Monument 14: The book I decided to finally pick

Monument 14  @ my kindle app

Well, I have been not much of a bookworm lately. After a long day I suddenly wanted to read and found Monument 14 on my Kindle App. I had bought the book a long time ago and forgot about it. So I finished reading Monument 14 yesterday and today I got to work on my review.

Monument 14 is a book from 2012 by author Emmy Laybourne. It is a story about a group of kids dealing with catastrophic nature events. While nature unravels, a store becomes a safe haven for these kids during the events. With no adult supervision or help they try to make the most of the experience by using the resources the place offers for their survival.

Monument 14 is a simple and an entertaining read. I read it quickly because it keep me interested. One thing I have to emphasize is,  I got tired of the story when I noticed girls were characterized as caregivers or as hormonal creatures. Girls can be leaders too and this author lost the opportunity to showcase that. Josie is the one character who fights that a little.  In one scene, she requires to be included on the information they were receiving and also  in the decision making. That is why although she is always the caregiver, I give her credit for making herself heard.

The setting is a good one. The store is a practical place to survive a cataclysm.  Food, water, weapons and shelter can be easily found in a department store. On the other hand the natural events  that propel the kids to take refuge need more development and to be believable, Nevertheless I simply decided to ignore that for the sake of entertainment.

If you like quick reads about natural disasters and cataclysm go ahead and read it, but these circumstances won't be the main event in the book. A little spoiler: There is a chapter called Blood Types. That chapter adds something interesting in the mix. I wonder, how does the author develops this idea in the other books of the Monument 14 YA series?

In the end, it entertained me so it can entertain you too.

Review Bad Apple by Barbara Morgenroth

Bad Apple by Barbara Morgenroth

Publication: Dashing Books/ 2010

My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Source: Purchased

Look for this at Amazon / Goodreads
Visit the author: blog

When 15 year old Neal Marchal finds her neighbor murdered, she knows who did it. The why is the secret the family has been keeping forever. While Paul took an interest in Neal’s musical education and taught her how to play the fiddle, he took her fatherless stepbrother, Joe, under his wing and all that implies. Joe’s rage has always been barely beneath the surface and years ago, he pushed Neal under a tractor as a warning. The reminder to never reveal the secret is her limp.

While Joe was gone for five years, Neal made music a private and central part of her life. Now she has an opportunity to sing and perform but the threat remains even if Joe is a thousand miles away. Neal finds refuge in the family of the young man who wants her to join his band. It’s like a dream to live with people who love each other. Neal blossoms. She has everything to live for—music, performing and a growing affection for the young man who pulled her to safety.

Then Joe comes home. Neal knows it’s just a matter of time because she told. Joe’s going to finish what he started 8 years ago. But this time Neal vows the outcome will be different.

     I can’t remember when I found this book but since I found it has been sitting on my reader. Well, some days ago I decided to give it a try and what a nice surprise to find how much I liked reading Bad Apple. Bad Apple is the story of a girl, Neal who has learned to make herself invisible for the sake of self-preservation. She ended in a dysfunctional family that took everything from her. This cycle ends when she gets to know a boy, Truly who is a music genius and his family offers something completely different to her.

     Truly and Neal are an interesting pair. We can see how they find each other thru music. They communicate with songs continuously and without the music Bad Apple wouldn’t be the same. Barbara Morgenroth intertwined lyrics neatly in the narrative. Music made this book refreshing to me even though it discusses the impact a dysfunctional family has had in the life of the characters in the story. When Neal and Truly get together to make music, Neal’s life changes. She finds stability for the first time and it is good to see her becoming a new person.

     Bad Apple offers me many things that can be highlighted to support why this book is worth reading. So, here is my list of things that make this book a must read:

• Smart character building.
• Interesting setting and chain of events.
• Musical element is well used. Makes the characters approachable.
• Narrative is fluid.
• Couldn’t stop reading.

     I see opportunities for improvement as well. I cannot marry two things with the story in Bad Apple: 

• Title and cover
• The ending

     The story just stopped! Then the book gives a preview of Chapter 1 of Burning Daylight (Bad Apple #2) which to me should have been the last chapter of the first book. It doesn’t make sense as the beginning of the second book when the ending of the first one is lacking the cohesiveness that chapter could have brought to Bad Apple.

     This is one of my favorite parts of this book. Look for this title and let me know which part made an impression:

“To make a sound was to be visible. To be visible was to become a target. I learned how to stay in the background, to fade away, to recede so they wouldn’t prey upon me when I had no way to defend myself.”

Bad Apple / Location 809 of 3001/ Barbara Morgenroth

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Review The Joy & Torture of Joshua James

The  Joy & Torture of Joshua James
Author: Julie Rieman Duck
Published: Amazon / April, 2012
Source: Purchased
Look for this title at Amazon
Look for this author : Website / Twitter

Description:

Girls are difficult for 16-year-old Joshua James - especially the ones living right next door. This pair of sisters is more than he could have ever hoped for, and when both take an interest in Josh it’s all he can do to keep things straight.

Blonde Jordan is an angel, with a perfect body and adoring personality. Goth girl Jessa is the devil and much more than that… or so Joshua thinks. But when things start disappearing from his house, and the sisters wage a war of finger-pointing over Joshua, he must decide which one is crazier before he also disappears.

     The Joy & Torture of  Joshua James is the story of a kid who moves to a new community.  He gets to know her next door neighbors, Jordan and Jessa and everything seems fine, until this girls show him what they are capable of.  Joshua is a ragingly hormonal kid who thinks according to his sexual drive. That is why everything goes south for Joshua James.  He gets involved with both girls up to a point where he begins to doubt their sanity.

