From Goodreads: SHE’S FINALLY MANAGED TO SUMMON HER FIRST DEMON…

Dora Carridine is trying to summon a demon, but she’s not very good at Latin and nothing ever works out the way she plans.

Her life is fraught with weekly exorcisms and having to watch her father’s fire and brimstone TV show every Sunday. So, when Dora finally succeeds in summoning an incompetent demon lord, she’s absolutely delighted when all hell breaks loose.

She thought summoning a sexy demon lord would be the answer to all of her problems, but her problems are only just beginning when her zealot parents try to burn her at the stake, and Dora is left with only one option—to escape and follow her demon straight into Hell.

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I was absolutely enamored by the cover of this novel, and the synopsis made it sound like my kind of read, but unfortunately, this novel really isn’t my cup of tea, which I realized fairly quickly.  The story just drops the reader right in, opening on a scene where Dora sits in her church reading a grimoire while her father gets ready to give a televised sermon to his flock. What’s missing is the reason Dora feels the need to be evil and wants to summon a demon.  There is no background information given, and as the reader, I struggled to follow Dora’s train of thought because I didn’t know her or why she insisted on being evil.  Of course, as the synopsis tells us, she does succeed in summoning a demon, though he’s actually quite nice and human looking, and then her parents and entire town decide to burn Dora at the stake due to demonic happenings during the televised church service.  Now, here’s where my issues lies.  The entire town, in what must be present day (TVs) is willing to burn Dora at the stake.  And, who heads it up?  Her father—the preacher—and the police chief.  That right there struck me as odd.  Perhaps she was in a very rural town where vigilantism took the forefront, but then… her father has a televised church service every week, so it can’t be all that small, and if the demonic happenings were televised, then people saw it happen outside of the town, right… ?  I don’t know, but all these questions within the first 20% of the novel gave me great pause as I read.  It just doesn’t add up in my mind.

Now, another aspect of this novel that really made it difficult for me was that I just didn’t like Dora.  She was nasty the entire novel, selfish, mainly, and she and most of the other characters cussed non-stop, which didn’t make her seem anymore “badass,” or endearing, or humorous, as I suspect was the reason the cussing was placed within the novel to begin with.  From the first time she called Kieron her “bitch” and then repeated it (as did he) for multiple pages, well… it’s just not funny to me.  I’d say there is cussing on a majority of the pages in this novel, and so I certainly can’t recommend it to a MG or YA reader because it’s just not appropriate.  However, it reads on a MG level, which thoroughly confused me because I’m not sure who this book is actually intended for.  Many of the scenes within the novel were focused on a very juvenile humor—such as the multiple poop references (on at least three occasions people are crapped on by entities such as a huge flock of birds or a dragon, etc)—which makes me think it’s for a younger audience who still finds that type of thing funny (I know I did at age 10), but with all the cussing and sexual tension, I also say it’s definitely not for that age group.  So, I’m confounded.

Hell itself was also extremely trivialized, with barbeques, dragon hunts, and carnivals which made for an interesting rendition of hell, but flowed in such a way that I again thought it was written for a younger audience.  If the language was cleaned up (I don’t think demons need to cuss every other sentence to be viewed as evil) and Dora’s life was explained from the very beginning, connecting the witch burning and explaining her society, I think this would be a read I would enjoy much more.  As it is, though, I cannot recommend it to anyone.  One and half-stars.

Ragz Books has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on June 30, 2013.

From Goodreads: I looked down at the paper, still touching the tip of my shoe. I reached for it, flipping the page over to look.

Scrawls of ink outlined a drawing of a girl lying on a bench.

A sick feeling started to twist in my stomach, like motion sickness.

And then the girl in the drawing turned her head, and her inky eyes glared straight into mine.

On the heels of a family tragedy, the last thing Katie Greene wants to do is move halfway across the world. Stuck with her aunt in Shizuoka, Japan, Katie feels lost. Alone. She doesn’t know the language, she can barely hold a pair of chopsticks, and she can’t seem to get the hang of taking her shoes off whenever she enters a building.

Then there’s gorgeous but aloof Tomohiro, star of the school’s kendo team. How did he really get the scar on his arm? Katie isn’t prepared for the answer. But when she sees the things he draws start moving, there’s no denying the truth: Tomo has a connection to the ancient gods of Japan, and being near Katie is causing his abilities to spiral out of control. If the wrong people notice, they’ll both be targets.

Katie never wanted to move to Japan—now she may not make it out of the country alive.

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I found the premise of this novel to be really exciting because it’s dealing with a topic that I haven’t read about, or really heard about before: the Kami gods of Japan.  So, of course my interest was piqued right away!

