The Reading Spot

Beastly by Alex Flinn (B+)

Labels: Christian, contemporary, fantasy, historical, magic, paranormal, vampires, werewolves, young adult

Water Bound (Sea Haven Book 1) by Christine Feehan (A+)

Labels: contemporary, dragons, magic, paranormal, psychic, shape-shifter, steampunk, suspense, vampires, young adult

Well, today is the day. I am nervous and excited and stressed. You would think I would not be nervous, I have done this twice already, but I am nervous. Please keep me in your prayers. This is our last child, I am done. I am now thirty and I cannot do pregnancy again. My mom will have to wait for my sister to get married before she is going to get her grandson. She had two girls and I have three girls, so she wants a boy to buy boy things for (not that she does not love my girls and spoil them too). But it will not be mine. That is okay. I fear my life 10 years from now with a 10 year old, a 13 year old and a 16 year old. My house will be a war zone. Hubby says about that time he is buying a shotgun and hunting cabin to get away.
The baby's room is not quite done yet, but she will be in our room for a few weeks so we hope to finish painting it in the next couple weeks. I might be a little more sporadic over the next few weeks because of sleep deprivation or I might be on more often because it will be easier to sit and type than stand and do other things. We will see. I am so not looking forward to being up every hour or two. But there is an end in sight. So I will enjoy my time with her while she is this age.
I will post pics soon (or have Hubby post them). Have a great week everyone.

Update: I have a guest review at Book Binge on a short story from Lyrical Press called Jessie's Dirty Little Secret.

Frostbite (Vampire Academy Book 2) by Rachelle Mead
Rose loves Dimitri, Dimitri might love Tasha, and Mason would die to be with Rose… It’s winter break at St. Vladimir’s, but Rose is feeling anything but festive. A massive Strigoi attack has put the school on high alert, and now the Academy’s crawling with Guardians— including Rose’s hard-hitting mother, Janine Hathaway. And if hand-to-hand combat with her mom wasn’t bad enough, Rose’s tutor Dimitri has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason’s got a huge crush on her, and Rose keeps getting stuck in Lissa’s head while she’s making out with her boyfriend, Christian! The Strigoi are closing in, and the Academy’s not taking any risks. This year, St. Vlad’s annual holiday ski trip is mandatory. But the glittering winter landscape and the posh Idaho resort only create the illusion of safety. When three friends run away in an offensive move against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. But heroism rarely comes without a price…


This is the second book in her Vampire Academy series the first is Vampire Academy. I liked this one more than the first one. I found it easier to follow. The storyline flowed better to me and the friction between Dimitri and Rose was better. If you read the first one and thought it okay, try this one before you give up on it. Good book and good sequel.

Labels: paranormal, vampires, young adult

City of Bones (Mortal Instruments Book 1) by Cassandra Clare

When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Clary knows she should call the police, but it's hard to explain a murder when the body disappears into thin air and the murderers are invisible to everyone but Clary. Equally startled by her ability to see them, the murderers explain themselves as Shadowhunters: a secret tribe of warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. Within twenty-four hours, Clary's mother disappears and Clary herself is almost killed by a grotesque demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know....

This was an interesting read. It started out slowly but as I got into it, it picked up. I found the plot to be interesting to follow. This is young adult but I would say an older teen or one who is a very good reader due to certain vocabulary and descriptions. I was thinking as I read this that I never spoke like that when I was a teen. They were words that would have probably known but not used in casual conversation. As an adult I enjoyed it, but as a teen I do not know if I could follow all of it.
I am awaiting the next book from the library, City of Ashes, it was just released last week.

Labels: demons, paranormal, young adult

I have a guest review over at Breezing Through about Strike Zone by Kate Angell, check it out. Also in other cool news, I found out that the RT convention next year is in Orlando, YEAH, hometown advantage!!!


