Real Mermaids Don't Need High Heels

Real Mermaids Don't Need High Heels by Helene Boudreau, 2013 Sourcebooks Jabberwocky

     Jade Baxter and her best friend have managed to save the tide pool where mers can transition into human form. Cori is officially dating Luke's brother, Trey, and Jade is officially dating Luke. The friends are enjoying typical high school exploits and looking forward to the Fall Formal.
     Except, Jade is terrified of the dance: she's got two left fins. The formal becomes the smaller of her problems when the Mer Council orders all Webbed Ones back into the ocean. Jade finally got her mom back and she certainly isn't willing to let her boyfriend go back into the ocean.
     The friends are busy with their school work: Cori has an internship, Luke and Trey have work and water polo, and Jade has joined the underwater hockey team. To top it all off, Selena has been enrolled as a foreign exchange student at her school - and Jade is not keen on playing tour guide to the mer-girl.
     Jade tries to prepare for Mer-mageddon all while trying to prevent the building underwater war and trying to find the perfect dress for the dance. When they can't keep the Webbed Ones out of the water Cori, Trey, Jade, and their human adult supervision take to the water. Following the "call" back to the Mer Council leads Jade to new secrets and challenges. If the fourteen-year-old can prevent civil war in the mer-world, finding a good dress and learning to dance should be a cake walk.
     The Real Mermaid series is aimed at middle grade and younger teen readers. The girls experience budding romantic relationships with all the emotional ups and downs in a clean romance. This is the third of four novels featuring Jade and her friends.

Made to Last

Made to Last by Melissa Tagg, 2013 Bethany House Publishing

    Miranda Woodruff has been running a home improvement show for three seasons, but the network has mentioned there are no guarantees of a fourth - despite being halfway through filming. Randi's manager and her show's producer suggest they solve a mystery the show has been hinting at since its beginning. Randi is reluctant to provide a face to the husband she mentions because there is no husband.
     She had met the man she nearly married on a mission trip to Brazil. Robbie was a leader in the team working to build houses for locals and the relationship between Randi and Robbie progressed until Robbie proposed as they prepared to return to the United States. Miranda struggles to reconcile their relationship with her faith and eventually her fiancee leaves and Randi throws herself into the show. Randi's manager and the show's producer convince her that a replacement husband to show her fans will be the perfect stunt to convince the network to keep the production running. They find Blaze Hunziker to play her husband.
     Blaze has his own demons but agrees to help the woman and, hopefully, her show. Randi is blind-sided when a national gossip magazine reporter is scheduled to follow her every moment through this tumultuous time. While Miranda can handle the over-the-top personality Blaze brings, it is Matthew's calm and quiet observations which get under her skin.
     Trying to maintain the facade she's built on her show for the last three seasons, Randi allows Matthew to see her commitment to her community and a struggling faith. At pressure from the show's producer and her manager, Randi continues to pretend a relationship with Blaze while getting to know Matthew and show him her high-mountain life. The two develop a friendship which threatens to become something more despite her supposed marriage.
     When the real Robbie reappears and threatens the whole charade, just as everything seems set. The tension of having the real man who inspired so much feeling back is compounded when the reporter is brought in on the secret. Though the relationship between Blaze and Randi was revealed as fiction turned to real friendship, Robbie's return jeopardizes even the possibility of something between Matthew and Randi.
     The facade crumbles around her and the media discovers Miranda's secret. But she is worried about what her fans will think and how her friends and family will deal with the years of lies. In a romance which centers around the myth of Randi's marriage and keeping her secret, her Christian faith and hopes for the future drive her decisions. Followed by Blaze's quest for forever, Made to Last is a story of forbidden love, which may not be so ruinous when the dust settles.

