[REVIEW] The Haunting of Sunshine Girl

title: The Haunting of Sunshine Girl (The Haunting of Sunshine Girl #1)

author: Paige McKenzie, Alyssa B. Sheinmel 
genre: young adult, paranormal
published: March 24th 2015 by Hachette Books

my copy: eGalley, 411 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 2 / 5 stars
goodreads

Something freaky's going on with Sunshine's new house... there's the chill that wraps itself around her bones, the giggling she can hear in the dead of night, and then the strange shadows that lurk in her photographs. But the more weird stuff that happens, the less her mom believes her. Sunshine's always had a quirky affiliation with the past, but this time, history is getting much too close for comfort...

If there is something, or someone, haunting her house, what do they want? And what will they do if Sunshine can't help them?

As things become more frightening and dangerous, and the giggles she hears turn to sobs and screams, Sunshine has no choice but to accept what she is, face the test before her and save her mother from a fate worse than death.

The first in a frighteningly good new series based on the popular YouTube sensation The Haunting of Sunshine Girl Network, created by Paige McKenzie.

could be an interesting series.

I have ZERO expectations when I downloaded this book YEARS! Somehow, I don't even know why I downloaded this since I'm not even a fan of paranormal stuff in books. lmao.

[REVIEW] Hourglass

title: Hourglass (Evernight #3)

author: Claudia Gray
genre: young adult, paranormal
published: July 1st 2010 by HarperTeen (first published March 15th 2010)
my copy: paperback, 329 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 3 / 5 stars
goodreads

Bianca will risk everything to be with Lucas.

After escaping from Evernight, the vampire boarding school where they met, Bianca and Lucas seek refuge with Black Cross, an elite group of vampire hunters. Bianca must hide her supernatural heritage or risk certain death at its hands. But when Black Cross captures her friend--the vampire Balthazar--all her secrets threaten to come out.

Soon, Bianca and Lucas are on the run, pursued not only by Black Cross, but by the powerful vampires of Evernight. Yet no matter how far they run, Bianca can't escape her destiny. Bianca and Lucas have always believed their love could survive anything--but can it survive what's to come?

the best book in this disappointing series.

This is a reread and another overdue review. Just found this review I wrote a year back.

[REVIEW] The Weight of Zero

title: The Weight of Zero

author: Karen Fortunati

genre: young adult, contemporary
published: October 11th 2016 by Delacorte Press
my copy: hardcover, 400 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 4 / 5 stars
goodreads

Seventeen-year-old Catherine Pulaski knows Zero is coming for her. Zero, the devastating depression born of Catherine’s bipolar disorder, almost triumphed once; that was her first suicide attempt. 

Being bipolar is forever. It never goes away. The med du jour might work right now, but Zero will be back for her. It’s only a matter of time. 

And so, in an old ballet-shoe box, Catherine stockpiles medications, preparing to take her own life before Zero can inflict its living death on her again. Before she goes, though, she starts a short bucket list. 

The bucket list, the support of her family, new friends, and a new course of treatment all begin to lessen Catherine’s sense of isolation. The problem is, her plan is already in place, and has been for so long that she might not be able to see a future beyond it. 

This is a story of loss and grief and hope, and how some of the many shapes of love—maternal, romantic, and platonic—affect a young woman’s struggle with mental illness and the stigma of treatment.

Catherine is a main character you'll love and wish good things for.

This has been on my tbr since I saw it waaaay back in 2016. Without reading the synopsis and reviews about it, I honestly thought it has something to do with eating disorder or being too light on weight (which I think I would relate to) but oh hecc I was wrong. I checked the synopsis eventually and yeah, I'm still interested especially since I don't think I've read anything that involves bipolar disorder.

[REVIEW] Unwind

title: Unwind (Unwind Dystology #1)

author: Neal Shusterman
genre: young adult, science fiction, dystopia
published: June 2nd 2009 by Simon & Schuster BfYR (first published November 6th 2007)
my copy: paperback, 335 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 5 / 5 stars
goodreads

Connor, Risa, and Lev are running for their lives. 

