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Lackey, Mercedes
8 Reviews
(3)
YA
This conclusion to Lackey's dystopian trilogy (Hunter, Elite) finds Joy and her fellow Elite safe but exhausted following their last battle with the monstrous Othersiders. However, after learning of PsiCorps's wicked plan to rule Apex City, Joy and company find themselves anticipating help from their Othersiders enemies. Fans should be pulled into Lackey's world of magic, family, and the fight for humanity's survival.
Reviewer: Jenn Matters
(4)
YA
In the sequel to Hunter, even more dangerous Othersiders (predatory monsters) threaten Apex City. When newly Elite Hunter Joy's police-prefect uncle tasks her with patrolling the city sewers, she discovers potential threats from within. Despite an uneven narrative flow, readers will root for the Hunters' success as Joy's Elite team fights monsters, treacherous humans, and even a former Hunter.
Reviewer: Jenn Matters
(4)
YA
Joyeaux Charmand is a Hunter: someone with supernatural abilities who destroys Kraken, vampires, and other monsters that have threatened human existence since the Diseray (i.e., magical apocalypse). Now, she's summoned to stylish Apex City, where she will hunt on-camera alongside Hunter celebrities. This dystopic YA novel is a bit of a mishmash of familiar tropes, including some romance, but insatiable genre fans won't mind.
Reviewer: Lauren Rizzuto
(4)
YA
Shadow Grail series.
In this series conclusion, Spirit White and her friends discover that they are reincarnated Arthurian knights and ladies (Spirit is Guinevere); acquire powerful magical weapons; and enlist former Oakhurst Academy students in order to defeat medieval villain Mordred. The mythology element becomes increasingly tedious, but the book culminates in a classic good-versus-evil battle, with Spirit courageously leading the fight.
Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith
(4)
YA
Shadow Grail series.
Under the control of the oppressive company Breakthrough (whose employees are really reincarnated Shadow Knights from Arthurian legend), Oakhurst Academy is more dangerous than ever. Then, to their horror, Spirit and her friends discover what Breakthrough is really up to. Though the mythology element continues to be convoluted, this action-packed volume answers some crucial questions while setting up a promising sequel.
Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith
(4)
YA
In 1867 Jett Gallatin disguises herself as a boy while searching for her twin brother. She joins forces with a handsome Buffalo scout and a female inventor to fight zombies threatening to take over the Wild West. The genre mashup is exciting and the world-building well done, but the characters are flat and the alternating points of view sometimes feel disjointed.
Reviewer: Lauren Chambers
(4)
YA
Shadow Grail series.
Having defeated one set of bad guys in Legacies, Spirit and her friends at Oakhurst Academy, a boarding school for young magicians, face another mysterious evil force. The unfolding conspiracy is confusing (involving, for example, Oakhurst alums, a giant oak tree, and the legend of King Arthur), but Spirit is a smart, determined protagonist unwilling to accept the status quo.
Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith
(4)
YA
Shadow Grail series.
After her family's death, Spirit White is sent to remote Oakhurst Academy (a.k.a. "Hogwarts West"), where all the students are magicians. Something sinister is making students disappear, and Spirit and her friends must stop it. Too many pages are devoted to descriptions of the school and its resources in this series starter, but the action gets going in a tense ending.
Reviewer: Rachel L. Smith
8 reviews
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