Review: Incendiary by Amy A. Bartol

**Spoiler Alert: If you haven't caught up with the other books in the Premonition series, then you may want to hold off on reading this review.**

"Cold, fine drops of rain fall softly on my cheeks as I emerge from the darkness of the ship’s interior to the gray, overcast sky of the main deck. Pulling my dark pea coat tighter to my body, the wind lifts red tendrils of my hair. I walk slowly to the railing overlooking the water. 

I catch my first sight of the Irish coastline; its craggy landscape makes me shiver in dread. I find it difficult to imagine now how the Gancanagh had made this their home for so long without anyone realizing it. The cold, moss-covered edifices practically scream their presence. As I study the shadows between the falling-down stone, I imagine creeping shapes of undead Faeries grasping the rock, waiting for our ship to draw nearer to their position. 

Tipping my face up, I let the rain wash over me. It bathes away the frigid sweat of fear that has broken on my brow. “You don’t know how fiercely beautiful you are, do you?” A quiet voice behind me asks, causing me to stiffen and fix my eyes on the rocks along the shoreline."

Once again, Evie and her friends are attempting to find a way to eradicate the Gancanagh while trying to keep Brennus from getting his hands on Evie. But this time, there are some new players to help Evie, Reed, and the gang, even though they want to control everything about the situation - including Evie herself. Can Evie and her friends manage to stop their enemy, while still keeping Evie safe from these newcomers? Incendiary is the fourth book in Amy Bartol's Premonition series.

As with the other three books in this series, I enjoyed the relationship between Reed and Evie, but this book provided another relationship that I grew to enjoy just as much as the main one. Russell meets a new character in this book who becomes very important to him. It was nice to finally see another character share a bond similar to the one that Evie shares with Reed in this series. Also, the familiarity of these characters will always be a plus for this series for me. I love how easy it is for me to relate to them while I'm reading.

Even though there were things that I liked about this book, Incendiary had a few things that I didn't particularly care for. For starters, I don't like that the plot in this book is the same that it's been for the past three books - trying to eliminate the Gancanagh and keep Evie from Brennus. After three books that have focused on this goal, I feel like it's time for the characters to move on to something new, and I'm hoping that they do in the next installment. This was something that nearly kept me from finishing Incendiary. I just felt like the plot was tired and it made me want to stop reading altogether. Another thing I didn't really enjoy was the fact that a new character was introduced in this book who is supposed to be Reed's rival for Evie. Like Russell, this new guy is connected to Evie's past - she just doesn't remember. What I don't like about this, aside from the fact that it's already been done in this series with Russell, is that it gives the impression that everyone is in love with Evie. This is something that really took away from my enjoyment of the book, too.

I rate this book: 

I really wanted to like this book. And I'm still holding out hope for the next book in the series. But there were just too many things that bothered me and made me want to quit reading Incendiary. As always, please don't take my word for it. If you've read the other books in the Premonition series, then I still want to recommend that you keep reading. Hopefully, you like it better than I did. And, if you're like me, maybe the next one will make up for it.

 Amy A. Bartol lives in Michigan with her husband and their two sons. Her family is very supportive of her writing. When she's writing, they often bring her the take-out menu so that she can call and order them dinner. They listen patiently when she talks about her characters like they're real. They rarely roll their eyes when she tells them she'll only be a second while she finishes writing a chapter...and then they take off their coats. They ask her how the story is going when she surfaces after living for hours in a world of her own making. They have learned to accept her "writing uniform," consisting of a slightly unflattering pink fleece jacket, t-shirt, and black yoga pants. And they smile at her nerdy bookishness whenever she tries to explain urban fantasy to them. In short, they get her, so they are perfect and she feels blessed. Check out her website: http://www.amyabartol.com.

