Model Undercover: Paris by Carina Axelsson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received an early release copy of Model Undercover: Paris via NetGalley. One of the things I like about this book and other books that have teens in them is that they are quite enjoyable for adults as well. In between travels I love to read fiction based in countries outside of the U.S. Of course, Italy and Paris are my favorites so when I saw this title available at the NetGalley site my first thought was "this sounds great!" I was not disappointed. Off the top I can say that there was only thing I found odd. Axelle Anderson is a British teen who is given a trip of a lifetime, a few weeks in Paris to work as an intern in the fashion industry for her aunt. But, to Axelle it's more of a punishment since she is not interested in fashion. She hopes to be a top-notch detective and spends her spare time investigating small crimes. Her parents are trying to steer her away from this and give her the trip.

There is one thing I found a bit off. Though Axelle and her family were British the text of the book was written in American English so the characters felt American instead of British. I kept expecting Axelle to speak like a British teen but she felt very American to me. Outside of that the characters were great. Axelle makes two great friends and has some surprising things happen to her while in Paris. She gets her chance to investigate a great crime and spend some time with her Aunt Venetia who is huge in the fashion industry in Paris as an editor of a fashion magazine. She introduces Axelle to designers and Axelle in the process of becoming engrossed in the fashion industry in a huge way she gets a chance at investigating a huge case. She sees this as her opportunity to make a name for herself as a detective and discovers some surprising things in the course of her investigation. You cannot help but like Axelle and cheer her on as she works to find the answers and also as she gets a chance to do something she had absolutely no interest in and gets a bit closer to her mom, who also loves fashion.

I look forward to seeing Axelle travel and investigate more mysteries!

An American Girl in Italy by Aubrie Dionne
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was a great read for me. I tend to inhale anything based in Italy, more so when the author does a great job with imagery. Aubrie Dionne gave a good view of Italy. Carly is a gifted musician who plays with an orchestra traveling in Italy. She plays an instrument that I have little experience with so it was great to read the descriptions of her playing and the solo that she was trying to achieve with the opera singer, diva. They worked really hard from venue to venue and it was amazing to read the descriptions of how music is affected by our moods and interpretations. The author did a wonderful job describing their attempts at the song, so much so that, I literally cringed for them when the song did not go the way they intended. Reading about some of the other orchestra members also went a long way for me with liking this story.

Michaelangelo was a wonderful man who we learn about slowly as the story goes along. But, the reader is not sorry they get to know him because not only was he a great tour guide, despite his lack of experience, as well as showing himself to be a great man. Unfortunately, I did not realize there was a book before this one so I have not read it yet so I did not know the history of Carly and Melody's friendship though that did not distract from the story. It did make me want to get to know the characters better and spend more time reading other work by this author.

Royally Lost by Angie Stanton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have to admit that I see where people are calling falling in love in one week instalove but, in my experience that is exactly what a lot of teens do, fall in love very quickly. Speaking as a teen that detested everything my mom tried to expose me to including ballets, anything that included spending time with my family and anything that took me away from my friends. Those very same things I love to do now. I also had a habit of hating my mom's boyfriend because he wasn't my dad. Later when I realized he wasn't trying to replace my dad I regretted my behavior but, as a teenager I was horrible towards him and misinterpreted everything he said and did. I never wanted to go to visit family in California and see the amazing things my family tried to introduce me to because it took me away from my friends and I would be missing the things they were doing. So, this book really resonated with me and likely wouldn't with teens that mostly behaved in a manner expected of their parents and enjoyed doing things with their family, all things I do now and regret not doing while growing up. Yes, I fell in "love" at the drop of a dime and now realize it wasn't actually love but telling me that had me convinced you did not know what you were talking about. I love seeing how our own experiences affect how we rate books. If the behavior is completely not something we can identify with we tend to give it a lower rating and if we identify with it then we give it a higher rating. This is what makes books so great! Since I saw so many of the things in Prague last October and loved it this book just brought back great memories for me. I am in armchair travel love with this book.

Boy Nobody by Allen Zadoff
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I always get excited about secret agent/assassin books and really love it when they are young adult. I was a bit confused by the title because on my version of the book I Am the Weapon is in bold and there is nothing on it that says Boy Nobody. Once I ironed out I had the correct book as the book descriptions were slightly different also I jumped in and was very happy that I did. I have been in a weird reading slump for several months and have been reading outside of my normal genre, Urban Fantasy, now. I have spurts of time when I love anything with secret agents and assassins so I saw Boy Nobody and decided to go for it. I have to admit that I fell into deep like for this book. I am sitting here and thinking to myself "I don't remember his name!" Wow he really is good at keeping his identity a secret because it just will not come to me. For the purposes of this review I will call him Ben since that is his cover name in this story.

