From Goodreads: When plain and unpopular Annie Nutter gets zapped by one of her dad’s whacked-out inventions, she lands in a parallel universe where her life becomes picture-perfect. Now she’s Ayla Monroe, daughter of the same mother but a different father—and she’s the gorgeous, rich queen bee of her high school.

In this universe, Ayla lives in glitzy Miami instead of dreary Pittsburgh and has beaucoup bucks, courtesy of her billionaire—if usually absent—father. Her friends hit the clubs, party backstage at concerts, and take risks that are exhilarating . . . and illegal. Here she’s got a date to lose her V-card with the hottest guy she’s ever seen.

But on the inside, Ayla is still Annie.

So when she’s offered the chance to leave the dream life and head home to Pittsburgh, will she take it?

The choice isn’t as simple as you think.

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This was an interesting story with a great concept.  What if we could be someone else?  What if we lived like movie stars, had plenty of money, and didn’t want for any material thing?  Would that be enough?  Annie Nutter has always wanted to be in with the popular group, to have plenty of money, friends, gorgeous clothes, but it’s just not her reality.  Not until her inventor father creates a mirror that zaps her into an alternate reality.  But as time goes on, Annie begins to realize that looks, money, and popularity aren’t all one needs to be happy.

This is a great coming of age story with some awesome themes for young adults, though at times I found it to be a bit slow.  When Annie becomes Ayla, she is tempted by all the material things she’s never had, but as she witnesses her “friends” doing things she’s never contemplated before, she must ask herself if this new life is what she really wants.  The beginning of the story was okay, but I felt like there was a little too much time spent on Annie getting the hang of being Ayla, and not enough time spent on more interesting things, like… Charlie.  Charlie’s a real great guy, and one that makes Annie question whether she wants to remain Ayla or go home to her real family in her own universe.  Once Charlie entered, I was torn too.  I really liked him, and watching Annie/Ayla change and fall for him was wonderful.  I fell for him alongside her, and as I learned more about his home life, the mirror invention, and universe travel, I found that I began to enjoy the story that much more.  Of course, it ends well, which made me very happy, because for a while I wasn’t sure what was going to happen, especially if Annie went back to her own universe… what about Charlie?  Well, you’ll have to read it to find out.  Three stars.

Random House Children’s Publishers has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on July 10, 2012.

From Goodreads: It was just another ordinary day at McKinley High—until a massive explosion devastated the school. When loner David Thorpe tried to help his English teacher to safety, the teacher convulsed and died right in front of him. And that was just the beginning.

A year later, McKinley has descended into chaos. All the students are infected with a virus that makes them deadly to adults. The school is under military quarantine. The teachers are gone. Violent gangs have formed based on high school social cliques. Without a gang, you’re as good as dead. And David has no gang. It’s just him and his little brother, Will, against the whole school.

In this frighteningly dark and captivating novel, Lex Thomas locks readers inside a school where kids don’t fight to be popular, they fight to stay alive.

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This was a great story, but reader beware, you might hate most of the characters… it’s hard not to, when they’re all out for blood, turning on each other in the blink of an eye for a morsel of food.  But, it’s easy to judge them from the comfort of your own home, where you can put down the book to take a break, make yourself a huge sandwich, and then come back to it.  David doesn’t have that luxury.  Neither does Will, or Lucy, or any of the other kids quarantined in the school—except the Varsity.  The most athletic group in the school has become a violent gang, and they horde all the food.  While the other kids starve to death and attempt to trade just to survive, Varsity hunts down David and anyone who attempts to stand in their way.  And a lot of what Varsity does, led by Sam, is downright despicable (and bloody).

I spent a lot of this book in anxiety.  Worried for David, for Will, for Lucy, especially as the story goes deeper and deeper, exposing the fears and atrocities that are taking place within the school—something I truly believe would happen if an entire school of teenagers were locked together without supervision for years.  This story of survival is truly amazing, and though some of it seems far-fetched, it still drew me in and I found myself enthralled with the story.

