The Hollow

The Hollow
Jessica Verday / Young Adult

When Abbey's best friend, Kristen, vanishes at the bridge near Sleepy Hollow Cemetery, everyone else is all too quick to accept that Kristen is dead .. and rumors fly that her death was no accident. Abbey goes through the motions of mourning her best friend, but privately, she refuses to believe that Kristen is really gone. Then she meets Caspian, the gorgeous and mysterious boy who shows up out of nowhere at Kristen's funeral and keeps reappearing in Abbey's life. Caspian clearly has secrets of his own, but he's the only person who makes Abbey feel normal again ... but also special. Just when Abbey starts to feel that she might survive all this, she learn a secret that makes her questions everything she thought she knew about her best friend. How could Kristen have kept silent about so much? And could this secret have led to her death? As Abbey struggles to understand Kristen's betrayal, she uncovers a frightening truth that nearly unravels her - one that will challenge her emerging love for Caspian as well as her own sanity


Ok first let me take this moment to teach you an INVALUABLE tip when buying books - ALWAYS carefully read the book description. Don't skim it, don't judge by the title or cover - READ the description. Because if I had done that properly, I NEVER would have bought this book. I would have saved myself $18 dollars and the cost of therapy needed to recover from the trauma of reading it. I really feel that I shouldn't give a review for this book. I have a rant prepared for it but can't help but wonder if I'm a little jaded by the story. I just lost my best friend April and even months later, the pain is still there buried, ready at any moment to spill out and devastate me all over again. If I had read the description I would have seen that Abbey's story very closely resembled my own. Half way through, tears streaming down my face, it was safe to say that it wasn't the book for me and that I needed to get rid of it. But they tell you to face your grief, that it's ok to feel and so with that belief I pushed forward and was grateful that grief stricken, going through the motions Abbey had taken a turn for the better and was putting her life back together. Fine right? Good book right? WRONG. The author did two more things to poor Abbey that in my mind borders on cruel. She adds to the story a plot where Abbey now doubts her best friend but she has no way of resolving it because the one with the answers is dead. To make it worse, the reader never finds out the answers so to me it was pointless to add it. So once again poor Abbey is devastated. Lucky she has Caspian right? Sorry but the author doesn't leave that alone either with a stunning revelation that after everything Abbey has been through utterly and completely destroys her. I mean ripped out her heart, shattered her spirit and left her broken on the floor. For what reason? I don't know. I didn't see one. I felt heartbroken for Abbey and extremely angry that for some reason it was ok to massacre your character. Like I said earlier, I'm a little jaded because I quickly and very strongly identified with Abbey's grief and pain. I felt it was too much - killing off a best friend, putting doubts about friendship, introducing a love interest only to take him away too. I was left angry (and I use that word lightly) and with a book that if I could have, I would have set it on fire and burned it. I hated it. Again, I know it's a strong reaction and for someone in a different place then I am, they may enjoy it and think it's the best book they ever read. But part of reviewing books is honesty. Personally I wouldn't recommend this book, especially not to those in the middle of grief. Save yourself the heartache and money. Anyone that's interested though - I have a spare book. Quickly claim it before I burn it.


Ratings: 1 star

Jessica's Guide To Dating On The Dark Side

Jessica's Guide To Dating On The Dark Side
Beth Fantaskey / YA Paranormal Romance

Marrying a vampire definitely doesn't fit in to Jessica Packwood's senior year "get a life " plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth

and he's her long-lost fiance. Armed with new found confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire's Guide to Dating, Health and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But Jessica has never even been kissed - how can she possibly commit herself to a long-term relationship? Or an eternal relationship, for that matter?

