"Hereafter" by Tara Hudson

“Can there truly be love after death?  Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.  Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . Forever.”-goodreads

Fun fact: When I started this book, I thought there were also mermaids involved. I guess it’s because I looked at the cover oddly or something… I mean, it kind of looks like that doesn’t it? The dress? The translucent looking girl (now that I get that she’s a ghost that makes a lot more sense) looking out over the water? Yeah. Well, anyway, I think I enjoyed it a lot more because it’s about ghosts because I’ve never been too big of a fan of mermaids but ghost stories are always creepy fascinating, so yay for that.

Hereafter brought the creepiness and the paranormal element, though not too heavily. At times it was super-creepy and then other times it wasn’t really creepy at all which is peculiar seeing as you’re reading the whole thing from the perspective of a ghost-girl. The mystery element was good, trying to solve the case of who Amelia was and why she died, and then the TRUE reason she died was even more complicated and twisted. I liked Amelia, sometimes for reasons I couldn’t point out considering her logic was rather flawed at times. Joshua was great too-- I mean, I had a hard time believing he’d be so okay with having a ghost-girlfriend but that’s the case of fiction, the characters role with it.

Overall, I really liked the feeling of this book, and appreciated the creepy level. I do have a complaint though. It seemed, at times, that the story was dragging. It didn’t seem slow, but it seemed like things could’ve been happening faster and by the end of the book it still felt like more should’ve happened. I look forward to the sequel and finding out more about Eli, and discovering more about that world.

"Twelfth Grade Kills" (Vladimir Tod, #5) by Heather Brewer

(If you haven't read the previous ones in the Vladimir Tod series, I suggest you visit my reviews for 1, 2, & 4. Not a spoiler-y review. But seriously, check out the other books, at least, they're pretty awesome.)

I have waited a while to read the last installment of the Vladimir Tod series. I think this is just because I’ve been a bad minion and was forgetting about it, but maybe my subconscious just didn’t want to see the series end. After all, endings can be disappointing. Sometimes they can ruin your impression of the series all. And sometimes they’re just sad. Have you ever noticed, in the last book, people always die? Usually important people? (“Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” and “Alex Rider: Scorpia Rising” are examples that come to mind.)

But, all good things come to an end and The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod with “Twelfth Grade Kills”  is no exception. Fortunately, the good things came to an end but continued to be good, I was not disappointed with it. Although, at the end, I did not feel it was necessary for a certain beloved character to die (I keep you guessing, right?), it was still a great ending to the series. The series was wrapped up nicely-- not everything resolved, but all the important things, so that one can kind of imagine how everything else will pan out, the ‘happy-ending’ and what not. Otherwise, like the others in the Vladimir Tod series, the action was bloody, the emotions strong, and the writing epic.

I look forward to “The Slayer Chronicles”, and the first book to those, “First Kill” which features Joss as a lead character rather than Vlad. I’ve had mixed feelings about Joss throughout the series, but in the end I really liked him as a character. The Slayer Chronicles will also be a five book series, and the first comes out September 20th!  (For more information, I suggest you visit Heather Brewer’s website, here!)

"Tighter" by Adele Griffin

“When 17-year-old Jamie arrives on the idyllic New England island of Little Bly to work as a summer au pair, she is stunned to learn of the horror that precedes her. Seeking the truth surrounding a young couple's tragic deaths, Jamie discovers that she herself looks shockingly like the dead girl—and that she has a disturbing ability to sense the two ghosts. Why is Jamie's connection to the couple so intense? What really happened last summer at Little Bly? As the secrets of the house wrap tighter and tighter around her, Jamie must navigate the increasingly blurred divide between the worlds of the living and the dead.” -goodreads

I picked up Tighter right before going to bed. I continued reading Tighter until it was over. I couldn’t put it down! I had to see how the story would conclude. It’s also only 216 pages, so I wasn’t up all night finishing it or anything (although I probably would have been, had it been longer), but it was 216 pages of brain-twisting, mind-numbing, mystery and suspense. I had to know what Jamie was actually seeing, and what was real, what wasn’t.

Jamie is not (or at least doesn't start out) a likable main character. She’s depressed, she stole pills from her parents, and she doesn’t generally seem very smart at all in the beginning. As the story goes on, especially toward the end, she’s a bit more likable. But she’s not the ONLY character. While Isa (the troubled girl Jamie is an au pair for) was withdrawn in her own world, in her imagination where she could hide, I found her really likable. Everything she said I felt she said in earnest. Part murder mystery, part thriller, and many other elements, Tighter had variety.