Review: Indebted by Amy A. Bartol

**Spoiler Alert: If you haven't read Intuition, then you may want to hold off on reading this review.**

"I hang my head in sorrow for just a moment when I know I am truly alone. I feel like I’m going to my execution, just as he had said. Then I move forward again. I hop a fence of fieldstone and cross a field dotted with Queen Anne’s lace. Goose bumps rise on my arms as I pass the cluster of windmills that I have seen in a dream. The scent is sweet in the field though, not the scent of heat, like it had been when it was forced upon me in visions. I gaze down the hill, beyond the small, whitewashed house that I knew would be there. The church looms dark and grim with its rough-hewn, timber façade, capped by tall, oblong spires reaching to the sky. Black, ominous clouds have collected above the roofline, as if Heaven is showing me the way."

Evie and her friends are on the run from Brennus, the leader of the Gancanagh who will do whatever it takes to secure her as his queen. Reed will do whatever necessary to keep that from happening - even if it means refusing to let Evie in on his plans to protect her from the beings who are pursuing her. But his actions soon cause Evie to make decisions that put her directly in harm's way so that she can protect the ones she loves. Now that she's been cut off from everyone she's tried to save, will she be able to survive in the strange environment of the Gancanagh long enough to make it back to the friends that have so quickly become her family? Indebted is the third book in Amy Bartol's Premonition series.

I was really excited to read this book, considering how much I enjoyed the first two books in the series. And, in some ways, this book didn't disappoint in that regard. Something I liked about this book was how familiar the characters had become to me throughout this series. They were a big part of what kept my interest in the story from dwindling. And I still enjoyed how Reed and Evie's relationship developed throughout the course of this book, too.

Even though I love the characters and I really loved the first two books in this series, Indebted didn't flow quite as well as the previous two books. The story itself felt rushed and scattered throughout much of the book. But, what really bothered me more than anything was the way that Evie would always do things to get herself in trouble. I felt like a lot of the problems she had, she brought on herself and it was something that really annoyed me while I was reading this book.

I rate this book: 

As always, the reviews posted here are strictly the opinions of the reviewers. And we certainly don't want you guys to miss out on a book that you may actually enjoy solely because of the ratings that we give here. So, don't take my word about this book - check out this series, and see for yourself. After all, everyone has a different opinion when it comes to books. If you haven't yet read any of Amy Bartol's Premonition series, then you should pick up Inescapable first. If you've read the first two books, then be sure to check out Indebted. You may like it better than I did.

Amy A. Bartol lives in Michigan with her husband and their two sons. Her family is very supportive of her writing. When she's writing, they often bring her the take-out menu so that she can call and order them dinner. They listen patiently when she talks about her characters like they're real. They rarely roll their eyes when she tells them she'll only be a second while she finishes writing a chapter...and then they take off their coats. They ask her how the story is going when she surfaces after living for hours in a world of her own making. They have learned to accept her "writing uniform," consisting of a slightly unflattering pink fleece jacket, t-shirt, and black yoga pants. And they smile at her nerdy bookishness whenever she tries to explain urban fantasy to them. In short, they get her, so they are perfect and she feels blessed. Check out her website: http://www.amyabartol.com.

Review: Denied by Kinley Baker

"When invaders brutally massacred the women and children of the Varner, Caleb witnessed loss and destruction on a scale few can comprehend. As the leader of a race on the brink of extinction, his only hope for survival is gaining acceptance into the Shadow Shifter Kingdom. Struggling with new customs, he meets Tabitha, a woman who challenges his limits.
Refused the right to join the king’s guard because of her gender, Tabitha must be stronger than the men to prove she deserves to be the first accepted female Warrior in the kingdom. She believes Caleb will help improve her abilities, until she learns her goals conflict with the foundation of his culture.
When the realm is attacked, Tabitha and Caleb must come together not only to fight, but to find the strength to win against an evil with the potential to destroy everything they revere most--including each other."

