From Goodreads: A Novel Of America’s Most Disillusioned Generation

For Steve, Sophia, Dave, and Brooke, life hasn’t turned out as planned. Rather than easy fame and fortune, these happy-go-lucky teenagers of the 1980’s found young adulthood a mystifying series of dead-end jobs, failed relationships, family scandal, and surging frustration.

Now approaching middle age, all they want is to reverse their gradual alienation from life and one another, reconnecting with their earlier, innocent selves.

But there’s a catch. Before any of them can move forward, they must collectively confront that one outrageous night back in college that first drove them apart, revealing secrets potentially shattering everything they ever were.

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This is a pretty interesting novel that follows the disappointing lives of three “used-to-be” friends (the fourth couldn’t be contacted, so Steve finds a stand-in).  There are a lot of funny parts that made me snicker aloud; these characters are definitely crazy, and I really hope they don’t emulate too many people out there.  Really, I spent much of the novel thinking, “what is wrong with these kids?” So, here’s the line-up:

Dave married a crazy girl named Jen, and he really should have gotten rid of her when he had the chance, but he never did, and she’s been plaguing his life ever since.  A lot of the information surrounding their relationship is a bit quirky and I can’t help but feel sorry for him, but I also think he’s an idiot for falling into the trap she “set” for him, aka. making him the fallout boy all the time, etc.

Steve wants to be a writer, and when the story focuses on him, it’s pretty hilarious.  I loved his side-commentary, especially when he was talking about the people who run out to grab the tennis balls during a tennis match—good thoughts there! Why are those people there?  How did they apply for that job?  Did they want to grow up to be a ball grabber?  It just makes you stop and think for a moment, and it definitely brought a smile to my face.  It’s a bit twisted, too, I mean, I kept asking myself, “where does this stuff come from?”, as I was reading.  It actually reminded me of an awesome book of short stories called Watching Grandma Circle the Drain, where the author comes up with crazy and hilarious scenarios.  And for that, I loved Steve (though I’m not going to lie, some of what he had to say is offensive, such as his comments about fat people and homosexuals).

Sophie… has a lot of sexual escapades.  I actually felt like she was just a part of the story to add that sexual element… I’m not a fan of lots of sex in my novels, so she wasn’t my favorite, but… oh well.  On that note, everyone seems to be a tad bit obsessed with sex in this novel.  I think there’s more to life than that, and this novel really talked about sex way too much for my liking, but overall, the story was interesting, though I, personally, found their falling out that one, fateful night, to be a bit anticlimactic.  But, overall, I liked the plotline and depth of the characters, craziness and all.  Four stars.

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

From Goodreads: In 9 AD, the 17th, 18^th, and 19th legions marched into the Teutoborg Forest to crush a rebellion among the Germanii. The legions were never seen again. Quintus Druronius, a young tribune who had come to the province with the new governor, is one of the few survivors and he struggles to escape from the victorious Germanii, carrying the secret knowledge that he may have been the cause of the massacre.

In the dying years of World War 2, Rolf Patzer is pulled from combat duty by a mercurial SS officer who takes him on an enigmatic odyssey, carrying several small crates out of Germany just ahead of the advancing Allied powers.

Jos Fál, a former intelligence operator, reaches out to his old NATO comrades when he finds his fiancée Emily missing and her dig staff murdered. With their help, he begins to unravel the history of an artifact that is older than human civilization. In his struggle to save her, he comes to learn that history is far older than anyone ever imagined, and it is about to come to an end.

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This was a really interesting novel following the lives of three different men over the course of history.  I really loved jumping between the past and present, trying to put it all together.  From as far back as the 9^th century to the present, these awesome characters are entangled in a web beyond their knowledge base, trying to put together the pieces.

I think my favorite character was Rolf Patzer.  I loved getting to know about his flight during WWII, suspecting the cargo, and getting no answers.  His story really interested me, especially as he ended up having to make a grand escape in order to save his life.  While this is a fictional piece, it really does show the strength of soldiers and I liked it a lot.

