Review: The Lost Code by Kevin Emerson

Book: The Lost Code (The Atlanteans #1) - Kevin Emerson
Genre: Science Fiction / Young Adult

Buy A Copy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Book Depository

Available Formats: Ebook | Hardcover 

Publication Date: May 22nd, 2012 by Katherine Tegen Books

Version Reviewed: Hardcover
Where Did I Get This Book: Library
First Sentence: "The morning after I arrived at Camp Eden, I drowned for the first time."
Description: What is oldest will be new, what was lost shall be found.

The ozone is ravaged, ocean levels have risen, and the sun is a daily enemy. But global climate change is not something new in the Earth's history.

No one will know this better than less-than-ordinary Owen Parker, who is about to discover that he is the descendant of a highly advanced ancient race--a race that took their technology too far and almost destroyed the Earth in the process.

Now it is Owen's turn to make right in his world what went wrong thousands of years ago. If Owen can unlock the lost code in his very genes, he may rediscover the forgotten knowledge of his ancestry . . . and that "less-than-ordinary" can evolve into "extraordinary."

Kevin Emerson's thrilling novel is Book One of the Atlanteans series--perilous adventures in a grimly plausible dystopian future, fueled by high-stakes action, budding romance, and a provoc-ative question: What would you do if you had the power to save humanity from its own self-destruction?

The Lost Code by Kevin Emerson takes an entirely new approach to a type of book we've seen before. We've all read young adult adventures and we've all read stories that deal with mythical civilizations of the past. The current trend seems to be focused on Greek Mythology. Anyways, marrying these two ideas together has proven to be successful in the past and it proves to be just an almighty combination now.

There are a few reasons that The Lost Code is able to stand out from other young adult books that use this formula. The first of which is obvious, the ancient mythological civilization that it centers around; Atlantis. Yes, Atlantis. I for one, have never read a young adult in which teenagers realize they are descendents of the mythical and MAGICAL Atlanteans. For me, that was an instant selling point. I don't know what it is about the idea of Atlantis, but I find it completely intriguing. Maybe there is that tiny voice in the back of my mind that says, what if. What if there really was an Atlantis? Whatever the reason, I can tell you that I find it all fascinating. Even if you don't have a secret obsession with the underwater city, I guarantee you'll enjoy this book. Like I said before, with this one, Emerson is certainly bringing something new to the table. Sure, it's an age old concept, but we haven't seen it applied to this type of story before.

The second aspect of the story that makes  The Lost Code a standout is the setting. Not only does Emerson create an amazing, visually stunning version of Atlantis, but he creates an equally engaging dystopian world. You see, the story takes place in the future, the society is on the brink of destruction. Owen, our make character, has spent most of his life living underground, hiding from the harmful radiation of the sun. At the start of the book, he has traveled to Camp Eden, which is basically a model of what the world used to be - all within a protective bubble. It's all described in a wonderful fashion that keeps you interested and fascinated as the story progresses.

Let's talk about the characters for a moment. In our narrator Owen, we find a likable,interesting character that is easy to relate to. Owen doesn't quite know where he fits in the world and it is something he struggles with daily. I'm pretty sure we've all got a little bit of that within us and it makes it easy to empathize and connect with him. That being said, I'm curious to know his age. Going into the story I just assumed he was in his mid-teens (maybe 15 or 16), but as the story progressed I put him more around 13. I'm basing this guess on a few different things; his thoughts and behavior and the fact that the group of campers who oversee him are supposed to be older than he is. These campers including his love interest Lilly, act as though they are their mid-teens so that puts Owen a rung below. It's not that this necessarily bothered me, I just was expecting something else - especially with the teenage boy on the book cover.

The second main character within the book was Lilly. Like I stated before, Lilly was Owen's love interest. This is where I had my only real complaint with the book. First of all, let me just say that I loved Lilly. She was adventurous, intelligent and showed such spirit. However, Lilly and Owen together did not work for me. It all felt a bit clunky and unnecessary. There was really no need for them to develop a romantic relationship; especially one that didn't really work.

The second complaint I have with The Lost Code is really a minor one. It was rather long and the writing was drawn out at times. Every so often the author would throw in these little news blips that Owen would hear off the radio or whatever. At least, that's what I assumed was happening. Anyways, I'll be the first to admit, I skipped over almost all of them. Whenever I saw long italicized paragraphs I just trucked right on through. They didn't really contribute to the story and they just threw the reader out of 'the zone'. 

All things considered, I must admit that I enjoyed The Lost Code immensely. It's got a cool storyline that is jam packed with adventure, danger and excitement. I would recommend it to fans of the Gone series by Michael Grant, The Virals series by Kathy Reichs. I will definitely be continuing this one!

Favorite Quotes

A hand closed over my wrist. I looked over, and there was Lilly, cast in moonlight and blue, hair snaking around her, a siren calling to me: 'come on.'

History is always written to serve the powerful.

Time passed, unknowable amounts and I had no sense for it. There was just the blanket and grass, the cold  of rain and the heat of Lilly like a small sun beside me, and we lay there until the clouds left and the SimStars reappeared. 

The night felt like it had gone by so fast, yet every second of it was bright and burned into my mind, and I felt sure I would never forget any of it, almost like I'd left some part of me back there on that island, a piece carved out that wouldn't travel into whatever came next. It would just stay behind, living that night over and over.

I felt something fall away inside. Some floor, and from beneath it boiled up something dark, black and bitter, craving vengeance. 

"Shut up, butcher," snapped Aliah. 'We know what you are."