I loved the writing, it was poetic and nice, with some really raw emotion displayed through it. The conclusion was shocking and a burst of action at the end, I did NOT expect what Jamie ended up doing. I’ve never read any others of Adele Griffin’s many novels, but I’ll be sure to look them up now!
Extra note: The cover. I love it. Sets the creepy level for the book!

"Plague" (Gone, #4) by Michael Grant

*As usual with sequel reviews, the description is spoiler-y, so I haven’t included it. The below review may reveal minor spoilers about the previous two books. YOU ARE WARNED.*

I love this series, I do.  I can’t wait for Fear (April 2012) and Light to come out so I can finally find out the fate of our beloved characters… but (sadly, there‘s a ‘but‘)… Plague. Oh dear. It still had action, it still had different perspectives, and there was still unexpected twists and turns with the punch of a broad cast of characters-- my favorite parts of the series so far, but Plague was a bit of a let down. It wasn’t *bad*. It just wasn’t what I expected, either. At some point in Plague, I’m not sure how far in I was, I started feeling like I was reading about a soap-opera or some other sometimes overly dramatic situation set in a dystopian/post-apocalyptic world (inside a dome!)… Too dramatic at times. And Sam’s self-pity and erratic behavior plus a very selfish attitude kept propping up all over the place and I can’t say I like Sam much anymore which is disappointing as I loved him in Gone and Hunger and somewhat in Lies (by the way, I don’t mean loved like, OMG SWOON IT’S EDWARD CULLEN, which I’m seriously not like, by the way, but I thought Sam was a fantastic character). It didn’t feel like a filler book for me or anything like that, there were still new developments and few things resolved, which is fortunate because I would have absolutely hated that.

ALSO, major warning: KILLER CLIFF-HANGER. Fear doesn’t come out until April. That kills me. I think I’m traumatized by the wait, because I was able to read the first four so close together as they’ve been released for a while. Seriously, the cliff-hanger has launched me into a (hopefully short) stand-alone/completed series only kind of mood so I don’t have to see one of those for a while. But the point of a cliffhanger is to make you want more and be excited for the next book, which I definitely am, so I guess it’s effective!

Bottom line: This book in the Gone series just didn‘t resonate with me, but I still can’t wait for the next one, which I hope I like more.

"Lies" (Gone, #3) by Michael Grant

*As usual with sequel reviews, the description is spoiler-y, so I haven’t included it. The below review may reveal minor spoilers about the previous two books. YOU ARE WARNED.*

Lies is my favorite book in the Gone series so far. Not only did it continue all of the good things from the other two books, but there was MORE (if that’s possible)! The slight problems I had with Hunger were even less in their severity. THERE WERE ANSWERS. Those capital letters were entirely necessary. Now, there weren’t big answers like how to magically get outside of the dome (there’s three more books, it doesn’t work that way, folks), but we found out… oh I’m itching to tell you guys, but I can’t. We found out something that’s kind of a big deal. No one is sure whether their relatives still exist or know they’re gone. You’ll find THAT out if you read Lies. Sam is still quite angst-y but I could deal with it. My favorite character in this one was probably Astrid just because of the end, and her progression throughout the books of getting stronger and all, although I admittedly wasn’t her biggest fan for parts of the book. Lies was shorter (only a bit) than Hunger but I felt it packed an even bigger punch. Another element that was present in all of the books, but I felt strongest in Lies is the multiple view points. The story switches view points all the time and that keeps everything going and fresh while helping you get the whole story; it’s not in first person, so it’s not in another person’s mind per say, but just not everything from the location of the main character.

As the third book in the Gone series, Lies continues the awesome. These books aren’t just good, they’re explosive. I was hooked (as usual) from the beginning and could hardly put it down. As much as Gone and more than Hunger, it’s one of those books that you’d rather read than sleep because you have to know what happens and you’ll probably bring it everywhere with you. Simply amazing.

"Vanish" (Firelight, #2) by Sophie Jordan

September 6th, 2011 - HarperTeen

(The description is a bit spoiler-y to the first book. If you’d like to check it out and find tons more info on the book, visit Sophie Jordan’s website here.)

I really appreciate book series where each new book exceeds your expectations and there’s never a dull ‘middle book’. After reading Firelight, and then seeing the cover and summary for Vanish, I had really high expectations for it. I had a theory about who was on the cover, and surprisingly I was right. (Do you have a theory? Maybe you’re right like me. But you’ll have to read it to find out whether you’re also correct or not!) I liked Vanish even more than Firelight!! (Which I liked a lotttt!!)

As the story continues, it just gets better. There was never a dull moment. Vanish is an emotional roller coaster, but in a good way. The ending of Vanish leaves you craving more (as with Firelight). I also found the characters interesting, as they developed a lot more. They fooled me. People I strongly disliked in the first one, I found liking more in Vanish as they developed more. Also, I was firmly Team Will at the end of the first, and not only am I team Cassian now, I think he’s my new favorite character as we saw more of him. (You’ll probably find yourself at least swaying towards his side!) Almost all of the characters changed for me though, and I found myself feeling even more connected to our heroine Jacinda-- her narrative is awesome.

