Swirling Tides

Premise: Avery Grambs has a plan for a better future: survive high school, win a scholarship, and get out. But her fortunes change in an instant when billionaire Tobias Hawthorne dies and leaves Avery virtually his entire fortune. The catch? Avery has no idea why -- or even who Tobias Hawthorne is. To receive her inheritance, Avery must move into sprawling, secret passage-filled Hawthorne House, where every room bears the old man's touch -- and his love of puzzles, riddles, and codes. Unfortunately for Avery, Hawthorne House is also occupied by the family that Tobias Hawthorne just dispossessed. This includes the four Hawthorne grandsons: dangerous, magnetic, brilliant boys who grew up with every expectation that one day, they would inherit billions. Heir apparent Grayson Hawthorne is convinced that Avery must be a conwoman, and he's determined to take her down. His brother, Jameson, views her as their grandfather's last hurrah: a twisted riddle, a puzzle to be solved. Caug...

Dear Piano, Then, I had played, And the world disappeared, My surroundings faded. Do you remember  Those long hours When I had visited you Every afternoon? Those hours had been frustrating Driven by dreams By expectations By hope. Fingers stiffly marching Stumbling. Almost giving up I left you behind. Until I hear a piece by Liszt I think to myself I could do that. And I found you again. Keys: White and worn Black and beat Fingers flitting far No longer marching. Flying. My smile broadening Like the crescendo I’m playing. When I find my heart too full of emotions As though it is overfilled My fingers spread across the keyboard. Where my soul spills out the feelings. Into the notes Into the music Into the sound. And I seek peace Among dead composers. Embedded within the blacks and whites, The music fills my soul. My pulse rises to match The pace of your song Each time. I wonder if you realize That even when I’m not with you I count the beats anyways. Now, I play, And the world disap...

My Own Book Has Finally Been Published Hello everyone!  This blog has been inactive for a while now but for the past couple months, I've been working on a book and I'd like to share it here!  It's a nonfiction book about domestic violence called Break The Silence , aimed to raise awareness and support for survivors of domestic violence. 

Premise :  Between life and death there is a library, and within that library, the shelves go on forever. Every book provides a chance to try another life you could have lived. To see how things would be if you had made other choices . . . Would you have done anything different, if you had the chance to undo your regrets? A novel about all the choices that go into a life well lived. Somewhere out beyond the edge of the universe there is a library that contains an infinite number of books, each one the story of another reality. One tells the story of your life as it is, along with another book for the other life you could have lived if you had made a different choice at any point in your life. While we all wonder how our lives might have been, what if you had the chance to go to the library and see for yourself? Would any of these other lives truly be better? Nora Seed finds herself faced with this decision. Faced with the possibility of changing her life for a new one, following a...

Premise: Ketterdam: a bustling hub of international trade where anything can be had for the right price—and no one knows that better than criminal prodigy Kaz Brekker. Kaz is offered a chance at a deadly heist that could make him rich beyond his wildest dreams. But he can’t pull it off alone. . . . A convict with a thirst for revenge A sharpshooter who can’t walk away from a wager A runaway with a privileged past A spy known as the Wraith A Heartrender using her magic to survive the slums A thief with a gift for unlikely escapes Kaz’s crew is the only thing that might stand between the world and destruction—if they don’t kill each other first. Review: "Better terrible truths than kind lies."           If the author’s name seems familiar, it might be because I’ve read and reviewed Shadow and Bone , also written by her. I liked but didn’t love that series and was kind of expecting a similar reaction to this duology despite the hype, but I was pleasantly surpr...

I am unimportant, And I refuse to believe that We can change the world I realize this may be a shock, but Everyone deserves freedom Is a lie The Earth is flat In 30 years, I will tell my children that I have my priorities straight because I.Q Is more important than Saying "I can" I tell you this: Once upon a time Global warming didn't exist But this will not be true in my era Animals are going extinct Experts tell me  The sun will explode I do not conclude that The world will improve In the future, World War 3 will occur No longer can it be said that People are kind It will be evident that Covid-19 will kill everyone It is foolish to presume that  Humanity is Good *NOW READ IT AGAIN FROM BOTTOM TO TOP!* 😊 ~ Candria P.S. Want to be kept updated on my posts? Follow my blog! (Don't worry, no personal info is taken)

Premise: If you ain't scared, you ain't human. When Thomas wakes up in a lift, the only thing he can remember is his name. He's surrounded by strangers - boys whose memories are also gone. Nice to meet ya, shank. Welcome to the Glade. Outside the towering stone walls that surround the Glade is a limitless, ever-changing maze. It's the only way out - and no one's ever made it through alive. Everything is going to change. Then a girl arrives. The first girl ever. And the message she delivers is terrifying. Remember. Survive. Run. Review: You’ve probably heard of the Maze Runner, considering it’s a well known novel. In fact, it's up there with all the other popular series’.  [see: Harry Potter, Percy Jackson, the Hunger Games, Divergent, the Mortal Instruments, etc.]  (That is subjective, of course) This has been on my tbr list for a while, and I finally got the chance to read it. Here’s what I thought! Writing Quality/Style: On the positive side, Dashner’s writin...

