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. 

Her Sweetest Downfall by Rebecca Hamilton : Review

Her Sweetest Downfall by Rebecca Hamilton
Author: Rebecca Hamilton
Published: Immortal Ink publishing / July 2012
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Look for this at:  Amazon /goodreads

Ophelia's Journey is part of The Forever Girl Journals. This time we get to know Ophelia. She works for a family in a time where conjectures and suspicion could make anyone persecuted. A fateful day, an ouroboros mark formed on her neck, causing the change of events that will transform her forever.

The novella continuous with the paranormal mythic world of beings created in Sophia's Journey. Here we see Ophelia becoming part of this world of creatures as a Cruor. Story is engaging and it's notable the use of descriptions to heighten the narrative. Slow story that gets dynamism once the MC embraced her new nature. Takes a little time to get use to Ophelia's accent, but it is not a big drawback.

Find the ending rushed. Felt I wanted to know more about the characters. Who knows, maybe we will see more of them in Hamilton's future projects.

The cover: gorgeous, mysterious, great colors

Have you read this novella?  What is your favorite character?  Mine is the Queen, she is an enigmatic character.

What's yours?

About author:
Visit http://www.beccahamiltonbooks.com to learn more about her series.  She also has a great campaign called Books Against Bullying.  You can find her at the magical realm of tweet tweets where she is known as @inkmuse

Thanks Rebecca Hamilton for providing this copy for review purposes.  This novella was reviewed according to its merits.

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