Mortal Fire

Mortal Fire
by Elizabeth Knox

Sixteen-year-old Canny Mochrie's parents go away on a vacation, so they send her off on a trip of her own with her step-brother Sholto and his opinionated girlfriend Susan, who are interviewing the survivors of a strange coal mine disaster and researching local folklore in 1959 Southland, New Zealand. Canny is left to herself to wander in a mysterious and enchanting nearby valley, occupied almost entirely by children who all have the last name Zarene and can perform a special type of magic that tells things how to be stronger and better than they already are. With the help of a seventeen-year-old boy who is held hostage in a hidden away house by a spell that is now more powerful than the people who first placed it, Canny figures out why she, too, can use this special magic that only Zarenes should know, and where she really came from. (Description from Amazon.com)

I read Knox's Dreamhunter duet a few years ago and fell absolutely in love with her worldbuilding and storytelling.  Knox once again brilliantly blends historical fiction and magical realism, creating a world where a reader feels they could step right in and feel the magic in the air. 

Canny is a fascinating main character surrounded by mysterious secondary characters whose secrets are slowly revealed as Knox layers each person’s story into others to create a complex world. If you also read Knox’s previous novels you'll catch small references to the Hame Dreamhunters, but this book brings readers into a fresh new aspect of that world with its own circuitous storyline.

Full disclosure: Review copy received from VOYA

Also Known As

Also Known As 
by Robin Benway

Being a 16-year-old safecracker and active-duty daughter of international spies has its moments, good and bad. Pros: Seeing the world one crime-solving adventure at a time. Having parents with super cool jobs. Cons: Never staying in one place long enough to have friends or a boyfriend. But for Maggie Silver, the biggest perk of all has been avoiding high school and the accompanying cliques, bad lunches, and frustratingly simple locker combinations.

Then Maggie and her parents are sent to New York for her first solo assignment, and all of that changes. She'll need to attend a private school, avoid the temptation to hack the school's security system, and befriend one aggravatingly cute Jesse Oliver to gain the essential information she needs to crack the case . . . all while trying not to blow her cover. (Description from Amazon.com) 

I really enjoyed this light-hearted spy story.  

The teen voice was perfect. Maggie and her friends were all totally believable, each with their own foibles and backgrounds.  The action was both believable in the sense that Maggie was not the perfect spy... and had me on the edge of my seat at times. 

The romance...ah, the romance... I loved it. It was rocky. It was funny.  It was just gushy enough.  

I did not want to put this book down at all as soon as I started reading and in fact, I would love to see a follow-up story! Fun, funny, and full of surprises.  

Full disclosure: Purchased for my Kindle App

Radiant and Boundless

Radiant
by Cynthia Hand
An Unearthly novella 

Clara is desperate to get away—from the memories that haunt her in Wyoming and the visions of a future she isn't ready to face—and spending the summer in Italy with her best friend, Angela, should be the perfect escape. . . .

For as long as she can remember, Angela has been told that love is dangerous, that she must always guard her heart. But when she met Phen two years ago she was determined to be with him, no matter the costs. Now she must decide whether she can trust Clara with her secret, or if telling her the truth will risk everything she cares about.

Alternating between Angela and Clara's perspectives, Radiant chronicles the unforgettable summer that will test the bounds of their friendship and change their lives forever. (description from Amazon.com) 

I almost didn't read Radiant before starting Boundless, but boy am I glad that I did.  The novella gives you some great info that has meaning in the third and final book, as well as letting the reader get to hear some things from Angela's perspective, which I loved.  I suppose you could read the last book without reading the novella, but I thought it really added to the story. It was definitely worth the $1.99 for me. 

Boundless

by Cynthia Hand

Unearthly series, book three

The past few years held more surprises than part-angel Clara Gardner ever could have anticipated. Yet through the dizzying high of first love to the agonizing low of losing someone close to her, the one thing she could no longer deny was that she was never meant to have a normal life.

Since discovering the special role she plays among the other angel-bloods, Clara has been determined to protect Tucker Avery from the evil that follows her . . . even if it means breaking both their hearts. Leaving town seemed like the best option, so she's headed back to California—and so is Christian Prescott, the irresistible boy from the vision that started her on this journey in the first place.

As Clara makes her way in a world that is frighteningly new, she discovers that the fallen angel who attacked her is watching her every move. And he's not the only one. . . . With the battle against the Black Wings looming, Clara knows she must finally fulfill her destiny. But it won't come without sacrifices and betrayal.

In the riveting finale of the Unearthly series, Clara must choose her fate once and for all. (description from Amazon.com) 

I thought that Hand did a bang-up job finishing the series.  There were things I thought would probably happen and they did, but the suspense to get there was perfect.  Clara remained a character that I could totally believe, stuck in a situation that kept me riveted.  I loved her relationships with friends and family and the way that nothing was black and white...everything had shades of gray.  The way that the romance tied up, too, left me absolutely satisfied. All around this is one of the best angel-themed series I've read and I can't wait to recommend it to more readers! 

Full disclosure: Radiant purchased for my Kindle App/Boundless borrowed from my library