Passion by Lauren Kate

23rd June 2011, Doubleday Children's,
432 pages, Paperback
Review copy

Young Adult, paranormal

Angels, time travel, teen romance, some violence,

Summary from Random House Children's Books 

Before Luce and Daniel met at Sword & Cross, before they fought the Immortals, they had already lived many lives. And so Luce, desperate to unlock the curse that condemns their love, must revisit her past incarnations in order to understand her fate. Each century, each life, holds a different clue. 

But Daniel is chasing her throughout the centuries before she has a chance to rewrite history. 

How many deaths can one true love endure? 

And can Luce and Daniel unlock their past in order to change their future?

Nayuleska's thoughts on Passion
Regular readers will know that mostly my reviews are in a different style. I'm choosing to change it just for Passion, because I need to discuss my decision for giving the the book 8/10 and 2/10. Like Cem, I write honest reviews, explaining what I love and what I didn't like about books.

Disclaimer: All of these views are my own opinion. I will be reading the fourth book when it comes out. I may read Passion again - I'll just skip the bits I'm not keen on. Spoiler alert: there is a middling spoiler about what gets examined in the last part of the book in the 2/10 explanation.

The 8/10: I think I enjoyed this one a lot more (until near the end) because Luce isn't as moany as the other books. I really love how she learns about travelling back in time to meeting her former selves. I really like the extra way she can get to know that - that was pretty cool. It was fun seeing how Daniel and the other angels were doing, it gave me a fuller understanding of the story. The small plot twists that built up slowly over the story were well executed.

The 2/10: Whenever I read books on angels, there is always a thin line between where I'll keep reading, and where I'll stop reading. I find it interesting to authors interpretation on fictional angels and demons, having my own faith include angels. Where books delve into going into heaven and hell, and use what God might say and do, that's where the line is crossed for me. That happens at the end of Passion.

Religion always is a controversial subject, because everyone has different views on it. I'm not saying that Passion is awful and it shouldn't be read. I enjoyed most of it. All I'm saying is, that for me personally with my beliefs, the end part was uncomfortable to read. For me, it worked when there wasn't a direct show of where Daniel and Cam came from, or who they answered to. Adding that in doesn't feel right for me. For me, heaven, hell, what happens when we die (this part isn't necessarily in the book) and God are unknown and can never be accurately described by anyone. It's something we have to look forward to after death.

So this is probably the first time I've given a book two grades: 8/10 and 2/10. I guess if I met half way it would be 5/10 (I think...my maths is isn't very good! If anyone could figure out what the grade would be please let me know).

Be sure to check out more about the series on Lauren's website.

Suggested reading


Make sure you've read book one, Fallen

and book 2, Torment

Jessica's Trap by H K Hillman

April 2011, Eternal Press

175 pages, e-book

Review copy

Horror, Thriller (Although personally this feels more like a Young Adult Paranormal book and fits in with a lot of what I read in those two genres)

Some quite strong gore (demons), witch trials, betrayals, well hidden secrets, magic, superstition, some humour, lots of action

Summary from Fiction Express 

In a corner of the Civil War, a demonic battle is stirring.

An inexperienced young witch calls on demonic help to capture an ancient creature, an evil as old as Time and which inhabits the one known as ‘Witchfinder-General’.

Inexperience is no match for the wiles of demons and Jessica soon loses control. The demons will build the trap she wants but…

She is to be the bait.

Reasons for loving Jessica - aside from sharing a name with her, I admire her persistence in never giving up, and thinking the best of people.

Is there another character who deserves a special mention? Yes - Brifons who does so much good for Jessica.

How evil/nasty is the enemy? Super evil - come on, it's a demon! If other demons fear it, it has to be extremely evil.

Are there plenty of plot twists and surprises? Yes! Especially at the end.

One of my favourite parts was...the incident involving Jessica at the mill pond.

I happily give this 10/10.

Suggested reads

The Heretic's Daughter by Kathleen Kent (more witch trials)

The Soul Slayer by Paul Doherty - history and evil combine

Virals by Kathy Reichs

12th May 2011, Young Arrow
Paperback, Review copy
Young Adult, fantasy/paranormal

Summary from Random House
Tory Brennan is as fascinated by bones and dead bodies as her famous aunt, acclaimed forensic anthropologist, Tempe Brennan. However living on a secluded island off Charleston in South Carolina there is not much opportunity to put her knowledge to the test. Until she and her group of technophile friends stumble across a shallow grave containing the remains of a girl who has been missing for over thirty years. 

With the cold-case murder suddenly hot, Tory realises that they are involved in something fatally dangerous. And when they rescue a sick dog from a laboratory on the same island, it becomes evident that somehow the two events are linked. 