Review: Tempest by Julie Cross

Book: Tempest by Julie Cross
Series: Tempest Trilogy #1 
Genre: Young Adult / Fantasy
Buy A Copy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | The Book Depository
Available Formats: Ebook / Hardcover
Publication Date: January 17th, 2012
First Sentence:  "How far back should I go?"
How Did I Get This Book:  From Publisher, For Review
Edition Review: ARC
Description: The year is 2009.  Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler.  Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

Tempest by Julie Cross is the story of Jackson, a 19 year old guy who just happens to have the ability to time travel. It's definitely an exciting story that keeps you on your toes.

I was a bit worried I would have a difficult time keeping everything straight with all the time traveling. You see, there are all of these different rules and loopholes about time traveling that make it kind of an intimidating setup. Sometimes when Jackson travels back to the past it’s almost like a memory – he doesn’t really change the outcome. He can alter the past while he is in it, but it doesn’t change the future. But sometimes, once he starts getting the hang of time traveling he really can change things around. This means when he has interactions with people during a time jump, they sometimes remember it and they sometimes don’t - but Jackson always does. Am I confusing you yet? Honestly, I was intimidated by the whole thing, but it’s not hard to keep track us. Cross does a great job establishing the parameters of each time jump as well as the outcomes. I can see how it could get confusing when reading the next book, simply because everything won’t be fresh in your mind. I can just picture myself thinking, “does this person know that? I remember it happening, but did it still happen?” 

Now I loved the concept of Tempest and I loved most of the plot. My main issue with the storyline is that we don’t really get a concrete vision of Holly and Jackson. Yes, their relationship takes center stage in the story, and we do see them together a lot, but it’s with all of these different versions of Holly. Let me explain – we’re back to the whole time travel thing. There are two main Holly’s in the book; 007 Holly and 009 Holly (Holly from 2007 and Holly from 2009). When the story begins, Holly and Jackson are living in 2009 and if I remember correctly met earlier that year. Well after some time travel gone haywire, Jackson gets stuck in 2007. He seeks out 007 Holly, but she obviously doesn’t remember him, because she hasn’t met him yet.  So we’re got these two different versions of Holly, which mean, really we have two different relationships. So as a reader, it’s hard to come to grips with what their relationship actually is and how they are together.  I know that I liked them well enough, but with two different Holly’s it really throws a monkey wrench in things.  Honestly, I don’t know what I would have preferred happen. I did like the both Hollys and I liked Jackson with both of the Hollys. It was just hard to separate the Hollys from one another. I guess it would be different in 2009 Holly remembered 2007 Holly and Jackson, but she doesn’t.  And there I go confusing you again. 

Now, let’s talk about my favorite aspect of Tempest. There is this whole mystery/espionage thing incorporated into the story and let me just tell you – it is awesome.  Jackson not only has to try and figure out how to control thing time traveling ability, he also has to unravel this mystery surrounding his life and the people around it. As the story progresses, he uncovers more and more secrets that make him question who he can really trust. Honestly, it’s incredibly exciting. There is another surprise around every corner and believe me; it all makes the mind reel.

I’m going to be straight with you guys, Tempest was awesome. It’s absolutely brimming with adventure, mystery and excitement. What am I looking forward to the most about the next book? Courtney. I caught that foreshadowing, Julie Cross.  So bring it. Seriously everyone, you won’t be disappointed, go find yourself a copy right now!

Favorite Quotes

Bad. Very Bad. Absolute wrong thing to say. I cringed, waiting for her to shout or grab another shoe to launch in my direction. 

"I don't mind hearing your secrets, even if they're sad."

Maybe it wasn't good and evil, but a whole bunch of gray area. 

Her scream was deafening and I went into machine mode as I jumped. Not through time, but an actual jump. Off the roof. 

I squeezed my arms around her so tight, I don't know how she kept breathing.

"I'm trying not to think about what we just saw, but I have a feeling therapy is in my near future."

Review: Ashfall by Mike Mullin

Book: Ashfall by Mike Mullin
Series: Ashfall #1
Genre: Adventure / Young Adult
Buy A Copy: Amazon | Book Depository
Available Formats: Print / Ebook
Publication Date: September 27th, 2011
First Sentence: "I was home alone on that Friday evening. Those who survived know exactly which Friday I mean."
How Did I Get This Book: Netgalley
Description: Under the bubbling hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park is a supervolcano. Most people don't know it's there. The caldera is so large that it can only be seen from a plane or satellite. It just could be overdue for an eruption, which would change the landscape and climate of our planet.
Ashfall is the story of Alex, a teenage boy left alone for the weekend while his parents visit relatives. When the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts unexpectedly, Alex is determined to reach his parents. He must travel over a hundred miles in a landscape transformed by a foot of ash and the destruction of every modern convenience that he has ever known, and through a new world in which disaster has brought out both the best and worst in people desperate for food, water, and warmth. With a combination of nonstop action, a little romance, and very real science, this is a story that is difficult to stop reading and even more difficult to forget.

Ashfall is an incredible coming-of-age adventure story that will keep you on the edge of your seat. It certainly isn’t for the faint of heart. It’s a gritty story that asks some rather tough questions. The main being, How far would people go to survive? 

When the Volcano in Yellowstone Park erupts, fifteen-year-old Alex is home alone for the weekend. At the start of Alex’s story, he is very much a boy. He is understandably frightened and looks to his neighbors for guidance and protection. Well, without giving away to many details, he witnesses some rather traumatic events and decides to take off alone in search of his family. 

It is at this point in the story that I really got hooked.  I don’t know why, but there is something about survival stories. We all would like to think that we would keep our cool in desperate times, but who knows. Alex faces some incredible challenges along his journey – food and water shortages, encounters with desperate and dangerous people; you name it, he overcomes it. Ashfall may be an adventure story, but at its core it is a coming-of-age story.  

