Quickie Review: The Demon Trapper's Daughter by Jana Oliver

The Demon Trapper's Daughter 

(The Demon Trappers #1)
by Jana Oliver

Demon Trapper Riley Blackthorne just needs a chance to prove herself—and that’s exactly what Lucifer is counting on…

It’s the year 2018, and with human society seriously disrupted by the economic upheavals of the previous decade, Lucifer has increased the number of demons in all major cities. Atlanta is no exception. Fortunately, humans are protected by Demon Trappers, who work to keep homes and streets safe from the things that go bump in the night. Seventeen-year-old Riley, only daughter of legendary Demon Trapper Paul Blackthorne, has always dreamed of following in her father’s footsteps. When she’s not keeping up with her homework or trying to manage her growing attraction to fellow Trapper apprentice, Simon, Riley’s out saving citizens from Grade One Hellspawn. Business as usual, really, for a demon-trapping teen. When a Grade Five Geo-Fiend crashes Riley’s routine assignment at a library, jeopardizing her life and her chosen livelihood, she realizes that she’s caught in the middle of a battle between Heaven and Hell.

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Publication Date: Feb 1st 2011

Publisher: St. Matin's Griffin

Format: paperback trade, 340 pages 

Series: yes

Source: my own copy

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My Review

Riley wants to become a Demon Trapper just like her dad. She lives in a sort of post-apocalyptic world partially destroyed by demonic forces. In this world there are not only demons, but also witches, demon buyers, and creepy necromancers who buy corpses and turn them into 'zombie-like' slaves for rich people.

Riley is the perfect example of the kind of heroine I LOVE reading about. She's strong, she doesn't give up when things start to turn to sh*t, she proves her worth, she doesn't WHINE (that is SO important) and she doesn't think boys are the most important thing ever. Oh, and, come on, guys. She hunts DEMONS!!! Come on, that is awesomeness personified. 

This book was such a trip! There was so much going on! So many rich characters and unbelievably interesting situations! Usually when so much happens in a book, it can get tiring or confusing, but not here! Jana Oliver was definitely on the right track. ;) Just so... incredibly talented. The writing was fantastic, super engaging, and the world-building was... out of this world. LOL. XD

Funny how I can never express myself very well when I'm writing about a book I really liked. But there you go: It's awesome, and worth your time and excitement. Now, excuse me as I have to go get my hands on the rest of the series.

Review: Succubus Blues (Georgina Kincaid #1) by Richelle Mead

Succubus Blues 
(Georgina Kincaid #1)

by Richelle Mead

Succubus (n.) An alluring, shape-shifting demon who seduces and pleasures mortal men. Pathetic (adj.) A succubus with great shoes and no social life. See: Georgina Kincaid. 

When it comes to jobs in hell, being a succubus seems pretty glamorous. A girl can be anything she wants, the wardrobe is killer, and mortal men will do anything just for a touch. Granted, they often pay with their souls, but why get technical? 

But Seattle succubus Georgina Kincaid's life is far less exotic. Her boss is a middle-management demon with a thing for John Cusack movies. Her immortal best friends haven't stopped teasing her about the time she shape-shifted into the Demon Goddess getup complete with whip and wings. And she can't have a decent date without sucking away part of the guy's life. At least there's her day job at a local bookstore--free books; all the white chocolate mochas she can drink; and easy access to bestselling, sexy writer, Seth Mortensen, aka He Whom She Would Give Anything to Touch but Can't. 

But dreaming about Seth will have to wait. Something wicked is at work in Seattle's demon underground. And for once, all of her hot charms and drop-dead one-liners won't help because Georgina's about to discover there are some creatures out there that both heaven and hell want to deny...

Genre: Adult, Paranormal

Publication Date: March 1st 2007

Publisher: Kensington Publishing Corporation

Format: Paperback, 347 pages 

Series: yes

Source: bought


____________________________________

My Review

For some reason I thought I would dislike this book immensely, and so it took me forever to finally start it. But, just as these things go, it was love from the first page. LOL.

Georgina Kincaid is a manager at a local bookstore, she has a thing for white chocolate mochas, she absolutely adores the ground the author Seth Mortensen walks on and, last, but not least, she is a Succubus. She has to take sexual energy from human males to survive. Oh, and she can shapeshift into whatever and/or whoever she wants, as long as she has enough energy to do it. Her immortal friends are all either vampires, imps, demons and angels.