On the run from forces they don’t understand, they have only each other to fall back on. Until they succumb to a mysterious infection that heightens their senses and hones their instincts to impossible levels. Their illness seems to have changed their very biology – and suddenly it’s clear that the island is home to something well beyond their comprehension. It’s a secret that has driven men to kill once. And will drive them to kill again

Bones! Bones are in this book, but I meant Bones, the TV series. Thanks to a very close friend I love Bones. I got curious and read the first book in Kathy's series which Bones is based on. I'm glad I read it in French. As soon as I translated the word maggots in a sentence I skipped the entire paragraph. Turns out it's a bit too gory for me. Maggots & dead bodies go hand in hand, so I haven't tried the other books. However, I loved her writing, all the twists and turns so jumped at the chance to read Virals.

Virals is awesome. There is that paranormal/fantasy element, which is strong but not necessarily the whole of the story. There is a lot of investigating of details, Tory is involved in a lot of breaking and entering with her friends, which includes a lot of trauma when they get caught/nearly caught. Tory is a strong, vibrant personality who is really funny at times. She cares about finding the truth everything, to help people. It's this characteristic which gets her into trouble. But I think at the end of the book she would agree the trouble is worth it.

It is a little bit odd that Tory's group consists of herself and three guys. You'd think there'd be another girl. There were a few in the story, who were secondary characters. Tory isn't a girl's girl. She gets bullied into being a debutante, something I didn't think even happened any more (not that I have a clue what happens in that social circle). It was quite a funny prospect, and had wide reaching consequences.

Much of Tory's life happens outside school, but there was a glimpse into American school life which I always enjoy (and feel familiar with, even though it's a totally different continent to me). I liked how the adventure spilled out into  every aspect of Tory's life, school and family. Like her aunt she will keep going until the mystery is solved. Which means her life will be full of adventures now she and her friends are infected. Although it doesn't get openly stated, Tory acts a bit like an alpha wolf, which I understand thanks to having read other similar books.

There wasn't anything I didn't like in this book, it was a real thrill-fest and I'm glad I read it mostly in one go. This gets awarded 10/10! Go check it out!

Suggested reads: Rachel Vincent's Alpha series, (Alpha = last one), Meteorite Strike by A G Taylor, Dark Visions trilogy by L J Smith

Bloodline by Kate Cary

October 2010, Egmont
336 pages, Paperback
Review copy

Young Adult, Paranormal

Summary from Egmont

Blood from last nights raid has hardly dried on my uniform, still the familiar craving builds in my belly, I long to wield my sword. I can feel the blade slicing through the air then skin then flesh then bone. - Captain Quincy Harker.

When nineteen-year-old John Shaw returns from World War I, he is haunted by nightmares – not only of the horrors of battle, but of the brutal midnight exploits of his superior, Captain Quincey Harker.

When Harker appears unexpectedly in England and lures John's sister, Lily, to Transylvania. John must confront the truth. Only the love of pure Mary can save him from Count Dracula's poisonous bloodline. But the line goes further than John and Mary can possibly imagine.

A new seductive evil walks among the living..

(Note: I have neither read books nor seen films on Dracula - this is a sequel to Dracula)

Reasons for loving Mary: She keeps a firm head even when reading and living in terrifying conditions.

Is there another character who deserves a special mention? Lily - she's naive and drove me potty with her love-sick ways, but I feared and felt sorry for her too.

How evil/nasty is the enemy? People, we are talking relatives of Dracula - of course they are evil! I'm genuinely freaked out enough that I'm not looking forward to it going dark tonight (and yet I know I'm going to read the sequel)

Are they plenty of plot twists and surprises? Yes, big ones I didn't see coming.

One of my favourite parts was....when it ended. Not because the horrors were over (which warrants a 'yay'), but because something truly wonderful happens with Mary which pushes aside the horrors.

Content: a lot of gore (quite graphic, of the vampire kind) moderate romance,

Despite being freaked out over it (more than when I came to a certain point involving Mogget in Sabriel (by Garth Nix) (which I will re-read sometime)), I give this an 9/10.

Pretty Souls by Julie Patricka

Feb/March 2011, Paperback & ebook
Decadent Publishing, Review copy

Young Adult, Paranormal

Summary from Decadent

My life followed a simple pattern.
Run to keep my inner wolf asleep. Make sure my blood-sucking foster sister, Cass, feeds. Hunt for supernatural trouble when we should be sleeping. Keep my grades up and my head down.
It was mostly a game.
Until people started wandering around like living zombies. Until people I care about started getting hurt. Until the menace came knocking on my front door.
Game’s over.
Time for the soul-stealer to realize just because he’s hunting something doesn’t make it prey.
Cass and I bite back.

~The Paranormal Response Team~
Saving the World Before Breakfast

I'm currently having an 'I love shape shifters' phase, so the moment I read the blurb I put in my request. That was after being intrigued with Julie chatting about Cass & Elle over on Enduring Romance (another blog I review on). Perfect cheerleaders are annoying. Cass annoys Elle a lot. But know what lies behind the necessary persona, I actually really like Cass. She stabilises Elle. Yes I know she can lose it a bit/a lot when she's around blood. It's cool how her eyes change when she vamps in/out. She may be the youngest of the two foster sisters, but she acts like the oldest. She's the one who makes sure Elle has enough food to keep her wolf at bay. She's the one who covers for Elle when she returns from a late night run, with virtually no clothes due to the change.

