Invincible Summer by Hannah Moskowitz

Goodreads
Hannah Moskowitz site
Series: n/a
Copy obtained: e-ARC S&S Galley Grab for review
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Release date: April 19th
Rating: 5/5

"Noah's happier than I've seen him in months. So I'd be an awful brother to get in the way of that. It's not like I have some relationship with Melinda. It was just a kiss. Am I going to ruin Noah's happiness because of a kiss?"


Across four sun-kissed, drama-drenched summers at his family's beach house, Chase is falling in love, falling in lust, and trying to keep his life from falling apart. But some girls are addictive...

First off, that blurb (taken from Goodreads) is misleading because it implies a heavy romantic focus. That is not the case at all, it's very much a focus on family. I hadn't read Hannah's previous book, Break, when I read the ARC for Invincible Summer, so I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from it. But whatever my vague expectations were, they were not what I got. What I got, was an emotional, heart breaking, kind of strange, and ultimately fantastic read!

Chase is almost 15 at the start of the book, and we join him as he and his siblings are arriving at their beach house as they do each summer. We're introduced to the family, and the next door neighbours who they've been friends with their whole lives. They always spend their summers messing around together. But as Chase is growing up and dealing with more issues, he sees things changing.

Invincible Summer only tells their story over the summers. Once the summer is over and they leave the beach house, it skips forward a year to them arriving the next one, covering 4 summers. It's an interesting choice for telling the story, but it works perfectly. You get told little snippets of Chase's life, and his family, away from the beach house but it's clear how much the place means to him and that he only really seems to feel alive at the beach, his real home as it were. I completely love the strange, screwed up, family dynamics here. Chase has an older brother who's always running away; a younger sister who acts like she's about 30; a younger brother who is deaf which creates it's own issues; and there's the baby sister who their mom is pregnant with at the start of the book. And there are issues with the parents as well. Throw in the friends next door who feature very heavily in Chase's thoughts and world as well, and you get even more interesting events.

No matter what's going on, it's all utterly engrossing and very, very intense. There is the odd laugh out loud moment, and some sweet moments that really made me smile. But a lot of the time I was aching for Chase. So young and so old at the same time. Very lost in many ways, trying to figure out what growing up means and where he fits in his family, how they all fit together. It's heart breaking in it's realness, even with the sometimes strange moments and connections. There are some almost surprisingly deep moments from Chase as well through a philosophy book he discovers and becomes somewhat obsessed with.

I could barely stop reading Invincible Summer once I started. It's intense, beautiful, powerful, gritty and raw. Ultimately heart breaking. I was in floods of tears through the last quarter of the book. It was a refreshing read in many ways, with the focus on family, not romance and with the way it's told as well. The blend of Chase's thoughts, screwed up family and philosophy. I was completely captivated by the narrative and characters. How this one family connected and fell apart through good times and bad. If you like gritty YA's, then this is a must read. It is easily one of my favourite reads of the year so far and one I'd highly recommend. Just amazing!!

Iron Crowned by Richelle Mead

Goodreads
Richelle Mead's site
Series: Dark Swan #3
Publisher: Zebra (US) Bantam (UK)
Release date: 22nd Feb (US) / 31st March (UK)
Rating: 2.5/5
Spoiler Warning! Spoilers for previous books ahead!! (And spoilers for IC, but they're whited out below with another warning before them).

Shaman-for-hire Eugenie Markham is the best at banishing entities trespassing in the mortal realm. But as the Thorn Land's queen, she's fast running out of ways to end the brutal war devastating her kingdom. Her only hope: the Iron Crown, a legendary object even the most powerful gentry fear...

Who Eugenie can trust is the hardest part. Fairy king Dorian has his own agenda for aiding her search. And Kiyo, her shape-shifter ex-boyfriend, has every reason to betray her along the way. To control the Crown's ever-consuming powers, Eugenie will have to confront an unimaginable temptation - one that will put her soul and the fate of two worlds in mortal peril...

I've been a big fan of all of Richelle's series, and I thoroughly enjoyed the first two books in the Dark Swan series and I was really excited for Iron Crowned. Sadly, it did not live up to expectation for me. Before I read a couple of my friends who'd gotten their hands on it faster told me it was awesome, one of Richelle's best books, but it just didn't work for me. I can't say too much without giving away spoilers, so for once I will split this review in two, spoiler free, and then a spoiler section underneath which you'll need to highlight if you want to read it. I'd advise you don't unless you really don't care about major spoilers, or you've already read the book!

Eugenie is spending more and more time in the Otherworld, having to take care of her kingdom in the war but she's still a very reluctant monarch and is hoping to end the war without further bloodshed. There are so many twists and turns through Iron Crowned as Eugenie tries to find an end for the war and figure out her personal life, it should have felt fast and intense. Instead, I repeatedly found myself getting irritated with Eugenie, Dorian and Kiyo. Several of the side characters came as a breath of fresh air when they appeared, including Jasmine who's always seriously irritated me in the past. I actually felt for her more than any other character in Iron Crowned.

There were a couple big surprises to me in Iron Crowned, and they worked fairly well. The ending certainly leaves a lot of questions for what will come next, and I am curious to see where it all goes. It did have some good moments as well, it wasn't all bad, and I think Iron Crowned will work very well for a lot of people. Certainly one to make your own mind up about, if you've enjoyed the previous two books. Some of the character development is good, but a lot of it felt like a backwards step, or just a role reversal repeat of events that have already happened. Previously I'd enjoyed the Dorian/Eugenie/Kiyo love triangle (a rarity for me), but here it did nothing but irritate me. Mostly, I've just no idea what Eugenie was thinking a lot of the time. Her decisions about everything (be it about her kingdom, her divided loyalties, her men) so often being a case of act first, regret and ask questions later, got tired fast. I also felt there was a lot more sex in the book than either of the two previous ones, and I think virtually all of it was completely unneeded to advance the plot, which is something that tends to annoy me in UF. In PNR it's fine, but not something I expect (or want) from the Dark Swan series.

Overall Iron Crowned isn't a bad book, it has it's moments and it held my attention reasonably well. But it wasn't a book I enjoyed. Too much just irritated me rather then being an enjoyment. I'm pretty sad about that really because normally I love Richelle's work, she's one of my favourite authors. Can't always work for everyone though and I'm sure plenty will love Iron Crowned for the reasons that didn't work for me!

Now, MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD!! Highlight them to read them, read at your own risk. Specifics on why IC really didn't work for me:

Enough with the freaking back and forth between Kiyo and Dorian already!! Kiyo betrayed her, so she dates Dorian. Dorian betrays her, so she dates Kiyo again, his past betrayal forgotten. Kiyo betrays her again so she's begging Dorian for help and likely will take it in the next book, despite knowing he's got ulterior motives still.

Dorian. His betrayal wasn't actually that bad. Don't get me know, I understand why Eugenie was furious and all, and felt seriously betrayed. But he has always, always had ulterior motives and was going to show his true colors sooner rather than later. So what he did came as no surprise at all to me. I don't like him too much right now, but as a character he is fascinating.

Kiyo. Well I've thought he was a jerk and haven't liked him since about mid way through Storm Born. He did nothing to warrant Eugenie going back to him, and then he just got worse showing his true loyalties towards the end. How he reacted to Eugenie's news and decision was shocking and I still find it really hard to believe that he reacted so badly, to be willing to kill her. I may have never liked him, but I did think he loved her. Apparently not the case.

