Embedded Research in New YA Novels

 Embedded research is information that is embedded so seamlessly into the story that it enriches the detail and realism in the story without seeming didactic. After introducing students to novels with embedded research, I would ask them to research a topic of interest and have them embed it in their own story. This month I am recommending three new novels that are enhanced by embedded research. Warrior Girl Unearthed by Angeline Boulley (The Firekeeper's Daughter) explores the issues of repatriation of Indigenous artifacts, as well as murdered Indigenous women.  One with the Waves by Verzna Andrews introduces a grieving teen who experiences the healing power of surfing. Gilded Mountain by Kate Manning is an adult crossover book about the unionization of miners in early 20th century Colorado as seen through the eyes of a teenage daughter of one of the miners. 

In Warrior Girl Unearthed Perry Firekeeper-Birch, a bi-racial (Black and Anishinaabe) teen whose twin Pauline is the achiever, hopes to spend her summer fishing and slacking off.  However, after trashing her aunt's car, she finds herself working with Pauline in the Sugar Island Ojibwe Tribe's summer internship program to pay for damages. She is assigned to work at the tribal museum where she discovers remains and artifacts from deceased Anishinaabe tribe members are being claimed by the local university.  Determined to return them to the tribe, she comes up with a heist plan and in doing so uncovers a mystery involving missing Indigenous women.  Always headstrong, Perry gets into trouble by acting before she thinks.  Adding first love, sexual harassment, and colorism issues to this thriller makes for an engaging and thought-provoking read.  The author, who is an enrolled member of the Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, includes a great deal of information about repatriation of cultural artifacts and human remains, as well as missing Indigenous women, both pressing issues for Native Americans.

One with the Waves is set in South California in the 1980s.  Following her father's death from cancer, Ellie Brzozowski's mom, a NYC gallery curator, sends her to live with her Aunt Jen and Uncle Charlie in California.  She doesn't fit in with the preppie girls at her new high school, who bully her and call her a beach rat.  Both avid surfers, Jen and Charlie foster her interest in surfing, which becomes her passion and her refuge.  Her magical encounters with dolphins, whales and sea lions, as well as other accomplished surfers who befriend her, aid in the healing process. When her mom arrives for the summer, Ellie recognizes her mom is an alcoholic and fears that she will force her to move back to NYC.  Ellie navigates the challenges at school and with her mother, employing the newfound strength and confidence she has developed through surfing.  The author, who is a "soul surfer mom," fills the novel with authentic details about surfing, beautifully capturing the solitude and healing power of being a one with the ocean. 

Gilded Mountain introduces teenage Sylvie Pelletier who moves from Vermont to Moonstone, Colorado, in the early 20th century, after her father Jacques loses his mining job over unionizing issues. She and her mother and brother join her father who is now mining marble in Colorado.  Leaving her family's shanty in Quarrytown, Sylvie takes a job in Moonstone with K.T. Redmond, a female socialist newspaper editor who champions the labor cause and is critical of the Padgett family who own the mine.  When at K.T's urging, Sylvie takes a job as secretary to "Countess" Inge Padgett,  she is exposed to their opulent lifestyle and deplorable labor practices, secretly reporting back to K.T. Meanwhile, Jacques and outside labor organizers attempt to unionize the miners with dire consequences.  Sylvie finds herself drawn to Jasper Padgett, the heir to the Padgett fortune and sympathetic to the Gradys, former slaves who are  now the Padgett's' servants but dream of starting a utopian Black community in Eastern Colorado.  Sylvie struggles to find her way amid conflicting loyalties toward the vastly differing worlds she is inhabits. Drawn from true stories of Colorado history, this is a coming-of-age tale infused with love and loss, as immigrants and robber barons develop the American West. 