     Joshua James makes poor decisions and gives the impression of being a simple minded individual.  This is what makes him  interesting.  Joshua is not the perfect kid character who provides for the idyllic story.  His descriptions are raw and in his antihero quality he is real.

     Author Julie Duck was on point in changing the story's course.  Just when the story gets predictable the characters surprised me.  When I had high hopes for the plot  the story suddenly quickens in pacing and then it ends.  I would have loved to see some suspense in crescendo, the story could have pulled it off.

     Overall, I give The Joy & Torture of Joshua James a 3 out of 5.  The Main Character is interesting but he doesn't show change at all.  Probably, he didn't even learned a lot from his experience and that is why I couldn't develop sympathy towards him. Although, this young adult book is written in that direct way that makes me want to read a book, I see The Joy &Torture of Joshua James as a story that needs more developed characters in conjunction with a more developed chain of events.  Joshua James's experiences seemed abbreviated and brief.  

     I'm a huge fan of Julie Duck. Her books are intense, edgy and page turner YA stories that I can't wait to read. This book is written in Julie Duck's direct edgy style. Nothing is sugar coated therefore be prepared for a frank experience.This YA can be crude and strong for some readers, so I find it suitable for mature readers. 

Cover visiting our blog : Heather James new book

     Heather James's new book will be available Autumn 2013.  Her series Elements of Power began with Fire. Now, her second book, Water is soon to be available.  I participated on her blog tour for Fire.  You can find more about this author by visiting her blog, looking for her at twitter @makexbelieve and making a stop at her goodreads page.  Also, you can take a look to a nice interview I got on this blog with this author for Fire's blog tour.  Take a look at the synopsis of Heather James's new book, Water.

Water pooled around my feet, rising at an alarming rate. I stared---panicked---at the palms of my hands, willing the water gushing out of them to stop as miraculously as it had begun.

I only sneezed!

Jasmine is struggling to control her new powers, causing floods and fires with an accidental flick of her wrist. In a desperate attempt to master at least one aspect of them, she travels to the Brizan Realm, where she comes closer to discovering the truth about her parents than ever before. But not everyone wants their secrets revealed.

Alone, powerless and, for the first time in her life, afraid, Roxy has only one thought occupying her mind: escaping Cinaer's clutches before it's too late. Her flight will take her across the ocean, but not in the direction she is expecting. Before she can try and get back to Brae, she needs to rescue herself.

Despite being on opposite sides of the world, the girls soon find themselves closer than ever.

Here is the cover.

Water

Author Heather James
Elements of Power Series
Book 2

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Fire is available now from
Amazon.co.uk Amazon.com Kobo B&N
Elements of Power Series
Book 1

Review Witch & Wizard

Witch and Wizard by James Patterson
Publisher:Litle, Brown & Company 2010
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Source: Bought
Look for this title Amazon

 About this title from goodreads:
The world is changing: the government has seized control of every aspect of society, and now, kids are disappearing. For 15-year-old Wisty and her older brother Whit, life turns upside down when they are torn from their parents one night and slammed into a secret prison for no reason they can comprehend. The New Order, as it is known, is clearly trying to suppress Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Being a Normal Teenager. But while trapped in this totalitarian nightmare, Wisty and Whit discover they have incredible powers they'd never dreamed of. Can this newly minted witch and wizard master their skills in time to save themselves, their parents--and maybe the world?

I had the opportunity to listen to an excerpt from the audiobook of Witch & Wizard prior to reading the book. The first thing that piqued my interest was that the female voice was done by a woman and the male by a man. The audios I have listened to in the past ,use only one narrator for all the characters which sometimes I have to say, bothers me. Something I absolutely loved was the use of sounds to emphasize a situation on a scene. It makes the events more intense. Scenes are enhanced by climatic music and I simply loved that level of attention in the creation of this audio.

The narration is done by Spencer Locke and Elijah Wood. I greatly enjoyed Wood’s narration style because he simply takes you into Wit’s journey by making it more tangible. Spencer Locke sounded bratty and it was difficult to listen to her parts in the beginning. Nevertheless, for Wit's side of the story sake I picked the book.

Wisty and Wit live normal lives until their world is torn apart by a change in politic regimen. The New Order provided the foundations for a dystopian story. This New Order or NO for its acronym, wants to make perfection of everything they touch in society. They take people by surprise and accuse them of all sort of things but in the Allgood’s case, magic practitioners. These kids are separated from all they know and that’s when they begin to discover what they are and what they can do.

They story shows a dystopian world where kids are the door to freedom. No music, no books and no individuality are permitted by the NO regimen. Wisty and Wit are crucial to change things and they will understand it with the progression of the story. Here kids have to procure their own safety and freedom. This particular idea reminded me of Gone by author Michael Grant. In Gone, kids find themselves alone having to take care of each other while learning to survive.

I can’t help but wonder if this book was meant to be two books instead of one. It is too long. I recommend this book for young adult readers. Have in mind that sometimes this book is a little more juvenile than what we usually found in the market labeled as young adult. If you like dystopias grab this book. I consider this a good audio selection for the entertaining level this audio offers. The paperback is a good option too, but I think you should select the audio to have a more complete and interactive experience.

