Oooooooooh, Vampires........

There's only 17 DAYS TILL CHRISTMAS *squeals excitedly* and I'm actually acting like a 10 year old, that's how excited I am. So, I'm reading vampire novels.

Love Bites, by Lynsay Sands

A Quick Bite, by Lynsay Sands

Single White Vampire, by Lynsay Sands

Tall, Dark and Hungry, by Lynsay Sands

As much as I like this series of books, IT'S SO CONFUSING!!!!!!!!!!1 In some places, Single White Vampire is the first book, in others, A Quick Bite is. What I reckon happened is that she wrote Single White Vamp first, then wrote A Quick Bite, then Love Bites. So, according to me, the series list goes a little like this:

1.A Quick Bite
2.Love Bites
3.Single White Vampire
4.Tall, Dark and Hungry
5.A Bite to Remember
6.Bite Me If You Can
7.The Accidental Vampire
8.Vampires Are Forever
9.Vampire, Interrupted
10.The Rogue Hunter
11.The Immortal Hunter
12.The Renegade Hunter
13.Born to Bite
14.Hungry for You
15.The Reluctant Vampire
16.Under a Vampire Moon

Love Bites

Love Bites by Lynsay Sands

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Etienne Argeneau can turn one human into a vampire in his lifetime - an honour his kind usually reserved for their life mates, to let their love life forever. But it's all a bit more complicated than that. Rachel Garrett, a beautiful coroner, has just saved his life and now she's about to lose hers. Etienne has a choice: he can save her life in turn, and thus doom himself to an eternity alone, unable to create his own life mate. Or he can watch his saviour die in the name of a love he has yet to meet. Her life and his love weigh in the balance, and whatever Etienne does he may live to regret for eternity . . . The first book in the Argeneau series introduces the Argeneau family, and features a chaotic romance you can really sink your teeth into.

2 things:

1.In the words of my bootyful buddy, Quill In Ink, this book is sexy!

2. NO ONE TOLD ME THIS WASN'T THE FIRST BOOK >:|

but it's still awesome, kinda like a cross between the Vampire Academy series and the Sookie Stackhouse series.

Totally awesome.



View all my reviews

Ah, The Train of Complete and Utter Monotony....

I should probably hang my head in shame. Because, dear friends, this week, I have read:
Nothing.

:O

Shock horror! (I bet you thought I was going to say Twilight, didn't you? Now that would be a reason to hang my head in shame) This, however, is not entirely true. I have read. I just haven't finished any books yet. Don't get me wrong, I've almost finished them. (Or, in some cases started them and couldn't be bothered because they were just...*yawn*..so...*yawn*...boring. Never EVER read the Aldous Lexicon trilogy. They will lull you straight onto the train of complete and utter monotony. I am also currently reading a really cool ninja-who-isn't-but-is-sort-of book. Which I haven't finished.

So, sorry, nothing exciting. Yet.

Beautiful Darkness (Should I/Shouldn't I)

Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia

Do I? Do I really want to read this book? I'm not sure. Sure, I've read reviews. Some people liked it, some people.... didn't.

Those of you who read my blog will know that I found Beautiful Creatures..... challenging to read, hence my trepidation over this series. However, I think I will end up just reading the ending, as that was the only interesting bit in the first book.

View all my reviews

Beautiful Creatures/ A Crack in the Line

GOD. These two books seem to merge into one big sticky gloop, so I merged them. Yay! *mentally shoots herself*

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia

My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Eeeeeeeeeeesh. What can I say? It seems to me that short is the only way to go.

Plot - a little tired don't you think?

Characters - had a love/hate relationship with moody girl convinced she's going to die.

Writing - like trying to drink cold porridge: difficult.

Ending - the only redeeming thing about this book.

A Crack in the Line by Michael Lawrence

My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Eeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeesh. My friend tried to warn me. She really did.

Plot - complicated, but alright.

Characters - THEY WERE ALL THE SAME.

Writing - Awful

Ending - Weird.

View all my reviews


What is it with me managing to read AWFUL books lately? First Crossed, now this. :@

Hush Hush 4 (WHY ARE YOU DOING THIS TO ME??????????)

This post should technically have been posted 03/11/11. Whoops.


Untitled by Becca Fitzpatrick




I really thought the series was going to end with three. I like trilogies, I only have to fork out for three. But, I have to say, I hope she makes it mercifully short. Let me tell you what will happen:



Nora will spend most of the book going 'Ooh Patch, I really wanna sleep with you but I don't want to make any angel/nephil babies' to which my response it 'ever heard of contraception?'