Same as Firelight, I found the draki element very interesting and unique. It continues to develop and we learn more about how that works. And there’s a new draki in town-- you’ll be surprised who it is. Overall, a great sequel that I doubt will disappoint!! Be sure to look for it when it comes out (meantime, read Firelight if you haven't!)
Thank you HarperTeen for giving me the opportunity to review this exciting sequel.

"Supernaturally" (Paranormalcy, #2) by Kiersten White

(The description for this book is spoiler-y for the first book. If you wish to view it anyway and find out more information, check out the goodreads page here. This review might also contain spoilers for the first book, "Paranormalcy". I suggest you read that review (linked) instead if you haven't yet read it. YOU ARE WARNED.)

"Paranormalcy" was SO fun and awesome-mazing (that is not a word, that is my, er... creative license?). Obviously, any book that practically makes fun of the paranormal creatures and their stereotypes that we love (and love to hate) and has a main character that dreams of having a locker rather than paranormal butt-kicking, with a pink taser affectionately named Tasey as a side-kick MUST be awesome, and so Paranormalcy was.

Needless to say (but bam, I just did) I was VERY EXCITED for the sequel, "Supernaturally". It was also awesome. Ohhhh and remember that time I thought there were only going to be two books in this series and then Supernaturally ended and I was like 'WHAT? WHAT? WHAT? THIS IS THE END? NOOOOO.' Fortunately, I looked it up, and I must have been miss-informed. There's another! Endlessly (due out 2012). Anyway, back to the reviewing thing. I was surprised that it didn't start right after Paranormalcy left off but a few months later, however, I didn't mind. It was nice to see how Evie was doing, more acclimated in the 'normal' life that she wanted so badly ('How IS she taking to that?', you ask. Read and find out, why don't you?!?). All of the characters we love are back. Evie and Lend are still all awwwww (with maybe a few bumps in the road...). Emotions ARE running high and there are difficult decisions all over and standing in Evie and other's path. We're also introduced to a hyper-crazy new character, Jack. All I can say is my first impression of him was RIGHT. (Not saying whether that impression was good or bad.) But I was still pretty surprised, well, when I turned out to actually BE right. Very importantly, the sarcasm and sparkles in the epic writing is back-- my favorite part. :)

The bottom line: An epic, shiny, surprising sequel! Readdd ittttt (or Paranormalcy, if you haven't)!!!

Mini Review: "Summer's Crossing" (Iron Fey, 3.5) by Julie Kagawa

(This review is of the 3.5th book in a series, its predecessors are The Iron King, The Iron Daughter, Winter's Passage (2.5) and The Iron Queen. My reviews for those are linked. As always with sequel reviews, minor spoilers might be revealed. YOU ARE WARNED.)
"A Midsummer's Nightmare? Robin Goodfellow. Puck. Summer Court prankster, King Oberon's right hand, bane of many a faery queen's existence—and secret friend to Prince Ash of the Winter Court. Until one girl's death came between them, and another girl stole both their hearts.
Now Ash has granted one favor too many and someone's come to collect, forcing the prince to a place he cannot go without Puck's help—into the heart of the Summer Court. And Puck faces the ultimate choice—betray Ash and possibly win the girl they both love, or help his former friend turned bitter enemy pull off a deception that no true faery prankster could possibly resist.
An ebook exclusive novella from Julie Kagawa's Iron Fey series."-goodreads


I love these mini-adventures between books. As in "Winter's Passage" the adventure isn't necessary to understand the next book (I imagine, I mean, the Iron Knight isn't out yet, so I don't know for sure) but is a little extra bit for anyone who really likes the series. In this one, rather than spending time with Meghan and Ash, we're with Puck and Ash. That was really interesting because although it's been getting better over the course of the books, they kind of hated each other (for understandable reasons, once we know the story). It's from Puck's point of view, which was different. I enjoy Puck's sense of humor and wit, although I'm still firmly Team Ash. Yes, the ice prince. This novella was really good, but at the same time a bit too much of a tease! I can't wait for the Iron Knight to come out, especially now that I've been back to the world of the Iron Fey for a bit. I love Julie Kagawa's writing!
If you've read the rest of the Iron Fey and want to read Summer's Crossing it's a free novella (like was done with Winter's Passage). You can download it for your respective E-Reader or read it online a the website here.