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Review The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff
Publisher: Simon & Schuster
Source: Giveaway
Look for this at Amazon / BN / BD
To know more about the author: Website

Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, Mackie comes from a world of tunnels and black, murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattoed princess. He is a replacement - left in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago when it was stolen away by the fey. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood and consecrated ground, Mackie is slowly dying in the human world. Mackie would give anything just to be normal, to live quietly amongst humans, practice his bass guitar and spend time with his crush, Tate. But when Tate's baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem, where he must face down the dark creatures and find his rightful place - in our world, or theirs.

The Replacement was pleasantly surprising. This book was on my bookshelf for a while until I decided to read it for the Wicked Valentine Read-A-Thon. This book was one of those wildcards I choose when I want to explore new authors. I wasn’t sure about it but it paid off because this title is now on my favorites.

The story begins slowly and little by little actions go in crescendo and it becomes active and intense. I appreciate this author’s efforts in building an atmosphere in The Replacements. Gentry as the setting becomes this dark place where you can’t help but ask how people can even think of progeny in that town. As the pages pass, Gentry becomes scary, which I loved of course. If this book becomes a movie once upon the future, I can only imagine Tim Burton working on this.

The writing style in this book is amazing. Great level of detail and descriptions without being boring. Descriptions are done so that the setting can take concrete form on the reader’s mind. My time reading this book became more interesting and I simply was absorbed by the pages. It was easy to feel an ever present empathy with the characters, especially towards the MC. I wanted to see Mackie redeem his antiheroe nature and become triumphantly heroic.

The originality level of this goes thru the roof. The theme is mysterious, the idea is well formed and well structured. It can easily generate more stories in the same fictional world or even a series could be born. That said, even though this world can be used for plenty of stories, I don’t see Mackie in more books in the future. I think his story has been said but I would love to see the story of the two sisters and how House of Mayhem and House of Misery come to be.

I recommend this book for readers who enjoy Paranormal YA.

Review Feast of Fools (The Morganville Vampires 4)

Feast of Fools by Rachel Caine
The Morganville Vampires
Published: Signet, Jun 2008
Source: Bought
Look for this at Amazon/ BD
5 out of 5

About Feast of Fools (from goodreads):
In the town of Morganville, vampires and humans live in relative peace. Student Claire Danvers has never been convinced, though, especially with the arrival of Mr. Bishop, an ancient, old-school vampire who cares nothing about harmony. What he wants from the town's living and its dead is unthinkably sinister. It's only at a formal ball, attended by vampires and their human dates, that Claire realizes the
elaborately evil trap he's set for Morganville.

Emily has received Daddy vampire in town and as usual Claire and her entourage have been involved.   This character Mr. Bishop arrives to town in unusual circumstances.  He is accompanying Claire's parents whom -surprise!-are relocating to beautiful and peaceful Morganville.  Emily is not happy about it, but nevertheless she plans a feast to celebrate Bishop's arrival so every vampire can pay their respects.  Meanwhile Myrnin keeps in poor condition until Clare unites efforts with a doctor and achieve a better medicine to help control the vampire's sickness.

This gathering is not an innocent ball. It is a machination from Bishop and his people to have Morganville in his control.  Clare is not invited and decides to go with Myrnin in her effort to trying to keep her friends safe. Once the feast begins, the almost nonexistent safety in Morganville vanishes and who knows if their fragile pseudo-safety could be recovered ever again.

I find Feast of Fools more active than the third chapter on the series.  In Midnight Alley a strange character arrives, the same individual who will cause mayhem in Morganville during Feast of Fools.  Clare as always tries to save everybody but things get complicated for her.  Too many people to save for a sixteen year old.  But as always, Clare uses her resourcefulness to respond to the situations at hand.

The characters in Feast of Fools:
 You can see Michael is changing.  His vampire side is taking over little by little.  I think this is an inevitable change for him. The question is if he is capable to control himself.  Shane is accepting Michael. Also, he keeps dutifully playing videogames. Eve is the character I simply tolerate for the sake of the story.  I find her obnoxious.

This book has the best ending so far in the series.  I really like how the story was developed.  The story kept my with constant interest.  The last pages are incredibly chaotic for Morganville and suddenly the story gained momentum.  Wanted to keep reading but the pages ended.   I can't wait to read the next book and see what happens next in Morganville.

Visit The Morganville Vampires site to know more about the series. You can even read some short stories!

Review Midnight Alley (The Morganville Vampires 3)

Midnight Alley by Rachel Caine
The Morganville Vampires
Published: Signet, Oct 2007
Source: Bought
Look for this at Amazon/ BD
4 out of 5

About Midnight Alley (from goodreads):

When Claire Danvers learnt that her college town was run by vampires, she did what any intelligent, self-preserving student would do: she applied for a transfer and stocked up on garlic. The transfer is no longer an option, but that garlic may come in handy.
Now Claire has pledged herself to Amelie, the most powerful vampire in town. The protection her contract secures does little to reassure her friends. All of a sudden, people are turning up dead, a stalker resurfaces from Claire’s past, and an ancient bloodsucker extends a chilling invitation for private lessons in his secluded home.

Clare is now in a great deal of problems. She now has her own bracelet and as many citizens in Morganville, she belongs to a vampire, in her case Amelie has the end of her leash. Her owner asked her to work with vampire genius, Myrnin to find a cure for a vampire sickness. Clare has to visit Myrnin everyday and become his apprentice. But with Myrnin suffering the same condition, Clare's safety is in jeopardy. He gets easily disoriented to a point where he doesn't recognize Clare, putting her in the same danger all his previous students were on. Sadly his students are not part of the living anymore, or the dead in Morganville's case. Let's say they are part of the normally dead.

