The Girl Who Could Fly

The Girl Who Could Fly

by Victoria Forester

Piper's parents come from a long line of practical people.  If it always worked before, why change it?

When Piper was born, she was already an impractical baby.  Her parents had long since given up on having children before she was conceived, so her birth was a bit abnormal and caused a lot of talk around town.

Shortly after she was born, she began to float.  She was bumping the ceiling before she crawled on the floor.  She also had ideas and thoughts that were far from practical, and she wasn't ashamed to share them.

Her parents kept her at home (except for church) in order to protect her and keep them all from becoming the talk of the town gossip.

However, when Piper figured out how to control her floating and actually fly with purpose, there wasn't much her parents could do to keep it from becoming headline news.

Now Piper has been offered the chance to go to a private school and meet children just like her.

Could it be too good to be true?

Final thoughts:  The author quote on the cover was written by Stephenie Meyer and describes this book as "the oddest/sweetest mix of Little House on the Prairie and X-Men."  That seems pretty accurate.  For the most part, it's a slow, rambling story of a country bumpkin with an extraordinary ability and a few moments of action.  The action itself sometimes seems written as if there should be some images to go with it.  It's very relaxed except for hyper moments of action that speed up for a few pages and then slow right back down again.  Cute, but definitely meant for upper elementary students.

Rating: 4/5

Once a Witch

Once a Witch

by Carolyn MacCullough

When Tamsin was born, her grandmother declared that she would become the most powerful witch in the family and should would be a beacon for the family.  But when she turned eight, she had still never performed a spell or done any apparent magic.

It seemed that she had no Talent.  

Her grandmother was wrong.

Now Tamsin does everything she can to avoid her family and their Talents.  She's even headed off to a boarding school to try and have a "normal" life.

However, things all change when Tamsin comes home to help with the family store.  A professor enters and mistakes her for her extremely powerful sister.  He commissions her to find a family relic that he claims had been stolen from his ancestors.

With the help of her childhood friend, Gabriel (who also happens to be extremely cute), Tamsin is determined to prove that even without her own Talent, she can still be important to the family.

But will she really be able to help?  Or will she destroy everything she's been raised to know about her world?

Final thoughts:  Yet another book that had a cool idea, but it never really grabbed me.  And it's another trilogy.  I'm really starting to wonder how long the publishers will continue to push this trend of spreading out perfectly good single novel ideas into long trilogies that don't really need/deserve it.

Rating: 3/5

Angel Burn

Angel Burn

by L.A. Weatherly

Angels are real.

They have wings.  They glow with a kind of heavenly light.  They fly.  And when they touch you, you feel blissed out and blessed.

What angels don't tell you when they touch you is that they are feeding on your soul.  They suck away your life force and leave behind disease and destruction.

If you've been touched by an angel, you don't have long to live and what life you do have may not be that great.

Alex knows this.  He's hunted angels since his mother was killed by one when he was five.  At 17, he's one of the best angel assassins out there and he knows it.  When he's called to kill Willow Fields, it's just another hunt to him.

Until he see her...

She's like nothing he's ever seen before. She's both human and angel, a combination never thought possible before.

And she's on the most wanted list of the angels out there because it's been predicted that she will lead to the destruction of all angels.

Can Alex figure out what's going on and keep Willow alive long enough to stop the coming invasion?

Final thoughts:  Eh.  I've read better. I've read worse.  Weatherly's writing needs a bit of help.  It's all tell instead of show.  "I hate him"  "I hate her"  "Wow! I love him"  "Strange! I love her"  It's also got a bit of Twilight in it with the girl volunteering to put herself in harm's way for the greater good and the guy ordering her not to and telling her he'll die without her.  Could be better.  I'm not eagerly anticipating the second book (of yet ANOTHER trilogy).  I may read it. I may not.  So... eh.

Rating: 3/5

Book Blogger Hop

Book Blogger Hop

I've been missing these because I've been slow to read new stuff recently and didn't want to have week after week of hop links and nothing new.  I HAVE been re-reading books from my teen years, but reviewing those seems wrong since I'm very biased about them.

For more information about the hop, go HERE.

So the question of the week...

“What is the one ARC you would love to get your hands on right now?”

