Spotlight - On These Magic Shores

On These Magic Shores

by Yamile Saied Mendez

What they say: Minerva must take care of her sisters after her mother's disappearance.

Twelve-year-old Minerva Soledad Miranda is determined to reach her goals, despite shouldering more responsibility than the other kids at school--like caring for her two sisters while her mom works two jobs. But one night, Minerva's mom doesn't come home, and Minerva has to figure out what to do. Was Mamá snapped up by ICE? Will the girls be sent to foster homes or holding centers for migrant kids? Minerva and her sisters can't let anyone know Mamá has disappeared. They'll just pretend everything is normal until she comes back.

Minerva's plan falls apart the first afternoon, when her baby sister throws a tantrum during Minerva's audition for Peter Pan. But as the days pass and Minerva grows ever more worried about her mother, something magical seems to be watching out for them: leaving them cupcakes, helping her find money, even steering them to friends and distant family who can help. Eventually, Minerva must make the hardest choice of her life. And when she does, she'll be prepared to face life's challenges--with friendship, hope, and a little bit of fairy magic.

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Am Reading - Rising

Rising - The Thaw Chronicles #1

by Tamar Sloan

What they say: Four tests. Seven days. Nine teens. 

Only the chosen shall breed.

Humans now live in a super greenhouse. Seas have risen. Oceans have acidified. And the fight for resources is deadly. To ensure nothing of this magnitude ever happens again, only those with enough intelligence and heart will earn the right to bear children and heal the earth. 

Nine teens must face the tests of the Proving to decide who will be Bound to this new order. Four of them will challenge the system in ways even they can’t imagine.

Nova. The gentle soul who has everything to lose.

Kian. The champion of this new world who’s determined to succeed. 

Dex. The one who'll learn nothing is as it seems.

Wren. The rebel who wants nothing to do with any of it.

As the fight to breed becomes a fight to survive, rules are broken, and hearts are captured. This Proving won’t just decide the future of this new order, it will decide the future of humankind.

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Am Reading - Every Missing Piece

Every Missing Piece

by Melanie Conklin

What they say: Maddy Gaines sees danger everywhere she looks: at the bus stop, around the roller rink, in the woods, and (especially) by the ocean. When Maddy meets a mysterious boy setting booby traps in the North Carolina woods, she suspects the worst.

Maddy is certain she's found Billy Holcomb-the boy who went missing in the fall. Except, maybe it's not him. It's been six months since he disappeared. And who will believe her anyway? Definitely not her mom or her stepdad . . . or the chief of police.

As Maddy tries to uncover the truth about Billy Holcomb, ghosts from her own past surface, her best friend starts to slip away, and Maddy's world tilts once again. Can she put the pieces of her life back together, even if some of them are lost forever?

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Book Spotlight - Curse of the Night Witch

Curse of the Night Witch - Emblem Island #1

by Alex Aster

What they say: On Emblem Island all are born knowing their fate. Their lifelines show the course of their life and an emblem dictates how they will spend it.

Twelve-year-old Tor Luna was born with a leadership emblem, just like his mother. But he hates his mark and is determined to choose a different path for himself. So, on the annual New Year's Eve celebration, where Emblemites throw their wishes into a bonfire in the hopes of having them granted, Tor wishes for a different power.

The next morning Tor wakes up to discover a new marking on his skin...the symbol of a curse that has shortened his lifeline, giving him only a week before an untimely death. There is only one way to break the curse, and it requires a trip to the notorious Night Witch.

With only his village's terrifying, ancient stories as a guide, and his two friends Engle and Melda by his side, Tor must travel across unpredictable Emblem Island, filled with wicked creatures he only knows through myths, in a race against his dwindling lifeline.

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July 2020 Book Box Club Unboxing

Book Box Club Unboxing July 2020

I give you my unboxing video for the July 2020 'Magical Talents' box.

You can watch my unboxing video at the bottom of this post or click here. 

Subscriptions:

I went for the full subscription for six months. You can select monthly, or 3 monthly, 6 monthly or soon I believe 12 monthly, as well as signing up for the pure books version, which comes without the swag and goodies. The boxes are now shipped slightly differently with tracking numbers.

The box itself:

It comes in a very cute and neat turquoise box, with paper filling to protect the book(s) and goodies, plus very attractive gift wrap around the book.

The artwork is as beautiful as ever!

Inside:

Book - Splinters of Scarlet by Emily Bain Murphy. 

Clubhouse invite.

Splinters of Scarlet Adjustable Ring by Lisa Angel.

Magic Bottled Water Flask by Girl and Type.

Moana Magnetic Bookmark by TJ Lubrano (originally missing from box but replaced the next day).

Golden Althiometer Lipbalm by Mad About Nature.

Magical Studies Notebooks by Book Box Club.

Bookish extras: Future release card and bookmark.

I'll be reading the book over the next couple of weeks, so watch out for my review coming soon!

My Unboxing video:

Check out my YouTube Channel!

Am Reading - Summer Magic

Summer Magic - Thorne Witches #1

by T.M. Cromer

What they say: Life in a small town can be tough. It can be even tougher when you’re a witch whose magic regularly backfires. But Summer Thorne only wants one thing: to create the perfect sanctuary for unwanted animals. Nothing and no one is going to stop her. Not even the sexy sheriff who is determined to shut down her rescue center. And certainly not the laboratory where she illegally obtained her mischievous chimpanzee, Morty. 

Sheriff Cooper Carlyle has one goal: to keep his town safe. That includes his stubborn neighbor, Summer, whether she wants him to or not. When the animals of Summer’s menagerie get loose and create havoc, he decides enough is enough. But things aren’t always as they appear, and Coop stumbles upon the secret the Thorne sisters have been hiding. 

Coop and Summer discover Morty holds the key to unlock a twenty-year-old mystery surrounding the death of Summer’s mother. Now Coop is faced with breaking the law he is sworn to uphold in order to protect Summer and her beloved pet from a threat more dangerous than any of them imagined. 

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