New Young Adult Mysteries

 Mysteries are arguably the most popular genre in fiction. In teaching the mystery genre, analyzing the author's use of classic mystery techniques: clues, suspects, red herrings, foreshadowing, and cliff hangers among others, can help students understand why mysteries are such page turners. I am recommending five new young adult mysteries this month. I'll Stop the World by Lauren Thoman is a genre-bending mystery which finds the main character traveling back in time to solve his grandparents' murder. Marie Lu's new series opener Stars and Smoke is a spy novel which teams up a pop star and his bodyguard. Three Drops of Blood by Gretchen McNeil is a Hitchcock inspired murder mystery where the protagonist witnesses a murder while looking out the window, but no one will believe her. Royal Blood, the first in a new trilogy by Aimee Carter, introduces Evan Bright, the illegitimate daughter of the British King, who becomes a murder suspect when she goes to Britain to meet her family.   The Night in Question, the second in the Agathas series by Kathleen Glasgow and Liz Larson, is a closed circle mystery, where Alice and Iris attend a party on an island where a murder occurs. 

In I'll Stop the World Justin Warren travels back in time to find out who set the high school fire that killed his grandparents and to try to stop them.  Justin's life has always been overshadowed by his grandparents' deaths.  His orphaned mother is now an alcoholic, who had him out of wedlock. Stan, her live-in boyfriend, is obsessed with the murders. When Justin drives off a bridge one rainy night and lands in 1985 prior to his grandparents' deaths, he has an opportunity to change the trajectory of his life.  He meets Rose Yin and together they attempt to solve the murders before it's too late. This coming-of-age second chances novel was published by Mindy Kaling's new book studio. Time travel books are tough to pull off and this one with a story line that unfolds both over the course of one week and 38 years has an amazingly satisfyingly ending. 

Stars and Smoke finds a secret agent teaming up with a pop star to bring down a crime syndicate boss. Winter Young, a Chinese American superstar, is recruited by the Panacea Group, an espionage organization, when he is invited to play at crime boss Eli Morrison's daughter's birthday extravaganza.  Winter and Sydney Cossette, a Panacea spy who is posing as his bodyguard, must infiltrate Eli's inner circle and find out about a chemical weapon he is developing.  Although Sydney dismisses Winter as just another pretty face, she soon discovers there is more to him than meets the eye. Their backstories and budding romance are secondary to the action adventure which spy novel fans will love.

In Three Drops of Blood plus-size actress Kate Williams lands a co-starring role on Dirty Pretty Teens, opposite former Disney star Belle Masterson.  Just as Kate makes the decision to skip college and pursue acting, Belle gets caught in a compromising position with the 38-year-old showrunner, and the series is cancelled.  Kate's parents are determined to change Kates mind about college and start charging her for food and rent, so she takes an evening job, filing at her best friend Rowan's dad's law firm. One night she is looking out the window and witnesses a double murder. Nobody wants to believe her except Rowan's brother Ty, whose heart she broke the previous year.  Kate  struggles to be taken seriously, both as an actress looking for roles other than the fat funny sidekick, and as the witness to a serious crime.  Inspired by Hitchcock's Rear Window, this is a page turning thriller and sweet romance with an unconventional protagonist. 

The first book in the Royal Blood trilogy introduces Evan Bright, the illegitimate American daughter of Britain's King Alexander.  After being expelled from her ninth boarding school for setting it on fire, the king's personal secretary spirits her away to Windsor Castle, where her half sister and stepmother greet her with cold shoulders. Evan wants to go home to her mother Laura, who is schizophrenic, but because of the disease, Evan is not allowed to live with her.  Her 18th birthday, when she can make her own decisions, is only a month away. But during her time in England, Evan is assaulted by Jasper Cunningham who ends up murdered with Evan being the prime suspect She and the king's nephew Kit attempt to clear her name.   Readers who enjoy everything royal will find this a unique take on the genre.

The Night in Question, the second book in the Agathas mystery series, finds Alice Ogilvie and Iris Adams attending a Sadie Hawkins dance at Levy Castle, the site of one of Castle Cove's unsolved murders.  Mona Moody, a classic film star, died in the island castle almost a century ago. Alice, who is wandering around looking for clues about Mona's death, walks into a new crime scene.   Rebecca Kennedy is lying in a pool of blood, and Helen Park is standing over her holding a letter opener, the presumed murder weapon.  Although the police think it is an open and shut case, Alice and Iris suspect that Helen is innocent and set out to prove it. Quotes from Agatha Christie's mysteries, as well as fictious quotes from Mona Moody movies, open each chapter. This book comes out May 4, 2023. 

