Cyn's Workshop
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Review of 'Ace of Shades'
Welcome to the City of Sin, where casino families reign, gangs infest the streets...and secrets hide in every shadow. New Reynes, the so-called City of Sin, is no place for a properly raised young lady. But when her mother goes missing, Enne Salta must leave her finishing school--and her reputation--behind to follow her mother's trail in the city where no one survives uncorrupted. Frightened and alone, Enne's only clue leads her to Levi Glaiyser--a street lord and a con man in desperate need of the compensation Enne offers. Their search sends this unlikely duo through glamorous casinos, illicit cabarets, and into the clutches of a ruthless Mafia donna. But as Levi's enemies close in on them, a deadly secret from Enne's past comes to light and she must surrender herself to the City of Sin -- to a vicious game of execution... Where the players never win.
By Cyn's Workshop2 years ago in Geeks
Review of 'A Year to the Day'
IT’S BEEN A YEAR—A YEAR OF MISSING NINA Leo can’t remember what happened the night of the accident. All she knows is that she left the party with her older sister, Nina, and Nina’s boyfriend, East. And now Nina is dead, killed by a drunk driver and leaving Leo with a hole inside her that’s impossible to fill. East, who loved Nina almost as much as Leo did, is the person who seems to most understand how she feels, and the two form a friendship based on their shared grief. But as she struggles to remember what happened, Leo discovers that East remembers every detail of the accident—and he won’t tell her anything about it. In fact, he refuses to talk about that night at all. As the days tumble one into the next, Leo’s story comes together while her world falls apart. How can she move on if she never knows what really happened that night? And is happiness even possible in a world without Nina?
By Cyn's Workshop3 years ago in Geeks
Review of 'Spell Bound'
Edison Rooker isn't sure what to expect when he enters the office of Antonia Hex, the powerful sorceress who runs a call center for magical emergencies. He doesn't have much experience with hexes or curses. Heck, he doesn't even have magic. But he does have a plan--to regain the access to the magical world he lost when his grandmother passed. Antonia is...intimidating, but she gives him a job and a new name--Rook--both of which he's happy to accept. Now all Rook has to do is keep his Spell Binder, an illegal magical detection device, hidden from the Magical Consortium. And contend with Sun, the grumpy and annoyingly cute apprentice to Antonia's rival colleague, Fable. But dealing with competition isn't so bad; as Sun seems to pop up more and more, Rook minds less and less. But when the Consortium gets wind of Rook's Spell Binder, they come for Antonia. All alone, Rook runs to the only other magical person he knows: Sun. Except Fable has also been attacked, and now Rook and Sun have no choice but to work together to get their mentors back...or face losing their magic forever.
By Cyn's Workshop3 years ago in Geeks
Review of 'These Infinite Threads'
The second installment in Tahereh Mafi’s latest enchanting series picks up right where This Woven Kingdom left off and doesn’t stop pulling you in until long after the last page. Romance and fantasy collide in this mesmerizing series based on Persian folklore, sure to please fans of Mafi’s thrilling Shatter Me series. Full of explosive magic, searing romance, and heartbreaking betrayal, this breathtaking sequel to This Woven Kingdom is from the award-winning and bestselling author of the Shatter Me series and is perfect for fans of Leigh Bardugo, Sabaa Tahir, and Tomi Adeyemi.
By Cyn's Workshop3 years ago in Geeks
Review of 'The Weight of Our Sky'
Melati Ahmad looks like your typical movie-going, Beatles-obsessed sixteen-year-old. Unlike most other sixteen-year-olds though, Mel also believes that she harbors a djinn inside her, one who threatens her with horrific images of her mother’s death unless she adheres to an elaborate ritual of counting and tapping to keep him satisfied. A trip to the movies after school turns into a nightmare when the city erupts into violent race riots between the Chinese and the Malay. When gangsters come into the theater and hold movie-goers hostage, Mel, a Malay, is saved by a Chinese woman, but has to leave her best friend behind to die. On their journey through town, Mel sees for herself the devastation caused by the riots. In her village, a neighbor tells her that her mother, a nurse, was called in to help with the many bodies piling up at the hospital. Mel must survive on her own, with the help of a few kind strangers, until she finds her mother. But the djinn in her mind threatens her ability to cope.
By Cyn's Workshop3 years ago in Geeks
Review of 'Brightly Burning'
Stella Ainsley leaves poverty behind when she quits her engineering job aboard the Stalwart to become a governess on a private ship. On the Rochester, there’s no water ration, more books than one person could devour in a lifetime, and an AI who seems more friend than robot. But something sinister lurks beneath the Rochester’s immaculate façade. When Stella meets Hugo, the nineteen-year-old captain at the helm of the ship, she finds herself drawn to the mysterious boy who’s as unpredictable and broody as he is kind. But Stella’s suspicions against Hugo mount as the ship is plagued by ghostly hauntings and deadly assassination attempts. Now, she must choose between following her heart or listening to her head.