I also would like to talk a little about the romance between Alex and Darla. I was a bit nervous when Darla’s character was introduced. I wasn’t an immediate fan of hers and I could not see how a romance would fit into the puzzle. Well, long story short, I had to eat my words.  The relationship between the two was so incredibly raw, honest and just plain believable.  It wasn’t rushed and it wasn’t exaggerated. They fit together beautifully and complemented one another; it was an equal partnership. They relied on one another and trusted each other completely. 

I honestly do not want to divulge too much information about the plot because I do not want to spoil it for you guys. But trust me when I say this – you need to read Ashfall.  It’s exciting, addicting and undeniably entertaining. You won’t be disappointed with this series debut!

Favorite Quotes:

I hate to disappoint, but I just lay there, curled in a ball, shaking in pure terror.

Then, we waited. Waited for the noise to end. Waited for the house to fall on our heads. Waited for something, anything to change.

The next few hours were, well, how to describe it? Ask someone to lock you in a box with no light, nobody to talk to, and then have them beat on it with a tree limb to make a hideous sound. Do that for hours, and if you're still not bat-shit crazy, you'll know how we felt.

Maybe we were ghosts of a sort, spirits from the world that had died when the volcano erupted.

I didn't say anything - just held up my hands and shuffled backward toward the door. Antagonizing a little old lady holding a shotgun seemed like a very bad idea.

I'd never heard any noise quite so welcome as the click that a shotgun made when it wasn't killing me.

But even more than I wanted to check out and give my emotional wounds time to scab over, I wanted to live.

I didn't care much for being called stupid and softhearted. But the boyfriend bit I could live with.

I wanted, needed to see her so badly that it woke me up at night.

Review: Happy Birthday to Me by Brian Rowe

Book: Happy Birthday to Me by Brian Rowe
Series: Birthday Trilogy #1
Genre: Fantasy / Young Adult
Buy A Copy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
Available Formats: Print / Ebook
Publication Date: April 7th, 2011
First Sentence: "The Nightmare was real."
How Did I Get This Book: For review, from author
Description: 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 all on the horizon. That’s what happens to Cameron, a popular pretty boy who's never had to face a day looking anything but perfect.

All Cameron wants to do is go back to normal, but no one, not even the best doctors, can diagnose his condition. When he finds love with a mysterious young woman, however, he realizes his only hope for survival might be with the one person who started his condition in the first place...

Happy Birthday to Me by Brian Rowe was an incredibly interesting and refreshing read.

I had some difficultly warming up to Cameron, but I believe it was the intent. You aren’t supposed to love him at the beginning of the story, but it made it difficult to get into.  I will say that it made watching his progression as a character all the more worthwhile – you desperately want him to change. 

Rowe certainly wasn’t afraid to have other characters mistreat Cameron, which was really refreshing. The only story like this that I have stumbled across before is the movie Jack and the treatment of protagonist isn’t really addressed in the movie. I never considered how others would react to a condition like this; I mean it would be hard enough to deal with, can you imagine adding on the drama of other people? There are some folks in Happy Birthday to Me who treat Cameron absolutely horribly.  I did not really expect the story to go in that direction, but I am incredibly grateful that it did.

The storyline itself (not the aging aspect) is reminiscent of Alex Flinn’s Beastly, but I feel that Rowe’s book is targeted to an older audience. It’s still clearly young adult, but he takes more of a serious route with it. While Beastly feels like a fantasy, Happy Birthday to Me has more of a drama/realistic fiction feel. It obviously has elements of fantasy, but it is incredibly character-intense and character driven. 

The ending did feel a bit rushed; it did not match the pacing of the rest of the book. But all in all, Happy Birthday to Me was a solid book. I would not classify it as a page turner or an epic story, but it was entertaining, it made me think and I enjoyed reading it. 

Review: Blood by K.J. Wignall

Book: Blood by K.J. Wignall
Series: Mercian Trilogy #1
Genre: Young Adult / Urban Fantasy
Buy A Copy: Amazon | Book Depository | Barnes & Noble
Available Formats: Print / Ebook
Publication Date: September 27th, 2011
How Did I Get This Book: For review from netgalley
First Sentence: "We burned the witches in 1256. It was the last time I really enjoyed a fire - not because of the witches, you understand, even though I was for burning them at the time - just for the pleasure of flames dancing in the night sky and filling the land with their orange glow."
Description:  I do not remember being bitten. I wish I did, for then I would know the creature who did this to me and I would have a purpose, to track him down and repay him for the poisoned gift he gave me. Back in the Thirteenth Century, Will was destined to be Earl of Mercia, although he never lived to inherit his title. In the centuries that follow, Will has led a lonely life, learning to deal with whatever the present day throws at him, always searching for answers but never finding any. Until this time, when he awakens after a 20-year-slumber, hungry for the blood that sustains his undeath, when it appears that he is finally getting a glimpse at why he exists. He does indeed have a destiny, and an enemy, but revealing that fate will be a matter of trust...

Blood is the story of Will, the rightful Earl of Mercia.  In Will, Wignall creates a wildly romantic version of a vampire. He is much more Louis (Vampire Chronicles) than Edward (Twilight); he’s dark, brooding and depressed. And no, he does not sparkle.

The story and writing style also connect more with the traditional stories than the modern ones. It’s highly introspective – every chapter or so features a passage in which Will narrates his history (much like a diary). As you might imagine, this  certainly makes for a slow moving book. the writing itself is very eloquent, expressive and lengthy.  Wignall favors long, complex sentences – which worked with the tone of the book.

However,  the style of the book turns it into a bit of an oddity. Due to the characters ages, it’s always going to be looked at as a young adult book. The problem is that it’s not written like one. It is inevitably going to be marketed to twilight fans (I’m not saying anything is wrong with that, I own all four books) and that just not the right market for the book. It's much darker and serious - you will not find any sparkling vampires professing their undying love here.