Well, at some point Myrnin recognizes he no longer has control, for his sickness has overcome him. At the same time, Clare has been ingesting a little too much of a compound created by Myrnin, that gives her clarity of mind and basically opens her mind to tons of knowledge but that little by little deteriorates her. Then Clare has to apply all that theoretical knowledge and with a dash of cleverness she survives the mess she is in.

At the ending,an interesting set of guests arrives at the Glass house. We all know, guests are not goodwill ambassadors on that little corner of Texas.

Finally, we know who is the crazy creature on the alley mentioned in the previous books. I liked that connection. Myrnin is a character that has a big potential in the series. I hope to get to understand this character. I think it would be a highlight in future books,to read about who he used to be before the sickness.

The story gets more complicated for the group. Michael is a vampire, Shane is still in a not so good standing in the community and Clare is in a great deal of stress. This storyline kept me on the pessimist side of things. Constantly thought that simply only a miracle could resolve things. Let's say things ended ok...until a strange new character arrives at the door waiting to be invited in. What would you do? Would you invite him in?

Review: Demonglass by RachelHawkins

Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins
Published: Tanto Media / July 2012
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Look for this at Amazon / BN
To know more about Rachel
Source: Purchase

About this book from goodreads
Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch, which was why she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (a.k.a. witches, shapeshifters, and fairies). But that was before she discovered she was a demon, and her hot crush, Archer Cross, was an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping her kind off the face of the earth. What's worse, Sophie has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is why she decides to go to London for the Removal, a risky procedure that will either destroy her powers forever-or kill her. But once Sophie arrives, she makes a shocking discovery: someone is raising new demons in secret and planning to use their powers to destroy the world. Meanwhile, The Eye is set on hunting Sophie down, and they're using Archer to do it. But it's not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?

Demonglass is the second book in the Hex Hall series. As the first one, I picked this one on audio format. Here, Sophie has to decide between being a prodigium or removing her powers. Her father appears-finally!-in this book, taking her to England to show her how to control her powers and embrace her demon condition. This opportunity is well received by Sophie and with Cal and Jenna she goes to Thorn Abbey.

While in England she encounters Archer Cross. If you have read Hex Hall- and probably you have-the last time Sophie saw him they were separated by a knife between them. In Demonglass they are enemies, or at least they should be. Archer and Sophie work together and they uncover a dark secret in the prodigium world. That summer, Sophie had began to have a relationship with her father. Even she had decided to retain her powers, but at the end of that summer everything was in peril. Her father’s position was at risk, their lives were pending on a thread and Sophie can’t do anything about it.

Demonglass ended on a sour note. I kept listening to my audio non stop and for the last two chapters I kept waiting for some kind of miracle. Disappointed is the best word to describe myself. Sometimes, we readers expect whom we sympathize with, to overcome everything and anything. Don’t know what will happen to the characters but certainly will keep with this series. This book has a really good pacing and the story kept me rewinding to listen again parts that kept me on the edge.

Narration is well done. I can relate the narrator’s voice to Sophie as a character. Dukeheart kept me interested in this audio.

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Blog Tour: Circle of Lies /A Ridge Pack Novel

Circle of Lies (Red Ridge Pack #2)
Authors: Sara Dailey and Staci Weber
Published: Boroughs Publishing Group / Dec 2012
To find about this title's authors: Website /Facebook
Look for this at Amazon / BN

Aiden Wright is trying to figure out who he really is, but the truth could cost him his true mate—or his life.

Life has always been easy for Aiden Wright. He’s smart, athletic, funny, and the ladies adore him. But when tragedy strikes, Aiden discovers the truth about who he really is, and his whole world comes crashing down around him. Aiden thought that being a teenage werewolf was going to be awesome, but it might just cost him the one girl who could make him whole.

Since her mother’s disappearance, Teagan Rhodes’s life has been littered with her father’s empty beer cans and his hollow promises to change. Convinced that others would only let her down, she keeps everyone at arm’s length—but resisting Aiden’s charm is proving to be more difficult than she thought. Throw in a psychotic werewolf hunter out to terminate the species, and one wrong move, one wrong decision could destroy everything.

http://www.yanovelreader.com

 Enjoy this Circle of Lies excerpt.  I know you will go look for this series immediately!

I didn’t want to let Teagan go. Ever. Even if I didn’t remember what had happened the last time I’d dropped her off.

“You going to be okay?” I asked, praying I wasn’t overstepping my boundaries.

“Yes,” she replied. “Don’t worry.”

I think she blushed. I wasn’t sure if it was from embarrassment about her father or pleasure at my concern, but it made my blood burn. I wanted to take her back to my car and continue were we left off. Kissing Teagan was unbelievable. The way she’d looked at me, the way she’d grabbed the back of my neck, the way her lips had molded to mine… Nothing compared. No girl. I hadn’t known a kiss could feel like that.

I was about to steal another delicious kiss when the door swung open, scaring the shit out of me. Teagan jumped, too. The man who stood in the doorway was a disaster. His clothes were wrinkled and dirty, and worst was the smell of cigarettes and beer that seemed to pour off of him.

“Who the fuck is this?” he slurred at Teagan. He stood there looking me up and down like he was trying to figure me out.

The memory of this guy belittling his daughter came rushing back. I could feel the tension in Teagan, and it made me sick. She tried to let go of my hand, but I wouldn’t let her. There was no way I was going to let this guy come between us. I hated him already.

Teagan looked at me, and for a moment I thought about picking her up and taking her away from all of this; the sadness and embarrassment in her eyes all but killed me. Reluctantly, however, I let her hand fall.