Then they will avert the war 10 pages from the end, by which point Nora will have stopped caring and fallen into bed with him. There may be some mangling of hands somewhere in there too.



View all my reviews

Vampire Diaries 8 (oh God no, not another one.....)

NB. This review should have been published 09/10/11. Sorry :/


Phantom: v. 8 by L.J. Smith




When I heard that this book was coming out, I think I died a little inside. I LOVED the first four, got a little bored with The Return trilogy, refused to read the Stefan/Damon spin off stories and have never watched the TV series. And never will. (Hello, they axed Meredith)



I'll keep this short. Vampire Diaries ended with book 7. End of. Elena with no powers + Damon dead = SERIES OVER. And this isn't even written by LJ. Yes, I will be reading this, but only to justify the one star it's going to get.



View all my reviews

That Ballad

I'm sitting at my computer typing with my 5-month old nephew trying to eat my fingers. This week (although not while he was eating my finger) I read:

The Foreshadowing, by Marcus Sedgewick (SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!)

Ballad: A Gathering of Faerie, by Maggie Stiefvater

Beautiful Creatures, by Kami Garcia

A Crack in the Line, by Michael Lawrence

That Summer, by Sarah Dessen

The Glass Peacock

Exams are OVER (finally) and it seems that my world is just getting back to normal. So...

Ben's in Love, by Katherine Applegate

The Glass Demon, by Helen Grant

Harnessing Peacocks, by Mary Wesley

Claire Gets Caught, by Katherine Applegate

Crossed, by Ally Condie

What Zoey Saw, by Katherine Applegate

a word on the 'making out' series. It is like a soap. But in book form. I <3 it :D

Crossed

Crossed by Ally Condie

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


In search of a future that may not exist and faced with the decision of who to share it with, Cassia journeys to the Outer Provinces in pursuit of Ky - taken by the Society to his certain death - only to find that he has escaped, leaving a series of clues in his wake.

Cassia's quest leads her to question much of what she holds dear, even as she finds glimmers of a different life across the border. But as Cassia nears resolve and certainty about her future with Ky, an invitation for rebellion, an unexpected betrayal, and a surprise visit from Xander - who may hold the key to the uprising and, still, to Cassia's heart - change the game once again. Nothing is as expected on the edge of Society, where crosses and double crosses make the path more twisted than ever.

Good or bad points first? I think good.

The second half of it was wayyyyy better than the first. Like, the writing, the plot, everything. Just so much better.
But the first half..... just no. It was like trying to drink congealed custard. I felt like I had to wade through it to get to the good stuff. Basically, all you need to know about the first half is: Ky and Cassia are separated in different work camps. I'm STILL not sure what Ky's was apart from they got shot at a lot, and Cassia's was girls only. There's a lot of internal dialogue about Ky's parents. Practically the whole book is centred round it. Anyways, Cassia gets put on a ship to go to Ky's camp, but he's already run away :O. Then there's a lot of traipsing through desert etc. Until they catch up with eachother. Yay! At this point the writing gets soooooo much better.

NB. If you end up writing a trilogy, don't use your second novel to character build.



View all my reviews

Werecat Mania....

I somehow seem to have read an awful lot this week....

Stray, by Rachel Vincent

Rogue, by Rachel Vincent

Nina Won't Tell, by Katherine Applegate

Pride, by Rachel Vincent

Prey, by Rachel Vincent

Shift, by Rachel Vincent

Alpha, by Rachel Vincent

anyone else noticing a pattern?

Silent Lament

So, amongst exams all this week, I read:

Supernaturally, by Kiersten White

Dark Heart Forever, by Lee Monroe

Lament: The Faerie Queen's Deception, by Maggie Stiefvater

Silence, by Becca Fitzpatrick

Oh, yeah, it's been teen fiction week :)

These Sunflowers

So, (on time for once) this week I read:

Peaches, by Jodi Lynn Anderson

A Winter's Tale, by Trisha Ashley

This Lullaby, by Sarah Dessen

The Sunflower Forest, by Torey Hayden

Sunflower Forest was SO GOOD, as was Sarah Dessen. But the winter one? Just no.