Eugenie. The back/forth with her was irritating enough, how she switched between guys based on who'd pissed her off that day. But I also found her continued apathy towards really stepping in to her role as queen really irritating. Her unwillingness to learn more about things was something I thought had been done with in Thorn Queen. I understood her indecision about what to do about her pregnancy, and I'm glad she's going the way she is. It's about the one thing about her that didn't annoy me at one point or another. Her taking over another land is something I'm not happy about either. So much for her not wanting power. And she's barely interested in the Thorn Land, so having another? Her divided loyalty between the human world and the otherworld is really starting to annoy me. I understand it, but I think she kind of needs to suck it up. If she won't give her kingdoms up (which she won't) then she needs to stop moaning about them, and how she wishes things could be simpler again and such, and deal with what she has. I thought she was doing that in Thorn Queen, but no, it continues.

Finally, I thought the hunt for the Iron Crown would be a big deal, but honestly, it wasn't really. Lots of action involved, but it was over and found quickly, then it was just Eugenie refusing to use it. Until she did. Which I wish she hadn't. The ideas behind the crown though, and how the fey fear it was actually an idea I really liked. It just fell flat for me.

...okay, that little rant makes me feel a little better. Would love to hear your comments, agree or disagree etc, be warned for those who don't want to read spoilers, that they may end up in the comments!!

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Goodreads
Brenna Yovanoff's site
Series: n/a
Copy obtained: UK Book Tours
Publisher: Razorbill (US), Simon Pulse (UK)
Released: Sept 2010 (US), Jan 2011 (UK)
Rating: 4/5

Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a Replacement, left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.

Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice his bass or spend time with an oddly intriguing girl called Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag heaps and find his rightful place - in our world, or theirs.

I wasn't sure that The Replacement would really be my kind of book, but I actually ended up really enjoying it. Mackie is not human, but he's been raised to be. He is dying now and discovering just how strange his town really is. Mackie always knew he wasn't normal, but he didn't know what he really was. Just that he had to hide in plain sight for fear of what would happen to him otherwise. No standing out, getting noticed. Being invisible is something Mackie has been very good at. But now he has the attention of Tate. A girl who's little sister has gone missing and Tate is determined to figure it out and get her back, and she's starting by asking the one person she believes could know more than he'll say. And the attention of the other beings who live below Gentry, things no one will talk about or believe in, but constantly ward against.

I found Mackie easy to get on with and I really like him. He's not a hero, he actually backs away from certain things pretty easily. But he does want to do the right thing and agonizes over it. Mackie may not be normal, but he's plenty real enough. I think his feelings of displacement are something any teen could relate to. Tate is a really awesome character as well. Strong willed and stubborn, willing to do whatever it takes to get her sister back. I love how she pushes and challenges Mackie. Both of them, but Mackie in particular, really grow throughout the book as they deal with new obstacles and issues. There is a little romance between the two, but it's very much a sub plot and much to my joy, there are no undying declarations of love. Plenty of lust, but no love. Something very refreshing. I love the slightly awkward, but realistic drawing of their whole relationship, well before romance becomes an issue and afterwards as well. I also really loved Emma, Mackie's older 'sister,' and his best friend, Roswell.

Gentry itself is pretty creepy. At first you get the impression it's an average town, but quickly it takes on its own eerie sense of otherness. And that's before you even meet the dancing dead girls underground! They are very creepy, and very well drawn. I got somewhat sucked in to their world and had that sense of morbid fascination, I wanted to know more and go exploring.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. It's not particularly fast paced, but it's not slow either and it was a very enjoyable read. Eerie, creepy, and beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed it! Good characters and great worldbuilding. The intense ending really kept me reading and wishing there was more! Very good read and one I'd recommend.

River Marked by Patricia Briggs

Goodreads
Patricia Briggs' site
Series: Mercy Thompson #6
Copy obtained: bought, hb
Publisher: Ace (US), Orbit (UK)
Released: March 1st (US), March 3rd (UK)
Rating: 4.5/5

Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a shape shifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. She's never known any other of her kind. Until now.


An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River - one that her father's people may know something about. And to have any hope of surviving, Mercy and her mate, the Alpha werewolf Adam, will need their help...

I love the Mercy Thompson series, it is easily one of my all time favourites. It's got very well developed characters, engaging storylines and each book brings something new to her world. And Mercy herself is one of my top favourite characters. So it goes without saying I was very excited to get my hands on River Marked, and it did not disappoint at all!

River Marked sees us, and Mercy, learning a lot about her Native American background and what her being a coyote shifter means. It also sees Adam and Mercy mostly on their own, away from the pack, dealing with a river monster, a creature huge and deadly, that some how connects with what Mercy is learning about her heritage. While in some ways I missed seeing more of the rest of the pack and the other excellent side characters, I really enjoyed seeing Adam and Mercy more on their own for once and getting to meet some very interesting new characters. I thought before hand that I'd like getting in to Mercy's heritage and learning it alongside her, but I actually loved it! I really enjoyed the direction the book took and how the plots twisted together.

Mercy has changed a lot over the course of the series, and it really shows in River Marked. I love how she's changed, through her relationships with Adam, the pack and her other friends like Stefan, and also by the events she's been through. River Marked shows us a more emotional side of her than we've really seen before, and also shows the strength of her relationship with Adam. And while we don't see too much of the rest of the beloved side characters, they still have some little developments going on in the back ground. I'd be very surprised if Stefan doesn't end up playing a more central role in the next book with some of the snippets we have here.

Overall, River Marked has to be my joint favourite of the series alongside Iron Kissed. It's much softer than IK in some ways, but it's still got a lot going on, plenty of tension and an ending I thoroughly loved! I found River Marked very difficult to put down and easily read it in a day. I'm now just very sad it's going to be roughly a 2 year wait for the next one! Though I'm certain it'll be worth it, I shall have to cope with it by lots of rereading. Slipping back in to Mercy's world is like putting on that favourite comfy hoodie, or pair of jeans, or whatever, and catching up with old friends and learning their latest adventures. Fantastic, gripping storytelling and a wonderful new edition to Mercy's series!

Afterlife by Claudia Gray

Goodreads
Claudia Gray's site
Series: Evernight #4
Copy obtained: e-ARC from Net Galley
Publisher: Harper Teen
Release date: March 8th
Rating: 4.5/5
SPOILER WARNING!! Big spoilers for the previous book ahead!

Having become what they feared most, Bianca and Lucas face a terrifying new reality. They must return to Evernight Academy, Lucas as a vampire and Bianca as a wraith. But Lucas is haunted by demons, both personal and supernatural. Bianca must help him fight the evil inside him, combat the forces determined to drive them apart - and find the power to claim her destiny at last.

Afterlife, the final book in the Evernight series, picks up exactly where book three, Hourglass, left off. I loved the previous books in the series and Hourglass had a heartbreaking, shocking ending. I was really looking forward to seeing how things worked out for Bianca and Lucas. But as with any final book, I was a little anxious as well, wondering how things would wrap up, if the series would go out on the high it deserved. I shouldn't have worried though.

The book is well paced, lots of twists and turns as you'd expect. There was a lot of loose ends to tie up from the previous books to tie up, and I think they all get tied up well. The odd one is tied up a little quickly before moving on to the next thing, but for the most part they're all given enough time and explanation. Fitting both with what's come before and what's revealed in Afterlife.