I really enjoyed having a vampire and shapeshifting wolf work together like a detective team. There's a lot of friendly banter between the two of them. Personally I loved it when Cass pelted Elle with stuffed toys. They are a pair,  and they do fall out. It gets awkward when that happens, especially when they have to work together. But they do forgive each other and get on with their mission. It's quite something to try and figure out who is creating zombies, why, and how to get rid of them. I really don't like zombies. I'm glad that neither Elle nor Cass was a zombie, or that a zombie played a protagonist, because they freak me out a lot.

Both the title and the front cover really suit the story. Content wise there is a little bit of swearing, some teen romance but nothing too heavy, a little bit of violence (Elle is a wolf and Cass is a vampire. Neither are vegetarians) I think it'll be hard for readers not to be annoyed with Julie for leaving us on such a cliff hanger ending. It's not 100% cliffhanger, but enough that I really want to read that second book right now. Although the original mystery of the zombie creator has been solved, there are so many other questions surrounding Cass & Elle's lives, and the lives of those precious to them. I give this book 9/10.

Check out more about the series including two free short stories on Julie's website. If you click here you can find Julie chatting about Cass and Elle on Enduring Romance, which got me into the book.

This will suit anyone who loves shapeshifter stories like Rachel Vincent's series which starts with Stray,  Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes, and Nightshade by Andrea Cremer to name a few.

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.

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.

Double DNF

Awakened by Ednah Walters
Goodreads
Copy obtained: UK Book Tours

I liked this one to start with, but gave up after about 150 pages and skimmed the last 100 of the book. I like the ideas, some of the mythology is really great! But early on I found myself irritated with the characters. The main character, Lil, has just found out what she is and that she's got these powers, and yet every single person keeps assuming (despite knowing she's only just discovered them) that she knows pretty much everything and is surprised when Lil has to remind them she knows nothing. It's something that improved a little, but then later on I found myself tiring of how the characters interacted. People seemed to be one way about something one moment, then the complete opposite the next without any justification. I struggle with flatter characters, and that's what I felt here. The few paragraphs towards the end I read made me glad I'd decided not to bother finishing it. Shame, I wanted to like this one, and I'm sure it'll work for some with the strong mythology, but the missing elements to character development meant it didn't work for me. I will say that the boy, Bran, is pretty hot though...


Possessions by Nancy Holder
Goodreads
Copy obtained: UK Book Tours

I liked the premise for this one and I really love some of Nancy's other works, but within 40 pages I'd had enough of the main character and there wasn't anything else about it that I was enjoying enough to make me continue. I'm not quite sure why I had such an obvious 'not for me' reaction to the book, but I did. I just didn't click with any of it and decided I'd rather move on and try something else. Again I'm disappointed because I do usually like Nancy's work, but it certainly won't stop me picking up her future titles!

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Goodreads
Kimberly Derting's site
Series: The Body Finder #1
Copy obtained: won from Sarah at Feeling Fictional. Thank you!!
Publisher: HarperCollins (US), Headline (UK)
Rating: 4.5/5

A Girl with a morbid ability

When a murder is committed it leaves a unique echo...on both the victim and the killer. Most people are unaware of the these echoes but Violet Ambrose has always been able to sense them.

A serial killer on the loose

Now that Violet's town is in the thralls of a serial killer the echoes of the local girls he has murdered are haunting her.

And the boy who would never let anything happen to her.

The only shining light is Violet's best friend Jay. She's started falling for him and his fierce protectiveness gives her hope that he may feel the same way...

With the police at a loss, can Violet use her ability to stop the killer or is she in danger of becoming his next victim?

I was so excited to win a copy of this book! It's a book I'd had my eye on for a while. It sounded a little different and very good, with a lot of great reviews floating around for it as well. And I did love it. I barely put it down once I'd started! I just got sucked straight in to Violet's world as we hear a little about her discovering the body of a teenage girl when she was just 8. Out for a walk with her father she was 'called' towards it by the echo bodies leave behind. I already knew I was on to something I'd love by the end of that prologue. A child's innocence matched with creepiness that had me wondering instantly about what was going on. The story then jumps forward to the present day where Violet is in the first few days of her junior year of high school. When Violet starts feeling the tug of an echo and it leads her to another dead teenaged girl, things start taking a turn for the worse.

I fully admit to being a complete sap for the love story in this book. I loved the relationship between Violet and Jay from the moment we first meet him. They've been best friends pretty much their whole lives, but now things are changing. I love the way it builds, that it's not all straight forward and simple. And that despite not always being on the best terms with each other, Jay is there for Violet no matter what. His easy going, protective nature is sweet and awesome. Both his character and Violets are really well developed, neither of them are perfect, in fact Violet in particular makes some pretty dumb decisions. But it fits with her character, the story and she learns from them. The way the relationship develops between Jay and Violet though is pretty perfect. I think this is one of my favourite romantic plots I've read. It's beautiful, passionate, not all easy, and they fit together so well!

