Last RAK of 2012

And another year is almost gone.
I had a great time participating in RAK this year and will certainly continue to do so in 2013.

Have a great New Year's Eve everyone and I wish you lots of bookish goodness and other wonderful things for 2013!

And now my December RAK:

I got this RAK from Xlacrimax!
It was a really nice read.

Thanks Xlacrimax!

I also send out a RAK and hope the receiver will enjoy it.
And of course I'm signing up for another RAK month.

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RAK:

The RAK movement (=Random Acts of Kindness): it is an initiative organized by the Ladies at the Book Soulmates where everyone posts their whislists and then other people realize one (or more) wishes of a person. Meaning that they send some books to the lucky person they picked! Doesn't it sound fabulous?

Rules:

• Sign up each month you'd like to participate in.

• Show off your participation! Grab one of the buttons available :)

• Create a wish list and post it in the Google Doc located in each R.A.K post for the month.
{Post on your blog, Amazon, where ever as long as there's a link to it.}

• If you choose to do a R.A.K for someone, check out their wish list and contact that blogger for their address.

• At the end of the month, SHOW US YOUR R.A.K!

• Make a post saying 'Thank You' to whoever granted one of your wishes and share it with us :)

OPEN TO EVERYONE!

Let's keep our International bloggers in mind and in our hearts.

Remember, there's always the Book Depository and they offer FREE shipping!

Glass Houses - Book Review

Glass Houses (The Morganville Vampires #1)
by Rachel Caine

What is it about:
College freshman Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation. 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.

What did I think of it:
This is a nice, entertaining read.

Claire seemed to act a little too young for her age (16) at times while her roommates at 18 sometimes acted a bit too mature, but that didn't bother me too much. All in all I really liked Claire and her friends.

The vampires and the vampire lackeys were a bit grotesque in my opinion, but once again not something that annoyed me too much.

Actually this book was pretty much what I expected it to be when I picked it up: an entertaining story that's a bit predictable and doesn't go too deep. A perfect read for when you're looking for a light Paranormal Young Adult read.

There was one major annoyance though:
After the whole story was wrapped up and done with there was one extra chapter that could easily have been left out, but was added to force the book into an unnecessary cliffhanger to make people buy the next book.

And that's the reason this piggy won't be reading anymore books in this series.

Why should you read it:
It's a nice uncomplicated read.

Giveaway Alert

In case you haven't tuned in to my blog these last couple of days:

There are two giveaways you can enter!

For your chance to win The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle click here

For your chance to win one of my favorite 2012 reads click here

Top Pearls List 2012 with Giveaway

And here it is:

My Top Pearls list of 2012!
I did things differently than the last few years and instead of picking just a few books I looked at the best book I read each month.


In January my favorite read was Sins of the Angels by Linda Poitevin. It's a nailbiting and awesome UF/PNR thriller.

In February it was Touch of Power by Maria V. Snyder. It's a cool Fantasy story full of action and adventure.

In March the most amazing book I read was Alien Diplomacy by Gini Koch. It's a wacky, fun and action packed SciFi adventure.



In April Voodoo Bride fell in love with Oracle's Moon by Thea Harrison. According to Voodoo Bride it's a fun paranormal romance with a sexy Djinn.

Fair Game by Patricia Briggs blew us away in May. It's an intense and emotional UF read.

June wasn't our best month when it came to loving books however, so I included some other great books we read in May, which was a stellar month.


Discount Armageddon by Seanan McGuire . It's a fun Urban Fantasy Romance.

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater. It's a beautiful YA with werewolves.

Wicked as They Come by Delilah S Dawson. It's a beautiful, dark Victorian fairy tale.


In July there was the awesome Stalking the Others by Jess Haines. It's an action-packed and awesome Urban Fantasy read.

The best August read was Precinct 13 by Tate Hallaway. It's a very entertaining Urban Fantasy.

Outpost by Ann Aguirre was my absolute favorite September read and my second favorite read of 2012. It's Post Apocalyptic Awesomeness!


