The Wicked Awakening of Anne Merchant by Joanna Wiebe (ARC)

The Wicked Awakening of Anne Merchant (The V Trilogy #2)
Joanna Wiebe
Exp. Pub.: January 20, 2015 (TOMORROW!!)

Life and death, light and dark, spirit and flesh - on Wormwood Island, the lines are always blurred. For Anne Merchant, who has been thrust back into this eerily secretive world, crossing the line seems inevitable, inescapable, destined.

Now, as Ben finds himself battling for the Big V and Teddy reveals the celestial plan in which Anne is entwined, Anne must choose: embrace her darkly powerful connection to a woman known as Lilith and, in doing so, save the boy she loves...or follow a safer path that is sure to lead to Ben's destruction at the hands of dark leaders. Hoping the ends will justify the means, Anne starts down the slippery slope into the underworld, intent on exploring the dark to find the light. But as the lure of Lilith proves powerfully strong, will Anne save others - only to lose herself?

 

***If you haven't read The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant,

there be spoilers ahead!***

Unique, mysterious and heartbreaking. Anne Merchant proves even the darkest of souls can be selfless when it comes to saving the ones you love.

Right when Anne Merchant thought she had Villicus beat, she's cruelly ripped from the mortal world and forced to return to Wormwood Island, where the residents are anything but living. Even though Anne's the only student attending Cania Christy who is selectively different, she can still be put in her place by blackmail. Her actions have not only backfired on herself, but her father and Ben as well. Her father is now forced to do the same work as Ben's father, and Ben is now forced to attend the school and compete for the big V as well. And for those of you naughty readers who are breezing through my review before reading the first novel, the V doesn't stand for what you think it does, obviously. :)

But Anne's problems don't end with being nicknamed Murdering Merchant by her heckling classmates. Villicus has been replaced by yet another headmaster, one who has way too much interest in Anne and scheduling special mentoring sessions to occupy her time. But with Ben's time ticking away until graduation and him making no effort to win the elite prize, Anne must do the unthinkable to force him to try, and the repercussions are even worse than she anticipated. So the return of a lost friend couldn't come at a more opportune time, though her reason for being there is bittersweet.

With the arrival of a group of unusual female teachers, it doesn't take Anne long to realize who they are, and as she does what she's told and begins to look more closely at everything around her, she begins to realize there's a bigger game at play, and that Anne herself has a history that could unravel Cania Christy's very way of life on a permanent basis.

4.5 dreamcatchers. If you read the first, the second is even better. If you haven't read the first novel yet, check it out. For awhile you'll think their competition is downright silly until you learn what they're really competing for, then it all seems to make sense why they go about it the way they do. I'm certainly looking forward to seeing how the final installment of this paranormal trilogy plays out, and whether or not Anne will be able to fix the heartbreaking nightmare we're currently left with.

 

ARC provided by BenBella Books for honest review.

A Darker Past by Jus Accardo (ARC)

A Darker Past (Darker Agency #2)
Jus Accardo
Pub: November 11, 2014

The past is Darker than they thought...

Between helping her mother with the Darker Agency and laying the smack down on monster baddies, Jessie Darker puts the “normal” in paranormal. But lately, things have gotten a little crazy...even for a smart-assed half-demon teenage girl.

For starters, Jessie’s been contracted into fifty-five years of annoying servitude. To a demon. Then there’s Lukas Scott, her sexy new boyfriend. Once the former incarnation of Wrath, he’s been going through some...uh, changes. Like residual anger. And trading chaste hangouts for lusty make-out sessions.

But it’s when Lukas and Jessie accidentally release a Very Nasty Demon that things get really bad, setting into motion a chain of death and mayhem that threatens both Earth and the Shadow Realm. Jessie has exactly four days to fix it...before all of Hell breaks loose.

First off, I'll admit I haven't read the first in this series, but I didn't let that deter me from diving right in. I loved Jessie's sarcasm, especially in the first quarter of the book. Her snarkiness seemed to fade a bit from there, but she occasionally graced me with something sassy to lift my mood. Her boyfriend Lukas is recovering from being Wrath's b*tch for way too long, forced there by his crazy ex, and is now under the tutelage of Jessie's Father in hell, but can go back and forth freely. Well, mostly freely like Jessie, who finds herself being sucked into hell every the demon she's now in servitude to decides to beckon her to his semi-creepy side to do a job for him.

While checking out something for her family's demon agency, Lukas' crazy ghost of an ex goes mental and ends up setting loose a demon that had been trapped. And since Jessie's family had a hand in putting him there, he unleashes his vengeance on every member of the Darker family and the ones they love. Who will survive his wrath before he can be trapped again?

A Darker Past started off strong and was a decent story, though it began to drag for me about half way through. I think that might've just been me though. I was enjoying Jessie's sarcastic thoughts so well, that when her sassiness began to fade a bit, it made the story come off a little more ho-hum for me. But I think most people who like this genre will be more than happy with Miss Accardo's world of demons. And romance lovers will be sated with the lustful-yet-still-respectful relationship between Jessie and Lukas, who find being similar in the fact that they're both demon-newbies just a little stressful on the ole love life.