Jos’ story is also extremely interesting.  I can’t imagine going to visit my fiancé only to find that her entire team is dead and that she’s been kidnapped.  This game of cat and mouse was really intriguing, and I enjoyed his story immensely, though the ending was a little cryptic, in my opinion, and not as satisfying as I had hoped it would be.  I almost felt like it was a little pushed… events unroll at a very fast pace throughout the entire novel, but once the climax is hit, the novel sort of spirals out of the realm of belief and too much happens too fast, though it’s very interesting idea. This book seems to be a part of a series, so perhaps the next installment will shed more light.  Four stars.

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

From Goodreads: Thousands of years in the future the divide between humanity and technology has become nearly unrecognizable. Each thought, each action is logged, coded, backed up. Data is as easily exchanged through the fiber-optic-like cables that extend from fingertips as it might be through ordinary conversation. It’s a brave new world: A world that the Straker Tapes say is a result of many human “upgrades.” But no one is sure whether the Straker Tapes are a work of fiction or an eerie peek into an unimaginable past.

Nearly sixteen-year-old Peter Vincent has been raised to believe that everything that the backward Strakerites cling to is insane–an utter waste of time and potential. Since his father is David Vincent, genius inventor of the artificial bees that saved the world’s crops and prevented massive famine, how could Peter believe anything else?

But when Peter meets Alpha, a Strakerite his own age, suddenly the theories about society-upgrades don’t sound quite so crazy, especially when she shows him evidence that another upgrade is imminent. And worse, there may be a conspiracy by the leaders of the establishment to cover it up. A conspiracy spearheaded by Peter’s own father.

Gripping and full of unexpected twists, The Future We Left Behind takes the unsettling questions raised in Human.4, and flips them entirely. What if we knew that the very way we live was about to be changed in an instant, and we could stop it? And what if everything we are sure we know is entirely wrong?

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This novel had a very interesting premise and I liked that, though it’s a series novel, I didn’t have to read the first book to understand what was happening.  I find that most novels in a series, nowadays, demand knowledge of the previous books in order to make any sense of the plot, and it was nice to be able to just pick up a book in a series and not have to backtrack to follow the story.

This is like an alien/dystopian/romance/sci-fi kind of read, and that was a little weird to get used to at first, especially as I found the beginning to be a bit on the slow side.  But, the novel quickly picked up and I enjoyed getting to know Peter and Alpha, as well as the mystery surrounding the Straker Tapes.  Peter’s world isn’t one I’d like to live in, with technology taking the forefront and “frivolous” literature being looked down upon (I’d be out of a job in this future realm).  The fact that technology has such a huge hold over humanity, and their lack of thought concerning this, was really somewhat creepy in the sense that they didn’t seem to have any thoughts of their own.  Of course, this is where the upgrades and alien/scifi information comes into play, but even so, it’s definitely not the world for me, though I did enjoy reading about it.

Peter has some pretty big shoes to fill as his father believes Peter will take over the lab and continue his great work as a scientist, but Peter isn’t like all the other kids, which is why I liked him so much.  While others tend to walk around in a daze, allowing their memories to be wiped, Peter fights back upon stumbling onto the truth.  And, I found this really enjoyable… to a point.  Then I sort of lost my way in the book, as it were.  Things began happening very quickly and I just couldn’t follow everything, especially with all the technical terms.  My imagination isn’t too vivid, you see, and so I can read a book and really enjoy it, but if it’s something I can’t imagine in my head, sometimes I get confused, and I think that’s what happened in this novel.  Everything was great until about the last twenty percent of the novel where I wasn’t sure exactly what the characters were discussing anymore.  Don’t get me wrong, I got the main gist, but it was hard for me to understand what was happening to Peter as he ran around the lab trying to stop the “evil” coming towards earth.  I don’t know; it’s probably just me, but I couldn’t wrap my head around the ending, either.  Hopefully you’ll have an easier time understanding the terminology and visualizing it.  Three stars.

Egmont USA has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read a copy of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on November 13, 2012.

From Goodreads: Reality TV meets a chillingly realistic version of America—and the fame game is on!