There was one moment, very close to the end, that should have had a big emotional impact, but for me fell a little flat. I've really no idea why, but it just didn't quite work for me. But aside from that, it was the heart wrenching, beautiful, fantastic book I wanted it to be. There was a lot of character growth and change, and I really felt for Bianca so many times as she faught to figure out what to do. It was an emotional roller coaster but one I wouldn't have changed for anything. It was a really satisfying ending for a fantastic YA vampire series, that I highly recommend!

All You Get Is Me by Yvonne Prinz

Goodreads
All You Get Is Me site
Series: n/a
Copy obtained: bought hb
Publisher: Harper Teen
Released: Dec 2010
Rating: 2.5/5

A summer of love, loss and justice.


Things were complicated enough for Roar, even before her father decided to yank her out of the city and go organic. Suddenly, she's a farm girl, albeit a reluctant one, selling figs at the farmers' market and developing her photographs in a ramshackle shed. Caught between a troublemaking sidekick named Storm, a brooding, easy-on-the-eyes L.A. boy, and a father on a human rights crusade that challenges the fabric of the farm community, Roar is going to have to tackle it all - even with dirt under her fingernails and her hair pulled back with a rubber band meant for asparagus.

I really liked the sound of this book, and I was very taken by the cover as well, so I was looking forward to reading it. It started out pretty well, Roar (short for Aurora, but no one calls her that) is pretty easy to like and her narrative is soft and inviting. The set up, city girl now living on a farm in the middle of nowhere and what that entails, is well drawn and I found myself wishing I was actually there several times.

But, a lot of the story didn't work for me quite as it should have. There are a few chapters, particularly early on, where they are Roar's retelling of what went wrong in the city, why she and her dad left. Which were okay in themselves, even if I did feel they slowed the forward movement of the story down, but it turned out there was little relavance to them. Yes, they explain where Roar is coming from, what she's like, and how much she's changing. But honestly, there was just too much. It didn't all need to be in there and most of what I needed to know I learned from just a few short paragraphs within those chapters. It just slowed things down without giving any real extra insight.

I also feel that overall, the book didn't seem to have a real focus. In theory, the focus is on Roar and how she's growing up and adapting to her new life, what it means, and falling in love for the first time. But there is a big sub plot as well, involving her father and what he's working on. Instead of creating an added intensity and something for Roar to be dealing with or involved in though, it seems to just kind of happen. Things flick between that and her romance and the other little things going on leaving just the surface scratched on most accounts and not really getting anywhere deeper.

I liked Roar, I liked some of the side characters as well, but the romantic storyline fell somewhat flat as well, and I didn't much like Roar's best friend Storm either. It's not a bad book by any means. It certainly has some good descriptions of farm life, and as I said, I kept wishing I was there. But while the story was strong enough that I wanted to finish it, I was left feeling kind of disappointed and unsatisfied. I think had the big secondary plot had more depth given to it, or had it been left out and the focus been left purely on Roar and her romance, I'd have preferred it. It's still a reasonable book though and I'm sure there are those who would enjoy the lighter read more than I did.

Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

Goodreads
Kimberly Derting's site
Series: The Body Finder #2
Copy obtained: bought, hb
Publisher: Harper (US)/Headline (UK)
Release date: Feb 15th (US)/March 17th (UK)
Rating: 4/5

The missing dead call to Violet. They want to be found.


Violet can sense the echoes of those who've been murdered - and the matching imprint that clings to their killers. Only those closest to her know what she is capable of, but when she discovers the body of a young boy she also draws the attention of the FBI, threatening her entire way of life.


As Violet works to keep her morbid ability a secret, she unwittingly becomes the object of a dangerous obsession. Normally she'd turn to her best friend, Jay, except now that they are officially a couple, the rules of their relationships seem to have changed. And with Jay spending more and more time with his new friend Mike, Violet is left with too much time on her hands as she wonders where things went wrong. But when she fills the void by digging in to Mike's tragic family history, she stumbles upon a dark truth that could put everyone in danger.

The Body Finder was one I wasn't sure I'd like, but I got sucked in straight away and loved it! So I was really excited to get my hands on book 2 and because I'm an impatient person, I couldn't wait for the UK release and bought the US one which released a month earlier. I am glad I did, but Desires was not quite what I expected.

Desires of the Dead takes place a few months after The Body Finder and for Violet things are more in the realm of normal again. But not for long. There are basically three plots to Desires, all twisted together. One involves Violet and Jay's relationship (and all the issues with Jay's new best friend), one involves a body Violet finds and the FBI who get involved afterwards, and the third involves someone stalking Violet. The third one, I had figured out very easily, early on, so it lacked a lot of the intended tension, especially considering the where it went and the place it held in the story.

I really enjoyed the developments with Jay and Violet's relationship. They've been best friends forever, now they're a couple and I'm glad things aren't all plain sailing. That Violet struggles to deal with their new dynamic, despite being completely sure she loves him, is something I found real and the whole of that particular plot was something I found very engaging. If a little heart wrenching at times! I also thought the FBI side of things played out well. I liked the ideas it brings and the possibilities as well. Plus, the two agents involved are both really well drawn characters. There's still a fair few secrets there to be unveiled I'm certain!

The three plots tangle together, one affecting the next and does make for a really good, reasonably fast paced read. I did finish it in a day. But something I loved about The Body Finder was how unpredictable it was. The ending of that one was pretty shocking because I didn't see it coming. I found it very easy to guess what was coming throughout Desires and that was a little disappointing. However, I do love Violet, and Jay. Reading the continuation of their story was very enjoyable and I certainly felt Violet's anguish as she tried to figure out the right things to do, both with Jay and with everything else. I was impressed with how she handled certain things, but other times I half wanted to smack her and tell her to wake up. While her parents do play a small role in Desires, it's not as strong nor are they are as obviously present as they were in TBF, something else I found a little disappointing. I preferred The Body Finder, but overall, I still love Desires of the Dead. It's a different ride than TBF, still emotional, but not quite as dark or creepy. I'm very excited that there will be two more Body Finder books because I'm really curious to see where things go after the events of Desires!

Half Moon by Jordan Deen

Goodreads
Jordan Deen's site
Series: The Crescent #2
Copy obtained: bought on Kindle
Publisher: Black Rose
Released: Jan 2011
Rating: 4.5/5
Spoiler Warning!! Contains spoilers for previous book!!

"I'd been a fool for coming here with them, and now...no one would come to save me. The world that hid in the shadows of humanity was full of enemies."

Faced with death, Lacey Quinn ran away from the only family she'd ever known. That...was just the beginning.

As the decision she's made sinks in, Lacey struggles to fit in with the pack and find the key to bonding with her werewolf soul mate, Brandon. But, lies can only be concealed for so long.

Adjusting to a powerful new best friend, a twelve-year-old roommate with a nauseating Barbie fetish, and a lost love that won't stop haunting her dreams, she knows she has no hope of having a normal future - ever again.

After a long talk with the dead mother she never knew, and an almost deal-breaking night out with Brandon, Lacey starts spiraling into the underworld - a place where all things are possible and everyone is out to kill her.

With mysterious legends of witches and sorcery marring her past and clouding her future, she quickly learns - werewolves aren't the only ones lurking in the woods...waiting to claim her powers for their own.