3.5 Dreamcatchers. ARC provided by Entangled Teen for honest review.

This Is Your Afterlife by Vanessa Barneveld (ARC)

This Is Your Afterlife
Vanessa Barneveld
Pub.: October 21, 2014

When the one boy you crushed on in life can't seem to stay away in death, it's hard to be a normal teen when you're a teen paranormal.

Sixteen-year-old Keira Nolan has finally got what she wanted—the captain of the football team in her bedroom. Problem is he’s not in the flesh. He’s a ghost and she’s the only one who can see him.

Keira's determined to do anything to find Jimmy's killer. Even it if means teaming up with his prickly-yet-dangerously-attractive brother, Dan, also Keira's ex-best-friend. Keira finds that her childish crush is fading, but her feelings for Dan are just starting to heat up, and as the story of Jimmy’s murder unfolds, anyone could be a suspect.

This thrilling debut from Vanessa Barneveld crosses over from our world to the next, and brings a whole delightful new meaning to "teen spirit".  

Keira Nolan seems to face the problem most teenagers do in high school. No, not the ghost thing, but the part where she always had such a crush on one guy she didn't realize there was another worth having until it was too late. Jimmy was the star athlete every girl wanted, but it was his artistic brother Dan who had eyes for Keira. And when her best friend tried to kiss her for that lovely game of Seven Minutes in Heaven, Keira blurted the stupidest thing possible - next thing she knew, she'd lost her best friend and the guy she aparently had a thing for.

A few years later, Keira's finally inheriting her late grandmother's gift - the ability to see dead people. And her first official ghost sighting? None other than Jimmy himself, who can't remember how he died, nor can he seem to keep himself grounded the farther he travels away from Keira. So not only will Keira have to help Jimmy figure out how he mysteriously died, but he's begged her to tell his brother he's still around. Wouldn't be such a feat if he didn't hate her so much.

 

It's been a while since I read a YA book that was this cute and kept my attention because of that. Don't get me wrong, the story was simple and I figured out right away why Jimmy died, but it didn't bother me moving forward with the novel. Let's just call This Is Your Afterlife simple and sweet. If you need a light, easy read that'll make you smile and come down from one of the more emotionally heavy novels out there, this is your gem.

 

 

ARC provided by Bloomsbury Spark for honest review.

Crane by Stacey Rourke

Crane (The Legends Saga, #1)
Stacey Rourke
Pub: May 26, 2014

The Horseman is unending,
his presence shan’t lessen.
If you break the curse,
you become the legend.

Washington Irving and Rip Van Winkle had no choice but to cover up the deadly truth behind Ichabod Crane’s disappearance. Centuries later, a Crane returns to Sleepy Hollow awakening macabre secrets once believed to be buried deep.

What if the monster that spawned the legend lived within you?

Now, Ireland Crane, reeling from a break-up and seeking a fresh start, must rely on the newly awakened Rip Van Winkle to discover the key to channeling the darkness swirling within her. Bodies are piling high and Ireland is the only one that can save Sleepy Hollow by embracing her own damning curse.

But is anyone truly safe when the Horseman rides?

Ichabod Crane's descendent has returned to Sleepy Hollow, and the moment she does, residents suddenly become victimized by beheadings. And the residents aren't shy about showing their distrust of Ireland and her familial connection to their small town. But when a mystery dude from the past shows up and her dreams start becoming a little prophetic, Ireland Crane is forced to believe that maybe, just maybe, those murdered were selected on her behalf. 

 

I thought I was really going to like this, as I love the Sleepy Hollow storyline in general, but I guess I felt this particular version was lacking as I read through it. I will say it's got a pretty cool cover, which is what drew it to me to begin with. Crane takes readers back and forth between Ireland's present to the past with what happened on Ichabod's end, and I dare say I actually preferred Ichabod and company to the modern day story. So much I would've liked to have had the first book dedicated to the past and a second following up with Ireland, just so their stories flowed more smoothly. I wasn't a huge fan of how someone from the past awakened in the future as the Horseman became active again, because it was too similar to what's been done with the popular TV show. But I will admit I enjoyed Rip's character immensely. He definitely stole the show from the alternating main characters.