Amy had dreams of going to college, until the Collapse destroyed the economy and her future. Now she is desperate for any job that will help support her terminally ill grandmother and rebellious younger sister. When she finds herself in the running for a slot on a new reality TV show, she signs on the dotted line, despite her misgivings. And she’s right to have them. TLN’s Who Knows People, Baby—You? has an irresistible premise: correctly predict what the teenage cast will do in a crisis and win millions. But the network has pulled strings to make it work, using everything from 24/7 hidden cameras to life-threatening technology to flat-out rigging. Worse, every time the ratings slip, TLN ups the ante. Soon Amy is fighting for her life—on and off camera.

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The synopsis of this book really piqued my interest as it sounded like a highly engaging  dystopian novel, very Hunger Games-esk, as it were.  But in reality, it’s actually nothing like The Hunger Games, which I found refreshing, further adding to the uniqueness of this novel.  However, my feelings toward the novel are a bit mixed.

While the beginning of the novel helped set the stage, I have to admit that it moved a little too slowly for me.  We meet Amy and her family, hear about how she has no money and doesn’t think she’ll amount to anything, and then we meet the soon-to-be cast for the reality TV show.  I know the background does need to be explained, but it just didn’t draw me in, and, based on the negative reviews I’d seen prior to reading, I began to worry.  But, rest assured, the novel did quickly start to pick up, though it occasionally slowed down again, and I was confused by a few things.

Number one, I wasn’t sure what the Collapse was (and I’m going to say that this is my own fault, and not the authors).  In my mind—since this novel is obviously very high tech, what with TLN having the ability to create holograms and film, unnoticed, anywhere—I thought this was the distant future and that there was some sort of war that caused the Collapse, but I didn’t find anything in the text that really explained it to me, so I was confused about what the Collapse really was.  Now, I do feel a little idiotic as I didn’t realize it right away, but the Collapse seems to be another term for Crash, as in, the Crash from 1929.  While this novel isn’t set in 1929 (it’s definitely the close future), the Collapse and the events leading up to it, as far as I can tell from the story, mirror what we actually experienced eighty plus years ago.  It’s fictionalized, of course, and with much more technology, but for some reason I just didn’t even think about that when I began the story.  I’ll guess I just had it in my head that the Collapse happened due to war because I’ve read so many dystopian novels that start that way, so I couldn’t fathom that the setting for the Collapse was as simple as a “depression.” And, obviously, this is my own fault.  I think I was about 40% into the novel before I figured it out… and trust me, I feel a little stupid for not realizing it sooner.  But, I didn’t, so I thought I’d throw it out there for potential readers so they know what the Collapse really is.  I think it helps the reader really understand what’s happening if they know and aren’t constantly wondering, like I was…

Number two, I don’t know what a phantom is.  For the most part, the novel seemed like it was realistic.  Yes, there is highly advanced technology and they can do things that aren’t currently possible in real life, but the people’s dispositions and problems were very down to earth.  However, Amy has these “phantom” experiences where she visualizes strange things and somehow tries to connect them to what’s happening around her.  I don’t know, perhaps I missed something as I was reading that would have clued me in, but I just didn’t get it.  Here, in the midst of the realism, is a random paranormal type insertion, and I never did understand them as I read.  Instead, I began to gloss over the “phantoms” because it just didn’t make sense.

But most everything else was great!  I found the characters to be extremely real, and I truly felt for them.  Amy has a huge struggle: continue the reality TV show knowing each scenario is going to be stranger and scare her even more, or go back to having no money and watching her grandmother die without medical help.  While I yelled at Amy all the time, I think I would have continued to work for TLN, too.  I mean, money isn’t supposed to be everything, but when it’s the only way to help your sick family member, well… it becomes really important.  More important than a few scares, at least.

Now, this is where the story itself gets tricky.  Kress is writing a novel about a reality TV show, in which scenarios are created to up the ante and see how people react.  I’m not going to lie, I’d watch that show.  People amaze me and I love to guess what they’ll do next.  Of course, I wouldn’t think they were in harm’s way at any point during the filming, but that isn’t necessarily true in this reality show.  But neither the cast, nor the audience know it… So anyway, this is where it gets tricky.  Kress is writing the TV scenarios in order to show how the ratings go up, and then down, so of course, some of the scenarios are going to be a bit… boring.  If they weren’t, the ratings wouldn’t be going down.  But here’s the thing: boring scenarios for TV equal boring scenarios in a novel.  Make sense?  Now, not all of them were lackluster.  There’s definitely a fair share of really interesting scenarios, especially the very last one, but there were also points while reading the novel that I found it slowing way down because the interactions amongst the cast just wasn’t all that interesting.  But I don’t fault the author at all.  What’s Kress is trying to do is extremely difficult and I think she did it well.  I wouldn’t be able to imagine half of what she does, let alone get it down on paper, and I think Kress really did an amazing job.  This story is very unique, but the audience really needs to know what they’re walking into when they pick up this book, or they just might not enjoy the novel as much as they could.  Three and a half stars.

