Book Review: Last Breath

                                          
 
                                                    Today's review is on Last Breath by Rachel Caine

Last Breath is the 11th installment in Caine's Morganville Vampires series, and I don't know if it is just that the story has lost its edge or if it is just me. Usually I pick up the recent book in the series and don't put it down until I'm done, but with this one I just didn't feel the pull.

We all know that in the last book Michael and Eve became engaged. In Last Breath they are faced with opposition from both the humans as well as the vampires who don't think that the two "races" should intermarry. If that isn't enough, there is something strange happening in Morganville. Vampires are going missing, including Oliver.

In Morganville things have to go from bad to worse, especially around Claire and her friends. When this new threat against the vampires realizes that Claire is getting to close to the truth she becomes the ultimate victim leaving Michael, Eve, and Shane to trust Myrnin to save her.

When Michael then goes missing, it's a whole different ballgame. The fate of Morganville's residents both human and vampire is at stake and it is up to Claire, Eve, Shane, Amelie, and Myrnin to save everyone. But this is a battle against the most powerful adversary they have ever come up against and one not easily thwarted.

Last Breath is written from many perspectives, much like the last book. I'm not sure about how I feel about that yet. It does make for a more rounded view of what is happening, but sometimes I found myself thinking, "blah, blah, blah. Just get on with it. I want to hear ??'s view again." However that may just be me.

My favorite thing about Last Breath was the amount of emotion we see from Myrnin. We see how much Claire really means to him and to what lengths he would go to for her. He's not just the crazy scientist, he is a man with a heart, even if it doesn't beat anymore.

3 of 5 stars

Book Review: Anna Dressed in Blood

 

                                        Today's review is on Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

We are all taught to never judge a book by it's cover but yet it is something that we all do. It doesn't really matter if it is a person or in this case an actual book. I saw this cover and just had to read the story inside. What I found was an amazing tale.

Theseus Cassio Lowood; Cas for short, is unlike any other seventeen-year-old. His mother is a Witch and his father was a ghost hunter until he was killed. Following in his father's footsteps, Cas is now the ghost hunter in the family.

Never staying to long in one place, Cas and his mother find themselves moving to Thunder Bay, Ontario. Cas had received a lead on a ghost that is stronger than any he has ever seen. Anna Korolvs aka Anna Dressed in Blood.

No one ever knew who killed Anna Korolvs in 1958, only that she was suppose to be on her way to a school dance and that she wore a white dress. Now she haunts her old house and kills anyone who enters, until that is that Cas ends up inside.

What follows is a tale of gore and suspense worthy of any creature feature presentation. Though Cas and his group of friends free Anna from her murderous rage, people still turn up dead. What's worse is that the victims seem to have big bits of them missing like they were bitten off. Just like how Cas' father was murdered.

It seems that the same ghost wants Anna's power, and the only way to get it is if Cas kills her with the same athame his father used and the one he now uses himself. If he refuses to kill Anna, the ghost will kill him. But Cas cannot bring himself to harm her. He has fallen in love with her.

Though it is not for say nine-year-olds, I would have no problem letting my 14+ year-old read it. YA means Young Adult, not just young. It is a well written novel with just the right amount of drama, suspense, and horror to keep you reading all day or all night just to get to the end. At least I couldn't put it down. Now I just have to wait for the next installment.

4 of 5 stars

Book Review: Stained

 

                                        Today's review is on Stained by Ella James

Stained is the first book that I have read by James. It hooked me right at the very beginning, but then got a little slow only to jack back up to excitement up to the very end. At just under 200 pages, it was a nice one day read.

Returning from a neighbors house, seventeen-year-old Julia; who has been in and out of foster homes all of her life, finds her own engulfed in flames. The bodies of her current foster parents still inside, and the "Angel of Death" stoking the flames.

To avoid being placed in a group home yet again she decides to flee. Never again will she return to school or see her friends. That's par for the course for "freaks" like her though. Taking refuge in an abandoned warehouse, she cuts her hair short and tries to sleep.

She awakes to the sound of something on the roof. Suddenly a handsome guy falls through. He's injured and she knows she can heal him. While she tries, the "Angel of Death" comes crashing down too. Tall, dark, brooding, and handsome jumps up and continues fighting until "Death" turns and fly's away.

Julia then questions Mr. Handsome; Cayne, about what has happened but get's nowhere. Neither does he however when he asks what she is. Added to the drama is the fact that Cayne has lost his memories. He only knows that he wants to kill Samyaza; the "Angel of Death", and now so does Julia.

The two then embark on a journey packed with life and death danger around every corner. Not only are Samyaza's men looking for them, but the rest of the Stained are as well. And while Samyaza's men will kill them both, the Stained only want to kill Cayne.

Along the journey Julia and Cayne find that they not only need each other, they love each other.

A unique twist on the whole Nephilim/Demon paranormal scene, I really liked reading Stained and look forward to reading the next installment. There were just a few editing mistakes in the copy that I was given and as my readers know, I have to mark my rating accordingly.

3 of 5 stars

Book Review: Here (On the Otherside)

                          Today's review is on Here (On the Otherside) by Denise Grover Swank

Swank's books never cease to amaze me. Each book I read from her sends my emotions into overdrive. Be it joy, sorrow, excitement, or the twittering feelings of first love, I know I will be happily thrown into the whirlwind.

The life of Julia Phillips; who is just sixteen, is thrown totally off kilter after she is involved in a car accident where her BFF Monica dies. Feeling responsible because she was the one driving, Julia suffers from a deeply ingrained sense of survivors guilt, shutting herself off from the world around her.

Besides her newly acquired guilt, Julia gains the ability to draw where before she couldn't even draw "a stick figure". She also has a new bracelet. One that has her name engraved on it. One that neither her nor anyone else has ever scene until the accident.