 Caleb is the new leader of the Varner and carries a heavy responsibility on his shoulders - he's been tasked with finding a way to save his race, whose women and children have all been killed. His only hope of securing a future for his people rests in his ability to gain the approval of King Valerian and the Ancestor gods of the Shadow Shifter Kingdom. Caleb is determined to gain this acceptance for his men, but something he didn't count on was finding his aroha - his destined mate - among the Shadow Shifters. Tabitha is a female who was born with the Warrior spirit and wants nothing more than to be the first female member of the king's guard, even though such goals run counter to the ways of the Shadow Shifter Kingdom. As she meets Caleb, she begins to hope that he will be able to help her accomplish these goals - that is, until she realize that they conflict with the beliefs of the Varner. Yet, when the kingdom is under attack, both Tabitha and Caleb must put aside their differences in order to ward off the threat to everything that they both desire. Denied is the sequel to Ruined, Kinley Baker's first novel in her Shadowed Love series (you can find the review for Ruined here).

This book is yet another one that I found by searching through Amazon. I remembered how much I enjoyed reading Ruined and wanted to see if Kinley Baker had any other books out. So, I was extremely excited to find this book. Something I liked about it immediately was that it was set in the same realm as Ruined, which makes a lot of sense, considering Denied is its sequel. When I'm reading a good book, it's extremely hard for me not to become invested in the characters that I'm reading about. So, when I recognized some familiar names in Denied, I was that much more eager to read it. Another thing I really enjoyed was the fact that the writing style for Denied was similar to that of Ruined. This similarity was comforting to me, in a way, because it reminded me of a book that I had loved so much. I also liked that there were consistent aspects of the story from Ruined that helped me when reading Denied, like particular bits of the Shadow Shifter or Varner histories that were mentioned in Ruined. These aspects greatly aided in my understanding of things that were happening in Denied.

However, while there were things that I really liked about this book, there were still some things that didn't particularly appeal to me. For example, with Ruined I was able to jump right into the story almost instantly. Yet, Denied was a struggle to get into. It took me longer to get invested in the plot of the book than I'm used to. After the slow start, I was able to eventually garner some interest in the book, but it was nothing like what I'd experienced when reading the first book in the series. I also wasn't particularly fond that the characters that I'd fallen in love with before seemed to take more of a backseat than was necessary in Denied. After all, they were what had drawn me to this second book to begin with. These things certainly weren't enough to keep me from finishing Denied, but they definitely influenced my thoughts about the book once I did finish it.

I rate this book:

As always, I want to caution you guys against simply taking my word for it about this book. I fully realize that my opinion of Denied was, in part, heavily influenced by my love for Ruined and I understand that I came into reading this sequel with a lot of expectations, based on my opinion of the first book in the series. So, please don't take my opinion as gospel and write this book off solely because of my rating. Check out the first Shadowed Love novel, Ruined. While it's not necessary to read this book first, it will definitely help provide you with a decent backstory for the events of Denied. If you enjoy Ruined, then you should definitely give Denied a shot. 

Kinley Baker read her first romance novel at the age of thirteen and immediately fell in love with the hero and the genre. She lives with her husband and her dog, Joker, in the Pacific Northwest. As a firm supporter of all supernatural lifestyles, she writes fantasy romance, paranormal romance, and urban fantasy. Kinley is also the author of Ruined, the first novel in her Shadowed Love series, as well as Freed, which serves as a prequel to her other two Shadowed Love novels. You can find Kinley at www.kinleybaker.com.

Review: Unguarded by Ashley Robertson

Guardian angel Selene was so close to becoming an archangel—the supreme of all beings—until she fell in love with Cole, a forbidden dark one. Once she discovers her vampire lover has been kidnapped and the only way to save him is by abandoning her number one priority—Caitlyn, her human charge—there really is only one answer in Selene’s mind, even though leaving Caitlyn unguarded will most likely cause Selene to fall from grace. But her choice to save Cole doesn’t come without a price…and now Selene is racing against time to not only save her dark lover, but find a way to keep Caitlyn alive as well. With the help of a new vampire ally, Luke, Selene will push her diminishing angel abilities to the point where her very existence lies in the balance. Now threatened with the chance of becoming a fallen angel or even dying, Selene can only pray she’ll have enough time—and good grace—to save the ones she loves.

