From Goodreads: Survive. At any cost.

Based on an astonishing true story.

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This poignant story, based on the experiences of Yanek Gruener, would be the perfect starting point for MG readers just learning about the atrocities of the Holocaust.  While full of sorrow, Yanek’s story is full of hope as he faces adversity head on.  It may be hard to believe that Yanek is able to keep his head up and not wish ill on his fellow inmates as he suffers in one camp after another, slowly dehumanized, but “hard to believe” and “impossible” are two different things, and I not only find it possible, but I also highly admire Yanek, and all those who experienced this wicked time in our world’s history.  I would say that, while this isn’t a joyous story by any means, it is in fact less depressing than others I’ve read, such as Night, by Elie Wiesel, and that is why I think it’d be a great starting point for MG students.  It gives just enough information about the events of the timeframe to pique reader interest, but not to scar the still fragile minds of 6^th and 7^th graders through tough descriptions and imagery.  Instead, this book readies young minds for a deeper study of the topic, which they will face in high school.  The writing of this novel is easy to understand as well, another reason this would be a great choice for MG readers.  Four stars.

Scholastic Inc. has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read a copy of this novel, via Netgalley.

From Goodreads: When the world ended, those who dwelled within the Dome were safe. Inside their glass world the Pures live on unscarred, while those outside—the Wretches—struggle to survive amidst the smoke and ash.

Believing his mother was living among the Wretches, Partridge escaped from the Dome to find her. Determined to regain control over his son, Willux, the leader of the Pures, unleashes a violent new attack on the Wretches. It’s up to Pressia Belze, a young woman with her own mysterious past, to decode a set of cryptic clues from the past to set the Wretches free.

An epic quest that sweeps readers into a world of beautiful brutality, Fuse continues the story of two people fighting to save their futures—and change the fate of the world.

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This novel is perhaps a little less disturbing than the first as readers are ready for the extreme images Baggott intricately weaves throughout her story, but it is still a jarring experience.  Pressia, with her blinking doll head fused to her hand, the Mothers, with their children fused to different areas of their bodies, El Captain, with his brother fused to his back, and Bradford, with his water birds fused to his shoulders, set the stage of this intense novel as these wretches work their hardest to survive and fight back against the violent attacks from the Pures.  Fuse is 100% mind blowing and mind boggling, and Baggott never ceases to amaze me as her imagination takes readers into a whole new world filled with death defying technology and mystery.

Perhaps what I love most about the series is the way Baggott delivers her chapters.  Each one focuses on a different character, and while all told in third person, it follows them on their own particular journey because, within 450+ pages, there are a lot of characters going off in different directions.  It’s not confusing, though.  Baggott names her chapters after the characters the chapter will follow, and then entitles it something that relates to the material, as well.  And, she always ends chapters at the climax, leaving readers dying to know what’s going to happen next for a certain character, while diving into new information about another we’ve been waiting to hear more about.  It’s a great strategy, and I really love it, though I will admit that this is a very long read.  It moves fairly quickly, but with all the fused images, and some of the procedures within the novel, I found myself slowing down a bit because it’s a lot to take in all at once.

Partridge is perhaps my favorite, and though a Pure, he is trying to do what is right.  However, his luck has run its course, and within the pages of Fuse, some terrible things happen to him that will make readers cringe.  Any time one’s freedom and ability to make choices are taken from them, it is an outrage, and watching Partridge endue what he does, without being able to do anything, is very difficult, but the fact that he keeps his head about him as much as possible made me love him all the more.  And, with the cliffhanger we are given at the end of Fuse, I am dying to see what happens next. Four stars.

Grand Central Publishing has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read this novel, via Netgalley.

From Goodreads: King Raymond is betrothed to Princess Ada of a neighboring sphere in an arranged match not of his choosing. Travelers from a parallel world have bargained to save the future of his people and he cannot refuse their offer.

Raymond does not believe that an alliance with the savages would result in a life-altering experience. He soon finds himself overwhelmed when an entanglement of emotion and love conspiring to undermine his vow in the most unlikely place.

Rowenna, warrior female of the Band, is a much sought-after female select. When her kin agree to an offer that will unite the races of their future, they do not realize what the sacrifice will cost her.

Can the two peoples of separate societies survive the prejudicial position that has been hoisted on them? Will their sacrifice afford a future of liberty, or will heartbreak be the only consequence of their love?

*Note: upon release of THE SAVAGE PRINCIPLE (3/1/13), Vengeance will be re-numbered as book #4.

**New adult

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For those of us who have been following Queen Clara over the past few years, Blodgett has given us another great treat! Her newest release, The Savage Principle (which is being shifted to book three, placing The Savage Vengeance at book number four), steps back in time and focuses on that of Rowenna, Clara’s mother, when she was just a teenager.

Now, by this point in the series, we know Clara is the product of a union between the sphere dwellers and the Band, and we know that Clara’s father, King Raymond, loved Rowenna so much that he commissioned a painting of her within his kingdom, since he knew he’d never see her again.  And, if you’ve read The Savage Blood, then you know a whole lot more about Rowenna because we meet her in the flesh, in the present.  But… The Savage Principle takes us back, giving us an in-depth, personal look at the truth about Clara’s conception and the choices King Raymond and Rowenna had to make, and how those choices ultimately influence Queen Clara today.

But this novel doesn’t just show us the younger years of King Raymond and Rowenna… remember Queen Ada?  We also get to see her as she was during her teens, and let me just say, it’s not pretty. Rolland, Rowenna’s betrothed, is also a huge part of the story, and we come to understand just how much heartache was involved in the Zondorae brother’s attempt to play “God” within this alternate universe.