I LOVED this book. I remember standing in Barnes and Nobles, bouncing back and worth on whether I should spend the money and buy it. And if I'm remembering correct at one stage I put it back on the shelf. I am SO glad that I didn't because this book was funny and met all my good book needs. It had romance (seeing I'm a book snob), vampires (because aren't they just to die for - hahaha) and most of all a delicious bad boy who goes through so many emotional transitions that it makes your head spin and your heart pound. Lucius was a wonderful character to read about. When I first read it, my first thought was "Ugh I know I like bad boys, but really? Is he going to stay this arrogant?" Answer - nope but he definitely gets better, sexier and irresistible as the book continues. I liked Jessica because I like strong heroines who know what they want but also have the humility (whether to forced or not) to accept when they were wrong and go after what they want with all they have. I'm not a big fan of wishy washy characters and I found none in this book. There was a breath taking almost kiss that made your toes tingle and left you with the urge to jump into the book and claim Lucius for yourself. The book hit all the key emotions and attitudes, from sarcastic retorts to heart felt pleas. But most of all, what had me spinning in circles was Lucius in his darkest, most inhuman, most evil moments. Nothing gets my heart beating more than the evil bad boy. And what an evil bad boy Lucius makes. This book is a terrific read. It has no boring bits to skim through, you devour each word and good thing is - there's another book in the works.

Ratings: 4.5 stars and 3 hearts

Hex Hall

Hex Hall
Rachel Hawkins / YA Paranormal

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father - an elusive European warlock - only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, aka witches, faeries and shapeshifters.
By the end of her first day among fellow freak teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tag-along ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

I really enjoyed reading this book. It was easy to get caught up in the storyline and it had my attention from the get go. I love the whole idea of throwing a whole bunch of paranormal misfits together in one place and hoping that they don't all kill each other. There's always those essential elements at play - nervous heroine finding herself in a new and scary environment, the necessary cliche of horrible girls that seem hell bent of ruining the heroine's life, the lonely misunderstood girl that the heroine always seems to befriend and of course, my personal favorite - the gorgeous bad boy. In this book it was Archer and within moments of starting the book, there he is and without even missing a beat, Sophie has fallen head over heels in "crush" with him. Although it follows that familiar pattern, the story has twists and turns and you become absorbed in the drama as it unfolds. I thought this book was funny especially when Sophie is faced with a charging werewolf, flying at her in attack. What does a witch do in a moment like this? A protection spell? A transporting spell? A freezing spell? No she freezes in fear and in a trembling voice yells "BAD DOG". The book is filled with these moments and thankfully (because it was the first thing I checked when I finished) the author is planning on writing a second book. So keep an eye out for this book - it's a guaranteed good read :) Oh, and what's a review without mentioning one of the most important part - it has a hot kiss in it in the basement. So all you bad boy lovers - you're going to not want to miss it.

Ratings: 4.5 stars and 2 hearts

Shiver

Shiver
Maggie Stiefvater / YA Adult Paranormal Romance

The Cold - Grace has spent years watching the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf --her wolf-- watches back. He feels deeply familiar to her, but she doesn't know why.
The Heat - Sam has lived two lives. As a wolf, he keeps the silent company of the girl he loves. And then, for a short time each year, he is human, never daring to talk to Grace .. until now
The Shiver - For Grace and Sam, love has always been kept at a distance. But once it's spoken, it can't be denied. Sam must fight to stay human - and Grace must fight to keep him - even if it means taking on the scars of the past, the fragility of the present, and the impossibility of the future.

This book was simply outstanding. Breath taking. Incredibly moving. Tragically romantic. It's the book I would pay anything to see as a movie. It's the book that when you close it, there are no words to describe the peace and warmth you feel deep within yourself. You can't fake that feeling and you definitely can't force it. This author has taken the romance between two young people and transformed it into a masterpiece. Yep, I feel pretty strongly about this book. Not many books affect me to the point where formulating a rant is near to impossible straight after reading it. This book had me in tears one moment, sighing in another and hoping against hope in another. I love stories where you meet two characters that are brought together and seem to fit perfectly. Sam and Grace find in each other companionship and a deep love which they must fight every inch of the way to keep. They fight against nature and what seems like the cruelty of fate but instead of giving in, they make the most of what they are given and their love to each other completely. Their story is inspiring to all readers about the power of commitment and the strength that can be found in celebrating each moment with each other. This story plays on the heart strings and you finish feeling that you have just been changed for the better. You HAVE to read this book. You NEED to read this book. It's not a "maybe" or a "when I get round to it". It's a "I will go to the bookstore ASAP and buy it" need. This book was that amazing.

