All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace

Posted on January 29, 2020 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

All the Stars and Teeth by Adalyn Grace

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Raincoast Books
Published: February 4th, 2020
Publisher: Imprint
Recommended Age: 12+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Magic, Adventure, Romance, Pirates

REVIEW:

This is a book you’re either going to really enjoy or really dislike. That’s because the storyline is predictable for the most part so if you don’t connect to the main character and don’t enjoy following her adventures then you’re going to feel like reading this book is pointless. Continue reading →

Dark Shores – Danielle L. Jensen

Posted on May 10, 2019 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

Dark Shores by Danielle L. Jensen

My rating: 2 of 5 stars
Received: Raincoast Books
Published: May 7th, 2019
Publisher: Tor Teen
Recommended Age: 13+
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Adventure, Piracy, Politics

REVIEW:

This is a DNF for me. I instantly knew after reading the first page that it would be a DNF. Sometimes you just know. It’s like when you meet someone knew. The first conversation you have with that person can determine whether you can connect on a deeper level or not. Of course, it’s good to give the other person a more meaningful chance than one simple conversation, so I pushed through that boring first page. But like most relationships, if the beginning isn’t beautiful, the rest of it usually isn’t. It CAN get better, but that’s extremely rare and involves growth. Continue reading →

Seafire – Natalie C. Parker

Posted on August 18, 2018 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

Seafire by Natalie C. Parker

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Published: August 28th, 2018
Publisher: Razorbill
Recommended Age: 12+
Pacing: Normal
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Pirates, Action, Adventure, Revenge, Loyalty, Family, Sisterhood, Feminism, Romance

BLURB:

After her family is killed by corrupt warlord Aric Athair and his bloodthirsty army of Bullets, Caledonia Styx is left to chart her own course on the dangerous and deadly seas. She captains her ship, the Mors Navis, with a crew of girls and women just like her, whose lives have been turned upside down by Aric and his men. The crew has one misson: stay alive, and take down Aric’s armed and armored fleet. But when Caledonia’s best friend and second-in-command just barely survives an attack thanks to help from a Bullet looking to defect, Caledonia finds herself questioning whether or not to let him join their crew. Is this boy the key to taking down Aric Athair once and for all…or will he threaten everything the women of the Mors Navis have worked for? Continue reading →

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

Posted on December 23, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

28116719 Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

My rating: 3.5 of 5 stars
Received: Raincoast Books
Publication Date: February 28th, 2017
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends
Point of View: 1st Person & Feminine
Recommended Age: 13+
Pacing: Fast
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Pirates, Romance, Action

BLURB:

When the ruthless pirate king learns of a legendary treasure map hidden on an enemy ship, his daughter, Alosa, knows there’s only one pirate for the job—herself. Leaving behind her beloved ship and crew, Alosa deliberately facilitates her own kidnapping to ensure her passage on the ship, confident in her ability to overcome any obstacle. After all, who’s going to suspect a seventeen-year-old girl locked in a cell? Then she meets the (surprisingly perceptive and unfairly attractive) first mate, Riden, who is charged with finding out all her secrets. Now it’s down to a battle of wits and will . . . . Can Alosa find the map and escape before Riden figures out her plan?
Continue reading →

The Reader – Traci Chee

Posted on July 21, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

25064648 The Reader by Traci Chee

My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Received: Publisher
Publication Date: September 13th 2016
Publisher: Putnam
Point of View: 3rd Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 12+
Pacing: Slow
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Adventure, Magic, Pirates, Books about Books

BLURB:

Sefia knows what it means to survive. After her father is brutally murdered, she flees into the wilderness with her aunt Nin, who teaches her to hunt, track, and steal. But when Nin is kidnapped, leaving Sefia completely alone, none of her survival skills can help her discover where Nin’s been taken, or if she’s even alive. The only clue to both her aunt’s disappearance and her father’s murder is the odd rectangular object her father left behind, an object she comes to realize is a book—a marvelous item unheard of in her otherwise illiterate society. With the help of this book, and the aid of a mysterious stranger with dark secrets of his own, Sefia sets out to rescue her aunt and find out what really happened the day her father was killed—and punish the people responsible. Continue reading →

Review: The Princess Bride by William Goldman

Posted on June 17, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

21787 The Princess Bride by William Goldman

My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Received: Borrowed
Publication Date: 1973
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Point of View: 3rd Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 12+
Pacing: Slow
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Fantasy, Love, Adventure, Classic, Kings and Queens, Danger, Pirates

BLURB:

What happens when the most beautiful girl in the world marries the handsomest prince of all time and he turns out to be…well…a lot less than the man of her dreams?

As a boy, William Goldman claims, he loved to hear his father read the S. Morgenstern classic, The Princess Bride. But as a grown-up he discovered that the boring parts were left out of good old Dad’s recitation, and only the “good parts” reached his ears.

Now Goldman does Dad one better. He’s reconstructed the “Good Parts Version” to delight wise kids and wide-eyed grownups everywhere.

What’s it about? Fencing. Fighting. True Love. Strong Hate. Harsh Revenge. A Few Giants. Lots of Bad Men. Lots of Good Men. Five or Six Beautiful Women. Beasties Monstrous and Gentle. Some Swell Escapes and Captures. Death, Lies, Truth, Miracles, and a Little Sex.

In short, it’s about everything. Continue reading →

Review: Starflight (Starflight #1) by Melissa Landers

Posted on June 5, 2016 by Monica @ Hit or Miss Books

21793182 Starflight by Melissa Landers

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Received: Bought
Publication Date: February 2nd 2016
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Point of View: 3rd Person & Alternative
Recommended Age: 13+
Pacing: Fast
Genres & Themes: Young Adult, Science Fiction, Romance, Family, Danger, Pirates, Love-Hate Relationship

BLURB:

Life in the outer realm is a lawless, dirty, hard existence, and Solara Brooks is hungry for it. Just out of the orphanage, she needs a fresh start in a place where nobody cares about the engine grease beneath her fingernails or the felony tattoos across her knuckles. She’s so desperate to reach the realm that she’s willing to indenture herself to Doran Spaulding, the rich and popular quarterback who made her life miserable all through high school, in exchange for passage aboard the spaceliner Zenith.

When a twist of fate lands them instead on the Banshee, a vessel of dubious repute, Doran learns he’s been framed on Earth for conspiracy. As he pursues a set of mysterious coordinates rumored to hold the key to clearing his name, he and Solara must get past their enmity to work together and evade those out for their arrest. Life on the Banshee may be tumultuous, but as Solara and Doran are forced to question everything they once believed about their world—and each other—the ship becomes home, and the eccentric crew family. But what Solara and Doran discover on the mysterious Planet X has the power to not only alter their lives, but the existence of everyone in the universe… Continue reading →