Two intrepid girls hunt for a legendary treasure on the deadly high seas in this YA remix of the classic adventure novel Treasure Island.
1826. The sun is setting on the golden age of piracy, and the legendary Dragon Fleet, the scourge of the South China Sea, is no more. Xiang has grown up with stories about the Dragon Fleet and its ruthless leader, a woman known only as the Dragon Queen, all her life. Xiang desperately wants to set sail and explore—mainly to find her father, a presumed dead crew member of the Dragon Fleet. Her only memento of him is a pendant she always wears, a simple but plain piece of gold jewelry.
But the pendant's true nature is revealed when a mysterious girl named Anh steals it, only to return it to Xiang in exchange for her help in decoding the tiny map scroll hidden inside. Rumor has it that the legendary Dragon Queen had one last treasure—the plunder of a thousand ports—hidden away on an island shrouded in mist that only can be seen once in a blue moon.
Xiang is convinced this map could lead to the fabled treasure. Captivated with the thrill of adventure, she joins Anh and her motley crew off in pursuit of the island. But the girls soon find that the sea—and especially those who sail it—are far more dangerous than the legends led them to believe.

Thank you NetGalley and Fiewel & Friends/Macmillan for the eARC for review!

I’ve mentioned this book on the blog before – when I made a list of retellings! In that post I talked about how excited I was for this book. Naturally I didn’t actually get around to reading it until 4.5 months after it released….whoops. Life gets in the way sometimes yknow? I had a lot going on (moving cross country, sick relatives, etc). BUT now I’ve read it. And I can say that I indeed loved it.

Welcome to the Whitethorn Institute. The first step is always admitting you need help, and you've already taken that step by requesting a transfer into our company.
There is another school for children who fall through doors and fall back out again. It isn't as friendly as Eleanor West's Home for Wayward Children. And it isn't as safe.
When Eleanor West decided to open her school, her sanctuary, her Home for Wayward Children, she knew from the beginning that there would be children she couldn't save; when Cora decides she needs a different direction, a different fate, a different prophecy, Miss West reluctantly agrees to transfer her to the other school, where things are run very differently by Whitethorn, the Headmaster.
She will soon discover that not all doors are welcoming...

Thank you so much to TorDotCom Publishing for sending me an ARC to review! This does not affect my review in any way.

It’s no secret that I love Seanan McGuire. I mean, she and Tamora Pierce are my top two favorite authors, easily. I saw Heron (a friend from Bookstagram) mention in their review that for them it’s now more of a question of how much they’ll like these books, rather than a question of if they’ll like them. That is definitely how it is for me. I have loved the previous six books of this series, to varying degrees, so I went into this one pretty confident I would like it. Little did I know it would actually become on of my favs of the series!!

It’s a beautiful day in autumn, and a little girl has gone missing…
She’s not the first.
Hannah Hendricks is the fourth child to disappear from the small town of Fallow Creek in the past two months. Search parties comb the woods and vigils are held, yet there is no trace of the missing children, as if they have vanished off the face of the earth.
Cassandra Reilly is certain there is magic involved, but few people trust the word of a witch, and fewer still want her help. As an outsider to the rest of the town, it seems there is little she can do – until Hannah’s parents arrive on her doorstep, begging for magical aid.
Cass is tired of doing nothing, but agreeing to help is more dangerous than she knows. Something evil is at work in Fallow Creek, and if she isn’t careful, she’ll lead it back to her own door…

Spooky season may be “technically” over but it’s never over in our hearts. If you want to continue the spooky season with your reading, this is the perfect book for it. It’s a slightly creepy fantasy novel that just released today! It’s got witches and fae and creepy monsters! And the author is one of my friends on Instagram, Claudia Cain (find her here: @cainbooks). She asked if people would like to review her book, and I said yes! My friendship with her doesn’t affect my review in any way.

Girls of Paper and Fire meets The Tiger at Midnight in June CL Tan’s stunning debut, inspired by Chinese mythology, with rich magic and an epic slow-burn romance.
In an empire on the brink of war . . .
Ahn is no one, with no past and no family.
Altan is a lost heir, his future stolen away as a child.
When they meet, Altan sees in Ahn a path to reclaiming the throne. Ahn sees a way to finally unlock her past and understand her arcane magical abilities.
But they may have to pay a far deadlier price than either could have imagined.
Ferocious action, shadowy intrigue, and a captivating romance collide in June CL Tan’s debut, a stunning homage to the Xianxia novel with a tender, beating heart, perfect for fans of The Bone Witch and We Hunt the Flame.

Trigger and content warnings:

• self-harm (gouging, eye horror; non-graphic)
• child abuse (physical, verbal, emotional manipulation/gaslighting)
• parent death (implied, off-page)
• character deaths
• mentions and descriptions of fantasy/magical violence (blood, war, political violence)
• mentions and descriptions of physical symptoms that might be triggering to those with emetophobia
• alcohol consumption

Welcome to my stop on the Caffeine Books Tours blog tour for Jade Fire Gold! Thank you so much for having me! I received an advance copy of the book from the publisher and CBT for my participation in this tour. You can find the tour launch post here! You can find all of the other tour stops there!

It began with a girl and a sword, and it will end with a girl and her sword.

Jade Fire Gold was such a pleasure to read! I was already sucked in before I knew anything about the synopsis because I had seen it marketed as similar to Avatar: The Last Airbender (ATLA). Which is one of the best tv shows ever!! I think that comparison is accurate in a handful of ways – obviously no comparison will encompass a new thing completely! But in Jade Fire Gold we have elemental magic, martial artists, wise mentors, corrupt royals, and so much more. If you’re someone who loved ATLA, I really do think this book will be up your alley. And on the other hand if you haven’t watched the show, I think you’ll still love it!

The boys of Huaxia dream of pairing up with girls to pilot Chrysalises, giant transforming robots that can battle the mecha aliens that lurk beyond the Great Wall. It doesn't matter that the girls often die from the mental strain.
When 18-year-old Zetian offers herself up as a concubine-pilot, it's to assassinate the ace male pilot responsible for her sister's death. But she gets her vengeance in a way nobody expected—she kills him through the psychic link between pilots and emerges from the cockpit unscathed. She is labeled an Iron Widow, a much-feared and much-silenced kind of female pilot who can sacrifice boys to power up Chrysalises instead.​
To tame her unnerving yet invaluable mental strength, she is paired up with Li Shimin, the strongest and most controversial male pilot in Huaxia​. But now that Zetian has had a taste of power, she will not cower so easily. She will miss no opportunity to leverage their combined might and infamy to survive attempt after attempt on her life, until she can figure out exactly why the pilot system works in its misogynist way—and stop more girls from being sacrificed.

Welp. I’ve absolute found both a new favorite book, and a new favorite author. This book was incredible, and I cannot wait for the sequel. It had everything I could ever want. Found family, queer characters, GIANT ROBOTS?? Ancient China inspired setting, vengeance, unapologetic rage, and so much more. Wow. I’m blown away. I couldn’t stop reading it, but I also never wanted it it end!! Maybe I’ll just have to reread it many many times until the sequel comes out…haha.