Though it was an interesting story, I felt several things were left unanswered. Like why did a Crane have to return to Sleepy Hollow in order for the character responsible for the Horseman to suddenly make itself known (I'm using it to hide the gender). Did Ireland's presence set off a chain reaction? Did it need a Crane around, or did he or she just want to inflict more pain on that family, for messing with it in the past? I didn't think Ireland being there had anything to do with the magic that caused that spell, so I'm just left to wonder why this particular spirit didn't try the spell whenever it wanted, long before a Crane ever returned, because this second time around, the Horseman didn't seem controlled by this individual. Or was it? It wasn't clear as I read through. Also, I found the romance a bit underwhelming, both between Ichabod and Katrina and Ireland and Noah. Ichabod and Katrina seemed a little silly, but given the historical time, their behavior and attraction was probably pretty close to what happened back then, so I found myself forgiving that they seemed ready to have each other soon after meeting. But that's no excuse for Ireland and Noah, who hardly interacted at all before he confessed his willingness to love her despite the evil lying within her. I don't know...just this day in age, it screams insta-love and was just put there to make the two time periods mirror each other.  And Noah is so nonchalant about suddenly sharing a bed even though the Horseman could rise as she slept, no matter how much she claimed she had a hold on it. I sure the hell wouldn't be able to sleep so easy! Or in the same house! And I'm not even sure of what to make of the fiancé Ireland left behind. Forget me asking why she was ever involved with such a snooty douche to begin with, but what relevance did all that drama have to the storyline, other than giving the Horseman someone to play with? All this so-called romance was just plain frustrating.

If you're into Sleepy Hollow or other suspenseful horror stories, might be good to go with Crane. Lots of people have four and five-starred this, so don't let my ho-hum-ness deter you from checking this out. It certainly had some moments here and there that were pretty entertaining.

This is more like a 2.5 for me.

 

Novel provided by Anchor Group Publishing for honest review.

UNBREAKABLE and UNMARKED by Kami Garcia (ARCs)

Unbreakable (The Legion #1)
Kami Garcia
Pub.: October 1, 2014

I never believed in ghosts. Until one tried to kill me.

When Kennedy Waters finds her mother dead, her world begins to unravel. She doesn’t know that paranormal forces in a much darker world are the ones pulling the strings. Not until identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart break into Kennedy’s room and destroy a dangerous spirit sent to kill her. The brothers reveal that her mother was part of an ancient secret society responsible for protecting the world from a vengeful demon — a society whose five members were all murdered on the same night.

Now Kennedy has to take her mother’s place in the Legion if she wants to uncover the truth and stay alive. Along with new Legion members Priest and Alara, the teens race to find the only weapon that might be able to destroy the demon — battling the deadly spirits he controls every step of the way.

Life was normal and easy-going before Kennedy came home to find her mother dead. She thought it was natural causes until she awoke to find her possessed cat sucking the life out of her. And the only reason she survived? Because two brothers were close by keeping an eye on her, and when she screamed, they came running in to help. They claimed to be part of a legion of modern day ghostbusters, a group which the next successors are chosen by the five current members. When all five were killed by the minions of a demon named Andras, the brothers and two others were activated. And so was Kennedy, if she could believe their wild tale. Though not entirely convinced, having a poltergeist blow up your home is pretty good motivation to give their crazy story a chance.

Enter Alara and Priest, the other two members of Legion. Going through their predecessors journals, they learn of a weapon called the shift that could take Andras down, but it's been separated into several pieces and left in the possession of vengeance spirits. Following the clues left at each site, the members one by one kill a vengeance spirit using their specialty skill and earn their fifth of the Andras seal on their forearm. But once Kennedy fulfills her part, its not the seal she earns for killing the ghost and completing the weapon, but something none of them could see coming.

If you're looking for paranormal story that reads a lot like the hit show Supernatural, you'll probably be happy enough with this novel. There is the workings of a love triangle between Kennedy and the twins, but still pretty light on actual romance in this first installment. Unbreakable was a really fast read that'll keep your attention from beginning to end, so check it out if ghostbustin' tops your genre list. 

ARC provided by Little, Bfor honest review.

Unmarked (The Legion #2)
Kami Garcia
Pub: October 1, 2014

He is here... and he could be anyone.

Kennedy Waters lives in a world where vengeance spirits kill, ghosts keep secrets, and a demon walks among us–a demon she accidentally set free.

Now Kennedy and the other Legion members–Alara, Priest, Lukas, and Jared–have to hunt him down. As they learn more about the history of the Legion and the Illuminati, Kennedy realizes that the greatest mystery of all does not belong to any secret order, but to her own family. With the clock ticking and the life of someone she loves hanging in the balance, Kennedy has to ask the question she fears most: what is it about her past that has left her Unmarked?

Kennedy Waters would love nothing more than to hide away and pretend she wasn't directly responsible for releasing a horrible demon from his entrapment, but unfortunately, no one will let her - including the other members of Legion and Andras himself, who continually kills girls who resemble Kennedy. The Legion is at least willing to share in the mistake, but Kennedy is stubborn to let go. All they can do moving forward is to figure out why she hasn't gotten her mark, so the Legion seeks out clues to Kennedy's family past. 

Turns out her family lines clash - she's both Legion and Illuminati, and though she wants nothing more than to be Legion with her newfound friends, it's impossible to taint their line with Illuminati blood, so what's an Illuminati girl falling in love with a Legion boy to do? And to make things even more difficult, Andras has taken possession of someone who's become dear to her heart.

Unmarked was another quick read by Kami Garcia, but lacked a little in the action department compared to Unbreakable. It was good to get a better idea of where this series is going, but I didn't feel this installment was written in a way that resolved anything other than learning why Kennedy didn't get her mark, which happened long before the story ended. I don't know...this novel and it's direction was just weird for me. 