Ratings: 5 stars and 2 hearts

Infinity

Infinity

Sherrilyn Kenyon / YA paranormal

At 14, Nick Gautier thinks he knows everything about the world around him. Streetwise, tough and savvy, Nick and his quick sarcasm are the stuff of legend .. until one night when his best friends try to kill him. Saved by a mysterious warrior who has more fighting skills than Chuck Norris, Nick is sucked into the realm of the Dark Hunters: immortal vampire slayers who risk everything to save humanity. Nick quickly learns that the human world is only a veil covering a much larger and more dangerous one: a world where the captain of the football team is a werewolf and the girl he has a crush on goes out at night to stake the undead. But before Nick can even learn the rules of this new world, his fellow students are turning into flesh-eating zombies. And he's next on the menu. As if starting high school isn't hard enough .. now Nick has to hide his new friends from his mom, his chain saw from the principal, and keep the zombies and the demon Simi from eating his brains, all without getting grounded or suspended. How in the world is he supposed to do that?

Ok. Maybe I should give out a HUGE disclaimer first. I LOVE this author. The Dark-Hunters, one of my favorite series, is written by her and because of that I'll devour anything she writes. I felt I needed to add this because I'm not sure how this review will go and I don't want to sway anyone from reading her books. They are addicting and delicious and my dreams have been better for having read them. In fact, reading Infinity has me rushing to my bookshelves to read about my beloved Dark Hunters again so if for nothing else, I'm glad I read this book. So where do I start because I'm having some conflicted thoughts. My first impression was WOW. Nick was always an interesting character in the DH series and I'm excited that the author has chosen to take a deeper look at him. I'm confused about why she would want to make it YA though because although it's a good tool to spark interest in the other series, it's not exactly appropriate for a YA adult author. I don't know about you but some bedroom scenes are just too "blushworthy" for teenagers. But although Infinity lacked the same feel as the DH books, it definitely was an easy read (after I got past that stupid line about swine flu) and I felt like Nick was taking me along with him. Did I mention what a good idea it was to look deeper into Nick's life? I loved Nick as a 14 year old as he was first introduced into the world of the Dark Hunters and the monsters they fight. Nick is sarcastic as hell and he had me laughing at some of his one liners. I loved having an early glimpse of my droolworthy Acheron and I felt like it was a big reunion as familiar characters entered the story. But here's where I'm a little hesitant... I don't know if it was because I had read the DH series before this book and that's the reason behind this, but I felt overwhelmed with trying to picture and place each character in the series and remember what their back stories were (it's been about 6 months since I read the DH series) This made it a little hard to keep up with the story and honestly, made my brain hurt a little. It has me wondering what my reaction would be if I was a newbie to this world. Would it make sense or would I feel like I was missing something and entering the game at half time? I don't know. It also felt like in ONE day, Nick gets hit with ALOT, totally hammered from all sides by all the different characters and creatures. It made me feel for poor Nick because it seemed like he was never given time to take a breath before being thrown even deeper into the new world he was going to be a major player in. BUT being bombarded makes sense because he is essentially thrown in to this whole new world and isn't that what it's like in reality when we're put in a situation so new and life altering? So it makes a little more sense. One thing that I found different was the author's use of zombies in this story. Oh not that zombies don't fit in as a kind of monster but that these zombies were created from a computer game designed to alter aggressive peoples thought processes. That came across as a HUGE leap from the kinds of story lines found in the other series. Maybe it's because its aimed at YA's and it seems like something interesting. Like I said it's different. But after all is said and done, I did like the book and it was worth the wait to get it. I think that now the majority of the main players have been introduced the series will take on a less "bombarding" feel and it will be nothing but excitement and exhilaration in watching Nick grow into the man he is in the DH series. I REALLY liked this book and I'll read the rest of this series as the author releases them. For the adults out there (and the teenagers who'll either sneak the books or fool their parents into thinking they're just another book series) READ THE DARK HUNTER SERIES. The men you find there are dangerous, tortured by their past, major bad asses and of course, sexy as hell. Also keep an eye on my "In The Spotlight" page because I have a feeling you're going to find them there. So now can you excuse me while I go off to read about Julian of Macedon and how he got trapped in a book as a love slave for 2000 years. Sigh. Boy I love my life...