Regency Novels - An Improbable Season, Queen Bee, and To Swoon and To Spar

 With the popularity of the Bridgerton TV series,  Regency novels  have a newfound resurgence in young adult literature.  Regency romances are novels set during the period of the British Regency (1811-1820). They include highly developed sense of social standing for characters, with an emphasis on "manners" and class issues, as well as the emergence of modern social thought. Three new Regency novels are coming out in April. An Improbable Season by Rosalyn Eves finds three cousins heading to London for their first season with plans that are immediately derailed by scandal. Queen Bee by Amalie Howard reveals an elaborate revenge plot orchestrated by a young lady whose reputation has been ruined by her former best friend. To Swoon and To Spar by Martha Waters is the fourth in her Regency Vows series.  Lord Penvale, in order to regain his ancestral estate, agrees to marry his uncle's ward, who has designs of her own on the family lands.  

An Improbable Season, which is set in 1817 London, introduces sisters Thalia and Kalliope, who join their cousin Charis for their first season.  In alternating third-person narration Thalia's love of poetry, Kalli's of home and family and Charis's of natural science are revealed.  With all of society's rules and regulations for debutantes, scandal immediately erupts, and Kalli finds herself engaged to childhood friend Adam to avoid family ruin. Adam has always been in love with Thalia, who is looking for a more intellectual match, which she thinks she's found in James.  Meanwhile Charis, who wants to connect with the scientific community, finds a kindred soul in Mark, who delights in her quirky interest in bugs and birds.  Although all of the girls' initial plans are thwarted by unexpected predicaments, the three band together to navigate societal expectations and find unpredictable happy endings. 

The elaborate revenge plan in Queen Bee, complete with quotes from Italian diplomate Niccolò Machiavelli and allusions to chess moves, consumes Lady Ela Dalvi, as she plots to ruin her former best friend Poppy who slandered Ela with an allegation that destroyed her reputation.  Ela is sent to a boarding school in Cumbria where she is a penniless nobody, abandoned even by her father.  With the help of Church, a wealthy school benefactor whom Ela befriends and nurses back to health, she disguises herself a Lyra Whitley and returns to infiltrate London society.  Not only does she want to take down Poppy, but also Lord Keston Osborn, the Marques of Ridley, her childhood friend and first love, who did not support her during Poppy's sabotage.  She must seduce him to accomplish her revenge plan, but unresolved feelings get in the way.  Church warns her that revenge is complicated, and Ela/Lyra must decide what is more important - happiness or destruction of those who harmed her. 

To Swoon and To Spar, the fourth book in the Regency Vows series, focuses on Lord Peter Penvale, who lost his ancestral home when his parents died.  For years he has been unsuccessfully trying to buy it back from his uncle, when to his surprise the uncle shows up in London offering to sell it, if Penvale marries his uncle's beautiful ward Jane.  Marrying Jane seems a small price to pay to get his home back. Unbeknownst to Penvale, Jane drove the uncle to sell by making the estate seem haunted. With the help of the servants she continues the "haunting," hoping to send Penvale running back to London, but he is not so easily duped.  As they get to know each other, their sparring gets to be more good natured, and they find themselves in love. But will they get out of their own ways to let the romance bloom?  Characters from the previous Regency Vows books appear in this one as well, as they are Penvale's friends.  This series is for mature readers, as there are steamy romantic moments. 

Multi-Ethnic Cultural Identity

 Cultural identity is important to a person's sense of self and wellbeing.  Identifying with a particular culture gives people a sense of belonging and security, providing them with access to social networks which provide support and shared values and aspirations. Multi-ethnic teens struggle, not only with the usual coming-of-age problems, but also with the conflict between ethnicities with differing values. In Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win by Susan Azim Boyer the main character is of Iranian/Irish American descent. She is hoping to be accepted at NYU to major in journalism, but the 1979 hostage crisis in Iran is a major roadblock to her success. Impostor Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim by Patricia Park introduces a Korean/Argentine American teen also looking for acceptance to a prestigious East coast college. The Cartographers by Amy Zhang finds a Chinese American teen deferring her college acceptance in the hopes of dealing with mental health issues brought on by pressures to live up to expectations. 