A Winter's Tale

A Winter's Tale by Trisha Ashley

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


A charming romantic comedy about a hard-up single mum inheriting a stately home - and a host of headaches - The perfect novel for curling up with during the long winter nights. Sophy Winter is not your typical Lady of the Manor!. When she unexpectedly inherits Winter's End - a crumbling mansion in the beautiful Lancashire countryside - it seems like all Sophy's prayers have been answered. She eagerly swaps life as an impoverished housekeeper in favour of her own team of staff. But Sophy quickly realises the challenge on her hands - the house is decrepit and its eccentric inhabitants are a nightmare. And once it is discovered that Winter's End played host to a young Shakespeare, the entire village of Sticklepond becomes curious about Sophy's plans, especially charming Jack Lewis. But is he really smitten by Sophy!or her newly-acquired cash? Meanwhile, Sophy's gorgeous head gardener Seth is the strong and silent type. But does his passion bloom for anything beyond the horticultural?As Sophy gets to grips with squabbling relatives, collapsing buildings and the ghostly presence of one of her ancestors, she wonders if Winter's End is not so much a gift from the gods as a mixed blessing. ..A charming romantic comedy for fans of Katie Fforde and Jill Mansell - guaranteed to thaw the coldest of hearts!



This was so crap, I got bored of reading it after the first page. Just don't torture yourself with it. I even flicked through to see if there was any good bits. Nope.



View all my reviews

This Lullaby

This Lullaby by Sarah Dessen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


When it comes to relationships, Remy doesn't mess around. After all, she's learned all there is to know from her mother, who's currently working on husband number five. But there's something about Dexter that seems to defy all of Remy's rules. He certainly doesn't seem like Mr. Right. For some reason, however, Remy just can't seem to shake him. Could it be that Remy's starting to understand what those love songs are all about?



SO GOOD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Sarah Dessenstill hasn't let me down :) I'm not sure how she manages to make every single book so good,but she does.



This book is definitely aimed at older teens, and the heroine is more, well, slutty for want of a better word. She is a serial boyfriend dumper, which makes us hate her slightly. Also she's a bitch, but you can really empathise with her in situations where normally you would go: "you did WHAT????"

and yeah, it's awesome. Read it. Seriously.



View all my reviews

I did it again....

Very sorry. I forgot. I know. So, a day late will have to do. This week, I read...

Atonement, by Ian

Abandon, by Meg Cabot

.....not very much. To be fair, I did have a case study due in and two language exams. But, still.

Whoops....

I may have forgotten to do an update on the books I read during the week.... So i'll do it now! Up until 13/10/11, I read:

The Protector, by Dee Henderson

Rumours, by Anna Godbersen

The Healer, by Dee Henderson

The Splendor Falls, by Rosemary Clement-Moore

It seems to have been a Dee Henderson week...

The Splendor Falls

The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Sylvie Davis is a ballerina who can’t dance. A broken leg ended her career, but Sylvie’s pain runs deeper. What broke her heart was her father’s death, and what’s breaking her spirit is her mother’s remarriage—a union that’s only driven an even deeper wedge into their already tenuous relationship.

Uprooting her from her Manhattan apartment and shipping her to Alabama is her mother’s solution for Sylvie’s unhappiness. Her father’s cousin is restoring a family home in a town rich with her family’s history. And that’s where things start to get shady. As it turns out, her family has a lot more history than Sylvie ever knew. More unnerving, though, are the two guys that she can’t stop thinking about. Shawn Maddox, the resident golden boy, seems to be perfect in every way. But Rhys—a handsome, mysterious foreign guest of her cousin’s—has a hold on her that she doesn’t quite understand.

Then she starts seeing things. Sylvie’s lost nearly everything—is she starting to lose her mind as well?

I like to think of this book as being in quarters. The first quarter is ok, the second is slow, the third is awesome and the fourth is, well, meh.

It had all the potential to be awesome, and in some places it is. But in the others, the writing falls flat, the effect is complete and utter boredom. Don't get me wrong, it's alright, but that's it. The ending is too abrupt, they solve it all and then it's like: 'here's what happened to him, here's what happened to her, and now I'm living happily ever after.' Also, the title has nothing to do with the story. Unless it does, in which case I need someone to explain it to me.

If this was an OFSTED report, I'd give it 3.



View all my reviews

Phantom

Phantom: v. 8 by L.J. Smith




When I heard that this book was coming out, I think I died a little inside. I LOVED the first four, got a little bored with The Return trilogy, refused to read the Stefan/Damon spin off stories and have never watched the TV series. And never will. (Hello, they axed Meredith)

I'll keep this short. Vampire Diaries ended with book 7. End of. Elena with no powers + Damon dead = SERIES OVER. And this isn't even written by LJ. Yes, I will be reading this, but only to justify the one star it's going to get.