It. Is. Epic.  What I love about this series is the vast world building, amazing characterization, and fast-paced nature that leaves me always wanting more. I was especially excited to see a few characters from the Death series show up in this novel as well (they play a huge part in The Savage Vengeance, too), and I especially loved that, while a new adult novel, it’s not full of explicit sex.  In fact, this novel glosses right over the act, focusing more so on the adult themes of pregnancy, true love, and selflessness, and less on sexual acts.  I also really enjoy the way the characters speak.  Blodgett keeps the entire novel in an archaic-like prose and dialogue, and I just love it. It’s very easy to read and understand, but as you can imagine, it’s probably not so easy to write, yet Blodgett keeps her entire story in “character” with an archaic feel of it all, and, with each new Savage novel I pick up, it never ceases to amaze me. Five stars.

I received an ARC of this phenomenal novel from the author in exchange for an honest review.

You really MUST check out all Tamara Rose Blodgett’s books, especially as she intertwines Death and Savage together to create an epic twist!

Savage Series:

The Pearl Savage (#1)

The Savage Blood (#2)

The Savage Protector (#3)

The Savage Vengeance (#4)

Death Series:

Death Whispers (#1)

Death Speaks (#2)

Death Inception (#3)

Death Screams (#4)

Death Weeps (#5)

Unrequited Death (#6)

Have you read Michelle Franklin’s Haanta Series books?  If not, be sure to check out Khantara: Volume 1 to see where it all began!

Khantara: Volume 1

Paper Crane Books

http://papercranebooks.com

twitter: @papercranebooks

facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PaperCraneBooks

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Khantara :Volume 1

Khantara is a Haanta conqueror, meant to wage war and rule over the enemy nation of Thellis, but after vanquishing Thellis and occupying a construction of a Haanta outpost, he meets Anelta, a woman enslaved by her own people bearing a brand of servitude on her neck. Khantara contrives to save her from a cruel home and bring her to the refuge his people can provide, but how can he do so successfully when the eyes of Thellis are upon him?

Release: November 16, 2012 / $2.99 (ebook) / $11.99 (print)

Epic Fantasy, Romance

Purchase at: Amazon | Barnes and Noble | Book Depository | Smashwords

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About the Author:

Michelle Franklin is a small woman of moderate consequence who writes many, many books about giants, romance, and chocolate. You can find more about Michelle over at her blog: http://thehaanta.blogspot.ca/

Twitter: https://twitter.com/MrsDenAsaan

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Michelle-Franklin-and-the-Haanta-series/129616710425835

From Goodreads: MY KISS CAN KILL.

When angels and demons must work together, something beyond evil is rising…

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In my review of Dark Kiss, I said I wished I had gotten to know Bishop and his brother, Kraven, a lot more.  I really liked them, and as obvious as it was that they were hiding things from Samantha, especially when it came to their past, they never spilled the beans, and that just about killed me.  Well, in this great sequel, Wicked Kiss, my wishes have been granted.  Rowan does a phenomenal job throwing in many twists and turns as the story progresses, ever so slowly divulging the truth about Bishop and Kraven’s past mortal life, explaining how one became an angel, and one a demon, and why bad blood presently sits between them.  And I loved it.  The mystery was there, the action was there, and I loved how each morsel of information changed my perception of Bishop and Kraven, changing everything I ever thought I knew about them, which was a lot of fun, especially when the truth really did come out.  Though it took the entire novel for the truth to be divulged, and it’s a bit long, it was great fun, and I enjoyed it very much.  I will say it’s one downfall, though, is it’s repetitiveness.  Events will happen that are self-explanatory, but Samantha then rehashes what was just said in case readers didn’t get it the first time.  That, for me, was a little annoying, but it certainly didn’t ruin the story.

Samantha Day is a much stronger character in this novel, and not just in terms of her half and half status.  I did not find her as wishy-washy in her decisions, and she takes charge on multiple occasions, which was nice to see, even though she still wasn’t making the best decisions.  But, if you had a soul sucking hunger deep inside you, you probably wouldn’t make the best decisions, either…

I’m excited to see where this series is going, especially as the story Rowan began with finds a resolution in this second novel, but the path has been paved for a whole new story to unfold, and I’m really looking forward to it.  Four stars.

Harlequin has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of the novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on February 26, 2013.

From Goodreads: Edward Bloor’s award-winning novel Tangerine grabs readers by the collar on the first page and never lets go. Tangerine, Florida—once known for its citrus groves—is now an uninhabitable quagmire of muck fires and school-swallowing sinkholes. Still, twelve-year-old Paul sees the move as a way to start anew, maybe even make a name for himself in middle school soccer—despite his father’s obsession with his high-school-age brother Erik’s future in football. Paul is visually impaired (without his Coke bottle glasses), but it’s everyone else who seems to be blind to Erik’s dangerous nature. Written as a series of Paul’s journal entries, Tangerine is a gut-wrenching coming-of-age novel about truth, memory, culture, courage, social consciousness, classism, the environment . . . and soccer. Paul is a character well worth cheering for. Underdogs of the world, unite!

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I’m sorry to say that I just could not get into this novel.  The events within it were very strange, from a sinkhole swallowing a section of a middle school to lightening striking a student, I just had difficulty with it.  I’m not saying these things don’t happen, but there were just too many strange events that happened in this novel, and the blasé attitude surrounding them didn’t really sit well with me.  It gave off a rather supernatural feel when I felt the novel was supposed to be much more serious, and so it just didn’t sit well with me.  But, it’s also written for MG and perhaps young, young adult readers, so I think that’s where it’s real appeal will lie.  While I do like to read MG on occasion, not every story is for me because I’m not a MG reader anymore, and that’s okay.  But I really think 5^th-8^th graders will get a kick out of this novel, and the fact that it has great morals and themes also make it a great book for any young readers out there who enjoy sports.  Unfortunately, I, personally, can only give it two stars.  But if you’ve got a MG child at home, I highly suggest picking this up for them!    

I borrowed this book from the school library.

From Goodreads: Love or life.
Henry or their child.
The end of her family or the end of the world.
Kate must choose.

