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Inquest by DelSheree Gladden


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November Rain


Shannon A. Thompson - 2016
    She is a bad blood, and in the city of Vendona, bad bloods are executed. In the last moments before she faces imminent death, a prison guard aids her escape and sparks a revolt. Back on the streets determined to destroy her kind, Serena is spared by a fellow bad blood named Daniel. His past tragedies are as equally mysterious as her connection to them.Unbeknownst to the two, this connection is the key to winning the election for bad bloods’ rights to be seen as human again. But Serena is the only one who can secure Vendona’s vote. Now, Daniel must unite with her before all hope is lost and bad bloods are eradicated, even if it means exposing secrets worse than death itself. United or not, a city will fight, rain will fall, and all will be threatened by star-crossed love and political corruption.

Elfin


Quinn Loftis - 2012
    Her feet were firmly planted in suburban reality and she had no reason to believe her life would be anything but that of a typical teenager. That is until tonight, when Cassie saw something that no human was ever supposed to see; in the blink of an eye she was thrown into the world of the Light and Dark Elves.He comes from a realm where light and dark have fought for millennia. He is of a race known to humans only in myths and legends. The darkness that lives inside him is a part of both who and what he is and it makes him the most gifted spy and assassin in the history of his time. His life is not his own; he lives in the service of the Dark Elf King. He slays who he must, has mercy on no one, is relentless in his hunt, and never tires of seeing his prey fall. He is Triktapic, assassin, spy, most feared of the Dark Elves.Now, in the midst of his King’s complicated plans to expand the Dark Elves’ holdings into the mortal realm, for the first time, Trik finds his loyalties divided. For no Elf, Dark or Light, can turn away from their Chosen.Unbeknownst to the mortal realm, the battle between Light and Dark is being brought to their doorstep. The only one who can keep it at bay holds darkness in his heart like a lover, and the one who can sway that heart must decide if she can look beyond his black past, beyond his evil nature and see the man he is destined to be.The question must be asked, does love really cover a multitude of sins? Can true love actually conquer all or will his darkness consume those around him until all that stands is an assassin with the blood of the mortal realm on his hands?

A Diamond In My Pocket


Lorena Angell - 2011
    Rowling meets Stephen King in this fresh, thrilling take on superpowers. Currently being optioned for film. After breaking the 100m world record, sixteen-year-old Calli is whisked away to a secret facility where she's placed with other teens who possess superhuman speed. She soon finds herself in a deadly situation involving other superpowers, a mystical diamond, and a centuries-old clan vying for world domination. Calli will have to rely on her quick wit and gut instinct to navigate her new world which includes secretly carrying a power-infusing diamond, all the while steering clear of the young man who mistakenly believes she's his soulmate. Book one of The Unaltered series introduces a secret universe existing within our own. In this world, cosmic energy grants superhuman abilities, and people of like ability band together in clans for both safety and community. Flesh-ripping demons prowl at night, drawn to the cosmic energy. Governments spy on clans, clans spy on governments, and trusting the wrong person may carry a terrible price.A #1 bestseller in eleven countries, with over 225,000 downloads. A Diamond in My Pocket is a book readers have shown their love to with over 1,200 5-star reviews. The tale woven is one that feels ensconced in today's world alongside a huge dose of superpowers. Currently being optioned for film and television, so don't miss your chance to read this exciting book before it hits the screen.

Gates of Thread and Stone


Lori M. Lee - 2014
    When Kai was eight, she was found by Reev on the riverbank, and her “brother” has taken care of her ever since. Kai doesn’t know where her ability comes from—or where she came from. All that matters is that she and Reev stay together, and maybe one day move out of the freight container they call home, away from the metal walls of the Labyrinth. Kai’s only friend is Avan, the shopkeeper’s son with the scandalous reputation that both frightens and intrigues her. Then Reev disappears. When keeping silent and safe means losing him forever, Kai vows to do whatever it takes to find him. She will leave the only home she’s ever known and risk getting caught up in a revolution centuries in the making. But to save Reev, Kai must unravel the threads of her past and face shocking truths about her brother, her friendship with Avan, and her unique power.

