The Cursed Rose (The Bone Spindle #3) by Leslie Vedder Rating: 4 Stars Release Date: February 6, 2024 Publisher: Razorbill Format: Physical Book + Audiobook (Borrowed from Library)
I read The Cursed Rose by Leslie Vedder, the third book in The Bone Spindle series a couple years after reading the first two books and it was fun to dive back into the world. With a cross of multiple fairytales meeting Indiana Jones-style adventure, there was a LOT going on in the book. Following the events of the second book, The Severed Thread, the rag tag crew has been split up and they work towards the final battle with the Spindle Witch.
While the series is marketed as a reimagining of Sleeping Beauty, there are so many more fairytale influences woven into the story. I really like how things came together with the confrontation against the Spindle Witch and how it continued to build on the worldbuilding of the previous books. Aurora and the Rose Witches were central to the story, and Shane and Fi’s journey into her tomb was heart-pounding as a reader. One of the central relationships in the book, Shane and Fi start the story in separate places, but work their way back together at the end of the book.
The character growth over the course of the series was impactful. Sadly, Briar doesn’t get as much of a journey given that he’s stuck in his beastly form. Red, Fi, and Shane serve as the point of view characters, and make some major strides. However, I was most surprised to see how much time the author spent on going into the Spindle Witch’s background. It was twisty and a major surprise; the history between Aurora, the Lord of the Butterflies, and the Spindle Witch was also a major force pushing the storyline forward.
Overall, this was an excellent book and close to the series. I like how the storylines were wrapped up while also leaving room for more adventures in the future. Audiobook narrator Lindsey Dorcus did an excellent job bringing the many points of view to life with her performance in the audiobook. I highly recommend this to young adult fans of fantasy and fairy tales, and authors like Marissa Meyer or Holly Black.
London Calling by James Ponti is the sixth book in the City Spies series, and it is the most action-packed yet. There’s so much that’s happening in this book, and one of the biggest highlights was the parts where the team interacts with Clementine (who has made minimal on page appearances over the course of the series until this point).
Each book has sort of focused on one of the children, and this was undoubtedly Cairo’s chance to shine. While Cairo is adapting well to the team, we also got to meet Annie for the first time and get glimpses into both of their pasts. It was really cool to see how she and Robert adopted Clementine’s training (as opposed to the others getting training from Mother and Monty). Without spoiling it, I do want to note that the author took the time to wrap up a lot of storylines (some even going back to the first book), so that was equally exciting and intriguing as a reader to unravel.
While in some ways it seems like this could have been the end of the series, I’m very excited that it seems like the author is planning (I hope) at least two more City Spies books. I can’t wait to see what the kids get up to next. The end of the book ‘brief’ does give some plausible options on what each city spy might do in the future, so at least there’s that glimpse into more of their story. Once again, I think this is a great series for young readers who enjoy spy novels or tales of adventure.
Thank you to the author and the publisher for providing me with a complimentary review copy of the book. I appreciate the opportunity to read and review London Calling immensely. Please note - I voluntarily read and reviewed the book. All opinions expressed in the review are my own and not influenced in any way.
Hi friends! Welcome to my stop on the tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions for The Legendary Mo Seto by A.Y. Chan. Check out my post to learn more about the book, the author, and read an excerpt. Make sure you check out the giveaway as well. The author will be giving away a $25 Amazon or Barnes and Noble gift card to a lucky winner at the end of the tour via Rafflecopter. If you visit the other tour hosts pages as well, you can enter there too. The more you comment, the more chances you have to win!
Mo Seto, martial arts movie star! Has a nice ring to it doesn’t it? Too bad there's a height restriction to audition. But 12-year-old Modesty (Mo) Seto has never let her height get in the way before, not when she became a black belt, or when she fought the meanest boy in her class, and she’s not going to let it stop her this time! Now if only she can figure out a way to grow five inches and fool everyone at the auditions…and find time to search for her missing father (who just might be harboring a dangerous secret of his own). Join Mo on an adventure (and audition) of a lifetime and find out if powerful things really do come in small packages!
