From Goodreads: Out of sight, out of their minds: It’s a school-trip splatter fest and completely not cool when the other kids in her class go all braindead on new girl Bobby.

The day of the ski trip, when the bus comes to a stop at a roadside restaurant, everyone gets off and heads in for lunch. Everyone, that is, except Bobby, the new girl, who stays behind with rebel-without-a-clue Smitty.

Then hours pass. Snow piles up. Sun goes down. Bobby and Smitty start to flirt. Start to stress. Till finally they see the other kids stumbling back.

But they’ve changed. And not in a good way. Straight up, they’re zombies. So the wheels on the bus better go round and round freakin’ fast, because that’s the only thing keeping Bobby and Smitty from becoming their classmates’ next meal. It’s kill or be killed in these hunger games, heads are gonna roll, and homework is most definitely gonna be late.

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I really like the cover of this novel, and I was truly looking forward to reading this story, especially because I enjoy zombie books and I’m always looking for new books to push on my high school students.  But, while I liked the novel for the most part, I felt like it was a little too fast paced, too convenient, and too middle grade for me, personally.  The novel starts off with Bobby sulking in the back of her school bus, refusing to get off and use the bathroom. She watches students pile into the restaurant and wishes for friends, to be home, etc. Soon after, she finds herself stuck on the bus with a particularly arrogant student who makes too many jokes, and soon after that, all hell breaks loose.

I felt like the novel went from 0 to 60 in a matter of pages, and while some readers may like jumping right into the midst of a story, I felt left behind.  The characters were suddenly running around trying to figure things out, stay away from the zombies, all while trying to get to safety and I just felt like I missed something.  I think it’s because I didn’t have any time to make connections with the characters before they found themselves in peril.  I never did feel anything for the characters as I read—no sadness over deaths, no fear for their safety.  Instead, I found the plot a bit too convenient.  Here the survivors are, surrounded by zombies, driving a school bus through blizzard like conditions, and suddenly they find themselves at a castle that holds all the secrets.  Too perfect for me, but honestly, I think this would be a great read for middle schoolers.  I teach high school, and I don’t see most of my students being enthralled by this novel, but I think it’s perfect for the younger crowd.  The writing, especially, lends itself to youngsters.  Just take a look at the synopsis.  The entire novel is written in the same type of format as the synopsis, and while I knew that was probably the case going in, I didn’t think it would actually affect my reading of the novel.  It did.  Things that would have come across as funny to younger readers just made me roll my eyes, and the characters began to test my nerves after a while.  Of course, having no connection with them could be another reason behind that, but I just found that this novel never really drew me in past enjoying the mayhem.  I liked it, but I wasn’t in love with it, like I sometimes am with MG novels, but that doesn’t mean others won’t enjoy it!  If you like really fast paced novels and the way the synopsis is written (or if your kids do), then I highly suggest checking this one out.  Otherwise, I’m not sure how you’ll feel about it.  Three stars.

Scholastic and Chicken House have been extremely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on September 1, 2012.

From Goodreads: Every day a different body. Every day a different life. Every day in love with the same girl.

Every morning, A wakes in a different person’s body, a different person’s life. There’s never any warning about where it will be or who it will be. A has made peace with that, even established guidelines by which to live: Never get too attached. Avoid being noticed. Do not interfere.

It’s all fine until the morning that A wakes up in the body of Justin and meets Justin’s girlfriend, Rhiannon. From that moment, the rules by which A has been living no longer apply. Because finally A has found someone he wants to be with—day in, day out, day after day.
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I’m really drawn to Levithan’s writing due to the fact that his stories are so fresh and original.  It boggles my mind to think how he comes up with such amazing, untraditional plotlines, and this is such a beautiful novel that it left me in Levithan withdrawal as soon as I turned the last page.