In Jasmine Zumideh Needs a Win Jasmine Katie Zumideh dreams of interviewing rock stars for Creem magazine. She thinks the way to achieve this is by getting a journalism degree at NYU and in the process reinventing herself. In order to pad her application, she says she is class president, although she has just declared her candidacy. She assumes the election is a slam-dunk because she is running against ultra-conservative Gerald whose platform includes reinstating school uniforms and saying the pledge of allegiance. But then Americans are taken hostage in Iran and Jasmine's brother Ali becomes radicalized, vocally supporting the Iranian protesters.  Gerald villainizes Iran in his platform, while Jasmine tries to distance herself from her Persian heritage, which is not easy with Ali staging protests at school. Her campaign managers convince her she must take the low road to win, which includes making ridiculous campaign promises, going by the name Jasmine Katie and revealing that Gerald's dad is in prison. Amidst the campaign controversies, she is also dealing with separated parents, friends cheating on each other and expecting her to keep it secret, and academic pressures.  The historical setting and realistic cultural details, especially focusing on middle eastern food, make this a real win.

Impostor Syndrome and Other Confessions of Alejandra Kim introduces a girl whose Korean ancestors moved to Argentina before immigrating to America.  Ale is a scholarship student a a private prep school in NYC.  Grieving her father's recent death under suspicious circumstances, she dreams of being accepted at Whyder College in Maine, along with her best friend and supporter, Laurel. When a guest lecturer makes a racist comment about her mixed heritage making Ale a shoo-in for college acceptance, Laurel begins circulating a petition to get the man ejected. Ale, who just wants to get through the year without making waves, is horrified about the attention she is getting, including a bogus "diversity award."  As she begins to question Laurel's motivations, Ale must come to grips with the racism and classism that threaten her self-esteem. Told in three parts in a distinctive narrative voice, this coming-of-age tale explores multi-ethnicity, friendship and privilege with a blend of humor and seriousness that make it an entertaining and thought-provoking read.

In The Cartographers Chinese American Ocean Sun struggles with depression and anxiety.  Rather than confessing her mental health issues to her demanding mother, she secretly defers her acceptance to a prestigious NYC university and moves in with two girls, Georgie and Tashya, looking for a roommate in Brooklyn. Although they quickly become her friends, they are distracted by their growing attraction to each other and leave her on her own at a nightclub on the night that the city loses power.  She heads to the subway to make her way home, when the lights go out. She is rescued by a graffiti artist known as Constant Brave.  He takes her with him on a spray-painting journey where he graffities subway maps on bare walls and spouts mythological musing that enchant her.  They continue their relationship via google docs, discussing life, society and their dreams.  Ocean frequently questions whether the life she is living is really a waking death.  Their poetic philosophical communications shed light on the desperation of anxiety and living up to others' expectations. Although Ocean sees him occasionally, most of their relationship is conducted online. All of the characters are seeking to map out their lives. listening to their own hearts. 

New YA Books for 2023

 The latest revision of my book What's New in Young Adult Novels? and Ideas for Classroom Use is now available.  Just click on the book icon in the upper right corner of my blog and it will take you to Lulu.com where you can purchase this book.  I would like to take this opportunity to thank NetGalley for providing ARCs of many of the new young adult novels that I review. Four new books that are coming out at the beginning of 2023, I categorize as candy bar books.  These are books that are fun reads about fairly superficial issues such as boyfriend/girlfriend problems, strict parents, or cliques/popularity issues. Frequently, they are told in first person and the voice is very characteristic of how teenagers speak.   Begin Again by Emma Lord finds Andie Rose, an aspiring advice columnist, transferring to her dream college, only to find her boyfriend has transferred to her community college to be with her.  As she navigates the struggles of a long distance relationship, she blossoms in her new role providing anonymous advice on a pirate radio station. The Love Match by Priyanka Taslim introduces Zahra Khan, who defers college after her father dies and begins working at a Pakistani tea shop. As her mother tries to find her a suitable match, Zahra finds herself attracted to a co-worker, a recent immigrant from Bangladesh.  The Wrong Kind of Weird by James Ramos explores the conflict between geek enthusiasm and the need to conform, as Cameron, a member of Geeks and Nerds United has a secret fling with his school's popular It-Girl. French Kissing in New York by Anne-Sophie Jouhanneau is a fun romp with an aspiring French chef, who is pursuing a NYC restaurant career, as well as a romance with a NYC boy she met in Paris.  After a magical night together, they agree to meet at midnight in Times Square one year later, ala An Affair to Remember.