But I’d never felt this angry before. I couldn’t just let it go. He was a drunken bully used to pushing my girl around, and it wasn’t going to happen tonight. I would see to that. With full-on fury coursing through my veins, my jaw tight, I turned and looked her father straight in the eye. I poured every ounce of contempt that I felt for him into that glare, and her father visibly tensed. It made me want to smile.

I turned to Teagan, who was looking at her feet, humiliated. I lifted her chin with my fingers and grinned. I leaned over and whispered in her ear, “I’m going to wait out here until I see your light come on, okay? Call me if you need me. Anytime. Ever. I miss you already.”

Her smile made me bold. I grabbed her face in my hands and kissed her hard on the lips. I couldn’t help myself; I needed her dad to know that she was mine. Mine. And before I turned to leave, I stood toe-to-toe with him and said, “Lay a finger on her, you will regret it.”


Authors Sara Dailey and Staci Weber want to share a little with us about their writing.

 

Guest Post: Why Werewolves?

When we set out to write our first series, we chose werewolves for a number of reasons, but let’s first explore why we didn’t choose vampires, faeries, or angels. First of all, we already did angels in our first novel, Sinful. When we first began writing, there weren’t any YA Romances out there like it. Yep, we researched it, and there was only one other popular angel series, and it was nothing like our own. Unfortunately, things quickly changed right about the time we found a publisher. It was going to take 18

months before our novel would be out in print, and during that time, novel after novel came out about angels. In fact, our novel was originally entitled, Fallen. You can imagine our surprise (and disappointment) when Lauren Kate’s Fallen hit the shelf. By November 2010, when Sinful was released, the market was saturated with angel books. In short, we tried to be different, and it didn't work.

Why not vampires or faeries? You can probably guess when it comes to vampires. There are so many vampire series out there and most of them are series that began right after Twilight became hugely popular. It is really difficult to sell a vampire book, especially as new authors. And needless to say, it’s pretty much been done.

Now faeries are a different story. There are a lot of great faerie series out there, but the best ones are fully immersed in faerie lore. There are so many rules for the world of faeries, which would require a lot of research, and if you don’t get it right, you’re just asking for some serious criticism. Plus, we wanted our series to focus more on romantic relationships than the paranormal world surrounding them.

So yes, there are other paranormal options, but honestly, we really like werewolves. We like the animalistic aspect of them, the pack mentality, and let’s face it; werewolves are sexy. And while there are werewolf novels and series out there, we didn't find any quite like our own. A werewolf pack provided the type of infrastructure we needed for our series since we wanted each book to focus on different characters, yet still be able to be intertwined with the other characters. What better way to do that than with a pack? The pack could provide tons of drama, not only between the teens, but within the families as well. We knew, besides romance, our focus would be on secrets and lies, and The Red Ridge Pack we created is full of them, leaving us with plenty of drama to work with. One little, well meaning secret changed Allison and Aiden’s lives forever, and the secrets and lies just keep on coming.

About Sara and Staci
Both Sara Dailey and Staci Weber are avid readers, English teachers, friends, wives and soccer moms. They have been teaching together for the past ten years and writing together for six.

Born and raised in Houston, TX, Staci Weber is a graduate of the University of North Texas. Staci is a junior high school teacher with an addiction to reading romance novels. She considers herself incredibly lucky to have a close family, some good friends, a fabulous husband and two beautiful little girls.

Sara Dailey co-authored the Red Ridge Pack Novels with her good friend and co-worker Staci Weber. She has a degree in literature from U of H Clear Lake and is a graduate of The Institute of Children’s Literature. Sara is a native Texan and lives with her wonderful husband and son in League City,TX.

Review My Soul To Lose by Rachel Vincent /Audiobook

My Soul To Lose (Soul Screamers 0.5)
Prequel of Soul Screamers
Author: Rachel Vincent
Narrator: Amanda Ronconi
Published: Harlequin/ 2009
Source: Purchase
Look for this at Audible  

A little about this book from goodreads

It was supposed to be a fun day, shopping at the mall with her best friend. Then the panic attack started and Kaylee Cavanaugh finds herself screaming, unable to stop. Her secret fears are exposed, and it's the worst day of her life....Until she wakes up in the psychiatric unit.

She tries to convince everyone she's fine - despite the shadows she sees forming around another patient and the urge to scream that comes burbling up again and again.

Everyone thinks she's crazy. Everyone except Lydia, that is. Another patient with some special abilities....

When I found this on audible I gave it a try. I had read positive reviews about the series and decided to listen this sequel. First of all,if you are like me, probably you will need to listen to it twice. The first time the initial ten minutes were confusing and I couldn't follow the story.  Kept listening and began to like it, especially when she is at the hospital and interacting with Lydia.   I decided on listening again and now this series is on my radar. The premise of Soul Screamers is interesting.  Kaylee gets this uncontrollable desire to scream.  Everybody thinks she gets panic attacks but it is something more. Her situation has a supernatural motivation that I find curious and I want to know more of this character.

About the characters: 

I find Lydia a potentially great character. She is intriguing. She has an ability that could help Kaylee but I can't help but ask myself at what price to her own safety.  At the other side of the spectrum I see Kaylee's aunt.  She doesn't sound like someone Kaylee grew up with.  I don't feel to much empathy toward her. 