Publishers Weekly calls THE LEGENDARY MO SETO “Adrenaline pumping”, Kirkus Reviews says it “Packs a punch”, and Booklist calls it “Remarkably relatable.” Leap in and join the fun!
Excerpt
I may be small, but I am fierce. At least that’s what I keep telling myself. Over and over again. Fierce.
“Charyeot,” the taekwondo tournament referee says in Korean. Attention.
I snap my arms to my sides.
“Kyeong-nae,” the ref says. Bow.
I turn to face my opponent, Dax Washington. His dark skin glistens with sweat. We dip our heads.
I look up to see Dax towering over me, his eyes stormy.
It suddenly occurs to me how much “fierce” sounds like “fears.” Not that I’m scared or anything. I’m not.
“Sijak!” The ref throws up his hand. Begin! Immediately Dax’s large fists hammer down like a hailstorm.
Well, maybe I’m a little worried.
Dax lunges. I block his front kick with my forearm. I flinch and reel back. The ref blows his whistle, but Dax doesn’t stop. I barely have time to move before—oof—another kick nails me in the elbow.
Okay, fine. I’m totally panicking
About the Author
A. Y. Chan grew up in Canada’s Greater Toronto Area reading all the middle grade and young adult books she could get her hands on. To this day, those remain her favorite genres. After achieving her black belt in Taekwondo, she explored other martial arts, such as Wing Chun, Hapkido, and Muay Thai. These days, she continues her martial arts training some mornings, writes in the afternoons, takes long walks to muddle out plot points, and falls asleep reading.
I am thrilled to be hosting a spot
on the THE SHAPE OF TIME by Ryan Calejo Pre-ReleaseBlog Tour
hosted by Rockstar Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to enter the
giveaway!
Thirteen-year-old Antares De La Vega
is a natural born adventurer. He dreams of journeying across burning deserts,
trekking through wild and uncharted jungles, sailing the furthest reaches of
the seas—and yet, he’s never even stepped foot outside of South Florida . . .
But that all changes when strange creatures come leaping out of lightning bolts
to kidnap him. Locked away in a secret prison in the middle of the Bermuda
Triangle, Antares meets 13-year-old MagdavellÃa, a mysterious and iron-willed
girl who opens his eyes to a shocking truth: that this world is a far different
place than he’s been led to believe. He learns of the existence of The Flat
Earth Society, an ancient secret order, whose main function is to keep the
world beyond the great Ice Wall a mystery—a land known as Rymworld. But
Rymworld is in trouble. Led by a nameless evil, a sinister group of mystics
seek to seize control over its only truly resource: time itself.
Antares and MagdavellÃa must set out beyond the edges of any map to discover
the undiscoverable: a lost and forgotten island where there is rumored to exist
a legendary artifact: a mythical compass that just might hold the key to
foiling the mystics’ plans. Following a series of intricately concealed clues
left behind by MagdavellÃa’s parents (clues Antares seems to be the key to
unlocking), they must wield both geometry and alchemy, outsmart molemen and
mermaids, and outrun fiendish outer space aliens––all while attempting to solve
a riddle as old and mystifying as the sun.
About
Ryan Calejo:
Ryan
Calejo is an award-winning author born and raised in sunny south Florida.
His critically acclaimed Charlie Hernández series has been featured in half a
dozen state reading lists and has earned starred reviews from Booklist and Kirkus,
was a Texas Bluebonnet Master List Selection, and won an International
Latino Book Award, a Sunshine State Young Readers Award, and a Florida Book
Award (Gold Medal). He lives in Miami.
Hi friends! Welcome to my stop on the virtual book tour organized by Goddess Fish Promotions. The author is awarding 4 prizes to randomly drawn winners (a leather bound diary and pen, a set of 4 drink coasters, a pewter necklace of a Quetzal bird, a copper compass). Click on the tour banner to see the other stops on the tour - the more you comment, the more chances you have to win!