"City of Ashes" (The Mortal Instruments, #2) by Cassandra Clare

*The description for this book has spoilers for its predecessor, City of Bones, so I won't disclose it here. If you would like to read the description or find out more about the book, visit the goodreads page for it here. This particular review is spoiler free.*

My experience thus far with The Mortal Instruments has been wonderful. "City of Bones" was brilliant, and I consider "City of Ashes" even better. 'Better?', you may inquire; to which I would respond casually: "Heck yes."

I think what I like best about The Mortal Instruments, "City of Ashes" in particular, is that they have a little bit of just about every element but it's still done remarkably well. There are vampires, werewolves, and demons. They are a lot like their stereotype, which is actually a good thing because that means NO *sparkly* vampires.Of course, there are also the fascinating shadowhunters, unique to TMI. All of the greatness present in the first book is back for the second, such as great pace, interesting and broad cast of characters, and deep-running emotions; probably even more of a thrilling page-turner than the first. There were more action filled fight scenes than in the first, all keeping you on the edge of your seat. An ongoing theme in the books seem to be that nothing is ever as it seems, and so I've heard, it stays that way.

All-together, an awesome book. I only bought the first two together and now can't wait to get the third. And, related question (please don't answer with a spoiler), to anyone else who has read TMI, isn't Valentine reminiscent of Voldemort? (Granted, I can draw a comparison to Harry Potter from pretty much anything...)

"Angelfire" by Courtney Allison Moulton

"When seventeen-year-old Ellie starts seeing reapers - monstrous creatures who devour humans and send their souls to Hell - she finds herself on the front lines of a supernatural war between archangels and the Fallen and faced with the possible destruction of her soul.
A mysterious boy named Will reveals she is the reincarnation of an ancient warrior, the only one capable of wielding swords of angelfire to fight the reapers, and he is an immortal sworn to protect her in battle. Now that Ellie's powers have been awakened, a powerful reaper called Bastian has come forward to challenge her. He has employed a fierce assassin to eliminate her - an assassin who has already killed her once.
While balancing her dwindling social life and reaper-hunting duties, she and Will discover Bastian is searching for a dormant creature believed to be a true soul reaper. Bastian plans to use this weapon to ignite the End of Days and to destroy Ellie's soul, ending her rebirth cycle forever. Now, she must face an army of Bastian's most frightening reapers, prevent the soul reaper from consuming her soul, and uncover the secrets of her past lives - including truths that may be too frightening to remember."-goodreads

Angelfire was action packed! There were crazy awesome fight scenes. But those aren't the only elements that made Angelfire such a great book. An interesting cast of characters and a rather unique plot contributed to the awesome as well. I liked Ellie and Will individually and then, awww. I also liked Ellie's mom, which is random, but it's actually kind of significant because so often in YA we find the mom that we hate or just feel indifferent about and there usually aren't likeable moms or dads (granted, the dad wasn't likable. At all. But I won't rant about that.). The characters were each quirky in their own ways, from Ellie naming her car Marshmallow to Will's thing for root beer floats. I appreciated how the monsters and the reality of their presence actually complicating Ellie's life and her social life. Sometimes, in the paranormal books, the character is fighting monsters at night and in the day everything is perfectly normal, no changes, which isn't realistic... The reincarnation aspect was interesting, and I'm curious to find out more about that and Ellie's memories in the sequel. The sequel, Wings of the Wicked, comes out in February 2012. (Which is almost forever from now *exaggeration* but I'm excited for it!)

"City of Bones" (The Mortal Instruments, #1) by Cassandra Clare

“When Clary Fray witnesses three tattoo-covered teenagers murder another teen, she is unable to prove the crime because the victim disappears right in front of her eyes, and no one else can see the killers. She learns that the teens are Shadowhunters (humans who hunt and kill demons), and Clary, a mundie (i.e., mundane human), should not be able to see them either. Shortly after this discovery, her mother, Jocelyn, an erstwhile Shadowhunter, is kidnapped. Jocelyn is the only person who knows the whereabouts of The Mortal Cup, a dangerous magical item that turns humans into Shadowhunters. Clary must find the cup and keep it from a renegade sector of Shadowhunters bent on eliminating all nonhumans, including benevolent werewolves and friendly vampires.”-goodreads

Everyone seems to love The Mortal Instruments series; and everyone and their mother seems to have recommended them to me. (That might be a slight exaggeration. Might.) It’s a very popular series, and I think that’s partly the reason I waited so long to read it-- unfortunately, books don’t always live up to their hype. But, I read Clockwork Angel, the first book in the Infernal Devices; a prelude to TMI. That book was impressive! So eventually, I picked up City of Bones.