October was the month I read The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle, my absolute favorite book of 2012. It's a totally amazing YA horror-thriller.

In November my favorite read was Endgame, another one of Ann Aguirre's books.

In December I fell in love with The House of Velvet and Glass by Katherine Howe. It's a beautiful story set in the early 20th century.



Next to this list I also want to mention the best ebooks we read in 2012:


Waiting for Midnight by Merrie Destefano. This is a beautifully written collection of touching and disturbing tales.

Rogue's Pawn by Jeffe Kennedy. It's a beautiful and dark Fantasy Romance.

Intimate Exposure by Portia Da Costa. It's an intense, romantic BDSM story.

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And now for a giveaway!

One commenter will win one of our favorite reads of 2012.
I will have to exclude the ebooks, because I can't gift ebooks unfortunately.

The rules:
- Leave a comment with the answer to the following question:
What book from my list do you want to win and what was your favorite read of 2012?
- Leave a way for me to contact you
- Do so before January 6th 2013
- Open to everyone who is old enough to be allowed to enter this giveaway and to read the chosen book and who lives somewhere where the Bookdepository ships to.

The Hallowed Ones - Giveaway

I promised you there might be a giveaway and here it is:

One commenter will win a copy of The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle

The rules:
- Leave a comment telling me why you want to win The Hallowed Ones
- Leave a way for me to contact you
- Do so before January 6th 2013
- Open to everyone who's old enough to be allowed to enter giveaways and to read this book and who lives somewhere that the Bookdepository ships to.

PS: If you haven't already done so: check my Monday post for a small interview with Laura!



The Hallowed Ones (The Hallowed Ones #1)
by Laura Bickle
Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers can get a taste of the real world. But the real world comes to her in this dystopian tale with a philosophical bent. Rumors of massive unrest on the “Outside” abound. Something murderous is out there. Amish elders make a rule: No one goes outside, and no outsiders come in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man, she can’t leave him to die. She smuggles him into her family’s barn—at what cost to her community?

Teaser Tuesdays - The Hallowed Ones

Merry Christmas everyone!

Today I want to share some teaser sentences from my favorite 2012 read:

The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle


Ravens hopped through the broken bits of debris, puffing up their wings. In the center of the flock stood a man dressed in black, the hems of his trousers stained gray by the ash.
(page 38)

Evil arrived on our doorstep the next day.
At the time, I didn't see it that way. But that was the way the Elders saw it.
(page 75)

But I couldn't help glancing back at the seductive glow. Like a moth to the flame, I drifted towards it.
(page 109)

I stared back at the house. How much did he suspect about my disobedience? How much did he know, through his strange connection with God?
(page 162)

The Hexenmeister hobbled forward with his cane before I could speak. He faced the Elders. "The Darkness is coming."
(page 212)

I was only too grateful to have the opportunity to flee. I rushed down the stairs to the front door, lurched into fresh air. I was surrounded by dark skirts and legs as I heaved what remained of my breakfast into the grass.
(page 244)

The Hallowed Ones (The Hallowed Ones #1)
by Laura Bickle
Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers can get a taste of the real world. But the real world comes to her in this dystopian tale with a philosophical bent. Rumors of massive unrest on the “Outside” abound. Something murderous is out there. Amish elders make a rule: No one goes outside, and no outsiders come in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man, she can’t leave him to die. She smuggles him into her family’s barn—at what cost to her community?

Top Pearl Interview - Laura Bickle

2013 is almost upon us, so it is time to look back at all the books I read this year and name my Top Pearls of 2012.

Before I give you the whole list however I want to spotlight the absolute most awesome book of 2012 and its author:

The Hallowed Ones by Laura Bickle

I'll post a small interview, a teaser and there might even be a giveaway.

But let's start with the interview!

A big welcome to one of our favorite authors:
Laura Bickle



- What was your favorite moment of 2012?

My favorite moment was adopting our new cat, Gibby! He showed up on our doorstep in mid-August, howling for food. We fed him, he stuck around…and he became a happy indoor cat. A plump indoor cat. He’s almost twenty pounds now, and is doing a great job holding down the couch.