Anyways back to the characters. Along the path of self discovery, Will meets a girl, Eloise - who ends up helping him throughout the book. I was not swept away by her character, but I did like Eloise. She tends to bring out the lighter side of Will and I am interested to see how she rubs off on him in the future. 

Like I said before, the storyline is slow moving, but it does eventually pick up. I found it all incredibly interesting and I liked the characters, it is just that things tended to drag out a bit too much for my liking. Will is also rather repetitive - he tends to go on and on about his feelings. If you enjoy a book that his heavy in the descriptions and wording, you are surely going to love Blood. I feel like you have to be in the right mindset for this one, if you go in expecting a story like the rest of today’s vampire fiction, you are not going to be happy.  Yes, it’s got action, mystery and excitement, but above all else it’s a story about Will as a person.  It’s certainly not overly romantic either; but it’s an intriguing story that centers around an incredibly infatuating character.

On a final note, If I ever purchase this book, I am going to buy the U.K. edition. I am not really sure why publishers always feel the need to have two different book covers, but in my opinion the U.K. version is much better than the U.S. edition.The U.S. one just does not work with the book. Not every vampire book needs to have a half naked guy on it.

Favorite Quotes

We returned because that night was ours, our triumph over witchcraft and evil.

At last, in this new millennium, he'd found a message in the most unlikely of places. And it promised something that he'd never dared hope, that there had been a reason for all of this, his sickness, the centuries of loneliness, that he had a destiny. 

It's hard for me to describe the terror I felt upon waking because I knew only one thing and knew it instantly, that I was in the grave.

She almost looked in danger of being won over, but as if remembering her former frostiness, her face hardened.

For now, he could think only that she was almost as tall as him, that they were both dressed in black, both pale, walking as one - it was almost as if they were meant to be together.

"You know, I don't think I've ever met anyone quite like you. You're like some old-fashioned knight." "Thank you, though it's been a while since I killed  a dragon."

She stared back at him, and he knew they didn't have very long, that he had to get away from there quickly. But he didn't rush her because he knew that she'd seen things she should never had witnessed, and that right now, she was making the biggest decision she would ever make.

He wanted to believe her, but more importantly he believed in her because she knew already that he was quite lost, more lost than she would ever be, and yet she still believed in him.

"Oh well, back to the crypt, I suppose."

It was instinct that drove him to hibernate, not choice, but he would have chosen it at that moment anyway because he saw that blood had nothing to offer him but more of this, standing in the shadows, watching other people live.

"You're nearly eight hundred years old and here you are, sitting on our sofa, and you're a vampire who needs our help. Of course."

"If there is a God, He abandoned me a long time ago."

"If I didn't taste like dinner, I'd kiss you right now." "If you didn't taste like dinner, I'd kiss you back."

Review: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Book: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
Series: Anna Dressed in Blood #1
Genre: Urban Fantasy / Young Adult
Buy A Copy: Amazon / Book Depository
Available Formats: Hardcover / Ebook 
Edition I Reviewed: Advanced Reading Copy
Publication Date: September 1st, 2011 (Tor Teen)
How Did I Get This Book: From Publisher, For Review.
First Sentence: "The grease-slicked hair is a dead giveaway - no pun intended."
Description: Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.
When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.
But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.

Alright guys. I am going to be completely straight with you – I loved, loved, LOVED Anna Dressed in Blood.  I don’t know if you are all familiar with Kendare Blake (she is also the author of Sleepwalk Society), but let me tell you a little something about her; she has an undeniable way with words. I am not kidding, she absolutely stops you in your tracks. I have a feeling that she could write about sweeping the floor and I would be fully entertained. 

Blake manages to blend her writing style, subject matter, characters and dialogue perfectly to produce an eerie, exciting and dynamic story. The overall tone of Anna is reminiscent of Supernatural (where are my Winchester fans?). it’s dark, gorgeous, brutal, haunting, gripping and just downright entertaining.   Blake doesn’t color inside the lines, she takes the characters and storyline places you wouldn’t expect. As I was reading, I had absolutely no idea how the book would end. Well, I take that back. I thought I knew where we were going, but then I would be completely wrong.  

Cas, the main character, is such a wonderful character who is both easy to connect with and charismatic. He travels around the world hunting down and ridding the world of ghosts who have gone bad. it’s a family business – he’s father was actually killed on a job. That leaves our hero in an interesting position; he’s now both the head of the family and the numero uno hunter. Those are some big shoes to fill and he has a difficult time really facing his feelings. You root for Cas, you want things to work out for him. He’s incredibly likable and just all in all, a cool dude. He has a sadness to him that makes him vulnerable, which is the perfect contrast to his ghost-killing side. In short, it allows him to be both dynamic and relatable. Nobody is strong all the time, everyone has a weakness. 

And let’s not forget about Anna. She is after all, the real star of the show. Anna, my friends is a ghost. A ghost that Cas sets out to kill. When I was first introduced to Anna, I am not going to lie, she totally freaked me out. In a good way, of course. I mean ,who doesn’t love a good villain. But what makes Anna such a wonderful character, is that she isn’t simply black-and-white. You see, she has layers my friends.  I am not going to dive into her storyline, because I want you all to be as shocked and surprised by the rollercoaster ride as I was. 

When looking back through my notes and reactions, I now see that there isn’t really an eloquent way to phrase how much I enjoyed Anna. I remember saying a lot of shut the front door’s and no freaking way’s. In all honesty, I could not put this book down. You could not have pried it out of my hands for anything – it was that good. So guys, do yourself a solid and go get a copy of Anna pronto. P.S., that quote list below is the narrowed down version.

Favorite Quotes

Girls on the other hand, have always come easy. I don’t know why that is, exactly. Maybe it’s the outsider vibe and a well-placed brooding look.

I watch him with amusement. There’s a blue light special on territorial jocks in aisle four.

She’s standing above me the goddess of death, black lips and cold hands.