During nine months of captivity, Kate Winters has survived a jealous goddess, a vengeful Titan and a pregnancy she never asked for. Now the Queen of the Gods wants her unborn child, and Kate can’t stop her–until Cronus offers a deal.

In exchange for her loyalty and devotion, the King of the Titans will spare humanity and let Kate keep her child. Yet even if Kate agrees, he’ll destroy Henry, her mother and the rest of the council. And if she refuses, Cronus will tear the world apart until every last god and mortal is dead.

With the fate of everyone she loves resting on her shoulders, Kate must do the impossible: find a way to defeat the most powerful being in existence, even if it costs her everything.

Even if it costs her eternity.

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It is a bittersweet end to a beautiful saga, but Carter’s epic conclusion of The Goddess Inheritance will leave many extremely pleased, though readers certainly won’t feel that way as the story unfolds.  True to mythic form, the gods and goddesses are pigheaded and selfish, and it shows, perhaps more than in any other novel, in this final masterpiece.  All Kate wants is to protect her baby.  All Henry wants is his family back together.  But leave it to Henry’s brothers and sisters to muddy the water, using Kate’s life and child as the leverage they need to propel Henry into a war he never wanted to fight, regardless of the danger in which it places Kate and her child.

Truth be told, I screamed throughout much of this novel.  The unfeeling nature of many of the gods and goddesses really set my teeth on edge, and I wanted some of them to die slow, painful deaths.  Anyone who is willing to endanger a child and allow a loved one to be abducted and used as a pawn to further their own gain is a despicable person, and that can be said for Walter.  I want to pummel him, rip away his eternity, and spit on his grave.  And those feelings right there are why I believe Carter to be a phenomenal writer destined for greatness.

I am not a parent.  I never plan to be, but Carter stirred extreme emotions within me when it came to Kate’s child being ripped away from her.  Kate’s inability to hold her son, or see him in the flesh, ate away at my soul, and I can only imagine what it will do to those readers who have children.  It is a very powerful, poignant story, one of love, betrayal, and ultimate sacrifice, and I am in awe of it all.  Again, the fact that Carter was able to evoke such strong emotions within me over fictional characters proves that she is, indeed, a phenomenal writer.

Add in the many twists and turns, alongside the psychopathic nature of Cronus and Calliope, and this final novel outshines all the rest in the series with its fast-paced nature.  Though both Kate and Henry must struggle to overcome the many barriers set before them, their love for one another is finally fully solidified in this novel, and the fight for family, and all of earth, begins.  Five stars.

Harlequin has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this phenomenal novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on February 26, 2013.

This is a series you really need to read:

The Goddess Test (#1)

The Goddess Hunt (#1.5)

Goddess Interrupted (#2)

The Goddess Legacy (#2.5)

The Goddess Inheritance (#3)

From Goodreads: Celaena Sardothien is the assassin with everything: a place to call her own, the love of handsome Sam, and, best of all, freedom. Yet, she won’t be truly free until she is far away from her old master, Arobynn Hamel; Celaena must take one last daring assignment that will liberate her forever. But having it all, means you have a lot to lose . . .

This fourth fantastic e-novella gives readers an inside look at the characters who appear in the full-length novel Throne of Glass. Don’t miss out!

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This final novella, which takes place prior to the start of the first full book in the series, Throne of Glass, is absolutely wonderful.  In fact, as each of the four novellas progressed, they became better and better, delving deep into the soul of Celaena and providing readers with the background information we so desperately wanted after having read Throne of Glass.  And, if you’re a reader doing it “right,” reading them in order, then you’re not going to want to wait around at all between completing this novella and picking up Throne of Glass!  In fact, finishing these four novellas really made me want to go back and re-read Throne of Glass because they’re just that wonderful.

The Assassin and the Empire is sad novella, and, for those of us who already knew what was coming, we learn the truth behind the betrayal of Celaena, and how her beloved truly died.  It’s heartwrenching, but mesmerizing all the same, and I really think it’s the best of all the novellas.  Up until this point, we’ve learned about Celaena’s abilities, watched her train and stand up for what is right, and we’ve seen her fall in love.  Now we’ve seen her betrayal, insighting much rage and fury, but also the knowledge that one day, Celaena will have her revenge.  And I can’t wait!  If you haven’t read these novellas, The Assassin and the Pirate Lord , The Assassin and the Desert, The Assassin and the Underworld, and The Assassin and the Empire, what are you waiting for?  Do it, now!!!  Then (re)read Throne of Glass.  You won’t be disappointed!!!  Five stars.

I purchased this novella from Amazon.

From Goodreads: When the King of the Assassins gives Celaena Sardothien a special assignment that will help fight slavery in the kingdom, she jumps at the chance to strike a blow against an evil practice. The mission is a dark and deadly affair which takes Celaena from the rooftops of the city to the bottom of the sewer—and she doesn’t like what she finds there.

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This is a great novella following the growth of Celaena as she is once again back in her hometown, having completed her training in the desert.  What I’m noticing is that, as each novella unfolds, we are given more insight into Celaena’s life, her thoughts and feelings coming to the forefront, and we realize, more and more, that she really is just a 17 year-old girl looking for her place in life.  Yes, she is an assassin, the best around, to be sure, but she is also completely naive and innocent in life and love. I am glad to see that the romantic aspect of Celaena’s life is finally addressed in this novella, I was wondering when it would come to light, but having read Throne of Glass, I know how this will end, and it breaks my heart.  Now, I know all the key players, so it is a more heart-wrenching development than when Celaena alluded to it in the full novel, a year later, when I didn’t know the extent of her past experiences and betrayals.  Or just how pure and true her loving romance was.