Honestly, if I could get my hands on Chloe Neill's new Chicagoland book or Rachel Vincent's next Soul Screamers book, I'd be in heaven.  Waiting for them is torture!  Plus I may need to re-read them all if I have to wait much longer, which means even less time to read original new stuff.

Abandon

Abandon

by Meg Cabot

She met him when she was seven.  She had just seen her grandfather buried and then watched a bird die in front of her eyes.  He came out of nowhere and brought the bird back to life, but couldn't save her grandfather.  

He amazed her.

At fifteen, she drowned in her own pool trying to save a bird.  He found her in the Underworld and she made her way out and back to life.

Now, at seventeen, after almost two years of problems stemming from coming back from the dead, Pierce has moved to her mother's ancestral town and begun a new life with the same old questions and the same old problems.

Because he hasn't let her go.  He always seems to be there when she needs him most, even if she'd prefer that he leave her alone.

But when she finally seems to get rid of him, she may need him more than ever.

Final thoughts:  I'm so conflicted about this one.  I LOVE Cabot's work, in general, but this was just not up to her normal standards.  The writing was stilted, often with quotes being broken up in strange ways.  "'I hope you're not planning on kicking me,' he said, not even bothering to look up from his book, 'as hard as you did those doors.'" (299)  She also had a tendency to repeatedly say things like "If I had known then about this, then I would have..." or "If they knew what I knew...", often at the end of the chapter.  It was like having mini-cliffhangers that wouldn't be resolved for entire chapters.  The chronology was frustrating with flashbacks showing up out of nowhere and then disappearing.  Pierce wasn't very sympathetic as a character; she was actually whiny and often blamed others for her problems.  Most of the rest of the characters were very one-dimensional and were obviously only there to further specific plot points.  The only person I really liked was John because he seemed the most realistic, even though he had the least believable storyline.  All in all, this was disappointing.  It's also yet another trilogy AND the end just lies there like a hangnail; it's a painful finish that never seems to resolve.  I'll probably read the next book when it comes out, but I'm not going to run right out and get it immediately upon release.

Rating: 3/5

Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance

Jenna & Jonah's Fauxmance

by Emily Franklin and Brendan Halpin

Charlie Tracker and Fielding Withers, better known as Jenna and Jonah on their nationally syndicated sitcom, have led double lives for the past few years.  In order to get ratings up after their first season, their managers came up with a plan to have them fall in love in real life, or at least pretend to.  So now they plan dates and outings to give the paparazzi a few good pictures for the gossip magazines.  Of course, the fact that they hate each other's guts makes that really difficult for them.

But when the paparazzi find out it's all a sham, Charlie and Fielding, go into hiding together to wait out the storm.  While away, they find out that they have more in common than they thought.

Could it be that the two worst enemies in Hollywood may be the most in love?

Final thoughts:  This started out so good!  It promised to be a great cotton candy book with tons of fluff and no substance.  Unfortunately, the authors pushed their agenda too hard.  It was supposed to be a modern day Much Ado About Nothing so they had the two characters suddenly star in the Oregon Shakespeare Festival's version of the play even though they were completely wrong for the characters that they were playing.  It was forced, unbelievable, and often uncomfortable.  The first part of the book was good, but then it became obvious and underwhelming.

Rating: 3/5

Nerd Girls: The Rise of the Dorkasaurus

Nerd Girls: 

The Rise of the Dorkasaurus

by Alan Lawrence Sitomer

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When Maureen, 8th grader and self-proclaimed dork, risks her own reputation to protect an allergy prone girl from becoming an involuntary YouTube sensation, she unwittingly makes a couple of friends and begins a plot to take down the ThreePees (Pretty, Popular, and Perfect).

The ThreePees dominate the talent show every year and are determined to win one more time before heading off to high school.  Maureen and her new pals are determined to take them down.

With the help of her prankster brother, a "department store mom", and a robotic dog, they might even be able to win.

Final thoughts:  Full of stereotypes and constant name-calling, this book just isn't fun.  Maureen spends the whole book talking about justice and wanting vengeance and then never really steps up.  She constantly gives up, actually.  If other circumstances didn't arise to push her, she'd have just given up after the first incident.  She has no redeeming qualities, really, and spends most of the time criticizing her friends and calling them names (though the author tries to make it read like the friends are ok with that).  It's a quick read, but Maureen is a horrible protagonist.  I felt sorry for the other girls who thought that she could "lead" them against the popular group.  And as for that group, there's one character who is supposed to be some kind of comic relief, but she just comes off and truly idiotic and annoying.