Georgina, filled to the brim with energy from a virgin who sold his soul for sex, is very excited to meet her favorite author at the signing her bookstore will be holding...but discovers she already had met him, confusing him with another fan, and told him some very embarrassing things, such as complaining about how long he takes to write the books she loves so much and how she would be willing to become his sex slave in exchange for advance copies of the next volumes. She is mortified and can barely look at him, but somehow she's the one who's chosen to take him out on a tour of the city. Turns out that the author who can write such witty and bright dialogues can barely keep a coversation in real life. But, weirdly enough, his silence doesn't bother her much. His e-mails crack her up, his thoughtfulness enchants her and his books are her drug of choice... too bad she can't date.

But this other guy, Roman, sure is trying to get her to go out with him. Roman is the total opposite from Seth. He's charming, daring, almost insolent in his self-confidance. And Georgina is hopelessly attracted to him, which is a very bad thing for her decision never to date good guys again. But is Roman really that good?

When someone starts to murder people with whom she just had fights with, she's suddenly the prime suspect... until she, too, is attacked. But who is doing this? Who is attacking the lesser immortals, and why can't the victims not feel the attacker's presence? The only ones who can mask it are the most powerful immortals, like demons and angels... So, is the murderer an angel? Could it be Carter, the local angel? Georgina, against her boss's orders, starts an investigation that leads her to one of the immortals' greatest secrets...

I thought the story of how she became a succubus was so sad! And the ending was so ironic! Not to mention surprising! I only discovered who the bad guy was a few pages before he was, indeed, revealed, which is a first for me. Usually it's so obvious it's annoying, but not this time. :)

I'm not sure who I want her to end up with, if with her favorite lovely author, with a certain angel who kept saving and comforting her or this other 'angel', who, I think, can still make up for his mistakes.

I loved, loved , LOVED thsi book, and am about to start the second volume.

If you like good writing, creative settings, complex and lovable characters, nice, vulgarity-free sexy scenes and a very smart heroine, this is your book!

Early Review: Shift by Kim Curran

Shift
by Kim Curran


Expected publication: September 4th 2012 by Strange Chemistry

When your average, 16-year old loser, Scott Tyler, meets the beautiful and mysterious Aubrey Jones, he learns he's not so average after all. He's a 'Shifter'. And that means he has the power to undo any decision he's ever made. At first, he thinks the power to shift is pretty cool. But as his world starts to unravel around him he realises that each time he uses his power, it has consequences; terrible unforeseen consequences. Shifting is going to get him killed. In a world where everything can change with a thought, Scott has to decide where he stands.

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

Publication Date: September 4th 2012

Publisher: Strange Chemistry

Format: eARC, 416 pages 

Series: ?

Source: Netgalley

_________________________________

My Review

First line: Take a second and think about all the decisions you've made in your life.

Last line: I leaned in to kiss her knowing this was one decision I was never going to change.

Favorite quote: "'Hello?' I heard a tired Katie from the other end.
"Katie, what are you doing up?"
"Well, there was this annoying ringing noise."'

What if you could undo every decision you've ever made? Unmake every mistake. Would you? Sixteen year-old Scott Tyler just found out he can. And that so do many other kids. But just because you can,, doesn't mean you should. There are people out there keeping track of every Shifter. After all, the government isn't very fond of people having many choices... or freedom.

Scott has found out about his powers completely by accident, and luckily Aubrey Jones was there to help him understand, otherwise the Regulators would have quickly caught him and judged him as a rogue. He's too old to be believed ignorant of his powers. Which is why Aubrey has given him the choice to ignore it, to pretend he never found out about his abilities. To let this all go and live his normal life, with his normal family. But that's the last thing he wants right now.

His parents are always fighting, blaming each other for their failures and general unhappiness in life. Scott was 'The Mistake' baby, and his little sister, Katie, was the 'Band-Aid baby', born to try to fix things. Well, she didn't fix much. In fact, she just makes Scott look more and more like a mistake. Everything she does, she does it better than he does. Games, sports, social life...