In high school, I went to an international school in the US that boarded many students from Japan and Korea, and I had many friends from both countries, including a few love interests.  That being said, I loved learning all about the differences between our cultures, but one thing I never discussed with my friends was the mythology from their countries.  In fact, I’d never heard of paper gods before I stumbled upon Ink on Netgalley, and I was super excited to read it.  And, If you’re looking for something completely different, then you definitely want to check this out.

Katie is attending school in Japan, fully immersed, which is quite terrifying.  I studied abroad in Thailand, attending Chaing Mai University and living with a non-English speaking host family, but it wasn’t full immersion; my professors spoke English much of the time, while my host family spoke only Thai, and that was hard—just adjusting to a different culture, with the customs and food is hard enough, but to be taught in another language, well, it’s just daunting.  Thus, I easily connected with Katie because I have an in-depth idea of what she’s going through, and I am in awe of her ability to adjust so well.  Now, Katie’s character isn’t exactly my favorite—she is very needy and tends to freeze up a lot at the most inopportune times, but truth be told, that’d happen to any one of us if we were completely immersed in another culture.  I would have loved to see her take control more often than she does, but, again, I think it’s all part of the territory of full immersion—she hasn’t been in Japan long by any means, and overall I found her quite intriguing and steadfast.

Now, Tomohiro is a harder character to swallow.  He is the dark, brooding young man putting on a facade, and his hard exterior is just the shell to his warm loving self, but due to his ability when ink hits paper, he’s got to hide his true nature in order to protect those around him, and I loved this about him.  Yes, he’s a jerk on multiple occasions, but, here’s where I lucked out: I read the prequel, Shadow, prior to Ink, so I went in knowing it was all a façade and that he wasn’t really as much of a jerk as he pretended to be.  So, I highly suggest you read Shadow first because not only is it short, but it gives great insight into Tomohiro’s real self, which allows the reader to start this novel liking Tomo instead of spending a vast majority hating him until the truth is bared.

I really enjoyed that Sun wrote her book using actual Japanese (in English phonetic form) with a guide in the back and explanations following the Japanese in English.  This was awesome because it adds authenticity to the novel as we read it, and having a small knowledge base of Japanese, I found it was fun to read along and know the translation prior to Sun adding it after the fact.  Honestly, I really enjoyed the paper gods.  It’s so interesting and refreshing, and I’m dying for more already.  Four stars.

Harlequin has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release tomorrow, June 25, 2013.

From Goodreads: Meet two teens whose worlds are about to change forever in this paranormal Young Adult novella, a prequel to Ink by debut author Amanda Sun…

Katie Greene’s worst nightmare comes true when her mother dies, and she’s devastated to learn that she will have to leave the only home she’s ever known. Desperate to find where she belongs, she must decide if she has what it takes to start a new life across the ocean.

For Yuu Tomohiro, every day is a nightmare. He struggles to control his strange ability, and keeps everyone at a distance so they won’t get hurt—even his girlfriend, Myu. At night, a shadow haunts his dreams, and a mysterious woman torments him with omens of death and destruction. But these haunting premonitions are only the beginning…

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This novella introduces readers to the two main characters that will take the stage in Ink.  Told through alternating perspectives, readers get to know the circumstances that bring Katie to Japan, giving insight to her grieving process that seems to be missing in the full novel. Readers also begin to learn about Tomohiro and his strange abilities, presenting his softer side, which isn’t seen much in Ink, either.

Shadow starts with the death of Katie’s mother and ends just a little before Ink begins, which is great for giving readers the background knowledge they need to understand the full novel.  I know it helped me immensely to have this background knowledge.  However, while I enjoyed the differing perspectives, I didn’t actually fall for either of the characters—there wasn’t much depth for me to hold on to or connect with, but I liked that I got to see the inside of Tomohiro because he’s got a pretty hard shell in Ink.  And, though I knew the characters would connect in Ink, I didn’t get how that would happen until the very end when the connections actually takes place—up until this stage, they’ve been telling their stories on different continents.  Truth?  I read this prior to Ink and I wasn’t too impressed until after I read Ink, but I think that this novella really need to be read first in order to enjoy Ink, if that makes sense?  Three stars.

I purchased this novella from Amazon.

From Goodreads: Winter McCall and Thaddeus Blake flee the burning mansion. Both are hunted by two relentless police officers and vampires. With time running out, Thaddeus leads Winnie towards Scotland, where he believes the Moonbeam, a precious stone with the ability to destroy those that hunt him, is hidden.

But Thaddeus has held the Moonbeam before and with it came betrayal, madness, and murder. Will the Moonbeam protect Thaddeus, last of the werewolves, or is he truly the only surviving member of his race?