Loki's Wolves

Loki's Wolves by K.L. Armstrong & M.A. Marr, 2013 Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

     Blackwell South Dakota is full of people who are a little bit different. Matt Thorsen is well aware of what makes his extended family different: they're descended from the Norse god Thor. To Matt this simply means he's a disappointment when he cannot meet his parents' expectations in controlling the gift of Moljnir. The Thorsens run Blackwell and Matt's dad is the sheriff holding him to a higher standard.
     On the opposite end of the spectrum Fen Brekke's family is descended from Loki the Trickster god. The Brekke's are constantly in trouble: Fen's uncle and his cousin Laurie are gifted with Loki's luck while Fen can become a wolf. Fen has been protecting Laurie while she has been kept ignorant from her heritage. Laurie's only hint is a realistic dream that she became a fish.
     When Matt dreams of the beginning of Ragnarok it sets in motion the event itself. Matt and his classmates are selected as champions of the old gods: Matt as Thor, Fen as Loki, and the descendents of the other gods are to be found across South Dakota. Matt's grandfather, mayor of Blackwell and head of the high council, describes great success for his grandson, but Matt overhears a conversation which indicates the council expects him to die in the process of saving their world.
     Matt seeks the help of Loki's replacement, but Fen and Matt have never gotten along. Laurie convinces her cousin to help Matt and the three embark on a quest for the remaining champions. More than the question of how to find their other kids is what to do when they've collected everyone.
     The kids are only middle-schoolers and face some of the challenges thirteen-year-olds traveling alone would face. Matt, Fen, and Laurie learn to work together and even begin to develop a friendship. When they've caught up to the other champions tragedy strikes and the kids must decide how they're going to save the world and prevent Ragnarok.
     Loki's Wolves is aimed at middle readers with action, adventure, some magic and a touch of romance. The characters learn to judge each other based on their own interactions rather than how others perceive them. A quick read for older readers, fans of Rick Riordan will like this similarly-paced dive into mythology

Newt's Emerald

Newt's Emerald by Garth Nix, 2013 Katherine Tegen Books

     Regency England is imbued with magic: families have different talents including glamour, persuasion, and weather magics. The Newington family has weather magic, and the daughter of the house, Truthful Newington, has a touch of animal talent and some local weather magic. The Newington family also has an old family relic: the Newington Emerald, which has a magic all its own.
     Lady Truthful is to inherit the family jewel when she comes of age, but during a glimpse on her eighteenth birthday the jewel is stolen. Admiral Newington, Truthful's father, blames her cousins the Newington-Lacys. The three young men promise their beloved cousin Newt that they will find a replacement for the pretty bauble abroad. Truthful appreciates their aid, but makes plans of her own. She hastens a planned journey to London where her great-aunt Lady Badgery is ready to introduce her to Society.
     Newt's great-aunt is eccentric and an excellent sorceress. Lady Badgery helps her niece become a distant French male cousin in order to hunt for the Emerald in the city. Henri, as she becomes, searches for the jewel with no success. When Truthful meets a mysterious Major Hartnett the investigation begins to produce results.
     With the Major's assistance and Lady Badgery's connections Newt discovers a larger plot at hand, one the government becomes deeply involved in Newt's charade is compromised in a brief kidnapping an her confounding feelings for the Major begin to cause problems as the chase for her Emerald comes to a close.
     Action, adventure, magic, and some brief romance make Newt's Emerald a modern take on Regency fiction and will appeal to readers of all ages.