Now, let’s talk characters.  I think Thomas did a great job vilifying a lot of the characters. I truly hate Sam for the reasons stated above, but Will is a close second.  Yes, Will is David’s brother, and David is the “hero” of the story, but Will is such a drastic opposite.  He is extremely immature (9^th grader) and nearly everything he does throughout the story grated on my nerves.  In fact, he’s the reason a lot of bad things happen in the book, and I couldn’t help but shake my head at his reactions and impulsive decisions.  On the surface, when we first meet him, he seems like a genuine good guy, but by the end of the novel, I really couldn’t stand him anymore—and if this is what Thomas wanted his readers to feel, then he was dead on!  And Will and Sam aren’t the only villains.  There are many, many more, too numerous to count, actually, but there are also truly good characters, like David and Lucy, and many of The Loners as well, that help offset the evil characters and make it an enjoyable read.

Thomas’ book is not short by any means, though with all the action within the novel, it doesn’t seem long at all.  The story shifts somewhat quickly, from the explosion, to some fights, and then it advances a full year in a blink of an eye, but I honestly think the author needed to do that in order to keep the novel at a relatively normal length (I’m scared off by books that are much more than 400 pages).  And, with an ending like that of Quarantine: The Loners, I am very excited for the next book in the installment, Quarantine: The Saints.  I can’t wait, actually. Four stars.

Egmont USA has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on July 10, 2012.

From Goodreads: Ati is a soldier with a distaste for authority. But she’s willing to follow orders if it means she can spend a few days back on Earth. As each mission ends, the search for her lost husband begins. But her search reveals more about her past than she ever anticipated. Cast into exile, she finds herself stranded on a strange and savage planet.

But the war against Humanity reaches far beyond Earth. As Ati struggles to survive in the strange, celestial wilderness, she discovers even the Guardians of our universe are in danger. The process of living and dying has been interrupted, as a monstrous weapon threatens to devour all existence. Ati learns she must return from exile with a warning for every sentient creature: Be mindful of extinction.
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This is a very interesting story that I think science fiction and fantasy fans will really like, especially as the beginning instantly sucks the reader in.  I thoroughly enjoyed the beginning of the story, meeting the characters and finding out what Ati does as a soldier living in space.  I do have to admit, however, that I personally found some of the story hard to follow—a bit disconnected—as it unfolded, but I’m also not a strong science fiction buff, and am easily confused, so I don’t think it is the fault of the author. 

This story is told from multiple perspectives, which is one of my favorite styles for storytelling as it allows the reader to obtain different perspectives.  But, while the story is there, and it’s a fairly fast paced, science fantasy piece, I found that I didn’t connect with the characters as much as I would have liked to, and I think, again, it has to do with me not fully following the story one hundred percent.  I was a little confused between Eva and Ati and the other worlds within the novel, as well as with the military lingo, but even so, I still found this an enjoyable novel.  Three stars. 

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

From Goodreads: Question: What do you get the man with everything?

In Shades of Murder, Mac Faraday is once again the heir to an unbelievable fortune.  This time the benefactor is a stolen art collector. But this isn’t just any stolen work-of-art—it’s a masterpiece with a murder attached to it. Ilysa Ramsay was in the midst of taking the art world by storm with her artistic genius. Hours after unveiling her latest masterpiece—she is found dead in her Deep Creek Lake studio—and her painting is nowhere to be found. Almost a decade later, the long lost Ilysa Ramsay masterpiece has found its way into Mac Faraday’s hands and he can’t resist the urge to delve into the case. A world away, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania; former JAG lawyer Joshua Thornton agrees to do a favor for the last person he would ever expect to do a favor—a convicted serial killer.

The Favor: Solve the one murder wrongly attributed to him. Joshua finds an unexpected ally in Cameron Gates, a spunky detective who has reason to believe the young woman known to the media only as Jane Doe, Victim Number Four, was the victim of a copycat. Together, Joshua and Cameron set out to light a flame under the cold case only to find that someone behind the scenes wants the case to remain cold, and is willing to kill to keep it that way. Little do these detectives know that the paths of their respective cases are on a collision course when they follow the clues to bring them together in a showdown with a killer who’s got a talent for murder!