City of Bones is indeed a captivating story.  There are kick-butt characters with rather different personalities, and I enjoyed how there were many characters with good development, not just the main character or a few others. I really liked Simon and Clary (not as in a couple, as in, they’re my favorite characters.) It’s definitely a page-turner, I could hardly put it down and finished it in 2 days even though it’s almost 500 pages.

This is that part where I randomly interrupt my own thoughts and go, AWW Jace&Clary. They sounded like great characters/a great couple (are they? Aren’t they? Read the book.) Unfortunately, probably also due to the popularity of the series, I’ve been spoiled everything to do with them, as well as other elements of the series. But I still enjoyed it, although I would’ve liked to be more surprised. (SERIOUSLY, PEOPLE. Spoilers suck. Mark your flipping spoilers. Everyone slips up once in a while, but like, ALL the spoilers with no mark? No. ESPECIALLY FOR SEQUELS.)

"Possess" by Gretchen McNeil

August 23rd, 2011

"Fifteen-year-old Bridget Liu just wants to be left alone: by her mom, by the cute son of a local police sergeant, and by the eerie voices she can suddenly and inexplicably hear. Unfortunately for Bridget, it turns out the voices are demons – and Bridget has the rare ability to banish them back to whatever hell they came from.
Terrified to tell people about her new power, Bridget confides in a local priest who enlists her help in increasingly dangerous cases of demonic possession. But just as she is starting to come to terms with her new power, Bridget receives a startling message from one of the demons. Now Bridget must unlock the secret to the demons' plan before someone close to her winds up dead – or worse, the human vessel of a demon king."-goodreads

The genre that is paranormal YA is normally dominated by vampires, faeries, witches, angels, and ghosts, so Possess is a refreshing book. Its paranormal element is possessions by demons. As in people being possessed, and a lead character who goes to catholic school and has special exorcism talents. (That part sounded lame. But trust me-- Possess is anything other than lame!) 

Suffice to say, Possess is not your average paranormal book. But what else is awesome about it? Bridget is a really likeable and easy-to-relate-to character; not overly sarcastic or smart or anything, she just seems normal. She's an outcast at her catholic school as she's never been very popular or very good at making friends-- but that doesn't matter, she's okay with the friends she has. She has faced the tragedy of her father's death and will only find more as the book progresses, but the book was emotional without being overly heavy and Bridget wasn't a completely depressed character all the time. I'm a big fan of Matt, and Bridget's younger brother Sammy as well, he was cute.

Possess was a perfect combination of a good characters, quickly progressing and mysterious plot, extreme creepiness, and suspense. It was SO creepy. I read most of it late at night and that was kind of a mistake-- much jumping at every small noise ensued. I felt the voice held a lot of Bridget's personality for being in third person, with little quips of her sarcasm inserted after some situations; simple things like 'awesome' near the end of a scary situation, which occasionally added light and necessary humor. If you like creepy books and don't want your average paranormal book, I highly suggest you pick up Possess when it comes out; it's all kinds of awesome!
ARC received through review program at my awesome library. Thank you!

"Paranormalcy" (#1) by Kiersten White

"Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours.
But Evie’s about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.
So much for normal."-goodreads

I enjoyed Paranormalcy immensely. It was funny, the characters were great (especially Evie), and the writing was both fast-paced and easy to connect to. Almost immediately after starting it, I was hooked. It was a really quick read, probably because I didn’t want to put it down but also because it was fairly fast-paced (I don’t recall a single slow part), which I enjoyed, and it was just generally easy to read.

Evie was awesome. She kicked those Paranormal’s butts when she needed to and was a strong lead heroine. She was also relatable and funny. As I’ve mentioned before, connecting to the main character is important for me and that happened right away with Evie. The other characters were good too.. Lend was really awesome and sweet. Lish was really funny and a good friend. Lend’s family was very interesting.

The Paranormals were portrayed interestingly in general. They were never what they seemed in small details and big most of the time. I found that whole element really interesting because of the way Evie was with paranormals and the relationships of the paranormals in the book being almost jesting was amusing. The making fun of the stereotypes and such was great. It was interesting to see everyone (except the faeries!) to be cast a different and either loyal or amusing light on. Also, the vampires didn’t sparkle. Points there.

The ending was surprising and an all-around good cliffhanger, and I do look forward to Supernaturally, the sequel, when it comes out in July (hey, can that be moved to tomorrow? Please and thank you!). If you’re looking for a very different kind of paranormal book that’s funny and has a great lead character, then Paranormalcy would be great for you.

