Tag Archives: YA SFF

Review: The Mirror Souls by Julia Scott – a YA Sci-Fi Trilogy for Love Triangle Fans!

Happy Pancake Day friends! How do you eat yours? I’m partial to either bacon and maple syrup or chocolate spread and ice cream. Or one followed by the other…

Anywho, welcome to the March edition of the YA Sci-Fi and Fantasy Addicts Blog Hop. This month we’re celebrating science fiction, so I thought I’d introduce you to one of my favourite YA sci-fi series, The Mirror Souls by Julia Scott.

March Blog Hop

Review: The Mirror Souls by Julia Scott

A fast-paced young adult novel that blends sci-fi (without being too heavy), near future dystopia (without being too stark and depressing) and soulmate romance.

The truth doesn’t always set you free…

Like the rest of the Gaian race, Alana’s life is ruled by the Avalon, the superior race who once created Earth and returned to reclaim it after humanity brought it to the brink of destruction. Because of the Avalon, every Gaian faces the risk of being moved from Region to Region, over and over, with no warning. Alana has no place to call home.

Fearing that she may be resigned to this life of control forever, the opportunity to explore the world outside of her Region is literally dropped into Alana’s pocket in the form of a small silver device.

Taking a leap of faith and teleporting to the unknown, Alana must discover who is pulling the strings in her life and why. But in her quest for answers and freedom, she’s thrown headfirst into a hidden battle for humanity alongside a boy whose life was destined to be entwined with hers from the start.

With the secret of who she really is starting to unravel and abilities she didn’t know she had rising to the surface, she becomes a commodity to whatever faction can keep her in one place.

But others around her are carrying secrets, too, and Alana must decide who to trust before she can change the fate of all the races.

Title: The Mirror Souls

Author: Julia Scott

Link: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08PZ953YR

Rating: 5 Stars!

Review: I tend to reach for fantasy more than sci-fi when I’m looking for my next read, but the premise of this book had me hooked – a sci-fi, dystopian romance? Soulmates AND a love triangle? A futuristic version of our world filled with secrets, lies and a battle for humanity? Yes please!

The Mirror Souls follows Alana as she discovers her place in this dangerous, new world, where Gaians like her are moved around on the whim of the Avalon, forced into job roles based on their suitability, and coupled with partners chosen by their oppressors. She stumbles upon the chance to learn more about her world, uncovering truths and disturbing secrets as she goes, all while trying to figure out the strange new feelings she’s having for a certain boy.

This is a fast-paced read with plenty of twists and turns, some shocking reveals, and a really clever and intriguing concept that takes the classic dystopian tropes and weaves them into a new sci-fi setting, with threads of fantasy romance.

Perfect for fans of Divergent and The Hunger Games, if you love to see the reluctant heroine fighting against their oppressive overlords, exposing the dark, ugly side of their society, and struggling to choose between two paths, two futures, two distinct parts of themselves (and, of course, two boys), then The Mirror Souls is your perfect next read!

Book two, The Anahata Divide is out now, and the final book in the trilogy, The Original Midorian, is coming later this year! PLUS, the first two books are available to read FREE with Kindle Unlimited, AND they’re both available in audio book with Audible!!

But most of all, LOOK AT THOSE COVERS!!! *swoon*

Giveaway!

Enter this month’s giveaway and you could win FIVE YA ebooks of your choice!

Lyndsey
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Happy Palentines: the Best YA Book Friendships

It’s February, the month of love and romance! But instead of another list of my favourite YA couples, this year I want to celebrate the greatest platonic relationships in fantasy and sci-fi. So, happy Palentines friends, and welcome to the February Blog Hop with YA Sci-Fi and Fantasy Addicts.

February Blog Hop Posts

The Best Friendships in YA Fantasy and Sci-Fi

Will & Jem from The Infernal Devices

If there was ever a pair of friends who the term ‘bromance’ was invented for, it’s Will Herondale and Jem Carstairs. Their friendship is the stuff of dreams, fighting evil side by side and always having each other’s backs, in sickness and in health, till death do they part. They even fall for the same girl, but something as simple as true love could never come between these two parabatai!

The Crows from Six of Crows

The Crows as individuals could not be more different from each other, but together they make the perfect team. Kaz, Inej, Jesper, Nina, Wylan and Matthias are the kind of friends you can call when you need help getting rid of a body. Their methods might not always be exactly legal or moral, and their motivations might seem murky to say the least, but at the end of the day they’re always there for their friends (usually with a snarky comment to boot).

The Night Court from ACOTAR

Everyone’s favourite high fae court are peak friendship goals. Rhysand, Cassian, Azriel, Amren and Morr are definitely the kind of friends you want beside you in battle, but they’re also capable of bringing the banter and good times too. And, let’s be honest, they’re all pretty easy on the eyes.

The Gnomes from The Fair Queen

When Aria stumbles into the Fair Realm, she tags along with a gang of Gnome boys and it’s not long before she feels like one of the crew. The loyal band of brothers, soldiers and princes show Aria the meaning of true friendship as they challenge and support each other, laughing both with and at each other, and always having each other’s backs, especially in battle. Even when things get dark and dangerous, these boys are always the best of friends.