The Mares? Well, they are the least of her worries.

Half Moon is the second book in The Crescent trilogy. I really enjoyed book one, The Crescent and I was very excited to read book 2 and discover how things went from the semi-cliff hanger ending. I did love this book, but it was not an easy or fully enjoyable ride.

I really enjoy the extensive world building in these books. There's a lot discovered and explained in Half Moon and I liked getting to see more of how some things work. I loved getting to meet some new characters as well, and get to know others better. There is the addition of one new character, Brea, who I really loved! She's got a spark and how she is with Lacey is something I just thoroughly loved.

What I didn't enjoy, is the love triangle. This is not fault of writing though, this is my personal, growing, hatred for them. If they're well written I can sometimes get on with them or at least put up with it. If they're not, or I have a particular, serious dislike to one of the guys involved then I struggle to read them because I just don't enjoy reading what I see as the girl being a little of an idiot for liking said guy. This one is odd because it's a combination of both. It's well written and well handled, and I really dislike one of the guys involved. So reading it wasn't enjoyable and a couple times I did put the book down and walk away because I was getting very irritated with Lacey's attitude towards both guys and her actions as a result. But because it's well written and because I was so engrossed in the rest of the story, it usually took me less than 10 minutes to get back to it because I needed to know what was going to happen!

It was clear early on that something was going on. I couldn't figure it out, maybe I should have figured it out sooner, but I didn't. And I loved it! The twists and turns along the way are great. I got so mad at Lacey sometimes, but I just wanted the best for her as well. I really hated some of the Armana's at times. For people who claim to be the good guys and want to help, they're not very good at it! But, again, I ended up kind of loving how it all works out. I really enjoyed all the confliction and how Lacey grew and learned to fight back through this book. I think there is still a lot to come from her, but she did end up really impressing me through Half Moon.

This is a great follow up to The Crescent. No, I didn't love all of it, I didn't enjoy reading parts of the love triangle. But it's very well done and it is a great story! I felt so bad for Lacey at times and wanted to protect her from some of the events she faced. Things got very intense towards the end and left me wanting the final book, Full Moon, right now!! Any earlier misgivings I had with the book were fully made up for with events towards the end. If you like werewolf books, you need to check this trilogy out!

Flash Burnout by L. K. Madigan

Goodreads
Series: n/a
Copy obtained: bought, pb
Publisher: Graphia
Released: Oct 2009
Rating: 4.5/5

CLICK.

Saturated self-portrait: Blake, a nice guy, class clown, always trying to get a laugh, not sure where to focus.

CLICK.

Contrast. Shannon, Blake's GF. Total. Babe. Marissa, just a friend and fellow photographer. Shannon loves him; Marissa needs him. How is he supposed to frame them both in one shot?

This is a slightly strange book in some ways, but it's completely fantastic! It took me a little while to get in to it, but once I got used to Blake's voice, I was hooked. Blake is 15, happy to have a very hot girlfriend in Shannon, and then one photo changes things. In his photo class, he and Marissa talk a lot and as normal, he shows her some of his work he's done before the teacher asks for it. In one photo is a woman, that woman, unknown to Blake, is Marissa's mom. From there things start falling apart. Blake realises Marissa needs him, but Shannon wants him. And he's caught between the two, unsure how to manage either one.

I love the reality in this book. Blake's clueless innocence about girls; how he struggles with Marissa's situation not really wanting to be a part of it, but wanting to be a good friend; how he struggles to deal with Shannon and Marissa together. Plus I love his family, that there is a strong parental role and a solid relationship with his older brother as well. I really enjoyed getting to know all the characters in this story, they're all really well drawn. Marissa's story is one that's gritty and real as well, even though we only see it through Blake's eyes.

The whole book is a strange balance of humor and serious. It's very serious in some aspects dealing with some tough subjects, particularly in the second half. But I lost count of how often I laughed out loud as well. And maybe even more surprising was the way I could go from laughing out loud at something that was said or happened one moment, to aching for Blake or Marissa the next. Like a snap of the fingers, I was the opposite emotion. And it's not harsh or jarring, it just works.

Flash Burnout is wonderfully written. Smart, careful, so funny and very, very honest. It's surprisingly brutal in some respects, and surprising in general. It was not what I expected, but I found it very refreshing for that fact. The tension builds and builds right up to the end. There are some surprising twists, a few very unexpected choices. The characters grow through the book, learning from what happens to them and it's fantastically done. And the ending...just wow. Completely unexpected, and yet it fits perfectly! I loved this book so much. It kind of broke my heart. Flash Burnout is excellent read and I highly recommend it!

Outside In by Maria V. Snyder

Goodreads
Maria V. Snyder's site
Series: Inside Out #2
Copy obtained: e-ARC from NetGalley
Publisher: Harlequin Teen (US) / Mira Ink (UK)
Release date: Feb 15th (US) March 18th (UK)
Rating: 3/5
Spoiler Warning! Spoilers for book 1, Inside Out ahead.

Me? A Leader? Okay, I did prove that there's more to Inside than we knew. That a whole world exists beyond this cube we live in. And finding that led to a major rebellion - between worker scrubs like me and the snobby uppers who rule our world. Make that ruled. Because of me, we're free. I thought that meant I was off the hook, and could go off on my own again - while still touching base with Riley, of course. He's the one upper I think I can trust. But then we learned that there's outside and then there is Outside. And something from Outside wants In.

Outside In picks up shortly after where Inside Out left off. Chaos seems to reign as Inside attempts to sort itself out after the discovery of all the extra space and the revolt to take control from the Travas'. But that is the least of the problems as things start to blow up. Someone seems intent on destroying Inside, and something Outside, wants in. Trouble and danger is coming from every direction and Trella is less sure than ever about who can be trusted. 

I completely loved Inside Out and so I was very excited to get my hands on Outside In early after that ending. I wish I could say Outside In lived up to expectations, but it just didn't for me. I loved Trella in Inside Out, but here I found her very irritating. She took a very definite step back from the stronger girl she'd become through book one and spent a lot of time running from responsibilities and reality. I can understand some of her fears and why she was like that, but it went on too long and I got very frustrated with her. 

I think my irritation with Trella and her personal issues made the plot feel like it was moving a lot slower than it actually was early on. As the action took over from the personal issues, that's when the story picked up for me. I didn't find the pacing as smooth or constant as Inside Out, because as soon as the focus was back on Trella and more personal issues, I didn't really want to know, until she started growing up again and dealing with things. Through the first half of the book it seemed like it was a constant switch, action/Trella physically hurt, then emotional angst and back again. The second half of the book was much stronger, plot wise and character wise. It was faster, smoother and a lot more intense. 

The ending though let it down for me again. The last two or three chapters felt rushed, and then very neat as everything got tied up. Too neat for my tastes. Overall it's still a decent read. There is some good action and I do love Riley! He is my favourite character from both books. I love his strength and passion, and he's very smart too. I did really enjoy his interaction with Trella, even when I didn't like her, because it was intense and honest. I just found that it was lacking compared with book one. I found this very easy to walk away from and it actually took me a few days to finish it. It does have some great moments, and a reasonably satisfying conclusion, but I thought a lot more of Inside Out. Still, if you read that, you'll want to read this one, you may well get more out of it than I did if you can look past some of Trella's actions.

