I had the good luck to read this fantastic book last November. I tore through it and loved every second. It’s deliciously gruesome and wonderful, a modern Hansel and Gretel. It also has one of my all-time favorite supporting characters, the delightful Andrew. Oh, and the cover rocks, too. The book comes out today. Go get it! See the description from Goodreads below:

When Lorelei’s old school mysteriously burns down, a new one appears practically overnight: Splendid Academy. Rock-climbing walls on the playground and golden bowls of candy on every desk? Gourmet meals in the cafeteria, served by waiters? Optional homework and two recess periods a day? It’s every kids’s dream.
But Lorelei and her new friend Andrew are pretty sure it’s too good to be true. Together they uncover a sinister mystery, one with their teacher, the beautiful Ms. Morrigan, at the very center.

Then Andrew disappears. Lorelei has to save him, even if that means facing a past she’d like to forget – and taking on a teacher who’s a real witch.

What Lorelei and Andrew discover chills their bones – and might even pick them clean!

So yeah, the title of this blog deserves the “understatement of the year” award. I’m not just recommending this book. I’m screaming as loud as I can, “GO BUY IT NOW!” Seriously, I had the fortune to get my hands on an Advanced Readers Copy, and I was completely enamored with the story, the writing, the characters, and the world. Yeah, everything in this is as good as good can be. Read the description from Goodreads below and then get thee to a book store as soon as you can. You won’t regret it. I guarantee it!

Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.

Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.

Yet nothing in this lavish world is what it seems. With darkness looming and an entire kingdom depending on her untamed power, Alina will have to confront the secrets of the Grisha…and the secrets of her heart.