A is unique.  S/he resides in a different body every day, and if barely being able to process all the thoughts and feelings of his/her new body each day isn’t hard enough, A also has to live with the thoughts and feelings of all the past lives s/he has lived as well.  I can’t even begin to imagine how hard such a life would be, and yet Levithan takes the reader there, showing us in depth images of how others view life.  He takes the reader across all spectrums: male, female, wealthy, poor, beautiful, unattractive, popular, reclusive, content, suicidal… and these glimpses into these lives have such long lasting effects on both A and the reader that I feel it’s impossible not to feel connected to this book in some way, shape, or form.  I mean, honestly, I found that this was a very powerful read, and I was stuck like Rhiannon—can we love someone destined to change every day?  It’s just so mind boggling, and I loved every minute of this, especially the fact that, though there is a solid conclusion, the door is open for a sequel (and I’m really hoping that Levithan is planning one!).

I thought A’s life was really cool, especially as everything began to unravel and A began to learn s/he wasn’t necessarily alone.  The idea of tracking emails, religious uprisings/cults and all the mystery surrounding A’s dilemma of switching bodies daily was really intriguing, but even more so was the idea of A not knowing love and relationships like Levithan’s readers do.  Hearing how A yearned for those connections that I, as the reader, take for granted seeing as I wake up as the same person every day, was really eye opening, and I loved being able to understand his/her feelings while at the same time wondering how s/he could live a life so devoid of lasting contact.  It just amazes me.

Obviously, I highly recommend this novel.  It was such a great, fun read, and I think readers of all ages will enjoy it, so definitely check it out!  Five stars.

Random House Children’s Books has been extremely gracious is allowing me to read and ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on August 28, 2012.

From Goodreads: “Today is the day it is going to happen. I’m not melancholy or nervous. I just want to get it over with more than anything. Today is the day that I, Lilly Barnes, die.”

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This is a very powerful novel that looks into the life of a teenage girl facing a dark secret that leaves her feeling helpless and alone, choosing death over facing her fears day in and day out.  With such heavy topics at hand, it feels almost wrong to say this is a great novel, but it is; it touches on topics that makes people uncomfortable, it deals with sadness and abuse, love and hate, redemption and, of course, suicide, and I think it’s one of those novels that could do more than just touch a life, but possibly change one too.

Lilly has had it rough, but if you meet her on the street, or sit with her is school, you wouldn’t necessarily know it, because she’s hidden her deep secret, but it’s eating her up inside.  Now, for the reader it’s obvious what’s happening, but those around Lilly don’t see it because it’s not something she alludes to, it’s only the text that does that.  Thankfully, Lilly does have a constant in her life, Buddy and his wonderful family, who have always been there for her and who are able to positively influence her, especially after everything comes to the forefront and the secret is out.  And, while this is a heavy read, full of heartache and sadness, it does have a happy ending, proving that we can get through anything with the right amount of support and love.  Definitely check this one out.  Four stars.

I purchased a copy of this novel from Amazon after receiving a recommendation for it from Disincentive/Feta on Goodreads.

From Goodreads:  No one over the age of 13 is safe. Everyone is junked eventually: made neurotic, insecure, or fanatical. Mothers and fathers, brothers and sisters, relatives and friends. And they’re the lucky ones: those who resist are terminated in seemingly random accidents and killings.

Thomas Sheepsbane and Edward Wolf are teenage psychopaths. It’s their job to orchestrate these ‘accidents’. When they deviate from their list of sanctioned methods with 17-year-old Red Phoenix, they trigger something so macabre that the world believes it’s witnessing a genuine miracle.

Red is convinced he’s losing his mind … until he gets to know Penny Lane. Penny may be the town freak but she’s the only one who seems to have an inkling into the horrifying ‘event’ that keeps on happening to him. Red and Penny go on the run from the police, the media and supernatural forces that want them both dead. And the future of humanity’s sanity depends upon them surviving long enough to unravel the mystery of Penny’s grandmother Erin Bow. Erin was abducted from Stonehenge in 1969 … leaving only her tambourine behind … through which, Penny alone is able to see…

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I love, love, love this cover!  In fact, the reason I bought this book is because of the cover.  While the premise was intriguing, I couldn’t get over the awesomeness of the artwork and I just had to have it. However, I found that, for me, the story itself was a little difficult to follow—hence the saying, never judge a book by its cover.  And yet… it was definitely interesting, though strange as well.