Aside from love, though, Celaena’s innocence in terms of life was stolen when she made her first kill under the orders of Arobynn.  I haven’t liked the Assassin King since I first learned of him, and his actions in both The Assassin and the Pirate Lord and The Assassin and the Desert made me like him less and less.  He is a soulless dominant male ready to exploit those around him, yet his charm and taste constantly undermine Celaena’s resolve to quit his service once and for all.  It is in this novella that we finally meet the man who pulls Celaena’s strings, and I have to say, he does carry himself very well, but his motives had me on edge from the get go.  I just wish they would have set Celaena on edge as well.  This novella is full of betrayal, though it isn’t made plain right away.  Even so, I really enjoyed this novella and the depth of personality we get to see in both Sam and Celaena.  This novella, I believe, is the one that helps turn Celaena into the strong character she is in Throne of Glass, and I absolutely adored it.  Four and a half stars.

I purchased this novella from the Amazon.

From Goodreads: The Silent Assassins of the Red Desert aren’t much for conversation, and Celaena Sardothien wouldn’t have it any other way. She’s not there to chatter, she’s there to hone her craft as the world’s most feared killer for hire. When the quiet is shattered by forces who want to destroy the Silent Assassins, Celaena must find a way to stop them, or she’ll be lucky to leave the desert alive.

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I liked this novella much more than The Assassin and the Pirate Lord, and I think it really has to do with the humility that Celaena begins to show throughout the pages as she is bested time and time again.  Here, in the middle of the desert, thrust far from all she knows as punishment for her disobedience to the Assassin King, Celaena begins to realize that she still has much to learn.  I felt much more connection with Celaena in this novella as she begins to really feel. She misses Sam, who we met in the first novella, and she is still sore from the beating she received for freeing the slaves.  She is lonely and friendless, but her realization that she is difficult makes her likable, and it is here that we see her make a true friend.  Celaena is slowly coming down from her high pedestal and we begin to see the human side of her, which is the side I already knew from having read Throne of Glass prior to these novellas.  And, what I’m seeing is Maas fleshing out a character that struggles with pride and haughtiness, and morphing her into a real, genuine character.  Her experiences in both this novella and the first are going to heavily impact Celaena’s life and change her for the better.

This novella is full of fun and interesting characters, and I enjoyed the many tasks set before Celaena.  I also enjoyed trying to figure out what exactly was happening alongside her.  There is a traitor in her midst, and while I figured out who it was fairly early on, I wasn’t sure of the “why” behind the betrayal, and it was very interesting to find out how everything came together.

So, if you’re like me and didn’t really care for Celaena’s character in The Assassin and the Pirate Lord, and you want a fun, shorter read to fill some extra time, keep reading these novellas.  Celaena gets better, and the rollercoaster ride of emotions is worth it.  Four stars.

I purchased this novella from Amazon.

From Goodreads: A Throne of Glass novella.

On a remote island in a tropical sea, Celaena Sardothien, feared assassin, has come for retribution. She’s been sent by the Assassin’s Guild to collect on a debt they are owed by the Lord of the Pirates. But when Celaena learns that the agreed payment is not in money, but in slaves, her mission suddenly changes—and she will risk everything to right the wrong she’s been sent to bring about.

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This is the very first novella in the Throne of Glass series, and to be quite honest, I can’t say whether it should be read prior to the first full novel in the series, or after.  I know it’s meant to be read first, since it came out prior to the first full novel in order to whet readers’ appetites, but I personally feel like it should be read after the first novel.

While I enjoyed the novella, I don’t think it had the same amount of spunk and characterization as Throne of Glass, which makes sense since it’s a much shorter piece and there isn’t as much time to devote to the laying out of character.  But, if I was a new reader to the series and I started with this novella, I’m not certain I’d feel enough connection to want to read on.  Hence, I suggest reading it backwards, as that’s how I read it, and I went in to this novella knowing a lot about Celaena’s personality, which was very helpful.  See, I already knew Celaena to be a truly caring individual, though haughty, whereas this novella makes her out to be a bit too conceited for my liking—though she is young and hasn’t had as many experiences to knock her down a bit.

But, anyway, this is a great read for those who want to know more about Celaena’s background prior to her capture and time in the slave mines.  Throne of Glass alludes to Celaena’s life as a great assassin before her betrayal, and this novella (along with the three that follow it, I’m sure explores her adventures prior to the first novel.  What we learn is that Celaena is a very good assassin with a great moral standing.  She feels bound to do what is right, regardless of orders, though her conceit is a bit jarring and overwhelming.  However, like I stated above, this is a short read that’s very fast paced, and I had a little difficulty connecting to Celaena and the new characters as I didn’t feel they were completely fleshed out.  As it’s only 70 pages, I understand that Maas doesn’t have the time to flesh them all out to the same degree as Throne of Glass, which is why I enjoyed reading it after I finished the first story.  Three stars.

I purchased this novella from Amazon.

From Goodreads: Back in her hometown, Tori Beaugrand had everything a teenaged girl could want—popularity, money, beauty. But she also had a secret. A secret that could change her life in an instant, or destroy it.

Now she’s left everything from her old life behind, including her real name and Alison, the one friend who truly understood her. She can’t escape who and what she is. But if she wants to have anything like a normal life, she has to blend in and hide her unusual… talents.

Plans change when the enigmatic Sebastian Faraday reappears and gives Tori some bad news: she hasn’t escaped her past. In fact, she’s attracted new interest in the form of an obsessed ex-cop turned investigator for a genetics lab.

She has one last shot at getting her enemies off her trail and winning the security and independence she’s always longed for. But saving herself will take every ounce of Tori’s incredible electronics and engineering skills—and even then, she may need to sacrifice more than she could possibly imagine if she wants to be free.

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Spoilers to Ultraviolet (book 1) ensue below.  I tried not to, but… I found it impossible.  **Reader Beware**  If you haven’t read Ultraviolet, the prequel to Quicksilver, then I suggest you do not read this review.

Also, stay tuned to the blog as I have a signed used copy of Ultraviolet that I’m planning to give away at some point soon.