All Selene ever wanted was to be an archangel. That is, until she met -- and fell in love with -- a vampire named Cole. In addition to being a relationship that shouldn't be able to happen at all, their love is forbidden. But Selene will do anything to be with and protect him. Unfortunately, that means she's willing to put aside her duties as Caitlyn's guardian angel. Suddenly, Selene is torn between her duty to keep Caitlyn safe and alive and her desire to save Cole from danger when she realizes that he's been kidnapped. Can she find a way to save both her human charge and the vampire she loves? And, if so, will Selene be able to do so without any messy consequences getting in the way? Unguarded answers these questions and manages to maintain the reader's interest, but leaves the reader with more questions than answers by the time they reach the end.

I rate this book: 

I really wanted to love Unguarded. And I did when I first started reading it. The book's plot is interesting and it's really easy to get immersed into the lives of the characters as you're reading. I loved the characters in Unguarded so much. They were so realistic for me that I found myself worrying about their safety just as much as if they were real people. However,I got to a point in the book where I felt like there were aspects of the story that were making things confusing for me. By the time I'd finished it, I came away from the book wanting answers to questions that those parts of the story had raised. For example, one of the really confusing points for me was how the plot seemed to change about halfway through the book. By the time I'd reached that point in the novel, I felt like I was reading a completely different book. Now, while I didn't love Unguarded, I did like the book. I liked it enough to recommend it to other readers. The fact that I didn't love this book does not mean that other readers out there won't love it either. We all have different opinions and interests when it comes to everything in this world and books are certainly no exception. So, please don't take this review or my rating of Unguarded -- which is based on my own personal opinion -- as the deciding factor for whether or not you read this book. If you like books that are packed with supernatural creatures, well-developed characters, and have an interesting story, then you should definitely give Unguarded a chance. You never know, you might love it. 

Ashley Robertson resides in sunny Orlando, Florida and loves reading and writing about everything urban fantasy and paranormal romance. When she isn't writing you'll find her spending time with family and friends, training in her home gym, traveling and exploring new places, drinking fine red wines, and making gourmet coffees with her Nespresso machine. Visit her website to learn about her upcoming releases, guest blog posts, and featured giveaways at: AshleyRobertsonBooks.com.

Review: Fate's Design by Lola James

“A summer vacation in Italy with her twin sister, Morgan, is just what Megan Romano needs. But instead of fun, wine, and relaxation, she finds unexpected romance. Alexandros DiPiero, a sexy and mysterious Italian businessman, falls for Megan the minute he lays eyes on her, but Megan knows it’s too good to be true.

Increasingly haunting dreams that warn of danger and destiny plague Megan’s every sleeping moment. As her nightmares become deadly and her love life heats up, Megan will come face to face with her worst fear.”

Fate’s Design is the second book by Lola James I’ve read. Some of the things that I adored about the book was the idea of twins. The connection Megan and Morgan have is one that you always want with your siblings but in a lot of cases don’t know how to achieve. The setting was refreshing as Lola does a great job of bringing you into the language and scenery of Italy and the Italian speaking hunk Alex is definitely swoon-worthy.

A small pet peeve I had that I feel the need to share was how much Alex said called Megan “love”. The word is said a total 290 times, which was just too much love for me!

While I enjoyed the story, it took me half way through the book to really find myself caring deeply for these characters. I didn’t feel like things were as connected as they could have been and the story didn’t captivate me the way I longed for it to. Some situations felt rushed, while some got too much attention and others not enough. Things do tie together eventually though, with an ending I was pleased to see.

My rating for this book:

One of the things we pride ourselves in here at The Ink Puddle is giving honest reviews. And I know I’ve gotten much critism for doing that in the past but if we’re not honest, what good is our blog for anyway? So as much as this book didn’t personally win me over, there isn’t a doubt in my mind I’ll be picking up Lola’s next novel. 