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This was a rollercoaster of a ride!  I’ve read the other two Mac Faraday murder mysteries, and I’ve got to say, Carr does a phenomenal job writing enticing murder mysteries that keep the reader guessing throughout.  Like her other novels, I wasn’t able to come close to guessing the culprit until it was spelled out for me by Faraday himself.  And what an awesome mystery!  There were so many twists and turns, I had a great time trying to figure it all out. 

Gnarly, Faraday’s cleptomatic German shepherd, and Archie Monday, Faraday’s sarcastic and witty lover, make for great comedy while the mystery surrounding a murdered artist, a lost painting, the body of a Jane Doe, and an eccentric family begins to unfold.  Of course, as you can already tell, I really enjoyed this novel.  Carr has such a way with words, and her ability to spin a story is amazing.  If you’re looking for a great murder mystery, then look no further—Carr’s novels are the way to go.  Four stars.

Acorn Book Services has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read a copy of this novel, via Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.

From Goodreads: Rain. Is. Bored.

With Coal at university and Domrey away on a constant string of assignments from the Royal City, she and her sister Snow are stuck at Seranfyll Manor with their tutor Professor Digory, who has to be the dullest teacher on the face of the earth. She craves a break from the monotony or, even better, an adventure like the ones she only gets to read about in books.

A voyage to the jungles of Amyrania should do the trick. When Domrey agrees to do a favor for the king, Rain and the others get to set sail with him on what sounds like an exciting but relatively simple assignment. However, despite its tourist-friendly facade, Amyrania is called the “Untamed Isle” for good reason, and this adventure will prove to be more than any of them had bargained for.

Join Rain, Coal, Domrey, and a host of old and new friends (and enemies) in this exciting sequel to Seranfyll.

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This was a phenomenal read.  Daley takes a very in-depth look at the atrocities of slavery in her novels, and I just love how well written and interesting her books really are.   Rain and Snow are my favorite.  They’re the epitome of teenagers everywhere.  They’re looking for adventures, bored by mundane schoolwork, and intent on having as much fun as possible.  But they’ve also got strong heads on their shoulders.  Having been slaves at one point in their lives, they are all too aware of the evils that penetrate the world and want to work to fix it as much as possible. And so they do as they embark on some amazing adventures, full of joy and perils, and I was captivated from the very start.

This is a great sequel to Seranfyll,and I just loved it!  The story is very fast paced and I highly enjoyed the voyage to the Amyrania jungles.  Although full of fantasy and epic world building, the story is extremely real, and I love how Daley is able to make the story stand out so much from other novels out there.  Full of poignant themes regarding self worth, the atrocities of slavery, coming of age, and having hope/faith in oneself, this is a must read for all ages.

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

From Goodreads: She’s the Seeker. He’s the hunted. What’s at stake could kill them both…

For 17-year-old Seeker, Janie Grey, ridding the Baltimore streets of the undead is an inherited duty passed down from her Cherokee ancestors. Seeker Training Lesson #1: Never trust the undead. After her father’s tragic death, Janie creates her own life lesson: Love isn’t worth the risk. Both lessons are easy to follow until she encounters the flawed Kai Sterdam. At first, she believes he is the hybrid she is trained to hunt. But, when he has human traits, she determines she doesn’t know what he is. As Janie’s intrigue over who Kai is pushes her deeper into his mysterious past, she discovers a shocking truth that is even more harrowing than the evil they are up against. It’s a secret Kai wants to keep hidden, especially from Janie.

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I really enjoyed this novel.  Janie is a great character that, while a bit overbearing at times, really comes into herself and takes charge as the story progresses.  She is a kick butt character that goes after the bad guys without a second thought, and I really enjoyed that about her.  And Kai is to die for.  In my opinion, he’s extremely dreamy, and I really liked all the mystery surrounding him.  In fact, I didn’t see the truth about his identity coming until it was almost upon me, and I really enjoy novels that are able to not only keep me engaged, but guessing as well. While I admit that the romance was a little lacking in this novel between Janie and Kai, I found this “whirlwind romance” to be perfect for this novel, and I highly recommend it.