"A Touch Mortal" by Leah Clifford

"Eden didn’t expect Az.
Not his saunter down the beach toward her. Not his unbelievable pick up line. Not the instant, undeniable connection. And not his wings.
Yeah.
So long happily-ever-after.
Now trapped between life and death, cursed to spread chaos with her every touch, Eden could be the key in the eternal struggle between heaven and hell. All because she gave her heart to one of the Fallen, an angel cast out of heaven.
She may lose everything she ever had. She may be betrayed by those she loves most. But Eden will not be a pawn in anyone else’s game. Her heart is her own.
And that’s only the beginning of the end."-goodreads

I've somehow read a lot of rather dark books in a row as of late, and A Touch Mortal is no exception (I'm now reading something rather fluffy, you need that once in a while). That being said, it was a good dark book. 

The plot moved just fast enough that I never felt like I was stuck anywhere or it was moving to slow; it was a rather quick read. The whole book has enough tension so that you always feel like something big is just around the corner (and half the time, there is) which keeps you going, 'one more page. one more chapter. 50 pages, and I'm going to bed, darnit.', and then you finish the book.


The whole plot and concept were complex. The idea of the fallen angels, the bound, and the ones without paths, siders. That was intriguing, I haven't read a lot of angel books, so that kept me interested as well. Eden and Az had a very interesting relationship, and I don't want to say they were cute together-- that just seems lame-- but they were. At the beginning I wasn't buying it (love at first sight? what? huh?) but then it just seemed right for them.


All of the characters were quite interesting, all of their problems, histories, and abilities. There were surprises, and most things weren't at all what you expected them to be. As has happened a few times for me lately, I never felt like I connected with the main character, Eden. It wasn't that I didn't like her, and it wasn't that she was underdeveloped... I don't know, it just didn't click. That didn't hinder me from enjoying the story though, so it's fine.


Anyway, overall, A Touch Mortal is a very dark, interesting, complex, and enjoyable read, so long as you like that kind of thing (which I do). It's very unique as well. I look forward to the next one, A Touch Morbid, when it comes out!

"Nevermore" by Kelly Creagh

"At once an homage to one of America's greatest writers and a page-turning psychological mystery that is equal parts horror, humor, and romance, NEVERMORE is the story of Varen -- a Poe-fan and goth -- and Isobel -- a cheerleader and unlikely heroine. When a Lit. project pairs the two together, Isobel finds herself steadily swept into Varen's world, one that he has created in his notebook and in his mind, one where the terrifying stories of Edgar Allan Poe come to life. Isobel slowly learns that dreams can be much more powerful than she'd ever expected, and that pain and despair come in all sorts of shades. As labels of "goth" and "cheerleader" fade away, she sees more in Varen than a tall, pale outcast, and a consuming romance is braced against the ever-clearer horror that the most terrifying realities are those within our own minds.
When Isobel has a single chance to rescue Varen from the shadows of his own nightmares, will she be able to save him -- and herself?"-goodreads

I am a Poe enthusiast! I have been meaning to read this book for quite a while because of that. Several people recommended this book to me because I like the Edgar Allan Poe stuff I've read, as in, really like it! Thus, I was extremely excited to read Nevermore. I was not disappointed by the Poe element at all-- there were quotes, it was a totally gothic book, they talked about Poe, the project was on Poe, and you know, it turned out everything had more to do with Poe than it seemed. *queue the spooky music*

This is a very LONG book. It's over 500 pages. That doesn't deter me, I don't care about the length of a book as long as it's a good book. This was a good book. It wasn't the BEST BOOK EVER (which I kind of hoped it would be...). It was a good book. I do think it could've been shorter--I felt like it spent a lot of time building up to what was going to happen, and then when stuff actually started happening, it felt kind of rushed (which might've just been the contrast of the pace moving rather slowly and then all of  a sudden we were getting places, figuring things out, etc...).

I liked Varen as a character... I wasn't a huge fan of Isabel. She kind of reminded me of a certain other Bella that is part of a popular YA series... and not in a very good way. That and I just never really connected with her as a character, I never really felt any sympathy or otherwise for her.

I did like how the story unfolded, the Poe element, and the writing was gothic and beautiful. It was awesomely psychological and creepy. I'll definitely be picking up the sequel when it comes out next year (I thought it was supposed to be a stand-alone, but BAM, CLIFFHANGER.) but it just wasn't overall my thing. But if you enjoy gothic types of books, Edgar Allan Poe, paranormal, and aren't afraid of a big book-- give it a try, you might think it's the best book ever. :)

"Everfound" (Skinjackers, #3) by Neal Shusterman

The description for this book, and the summary I tried to write are very spoiler-ish if you haven't read Everlost or Everwild. For that reason, I decided not to include a description at all. If you miss it and aren't worried about some spoilers, here's the goodreads one.

Heart-breaking, spectacular, bizarre, edge-of-your-seat, unique, bedazzling, twisted, dark, broad, seamless. These are words that are coming to mind now that I've finished Everfound, the last of the Skinjacker trilogy. The ending was heart-breaking, but also spectacular-- it wrapped everything up so that it was good, although notably it wasn't overly happy, unrealistic, or rushed.