Rating: 4.5 stars

FYI: 10 stars for the Dark-Hunter series (sure.. like you didn't see THAT coming)

Sweep

SWEEP
Book Of Shadows, the Coven, Blood Witches

Cate Tiernan / Young Adult Paranormal

Morgan Rowlands never thought she was anything other than a typical sixteen year old girl. But when she meets Cal, a captivating handsome coven leader, she makes a discovery that turns her whole world upside down: she is a witch. Descended from an ancient and powerful line. And so is Cal. Their connection is immediate and unbreakable: Cal teases out Morgan's power, her love, her magick. But Morgan discovers too soon that her powers are strong - almost too powerful to control. And she begins to suspect that Cal - her love, her soul mate - may be keeping secrets from her ... secrets that could destroy them both.

Well. I managed to get through the combination showing the first three books of a long series. I remember reading the back cover at Walmart thinking, this really sounds like a good read. Curiosity struck again last night so I thought I'd give it a shot. I have really mixed thoughts and feelings about this book. I think the above book description sums up the main theme of the three books but to add to it, Morgan must face the lose of her best friend and the possibility Bree (the old BFF) has turned to hate and is trying to hurt Morgan. Something is happening with the break off coven and the story talks about some of the fall out. Ok having gotten that out of the way, I have to admit that about around the half way in mark, i must have repeated "This is just so weird" countless times. Some of it struck as just plain scary and I began to see the makings of a cult. Cal having just moved into town, invited a group of fellow classmates to go hang out and talk in a field and that was pretty much all he said. So people are hanging, everything is cool and Cal just starts talking about how he wanted them to help him with a Wicca ceremony/ritual and started setting up. No explaining. For those who didn't freak out and leave. He began the ritual, having them do all the movements and blindly repeat what he's saying. No explanation, no forewarning - nothing. AS I'm reading this I'm screaming "RUN RUN GET AWAY AS QUICKLY AS YOU CAN!!!" with the next thought "My gosh you are a stupid bunch of kids that you would blindly accept and do something that you have NO clue what it means?" Can you see the problem. A little further on (after another ritual where many don't know what's happening) everyone strips off naked and jumps in the pool. I'm like "WOAH" because it was such a shock. A further shock was that when Morgan stood her ground and turned to go home, the very naked guy she was secretly crushing on (Cal) picks her up and carries her into the pool. I'm no prude. I can see the excitement that comes from trying something new, something that is often a taboo subject. I just really found it strange that this was the way and style that the author chose to introduce a key element of the book. I kept getting the impression that Cal was some all knowing, revered leader who at one point was compared to learning from an "apostle" Nothing wrong with it. People feel what they feel. I just need to share that to me the whole set up was just bizarre. Another thing that bothered me half way through was that I read little evidence of a solid relationship between Cal and Morgan - it resembled that first "We like each other so we're trying to learn more about the other" stage.. the holding hand stage. Then bam!! After one of the few kisses shared, Cal tells her he "thinks" she's his soulmate. Blew me away because it literally came out of nowhere because there had been no sign of passion before hand. This was about the time that I stopped and wrote the blog on my front page. I was unsure whether to continue. I hmmed and harred. And decided to continue. The second part was actually better and I was glad I preserved. The plot picked up and I began to become intrigued with the new characters being added, the suspicion implied on key people and a general sense "I wonder what's gonna happen next". It sucked you in and held you're interest. It wasn't so much the relationship that was the focus, at least with me, but the events of the story. Who was the mysterious Hunter and what did he want from Cal.? (by the way, how can you not be intrigued by someone with such a sexy name) Before I knew and definitely before I was ready, the book ended and I felt like I had only scratched the surface. I immediately got on Amazon and ordered the next 4 books (I really hope I'm not being too optimistic) I really liked the story. I think what threw me was that first ritual where no one had a clue, had been basically thrown into it with no explanation and it didn't seem to be inappropriate to Cal. Yeah I think that's what bugged me the most. But if you choose to read it, do it. Maybe it won't bother you like it did me. (I have been told that I can be really picky about what I read - hence I'm a book snob) But after it's all said and done, it is worth checking it out and persevering through the weird part. It's funny and as you continue reading is very entertaining. An extra bonus - you learn that "bazongas" is a new word to describe boobs. That got a great big bellow from me.

Ratings : 4 stars and 3 hearts