In the effort to clear up the review cache, I’m grouping some books together into mega mini book review posts. Today I’m featuring some YA fantasy and science fiction books I read in 2024. Keep reading this book review post for reviews of Repeat After Me, The Love Interest, A Misfortune of Lake Monsters, Shatter Me, Divine Mortals, and Touch of Death.
(Disclaimer: Some of the links below are affiliate links. For more information you can look at the Policy page. If you’re uncomfortable with that, know you can look up the book on any of the sites below to avoid the link)
Repeat After Me by Jessica Warman
She’s about to have a serious temporal tantrum.
In retrospect, I probably should have passed on the ceviche.
It was already a weird Friday. My class is stuck on an eerily remote island for our senior trip, I’m pretty sure Mr. D (“call me Max”) is hiding something from us, my ex–best friend turned nemesis keeps stealing my candy, and tonight’s plan for my boyfriend and me to finally lose our virginity to each other is going hellishly.
I mean, ceviche is delicious, don’t get me wrong. But a dish made from a supposedly immortal octopus should really come with a warning label.
Caution: consuming a telepathic sea creature of unknown origin may result in immortality, no consequences to any actions, and getting stuck in a time loop for all of eternity.
Now every morning I wake up, and it’s the same Friday all over again. Same annoying classmates. Same island suspended in time by an evil oyster farmer with a God complex. Same outrageous candy theft. The only person I can count on to keep me from losing my grip on this new reality is Louis, my best friend who knows me better than anyone else in this world.
This should be a cephalopod-induced nightmare but somehow—in some ridiculous way—I feel like I’m experiencing the extraordinary, the gift of endless opportunities to get things right. But when I wake up every morning and it’s Friday again, sometimes it feels more like a never-ending prison sentence.
They say some things are worse than death…
…guess I’m about to find out.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Okay, I love time loops. They’re one of my favorite niche subjects I love to read in speculative fiction. However, Repeat After Me has some really short chapters and SO many POVs. It was kind of painful to get through at the beginning because I really had no idea who anyone was. It’s tricky to be introduced to so many different voices and stories. Paired with the short chapters made it difficult to get anyone right in my head. As a whole, Repeat After Me attempts to explore when everything matters or nothing matters. But it’s one that sort of loses the plot before it even begins?
Maybe if I had a cast of characters or a map to see where they all intersected it would help more. I also think if I read just one chapter a day it might be a lot easier to handle. If you do read this one, try that and let me know! I was reading about 25% of the book a day and it just became too much too fast. Find Repeat After Me on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.
Touch of Death by Taylor Munsell
George, a sixteen-year-old death witch and medium, hates her “gift” of experiencing someone’s future death with a touch, but when she sees herself killing the new student, she must embrace her magic before blood stains her hands.
Death is permanent. Even if it hasn’t happened yet.
With just a touch, George experiences a person’s future death. High school is hard enough, but sixteen-year-old death witch Georgiana “George” Colburn can’t seem to catch a break. Even Jen’s ghost, the recently deceased popular girl who ignored George in life, won’t leave her alone. George is convinced her life can’t get any worse. That is until she bumps into the new student and experiences his death at her hand.
When a coven mate, Trixie, offers to help her with her magic, George finds herself with a new friend and crush, but she knows even if she found the courage to ask her out, a relationship is impossible: she’d never be able to touch her. With the help of her friends, George must face her fears and learn to embrace her powers to unlock the secrets of her magic before blood stains her hands.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the author. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
Touch of Death examines the burden of foresight. If we could see how someone would perish, it would make having connection difficult. How can we begin to love when we know how it will end? And even more so, what happens when it’s not just the end of a relationship, but also their life? My favorite element of Touch of Death is tied between the world building – specifically the witch covens – and the unique magic. How do we prevail when we see the end before it begins? The friendship core of Touch of Death is a bright thread throughout.
There’s this distinct sense of a grander metaphor with the magical power all carried by an action packed mystery. Find Touch of Death on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.
Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi
Juliette hasn’t touched anyone in exactly 264 days.
The last time she did, it was an accident, but The Reestablishment locked her up for murder. No one knows why Juliette’s touch is fatal. As long as she doesn’t hurt anyone else, no one really cares. The world is too busy crumbling to pieces to pay attention to a 17-year-old girl. Diseases are destroying the population, food is hard to find, birds don’t fly anymore, and the clouds are the wrong color.
The Reestablishment said their way was the only way to fix things, so they threw Juliette in a cell. Now so many people are dead that the survivors are whispering war – and The Reestablishment has changed its mind. Maybe Juliette is more than a tortured soul stuffed into a poisonous body. Maybe she’s exactly what they need right now.
Juliette has to make a choice: Be a weapon. Or be a warrior.
Review
Look, I was deeply confused by Shatter Me. Maybe it’s because I knew almost nothing going into this except that people ship Juliette and Warner. And maybe that’s a longer end game ship because Shatter Me does not give those vibes. I have been also chatting with people since then about this book and I am missing something. They’ve all said it changes and gets better as the series progresses, but let me know if I should stick it out. Because girl, if you’re shipping Warner right now, I’m like HOW!? Now, if I had read this in the 2000s this would have hit different.
I can fully admit that. But instead I’m reading it now trying to put myself in 2000s Lili mode. The idea of being untouchable, literally, and craving that connection is certainly heart wrenching. It’s not even just about the physical touch – talk about no hugs! – but it’s also a metaphor for keeping everyone at arm’s distance. When we can’t even trust our bodies. When our bodies hurt the ones we love without us wanting to. I definitely still enjoyed this theme. From a writing perspective, I was left a bit wanting. I still understand why this hit so different before and maybe I’ll keep reading. But my expectations going in just gave me emotional whiplash.
Find Shatter Me on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.
Divine Mortals by Amanda M. Helander
Mona can name anyone’s soulmate—but she’ll do anything to avoid being matched with her own. Especially when she learns he’s the king.
This debut romantasy perfect for fans of Sarah J. Maas and Rebecca Yarros delivers sizzling romance, cutthroat competition, a lush fantasy world, and an unforgettable heroine.
Blessed by the gods, Mona Arnett has the unique ability to divine soulmates, but she refuses to seek out her own—until she learns the king is dying without an heir, threatening the royal line and the world’s access to magic. Tasked with naming his future queen, Mona discovers the king’s soulmate is . . . her.
A royal match is the last thing Mona wants—especially when she starts falling for the king’s closest advisor—so she lies, cheats, and contends with scheming gods to hide the truth. But when this high-stakes game of thrones leads to murder, survival and the fate of the kingdom will depend on her finding the courage to face her destiny.
Review
Divine Mortals is a book that fully captured me. I love the idea of being able to tell everyone their soul mate and then fighting our own. Because of course we would. Talk about when we fall for someone we shouldn’t. Like actually shouldn’t. The premise is enough to hook me. But I really enjoyed how Divine Mortals examines Mona’s character. We witness Mona make friends – sometimes unwillingly – and figure out how to fight her own feelings. It’s a world where we serve the gods. A world where we don’t want the fate that has been spelled out for us.
At the same time, Divine Mortals explores power. Who should rule and who should have power? Find Divine Mortals on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.
The Love Interest by Helen Comerford
Seventeen-year-old Jenna Ray has just been saved by the world’s newest superhero, Blaze. And, in the eyes of the public, that means one thing: Jenna Ray has been cast as the Love Interest.
No. Not happening. Not if Jenna has anything to say about it (even if Blaze is actually quite sweet and cute).
But her plans to defy the HPA (the Heroics and Power Authority) and turn down this new role are thwarted when the Villains begin to take an interest in her and offer a life-changing proposition; become Blaze’s Love Interest, while avoiding catching feelings for him, to uncover the HPA’s secret plans and find her missing mum.
To make matters even more complicated, just as Jenna starts to embrace her new-found career, she discovers she might be more on the side of the superheroes than she ever imagined …
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
I will always read a good superhero and villain book. Even more so when the lines between the ‘good’ guys and the ‘bad’ guys are blurred. If you like that too, then you’ll have to pick up The Love Interest. It’s a story that explores what we would to to find the answers and what we would do to hide the answers. Beginning with a fun hook – in a hero’s story even though we don’t want it – it’s a book that makes you think about what we believe. There’s more spin to the story then we think.
The Love Interest examines all the things we would justify for the ‘right thing’. The things that heroes do for the ‘right reasons’. When people are convinced, to the bitter end, that they are the heroes of their own story. Find The Love Interest on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.
A Misfortune of Lake Monsters by Nicole M. Wolverton
Lemon Ziegler wants to escape rural Devil’s Elbow, Pennsylvania to attend college―but that’s impossible now that she’s expected to impersonate the town’s lake monster for the rest of her life. Her family has been secretly keeping the tradition of Old Lucy, the famed (and very fake) monster of Lake Lokakoma, alive for generations, all to keep the tourists coming. Without Lemon, the town dies, and she can’t disappoint her grandparents . . . or tell her best friends about any of it. That includes Troy Ramirez, who has been covertly in love with Lemon for years, afraid to ruin their friendship by confessing his feelings.
When a very real, and very hungry monster is discovered in the lake, secrets must fall by the wayside. Determined to stop the monster, Lemon and her best friends are the only thing standing between Devil’s Elbow and the monster out for blood.
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the author. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
A Misfortune of Lake Monsters is for fans of conspiracy theories and friendship groups. I love how strong the friendships are in this book. Being dual POV, we are able to experience all the angles of the friendships in A Misfortune of Lake Monsters. The book takes place on the precipice of change. And things are changing in a very eerie way. Throughout A Misfortune of Lake Monsters, Wolverton explores the line between fiction and reality. What’s really happening? While the ending feels a bit rushed – with the reveal – considering the pace, I enjoyed A Misfortune of Lake Monsters.
Nothing beats a good friendship group and some conspiracies! Find A Misfortune of Lake Monsters on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.