Peasreads- Sea of Charms by Sarah Beth Durst

Coming July 28, 2026, from Macmillan / Tor / Bramble

Sarah Beth Durst's Spellshop novels are becoming must-reads for me. Sea of Charms is a magical read. It's cozy fantasy that is paced well. The story was interesting, the love story cozy. Marin, the main character, is a supply runner. She loves the sea and her parents took out a loan to gift her with her vessel. Her only goal is to run her supply business well and pay the loan for the ship or she will lose it.  She has deadlines she needs to meet. She loves what she does. She is focused and keeps people at arm's length. Then the revolution happens, and revolutions are messy. During the revolution, people are fleeing the capital and trying to protect what is important to them. Marin learns to open her heart, take risks, and she does what she knows is right in her heart, even if she has to put aside important goals. This book is a five star read for me.

Description
DELUXE EDITION—a gorgeous hardcover edition featuring beautiful cerulean blue sprayed edges!
Sarah Beth Durst brings cozy fantasy romance to the high seas in Sea of Charms, the third magical adventure in the New York Times bestselling Spellshop series!
Marin has always belonged on the great blue sea.
Betrayed by love, Marin lives and works as a supply runner, sailing from island to island, delivering an array of goods with Perri the sea serpent and Ree the sailor shrub as her crew.
On one of her routine trips to the capital, Alyssium, Marin finds a revolution underway—and her friend Dax in the line of fire.
What starts as a rescue evolves into a deal: Marin will keep Dax on as a member of her crew if he pretends to be her boyfriend at the End-of-Harvest Festival back home.
But against her better judgment, Marin finds herself intrigued by his stubbornness, his passion for stories, his charming smile—and realizes that perhaps she isn’t saving him. Maybe it’s the other way around.
Sea of Charms is a cozy fantasy romance about finding your crew, your family, and moreover, finding yourself.
Expect:
Standalone romance
Friends to lovers
Magical creatures
Swimming lessons
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Thank you, NetGalley and Macmillan / Tor / Bramble for this galley. I was under no obligation to leave a review. All opinions are my own. 

Peasreads: The Rainshadow Orphans by Naomi Ishiguro

 

The Rainshadow Orphans
The Rainshadow Series, Book One
by Naomi Ishiguro

This book is everything the description below promises. From dragons to bubble tea. The world Naomi Ishiguro has created is indeed magical and Studio Ghibli like. The characters are well written. The story is good. It flows well. For all of those elements, I would give this book a solid 5 stars. The thing is, it took me a long time to read this book because it was almost too wordy. The book could have been shorter and still a wonderful read. I don't know how to explain it. All in all I enjoyed the book. I want to know what happens next. I just hope it isn't a trilogy that could have been a duology. 

Description

Featuring stenciled edges and original art for the front and back endpapers.

The first novel in a dazzling fantasy trilogy inspired by Japanese folklore and Studio Ghibli films like Spirited Away, set within a mythical archipelago brimming with dragons and Sun Spirits, high-tech hackers and bubble tea.

Life is hard for the inhabitants of Rainshadow City, a place where poverty and corruption are rife and where they are terrorized by an underground criminal organization known as the Lucky Crows.

Toshiko, Jun and Mei Kawakami are a family, bonded through loyalty if not blood, who live outside the increasingly corrupt law and who are seeking revenge for the murder of their beloved “aunt” Reiko by the Lucky Crows. Haru is the son of the Emperor, destined to one day rule over the Archipelago and uphold his mother’s ignoble legacy, but he is more interested in making friends with the magical Sun Spirits it seems only he can see. Theo, forced to leave his homeland, is a reluctant foot-soldier for the Lucky Crows. He doesn’t want to be a gangster, but as an illegal immigrant to the city, his choices are severely limited.

When Toshiko steals a dragon pearl from the leader of the Crows, it sets them all on a thrilling path which will determine the future of Rainshadow City. Tightly set across two days and peopled with unforgettable characters, The Rainshadow Orphans blends the anime fantasy of works like Pokémon and Studio Ghibli and the anime science fiction of revolutionary cyberpunk like Akira to explore what it means to stand up to corruption and take charge of destiny.