I’m staring at Anna’s house again. The logical part of my brain tells me that it’s just a house. That it’s what’s inside that makes it horrifying, that makes it dangerous, that it can’t possibly be tilting toward me like it’s hunting me through the overgrowth of weeds. It can’t possibly be trying to jerk free of its foundation and swallow me whole. But that’s what it looks like it’s doing.

 I can feel that photo of Anna staring at me from sixty years ago, and I can’t help myself from wanting to protect her, wanting to save her from becoming what she already is. 

The thought makes me reach back for my knife, my sharp, throat-cutting security blanket, as I look around.

I peek over the back of the couch and there she is, my goddess of death, her hair snaking out in a great black cloud, her teeth grinding hard enough to make living gums bleed.

She’s like Bruce Lee, the Hulk and Neo from The Matrix all rolled in to one.

Yes. Smashing. You’ll be just like those four chaps in the movie. You know the one, with the oversized marshmallow.

It feels so separate, like I’ve touched something that’s taken the color out of me. Or maybe I’m in color now and they’re in black and white.

Four small flames ignite and illuminate our faces and chests, revealing expressions that are part wonder, part fear, and part feeling stupid.

But hey, at least we’ll have this strange story to tell, love and death and blood and daddy-issues. And holy crap, I’m a psychiatrist’s wet dream.

Stand my ground, is what I think. After this is over, I might puke. Assuming, of course, that I’m still alive.

Review: The Soulkeepers by G.P. Ching

Book: The Soulkeepers by G.P. Ching
Stand Alone or Series:  The Soulkeepers Trilogy #1
Pages:  341

Genre:  Young Adult / Fantasy

Buy A Copy: Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Smashwords

Available Formats: Ebook & Paperback 
Publication Date: March 10th, 2011

Publisher: DarkSide Publishing

How Did I Get This Book: From Author, For Review

First Line: “Death lived up to Jacob's expectations."

Preview Book: Chapters 1-3

Description: There are no accidents.
When fifteen-year-old Jacob Lau is pulled from the crumpled remains of his mother's car, no one can explain why he was driving or why the police can't find his mother's body. Made a ward of his uncle and thousands of miles from home, a beautiful and mysterious neighbor, Dr. Abigail Silva, offers to use her unique abilities to help him find his mom. In exchange, she requires Jacob to train as a Soulkeeper, a biologically gifted warrior charged with protecting human souls. He agrees to her demands, desperate for any clue to the mystery of his mother's disappearance. But soon Jacob finds himself trapped in a web of half-truths, and questions Dr. Silva's motives for helping him.

The Soulkeepers by G.P. Ching is one of those rare stories that seizes your attention from the start and never lets it go. You quickly become wrapped up in this imaginative story and are  transported into Jacob's world. You experience all of his confusion and frustration first hand and you simply must know what happens next.

There is so much packed into this story; it is incredibly easy to get swept up into it. I found myself gobbling up pages, desperate to know more about this new, exciting and terrifying world that Jacob is thrust into. The Soulkeepers has one of the most well-developed plots I've seen in a long time; Ching does an incredible job crafting the different story elements so that they fit and flow together. While there are definitely plot lines that are left open, the story does a great job pushing forward. Often times with series, the first book is basically just glorified world-building. While the author does put a great deal of time and effort into this, the story does actually move along at a decent pace.

It is obvious that Ching also put a great deal of care into the creation of the characters. Every single one of them is extremely dimensional - they all have their strengths and weaknesses; their flaws and attributes. Jacob has gone through a lot in his short life and it has left him jaded. He has a hard time seeing the entire picture and finds it difficult to place his faith and trust in others. This brings me to the character of Malini. Malini is Jacob's one true friend in Paris and she helps him work through his issues. What I love best about their relationship is that they both bring something to the table. They balance each other out beautifully; she is often the voice of reason when he wants to act on impulse.

The rest of the characters in the story are, like Jacob, dealing with their flaws. The book really emphasizes the point that nobody is perfect; it's what you do after your mistakes that matters. I thought this was an interesting theme and it made the characters a great deal more lifelike and easier to connect with.

The Soulkeepers by G.P.Ching is an intelligent, exciting and adventurous story that keeps you on your toes.We are treated to a new sort of young adult fantasy story that does not involve werewolves, faeries or vampires - Ching creates a new breed of heroes that readers are sure to love. The characters, although some possess fantastic qualities, are all incredibly realistic. This is a book that will surprise you; it roots itself in your mind and asks some very intriguing questions about forgiveness, trust and what it means to be a good person. I would highly recommend The Soulkeepers, it has everything a reader could ever want.

Favorite Quotes

"Do you think a person is only as good as the worst thing they've ever done?"

"It is very easy to do evil deeds when you are trying to do good."

"It wasn't the weirdest thing he'd seen since coming to Paris but a vegetarian cat definitely made the top ten."

"His arm wrapped around her back in a way that was instinctual for him now. She felt like a puzzle piece, fitting into his side where there had always been an empty space."

"Darkness is a relative term. There is the darkness of an evening with a full moon, or of a candlelit room. There is the inky blackness of a bedroom at midnight where the only light comes between shadows that dance in the space beneath the door. But the darkness that Jacob experienced as he followed his captor, hitched to her wings with sweaty palms, was not like that at all. It was a darkness that had perhaps never experienced real light, a black hole absorbing any flicker into his depths. It was the darkness of the bottom of the ocean, or the cold blackness of a grave. Jacob hoped it would not be his grave."

"Malini rewarded him with a smile he knew was exclusively his."