About the narration:

It took me a little time to get used to Amanda Ronconi's style.  At the book's beginning she sounded detached, almost informative.  Her voice sounded in third person although she used pronouns "me" and "I" in her narration.  As the audio progressed she definitively was Kaylee.  As I mentioned in the previous paragraph, I listened to this audio twice.  The second time in my listening, Ronconi sounds detached at the same parts as well.

I give a 4 to the story and a 3 to the narration.  Recommend My Soul To Lose for YA and Paranormal readers. 

Review The Dead Girls' Dance by Rachel Caine

The Dead Girls' Dance by Rachel Caine
Published:April 2007
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Source: Purchased
Look for this at Amazon / BD

About this book from goodreads:
Claire Danvers has her share of challenges---like being a genius in a school that favors beauty over brains, dealing with the homicidal girls in her dorm, and above all, finding out that her college town is overrun with vampires. On the up side, she has a great roommate (who tends to disappear at sunup) and a new boyfriend named Shane, whose vampire-hunting dad has called in backup: cycle punks who like the idea of killing just about anything.

Now a fraternity is throwing its annual Dead Girls' Dance and---surprise!---Claire and her equally outcast best friend, Eve, have been invited. When they find out why, all hell is going to break loose. Because this time both the living and the dead are coming out---and everybody's hungry for blood.

The first thing I like about this young adult (more new adult to me) book is that it keeps continuity. The Dead Girls' Dance begins where Glass Houses ends, in the same circumstances for the characters. The second thing is that it begins in frail calm and ends in frail calm as well. At the beginning they are at the house, their safe haven, without certainty about their safety. At the end, they are at the house again but this time they are certain things won't get easier.

The Dead Girls' Dance has more action and puts the characters in more danger than the first book. The story doesn't provide a moments rest for them. They are fighting and trying to work solutions for what's threatening them on this chapter of the Morganville series. Claire has to survive a town in Texas swarmed with vamps, while trying to keep good grades at college and keeping her parents at bay for their own good.

The characters are shown in a different light. Shane is passive for the majority of the book. He is the one in trouble this time and Clare, Eve and Michael are looking for a way to help him. Clare shows more security on herself, taking risks and making decisions by herself. I like Clare more in this book. Michael was more relevant to me in Glass Houses, now it seems like he diluted into the background. Only at the end he is relevant. Eve shows the same strong personality from the first book, but I have to confess, sometimes her goth self drives me into a boredom abyss.

What wasn't I happy about in this book? Amelie, this ancient vampire, seems like an ornament. Wasn't she suppose to protect them to some extent? In Morganville, if you have a vampire protector nobody can mess with you. So, that doesn't seem to apply for Claire and associates. Those poor kids had the worst moment and she was poor help. At least they could help themselves... if what they chose to do can be called helping oneself. Probably, calling their actions improvisation is more accurate. Nevertheless, Clare and her friends decision making skills is what makes Morganville series a rollercoaster surviving journey that can keep you in a no stop reading frenzy.

Overall, I can't wait to read the next one. With great setting, interesting set of circumstances and cleverly invented characters to play on her world, Rachel Caine has done a great job in this series. Let's see what awaits on Midnight Alley.

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Review Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Under The Never Sky by Veronica Rossi

Published: HarperCollins, Jan 2012

Rating: 5 out of 5
Source: Bought 

Look for this at Amazon / BD / Goodreads

A little about this book from goodreads:

I am officially infatuated with this world.  On top of that, I cannot stop thinking how superb this book is.  Could say I'm in love with this book and its characters.  This book has been sitting on my bookshelf for months, kept postponing reading it and now it is what populates my brain.  It has been a long time since I have read something like this, so intoxicating.  While writing this review I picture perfectly this setting, its fantastic plot and tantalizing ending.  It brings me to ask:  why are you doing this Veronica Rossi?  That ending was so awesome, clearly the beginning of a new journey.  And now I'm totally fixated in knowing what comes next.  Getting the second book has become a priority.  As Rachel at Fiktshun had mentioned in one interesting challenge post for reading that last book of a series, there are series you don't want to read the last book because you don't want to see the story end,don't want to say goodbye.  I think right know I don't want to think about an ending for Perry and Aria's story.

The story is fluid.  Never got tired of reading.  On the contrary, Rossi's style makes reading during long hours completely easy.  Even when distractions surround you, you never get sidetracked from the story.  The events are surprising.  The reading is exciting.  Under The Never Sky kept surprising me constantly.  One of my favorite aspects of a book is its potential to keep me guessing.   This title grabbed me and still have me on its electrifying cloud of Aether (Read me!!!)  The last 14 pages are so incredible and fulminating at the same time.  Incredible by its content but fulminating to me because right now I cannot help but kick myself for not getting the next book.  Well, it happens...

The dystopian element in this has various conflicting elements.

• Population cannot live life freely. True freedom doesn't exist on the pods.
• An artificial world mainly computerized has been created to maintain contentment and safety.
• Genome have been manipulated to a point where population is easily affected by environment.

Now about the characters. At first, I didn't know how to picture Perry.  He seemed a wild thing.  Then the events guide you into his journey and you get to know his true self.  He is more organic and follows his gut filling, something Aria is not used to.  Aria is an interesting heroine.  She becomes a complex character while traveling with Perry.  I liked she changing into something entirely new.  Plus, I like their names, really suit them.

Always thinking about covers, I liked the covers for this book.  My edition's  cover is gorgeous.  It takes into consideration the setting.  Aria is on the cover and it seems she is walking in an Aether storm.  The colors look fantastic.

Overall, this book is a 5.  I recommend this to YA readers, NA readers, dystopian lovers and well readers in general who just want to read something new strong in unique creative story building. Oh and if you are into Sci Fi grab this book.