Shifting isn't all fun and games, though, as Scott quickly discovers. Sure, he can change stupid past mistakes and remake silly choices, but everything has a consequence. Ripples in reality. Things can go really wrong once they're changed. 

Scott is about to find out that sometimes the good guys aren't really all that good... and the bad ones, well, they can surprise you. And even your family, who aparently could not care less about you, actually really does. 

I wasn't sure if I should write this review because, let me tell you... I wasn't very impressed by Shift. I was really looking forward to reading a guy's POV (which are so rare!), but... I'm not sure why, I just couldn't get into it. Nor could I care about the characters... as a matter of fact, I felt like slapping idiotic Scott every couple of pages. Seriously, even if he was a teenager, that guy was a complete and utter moron. I couldn't bring myself to be sympathetic towards him. And, boy, did I try. 

The story was interesting, but it wasn't able to suck me in, for some reason. Even the crazy scientific explanations and evil government theories, which usually excite me by themselves, didn't work this time. The writing felt... flat and bland. I STILL can't understand exactly how Shifting works, by the way. Or why Scott was so special. Or why this even got published.

Trying to get to the end of it was a bit like torture... but I did it. And I'd like to tell you that it was worth it, that the whole book finally made sense and finished in the greatest possible way... but  I'm afraid it was still very bland. And so, so painfully predictable!!! There are dozens of mentions of government, power, control, control, control from the very beginning of the book... so when I got to the ending, I was like:

Really, a guy who has lived a boring, normal life for sixteen years as nothing special, suddenly turns ou to be super mega powerful? Pardon me if I can't swallow it. 

But then again, that's just me. Most early reviewers (something like 70%, so far) seem to have loved this book, so there you have it. You might love it too. Give it a try and let me know if you agree or if you think I was smoking pot or something while writing. :P I can take it. Totally. I think.

If you like male POV, YA paranormal fantasy/science fiction and would love to read more about changing the past and present (also altering the future), go get your copy of Shift.

* I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Early Review: The Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Frances Long

The Treachery of Beautiful Things
by Ruth Frances Long

Expected publication: August 16th 2012 by Dial Books

The trees swallowed her brother whole. And Jenny was there to see it. Years later, when she returns to the woods where Tom was taken to say good-bye at last, she finds herself lured into a world where stunning beauty masks the most treacherous of evils, and strange and dangerous creatures await—creatures who seem to consider her the threat. Among them is Jack, mercurial and magnetic, with allegiances that shift as much as his moods. Determined to find her brother, with or without Jack’s help, Jenny struggles to navigate a faerie world where nothing is what it seems, no one is who they say, and she’s faced with a choice between salvation or sacrifice—and not just her own.

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Publication Date: August 16th 2012

Publisher: Dial Books

Format: eARC, 300 pages 

Series: no

Source: Netgalley


_____________________

My Review

When Jenny was 10-years-old, her older brother Tom decided to take a shortcut through the forest on the way home from their music class. Tom, a very talented fourteen-year-old was joyfully playing his flute when Jenny started to notice the earth moving slightly... and then, out of nowhere, a strange man made of bark, moss and dirt appeared and tried to grab her. Her brother stepped in front of her and was taken in her stead, screaming for her to run while the earth swallowed him up. He was never found again.

Seven years later, Jenny is tired of being treated like a mentaly-ill person. Nobody ever believed her when she spoke of the bark man or about how the earth swallowed her brother. Her parents sent her to all the doctors they could think of, and eventually sent her away to a boarding school, because they could barely look at her, who looked so much like the son that never returned home. The talented one.

Jenny has been trying to convince herself for years that trees cannot hurt her, that the forest is harmless, even if she keeps hearing them call to her... so she returns to the forest where everything happened, where the pull is even stronger. She has a bouquet of flowers to honor her brother. She's looking for some sort of closure... but then she hears his flute, his beautiful music. Without even thinking about it, Jenny follows the sound until she finds herself far, far  away from home.

She's in Faerie land. There, she's considered sport to any fae who can get her... but Jack o' the Forest, the Guardian of the Edge, is responsible for her well-being and with the help of the famous Puck, tries to send her back to where she came from... but Jenny is to close to give up, now. She discovers that the man she heard playing, the one she suspects's almost sure to be her brother, is the Queen's piper. And to meet the Queen Titania would be a very, very dangerous thing to her. But almost everything in that place is dangerous. Beautiful, but two-faced and treacherous. Jenny now needs to learn whom she can trust and to what point.