Premise: Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee. Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling. Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha . . . and the secrets of her heart. Review:      The story of ‘Shadow and Bone’ takes place in an alternate tsarist Russia, known...

Premise:   The case is closed. Five years ago, schoolgirl Andie Bell was murdered by Sal Singh. The police know he did it. Everyone in town knows he did it. But having grown up in the same small town that was consumed by the murder, Pippa Fitz-Amobi isn't so sure. When she chooses the case as the topic for her final year project, she starts to uncover secrets that someone in town desperately wants to stay hidden. And if the real killer is still out there, how far will they go to keep Pip from the truth? Review:      5 years prior, Andie Bell was (allegedly) murdered by Sal Singh, who then (allegedly) committed suicide. And no one doubted that he was guilty… except Pippa Fitz-Amobi, a high school senior, who never quite believed the police’s version of events. So when she has to do a final senior project, she jumps at the excuse to re-investigate the murder case which rocked her small town years ago. But when new information is unearthed, Pip digs deeper into the live...

Premise:  When a guy named Martin Nathaniel Munroe II texts you, it should be obvious who you're talking to. Except there's two of them (it's a long story), and Haley thinks she's talking to the one she doesn't hate. A question about a class project rapidly evolves into an all-consuming conversation. Haley finds that Martin is actually willing to listen to her weird facts and unusual obsessions, and Martin feels like Haley is the first person to really see who he is. Haley and Martin might be too awkward to hang out in real life, but over text, they're becoming addicted to each other. There's just one problem: Haley doesn't know who Martin is. And Martin doesn't know that Haley doesn't know. But they better figure it out fast before their meet-cute becomes an epic meet-disaster . . .

Premise:   There will be plenty of time for me to beat him soundly once I’ve gotten what I came for.   Sent on a mission to retrieve an ancient hidden map—the key to a legendary treasure trove—seventeen-year-old pirate captain Alosa deliberately allows herself to be captured by her enemies, giving her the perfect opportunity to search their ship. More than a match for the ruthless pirate crew, Alosa has only one thing standing between her and the map: her captor, the unexpectedly clever and unfairly attractive first mate, Riden. But not to worry, for Alosa has a few tricks up her sleeve, and no lone pirate can stop the Daughter of the Pirate King. Review: The title is pretty self-explanatory. The main character, pirate Captain Alosa, is the daughter and only heir of Kalligan, the Pirate King, who has total monopoly over the ocean. She is sent on a mission to retrieve a piece of an ancient map that leads to the mystical Isla de Canta which holds the world’s greatest treasure, a...

Premise : Tyrants cut out hearts. Rulers sacrifice their own. Princess Hesina of Yan has always been eager to shirk the responsibilities of the crown, but when her beloved father is murdered, she’s thrust into power, suddenly the queen of an unstable kingdom. Determined to find her father’s killer, Hesina does something desperate: she engages the aid of a soothsayer—a treasonous act, punishable by death... because in Yan, magic was outlawed centuries ago. Using the information illicitly provided by the sooth, and uncertain if she can trust even her family, Hesina turns to Akira—a brilliant investigator who’s also a convicted criminal with secrets of his own. With the future of her kingdom at stake, can Hesina find justice for her father? Or will the cost be too high? In this shimmering Chinese-inspired fantasy, debut author Joan He introduces a determined and vulnerable young heroine struggling to do right in a world brimming with deception.

Premise:  Fatima lives in the city of Noor, a thriving stop along the Silk Road. There the music of myriad languages fills the air, and people of all faiths weave their lives together. However, the city bears scars of its recent past, when the chaotic tribe of Shayateen djinn slaughtered its entire population -- except for Fatima and two other humans. Now ruled by a new maharajah, Noor is protected from the Shayateen by the Ifrit, djinn of order and reason, and by their commander, Zulfikar. But when one of the most potent of the Ifrit dies, Fatima is changed in ways she cannot fathom, ways that scare even those who love her. Oud in hand, Fatima is drawn into the intrigues of the maharajah and his sister, the affairs of Zulfikar and the djinn, and the dangers of a magical battlefield. Nafiza Azad weaves an immersive tale of magic and the importance of names; fiercely independent women; and, perhaps most importantly, the work for harmony within a city of a thousand cultures and caden...

Premise: Princess Lira is siren royalty and the most lethal of them all. With the hearts of seventeen princes in her collection, she is revered across the sea. Until a twist of fate forces her to kill one of her own. To punish her daughter, the Sea Queen transforms Lira into the one thing they loathe most—a human. Robbed of her song, Lira has until the winter solstice to deliver Prince Elian’s heart to the Sea Queen or remain a human forever. The ocean is the only place Prince Elian calls home, even though he is heir to the most powerful kingdom in the world. Hunting sirens is more than an unsavory hobby—it’s his calling. When he rescues a drowning woman in the ocean, she’s more than what she appears. She promises to help him find the key to destroying all of sirenkind for good—But can he trust her? And just how many deals will Elian have to barter to eliminate mankind’s greatest enemy? Review:      To Kill a Kingdom is a dark ocean-themed fantasy that has a unique spin,...