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Thank you, NetGalley and Saga Press | S&S/Saga Press, for this galley. I was under no obligation to leave a review. All opinions are my own. 

Peasreads- A Year Without Home V.T. Bidnia

A Year Without Home

Ages 10 and up

 A poignant middle-grade novel in verse about a Hmong girl losing and finding home in the aftermath of the Vietnam War. For fans of Jasmine Warga and Veera Hiranandani. For eleven-year-old Gao Sheng, home is the lush, humid jungles and highlands of Laos. Home is where she can roll down the grassy hill with her younger siblings after her chores, walk to school, and pick ripe peaches from her family’s trees. But home becomes impossible to hold onto when the communist government takes over after U.S. troops pull out of the Vietnam War. The communists will be searching for any American allies, like Gao Sheng’s father, a Hmong captain in the Lao Army who fought alongside the Americans against the Vietnamese. If he’s caught, he’ll be killed. As the adults frantically make plans – contacting family, preparing a route, and bundling up their silver and gold, Gao Sheng wonders if she will ever return to her beloved Laos and what’s to become of her family now. Gao Sheng only knows that a good daughter doesn’t ask questions or complain. A good daughter doesn’t let her family down. Even though sometimes, she wishes she could be just a kid rolling down a grassy hill again. On foot, by taxi, and finally in a canoe, Gao Sheng and her family make haste from the mountains to the capitol Vientiane, and across the rushing Mekong River, to finally arrive at an overcrowded refugee camp in Thailand. As a year passes at the camp, Gao Sheng discovers how to rebuild home no matter where she is and finally find her voice.

Inspired by author V.T. Bidania’s family history, A Year Without Home illuminates the long, difficult journey that many Hmong refugees faced after the Vietnam War. V.T. Bidania was born in Laos and grew up in St. Paul, Minnesota. She has an MFA in creative writing from The New School and is a McKnight Artist Fellow. She is the author of the ASTRID AND APOLLO series, the first children's book series to star Hmong American characters, and A YEAR WITHOUT A HOME, a fictionalized memoir in verse about her family's escape from Laos at the end of the Vietnam War.

Peasreads- Behind Five Willows by June Hur

A delightful five-star read!  Set in the era when King Jeongjo issued a strict import ban on Chinese fiction and carried out extensive censorship of the writings of Joseon scholars in 1972.  Main character Haewon is the second daughter in her family. She loves to read fiction and works as an illegal book transcriber. One of her favorite authors that she transcribes for happens to be a noble, Seojun. He has status, and his family is well respected. No one knows that he is the man behind the pen name Black Lotus.  These two keep meeting and are thrown together when Haewon's sister Jade enters a courtship with Seojun's friend. Both quickly judged the other, but as they spend more time together, perhaps they judged wrong? The nod to Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice was done so well in this book. It was romantic, with suspense and danger. I enjoyed reading this book so much, as stated before five stars!

Description

From the New York Times-bestselling author of A Crane Among Wolves comes a warm and romantic homage to Jane Austen set in historical Korea, about a reader and a writer who secretly fight against government book banning and find themselves irresistibly drawn together.

As the dutiful second-eldest daughter of a poor family, society would have Haewon believe that her only hope of a decent life is to marry well. But during a time of rampant government censorship and book banning, she instead works as an illegal book transcriber to make a little extra money. It’s dangerous work, but she loves it—especially when she gets to transcribe the work of her favorite author, known as Black Lotus.

When her older sister becomes smitten with a wealthy young gentleman, Haewon is roped into chaperoning them during their courtship. Which wouldn’t be so terrible... if it weren’t for the young man’s uptight and annoying best friend who also accompanies them.

As the only son of a noble, Seojun has a lot expected of him. Wealth. Status. Respectability. Certainly not frivolous and often illicit activities such as reading fiction. But Seojun loves to do something even more scandalous: writing. He’s kept his work secret from his father and friends, but with each passing day, the pressure of being his father’s son and the dispiriting actions of the government make Seojun question the purpose of it all. The only thing keeping him going are the encouraging letters he receives from his transcriber, known only as Magpie.

