​By Piranha T.
 
Nalah is the daughter of a glassblower in a land where magic is forbidden, yet she possesses it. Her own magic gift is growing stronger, and she must struggle to control it. Because there’s not just people who don’t want her to have her power. There are those who want to use it for themselves.
 
Halan is the crown princess of a desert kingdom where your magic dictates who you are. She has none, a fact that she has always struggled to understand. The royal family has always had magic, and Halan will grow to wish for it more than ever. For although there’s a rebellion against her father slowly spreading around the castle, the rebels aren’t the only ones who want to take her life.
 
They are two girls, from two worlds. Yet Nalah and Halan’s lives are about to collide, and together they will uncover secrets which someone wants to hide forever.
 
Sisters of Glass is a fun, exciting fantasy with a plot full of unexpected twists and turns. Nalah and Halan are two excellent characters with understandable and sympathetic desires. I recommend Sisters of Glass to readers ages nine and up.

​By Piranha T.
 
Tal Graile-Rerem faces a difficult choice. Unless he finds a new Sunstone, he cannot travel to the spirit land, Aenir, and bind a Spiritshadow on the Day of Ascension. It has always been the way of things to do this, ever since a veil of shadow was created over the world, upheld by the seven towers of the castle. But his mother is sick, and his father has disappeared, leaving Tal to care for his two younger siblings. And it hardly helps that Tal has somehow attracted the dislike of a powerful man called Shadowmaster Sushin.
 
Before long, Tal’s quest reaches far beyond simply finding a Sunstone. He discovers a snow-wreathed land beneath the castle and there meets an Icecarl girl named Milla. They will learn secrets which have been hidden for centuries and discover the truth about an ancient war, a war to which not all have yet admitted defeat.
 
The Seventh Tower series was an exciting, action-filled fantasy saga filled with entertaining characters, unexpected twists, and unforgettable revelations. Each of the six books had something new and surprising. They would be enjoyed by readers of Septimus Heap by Angie Sage, Eragon by Christopher Paolini, and Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo. I’d highly recommend the Seventh Tower series to readers ages ten and up, because there were some darker and more violent parts.

By Super Kitty
 
“The Combination,” he muttered, “is a criminal organization. It’s a multi-headed serpent—a hydra, if you will—with an almost preternatural ability to remain invisible. Some might call it supernatural. You may see signs—the effects of their operations—but never the organization itself… And those who manage to unravel the mystery and get to the truth, well, they’re called mad. But when you know the truth, and everyone else believes the lie, who’s crazy then? Huh?”
 
Madman. Genius. Fool. Thirteen-year-old Darkus Knightly has heard all sorts of opinions about his father, the mysterious private eye Alan Knightly, but he has yet to form his own, after his father went into a coma four years ago. Instead, he’s stuck with his mom (who divorced and re-married shortly before Alan went unconscious), his stepfather (who cares about cars and not much else), and his stepsister Tilly (who’s just…weird. Very weird.) He’d give anything to get his father back—but when he does, it’s not exactly the way he planned. Instead, Darkus is pulled into a complex web of clever deceptions, following a set of cryptic evidence which seem to bear no connection to each other, yet may be the key to unlocking an ancient mystery which some might consider supernatural, some might consider a hoax, and a few—a very few—might consider a perfect first case.
 
I always enjoy a well-done mystery, so when I found Knightly and Son, I couldn’t resist getting it—and I wasn’t disappointed. The plot was full of twists and escapes, the characters were vivid and very original, and I particularly liked the writing style, which had a classic ‘private eye feel’ while still creating a cast which feels perfectly believable. I would recommend it for ages ten and up (although it isn’t a murder mystery, there are a few elements of the story that are more in that vein)—while that age range of readers would be fine, it is somewhat darker than most of the other mysteries we’ve reviewed here (including Mrs. Smith’s Spy School for Girls and Book Scavenger). However, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and would highly recommend it to readers who enjoy puzzles, action, and brilliant detectives. 

P.S. This is the first in a series, which I have been thoroughly enjoying. You can find out more about them at www.knightleyandson.com.