One Hundred Candles

Goodreads
Mara Purnhagen's site
Series: Past Midnight #2
Copy obtained: e-ARC from NetGalley
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release date: Feb 15th 2011
Rating: 4/5

It's taken a long time for me to feel like a normal teenager. But now that I'm settled in a new school, where people know me as more than Charlotte Silver of the infamous Silver family paranormal investigators, it feels like everything is falling into place. And what better way to be normal than to go on a date with a popular football star like Harris Abbott? After all, it's not as if Noah is anything more than a friend….

But my new life takes a disturbing turn when Harris brings me to a party and we play a game called One Hundred Candles. It seems like harmless, ghostly fun. Until spirits unleashed by the game start showing up at school. Now my friends and family are in very real danger, and the door that I've opened into another realm may yield deadly consequences.

One Hundred Candles is the second book in the Past Midnight series, picking up a couple months after the end of it. I really liked Past Midnight, despite a couple issues with the main character. I ended up enjoying One Hundred Candles much more!

Charlotte has grown up a bit I think, and she's gotten stronger, despite still not being particularly confident. She's not burying her head in the sand the way she was in Past Midnight and it made her much more likable for me. I loved seeing a little continuation on the side from various plots from book one, particularly relationship based and I like how the issues Avery and Jared face haven't been ignored, but also aren't over done. The snippets we see of what they're going through now fit in just nicely without excessive description. I actually found myself really enjoying how Charlotte's romantic life developed as well. I love Noah so much, I was a little disappointed at the idea of there being another love interest, but how everything plays out is actually very well done and it's a love triangle I don't hate for a change!

I really enjoyed the main plot in One Hundred Candles as well with the different disturbances and how they linked up with the game early in the book. I found myself getting in to it very quickly and I easily finished it within a few hours. It's not a particularly long book and it made for a good afternoons reading! I liked the twists and some of it I didn't see coming. I also really enjoyed the extension to the world building. I think there is still more to learn about Charlotte's world that she herself doesn't know right now. I really felt for Charlotte with certain events and particularly towards the end, there is a heartbreaking moment and I was tearing up a lot! Overall a really good read, well paced, some beautiful, moving moments and great characters. I'm really excited for book 3, Beyond The Grave (out Sept 2011), to see what happens next! I've never been the biggest fan of ghost stories, but I'm loving this series!

The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

Goodreads
Series website
Series: The Eternal Ones #1
Copy obtained: UK Book Tours
Publisher: Razorbill/Penguin
Released: July 2010
Rating: 2/5

Haven Moore can't control her visions of a past with a boy called Ethan, and a life in New York that ended in fiery tragedy. In our present, she designs beautiful dresses for her classmates with her best friend Beau. Dressmaking keeps her sane, since she lives with her widowed and heartbroken mother in her tyrannical grandmother's house in Snope City, a tiny town in Tennessee. Then an impossible group of coincidences conspire to force her to flee to New York, to discover who she is, and who she was.

In New York, Haven meets Iain Morrow and is swept into an epic love affair that feels both deeply fated and terribly dangerous. Iain is suspected of murdering a rock star and Haven wonders, could he have murdered her in a past life? She visits the Ouroboros Society and discovers a murky world of reincarnation that stretches across millennia. Haven must discover the secrets hidden in her past lives, and loves¸ before all is lost and the cycle begins again.

I really wanted to like this book. I liked the ideas of it, it sounded a bit different to most of what I read and I thought it would make a nice change. It started out alright, although it took me several days to read about 60 pages because I was so sick, but then I started improving and was able to read more. And I realised just how slow it is to actually get anywhere to start with. Haven doesn't even meet Iain until halfway through the book, and then things start happening very quickly, but Haven can't make up her mind if things are good or bad and who the bad guys really are. Not to mention making a couple of very dumb decisions because Iain is hot and says the right things.

I don't mind books confusing me when it's hard to figure out what's going on. I do mind when it's because of a constant back/forth where things are one way, then they're the other but there isn't any real evidence of which way things really are. I got so tired of Haven that I almost didn't finish the book, and probably wouldn't have if not for having had 2 DNF's right before it (unheard of for me!) and not wanting to make it a third.

The thing is, this isn't a badly written book, nor are the ideas bad. I actually really enjoyed the premise and learning all about how reincarnation works in this story. How Haven discovers things and I really enjoyed the set up of her being in a small town and the issues involved there, along with the issues in her home life. Plus, I really loved her best friend Beau, and I also found myself really enjoying the small role Leah, a girl from Haven's school, plays as well. I enjoyed the flashbacks to Haven's previous life and seeing some of that play out and how it mirrored current events. But Haven and her attitude were too much for me. I didn't get on with her at all and once I was out of my flu haze, and paying attention to more than the words on the page, I was kind of annoyed that it took so long for Haven to actually get anywhere.

A lot of promise for sure, and a book I'm sure plenty could get on with very well. But it didn't work for me despite some very good moments, and some very interesting world building. I won't be bothering with the second book.

Some Girls Are by Courtney Summers

Goodreads
Courtney Summer's site
Series: n/a
Copy obtained: bought, pb
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Released: Jan 2010
Rating: 4.5/5

Climbing to the top of the social ladder is hard--falling from it is even harder.  Regina Afton used to be a member of the Fearsome Fivesome, an all-girl clique both feared and revered by the students at Hallowell High... until vicious rumors about her and her best friend's boyfriend start going around.  Now Regina's been "frozen out" and her ex-best friends are out for revenge.  If Regina was guilty, it would be one thing, but the rumors are far from the terrifying truth and the bullying is getting more intense by the day.  She takes solace in the company of Michael Hayden, a misfit with a tragic past who she herself used to bully.  Friendship doesn't come easily for these onetime enemies, and as Regina works hard to make amends for her past, she realizes Michael could be more than just a friend... if threats from the Fearsome Foursome don't break them both first.

Tensions grow and the abuse worsens as the final days of senior year march toward an explosive conclusion in this dark new tale from the author of Cracked Up To Be.

I am so, so glad that I bought Some Girls Are despite not really enjoying Courtney's first book, Cracked Up To Be. I wasn't going to, but so many people talked about it and recommend it, and Courtney's new book, Fall For Anything, that I thought I'd get it and give it a try because I know that just because I don't like one book/series from an author, doesn't mean I'll dislike all their work. And this is one time where it's really paid off because Some Girls Are is a fantastic book!

Regina was one of the popular ones, one of those dreaded Mean Girls, best friend to the top of the tower, Anna. But now she's frozen out. Everything Regina's done to other students in the past is being done to her. She's caught between fear, a desire to fight back and the knowledge of just what those girls are capable of. What she's capable of.

I was hooked pretty much from page one of Some Girls Are. It just grabbed me and didn't let go, I finished it easily within a few hours. It's heart breaking really, very painful reading, for many reasons. Regina is such an odd character to me, not because she's not drawn realistically, because she is. But because I did feel very bad for her, the things she was going through, how she was suffering. And yet at the same time, I kind of hated her too. Because of some of the things she's done, how she handled certain situations (in the past more than what we actually see). There was this constant internal conflict going on in my head trying to figure out just how I felt about Regina. The winning emotion though was pain. It's such a painful journey for her. It's kind of hard to understand why she was as she was, one of that 'Fearsome Fivesome' and yet, completely simple as well. But if it can be considered as such, it's the only 'simple' thing about this book.