Stay tuned, tomorrow I'll be posting our interview! :)

 

Review: Cycle by Lois Brown

“She remembers things that never happened.
She's a stranger in her own home. 
She always knew she was different.
She just didn't know why.
Until now. 
Renee Beaumont is about to die . . . again.”

How would you explain having memories of things that never happened to you? What would you do if you felt like an outsider among your own family members? After a fall from a horse nearly kills her, Renee has to answer these questions, and many more, about herself. And all of those answers end up fitting together like pieces to the puzzle of just who she is. Renee finds out that she is the result of a rare phenomenon – a Cycler. Born in the middle of an eclipse during the Saros Cycle, Renee is forced to be reborn after a certain point in her current life, something she’s done before that has left her with memories from her past lives. Renee is special, but that isn’t always a good thing. In this case, there are people who want to study her in order to make a profit from her condition. Now she has to do whatever it takes to keep them from using her as a lab rat. Cycles is a mystery that, while interesting, reads at a rather slow pace.

I rate this book:

I thought Cycles had a really interesting plot behind it. However, it was incredibly hard for me to get into the story. I felt like the story jumped around too much for me to really follow what was going on. The answer to the mystery behind the entire plot didn’t surface until towards the end of the book. Cycles is a book that combines science and mystery in a new and interesting way, but it requires a lot more effort on the reader’s part to stay focused on the story itself than most books do.

Lois Brown received her bachelor's degree in journalism and worked as a news correspondent in Washington, D.C. She later completed a Master's degree in communications and started her own freelance business. She has written nearly fifty articles and books, many of which are about nutrition and the use of natural food supplements. She worked as the chief editor to former New York Times best-selling author Dr. Neil Solomon, and she co-wrote a book on time management with former Miss America Sharlene Wells Hawkes. Two years ago she turned her interests to writing fiction for all ages.

Review: New Moon by Stephanie Meyer

"In New Moon, Stephenie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural twist. The "star-crossed" lovers theme continues as Bella and Edward find themselves facing new obstacles, including a devastating separation, the mysterious appearance of dangerous wolves roaming the forest in Forks, a terrifying threat of revenge from a female vampire and a deliciously sinister encounter with Italy's reigning royal family of vampires, the Volturi. Passionate, riveting, and full of surprising twists and turns, this vampire love saga is well on its way to literary immortality."

I found this book a bit crazy. After Edward's decision to step away to protect Bella, the first half of the book is Bella going insane over losing him. It feels like your typical breakup from your first love. Only her first love happens to be a sparkly vampire. But of course, some good does come from this... enter best friend Jacob who is there for Bella at just the right moment. I loved Jacob's relationship with Bella, it was so innocent and sweet. It wasn't nearly as intense and crazy as Bella's relationship with Edward. But the idea that Bella willing to take her life to try and have Edward to near her again, I felt like that went way too far.

Also, is it only me or is this age situation getting a bit out of hand? Personally, I think that I look much cuter now at 21 than I was at 18 so I'm just not sure what the huge deal was. Given, I wouldn't want to wait until I was 40 for my vampire lover to change me... but 20 isn't old!

This book for me, was an enjoyment to read when I was younger, (don't get me wrong just because of my iffy review.) but it was definitely a bit slow until at least halfway through the second portion. However, the ending had me standing on my toes, pumped to see where it went next. Now that the Volturi knows about Bella, what are they going to want? Can Bella save Edward from his own destructive self?

My Rating for this Book:

I found this book more of a transition type book than a real deal within the series.

Stephenie Meyer first book was Twilight, which as we all know went on to become a best-selling series and movies.  She originally formed the idea through a dream where she saw a young man sparkling in the sunlight.  She is also author of the best-selling book The Host which is in the process of being made into a movie as well.