- What will you be doing on New Year's Eve?

I’m not much of a partier. I’ll probably be in my pajamas, surfing the internet and watching television. If I’m feeling really festive, I might wear the jammies with feet and make pizza.

- What are you looking forward to in 2013?

I’m looking forward to a whole new year! My list of resolutions is long, including carving out more writing time, decluttering, and simplifying. I’m in the process of putting together a hobby room in the basement to work on custom action figures – one of my nerdy hobbies.

- What can readers expect from you in 2013?

The sequel to THE HALLOWED ONES, titled THE OUTSIDE, will be coming out in fall 2013. I’ll be very excited to see it in print!

Thanks for dropping by Laura!
We are counting the months until fall 2013.

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So what about our readers?
What was your favorite moment of 2012 and what are you looking forward to in 2013?

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The Hallowed Ones (The Hallowed Ones #1)
by Laura Bickle
Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers can get a taste of the real world. But the real world comes to her in this dystopian tale with a philosophical bent. Rumors of massive unrest on the “Outside” abound. Something murderous is out there. Amish elders make a rule: No one goes outside, and no outsiders come in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man, she can’t leave him to die. She smuggles him into her family’s barn—at what cost to her community?

Cinder - Book Review

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1)
by Marissa Meyer

What is it about:
Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

What did I think of it:
This is a very enjoyable read.

I do confess it very predictable, not just because it's a retelling of Cinderella, but also because obvious hints were given long before Cinder figured thing out.

But that didn't stop me from gobbling up this story.

It's an easy, fast paced read and I love fairy tale retellings. I also really enjoyed Meyer's world building. She really fitted it into the story in a natural way, making it not a literal retelling of Cinderella, but using the original tale to tell her own story.

The cliffhanger ending did leave me hanging a bit though, hinting at things to come that aren't part of the original Cinderella tale. It's making me want to read the next book right away to know what happens next, but I'll have to wait until February...

Why should you read it:
It's an enjoyable retelling of Cinderella.

The House of Velvet and Glass - Book Review

The House of Velvet and Glass
by Katherine Howe

What is it about:
Still reeling from the deaths of her mother and sister on the Titanic, Sibyl Allston is living a life of quiet desperation with her taciturn father and scandal-plagued brother in an elegant town house in Boston’s Back Bay. Trapped in a world over which she has no control, Sibyl flees for solace to the parlor of a table-turning medium.

But when her brother is suddenly kicked out of Harvard under mysterious circumstances and falls under the sway of a strange young woman, Sibyl turns for help to psychology professor Benton Derby, despite the unspoken tensions of their shared past. As Benton and Sibyl work together to solve a harrowing mystery, their long-simmering spark flares to life, and they realize that there may be something even more magical between them than a medium’s scrying glass.

What did I think of it:
I will confess I picked this book up because it had to do with the Titanic.

Although the Titanic and it's sinking do play a part in this story they're just a small part though.

But I can't say I minded.

I loved this book. It's well written and engaging. Howe does a great job in setting a mood that fits the time periods in which this story takes place. The story switches between several people and back and forth in time. Following Sibyl, her brother, her father when he was a young man and there are even a few scenes set on the Titanic.

I really liked Sibyl. She's a character you can feel for and even when she lost her way I kept rooting for her. But I'll have to confess that her father was my favorite character. He's an interesting figure from the start and with every bit of extra information about him he grows more and more complex and intriguing.

The story is compelling, emotionally tense and filled with mystery. I had thought the story would mainly be about debunking mediums and about spirituality, but this story is about so much more. It's deeply philosophical without being pretentious about it. Instead Howe manages to deliver a beautiful story that gripped me and that stayed in my head long after I finished the book.

I will certainly pick up other books by Howe when I get the chance.

Why should you read it:
It's a beautiful story set in the early 20th century

Wishlist Wednesday - Til The World Ends

Yes: I totally pre-ordered this book for the story by Ann Aguirre. The other stories sound interesting as well I will confess so I'm hoping to fall in love with all three of them.