It's so complex, one thing after another, one twist, one action changing everything over and over. Regina attempting to figure out how to survive high school with people who really hate her, surrounding her, how to connect with those who she'd previously 'ruined' in a similar way. It's so real, and so emotional I was in tears repeatedly but I barely put it down because I needed to know what happened next. I needed to see if it could get worse, because surely it couldn't...but it did. Some Girls Are is an intense, thought provoking read. It captures the harsh realities of both sides of that popular/un-popular high school social structure extremely well and how bullying can destroy lives with a few well placed words. There were times when Regina was struggling to breathe through her panic, and I felt almost as bad. It was just that intense! There's a little romance involved, but it's every bit as conflicted and confusing as everything else going on. And I loved it. How Regina's relationships with those around her develops over the course of the book is just excellent. It's such a painful book, but I thoroughly enjoyed every moment of this story. Fantastic work and now I'm really excited to get my hands on Fall For Anything and any future titles from Courtney. Just awesome.

Hate List by Jennifer Brown

Goodreads
Jennifer Brown's site
Series: n/a
Copy obtained: bought pb
Publisher: Little Brown
Released: Sept 2009
Rating: 4.5/5

"The list was my idea. I didn't mean for anyone to die. Will you ever forgive me?"

Five months ago, Valerie Leftman's boyfriend, Nick, opened fire on their school cafeteria. Val was as shocked as everyone else - but, despite her own serious injury, she's implicated in the crime because of the list. The list she and Nick made of people they hated. The list Nick used to pick his targets.

Now, after a summer of seclusion, Val is forced to confront her guilt as she returns to school to complete her senior year. Haunted by the memory of the boyfriend she still loves and navigating the rocky relationships with her family, her former friends, and the girl whose life she saved, Val must come to grips with the tragedy that took place, and her role in it, in order to make amends and move on with her life.

There is a comment from the author in the back of this book which states that while most would say that this is a book about a school shooting, for her it's about Valerie, it's Val's story. And, having just finished and still in tears, I read that and went 'no kidding!' because that's exactly how I felt about it. Yes, it starts off about the shooting, but within a couple of chapters it wasn't about that for me, it was about a girl who loved, who had something terrible happen to her, and is lost in a sea of confusion and desperately trying to find a way out, feeling unable to turn to anyone. I can relate to that, being lost in confusion. I felt so much for Valerie as she tried to deal with what happened, what it means for her, what is says about her and the role she played in it all.

There is no question this is a powerful, thought provoking, tear-jearker of a book. The descriptions, the power to the flashback scenes of the shooting itself actually made me flinch when the gun went off. I cried for Val as she realised what some people thought of her. I was proud of her as she took steps forward. I ached for her almost the whole way through the book. Val is far from perfect, but that just makes her all the more real. I like how she's so conflicted about events and herself; how she learns and grows through the book from her own views changing; the pressure and hurt from her broken family and the others in the school around her. Not to mention the therapist. I love all the adult involvement in this book! Not all of them are nice characters nor are they all trying to help Val, but they're there and play a very real role and add a presence so often wrongly missing from YA novels.

I found Hate List very hard to put down, and if not for certain issues, I think I'd have easily read it in a single day instead of two. It's paced perfectly, with such well drawn characters and descriptions of the mess of emotions and reactions that really got to me. I got kind of lost in Val's journey and I was sad to get to the end of it. But I do love where this story ends. I won't spoil it for those who've not read it, but I do love it. A heartfelt, powerful book. I'm not sure I can say I enjoyed reading it, because with something dealing with such raw, broken emotions, so much pain, it's hard to enjoy it. But it is excellent reading, and I love it. I'm so glad I read this book, and I think it's one that could maybe help teens who are struggling, or parents of teens who a struggling. With bullying, family issues, life in general as much as anyone who has had to face such a tragedy. And it's certainly a book I'd highly recommend.

Green-Eyed Demon by Jaye Wells

Goodreads
Jaye Wells' site
Series: Sabina Kane #3
Copy obtained: e-ARC from NetGalley
Publisher: Orbit
Release Date: Feb 3rd 2011 (UK) Feb 22nd (US)
Rating: 4.5/5

Spoiler Warning: contains Major spoilers from previous books!!

The clock is ticking for Sabina Kane. She has to save her sister from her mysterious captors. And in order to do that, she has to broker a deal between the mages and the vampires before all hell breaks loose.

But as much as Sabina is focused on surviving the present, the past won't be ignored. Before she can save those she cares about, she's got to save herself from the ghosts of her past. Because the past is haunting her. Literally.

I liked the first book of this series, Red-Headed Stepchild, a lot. The second book, The Mage in Black, was also good but I didn't enjoy it as much. There was a heck of a cliff hanger in it though, which left me very much wanting to know what happened. Green-Eyed Demon did not disappoint and is easily the best of the series to date! I loved this book.

Green-Eyed Demon picks up a few days after the events of The Mage in Black with Sabina, Adam and Giguhl searching for Sabina's sister Maisie. There is plenty of action right from the start and it rarely lets up. It's a book full of twists, some seriously kick-ass fights, and a few awesome new characters. I loved the extension to the world building with more of a mages' power being explained and shown, along with some other aspects to various races we hadn't yet learnt about. Things always seemed so close to boiling point, ready to spill over and it created a tension that made the book very hard to put down!

But what I loved most about this book, was the development of Sabina. She's always been a loner. Working as an assassin it was something that worked for her. But now she has to learn to play with others and it's not been something she's been particularly good at. Here in Green-Eyed Demon though she takes a real step forward. I loved seeing her insecurities and how her relationships with both Adam and Gighul (who, by the way, is still as funny as ever, but so much more awesome in this book!!) develop as they work to find out where Maisie is being held and if they can possibly rescue her. It's heart breaking at times, but it's brilliantly played. I couldn't get enough of it!

The ending is seriously intense! It had me in tears (a couple of times, I confess) and wow! It packs the biggest punch. I had some issues with both the first two books, different issues and while they didn't ruin the books for me, they did stop me loving them as much as I could have. I had very few issues with this one and pretty much just loved it outright! It's fast and actioned packed, with a emotional background that kept tugging at me. It answers several questions and ties up a few plots while still leaving plenty to keep you guessing and wondering! Fantastic work! I can't wait for book 4, Silver-Tongued Devil (out in 2012 I believe) to find out what's going to happen now after the big events of Green-Eyed Demon!

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

Goodreads
Courtney Allison Moulton's site
Series: Angelfire #1
Copy obtained: e-ARC from NetGalley
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release date: Feb 15th
Rating: 4.5/5

When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.

A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.

While balancing her dwindling social life and her reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember.

It only took a couple of pages for Ellie’s voice to hook me, and then I couldn’t put then I couldn’t put Angelfire down. It’s pretty intense from the start. Ellie has been having nightmares and on her 17th birthday discovers that they may well not be nightmares, but memories. Of another time and place, where she is supernaturally strong, a hunter, killing monsters in the fight of good versus evil. 

She’s told that these things are real by Will. A guy who suddenly appears on the scene and yet she feels this connection with, like she’s known him forever. Which, as it turns out, is more or less true. They’ve spent hundreds of years fighting together, him as her bodyguard. Ellie just doesn’t remember it. Yet.