The world, Everlost, in the Skinjacker trilogy is bedazzling, broad, and also seamless. I think the world building and development is probably some of the best I've ever read, up there with or surpassing the wizarding world in Harry Potter; which is another 'alternate universe' co-existing with the modern world type of scenario.

While I enjoyed Everlost and Everwild, I think that Everfound was the best out of the series. It was the most complicated, the most twisted, the longest, and at times the most confusing book of the series, everything also seemed to make the most sense. How is that? I have no idea. Possibly because in the first books, a lot of world building was done, a lot of characters developed; but about a reader could pose about a million questions. You could say the same for Everfound-- but a lot of the questions were also answered.

The story admittedly moved a bit slow at times, as it did in the first two, but I think that was necessary. If it had moved at an incredibly fast pace for the whole time I think I would've missed more things and I'm not sure it would've ended up making any sense.

Before I write a review with a length equivalent to the Bible, I should really stop. All I can say is that the Skinjacker trilogy is without a doubt the weirdest thing I've ever read; but it's also one of the best overall series I can think of-- I didn't think any of the books had huge weak points, which I can even say about some of my favorite series like Maximum Ride, at times HP, and The Hunger Games... and one more thing I haven't mentioned before; the covers for this series? Perfect!
Thank you, S&S for giving me the opportunity to review this epic conclusion!

"Shadowed Summer" by Saundra Mitchell

"Iris is ready for another hot, routine summer in her small Louisiana town, hanging around the Red Stripe grocery with her best friend, Collette, and traipsing through the cemetery telling each other spooky stories and pretending to cast spells. Except this summer, Iris doesn’t have to make up a story. This summer, one falls right in her lap.
Years ago, before Iris was born, a local boy named Elijah Landry disappeared. All that remained of him were whispers and hushed gossip in the church pews. Until this summer. A ghost begins to haunt Iris, and she’s certain it’s the ghost of Elijah. What really happened to him? And why, of all people, has he chosen Iris to come back to?"-goodreads


First things first: This book was refreshing! Why? Because it was good, but it was a standalone. I felt satisfied with how it wrapped up, which I often don't with standalone books, without having to read a sequel to get the whole story! Don't get me wrong. I like series of books, however, I don't appreciate it when EVERY book is a series-- especially those times when you don't even know it is/will be one. 


Saundra Mitchell's writing. Ohmygosh. I read the Vespertine and really liked the story but my favorite part was Mrs. Mitchell's writing style. It's unique, rather poetic, and rather visual. Shadowed Summer is super creepy and gothic, emphasized by her writing. 


The whole thing was creepy, really Iris and Colette's pretending to be witches gone wrong, when something ACTUALLY happens and there's an actual ghost. Not a quiet ghost either, this ghost had a story to tell and a mystery to be solved. The whole thing wraps up in a way you wouldn't expect; as the story goes on, Colette and Iris think they know what happened, and the reader thinks they do too; but then it's not what you expect!


If you want a really creepy gothic type of book that's written well and is a relatively short STAND ALONE read, then check out Shadowed Summer.

"Beautiful Darkness" (Caster Chronicles, #2) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

"Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.
Sometimes life-ending.
Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems."-goodreads
Remember that time I wrote a review in which I was totally crazy about a Paranormal/Contemporary/Historical book called Beautiful Creatures? This is the sequel to that book and I loved it just as much!

The Paranormal/Historical/Contemporary elements are back and all there. The book is still written in a way that captivates you and makes you really see what is going on, at times rather poetic. The story is still fascinating. It continues to surprise with twists that you can't forsee no matter how hard you try. It's still a rather gothic novel. It was great!

There's always those times where I'm disappointed with the sequel as compared to the first book, but this wasn't a let down. Beautiful Creatures and Beautiful Darkness both start out rather slow-- even though it's good, it's slow-- but it's good that way. It doesn't take away for me. It just builds on and prepares you for the very complicated but very good things to come. It's a long book just like the first at about 500 pages, however, it's 500 pages of greatness. The way the world of Casters and the mortal world in Gaitlin combine in these books is seamless. The book was more emotional than the last, because of some very traumatic experiences going on and the ones that went on in Beautiful Creatures (which I can't talk about without ruining the whole thing).

I can't wait for the third in the series of the Caster Chronicles to come out, Beautiful Chaos in (fittingly) October! I'm sure there are more great things to coming yet in this series.