Begin Again introduces Andie Rose, who hopes to study psychology at Blue Ridge State, where her deceased mother pioneered the college's pirate radio station. When she is rejected, she enrolls at Little Fells Community College, while Connor, her boyfriend, goes to Blue Ridge.  In a comedy of errors, she gets the opportunity to transfer, only to learn that Connor transferred to Little Fells so they could be together.  As they struggle to maintain a long-distance relationship, Andie finds herself blossoming when she gets the chance to headline the radio's anonymous advice program. As she navigates her problems, including a difficult statistics class and a demoralizing emotional mishap, she finds herself seeking out her surly RA, Milo Flynn, who always seems to appear when she needs help.  Although the romantic triangle is a familiar trope, the humor and sympathetic heroine make this a satisfying read. 

In The Love Match Zahra Khan, an aspiring author, defers her acceptance to Columbia University, when her father's death puts the family in financial straits.  She takes a job at a Pakistani tea shop Chai Ho, as her mother plots to match her with a suitable Bangladeshi boy, Harun Emon.  Though she and Harun have no interest in each other, they agree to fake-date to placate their families.  Meanwhile, Zahra begins secretly dating a co-worker, Nayim Aktar, a recent arrival from Bangladesh.  But as her romance with Nayim heats up, she begins to find herself growing closer to Harun.  The author authentically explores diverse South Asian Muslim identities, describing genuine practices that she experienced growing up in a Bangladeshi community in New Jersey.  In this delightful Bengali Natok (drama) the question looms, "Will Zahra choose obligation or herself?"

The Wrong Kind of Weird finds Cameron Carson and his best friends members of a school club known as Geeks and Nerd United (GANU). After a clandestine summer romance with coffee shop co-worker Karla Ortega, the schools' queen bee, she and Cam agree to keep their hookups secret, while working together on the school's production of Pride and Prejudice.  When he begins bonding over similar geeky interests with Mackenzie Briggs, his former nemesis and newest member of GANU, he wonders if he should end his dalliance with Karla, who continues to snub him in public.  Although Cam's romantic entanglements are the focus of the story, the diverse cast of characters (black, Latine, queer, straight) make this an exploration of identity and learning to accept people across the divide of school cliques. The author, a self-proclaimed geek, realistically portrays geek enthusiasm conflicting with the need to fit in. 

In French Kissing in New York Margot, an aspiring chef from a small French town, meets Zach, a tourist from NYC and enjoys a magical night of romance in Paris. Without exchanging contact information, they agree to meet a year later in Times Square at midnight, believing they are "meant to be."  Margot is heading there after graduation to pursue her restaurant dreams.  Her father lives in NYC and with her mother's help she lands a job at her dream restaurant. Unfortunately, her first day on the job finds her washing dishes when she is supposed to be meeting Zach.  When she arrives late at Times Square, he is nowhere to be found. Heartbroken, Margot enlists the help of Ben, a line cook at the restaurant, to find Zach.  Together, they explore NYC, seeing the sites and sampling delectable cuisine, as they follow clues from her night with Zach.  This mash-up of the films An Affair to Remember and Serendipity is an authentic look at restaurant life, as well as a fun romp with a hopeless romantic, who is clueless when it comes to love. 