Scarlet

Scarlet by Marissa Meyer, 2013 Feiwel & Friends

     Scarlet Benoit is worried when her grandmother goes missing: it isn't like Madame Michelle Benoit to just vanish - especially without her ID chip or a bag. Scarlet has contacted the local authorities but they are hesitant to search for someone who doesn't want to be found.
     Counter to her personal problems, Scarlet is stunned when a young cyborg girl is imprisoned in New Beijing for attempting to assassinate the Lunar Queen Levana. The girl is barely sixteen and already a felon - and Scarlet has a hard time agreeing with the citizens of Rieux when they're happy to hand Linh Cinder over for certain execution
. When Scarlet's outburst begins a brawl at the local tavern a shy street fighter stands up for her. When the young man dogs her steps Scarlet discovers Wolf isn't exactly safe, but he is certainly fascinating.
     Meanwhile Cinder escapes from prison with a little help from the Emperor's personal doctor, Dr. Erland, and an American deserter calling himself Captain. Carswell Thorne believes he's Earth's gift to women and enjoys trying to catch Cinder's eye, but when the young woman finally reveals her somewhat relationship with the new emperor Thorne limits his participation to helping her escape New Beijing and tagging along for an adventure.
     Off-planet Thorne is little more than an annoyance while Cinder tries to come to terms with her true identity and the bio-electric gift that comes with it. The only clue to how Cinder became the adopted daughter of an Asian inventor is Michelle Benoit. Between avoiding the agencies searching the globe for her and managing her lunar gift Cinder aims for France and the Benoit farm.
     Scarlet and Wolf, in turn, head to Paris to search for Scarlet's grandmother at the den of a wolf-like gang. Arriving late, Scarlet discovers the man she believed she could trust has been a leader among the ranks of the very gang holding Madame Benoit hostage.
     Cinder and Scarlet's paths meet and converge when Levana forces Kai, Emperor of New Beijing, to either marry the Lunar Queen or face global warfare. Can the two young women come to terms with their changing circumstances long enough to save Earth from the Lunar Invasion?
     Scarlet takes elements from the story of Little Red Riding Hood and incorporates the into futuristic world where cyborgs are an accepted part of life and humans have lived on the moon long enough to evolve into a separate race. This is a teen novel with some mature elements including animalistic violence.

Winds of Salem

Winds of Salem by Melissa de la Cruz, 2013 Hyperion

     Freya Beauchamp is sixteen, living in 16th century Salem Village and working in the home of a prominent family. She has a special gift which she keeps hidden from all but a close few: Freya can do magic.
     In the twentieth century Freya's family struggles to bring their missing daughter home. Ingrid searches the library for clues of her sister in history books, while trying to balance a relationship with the hunky police detective. Johanna and her husband Norman go searching for Norm's brother and his time-keeping abilities. Freyr, Freya's twin, has some troubles of his own to sort out. His new bride is still working toward her college degree, and caring for Ingrid's brownies has put a serious kink in their relationship.
     While Freya lives through the Salem witch trials, she is blissfully unaware that if she dies this time around it will be permanent. Someone wants the Beauchamps out of the picture badly enough to disrupt magic across time to succeed. The Beauchamp family battles to save one of their own in this third installment of the trilogy.
     Reincarnated into the modern world, the gods and goddesses of Norse mythology are subject to both mortal and immortal law. Older teens and young adult readers will find Winds of Salem a polarized culmination of the witches' journey with some mature content.

Benedict Hall

Benedict Hall by Cate Campbell, 2013 Kensington Books

     No one believed her when as a child Margot Benedict's younger brother repeatedly acted violence on her. The daughter of a Society Bride and wealthy businessman, Margot has risen above the expectations set for her by society and her family to become one of the few female doctors of the United States in 1920.
     Preston Benedict has never liked his siblings, but especially not the overly-smart, unfeminine Margot. Preston joins the Great War and finds himself in the East. He meets several characters during the war, including Major Frank Parrish and Preston's batman, Carter. When he returns home, Preston Benedict is in possession of a strangely powerful jewel. The Sapphire of Roxanna - the sultan's bride - appears to give the young Benedict an unusual power over the world around him which only enhances his inherent malice.
    Frank Parrish was sent from the East to an Army encampment where his arm, damaged in an explosive clash between Arab and British forces outside Jerusalem, is amputated. His journey takes Frank through a Virginia hospital . There his childhood sweetheart erases any hope from their understanding. Frank decides to travel beyond his Montana home to Seattle, Washington.
     In Seattle, Frank runs into Preston Benedict again, and their enmity reignites. When Frank appears to form an attachment to the Benedict doctor-daughter, Preston's already unstable temperament finds new ways to display itself. Frank and Margot, along with others from Preston's past, must find a way beyond the sapphire to freedom before Preston Benedict has a chance to spoil the chance.
     The first installment of the Benedict story introduces the reader to a world of luxury and the elite. Though the Benedict family is blessed with anything they could hope for, something in the youngest son's make-up dictates danger for the rest of the family. Strong themes of class and race relations weave through the Benedicts' story. Relationships both familial, platonic, and romantic play a key role in the development of both Margot and Frank's story. With intermittent violence and mature events this is an adult read; though more mature high school readers are able to follow Campbell's complex storytelling.