The Sorcerer King (Book 3 of the Faerie Path) by Frewin Jones

Tania has brought the long-lost Queen Titania back to Faerie from the Mortal World of modern London. But when they cross between the worlds, they find only devastation. The Sorcerer King of Lyonesse—ancient enemy of the Faerie Court—has been released from his amber prison. As the wicked sorcerer regains his power, King Oberon, Tania's father, is imprisoned and the Faerie Court is being destroyed. Tania and her true love, Edric, must travel the Realm to try to find and rescue King Oberon, who is their only hope for defeating the evil Sorcerer King. And Tania must prepare for battle . . . and to fight a war that she may not survive.

This was a fun trilogy to read. There was romance, fighting, monsters, magic what more could you want. (I feel like I am intro-ing The Princess Bride.) I suppose there could be another book but I think this ended it well. The first two books are The Faerie Path and The Lost Queen. They must be read in order. There is nothing real deep about this series, but it is a fun YA fantasy with some romance in it. I enjoyed them all.

Labels: fantasy, sidhe, young adult

Betrayed (House of Night Book 2) by PC and Kristin Cast
Fledgling vampyre Zoey Redbird has managed to settle in at the House of Night.She's come to terms with the vast powers the vampyre goddess, Nyx, has given her, and is getting a handle on being the new Leader of the Dark Daughters. Best of all, Zoey finally feels like she belongs--like she really fits in. She actually has a boyfriend...or two. Then the unthinkable happens: Human teenagers are being killed, and all the evidence points to the House of Night. While danger stalks the humans from Zoey's old life, she begins to realize that the very powers that make her so unique might also threaten those she loves. Then, when she needs her new friends the most, death strikes the House of Night, and Zoey must find the courage to face a betrayal that could break her heart, her soul, and jeopardize the very fabric of her world.

The plot thickens in this one. I am so enjoying this series (the first book is Marked). The latest book is out (Chosen) and I am waiting for it from the library. (No money to buy right now.) Apparently the people who currently have it read very slowly. It is driving me crazy, I am very impatient and a fast reader. I finished this one in a 24 hour period. So I want the next one NOW, okay I will stop whining. In this book her old life and new life collide in people that she knew are getting killed and she meets up with Heath again. She learns some interesting things about Aphrodite and there are some major plot twists. If you have not read these and are interested in them, they must be read in order.
I am on a young adult book kick or something. I have another one to review about and I just ordered another YA book, that I have heard good things about. There are just some really good paranormal YA books out there now.

Labels: paranormal, vampires, young adult

Labels: paranormal, vampires, young adult

Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy Book 1) by Rachelle Mead
St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger. . . . Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.

I have had this from the library for a while just got to reading it. I enjoyed it. I don't think I loved it as much as Stephanie Meyer's series, but I thought it was good.

Labels: paranormal, vampires, young adult

The Faerie Path (Book 1 of the Faerie Path) by Frewin Jones

Swept away into a court of magic and beauty, she discovers she is Tania, the lost princess of Faerie: the youngest daughter of Oberon and Titania. Since Tania's mysterious disappearance on the eve of her wedding five hundred years before, Faerie has been sunk in darkness and gloom. The courtly Lord Gabriel Drake, who Tania was once to marry, has found her and brought her back.
With Tania's return, Faerie comes alive again as a land of winged children, glittering balls, and fantastic delights. But Tania can't forget Anita's world, or the boy she loved there.
Torn between two loves and between two worlds, Tania slowly comes to discover why she disappeared so long ago. She possesses a singular magical ability and she must use it to stop a sinister plan that threatens the entire world of Faerie.

I read this book while I was on internet hiatus and really enjoyed it. It was a cool story and I was anxious for the second book. Which I got this week and already read. The story has some romance in it but that is not the primary focus of the story. The main focus is her goal to try to understand what happened to her and accept that she is actually a faerie princess for real and that Faerie does exist and it needs her help.
It is not anything deep or dark but an light interesting story.