Ben was "recruited" at the age of 12 by the organization that he works for who also is nameless. It appears they are likely part of the government and he is constantly in the field. Outside of his covert contact with his handlers, "Mom" and "Dad" he is out in the field alone. Or is he? This story showed that even when you think you are on your own there is always someone watching. Ben, who normally followed the rules to the letter of the assassin law found himself up against some things that made him question what he was doing and how he should do it and even he began questioning his instructions.

In Boy Nobody, Ben is placed in a school full of affluent students and assigned to move in close to a very public figure in New York. He does the magic that he can do and things start to happen that make him question everything. He starts putting himself at risk and I have to admit that his skills appear to be excellent though I wish there was more action. The author did a great job of writing in the background of the mission and giving the reader great details for how Ben worked the mission but I wish there was more that showed his skills as an assassin. The scenes where he did demonstrate those were great! I look forward to the next installment!

Review can also be seen at http://LadyTechiesBookMusings.blogspo...

Maid of Secrets by Jennifer McGowan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

If I were a poet I'd write an Ode to this series. I love it. When I described the book to my sister she said "but you don't like period books". I told her that after I read the excellent convent of nuns series I was looking for something else in the same realm and I am not disappointed. Maid of Secrets is the story of 5 young ladies recruited to work for Elizabeth I to help protect her and let her know what is going on at Court. Boy, does she need it because there is more machinations happening in her Court. There are visitors from Scotland and Spain along with all the citizens coming to report problems with which they need help. Maid of Secrets focuses on the delegation from Spain visiting and is also Meg's story. Meg is the last to join the Maids and she comes from a life with an acting troupe where she primarily served as a pickpocket because women were still not allowed to act though she is an excellent actress. She has another gift that apparently her minders, Cecil and the head of security know about, though she hasn't shared it with anyone. It makes her more invaluable as a spy for the queen. I normally don't like series where each story is from a different character's point of view but I think I will really enjoy this one! I have already begun Maid of Deception and though Beatrice is my least favorite I think by the end of this book I am really going to like her. I can't wait for Jane's story.

Killer Frost by Jennifer Estep
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Well, today marks the day we say goodbye to a great cast of characters. I have to admit I was hoping the series would continue with a different story arc outside of fighting the Reapers. It must be quite difficult to carry a story line for 6 books and keep the reader's interest. Jennifer Estep did a great job of that while we all waited with anticipation for the next book to see what happened next.

One of the best things about the Mythos Academy series was the growth of the characters as they tackled not only the fight against the Reapers of Chaos but also as they fought their own demons. In Killer Frost we learn so much more about Gwen Frost and we are introduced to new characters that I would not mind seeing in a novella or two in the future. But, one of the best things about this book is getting to see the culmination of Gwen and Logan's story and I was quite happy with it.

This story has the gang visiting another school that has students like those at the Mythos Academy with different strengths and skills and what is great is the development of Gwen's relationship with them. We also get to learn more about Gwen's family outside of what happened to her mom. This part of the book in my opinion is what makes the final book stand out and though there is a tough fight and everything might not have happened the way I would have liked Killer Frost has a great ending and all I could think when closing the book was, Satisfying!

Raphael by D.B. Reynolds
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have read and re-read Raphael so many times I cannot count them. It is my favorite in the series because we are introduced to Cyn and Raphael. Then the new covers came out and they are lovely! I have to say in a world where vampire books abound and I have shied away from the sub-genre with the exception of a few series that I am dedicated to, the Vampires in America series is one of those series. One of those things I love about this series it is "old-school" vampires with very cool powers and very old-fashioned values that I didn't really realize I was missing until this series.

Raphael hires Cyn to investigate a problem he is having. Someone has kidnapped one of his vampires and he needs investigative help finding her. He doesn't need help getting the female back because, hey, he's Raphael, Vampire Lord and a series kick-butt character.

We are introduced to some great characters in this book, including Raphael's chief of security, Duncan who tends to have the most contact with Cyn. Things get harry and the kidnappers push back and Cyn and Raphael have to kick up their game if they are going to get the vampire back and take care of the kidnappers. This story has a big twist and I loved it and will re-read it again.