When his best friend falls hard for a girl of lower social status, Seojun finds himself forced to act as chaperone to the infatuated couple—along with the girl's younger sister, who is as irritating as she is judgmental. But as Haewon and Seojun spend more time together, they begin to suspect they may have judged each other too quickly...

Also by June Hur

The Silence of Bones

The Forest of Stolen Girls

The Red Palace

A Crane Among Wolves

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I received this egalley from NetGalley and Macmillan Children's Publishing Group | Feiwel & Friends. I was under no obligation to give a review. All opinions are my own.  

Peasreads: The Sun and the Starmaker by Rachel Griffin

 

The Sun and the Starmaker. 

"And when we return to the dust of the stars, I will whisper your name in the endless after so that I may find you even in death. Always I will come for you, and always will I stay.”

Are you kidding me!? So enchanting. 

I couldn't put this book down until I was almost to the end. I purposely put it down because I didn't want to finish it.  I didn't want the story to end, and to be heartbroken! I wanted this book to be longer. To learn even more about the village, the StarMaker. Aurora.  When I did finish, it was just so beautiful, even though I cried. It was more than I  could have wanted. Aurora is the female main character. she loves her family and does her best to provide for them. She is willing to do what it takes to save her family and village. Even if that means a painful task and being taught by the distant, cold-hearted Starmaker.  The Starmaker is tired; he is ready for his reign to end. He is a good Starmaker; he cares for those he serves. He has lived for a long time and pulled the sunlight across the village so it can survive for as long as he can remember.  Now it's time to teach Aurora to do the same.

Description

There once was a village so far north that most considered it the top of the world... and in that village, the Sun fell in love with her Starmaker. From the New York Times bestselling author of The Nature of Witches comes a whimsical and sweeping romantic fantasy.

Nestled deep in the snowy mountains of the Lost Range, the village of Reverie is a small miracle. Beyond the reach of the Sun, Reverie is dependent upon the magic of the mysterious Starmaker: every morning, he trudges across a vast glacier and pulls in sunlight over the peaks, providing the village with the light it needs to survive.

Aurora Finch grew up on tales of the Starmaker's magic, never imagining she'd one day meet him. But on the morning of her wedding, a fateful encounter in the frostbitten woods changes everything. The Starmaker senses a powerful magic within her and demands she come study under his guidance. With her newfound abilities tied to the survival of the village, Aurora is swept away to his ice-covered castle and far from everything she's ever known.

The Starmaker is as cold and distant as the mountain itself, leaving Aurora to explore his enchanted castle alone. Yet the more she discovers about the sorcerer, the stronger their attraction grows, pulling her closer to the secrets he refuses to share. But a deadly frost approaches and Aurora must uncover what the Starmaker is hiding before she is left in an endless winter that even the Sun cannot touch.

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Thank you NetGalley and SOURCEBOOKS Fire | Sourcebooks Fire for this galley I was under no obligation to leave a review. All opinions are my own.

Peasreads: The Legend of the Nine-Tailed Fox Katrina Kwan

 

FIVE-STAR read! Both Yue and Sonam were great main characters who have depth and are likable. They have a past that shaped them, but I also felt like they grew from their past. They aren't perfect, but that makes them real. I felt bad for Yue. She was just doing what was in her nature to survive. The characters end up in Hell, Yue being banished and dragging Sonam down with her. To escape, they must work together. Each challenge they face has them learning about not only themselves but their companions. The story is paced well and flows well. I will be adding a hard copy of this one to my shelves. Even if I have a copy on my e-reader! I have been telling everyone about this book. Romantasy that's just so good. One of my top 2025 reads. 

Pub Date Feb 24 2026

Description
From the author of The Last Dragon of the East comes a sweeping fantasy adventure with a dash of romance between a nine-tailed fox and the demon-hunter who captures her, banished to the underworld together and forced to form a reluctant alliance to escape the circles of Hell.