Aside from the romance, the serial killer/echoes side of the book is just as captivating. The suspense and tension just build and build. It's a very carefully woven story that balances perfectly between the romance and the danger. There are some little sections from the POV of the killer which got really very creepy! They added nicely to the tension because honestly, I had no idea who the killer was until the very end and the reveal. I couldn't figure it out. I also really like that while Violet is involved with the case a great deal, it's not one of those books where the teen figures it all out themselves with no cop, or even parental, involvement. There is a strong adult presence in The Body Finder which I'm glad of. Something that lets a lot of YA's down, is no adult involvement when there really should be. Family is important and it's shown here. I love the support Violet has, particularly from her parents.

The Body Finder is a beautifully written book and like I said at the start, one I barely put down! It's beautiful, intense, creepy and I loved every moment of it. It's very well paced as well, not rushing towards a finish line or moving slowly, but giving the chance to savor each moment. I honestly wish it could have been longer cause I wanted so much more of these characters! I can't wait for book 2, Desires of the Dead! Its out Feb 15th in the US, March 17th in the UK (I have a feeling I will not be waiting the extra month for this one if I can help it at all...that would go against my 'buy less books' plan for the year but oh well!). Awesome book which I highly recommend!!

Mini Review: Circle of Fire by Keri Arthur

Goodreads
Keri Arthur's site
Series: Damask Circle trilogy #1
Copy obtained: gift
Rating: 4/5

Sixteen teenagers are taken from their homes. Eleven bodies recovered, each completely drained of blood. Some believe vampires are responsible, Jon Barnett knows it's something far worse and, while trying to stop the killers, he soon becomes enmeshed in a web of black magic and realises he needs help. But fate gives him only one choice.

Recluse Madeline Smith is afraid of the abilities she cannot control. But when she is brought a warning of danger and her nephew goes missing, Maddie must learn to overcome this fear - and place her trust in Jon. But as the search for the teenagers becomes a race against time, the greatest danger to them both could be the feelings they refuse to acknowledge.

I've read and enjoyed Keri's Riley Jenson series so I thought I'd give this one a go as well as it sounded interesting. And I really enjoyed it!! It's very different from her Riley books, not nearly as sassy and far, far less sex (which personally, I find a bonus cause there was too much sex in the early Riley books for my tastes). It's got a grimmer feel to it and a constant foreboding that had me hooked from the start. I loved the two main characters, Jon and Maddie, their differences and the chemistry between them. The book is written in third person, from both of their points of view, meaning we get a chance to really get to know both better which I enjoyed.

Plot wise it's very good as well. It's not the fastest plot, but it's certainly engaging and hard to put down. I really liked the world building, with the different paranormal aspects and how they fit in to the story. I liked the growth of the story, how it unfolded as it went on. At the start things happened quite suddenly and I had a couple minor WTH?! moments. But it quickly smoothed out and became a really great read. To be honest, this is, in many ways, more to my tastes than the Riley Jenson series, which I do love as well. I loved the ending. Very intense and while it answered a lot of questions, it didn't wrap things up too neatly leaving nothing to the imagination. It was a very satisfying ending. I know the other two books in the trilogy focus on different people, so I'm curious to see what they're like. But I certainly think the writing and story here are excellent so hopefully they'll be just as good!!

Mini Review: Past Midnight by Mara Purnhagen

Goodreads
Mara Purnhagen's site
Series: Past Midnight #1
Copy obtained: bought it
Rating: 3.5/5

"I don't believe in ghosts. Unfortunately, they believe in me...


Let me set the record straight. My name is Charlotte Silver and I'm not one of those paranormal-obsessed freaks you see on TV...no, those would be my parents, who have their own ghost-hunting reality show. And while I'm usually roped into the behind-the-scenes work, it turns out that I haven't gone unnoticed. Something happened on my parents' research trip in Charleston - and now I'm being stalked by some truly frightening other beings. Trying to fin into a new school and keeping my parents' creepy occupation a secret from my friends - and potential boyfriends - is hard enough without having angry spirits whispering in my ear. All I ever wanted was to be normal, but with the ghosts of my past and present colliding, now I just want to make it out of high school alive."

I really liked this book, more so than I first thought I would. The book kind of has two main plots, the one involving Charlotte and the ghosts haunting her, and the other involving Charlotte's new friend at school, Avery. Personally, I enjoyed the storyline with Avery more than the ghosts-attacking-Charlotte one. I don't really know why, but I certainly had more sympathy in that part of the story than when the focus was more specifically on Charlotte. I liked the writing and the ideas, it's a little spooky and it has some very funny moments as well. It also very nearly had me in tears a couple of times. There is, as you could expect with a book about ghosts, a fair bit of grief, but it also has a heavy focus on moving on, on dealing with that grief and living, which I really liked.

Charlotte is easy enough to relate to with her insecurities and desperate desire to fit in. But she also has a tendency to hide from her problems and hope they go away. She's quite passive and while that's her personality (and something she's working on, at least a little) I found it a bit frustrating at times. I prefer stronger characters who really go after things. But as it was her personality, and it's not a book heavy on angst despite the issues, I could get past it and keep going with her. And it's worth it because Past Midnight is a really good read! There are some really great moments and I'm looking forward to seeing what happens next in book 2, One Hundred Candles (out in Feb).

