Smoke in the Sun, by Renee Ahdieh

After Okami is captured in the Jukai forest, Mariko has no choice--to rescue him, she must return to Inako and face the dangers that have been waiting for her in the Heian Castle.

She tricks her brother, Kenshin, and betrothed, Raiden, into thinking she was being held by the Black Clan against her will, playing the part of the dutiful bride-to-be to infiltrate the emperor's ranks and uncover the truth behind the betrayal that almost left her dead.

With the wedding plans already underway, Mariko pretends to be consumed with her upcoming nuptials, all the while using her royal standing to peel back the layers of lies and deception surrounding the imperial court. But each secret she unfurls gives way to the next, ensnaring Mariko and Okami in a political scheme that threatens their honor, their love and the very safety of the empire.

“If the first book in this duology (Flame in the Mist, 2017) was a slow burn, this conclusion is all action...Mariko is a heroine worth following to the thrilling conclusion.”—Booklist

“With admirable brio, Ahdieh serves up intrigues and counterintrigues, battles and betrayals, … interludes of heated romance…Nuanced female characters drive the action.” —Kirkus Reviews

“A well-written, lavish conclusion to the dreamlike world created in Flame in the Mist.”—School Library Journal

Teen Game Days at the Visalia Branch this Summer

Got game? So do we. Loads of them. So join us for our free & fun gaming get-togethers this summer. Gamers from noob to Deity level are welcome. If you have your own games you would like to share, bring them! --Carrie

Ship of Smoke and Steel, by Django Wexler

In the lower wards of Kahnzoka, the great port city of the Blessed Empire, eighteen-year-old ward boss Isoka enforces the will of her criminal masters with the power of Melos, the Well of Combat. The money she collects goes to keep her little sister living in comfort, far from the bloody streets they grew up on. When Isoka's magic is discovered by the government, she's arrested and brought to the Emperor's spymaster, who sends her on an impossible mission: steal Soliton , a legendary ghost ship―a ship from which no one has ever returned. If she fails, her sister’s life is forfeit. On board Soliton , nothing is as simple as it seems. Isoka tries to get close to the ship's mysterious captain, but to do it she must become part of the brutal crew and join their endless battles against twisted creatures. She doesn't expect to have to contend with feelings for a charismatic fighter who shares her combat magic, or for a fearless princess who wields an eve

New Books!

New Books Red Hood Arnold, Elana Elana K. Arnold, author of the Printz Honor book Damsel, returns with a dark, engrossing, blood-drenched tale of the familiar threats to female power-and one girl's journey to regain it. You are alone in the woods, seen only by the unblinking yellow moon. Your hands are empty. You are nearly naked. And the wolf is angry. Since her grandmother became her caretaker when she was four years old, Bisou Martel has lived a quiet life in a little house in Seattle. She's kept mostly to herself. She's been good. But then comes the night of homecoming, when she finds herself running for her life over roots and between trees, a fury of claws and teeth behind her. A wolf attacks. Bisou fights back. A new moon rises. And with it, questions. About the blood in Bisou's past, and on her hands as she stumbles home. About broken boys and vicious wolves. About girls lost in the woods-frightened, but not alone. The Lucky Ones Lawson, L

Tulare County Teens

Search This Blog