Penguin Young Readers Group has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release tomorrow, November 8, 2012.

From Goodreads: In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue–Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is–she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are–and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she’s kept hidden from everyone because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

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This is one of those books that’s been sitting on my shelf since it first came out, but I never got around to reading it.  I heard glorious things about it, but it wasn’t until I learned it was being made into a movie that I actually picked it up.  Shame on me.  I know.  Sometimes, that’s how things go, though…

Divergent is so much more than I expected it to be.  Completely unique, I loved the separate factions.  The entire time I was reading, I kept trying to decide what group I’d choose.  I’m not selfless, or brave, or very intelligent, so that leaves honesty or peacefulness.  Well, I’m certainly not honest all the time, but I do think that I like to keep the peace, so I’d probably end up joining Amity.  But that’s all besides the point.  Tris joins Dauntless and it’s a crazy world that she’s chosen to join.  She had no idea what it would really be like, and of course, neither did I.  My eyes just kept bulging with each new task the Dauntless gave to Tris and her peers as they attempted to become a part of the faction.  And I just loved the ups and downs and the feelings of the new entrants… it was very real to me, though a bit sickening at times, as well.

Basically, Dauntless seems very evil.  The higher ups think pain equals bravery, and that’s not how I see it, personally, but for all intensive purposes, it worked for this novel.  There’s the good, the bad, and the very ugly… a little bit of romance, a lot of fighting amongst themselves, and even attempted murder… and it made my heart beat double in my chest as this very long story unfolded. Personally, I think some of it could have been shaved off so the book wasn’t so long, but most of the events really helped shape the characters, which I loved, so while I thought it was a bit too long, I honestly don’t know what I’d cut.

Tris is tough, but I wasn’t sure she belonged in Dauntless until the very end of the book.  Things get way out of hand, what with mind control and mass hatred towards other factions, and I was blown away by the events that transpired—Tris really is brave, in my eyes, and what she had to do in the end, to survive, made me love her all the more.  Roth definitely scared me for a minute; I was sure she was going to do something drastic to one of my most favorite characters of all time, but luckily everything panned out in the end, though families and friendships have been destroyed forever.

I really thought all the characters in this novel were well developed.  From the major to the minor, we get to know them all quite well, and I loved that Roth was able to create such vivid love/hate relationships while divulging more of the secret behind what it means to be “divergent.”  Overall, I really, really enjoyed this book, and am eager to read the next installment, Insurgent, sooner, rather than later.  Four stars.

I bought a copy of this novel from Amazon.

From Goodreads: When Madison Westin, the main character, inherits her aunt’s beachfront motel in the Florida Keys, or so she thinks. Tarpon Cove is not your typical sleepy beach town: Seduction, drunks, ex-cons and fugitives are not the usual fare for someone looking to start a new chapter in their life. Wrestling control of the property from both the lawyer and the conniving motel manager will be no easy feat. But Madison likes living on the edge so she feels right at home. Bullets fly, a dead body turns up, a kidnapping and blackmail. Madison really has to learn not to leave home without her Glock or it could get her killed.

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This is a really good read if you like novels with quirky characters that are a bit extreme.   It’s very fast paced—something is constantly happening—and the characters are all quite funny; I definitely snorted a few different times due to the outlandish circumstances surrounding the characters, especially Madison.  I mean, if I could meet them all in real life, it’d be one heck of a party… but these also aren’t the type of people I’d surround myself, for my own safety!