Avoid.

Rating: 2/5

Misfit

Misfit

by Jon Skovron

Jael's been moving from town to town her whole life and when she was eight, she found out why: she's a half-breed.  She's the child of a demon mother and a human father.  While she's never met her demoness mother, the demon that tried to attack her in the playground convinces her that what her father tells her is true.

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Now, at 16, Jael's father gives her a necklace left to her by her mother and soon everything changes.  With the help of her demon uncle and a skater who may become more than a friend, Jael must learn to control her powers and believe in her abilities to fight the demon that killed her mother.

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Final thoughts:  Meh.  There were some good ideas, but the author just couldn't seem to pull it all together.  It was a disappointment.  I found myself repeatedly turning the Kindle off (ARC provided by NetGalley), and leaving it off for days at a time.  There were a few decent moments, but not enough to recommend the book as a whole.  The religious aspect was also clever, but I've seen it before, though not often.

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Rating: 2/5

Wisdom's Kiss

Wisdom's Kiss

by Catherine Gilbert Murdock

A scheming duchess determined to have the one land left that hasn't succumbed to her machinations.

A young princess heading off to marry the duchess's son and unite the kingdoms.
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An acrobat who falls in love with the young princess before the wedding.

A grandmother who seeks only to keep her kingdom and family safe.

A young orphan with a gift for seeing the future.

A cat who seems to understand more than he should.

All these characters come together to save a kingdom, or tear it apart.

Can witchcraft save the day?

Final thoughts:  This book is told from EIGHT points of view.  It gets a little tiresome changing the P.o.V. every couple of pages.  The story is cute, as is the interweaving of a few fairy tales, but the author seems to be a little too clever for her own good at times.  It gets a little weighed down in cleverness and twists.  It's ok, but not fabulous.

Rating: 3/5

Legacy

Legacy

by Cayla Kluver

For a hundred years, the lands of Hytanica and Cokyri had been at war.  One day, the sky turned blood red and the Cokrian forces disappeared.  And so did the first newborn boy.  As long as the sky bled, baby boys disappeared.  When the sky finally cleared, forty-nine boys had been kidnapped by the Cokyrians.  Forty-eight bodies soon appears outside the walls and the Cokyrians were apparently gone for good.

Sixteen years later, as Princess Alera turns seventeen years old, her homeland is expecting her to marry the man who will become the next king shortly after their wedding.  Her father has his preference, but Alera can't stand the man.  Unfortunately, time is ticking and she has few options.

When a Cokyrian boy shows up who appears to be the forty-ninth kidnapped Hytanican boy, Alera's world flips upside-down and her prospects definitely change.  But not everyone thinks this boy can be trusted.

Final thoughts:  Blech.  This is written so poorly!  It COULD be good, but it spends so much time talking about what people are wearing and how their hair is done.  The writing is stilted and has no flow. It seems formulaic and childish.  For example, "The lovely Lady Hauna... with her demure seventeen-year-old daughters... the sensible Lady Edora had accompanied her vivacious daughter Kalem... the exceedingly proper... brought easily excited... and bubbly Semari had come with the sedate Baroness Alantonya."  One long sentence filled with adjective after adjective about person after person.  Ugh.

Alera's primary suitor is described throughout much of the book as being cruel, overbearing, somewhat violent, condescending, and arrogant, but everyone agrees that he would be a great king.  What?!?!?!  And the land of Hytanica is constantly referred to as being chauvinistic, that women are inferior to men in all things and must defer to men at all times, along with constant references to how Alera can't be left alone with boys her age because it was inappropriate.  The book itself ended unsatisfactorily.  It wasn't a clean break (for yet another trilogy), but it had more of a sputtering finish.  Maybe it was supposed to be a cliffhanger, but it just kind of... ended.  And I really don't care how the story ends.  There are just too many problems with this; I don't plan on reading the sequels.

Rating: 2/5

Book Blogger Hop

It's been a while so it's definitely time to HOP again.  

This week's question is:

“How many books are currently in your To-Be-Read (TBR) Pile?”