Review: I Am Number Four

Book: I Am Number Four by Pittacus Lore
Series or Stand-Alone: Lorien Legacies #1
Pages:  440
Genre: Young Adult / Science Fiction
Purchase A Copy: Amazon | The Book Depository
Publication Date: August 4th, 2010
How I Got This Book: Library
Description (From Goodreads): In the beginning they were a group of nine. Nine aliens who left their home planet of Lorien when it fell under attack by the evil Mogadorian. Nine aliens who scattered on Earth. Nine aliens who look like ordinary teenagers living ordinary lives, but who have extraordinary, paranormal skills. Nine aliens who might be sitting next to you now.

The Nine had to separate and go into hiding. The Mogadorian caught Number One in Malaysia, Number Two in England, and Number Three in Kenya. All of them were killed. John Smith, of Paradise, Ohio, is Number Four. He knows that he is next.

I AM NUMBER FOUR is the thrilling launch of a series about an exceptional group of teens as they struggle to outrun their past, discover their future—and live a normal life on Earth.

I AM NUMBER FOUR.
I AM NEXT.

I will be honest; I did not really have any interest in reading this book before I saw the movie trailers. Shameful, know. But, I am Number Four surprised me, in a number of ways.

I am Number Four is an absolute riot. The plotline is packed full of action – which is to be expected. However, there was a surprising almost of emotional storyline woven throughout the story as well. John’s relationships are given a great deal of attention, which allows for the reader to actually connect with him. In a lot of action books, I have a difficult time relating to the characters. The plotlines are enjoyable, but I don’t get that emotional connection with the characters. Right from the get-go you are introduced to the characters of Henry and John together. They have always been a team and it is obvious how much they rely on one another. Henry has been assigned to care for John and has basically filled the role of father.  Therefore, John’s character is extremely attached to him – he’s been the only constant in John’s life.

When the duo moves to Ohio, John makes his first real friends in Sam and Sarah. I loved his relationship with both of these characters. Sam is certainly quirky, but he is an extremely loyal friend to John. Sarah, who is the romantic interest for John, is an awesome character. She has incredibly sweet nature and accepts other for what they are. The relationship between John and Sarah was adorable; I loved watching it unfold.

There is also a tremendous amount of character development throughout the book. When we are first introduced to John, he is extremely timid and very much a little boy.  As the story goes on, he comes into his own and starts relying on himself. He not only begins to develop his powers, but he gains a great deal of courage as well.  

As to be expected the plotline was incredible and simply out of this world. There is a great deal of action and a handful of different aliens. The overall pacing was fast, but that is to be expected in an action adventure book – you are supposed to stay on your toes. 

There were some predictable elements to the story, but that is to be expected. Honestly, sometimes you can only take a storyline a few ways. The writing was also, how should I say this… sparse. Things were very direct, and I can understand why – it is meant to be a fast paced action story. However, I can’t help but feel like the writing could have included a bit more flourish; better visual descriptions and just richer text in general.

Overall, I really enjoyed I am Number Four. There was a surprising amount of emotion within the storyline, which made John easy to connect to and champion. I am interested to see how the next books play out – will there be a I am Number Five? I want to see more of the alien kids, but I hope we stay with John. Now that I’m emotionally invested in his story, I want to see it to the end!

 Favorite Quotes

"When you have lost hope, you have lost everything. And when you think all is lost, when all is dire and bleak, there is always hope." 

"I'll come back to you," I say, "If it's the last thing I do, I'll come back to you."  

Review: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Book: Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl
Series or Stand-Alone: Series, Caster Chronicles #1
Pages: 563
Genre: Young Adult / Paranormal Romance
Purchase A Copy: Amazon | Book Depository
Preview: On Google Books
Publication Date: December 1st, 2009
How I Got This Book: Purchased
Description (From Goodreads): Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.
In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

I am going to try and keep this brief because I am sure you all have read countless reviews of this book. I have a bit of a phobia when it comes to extremely popular books because I feel like my expectations won’t stand up to the actual work. There is nothing more disappointing then investing so much time and energy into something you think is going to be fabulous, only to be left questioning the sanity of the rest of the world.

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl has been the topic of conversation for quite some time. Fortunately the masses seemed to get things right this time, because this book is truly a work of art.

I was delightful surprised to find that the story is told from Ethan’s point of view. I have to admit, I had to reread the first few pages because I just assumed I was listening to a girl. I just saw that it was a young adult, doomed-love paranormal romance and automatically assumed it would be told from the girl’s perspective. This alone makes Beautiful Creatures a stand out, because it brings something a bit different to the table. 

Ethan and Lena’s relationship also adds a slight twist to the YA + Paranormal Romance formula. For reasons unbeknownst to the characters they can hear each other’s thoughts.  Ethan is a bit more freaked out by this than Lena, because Ethan is a mortal and has always lived in a mortal world. Lena on the other hand is a caster and was raised in a magical world. The fact that these two have this connection quickly brings them together and is a major driving force in the plot. It makes their relationship more believable, because they have a closeness with one another that they can never time with someone else.

All of the characters in book were incredibly unique and intriguing in their own way. My favorite was probably either Ethan’s “Aunt” Marion or his Great Aunts. I am going to lump the Great Aunts together and one entity, because “the sisters” never really separate. The sisters are some of the oldest folks left in town and they are incredibly eccentric and rather batty. They are the crazy old relatives that everyone has and they are full of over the top Southern charm. All of the scenes with these three women are priceless, my favorite being when they take it upon themselves to raise some baby squirrels that were found in a friends attic. Aunt Marion, my other favorite character, was Ethan’s mother’s best friend. She did not grow up in town and certainly has ideas of her own. She is even *gasp a democrat.  Marion is the town librarian and a resident historian and she certainly packs her own brand of quirky-spunk. She is constantly quoting her idols and even tells of the podunk-backwoods crazies in the same fashion.  

As far as the plot goes, the beginning is a bit slow moving and I am sure that bothers some readers. However, the pages are packed with such rich, vibrant writing that builds up the rest of the story. I never felt like this story dragged. At times things went off on a bit of a tangent, but they were always interesting tangents. There were so many plot twists in this story and everything seemed to connect together in the end. However, while you are reading, it feels a bit unfocused.