The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape and to survive.

loved it then. still love it now.

This is a reread. (w o w. I've been rereading so much this year it's w i l d).

[REVIEW] Worlds of Ink and Shadow

title: Worlds of Ink and Shadow
author: Lena Coakley
genre: young adult, fantasy
published: March 6th 2018 by Harry N. Abrams (first published January 5th 2016)
my copy: paperback, 352 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 4 / 5 stars
goodreads

Charlotte, Branwell, Emily, and Anne. The Brontë siblings have always been inseparable. After all, nothing can bond four siblings quite like life in an isolated parsonage out on the moors. Their vivid imaginations lend them escape from their strict upbringing, transporting them into the glittering, high society world of Verdopolis, literally. The children realize that crossing over comes at a steep price, but when they try to stop, their creations haunt them. They vow to travel to Verdopolis one more time to destroy it—and risk being trapped there forever. Gorgeously written and meticulously researched, Worlds of Ink and Shadow brings to life the upbringing of one of history’s most celebrated literary families.

recommended if you like the Brontës.

I cannot believe I was scared to read this because I blindly love the Brontë siblings (this also convinced me to really read their books soon!! Because I've only ever read Emily's works).

[REVIEW] Stargazer

title: Stargazer (Evernight #2)
author: Claudia Gray
genre: young adult, paranormal
published: February 9th 2010 by HarperTeen (first published March 24th 2009)
my copy: paperback, 329 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 2.5 / 5 stars
goodreads

The vampire in me was closer to the surface . . .

Bianca, born to two vampires, has always been told her destiny is to become one. But she has fallen in love with Lucas, a vampire hunter who infiltrated Evernight Academy, the exclusive vampire boarding school she attends. Bianca will do anything to be with Lucas, even if it means lying to the powerful vampires of Evernight.

Her deceit leads her to dig deep into the mysteries of the school, and Bianca discovers that even those she trusts the most have their own dark secrets. When a ghostly force begins attacking Evernight—and targeting Bianca—she learns a shocking truth about her past that will forever change her future.

that got a bit better.

This is a reread.

Okay I finished the first book. Got through with this one as quick as the first one. Not that I enjoyed it or anything. I still didn't love it. Still a cringe-fest! But it did get a bit better than the first one.

[REVEW] Evernight

title: Evernight (Evernight #1)
author: Claudia Gray
genre: young adult, paranormal
published: February 10th 2009 by HarperTeen (first published May 27th 2008)
my copy: paperback, 327 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 2 / 5 stars
goodreads

Bianca wants to escape.

At the eerily Gothic Evernight Academy, the other students are sleek, smart, and almost predatory. Bianca knows she doesn't fit in. 

When she meets handsome, brooding Lucas he warns her to be careful--even when it comes to caring about him. But the connection between them can't be denied. Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart...and to make Bianca question everything she's ever believed.

that was bad.

This is a reread.

This book was gifted to me when I was 18-yrs old by a close friend (who I don't talk to anymore because distance and the lack of common interest does that). I read it then just for the heck of it and I reread it now just for the heck of it. But generally I just wanted to finish this series just to get it over with.

[REVIEW] Bookishly Ever After

title: Bookishly Ever After (Ever After #1)
author: Isabel Bandeira
genre: young adult, contemporary
published: January 12th 2016 by Spencer Hill Press
my copy: eGalley, 250 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 3.5 / 5 stars
goodreads

In a perfect world, sixteen-year-old Phoebe Martins' life would be a book. Preferably one filled with magic and a hot paranormal love interest. Unfortunately, her life probably wouldn't even qualify for a quiet contemporary.

Everything changes when Phoebe learns that Dev, the hottest guy in the clarinet section, might actually have a crush on her. So, Phoebe turns to the heroines in her favorite books for inspiration, but becoming as awesome as her book characters isn't as easy as it sounds. When another girl nets Dev for herself right out from under Phoebe's nose, she's crushed.