{Review of Quicksilver below}

This novel was a lot of fun.  Tori Beaugrand is a phenomenal character, and I really enjoyed her in both Ultraviolet and Quicksilver.  She is extremely gifted and… not of this world (ahem).  When I read Ultraviolet,  I was completely thrown by this kink Anderson thrusts into the middle of her plot, and I certainly wasn’t expecting it, but the farther I read, the more I loved it.  Many didn’t, but to each his/her own. What we have with Ultraviolet is “a really good [realistic] psychological thriller… and all of a sudden we’re thrust into a sci-fi, paranormal thriller,” which many were not expecting, and it somewhat upset the balance of the story (above quote from my review of Ultraviolet).  But it was awesome, in my opinion, and I was extremely excited to pick up Quicksilver and start reading.  Now, this sequel doesn’t throw us any crazy curve balls like Ultraviolet did, but instead continues the idea of an otherworldly project that puts Tori’s very existence, and the only life she’s ever known, into complete jeopardy.  Though her parents are willing to pick up everything and move in order to protect her, even they are not fully aware of the truth, and Tori and her friends go to great lengths within this novel to keep it hidden from everyone, while trying to figure out a way to shut down the otherworldly project for good.

Like I said, I really enjoyed this novel, especially as Tori makes some new friends, such as Milo, and also learns that not everyone she’s been able to trust in the past is as trustworthy as they seem.  For a while, the story was just chugging along, and I was blissfully enjoying it, though I’d say the action lulled on occasion, but then Anderson threw in a twist that made me sit straight up and scream at the betrayal.  I couldn’t believe it… after everything that happened in Ultraviolet and within this novel itself, well, I nearly died.  I was so angry! All I’m going to say is that Tori is a much better person than I am…

I also screamed near the end when I realized what Tori had decided to do in order to protect herself.  I had an inkling that that was where the story was going, but in my mind I was like, nah, Anderson wouldn’t do that.  Of course, knowing her writing style, I should have known better.  It was gruesome and again, I was completely jarred by the turn of events, but in all honesty, that’s what makes Anderson’s novels so much fun!!!  I highly suggest checking out this series! Four stars.

Also, stay tuned to the blog as I have a signed used copy of Ultraviolet that I’m planning to give away at some point soon.

Lerner Publishing Group has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read a copy of  this novel, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

From Goodreads: Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she’s struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town’s oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

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Truth be told, I struggled to get “into” this novel in the very beginning.  I think one of the most jarring things for me was that it’s told from Ethan Wate’s point of view, instead of Lena’s, and I wasn’t expecting that based on the synopsis.  As the synopsis begins with Lena, and the story is really about Lena, I thought it’d be her point of view.  Of course, as I thought about it, I realized that it’s fitting that we get Ethan’s point of view instead, and once I wrapped my head around that, I was fine, but initially, that wasn’t what I was expecting at all.  And to add to that, the story seemed to crawl along for a fairly long time.  It wasn’t until the dinner scene in Lena’s house, maybe about 100 pages in(?), that I actually became interested in what was happening.  Up until that point, we’re given the background information needed, and the characters are fleshed out, but as little action went on, I wasn’t that enamored.  Once the dinner scene came and went, though, I was very interested in the story, and I had a hard time putting the novel down.  I loved the twists and turns, the time travel, the mystery and intrigue, and the struggle between light and dark, not to mention the love story.  There are a ton of really great characters in the novel, and though this is a rather long novel, it was very well done.  Garcia kept me guessing as I read, and I highly enjoyed the story she wove, using the deep South, both past and present, to knit it all together.

Both Lena and Ethan are great characters.  Their fight to beat the odds in a town so set in its ways made me love them right away, and even though the adults in their lives weren’t always on their side, I enjoyed the trust and interactions between them all, even when the town went semi crazy over Lena’s presence.  Ethan is a great boyfriend, and his connection to Lena and their past, as it is ever slowly revealed, was so much fun to uncover.  Garcia did a great job on this novel and I definitely recommend it to readers of all ages.  Four stars.

I purchased this novel from Borders.

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Now, the movie, on the other hand, well… if you’re not absolutely dying to see it, then don’t.  My friend and I went to see this movie together, knowing that, as directors usually do, changes would take place, but I wasn’t expecting more than half the book to be cut out and changed!!  That’s right, I’d say about 70% of the movie is different from the book, and that was quite depressing.  For starters, the accents jarred me.  Now, I know this is a book that takes place in the deep South, but I was pretty sure somewhere in the novel it stated that neither Lena or Ethan had southern accents.  In the movie, they do.  But that’s okay, no big deal (and I could be wrong, anyway).  It was the initial 30 minutes of the movie that drove me nuts, though. Someone, the director perhaps, made a very bad decision regarding the length of the movie versus the length of the book.  Now, I know that movies can’t add it all, or we’d be sitting in the theater for days, but you can’t very well take a 570+ book and turn it into a 2 hour movie.  Nope.  Can’t do it.  Not without cutting out way too much, and changing way too much.  And that’s what they did.  Add in the choppy flow of events, a few sad special effects, some semi-decent acting, and you’ve got Beautiful Creatures.

What really irked me was that the movie cut out nearly all the school scenes, which make up such a huge part of the book.  Ethan’s not a basketball player, and we barely see him, or Lena, interact with those in school.  Never mind the choppiness and jumping from “hello” with Lena’s tattoo stating she had 104 days left, to the next scene of “hi again, instant love” with Lena only having 79 days… but everything that Garcia worked so hard to create in order to give the story backbone was missing.  Characters were missing!  In fact, the entire ending is different… I haven’t read the second novel in the series, but I’m not sure how they’re going to make the second movie align with the novel if the ending of the first movie didn’t align… ugh.  But I think what really clinched it for me was the dinner scene.  The special effects used (or lack thereof) made the whole dinner scene look like a children’s Disney ride.  And… for such a serious scene, the comedic relief added to the movie irked me more than it made me smile.  Not. The. Same. And that “comedy” ran throughout the movie.  But it wasn’t funny.  Not really, and it sort of ruined things for me.  Overall, I found the movie to be too choppy, too short, and too different for my liking.  Which is sad, really.  So, if you don’t have to see the movie, don’t.  Read the book.  It’s a much better use of your time.  One and a half stars for the movie.