 I don't really have a TBR "pile".  What I have is a number of books that I haven't read interfiled with books that I have read and may even read again.  Plus I have a "stack" of books on my Kindle just waiting to be read.  NetGalley.com is a force of "chaotic good" since it both provides me with free books AND provides me with free books.  In all though, I probably have about 30-40 books that I have never read and need to.

Queen of the Dead

Queen of the Dead

(Ghost and the Goth, Book 2)

by Stacey Kade

Not long ago, Alona Dare was a happy, healthy, first-tier senior looking forward to finishing out her last year of high school with a bang.  Then she got hit by a bus.  There was definitely a bang there.

Now she's the "spirit guide" of Will Killian, goth boy.  He's been able to see ghosts his entire life, whether he wants to or not.  While most of his life, this has been torture, Alona has actually managed to use her spunky, take-no-prisoners attitude, to give Will a break from all the constant talking and requests for help.

But when another girl shows up with a talent to see ghosts, Will gets a little too intrigued for Alona's taste.  As he gets caught up in finding out about the Order and their apparent desires to save humanity from the "echoes" of the dead, Alona goes out on her own to find a way to try and keep her memory alive.

And with Alona, nothing is ever easy.

Final thoughts:  Not as fun as the first book.  This one goes from cotton candy to a dark and gloomy pretty fast.  And it appears that this will be yet another trilogy, if not more.  Teen ghost series?  Eh.  Plus the cover doesn't match the book at all, which is disappointing.

Rating: 3/5

The Ghost and the Goth

The Ghost and the Goth

by Stacey Kade

Alona Dare looks like she has it all together.  She's top of the social food chain, physically perfect, gets whatever she wants, is the envy of every girl, and the object of every boy's affection.

But stepping in front of an oncoming bus ends all that for Alona.

Now she's stuck waking up on the same stretch of road every day at the same time, forced to watch the world go by without ever being able to communicate with the people around her.

That changes when she sees Will Killian see her.

He's been able to see the dead all of his life, but he's spent years trying to hide that fact.  Because the dead talk.. a LOT.  Whenever they find out that Will can hear them, they won't leave him alone and they beg him for favors to help them get to the great beyond.

Now Alona has found him.

He may never find peace again.

Final thoughts: Cotton candy book at its best.  There's nothing really deep and meaningful here, but it's plenty of fun.  Looking forward to the sequel.  (I wonder if the author wrote this on a dare.  I only speculate since every time I read Alona's name, in my head it sounds like All On A Dare.)

Rating: 5/5

Overprotected

Overprotected

by Jennifer Laurens

Ashlyn is a high society girl who doesn't get to live with the rest of society.  Ever since she was kidnapped by a former nanny who was obsessed with her dad, her dad has been obsessed with her safety.  She's escorted everywhere by a bodyguard, has no moment of peace outside of her own bedroom, and is followed by the stares of others who think she's strange for her security detail.

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Weirded out by her current bodyguard of three years who seems to have developed a bit of an obsession about her, Ashlyn conspires to get him fired.  She's also trying to get rid of the detail altogether since she's nearly 18 and figures she can now be trusted on her own.
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She was wrong.

Not only does her father hire a new guard in record time, but he's the boy who used to torture Ashlyn as a child.  There's no way she'd be in danger of falling in love with him.

Or is there?

Final thoughts:  Blech.  Poorly written tripe.  It's a YA Harlequin with bad characters, shifting time and plot structures, no real story, and a horribly written "romance".  It's obvious almost from minute one what's going to happen all the way through.  Everything is telegraphed way in advance.  You KNOW she will fall in love from Colin the moment she sees him on the street.  You KNOW what will happen near the end of the book with Stuart.  You KNOW how it will all end by the second chapter.  It's awful.  Ashlyn's "hatred" of Colin seems to solely be based on him chasing her with a crab on the beach when she was five and even that, which is sooo important at the start of the story, is ignored halfway in.  Other things bug me like why would a father so extremely concerned with his daughter's safety hire a 21-year-old with NO training (only aspirations to be an FBI agent) instead of hiring a 40-something former cop?  Why would Colin reach for a gun that wasn't there at one point in the story when no one ever mentioned a gun before?  Why would the author telegraph that Ashlyn calling her father "Dad" instead of "Daddy" would be a big deal by saying something to the effect of "I later figured out..."?  Why is the guy on the cover 30 something and the girl obviously in her 20's when she's supposed to be 17 and he's supposed to be 21?  So much more to complain about, but I've wasted enough time on this book already.