And, to up the suckage, she gets assigned as his co-counselor at a sixth grade camp and has to spend an entire week tied to the hip with the one guy on the planet she wanted to avoid. Can she make it through the potential danger of romantic bonfires and nature walks, or will her counseling career end in emotional disaster? Can she ever go back to her happy world of fictional boys after falling for the real thing?

bookishly cringe-y but adorable.

I saw this on Netgalley and ended up 'wishing' for the book. It was later became available and I got access. I actually forgot about it by then but I still got a bit excited because books about bookish people! Gotta love that! Took me a while to finally get around this though (because life) but here we are!

[REVIEW] Divergent

title: Divergent (Divergent #1)
author: Veronica Roth
genre: young adult, science fiction, dystopia
published: February 28, 2012 by Katherine Tegen Books (first published April 25, 2011)
my copy: trade paperback, 487 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 4 / 5 stars
goodreads

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself. 

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are—and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

an oldie but goodie.

This is a reread.

I first read this waaaay back in 2014 when dystopian series were a thing and all we think about is this teenage chick who'll get stuck in an eternal love triangle and eventually save the day. And oh how I miss those days. I never went off the dystopian train though even though trends have changed.

I picked this up because I wanted to finally finish the series. I've had Allegiant since 2014 (or 2015. I'm not sure at this point) and haven't touched it and have no interest in it since coming across that major spoiler. But here I am rereading the first two books to finally get through with this series. AND even though it's a reread, even though I still know exactly how this will go, and even though I know that the second book will suck, I read it and enjoyed it 😊

[REVIEW] Be Not Far from Me

title: Be Not Far from Me
author: Mindy McGinnis
narrator: Brittany Pressley
genre: young adult, contemporary
published: March 3rd 2020 by HarperAudio
my copy: audiobook, 7 hrs  48 mins
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 4.5 / 5 stars
goodreads

The world is not tame. 

Ashley knows this truth deep in her bones, more at home with trees overhead than a roof. So when she goes hiking in the Smokies with her friends for a night of partying, the falling dark and creaking trees are second nature to her. But people are not tame either. And when Ashley catches her boyfriend with another girl, drunken rage sends her running into the night, stopped only by a nasty fall into a ravine. Morning brings the realization that she's alone - and far off trail. Lost in undisturbed forest and with nothing but the clothes on her back, Ashley must figure out how to survive despite the red streak of infection creeping up her leg.

The world is not tame.

I've been meaning to read a Mindy McGinnis book (because I've been reading good things about her books)!! So when I got a chance to read it during the Scribd Free Reads period, I just had to try one!!

[REVIEW] Love & Gelato

title: Love Gelato (Love & Gelato #1)
author: Jenna Evans Welch
narrator: Rebekkah Ross
genre: young adult, romance
published: August 16, 2016 by Simon & Schuster Audio
my copy: audiobook, 8 hrs 17 mins
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Fully Booked
rating: 4 / 5 stars
goodreads

A summer in Italy turns into a road trip across Tuscany in this sweeping debut novel filled with romance, mystery, and adventure. 

Lina is spending the summer in Tuscany, but she isn’t in the mood for Italy’s famous sunshine and fairy-tale landscape. She’s only there because it was her mother’s dying wish that she get to know her father. But what kind of father isn’t around for sixteen years? All Lina wants to do is get back home. 

But then Lina is given a journal that her mom had kept when she lived in Italy. Suddenly Lina’s uncovering a magical world of secret romances, art, and hidden bakeries. A world that inspires Lina, along with the ever-so-charming Ren, to follow in her mother’s footsteps and unearth a secret that has been kept for far too long. It’s a secret that will change everything Lina knew about her mother, her father—and even herself. 

People come to Italy for love and gelato, someone tells her, but sometimes they discover much more. 

