The Darkest Part of the Forest

by Holly Black (Goodreads Author)

Book Synopsis(Goodreads):

Children can have a cruel, absolute sense of justice. Children can kill a monster and feel quite proud of themselves. A girl can look at her brother and believe they’re destined to be a knight and a bard who battle evil. She can believe she’s found the thing she’s been made for.

Hazel lives with her brother, Ben, in the strange town of Fairfold where humans and fae exist side by side. The faeries’ seemingly harmless magic attracts tourists, but Hazel knows how dangerous they can be, and she knows how to stop them. Or she did, once.

At the center of it all, there is a glass coffin in the woods. It rests right on the ground and in it sleeps a boy with horns on his head and ears as pointed as knives. Hazel and Ben were both in love with him as children. The boy has slept there for generations, never waking.

Until one day, he does…

As the world turns upside down, Hazel tries to remember her years pretending to be a knight. But swept up in new love, shifting loyalties, and the fresh sting of betrayal, will it be enough?

Quote 1:

“Once, there was a girl who vowed she would save everyone in the world, but forgot herself.”
― Holly Black, The Darkest Part of the Forest

Quote 2:

“We love until we do not. For us, love doesn’t fade gradually. It snaps like a branch bent too far.”
― Holly Black, The Darkest Part of the Forest

Quote 3:

“I love like in the storybooks. I love you like in the ballads. I love you like a lightning bolt. I’ve loved you since the third month you came and spoke with me. I loved that you made me want to laugh. I loved the way you were kind and the way you would pause when you spoke, as though you were waiting for me to answer you. I love you and I am mocking no one when I kiss you, no one at all.”
― Holly Black, The Darkest Part of the Forest

Shadow Scale (Seraphina #2)

by Rachel Hartman (Goodreads Author)

Book Synopsis(Goodreads):

Quote 1:

“However strenuously the world pulls us apart, however long the absence, we are not changed for being dashed upon the rocks. I knew you then, I know you now, I shall know you again when you come home.”
― Rachel Hartman, Shadow Scale

Quote 2:

“The thing about reason is that there’s a geometry to it. It travels in a straight line, so that slightly different beginnings can lead you to wildly divergent endpoints.”
― Rachel Hartman, Shadow Scale

Quote 3:

“These human eyes seemed weak to me at first,” said Eskar, still staring away from me, scratching her short black hair. “They detect fewer colors and have terrible resolution, but they see things dragon eyes cannot. They can see beyond surfaces. I don’t understand how that’s possible, but it happened incrementally as I traveled with Orma: I began to see the inside of him. His questioning and gentle nature. His conviction. I’d glimpse it in something as incongruous as his hand holding a teacup, or his eyes when he spoke of you.”
― Rachel Hartman, Shadow Scale

The Orphan Queen (The Orphan Queen #1)

by Jodi Meadows (Goodreads Author)

Book Synopsis(Goodreads):

Wilhelmina has a hundred identities.

She is a princess. When the Indigo Kingdom conquered her homeland, Wilhelmina and other orphaned children of nobility were taken to Skyvale, the Indigo Kingdom’s capital. Ten years later, they are the Ospreys, experts at stealth and theft. With them, Wilhelmina means to take back her throne.

She is a spy. Wil and her best friend, Melanie, infiltrate Skyvale Palace to study their foes. They assume the identities of nobles from a wraith-fallen kingdom, but enemies fill the palace, and Melanie’s behavior grows suspicious. With Osprey missions becoming increasingly dangerous and their leader more unstable, Wil can’t trust anyone.

She is a threat. Wraith is the toxic by-product of magic, and for a century using magic has been forbidden. Still the wraith pours across the continent, reshaping the land and animals into fresh horrors. Soon it will reach the Indigo Kingdom. Wilhelmina’s magic might be the key to stopping the wraith, but if the vigilante Black Knife discovers Wil’s magic, she will vanish like all the others

Jodi Meadows introduces a vivid new fantasy full of intrigue, romance, dangerous magic, and one girl’s battle to reclaim her place in the world.