Spring Awakening

Spring Awakening by T.J. Brown, 2013 Gallery Books

     Prudence has travelled to London with her new husband, Rowena has agreed to marry her friend Sebastian Billingsly, and Victoria has decided to make her way as a lady bachelor. The Buxton women have grown stronger and grown apart since their London home was taken from them and their estrangement at Summerset Abbey. But there is more at stake for the three women and the people they care for when the first World War begins.
     Prudence has fallen in love with her husband Andrew Wilkes. When he volunteers to fight, Prudence finds she is expecting their first child. The stress of her changed circumstances is minimal compared to the blow their relationship when she asks the Buxtons that he be stationed somewhere relatively safe. Andrew thinks Prudence lacks faith in him, but Prudence just wants her husband to come home.
     Rowena and her cousin Elaine remain at home while Victoria moves to London and most of the men in the Cunning Coterie join the war in Europe. While Elaine is held under her mother's thumb, Rowena recovers from her disaster of an affair with the young pilot, Jon. While tacking together plans for her wedding to Sebastian she begins to ferry planes across the Isles for the British government.
     Away from her family in London, Victoria repeatedly rejects Kit Kittredge's marriage proposals. When he reveals he will be joining the covert war effort Victoria realizes she will lose her best friend. Victoria distracts herself in work as a volunteer nurse, even joining the Red Cross in France. The youngest Buxton girl discovers sometimes it isn't worth losing the respect and love of a friend to have it all.
     The Buxton girls find their lives have been leading them in separate directions toward the same end. Rowena and Victoria aid the war effort more directly, and Prudence becomes an anchor as many women of her time were forced to become. Through love and loss each woman learns to blaze her own trail, but finds her way back to the family who left London at Sir Philip's death. Spring Awakening is a historical novel weaving fact together with fiction. Older readers will enjoy the nuance and complex love lives which follow Rowena, Prudence, and Victoria to the series' conclusion.

Crown of Midnight

The Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas, 2013 Bloomsbury

      After several months acting as King's Assassin and running the king's errands Celaena Sardothien finds it necessary to step up her game. With murder after murder Celaena becomes more detached and her friends become concerned as the Celaena they've known disappears and the heartless creature which is Ardalan's Assassin.
     Celaena cannot stand her friends discovering the dangerous path she treads. She offers each assigned target the option to flee and become another person, never use their real name again, or die at the hands of Ardalan's Assassin. She hasn't killed a single target; while the king believes she does his bidding he maintains her secrets and discovers a few belonging to her captor.
   The ancient Queen Elena's ghost appears to Celaena, but she hasn't appeared since the creature attacked Celaena in Throne of Glass. When a cloaked creature appears in the castle near the library Celaena seeks the queen's wisdom, but discovers - from the talking doorknocker, Mort - Elena is weakened from her prior appearances. Between assignments Celaena is surrounded by the Wyrd and finally asks Nehemia to teach her to read Wyrdmarks.
     The two begin, but the king assigns Celaena to kill a prominent courtesan and childhood companion: Archer Finn. Archer is highly recognizable and in the capital surrounding the Glass Castle - Celaena's prior tactics will not work to convince the king of his death. Celaena cancels her lessons to work the problem. Believing her friend will murder the young man against her own will, an argument between the two creates a rift in their friendship. When Nehemia is brutally murdered in her rooms Celaena retreats into Ardalan's Assassin and seeks vengeance.
     Choal and Prince Dorian are worried for their friend. Dorian still hopes to tie Celaena to him romantically, but she cannot allow the king to believe his heir may betray him. Chaol does form a romantic connection with elaena, one she allows until the betrayal of Nehemia's death. The two men have concerns in other arenas when Dorian's cousin appears and suddenly is thick as thieves with the king and his chief advisor Duke Perrington.
     The rebel threat becomes more prominent throughout the novel, Celaena does not want to associate with it, but her actions aid the group. Archer becomes a figurehead from the King's perspective and becomes the target of his paranoia. Celaena must muddle through any clues she can gather and the information hidden from her to escape the all-powerful Wyrd.
     Celaena must choose to lose the self which keeps her from sinking into the Assassin and embrace the role, or to grasp the self which keeps her from becoming the monster she believes herself to be and continue to fight the forces at war within Ardalan. With Choal and Dorian to stand behind her Celaena must discover what gives the king his inhuman control over all around him. She must figure out how to make a stand. Celaena's story is still one of survival, one mature readers will enjoy.