View all my reviews

The Book Seeker

Keeping with my idea to sum up all the books I've read in the week, here they are!

Just In Case, by Meg Rosoff

Betrayal, by Lee Nichols

The Truth Seeker, by Dee Henderson


..... Listed down, that doesn't look a lot. But I do have about three other books on the go at the same time :/

What I read (and how I lied)

Hello!
So, I have decided, as I don't review all the books I read, to make a weekly reading list. This will include all the books I have read in the week (Thurs-Thurs).

So, this week, I have read:

The Truth About Forever, by Sarah Dessen

Babyshoes, by Dawn Garisch

The Luxe, by Anna Godbersen

What I Saw and How I Lied, by Judy Blundell

Deception, by Lee Nichols

The Crucible, by Arthur Miller

Haunting Violet, by Alyxandra Harvey

It seems that this week is all about historical fiction. :)

The Truth About Forever

The Truth About Forever by Sarah Dessen

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Sixteen-year-old Macy Queen is looking forward to a long, boring summer. Her boyfriend is going away. She's stuck with a dull-as-dishwater job at the library. And she'll spend all of her free time studying for the SATs or grieving silently with her mother over her father's recent unexpected death. But everything changes when Macy is corralled into helping out at one of her mother's open house events, and she meets the chaotic Wish Catering crew. Before long, Macy joins the Wish team. She loves everything about, the work and the people. But the best thing about Wish is Wes—artistic, insightful, and understanding Wes—who gets Macy to look at life in a whole new way, and really start living it.



The first Sarah Dessen book I picked up was Dreamland. I didn't expect much, but I got so much out of it. I've read all her book (bar three, but that's because I couldn't find copies of them.)



Sarah Dessenhas never, ever let me down. Every time I see one of her books on the shelf, I know I'll love it. I have faith in this author to always write the best books.



So thanks, Sarah for another awesome book :)



View all my reviews

Vampire Beach: Ritual

Ritual by Alex Duval

My rating: 1 of 5 stars


I got this book free with a magazine. And let's just say, I was not happy. Most magazines give you the first book in a series with a promo thing to make you buy the next ones. And let's face it, without one of said free books, I would never have experienced the awesomeness that is Strange Angels so, yeah, I was expecting some at least half decent. Wrong.

I couldn't get past the first page the writing was so atrocious. The first page is supposed to intrigue, to draw the reader in, but no. I just thought "This is cr*p" and put it down. I even flicked through the rest of the book to see if it got better. No, it didn't. As a result, I have no interest in reading the first book of the series. So, don't read this. It sucks.



View all my reviews

Angel Blood

Angel Blood by John Singleton

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


If you have read my other reviews, you will know that I usually start with the blurb of the book. but, seeing as the blurb of this book gives the whole plot away, I'll write my own blurb. Here goes.



The nurses call this place the Bin. They call us spooks even though they're not supposed to. Cough Cough says this is because we spooked them. Doctor Dearly calls us Geminis because we came in twos. There's only four of us left now. Cough Cough says we have to leave before we go takeaway like Mrs Murdoe. Doctor Dearly says that it's for our own welfare.



...hmmmmm, not the best i've ever done, but I think it describes it pretty well. One of the reasons I love this book is because it's told (for the most part) in very child-like language, even though the children are around twelve. It's this dream-like language that makes this book both fantastic and chilling. It's hard to describe, so just read it. Please?



View all my reviews

Ripple

Ripple by Mandy Hubbard

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Lexi is cursed with a dark secret. The water calls to her, draws her in, forces her to sing her deadly song to unsuspecting victims. If she succumbs, she kills. If she doesn't, the pain in unbearable. To keep herself and those she cars about safe, she shuts herself off, refusing to make friends or fall in love - again. Because the last time she fell in love with a boy, he ended up dead.

Then Lexi finds herself torn. Against her better judgement, she's opening up again, falling in love with someone new when she knows she shouldn't. But when she's offered the chance to finally live a normal life, she learns that the price she must pay to be free of her curse is giving him up.

I bought this book on an impulse because it had a pretty cover, and Halo was taking too long to come from Amazon. So, I bought it, and within 3 days, it showed up. Happy face already.
(just as a side note, the cover is AWESOME!!!!! :D)

I started reading it pretty much straight away, and before I knew it, I'd finished it in 3 hours. Which is quite impressive, even for me. Granted, the book is fairly short, but it's the kind of book where you want to read it slowly, luxuriously, and savour all the detail and action.