With her journey fraught with danger and haunted by Ruby Little, Winnie struggles with her growing feelings towards Thaddeus and what her life and she has become.

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Tim O’Rourke’s second novel in The Moon Trilogy blew me away.  The mysterious Thaddeus Blake is laid bare as we learn his background, dating back hundreds of years and explaining his previous loves and cruel life.  It is impossible not to feel sorry for Thaddeus as we hear his tale, and it’s a rather gruesome one, at that.  It explains so much about his character and made me fall in love all over again, right there alongside Winnie.  Although Winnie attempts to fight her attraction, there are many underlying aspects at work within the novel, and I am excited to see where O’Rourke takes it in the next installment, slated to be the last of the series (but fingers crossed—The Kiera Hudson Series was supposed to be a trilogy as well, and it’s now two series and over ten books long and still going, so…).

In this novel, readers learn more about the vampires as well, and I must say they are shaping up to be an evil bunch.  Many of Tim’s descriptions of them made me cringe, especially when it came to feedings other interactions with humans and the like.  They are extremely dark and harrowing, and I have a strong feeling of foreboding as they close in on Thaddeus and Winnie.

O’Rourke also threw a bit of a wrench into the mix, and it seems that not all the characters in this novel are who they say they are… and there is a strong allusion that the next novel will be jammed packed with twists and turns as O’Rourke drops the secrets he’s been holding onto the reader.  I’m so excited!  Five stars.

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

For MORE books by Tim O’Rourke:

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)

Black Hill Farm Series

Black Hill Farm (#1)

Black Hill Farm Andy’s Diary (#2)

The Moon Trilogy

Moonlight (#1)

Moonbeam (#2)

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: Nick Abbott and Trent Dawson have nothing in common but basketball. It’s sophomore year and Nick is trying to deal with his parents’ divorce. He also really wants to be a star on the basketball team. Trent, his neighbor, is angry and aggressive. The two form an uneasy bond as they quietly practice each night on Nick’s backyard basketball court. But as the basketball season progresses, their lives become unexpectedly intertwined. In this story of an unlikely bond, Carl Deuker explores the confusing place between loneliness and friendship, between faithfulness and betrayal. Filled with gripping game play, this is a story about choices.

While trying to prove that he is good enough to be on his high school’s varsity basketball team, Nick must also deal with his parents’ divorce and the erractic behavior of a troubled classmate who lives across the street.

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Okay, so let me preface this with the fact that I don’t care for sports and that I normally wouldn’t pick up this novel, accept that one of my students wanted to read it for a project.  So, since I don’t have all that many sports books on the approved list for my students to read, I allowed it under the condition that I read it too so I could grade the project accordingly.  This all being said, please note that if you enjoy sports like basketball or MG novels, then this is definitely a book for you.  As a middle-aged female more interested in paranormal teen romance, well, this book didn’t hit the spot for me, but that doesn’t mean it’s not good.  Deuker is actually a quite accomplished MG author with multiple novels concerning sports for you MG and YA male, and I will definitely be reading more of his work in order to broaden the genre’s I have on my approved reading lists.  Deuker has solid themes and though not all the characters are positive in this novel, he has strong male leads that work through problems, creating a happy ending, which is something more books need, in my opinion.  I loved the fact that both nick and Trent had their own set of problems, but were able to overlook them and come together for the greater good and their team, and I liked that they worked to solve their problems.  Divorce is a very hard topic to write about, as are troubled households, and Deuker did a phenomenal job creating life-like scenarios and causing the reader to feel for his characters.  Though I’m not in love with the story since it’s not my cup of tea, I know good writing when I see it, and I definitely think MG males will love this novel.  Three stars.

I borrowed this novel from the library at my school.

From Goodreads: When a punk poker superstar loses millions in a mysterious game, he hires disgraced champion and ex-cop Grisham Stark to investigate. As Stark confronts cold-blooded players in Monte Carlo and Las Vegas, he realizes his one shot at redemption is to catch the most dangerous poker cheat of all time: the Superuser.

Behind the scenes, a politician is hijacking the scandal to wage a legislative battle in Washington. A beautiful female player is blackmailed into hiding a deadly secret that threatens to unravel the entire deception, and the ruthless Superuser is killing anyone who dares stand in his way.

Grisham Stark will ultimately face a terrifying question: Is the Superuser’s final goal far more than money?

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This novel has a great premise and murder mystery that develops within, but there was so much poker lingo and speech that it bogged me down, forcing me to read the novel in sections because I just couldn’t keep up.  I am not a poker player, and I don’t crunch numbers or understand science all that well, so this leaves me at a disadvantage with novels that focus more on the left side of the brain as I’m a right side brain thinker all the way.  There was just so much lingo and discussion using terms and ideas I was unfamiliar with that I had a difficult time focusing on the novel, but I don’t think everyone will have that problem.  In fact, this novel would be great for the poker lover, someone into the sciences and technology, or someone who just wants to learn a bit about the gambling world.  And, like I said before, there’s a fairly intriguing murder mystery in the mix, making it all the more enticing, and the characterization was very well done, I just had a hard time with the poker aspect, which was much of the novel.  Two and a half stars.