ARC provided by Little, Brown for honest review.

 

Whisper the Dead by Alyxandra Harvey (ARC)

Whisper the Dead (The Lovegrove Legacy #2)
Alyxandra Harvey
Exp. Pub.: October 9, 2014 Tomorrow!!!

Gretchen is struggling with her newfound gift as a Whisperer; the constant buzzing in her ears from detecting spells is more frustrating than fun, especially when she is spending time with one of the Order of Iron Nail's Keepers, the icy but strikingly handsome Tobias Lawless. But while Gretchen tries to hide the truth and resolve her feelings for him, London fades from beautiful and bustling to deathly silent ...Something evil is once again menacing Mayfair, and Gretchen and her cousins must use their powers to prevent a horrible sacrifice.

The Lovegrove cousins are back after bottling the Greymalkin sisters into magical containments. Whisper the Dead focuses more on Gretchen this time as she tries to learn her craft - whispers tell her what type of spells are being cast and if anything can be used to make a particular spell stronger. She tries to focus her power into discovering why the wards in the city are going haywire and why elements once contained in certain areas are expanding their turf. But having constant supervision by the Keepers isn't helping her become more attuned to anything other than her rising agitation for her personal new shadow, Tobias Lawless.

 

Hmm... Where to begin. I liked this story, I did. But something felt off about it. I had no problem putting it aside to read other books, which is rare for me when I actually like the story enough. I love Gretchen and Emma especially, and I have the feeling Penelope will get her turn to shine in the third installment. And I love their beaus. Cormac is perfectly sweet for Emma and Tobias is just the kick in the skirt Gretchen needs, and vice versa. Quite honestly, the relationships are what keep me intrigued enough to continue the story, because there are so many things thrown at me I just find confusing. Especially all the magical charms and spell ingredients. Every time I turn around some obscure object is used to ward off something else. Pretty soon I'm sure an chocolate-coated acorn will be used to scare away a squirrel. How the hell do they keep it all straight, because it lacks consistency. Still, the main plot circling the Lovegrove cousins and the Greymalkin sisters is interesting enough to see where this is going to go.

ARC provided by Bloomsbury Childrens for honest review.

Fractured Truth by Rachel McClellan & Signed Series Giveaway (US) & Tour Giveaway (INT)

 

 

It's not too often I dub something best of anything, but I sometimes find it shocking that some novels out there bring in a ton of ratings while others, which are far better, seem lost in the great shuffle. The Fractured Light series seems to fall under that category, so all I can do is shout WAKE UP PEEPS and READ 'EM ALREADY! This series follows a teenage girl who can harness light, who instead of being a docile pushover like the rest of her fellow Auras, and after spending her life on the run, is sick and tired of the Vykens chasing her down to absorb her light, ultimately killing her like they did her parents. Fractured Light offers up a different kind of paranormal story with a strong-minded, determined girl, and a sweet love in the making with her new guardian Christian. 

 

Catch my review of Fractured Light and Fractured Soul and Fractured Truth down below. 

 

Fractured Truth (Fractured Light #3)

Rachel McClellan
Exp. Pub.: TODAY!!!

Llona is determined to end the fight with the Vykens once and for all. All she needs is to find and destroy the Shadow—the ultimate source of dark power. But when she makes a startling discovery about someone she loves, Llona has to fight the toughest battle yet in this exciting conclusion to the Fractured Light series.

Only a few months have passed since Llona's Aunt Sophie was abducted by a man who fooled them all, and the tragedy (which I'll leave blank for this review). Llona's doing her best to move forward. Liam, her friend and mentor, who's also half Vyken, has been keeping her busy by having her focus on her training, including learning how to use her light source to make herself invisible. Super cool, by the way.

 

A deadly shadow has been set free and is now under the control of Lucent Academy's worst enemy. And the only way to defeat it? A single Aura must sacrifice her light - and her life - to bring it down, and Llona already has a pretty good idea who'll have to do that when the time comes. Knowing how much danger the Academy is now vulnerable to, Llona desperately tries to convince her fellow classmates to ignore what they've always been taught and learn to harness their light as a weapon to save their very lives. A swarm of Vykens are lurking nearby, werewolves are trying to help guard the school, and three witches of enormous power, who were responsible for releasing the shadow in the first place, have relocated themselves to the edge of the property.  Oh, and there's this whole Christian nightmare and her best friend being lured to the dark side by her Fury father. Yep, just another lovely day in paradise.

 

Fractured Truth is a Go! Go! Go! novel that starts off with a bang and never lets up! Poor Llona has so many freakin' issues spinning her in circles it's a wonder she can see straight. There's plenty of action, betrayal and heartache to go around. Prepare your lips - you're going to be chewing on them until the very end.

ARC provided by Cedar Fort for honest review. 

 

 

Just for the Crazy Dream Peeps (US only) - One lucky winner will receive  

SIGNED COPIES of ALL THREE books in the Fractured Light series!