Doon

Doon by Carey Corp & Lorie Langdon, 2013 Zondervan

     The Legend of Brigadoon tells of an enchanted land beyond the reach of the mortal world. Veronica Welling and Mackenna Reid are interested in the story but the best friends disagree to its veracity. Vee has been seeing visions of a brawn Scotsman from as far away as her high school parking lot in Indiana: she believes Doon is as real as Kenna standing next to her. Kenna believes the story if just a fairy tale her aunt used to share.
     When Kenna must visit the cottage her aunt left her in Scotland, the girls encounter the truth of Doon. In the middle of the night Vee drags Kenna to the edge of the legend and right onto the page. THey discover an evil witch is bent on destroying Doon and the ties it has to her magic. The people of the mythical land are hesitant to believe these girls bode well, but they are placed in the keeping of Jamie and Duncan MacCrae--the royal heirs.
     Jamie is the young man Veronica has been seeing and her instant attraction to the real thing does not appear to be reciprocated. Duncan, however, is immediately smitten by Kenna. On the other hand, Kenna is more focused on her Broadway career and an upcoming internship in Chicago.
     The friends are to be held until the Bridge of Doon opens to return them to the mortal world. With two weeks Vee and Kenna search for an answer to their passage over the bridge. The Doonian's worries appear to be worthwhile when black flowers appear around the ancient witch's cottage where the land has been barren for centuries. Veronica and Mackenna must show they aren't just visiting this beautiful land, but mean to help solve any trouble which may have followed them over the border.
     Romance and the troubles of teen love abound in Doon and the friendship between Mackenna and Veronica is an anchor for the girls as they deal with angry mobs, curses, and reluctant suitors. Based on the musical Brigadoon by Lerner and Loewe this reimagining of Doon is a fantastical adventure more appropriate for mature teen readers.

Promise Me Something

Promise Me Something by Sara Kocek, 2013 Albert Whitman & Company

     Reyna Fey has always gone to school with her three best friends, but when they transition from middle school to high school she is on her own at a new school. Reyna has the chance to make friends with Olive, another freshman who doesn't make sense. At first Reyna is annoyed by this girl who is completely normal one minute and in the next says something so out of the ordinary Reyna is at a loss.
     The less she sees her middle-school friends Reyna spends more and more time with Olive. The two girls develop a close friendship and Reyna introduces her new friend to the old clique when Olive points out the injustices around their school, Reyna is disconcerted. Distracted by romance with a boy in their history class and the history teacher's obvious bigotry toward a fellow, openly-gay classmate, Reyna cares little about what is not directly in front of her.
     In the midst of her drama at school Reyna's father is recovering from a car accident which nearly took his life. Reyna struggles with the anger she feels toward her father's girlfriend, her soon-to-be step-mother, for causing the wreck.
     When Olive shares her secret with Reyna, she doesn't know how to handle it. But she just learn whether a true friendship with an outcast is worth the cost or settle for fake friendships with the popular clique. Reyna is forced to grow up, as many high school students are, and her struggles are those of a real person in a difficult situation. With themes of suicide, sexuality, peer pressure, and perception versus reality Promise Me Something is appropriate for more mature readers - high school and older.