'Til The World Ends - Anthology

Dawn of Eden by Julie Kagawa

Before The Immortal Rules, there was the Red Lung, a relentless virus determined to take out all in its path. For Kylie, the miracle of her survival is also her burden—as a doctor at one of the clinics for the infected, she is forced to witness endless suffering. What’s worse, strange things are happening to the remains of the dead, and by the time she befriends Ben Archer, she’s beginning to wonder if a global pandemic is the least of her problems...

Thistle & Thorne by Ann Aguirre

After a catastrophic spill turns the country into a vast chemical wasteland, those who could afford it retreated to fortresses, self-contained communities run by powerful corporations. But for Mari Thistle, life on the outside—in the Red Zone—is a constant struggle. To protect her family, Mari teams up with the mysterious Thorne Goodman. Together, they’ll face an evil plot in both the underworld of the Red Zone and the society inside the fortresses that could destroy those on the outside... for good.

Sun Storm by Karen Duvall

Sarah Daggot has been chasing storms since she was a child. But after the biggest solar flares in history nearly destroy the planet, she becomes a Kinetic, endowed by her exposure to extreme radiation with the power to sense coming storms—in the cosmos and beyond. And she’s not the only one. Sarah believes the Kinetics are destined to join forces and halt the final onslaught of the sun. She’ll vow to keep trying to convince the one missing link in their chain of defense, the enigmatic Ian Matthews, up until the world ends.

Expected publication: January 29th 2013 by Harlequin Luna

Teaser Tuesdays - The Reapers Are The Angels

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I'm having trouble getting through this one. It's in present tense and there's no quotation marks when people are talking with each other. It keeps dragging me out of the story.


They gather, the horde, and she eases her car through, pushing them out of the way or down under her wheels, which crunch over their limbs or torsos. If she stops, if the car stalls, she is dead, she knows.
(page 84, The Reapers Are The Angels by Alden Bell)

The Farm - Book Review

The Farm (The Farm #1)
by Emily McKay

What is it about:
Life was different in the Before: before vampires began devouring humans in a swarm across America; before the surviving young people were rounded up and quarantined. These days, we know what those quarantines are—holding pens where human blood is turned into more food for the undead monsters, known as Ticks. Surrounded by electrical fences, most kids try to survive the Farms by turning on each other…

And when trust is a thing of the past, escape is nearly impossible.

Lily and her twin sister Mel have a plan. Though Mel can barely communicate, her autism helps her notice things no one else notices—like the portion of electrical fence that gets turned off every night. Getting across won’t be easy, but as Lily gathers what they need to escape, a familiar face appears out of nowhere, offering to help…

Carter was a schoolmate of Lily’s in the Before. Managing to evade capture until now, he has valuable knowledge of the outside world. But like everyone on the Farm, Carter has his own agenda, and he knows that behind the Ticks is an even more dangerous threat to the human race...

What did I think of it:
I'm in two minds about this book.

The story and mood are both really cool. I loved the idea of people being kept in camps to feed vampire-like creatures even though (once again) the world building was shoddy at times. I thought the head of the camp must not have been too bright the way he ran the camp I will confess. But I've learned to take these oversights in stride and the tense story and the writing were good enough that it didn't bother me too much.

I very much liked Mel, who's autistic, but has a very sharp mind. There were some chapters from her point of view that were really fun to read even though those were in present tense.

What did bug me was Lily. She is very judgmental and as the story unfolded it began to bug me more and more until I almost couldn't stand her anymore. If I hadn't been really invested in finding out where the story was leading I might have put the book down just because of Lily and her narrow minded views.

So while the story is tense, grim at times and with some really cool action I am hesitant to continue to read this series because I'm not sure I can stomach another 400+ pages of Lily.

Why should you read it:
It's a nice Dystopian YA story with vampires

Dream Penguins and the Connectedness of All Things - Guestpost by Kerry Schafer

Today I have a special guest:
Kerry Schafer, author of the upcoming Urban Fantasy novel Between.
(More info about Between can be found at the end of this post)

Kerry is a wonderful person who doesn't mind me stalking her on Twitter and giving her unasked for zombie advice. She also posts the most amazing Random Penguin pictures and I borrowed one of those pictures for this post so you can all enjoy the awesomeness that is the Random Penguin.