The novel itself, I’d say, is a bit on the unrealistic side.  I mean, it could happen, maybe, but I found a lot of it to be a little too far out there for it to be “real” (hey, maybe I just haven’t lived enough), but I think that might have just been the point.  It’s a good comedy, but I didn’t necessarily connect with any of the characters on a deeper level.  But do we always have to have extreme connections with the books we read?  I don’t think so.  And, this is a great story for you to read when you just want to let loose and read about someone else’s crazy problems, especially if they’re nearly impossible to believe.  If that sounds like you, I’d say you should definitely pick it up.  Three stars.

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

From Goodreads: Naomi Roberts finally receives a scholarship for a semester abroad in Maine. When Naomi’s grandmother suddenly claims that Naomi will soon be transformed into a panther, like her great grandmother Romina, Naomi believes it is a final and desperate attempt to keep her from departing to the USA.

Having arrived in Maine, Naomi enjoys her student life with new friends and her first love, Roman. Even though she feels magically drawn to a mysterious clearing in the woods, believes she is being watched and begins to sleepwalk, she does not remember the prophecy of her grandmother. Until her very first transformation. And – Naomi is not alone, which not only exposes her to mortal danger, but also Roman.

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This is a very interesting take on the shape-shifter story, focusing on that of werecats.  It’s quite original, though the translation itself makes it a somewhat brusque tale.  I read the most recent release of this novel, which I am told is much better than the original translation that was in a funky color and didn’t capture the story very well.  And, in this latest translation, I thought the translator did a good job portraying the story, but it is still a bit rigid and choppy, as I would expect a translation to be.  Yes, its syntax seems to be short and simple, but I, personally, found the diction level to be on target and the story itself was explained well enough that I wasn’t really bothered by the choppiness, though the overall story did leave me with a lot of questions at the end.

I really liked the beginning of this book. Although the background story isn’t actually explained in any further detail throughout the story, it piqued my interest and hooked me right away.  But, as the story continued, I began to note that the story itself slowed down in order to explain, in detail, all of Naomi’s new friends and their outings.  Now, I’m not sure if it’s the translation or the story itself, but I found this to be a rather dull section as the action began to lull.  It did pick up again, as we learn that not all the characters are good, but here, and I think it depends on how picky of a reader you are, a lot of information seems to be glossed over.  There is much more action near the end of the novel as we learn who is good and who is not, but in doing so, we have some situations that occur that aren’t explained to the reader very well, such as the “rape” that is mentioned in passing. It’s just sort of there, and while I think I understand where Bidell is going with it, the fact that so little attention is given to the monumental detail was a bit jarring.  Likewise, readers aren’t really given too much specific background information explaining the different factions of  the werecats, and so I wasn’t sure what made Sammy and Kai so different aside from the quick conversation Kai and Naomi have.  But, then again, this is only part one of the saga, and so it is very likely that the missing information in this novel will be explained in the next portion—I just think that the choppiness of the novel makes it a little more blatant that pertinent information is missing, whereas a novel that flowed a bit more seamlessly wouldn’t make it as obvious that some explanations are absent.  Overall, though, I enjoyed the story.  Three stars.

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

Ready, Set, Review-a-thon Goals!

So, it’s November.  And I’m not an aspiring author, so I’m not joining NaNoWriMo, but I do need to catch up on reviews.  I tend to read, read, read, because my Kindle allows me to easily do it nonstop with its text-to-speech feature—in the car, waiting in line, anywhere—but the same isn’t always possible when it comes to writing reviews.  I don’t have any “on the go” typing tools, no iPad, Kindle Fire, or small laptop, so reviews don’t get done half as quickly as the reading part does.  Hence, I’ve joined a November 2012 Review-a-thon hosted by Faye, from A DayDreamer’s Thoughts, and Danie, from Booktacular.