The book is beautifully written, with such an enrapturing style of narration you can't help but just want to fall into it, and in love with it. I mean, look at that cover! It's to die for. Well, I have never been much of a faerie fan, but Jenny is such a very nice female character! And she's not blond.(Nothing against blondes, but I am starting to get tired of so many blond heroines in YA, ok? And redheads.). Oh, and I just went nuts for Jack! Wretched, bewildered and completely torn between duty, love and his own survival. How can someone NOT  love him? The story did drag a bit at some parts, but the plot was so interesting I just kept going, dying to know what would happen next.


I can't say the ending was incredibly creative or at least surprising. Not at all. But it was cute and satisfying nonetheless.


If you enjoy paranormal Young Adults with faerie stories and forbidden romance, then The Treachery of Beautiful Things is your book.

*I received an eARC from Netgally in exchange for an honest review.*

Early Review: Lethal Rider (Lords of Deliverance #3) by Larissa Ione/Reading Romances May Challenge

I chose this book for the Reading Romances May Challenge

2) Read a book by a favorite author or from a favorite genre.

Lethal Rider (Lords of Deliverance #3) 
by Larissa Ione

May 22nd 2012 by Grand Central Publishing

Thanatos, the most deadly Horseman of the Apocalypse, has endured thousands of years of celibacy to prevent the end of days. But just one night with the wickedly sexy Aegis Guardian, Regan Cooper, shatters centuries of resolve. Yet their passion comes with a price. And Thanatos must face a truth more terrifying than an apocalypse-he's about to become a father.

Demon-slayer Regan Matthews never imagined herself the maternal type, but with the fate of the world hanging in the balance she had no choice but to seduce Thanatos and bear his child. Now, as the final battle draws closer and his rage at being betrayed is overshadowed by an undeniable passion for the mother of his child, Thanatos has a life-shattering realization: To save the world, he must sacrifice the only thing he's ever wanted-a family.

Genre: Young Adult, Steampunk

Publication Date: May 1st 2012
Publisher: Amulet Books

Format: eARC, 368 pages 

Series: ?

Source: Netgalley

_______________________________________________________

My Review:

First line: Regan Matthews was going to die

Last line: Too spoilery.

Favorite quote: From virgin to dad in zero to sixty.

Guardian Regan Matthews is pregnant and almost ready to deliver. Normally women in her situation would be thrilled, counting the minutes and preparing everything for the new arrival... but hers is a quite different situation. 

First of all, her baby was conceived in a very unorthodox way, one that made the father-to-be freak out and decide to kill her. So now she's in hiding and he's in an induced 'coma' of sorts, thanks to his siblings. A very strange situation, indeed. But it gets weirder. How? Well, the father is Thanatos, the Fourth Horseman of the Apocalypse. A.k.a Death, if his Seal breaks. 

And in Thanatos' mind, Regan, an OCD Aegis Guardian and psychometric empath with other gifts, has tried to purposefully break his Seal. After drugging him with an aphrodisiac and trapping him in his own body with one of her abilities. Practically 'raping' him to end the world. Even if he did enjoy it immensely and wants to do it again, he's still majorly pissed off and wanted to kill her. Until he found out she was pregnant with his baby, of course. He did get pissed off all over again when she told him they wouldn't be raising the baby.

Regan feels terrible for what happened that day. She really regrets it, but she was drugged as well, by one of Than's vampires, and didn't notice that Thanatos was 'restrained' by her powers at all. She also was not aware that there was a possibility os his Seal breaking and releasing the Apocalypse on Earth. As a matter of fact, she was made to believe quite the contrary. And now she's knocked up by a very, very mad Horseman. Very hot, too. Who wants her to make up for the eight months in which he was trapped by his siblings so as not to kill many people with his rage. And he wants her to make up for this time sexually. While they try to understand each other, his brother, whose Seal broke and is now known as Pestilence, is wreaking havoc all around the world. And he wants to kill his baby.

Oh, man. I've been waiting patiently to read this gem for months now!!! Thanatos is the perfect example of the wounded, flawed hero. And super hot and damaged. How can a girl not go crazy over that? 

