Welcome to the July YA SpecFic round up! Over the last month we’ve had a total of 14 reviews submitted, for 12 YA Speculative Fiction books.

Raven Flight Marillier Neryn has finally found the rebel group at Shadowfell, and now her task is to seek out the elusive Guardians, vital to her training as a Caller. These four powerful beings have been increasingly at odds with human kind, and Neryn must prove her worth to them. She desperately needs their help to use her gift without compromising herself or the cause of overthrowing the evil King Keldec.

Neryn must journey with the tough and steadfast Tali, who looks on Neryn’s love for the double agent Flint as a needless vulnerability. And perhaps it is. What Flint learns from the king will change the battlefield entirely-but in whose favor, no one knows.

Raven Flight by Juliet Marillier, the sequel to Shadowfell, was reviewed twice in July. Australian author Kate Forsyth says “The writing is beautiful and limpid, the setting is an otherworldy Scotland, and the story mixes danger, magic and romance – sigh!”, and proclaims it “YA fantasy at its absolute best.” Heidi @ Bunbury in the Stacks finds in Raven Flight a stronger instalment than Shadowfell, but continues to wish the story had been written in third person to offset the disconnect between the reader and protagonist.

Haze Paula WestonPaula Weston’s Haze continues to be steadily reviewed, with Mandee @ veganYAnerds rounding off her review by saying it’s “a great example of a sequel – the perfect amount of back story, plenty of action, romantic tension, mystery and a heart-stopping ending. I have no idea what Paula has in store for us, but I can’t wait to find out.” Narrelle M Harris also enjoyed it – ” [it] pack[s] a lot of punch into the few days over which the story takes place.” – but would have preferred a little more progress towards the overall story-arc.

Between the Lives “[T]his story featuring a girl with two lives is quite life-affirming” says Belle’s Bookshelf of Jessica Shirvington’s Between the Lives. This is one of my favourite reads of 2013 so far, so I strongly encourage readers to pick it up. It’s surprised many an apprehensive reader!

Marionette AllynThe third book of Anya Allyn’s Dollhouse series has received high praise from Brenda – the first two books are called Dollhouse and Paper Dolls, and are published by the author through Createspace.

The pace of the story is fast, the gripping nature of the horror is thrilling. The author has a real art with her storytelling, and I’m thrilled that there is still one more in this series to go. I can’t wait to read it!

Jamie Reign: The Last Spirit WarriorPJ Tierney’s début novel Jamie Reign: The Last Spirit Warrior has received a glowing review from Tsana @ Tsana’s Reads and Reviews – “[A] fun, quick read and I recommend it to fans of adventure stories, magic and martial arts” – although she finds it more suitable for younger readers (or middle grade, in the US).

The other books that were reviewed in July are (some of these are technically children’s titles, but I wanted to share them anyway):

Yellowcake Lanagan Liar A Corner of White Jaclyn Morarty Chasing the Valley

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About Me

Hi! I’m Shaheen from Speculating on SpecFic, a book blog dedicated to works of speculative fiction – fantasy, science fiction, magic realism, paranormal romance and much more. I can’t remember a time when I didn’t love reading and use my blog to peddle my love to others. When not reading (rare times indeed), I can be found completing my PhD in Astronomy and Astrophysics.

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