Lexi is the kind of heroine I love. Tormented by her past, she shuts herself off from everyone because she wants to keep them safe, when really she wants to be the queen bee again. And she isn't all perfect. She's gullible, naive, makes really bad decisions a lot of the time, and expects everyone to believe she's a siren without them judging her. She's possessive when she has no right to be, and gets involved with wayyy too many boys at once. But she's easy to empathise with because that's what every normal teenage girl is really.

I think that's what makes this book deserve the five stars. Mandy Hubbard draws the reader in and the story flows excellently. Even the supernatural twist is one I haven't come across before. Vamps, Wolves, Angels yeah, but...... mermaids? Not even good mermaids, bad sirens. She invents her own world without making it unbelievable.

So, all in all, good book :)



View all my reviews

The Negotiator

The Negotiator by Dee Henderson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


FBI special agent Dave Richman has spent his life protecting people; failure is not in his vocabulary. He'll figure out a way to protect Kate even if she is determined to make it difficult.
Kate O'Malley's specialty is hostage situations - defusing human time bombs before they go off. She will walk into the middle of a crisis if that's what is necessary to settle a situation. She's learned to let others see what she wants them to see. She's learned to depend on herself. Only herself. People die if she fails.
Kate is a target. Someone's been sending her black roses. Maybe the same person who just blew up an airplane...and blamed Kate. Then the investigation brings up the one name Kate hoped never to hear again...and she's faced with the shocking evidence that the bomber may be someone she knows. Now she has to decide if Dave - and the God he trusts so implicitly - is all he's supposed to be. And Dave is about to discover that loving a hostage negotiator is one thing, but keeping her safe is another matter entirely...

I read the prequel to this book first, and it was FANTASTIC!!!! Though I did procrastinate slightly before reading this one, because I assumed it couldn't be as good. I was totally wrong. IT WAS AWESOME!!!!! Dee Henderson has yet to disappoint me.



View all my reviews

Bite Club

Bite Club by Rachel Caine

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Morganville, Texas, is a quiet college town where humans and vampires live in relative peace. But lately a great deal of blood is being spilled - not in a feeding frenzy, but for someone's twisted idea of entertainment.

After discovering that vampires populate Morganville - and surviving a number of adventures with her new night-dwelling friends - college student Claire Danvers has come to realise that for the most part, the undead just want to live their lives.

But someone else wants them to get ready to rumble.

There's a new extreme sport being broadcast over the Internet: bare-knuckle fights pitting captured vampires against one another - or, worse, against humans. Tracking the signal leads Claire - accompanied by a loyal group of friends and frenemies - to discover that what started as an online brawl will soon threaten everyone in Morganville. And if they want to survive, they'll have to do a lot more than fight...

This is the tenth book in the Morganville vampires series, and it was alright. It definitely could be better, as it feels a bit like there were a few things that needed to happen in order for the series to go on, and this is the means by which Rachel Caine has done it. Which is by no means to say that I no longer love Shane. I seriously do.



View all my reviews

Fallen

Fallen by Lauren Kate

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.



Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.



Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out of his way to make that very clear–she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.



:D I read this book simply because of all the hype about it. I mean, if a book franchise is big enough for a trailer in the cinema, hell yeah I'm going to read it!

I did have some trepidations though. The last book I read in which the franchise was that huge was Twilight. But let's not go there. So, anyway, I am a (self-confessed) book trend addict. And who cares about vampires when you can have angels right? So I jumped on the angel wagon a couple of months ago with Hush, Hushand kept meaning to read this one. And now I have.



AND IT'S BRILLIANT!!!!!!



It pretty much starts off like any other YA novel (and I've read a plenty)with the main character starting a new school, having to make new friends, etc. etc. which every young person can relate to. (did I just say young person? I mean teenager) BUT!!!! Luce is starting a reform school. For crazy people. Which is pretty weird, especially as she had no idea how her love interest burst into flames....



But probably one of the best bits about this book is (in a very un-YA-main-charatery way)is that, when deciding if she likes Cam or Daniel better, she just sees them both, one after the other. She doesn't mope around, wailing about her boy troubles. She just gets into trouble with boys. I especially like it when they start fighting over her.



So, yeah it's a good book. Please read.