Likewise, I also really enjoyed that this story took place in a city I’m very familiar with.  Noting where Janie and Kai go was fun as I was able to see it in my minds eye more vividly than in books where I’m not as familiar with the setting.  If you’re familiar with Baltimore and enjoy strong heroines and dreamy heroes, then this book is for you. Five stars. 

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

From Goodreads: Nara-Ya is a pugnacious adolescent girl on the run from a powerful sorceress. Fate lands her in the company of her polar opposite, the soft-spoken Donovan Brennan, who is simultaneously struggling to lead a Resistance movement, regain a throne for a wronged King, and prevent a war between the land he lives in and the land of his birth.

Brennan walks a fine line between his principles and success; Nara-Ya, by contrast, knows what she has to do to survive, and circumstances shunt her towards the life of a fighter and warrior. However, as war looms, as her friendship with Donovan grows into something more, and as Nara-Ya is forced to confront her darker instincts, she begins to question her destiny, and is forced to make a decision that will alter the fate of their world.

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This story had a very interesting concept, but I personally found it a bit slow and hard to follow.  There are many characters introduced throughout the novel, and I had a hard time keeping them all straight, especially the more minor ones.  Likewise, the plot tended to shift around a bit, from a huge, epic battle where Nara-Ya shows her true colors, to months of the characters sitting around doing nothing but waiting.  And so, the pacing would speed up and slow down constantly, which was difficult for me, since I’m one of those readers that likes the pacing to be the same throughout a novel.  However, Donovan and Nara-Ya were very interesting characters, and I feel like they were fleshed out very well throughout the story.  They are total opposites, and Forde did a phenomenal job creating them.  I liked them very much when they were together, and following their budding relationship over the many years within the novel was nice.  I would have liked even more information about them and their love life, which, in my opinion, was all too short, but is indeed the makings of a good sequel. 

This novel deals a lot with political uprisings, war, love, redemption, and of course, there are some paranormal/sci-fi elements as well, such as a unicorn and the like, so I think that readers who enjoy books of this caliber will really enjoy it.  Three stars.

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

From Goodreads: When foster teen Jane Williams is invited to attend elite Birch Grove Academy for Girls and escape her violent urban neighborhood, she thinks the offer is too good to be true. She’s even offered her own living quarters, the groundskeeper’s cottage in the center of the birch grove.

Something’s not quite right about the school — or is it Jane? She thinks she sees things in the birch grove at night. She’s also beginning to suspect that the elegant headmistress and her sons are hiding secrets. Lucky is the gorgeous, golden son who is especially attentive to Jane, and Jack is the sardonic puzzling brother.

The school with its talented teachers and bright students is a dream for a science and math geek like Jane. She also loves her new friends, including hilarious poetry-spouting rich girl, Mary Violet. But the longer Jane stays at Birch Grove, the more questions she has about the disappearance of another scholarship girl and a missing faculty member.

Jane discovers one secret about Birch Grove, which only leads to more mysteries. What is she willing to sacrifice in order to stay at this school…and be bound to Birch Grove forever?

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This review is really hard to write as this book is not your typical YA novel.  The synopsis alone is very intriguing, but the story is anything but what you expect.  I was floored by it, and I really enjoyed it, up until a point.  Then everything became a little weird…

And this is why the review is so hard to write.  I can’t give anything away, so I can’t really tell you why it got weird.  So let’s talk characterization instead.  I really, really liked Mary Violet and Jack.  They are phenomenal side characters and they kept me smiling throughout the novel.  Mary, with her amusing comments and all around good nature, and Jack with his witty remarks and teasing persona, are easily likable characters.  However, Lucky is a despicable character, and I really hate him.  In my opinion, he has no redeeming qualities and he ruined the novel for me a bit.  His personality is atrocious, and the things he does (the things I can’t say because it would give away the story) made me ill as I read.  Likewise, Jane seems like a very smart young woman; she is especially street smart, but when it comes to boys, she loses her head and makes extremely poor choices.  So, as the book developed, I found myself liking her less and less, and by the end, I really didn’t have any respect for either her or Lucky, though Jane does redeem herself just a tad in the end. 