I found it a bit odd that all the names were basically literally symbolic to the characters, which I feel made some of the plot predictable, but at the same time, it was still intriguing. Penny Lane is our main character, and she has a terrible life.  Surrounded by crazy people she’s termed “junked,” Penny is the lone sane figure in her world, forced to pretend to be neurotic and deemed the craziest of them all.  But then she meets Red and begins to understand what is really happening to her world, and it’s outside the realms of the natural.

I enjoyed the novel, though at times found it to be a bit disorganized.  There were definitely times that I had to re-read sections in order to understand what was happening, and I felt that there were too many shifts between the plot line—as if Brent was trying to keep the story fast paced, but accidentally made parts of it hard to follow, at least for me.

Some of the elements of the novel I really enjoyed, such as the idea of being junked and being controlled by outside beings, but other aspects I wasn’t really a fan of, such as the magical tambourine.  However, since there are evil beings from another world trying to take over and kill all resisters, I guess a magical tambourine makes sense. Overall, I enjoyed this novel, but would have liked it to be a little bit tighter.  Three stars.

I purchased this novel from Amazon.

From Goodreads: For Mina Singer, falling in love with a knight on a white horse was never part of the plan. 

Finding herself catapulted into fairyland she discovers that the Real World is not quite what she thought and fairyland is not quite what she imagined. 

The question is… who will come out alive?

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This was an interesting novel that combines the fairytale world with the “real” world, complete with knights, duels to the death, and evil sorceresses.  I liked the novel, though I am rarely a fan of “instant love” stories.  And, for our characters, Mina and Blake, instant love is a huge portion of this story.  However, I was pleasantly surprised because John does a great job showing all the other characters’ abhorrence to such a quick budding relationship, which I thought was great because I rarely see that in novels.  Usually all the characters are rooting for the new couple that’s “so in love,” but in John’s novel, that isn’t the case at all, mainly due to the fact that, before Blake, there was someone else in Mina’s life… but no spoilers.  I would have liked a lot more character development to show the budding love, but as this is a series, I’m sure we’ll get more of that in the next few installments.

I liked the inner conflict that Mina felt throughout the story as well.  I know that probably sounds strange, but I was 100% with Mina as she contemplated her decisions, and while I was on her side, I was also conflicted myself, and for me, that’s the makings of a great writer—being able to connect the reader to the fictional characters.  This is a novel that I enjoyed and hope to see continue developing.  Three stars.

I won a copy of this novel from Katie M. John through a giveaway sponsored by Angel Haze.

The amazing Tim O’Rourke has just signed a book and movie deal with agent Barry Cunningham (the man who discovered J.K. Rowling), and O’Rourke’s novel, Flashes, should be out next year!! The cover to the right is tentative, but so, so pretty!!!  Once again, I’m in awe of O’Rourke, and I just can’t wait!

So, while we all wait for this next book, definitely check out O’Rourke’s other 13 books that he’s published this past year. They’re inexpensive and I’ve LOVED every single one.

From Goodreads: Emmeline Thistle, a dirt-scratcher’s daughter, has escaped death twice-first, on the night she was born, and second, on the day her entire village was swept away by flood. Left with nothing and no one, Emmeline discovers her rare and mysterious ability-she can churn milk into chocolate, a delicacy more precious than gold.

Suddenly, the most unwanted girl in Anglund finds herself desired by all. But Emmeline only wants one-Owen Oak, a dairyman’s son, whose slow smiles and lingering glances once tempted her to believe she might someday be loved for herself. But others will stop at nothing to use her gift for their own gains-no matter what the cost to Emmeline.

Magic and romance entwine in this fantastical world where true love and chocolate conquer all.