View all my reviews

Die for me

Die for Me by Amy Plum

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


In the City of Lights, two star-crossed lovers battle a fate that is destined to tear them apart again and again for eternity.



When Kate Mercier's parents die in a tragic car accident, she leaves her life--and memories--behind to live with her grandparents in Paris. For Kate, the only way to survive her pain is escaping into the world of books and Parisian art. Until she meets Vincent.



Mysterious, charming, and devastatingly handsome, Vincent threatens to melt the ice around Kate's guarded heart with just his smile. As she begins to fall in love with Vincent, Kate discovers that he's a revenant--an undead being whose fate forces him to sacrifice himself over and over again to save the lives of others. Vincent and those like him are bound in a centuries-old war against a group of evil revenants who exist only to murder and betray. Kate soon realizes that if she follows her heart, she may never be safe again.



SQUEE!!!!! This book is AWESOME. And I'm not just saying that because I want to disagree with my friend.



This book really is very good. It gives a whole new spin on the supernatural fantasy genre, with good zombies destined to die for other people. It's also probably the only book that has the quote:

I'll try not to die for you.

And, of course, what would good zombies be without bad zombies? And possession as well? Good mix.



This is not a typical guy-meets-girl, guy-turns-out-to-be-undead type of book, mainly because instead of calmly accepting the fact that the guy she likes is a zombie, Kate reacts like a normal person. Which is by refusing to see him for about a month. And she pretty much gets over him, but Vincent? He pines for her. Role reversal much?



Good book. Read it.



View all my reviews

The Hunt

The Hunt by Amy Meredith

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Something is hunting. Something that will kill to get what it wants. And it isn't human. Eve knows that her supernatural powers are called for, but she'd rather focus on dating than demons and gorgeous Luke is, frankly, pretty distracting. He's already a friend - but could he be something more? Do Luke and Eve really have a future? And with demons on the hunt, will either of them live long enough to find out?

Ahem. Did I mention that in my review of Shadowsit was not really that good? Well, I may have to eat my words. Sorry.

This book is actually quite good. The action gets going pretty much straight away, and the fashion obsession is dimmed down slightly. Luke has become a part of the gang, and starts picking up the lingo preety quickly, which is very, very confusing. As some of the book is from his point of view, and he and Eve start fancying eachother. Awwwww. Cue demons, all set to drink blood and cause havoc, and you know what? The plotline is not as predictable as it could be. The 'bad guy' is not obvious from the start, isn't on the 'suspects' list or anything similar.

But the best thing about this book? Luke and Eve don't get together at the end. They have all this attraction, and nothing happens at the end of the book. They just go:(direct quote from Luke, looking into Eve's eyes)Some girls are more special than others. And WALKS AWAY.

And that, my dear friends, is why this book is sooooo much better than the other one. Because they don't get what they want.



View all my reviews

Spirit Bound

Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Dimitri gave Rose the ultimate choice. But she chose wrong…

After a long and heartbreaking journey to Dimitri’s birthplace in Siberia, Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St. Vladimir’s—and to her best friend, Lissa. It is nearly graduation, and the girls can’t wait for their real lives beyond the Academy’s iron gates to begin. But Rose’s heart still aches for Dimitri, and he's out there, somewhere.



She failed to kill him when she had the chance. And now her worst fears are about to come true. Dimitri has tasted her blood, and she knows in her heart that he is hunting her. And if Rose won't join him, he won't rest until he's silenced her...forever



This is the fifth book in the Vampire academy series, and, dare I say it... the best? Dimitri is still on the hunt for Rose, after her stake (somewhat dubiously) fell out of his heart. I have to say, this is a rather interesting plot flaw, as I somehow think stakes aren't budged by a river. And then!!!!!!!!!! LISSA BROUGHT HIM BACK!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AND THEN HE WORSHIPS HER :( and also tells Rose that he doesn't love her anymore, even when she forgives him for making her his (virtual) blood whore. Which most people wouldn't. And then she is arrested for killing Tatania which is VERY awkward as she spent the night with Adrian. Which also giver her a good motive for killing Tatania and ends up in prison. Good times.



So, all in all, a VERY good book. But I may change my mind when I read the next one.



View all my reviews

The Hunger Games

The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Winning will make you famous.

Losing means certain death.



In a dark vision of the near future, a terrifying reality TV show is taking place. Twelve boys and twelve girls are forced to appear in a live event called the Hunger Games. There is only one rule: kill or be killed.



When sixteen-year-old Katniss Everdeen steps forward to take her sister's place in the games, she sees it as a death sentence. But Katniss has been close to death before. For her, survival is second nature.