Yue may be the last of her kind. At night, she stalks the streets of the capital city of Longhao, luring in unsuspecting victims with the mask of a beautiful woman, then consuming them in her true form of the nine-tailed fox.

When she is captured by a powerful demon hunter named Sonam and banished to Hell, she manages one final act of revenge: dragging him—and two of his subordinates—down with her.

Now trapped in an abyss with unimaginable terrors, they’ll need each other’s help to navigate Hell and bypass the gods who preside over each circle, each of whom presents the group with a unique and deadly challenge. Forced to depend on one another as they claw their way out of the underworld, both demon and demon hunter discover that there might be more to the other than meets the eye.

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I received this egalley from NetGalley and Saga Press | S&S/Saga Press I was under no obligation to give a review. All opinions are my own. 

Peasreads: The Dragon and the Sun Lotus by Amélie Wen Zhao

 

I can't believe the story is completed. I loved the first book in this dulogy that I have two copies in different editions. Mostly because I forgot I ordered one, loved it so much that I didn't want to miss out so I ordered it a second time. My Review of The Scorpion and the Night Blossom is posted and can be found here. 

Book 2 of The Three Realms

 Àn’yīng is the female main character in this duology and I like her character so much. She knew what she wanted for her family and for her kingdom. She faced choices that were hard but she never lost her love or her focus. It was hard. She had fallen in love with the Prince of the Kingdom of Night in the first book. She didn't know who he was at the time. Yù’chén's character broke my heart because he LOVED her so much, even knowing that being with her would be near impossible. He fought for her. The thing is Hào’yáng, the last Mortal Emperor was also wonderful, loving, and kind. I also liked Yù’chén  AND Hào’yáng, how is it that I liked BOTH the men in this story? That's only the love story part! It broke my heart at the end. Then my heart healed and broke again. All of this while an epic battle was planned and executed. All of this while a realm was being destroyed, and fighting for survival was top priority. All of this was taking place in both the mortal and immortal realms, which were described so well I could visualize each location. So beautiful and heart achingly wonderful.

In the breathtaking sequel to The Scorpion and the Night Blossom, the battle has just begun. With Àn’yīng’s kingdom teetering on the brink of destruction, and amidst a budding forbidden romance, she must now risk everything to protect her world.

The first edition hardcover of The Dragon and the Sun Lotus will feature stunning ombre stenciled edges and exclusive printed endpapers!

A decade ago, the Kingdom of Night began the war against the Kingdom of Rivers, ravaging the lands and releasing mó—beautiful, ravenous demons—to roam free, drinking the souls of mortals. Now the mó have made it beyond the magical wards of the immortal realm—the Kingdom of Sky—and will not stop until the entire world falls to darkness.

Àn’yīng is determined to banish the mó to their realm and return the mortal realm to peace. But a stunning betrayal has turned the tides of this war: Her handsome rival from the Immortality Trials and the man she was falling in love with, Yù’chén, is now the enemy. Yù’chén is half mó, his mother none other than Sansiran, the Demon Queen of the Kingdom of Night . . . and the monster responsible for killing Àn’yīng’s father.

There is one hope for the future, though. The boy in the jade—Àn’yīng’s lifelong mystery guardian and heir to the last mortal Emperor—Hào’yáng. Together, Àn’yīng and Hào’yáng must join forces to rally an army that stretches across realms, from the Four Seas of the Dragons to the Phoenixes of the Golden Desert. But first she must awaken to the immortal power slumbering in her own veins.

The thrilling conclusion of The Three Realms duology
THE SCORPION AND THE NIGHT BLOSSOM • THE DRAGON AND THE SUN LOTUS

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I received this egalley from NetGalley and Random House Children's Books | Delacorte Press I was under no obligation to give a review. All opinions are  my own. 

Peasread- Kill the Beast by Serra Swift

 

I wanted to love this book so much.  The whole premise, the story, the world the author built, those were amazing. Side characters were great.  Alderic was great. I'm torn, there is so much that could have been so amazing.  If you can read it without having to like the main character and still enjoy the story, then yes. It's a good read.