"White Cat" (Curseworkers, #1) by Holly Black

"Cassel comes from a family of curse workers — people who have the power to change your emotions, your memories, your luck, by the slightest touch of their hands. And since curse work is illegal, they're all mobsters, or con artists. Except for Cassel. He hasn't got the magic touch, so he's an outsider, the straight kid in a crooked family. You just have to ignore one small detail — he killed his best friend, Lila, three years ago. Ever since, Cassel has carefully built up a façade of normalcy, blending into the crowd. But his façade starts crumbling when he starts sleepwalking, propelled into the night by terrifying dreams about a white cat that wants to tell him something. He's noticing other disturbing things, too, including the strange behavior of his two brothers. They are keeping secrets from him, caught up in a mysterious plot. As Cassel begins to suspect he's part of a huge con game, he also wonders what really happened to Lila. Could she still be alive? To find that out, Cassel will have to out-con the conmen."-goodreads

I know that Holly Black has come out with a bunch of YA stuff other than the Curseworkers series, but White Cat is the first I've read. I didn't even realize she was coming out with any YA stuff for quite a while. I'm very glad I did find out. I love Holly Black's writing, and I've loved it ever since I was 7 or 8 and picked up her "The Spiderwick Chronicles" series, which I adored. Ate it up. I read all of them, over and over, in VERY short periods of time. I figured, after loving those so much, I'd have to adore her newer stuff. I did!

The crime family of 'workers' situation, a little bit like that of Heist Society by Ally Carter was very cool. The theme of complicated family situations throughout the book was great. The universe where everyone's a worker, or they're not, and that it's wrong, but it's not against the law-- that whole concept was really great. It was so out of the ordinary, yet Mrs. Black managed to make it feel like real life. The whole book felt really real, so real that it's probably an account of something actually happening. That's how real her writing is.


White Cat took a lot of complicated, surprising, sometimes very confusing twists and turns. I really enjoyed all of them as they were almost all VERY surprising, but they confused me at times. Big changes happened in very little time with little explanation sometimes. At first, I didn't like this at all but THEN I really liked it, because it felt very real, and felt very much like I was seeing everything the way Cassel was. He was confused. He didn't expect these things. He wasn't a worker. He didn't know what his family was doing... all of it just illustrated how he didn't know what he was doing, it just all lead back to a gritty real-ness of the whole book. 

Going along with the theme of real-ness, the characters were really complex and believable as well. I really liked Cassel and Lila and pretty much everyone. Barron was a tragic and interesting case. The cat was an interesting character, but I kind of already said that... didn't I? If you read the book you know what I'm talking about. If not, you'll find out.


I loved that it was complicated crime families. I loved that it was modern magic-- no faeries, no wands, no bunnies flying out of hats. A very believable fantasy, where magic is cursing and it effects people-- whether the person doing it knows it- or not. I really enjoyed White Cat and if you enjoyed Black's earlier books or Heist Society and anything else along those lines you'll like it too.

"Hex Hall" by Rachel Hawkins

"On her 12th birthday, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. Three bumpy years later, after a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, she's exiled to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.
By the end of her first day, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Then when a mysterious predator begins attacking students, and Sophie's only friend is the number-one suspect, a horrifying plot begins to surface. Soon, Sophie is preparing for the biggest threat of all: an ancient society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her."-goodreads

Hex Hall was a funny, cute book that was a relatively quick read. I enjoyed it, and I liked Sophie, who was a pretty good narrator. I thought it was interesting, with Sophie not really knowing what was going on with her being a witch or anything about her dad. The whole concept of Hecate Hall, where all the misbehaving creatures went was great.


I liked this book, but I admittedly had a problem with some character flaws. Sophie falls for Archer, the gorgeous warlock, which is fine and everything, predictable, but cute. The problem I had is that Archer was pretty mean to her, and regardless of how that suddenly changes, I don't really like it when books go all, girl likes boy, boy is mean, girl still likes boy, and acts like he has no flaws. Also, Sophie swore a lot, which is perfectly fine, I don't care, it was just that she seemed pretty logical and intelligent and everything and then she seemed to say things that didn't go along with that at all. So, those two things got on my nerves, although they didn't ruin the book for me or anything, I still enjoyed it.


My favorite elements of the book were probably the way the story ended up; who the 'ghost' was, how Sophie didn't know about what she was or what her family was, and the whole thing didn't end up the way I thought it would. I thought it was interesting how the school had all these creatures, the fairies, vampires, witches, warlocks, werewolves, and all of them were there because they'd done something or other they shouldn't have.


Anyway, if you're looking for a cute read, or if you need something light to get you out of a reading rut, this would probably be good. As well as if you want a written version of something kind of reminiscent of the Halloweentown movies for older audiences. I'll definitely be reading Demonglass soon. Also, I like the cover, even more so after reading the book-- but I do think it's a bit preppy/young girly looking for the book.