By Cyn's Workshop3 years ago in Geeks
Review of 'A Thousand Heartbeats'
“Love has a sound. It sounds like a thousand heartbeats happening at the same time.” Princess Annika has lived a life of comfort—but no amount of luxuries can change the fact that her life isn’t her own to control. The king, once her loving father, has gone cold, and Annika will soon be forced into a loveless marriage for political gain. Miles away, small comforts are few and far between for Lennox. He has devoted his life to the Dahrainian army, hoping to one day help them reclaim the throne that was stolen from them. For Lennox, the idea of love is merely a distraction—nothing will stand in the way of fighting for his people. But when love, against all odds, finds them both, they are bound by its call. They can’t possibly be together—but the irresistible thrum of a thousand heartbeats won’t let them stay apart. Kiera Cass brings her signature sparkling romance to this beautiful story of star-crossed lovers and long-held secrets.
By Cyn's Workshop3 years ago in Geeks
Review of 'I Will Leave You Never'
In the middle of a perilous drought in the Northwest, an arsonist begins setting fires all around. It gives Zoe Penney nightmares about her home—seated right next to tinder-dry woods—rising up in explosions of fire, as well as haunting dreams of a little boy deep in the forest. Winter brings the longed-for rains but also a cancer diagnosis for Zoe’s husband, Jay, which plunges the family into disbelief and fear. The children lean in close to their parents, can’t stop touching them. As Jay’s treatment begins, nature lets loose with strange and startling encounters, while a shadowy figure hovers about the corners of the house. First, Zoe’s fear turns to anger: How can I love you if I am to lose you? How can I live in joy when the sky is falling? But she gradually learns that it’s possible to love anything, even terrible things—if you can love them for what they are teaching you.
By Cyn's Workshop3 years ago in Geeks
New Girl: Chapter Two
Silvia led the way, Rebecca by her side, Lucita just a few feet behind her, trailing behind them, taking in the new building that would be her home, where the tiles were a rusty red highlighted only by the cream-colored walls, covered in flaking paint, revealing the cracks in the surface. The steps were narrow, and in her three in high wedge sandals, she felt as if she would fall over at any moment.
By Cyn's Workshop3 years ago in Fiction
New Girl: Chapter One
Lucita lay tangled in her blue cat-torn sheets, frumpy and an accurate representation of her life, in her bed that was crammed too tightly into the room of her new apartment. Cream-painted boxes labeled in sharpies, filled with books and other crap her and her mother had collected over the years, lined the wall. A new place, a new life. A new school. It was always tough for her to start a new school, meet new people, and make new friends. She wasn’t the making friends kind of girl. She was the wallflower who somehow made friends. Who somehow had friends that were now miles away, unable to see her. Of all the things she didn’t want to do, she most certainly did not want to start a new school in the middle of the year. No, thank you. No, Lucita would much rather stay in her new room with its high windows and grainy plaster-like ceiling.
By Cyn's Workshop3 years ago in Fiction
Review of 'Bindle Punk Bruja'
Boardwalk Empire meets The Vanishing Half with a touch of earth magic in this sexy and action-packed historical fantasy set in the luminous Golden Twenties from debut author Desideria Mesa, where a part-time reporter and club owner takes on crooked city councilmen, mysterious and deadly mobsters, and society’s deeply rooted sexism and racism, all while keeping her true identity and magical abilities hidden—inspired by an ancient Mexican folktale. Yo soy quien soy. I am who I am. Luna—or depending on who’s asking, Rose—is the white-passing daughter of an immigrant mother who has seen what happens to people from her culture. This world is prejudicial, and she must hide her identity in pursuit of owning an illegal jazz club. Using her cunning powers, Rose negotiates with dangerous criminals as she climbs up Kansas City’s bootlegging ladder. Luna, however, runs the risk of losing everything if the crooked city councilmen and ruthless mobsters discover her ties to an immigrant boxcar community that secretly houses witches. Last thing she wants is to put her entire family in danger. But this bruja with ever-growing magical abilities can never resist a good fight. With her new identity, Rose, an unabashed flapper, defies societal expectations all the while struggling to keep her true self and witchcraft in check. However, the harder she tries to avoid scrutiny, the more her efforts eventually capture unwanted attention. Soon, she finds herself surrounded by greed and every brand of bigotry—from local gangsters who want a piece of the action and businessmen who hate her diverse staff to the Ku Klux Klan and Al Capone. Will her earth magic be enough to save her friends and family? As much as she hates to admit it, she may need to learn to have faith in others—and learning to trust may prove to be her biggest ambition yet.
By Cyn's Workshop3 years ago in Geeks
