It took the author eight years to put this together, and I‘m so happy she took her time. It is so apparent that the background and world building is beyond the majority of YA. There‘s even a website dedicated to the realms and a massive glossary at the back of the book with tons of additional information. As this is a debut novel, there were plot points that could have used additional polishing, but it still didn‘t take away from the overall book.

Definitely my favorite YA release of 2024, Krystal Sutherland‘s second YA gothic fantasy Invocations has everything. It was fun, fast-paced, original, spooky, and full of a cast I loved from start to finish. The witchy elements were tastefully done and the right amount of grit and guts was present with each character. The plot twists were awesome, I didn‘t see them coming at all. Definitely add this one to your list.

I really liked the concept of this one and felt the author was pretty original in the storyline. We followed two different timelines that focused on the same two - sort of three - characters in each. Personally, the current timeline was much more entertaining and I wish had more face time. Both timelines did feel a bit disjointed, and some of the build ups didn‘t really pay off. That being said, this was fun overall.

Being Henry tells the story of Winkler‘s 50+ years acting from theatre in New York, to prime time in LA. I thoroughly enjoyed this, and especially loved that I could hear his distinct voice in my head as I read. Winkler speaks on challenges growing up with strict German parents, as an actor whose most famous role happened at the start of his career, as a person with dyslexia who found out far too late, and as a gentle soul just happy to be here.

Absolutely loved it!!! Amazing imagery, good twists and turns, and overall just a fun read for spooky season. Definitely recommend.

This one was cute and had the makings of a potential series. I‘ve struggled finding unique fantasy worlds since Harry Potter, but Marvellers was different enough to cause some excitement. I really liked our main character, Ella, as well as a few side characters. Creating an entire world is a difficult feat though it reads almost seamlessly here. Not a lot of Middle Grade fantasy stands out to me but this was fresh, original, and very enjoyable.

Praise for Skyla Arndt‘s debut novel, the YA horrormance Together We Rot! After reading this one, Arndt has definitely become a writer to watch.
• What I Loved: The plot, the prose, the depth in which each character was written, the wit and banter, the twists and turns, EVERYTHING!

What I Enjoyed:
- The fast paced nature of the prose
- Mrs. Plansky, a complex woman full of rich personality traits and some good zingers
- The dual storyline with our main antagonist; you can‘t help but love him in the end

Major Critique:
For this story you would expect the ending to button up nicely. However, I wanted a little more on screen action to really drive the revenge home.

Threads That Bind was a beautifully written combination of mystery, thriller, romance, Greek mythology, and dystopian wrapped into the YA genre. I absolutely LOVED the Greek mythology aspects and think they stood out against the current genre (eg. Circe). Finally, the world building was crazy cool with the post-apocalyptic sea creatures, tides that rise in the city every night, and endless cat bridges.