I think Acosta is a great writer, but this story is a little too weird/creepy/awkward for me.  I really did like the premise, and I promise, this isn’t like anything you’ve ever read before, but it just isn’t my cup of tea.  Two stars. 

Tor Teen has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read a copy of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on July 3, 2012.

From Goodreads: A bully named Marjean, a mangy dog named Donut, and southern Georgia in August: Nine year old Gordy will need all of these to overcome the life-changing moment headed his way.

A touching story of one boy’s tragic loss and his journey to understanding it.
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This is a very short story that follows a young boy as he realizes the truth about his parents.  The story picks up somewhat in medias res, as Gordy attends a party at his aunt’s.  Less than pleased with his attire and the people surrounding him, he ventures out of doors, where he meets a dog, Donut, and as the story unfolds, he eventually learns that he must rely on others in this coming of age tale. 

I must admit, this story wasn’t at all what I expected, but it is very well done, though completely different from all of Hildenbrand’s other work.  I think this is something that younger readers will enjoy, especially as it’s short and Gordy is very young.  Of course, as a short story, there isn’t much room for character development, but I think Hildenbrand captures the feelings of the characters very well.  Three stars.

I picked up this short story from smashwords when it was free.

From Goodreads: When Dad becomes the lone caregiver for a dependent adult son, Dad has to answer the terrifying question: What happens if I die first?

A retired CIA operative comes to believe he wasted his professional life not only promoting questionable American policies, but missing life with his family. Suddenly, his wife is gone, and he must learn all that she knew about caring for their mentally retarded son. After a life of planning for contingencies, the former spy must deal with the possibility that he may die before his son. Who will care for the son when the dad spent a life out of the country and now has no one to lean on?

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This novel has a very conversational tone, which was difficult for me to get used to in the beginning, but the more I read the more I enjoyed this writing style.  Garrison, the protagonist, explains the story of his life, his thoughts and concerns, while amplifying his outrageous and mostly hilarious interactions as both a CIA operative and a father/husband.  One of Garrison’s main issues is that of how to care for his mentally challenged son, especially with the looming truth that his son will probably outlive him.  This realization, as well as Garrison’s colloquial tone, made the novel very interesting and I enjoyed learning about his difficulties as he attempts to take control of his life as it spins out of control.      

I really enjoyed the parts of the novel that dealt with Noah, Garrison’s son.  How Garrison and his wife Louisa dealt with their little blessing, including how they came to adopt him, his many transitions through life, and his eventual diagnosis with Alzheimer’s was really interesting, and I learned a lot about downs syndrome.  Though I wouldn’t say that this novel is a tearjerker by any means, it does make the reader stop and think, appreciating all they’ve been given.

I think the characterization of Garrison is phenomenal.  He is a very deep character, and as I said before, his relation of his life was mainly hilarious, and I found him very down to earth, though some of his revelations were less than believable.  But overall, I really enjoyed him, and would have liked to get to know the rest of his family on the same level, but then I think it would have detracted from the colloquial, conversational tone of this novel.  Three stars.

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

From Goodreads: Callie LeRoux lives in Slow Run, Kansas, helping her mother run their small hotel and trying not to think about the father she’s never met. Lately all of her energy is spent battling the constant storms plaguing the Dust Bowl and their effects on her health. Callie is left alone when her mother goes missing in a dust storm. Her only hope comes from a mysterious man offering a few clues about her destiny and the path she must take to find her parents in “the golden hills of the west”: California.

