Why am I passionate about this?

I’ve always let my imagination wander wild, like a modern-day Anne Shirley—which is one of the reasons I became an author. I love reading (and writing) books that add fantastical elements to our world or the worlds of far-off characters. As an author and die-hard bookworm, I love to genre hop within the Young Adult age range. You can find me nose-deep in anything from science fiction to a gritty paranormal fantasy.


I wrote

Book cover of These Wicked Waters

What is my book about?

Annie Mayfield has heard all the stories and rumors about the island that is now home to the brand new…

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The books I picked & why

Book cover of A Deadly Education

Emily Layne Why did I love this book?

I would be the first person to die in a horror movie. Not from the villain. I would die from fear. I scare that easy. This is why A Deadly Education had me practically reading with my eyes squinted. And it was amazing. This book has a slight Harry Potter vibe… If Hogwarts was a prison riddled with monsters hunting the witches and wizards trapped inside. One of the best parts about this book is that it takes the “savior” and “villain” trope and turns it on its head. Not to mention the romance is one you will want to root for over and over again. You’ll find yourself up until 3 am reading this one, desperate to find out how it ends.

By Naomi Novik,

Why should I read it?

14 authors picked A Deadly Education as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

Enter a school of magic unlike any you have ever encountered.

There are no teachers, no holidays, friendships are purely strategic, and the odds of survival are never equal. Once you're inside, there are only two ways out: you graduate or you die.

El Higgins is uniquely prepared for the school's many dangers. She may be without allies, but she possesses a dark power strong enough to level mountains and wipe out untold millions - never mind easily destroy the countless monsters that prowl the school.

Except, she might accidentally kill all the other students, too. So El is trying…


Book cover of The Secret Hour

Emily Layne Why did I love this book?

I’ve always thought there was something magical about midnight, and The Secret Hour proved me right. Monsters, mysterious powers, and a bloody act haunt the small town in this story. The secrets are teased out slowly over the course of the book through the POVs of teenage misfits with unique abilities and backstories. Though, the more I learned about the midnight hour, the more thankful I became that this book is fiction. Hungry things come out to play while the rest of us are asleep…

By Scott Westerfeld,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked The Secret Hour as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it.

What is this book about?

A few nights after Jessica Day arrives in Bixby, Oklahoma, she wakes up at midnight to find the entire world frozen, except for her and a few others who call themselves 'midnighters'. Dark things haunt this midnight hour - dark things with a mysterious interest in Jessica. The question is why?

THE SECRET HOUR is a compelling tale of dark secrets, midnight romance, eerie creatures, courage, destiny, and unexpected peril.

Book cover of Rampant

Emily Layne Why did I love this book?

Unicorns—white horses with horns on their heads. If that was your first thought, prepare for Rampant to turn your world upside down. These unicorns aren’t the fairytale variety. They are man-killers. Literally. I loved how this book took unicorns and made them creatures to be feared. And the best part of all: the only ones that can stop them are a group of teenage girls. Dark secrets, a forbidden romance, and girls that can kick unicorn tail. What more could you want?

By Diana Peterfreund,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Rampant as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 14, 15, 16, and 17.

What is this book about?

Forget everything you ever knew about unicorns . . .

Real unicorns are venomous, man-eating monsters with huge fangs and razor-sharp horns. Fortunately, they've been extinct for a hundred and fifty years.

Or not.

Astrid had always scoffed at her eccentric mother's stories about killer unicorns. But when one of the monsters attacks her boyfriend—thereby ruining any chance of him taking her to the prom—Astrid finds herself headed to Rome to train as a unicorn hunter at the ancient cloisters the hunters have used for centuries.

However, at the cloisters all is not what it seems. Outside, the unicorns wait…


Book cover of Monstrous Beauty

Emily Layne Why did I love this book?

This book was one of the rare gems that stayed with me long after I turned the final page. Monstrous Beauty is both haunting and vengeful while it weaves together two vastly different timelines. I loved experiencing the thoughts of a killer mermaid as she fell in love with a human. Then, being flung forward over a century, to experience the life of Hester, a modern-day teenager. These two women, so different, yet so similar, are bound to each other by fate. And finding out how was one of the most rewarding and unpredictable endings I’ve ever read. (Warning: there is a scene of rape in this book).