Quote 1:

 “Try to be polite.”
“I’m always polite.”
“You’re always eyeing people’s valuables. That’s hardly polite.”
― Jodi Meadows, The Orphan Queen

Quote 2:

“I was going to have to face the man who’d destroyed my kingdom, and the boy who was the reason.”
― Jodi Meadows, The Orphan Queen

Quote 3:

“The pain of what happened – it won’t last eternity.” A lie. I knew very well how pain could last, and fester, and shape a person in unnameable ways.”
― Jodi Meadows, The Orphan Queen

Firebug (Firebug #1)

by Lish McBride

Book Synopsis(Goodreads):

Ava can start fires with her mind . . . but is it a blessing or a curse?

Ava is a firebug—she can start fires with her mind. Which would all be well and good if she weren’t caught in a deadly contract with the Coterie, a magical mafia. She’s one of their main hit men . . . and she doesn’t like it one bit. Not least because her mother’s death was ordered by Venus—who is now her boss.

When Venus asks Ava to kill a family friend, Ava rebels. She knows very well that you can’t say no to the Coterie and expect to get away with it, though, so she and her friends hit the road, trying desperately to think of a way out of the mess they find themselves in. Preferably keeping the murder to a minimum.

Quote 1:

“But nowhere in the file had anyone said, “Oh, and by the way, he runs like a gazelle with an espresso addiction.” At least not in the parts I’d skimmed.”
― Lish McBride, Firebug

Quote 2:

“Don’t you think it’s a bad sign that your best argument for your beau is that nothing has been proved in court?”
― Lish McBride, Firebug

Quote 3:

“There’d been some nights when my fat ass had saved my ass (ba-dum-tsh).”
― Lish McBride, Firebug

Quote 4:

“Aves hasn’t mentioned a boyfriend,” Lock chimed in, “and we’re just dying to hear all about you.” Liar. My friends were filthy lying sadists.”
― Lish McBride, Firebug

All Fall Down (Embassy Row #1)

by Ally Carter (Goodreads Author)

Book Synopsis(Goodreads):

A new series of global proportions — from master of intrigue, NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Ally Carter.

This exciting new series from NEW YORK TIMES bestselling author Ally Carter focuses on Grace, who can best be described as a daredevil, an Army brat, and a rebel. She is also the only granddaughter of perhaps the most powerful ambassador in the world, and Grace has spent every summer of her childhood running across the roofs of Embassy Row.

Now, at age sixteen, she’s come back to stay–in order to solve the mystery of her mother’s death. In the process, she uncovers an international conspiracy of unsettling proportions, and must choose her friends and watch her foes carefully if she and the world are to be saved.

Quote 1:

“Ok,” he says. “First lesson.”

Noah broadens his stance, taking his place firmly on the embassy side of the threshold. “in the United States,” he says. Then, with both feet, he leaps on to the sidewalk. “Out of the United States.” Quickly, he jumps back toward me. “In the United States.” Another jump across the threshold. “Out of the United States. In. Out. In –”

“Is this the part where I hit you?”
― Ally Carter, All Fall Down

Quote 2:

“You’re following me,” I say.
“Yes, I am.”
“That’s really annoying.”
“I’m sure it probably feels that way, yes.”
I stop. “I can take care of myself.” Overhead, the gas in the streetlamp surges. It grows brighter, harsher. There are no shadows anywhere as he looks at me.
“That’s exactly what worries me.”
― Ally Carter, All Fall Down

Quote 3:

“I’ve attended seven schools in ten years,” I explain. “So you can rest assured I know you. You’re the girl who thinks being cruel is the same thing as being witty. You think being loud is the same thing as being right. And, most of all, you’re the girl who is very, very pretty. And also very, very…common. trust me. There’s at least one of you in every school.” I watch her features shift. “Oh. Wait. Did you think you were unique?”
― Ally Carter, All Fall Down

Salt & Stone (Fire & Flood #2)

by Victoria Scott (Goodreads Author)

Book Synopsis(Goodreads):

What would you do to save someone you love?

In Fire & Flood, Tella Holloway faced a dangerous trek through the jungle and across the desert, all to remain a Contender in the Brimstone Bleed for a chance at obtaining the Cure for her brother. She can’t quit–she has to win the race, save Cody, and then fight to make sure the race stops before it can claim any more lives. In the next legs of the race, across the ocean and over mountains, Tella will face frostbite, sharks, avalanche, and twisted new rules in the race.