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This novel is a masterpiece.  A beautiful fairytale that is a must read.  It’s so well written, so absorbing, that I had a very hard time disengaging; it permeated my thoughts and dreams for many a day afterward—it’s that good.

I am really glad I read this novel, and equally as glad that the synopsis you see above is the true one that reflects the great writing of the story.  Originally the synopsis on all major book sites (except Netgalley, which is where I first came across this novel) stated this: “Emmeline Thistle has always had a mysterious bond with cows, beginning on the night of her birth, when the local bovines saved the infant cast aside to die in the forest. But Emmeline was unaware that this bond has also given her a magical ability to transform milk into chocolate, a very valuable gift in a kingdom where chocolate is more rare and more precious than gold or jewels…” And that’s as much as I’m going to quote.  Honestly, that synopsis made me not want to read this book—it seemed more of a joke than a true fairytale, and hence, I am very glad it was changed.  If you check out Goodreads, you’ll see some reviews that make fun of this original synopsis, and rightfully so… it just sounds… dumb.  Thus, I am very happy that most major book sites have now gotten the new/real synopsis up on their site, save Barnes and Nobel, which still states the original… So, if you’re one of the ones who saw the original synopsis and laughed, like me, then rest assured, this book is so much better than it was originally made out to be, and the new synopsis now reflects that.

I fell in love with this story almost immediately.  Emmeline is a true heroine; she is an all around great person who looks adversity in the face and refuses to give up.  She’s very strong, even though her foot is curled and people look down on her with extreme disgust.  But not only does this novel have a strong heroine, it is also has a strong hero and some amazing morals.  This novel deals with racism, slavery, self-respect and self-esteem, honesty, forgiveness, understanding, greed, and optimism, to name a few, and it’s such an uplifting read, even though some of what happens within the story isn’t necessarily cheery.  But, like all fairytales, it has a happy ending that truly makes the reader smile, and Emmeline’s influence on those around her, and the world in general, is astounding.  Thus, I think this is a great novel for both young and older generations, and I’d love to see this made into a movie.  It’s such a great book, and a must read.  Five stars.

Bloomsbury Children’s Books has been extremely gracious is allowing me to read and ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on August 21, 2012.

The PAYA festival is this Saturday, August 25th, for those of you who live close to Pennsylvania! I plan to be in attendance, especially as there are going to be some AMAZING authors there, such as Wendy Higgins, Victoria Schwab, Margie Gelbwasser, Jackie Kessler, Jennifer Hubbard, Beth Kephart, Cyn Balog, Jennifer Armentrout, and many, many more!!!  See below for more information, and hopefully I’ll see you there!  I can’t wait!

Reblogged from bringya2pa

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From Goodreads: When business student Samantha Gibson finds herself cornered by a euro-trash Darth Vader wannabe in a dark alley, it’s a nightmare end to a terrible week. Of course super powers aren’t real–until someone’s using theirs to bash your head in.

It turns out that a one-in-a-million accident has caused her to catch the attention of the Talents, a group of humans with amazing abilities. And a surprising number would rather have her dead than competing with them. Sam’s happy to tell anyone who’ll listen to her that she doesn’t actually have super powers. The problem is getting anyone to listen to her.

Enter Lane, Al, and Harry, three nerdy (though Lane’s kind of a cute type of nerd) best friends and Talents. While their powers may not be glamorous, or even all that super, they’re determined to do the right thing. They politely kidnap Samantha and hit the road, racing cross-country towards a group offering protection. To independent Sam, each minute of being a damsel in distress is like an iron-spike in her foot. It’s possible that friendship, and love aren’t the liability she thought they were, but it’s also possible that she may not live to find out. Because with stronger and stranger opposition barring their way, safe haven may be just a pipe dream in a world where everyone is chasing power…

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This novel reminded me a bit of the hit TV show Heroes, but there was a huge twist in that two huge “talent” corporations compete with each other in plain sight.  Of course, things aren’t what they seem with the reversal of good and bad, and Sam and her friends find themselves in many a predicament as the story unfolds.