 Trigger warnings: Suicidal ideation, self-harm and harm to a pet are fairly big factors in the story.

This book is not wholesome or cozy, which I have seen people describe it as. 

I had an issue with  Lyssa, the main character. I understand that her circumstances were bad. Being abandoned by her dad. Bad. Trauma bad. Seeing her brother murdered by the Beast as a child. Very Bad. Loads of trauma is bad. I understand the anger. However, her default was rage and violence. Physical harm to anyone and everyone present, even the innocent.  After 10 years, or 13, that was still the default. There was no growth. No regret later. She just couldn't seem to think beyond that violence. I could like and root for a character who was growing through rage, violence, and loss. I could understand deep grieving.  Despite having those by her side who gave her the opportunity for growth. She simply dug her heels in and continued. I am not saying she should forgive the people who caused trauma in her life or stop grieving.  There was no maturity.  No thought to her killing- just rage. She was a flat, one-dimensional character until we met Alderic, when we find out that she's also mean and hateful. She makes fun of how he dresses and his hobbies. Even when he reveals his character to her throughout the story, she doesn't grow. 

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I received this egalley from NetGalley and Tor Publishing Group | Tor Books I was under no obligation to give a review. All opinions are my own. 

Peasreads: Greenteeth

Molly O'Neil KNOCKS it out of the park with her debut Green Teeth! Just magical. First time hearing about Jenny Greenteeth. Just a solid fantasy book. 

Great clean fantasy storytelling. Solid characters. A wild ride of a story.

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I received this book from NetGalley for this review. I was under no obligation to give a positive review. All opinions are  my own. I am disclosing this per the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Peasreads: I Am Not Jessica Chen -Ann Liang

I finished this in one day.  One. 

Are the MCs in highschool? Yes.  

Am I in my late forties? Yes. 

Was it still a great read for me? Absolutely yes.

 This book was sad and eye-opening not only as a parent but personally. So many times we try to live up to other people's expectations. We never can. We also try to live up to the strict expectations we put on ourselves. These expectations are impossible at any age. The MC Jenna had expectations put on her by her parents, but she also heaped on even more impossible expectations for herself. We so often do that. Not realizing that those who love us, truly love us as we are and that they too are imperfect.

As a parent reading this book broke my heart to hear about how these students feel in these situations where it's all about how your grades are, if you're in enough extracurriculars, are they the right extracurriculars, I just felt so bad for these kids. I wanted to scoop them up and comfort them. I also was angry at the environment that was made for some to succeed regardless of the effort they put in, while also being a place for others to potentially succeed if they don't rock the boat.

From the Publisher

Harlequin Teen, Jan 29, 2025 - Young Adult Fiction - 384 pages

Jenna Chen has spent her life in the shadow of her flawless cousin. Jessica Chen is so smart she gets the top score on every test. Jessica Chen is so beautiful people stop in the hallway to stare at her. Jessica Chen is so perfect she got into Harvard.

And Jenna Chen will only ever be a disappointment.

So when Jenna makes a desperate wish to become her cousin, the last thing she expects is for it to come true — literally. All of a sudden she gets to live the life she’s always dreamed of...but being the model student at cutthroat Havenwood Private Academy isn’t quite what she’d imagined. Worse, people seem to be forgetting that someone named Jenna Chen ever existed. But isn’t it worth trading it all away — her artistic talent, her childhood home, even the hope of golden boy Aaron Cai loving her back — to be Jessica Chen? 

HarperCollins Children's Books | HarperCollins | Harlequin Teen

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I received this book from NetGalley and the publisher. I was under no obligation to post a review. All opinions are my own. I am disclosing this per the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Peasreads- The Scorpion and the Night Blossom.

 Heartacheingly beautiful. This is one of those books where you devour each page because you love the story so much and want to find out what's next. All the while flipping back a page to reread sections that are so exciting, surprising, and too beautiful you have to read them again to form the picture in your mind. This kind of fantasy is breathtaking when done well and Amélie Wen Zhao has proven herself as a master again. I cannot wait for the second book in this duology. 