Ellie is a pretty typical teenager (although a well off one) who I found very easy to like. I wasn’t so sure about her while she was being so insistent that Will was lying, that she hadn’t seen some of the things she’d really seen. But then I stopped and thought about it, and really, having had no belief of the paranormal at all, then being thrown in to that world and told you are a key player in keeping evil at bay, is a pretty good reason to go in to serious denial! I really enjoyed her development over the course of the book, how she dealt with the memories, the nightmares, and the reality.

Likewise I really liked Will. He’s got that super sexy bodyguard thing going for him. He’s secretive and likes to keep things inside, but I fell in love with him anyway. He’s intense, and despite not knowing much about him for a long time, I always got this sense of so much more going on under the surface with him than was actually seen. It gives him a lot of depth when the facts are minimal and I really enjoyed getting to know him even a tiny bit, trying to figure him out. 

There is a lot of action in this book and every action scene was just spectacular. Several of them were so vivid they were practically playing out like a movie in my head while I was reading. Something that rarely happens for me with action scenes in books! 

A gripping, thrilling read. Great characters, fantastic plot and great use of mythology as well. There is what promises to be a beautiful love story involved as well, but it doesn’t start really showing itself until later in the book. It’s worth the wait and I’m hoping for more on it in book 2! The ending was fabulous, beautiful, sad and powerful. It leaves you in a place where you have some answers, but still plenty of questions and hungry for more. A fantastic debut and I cannot wait for books two and three! I’m just sorry it’s going to be such a long wait. A new favourite book and a new auto-buy author!

When The Stars Go Blue by Caridad Ferrer

Goodreads
Caridad Ferrer's site
Series: n/a
Copy obtained: bought
Publisher: Thomas Dunne Books
Rating: 2/5

Dance is Soledad Reyes's life. About to graduate from Miami's Biscayne High School for the Performing Arts, she plans on spending her last summer at home teaching in a dance studio, saving money, and eventually auditioning for dance companies. That is, until fate intervenes in the form of fellow student Jonathan Crandell, who has what sounds like an outrageous proposition: Forget teaching. Instead, why not spend the summer performing in the intense environment of the competitive drum and bugle corps? The corps is going to be performing Carmen, and the opportunity to portray the character of the sultry gypsy proves too tempting for Soledad to pass up, as well as the opportunity to spend more time with Jonathan, who intrigues her in a way no boy ever has.

But in an uncanny echo of the story they perform every evening, an unexpected competitor for Soledad's affections appears. One explosive encounter later, Soledad finds not only her relationship with Jonathan threatened but her entire future as a professional dancer in jeopardy.

I had high hopes for this book. It sounded like an intense, romantic read and one I'd enjoy, I really liked the premise for it. But within a chapter or two it was pretty obvious this one was not going to work for me. I found Soledad hard to connect with. She's not exactly flakey, but very focused and the way she was blind to certain things and the general world going on around her irritated me.

The writing is good, but the book is written from Soledad's emotions and thoughts so it sometimes felt like I was wading through something not quite liquid as I tried to figure out exactly what was going on. The dance and music scenes are described beautifully, but Soledad can go from one place with one person to another with someone else with no description at all. One moment she's having a conversation with character b, next moment she's with character c and b is no where around. Have to play a bit of mental catch up and understand that actually, nothing has been ignored, it's just been left out of the script. When Soledad is actually interacting with other people, and when her thoughts are more specific and less general, then she showed the spark needed for me to like her and connect with the story. But it tended to just last for a sentence or two then I was struggling again.

Plot wise I didn't get with the story either. I did something I very rarely do with this book. When I was around the halfway point I skipped to the end and read a few paragraphs. I needed to know which of the two guys Soledad was going to end up with, because if it went one way, I wouldn't have bothered finishing it. As it went the other, I carried on with it, but it wasn't a quick finish. I found the characters hard to mesh with and I wasn't too impressed with the handling of certain issues either. One good thing about it though was how the second love interest came from an unexpected place. I really liked that part of it.

But throughout the book Soledad showed very little growth, right until the final couple of chapters. I actually really liked those final chapters, for the most part. It was a case of too little, too late for me though. It did redeem it somewhat for me, but not enough for me to have found it a particularly worth while read. I'm certain though that there are plenty out there for whom the style and story would work very well for. It's certainly got some intensity and heat to the dance scenes and a few parts of the romance as well, along with some realities of emotional abuse. It just didn't work for me.

The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa

Goodreads
Julie Kagawa's site
The Iron Fey site
Series: The Iron Fey #3
Copy obtained: e-galley for review from NetGalley
Publisher: HarlequinTeen (US) Mira Ink (UK)
Release date: Jan 25th (US) no UK date yet
Rating: 5/5
SPOILER WARNING! Contains spoilers from previous books.

 In less than twenty-four hours I'll be seventeen.

Although, technically, I won't actually be turning seventeen. I've been in the Nevernever too long. When you're in Faery, you don't age. So while a year has passed in the real world, age wise I'm probably only a few days older than when I went in.

In real life, I've changed so much, I don't even recognize myself.

My name is Meghan Chase. 

I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it. 

This time, there will be no turning back.

The Iron Queen picks up right where The Iron Daughter left off, with Ash and Meghan exiled from Faery and stuck in the mortal world. But the war hasn’t stopped and neither of them are happy that they’ve had to walk away. And Meghan may just be the best person to help stop it. If she can figure out how.

This series has just gotten stronger and stronger. I couldn’t put The Iron Queen down! It was one long, beautiful, painful emotional roller coaster. Romance, danger, darkness and action blend seamlessly together making a fantastic story. Like the two books before it, it’s beautifully written and I got sucked straight in and it felt like I’d just put TID down moments before it. I loved how the story developed through this third book, so many twists I never saw coming!

The character growth is fantastic as well. Meghan has come so far from the girl who knew nothing of Faerie at the start of The Iron King (book #1). I was so proud of her for the tough decisions she had to make, and I was aching and crying for her at the same time. Grim and Puck are easily two of my favourite side characters from any book or series and they continue to give their humor to lighten the enclosing darkness for a moment or two! The world building has expanded and deepened with each book, and it continues to do so here. I loved seeing more of the world, so dark and creepy and yet completely beautiful and compelling as well!

Some books just come across as simple magic, and you can’t explain the emotional attachment involved. This is one of those books. I just loved every moment of it! It tore at me, left me thinking for hours afterwards. And that ending...wow!! Very intense, it tore me apart over and over! I thought it’d gotten as bad as it could, then something worse would happen. I honestly had no idea what the outcome would be until I was done. And then I wanted more! An awesome addition to the Iron Fey series, the best one so far for sure. I cannot wait for The Iron Knight, Ash’s story, later in the year!! A fantastic series that I’d highly recommend!

Shadowfever by Karen Marie Moning

Goodreads
Karen Marie Moning's site
Series: Fever #5
Copy obtained: bought it
Publisher: Delacorte Press (Jan 18th)
Rating: 4.5/5
Spoiler Warning!! Contains spoilers for previous books!

"Evil is a completely different creature, Mac. Evil is bad that believes it's good."

MacKayla Lane was just a child when she and her sister, Alina, were given up for adoption and banished from Ireland forever. Twenty years later, Alina is dead and Mac has returned to the country that expelled them to hunt her sister's murderer. But after discovering that she descends from a bloodline both gifted and cursed, Mac is plunged into a secret history: an ancient conflict between humans and immortals who have lived concealed among us for thousands of years.