It was kind weird to read about a man going on about how his virginity/his seed/his innocence were stolen, though. You usually expect a heroine to whine about that kind of thing. LOL. But it was completely understandable. He wasn't overly whiny about it, thankfully. Just indignant for a while. Then things became much more interesting.


Larissa Ione always manages to surprise me with the depth of her characters and the twists in all of her plots. When you finally think you're getting something... everything changes. LOL. It should be frustrating, but it's really refreshing. Thanatos has been my favorite character ever since the first book in the series, so I was in absolute heaven just reading more and more about him. He suffered so much... it felt good to see him finally find some happiness.


Also, her angels are very different from what we are used to expect from angels, so that, too, is quite fascinating to read about. No perfect little goody-shoes in these books. They are good, of course, but even they are not perfect... and even their goodness can go bad. LOL.


But I particularly want to see more of Harvester. She gives me very mixed feelings. Oh, and I'm dying to know what really went on in Reaper's past. And what awaits him in the future... The curiosity is burning me up!


Not to mention that I want to see more of Reseph/Pestilence. Like, right NOW. You are killing me, Mrs. Ione!!! In a good way, obviously. Sort of. LOL. That first chapter only served to make me squirm! December, come quick. :X


If you don't mind some spoilers, check out the synopsis for Rogue Rider. It sounds like it will be out-of-this-world good. :)


* I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Early Review: Of Poseidon by Anna Banks

Of Poseidon
by Anna Banks

Expected publication: May 22nd 2012 by Feiwel & Friends

Emma and her friend Chloe are spending vacation in Florida. When Emma (literally) runs into a hot guy named Galen on the beach, little does she know he’s a prince of the Syrena. Galen and Emma both feel something strange – is it attraction? – and Galen suspects that Emma might well be the girl he’s heard of – a human who can communicate with fish. 

What follows is a deadly scene with a shark in which Galen witnesses Emma’s gifts. He must know more about her, and follows her back to New Jersey, and high school, to find out for sure if she’s the key to saving his kingdom. Soon, Emma can’t deny her feelings for him, but can’t explain them, either – and both she and Galen must learn more about where she comes from and what her powers are before they can trust one another and their feelings.

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy

Publication Date: May 22nd 2012

Publisher:  Feiwel & Friends

Format: eARC, 324 pages 

Series: no

Source: Netgalley

__________________________________

My Review:

Emma McIntosh was spending her last vacation before college in Florida, along with her childhood friend Chloe, when she ran into the most gorgeous guy she had ever seen. But what really captures her attention is that, against all odds, both him and his sister have purple eyes, just like hers. A color said to be so rare some people even believe is nonexistent.

Galen is very surprised when he sees the eyes of the girl who just tottered into him. Those are the eyes of the Syrenas, most commonly known as merpeople. And even if her skin and hair coloring are all wrong, the tingling sensation he feels when he touches her just make his suspicions that she's one of them grow. Even if his sister, Rayna, doesn't believe him. Any doubts he might have had disappear when he sees her talking to a shark... and the shark actually obeying her. That ability alone proves that she's one Of Poseidon, and she just might be the key to uniting two kingdoms.

Emma is absolutely crushed when her best friend is killed by a shark during their vacation together, and that she couldn't save her, but life must go on. On her first day back to school she can't believe her eyes when she sees Galen, the guy she met on the beach, again. That very, very handsome guy, whom every girl suddeenly wants. Turns out he's in ALL of her classes. And he seems to ALWAYS be around her. Not to mention that he seems to really enjoy annoying her. They just can't stop arguing. But their chemistry is amazing.

Galen starts to feel more and more attracted to Emma, even knowing that if she is of Poseidon, than she should be mated to his older brother, Grom, as their tradition demands. He can't be so selfish as to want her for himself when the other option is uniting and bringing prosperity to two kingdoms.

I thought the story of Of Poseidon was very creative. I liked the characters immensely (even if Emma fainted way too many times for my taste), found a lot of quotes to be absolutely hilarious and many situations very amusing. What I just couldn't take was how long it took them to find out Emma was a freaking half-blood! I mean, seriously? The girl had been living her whole life at the surface, had no idea she could hold her breath for so long, can't grow a fin to save her life, had never even heard of the Syrena people, looks nothing like them (with the exception of her eye color), and they kept thinking she was a full-blooded mermaid all along? Jeez, talk about being blind. Oh, and about her mother? Please. That was a bit too obvious from the very start.