Seeds of Discovery


Breeana Puttroff - 2011
    She has good friends, a family that she loves, good grades, and an after-school job she enjoys. And, she's just been asked out by Zander Cunningham, a popular football player and great guy. But one day when driving home after picking up her little sister from the baby-sitter's, she nearly hits a boy who, after running blindly into the street, mysteriously disappears.The mystery only deepens as she figures out who the boy is; William Rose, a reclusive, awkward boy from school who always has his nose in a pile of books.As she becomes more aware of his behavior it becomes more obvious how out of the ordinary William is and how hard he deliberately tries to blend into the background. This only intrigues her more and she finds herself working to find out more about him, and exactly where he keeps disappearing to.On a whim one night she follows him and suddenly finds herself in a new world. One where William is a prince, literally, and she is treated like a princess. She also discovers that she is stuck; the gate back to her own world isn't always open.Quinn finds herself smack in the middle of a modern-day fairy tale, on a course that will change her life forever.

The Sowing


K. Makansi - 2013
    It looks like we have a contender here." - Priscilla from PressedUpInABook.com #JoinTheResistanceRemy Alexander wants vengeance. When she and her friends discover a clue that could help reveal the truth behind the massacre that claimed her sister's life, she may finally get her chance. Valerian Orlean wants answers. Why the girl he was in love with disappeared three years ago. Why she joined the Resistance - a covert organization sworn to destroy everything he believes in. When he is appointed to lead a government program whose mission is to hunt and destroy the Resistance, he may finally find his answers - and Remy. In a world where the powerful kill to keep their secrets, and the food you eat can change who you are, Remy and Vale are set on a collision course that could bring everyone together - or tear everything apart. In this science-fiction dystopia, the mother-daughter writing team of Kristina, Amira, and Elena Makansi immerse readers in the post-apocalyptic world of the Okarian Sector, where romance, friendship, adventure, and betrayal will decide the fate of a budding nation. Be sure to continue the story with The Reaping, Book Two of the Seeds Trilogy, and The Prelude, a novella about Soren Skaarsgard, one of the reader's favorite characters. "The Sowing doesn't stop surprising." - C.G. Ayling, author of the Malmaxa trilogy. "An imaginative and well-described world ... Fans of The Hunger Games, Uglies, Inside Out, and Across The Universe will absolutely enjoy this." - Imran Siddiq, author of the Divided World series

The Shadow Society


Marie Rutkoski - 2012
    She has never really belonged anywhere—but she couldn't have guessed that she comes from an alternate world where the Great Chicago Fire didn't happen and deadly creatures called Shades terrorize the human population.Memories begin to haunt Darcy when a new boy arrives at her high school, and he makes her feel both desire and desired in a way she hadn't thought possible. But Conn's interest in her is confusing. It doesn't line up with the way he first looked at her.As if she were his enemy.When Conn betrays Darcy, she realizes that she can't rely on anything—not herself, not the laws of nature, and certainly not him. Darcy decides to infiltrate the Shadow Society and uncover the Shades' latest terrorist plot. What she finds out will change her world forever . . .In this smart, compulsively readable novel, master storyteller Marie Rutkoski has crafted an utterly original world, characters you won't soon forget, and a tale full of intrigue and suspense.

Out of Darkness


Jason D. Morrow - 2013
    As she travels the wastelands, she discovers a power within herself, a power she believes no other human possesses. That is, until she meets others like her – the ones who call themselves the Starborn. These super-humans are on a mission also: to destroy the undead greyskins, and take down the greedy Jeremiah. Mora must now choose between the one who can keep her family safe, and those that can show her who she truly is.

Crewel


Gennifer Albin - 2012
    Awkward. Artless. That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen-year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: She wants to fail. Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen to work the looms is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to manipulate the very fabric of reality. But if controlling what people eat, where they live, and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested. Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and used her hidden talent for a moment. Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her dad’s jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.Because tonight, they’ll come for her.

Dying to Forget


Trish Marie Dawson - 2010
    The Station books are part of a YA/NA Fantasy series that follow teenage anti-heroine, Piper Willow, after she dies and wakes up in the afterlife at a place called the Station, and is offered redemption – in the form of a job. After Piper dies, she gets two choices: enter her own personal hell, or go back to Earth and become the voice of conscience inside a boy’s head. Can she save Sloan from meeting the same fate? A tale of hope that will warm your heart.