I purchased my theater tickets at the local theater.

From Goodreads: Twenty-year-old Sydney Hart has always made mistakes and when she meets Michael Grayson, she soon comes to wonder if she hasn’t made the biggest mistake of her life. That one moment of passion between them causes Sydney’s world to spiral rapidly out of control.

Suffering from nightmares, Sydney soon realizes her life and the people closest to her aren’t who or what she believed them to be. Fearing she has been cursed, Sydney attempts to unravel the dark secrets that surround her, and is desperate to discover why a dying man called her ‘Witch’.

A racy, paranormal romance with a chilling twist for readers ages 18+.

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What I love about O’Rourke’s novels is that, without fail, he always surprises me with his many twists and turns, which is exactly what happens in his latest new adult novel, Witch.  This story centers around a 20-year-old female cop who’s a bit wild.  She likes to drink, and she likes sex.  In other words, she makes a lot of bad decisions, and her father, a cop himself, has always looked down on her.  Thus, Sydney’s done the only thing she could think of to make him look at her differently.  She became a cop, too.  But, her wildness is still there, and on two instances, we see her very wild side with Michael Grayson and his kitchen table… and from here, Sydney’s life goes downhill.  Drinking and “playing” on the job leave her less than lucid when she gets behind the wheel, and tragedy strikes at Sydney’s hand…

But, as with all O’Rourke novels, not everything is what it seems.  Though it certainly looks that way, O’Rourke strings his readers along, filling us with many emotions in the wake of the horrible roadside massacre and its strange and eerie relation to a death that happened ten years in the past.  And this is where O’Rourke’s many twists and turns make themselves apparent as Sydney attempts to uncover the truth in order to live with what she’s done.

Sydney is a great character.  She is very flawed, but that’s what makes her so real.  Of course I don’t condone her behaviors at the beginning of the story, but the knowledge of her wild side helps the reader really connect with her and the enormity of what she’s done.  We’ve all felt guilt (though hopefully not at the level Sydney does), and while we aren’t the perpetrators in this novel, O’Rourke makes his readers really understand guilt and self-hatred.  But, he also allows Sydney to grow and become a much more responsible adult, which is always the sign of a great author.  Character growth is key in novels, and in this one, while we do a have the few needed flat characters, our main ones morph and change throughout the text.  And with the many jarring twists and turns, and the paranormal aspect O’Rourke incorporates, well… this is a gem.

Now, truth be told, I’m not really a fan of the new adult genre.  I don’t care for bouts of sex and erotica in my stories, and I certainly don’t seek them out, but with an author like Tim O’Rourke, I know the novel itself it going to be so good that I can handle being out of my comfort zone for a little while if it means I get to be astounded and amazed by his latest story.  And I was.  No matter what genre, I will always read O’Rourke’s work because I know it’s going to be fabulous (But this one is definitely for the 18+ crowd).  Four stars.

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

O’Rourke’s Amazing Novels YOU NEED TO READ  (On Amazon):

Kiera Hudson Series 1

Vampire Shift (#1)

Vampire Wake (#2)

Vampire Hunt (#3)

Vampire Breed (#4)

Wolf House (#4.5)

Vampire Hollows (#5)

Kiera Hudson Series 2

Dead Flesh (#1)

Dead Night: Potter’s Secrets (#1.5)

Dead Angels (#2)

Dead Statues (#3)

Dead Seth (#4)

Dead Wolf (#5)

Dead Water (#6)–Coming Soon 2013

Black Hill Farm Series

Black Hill Farm (#1)

Black Hill Farm Andy’s Diary (#2)

The Moon Trilogy

Moonlight (#1)

Samantha Carter Series

Vampire Seeker (#1) (Formerly known as Cowgirls and Vampires)

Doorways Series

Doorways (#1)

The League of Doorways (#2)

Flashes Series

Flashes (#1)–Coming 2013

From Goodreads: Beth was sneaky. No lock could hold her. No cage could confine her. No door could bar her way. But, when your adoptive mother is a Spirit Binder, and all your siblings are elementals, being sneaky doesn’t really rank.
That is until the devastation of a city draws her omniscient mother’s attention, and her siblings go missing one by one, then Beth’s sneakiness is the only thing standing between her, her loved ones, and the worst enemy she’ll ever face: herself.

Time Walker is a young adult, 50,000 word, fantasy novel by Meghan Ciana Doidge (After The Virus, Spirit Binder) set ten years after the events of Spirit Binder. It is the first book in the Spirit Bound series, and it’s not necessary to read Spirit Binder before reading Time Walker.

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Time Walker is a great MG/YA novel from those who love elementals.  Beth, her siblings, and her friends are all special, each able to do something the others are not… and Beth’s talent is unlocking things, but that’s not all.  She also holds the ability to walk through time, unbeknownst to her.

I really enjoyed the story, especially as I watched Beth develop and come into herself.  She is one of many adopted siblings who call the Spirit Binder, Theo, mother, but with all the talent around her, she feels a bit… untalented, especially when her siblings are able to do much more than unlock things. Truth be told, I’d probably be feeling pretty down, too.  But with the appearance of her much older, evil self, Beth learns there is more to her powers than she ever knew, and that she holds the key to her family’s future. The concept of this novel is great.  The idea of being able to transcend time, to be able to bend the elements, period, has always intrigued me, and I really liked learning about Beth, as well as her family and friends.

I did find a few things confusing, though, as I read.  First, I had a little trouble keeping everyone straight, as there were a lot of characters within the novel.  Between all the kids on the premise with powers, the Spirit Binder and her entourage, and the guards, I became a bit confused about who everyone was and how they were related.  The other confusion I had was that of Beth’s feelings for her adopted brother.  I’m not sure if the love described was supposed to be platonic, brotherly love, or if it was supposed to be romantic love.  Something tells me it’s supposed to be the latter, which rubs me the wrong way just a little because, being adopted and having an adopted brother myself, I find the “romantic” love aspect somewhat gross.