 

Tour Giveaway (INT) - Enter to win a $25 Amazon Gift Card and

one of three copies of Fractured Light!

 

Then head here to be entered for another $25 Gift Card (INT) to either Amazon or the Book Depository 

 a Rafflecopter giveaway

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Imposters by Susanne Winnacker (ARC)

Imposters (Variants #1)
Susanne Winnacker
Pub.: January 2, 2014 (UK)

Tessa is a Variant with extraordinary abilities. She could be a hero, but all she wants to do is fall in love ...

Tessa is a Variant, able to absorb the DNA of anyone she touches and mimic their appearance. Shunned by her family, she's spent the last two years with the Forces with Extraordinary Abilities, a secret branch of the FBI. There she trains with other Variants, such as long-term crush Alec, who each have their own extraordinary ability.

When a serial killer rocks a small town in Oregon, Tessa is given a mission: she must impersonate Madison, a local teen, to find the killer before he strikes again. Tessa hates everything about being an impostor - the stress, the danger, the deceit - but loves playing the role of a normal girl. As Madison, she finds friends, romance, and the kind of loving family she'd do anything to keep.

Amid action, suspense, and a ticking clock, this super-human comes to a very human conclusion: even a girl who can look like anyone struggles the most with being herself.

Tessa has the uncanny ability of being able to transform into anyone she touches - so long as they're alive - sorry Elvis lovers. It's something she doesn't mind too much, until the organization that employs and trains her tells her she needs to go to the hospital and touch a dying girl named Madison.

 

The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant by Joanna Wiebe (ARC)(Giveaway)

The Unseemly Education of Anne Merchant (The V Trilogy, #1)
Joanna Wiebe
Pub: January 14, 2014

So many secrets for such a small island. From the moment Anne Merchant arrives at Cania Christy, a boarding school for the world’s wealthiest teens, the hushed truths of this strange, unfamiliar land begin calling to her—sometimes as lulling drumbeats in the night, sometimes as piercing shrieks.

One by one, unanswered questions rise. No one will tell her why a line is painted across the island or why she is forbidden to cross it. Her every move—even her performance at the school dance—is graded as part of a competition to become valedictorian, a title that brings rewards no one will talk about. And Anne discovers that the parents of her peers surrender million-dollar possessions to enroll their kids in Cania Christy, leaving her to wonder what her lowly funeral director father could have paid to get her in… and why.

As a beautiful senior struggles to help Anne make sense of this cloak-and-dagger world without breaking the rules that bind him, she must summon the courage to face the impossible truth—and change it—before she and everyone she loves is destroyed by it.

Sixth Sense meets Pretty Little Liars

Thunderstruck by Kelly Libsack (ARC)

Thunderstruck
Kelly Libsack
Exp. Pub: September 6, 2012 TODAY!!!

Star quarterback with a full-ride to the University of Nebraska; owner of a cherry 1967 Camaro SS; and not bad looking to boot, are all things that should have helped eighteen-year-old Shane Krivich land a girlfriend, or at least squash his virginity. An anxiety monster he refers to as ‘Tsar,’ who wraps its constricting tentacles if he even thinks of touching a girl, and a best friend named Cam, that will not only sleep with anything with breasts, but try to sway any girl’s eye from Shane—it’s obvious why he hasn’t.

Most teenage boys would have snapped from all the years of pent up sexual oppression. Shane’s tried not to, but…when he starts hearing a voice in his head and losing moments of time, he believes he’s close, and that either a split personality is scratching to get through, or, his intrusive anxiety disorder has gained enough momentum to finally take him over, altering who he is and what he does….

When Shane wins an elusive trip for two to the Ol’ British Isle to visit Stonehenge, he takes his best friend and they embark on their first—and what may be their last—great adventure. While abroad, Shane meets two intriguing young women: Autumn, a beautiful, flight attendant; and Kellen, a mystifying physician’s assistant with whom he feels an eerie connection. In the ancient lure of England, not only may he finally get to know the true touch of a young woman, but possibly the sinister explanation of why his blackouts have increased and who the mysterious voice is that persists in his head. Is it psychological, or is there some type of ancient evil at play?

At the possibility of either, Shane is…THUNDERSTRUCK.

Eighteen years old and freshly graduated senior. Just won an all expenses paid trip to England. The opposite sex seemingly attached to your hips. Best road trip ever...except for the part where you're being taken over by an evil ancient spirit.
 

Florence by Ciye Cho

Florence
Ciye Cho
Pub.: June 28, 2012

Seventeen-year-old Florence Waverley is out of her depth. Literally. Kidnapped and taken below the waves to the mer world of Niemela, she is the ultimate gift for merman Prince Kiren: a human familiar tied to his side. But nothing is what it seems amid the beauty and danger of a dark ocean.

Every Niemelan has a role to play, from the mermaids who weave towers out of kelp to the warriors who fight sea monsters. But in trying to survive, Florence will end up in the middle of a war between the mer and the Darkness. A conflict that will push her between two brothers: Kiren, the charmer inexplicably drawn to both her and the monsters; and Rolan, the loner who has been pushing her away since the day they met. But in order to take a stand--and find out where she belongs--Florence will have to risk it all: her life, her heart... and her very soul.

Pitch (Death Day) by Jillian Eaton

Pitch (Death Day #1)
Jillian Eaton

Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Lola is a daredevil. She likes playing hooky, making out with bad boy Everett James, and stealing cars. The reason behind all of her rebellious antics? Because she can. But what can one girl do against a horde of murderous vampires?

Aided by her sometimes sober father, her best friend Travis, and Maximus, the mysterious stranger who appeared out of no where to save her life, Lola must accomplish what the rest of the human race has failed to do in the aftermath of the world wide massacre: survive.

But how do you survive when everything you know has been destroyed... and the one person you thought you could trust ends up being the most dangerous person of all?

Why, oh WHY, is this just a novella!!! When you have something this awesome, rock on!!!! And on and on and on!

Lola is your everyday misfit, hellbent on pushing the limit, totally acting out over her parents' divorce and her father's drunkenness. She's currently trying to steal a car, dragging her whiny, unmanly best friend Travis along for the felony, when they hear a horrible shriek within the house. Curious, and a little too reckless, Lola knocks on the door, but it's not the owner that answers, but a beefy-looking vampire. Travis is compelled to enter the house, but not Lola. Yep...you guessed it - Run, Lola, Run!

But there's not a lot of places to run. Everywhere she goes people are screaming, people are running, people are dying. She's determined to get home to her father, then rescue Travis, but it's a long way. And running into a female vampire that wants to make Lola her new plaything isn't getting her there any faster. Luckily the vamp is distracted by a vamp that outranks her, but she doesn't leave before biting Lola. It's not until Lola meets the hunky, weapon-toting Maximus that she learns the female vamp can now track Lola. Well...that sucks. But she's still determined to find her father, rescue her best friend and escape the hellhole her town has now become. But dodging loose vampires proves hard enough. How will she ever get away with a vamp chasing her down that's determined to make Lola her personal plaything?

This novella is types of awesome. It's just a little over a hundred pages, and with action from beginning to end, you're gonna fly through this in one sitting, white knuckles and all. Best part of all? It's only 99 cents and worth so much more! Pick it up now!

Okay, seriously? It's still not in your queue? Let me make this easy for you:

Review requested by author but I already owned it!

Dark Companion by Marta Acosta (ARC)

Dark Companion
Marta Acosta
Exp. Pub.: July 3, 2012 TODAY!!!

Synopsis: 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?

When I first started reading Dark Companion, it had been awhile since I had read the synopsis. So when I realized this was about a girl growing up in the foster system, who wanted desperately to get her grades up so she could go to an elite school on scholarship, I immediately thought, Crap...this sounds like my paranormal romance Falling In Between. Luckily the similarities stopped there, as mine is a little less paranormal and a little more edgy in terms of coming to age situations. If all you've read so far is the synopsis, whatever you think Dark Companion is about, you're totally wrong...just want to throw that out there.  And when you do finally find out, you may just think eww...

The protagonist is your run of the mill Plain Jane. And with a budget of zero dollars, thrift store clothes, five minutes in the shower that isn't long enough to the wash cheap shampoo out of your hair, and not even powder to put on your face, who wouldn't be a Plain Jane? Once out of the slums and living at school, Jane's showered with an allowance and a whole new wardrobe, and the ugly duckling soon transforms into a swan. Okay, the improvement only goes so far, but that's because it takes Jane the length of the novel to realize she's got a little beauty both inside and out.

Jane is one hardened cookie. A lifetime of hardship makes it difficult for others to knock down her walls, and several are trying to do so, including both sons of the Headmistress. Lucky is incredibly handsome, and has caught the eye of every girl in school. Jane is set up to tutor him in chemistry, but it doesn't take her long to realize he doesn't need any tutoring, and that he's using it as an excuse to hang out with her for a more sinister reason. Jack is a little older, and constantly aggravating her, always calling her halfling cause he swears she appeared out of thin air when they first met...and ended up running her over with his bike. For reasons Jane can't fathom, Jack's always lurking around in the background, watching her every move.

The longer Jane stays at school, the more she learns about the previous scholarship girl BeBe and her sudden departure. Her disappearance is suspect, and with the strange suicide of the school's nurse, things just don't add up. The more Jane uncovers about the school's past, the more danger she brings to the present, and it may end up costing the lives of those she's finally learned to care about.

What I really enjoyed about Dark Companion was the comic banter of Jane's friends, particularly that of Mary Violet. If you've ever watched Gilmore Girls, it's a lot like the crazy conversations Rory and her mom Lorelai had, except instead of the subject matter pertaining to an endless knowledge of pop culture, it's more literature-based. Mary Violet was definitely the best part of this book, as she was absolutely crazy, always spouting her own creative poetry and she's just incredibly likeable. I'd love to read a novel from her point of view! Hint, hint Ms. Acosta <gently nudges with elbow>...

Check this book out. For reasons unbeknownst to me, I had to read this in one day, constantly having to recharge my dead Kindle Fire cause I wouldn't let it charge for more than 15 minutes at a time, ancy to get back to the story.

ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley.

Fractured Light by Rachel McClellan (ARC)

Fractured Light
Rachel McClellan
Pub: Feb. 8, 2012

Synopsis: Llona Reese is used to living on the run. After the Vykens killed her parents, she knew they would eventually come for her too. But she never felt ready to face them---until now. Defying the Auran Council and everything she's been taught, Llona must learn to use her power over light as a weapon if she wants to survive.

Llona has moved around since her parents were killed. Her mother died when she was really young, and her father when she was just a teen. Under the supervision of her uncle, they change locations whenever Llona begins to feel uncomfortable. She understands there's a strength of Light within her that makes her different, but she refuses to go to the protective school that houses and teaches others like her how to control their power. She's rebellious - just like her mother, and wants to be like her in every way. But being uneducated in the Light-sense makes her an easy target for those that kill the Aura's, the Vykens, who can only step out of the darkness and into light once they drink their blood.

Llona's beginning her senior year of high school and she's fed up of running. She wants nothing more than to make friends and have a little normalcy in her life. But that's short-lived. Having not gone to school and no one around to teach her how to control her Light, she doesn't know how to keep herself hidden very well, and immediately begins to sense a dark presence stalking her at night. Not to mention the murders of a couple of women, and some of the evidence of the crimes literally showing up on her doorstep. And she can't help but notice that May, one of new friend's, has the ability to set things on fire. Is she the new presence Llona's been sensing? Then there's Christian, another new student that takes an interest in Llona, who's practically attached at the hip, and makes remarks about the Light that leave Llona wondering if he knows what she is. But Llona still feels safe around her new friends. The only problem is, the Vyken stalking her is the one that killed her mom, and it's been following her all her life, waiting for the perfect moment to strike. She knows the lengths this Vyken went to befriend her mom before killing her, and she knows it could very well have taken the form of one of her new best friends. So what's an Aura to do?

Still refusing to take shelter at the Auran school, Llona goes against all Auran rules and principles and trains to use the Light as a defensive maneuver. Like her mother, she wants to live a real life, not run and hide every time danger arises. And if that Vyken ever decides to strike, she's gonna give him a fight like no Aura before her.

Fractured Light was a wonderful read. :) It's different from any other paranormal book out there right now and was absolutely refreshing. Ms. McClellan has come up with a whole new type of supernatural ability, harnessing Light as a power source, and I can't wait to see where she takes it. There is a little romance, as Llona and Christian do feel something for each other, but don't expect this to be filled with too much lovey-dovey stuff. So if you want to read a paranormal that doesn't involve the typical supernatural beings, suck up this one soon!

ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley.

Winterborne by Augusta Blythe

Winterborne
(Universe Unbound #1)
Augusta Blythe

Synopsis: Sixteen-year old Mia Winterborne is destined to be special. Details are sketchy, though, as her dad disappeared with all the answers when she was five. Mia only knows that she'll inherit her kickass superpowers on her seventeenth birthday. Helping Mia prepare for her anticipated ascendancy is Loie Bryce, her best friend and eternal sidekick extraordinaire. The girls' intense friendship has never wavered until now, when Andreas arrives in Salcey Ridge. They both fall hard for the British hottie, who quickly becomes a fixture in their lives. When they discover that Andreas is not who he appears to be, the frightening reality of Mia's powers finally hits home. The nearer Mia's birthday draws, the more the danger escalates and long-buried lies are exposed, putting the girls on a path that they never expected.

Winterborne was unique in that for once we get to witness the action through the eyes of the supernatural's side-kick. Mia has always known that when she turned sixteen, she was going to inherit some pretty wicked supernatural powers. Her dad was a Universal, a human with extraordinary powers that helped keep the Ancients (pixies, leprechauns, hellhounds, etc) in line. As Mia nears her birthday, she and her side-kick Loie are practicing like mad during summer to see if her powers are leaking through yet. But the only thing really going on are all these weird occurrences happening around them, like a bunch of foreign birds trying to divebomb them and icky green slime around their home. I say 'their' home cbeause even though their just besties, Loie has a room of her own at the Winterborne manor. Hey, if your parents died when you were five and all you were left with was a drunk, angry grandmother that didn't care if you came home, you'd stay away too. Lucky for Loie, Mrs. Winterborne was really great friends with her mom and considered Loie her second daughter.

Anyways, summer's dragging on so enter the hottie from Britain that just moved to town. Turns out he's a Universal too, sent to watch over Mia. Ancients have apparently been trying and failing to attack Mia for awhile and now that she's close to ascension, they're desperate to kill her off. They're even willing to go after human Loie, so she gets protection by association. 