This cross-country story was interesting in that the characters all had special powers, and I always enjoy a book entailing superpowers, but to be honest, I found some of Samantha’s predicaments to be a little redundant.  It seemed that every time she and her “captors,” Lane, Al, and Harry stopped anywhere, whether to eat or for a pit stop, they would be attacked by the “bad guys.”  Now, as predictable as that was, the attacks were always vastly different, showing Pearson’s great imagination through the many different ways the “bad guys” used their powers in an attempt to kill Sam, so redundancy aside, it was still intriguing.

I found Lane, Al, and Harry to be very interesting characters, and I really enjoyed them, but Sam was harder to like as she took forever in coming to terms with the truth.  Though the evidence of superpowers is before her throughout the novel, from the very beginning, even, she just wouldn’t relent and fought against those trying to help her for what I thought was a bit too long.  However, I wonder how I would react if someone told me, and showed me, the same things… I might be just as hard headed as Sam, who knows.  Overall, I thought Chasing Power was a good read, and those who enjoy superhero novels should check it out.  Three and a half stars.

I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.

From Goodreads: Having lost the love of her life, nineteen-year-old Charlize Sweet has given up on guys forever. Then she meets Xanzeer.

Not your mother’s superhero, Charlize is seriously crushing on this hotter than fire bad boy. Nowhere near being human, he’s also a known hit man who seems to detest her. To make matters worse, other dark forces show up with the appearance of his evil Ex.

Soon caught in the crossfire of this unholy threesome, enter Charlize’s reliable but jealous detective friend, Jesse. Joining forces with Xanzeer’s evil Ex to stop The Kiss, Charlize gets trapped in a fiery netherworld where wishes end and reality begins. The only thing that can possibly save her? The mystical power within herself she never knew she had.

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I’m sorry to say that I didn’t really care for this novel, which is unfortunate because it had such a good premise (though a bit flawed), an intriguing title, and a great cover.  The story itself, however, was a bit lacking.  I just felt like the story wasn’t tied together very well. I spent much of the beginning of this novel thoroughly confused as it moved too fast with little-to-no explanation. Then it abruptly jumped ahead 3 years, and 50% into the novel, I was still trying to connect all the dots, which isn’t how I like to spend my reading time.  I just felt like the plot jumped around a lot, with way too much action intertwined and overshadowing the meat of the story.

Likewise, I found the story to be predictable.  That’s not always a bad thing, but I was hoping I’d be wrong on occasion.  As soon as we met Xanzeer, I had a sneaking suspicion who he was in relation to the story, and it turns out I was right.  I was hoping there would be a twist of some sort within the novel, but things unfolded basically the way I thought they would, and while Xanzeer was an interesting character, I never felt any endearment or connection to him or any of the other characters.  I felt like Healy really wanted to shroud all her characters in mystery, which she did well, but in the end, I think that made them too difficult for me to really to get to know. But out of all of them, I really hated Jesse.  He was an extremely annoying character that Charlize needed to kick to the curb.  I couldn’t find one endearing thing about him as I read, and that irked me since he was in much of the novel.  He’s a bungling idiot who believes he is better than, and can boss around, women, and I really had a hard time with him.

But the cool thing, characters aside, is that this novel deals with genies.  Yep, like the one in Aladdin.  This really piqued my interest once I realized what was going on, and I wish there had been more explanation of the genies and their magic instead of some of the running around that went on in the novel, but perhaps we’ll learn more in the next installment of this series.  I honestly haven’t decided if I’m going to read the next book as I wasn’t too impressed with the storyline of the first, but I’m dying to know more about the genies, so I probably will check it out.  Two stars.

I purchased this novel from Amazon.