What follows is a shocking chain of events with devastating consequences, and now Mac struggles to cope with grief while continuing her mission to acquire and control the Sinsar Dubh- a book of dark, forbidden magic scribed by the mythical Unseelie King, containing the power to create and destroy worlds. In an epic battle between humans and Fae, the hunter becomes the hunted when the Sinsar Dubh turns on Mac and begins mowing a deadly path through those she loves. Who can she turn to? Who can she trust? Who is the woman haunting her dreams? More important, who is Mac herself and what is the destiny she glimpses in the black and crimson designs of an ancient tarot card?

From the luxury of the Lord Master's penthouse to the sordid depths of an Unseelie nightclub, from the erotic bed of her lover to the terrifying bed of the Unseelie King, Mac's journey will force her to face the truth of her exile, and to make a choice that will either save the world . . . or destroy it.

Shadowfever picks up right where Dreamfever left off, and for me there was no surprise at all to the discovery of the identity of the beast. From there we have a very different Mac to anything we've seen from her yet. And she has already changed a huge amount of the course of the series. Watching Mac grow up and develop from this very superficial 'barbie-girl' into someone who can kick ass, take the pain thrown her way and make the tough decisions she has to has been a fantastic journey. Likewise the world building has been some of my favourite. It's a dark, complex world with so many layers and so easy to get lost in. That hasn't changed for this final book.

Shadowfever is long, much longer than all the books before it. And while I never really felt like it was dragging as such, I do think it could have done with being a bit shorter. I think certain aspects were drawn out too far so that when they finally happened/were revealed, there was much less impact than there could have been. I was also a little surprised to find myself disappointed by the very last twist. Just something that got very suddenly tied up all neat and nice. It wasn't the biggest plot or anything, but it was just there then over and glossed over some at that. For the first time since Darkfever, where Mac's sunshiny, shallow personality grated on me, she irritated me again. It's late on in the book after one of many reveals and I just got very annoyed with her reaction and partly wanted her back to the Mac she'd been earlier in the book and also wishing the story would move on so I didn't need to put up with that Mac anymore. There were a couple other things I found myself a little bit disappointed with, but talking about them would be spoiler territory so I won't.

Really though, none of those little bits ruined the book for me. There is certainly a lot going on in Shadowfever and there are some real stand out moments which I loved. A few of the many twists were just fantastic and left me gaping, even when a couple had decidedly less impact. I read Shadowfever over a few days through a haze of flu, but I still thoroughly enjoyed it and while I didn't find it as impossible to put down as books 1-4, it was still a very compelling read!

Final books are so tricky. They so easily fall in to the disaster category and taint those before it, and rarely it seems can they outdo what came before (or possibly I'm reading the wrong books!!). I know there are those who would possibly consider Shadowfever one of those disasters, and I'm not denying it's flawless. It's not my favourite of the series (that lies with Faefever and Dreamfever), but I do think it's a very strong ending. I have my little issues with it, but overall I'm very satisfied with the outcome. Most of the big questions are answered and those left unanswered, I can live with. I really enjoy this final adventure in to Mac's world and I'm happy to say this is still one of my favourite series ever! KMM would have been very hard pressed to please all her many fans with this book, but I for one am very happy. Great read, and a worthy final for a spectacular series!!

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Reviews for previous books (in order): Darkfever, Bloodfever, Faefever & Dreamfever (joint review)

The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney

Goodreads
Karen Mahoney's site
Series: The Iron Witch Saga #1
Copy obtained: ARC from the publisher, Random House Childrens Books
Publisher: RHCB (UK) Flux (US)
Release date: Jan 20th (UK) Jan 25th (US)
Rating: 4/5

FREAK. That's what her classmates call seventeen-year-old Donna Underwood. When she was seven, a horrific fey attack killed her father and drove her mother mad. Donna's own nearly fatal injuries from the assault were fixed by magic - the iron tattoos branding her hands and arms. The child of alchemists, Donna feels cursed by the magical heritage that destroyed her parents and any chance she had for a normal life. The only thing that keeps her sane and grounded is her relationship with her best friend, Navin Sharma.

When the darkest outcasts of Faerie - the vicious wood elves - abduct Navin, Donna finally has to accept her role in the centuries old war between the humans and the fey. Assisted by Xan, a gorgeous half-fey dropout with secrets of his own, Donna races to save her friend - even if it means betraying everything her parents and the alchemist community fought to the death to protect.

This 2011 debut novel on paper is not a book I'd love. It's centered on faeries (far from my favourite paranormal creatures), it's written in third person (I far prefer 1st), it's very rich in mythology/magic/alchemy (mix that with faeries and I tend to feel bogged down with information and don't enjoy it). And yet, I was very excited for The Iron Witch. Why? Because Kaz has had two short stories published before (in The Eternal Kiss and Kiss Me Deadly anthologies) which I completely adored. They were about completely different characters, but I loved the writing so I was very excited for Kaz's first novel despite all the potential factors against it. And I wasn't wrong, I did love The Iron Witch!

For those like me who prefer first person, Kaz makes is much easier to connect with Donna by having the occasional 'excerpt' from Donna's journal. Those little glimpses, and there are only a few, gave me the extra insight in to Donna's mind and her past that I needed to connect with her better, and through her the rest of the story. I did sometimes feel a disconnect with her, but I've got a feeling that was me being very sick while I was reading the book, than the writing itself. Donna is someone who doesn't seem to have a lot of confidence outwardly, but internally has a strength I love! She's an outsider, with just her best friend Navin for company. But Navin knows nothing of her 'other' side, the faeries, the alchemy, or that her hands are literally laced with iron after a horrific event in her past. I adored the friendship between the two, the loyalty, trust and how it changed throughout the book with the new troubles thrown their way. Donna is fiercely loyal, willing to fight as hard as she needs to protect those she loves, and it's probably my favourite thing about her.

The story itself is dark, twisting and yes, very rich in mythology and magic. But instead of finding myself switching off as things were explained and described, I found myself wanting more. I needed more, I wanted to understand all the why's and how's of how Donna's world works. It's so complex, and believable and brilliant! Little things kept being revealed and added throughout the book so it's not all given at once, so there isn't an info overload at any point. It's a fairly intense read, particularly the second half, but there are the odd lighter moments as well. The occasional semblance of complete normalcy which made me smile. It only happens a couple times, but I loved it.

There is a romantic plot to the book as well, in the form of Xan. I enjoyed the relationship between him and Donna, how it grew and the way they connect with each other. It's sweet and cute and manages to be pretty hot most of the time as well. Except, I don't entirely like Xan. It took me a long while to really warm up to him. He's mysterious. It adds a tension to their scenes, for me at least, which I actually really enjoy. But I'm curious to see where things go in book 2, The Wood Queen.

Overall it's a really great debut! Some fantastic world building, great characters and a twisting story that really kept me guessing! It's dark, mysterious, rich in secrets and mythology, and above all brilliant!! The ending in particular really stood out to me and left me hungry for more. There isn't a cliff hanger to it, but there may as well have been. I could have happily jumped straight in to The Wood Queen to find out what happens next because while there is a lot wrapped up within this book, there is still plenty left to be explained and explored. I highly recommend this book, especially if you're a fan of Fey stories and/or those rich in mythology. And even if you're not, read it anyways because it's a fantastic story!

If you want to check out the first couple chapters, you can do so here: