Review: Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer

Synopsis from Goodreads: When Calla Tor wakes up in the lair of the Searchers, her sworn enemies, she’s certain her days are numbered. But then the Searchers make her an offer—one that gives her the chance to destroy her former masters and save the pack—and the man—she left behind. Is Ren worth the price of her freedom? And will Shay stand by her side no matter what? Now in control of her own destiny, Calla must decide which battles are worth fighting and how many trials true love can endure and still survive.

First, I'd like to mention that the first book in this trilogy is called Nightshade which I sincerely recommend you read. With that said, HOLY FREAKING FOLLOW-UP! This was an amazing story.When we left Calla she had just finished fighting the Searchers, among some other opponents, and was left in the dark about if she would live or die. When she wakes in Wolfsbane, she doesn't recognize her surroundings and starts to recall her capture. She is on edge as the Searchers approach her to bargain with her, a bargain that will help her save her pack. She and Shay are reunited and he helps her feel more comfortable around the people who have been her rivals for her entire life.

Calla goes through some serious doubt about her place in life, her destiny, and her feelings to the people she's always known and trusted and those who have always been her enemies. There is a lot of trouble in this novel with Calla's choices affecting many people and she begins to feel the weight of her decisions unbearable. But Calla is too strong to just give up and forces herself to make more life-altering choices and entrusts her life-and her pack's lives-with the Searchers. Shay helps Calla make decisions and tries to comfort her in times of confusion.

This was a great sequel to Nightshade because it answered most of my questions from book one and then gave me more to contemplate for the next book. I felt that this novel progressed well and made me eager to reach its final pages. Calla's options are some that make you feel overwhelmed. Even as damaged as she is from being ripped from the only life she has ever known, she is a strong heroine who is not afraid to do what needs to be done for the greater good of everyone she cares about. In an admirable show of courage, she shows passion for a better life, and understanding that this new future may cost her more than heartbreak.

Wolfsbane is a novel that will suck you in until the very end. Cremer has created a story with every possible component you could ask of an excellent novel; suspense, danger, romance, friendships, loss, twists, and wolves. As a wolf fan, I may be a bit biased but I feel confident in saying that if you purchase this book you will not be let down. Any fan of YA will love this story, adults included. If all of the above reasons aren't enough to entice you, the cliffhanger ending is a great reason to read Bloodrose, book three which releases in February.

Review: Trial by Fire by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Synopsis: There can only be one alpha.

Bryn is finally settling into her position as alpha of the Cedar Ridge Pack—or at least, her own version of what it means to be alpha when you’re a human leading a band of werewolves. Then she finds a teenage boy bleeding on her front porch. Before collapsing, he tells her his name is Lucas, he’s a Were, and Bryn’s protection is his only hope.

But Lucas isn’t part of Bryn’s pack, and she has no right to claim another alpha’s Were.  With threats—old and new—looming, and danger closing in from all sides, Bryn will have to accept what her guardian Callum knew all along. To be alpha, she will have to give in to her own animal instincts and become less human. And, she’s going to have to do it alone.

Bryn faces both the costs, and the rewards, of love and loyalty, in this thrilling sequel to Raised by Wolves.

SPOILERS FOR RAISED BY WOLVES AHEAD. IF YOU DO NOT WANT TO RUIN IT FOR YOUSELF STOP READING NOW. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED.

I would like to start by mentioning that I almost never like a sequel more than the first book but this is an exception. I loved Raised by Wolves and found the world that Barnes built was believable and spectacular. In Trial by Fire I found myself second guessing the world I knew because things that had never happened in this world were happening. Bryn was not only a female alpha, but human as well. In her world this is unheard of and there are a lot of people who are working against her.

Trial by Fire is a book with so many twists it will leave you reeling. I found myself caught up in the decisions that Bryn was making because I felt for her and her position in the pack's protection. When Lucas shows up on Bryn's territory you instantly feel like he needs to be protected just the way anyone in the position would feel. Although it isn't Bryn's place to take care of another pack's wolf, she still wants to take on the obligation, even if it means starting a war in the world of the alphas.

This story teaches morals and about making the right decision, even if it means pushing boundaries and crossing lines. Bryn's struggle may be the product of another world but it still makes you consider the things you would do in tough situations that have boundaries clearly set but could use some breaking to do what's right for others. Bryn's choices in this book are extremely troublesome but deeply admirable. Some decisions are wise while other include issues you would never expect, this story will keep you reading until you've made it to the final pages.

Review: Intrisical by Lani Woodland

Synopsis: Sixteen-year-old Yara Silva has always known that ghosts walk alongside the living. Her grandma, like the other females in her family, is a Waker, someone who can see and communicate with ghosts. Yara grew up watching her grandmother taunted and scorned for this unusual ability and doesn't want that to be her future. She has been dreading the day when she too would see ghosts, and is relieved that the usually dominant Waker gene seems to have skipped her, letting her live a normal teenage life. However, all that changes for Yara on her first day at her elite boarding school when she discovers the gene was only lying dormant. She witnesses a dark mist attack Brent, a handsome fellow student, and rushes to his rescue. Her act of heroism draws the mist's attention, and the dark spirit begins stalking her. Yara finds herself entrenched in a sixty-year-old curse that haunts the school, threatening not only her life, but the lives of her closest friends as well. Yara soon realizes that the past she was trying to put behind her isn't going to go quietly.

I'd have to say that I was intrigued by this book from first glance at its cover. Immediately after I decided from the synopsis that I needed to get it. I must say that Woodland wastes no time jumping into the action. Right from page one the book is thrust into a scene where we meet Yara, who has tried to supress her Waker ability to see ghosts, until she arrives at Pendrell, a boarding school that is known for being haunted and cursed. In the opening pages she rescues a boy named Brent from a black mist that is choking him. From then on the mist is after her and she is sent into a constant battle against the mist and the curse of Pendrell.

Yara takes a lot of time in this book to discover herself, or at least the side of herself that she has been trying to bury. She doesn't want to be called crazy or a freak like her grandmother used to be when she told people about being a Waker. Yara has struggled with trying to be normal and never wanted to inherit the gene to see ghosts. Once she arrives at Pendrell, she starts to develop this power, although she wants to fight against it because she feels that it is a burden rather than a gift.

Yara and Brent have the sort of relationship that is flirtatious but they keep their distance from each other. I felt that it was dragged out to a point where I was shaking my fist in the air screaming, "Kiss her already!" But they were very dedicated to helping each other. They pulled each other through the mystery of understanding what is behind the curse at Pendrell to overcome the danger that faces them in this story. The only downside I saw to this novel was that I found many mistakes in the text that slowed my reading. This is a story that will keep you on your toes until the final pages and make you hope Woodland will write really fast (Yes, I know that's not how it works).

Review of Passion by Lauren Kate

Synopsis from Goodreads: "Every single lifetime, I'll choose you. Just as you have chosen me. Forever."

Luce would die for Daniel. And she has. Over and over again. Throughout time, Luce and Daniel have found each other, only to be painfully torn apart: Luce dead, Daniel left broken and alone. But perhaps it doesn’t need to be that way. . . .

Luce is certain that something—or someone—in a past life can help her in her present one. So she begins the most important journey of this lifetime . . . going back eternities to witness firsthand her romances with Daniel . . . and finally unlock the key to making their love last.

Cam and the legions of angels and Outcasts are desperate to catch Luce, but none are as frantic as Daniel. He chases Luce through their shared pasts, terrified of what might happen if she rewrites history.

Because their romance for the ages could go up in flames . . . forever.

When we left Luce and Daniel in Torment, Luce had jumped into an Announcer to escape the misery of being in danger and struggling to understand the relationship that her and Daniel share. In Passion, Luce and Daniel both skip through their past lives, Luce looking for answers and a way to break the curse, and Daniel trying to find Luce so that she doesn't rewrite history. They are not the only ones running through the past though. Shelby, Miles, and Cam have all followed them through the times trying to get Luce home safely and without destroying herself or anything else in the process.

In Passion, we are offered a glimpse into the past of Daniel and Luce and I have to tell you that I adored every second of this book. I love learning about their past first-hand instead of only hearing stories from Daniel's perspective. I felt that Luce grew in this book more than any that preceded it and she found out that the love she felt for Daniel was real and significant, among other things. In all of her lives, Luce was taught a lesson that brought her closer to the ultimate truth that she learns by the end of the book. The love that Daniel and Luce feel in every lifetime if breathtaking, and Daniel's heartbreak from every one of Luce's deaths in excruciating. In Torment, I grew angry at Daniel and became a fan of Miles, but in Passion I grew to love Daniel more than I ever did in the beginning.

Daniel's Journey in this book is also important because he is not just chasing Luce, he also finds himself revisiting important moments in his own history that make him remember why he never gave up after all this time. He renews his own hope and understanding of his situation and believes in his choice all over again. The setting of the individual lifetimes come to life and I really enjoyed all of them. If there is one book that you read this summer, make it this book!

Booklist Beggining

It is about that time that I begin my 2012 book list. While I only know the first few books that come out in 2012 I can begin this list now to stop myself from having an OCD fit every time I look at my Amazon Wish List. This will be organized in the same order as my previous list starting with the month in the middle. Underneath the month will be the date of release, book title, author and series in that order. Enjoy.

2012 Book List

January
3- Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer (A Nightshade Novel)
3- Charmfall by Chloe Niell (A Novel of the Dark Elite)
10- A Million Suns by Beth Revis (An Across The Universe Novel)
17- Fracture by Megan Miranda
24- Everneath by Brodi Ashton
24- Life Eternal by Yvonne Woon (A Dead Beautiful Novel)

24- Hallowed by Cynthia Hand (An Unearthly Novel)

31- Destiny and Deception by Shannon Delany (13 to Life Series)
31- Wings of the Wicked by Courtney Allison Moulton (Angelfire Trilogy)

February
7- Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

8- Pure by Julianna Baggot

28- Pandemonium by Lauren Oliver (Delerium Trilogy)

March
6- Everlasting by Elizabeth Chandler (Kissed By an Angel Series)

6- Balthazar by Claudia Gray (An Evernight Novel)
6- Embrace by Jessica Shirvington

13- Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins (A Hex Hall Novel)
13- The Savage Grace by Bree Despain (A Dark Divine Novel)

April
17- The Last Echo by Kimberly Derting (The Body Finder Series)

May
1- Sweet Evil by Wendy Higgins
1- Shine by Jeri Smith-Ready (Shade Series)
8- Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock
8- Endure by Carrie Jones (Need Series)
8- Until I Die by Amy Plum (Die For Me Sequel)
10- Endure by Carrie Jones (Need Series)
22- Taken By Storm by Jennifer Lynn Barnes (A Raised by Wolves Novel)
22- Shadow Bound by Rachel Vincent (A Blood Bound Novel) (ADULT)

June
5- Arise by Tara Hudson (Hereafter Trilogy)
12- Timepiece by Myra McEntire (Hourglass Sequel)
12- Rapture by Lauren Kate (Fallen Series)
19- The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead (A Bloodlines Novel)
26- Before I Wake by Rachel Vincent (Soul Screamers Series)

July

August
7- Rivals and Retribution by Shannon Delany
21- The Rise of Nine (The Lorien Legacies Series)
28- The Blood Keeper by Tessa Gratton (A Blood Journals Novel)

September
4- Tiger's Destiny by Colleen Houck (A Tiger's Curse Novel)

Review: Die For Me by Amy Plum

Synopsis: 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.

In this incandescent debut, newcomer Amy Plum has created a powerful paranormal mythology with immortal revenants. The Paris setting comes enchantingly alive as a relentless struggle between good and evil takes place in its streets. Rich with romance, atmosphere, and thrills, Die for Me will leave readers breathlessly awaiting its sequel.

Die For Me is refreshing, charming, and will make you want Vincent just as much as Kate does. The revenants that Plum invented are new to the YA scene and that was the first thing to entice me into reading this book. The Paris setting is crisp in detail but because I have never been I could only imagine the scenery that was portrayed in the book. Kate is a girl that has lost both of her parents in a tragic accident that changed her life forever. Living with her sister and grandparents in Paris has done nothing to change the fact that she is miserable and sliding deeper all the time into a dark hole of despair. That is, until she meets Vincent, the charming, handsome and mysterious boy that seems to bump into her everywhere.

I really liked being in Kate's head. I found that right from the very first page I liked her point of view and description of the world around her. I could follow her through almost any story and enjoy every word. I found the attraction that she felt towards Vincent and vise-versa very rushed and too strong too fast. It had a very our-eyes-met-from-across-the-room sort of feel to it. I felt that the rest of the storyline progressed well and I found it easy to follow the action of the story.

There are many different aspects of the story that will make readers interested in Kate and Vincent. Vincent's approach to wooing Kate is both adorable and a little bit creepy. That being said, as much as his spying on Kate may have pushed me away a bit, he is incredibly polite, well-meaning, and protective of her. I would think that many fans of The Twilight Saga would love this book because Vincent is very much like Edward Cullen but he equally has his own personality. Vincent has chivalry down to a science and makes Kate, and readers, wait impatiently for him in his absence. Overall, a good read for people of all ages.

Review: Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready

Synopsis: AURA'S LIFE IS ANYTHING BUT EASY. Her boyfriend, Logan, died, and his slides between ghost and shade have left her reeling. Aura knows he needs her now more than ever. She loves Logan, but she can't deny her connection with the totally supportive, totally gorgeous Zachary. And she's not sure that she wants to.

Logan and Zachary will fight to be by her side, but Aura needs them both to uncover the mystery of her past--the mystery of the Shift.

As Aura's search uncovers new truths, she must decide whom to trust with her secrets...and her heart.

First thing I would like to say would be OH MY GOODNESS! I really like Shade, book one of the Shade trilogy, but this book exceeded my highest hopes for book two. Oh Zachary, totally sexy, tall, dark and accent! I love Zachary. Anyone who knows me has heard my undying love confessions for Edward Cullen, but I would gladly give him to the next girl in line for Zachary.

Aura has been mourning Logan's Shade since his concert the night he was supposed to pass on. She put her life on hold and tried every night since then to get him to return to the world as a ghost. Finally, at the beginning of the book, she finds herself face to face with Logan as a shade. Not only does he change from a ghost to a shade, but he also becomes solid again. Aura and Logan cannot think of anything except their unfinished business on the night of his birthday, the night they were supposed to make love for the first time. But to both their disappointment, Logan loses his solid form after about fifteen minutes. When she tells Zachary about what happened, on the same night that he asks her to prom, he can't believe that after all of this time of patiently waiting for her to move on that she would attempt to be with Logan again, and he withdraws his invitation.

Aura spends a lot of time in this book understanding how it is she feels about Zachary and Logan. This book is a much sexier story than the first because Aura can't seem to control her urges. Aura finds herself stuck in the middle once again. At the same time that Aura is going through all her troubles over the boys in her life, she is faced with a new discovery about her past and the secrets that may have created the Shift, and her involvement in it. Worse, someone has been watching her and may know more about Aura than she would like. This book is absolutely amazing and the romance in it is breathtaking. The mystery of the Shift and all the clues that Aura, Zachary, and Logan are given are well thought out and make you want the third book, Shine, to fall into your lap at the end. This will be another of Smith-Ready's books that I will add to my list of favorites.

Review of Clarity by Kim Harrington

Synopsis: When you can see things others can't, where do you look for the truth?

 
This paranormal murder mystery will have teens reading on the edge of their seats.
 
Clarity "Clare" Fern sees things. Things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch a certain object, and the visions come to her. It's a gift.

 
And a curse.


When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare's ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case--but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare's brother--who has supernatural gifts of his own--becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?

I can honestly tell you that I read this book in a few hours only because I could not put it down. I started it thinking I'd read a chapter or two and wait until after I finished my school work for the day and then finish it. My mind screamed for more every time I tried to stop reading.

Clarity, Clare, and her family are blessed with gifts. Clare has the gift of visions, she can see people's perspective of specific moments when touching objects they have touched. Her brother Perry is a medium who can speak to the lingering dead and her mother is a telepath capable of knowing every lie she tells by reading her mind. They live in a tourist town in Cape Cod and most of the townies think they're freaks. Then, the town hires a new detective and everyone is talking about him and his son.. until a girl is murdered.

Clare's brother confesses to her that he was with the girl that night and becomes a prime suspect for murder, which in turn makes her want to work harder to protect him and find the real killer. There are many times where even Clare doubts her brother in this book. Clare works on the case with the detective's son, the hot and mysterious Gabriel Toscano, and her ex-boyfriend Justin. Clare is an easy character to like. She's sassy and entertaining. I did find at the beginning I had trouble connecting with her but after two or three chapters I enjoyed her point of view a lot. There is constant suspense and almost every chapter ends on a cliffhanger making you want to continue onto the next page.

This book is fast paced and will make you want more. Even after I finished I hadn't had enough. I'm really excited to read the book's sequel and cannot wait. There are many boys in this book that will make you swoon and my favorite was Perry. If you are heading to a bookstore soon, you should pick up this book, especially if you like a good mystery.

Review: I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore

Synopsis: Nine of us came here. We look like you. We live among you. But we are not you. We can do things you dream of doing. We have powers you dream of having. We are stronger and faster than anything you have ever seen. We are the superheroes you worship in movies and comic books--but we are real.

Our plan was to grow, and train, and become strong, and become one, and fight them. But they found us and started hunting us first. Now all of us are running. Spending our lives in shadows, in places where no one would look, blending in. We have lived among you with you knowing.

But they know.

They caught Number One in Malaysia.
Number Two in England.
And Number Three in Kenya.
They Killed them all.

I am Number Four.

I am next.

Review: I Am Number Four is a great story. John Smith, a.k.a. Four, has been running for as long as he can remember. He is from the planet Lorien, a planet that is much more advanced than earth. This planet had already gone through their destructive behaviors and started to kill their planet. They reversed this process and were given powers, or Legacies, as a way to take care of their planet. When their planet was invaded by the Mogadorians, another race from another planet that have ruined their own planet. They destroyed all of Lorien and their people-except nine Garde, those with Legacies, and their Cepan, their protectors. They were sent to live on Earth, the closest life-sustaining planet, to hide from their invaders, and save their race.

John is finally coming into his Legacies at age fifteen and can now fight back. He has never had a need to fight before he moved to Paradise, Ohio. He finally has his first friend, Sam, and his first girlfriend, Sarah. Everything he has ever wanted, including feeling normal for the first time, will not last long because the hunt is already under way. Because the Garde can only be killed in order of their numbers, John is next. The first three have been killed by the Mogadorians and they are looking for John next. John's struggle is mostly with himself in this book. He tries to live a normal life while at the same time trying to develop some sort of defense to protect himself and his Cepan, Henri. Overall a great story that will make you want to read the next in series, The Power of Six, to be released August 23.

Review: Raised by Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Synopsis: At the age of four, Bryn watched a rogue werewolf brutally murder her parents. Alone in the world, she was rescued and taken in by the mysterious Callum, the alpha of his werewolf pack.Now fifteen, Bryn's been raised as a human among werewolves, adhering to pack rule (mostly). Little fazes her.

But the pack;s been keeping a secret and when Bryn goes exploring against Callum's direct orders, she finds Chase, a newly turned teen Were locked in a cage. Terrifying memories of the attack on her mom and dad come flooding back. Bryn needs answers, and she needs Chase to get them. Suddenly, all allegiances to the pack no longer matter. It's Bryn and Chase against the werewolf world, whatever the consequences.

Bryn is as bad ass as any female can be. She's kept to herself, mostly, her whole life while living amongst a pack of werewolves. At the beginning of the story I found myself a bit confused by the dynamics of the pack and its rules and how the humans in the book came into it, but after a few chapters I felt my confusing subside and I was absolutely delighted. Barnes brought me into a world where not only did a pack full of werewolves have laws and government, but also, that treat the humans within the pack like their own, actually more like possessions. This book was really well written and I adore Devon! *swoons* Right from the time that you meet Chase you understand why Bryn is so drawn to him and then one or two times later it makes total sense.

While the powers and things of being a werewolf don't really change much than other books,  it's unnecessary because there are other factors that are different and hypnotizing about this pack of werewolves. Bryn's world and her many relationships, strange and not so much, make this a great book all around and I will be buying the next book, Trial by Fire, on its release date, which happens to be June 14th.

Review: If I Stay and Where She Went by Gayle Forman

Synopsis (If I Stay): Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones. Stay true to her first love--music--even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?

Then, one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone except one. And it's the only one that matters.

In If I Stay, we meet Mia, a very talented cellist, who is in love with a boy who wants to be a rock star. They find their lives being pulled in two different directions. Mia hopes to go to Juilliard and Adam, her boyfriend, hopes to take his band to the highest points in the industry. Until everything changes for both of them. Mia's family is in a car accident and then she is left in a coma. While her body lies limp in a hospital bed, she finds herself taking a journey to figure out if she should leave everything on earth behind to be with her family, who are already gone, or stay and be with those who are there praying and hoping she will return. This story isn't just about love and loss, its about impossible choices and heartbreak. No matter what Mia's choice, she feels that she loses a piece of herself. This story is painful just to read but beautifully written and really hits its mark in making you sit at the edge of your seat to see which avenue she will choose.

Synopsis (Where She Went): It's been three years since Adam's love saved Mia after the accident that annihilated life as she knew it...
           ...and three years since Mia walked out of Adam's life forever.

now living on opposite coasts, Mia is Juilliard's rising star and Adam is L.A. tabloid fodder, thanks to his new rock star status and celebrity girlfriend. When Adam gets stuck in New York by himself, chances bring the couple together again, for one last night. As they explore the city that has become Mia's new home, Adam and Mia revisit the past and open their hearts to the future--and each other.

I devoured this book in a couple of hours. Told from Adam's point of view, the reader experiences Adam's misery that he has been dealing with since the break up, which he can also thank for his last album, and his own memories that haunt him. Although Adam seems to have it all--the music, the fame, the celebrity girlfriend--he has been heartbroken and depressed since the day Mia left him behind and music isn't enough anymore. Now, in New York, he is about to leave for another tour that he really doesn't want to go on. While walking through the city, he notices Mia is performing and decides to sit in.

For one last night the two spend time together in New York, the delve into each other's lives trying to catch up but Adam is so distracted by his own questions about their break up that he pretends to be calmer around her than he feels. In a achingly bittersweet novel, the two are reunited and have to decide if this is a sign that means anything. While the narrative is in Adam's perspective, its very close in style to the narrative in Mia's perspective. Otherwise, this story will leaving you teary-eyed. An amazing sequel to If I Stay, better than I could have ever expected.

Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

From Goodreads: Before scientists found the cure, people thought love was a good thing. They didn’t understand that once love -- the deliria -- blooms in your blood, there is no escaping its hold. Things are different now. Scientists are able to eradicate love, and the governments demands that all citizens receive the cure upon turning eighteen. Lena Holoway has always looked forward to the day when she’ll be cured. A life without love is a life without pain: safe, measured, predictable, and happy.

But with ninety-five days left until her treatment, Lena does the unthinkable: She falls in love.

When love has a mandatory cure and is known to lead people to death when left uncured, there is nothing Lena wants more than to lead a normal life. Living in the US, surrounded by borders to protect it's inhabitants from the Invalids and Sympathizers that live in the Wilds, she is safe and can live a life of happiness after the cure with the husband chosen for her and the career she is appointed to. She has always followed the rules and trusted her elders that the cure is the only way to avoid the deliria because she was told that it had made her mother commit suicide. Lean is counting the days until she will be safe from the sickness that took her mother away--until the day she falls in love herself. Lena goes through significant changes throughout the novel and is as strong a heroine as I've ever seen. Once she falls victim to the deliria, she stands up against what she feels is wrong, even when it means breaking all the rules. Even when she knows that she is sick, she doesn't care because love is worth the worst kind of sickness. Lena discovers that she can finally see through the fog that everyone living within the borders lives with.

This dystopian story is beautifully written and will make you keep turning pages. Oliver is descriptive and makes you fall in love with Lena and cast, makes you hate the government and the cure, and makes you swoon over and over. I wanted to cry for Lena, I wanted her to take chances for love because she was finally happy. I will be very impatiently awaiting the next novel in this trilogy and would recommend it to anyone and everyone. This is definitely one of my favorite books EVER! Lauren Oliver has worked her way onto my list of favorite authors.

Review of Afterlife by Claudia Gray

Synopsis: Destiny awaits Bianca and Lucas...

Bianca and Lucas have always believed they could endure anything to be together. When a twist of fate not only transforms Bianca into a wraith but also turns Lucas into a vampire--the very creature he spent his life hunting--they are left reeling.

Haunted by his powerful need to kill, Lucas can turn to only one place for help... Evernight Academy. Bianca is determined to remain with him. But with the vampire leader of Evernight waging a war against wraiths, her former home has become the most dangerous place she could be, despite the new powers her ghostly transformation has given her.

A battle between wraiths and vampires looms, and Bianca and Lucas face a terrifying new reality. They've overcome every obstacle life has thrown at them, but is their love strong enough to survive the challenges after life?

First I would like to mention that I do not have reviews up yet for the first three books in this series (Evernight, Stargazer, and Hourglass, in that order). In time they will come and I will post a link for them here as soon as those posts become available.

When we finished Hourglass, Bianca had transformed into a wraith, her only other option to becoming a vampire, which her parents had never warned her about. Lucas was also about to awaken from his own transformation-becoming a vampire. We left Bianca sick and scared of the options that faced her. She had made the choice to let Lucas rise from the dead to become the one thing he never wanted to be and now, in the beginning of Afterlife, we are only minutes from his awakening. Bianca is in the company of Vic, Ranulf, an Balthazar, in the place that Lucas had lost everything-the place that Charity had killed him. Bianca blames Balthazar for Lucas being undead and for that she struggles with even being in his presence.

When Lucas awakes, cold to the touch and bloodthristy, Bianca is the only person who can get his to see through his blood hunger. Lucas, although eventually gaining control, struggle with this through the whole book; the insatiable need to drink from something living. Lucas battle with himself is not the only one that he must face. He also has to face his mother, who he believes to love him enough to look through the monster that he has become and see the son that she loved and cared for all the years of his life.

Bianca has a similar battle to overcome, she has to learn to be a wraith and understand what that means for her future with Lucas and the other people that she loves so much. This becomes harder when everyone decides that the best place for Lucas is at Evernight Academy. Because Mrs. Bethany cannot refuse to help any vampire in need of sanctuary and protection, she lets Lucas stay. But, at Evernight, Bianca is in danger because Mrs. Bethany is in a war against the wraiths, and she has no intention of giving this up.

There is no way that they could make it through this on their own and Balthazar, Ranulf, Vic and a few others are beside them all the way trying to make this time as easy as possible for both of them. When Lucas and Bianca discover the real reason behind Mrs. Bethany's war with the wraiths, they realize that they must take action immediately because she is willing to destroy everything, and everyone, in her way to have what she desires most.

Both Bianca and Lucas struggle in this book with their new identities, their fears of disapproval of their loved ones, and the question of whether their love can withstand their new transformations. This story is raw and emotional, with many twists that I never would have expected but was delighted to discover. Never disappointing, Claudia Gray has made this final book perfect to end the series and there is never a point in the story where you stop and feel like you are missing something. The voice of Bianca is special and makes you want her to make it through because you begin to love her and her friends more and more with every turn of the page. As always with the Evernight series, the story is a page-turner that will keep you up late into the night to finish it because you will not rest until you reach the end.

My serious need for somone honest

First I would like to say that although that picture is appropriate for this topic, I have been seriously craving a burger since I found it.

I am in serious need of an honest person. Not honest like "You need a stylist ASAP!" (which is probably true), but honest like "I like this part of your story, but this could use some work". Only problem here is that I have searched the area that I live in and apparently there are no people who are interested in sharing their artistic genius with me, or reading my not-so-genius work of art. When I am writing I am my own critic and I pick myself apart. But, I also get no help from my friends because their all afraid to hurt my feelings. My blog, on the other hand, is not so popular (even though I keep talking to mostly myself in hopes that someday people will want to follow me). I feel like I am sitting here writing, "Dear Diary".

Anyways, back on track, I am looking for serious writers who hope to someday be published just like myself. I would prefer to find more experienced than myself. I am only working on my first book and it is not even in the genre that I intend to intrude upon later on. Maybe sometime soon I could find a partner or a group to take me in and help me become better at the thing I love most in this world (writing, not burgers or ice cream which are right up there too). For now, I am going to start on a new project. Wish me luck.

Writing and other dangerous activities

On days like today, when the weather is perfect for writing sappy love stories and making figures in the frost on my window, I find my mind running crazy with ideas. It's hard to resist the urge to brainstorm but I have no room right now for more book ideas. Over the last few months I have been working on a novel, which is going excruciatingly slow because of my lack of imagination in the book. While I have been dying to complete this project, I am more excited about other ideas that I've written down over the time that I have been working on said project. So, in spite of being utterly terrified of the idea of starting a new book and leaving my old project behind (for now), I have decided to work on another one of my ideas.

The only problem with this is that I've written down about five other different ideas for novels and their extensions and I'm not sure which I should choose. The most dangerous part of writing, for me anyway, is the decision of what to work on next. I have been considering this for about a month and I still cannot decide. I feel like my brain is going to explode. I have already narrowed the field slightly because one of my ideas includes traveling in my research and that is just not in my budget at the moment. So I was hoping that maybe someone could give me some feedback. On the right side of the page is a poll that will be open until April 1st. I have ideas for all of the options in the poll and I was wondering what you, as the audience, would like to read. You can choose more than one option because I have a few ideas that involve more than one of those elements listed in the poll in the story. Please, help me decide. The question to answer is really, what would you want to pick up on your next trip to the bookstore?

Review of Evercrossed by Elizabeth Chandler

     Synopsis: First love never dies. It's been a year since Ivy's boyfriend, Tristan, died. They've both moved on--Tristan to the other sid of the afterlife, and Ivy to sweet, dependable, Will. Now Ivy's heading to Cape Cod, hoping to leave the horrors of last summer behind. She wants nothing more than to lie on the beach, sip lemonade, and hang out with her friends.
     But then a car crash ends Ivy's life.
     As she floats to the beyond, looking down on the life she's left behind, Tristan breathes life back into her with a passionate kiss. She wakes in the hospital, surrounded by Will and her family. Still, all she can think about is the love that she lost.
     But memories aren't all that's come back from the past. And this time, Ivy's not sure love will be enough to save her. 

For anyone who hasn't read the Kissed by an Angel Series, Ivy and Tristan were in a horrible crash leaving Ivy hurt and Tristan dead. While Ivy has no memory of the accident at first, she remembers Tristan and the loss of him is heavy on her heart. A story about love and loss that makes you feel all emotions along with Ivy, also possesses mystery and danger. I would really recommend this to people who enjoy the sweetest of love stories, fans of mystery, and lovers of fantasy. Kissed by and Angel, The Power of Love and Soulmates are the three books that come before Evercrossed. If you have not read the first three, THERE WILL BE SPOILERS AHEAD. If spoilers don't bother you than feel free to read but if you like being surprised you should probably not go down any further.

After Tristan's death, Ivy felt that she would never love anyone again. But Tristan had come back to her as her guardian angel to save her from Gregory, her new step-brother, who was out to kill her. Ivy had unknowingly witnessed Gregory killing his mother, but when Gregory cut the breaks to Tristan's car, Ivy didn't just lose Tristan, she lost her memory of the accident and of the murder. Slowly, Ivy started to recover pieces of memory and realized that she was in danger. Tristan, who was then an angel, helped save Ivy with the help of their friends Beth and Will.

In Evercrossed, we start with Ivy in Cape Cod with her best friend Beth, Beth's cousin Kelsey and Dahnya, Kelsey's best friend. Beth, Ivy and Will are all trying to forget about the horrors of last summer. Ivy and Will are a couple now and he would do anything for Ivy, including risk his own life to save her. But when Ivy and Beth get into an accident and Ivy dies. Tristan risks himself for her, again, and breathes life back into Ivy. When Ivy wakes up in the hospital she has made a miraculous recovery, something that science just cannot explain. She also find out that their is another patient in the hospital that was found beaten and nearly drowned on the beach the same night of Ivy's accident-and he has amnesia.

In this story, Ivy falls back into a pattern of trusting people she shouldn't and risking herself again, against the advice of Beth and Will. There is a long part of the story that Ivy feels isolated from her friends and it only pushes her closer to this mysterious strange. Once again, Chandler writes a story of love and heartbreak that could make anyone wish for Ivy to be happy. An excellent story to be added to this series. It also leaves an opening for another novel, which I will most definitely be reading. Overall, an amazing story that pulls you right into the pages from the beginning to the end.

Up next on my reading list will be Afterlife by Claudia Gray

Review: Personal Demons by Lisa Desrochers

Synopsis: Frannie Cavanaugh is a good Catholic girl with a bit of a wicked streak. She has spent years keeping everyone at a distance—-even her closest friends—-and it seems as if her senior year is going to be more of the same . . . until Luc Cain enrolls in her class. No one knows where he came from, but Frannie can’t seem to stay away from him. 
What she doesn’t know is that Luc is on a mission. He’s been sent from Hell itself to claim Frannie’s soul. It should be easy—-all he has to do is get her to sin, and Luc is as tempting as they come. Frannie doesn’t stand a chance. But he has to work fast, because if the infernals are after her, the celestials can’t be far behind. And sure enough, it’s not long before the angel Gabriel shows up, willing to do anything to keep Luc from getting what he came for. It isn’t long before they find themselves fighting for more than just Frannie’s soul.
But if Luc fails, there will be Hell to pay . . . for all of them.

Luc and Gabe are each insanely hot and fiercely distrustful of each other, but that is where their similarities end. Luc is dark, dangerous, and hot as hell, which is actually where he came from. Luc was sent to tag Frannie's soul for hell and the few that tried before him had dier consequences. That will also be Luc's fate, a trip to the Fiery Pit, if he doesn't tag Frannie's soul for Hell. But Gabe isn't about the let that happen. Gabe is also insanely sexy and equally as interested in tagging Frannie's soul, except he wants it in Heaven's favor. This story made me think twice about my own choices between dangerous and safe, Heaven and Hell, and even wrong and right. Luc and Frannie alternate narration in this story and each of them have a different perspective which gives the story more depth. I felt the story's love triangle was confusing for Frannie but there is definitely room for teams in this book (and I would choose Luc any day!) A great story about making decisions and second chances. All the emotions in the book are felt by the reader and you feel equally as broken most of the time as Frannie. The characters in this story change and progress well. Overall, it was a great read and I cannot wait until I get to read Original Sin in July. I would absolutely recommend this book to others but maybe for older teens for parents who are concerned about mature language and some sexual content.