I got told about this book after a few (ok, quite a lot) of my friends said it was excellent. So, I read it.



It seems kinda gruesome from the blurb, but the way it's written makes it seem less awful. One thing I didn't get was how no one had any trepidation about killing other people, but maybe that's because I read The Knife of Never Letting Go and it was SUCH a big thing in it. However, it worked well, and I enjoyed it.



A word of warning: if you do read this book, don't bother reading the others in the trilogy. They will ruin it for you.



View all my reviews

Infinite Days

Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Lenah Beaudonte is, in many ways, your average teen: the new girl at Wickham Boarding School, she struggles to fit in enough to survive and stand out enough to catch the eye of the golden-boy lacrosse captain. But Lenah also just happens to be a recovering five-hundred-year-old vampire queen. After centuries of terrorizing Europe, Lenah is able to realize the dream all vampires have -- to be human again. After performing a dangerous ritual to restore her humanity, Lenah entered a century-long hibernation, leaving behind the wicked coven she ruled over and the eternal love who has helped grant her deep-seated wish.

Until, that is, Lenah draws her first natural breath in centuries at Wickham and rediscovers a human life that bears little resemblance to the one she had known. As if suddenly becoming a teenager weren’t stressful enough, each passing hour brings Lenah closer to the moment when her abandoned coven will open the crypt where she should be sleeping and find her gone. As her borrowed days slip by, Lenah resolves to live her newfound life as fully as she can. But, to do so, she must answer ominous questions: Can an ex-vampire survive in an alien time and place? What can Lenah do to protect her new friends from the bloodthirsty menace about to descend upon them? And how is she ever going to pass her biology midterm?

Woah. I LOVED this book. The version I read, the blurb was a little misleading as it seemed that she would become a human at the end of the book. But no, it happens on the VERY FIRST PAGE. And that was a big surprise to me, so much that I contemplated not reading it. But I carried on, and am I glad.

Lenah Baudonte is an AWESOME girl hero. She is like, kick-ass, only without the whole fighting bit. And the ending? A-MA-ZING.

You have a moral obligation to read this book.



View all my reviews

Dead Reckoning

Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


With her knack for being in trouble's way, Sookie witnesses the firebombing of Merlotte's, the bar where she works. Since Sam Merlotte is now known to be two-natured, suspicion falls immediately on the anti-shifters in the area. But Sookie suspects otherwise and she and Sam work together to uncover the culprit - and the twisted motive for the attack. But her attention is divided. Though she can't 'read' vampires, Sookie knows her lover Eric Northman and his 'child' Pam well - and she realises that they are plotting to kill the vampire who is now their master. Gradually, she is drawn into the plot -which is much more complicated than she knows. Caught up in the politics of the vampire world, Sookie will learn that she is as much of a pawn as any ordinary human - and that there is a new Queen on the board . . .

I'm sorry, but this one was a little disappointing. The plotline held me captivated for all of the first two chapters, but then...

Surely it cannot be all that bad! I hear you cry, but I have to tell you..... yes it can.

It only really starts to get a teensy bit interesting when they kill Victor and reveal that OMG! Eric is to be married to the Queen of Oklahoma! At this point, Sookie shows her stupidity. Ok.... here you have an unused cluviel d'or, so...... USE IT TO MAKE THE QUEEN DIE OR WHATEVER!!!!!! But maybe that's another book.

Is the Southern Vampire series getting a bit tired by now? Maybe. Am I still desperately in love with Eric? Hell yeah! Will I get the next book when it comes out? Probably. But with some trepidation.



View all my reviews

Life On the Refrigerator Door

Life on the Refrigerator Door by Alice Kuipers

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Claire and her mother are running out of time, but they don't know it. Not yet. Claire is wrapped up with the difficulties of her burgeoning adulthood—boys, school, friends, identity; Claire's mother, a single mom, is rushed off her feet both at work and at home. They rarely find themselves in the same room at the same time, and it often seems that the only thing they can count on are notes to each other on the refrigerator door. When home is threatened by a crisis, their relationship experiences a momentous change. Forced to re-evaluate the delicate balance between their personal lives and their bond as mother and daughter, Claire and her mother find new love and devotion for one another deeper than anything they had ever imagined.

Wow. This book......

I picked this up looking for Looking for Alaska and I'm so glad I did. This book made me cry so much I ruined a few pages. A must read book.