After hearing about the Random Penguin it might not come as a surprise that Kerry's guestpost is about: penguins!

======================


Dream Penguins and the Connectedness of All Things

"Um, Kerry?"
"Yes?"
"Why is there a penguin in this book?"
"Well, because he wanted to be."
"Seriously – "

"Well, this one day at the office Jamie and I had some interesting encounters with reality. So we were discussing MC Escher, and then this penguin showed up…"

You think I jest, so let me explain.

I was working as a mental health crisis response worker at the time I started writing BETWEEN. You get called for all sorts of situations in that job – from elderly ladies with shotguns, to suicidal folks, to those who are outright psychotic. It's the sort of job that leads you into odd pockets of reality. You pinch yourself a lot to see if you're dreaming, but you know you're not because you could never, ever, have possibly imagined that thing that just happened.

My office mate, Jamie, was an aficionado of the bizarre and of all sorts of far flung philosophical and metaphysical concepts. He was also smarter than I. We had long and complicated conversations over a vast array of topics. I loved it, but I nodded a lot and pretended to know about things I really didn't. Like the day he said our job was like living in an Escher painting, and then I had to go home and look up MC Escher, with whom I promptly fell in love.


"But what about the penguin?" you ask.

I'm getting to that. One of Jamie's finds was a delightful internet site devoted to a small group of male Adélie penguins who had been rescued from an oil slick. Researchers cleaned them up, fitted them with location transmitters, and released them. It was expected that they would swim south to their breeding grounds. Every day a map was displayed with the relative positions of the penguins, and we took great delight in checking in to see what they were up to, mostly on account of Vivian.

Yep, Vivian was a penguin, and a male penguin at that. And yes, the main character in BETWEEN, who is not male, is named after him.

Anyway. Vivian swam in circles for several days, while Jamie made jokes about ADHD penguins and shiny fish. One morning he struck out unexpectedly north. Days later, when his transmitter stopped working, he was still swimming indomitably north. For Jamie and me, Vivian had become a living symbol of non-conformity. We considered ourselves as people who "swim north" and, in fact, the working title of the book was Swimming North for a long, long time.

Hopefully this all explains why it was necessary for a penguin to show up in BETWEEN. Of course, said penguin couldn't be a normal and ordinary sort of penguin, and thus Poe the dream penguin was brought forth in the world of the Between and followed Vivian home.

======================


About Between:
”Vivian’s life is finally on track. She has a job she loves as an ER doctor and has just met – literally – the man of her dreams. But when her eccentric grandfather is murdered and designates her as his next of kin, she discovers that she is the last of a race of beings known as dreamshifters. It is her task to guard the doorways between waking and dreaming, which have already begun to unravel, spilling dangerous creatures from dream into the waking world. When she sets out to close the open doors and protect her town and the people she loves, Vivian confronts dragons, intrigue, and the dark secrets of her own family history. In the end, she comes face to face with a sorceress seeking eternal life and ultimate power. Vivian must find a way to stop her, or reality will be forever altered.”

pre-order your copy of between today:

Releasing from Ace Books January 29, 2013

About Kerry Schafer:
Kerry Schafer lives in Colville, Washington, with her family, which includes two cats, a rescue fish, and a preternaturally large black dog. A self-styled perpetual student, she earned an RN from Royal Alexandra Hospital in Edmonton, Alberta; a BA in English (Honours) from York University in Toronto, Ontario; and an M.Ed. in counseling psychology from Washington State University.