Crave by Laura J. Burns & Melinda Metz

Goodreads
Series: Crave book #1
Copy obtained: bought, ebook (Kindle)
Rating: 4.5/5

Shay has had a rare blood disorder since she was born. In fact, her mother married one of Shay's doctors, Martin, who left his world-renowned leukemia research to try and figure out exactly what the disorder is and how to cure it. When she turns seventeen, Martin begins to give her new blood transfusions that make her feel the strongest she has ever felt. But she also has odd visions where she sees through the eyes of a vampire.

This is a book that goes straight to my heart. This is going to get personal for a little while and I make no apologies for it. When I was 11 I got sick with tonsillitis, 2 weeks later the infection was gone but I was still exhausted. I missed four straight months of my first year of high school, and after that I managed maybe half a day every couple weeks. I was constantly exhausted, not sleepy, but bone achingly tired. I couldn't sleep, I couldn't think, I couldn't walk up the stairs without having to sit and rest before managing the last few feet to my bed. 10 months after getting sick I was finally diagnosed with Chronic Fatigue Syndrome (an incredibly dumb name if you ask me because it sounds so simple and fake, when this illness is anything but!) not that having a name to put to it helped any, because the doctors (if they even believed it a real condition, this was 11 years ago and some still don't) couldn't do anything but monitor me and suggest useless ideas to my parents. I still have CFS/ME now. So I spent my entire high school life as 'the sick girl', which is exactly what Shay is.

My condition isn't fatal, and Shay's is, but it doesn't matter. Her experience of life as a sick kid is pitch perfect to the point where reading this became painful for me because it hit way too close to home. Shay's experiences of how being the sick kid automatically ruled out from gym, getting 'special' treatment from teachers, how differently every kid treats her because of it, even how her mom treats her as a sick girl, never a normal one, and all the insecurities that go with it are depicted perfectly! It's unbearable to go through. I hated every moment I was stuck in high school, all I wanted was to be normal, as Shay does. Shay would do anything to be normal, and when her new blood transfusions start making her feel like she can do anything, take on the world, she starts pushing harder than ever and doing some pretty crazy stuff. Some people may find her attitude through that irritating, I found it completely perfect. When you don't know anything but sick, you don't take the strength, the good days, for granted, you do as much as you can, more than you should, and you don't apologise until way later for screwing up because dammit you need that normalcy!! And I love Shay for that. Her character is so real to me, I can identify with her very easily and I love her.

Aside from Shay and the realness surrounding her character, I loved the rest of this story! I really enjoyed getting to know Gabriel through Shay's 'visions' of him, and the way the vampire story has been flipped; the human girl needing blood for survival. There is some really good character development through the course of the book and I also loved the romantic sub plot. It was nicely developed, with a slightly reckless edge to it that I think fit Shay very well. A couple of the side characters feel a little flat at times, and sometimes I really wanted more explanation than was given, which did let it down a little over all, though not enough to stop me loving it.

Crave is quickly paced, running full force from almost the very start right up to the end, where you suddenly run face first in to a gigantic cliff hanger. I was literately saying 'no, no, no!!!' out loud and shaking my head, clicking through on my Kindle convinced there had to be more, that they couldn't possibly have left it there. Sadly, they had, though it took me several hours to come to terms with this!! And now September 2011 feels very far away as I wait for book 2, Arise. Crave isn't a very long read, but it's one I seriously loved! I read partially as an escape from my reality of being mostly home-bound, but this didn't really allow that and I liked the challenge of reading something that meshed my reality with the paranormal. Also, it's nice to see a sick girl getting to speak. I think I'd urge everyone to read it for that alone, as a glimpse in to what it's like for those of us who suffer daily.

Note: I read this book during the Out With a Bang Read-a-thon Dec 29th-31st 2010.

Finding Sky by Joss Stirling

Copy received for review with thanks from UK Book Tours!

"When English girl, Sky, catches a glimpse of bad boy Zed in her new American high school, she can't get him out of her head. He talks to her with his thoughts. He reads her mind. He is the boy she will love for ever. Shadows stalk her past but a new evil threatens her future. Sky must face the dark even if it means losing her heart."

Sky was abandoned as a six year old and adopted at 10, a very troubled girl who is convinced she can't be liked or loved, that she always makes bad things happen. At 16 her adoptive parents moved from England to a small town in Colorado, USA. There she meets bad boy Zed, unwittingly catching his attention. He seems convinced that there is more to Sky than meets the eye, and that they're destined to be together. Something that would terrify Sky on it's own, even without the possibility of them really having any kind of 'special powers'.

I really liked this book! I'd heard mixed reports about it before hand so I was a little cautious going in to it, but I found Sky's voice pretty captivating. She's a very shy girl who is hiding a lot of pain in her past, and now faces being the new girl and foreigner in an American high school rather than starting at her English sixth form college. I found Sky very easy to relate to with her fears and timid nature fit her background without making her a dull or uninteresting character. I liked Zed as well, but I did feel that several of the other side characters were a bit flat. Sky has a certain strength to her that I found very appealing and even if certain aspects of the book aren't great, she holds the story up on her own.