Along the way she meets Jack, a young hobo boy who is happy to keep her company — there are dangerous, desperate people at every turn. And there’s also an otherworldly threat to Callie. Warring fae factions, attached to the creative communities of American society, are very much aware of the role this half-mortal, half-fae teenage girl plays in their fate.

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I’m sorry to say that I am not a fan of this novel.  I never connected with the characters and I spent a good amount of time just trying to figure out what was happening.  While I knew there would be paranormal elements to the novel, I think I also thought it would be somewhat historical as it deals with dust storms, and I was thinking the great Dust Bowl from the 1930s, but I soon found out that this isn’t what it’s about at all.  While there are dust storms, it’s more or less about a fairy girl who must travel the Great Plains looking for her parents.  I was following the story fairly well until Callie played the piano, the dust bowl rolled in, and giant bugs came to the hotel.  At that point, though I tried to follow, I became lost in the mayhem of the story. 

Without a connection with the characters, I found that I struggled to finish this novel, but I made it through.  It does end of a kind of cliffhanger, and it piqued my interest, so yes, I’ll probably read the sequel when it comes out, but this novel didn’t pull me in as I had hoped.  Two stars.

Random House Children’s Books has been extrmely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on June 26, 2012

From Goodreads: On a bitter March day, as a sudden snowstorm envelops the small town of Broken Branch, Iowa, an unknown man with a gun enters the town’s only school and takes a classroom of children hostage. As awareness of the situation spreads, the panicked community is ready to do anything to protect their children, but can only watch and wait.

As a teacher with a long career behind her, Evelyn Oliver is ready to enjoy retirement with her loving husband. But now, faced with a crazy man armed with a gun, terrorizing her classroom, she’d rather die than fail to protect any of her students. But why is he doing this? Evelyn’s been scouring her mind but doesn’t recognize the intruder. Maybe one of the students is the key?

Holly Thwaite left Broken Branch and her family behind without a word eighteen years ago, vowing never to return. But after a debilitating accident leaves her recovering in a hospital in Arizona, she’s forced to send her children to her hometown to be looked after by their grandfather, the man she never wanted them to meet. Will Thwaite never understood why his estranged daughter, Holly, ran away all those years ago. But now that her children are in his care, he refuses to fail his daughter again. One way or another, Will is going to get his grandkids, P.J. and Augie, out of that school safely even if he has to go in and get them himself. What Will doesn’t know is that thirteen-year-old Augie is just as determined to rescue her little brother from the killer and help her classmates, even if it means putting herself in the crosshairs of the gunman.

Police officer Meg Barrett wants to know who the intruder is and why he’s doing this. Whoever it is, there’s no excuse for this. Meg should know. She’s had plenty of hardships herself. But with innocent lives at stake, Meg is prepared to risk her own life to save these hostages, although it means disobeying orders and taking on the gunman face-to-face.

As the standoff progresses and the snowstorm rages outside, anxiety and frustration start to build to dangerous levels. But everyone knows how precarious the situation is. One wrong move, even a breath, could have the most devastating of consequences.

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I really enjoyed this novel!  Told from the perspectives of multiple characters, Gudenkauf intricately weaves together the harrowing tale of five people affected by a lone gunman as he attempts to exact his revenge on the world from the confines of a school.  I absolutely adore novels with multiple points of view, especially when the author uses it to build up suspense, which is exactly what Gudenkauf does.  As readers get to know the characters as individuals, learning their thoughts, fears, regrets, and ambitions, nearly every chapter ends on a cliffhanger in which the reader is about to find out something, or learn something s/he is very interested in, and then the point of view changes, making the reader wait.  With five separate narrators, the suspense is constantly building, and while the cliffhangers are a tease, the very next chapter picks up where another cliffhanger left off, and the reader is suddenly thrust into another’s thoughts and is finally able to find out the answers to a previous cliffhanger, which makes it doubly exciting and keeps the reader on a rollercoaster ride from start to finish.