Immigrant Issues: We Are All We Have, All My Rage, and Hollow Fires

 Immigration issues became even more complicated when the Zero Tolerance Policy was enacted in 2018. Asylum seekers now face criminal prosecution, regardless of their situation in the country they are fleeing.  Although the border issues with Mexico dominate the news, Muslim families who immigrate face the additional problem of being suspected of being terrorists by racists in their community.  Three terrific new books illustrate the traumas immigrants and their children face.  We Are All We Have by Marina Budhos follows the problems two Pakistani kids face after their widowed mother is arrested by ICE.  All My Rage, the 2022 National Book Award winner by Sabaa Tahir, finds two Pakistani American teens struggling to navigate grief, family abuse and poverty as the children of immigrants in Southern California.  Hollow Fires by Samira Ahmed tackles the issues of Islamaphobia and white supremacy in a story about an aspiring journalist who is trying to solve the mystery of a Muslim boy's disappearance after he was accused of being a terrorist. 

We Are All We Have takes place in 2019 Brooklyn. It opens with  immigrant Rania Hassan looking forward to heading to Hunter College after a relaxing summer vacation.  But an overnight ICE raid leads to her mother's arrest, even though Rania, her 8-year-old brother Kamal and their mother applied for political asylum after her journalist father disappeared in Pakistan.  Rania and Kamal are moved to a shelter where they meet Carlos, an undocumented teen who escaped a gang threat in Mexico.  After the Zero Tolerance policy was implemented by the Department of Justice, these asylum seekers now face prosecution.  The three decide to hit the road to find Rania's estranged uncle who could become their guardian.  They end up in a temporary sanctuary synagogue, where they must decide the next step in their search for safe haven.  This poignant story effectively illustrates how US immigration policies separate families and leave vulnerable children to fend for themselves.  Ghazals, Indian poetry which aspiring literature major Rania pens, beautifully express her anguish, as she and the boys fight to stay in the US.

In All My Rage two Pakistani American teens living in the California desert town of Juniper struggle as family crises threaten to derail their dreams.  Salahudin finds himself head of his family when his mother dies and his father disappears into alcoholism, as Sal tries to save the rundown motel they own. For years Noor was his best friend, but Sal distances himself from Noor when she declares her love for him.  She lives with an abusive uncle who saved her and brought her to America, when her home was destroyed in a Pakistani earthquake. Although she feels beholden to him, she wants to go to college, but her uncle insists she will work in his liquor store after high school. She, too, is grieving Sal's mother's death, as she was Noor's defender. Once supportive of one another, Sal and Noor find their way back to each other only to be torn apart again when he makes a desperate choice to pay off family debts.  Through alternating perspectives, the story navigates a variety of themes, including Islamaphobia, found family, abuse and trauma.  Songs referenced throughout the book add to this emotional journey of two marginalized teens. ("Despite all my rage, I'm still just a rat in a cage."  Smashing Pumpkins) 

Hollow Fires, a dual exploration of Islamaphobia and white supremacy, introduces high school journalist Safira, who is investigating several hate crimes in search of a connection.  A cyber-attack substituting a racist rant for her column in the school newspaper, vandalism of her mosque and her parents' Indian food store, and the disappearance of Jawad Ali, a 14-year-old student falsely accused of being a suicide bomber, seem too coincidental to be unrelated.  Safira begins to suspect a fellow classmate when he makes a Nietzsche-inspired comment in class, which alerts her to the Nietzsche quotes appearing in the rant, as well as the graffiti.  Meanwhile, Jawad's ghost is attempting to lead Safira toward his corpse, at the same time reflecting on his unwarranted school suspension for making a cosplay costume with a jet pack that a teacher mistakes for a bomb.  Even though his name is cleared, Jawad, now known as "bomb boy," continues to be harassed.  Readers are introduced to statements at the beginning of each chapter in the form of facts, truth and lies about racism, "ghost skins" (a white supremacist who refrains from openly displaying their racist beliefs for the purpose of blending into wider society and surreptitiously furthering their agenda), the role social media plays in fostering extremists agendas and more.  This impassioned murder mystery based on a true story, will leave readers pondering the impact the media has on impressionable youth, as well as the struggles immigrant families and their children face in our country. 

