The Reading Hideaway

Title: Hang a Thousand Trees With Ribbons Author: Ann Rinaldi Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers Rating: 5 Synopsis (via Goodreads):  Kidnapped from her home in Senegal and sold as a slave in 1761, Phillis Wheatley--as she comes to be known--stuns her adopted country by becoming America's first published black poet. Review: I tend to forget how much I love historical fiction, especially the slave era.  Although, my favorite time period happens to be the 1920's.  If time travel was a thing, that's what year I'd be in...  Once I started reading the story of Phillis Wheatley, I couldn't stop.  The first couple of chapters start out with teenage Phillis who has a special meeting with "the most noble men in Boston" to prove her reading and writing skills.  Before the important committee reveals their thoughts, the story flashes back to January of 1761 when Phillis was just a child growing up in a tiny village with her mother and infamous ...

Title: Soul Blaze Author: Aprille Legacy Publisher: Smashwords Edition Rating: 4 Synopsis (via Goodreads): After a year at the Academy, Rose is sent back to Ar Cena - minus her memory of the past year. As she tries to fit back in to her human life with relative success, her magic returns. An unsuccessful kidnap attempt by rogue mages of the North sends her back to Lotheria, where she is taken prisoner by the Academy Masters. Confused and manipulated, she bargains a way home with the Masters by guaranteeing the only thing they want from her; the death of Phoenix. But the Masters are yet to realise what they've truly unleashed... As Sky's destiny returns to haunt her once again, she realises she can't ignore who she is any longer. Review: YES, YES, YES! Why did I wait so long to read this book? I mean, for starters, it took me a while to get back into the series because I read Soul Fire a year ago. (That's right, a year ago). Is it sad that I have little t...

Title: We Can Work It Out Author: Elizabeth Eulberg Publisher: Point Rating: 3 Synopsis (via Goodreads): When Penny Lane started The Lonely Hearts Club, the goal was simple: to show that girls didn’t need to define themselves by how guys look at them, and didn’t have to value boyfriends over everything else. Penny thought she’d be an outcast for life…but then the club became far more popular than she ever imagined it would be. But what happens when the girl who never thought she’d date a good guy suddenly finds herself dating a great one? She doesn’t need a boyfriend… but she wants it to work out with this particular boyfriend. And he wants it to work out with her. Only, things keep getting in the way. Feelings keep getting hurt. Words keep getting misunderstood. Penny Lane worked hard to declare her independence. Now she needs to figure out what to do with it — and how to balance what she wants with what everyone else wants. In We Can Work It Out , Elizabeth Eulberg return...