Website
Twitter

A Tale of Two Vampires - Book Review by Voodoo Bride

A Tale of Two Vampires (Dark Ones #10)
by Katie MacAlister

What is it about:
Iolanthe Tennyson has had a very bad year—due in part to the very bad men in her life. So, she’s accepted her cousin’s invitation to spend the summer in Austria indulging in her photography hobby. There, rumors of a haunted forest draw Iolanthe into the dark woods—and into the eighteenth century…

Nikola Czerny is a cursed man, forced by his half-brothers to live forever as a Dark One. But his miserable existence takes an intriguing turn when a strange, babbling woman is thrown in his path. Iolanthe claims to know Nikola’s daughter—three hundred years in the future. She also knows what fate—in the form of his murderous half-brothers—has in store for him. If only she knew the consequences of changing the past to save one good, impossibly sexy vampire…

What did Voodoo Bride think of it:
A couple of years ago I started on this series with book one: A Girl's Guide to Vampires. I loved it and read the next four books with just as much pleasure. Book 6 in the series however (Zen and the Art of Vampires) sounded too triangly for my tastes and as book 7 had the same lead character as book 6 I didn't feel like buying those and somehow I never got to buying the books after those two.

Then I got this book as a present from Melliane and once I started reading I was hooked.

This is a seriously fun book. As with all Dark Ones books I've read so far it's funny, witty and has a delicious romance. I really liked Io, she's a quirky and fun character who speaks her mind. Nikola is a great character as well. I didn't know it was possible to write a nerdish alpha male, but MacAlister pulls it off.

The story was fun from start to finish. There were some inconsistencies, but MacAlister's books are just too much fun to worry about things being consistent. They're all about the romance and the two lead characters overcoming all obstacles that keep them apart.

I did think the romance in this book was less hot than in the other books I read in this series, but it was the sweetest romance I've read from MacAlister so far, so I won't hold the lack of scorching love scenes against it.

This book did remind me how much fun this series is, so I just might try to get my hands on book 8 and 9.

Why should you read it:
It's a funny and sweet Paranormal Romance.

Wishlist Wednesday - Platinum

Today one of the books that's on Voodoo Bride's wishlist:


Platinum
by Jeffe Kennedy

Althea Grant is doing fine. Sure, her Charleston gallery is suffering from the bad economy, and her artistic aspirations have gone nowhere. But she’s happy enough. When rugged metal sculptor Steel rides up on his motorcycle looking to rent studio space, his infusion of cash is more than welcome. But his art is raw, visceral, sexual-and completely inappropriate for her pastel world of watercolor landscapes.

Steel, fascinated by Althea’s rare albino coloring, sees in her the key to his next piece: a metal satyr that can be used for bondage games. Moving into her gallery basement is the first step; seducing the coolly polite lady into modeling for him is the second.

As Steel peels away her careful manners and tasteful outfits, Althea begins to realize her life isn’t just fine at all-it’s as pale and washed-out as the watercolor paintings she’s failing to sell. Can she transform her life and accept her most secret desires?

Releases on February 25th 2013

Teaser Tuesdays - The House of Velvet and Glass

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following: - Grab your current read - Open to a random page - Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!) - Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!


She jumped up from her seat, shaking and sobbing, rubbing her hands vigorously on the material of her dress, trying to bring feeling back to them, to reassure herself that she was safe, appalled at her own horror and fear.
For the table had flooded with ice cold water.
(page 32, The House of Velvet and Glass by Katherine Howe)

Need - Book Review

Need (Need #1)
by Carrie Jones

What is it about:
Zara White suspects there's a freaky guy semi-stalking her. She's also obsessed with phobias. And it's true, she hasn't exactly been herself since her stepfather died. But exiling her to shivery Maine to live with her grandmother? That seems a bit extreme. The move is supposed to help her stay sane...but Zara's pretty sure her mom just can't deal with her right now.

She couldn't be more wrong. Turns out the semi-stalker is not a figment of Zara's overactive imagination. In fact, he's still following her, leaving behind an eerie trail of gold dust. There's something not right - not human - in this sleepy Maine town, and all signs point to Zara.

What did I think of it:
This is a nice read.

I did think that Zara and her new friends were very quick to jump to paranormal conclusions. Zara tells she's being stalked and: Wham! It must be this paranormal creature! I'd have liked a bit more build up to the paranormal element to make it more believable.