Skip it.

Rating: 1/5

Numbers 2 : The Chaos

Numbers 2 : The Chaos

by Rachel Ward

Fifteen years after his mother made news when it was discovered she could see the dates of people's deaths, Adam is now fighting the same curse, but it's worse for him.  Adam doesn't just see the dates; he sees part of the deaths themselves.  He feels the pain and can usually sense the cause.  After his mother dies of cancer, on a date she knew because Adam told her before he understood what the numbers meant, Adam is alone with his grandmother and the burden of knowing when everyone around him will die.
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When 01012027 starts appearing in the eyes of almost everyone around him, Adam knows he needs to get them out of London fast.  But things are never simple.

Sarah has come into his life.  She has her own visions of fire, death, and her own daughter.  She also sees Adam taking her child through the flames.  She doesn't see him come out.  But even though she fears what he will do with her daughter once he has her, she's inexplicably drawn to him.

Now they must find a way to survive their visions while the rest of the world fights to destroy them and their futures.

Final thoughts:  Just not as good as the first one.  Numbers had the advantage of creating a whole new future and "gift" that I'd never seen before.  While Adam's is slightly different, it's not different enough. It's not really a rehash of the first book, but it's not a solid continuation.  I was often frustrated by the choices made by the characters and just couldn't see where things were going.  The final scenes were unclear and discovering that this is yet another trilogy with an "exciting conclusion" coming, was annoying.  This one could have ended at the first book and I would have felt completely satisfied.  Now the future of the series hangs over me and I've lost the magic I felt about the first one.

Rating: 3/5

My Soul to Steal

My Soul to Steal

by Rachel Vincent

Recovering from her boyfriend's betrayal of her body and soul, Kaylee is trying to cope with all of the changes in her life that she's had happen to her over the past year.  She has discovered that she's a bean sidhe (banshee), she sings souls away when they die, her boyfriend is her kind and understands her the way no one else has, and that same boyfriend is recovering from a strong addiction that led him to completely destroy Kay's trust in him.

She could really use a break from all the drama.

Like that's going to happen.

Especially not when her boyfriend's ex comes to town and makes no secret that she's there for Nash.  She wants him back and will do anything to get him.  She's also a mara, a living nightmare.  She can read a person's deepest fears and twist them into nightmares that can haunt souls.

When teachers start dropping dead and the student body turns against each other, Kay thinks she knows who to blame, even when no one else sees it.

Can Kaylee stop the death and destruction before it comes after her?

Final thoughts:  This is a like a supernatural soap opera; it keeps going and going and yet I don't want it to end.  It's feeling a little drawn out, though.  I hope that Vincent isn't one of those authors who just keeps stringing her readers along.  I also hope that Kay opens her eyes and sees Tod in a different light.  Between the books from Kay's side and the one from Tod's, they totally belong together (even if he is undead).  I'm looking forward to the next one coming out this year.

Rating: 4/5

Wherever You Go

Wherever You Go

by Heather Davis

It's been months since the car accident that killed Rob and nearly killed his girlfriend, Holly.  Now Holly has to live with the guilt and the dirty looks from her classmates who blame her.  She also has the added burden of taking care of her grandfather with Alzheimer's when he moves in.  Her mother works two jobs to support the family, while Holly has to do all the work at home to get her sister to school, her grandfather to his day center and doctors' appointments, and she still has to get good grades in school.

Jason, Rob's best friend, sees Holly struggle and begins to realize that she's in pain.  He knows that the other students are wrong about Holly and he starts to feel like maybe Rob didn't deserve her.  Now he must find a way to convince Holly, and his own friends, that it's OK for the best friend and girlfriend of the dead guy to get together.  It may even be fate.

And then there's Rob.  He's floating around, watching his family and friends struggle with his death, even while he himself must come to terms with what happened.  Luckily, the Alzheimer's that plaguing Holly's grandfather also allows that grandfather to see Rob.  Maybe Rob has a chance to help his friends before he sees "the light".