From the publisher

In a world at war with demons, one girl will face the ultimate test when she is forced to enter into an ancient, deadly competition for the chance to save her mother's soul… before she loses her forever. From the New York Times bestselling author of Song of Silver, Flame Like Night comes the beginning of a dark and opulent fantasy duology, perfect for fans of Throne of Glass.

Nine years ago, the war between the Kingdom of Night and the Kingdom of Rivers tore Àn’yīng’s family apart, leaving her mother barely alive and a baby sister to fend for. Now the mortal realm is falling into eternal night, and mó—beautiful, ravenous demons—roam the land, feasting on the flesh of humans and drinking their souls.

Àn’yīng is no longer a helpless child, though. Armed with her crescent blades and trained in the ancient art of practitioning, she has decided to enter the Immortality Trials, which are open to any mortal who can survive the journey to the immortal realm. Those who complete the Trials are granted a pill of eternal life—the one thing Àn’yīng knows can heal her dying mother. But to attain the prize, she must survive the competition.

Death is common in the Trials. Yet oddly, Àn’yīng finds that someone is helping her stay alive. A rival contestant. Powerful and handsome, Yù’chén is as secretive about his past as he is about his motives for protecting Àn’yīng.

The longer she survives the Trials, the clearer it becomes that all is not right in the immortal realm. To save her mother and herself, Àn’yīng will need to figure out whether she can truly trust the stranger she’s falling for or if he’s the most dangerous player of all . . . for herself and for all the realms.

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I received this book from NetGalley for this review. I was under no obligation to give a positive review. All opinions are  my own. I am disclosing this per the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Percy Jackson Viewing Party

Confession. I have not read the Percy Jackson series. I want to but my to be read pile is very long. Maybe I'll read them this year. These photos were taken when we had a Percy Jackson viewing party Disney+ version.

The best sugar cookie recipe ever 

Recipe here.

I really enjoyed and have since enjoyed this series. My kids have read the books and they say the series is way better than the movies. 

My two oldest kids baked and set the party up while I was at work. All I had to do was come home with pizza. They did such an amazing job. I'm so happy that their friend's like to come over to our house and hang out. 

Coffee and hot chocolate bar ready to go 

The cutest cookies and cupcakes! 

 

Peasread: Dark Star Burning, Ash Falls White (Song of The Last Kingdom, Book 2)

The Song of The Last Kingdom books have been some of my favorites to read this year. If you've read my review for Song of Silver, Flame Like Night you already know what the author Amelie Wen Zhao's writing style is. It is poetic, and lush, and brings to mind the landscapes of the Last Kingdom beautifully. Storytelling that will have glued to your seat and not wanting to stop until you've reached the end. Even then, you'll want more.

This book starts off from where we last left Zen and Lan. They have gone their separate ways. They have the same goal. Eradicate the colonizers and restore their people. While they both want the same thing, both believe in different methods of achieving their goals. Lan refuses to use the power of the Silver Dragon bound to her believing that the Demon God and its counterparts bring nothing but death and destruction. Zen believes the only way to rid the land of the Elantions is to use the power of the Demon Gods. He has made a deal with the one who dwells within him. One that will cost not only his body and mind but in the end, his soul. 

Who is right? Who is wrong? In the end, will either of them be able to save what they hold most dear to them?

Peasreads: Treasures of the Lochs

I enjoy historical fiction and fantasy, parts of some of my favorite genres. Folklore and mythology? Sign me up. This book promises a long-lost treasure, a deadly chase, and a magnificent beast of legends. Again, I'm in.

Told from the viewpoint of the two main characters. Carter is a United States Naval Academy, Lieutenant. Without giving spoilers I'll say that he is mourning the loss of his father, and is in a very dark place. He is drawn to Scottland by a mysterious item left by his father in a safety deposit box,  Hattie is a 14-year-old girl who lives in Scottland. She is bright, and mature for her age. She finds some treasure that might be from the famed long-lost treasure of the Scottish Jacobites. She wants to use the money from selling the treasure to help her family. Before that can happen word gets out. Riches and wealth can bring out the best or the worst in people.  It isn't long before Hattie and Carter are on the run and racing to solve the mystery of where the remaining treasure is and how to use it to stay alive.