Kirkus Reviews called Love & Gelato “a sure bet for fans of romance fiction,” while VOYA said readers “will find it difficult to put this book down.” Readers are about to discover a new place, a new romance, and a new talent.

fun read but not enough Gelato

I read this because Scribd Free Reads had me picking up books I'm not entirely sure I'll love. But who says no to free YA chick-lit romance? I've been eyeing this one since it came out but I've never been one to read YA contemporaries because I think I already outgrew them. But I enjoyed it this one 😊

[MINI REVIEWS] the Neal Shusterman Edition

title: Everlost (Skinjacker #1)
author: Neal Shusterman
genre: young adult, paranormal
published: November 6, 2007 by Simon Pulse (first published October 1, 2006)
my copy: massmarket paperback, 384 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 4 / 5 stars
goodreads

Nick and Allie don't survive the car accident...but their souls don't exactly get where they're supposed to get either. Instead, they're caught halfway between life and death, in a sort of limbo known as Everlost: a shadow of the living world, filled with all the things and places that no longer exist. It's a magical yet dangerous place where bands of lost children run wild and anyone who stands in the same place too long sinks to the center of the Earth. 

When they find Mary, the self-proclaimed queen of lost kids, Nick feels like he's found a home. But Allie isn't satisfied spending eternity between worlds. Against all warnings, Allie begins learning the "Criminal Art" of haunting and ventures into dangerous territory, where a monster called the McGill threatens all the souls of Everlost. 

In this imaginative novel, Neal Shusterman explores questions of life, death, and what just might lie in between.

[REVIEW] A Pack of Blood and Lies

title: A Pack of Blood and Lies (The Boulder Wolves #1)
author: Olivia Wildenstein
genre: young adult, supernatural
published: April 18, 2019 by Twilight Press
format: ebook, 350 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 3 / 5 stars
goodreads

The primal rule of winning: don’t fall in love with the contender.  

Three months shy of her eighteenth birthday, Ness is forced to return to Colorado. Even though it’s been six years, and the wolves of her all-male pack don’t recognize her, she recognizes them. People who shun others because of their gender are hard to forget. 

Especially Liam Kolane—son of Heath, the crudest and cruelest Alpha to have ruled the Boulder Pack. Liam is as handsome as he is infuriating, as kind as he is punishing, and he makes Ness’s traitorous heart race, which isn’t good. After all, he’s a Kolane. Like father like son, right? 

When Heath dies, Liam vies to become the new Alpha and no one dares challenge him. 

Except Ness. 

Thus begins a treacherous game. 

The rules: winner takes all…including loser’s life. 

Fans of Kresley Cole and Cassandra Clare will devour A PACK OF BLOOD AND LIES.

Your usual supernatural romance.

I don't read much YA books these days. Heck, I don't even read a lot of supernatural/paranormal romance books. I picked this up generally because of the author whose writing I can devour in just a few days. Olivia Wildenstein's writing is always a quick read but this one just felt 'eh' for me.

[REVIEW] Bad Girls with Perfect Faces

title: Bad Girls with Perfect Faces
author: Lynn Weingarten
genre: young adult, thriller
published: October 31, 2017 by Simon Pulse
format: Hardcover, 320 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 4 / 5 stars
goodreads

When I looked up, his smile was wide and real. “Ready?” he said. 

I faked a smile back. I had gotten so good at faking things. 

I thought: You brought this on yourself, Sasha. You will have to pretend forever now.
He squeezed my hand again. He couldn’t begin to imagine what this actually was. He had no idea what I’d done. What any of us had.  

When Sasha’s best friend Xavier gets back together with his cheating ex, Ivy, Sasha knows she needs to protect him. So she poses as a guy online to lure Ivy away. 

But Sasha’s plan goes sickeningly wrong. And she soon learns to be careful of who you pretend to be because you might be surprised by who you become…

the question is 'how far?'

I've been hoping to read this since it first came out. The cover easily caught my attention but I wasn't so hyped for this because I wasn't reading my YA lately. But this bored me found out that it was a free read at Riveted Lit. So I grabbed the chance.