Or maybe he'll be trapped, helplessly watching, forever... 

Final thoughts:  There are some interesting ideas here, but it just doesn't come together well.  Davis has made the choice to change the viewpoint of each character to help delineate between the three, but she's really just made a mess.  Holly is all first person (I, me, etc...).   Rob is the rarely used second person (you, your).  And Jason is in third person (he, his).  It's extremely confusing to start because the writing style keeps switching and you have to re-set your brain over and over again.  Holly's mother just ticks me off.  I understand that she's struggling to keep the bills paid, but she never fully acknowledges what she's doing to Holly or how poorly she's treating her. Often, as I read Holly, I kept feeling like I was reading about a 12-year-old and not a 17-year-old girl.  Her feelings were immature and childish and just didn't sit well with me.  The ending got a little preachy with the whole accepting life/fate/the future, etc... This is a good book to recommend for those dealing with grief, but it's a little heavy for the casual reader.

Rating: 3/5

Spellbound

Spellbound

by Cara Lynn Shultz

Emma's brother died when he was 14, followed shortly by her mother.  After her abusive stepfather nearly kills her while driving drunk and getting into a huge accident, Emma finally decides to take up her aunt on her offer to move in with her in New York.

Now she's enrolled in an ultra-expensive, ultra-exclusive high school as a junior and she just wants to get through as anonymously as possible.

But being anonymous is difficult for her when she ticks off the most powerful girl in school the first day, seems to blow up all the light bulbs around her, becomes friends with the school's leading witch, and falls completely head over heels for the most gorgeous guy who ever walked the earth (who happens to be in her English class).

All the signs, both in life and in her dreams, are telling her to stay away from Brendan, but how can she when he's suddenly become all she can think about?

Final thoughts:  Turn off your brain for this one.  Just enjoy the ride.  If you stop to think all of the details, you'll miss out on a fun tale.  It's like a great meal, with a slightly weird aftertaste.  There were also some formatting issues on my Kindle for this copy from NetGalley.com, so even though the book was done and there were thank yous from the author, I suddenly found myself in what I believe is the epilogue.  The ending was a little sudden and felt a little forced.  The epilogue leads me to think this is yet another trilogy.  And the Twilight similarities haunt this book as they haunt so many now.  But it's still a fun read and good for any lover of YA teen romances.

Rating: 4/5

Hard Bitten

Hard Bitten

by Chloe Neill

Things aren't going well for the vamps.  Humans, who had finally seemed to be accepting them, are now protesting outside the Houses.  The vamps are tense after it was found out that one of their own leaders betrayed them.  And the Cadogan House is recovering from serious damage after a major attack.

Now is not a good time for something else to go wrong.

When the mayor of Chicago calls Merit and her House master, Ethan, in for a meeting, it just can't be good news.

It seems that some vamps have gotten out of control and begun attacking humans.  A new drug has hit the street.  A familiar face has appeared.

Oh!  And the leader of the Greenwich Presidium has come to Chicago to inspect Cadogan House and decide its future.

So, no stress.

Final thoughts:  Mind.  Blown.  Neill has completely outdone herself on this one.  While not the best of the Chicagoland Series, this one has the biggest impact.  If you're planning to read this before you read any of the other three... DON'T.  This one has quite a bit of bang for the buck. There are moments when I wondered why Merit and others weren't putting the puzzle together, but even I didn't see a couple of the twists coming.  With each book, Neill is tightening her writing style, so the action and romance are constantly flowing throughout.  I missed Mallory and Catcher; they just weren't in it enough.  But the story really was the focus and it was good.  I've read some reviews that criticize the ending, and I get it, but I'm going with the flow on this and hoping that Neill gives us a good follow-up.  If nothing else, it definitely has an emotional kick.

Rating: 5/5

Cryer's Cross

Cryer's Cross

by Lisa McMann

Kendall's entire life has been as predictable as the numbers she counts to keep calm.  In her small town, with her friend/boyfriend, Nico, and the familiar routine of farm life, school, soccer, and dance, Kendall has everything she needs to keep her OCD fairly under control.

But things change when Tiffany disappears.

One day she's there.  The next day she isn't.

Kendall's daily routines are shot as the town searches frantically for Tiffany.