The Wells Bequest

The Wells Bequest by Polly Shulman, 2013 Nancy Paulsen Books

   Leo Novikov is just goofing around with his video game controller when suddenly a miniature version of himself appears in his bedroom. The six-inch Leo suggests H. G. Wells's Time Machine and the girl with him rambles about a strange contraption belonging to Nikola Tesla. Before normal-sized Leo can figure out the encounter, they're gone.
     The strange vision has Leo questioning his sanity, but when he meets Jaya Rao at the New York Circulating Material Repository she believes his strange and impossible story. Leo is plunged into a world of impossible things, none as amazing as a full-sized version of H. G. Wells's time machine.
     Soon enough the strange and impossible produce an evil scientist intent on destroying New York City if he doesn't get what he wants. Leo and Jaya travel through time and space to save the world as they know it. Throughout their adventures Leo becomes more confident in his place within the world, and his ability to affect change on his role in the world.
     Leo and his fascination with science drives the plot and is relatable to readers who enjoy science fiction. Written at a fourth grade level, The Wells Bequest is enjoyable for readers of all ages.

A Bloom in Winter

A Bloom in Winter by T.J. Brown, 2013 Gallery Books

     After Prudence's hasty marriage and escape from Summerset with Andrew Wilkes, Victoria and Rowena are at loose ends. Neither expected the woman raised as their sister to suddenly abandon them, but Rowena's guilt over the family's treatment of Pru and Victoria's insatiable gaiety gloss over the pain of losing their friend.
     Rowena discovers her passion for flying and the young man teacher her to fly are powerful enough to bring her back from the brink of the depression she has sunk into since her father's death. Jon reappears despite his family's abhorrence of the Buxtons. The fledgling romance between Miss Rowena Buxton and Jonathan
     Victoria Buxton confides in her newly acquired best friend, Kit Kittredge, her hopes and dreams. But while Victoria is passionately fighting for what she innocently believes is right, Kit finds his friend more and more alluring.
     Prudence never belonged below-stairs at Summerset, her new marriage to Andrew shows her how sheltered her life has been. Yet as life settles between the two memories of Sebastian Billingsley surface and Prudence questions her love for her husband. Avoiding her old life is the only way she can avoid the pain Sebastian's memories bring.
     When Victoria's naivette lands her danger her desire for independence nearly takes her life. Prudence and Rowena unite against their quarrels to find their sister and bring her home safely.
     The young women of the Buxton household were raised to believe in the individual merits each person achieves. When their backgrounds no longer prepare them for the world they live in, each young woman searches for a new place to belong. Though they are limited by a woman's place in pre-World War I England, they are in possession of clever minds and passionate dreams which push them to find new stations to fulfill. While written for avid fans of Downton Abbey, readers of all ages and tastes can find something to capture their interest in T.J. Brown's Summerset Abbey books.

The Bitter Kingdom

The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson, 2013 Greenwillow Books

     Elisa managed to survive the journey into the depths of power, but Hector has been stolen away and her country is at war with itself. As she travels across the desert after him Elisa also battles with the growing power of her Godstone.
     The Inviernos have plans for the queen of Joya d'Arena, but with one of their own as an ally she works to thwart their plans. Along the path Elisa witnesses firsthand the damage her traitors have wrought on the kingdom. While she battles to keep her presence under wraps and catch up to the men hurrying Hector away Elisa makes several discoveries about her people.
     She adds to the entourage with a slave girl who is a half-blood: part Invierno and part Joyan. The girl becomes fiercely loyal to Elisa and saves the party several times. With her friends at her back Elisa has the will and the power to achieve what her Godstone has destined for her, but it isn't what she thinks.
     Despite nearly losing the man she loves and her own life, Elisa continues to fight for what she believes is the best course of action for her world. She discovers that her own willpower is strength enough without the supplement of a Godstone.