New YA Fantasy - Princess of Souls, A Thousand Heartbeats, and Crossed

 Young adult fantasy frequently includes an element of romance where the heroine is aided by her true love to overcome adversity. Together they defeat the evil entities that threaten them.  Princess of Souls by Alexandra Christo finds Selestra, a witch who prophesies peoples' deaths, rescued from imprisonment in a tower by Nox whose death in inextricably tied to her own. A Thousand Heartbeats by Kiera Cass is a star crossed love story where the princess is abducted by a soldier from an enemy kingdom, who ultimately falls in love with her. They join forces to bring a peaceful solution to the conflict between the two kingdoms.  Crossed by Lynn Rush is the first in a trilogy about an angel who falls to earth and the reclusive artist who comes to her aid to help her escape people who are pursuing her. 

In Princess of Souls, a reimagining of the fairytale Rapunzel, Selestra Somniatis spends her days imprisoned in a tower on Floating Mountain.  She is destined to replace her mother as the king's witch, who prophesies deaths in the Festival of Predictions.  Participants must survive three threats to their lives during a fortnight.  The first threat is predicted by the king's witch, giving the person a chance to avoid death.  If they die, which most do, their soul will be consumed by King Seryth to extend his immortality.  If they live, a wish will be granted, and they are given the opportunity to attempt to survive the remaining fatal encounters.  Seryth will cede his immortality to anyone who succeeds, which, of course, no one does.  Enter Nox Laederic, a Last Army soldier who hopes to kill Seryth in revenge for his father's murder.  Selestra, who can prophesy a person's death by merely touching them, is allowed to practice on Nox.  She foresees that Nox's death is intertwined with her own.  She convinces him to help her escape to an island safe from Seryth's rule, where a fabled sword is hidden that must be used to end Seryth's life.  Needless-to-say the escape is fraught with danger and adventure. Nox and Selestra's witty banter adds to this slow-burning romance. 

A Thousand Heartbeats, a Romeo and Juliet-esque romance, finds Annika, the princess of Kadier betrothed to her scheming cousin Nicholas for political gain.  When they leave the castle to tour the kingdom celebrating their engagement, she is kidnapped by Lennox, a Dahrainian soldier who believes that the Kaderian throne belongs to his family. Annika is dismayed to find that the stories of her family being chosen by the six clans to rule is a myth. Lennox tells her that when his father was executed for attempting to reclaim the throne, her mother was abducted and murdered in retaliation. Annika escapes her imprisonment in a dungeon only to be recaptured by Lennox, who then lets her go. Her father King Theron arranges a meeting on a nearby island with the Dahrainian leader Kawan to negotiate a truce. Annika is appalled to find out he is actually planning an ambush. In the ensuing battle Annika and Lennox face off in a sword fight that ends when a hurricane hits land and they end up sheltering together in a cave where they share their secrets and fall in love. When the storm subsides, they leave the cave and find that the survivors have retreated, and Annika's father and brother have been gravely injured.  Annika, who has been declared acting regent, wants to pursue peace and find out the truth about who should actually be King of Kadier.  In alternating chapters from Annka and Lennox's points of view, the action-packed story unfolds, filled with palace intrigue, conflicting histories and steamy romance.

Crossed, the first book in a new paranormal/fantasy trilogy, introduces Trinity Dawkins, who crosses between two parallel realms and lands in Berg, Minnesota, where she is rescued by reclusive artist Jayden Brown.  At first Trinity is blind and has amnesia, but she slowly regains her sight and memory. Jayden is amused by her unfamiliarity with life on earth and voracious appetite, but when she sprouts wings, he is mystified. Their mutual attraction becomes an unbreakable bond, when Jayden touches a gold bracelet she wears and a brand is transferred onto his wrist.  Then enemies from her world back home appear on Earth.  Jayden does everything he can to protect the mysterious angel who has become his muse. Ultimately, they find other angels on Earth who help them in their quest to defeat Trinity's enemies and seal the opening between realms. The sequels Winged (January 23) and Clipped (May 17) will be released in 2023.