But what if the danger is deeper than that? How do you know who to trust when everyone’s keeping secrets? What do you do when the person you’d relied on most suddenly isn’t there for support? How do you weigh one life against another?

The race is coming to an end, and Tella is running out of time, resources, and strength. At the start of the race there were one hundred twenty-two Contenders. As Tella and her remaining friends start the final part of the race, just forty-one are left–and only one can win.

Quote 1:

“Before, I figured that when my family was struck with illness, when my brother, Cody,  first passed on a second helping of meat loaf with red gravy and started losing weight, that this was the thing.  This was the tragedy I’d have to deal with in my life — watching my big brother crumble and my family with him.

I tried to be brave, to smile when there was nothing to smile about.  To offer a polished joke in the doctor’s office so that Cody could cast off the fear in his belly and laugh instead.

Good-bye, fear.  Nice knowing you!  I won’t be needing you since my sister’s here.

Now I’m competing in the Brimstone Bleed to try and save his life.  I thought the bad hand we were dealt was Cody’s being sick.  But sometimes a hand worse than illness is the one offering a slippery morsel of hope.  That’s the thing about life: When you’re dealt a crappy situation, you think to yourself, At least it can’t get any worse than this.

And then life slaps you upside the head for being naive.”

—-Salt & Stone by Victoria Scott

Quote 2:

“Guy moves in closer and guides my face up.  “I thought I lost you.  I thought … what you said about if I didn’t say it, you’d never know.”  He closes his eyes and opens his mouth as if he’s going to say something profound.

“No, don’t,” I say.  “Not when I’m spitting up snow.”  He laughs, and I tell him how terribly rude it is to laugh while I’m hypothermic.  He laughs Harder.”

—-Salt & Stone by Victoria Scott

Mark of the Thief (Mark of the Thief #1)

by Jennifer A. Nielsen (Goodreads Author)

Book Synopsis(Goodreads):

When Nic, a slave in the mines outside of Rome, is forced to enter a sealed cavern containing the lost treasures of Julius Caesar, he finds much more than gold and gemstones: He discovers an ancient bulla, an amulet that belonged to the great Caesar and is filled with a magic once reserved for the Gods — magic some Romans would kill for.

Now, with the deadly power of the bulla pulsing through his veins, Nic is determined to become free. But instead, he finds himself at the center of a ruthless conspiracy to overthrow the emperor and spark the Praetor War, a battle to destroy Rome from within. Traitors and spies lurk at every turn, each more desperate than the next to use Nic’s newfound powers for their own dark purposes.

In a quest to stop the rebellion, save Rome, and secure his own freedom, Nic must harness the magic within himself and defeat the empire’s most powerful and savage leaders.

Quote 1:

“A slave who happens to be holding the most powerful magic the empire has seen since the days of Julius Caesar! And you’re right, Nic. You are nobody to this land. No one will fight a war to save you. No one will care if you fall. And if the enemies of this land surround you, even with that bulla, you will have no chance against them on your own.” ”

—-Mark of the Thief by Jennifer A. Nielsen

Quote 2:

“You walk like you have two broken legs,” Aurelia said. “How are you going to run from me if you can’t walk?”

“I’m not going to run,” I said. “But I won’t obey you either. I’ll never have a master again.” ”

—-Mark of the Thief by Jennifer A. Nielsen

The Shadow Cabinet (Shades of London #3)

by Maureen Johnson (Goodreads Author)

Book Synopsis(Goodreads):

The thrilling third installment to the Edgar-nominated, bestselling series.

Rory and her friends are reeling from a series of sudden and tragic events. While racked with grief, Rory tries to determine if she acted in time to save a member of the squad. If she did, how do you find a ghost? Also, Rory’s classmate Charlotte has been kidnapped by Jane and her nefarious organization. Evidence is uncovered of a forty-year-old cult, ten missing teenagers, and a likely mass murder. Everything indicates that Charlotte’s in danger, and it seems that something much bigger and much more terrible is coming.

Time is running out as Rory fights to find her friends and the ghost squad struggles to stop Jane from unleashing her spectral nightmare on the entire city. In the process, they’ll discover the existence of an organization that underpins London itself—and Rory will learn that someone she trusts has been keeping a tremendous secret.