Over time, the town gives up, and things seem to go back to normal.  But now someone new disappears and it's personal to Kendall.

Suddenly, messages begin to appear on a desk in the classroom.  Messages that could lead to the answers... or the end of everything.

Can she find him before it's too late?  Or will she be the next one to disappear?

Final thoughts:  A light spine-tingling horror/thriller that's more about Kendall than it is about the mystery itself.  I liked Kendall and found her to be extremely relatable, even with the OCD driving so many of her thoughts.  Jacián was interesting to read, as well.  I wish their relationship could have been fleshed out more.  The ending seemed a bit rough, but went well with the overall story.  Definitely a good read for someone wanting a story that might give him/her the creeps, but also wants to sleep at night.

Rating: 4/5

Starcrossed

Starcrossed

by Josephine Angelini

Helen has always been freakishly strong, freakishly fast, and freakishly beautiful.  She's never understood why she's been so freakishly everything, but she's also freakishly afraid of any attention.  All she wants to do is make it through high school and get off the island of Nantucket that she's lived on for as long as she can remember.

Then Lucas comes to town.

At first, all Helen wants is to murder Lucas.  She's got an extreme need to quite literally kill the most gorgeous boy on Earth, even though she has no idea why.  Of course, the three creepy women who cry tears of blood and appear whenever Lucas is near may have something to do with it.

Things get even more complicated when she finds out that the reason she's so freaky is because she's a demigod, the direct descendant of one of the gods of Greek mythology, and Lucas is the descendant of Apollo, God of the Sun.

No one knows who Helen's descended from, but they know she's an enemy of Lucas's family, and he's not the only family member around.  In fact, there are at least a hundred cousins who would gladly kill her.

Now she's being attacked by different people and, while technically enemies, Lucas has made it his job to protect Helen from those coming after her.

Can they find out who she is and end the blood feud that has been haunting their families for thousands of years?

Final thoughts:  This is one of those books that drags you in and keeps you reading, even when things don't always make sense.  I read an ARC on my Kindle from NetGalley.com, so some of the formatting was off, which contributed to the confusion a bit.  Initially, the book seemed entirely from Helen's point of view, and suddenly, for only a paragraph or two here or there, the author would switch viewpoints and then switch it back.  I understand why she felt the need to do it, but it got distracting when the PoV would suddenly change without warning.  Some of the events happened so fast, especially at the end, that they didn't always make sense, and I'm still confused about the last 5% or so, but I'm looking forward to reading the sequel in what I suppose will be yet another trilogy.  I LOVED Helen and Lucas and so very much want them to be able to work this all out (even with all the Bella/Edward undertones haunting the book).  The whole Delos family was just fun to read.

It's Romeo & Juliet meets Greek mythology.

Rating: 4/5

Wither

Wither

by Lauren DeStefano

In the future, the world has been destroyed by war.  North America is allegedly the only thing left standing on the planet that can still be seen from space.  Everything else is in pieces.

In an effort to rid the world of diseases like cancer, scientists created what they thought would be the perfect children.  They were born healthy, free of illness, and ready to fix the world and make it a better place.

Scientists got it wrong.

The first children were healthy.  But THEIR children were not.

Now all of the next generations have a deadline.  Males die at 25.  Females die at 20.

Like clockwork.

As some scientists strive to find a cure, other "pro-naturalists" fight against them and argue that it's time for the humans to die out as a species.

In the middle of all of this is Rhine Ellery.  Kidnapped and sold to a wealthy household, she and two other girls are forced to marry one man in the hopes of keeping the human race alive.  

All she wants to do is escape and back to her twin brother, Rowan, but she must play the dutiful and loving wife if she ever wants a chance to get out.

Now it's a fight against time.  She's only got four years before she's scheduled to die.  She can only play out her "relationship" so long before she'll be forced to commit herself.  She can only survive so long against her husband's father, who seems to be on to her and will do anything to prevent her from leaving.

Even kill.

Final thoughts:  Another good dystopia.  Was there a memo sent out about this?  Something like "In lieu of vampires and werewolves, try talking about the end of the human race as we know it."  This is very good, but I hadn't quite realized what I was getting into.  I also found myself questioning the fact that, if the human race is dying out, why are girls being murdered left and right?  Wouldn't people keep even the ugly ones around just to help keep the population up?  This is kind of A Handmaid's Tale meets Logan's Run.  It works and I LOVED Rhine.  I look forward to the next two in yet another trilogy.  (And I LOVE the cover!!)