So I wasn't surprised when the ending turned out to be predictable, but I was startled by the abruptness of the way it ended. For a moment I even thought maybe my advanced copy had missing pages. I'm sure the author was trying to build tension and make things more mysterious for the next books, (and I actually really want to know what happens next), but I think the ending for this first volume could have been more, well, complete. I did like the book as a whole, though. I usually don't care much about secondary characters, but they were all so charming and funny! I'm hoping we'll see more of Toraf (horrible name, great guy), Rayna and Rachel. And it was too bad Chloe had to die so soon! She could have made things even more interesting. :(

If you like your fantasy YA with hot mermen, funny heroines and super interesting secondary characters, you'll really dig Of Poseidon.

* I received an eARC from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Early Review: Struck by Jennifer Bosworth

Struck (Struck #1)
by Jennifer Bosworth

Expected publication: May 8th 2012 by Farrar, Straus and Giroux BYR

Mia Price is a lightning addict. She’s survived countless strikes, but her craving to connect to the energy in storms endangers her life and the lives of those around her. 

Los Angeles, where lightning rarely strikes, is one of the few places Mia feels safe from her addiction. But when an earthquake devastates the city, her haven is transformed into a minefield of chaos and danger. The beaches become massive tent cities. Downtown is a crumbling wasteland, where a traveling party moves to a different empty building each night, the revelers drawn to the destruction by a force they cannot deny. Two warring cults rise to power, and both see Mia as the key to their opposing doomsday prophecies. They believe she has a connection to the freak electrical storm that caused the quake, and to the far more devastating storm that is yet to come. 

Mia wants to trust the enigmatic and alluring Jeremy when he promises to protect her, but she fears he isn’t who he claims to be. In the end, the passion and power that brought them together could be their downfall. When the final disaster strikes, Mia must risk unleashing the full horror of her strength to save the people she loves, or lose everything.

Genre: Young Adult, Supernatural

Publication Date: May 8th 2012

Publisher: Farrar, Straus and Giroux BYR

Format: eARC, 373 pages 

Series: yes

Source: Netgalley

__________________________________________

My Review 

Seventeen year-old Mia Price is addicted to lightning. She calls herself a 'lightning rod'. She loves the feeling of being hit, it makes her feel more alive than ever, the pain that is almost pleasure, and that can do anything to her (even kill her, of course, which, apparently, happens on accasion. LOL). But there are many aftereffects, such as chronic insomnia, veiny red scars all over her body (caused Lichtenberg figures) and a burning in her chest when she gets emotional. Oh, and she can fel when storms are coming and sometimes shoot electric shocks at people when she feels threatened.

She moved to Los Angeles after a lightining accident made her the town pariah. But lightning followed her to L.A. And it somehow caused earthquakes that destroyed many parts of the city and hundreds of people's lives. In this post-apocalyptic setting, there are serious food and water shortages, power, cell service and internet are always on and off and the most desperate people resort to rioting and looting. 

Others find religion with the Prophet, the man who claims to have been told by God when and where the earthquake would happen. But people who go to the Prophet are never the same when they return... Mia's mother, suffering from Acute Stress Disorder, spends her days medicated (with overcharged pills from the black market, since doctors and pharmacies were only available to more serious cases, such as severe injuries and earthquake fever, an immunity disorder caused by mold released from the ground) and watching the Prophet on TV.

But 'end of the world' situation or not, Mia and her brother, Parker, need to go back to school. Every student that goes through his classes receive rations at the end of the day. It's not about education, it's about survival. Mia feels like it's her responsability to keep the family together, but with her mom not being herself and pushing her children away, and Parker also starting to pull away, she feels like she's not doing her job right, and blames herself.

At school she's surrounded by the desperate, the sick and scared. And the Followers of the Prophet, whom Mia calls 'extremist evangelical whackos', are always looking for new 'sheep'. But apparently they aren't the only ones recruiting. The 'Seekers' are also on the look out. And they know she has 'The Spark' just by touching her, and they tell her they need her help to save the world. But this very attractive new guy at her class, Jeremy Parish, tells her not to trust either of them. Mia is very confused and annoyed. The only thing she knows for sure is that when he touches her, he shows her the future. And his touch gives her a nice tingle from neck to toes, the likes of which she never felt before.