The Elite

The Elite by Kiera Cass, 2013 HarperTeen

     After Prince Maxon's sudden elimination only 6 girls remain in the Selection. America, Marlee, Kriss, Natalie, Elise, and Celeste are put through the paces at breakfast with the entire royal family, lunch and receiving with the queen, and tea hosted by the king. All the while attending diplomacy classes and dates with the prince.
     Things seem to be going well between America and Maxon--even reigniting an old holiday until both Aspen and Maxon begin to push America for a decision. After a brief but inflammatory argument their relationship hits the rocks. Maxon no longer seems like the carefree and kind prince America has believed him to be.
     Aspen begins to play on her fears that Maxon is playing a part with her. While their relationship is treason, America is willing to risk the consequences for a few moments of peace and familiarity.
     Though Maxon and America reconcile, again America's temper shifts between them and Maxon's ever-increasing secrets broaden the divide. Through planning a diplomatic dinner and creating a program to change Illera America pushes her boundaries. Can maxon keep her at the palace when the king insists she go?
     Consistent with her passion and desire for justice America struggles to see herself fit into Maxon's world. As she confronts the challenges before her readers will relate to her self-consciousness and admire her spunk. Like The Selection, The Elite is a good fit for readers who enjoy YA Fiction.

Victoria Rebels

Victoria Rebels by Carolyn Meyer, 2013 Simon & Schuster

     Queen Victoria was closely watched as a child and into her early adulthood. Meyer's Victoria Rebels looks at the influences she faced as a princess. Sir John Conroy controls every moment of Victoria's life through her mother's influence. When her sister is married away from England and the comfort of friends are slowly taken from young Victoria her dislike of the man becomes a deep-seated hatred.
     Victoria learns to keep her feelings under wraps. Her letters and diary are read, her only confidants are her sister and uncle, living on the Continent. Both advise patience until the future queen is old enough to manage her own life.
     With each passing year, young Victoria watches her mother and uncle, the king, all but declare war against each other. As tensions rise, Sir Conroy attempts to strengthen his hold on the princess and her mother inciting conflict between the two.
     When she finally gains control of her life and future Victoria rebels against any semblance of supervision or control over her decisions. In her rebellion, Victoria develops her style of monarchy - only to be disrupted again when she meets the man she comes to love.

The Princess in the Opal Mask

The Princess in the Opal Mask by Jenny Lundquist, 2013 Running Press

     At its founding Galadria's first queen's clumsiness gave birth to a legend that would shatter her kingdom. Queen Eleanor the Great founded a dynasty which would fulfill such a legend.
     Several centuries later Galadria's king gave his daughter a mask she was forbidden to remove, then promised her to the king of the realm which rose from Eleanor's legendary schism.
     When the orphan Elara travels from her distant villiage to teh nation's capital she discovers the reason teh Masked Princess is masked--she shares her face with an orphan from the edges of Galadria.
     Elara and her twin, Wilha, travel to Kyrencia to fulfill the treaty and prevent outright war, but the two young women discover they are no longer willing to be helpless pawns in their own lives. Elara and Wilha have a chance to take on new identities and discover their hearts' desires, and their own destinies.
     This new princess story is a quick read for young adults, challenging the idea of every girl's fairy tale dream. Political intrigue and romance lace the journey both Wilha and Elara take from Galadria's traditional center to the up-and-coming Kyrencia's vibrant capital.

