"Arcadia Awakens" by Kai Maier

Arcadia Awakens | Arcadia #1 | 451 pages | ISBN 9780062006066 | Balzer + Bray, 2012 | 2.5 out of 5 Points

To New Yorker Rosa Alcantara, the exotic world of Sicily, with its network of Mafia families and its reputation for murder and intrigue, is just that—exotic, and wholly unknown. But when tragedy strikes, she must travel there, to her family’s ancestral home, where her sister and aunt have built their lives and where centuries of family secrets await her. Once there, Rosa wastes no time falling head over heels for Alessandro Carnevare, the son of a Sicilian Mafia family, whose handsome looks and savage grace both intrigue and unsettle her. 

But their families are sworn enemies, and her aunt and sister believe Alessandro is only using Rosa to infiltrate the Alcantara clan. And when Rosa encounters a tiger one night—a tiger with very familiar eyes—she can no longer deny that neither the Carnevares nor the Alcantaras are what they seem. Ancient myths brought to life in the Sicilian countryside, dangerous beasts roaming the hills, and a long history of familial bloodlust prove to Rosa that she can’t trust anyone—not even her own family. Torn between loyalty to her aunt and love for her family’s mortal enemy, Rosa must make the hardest decision of her life: stay in Sicily with her new love . . . or run as far and as fast as she can.

"Unnatural" by Michael Griffo

Unnatural | Archangel Academy #1 | ISBN  9780758253385 | Kensington, 2011 | 1 out of 5 Points

Lesson 1: Nothing is ever what it seems… In the town of Eden in northwestern England stands the exclusive boarding school known as Archangel Academy. Ancient and imposing, it’s a place filled with secrets. Just like its students… 

For Michael Howard, being plucked from his Nebraska hometown and sent thousands of miles away is as close as he’s ever come to a miracle. In Weeping Water, he felt trapped, alone. At Archangel Academy, Michael belongs. And in Ciaran, Penry, and especially Ciaran’s enigmatic half-brother Ronan, Michael finds friendship deeper than he’s ever known. But Michael’s only beginning to understand what makes the Academy so special. Ronan is a vampire—part of a hybrid clan who are outcasts even among other vampires. Within the Academy’s confines exists a ruthless world of deadly rivalries and shifting alliances, of clandestine love and forbidden temptations. And soon Michael will confront the destiny that brought him here—and a danger more powerful than he can imagine…

"One Of Us Is Lying" by Karen M. McManus

One Of Us Is Lying | Stand-Alone | ISBN 9781524714680 | Delacorte Press, 2017 | 3.5 out of 5 Points

Pay close attention and you might solve this. On Monday afternoon, five students at Bayview High walk into detention. Bronwyn, the brain, is Yale-bound and never breaks a rule.  Addy, the beauty, is the picture-perfect homecoming princess. Nate, the criminal, is already on probation for dealing. Cooper, the athlete, is the all-star baseball pitcher. And Simon, the outcast, is the creator of Bayview High’s notorious gossip app. Only, Simon never makes it out of that classroom. Before the end of detention, Simon’s dead. And according to investigators, his death wasn’t an accident. On Monday, he died. But on Tuesday, he’d planned to post juicy reveals about all four of his high-profile classmates, which makes all four of them suspects in his murder. Or are they the perfect patsies for a killer who’s still on the loose? Everyone has secrets, right? What really matters is how far you would go to protect them.

"Shallow Graves" by Kali Wallace

Shallow Graves | Stand-Alone | ISBN 9780062366207 | Katherine Tegen Books, 2016 | 5 out of 5 Points

Breezy remembers leaving the party: the warm, wet grass under her feet, her cheek still stinging from a slap to her face. But when she wakes up, scared and pulling dirt from her mouth, a year has passed and she can’t explain how. Nor can she explain the man lying at her grave, dead from her touch, or why her heartbeat comes and goes. She doesn’t remember who killed her or why. All she knows is that she’s somehow conscious—and not only that, she’s able to sense who around her is hiding a murderous past. Haunted by happy memories from her life, Breezy sets out to find answers in the gritty, threatening world to which she now belongs—where killers hide in plain sight, and a sinister cult is hunting for strange creatures like her. What she discovers is at once empowering, redemptive, and dangerous.

"Here They Lie" by D.K. Burrows

Here They Lie | The Bloodstone Legacy #1 | ISBN 9781942239079 | Three Owl Press, 2015 | 1.5 out of 5 Points

One town. Three families. A secret that refuses to stay buried. Now the deadly legacy passes to a new generation. After her aunt’s untimely death, Reese Everett is summoned to Devil’s Vale, Georgia. Colton Waters is returning home for an entirely different reason. Their lives soon become entangled as a generations-old secret comes to light.

"Trial by Fire" by Josephine Angelini

Trial by Fire | Worldwalker #1 | ISBN 9781509809875 | MacMillan Children’s Books, 2014 | 2.5 out of 5 Points

This world is trying to kill Lily Proctor. Her life-threatening allergies keep her from enjoying experiences that others in her hometown of Salem take for granted, which is why she is determined to enjoy her first high school party with her best friend and longtime crush, Tristan. But after a humiliating incident in front of half her graduating class, Lily wishes she could just disappear. Suddenly, Lily is in a different Salem—one overrun with horrifying creatures and ruled by powerful women called Crucibles. Strongest and cruelest of them all is Lillian . . . Lily’s other self in this alternate universe. What makes Lily weak at home is what makes her extraordinary in New Salem. In this confusing world, Lily is torn between responsibilities she can’t hope to shoulder alone and a love she never expected.

"Memory" by Christoph Marzi

Memory | Stand-Alone | ISBN 9781408326510 | Orchard Books, 2013 | 4.5 out of 5 Points

This is a book about a ghost called Story. She’s lost in the city – alone, afraid and without her memory. Then she meets Jude, a boy who sees the dead. And he is the only one who can help her remember… Jude Finney has a special talent: He can see the dreams of the dead. Or ghosts, as you might call them. In Highgate Cemetery, in a world between reality and dreams, he meets the ghost of Story, a mysterious girl, who knows thousands of stories but can’t remember her own. But Jude is sure that Story is still alive somewhere in London. And that it’s time to find her, before it’s too late.