Overall, though, Time Walker is a fun, clean, well-executed story that I enjoyed.  I love the world Doidge has created, and can’t wait to learn more about it.  Three and a half stars.

From Goodreads: National bestselling author James LePore’s searing, intense novel SONS AND PRINCES riveted readers with its epic depiction of a man caught between crime and conscience.

Now LePore returns with a sequel to SONS AND PRINCES. It is eight years later and life has changed overwhelmingly for Chris Massi and his son Matt. Chris now possesses more power than he ever could have imagined. But with power comes considerable, unremitting risk. And when Matt finds himself drawing the attention of the Russian Mafia, the risks become all too immediate and the reaction all too crucial. As the circle widens to include Chris’s daughter and the woman that has surprisingly captured Matt’s heart, Chris must make moves that could make him and his entire family vulnerable.

Rippling with tension, THE FIFTH MAN is a story of strength and consequences, of the price of the past and the perilous path to the future. It is James LePore at the height of his storytelling skills.

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This is a wonderful sequel to Sons and Princes that can also stand alone for the reader who hasn’t year read the prequel.  But seriously, these novels are so wonderful that you need to read them both!  LePore is an exceptional writer, bringing his 25 years of law experience to the forefront as he spins his tales of crime.

LePore does a phenomenal job drawing the reader in from the very beginning, fleshing out the cast of characters as his story seamlessly flows together.  What I’ve always enjoyed about LePore’s writing is his ability to take the reader inside the characters’ heads, jumping from scene to scene, and place to place, without losing the reader along the way.  LePore’s meticulous attention to detail, and his background in law help create a believable crime story that will leave you breathless as the pieces of the puzzle begin to come together.

Whereas Sons and Princes focuses more on Chris Massi and his decisions concerning the family business, The Fifth Man gives more of a focus to his son, Matt, which I loved.  The story itself opens about seven years after the close of Sons and Princes, and I really like that LePore chose to add this time gap to his story.  It allows Chris to become something of a bigwig, while it also gives time for Matt and his sister to grow into adulthood, allowing for more interaction and relation building within the walls of the family business.  Seeing Matt all grown up was really fun, too, and I enjoyed getting to know him, as well as watching him fall in love and interact with his father.  He’s come a long way since we last saw him in Sons and Princes, and I really loved the family dynamics LePore creates as he brings us into the world of the Mafia.

This story is about love, redemption, and how far a father is willing to go to protect his family.  It’s a true gem, and I cannot wait for more in the series.  Four stars.

I received a this novel from the author in exchange for an honest review prior to its release on February 12, 2013.

From Goodreas: First, the virus took Kaelyn’s friends. Then, her family. Now it’s taken away her home.

But she can’t look back—the life she once had is gone forever.

A deadly virus has destroyed Kaelyn’s small island community and spread beyond the quarantine. No one is safe. But when Kaelyn finds samples of a vaccine in her father’s abandoned lab, she knows there must be someone, somewhere, who can replicate it. As Kaelyn and her friends head to the mainland, they encounter a world beyond recognition. It’s not only the “friendly flu” that’s a killer—there are people who will stop at nothing to get their hands on the vaccine. How much will Kaelyn risk for an unproven cure, when the search could either destroy those she loves or save the human race?

Megan Crewe’s second volume in the Fallen World trilogy is an action-packed journey that explores the resilience of friendship, the ache of lost love, and Kaelyn’s enduring hope in the face of the sacrifices she must make to stay alive.

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This second novel in the Fallen World Series finds Kaelyn and a group of friends braving the world beyond the island, trying to find a cure to the deadly virus.  But, as when any entourage braves the snowy wild, they will become easy targets set against the white backdrop of snow.  So is the case when Kaelyn, Leo, Gav, Meredith, Tessa, and Tobias stumble into a town looking for gas.  It is here that those who still believe there is hope for human kindness find that there is little left in a world ravished by illness, and the race to deliver the cure and survive the wild becomes a true matter of life and death, one they weren’t prepared for in the least.

Kaelyn is a phenomenal, strong character, though lacking common sense in a few areas.  I really enjoyed her point of view and reliability in the first novel, The Way We Fall, but in this second novel, I found myself wanting to shake her a bit.  With the vaccine in hand, she is basically in charge of her rather large group, six in all, hoping to keep them safe as they trek across Canada looking for someone who can manufacture the cure.  Though I understand it, this, in my opinion, is the first unwise decision Kaelyn and her friends make.  Their group is much too large to forgo detection.  There’s too many to feed, and they’re not all privy to the dangers surrounding them, especially young, childish Meredith.  From there, especially as most of the characters are unprepared for the world they’re entering, the entire group continues to make decisions that put them more so in the line of danger than anything else.  Their inability to harden their souls is their downfall, but at the same time, it’s sort of their saving grace, as it were, and so I found myself torn on many an occasion as events unfolded.

The story itself is a great concept, but as a middle book, I feel that it falls into the category that middle books sometimes fall into, where it’s a good, sound story, but not too much happens and nothing is resolved.  In the grand scheme of things, the characters come across some obstacles, beat the odds, continue their journey, throw smoldering looks at each other, and then come across another obstacle.  While reading the story, it wasn’t as obvious to me as I was waiting for the next big thing to happen, but upon completion and retrospect, not too much did happen—which isn’t a bad thing, but more so a middle book thing, I think.