I will also confess I did get a bit annoyed at Zara at times. She doesn't seem to have even one self-preserving bone in her body, always doing things that get her into trouble. I really liked her grandmother though and Zara's new friend Issie is a really fun character as well.

Apart from some minor annoyances I enjoyed the story. It's suspenseful, just a little bit creepy and with interesting world building. And the quick accepting of paranormal stuff aside, the story is set up quite logical and believable.

All in all a pleasant Paranormal Young Adult read. I might pick up the next book in this series if I run into it.

Why should you read it:
It's an enjoyable Paranormal YA read.

The Mage in Black - Book Review/Rant

The Mage in Black (Sabina Kane #2)
by Jaye Wells

What is it about:
Sabina Kane doesn't have the best track record when it comes to family. After all, her own grandmother, the leader of the vampire race, just tried to kill her. When she arrives in New York to meet the mage side of her family, the reunion takes the fun out of dysfunctional.

On top of that, the Hekate Council wants to use her as a pawn in the brewing war against the vampires. Her mission will take her into the bowels of New York's Black Light district, entangles her in mage politics, and challenges her beliefs about the race she was raised to distrust. And Sabina thought vampires were bloodthirsty.

What did I think of it:
This book was quite a disappointment, especially because I very much enjoyed the first book.

Sabina is acting very stupid in this book and I must say the way she acted made it hard for me to believe she's supposed to be a successful assassin. On top of that she's feeling more than sorry for herself and she comes across as whiny at times.

And of course: a romantic storyline can't survive it seems if we do not throw in some never before mentioned old flame to create some competition for the love interest from book one. *gag*

Really: I get so sick and tired of all these competing love interests in UF. It is perfectly possible to write a suspenseful romantic story arc that spans multiple books without having to let multiple love interests beat their chests at each other!

So anything good?
Well, the writing is pleasant and the story is interesting and fast paced enough that even with these major annoyances I actually finished the book instead of putting it aside.

I'm not too sure I will read more books in this series though. a shame as I really liked the first book and had hoped to like the rest of the series just as much.

Why should you read it:
It's a nice, fast paced UF story

Seraphina - Book Review

Seraphina (Seraphina #1)
by Rachel Hartman

What is it about:
Four decades of peace have done little to ease the mistrust between humans and dragons in the kingdom of Goredd. Folding themselves into human shape, dragons attend court as ambassadors, and lend their rational, mathematical minds to universities as scholars and teachers. As the treaty's anniversary draws near, however, tensions are high.

Seraphina Dombegh has reason to fear both sides. An unusually gifted musician, she joins the court just as a member of the royal family is murdered—in suspiciously draconian fashion. Seraphina is drawn into the investigation, partnering with the captain of the Queen's Guard, the dangerously perceptive Prince Lucian Kiggs. While they begin to uncover hints of a sinister plot to destroy the peace, Seraphina struggles to protect her own secret, the secret behind her musical gift, one so terrible that its discovery could mean her very life.

What did I think of it:
This is a fun Fantasy read.

I love the world Hartman created in this book. The dragons are really intriguing creatures, who think very differently than humans. This makes them alien and strange even when they take their human form.

I liked Seraphina. She's a take charge heroine who gets things done when needed. She has her flaws and weaknesses, but those make her only more likeable and believable. But I loved her teacher Orma most of all the characters. Orma is a dragon and it is mostly through his character that you learn how dragons think and why they're so different from humans. I loved each and every scene that had Orma in it.

The story was interesting and suspenseful. I will confess that the bad guy was quite obvious to me and the red herrings that were put in to keep you away from the bad guy were past their expiration date as well, but I can't say I minded. It was such a fun read, in such a wonderful setting, that I was able to overlook such things.

It seems that this book is meant to be YA and looking at the romance and the age of the heroine I can understand why, but to be honest it didn't feel like a YA to me and it does seem a bit too philosophical at times and some of the word use is too highbrow to appeal to teens, but maybe I'm mistaken.

All in all this is a fun and enjoyable read. I will keep an eye out for the next book which promises to be filled with action.

Why should you read it:
It's a fun YA Fantasy story with dragons