From Goodreads: Robie is an experienced traveller. She’s taken the flight from Honolulu to the Midway Atoll, a group of Pacific islands where her parents live, many times. When she has to get to Midway in a hurry after a visit with her aunt in Hawaii, she gets on the next cargo flight at the last minute. She knows the pilot, but on this flight, there’s a new co-pilot named Max. All systems are go until a storm hits during the flight. The only passenger, Robie doesn’t panic until the engine suddenly cuts out and Max shouts at her to put on a life jacket. They are over miles of Pacific Ocean. She sees Max struggle with a raft.

And then . . . she’s in the water. Fighting for her life. Max pulls her onto the raft, and that’s when the real terror begins. They have no water. Their only food is a bag of Skittles. There are sharks. There is an island. But there’s no sign of help on the way.

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I read this novel the night before my flight to Florida.  Bad idea, but honestly, I didn’t even think about it until the plane took off the next day.  Then I realized that reading this right before a plane ride is probably not the smartest move I could have made… but that aside, I thought this was a pretty good read.  Unlike some of the other novels I’ve read and movies I’ve seen, this “stuck on a raft” novel had more dialogue and kept my interest most of the time.  Now, I will admit that sometimes I was bored out of my mind, and I found the choppiness of the novel a bit annoying.  Things would be happening and then it would gloss right over to something else, and the reason that I’m so vague about this is because, in the end, there’s a huge twist that explained it all.  That’s why I’m giving it four stars and not three. An ending can make or break a novel, and in this case, I think the end made up for the choppiness and even some of the boredom I felt while reading.  If you’ve read the Life of Pi then you can liken the ending of The Raft to that… a complete twist that might not leave you guessing as much as the ending in Life of Pi, but it’s very similar.  Now, I liked The Raft much more than Life of Pi because there was a lot more going on.  Yes, drifting on the sea was a little boring, but Robie has a companion and she is also marooned on a island, so it takes place on both land and sea, and for me, that made a world of difference.  Four stars.

Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on August 21, 2012.

From Goodreads: Night. A terrifying account of the Nazi death camp horror that turns a young Jewish boy into an agonized witness to the death of his family…the death of his innocence…and the death of his God. Penetrating and powerful, as personal as The Diary Of Anne Frank, Night awakens the shocking memory of evil at its absolute and carries with it the unforgettable message that this horror must never be allowed to happen again.

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This is one of the most amazing books that I’ve ever read, and I have the honor of teaching it every year to my tenth grade students.  It’s amazing how little students tend to know about the Holocaust in today’s day and age, and watching them go from novices who state that they would simply fight off the Nazi’s to understanding the enormity of the Holocaust, the dehumanization, and atrocity of WWII, is amazing.

Of course, Night is a heartbreaking tale that always leaves me an emotional wreck.  It’s very hard to fathom that people could really do such horrible things to each other, and my generation is very lucky to have never experienced anything like it.  But this also makes our younger generations very naïve and confused when it comes to understanding what really happened in the Holocaust, why it went on for so long, and why we study it in school.  We truly can never allow future generations to forget, especially as survivors are now few and far between, and soon, firsthand accounts will be no more.

I’ve found that this novel really touches those who read it, even the most reluctant student.  Though they may not admit it aloud, the story has a way of opening up the reader to the atrocities, and it explains what happened in such a way that it’s impossible not to connect to it.  Wiesel is an amazing, exceptionally strong person, having survived such an ordeal, and his message to never forget it plainly and aptly stated.   With its vivid descriptions and short, pointed sentences, Wiesel does a phenomenal job not only telling his story, but showing it to all who read it, allowing them to experience it through his words as well.

In my opinion, this novel is a must read for all.  Five stars.

I purchased a copy of this novel from Barnes and Nobel.

From Goodreads: Billy May Platte is a half Irish, half Cherokee Appalachian woman who learned the hard way that 1940s West Virginia was no place to be gay.  As Billy May explains, “We was sheltered in them hills. We didn’t know much of nothin’ about life outside of them mountains. I did not know the word lesbian; to us, gay meant havin’ fun and queer meant somethin’ strange.”