The Lost Queen (Book 2 of the Faerie Path) by Frewin Jones

Tania is a princess of Faerie.
And now she must return to the Mortal World.
Once upon a time, Tania was an ordinary girl. But then she was swept into another world, where she was the long-lost princess of the elegant and magical court of Faerie, and only she could save the court from great peril.
Now Tania—and her true love, Edric—will go back to the Mortal Realm to seek Queen Titania, lost hundreds of years ago while searching for Tania.
Their return leads to struggles with Tania's much-loved mortal parents and friends as she and Edric try to conceal their secret. But much more serious dangers lurk: The sinister Lord Drake is not yet defeated, they are pursued by dark supernatural forces, and Tania's two worlds are about to collide in amazing and frightening ways she never could have anticipated.

This was a quick read (the book is thick but the print is pretty large) but definitely the second in the trilogy. You know, the book that is the transition book. Some stuff happens that needs to happen to finish the story, but it is really killing time until you get the third book and the climax. There was no real climax in the book unless you count the very end (like the last page).
Book 3, The Sorcerer King comes out in hardback the end of January.

Labels: fantasy, sidhe, young adult

Labels: magic, paranormal, sci-fi, vampires, young adult

I think I heard about this series from nath and found out that my library had them, so I requested the first book. It took about 2 months to get it but I got it last week while I was out of town and read it Sunday. I loved it. It took me about a quarter of the way through the book to get used to reading right to left, but I got it now. Then I went out the other night and got the second one. Of course since I do not have the next one handy this one ends in a slight cliffhanger, mid-conversation. But I have the next two on request. Hopefully they will get here faster than last time. But thank you for introducing me to them, nath, I love them.

The series is (so far) about two teens, Rei and Kira and their relationship. Rei is the school bad boy and Kira is a shy artist.

Labels: contemporary, manga, young adult

The Dead Girls' Dance (The Morganville Vampires book 2) by Rachel Caine
This is the second in the Morganville series, the first is Glass Houses. This is a decent series, but it is an ongoing one (i.e. her Weather Warden series is the same) so if you like a solid ending to your book/series then you need to wait and read them together. I am enjoying it but I do not think that they will be keepers for me. But I know people who rave about her other series and that was not a keeper for me either (though I will continue to read them).

Claire has her share of challenges. Like being a genius in a school that favors beauty over brains; homicidal girls in her dorm, and finding out that her college town is overrun with the living dead. On the up side, she has a new boyfriend with a vampire-hunting dad. But when a local fraternity throws the Dead Girls' Dance, hell is really going to break loose.

Labels: paranormal, vampires, young adult

I know that I read Twilight last month, but I just finished New Moon and figured I would post on both and try not to give many (if any) spoilers. These books are awesome!

Twilight by Stephenie Meyer




New Moon by Stephenie Meyer


Both of these books were awesome and I highly, highly, highly recommend them. They are young adult paranormal romance. You have to read Twilight first because it is part of a series. The series is about a 17-year-old girl named Bella who moves to Forks, Washington to live with her dad for the first time since she was little. She meets a family who are very different and the fascinate her, especially the 17-year-old boy named Edward. New Moon is a continuation of the story with some emphasis on the secondary character from Twilight, Jacob. These books are paranormal and deal with vampires and werewolves. If you have not read these yet you have got to find them.

Labels: paranormal, vampires, werewolves, young adult

Born in Death by J. D. Robb

Good addition to the series. Not my favorite of the series but it was a good installment. It is neat to see Roarke and Eve's relationship grow as the series continues. You never get that in the usual series because their story ends at the HEA. Even in most series (I typically read romance series which probably explains this) you might see the characters from the previous books, but they just make a small appearance and then are gone again. Eve has some issues, but she makes me laugh with her total not understanding of Mavis and the baby.