[REVIEW] Dumplin'

title: Dumplin'
author: Julie Murphy
genre: young adult, contemporary
published: September 15, 2015 by Balzer + Bray
format: hardcover, 384 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 3 / 5 stars
goodreads

Self-proclaimed fat girl 

Willowdean Dickson (dubbed “Dumplin’” by her former beauty queen mom) has always been at home in her own skin. Her thoughts on having the ultimate bikini body? Put a bikini on your body. With her all-American beauty best friend, Ellen, by her side, things have always worked…until Will takes a job at Harpy’s, the local fast-food joint. There she meets Private School Bo, a hot former jock. Will isn’t surprised to find herself attracted to Bo. But she is surprised when he seems to like her back. 

Instead of finding new heights of self-assurance in her relationship with Bo, Will starts to doubt herself. So she sets out to take back her confidence by doing the most horrifying thing she can imagine: entering the Miss Clover City beauty pageant—along with several other unlikely candidates—to show the world that she deserves to be up there as much as any twiggy girl does. Along the way, she’ll shock the hell out of Clover City—and maybe herself most of all. 

With starry Texas nights, red candy suckers, Dolly Parton songs, and a wildly unforgettable heroine—Dumplin’ is guaranteed to steal your heart.

Willowdean is definitely a protagonist worth rooting for!

The only book I read that deals with the fat-girl representation was Sugar and I absolutely LOVE that book. It's got great character development, the background story you'll expect from a book about a fat girl, and a really well developed romance which I LOVED! And it is one of my fave books.

I dive into Dumplin' somehow, thinking about that. Thinking that maybe they'll have similarities.

And ohmy, I was stand corrected.

[REVIEW] Between Shades of Gray (audio)

title: Between Shades of Gray
author: Ruta Sepetys; Emily Klein (narrator)
genre: young adult, historical fiction
published: March 22, 2011 by Penguin Audio
format: audio, 7 hours and 47 minutes
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
audiobook: Audible | Overdrive | Publisher 
rating: 5 / 5 stars
goodreads

Lithuania, June 1941: Fifteen-year-old Lina is preparing for art school and looking forward to summer. In the dark of night there is a knock at the door and life is forever changed. Soviet secret police arrest Lina, her mother, and her younger brother, tearing their family apart. The three are hauled from their home and thrown into cattle cars, where they soon discover their destination: Siberia. Separated from her father, Lina embeds clues in her drawings and secretly passes them along, hoping they will reach her father's prison camp. In this dramatic and moving story, Lina desperately fights for her life and the lives of those around her. But will love be enough to keep her alive?

Heartbreaking. Unforgettable. Enlightening.

I read Between Shades of Gray years ago. I LOVED it. It's my favorite historical fiction. It's heartbreaking and really brings out a story many do not know about. So when I saw AudioFile had it up for free download as part of SYNC, AudioFile's free summer audiobook program for teens 13+, I HAD to grab it.

[REVIEW] Dreamology

title: Dreamology
author: Lucy Keating
genre: young adult, contemporary, science fiction, romance
published: March 14, 2017 by HarperTeen (first published April 12, 2016)
format: paperback, 352 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Fully Booked
rating: 1.5 / 5 stars
goodreads

Love is a dream. Then you wake up. 

For as long as Alice can remember, she dreamed of Max. Max is the boy her dreams--and only her dreams. Until the morning she finds him sitting next to her in class, very much alive. 

As Alice and Max get to know each other all over again, Alice learns that real Max is nothing like Dream max. He's complicated and stubborn and has a whole life Alice isn't part of. 

When their dream life starts interfering with their waking one, Alice and Max have to find a way to make the dreaming stop. But when you fall in love in your dreams, can reality ever be enough?

Flatly disappointed.

I'd really like to say that it's a not-you-it's-me case but I'd be lying. This book has a unique premise which really intrigued me. I was so eager to read it when it was released but after reading it, I was flatly disappointed.

[REVIEW] When Dimple Met Rishi

title: When Dimple Met Rishi
author: Sandhya Menon
genre: young adult, contemporary, romance
published: July 13, 2017 by Simon Pulse
format: export paperback, 384 pages
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Fully Booked
rating: 3.5 / 5 stars
goodreads

Dimple Shah has it all figured out. With graduation behind her, she's more than ready for a break from her family--and from Mamma's inexplicable obsession with her finding the "Ideal Indian Husband." Ugh. Dimple knows they must respect her principles on some level, though. If they truly believed she needed a husband right now, they wouldn't have paid for her to attend a summer program for aspiring web developers... right?