Rating: 4/5

The Goddess Test

The Goddess Test

by Aimée Carter

Kate Winters and her mother move to Eden to prepare for her mother's death.  After four years of her body being ravaged by cancer, her mother's body has finally given up and it's time to say goodbye.

When they arrive, her mother directs her to a huge estate surrounded by a large hedge that blocks the view of the mansion within.  But Kate gets a better look later when she's tricked there by a jealous high school girl who thinks Kate is after her guy.

This starts off a string of events that eventually leads Kate to her "goddess test".  It seems that the Greek Gods of mythology really do exist.  And now, with the world's population growing so quickly, Hades (now known as "Henry") has become overwhelmed and can barely keep up with the arriving dead.  

When his wife, Persephone, left him for a mortal generations ago, Henry let her go in the hopes that he would find happiness, but now it's all getting to be too much.  He and the council have come to the agreement that if he can find a new wife within a century, he would stay on as the guardian of death.  However, if he can't, he must give up the responsibility and fade from all existence.

Kate Winters is his last chance.  The previous eleven girls selected for the test never made it to Christmas.  They either failed the test or were murdered.

Now Kate must find a way to pass the test and survive the evil intentions of whoever is plotting to kill her.  In return, she gets 6 more months with her mother before her mother finally dies, and she gets to become a goddess herself, to rule over the domain of the dead six months out of the year, immortal.

Oh yeah... if she passes, she must also marry Henry, so no pressure.

Final thoughts:  This is a good story with some interesting twists.  It's a great way to get girls involved with Greek myths.  Boys have Riordan's Percy, and now girls have Kate.  I liked Kate and her honesty.  Her reasons for beginning the test are clear, even if it's all a little unbelievable.  She does seem to accept her situation more quickly than many would, but once she's there, it all makes sense.  There's some drama, some romance, and some good "moments", so it's an easy recommendation.  The one thing I think the publisher should do is remove the character chart at the end of the book.  I read this on a Kindle, so it wasn't an issue with me (I didn't even know it was there until the end), but a person reading this in a classic book format could easily find this and then spoil the ENTIRE book.  The chart is nice, but it would be better to redirect people to a website with the chart instead; that way, there's no accidental spoilage for the casual reader.

Rating: 4/5

The Cellar

The Cellar

by A. J. Whitten

It's only been a few months since Meredith and Heather lost their father in a horrible car accident when Heather was driving.  Things haven't gotten better for them.  Heather still blames herself.  Meredith still doesn't know how to talk to her.  Their mother spends every free moment using "retail therapy" to try and make the pain go away.  And an aunt has moved in with her twin sons to try and keep the family running.

Now the decrepit eyesore of a house next door has been rented out by an extremely reclusive boy and his mother.  The mother is never seen in public.  The windows and doors are always closed tight even in the hottest weather.  The boy is always wearing sunglasses.  There are bugs, vultures, and piranhas at the house.  People who enter don't leave... alive.

Heather is completely in love at first sight.

Meredith sees right through him even though every female around thinks he is amazing.

Mom doesn't care as long as she can spend money.

Things are wrong and no one but Meredith seems to see it.

And something is going on in the cellar that's too horrendous to consider.

Final thoughts:  UGH!  This was a horrible attempt to mix Romeo and Juliet with zombies and it is one of the most horrendous things ever written.  It's only slightly better than R. L. Stine books (though that's not hard, since those are complete trash).  Are zombies mindless undead dragging limbs around to eat humans or are they intelligent creatures who can manipulate minds?  Even that can't be answered since there seem to be more than one type of zombie, though it's never explained why.  The authors (a mother/daughter team) can't make up their minds about if Adrien is evil and manipulative or completely lovesick.  There is a LOT of detailed descriptions of torture, eating of humans, tearing of flesh, etc...  Don't read if you have a weak stomach or recently ate.  Boys who love horror books will probably love this, but it's poorly written.  This could be a step between Stine and almost any other author of horror who is a better writer, but it really should just be avoided.

Rating: 1/5