Despite how much I enjoyed this book, for me, it wasn’t what I would call a page turner.  I cannot put my finger on what exactly stopped me from being completely sucked into the story, but there was something. While Beautiful Creatures was an enchanting read it wasn’t a consuming read for me. I wasn’t sneaking sentences under the table during class, I wasn’t up all night reading, I wasn’t contemplating Lena and Ethan while driving. I enjoyed my time with them, but I wasn’t swept away by them.

I am definitely looking forward to reading the next in the series, Beautiful Darkness to see where Lena and Ethan’s story goes next. Hopefully we will see more from my other favorites, the sisters and Aunt Marion!

 

Favorite Quotes:

"Lena's hair was sticking out in about fifteen directions, and her eyes were all small and puffy from crying. So this was what girls looked like in the morning. I had never seen one, not up close."

"Any book is a Good Book, and wherever they keep the Good Book safe is also the House a the Lord." 

 "You climbed into my window in the middle of the night. So, either your some kind of Vampire or some kind of Perv. Which is it?"

"Mortals. I envy you. You think you can change things. Stop the universe. Undo what was done long before you came along. You are such beautiful creatures."

"The library was home away from home to my mom, and my family. We had spent every Sunday afternoon there since I was a little boy, wandering around the stacks, pulling out every book with a picture of a pirate ship, a knight, a soldier, or an astronaut. My mom used to say, "This is my church, Ethan. This is how we keep the Sabbath holy in our family." 

Review: Red Moon Rising by Peter Moore

Book: Red Moon Rising by Peter Moore
Series or Stand-Alone: Series

Pages: 336
Genre: Young Adult

Purchase A Copy: Amazon | Book Depository
Publication Date: February 8^st, 2011

How I Got This Book: From the Publisher, For Review

Description (From Goodreads): Being only half-vamp in a high school like Carpathia Night makes you a whole loser. But Danny Gray manages to escape the worst of the specists at his school. Thanks to genetic treatments he had as an infant, most people assume Danny's other half is human. Which is a good thing.    

Ever since the development of synthetic blood – SynHeme – vamps have become society’s elite, while wulves like his father work menial jobs and live in bad neighborhoods.  Wulves are less than second class citizens; once a month they become inmates, forced to undergo their Change in dangerous government compounds.

For Danny, living with his vamp mother and going to a school with a nearly all-vamp student body, it’s best to pretend his wulf half doesn’t even exist.  But lately Danny's been having some weird symptoms -- fantastic night vision; a keener-than-usual sense of smell; and headaches, right around the full moon.

Even though it's easy to be in denial, it's hard to ignore evidence.  There's only a month until the next few moon, and Danny's time is running out.

Peter Moore speaks to adolescents in a voice that will have them laughing, set in a world that will get them thinking.

Red Moon Rising is a highly ambitious undertaking that is part Urban Fantasy, part coming-of-age and part social commentary. The story is essentially about a boy - who happens to be half vampyre, half wulf. In Danny's world vamps rule and wulves are second class citizens at best. The tension between the two groups mirrors the turmoil the United States faced in the 1960's. In the book segregation between the species has ended, but the tension still resides. The vampyre are still considered the high class citizens, while the Wulves are stuck with low paying jobs.

There were things that I really loved about Red Moon Rising and there were things that I could have done without. I, for one, really enjoyed the way Moore modeled the social unrest after the American Civil Rights movement. It was a highly creative take on your average paranormal YA story - it was very much a coming-of-age story that tackled such topics as inequality,self-image and pride. I loved the fact that this was not your typical paranormal romance - this story has a lot of backbone. While Danny does meet and fall for a girl, it does not take front seat in the plot - it rides shotgun at best. Danny spends the majority of the book worrying about his Wulven heritage and the effects that it has on his daily life. You see, when Danny was baby he had genetic treatments that were supposed to sort of neutralize his Wulven DNA. However, he got sick during the process so they were never able to finish. He and his family always figured that he had gotten far enough in the treatments to keep him from shifting, but soon they realize they were wrong.

Danny is an easy character to relate to, because like almost every teenager in the world, he is going through an identity crisis. Granted, most people (that I know of) don't worry about whether they will be more vampyre or more wulven. He certainly isn't perfect, but he is really trying to accept and embrace his new life. He makes mistakes, but he is the first to admit when he is wrong. Overall he is a very likable character and it is easy to get behind him. You want everything to work out for Danny; you genuinely want him to be okay.

While I loved the idea of the story and found Danny to be an intriguing character there were elements of the writing that I wasn't too crazy about. Moore peppers the book with tons of pop culture references, but they are all slightly altered. He often quotes popular songs, movies and televisions but changes them to fit his vampire universe. While at first this was amusing, I soon grew tired of hearing about McJagger and Gwenbeth Paltroff. These almost pop culture references began to throw the book of track. In all honesty, Red Moon Rising is a serious book and these distractions did not tie in with the tone.

I was a little disappointed with the ending as well. There was a great deal of build up between Danny and the villain, Gunther but the climax was a bit lacking. I just feel like things were a bit rushed and we were left will an awful lot of questions. I understand that it was setup for a sequel, but the reader doesn't really get any sort of resolution in the end of book one.

That being said, I will still be looking out for a book two. I feel like Danny's story is just getting started and now I am very invested in what happens to him. I just would have liked to have a little bit more closure before diving into book two.

Review: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

Book: Dash & Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Series or Stand-Alone: Stand Alone 
Pages: 260
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: October 26th, 2010
Description (From Goodreads): “I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the New York Times bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.