A Fairy's Guide to Disaster


A.W. Hartoin - 2012
    Huge adventure.Matilda Whipplethorn is about to get what she’s always wanted, and it’s a bad thing. Being a babysitter isn’t much of a dream for the average thirteen-year-old, but Matilda is anything but average. She’s half a centimeter tall, invisible to the human eye, and hearing-impaired. Her mother won’t let her forget any of that. So for Matilda, adventures are in short supply. Finally agreeing to let Matilda take some responsibility, her mother gives her a list of emergency procedures for babysitting. The only problem; humans aren’t on the list.Minutes into her first job, humans appear in isolated Whipplethorn Manor. They tear her home, the fireplace mantel, right off the wall of Whipplethorn and Matilda’s afternoon babysitting job goes long term.When the mantel ends up on display in an antique mall, the security that Matilda always took for granted is gone. She can lock the doors, but that doesn’t keep the kids in or spriggans and the fly-eating phalanx fairies out. Matilda’s up for an adventure, if only she could hear it coming.

The Key of Kilenya


Andrea Pearson - 2011
    Jacob Clark is chased down a path that takes him to another world—a world where he is a wanted young man. The Lorkon want to control him and the special powers he possesses. The people of the new world want him to save them from the destruction of the Lorkon. All Jacob wants is to go home, but even that choice has consequences. If he waits too long to decide, the new world and the one he came from will be destroyed. As Jacob looks for people he can trust, he finds himself in the center of a fight for freedom—both for himself and the people he’s come to know. And when he meets a pretty girl named Aloren, everything he understands about his role on Eklaron is challenged. Jacob has no idea where the path he chooses will take him, but once the choice has been made—bring on the consequences.If you'd like to receive The Ember Gods (Kilenya Series Book Two) for free as well, you can grab a copy at the author's website here: http://kilenyaseriesnewsletter.blogsp.... Enjoy!

The Samantha Project


Stephanie Karpinske - 2012
    Then one horrible night a sudden tragedy sparks a series of events that change her life forever. Soon she’s told she’s part of a top secret genetics experiment run by a global corporation that’s been watching her for years and waiting for the right time to take her back. That time is now.Samantha’s enhanced genetics are finally starting to express the powers the corporation wants and her only chance for freedom is to go on the run, leaving behind her old life and the people she loves. Using her new abilities to help her, she makes her way to a town far from home where she encounters two people who are eerily familiar. These two people will give her clues to her past but also warnings for her future. It’s the beginning of a journey in which Samantha will learn all the secrets of who she really is and why she was created.

Altered


Jennifer Rush - 2013
    Her father works for the Branch at the helm of its latest project: monitoring and administering treatments to the four genetically altered boys in the lab below their farmhouse. There’s Nick, Cas, Trev . . . and Sam, who has stolen Anna’s heart. When the Branch decides it’s time to take the boys, Sam stages an escape, killing the agents sent to retrieve them. Anna is torn between following Sam or staying behind in the safety of her everyday life. But her father pushes her to flee, making Sam promise to keep her away from the Branch, at all costs. There’s just one problem. Sam and the boys don’t remember anything before living in the lab—not even their true identities.Now on the run, Anna soon discovers that she and Sam are connected in more ways than either of them expected. And if they’re both going to survive, they must piece together the clues of their past before the Branch catches up to them and steals it all away.

Lush


S.L. Baum - 2013
    Now that she's seventeen she is fully prepared for Incorporation; a time when females and males are allowed to mingle again, for the first time since they were toddlers. It is also the day she must endure Citizen Branding - the mandatory searing of a mark into the flesh of the left wrist of all new Citizens. O for fertile, X for infertile. The fate of every Citizen, male or female, is determined by the results.Bluebell knows that a Citizen’s duty is to live for the glory of Concord, just as she was taught. But the frantic dreams and hazy memories that haunt her make her different, and the questions she cannot deny threaten to turn her world upside down.Disclaimer: LUSH is not just a Series - it's more like a Serialized Television Show. As the beginning novel, it sets you up in the LUSH world and asks a lot of questions; many that are not immediately answered. Think of it like LOST or The Vampire Diaries or Heroes... and not so much like E.R. or Fringe or House. The follow-up novel is due October 2013... where the story continues.