Categories: Book UniverseWhat to Read

Love Y.A.: Heroine, Bloodleaf and a Cold Day in the Sun

For us, St. Patrick’s Day weekend means a celebration of good reads where we can relax and cozy up with a novel while we enjoy or await Spring weather.

This week is full of contemporary realism, fantasy and classic romance. Read on and make space in your bookshelves!

Heroine by Mindy McGinnis

A powerful novel about the opioid crisis, this book is definitely one that will leave you thinking long after you are done with it.

When a car crash sidelines Mickey just before softball season, she has to find a way to hold on to her spot as the catcher for a team expected to make a historic tournament run. Behind the plate is the only place she’s ever felt comfortable, and the painkillers she’s been prescribed can help her get there.

The pills do more than take away pain; they make her feel good.

With a new circle of friends, such as fellow injured athletes and others with just time to kill, Mickey finds peaceful acceptance, and people with whom words come easily, even if it is just the pills loosening her tongue.

But as the pressure to be Mickey Catalan heightens, her need increases, and it becomes less about pain and more about want, something that could send her spiraling out of control.

This book is one that will stay with you long after it’s done.

Bloodleaf by Crystal Smith

In this fantastical mystery, Princess Aurelia is prisoner to her crown and the heir that nobody wants. Surrounded by spirits and banned from using her blood-magic, Aurelia flees her country after a devastating assassination attempt.

To escape her fate, Aurelia disguises herself as a commoner in a new land and discovers a happiness her crown has never allowed. As she forges new bonds and perfects her magic, she begins to fall for a man who is forbidden to rule beside her. But the ghosts that haunt Aurelia refuse to abandon her, and she finds herself succumbing to their call as they expose a nefarious plot that only she can defeat. Will she be forced to choose between the weight of the crown and the freedom of her new life?

Make sure to pick up this thrilling fantasy if you love the book Red Queen by Victoria Aveyard.

A Cold Day in the Sun by Sara Biren

In this adorable romance, Holland Delviss wants to be known for her talent as hockey player, not a hockey player who happens to be a girl. But when her school team is selected to be featured and televised as part of HockeyFest, her status as the only girl on the boys’ team makes her the lead story.

Not everyone is thrilled with Holland’s new fame, but there’s one person who fiercely supports her, and it’s the last person she expects (and definitely the last person she should be falling for): her bossy team captain, Wes.

This book is a lovely one perfect for fans of Kasie West and Morgan Matson.

What realistic, romantic and fantasy-filled YA reads are you looking forward to and what are some of your favorite holiday books? Let us know on Twitter or IG (@onfrolic) for a chance to have them featured in #LoveYA!

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Aurora Dominguez

Aurora Dominguez is a high school English teacher, college professor and journalist in South Florida. Her work has appeared in The Miami Herald, Where Magazine and J-14 Magazine, all places where she worked as a writer and editor before going from the newsroom to the classroom. Her favorite days are "Caturdays," which she spends with a good book, her husband, Sebastian, and her cat, Luna. Her motto when it comes to reading: "No book left behind!"