Now she has to decide what to believe, even if nobody tells her what she wants to know... only that her actions can change the whole world. For better or for worse.

I loved 'Struck'!!! It was so different from the usual YA books out there! The main character is so, so strong and determined! It was very refreshing to see a heroine who doesn't let people step all over her or tell her what to do. She's independent, responsible, she fights back, doesn't just believe everything she hears and is just... intense. Her life is not just about boys or school or what clothes to wear. She has a family to take care of, and with her unfit mother, she has to be the grown-up. 

Oh, and with her addiction causing her body to be almost completely scarred, boys are the last thing on her mind. And the one guy that does appear, apparently falling for her and not caring about the scars and all that, has tried to kill her once. Unlike any other stupid YA heroine out there, she doesn't immediately forgive him and just falls in love, too. No! She stays guarded, she's careful and waits to see if he can ever be trusted. Like I said, it's a very refreshing change of airs. ;D Thank you very much, Jennifer Bosworth. You give me hope.
The ending was just perfect!! I can't wait for the next book!!

If you like your dystopian YAs with strong female characters, a very different and creative plot and lots of drama and action, this is your book. 


*I was very lucky to receive an advanced e-copy from the publisher through Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.*

Review: Hallowed (Unearthly #2) by Cynthia Hand

 

Hallowed (Unearthly #2)

by Cynthia Hand


For months Clara Gardner trained to face the fire from her visions, but she wasn't prepared for the choice she had to make that day. And in the aftermath, she discovered that nothing about being part angel is as straightforward as she thought.


Now, torn between her love for Tucker and her complicated feelings about the roles she and Christian seem destined to play in a world that is both dangerous and beautiful, Clara struggles with a shocking revelation: Someone she loves will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.


In this compelling sequel to "Unearthly," Cynthia Hand captures the joy of first love, the anguish of loss, and the confusion of becoming who you are.

_______________________________________________

My Review

Hallowed starts right where Unearthly stopped. Clara ends up saving Tucker from a fire (that turns out to not be natural, but manmade), instead of saving Christian, like in all the visions she had of her purpose as an angel-blood. She then discovers that Christian is also an angel (and could have saved himself from the other fire in the woods) and that he thought that his purpose was to save her. They are now both confused about their real purposes and afraid they might have failed.

Clara starts having a new recurring dream. In it, she's in a very beautiful place, surrounded by people she knows, but intense sorrow fills her. As she looks around, other grieving faces meet her gaze. She searches for Tucker, but can't find him anywhere. Only Christian is there to give her comfort. She assumes that he's the one that dies. Then she decides she will not allow that to happen, God's wish or not.

Samjeeza, the leader of the Black Wings, who tried to kill Clara's mother and herself in the first book, comes back to stalk her. We have some deeper insight on some of the reasons for his sadness and obsession about her mother.


The love triangle starts to get seriously interesting. It seems as if everywhere Clara looks, there is Christian. He speaks in her mind, he is kind and thoughtful, he waits outside her window to check on her, he takes her skiing... and Tucker is not amused, even with Clara clearly "stalking/babysitting" him all the time to try and avoid his apparently imminent death.
Angela, Clara's friend, founds the Angel Club. She invites her BBF, her brother Jeffrey and Christian to join. Jeffrey starts to act weirder and weirder. He gest ruder and more violent. Clara questions him about the night of the fires, when he disappeared, but he comes out very evasive and irritated. And highly suspicious.


I liked that in Hallowed Clara discovers more about her powers and lineage. She has empathy, which means she can pick up on the emotions of the people around her very easily. Sometimes even read their thoughts. Which comes in handy, most of the time. We also see more of the other angels (who were closer than she could've ever imagined), their meetings and other secrets.Like I said, I liked the book very much, but something really bothered me. 


Apparently it never occured to Clara to ask her brother about his darkening wings, or why he never shows them around their mother or other angels. And that was very annoying. I mean, I get it that she had a lot on her mind, but couldn't she look away from her crushes and her own problems for just enough time to pay a little more attention to her own family? I guess we'll find out more about those issues in the next volume.