Rishi Patel is a hopeless romantic. So when his parents tell him that he and his future wife will be attending the same summer program--wherein he'll have to woo her--he's totally on board. Because as silly as it sounds to most people in his life, Rishi wants to be arranged, believes in the power of tradition, stability, and being a part of something much bigger than himself. 

The Shahs and Patels didn't mean to start turning the wheels on this "suggested arrangement" so early in their children's lives, but when they noticed them both gravitating toward the same summer program they figured, Why not? 

Dimple and Rishi may think they have each other figured out. But when opposites clash, love works hard to prove itself in the most unexpected ways. 

well that was an adorable read 💖

I was in a slump when I picked this up. I've been going through books and I thought that maybe reading a contemporary would help me out. Contemporaries are light reads and would really be great for relaxing and taking mind off things. And this worked! This helped me out and this was a really quick and adorable read (although I also had some issues with it).

[TOUR] Rowan Wood Legends

full tour schedule can be found at: YA Bound Book Tours

title: Rowan Wood Legends (the Lost Clan #2)
author: Olivia Wildenstein
genre: young adult, fantasy
publish: August 14, 2017
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 4 / 5 stars
goodreads

SOME LEGENDS ARE BETTER LEFT UNTOLD. 

I wasn’t the sort of girl who believed in fairytales, let alone tales about faeries. But that changed the day Faeries came to my small town and Hunters rose from their graves.  

On that fateful day, I received a book, a peculiar collection of myths and legends. Turns out it was so much more than stories. And just as I was on the verge of unlocking its secrets, it was stolen from me by someone I called a friend.

Now, I don’t know whom I can turn to, whom I can trust. All I know is that there are two sides, and I am straddling the great divide because I am both Faerie and Hunter. And although I swore I would never choose, I am slowly falling for one of those sides… 

Fans of Karen Marie Moning's Fever series will adore Wildenstein's Lost Clan series.  

i'm ready for the next book!

I hope you still remember my fangirling review of Rose Petal Graves. You don't? You didn't read it? Let me give you a brief rundown: (1) fictional Native tribe + faeries, (2) OMG that straightforward heroine that I sympathize to, (3) that romance (OMG that romance! not my usual thing but i still fangirl!), (4) the bantering between Catori and Ace is priceless also makes me love Olivia Wildenstein even more!, (5) also, did I mention Kajika?

[REVIEW] Violet Grenade

tour schedule can be found at: Chapter by Chapter Blog Tours & Promotions

title: Violet Grenade
author: Victoria Scott
genre: young adult, contemporary, thriller
publish: May 16, 2017 by Entangled Teen
purchase: Amazon | B&N | Book Depository
rating: 3.5 / 5 stars
goodreads

DOMINO: A girl with blue hair and a demon in her mind. 

CAIN: A stone giant on the brink of exploding. 

MADAM KARINA: A woman who demands obedience. 

WILSON: The one who will destroy them all. 

When Madam Karina discovers Domino in an alleyway, she offers her a position inside her home for entertainers in secluded West Texas. Left with few alternatives and an agenda of her own, Domino accepts. It isn’t long before she is fighting her way up the ranks to gain the madam’s approval. But after suffering weeks of bullying and unearthing the madam’s secrets, Domino decides to leave. It’ll be harder than she thinks, though, because the madam doesn’t like to lose inventory. But then, Madam Karina doesn’t know about the person living inside Domino’s mind. Madam Karina doesn’t know about Wilson.

a dark novel about broken people and facing their demons.

I've read great things about this book. I read that it's dark. I like dark. Don't you? Also, that blurb? It's very intriguing -- Wilson's very existence especially. So you know, despite what it looks like or how the title sounds like, let me tell you this: Violet Grenade is a young adult, contemporary psychological thriller.