Here is a task for you, after you read this listen to A White Demon's Love Song by The Killers. I would use this song  to tell Aria and Perry's journey.  This is officially one of my favorite books.  Would love to see this into a movie.

Review Glass Houses by Rachel Caine

In the past years, each time I saw the cover of this book, simply decided on another title. I have to confess not even the summary drew my attention.  One December day, decided to read it and now I feel like I waited too long. Cover love is sometimes a scary thing.

Glass Houses by Rachel Caine
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Look for this at Amazon / BD

About this book from goodreads

From the author of the popular Weather Warden series comes the debut of an exciting new series set in Morganville, Texas, where you would be well advised to avoid being out after dark.

College freshman Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation. When Claire heads off-campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Her new roommates don't show many signs of life, but they'll have Claire's back when the town's deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood.

First, the story pacing kept me reading. It is almost addictive what Rachel Caine writes. The characters are likable and seem like people we can find any day. Story-wise, the book seems predictable but it has unexpected twists that compensate for this; for example Michael's storyline achieves this purpose.

Of all the characters, Claire is my favorite after all. She is innocent and studious, probably had been sheltered by her parents, but when arrives at Morganville she adapts. She uses her qualities to survive. She is immature and naive to a point to endanger her life but, she is a character that surely will thrive on that vampire infested environment.

Great ending in Glass House. Can't wait to read the next book. Want to know what happens next.

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Review: Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins
Published: June 2012, Tantor Media
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Audio book edition
Look for this at Audible

A little about this book(from goodreads):

On her twelfth birthday, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. Three bumpy years later, after a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, she's exiled to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.By the end of her first day, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Then, when a mysterious predator begins attacking students, and Sophie's only friend is the number-one suspect, a horrifying plot begins to surface. Soon, Sophie is preparing for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

In Hex Hall almost anything paranormal populates the corridors of that school. It is a reformatory of sorts for teens with paranormal abilities and this is where we found Sophie. While trying to fit in at her old school,she used her magic to help a girl with her love life. That didn't work like she wanted to. She ended with an obsessive guy, a terrified girl(thanks to the obsessive guy) and a long vacation to Hex Hall. There she will try to deal with things more difficult than fitting in a new school. She will learn a lot about who she is.

This audio was entertaining and the narration was enjoyable. The narration by Cris Dukehart was clear but in the downside, sometimes it seemed detached, especially at the beginning. I couldn't visualize the place for a while, but then the narration piqued my interest and kept listening to the audio constantly in my car.

The story is appealing in many ways. The characters are developed by the author in a way that their actions add to the story. They have specific personalities. For example,Sophie has defining personality traits; her sarcasm as a trademark and her inquisitive mind. The only generic type was the three girls from the coven, they respond to the popular girls click which uses bullying to maintain control at the private school or well, any school.

The story has good plot surprises but the ending won the prize. The developments with Archer were unexpected, but not the one with her grandma. It has an ending where more situations have emerged and many possibilities exist.

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Read this if you like YA genre. Also, if you like Harry Potter. It reminds me a little of that series.

Review Matched by Ally Condie

Matched by Ally Condie
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Audio book version
Source: Bought
Published: Penguin audio
Look for this format at Audible

This is a dystopian story of a world where everything is predetermine for the characters. Clothing, calorie intake even couples are decided for a society who establishes everything according to what will be more optimum. People do not express strong emotions or feelings. Things are one dimensional.

Cassia is the MC in the story. She follows the rules and has been Matched with her best friend. She is pleased until questions plague her mind. A new empowerment begins inside her, she wants to have the opportunity to choose.

There is no going back for Cassia.

I enjoyed the story , specially because of the narrator of this audiobook. Her voice and narration style helped me imagine Cassia and her surroundings. The world this author created in her story is one that is destined to detonate at some point. Population won't be happy with having everything decided for them, therefore a revolution will surely appear at some point of this series. The ending of this book confirms it. Look forward to continue this book series.



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Review: Swell by Julie Rieman Duck

Swell by Julie Rieman Duck
Published: Sept 2012
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Author: Julie Duck
Source: provided by author for an honest review.

A little about this book:
Christian puts his eyes on Beck and after that moment forward love unites them and alcohol comes the glue of that relationship.  When he ends it, Beck finds shelter on big quantities of alcohol and recklessness, until a guy named Jesse works with her on art class.  Beck will change and Christian won't be happy about it.  Jesse will show clarity into Beck's life in a moment when Christian 's darkness threatens to overcome her.

I read Swell in just two days. From the first instant I read it, simply couldn't stop. The story grabbed my interest from the get go. This is one of those books that keeps you thinking afterwards. Characters become familiar to you and you cannot help but try to understand them by constantly learning their next move.

Duck gives us characters to remember. Beck and Christian are complex characters. We see and understand everything through Beck's POV.

Beck changes so drastically that at some point you cannot help but ask: where is the girl from the beginning, the one who knew little about the world around her? She just changes according to how hectic her life becomes. To me Beck is many things and those impressions change with the development of the story. At first she is naive, then she becomes voraciously intrepid in her quest to keep up with her alcohol happy boyfriend. Later she is reckless and finally she is a new person but now is someone who is her own person.

Christian is the trigger in Beck's life. He destroys her little by little, but her love craving heart doesn't see it that way. One of the things that kept me reading was wanting to know if Beck was OK. Every chapter, I read that little paragraph of Beck and simply had to end the chapter. Those little scenes were crude and strong.