I enjoyed the story and thought it was well paced with some good little twists. There aren't really any big shocks, and while there is some action it all seems to happen as a almost soft pace. But it's something that worked for me and I found Finding Sky pretty hard to put down. I really felt for Sky as she tried to figure out who she really is, separating fact from fiction and find her place in the world. The romance is softly handled as well. Sweet and beautiful at times, carefully fit around Sky's own issues, and Zed's as well at times. It may be the main focus of the book, but the other elements stop it being a simple romance.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the lighter touch of paranormal, the different abilities savants have and how they work. A beautiful story and my only real hang up with it is that I couldn't always buy the Americans as Americans. It was very obvious on several occasions that it's an British writer trying to sound like typical American teenagers. But aside from that, it is a good story. Sweet and beautiful at times, and one I'd recommend.

Rating: 7/10

Gone by Lisa McMann

Gone is the final book in the Dream Catcher trilogy, following Wake and Fade. Some spoilers for both of those books ahead, Fade in particular!!

After the events of Fade, turning in three of her teachers as rapists after a daunting undercover operation, and everyone knowing all the details after the court case, Janie just wants to be left alone. She needs a break. And Cabel isn't helping things with his nightmares, his fears of coping with Janie as she deteriorates thanks to her dream catcher abilities. And yet, he'd do anything for her. She knows she's lucky to have him, but her future is dark and she wonders if it's really something she can put him through.

But Janie isn't getting a break. There is a man in a coma and it turns out he's her father. A man she's never known. He's dying, and suddenly Janie is forced to face her mothers past, the relationship that resulted in Janie's existence. She thought she knew what she was doing. But his secrets could change everything.

I loved Wake and Fade. They sucked me in within moments and I couldn't put them down, I just wanted more, so of course I was really looking forward to starting Gone. Overall, it didn't really disappoint. But I didn't love it as much as Fade. Fade was incredibly intense, dark and just fantastic. Gone isn't so intense. I still couldn't really put it down, I was still hooked, but it didn't, for me at least, have the same kind of intensity of Fade. It wasn't that Janie was having an easy time, far from it, but it was more personal turmoil. This book was about Janie, where she's from, her future and the decisions she has to make.

My heart ached for Janie as she tried to deal with things and I was very proud of her at times as well. I love Cabe, always have, but he plays a little less of a role here. Not a bad thing, it's how the story had to work, but I did miss him. Captain...gotta be one of my favourite side characters full stop. I love the way she cares, the way she pushes, and generally how she's just totally awesome.

Despite not being the intense, dramatic, heart-pounding ride Fade was, I still loved this book and had a hard time putting it down. Like the two books before it, it moves along quickly. I confess that to a certain extent I was a little disappointed with certain aspects of this book. The mystery that surrounded Wake and Fade wasn't here. I could easily guess what was going on and I wondered on more than one occasion why Janie hadn't. I've read several reviews since finishing Gone from people who weren't happy with it, who felt the characterization was off, and to a certain extent I can understand that. But for me, I could see why Janie and Cabe were acting the way they were. It worked for me. I wasn't always happy with them, unlike the previous two books, but I could see where they were coming from and I like that it's not been plain sailing for them.

And yet, despite Gone's flaws, I was satisfied with the ending. I felt it wrapped the issues from the trilogy well and ended with the right attitude with Janie and Cabe. I still wanted more though. I just love this series, the way it's written, grabs out and doesn't let go. I love Janie and her struggles, her strength and of course I adore Cabe. He's so much stronger than he realises and I just love him. I'd love for there to be more from these characters, and I'd especially love for there to be a full book from Cabe's perspective, but it was a good ending for them here. Another great read, even if I didn't find myself adoring it as I did Fade. I'd highly recommend this trilogy.


Rating: 8/10

Fade by Lisa McMann

Dream Catcher #2. Contains spoilers from book #1, Wake.

"Some nightmares never end.

For Janie and Cabel, real life is getting tougher than the dreams. They're just trying to carve out a little (secret) time together, but no such luck.

Disturbing things are happening at Fieldridge High, yet nobody's talking. When Janie taps into a classmate's violent nightmares, the case finally breaks open - but nothing goes as planned. Not even close. Janie's in way over her head, and Cabe's shocking behaviour has grave consequences for them both.

Worse yet, Janie learns the truth about herself and her ability - and it's bleak. Seriously, brutally bleak. Not only is her fate as a dream catcher sealed, but what's to come is way darker than she'd even feared..."

I  loved Wake, the first book in this trilogy, and was told by one of my very good book buddies that Fade was, in her opinion anyway, even better. Honestly, I wasn't sure, because I adored Wake and good as second/third/whatever books in a series can be, quite often (with me at least) first books which hook me far harder than expected, leave too big a lasting impression for them to be easily bettered. Turns out, my bud was right, because Fade was immense and I loved it even more than Wake!