2011 Book List

Hi All! I promised a book list and you shall receive one. I am always open to suggestions about great books that I should read. I will list books with release dates from this year that I plan to read. I will do this in the following way. First, I will write the month in the middle. I know we're in March now but I'll start back in January. Under the month you will see a number first, which will be the date in that month. Next you will see the name of the book and the author. Finally, in parentheses, you will see the series (if any) that the book is part of. I can only post the dates that I have available but I will fix them if these dates change as soon as I can.

My Book List of 2011

*January*

4- Unearthly by Cynthia Neely

4-Awakened by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast (House of Night Series)

*February*

1- Delirium by Lauren Oliver (Delirium Trilogy)

8- Cloaked by Alex Flinn (Beastly)

15- Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting (The Body Finder)

15- Secrets and Shadows by Shannon Delany (13 to Life Series)

15- Frost Kisses by Kailin Gow (The Frost Series)

15- Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

*March*

1- Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins (Hex Hall Series)

8- Evercrossed by Elizabeth Chandler (Kissed by an Angel Series)

8- Afterlife by Claudia Grey (Evernight Series)

21- Lemniscate by Jennifer Murgia (Angel Star Sequel)

*April*

5- City of Fallen Angels by Cassandra Clare (The Mortal Instruments Series)

5- Where She Went by Gayle Forman (If I Stay Sequel)
21- Between By Cyndi Tefft

*May*

3- Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready (Shade Series)
10- Die for me by Amy Plum

*June*
1- Bloodspell by Amalie Howard

7- Everlasting by Alyson Noel (The Immortals Series)
7- Possession by Elana Johnson
7- Hereafter by Tara Hudson

14- Passion by Lauren Kate (Fallen Series)

14- Trial by Fire by Jennifer Barnes (Raised by Wolves Sequel)
14- Hourglass by Myra McEntire

21- Stolen Nights by Rebbeca Maizel (Infinite Days Sequel)
28- Eternity by Heather Terrell (Fallen Sequel)
28- Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma

*July*

5- Original Sin by Lisa Desrochers (Personal Demons Trilogy)

12- Forever by Maggie Stiefvater (The Wolves of Mercy Falls Trilogy)

12- Wildcat Fireflies by Amber Kizer (Meridian Sequel)

26- Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer (Nightshade Trilogy)
26- Wildfire by Karsten Knight

*August*

1- Always a Witch by Carolyn MacCullough (Once a Witch Sequel)

1- The Iron Quill by Shelena Shorts (The Pace Series)
2- Eternal by Gillian Shields (Immortals Series)

9- All You Desire by Kristen Miller (The Eternal Ones)
9- Juliet Immortal by Stacey Jay

16- Bargains and Betrayals by Shannon Delany (13 to Life Series)

23- The Power of Six by Pittacus Lore (I Am Number Four Sequel)

23- Bloodlines by Richelle Mead (Vampire Academy Spin-off Series)
30 Fury by Elizabeth Miles
23- Nocturne by Christine Johnson (Claire de Lune Sequel)

30- Twisted by Gena Showalter (Intertwined Series)

*September*
5- Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan (Immortal Beloved Sequel)

6- The Hidden by Jessica Verday (The Hollow Series)
8- Stay With Me by Paul Griffin
15- As I Wake by Elizabeth Scott
20- If I Die by Rachel Vincent (Soul Screamers Series)
20- Enthralled by Various Authors

*October*

4- Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick (Hush, Hush Series)
4- Eve by Anna Carey
11- The Death Cure by James Dashner (The Maze Runner Series)

18- The Scorpio Races by Maggie Stiefvater

18- Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
25- Destined by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast (House of Night Series)

*November*

1- Crossed by Ally Condie (Matched Sequel)
1- Tiger's Voyage by Colleen Houck (Tiger's Curse Series)
8- Midnight Frost by Kailin Gow (Frost Series)
15- The Pledge by Kimberly Derting

*December*
8- Shattered Souls by Mary Lindsey
27- Angel Fire by L. A. Weatherly (Angel Burn Sequel)

In The Beginning...

..There were books. OK, maybe not. But in my beginning there certainly are. I started this blog because I love to read and write. If it is young adult, paranormal, or a love story, I WILL read it. And if not.. I'll still read it. I have over one hundred books on my self and my room looks smaller after every trip to the book store. My husband, who I like to call Shnooks, says we will soon be broke thanks to my addiction. But yet, broke is OK with me as long as I have a story to read and light to see it.

I have so many great books and I am writing one of my own. I have ideas for six different books, most of which will not be able to end with just one book. I hope that through this blog you may get to know me and my humor (and sometimes the lack there of). I hope to write my reviews and that there will be people who are interested in them. Although, probably not. I will always give my honest opinions of books so that my future readers will know what I think and maybe that could help sway you into reading some of them.

There are a few authors that I may not be so biased about because, well, I love their writing. Most likely, If I write about Maggie Stiefvater, Kimberly Derting, Richelle Mead, or Shannon Delany, you might always find me excited and eager to share with you my happiness. Of course, there are a few more that might always get great reviews from me. I hope that this will not sway anyone away (but please allow this to sway you toward my blog).

I will work my wish list for the year of 2011--which will be modified throughout the year as more books announced. I will label it with 2011 Book List and then you can look back on it through the label and it will keep you updated as much I am. Thanks for reading.

Aeriell