Summerset Abbey

Summerset Abbey by T. J. Brown, 2013 Gallery Books

     Sir Philip Buxton raised Rowena, Victoria, and Prudence as sisters--three eligible young women who are drawn into shifting class politics in Edwardian England as the world hesitates on the edge of war. Rowena and Victoria are Sir Buxton's natural daughters and Prudence Tate their invaluable governess's daughter. But when Prudence's mother dies she becomes one of the Buxton girls in all but name.
     When their father dies, the three girls are drawn back to the ancestral home at Summerset Abbey where their class separations are thrown into sharp contrast. Until the Buxton daughters reach their majorities their uncle will control Sir Philip's estate, and the three women's fates.
     Rowena doesn't know what to do about her sisters' reaction to their changing circumstances and is frozen into doing nothing for the fear. Victoria suffers from asthma and fights for the life she dreams of, while uncovering a dangerous family secret. Prudence longs to belong, either to the downstairs world where Lord and Lady Buxton have shunted her, but she knows she belongs alongside her sisters. The relationships between Rowena, Prudence and Victoria become strained as they struggle to balance.
     Life at Summerset is not what it seems, and the attendees are more than they portray. As the world rolls closer and closer to conflict on a global scale definitions are re-written and it is the younger generation who will cement the new social and political landscape. Summerset Abbey is a novel for older readers--more appropriate for high schoolers with innuendo and political subtleties peppering the story.

Dark Triumph

Dark Triumph by Robin LaFevers, 2013 Houghton Mifflin

     Sybella escaped her father's brutality for the Convent of St Mortain and training as one of Death's Handmaidens. But she has been assigned to her father's household and the depravities of her family by the Abbess of St Mortain, and so, must return to the devil's pit.
     After months in the Count D'Albret's household playing the dutiful daughter, Sybella itches for the chance to kill this man who hopes to rule Brittany. Following the dictates her convent has taught her come directly from the God Mortain she waits for D'Albret's marque, but it chafes when no death marque is forthcoming.
     She begins to believe her God has abandoned her when a task from the abbess demands she free a great warrior. Beast is a great warrior, serving the old God of war with the berserker's fury, when Sybella first discovers him he is a shadow of himself, but still manages to drag her along in his rescue mission.
     With her plans thrown into chaos by the unintended journey, Sybella cares for the brute until he can manage himself. Returning him to the Duchess, thwarting another of her father's plans, and fighting to keep her heart to herself begin to bring Sybella back from the damage her family has inflicted.
     D'Albret and his rebellion continue to feature in the second installment of the His Fair Assassin Trilogy. Sybella has endured more than any woman should from the depravities of her family, and protected her younger sisters from such a fate. The story is placed at the edge of the Middle Ages and suited for older teen readers.

Shock Wave

Shock Wave by Dana Mentink, 2013 Love Inspired

     A year after they've both returned from the Afghan war zone and life-altering tragedy Sage Harrington and Trey Black meet again. This time in the disaster-stricken San Francisco. The attraction they felt at their first meeting hasn't deserted either of them, but neither is thrilled to renew the association.
     Still reeling from PTSD and the guilt that her actions caused a good friend's death, Sage is furious to see Trey again, especially when he butts into her search for her missing cousin. She believes her extremely pregnant cousin was done harm by her too charming Hollywood-star husband and is meeting with one of the couple's employees when a major earthquake strikes San Francisco and traps her in the darkness with Trey.
     Trey is startled at the reappearance of the woman who never should have brought her journalistic nose into a war zone, and a little pleased at the turn of events. He hasn't been able to get her out of his mind, despite her aggravating lack of common sense. When the building they've been trapped in begins falling about their ears after a major quake, Trey sees his mission to get the woman he's begun to care about to safety--whether she wants to abandon the search for her cousin or not.
     When Sage's fears for her cousin turn out to not be paranoia as a result of her PTSD the two face more dangerous mistakes than their shared past. A city in pieces, missing mother-to-be, and possible murder all under an old opera house bring out both the best and worst in both Sage and Trey.
     Shock Wave is a love story that isn't about love, the plot is not driven by the burgeoning feelings between the main characters, yet it is enriched by their relationship and their faith. Romance fans will enjoy the subtle growth of their feelings, while all readers can enjoy the plot and characters. Unlike most modern romance, Love Inspired are softer stories and readers of all ages will enjoy the story.