So, what am I planning on doing this month?  Well, first off, here’s the list of books I’ve read that STILL need to be reviewed:

1. Goosebumps: Most Wanted: Planet of the Lawn Gnomes by R.L. Stine

2. In the Shadow of the Moonlight by J.J. Bidell

3. Crazy in Paradise by Deborah Brown

4. The League of Doorways by Tim O’Rourke (Doorways #2)

5. Divergent by Veronica Roth (Divergent #1)

6. Gods’ Marks, Book 1 of the Moirean Tapestry by Tara K. Young

7. Love Lies Bleeding by Meghan Ciana Doidge

8. 5 Weeks by June Hopkins

9. Last Stop Freedom by Ann Heinz Nolder

10. Freedom’s Sword by J.R. Tomlin

11. The Bull Years by Phil Stern

12. Prometheus Bound by A.G. Claymore

13. Weaver by John Abramowitz (The Weaver Saga #1)

14. The Fallstaff Vampire Files by Lynne Murray

15. Chanda’s Secrets by Allan Stratton (Chanda #1)

16. Dead on Ice by Lauren Carr

17. Scourge of an Agnostic God by Michael Juge

18. The Future We Left Behind by Mike Lancaster (Point 4, #2)

19. Jake, Reinvented by Gordon Korman

20. Driving to BelAir: A Novella by William G. Jones

21. Dream Smashers by Angela Carlie

22. Snowblind by Michael McBride

23. Wings by Aprilynne Pike (Wings #1)

24. Dead Statues by Tim O’Rourke (Kiera Hudson Series Two #3)

25. Moon Rising by Laurie Bowler (Moon Rising #1)

26. 13 Little Blue Envelopes by Maureen Johnson (Little Blue Envelope #1)

27. 27. Miss Me Not by Tiffany King

28. 28. The Hoard by Alan Ryker

29. 29. Dead Seth by Tim O’Rourke

30. 30. Dead Statues by Tim O’Rourke

31. 31. The League of Doorways by Tim O’Rourke

32. 32. Flash Point by Nancy Kress

So, yeah.  32.  And that’s not counting the books that I’ll read in-between my hectic life and writing these reviews, so that number… yeah, it’ll go up.  But, for all intensive purposes, I’m saying that, in November, I’ll try to write ALL 32 of these, because I really need to.  They’re scheduled to be released on the blog in November/December, so… here I go!

As I write the reviews, I’ll hyperlink them once they’re live in order to keep track of what’s done and what’s still on the list of reviews to write.

Wish me luck!

-ABookVacation

From Goodreads: Catch the most wanted Goosebumps characters–undead or alive…

The infamous, Most Wanted Goosebumps characters are out on the loose and they’re coming after you! There is no place to hide. Nothing is safe!

Jay Gardner is a mischievous kid who can’t stay out of trouble. Unfortunately, Jay gets in so much trouble, his family is forced to move. The new neighborhood offers Jay a chance at a fresh start. But there’s something odd about Jay’s new town. Why does everyone have lawn gnomes in front of their homes? And why is everyone afraid to go outside at night? The lawn gnomes don’t come to life at night-do they? Jay is about to learn that mischief can quickly turn to horror.

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When I was a tween, I loved Goosebumps.  I read them whenever I could, and I just thought R.L. Stine was the best author ever.  His plotlines were just crazy enough to entice and glue my middle school self to the pages, and I liked that they were a little bit scary with a little touch of chill, though they never gave me nightmares.  And the covers, with the ooze?  I loved them.  I loved to touch them and I had a small collection on my bookshelf… at one point I actually  planned to begin with book 1 and eventually own them all—a feat that never did happen as, you know, middle schoolers can quickly be overcome by some new phenomena and forget all about their previous loves, which is what happened with Goosebumps.

But, nearly 20 years later, I came across a new release from R.L. Stine on Netgalley, and I just had to read it… I wanted to know if the novels still held as much appeal to me as they once did.  The verdict?  Well, no, not really—my logical side whispered to me throughout my reading of this novel, telling me just how ridiculous the plot really was, and I was thinking to myself that it’s such a shame that I’ve changed so much.  And then… the ending happened.  That’s right.  The ending threw me out into left field and I was like, “whoa.” R.L. Stine’s still got it!  And I’d give these books to any MG/tween out there looking for something a little weird, a little scary, and something that’ll definitely make them think, and wish the novel kept right on going.  So, while I’ll admit that R.L. Stine’s books don’t appeal to me like they once did, because I’m not a tween anymore, R.L. Stine hasn’t changed a bit, and his books are still awesome, and I have to give this novel four stars because the twist at the end really was “kick butt.”  This novel is definitely a winner.