In 1945, when Billy May was fourteen years old and orphaned, three local boys witnessed an incident in which Billy May’s sexuality was called into question. Determined to teach her a lesson she would never forget, they orchestrated a brutal attack that changed the dynamics of the tiny coal mining village of Cedar Hollow, West Virginia forever. Everyone, from Gerald Smith, the elderly owner of Smith’s General Store, to Sue Ann Leary, the spoiled daughter of the town’s only doctor, to Corinne Pruitt, Billy May’s childhood friend, was affected by the event in ways they could never have anticipated.

Thirty years after the brutal attack, living in solitude on top of Crutcher Mountain, Billy May discovers the hideout of a young girl – a girl who just happens to be the daughter of one of the boys who attacked Billy May so long ago. No one knows better than Billy May the telltale signs of abuse, and she must quickly make a decision. Will she withdraw into the solitude in which she has lived since the horrific attack, or will she risk everything to save the girl from a similar fate?

Billy May’s choices will once again change not only her own future, but the future of Cedar Hollow as well, and certainly the future of the young girl. Billy May tells us her story in her own words, as she lays dying in a hospice in Huntington, West Virginia in the spring of 2010. “From the top of my mountain, I seen that girl runnin’,” she remembers, “and I understood even then that my decisions might very well be the death of me.”

Appalachian Justice is ultimately a tribute to the resiliency of the human spirit and a celebration of the beauty of second chances. Underneath it all, Appalachian Justice is also a powerful love story, though certainly not a conventional one.

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I really enjoyed this novel.  Though it deals with sexual abuse and I tend to shy away from novels with this topic, the premise and the delicacy with which Clayton treats it made the story an enticing must read.  It’s extremely well written, jumping between the past and present, following the lives of different characters as everything unfolds.  It draws the reader in from the very beginning as the mystery surrounding Billy May’s life is presented, and I found it to be impossible to put down.

I loved the depiction of all the characters, and though I hated some of them due to their treatment of women and those around them in general, I have to say that Clayton wrote all her characters to be extremely convincing, and I just loved the believability of the dialogue through the dialect.  Clayton does such an amazing job with her characters that my hatred was palpable on many an occasion, as was my fear for Billy May and the other abused women of the story.  I really felt a kindred with the female characters, and rooted for them the entire way, which is something I can’t say for most novels I read.

While this novel deals with the very heavy topics of rape and abuse, it’s really a story of healing, and I loved that Clayton doesn’t explicitly portray the abuse.  The allusions are there, but it’s lightly prodded, giving the reader an obvious idea of what is happening, but not to a blatant extent.  I hate novels that have to detail every gruesome thing that happens, and thankfully, Clayton doesn’t do that.  And, though it’s a sad tale, it has an great ending that, though a bit grisly, is exactly what the readers wants/needs to happen.  I cheered aloud when everything came to a head and the smoke cleared… Clayton really did a great job. Four stars.

I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.

From Goodreads: After a fire destroys seventeen-year-old Julia’s home and kills her foster parents, she chases the half-demon responsible across the country and back, determined to avenge her family and discover why a host of celestial baddies want her dead. With Julia is enigmatic hottie – Cayne, who has his own score to settle with the half-demon, and who might be just as dangerous as the creature he and Julia hunt.

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If you like novels about the Nephilim, then this novel is for you.  Julia is a very interesting character, but I really think that Cayne takes the cake in this novel.  He’s a dreamy, brooding character who, like Julia, is chasing down the half-demon, Sam.  I really enjoyed watching the relationship bud between Julia and Cayne as the novel unfolded.  Going from extremely standoffish to luke warm, and so on and so forth, the novel slowly brought the characters together.  Though there is an instant attraction, it was nice that the characters didn’t automatically fall in love, but had to learn to trust each other and slowly came together.

The idea behind the stained was very intriguing.  Although the novel doesn’t answer every question it poses, James keeps the reader intrigued throughout, especially as we learn more about the characters’ pasts and begin piecing things together.  The first in the series, it is shaping up to be a very promising read.  Four stars.

I received a copy of this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.