It's been a month since the huge drug bust Cabel and Janie got to the bottom of with the undercover cops they work with and Janie is only just recovering from the affects of it. But now the Captain has a new case for them. She's certain something is going on at the school, something dark and sinister, but she needs Janie, with her dream catcher skills, and Cabel's easy way of blending in and getting people talking, to try and get to the bottom of it. But it's not a simple task. And dangerous for Janie. Meanwhile, she's also searching through Martha Stubin's old files, trying to learn more about what she can do. But that too carries dark, dangerous secrets for her.

Yeah, I so totally got sucked in within moments of starting this book! I love the way Cabe looks out for Janie, but how they're both still so vulnerable, not used to affection, that they find it a little difficult and awkward negotiating some of their relationship. I love how Janie wants to help others in their dreams, but that it comes at a cost. Nothing in life is free or easy and Janie's abilities are no exception. It adds a realness to the book I really like. Janie and Cabe are both awesome characters to follow, together and apart, dealing with their own issues and insecurities. I came to love them even more with Fade, and I think we get to know them a lot better. I also loved the developments of Janie's dream walking, how it affected her, how she's learning control and the cost. I was willing Janie on as she worked to figure out what was going on in her school, and I was so, so proud of her for how she handled things. I wasn't too sure what to really make of the Captain in Wake, but I enjoyed getting more on her in this book, and I really like her now as well, particularly for the role she played towards the end of the book.

Fade continues themes from Wake, but it's also a whole new crime story as well. One that thoroughly creeped me out at times I have to say. But I kind of love books that creep me out without making me love the rest just the same. It's fast paced like Wake, with some good twists and is written in that same short, gripping style than helps with the can't-put-down factor. I very literally couldn't put this book down from about halfway, and I'd barely put it down before that. I just had to find out what happened. I just love everything about these books. The darkness, the realness to Janie's relationships, how she, and Cabe, grow from what they've learnt and faced. I love the protectiveness and love between them, the soft caring nature of their relationship. Suffice to say I can't wait to read Gone, book #3 of the trilogy. No cliff hanger here, it was a very satisfying conclusion to this stage of their story. And yet I wanted more soon as I was done anyway. Sadly, I have to wait a week before I'll have Gone in my hands. This was an awesome read, great characters, fast pace, even some great humor in places taking the edge off the darkness for a moment or two. One of my favourite reads so far this year.

Rating: 10/10

Hourglass by Claudia Gray

Evernight #3, review contains spoilers for previous books.

"After escaping from Evernight Academy, the vampire boarding school where they met, Bianca and Lucas seek refuge with Black Cross, an elite group of vampire hunters. Bianca must hide her supernatural heritage or risk certain death at their hands. But when Black Cross captures her friend - the vampire Balthazar - all her secrets threaten to come out.

Soon, Bianca and Lucas have orchestrated Balthazar's escape and are on the run, pursued not only by Black Cross, but by the powerful leaders of Evernight. Yet no matter how far they run, Bianca can't escape her destiny.

Bianca has always believed their love could survive anything - but can it survive what's to come?"

Book 2 of the Evernight series, Stargazer, ended rather dramatically. Evernight attacked, set on fire, and Bianca and Lucas escaped only with Black Cross. Now Black Cross are giving her refuge, still under the belief that she's human, kidnapped and raised by vampires as a baby. If they find out the truth, that she is actually a vampire herself, they'll kill her. And most likely Lucas as well. But they don't have anywhere else to go. Escaping from Black Cross could well be harder than escaping Evernight, and they need money they don't have as well. So they stay, Bianca trains, learns to fight, while starving for blood only able to get a little every few days instead of daily like she needs. Bianca and Lucas get little time together either, not alone, and Bianca can't confide in her roommate, Raquel, either because she's sided completely with Black Cross. It leaves Bianca feeling very alone in the heart of enemy territory.

Then Balthazar, Bianca's closest friend from Evernight, a vampire, is captured. Bianca can't watch them torture him so she convinces Lucas they have to save him, somehow. Lucas, who has never liked Balthazar for his attraction to Bianca, agrees for her sake more than anything. But he puts his heart in to it and together they come up with a plan. But in such close quarters, can they really save him and continue to keep Bianca's secret? And Lucas', because if they discover Bianca's fed from him, he'll be in just as much trouble. Living on the run, Mrs Bethany, the powerful head of Evernight Academy, after them, surrounded by Black Cross members who'd kill them in an instant if the truth came out, things are far from certain for Bianca and Lucas.

I really, really loved this book. It was fascinating seeing Bianca and Lucas attempt to cope within Black Cross. Neither wanted to be there and the tension between Lucas and some of the members was almost explosive. It wasn't always fast paced, but it never felt slow either. I think there is more action in this book than the previous two, and I loved seeing how they both dealt with the things thrown their way.

It's a great continuation of the series, building on previous events, more secrets are revealed and dealt with, and both Lucas and Bianca continue to grow and learn from the things they face. I've loved how this series has developed. Ms. Gray does a great job of hiding things until the last moment, with just subtle hints before hand which don't make anything easy to guess, but makes perfect sense when you understand what's going on.