I have never read Cohn & Levithan's prized first novel, Nick & Norah's Infinite Playlist, but like most of the world I am familiar with it. When I first discovered Dash & Lily's Book of Dares, I thought the premise sounded intriguing enough and I thought it sounded cute enough.

I was right on the money, because if I had to describe Dash&Lily in one word it would be “cute”. It is one of those stories that you plow through in a few hours. While it provided some wonderful rom-com moments and a few exquisite moments, I wouldn’t stay it made a great impact on me. Don’t get me wrong, I whole heartedly enjoyed watching Dash & Lily’s story unfold, but nothing in this book was exactly earth shattering. 

The book is written from two POV’s; the narrative switches between both Dash and Lily. I thought this format was perfect for this type of book, especially when there are two different authors. All of Lily’s narratives were written by Cohn, while Dash’s were written by Levithan. That being said, I much preferred Dash’s sections. While I was reading the story I did not know how the writers divided the sections, but I was really drawn to the sections from Dash’s POV. All in all, I just found his narrative to be more entertaining; it was funny, honest and of course – snarky. He had a few different great lines and I was just simply taken with him.

Lily, for her part, was an alright character. She was sweet and quirky, but in my opinion, she did not stand out. I am not sure that I will remember much about her character in a few months – she just wasn’t interesting enough to me. Honestly, I just read the book a few days ago and all I can remember about her now is that she loved Christmas, she had a gay older brother and all of her family called Dash “snarly”. 

However, even though I didn’t like Lily as much as Dash; the two together are a perfect match. Where he is snarky, a bit aloof and distant, Lily is in your face, loving and all consuming with her affection. They balance each other out marvelously – I would have loved to see more of their face to face relationship. At first I thought they were a bit too different, especially with their polar opposite reactions to Christmas. Dash couldn’t hate the holiday more, while it is Lily’s favorite time of the year. I especially loved seeing their different takes on those people who stand outside of stores and ring the charity bell.  

Like I said before, this book to me is best described by the word “cute”.  If you are looking for a quick, enjoyable teen romance then I would definitely give Dash & Lily a try. It was well written, entertaining and charming. Dash was a memorable character and Lily was quirky enough to keep your interest. Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares is an enjoyable read that will leave you with a smile.

Review: End of Days by Max Turner

Book: End of Days (Max Turner)
Series or Stand-Alone: Series - Night Runner #2
Pages: 288 
Genre: Young Adult
Publication Date: September 28th, 2010

Preview on Google Books
Description (From Goodreads): In this thrilling follow up to Night Runner, Zack Thomson is back with his friend Charlie, searching for answers all the while being hunted by a creature most deadly... While Charlie struggles with his vampirism, he, Zack, and their friends are pulled into a conflict with the mysterious Mr. Hyde, a creature who hunts vampires. As the story unfolds, and the ties between Zach and his girlfriend Luna intensify, the network of support around them collapses, forcing them to redefine their notions of good and evil and find a way forward.

 

 *WARNING, SPOILERS FOR BOOK 1 - NIGHT RUNNER!

End of Days by Max Turner was an absolute thrill ride of a book. It is everything a sequel should be - the characters are further developed - but they stay true to form, the pacing and tone are both similar to the first book and the plot continues to develop.

The book begins one year after the conclusion of Night Runner, and Zack and Charlie have been bunking together with Ophelia. Charlie has, understandably, been struggling with his new status as vampire. His old life revolved around the sun, as Zack puts it, he was a water baby in his first life. Now, Charlie has to adjust to life in the night. He, does not however blame Zack for this and he definitely enjoys some of the perks of being a vamp. 

Thankfully, Charlie has been fleshed out more in this book and I cannot tell you how happy this makes me. My only real gripe with the Night Runner was that the secondary characters were rather flat. Now, Charlie has a lot more going on mentally, and the character really benefits from it. Not only does he struggle with controlling his inner vamp, but he worries about Suki.

Suki still takes more of a backseat in End of Days, but I have a feeling she will be more relevant in the next book. At the start of the book, Suki and her sister, Luna are living with their parents. The household is in shambles and everyone is having a hard time of it. Suki wants to be a vampire, like her sister, boyfriend (Charlie) and friend (Zack). She feels really out of the loop and goes through a sort of depression. Luna is also extremely lonely, because she is the only vampire in the area. Their parents are also having a hard time coping - their father is desperately trying to find a cure for Luna and has been forcing her to get blood transfusions. He also is adamant about keeping the girls away from Charlie and Zack - especially Zack. He blames him for his struggling daughters and thinks him to be some sort of criminal and all around bad seed.

But, the real fun begins when a new monster comes to town. He is some sort of crazy vampire eating madman and causes some real trouble for our band of heroes. Not only do they have to worry about this monster, who is apparently unbeatable, but they have to worry about the cops and coven as well.

The cops are after Zack because they believe he murdered one of their men and the coven is after all of the teen vamps for being child vampires. However, they are really after Zack because of they believe he is the child from the prophecy. Supposedly, a son of a great vampire hunter will be orphaned. Then the boy will drink blood and will die and be brought back to life. Then, the kid will make a choice - either saving the vampire race or bringing about its destruction. Zack is widely believed to be the child from the prophecy and it puts a giant target on this back.

Once again, there is plenty of action, humor, suspense and a tiny bit of romance (more so than the first book). Zack and Luna's relationship continues to develop and something amazing happens between them. I don't want to spoil it, but it is a pretty awesome, sort of talent-for-two. Once again, Turner writes a humorous book with lots of twists and turns - I often found myself laughing along with the story. If you haven't picked this series up yet, I would suggest you do. I think that fans of The Darkest Powers series by Kelley Armstrong and The Strange Angels Series by Lili St.Crow would really appreciate this book - it has the same sort of adventure plot with teen characters that are sort of rebel outlaws. Anyways, my point is, start reading this series!