I wasn't particularly fond of Mia through most of the novel. It's not that she's cruel or uncaring, but she's quite selfish, always focusing on herself. She even got upset with Loie for kissing Andreas, whom they both liked, as if Loie didn't deserve a chance to be the center of his affections. And it doesn't help that Loie keeps Her Heiness on the throne by always doing what she wants and feeding her rapid-growing egotism. But luckily Mia gets smothered with a hefty dose of humility so I ended this novel with a smile on my face and a sense of justice for side-kicks everywhere!

Winterborne had plenty of action, mystery. and paranormal characters popping in to ruin their special moments. Some things were predictable but you probably won't hit it exactly on the mark like you think you will. I'm not ashamed to admit that I started the sequel Ravenstoke the moment I finished this novel because I really want to see where this is going. Now that the powers have ascended, I'm really anxious to see how Mia and Loie take to this new world and deal with the constant threat of Ancients hunting them down...and if we get to see what Sanctuary looks like where a lot of the Universals hide out at.

Add it to your GoodReads and find it at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Copy provided by Author for honest review.

Miss Peregrine's Home For Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children
Ransom Riggs
Publication: June 7, 2011

Synopsis: A mysterious island. An abandoned orphanage. A strange collection of very curious photographs.

It all waits to be discovered in Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children, an unforgettable novel that mixes fiction and photography in a thrilling reading experience. As our story opens, a horrific family tragedy sets sixteen-year-old Jacob journeying to a remote island off the coast of Wales, where he discovers the crumbling ruins of Miss Peregrine’s Home for Peculiar Children. As Jacob explores its abandoned bedrooms and hallways, it becomes clear that the children were more than just peculiar. They may have been dangerous. They may have been quarantined on a deserted island for good reason. And somehow—impossible though it seems—they may still be alive.

Fresh, creepy and unique. All those crazy stories Jacob's grandfather used to tell him about going after the monsters could easily be explained by Nazi memories plaguing him, but who'd have thought the monsters his grandfather was referring to were actual monsters? Certainly not Jacob, who saw one in the woods the night his grandfather died and later haunted him in his dreams. Everyone kept telling Jacob that he was simply traumatized, but he began to wonder if there was something more to the stories his grandfather told him as a child about Miss Peregrine and the children that lived on an island off Wales. The peculiar ones that levitated, lifted heavy objects, were invisible, etc. He once thought the old photos had been manipulated, but once he saw a monster in the woods that night, he's not so sure anymore.

Jacob sets out to the little island of mystery, and once he finds the old mansion that was once bombed during the war, his world gets turned upside down as he learns more about his grandfather, the children he lived with at one time, and even the possibility of Jacob being a little 'peculiar' himself, and finds himself  in the middle of a war the real world doesn't even realize is going on around them.

I wasn't quite sure what to expect with this when I first started out...possibly something with a little more horror, but I was pleasantly surprised nonetheless. This novel had a little bit of everything - suspense, mystery, paranormal elements and even a smidgen of romance. Old, creepy photographs fill the pages within and offer visuals I'm not sure my imagination could have done any better creating. The approach this novel took was fresh and creative and I'm looking forward to the next installment!

Fracture by Megan Miranda (ARC)

Fracture
Megan Miranda

Synopsis: Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine -despite the scans that showed significant brain damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she's far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can't control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she's reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy's motives aren't quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature-or something much more frightening?

What would you do if you only had one day left to live?

I love books that I fly right through! Fracture started off right away with Delaney's fall through the ice and being saved eleven minutes later by her best friend Decker. She suffered permanent brain damage and wasn't expected to recover, but lo and behold, for some reason she does - though it turns out that her altered brain began to pick up on a new frequency. It takes her a few bodies to figure out why she feels tingles and an unatural pull towards certain people, but Delaney can now tell when someone is close to dying. The stronger the pull and more intense the tingles, the closer they are to passing away.

But there's something else strange about these deaths. Everytime she finds the person she's drawn to, nineteen year old coma survivor Troy seems to be within the vicinity as well. Too much to be considered coincidence, Troy is the only person Delaney is willing to confide in about her newfound ability (cause quite frankly, her family and personal relationships have all gone to crap since her almost-death). Delaney wants nothing more than to try to help those on death's doorstop defeat death. Troy thinks differently and sees the pull as a way to help those passing away by easing them through the process with minimal suffering. Naturally, Delaney and Troy butt heads each time a new individual appears on their death-dar, but it becomes a full-out battle when one of Delaney's own friends becomes the next possible victim.

Delaney may have been in the running for Valedictorian at her school but she wasn't that intelligent when it came to people and her newfound gift. I felt she should've figured out her death-dar and Troy's constant appearances a little sooner. And I felt she could've resolved a lot of issues with her best friend Decker if she had just opened up to him about her newfound gift, who was clearly the only person that wouldn't have strapped her in a straight jacket and thrown her in the booby hatch for admitting it.

Overall, I really liked Fracture. It was an easy, clean and engaging paranormal read that I finished almost instantaneously. There was a little romance but I wouldn't go so far as to categorize this as a romance. Fracture is definitely worth the read so go pick it up!

ARC provided by Bloomsbury Children's Books via NetGalley.