealed to me.

What worked for me:

Sasha is the star of this entertaining tale, and rightfully so. Told from her perspective, we get an intimate view of what it's like to live a life of isolation, to pretend that all that matters is keeping your focus on the future, on your goals rather than on how you live your day-to-day life.

This story is heartbreakingly good. I was rooting for Sasha to get everything she wanted in the end. I know this is meant as a standalone, but I don't feel done with Sasha, even though I felt a sense of closure here. That's the mark of a good story, in my opinion. I could spend hours happily daydreaming about what happens *next* for this girl wonder.

Drawn has all the key elements of a YA novel - we've got potential romance, a potential bff or worst enemy, secret agendas, childhood traumas.... It all comes together, leveraging the superhero genre in a really fun and, I thought, unique way.

Sasha's interest in comic books and her identification with superheroes is a clever bit of awareness. I hate when characters don't see the obvious connections, and that Sasha embraces and relishes the similarities between herself and comic heroes made me very happy.

What didn't work for me:

There's one question left open at the end of the book, and while it's entirely appropriate for it to be left open, I wanted an obvious cue regarding it. I don't want to be specific because I'd have to spoil things, so... you know.... But I'd *love* to discuss this one in more depth, so if you've read it, hit me back in the comments, or drop me an email so we can talk!

Bottom line:

I strongly recommend this one. Gray's hit the perfect combination of teen angst, spy shenanigans and a little something more...paranormal?  Sasha's longing for a real connection makes this story so engaging and relatable regardless of how fantastic her adventure is.

5 stars
For fans of teen spy thrillers, superhero stories, comic books....

Darkness Watching by Emma Adams

The Basics:

Darkness Watching by Emma Adams
Curiosity Quills Press
Book One of the Darkworld Trilogy
New Adult, Young Adult
Published October 10, 2013

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb:
Eighteen-year-old Ashlyn is one interview away from her future when she first sees the demons. She thinks she's losing her mind, but the truth is far more frightening: she can see into the Darkworld, the home of spirits- and the darkness is staring back. 

Desperate to escape the demons, Ash accepts a place at a university in the small town of Blackstone, in the middle of nowhere - little knowing that it isn't coincidence that led her there but the pull of the Venantium, the sorcerers who maintain the barrier keeping demons from crossing from the Darkworld into our own world. 

All-night parties, new friendships and a life without rules or limits are all part of the package of student life - but demons still stalk Ash, and their interest in her has attracted the attention of every sorcerer in the area. Ash is soon caught between her new life and a group of other students with a connection to the Darkworld, who could offer the answers she's looking for. The demons want something from her, and someone is determined to kill her before she can find out what it is. In a world where darkness lurks beneath the surface, not everyone is what they appear to be...

What worked for me:

This book has a lot of great, big ideas: Demons. The people who can see them. A self-appointed secret organization to police said people. Using college to re-define oneself/start over without the weight of high school impressions. The heroine being targeted by a murderer. There's a lot going on here, and it all comes together in a relatively interesting package - which is lukewarm praise, I know. 

Ashlyn has an interesting emotional journey both within this book and as implied by the aftermath of this book's events. Armed with more information about herself, I'm curious to see how Ashlyn gets on from the point where things end in this book.

What didn't work for me:

I didn't feel any urgency in this book. Now, I had to read it in a bit here and a bit there - but if I'd been really interested, I could have stolen time in longer increments to finish it. still, I didn't necessarily get the real rhythm of the book because I couldn't read it in big batches. But never did I really feel like there were dire consequences on the horizon. 

Somewhere in the middle:

The cast of characters varied from mildly interesting to expected YA-type tropes. There's a hazy love triangle set-up, there's an anti-heroine female character, a pair of adequate potential new best friends in the form of flatmates. Surprisingly, Ashlyn retains her best friend from high school (despite, by her own admission, having withdrawn emotionally of late), which is a nice change over either being surrounded by high school friends or completely dropping everyone upon entering the hallowed halls of post-secondary education. It's also a far more realistic portrayal of that transition than either of those two usual depictions.

There wasn't *enough* of anyone for me to really connect - or not - with them. And that was the rough impression I had of the whole book. Lots of material sketched out, but I never felt like I was sinking into it all. 

Bottom line:

Lots of good ideas, but Darkness Watching only scratches the surface. I'll definitely try the second book in the series, but I'm going to need more oomph to push through to the third. Overall, not a bad read, so check it out with moderate expectations.

3.5 stars
For fans of urban fantasy, of demons in their fantasy, of college-age adventures