Quote 1:

“There are some people you meet whom you can’t picture having a normal life.  In your mind, they don’t have a house or a bed or eat food.  They don’t watch television or use a pen to get a weird itch in the middle of their back.  They seem to exist in some permanent state of other.  Thorpe was one of these people.

I mean, first of all , he was called Thorpe.  That was his last name.  I didn’t know his first name.  He worked for some secret service, probably MI5.  He was young but had white hair.  If he did shower or sleep, I could only assume he did so in a suit.  So the fact that I was going to where Thorpe lived was strange enough.  But then I turned to see that his eyes were red.

Thorpe had feelings.  Feelings about Stephen.  I think this alone was enough to keep me in my suspended state of nonreality.  Stephen couldn’t be dead, because Thorpe didn’t cry and he didn’t live anywhere.  Wrong again.”

—-The Shadow Cabinet by Maureen Johnson

Quote 2:

“The second photo was of Stephen.  There was a girl with him, her arm wrapped over his shoulders.  They were kneeling in the sand, and he was crouching a bit to be level with her.

His sister.  There was something about the eyes, and they had the same dark brown hair.  She was physically much smaller, her smile much wider, much bolder.  She wore a two-piece bathing suit, and there were bracelets down her arm.  She tipped her head against his.  He was clearly younger in this photo–his face smoother and thinner.  His eyes and brow still had that worried look, like something was coming in the immediate future.  But he was also smiling.  I’d very rarely seen him smile.

A photo of two dead people.

I don’t know how long I sat there holding that picture, looking at it as if I could magic myself into its world, fall inside its boundaries and turn up on a beach in the past.  Feeling kept spilling over me, confusing waves–jealousy of his sister, for making him so happy.  Happiness that I’d found the photo, then giddiness, then a sharp hysteria, and the …

Just crying.  Heavy-duty, no air, no light, nothing but the sound of heaving crying.  Crying until my body was dry and there was nothing left and it heaved in vain.”

—-The Shadow Cabinet by Maureen Johnson

Red Queen (Red Queen Trilogy #1)

by Victoria Aveyard (Goodreads Author)

Book Synopsis(Goodreads):

The poverty stricken Reds are commoners, living under the rule of the Silvers, elite warriors with god-like powers.

To Mare Barrow, a 17-year-old Red girl from The Stilts, it looks like nothing will ever change.

Mare finds herself working in the Silver Palace, at the centre of
those she hates the most. She quickly discovers that, despite her red blood, she possesses a deadly power of her own. One that threatens to destroy Silver control.

But power is a dangerous game. And in this world divided by blood, who will win?

Quote 1:

“The truth is what I make it. I could set this world on fire and call it rain.”
― Victoria Aveyard, Red Queen

Quote 2:

“In the fairy tales, the poor girl smiles when she becomes a princess. Right now, I don’t know if I’ll ever smile again.”
― Victoria Aveyard, Red Queen

Quote 3:

“His lips are on mine, hard and warm and pressing. The touch is electrifying, but not like I’m used to. This isn’t a spark of destruction, but a spark of life. As much as I want to pull away, I just can’t do it. Cal is a cliff and I throw myself over the edge, not bothering to think of what it could do to us both. One day he’ll realize I’m his enemy, and all this will be a far-gone memory. But not yet.”
― Victoria Aveyard, Red Queen

Princess of Thorns

by Stacey Jay (Goodreads Author)

Book Synopsis(Goodreads):

Game of Thrones meets the Grimm’s fairy tales in this twisted, fast-paced romantic fantasy-adventure about Sleeping Beauty’s daughter, a warrior princess who must fight to reclaim her throne.

Though she looks like a mere mortal, Princess Aurora is a fairy blessed with enhanced strength, bravery, and mercy yet cursed to destroy the free will of any male who kisses her. Disguised as a boy, she enlists the help of the handsome but also cursed Prince Niklaas to fight legions of evil and free her brother from the ogre queen who stole Aurora’s throne ten years ago.

Will Aurora triumph over evil and reach her brother before it’s too late? Can Aurora and Niklaas break the curses that will otherwise forever keep them from finding their one true love?

Quote 1: