The first of a series, Throne of Glass by Sara Maas is a fantasy about an 18-year old assassin Celaena Sardothien who spent a year of hard slave labor in the salt mines of Endovier under harsh treatment.  She is offered her freedom by the Crown Prince if she will be his champion in a competition to find a new assassin for his King.  If she can win she must serve in the position for three years and then have her freedom at last.  She has no choice, bound in shackles and chains and let back to Adarian by gruff Captain Westfall.  The training is hard and exhilarating.  Both men show an interest in her but it is the Captain who seems to understand her best.  Her competition includes thieves, warriors, champions and other assassins from all over the empire; however some are murdered one by one before each new test.  Can Celaena discover who is murdering the other contestants?  She discovers myths and power from the ancient past and a destiny greater than she ever dreamed. You will want the sequel!

Reviews:
The Guardian
Fantasy Book Critic
Good Reads
Parental Book Reviews
Wikipedia
Barns and Nobel

After the disintegration of the USA to the dystopian RSA, Remaining States of America, the world changes with melted glaciers and rising oceans.  The world is cold, even icy as the new ice age has descended.  Oceans have crept inland covering cities, spreading trash, possessions, man made things all over.  Nat is a 16 year old blackjack dealer in New Vegas and very good at the game.  The house system usually wins but not always. One minute Nat is handing out winnings to a newly wed couple and next is thrown against a wall by an explosion.  Security officers start the drill, retinal scans and security checks.  Those with unusual eye color are executed or put in lock downs to await their fate.  They have mutated unusual powers.  Nat hides her eyes with specially made grey contact lenses that fool the sensors.  She must earn enough money to leave RSA and find the Blue, a distant mysterious isolated island with a normal clear climate, clean water and vegetation; is this place real or the stuff of legend?  Enter Wes, former military, bounty hunter, runner and loyal to his band of misfits, who gambles at Nat's table earning money to feed his guys.   Through an interesting set of deals at the blackjack table Nat later hires Wes and his gang to take her to the coast.  The adventure, danger, and action will leave you guessing and waiting to read Stolen the sequel.
Reviews:
Planet Print
Kate Ormand, YA author
Good Reads
Barns and Noble