I've loved Bianca and Lucas from the start, and Balthazar grew on me a lot as well through Stargazer and this. But Vic has become one of my all time favourite side characters with this book. I loved him already, but even more so now. He's smart, takes things in stride, and yet has a serious, deeper side which just makes him more impressive and lovable.

The build up for the ending is intense. I confess that I think Bianca and Lucas should have figured out what was going on with her a bit sooner than she did. But on the other hand, it does still make sense that they didn't. The ending though, about killed me. I'm so glad I hadn't got in to this series sooner and read this as soon as it released, because the wait for the final book, Afterlife, may just kill me and I've got less to wait than some. Such an awesome series, great writing, great story, great characters, and a must read. It's still far from your typical YA vampire series and it's up there with Strange Angels [Lili St. Crow] and Vampire Academy [Richelle Mead] on my favourites list.

Rating:  9/10

Wake by Lisa McMann

"Not all dreams are sweet.

For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.

She can't tell anybody about what she does - they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can't control.

Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that shills her tot he bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant..."

This is another book I've had sat on my shelf for a while before actually reading. And oh freaking hell I wish I'd read it sooner!! It was very easy to get sucked in to Janie's world. The way she falls in to dreams and really wishes she was simply normal. It's easy to understand her fear of others sleeping, she gets pulled in to their dreams even if she's awake, and she's certainly never wanted to be in them.

It starts off showing a little of how Janie's day-to-day battle with others dreams goes, and has a few little flashbacks to when she first started getting sucked in to dreams and what it was like for her. Then Janie ends up in a dream far more violent and twisted than she's ever ended up in. After that, things change drastically again.

I couldn't put this book down and finished it within a few hours. The way it's written just sucks you in and hangs on tight, I had to find out what happened. What the dark, twisted dream was really about, and how things were going to work out. Sometimes the reality had an almost dream like quality to it as well, slipping from one to the other almost seamlessly. Janie has always been an outcast thanks to finding herself in others dreams and despite having a best friend who she spends a fair amount of time with, she is mostly alone. Her mom is a drunk who spends most of her time passed out and her dad is long gone. Janie changes and grows a lot through the book, and I always love being able to see the changes in a person over the course of a single book. Janie is pretty easy to like and oddly easy to relate to as well. She's got a lot of depth to her, though it takes a little while to really show. Some of the side characters are a little flat, but it's easy to ignore that with the focus elsewhere. I can't really explain whats so compelling about this book. I just couldn't put it down. Janie, her problems, the dreams and the guy involved just got to me and I couldn't get enough.

It's a really great read with good characters, a fast moving plot and some good twists. It's got a pretty dark tone to a lot of it and it's easy to get lost in. I wish I'd read this sooner, but at least it means I can get Fade and Gone (books 2 and 3 of the series) and read them together. Great book!!

Rating: 9/10

Bleeding Violet by Dia Reeves

"Love...can be a dangerous thing.

Hanna simply wants to be loved. With a head plagued by hallucinations a medicine cabinet full of pills, and a closet stuffed with frilly violet dresses, Hanna's tired of being the outcast, the weird girl, the freak. So she runs away to Portero, Texas, in search of a new home. But Portero is a stranger town than Hanna expects.

As she tries to make a place for herself, she discovers dark secrets that would terrify any normal soul. Good thing for Hanna, she's far from normal. As this crazy girl meets an even crazier town, only two things are certain: Anything can happen and no one is safe."

I heard about this book after author Karen Mahoney mentioned on Twitter that it was one of the best books she'd ever read. I checked it out, thought it sounded interesting so bought it. I wasn't disappointed!

I was hooked from the very start, Hanna creeping through the dark, looking for her mothers house, the mother she's never met, and having a conversation with her dead father. Color me intrigued, and it only got better and stranger from there. Her mother doesn't want Hanna around, but Hanna makes a deal with her: if she can't make a place for herself in town (make friends etc) within two weeks, then she'll leave. And so Hanna starts school in an attempt to find that place in Portero. But almost instantly she begins to realise that Portero may just be stranger than her.

I completely love this book. It's fast paced, dark, funny, serious and you're never sure what's going to happen next. Or if what is happening, is actually happening. Is it reality or in Hanna's head? Hanna is forthright, brash but with a sensitive side. Mostly, she desperately wants to belong, to be loved, for people to see her as normal again. In a genre filled with sappy, weak 'heroines' who care only about The Guy loving them, Hanna is a breath of fresh air. She's a very different character to anyone I've read before and her issues are very real. There is a love interest in this book and while he's a big part, he's not the main focus. Hanna's attempts to get her mom to love her are heartfelt and painful, but very well played out. Wyatt (the love interest) is tough and smart, thought not so much when it comes to girls. Which is very entertaining.

This book wouldn't be for everyone. It's definitely up there on the strange and crazy scales. But it's a well written story with plenty of action, interesting characters and lots to get your teeth in to. I had a very, very hard time putting it down. It is a stand alone book, but I will definitely be looking out for other books by this author! A great read, would highly recommend it. 9/10