View all my reviews

Hush, Hush

Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her...until Patch comes along.

With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgement, but after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is far more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life.



A.M.A.Z.I.N.G.



If you ever read a book series, it has to be this one. End of Story.



View all my reviews

Night World Volume 1

Night World, No. 1: Secret Vampire; Daughters of Darkness; Spellbinder (Night World, #1-3) by L.J. Smith

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Hmmmmm.....



I started reading Night World because I LOVED the Vampire Diaries series, and I have to admit, I didn't enjoy it as much.



The first book (Secret Vampire) was my favourite, and I found that this was possibly the best-written book of the three in this omnibus. I got a shock when I discovered that each of the stories was only loosely connected, centering around the Redfern family and their witch cousins. From there, I thought the writing went downhill, although I was still hooked. I have to admit, the soulmate principle is getting a bit tired now in my mind. Will it only stop when Rowan, Kestrel and Blaise have found their soulmates? Will it continue until everyone associated with the Redferns is breaking Night World Law without a second thought? To be honest, that was a rule just dying to be broken. Oh yes, you can't fall in love with humans..... the basic principle of every single paranormal romance I have ever read. But, if you think about it, say a vampire fell in love with me, told me all about the Night World, and I tried to tell anyone. They would send me to a psychiatrist who would analyse these strange 'visions'. No one in hell would believe me. So, dumb rule huh?



I have to admit, I may be just a little in love with Ash though.



View all my reviews

Shadows

Shadows by Amy Meredith

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Shadows, Amy Meredith

Fifteen-year-old Eve Evergold is cute, sassy and enjoying a busy social life. What she doesn't know yet is that someone close to her is an evil demon that only she has the supernatural power to defeat. She needs to work out who it is - and fast! Because although there's something very attractive about the dark side...dating a demon? Pure hell!

The first thing that intrigued me was the cover. Judging from the blurb,(above)I had low expectations of this book. But the cover what what actually made me open the book and start reading.I really thought this book would be just like every other pre-teen fantasy novel; full of puppy love, a little mystical magic here and there, and boom! guy gets with girl and they all live happily-ever-after.

I have to say I was pleasantly surprised.The first couple of pages were a bit slow, I have to admit.I mean, being excited about starting high-school is all very well, but, as an avid reader, there's only so much lipgloss admiration I can take. I really don't get what the whole buzz about 'OMG I'm starting HIGH SCHOOL!'If they lived in England, they would be going into year 10, and, let me tell you, they'd be wayyyy less excited about that. The thing is, this would no way work in the UK. If they were as rich as they are in the book, they'd be going to boarding school which means uniforms. And if not, they'd be going to private or state schools, which also have uniforms. I wonder just how I can manage getting through an entire week without complementing my 'BFF' on her 'cute top'.

Things only really start to get interesting when Luke and Mal are introduced as new guys. Oh, and when Evie starts switching lights on with a snap of her fingers.

Honestly, could they think up a more naive answer to this unanswerable question? Oh, yes, a poltergeist is causing you to shoot lightning bolts from your fingers and switch on the TV when the remote is lost (not too hard, if you have a TV that you turn on from the set.) I don't think Any Meredith thought this out when she wrote it, and it really feels just like a chapter filler.

However, mixed in with the shopping, boys, and 'poltergeists' is a darker element. Girls start going mad, and it is only after finding out that, co-incidentally, Evie is actually the descendant of a long line of witches, a demon is stealing people's souls. OMG!!!!! This calls for a comparison of matte and high-gloss nail polishes! (Can you actually get matte nail polish?)The really annoying thing about this whole situation is that all of the characters go: "Oh, I'm actually a witch. Now, where was that copy of Teen Vogue I bought yesterday?" It's infuriating! If I was in that situation, I would freak out, as I'm pretty sure everyone else would do! How are they so calm about it all?????

Aside from this, Luke turns into a man-slut and a attraction develops between Mal and Evie, who amuses herself by trying to guess his full name. In retrospect, she should have run a mile form someone with the name mal, which in most European languages means bad.


As much as some of the sickening fashion addiction detracts from the overall effect, this is actually a well-written novel. The lightheartedness is laced with danger, and shock-horror! some serious moments.

This is a definite read for those who are just dipping into the dark fantasy genre, but I think younger teens would enjoy it more. The preconceived ideas of what high school is like is very much present in this book, and it alternates from ooh! scary to all sweetness and light. For older teens (anything from 14-up), read it with a pinch of salt.



View all my reviews