This novel is also written differently than the first.  Whereas the first novel in the series is written in the epistolary style, with Kaelyn writing letters and journal entries to Leo, her best friend Tessa’s boyfriend, this novel brings all the characters together, making the journal entries and letters obsolete.  While the first chapter of the story does start with Kaelyn journaling, this writing technique is pushed aside as the novel takes form, which I actually liked more than I thought I would.  I’m a lover of the epistolary novel, but if all the characters are side-by-side, what’s the purpose of continuing one?  Kaelyn writes in her journal, for what I think it probably the last time, and then the story follows her and her friends through Kaelyn’s first person narrative, which I also enjoyed.  Overall, this is a good read, and I do recommend it, but remember, it’s a middle book, setting the stage for the big finale.  Three stars.

Disney Book Group has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on February 12, 2013.

From Goodreads: An internationally bestselling phenomenon: the darkly suspenseful, highly controversial tale of two families struggling to make the hardest decision of their lives — all over the course of one meal.

It’s a summer’s evening in Amsterdam, and two couples meet at a fashionable restaurant for dinner. Between mouthfuls of food and over the polite scrapings of cutlery, the conversation remains a gentle hum of polite discourse — the banality of work, the triviality of the holidays. But behind the empty words, terrible things need to be said, and with every forced smile and every new course, the knives are being sharpened.

Each couple has a fifteen-year-old son. The two boys are united by their accountability for a single horrific act; an act that has triggered a police investigation and shattered the comfortable, insulated worlds of their families. As the dinner reaches its culinary climax, the conversation finally touches on their children. As civility and friendship disintegrate, each couple show just how far they are prepared to go to protect those they love.

Tautly written, incredibly gripping, and told by an unforgettable narrator, The Dinner promises to be the topic of countless dinner party debates. Skewering everything from parenting values to pretentious menus to political convictions, this novel reveals the dark side of genteel society and asks what each of us would do in the face of unimaginable tragedy.

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Herman Koch’s The Dinner originally released in Holland in 2009 and has finally made its way to the United States after much critical acclaim.  And what a great novel it is!

This is the story of one family’s response to the havoc their children have wrought, and how they choose to deal with it.  It’s a novel of mystery and suspense, while at the same time making a satiric social commentary on parenting and the fusses of high end living.  The novel follows Paul, the father of one of the young men of questionable behavior, as he sets out to dinner with his wife to meet his brother and sister-in-law at a rather upscale restaurant.  It is evident, from the very beginning, that Paul’s relationship with his brother is quite estranged and that they don’t see eye to eye, but it isn’t until the couples meet that the reader begins to see just how different the two families really are.

I was nervous going into the story as I didn’t know how a novel could possibly have depth or keep my interest if it only covered one meal.  Thinking of my own conversations around the dinner table, and how drab they can be, I was worried that The Dinner might not hold my attention.  It did.  What Koch has done is interspersed flashbacks along with bathroom and meal breaks in order to alleviate what would have otherwise been monotonous chitchat.  Paul finds many an excuse to leave the table, and it is at these points that the real issues, those of the children, begin to take the forefront, especially once Paul realizes he has his son’s phone.

Tensions are high throughout dinner, and though it takes time for the truth of the children’s misdeeds to hit the light, Koch does it in such a way that the reader is captivated throughout the meal, slowly putting together the pieces of the puzzle as Paul attempts to figure out what to do next.  Alongside Paul, we are thrust into the men’s bathroom, we hide alongside the restaurant, we read texts and delete messages, we watch videos we ought not to see, all to figure out exactly what he knows that he isn’t telling us. I really enjoyed being inside Paul’s head, even though I didn’t know everything up front, and Koch does a phenomenal job keeping reader interest throughout it all.

The end, in all honesty, completely floored me; this novel is definitely food for thought, a great conversational piece, as it were.  It was exactly what I didn’t expect, and the fact that Koch chose to end it this way left me speechless.  I’ve been dying to discuss it with someone, but none of my friends have read it, yet, and so I will continue to wait.  Five stars.

Crown Publishing Group has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to it’s USA release on February 12, 2013.

From Goodreads: Mark Twain meets classic Stephen King–a bold new direction for widely acclaimed Edgar Award winner Joe R. Lansdale.

May Lynn was once a pretty girl who dreamed of becoming a Hollywood star. Now she’s dead, her body dredged up from the Sabine River.

Sue Ellen, May Lynn’s strong-willed teenage friend, sets out to dig up May Lynn’s body, burn it to ash, and take those ashes to Hollywood to spread around. If May Lynn can’t become a star, then at least her ashes will end up in the land of her dreams.

Along with her friends Terry and Jinx and her alcoholic mother, Sue Ellen steals a raft and heads downriver to carry May Lynn’s remains to Hollywood.

Only problem is, Sue Ellen has some stolen money that her enemies will do anything to get back. And what looks like a prime opportunity to escape from a worthless life will instead lead to disastrous consequences. In the end, Sue Ellen will learn a harsh lesson on just how hard growing up can really be.

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This novel is divided into three parts, and I wish I had known that going in, because if I had, I would have read it much faster, instead of taking a break after the first section.  While superbly written, the first section of the novel didn’t draw me in as far as I wanted it to, and so I took some time off to read other things before picking the novel back up.  But once I started the second section, the story picked up fairly quickly and I was swept away down river with the characters.  Add in a psychopath killer at the end of section two and all of section three, and I couldn’t read fast enough.  Hence, I’m glad that I always finish a book, no matter what. I never know if I’m going to find a gem like this one after wading through it for a while.

While part one sets the stage for this novel, parts two and three are really what make it a must read.  The publishers got it right when they said this was a story in which
“Mark Twain meets classic Stephen King.”  You have all the elements and dialect from the deep South you’d expect from Twain, as well as the added fear factor you’d expect from King.  I was floored, especially when I realized this wasn’t just a novel of coming of age, but a real down and out fight to the death kind of story.  Wow!  It really gripped me and wouldn’t let go.  That is, once I passed the first section.

I highly suggest reading this novel.  The characters are great, and it’s an adventure that you don’t want to miss.  Stick with it because it just keeps getting better and better.  Four stars.

I received a copy of this novel from the publisher during NCTE, 2012.