Teddy Aarons is a nomad, using her bartending skills as an excuse to move to a new luxury resort with each change of the season. But when she finds herself stuck on the remote island of Mahina Cay, she finds refuge in the quirky little Township of Crooked Cove.
Crooked Cove is a village of expatriates from various countries, and the people are welcoming, but she only intends to stay long enough to make the money to get off the island and back to her real life.. However, when one of the village’s most distinguished citizens turns up dead, it’s up to her to either solve the case or become a permanent resident of the slammer!
With her new friend Jasmine at her side, Teddy will do whatever it takes to shake out the truth and stir up the real killer to clear her name. Will she manage to keep herself out of lockup, or will she end up under the influence of the Mahina Cay Prison?
Read an Excerpt
“Teddy, what are you thinking?”
“I’m thinking you should give me the pictures and the phone and wait here,” she said.
Jazz pulled her purse close to her. “Oh hell no. If you are going to question Frannie, you’re not leaving me sitting out of the action. I’m coming with you.”
Knowing it was pointless to argue, Teddy sighed. “Alright. But you have to promise me to behave, Jazz. Let me do the talking. We are going to try the soft approach first.”
The look in Jazz’s eyes told Teddy she was not planning on staying silent. She was chomping at the bit to back Frannie into a corner.
Frannie stood and walked to the ladies’ room, and they followed. Teddy counted to twenty, and then walked in with Jazz behind her. The room was empty except for the two of them, and Frannie was in the last stall. Teddy pointed to the door, and Jazz silently locked it. They leaned against the door and waited for Frannie to emerge....
About the Author:
Carly Wayne first discovered her love of storytelling as a child when she would create alternate endings for all of her favorite fairy tales. As she grew, her fascination developed into a passion for writing about the characters and worlds she imagined.
Now, Carly has returned to her ancestral home deep in the woods of Jacksonville, Florida, not too far from the ocean. She fills her days pursuing her bliss by writing, creating, and exploring nature.
Carly holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in Psychology.
I
am thrilled to be hosting a spot on the CITY SPIES: CITY OF THE DEAD by James
Ponti Blog Tour hosted by Rockstar
Book Tours. Check out my post and make sure to
enter the giveaway!
In this fourth installment in the New
York Times bestselling series from Edgar Award winner James Ponti, the
young group of spies go codebreaking in Cairo in another international
adventure perfect for fans of Spy School and Mrs.
Smith’s Spy School for Girls.
Codename Kathmandu, better known as Kat, loves logic and order, has a favorite
eight-digit number, and can spot a pattern from a mile away. So when a series
of cyberattacks hits key locations in London while the spies are testing
security for the British Museum, it’s clear that Kat’s skill for finding reason
in what seems like randomness makes her the perfect candidate to lead the job.
And while the team follows the deciphered messages to Egypt and the ancient
City of the Dead to discover who is behind the attacks and why, Kat soon
realizes that there’s another layer to the mystery.
With more players, more clues, and involving higher levels of British
Intelligence than ever before, this mission is one of the most complex that the
group has faced to date. And it’s also going to bring about a change to the
City Spies…
JAMES
PONTI (he/him/his)
is the New York Times bestselling author of three middle grade book
series: City Spies, about an unlikely squad of five kids from around the
world who form an elite MI6 Spy Team; the Edgar Award–winning Framed! series,
about a pair of tweens who solve mysteries in Washington, DC; and the Dead
City trilogy, about a secret society that polices the undead living beneath
Manhattan. His books have appeared on more than fifteen different state award
lists and he is the founder of a writers group known as the Renegades of Middle
Grade. James is also an Emmy– nominated television writer and producer who has
worked for many networks including Nickelodeon, Disney Channel, PBS, History,
and Spike TV, as well as NBC Sports. He lives with his family in Orlando,
Florida. Find out more at JamesPonti.com.
In conversation with Sayantani DasGupta (author
of THE FIRE QUEEN series), Chris Grabenstein (author
of DOG SQUAD and THE SMARTEST KID IN THE UNIVERSE),
and Karina Yan Glaser (author of THE
VANDERBEEKERS series)
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