Review: Happy Birthday to Me by Brian Rowe

“Seventeen-year-old Cameron Martin has a huge problem: he’s aging a whole year of his life with each passing day. High school is hard enough; imagine rapidly aging from seventeen to seventy in a matter of weeks, with no logical explanation, and with prom, graduation, and the state championship basketball game on the horizon. That’s what happens to Cameron, a mischievous pretty boy who has never had to face a day looking anything but perfect.

It starts with a slowing metabolism, followed by gray hair, wrinkles, and a painful back. Within days his girlfriend dumps him, his plastic surgeon father forces him to get a facelift, and his terrifying high school develops a crush on him. All he wants to do is go back to normal, but no one, not even the best doctors, can diagnose his condition.

Now will he cope? Will he even survive? He’s faced with the greatest challenge of his life, and there’s no way of knowing if he’ll live to see graduation, or even the next day!”

Seventeen year old Cameron Martin is your typical popular high school guy; the great looking star athlete dating the hottest girl in school, Charisma, with the richest dad in Reno.  And like most guys his own age, he really wants to have sex with his girlfriend.  The thing is, Charisma won’t have sex with him until he becomes a man and by her definition, can grow a full beard.  Also much like other teenagers, Cameron likes to see how much he can get away with and does so by going to restaurants and telling them it’s his birthday so that he can get free dessert.  He would love it if his birthday really was every day.  Magically enough a week later Cameron wakes up to a full beard on his once baby smooth face but that’s not all he woke up to.  His beard was topped off with a inner tube of fat formed around his waist.  Something is seriously wrong, he is aging more rapidly that he should be and at this rate he might not make it to graduation.  Happy Birthday to Me is a interesting take on life’s hard lessons and morals and how we should all be careful what we wish for and how we treat other people.  If not karma might bite you in the ass.

I rate this book a:

Something I really like about the way this book is written is that the chapters go by Cameron’s age which works really well considering the content.  I also like that the story was pretty unique in itself and has a really good message behind it.  Even though Happy Birthday to Me is quite long at over 600 pages, the book really flies by and I had it read in only a few days.  I thought that the story was going to be more humorous but and although some parts were I found it to be a little on the sad side and felt really bad for the main character.

Brian Rowe studied English and Film at Loyola Marymount University.  His work has appeared in The Absent Willow Review, Mobius Magazine, and Wild Oat Magazine.  He likes works such as Fahrenheit 451 (no judgment).  He now lives in Cameron’s very own home town of Reno, Nevada.   To learn more about Brian, visit his Facebook.

Stay tuned next week for the sequel!!

Review: Abyss of Chaos by David Beem

“Askum, Ethiopia, thousands of miles from home,
& that bitch-commander Khory hasn’t the good grace to simply die.”

“A dying Ethiopian Priest, a cryptic prophecy, a centuries-lost map, and the fabled lost Ark of the Covenant – this is no way for a cellist to vacation. A great evil stirs, but Maxwell Sinclair simply wants to do right by his godfather’s unusually high expectations. As the world teeters on the precipice of chaos, Max hastens to retrace the footsteps of Menelik, son of King Solomon and the Queen of Sheba, though Max’s actions may have unintended c onsequences. Pack your bags for the thrill of your life, but hurry – the very fabric of reality is at stake.”

When Maxwell Sinclair travels to Ethipia with his godfather Phineas, all he really wants to do is breeze through the trip and maybe pick up some advanced martial arts moves from some history geeks. But when he and Phineas witness the murder of the guardian priest of the Art of the Covenant, Aqabe, is whole world is spun off in a wild new direction. Abyss of Chaos is a fantasy thriller with a touch ofhistory that will have you flying through the pages.

My rating for this book:

Although this particular genre isn’t my favorite, what I really like about what David did, and I’ve said that I liked this before, he switched points of view throughout the book. Although the main character is obviously Maxwell, you get a sense of the other elements in the books through the different key characters. I also like that even though it has a fantasy aspect it also contains current event like aspects that make the story seem real. If you enjoyed The DaVinci Code you will most likely love this book.