By Elizabeth Fama,

Why should I read it?

1 author picked Monstrous Beauty as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 12, 13, 14, and 15.

What is this book about?

Fierce, seductive mermaid Syrenka falls in love with Ezra, a young naturalist. When she abandons her life underwater for a chance at happiness on land, she is unaware that this decision comes with horrific and deadly consequences. Almost 140 years later, seventeen-year-old Hester meets a mysterious stranger named Ezra and feels overwhelmingly, inexplicably drawn to him. For generations, love has resulted in death for the women in her family. Is it an undiagnosed genetic defect . . . or a curse? With Ezra's help, Hester investigates her family's strange, sad history. The answers she seeks are waiting in the graveyard,…


Book cover of This Savage Song

Emily Layne Why did I love this book?

The. Rhymes. In. This. Book. Each monster in the terrifying world of This Savage Song comes with a warning rhyme. And they are intense. This book also has done away with the typical romance…  In the sense that there isn’t any. Just a solid friendship. Not to mention there is a monster-boy who can play the violin and a teenage girl willing to set a church ablaze to get what she wants. If you’re looking for something full of action, a twist ending you won’t see coming, and a world with a touch of dystopian, this is a read you will love.

By Victoria Schwab,

Why should I read it?

4 authors picked This Savage Song as one of their favorite books, and they share why you should read it. This book is for kids age 13, 14, 15, and 16.

What is this book about?

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city, a grisly metropolis where the violence has begun to create real and deadly monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the inhabitants pay for his protection. August just wants to be human, as good-hearted as his own father-but his curse is to be what the humans fear. The thin truce that keeps the Harker and Flynn families at peace is crumbling, and an assassination attempt forces Kate and August into a tenuous alliance. But how…


Explore my book 😀

Book cover of These Wicked Waters

What is my book about?

Annie Mayfield has heard all the stories and rumors about the island that is now home to the brand new Mayfield Villa resort. The island’s name alone—Viaii Nisi, or violent island—is enough to make any sane person reconsider it as a vacation destination. Not to mention the mysterious deaths of every previous owner. It’s a history Annie’s mother is quick to shrug off, but when a guest goes missing on opening night, Annie really starts to get the creeps.

And then Annie makes a truly terrifying discovery: ruins filled with bones and one skeleton that seems to be half-human and half-fish. Intrigued by the strange remains and determined to help find the missing guest, Annie channels her inner Nancy Drew in an attempt to uncover the truth about Viaii Nisi.

Book cover of A Deadly Education
Book cover of The Secret Hour
Book cover of Rampant

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Book cover of Knife Skills

Wendy Church Author Of Knife Skills

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Why am I passionate about this?

I’m a thrill seeker when it comes to reading, and I want to be so immersed in a story that I have to read it in one sitting and then can be completely taken by surprise by a plot twist. It was extremely hard to pick only five titles, so to narrow it down, I 1) made an attempt to pick from a few different sub-genres and, 2) stipulated that Agatha Christie could populate the entire list. All of these titles blend wonderful writing with great twists, and I hope you enjoy them. I did my best to avoid spoilers in the descriptions, although by being on this list, it’s a little bit of a spoiler…

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What is my book about?

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Sagarine Pfister is a great cook but has been blacklisted by almost every restaurant in Chicago. She gets her chance at Louie's, a below-average restaurant, the only place that will give her a job. Things change when she finds head chef Louie Ferrar dead in the walk-in freezer of his restaurant. But instead of closing the place down, the owner, Russian gang boss Anatoly Morozov, offers not only her Louie's job but…

Knife Skills

By Wendy Church,

What is this book about?

"Dizzying . . . Audiences who wished the TV series The Bear had made room for Russian mobsters are in for a treat" Kirkus Reviews Starred Review

Sagarine Pfister is a great cook but has been blacklisted by almost every restaurant in Chicago. She gets her chance at Louie's, a below-average restaurant, the only place that will give her a job.

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Interested in monsters, good and evil, and mermaids?

Monsters 170 books
Good And Evil 143 books
Mermaids 52 books