A Valentines Gift for you!

Here’s your free copy of my novella, Daughter of the Selkie King, which was originally featured in Enchanted Waters and is set in the same world as my series, The Fair Chronicles:

Click to download the Daughter of the Selkie King novella

February Giveaway

Enter our big Valentines giveaway to win an Amazon gift card and find your next book boyfriend!

Happy Valentines, Palentines and Galentines, friends!

Lyndsey

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Spring Clean Your TBR Pile for 2022

Happy New Year folks! Welcome to the January YA SFF Winter Blog Hop, where we’re talking fresh starts, new beginnings and setting goals for the year ahead. Plus, there’s another fabulous giveaway to enter and a whole bunch of new freebies and gifts to discover!

Keep reading to find out how I spring clean my TBR, grab your free novella, and enter our big giveaway…

January Blog Hop Stops

  1. New Young Adult Books: What’s Coming in 2022? 
  2. Resolutions and Reviews
  3. New Year’s in the Slytherin Common Room: Celebrating the Most Ruthless & Ambitious Characters in YA
  4. 2022 LGBT Books We Are Excited For
  5. New Beginnings No Matter the Season
  6. New Year, New Reading Goals!
  7. Bookish New Year Resolutions
  8. Non-Resolutions (Unless You Were Born in January)
  9. Eos: Goddess of New Beginnings
  10. Spring Clean Your TBR Pile (YOU ARE HERE)
  11. My 2022 Reading Journal
  12. The Best Fantasy & Sci-Fi Debut Books (YA & Adult)
  13. YA characters who made their dreams come true

How to Spring Clean Your To-Be-Read Pile

Christmas has come and gone and the decorations are down, it’s time to give your house a spring clean for the New Year. While you’re tidying your space and decluttering your belongings, don’t forget your most important possessions – your books!

Here are my tips for spring cleaning your bookshelves for 2022:

Physical Books – Read

Go through your collection of read books and divide them into three piles:

  • books you want to keep (to read again or just for display),
  • books you want to lend/gift to friends who’ll enjoy them,
  • books to donate.

Give your bookshelves a clean and re-shelve your keep pile, add some bookish scented candles, character art prints and figurines, or any other fun bits of book merch you own – maybe a string of fairy lights or a couple of potted plants (real or fake, no judgement here!) – and take a few photos for your bookstagram account, to commemorate the occasion.

Physical Books – To Be Read

Now, do the same with your unread books. Reread the blurbs and check out some reviews on Amazon or Goodreads to decide whether you’re still interested in reading them, then split them into three piles. You could even take photos of your donation pile and offer them to your social media followers for the cost of post and packaging. Or drop them off at your local charity shop or free library, whatever feels right.

Stack your new physical TBR pile on your bedside table, or buy one of those gorgeous three-tiered storage trolleys in a shade that you love and divide your TBR between the shelves. Dreamy AND organised!

Ebooks

Now the hard work begins! If you’re anything like me, your Kindle will be chock full of unread ebooks, either because you wanted to support the author and preorder their new release, or because the cover or blurb caught your eye but you never got around to starting them. Well, now’s the time to tidy up that cluttered device.

  • Go through and remove your read books from the device to save space.
  • Sort your unread books by length or alphabetically, whatever works for you, and take a chunk of 10 or so each day until you’ve filtered your whole library. (If you’re around the 1000 mark, then… I’m sorry. Hang in there.)
  • Read the blurbs and decide which books you still want to read and which you’re no longer interested in.
  • Grab a new notebook or reading planner (I have the perfect thing if you’re looking for one! Click here to buy the Once Upon a Name 2022 reading planner) and jot down the titles of all the books you’re still planning to read.
  • Choose a couple of physical books and a couple of ebooks to read each month (depending on your reading speed), or write the titles of all of your TBR on separate slips of paper and put them in a jar to choose from when you’re ready for your next read.
  • Or, if you’re a mood reader, add a couple of notes to each book (e.g. fantasy, enemies to lovers, futuristic, found family, etc.) to help you choose something to suit your mood each month.

Your Goodreads TBR

Now that you’ve decluttered your physical and digital TBRs and made notes in your reading planner, tidying up your Goodreads lists should be fairly simple. Add any books you’ve read to your Read list and update your Want To Read list with any new books you got for Christmas. Then go through your Want To Read list and untick any books you’ve decided you no longer want to read.

And that’s it, you’re all done! Well done on spring cleaning your TBR for the New Year.

Now treat yourself to a new book for all your hard work! In fact, I’ve got one here you could have…

Your January free gift!

Grab your free copy of my novella A Fair Deception here:

Fair Tales short stories from the Fair Realm

Enter our Mega Giveaway

Click here or on the image to enter and be in with a chance of winning a $30 Amazon gift card: https://kingsumo.com/g/wtnrzh/new-year-new-books-win-an-amazon-gift-card

May the odds be ever in your favour.

Lyndsey

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