David Beem is a cellist and has been in multiple orchestras and has performed in three continents. He has also recorded a few string quartets. Abyss of Chaos is his first novel. To learn more visit http://www.smashwords.com/profile/view/MaxSinclair .

To see David’s guest post he did with The Ink Puddle, click here!

Review: Tithe by Holly Black

“Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces the sixteen-year-old back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms — a struggle that could very well mean her death.

After returning home from a tour with her mother's rock band, sixteen-year-old Kaye, who has been visited by faeries since childhood, discovers that she herself is a magical faerie creature with a special destiny.” 

I first read Tithe about four or five years ago and although I really enjoyed it, I found it a bit dark for my taste.  Now that I’m older I can appreciate the story for what it is, a modern faerie tale.  Kaye is a teenager that has been transplanted from life on the move to smack dab in the middle of the lamest state in the country, New Jersey.  When she tries to find her friends, Loutie-Loo, Spike, and Gristle but doesn’t spot them anywhere she realizes that maybe they weren’t really after all.  That is until she meets and saves Roiben.  Once she saves his lives he allows her three truths from him which she saves for later.  And it turns out that Louti-Loo, Spike, and Gristle were real and that Roiben killed Gristle and Kaye revenges Gristle by getting Roiben to tell her his full name, little does Kaye know that she now has full control over him.  Loutie-Loo and Gristle inform Kaye that there is a faerie war occurring and that the sacrifice of Kaye is essential to end it.  Oh yea, and she’s a changeling.  

Although, like I mentioned above, I found Tithe to be a little dark the first time I read it, something that I thought was really cool was how Holly Black set up the series.  The first book, Tithe, is in Kaye’s point of view but then when you read Valient, the second book, it is in the point of view of a new character, Val.  Then Ironside is from Kaye’s point of view again and it’s not until this book that Val and Kaye cross paths.  All three books are worth the read.

My rating for this book:

Holly Black is the bestselling author of multiple books for children and teens.  She is one of the authors of the popular series the Spiderwick Chronicles that were made into a movie.  She is good friends with Cassie Clare, author of the TMI and ID series is often spotted on books tours with her.  To learn more about Holly Black and her work visit www.blackholl.com

If you’re in the mood for war, death, romance, secrets, and magic Tithe is your book.  Are you guys going to check it out?  Maybe you’ve already read it?  Have any good faerie book recommendations?  Let us know.

Review: Wake by Lisa McMann

“For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people’s dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie’s seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.
She can’t tell anybody about what she does – they’d never believe her, or worse, they’d think she’s a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn’t want and can’t control.
Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else’s twisted psyche. She is a participant…”

I first heard of Wake through the rumor mill when there was talk of it becoming a movie. Whether or not that is or was ever true, I’m not sure but this possibility lead me to giving the book a shot in my free time. What’s really interesting about it is the way the author formats the story.  Not only is it broken down into chapters but it’s also broken down in time fragments within the chapters.  As someone who is used to reading mainly free flowing stories, until I got used to this new format, I found it kind of annoying.  The story is significantly short; just a little more than 100 pages but the way the chapters are broken up gives you a good amount of information. 

 Janie has been sucked into people’s dreams since she was eight years old and frankly it’s not all it’s cracked up to be.  She sees her mother’s drunken mothers psychedelic dreams, her best friend, Carrie’s nightmares of her past, or her enemy, Melinda’s lesbian dreams.  And these nightmares don’t just hit her in the night, they occur in class, at work, and even while driving.  And when Mr. Hot and Cold, Cabel discovers Jannie’s ability things get even stranger.  Wake is a paranormal story of a girl from the wrong side of the tracks trying to make her way to a new life.

   

My Rating For This Book:

Author's Personal Bio:

Lisa McMann was born in Holland, Michigan and now lives in Arizona. Her books consist of the Wake trilogy, Cryer’s Cross, The Unwanteds, and Dear Bully. To find out more visit lisamcmann.com