A bit of spoiler alert here: Christian finally kisses Clara. *squeals* We finally find out about her mother's purpose, we see more of her father, more of other angels... and Tucker is not the one who dies.


*I received an e-ARC of this book from Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

Review: The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark

The Demon Lover

(Fairwick Chronicles #1)

by Juliet Dark (Carol Goodman)

Kindle Edition, 432 pages

Expected publication: December 27th 2011 by Ballantine Books

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I gasped, or tried to. My mouth opened, but I couldn’t draw breath. His lips, pearly wet, parted and he blew into my mouth. My lungs expanded beneath his weight. When I exhaled he sucked my breath in and his weight turned from cold marble into warm living flesh.

Since accepting a teaching position at remote Fairwick College in upstate New York, Callie McFay has experienced the same disturbingly erotic dream every night: A mist enters her bedroom, then takes the shape of a virile, seductive stranger who proceeds to ravish her in the most toe-curling, wholly satisfying ways possible. Perhaps these dreams are the result of her having written the bestselling book The Sex Lives of Demon Lovers. Callie’s lifelong passion is the intersection of lurid fairy tales and Gothic literature—which is why she’s found herself at Fairwick’s renowned folklore department, living in a once-stately Victorian house that, at first sight, seemed to call her name. But Callie soon realizes that her dreams are alarmingly real. She has a demon lover—an incubus—and he will seduce her, pleasure her, and eventually suck the very life from her. Then Callie makes another startling discovery: Her incubus is not the only mythical creature in Fairwick. As the tenured witches of the college and the resident fairies in the surrounding woods prepare to cast out the demon, Callie must accomplish something infinitely more difficult—banishing this supernatural lover from her heart.


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My Review:

The Demon Lover was nothing like I thought it would be. When I first saw the cover, read the summary and an excerpt of the prologue, I thought, WOW. I HAVE to read this book now.

But when I actually got to it... let's just say it was very difficult to get into the story. I felt no connection to the main character. None. The other characters were all very mysterious and... ecletic. Really, just too odd. Even if they were paranormal. And most of them felt superfluous, I guess. They weren't very important to the story at all. Maybe in the next books?

This is a supernatural romance with a lot of mystery. Really, A LOT of mystery. That was the biggest problem for me. There was way too much of it. (I used to think there couldn't possibly be such a thing, but as it turns out...). If I had to read one more sentence of: they shared a strange look, they looked at each other as if sharing a secret, they were whispering in secret, they exchanged glances... GAH!!!

When you thought something would be cleared, that something would finally be explained... there seemed to appear three more different mysteries. No answers at all. O.o Anyone heard of Hydra of Lerna?

I caught myself skipping a great deal of pages, which is not a good sign. The book was so long! It's not that the story wasn't interesting (I really wanted to get a taste of a demon lover myself, LOL), but it's very tiring when nothing is ever explained... and, at long last, when they eventually do explain somethings, we get THAT kind of sucky ending. Yeah, well... (It was only when I was halfway through it that I found out this book was part one in a series -jeez-, but this was such a long, tiring read all I really wanted was some kind of closure...).

What I did enjoy VERY much was... (guess, guess!!!) YES, the incubus! LOL. Liam was my favorite thing in the whole book. The only exciting things that happened were when he was around. Yes, there were many sexual interactions, (but you only need to read the summary to see they're coming) and I'm not ashamed to say (okay, maybe just a little) that they were the only reasons I kept turning the pages. That and because I wanted to read more about Liam. (and does the author make you work for it! >.>).

I was all kinds of disappointed. With the too-long book, with the empty, distant characters, with the ending that failed to meet any and all expectations... (those that still resisted my initial frustration). I'm sorry about so much whining and complaining, however, that's how it was for me.

The author is very good with describing objects, houses, nature, clothes (her detailing of art work and the interior of the forest just leaves you breathless.), she's obviously very creative and has studied a lot about folklore, fairytales and celtic fables, but, for me, not even those super interesting things could save this book.

Then again, who knows? Maybe you'll love it. It has every kind of paranormal creatures: vampires, demons, fairies, familiars... you name it. It's worth a try, at least.

*eARC provided to me by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*