Author Julie Duck brought us this thought provoking tale of love and strength of character. I am impressed by Duck's skillful way of transmitting these stories impregnated with the crudeness of reality. I read A Place In This Life (which I loved) but now Swell is my favorite book from this author. She has a fierce way of explaining the world and is fearless when building the world in which her characters are going to thrive in...or end themselves.

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Other books by Julie Duck:

A Place In This Life has earned 4 and 5 star ratings across the board for its intimate portrayal of a teenage girl whose first love is a boy with leukemia. There are no dry eyes when you join the hundreds of readers who have been touched by this deeply moving story. A Place In This Life now available on: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Smashwords and BookieJar.
To know more about her:
www.julieduck.com * www.julieduck.wordpress.com * goodreads * www.twitter.com/skodobah

What I Didn't Say by Keary Taylor

What I Didn't Say by Keary Taylor
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Published: May 2012
Source: Netgalley
Look for this at Amazon

This YA story has a slow beginning. We get to know the main characters individually. Jake is an athletic guy who participates in sports actively and plans to enlist in the Air Force as soon as graduation day comes. His love for many years has been Samantha, a brilliant overachiever from the same island.

Samantha seems like a distant possibility to Jake, until one day. He and his friends are partying and Jake, never a drinker decides to be a follower and drinks until drunkenness From this day forward, Samantha and Jake are interlaced. The day Jake decides to declare his love to Sam, loses his voice by an accident that will change him for the rest of his life. Words of love for Sam will never leave Jake's vocal chords.

Sam hides from everyone her life's circumstances. When Jake discovers the truth that's when the story picks pacing. Jake's life gets changed for his muteness and we see how this builds his character and defines him as a new person.

What I wasn't crazy about:

• Notebooks have importance for both of them, but I think Jake should have embrace sign language sooner.
• Predictive chain of events referring to the "I love you" issue.
• One cheesy scene 
• Predictive ending

What I do like:

• Interesting setting.
• The strong bond between the main characters. 
• Strong sense of family in Jake's home.

Read this if you enjoy YA and YA Romance.

Now, I say goodbye to Sam and Jake.  May happiness reign in their fictional lives at Orcas Island.
What would you do on an island?
Can you imagine yourself living on an island?  I can because I actually live on an island. 

Thanks Netgalley for providing me this copy.  I reviewed this book honestly according to its merits.

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Graphic Saturday! House of Night : Legacy

House of Night: Legacy by P.C. Cast
Published: Dark Horse, July 2012
Author: P.C. Cast
Illustrator: Joelle Jones, Karl Kerschl
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Source: Netgalley
Look for this at Amazon / Book Depository

The story:
Recently, I read this graphic novel. I have read the first five books of the series and decided to read this one out of curiosity. The story kept me interested, after all House of Night always fulfills its purpose of been entertaining. We can see the books reflected on the feeling of this comic book.
The stories intertwined inside the main storyline had the most appeal to me. The characters were dimensional and their stories were integrated into the main story in way that showed purpose in the story itself. The storytelling wasn’t a highlight.

The art of this graphic novel :
I have mix feelings about this. The main story style was not attractive. Faces where excessively geometric, hands were too big and proportions needed work. On the other hand enjoyed the coloring, it reminds me of Books of Magic in some way.
The elements stories’ art is more interesting to look at. Illustrations show movement, that’s always a plus. Each chapter was preceded by an illustration, which was my favorite component of this graphic novel.

Rating:

3 out of 5, A great graphic novel is the perfect marrying of art and writing. Didn’t see it here. Legacy could have brought something new to the House of Night series, but the opportunity was thrown way.

I recommend this for House of Night readers.

Graphic Novels are a great way to show a new aspect of a book universe. Also they show us a world in a more concrete way with vivid illustrations and amazing storytelling. Do you read graphic novels? No? What are you waiting for?

Which graphic Novels have you read recently?

Provided by Dark Horse via Netgalley for review purposes.  This book was reviewed according to its merits.
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Blog Tour: Careful by Isobella Jade

Careful (The Careful, Quiet, Invisible Series #1)
By Isobella Jade
Published: Gamine Press / July 26, 2012
Paperback/e-book
Rating : 3.5 out of 5
Check this out at Amazon
Book trailer Podcast

Careful is the story of Estella, a young girl who loses her life by a car accident just when she is beginning to experience it.   She dies suddenly leaving many unsaid words and leaving many possibilities behind.   She was a smart athlete, full of promise and looking towards a brilliant future.

When she dies she never says goodbye and she (as a spirit) keeps experiencing everyday with the people she loves.   This reading show us how she tries to deal with it all and how her loved ones try to come to terms with her death.

About the book:
The story is unexpected.  It is youthful and sad at the same time.  This is a book full of emotions.  Estella displays her feelings of love and also, her friends and family express how they miss her.  I kept waiting for the character to blossom in some kind of way.  She was getting stronger and was gaining purpose but sometimes  I couldn't understand her actions or lack of thereof.  There was an specific moment in the story where I hoped for her to help her friends, but sadly it never came.

This is a book that can be strong by itself but also, I can see this as a series.  From the supporting characters, I think Jett is the one who could bring a solid story.  Eva is an interesting character too.  I would have preferred for her to be less of a stereotype.

The Cover:
The book cover is nice.  It has an "e" charm on a road.  It clearly depicts what the story is about.  Also, this item is relevant in the story so it was smartly used in this book cover.

E-copy provided by publisher via YA Bound Blog Tour for review purposes.  This book was reviewed according to its merits.