Out of all the characters, I really liked Augie the best.  She has a spunky personality and I enjoyed following her throughout the story as she attempts to save her brother.  She is a very determined young heroine, and though she has many issues she must work through, from feeling responsible for her mother’s accident and her little brother’s safety to learning to trust others around her, she is an amazing young woman.  I also loved Ms. Oliver.  Though she seems to be a bit crotchety in the beginning, she truly loves her students and wants to protect them at all costs.  I think I identified with her the most because I, too, am a teacher, and watching her deal with such a scary reality was very powerful and touching.  We all hear of gunmen coming into schools and wreaking havoc, but no one thinks it will ever happen to them.  And then, we all think about how we would react, but honestly, no one really knows how they will react.  I would like to say that I would be just as heroic as Ms. Oliver, though I pray I’ll never have to find out if I would be or not.

Overall, I really enjoyed this story and was taken aback by the identity of the gunman. Gudenkauf does an amazing job keeping the gunman’s identity a secret until the big reveal, and I love authors that are able to stump me as I read.  I highly recommend this novel! Four stars!    

Harlequin has ben extremely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on June 26, 2012.

From Goodreads: When Great War veteran Laurence Bartram arrives in Easton Deadall, he is struck by the beauty of the place: a crumbling manor, a venerable church, and a memorial to the village’s soldiers, almost all of whom died in one bloody battle. 

Now peace prevails, and the rest of England is newly alight with hope, but Easton Deadall remains haunted by tragedy—as does the Easton family. In 1911, five-year-old Kitty disappeared from her bed and has not been seen in thirteen years; only her fragile mother still believes she is alive. While Laurence is a guest of the manor, a young maid vanishes in a sinister echo of Kitty’s disappearance. And when a body is discovered in the manor’s ancient church, Laurence is drawn into the grounds’ forgotten places, where deadly secrets lie in wait.  
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While I enjoyed this novel, it wasn’t really what I expected.  I was thinking it would be a fast paced sleuthing novel dealing mainly with the disappearance of Kitty Easton, but I personally found the entire first half of the book a little bland for me as it dealt with the historical aspect of the time period more than I like in my novels (detailing the house, the people, the church, etc.) and I found that I occasionally lost interest due to all the descriptions.  This is a very lengthy novel, and I personally would have liked to have some of it cut out, mainly because I’m not really a description kind of reader, but for those who are, I think they’ll find this novel quite interesting.

Once the novel began to deal more with Kitty and the disappearance of others, say around 45% into the book, it did really pick up, and I became highly interested in the goings on of the characters.  Had the novel been like this from the beginning, I think I would have really enjoyed it, but even so, the last half of the novel was great.

I really liked how everything fit together, including the disappearance of Kitty, then a young maid servant, and then the mystery surrounding the dead woman found in the church.  Speller did a good job intertwining them, and I was surprised to find out the truth behind both disappearances and the murder.  I just wish the entire novel had to have been written like the second half of the novel. Three stars.

Houghton Mifflin Harcourt has been extremely gracious in allowing me to read an ARC of this novel, via Netgalley, prior to its release on June 26, 2012.

From Goodreads: Flash Fiction (500 word Short Story) of a dark, dark secret in a dark, dark house.

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This is a very short story that I think has the potential to be more, but I personally had a hard time following it.  Upon beginning the story, readers will quickly note that it’s extremely repetitive.  Now, this is a writing technique that Ferreira uses on purpose, repeating the word “dark” multiple times, but I found that I really didn’t enjoy this repetition.  If you look up at the very short synopsis, you’ll get an idea of what I mean about the repetition.

Yet, while half of the story is extremely repetitive, the other half suddenly flows very nicely.  It was a very sudden shift, a bit jarring; however, while I wasn’t a fan of the repetition, I did enjoy the flow of story once it transitioned.  Unfortunately, I didn’t really understand the big revelation at the end.  I read the story twice (because it’s so short), but I still didn’t understand it fully.  I think that it’s more of a reader error than a writer error, though. Overall, as “The Dark, Dark House” is a very short read, I think you should give it a try to see if it’s your style.  Unfortunately, it’s not for me.  One star.

 I obtained this short story from Amazon when it was free.