Eve Dallas has a grisly double homicide to solve when two young lovers-both employees of the same prestigious accounting firm-are brutally killed on the same night. It doesn't leave Eve a lot of leftover time to put together a baby shower for her buddy Mavis, but that's supposedly what friends are for.
Now Mavis needs another favor. Tandy Willowby, one of the moms-to-be in Mavis's birthing class, didn't show up for the shower. A recent emigrant from London, Tandy has few friends in New York, and no family-and she was really looking forward to the party. And when Eve enters Tandy's apartment and finds a gift for Mavis's shower wrapped and ready on the table-and a packed bag for the hospital still on the floor next to it-tingling runs up and down her spine.
Normally, such a case would be turned over to Missing Persons. But Mavis wants no one else on the job but Eve-and Eve can't say no. She'll have to track Tandy down while simultaneously unearthing the deals and double-crosses hidden in the files of some of the city's richest and most secretive citizens, in a race against this particularly vicious killer. Luckily, her multimillionaire husband Roarke's expertise comes in handy with the number crunching. But as he mines the crucial data that will break the case wide open, Eve faces an all too real danger in the world of flesh and blood.


Glass Houses by Rachel Caine

This was a decent young adult book. Not my favorite but not the worst I have read. For curiosity's sake, I am going to let my sister read it to get her opinion as well, from a teen POV.

Welcome to Morganville, Texas.
Just don't stay out after dark.
College freshman Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation, where the popular girls never let her forget just where she ranks in the school's social scene: somewhere less than zero.
When Claire heads off-campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Her new roommates don't show many signs of life. But they'll have Claire's back when the town's deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood.

The couple things that I do not like about the synopsis are that part of the reason that Claire is an outcast is that she is a genius, She is 16, a freshman in college, and taking all high level courses. She was accepted into Yale and MIT and such but her parents would not let her go that far away from home at 16. Instead they sent her to a town that is (unknown to them) run by vampires. Her roommates at the Glass house are Eve, Shane and Michael.

Labels: futuristic, paranormal, vampires, young adult

Oh My Goth by Gena Showalter

This book was a great YA book. I loved it. I borrowed it from my teenage sis because I love Gena Showalter and she wrote another great book. I highly recommend it for teens and those who like teen books. Though it is hard to explain and I would not have wanted to write the description on the back of the book. So I will go with the back of the book for the description.

Jade Leigh is a nonconformist who values individuality above all else. She has a small group of like-minded Goth friends who wear black, dabble in the dark arts, and thrive outside the norm. They're considered the "freaks" of their high school. But when Jade's smart mouth lands her in trouble -- again -- her principal decides to teach her a lesson she'll never forget.
Taken to a remote location where she is strapped down and sedated, Jade wakes up in an alternate universe where she rules the school. But her best friends won't talk to her, and the people she used to hate are all Goth. Only Clarik, the mysterious new boy in town, operates outside all the cliques. And only Mercedes, the Barbie clone Jade loathes, believes that Jade's stuck in a virtual reality game -- because she's stuck there, too, now living the life of a "freak." Together, they realize they might never get back to reality...and that even if they do, things might never be the same.

Labels: paranormal, young adult

Blood and Chocolate by Annette Curtis Klause

Wonderful book. I first read this author when I was a teen and read The Silver Kiss (teen vampire romance) I adored it. It was my first paranormal romance and I have loved them ever since. Recently I remembered her and found out that she had written more paranormal books for teens, so I am tracking them down for my collection. This one was great, it encourages you to embrace yourself and accept who (and what) you are.

Here is the book description:
Vivian Gandillon relishes the change, the sweet, fierce ache that carries her from girl to wolf. At sixteen, she is beautiful and strong, and all the young wolves are on her tail. But Vivian still grieves for her dead father; her pack remains leaderless and in disarray, and she feels lost in the suburbs of Maryland. She longs for a normal life. But what is normal for a werewolf?
Then Vivian falls in love with a human, a meat-boy. Aiden is kind and gentle, a welcome relief from the squabbling pack. He's fascinated by magic, and Vivian longs to reveal herself to him. Surely he would understand her and delight in the wonder of her dual nature, not fear her as an ordinary human would.
Vivian's divided loyalties are strained further when a brutal murder threatens to expose the pack. Moving between two worlds, she does not seem to belong in either. What is she really--human or beast? Which tastes sweeter--blood or chocolate?

Labels: paranormal, werewolves, young adult