Scottish history, adventure, a treasure hunt. Heartbreak, redemption, restoration. 

Those are some words, that I would use to describe this book. At first, I didn't know how the first chapter of the book would tie into the next chapter, then the next chapter. The story came together and it was fun. The characters are human, they make mistakes, and they have to take risks, and make hard choices.            

Description

A long-lost treasure, a deadly chase, and a magnificent beast of legends

For almost three hundred years, people have searched for one of the greatest treasures in history—the lost gold of the Scottish Jacobites. Following his father’s death and a brazen late-night break-in at the United States Naval Academy, Lieutenant Carter Porter, his life and career in tatters, unwittingly joins the quest.

In Scotland, Hassie Douglass, a spirited young employee of a luxury inn situated on the picturesque shores of Loch Ness, thinks her prayers have been answered when she stumbles across four old gold coins that may be part of the Jacobite treasure. But she can’t tell anybody how she really found them; they would think she had lost her mind. Who would believe she followed a strange, ethereal voice emanating from the loch? Struggling to accept what she heard, she can’t deny that the gold in her hand is real.

The allure of such a valuable cache draws evil, like the moth to a flame. No sooner does Carter receive a strange bequest from his late father and Hassie’s find is publicized than a shadowy, well-armed group of mercenaries attacks each of them. Soon, Carter’s and Hassie’s fates are joined, and their survival depends on solving more than one ancient mystery while facing their worst nightmares.

Blending historical fact and Scottish legend within an action-packed adventure, Treasures of the Lochs is an exciting, powerful story of faith, friendship, and redemption.

Author: Hunter White

ISBN: 9781632996879

PRICE: $20.95 (USD) PAGES: 366

 #TreasuresoftheLochs #NetGalley

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 I received this book from NetGalley for this review. I was under no obligation to give a positive review. All opinions are on my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Thanks for reading Give Peas A Chance!

Peasreads: The Forest Grimm

 I have not read a book by Kathryn Purdie before but I will be on the lookout for more books by this author. The Forest Grimm is a fantasy that is original with an imaginative twist on Fairytales. Clara was a great main character. I felt she was strong, smart, and focused. Even though her fortune-teller grandma has warned her of untimely death from early on, Clara accepts this and decides to use her short time to go on a quest into the deadly and dangerous Forest Grimm to save loved ones. Well written with likable characters. This is a great read for young adults and I would say 13 and up readers also.

From the Publisher:

A spellbinding YA fantasy from #1 New York Times bestselling author Kathryn Purdie, where fairy tales come to life with dark, deadly twists.

"Tell me again, Grandmère, the story of how I die."

The Midnight Forest. The Fanged Creature. Two fortune-telling cards that spell an untimely death for 17-year-old Clara. Despite the ever-present warning from her fortune-teller grandmother, Clara embarks on a dangerous journey into the deadly Forest Grimm to procure a magical book—Sortes Fortunae, the Book of Fortunes—with the power to reverse the curse on her village and save her mother.

Years ago, when the villagers whispered their deepest desires to the book, its pages revealed how to obtain them. All was well until someone used the book for an evil purpose—to kill another person. Afterward, the branches of the Forest Grimm snatched the book away, the well water in Grimm’s Hollow turned rancid, and the crops died from disease. The villagers tried to make amends with the forest, but every time someone crossed its border, they never returned.

Now, left with no alternative, Clara and her close friend, Axel—who is fated never to be with her—have set their minds to defying fate and daring to accomplish what no one else has been able to before. But the forest—alive with dark, deadly twists on some of our most well-known fairy tales—has a mind of its own.

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 I received this book from NetGalley for this review. I was under no obligation to give a positive review. All opinions are on my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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The Invisible Library 

Genevieve Cogman

329 pages

Published January 15th 2015 by Tor UK

ISBN 1447256239 (ISBN13: 9781447256236)

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