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

From Goodreads: The eyes never lie. No one’s eyes are darker than Eryx. Not even the Devil’s.

When Jax and Sasha first see Jordan Ellis, they know she is no ordinary teenager. She’s the daughter of the President after all, but she’s also Anabo – a descendant of Eve.

What they don’t know is that Eryx plans to kidnap Jordan and force President Ellis to pledge his soul. If Eryx’s plot succeeds, the consequences would be catastrophic.

But the Mephisto brothers do know about Jordan’s secret identity. And for one of them, she could be the match that leads to their soul’s salvation.

Now it’s a desperate race against time to save Jordan and prevent Eryx’s haunting eyes from discovering her true identity.

A thrilling story of romance, danger, and intrigue, THE MEPHISTO KISS continues the marvelous mythology that began in THE MEPHISTO COVENANT.

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I love, love, love, this book!  The series has turned out to be amazing, and I am in awe of Faegen’s sheer writing abilities!  She is so creative and her novels quickly enrapture the reader; I read this in one sitting because it is that good!  If you haven’t started the series, trust me, you need to read this!

One of the aspects that I love so much about the series, and this novel in general, is that it follows a different male lead in each book.  In The Mephisto Covenant, we met Jax and learned everything through his eyes.  He’s exceptionally dreamy and I was in love.  In The Mephisto Kiss, it’s Kryos’ (Key) story, and though he has a lot of issues, and I do mean a lot, so does Jordan, his intended Anabo, and their banter and interactions throughout the novel make this fictional tale seem so real.  I can’t imagine being in Jordan’s shoes… not only is she the president’s daughter, but she undergoes a very life-threatening ordeal only to be whisked away and learn that her long time boyfriend is severely injured, that her father believes her dead, and that she’s an Anabo destined to live on a mountain, take down demons, and never set foot in her old life again.  At times, I thought Jordan was being a bit childish, but then I’d step back and go through all the steps of her ordeal again, and then I’d think that Key was actually being childish… I flip-flopped allegiances so many times in this love story that it isn’t even funny, but it made me love the story all the more.  Especially with the climactic ending… I was screaming, and I do me screaming at the characters, crying, sniffling, the whole nine yards.  Faegen really can spin a tale, keeping the reader glued to the pages as the suspense and sheer terror of it all rises.  And, Faegen write characters so in depth that you feel everything they do…  I’m already on pins and needles for the next installment! Pick this series up, seriously, you won’t be disappointed!  Five stars!

I purchased a copy of this novel from Amazon.

The Mephisto Mark (#1)

The Mephisto Kiss (#2)

The Mephisto Mark (#3)

From Goodreads: A thrilling mystery set against a stark landscape and the inspiration of Nome’s real-life dog hero, Balto.

Twelve-year-old Tee has just moved to Nome, Alaska, with her writer father and sullen little brother, Jack. Jack isn’t happy about the idea of living in the middle of nowhere, but Tee and her dog Henry are thrilled — so much open space to run around and sniff!

But on a walk near their new house, Henry spots something that has him seriously spooked. Tee sees a mysterious shadow, and it seems to be following them. Have they disturbed a restless spirit? And what other secrets might this dark place be holding?

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This is a really cute MG, younger YA read that has just enough creepy elements to enthrall, while also warming the heart with its sound themes and motifs. The story flips back and forth between the past and present, remaining mostly in the present to expand on the story, but the added past information helps spur the reader on as they realize this isn’t just a ghost story, but a search for the grave of a missing child, as well. Now, that probably sounds morbid, and it is, but it’s presented in such a way that it isn’t going to give your kids nightmares (at least, I don’t think it will) and the mystery of it all really helps build the anticipation of the story.  Though not a child or younger teen, I really liked this novel and plan to put it on the Outside Reading Book List for my students as I think it’s a valuable story.  It’s simple, easy to read, interesting, and the characterization is great.  Tee and her brother are very life-like characters—I’m sure I’d be acting just like Jack if I were stranded in Alaska, and I truly enjoyed learning about Alaska, the characters, and the ghost dog as it all unfolded.  Kimmel did a great job and I’m looking forward to reading more by this author—hopefully something for a little older crowd.  Three and a half stars.

Scholastic Press has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on November 1, 2012.