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

From Goodreads: In the midst of a catastrophic August rainstorm, a grisly discovery shatters the serenity of a summer evening in northern Wisconsin. Moving quickly to prevent a panic among tourists, Loon Lake Police Chief Lewellyn Ferris enlists the forensic and interrogation skills of her close friend and fellow fly fisherman, the retired dentist “Doc” Osborne. Within hours of launching their investigation, they find themselves faced with a national media circus as Loon Lake becomes the focus of a murderous scenario that links the murder to the race for the U.S. Senate by a woman who is heir to a Northwoods fortune and other, less savory, family traditions.

In the meantime, Doc Osborne’s eldest daughter, Mallory, enters into a relationship that may put her life at risk–unless her father and Chief Ferris can find the killer stalking the residents of Loon Lake.

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This novel started out very slow for me, to the point that I was afraid that I wasn’t going to like it since, by 30% in, I still felt like nothing had happened except introductions of characters and fishing related talk.  However, these introductions are extremely important, as I later found out, and once the murder itself took place (around 33% in), the pacing picked up and the story unfolded quite nicely.

I have to say that the characterization throughout the novel was done very well.  By the end, I truly felt like I knew all the characters, even those who weren’t mainstream, and it takes a lot of effort and ability to make all the characters so real and relatable.    And, while I wasn’t a fan of all of them, each character played an extremely important role within the story—and the mystery behind it all was highly intriguing.  Filled with politics, country traditions, and good old fashion mystery, this novel will sweep readers up in its lies and deceits until the truth is laid bare.  I have to say, for most of the novel I really didn’t expect the murderer to be who it was, and I really enjoyed sleuthing alongside the characters and trying to put it together.  Nothing is as it seems in this novel.  Four stars.

F+W/Adams Media has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on June 18, 2013.

From Goodreads: As Cole begins to accept her new life as Akhet, someone who can remember flashes of her past lives, every new vision from her past lives helps explain who she is in this life. As her passion for Griffon grows, she learns to identify other Akhet around her, including Drew, the young self-made millionaire who reveals his startling connection to Cole-he was her husband in Elizabethan England and gave her the ankh necklace that has been returned to her after centuries in hiding. Drew’s attentions are overwhelming as he insists that their connection in the past signals their future destiny together, but before she can decide who she truly loves, Cole must learn to harness her unique Akhet abilities if she is to ever understand her role in this strange new world

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While I thoroughly enjoyed the first novel in this series, Transcendence, I absolutely adored this second installment.  Cole is much more defined and the fact that there’s a bit of a love triangle wrapped me right up—mainly because it was so different from what I’m used to.  For those of you who’ve read Transcendence, you know that Griffon and Cole are old souls who remember their past lives, and they’ve fallen in love.  But, when Drew shows up, a soulmate of Cole’s from long ago, things start to heat up, and Griffon backs down.  Now, while this absolutely killed me since I’m always team whoever got there first (strange, isn’t it?) but Omololu does a great job turning the tides and making Drew just as dreamy and swoon-worthy as Griffon, and with the plaguing question of “what if” on the horizon, it’d be a shame if we didn’t get to see what it’s be like if Cole and Drew were together.  And so we do.  Props to Griffon for stepping back and being the bigger man, understanding destiny and fate to a level that Cole can’t quite grasp, but it was heartbreaking to watch.  Add in the cold should Griffon suddenly turns on Cole, and there’s no where else for her to go but to Drew.  But will they last?  Or does fate have something else in store?

I really, really loved this novel.  Not only for the love triangle aspect, mind you, but because the Akhet are really interesting people and I sort of wish I could be one, too.  I know living forever isn’t all that glamorous, but to remember each past life, if there were such a thing, would be awesome, or at least I think so.  Maybe if I experienced it, I’d feel differently?  Who knows, but I love the world that Omololu has created for her audience as she pieces everything together, and the fact that there’s a murder mystery on top of it all, well… it just takes the cake.  I was surprised when I learned who the culprit was, and my heart was definitely in my throat a few times as I read, a sign of a great book as far as I’m concerned.  And, what I also liked about this novel is that, though a sequel, I didn’t feel like I had to have read the first novel to understand what was happening in this one, which is always a plus when they release a year apart.  But, definitely read them both!  Five stars.

Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on June 18, 2013.