Being the schools "pariah", Julia is surprised when the ever popular Evan Whittaker volunteers to tutor her so she can catch up with all of the school work she has neglected. Before the accident he never paid her any attention. Now it seems he can't get enough of her.

Proclaiming his love for her, Evan then informs Julia that he has to go home, but home is nowhere that Julia thought it would be. Next, in a world of a totally different colour, Julia must face her own impending death. Or does she?

HERE introduces an amazing take on the love triangle where he is not him and she is not her. (You have to read this fantastic book to understand).

Another fantastic hit for Swank! I can not wait for the next installment!!

4 of 5 stars

Book Review: Hellsbane

                                                         Today's review is on Hellsbane by Paige Cuccaro

Though Hellsbane is not technically a YA novel; the character's are not in their teens, the amount of romance was more that speed, but the fantasy portion was fantastic. My only gripe is that Thomas was removed from the love triangle to early.

Emma Jane Hellsbane has been living her life as best as she can. Living in the house her grandmother left her and working as a "psychic". She's not really psychic though. She's not even human! She doesn't know this however, she just knows that she can feel the emotions of the people around her and she uses that to her advantage. When there's a knock on her door and her school crush Thomas "Tommy" Saint James is there, her life is thrown into chaos.

Tommy is bleeding and is badly beaten. She lets him in and the next thing you know, there is a cloven-hoofed demon attacking him right in her living room. When it seems that Tommy is about to lose the fight, Emma grabs the sword Tommy was using and ends the demon's life and by doing so, marking herself as a fighter against the Fallen.

Tommy and Emma are both half angles. They are the children of the Fallen angles and human women. They are charged with killing all of the Fallen until they end the life of their father's. This "calling" however will not be easy and lives will be lost. They do have an angel on their side though, Eli. His hands are tied though. If he interferes he could start a war. If he Falls, he will have to be killed.

All in all Hellsbane is a pretty good book. I would have liked to see more of a romance between Emma and Tommy and was a bit annoyed that he was killed so soon in the series. I'm curious as to how Cuccaro is going to develop Emma and Eli's relationship too. I guess I will have to keep reading the series to see how everything ultimately pans out.

3 of 5 stars

Book Review: Silence

 

                                             Today's review is on Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

Silence is the third installment in Fitzpatrick's Hush, Hush series and it had me turning page after page until I came to the end.

I loved each book in this series, and though I hated the fact that Patch had to protect Marcie and that Nora couldn't deal with it in the previous book, I was happy to see that she regained her backbone and spunk in this one.

Silence begins when Nora wakes up one evening in the cemetery. She is cold, lost, and confused. Finally reaching home she finds that she has been missing for the past five months. Five months that she cannot seem to remember. During that time, many things have changed. For one, her mother has been dating Hank Millar. The father of worst enemy Marcie.

Through the chapters Nora tries to piece together the events of the past five months while trying to also move on with her life. Along the way she meets with danger, excitement, and a dashing man with deep, black, eyes. She doesn't know why she is drawn so deeply to him or why she feels utterly safe when he is by her side. She only knows that she cannot get him off of her mind.

Finally, with the help of Scott Parnell she is able to put the pieces of the puzzle beck together again. She remembers almost everything, but needs Jev to bring it all back to her.

When realization hits home, Nora knows what she has to do and now that Patch (Jev) is by her side nothing can stand in their way.

I loved the way the author used Nora's memory loss. It was great to see Nora fall in love with Patch all over again. There is just something about him that makes us all fall in love with him. His unending love for Nora is a love that I think all women are looking for. He is willing to sacrifice anything for the one he loves, even his wings.

4 of 5 stars

 

                              Today's review is on Me and My Ghoulfriends by Rose Pressey

As you will see, I have read Me and My Ghoulfriends after I have read Ghouls Night Out.  This of course is the wrong order, but none the less entertaining.  I must say however, I liked Ghouls Night Out a bit more.  If I had read them in the correct order I would have found some things a bit repetitive, but that's what made the second book a good stand alone book to begin with.

In Me and My Ghoulfriends, we are introduced to Larue Donavan.  A small book shop owner during the day and ghost hunter in the evenings.  With her gift of being able to see and talk to the dead she finds herself amongst some famous "friends." Abraham Lincoln to just name one.

When the handsome Callahan Weiss moves into town and opens a coffee shop next door, Larue is instantly smitten.  She's not the only one however.  Brianna, the boutique owner across the street has her eyes on Callahan herself and will stop at nothing to have him, including casting a spell on him.

It's not enough that Larue has to help the four spirits hanging around her to cross over, she has almost been hit by a car, had a sign just miss falling on her and has been poisoned by chocolate.  Now she has to deal with the hurt of watching Callahan follow Brianna around like zombie.

Everything works out in the end though.  With the help of the local coven, Larue is able to lift the spell Callahan had on him, Brianna is dragged out of town, and all of the spirits cross over to the great beyond.  Callahan even asks her out for another date after first thanking her for saving him.  Just as everything seems to be coming together though, Larue gets a phone call.  Her friends need her help and not with picking out a good book.

3 of 5 stars

Book Review: Ghouls Night Out

                           
 
                                                      Today's review is on Ghouls Night Out by Rose Pressey

I had purchased Ghouls Night Out on a whim and without knowing that it was the second book in Pressey's Larue Donavan series. Needless to say, I was happy to find that Ghouls Night Out was a good stand alone book. Not only that, it was quirky, snarky, and fun to read.

Larue Donavan who owns her own book store, has an amazing and at times annoying ability. She not only sees dead people, but she can talk to them. Deciding to do her part, she had been ghost hunting in her evenings in order to help these spirits move into the light and move on as well as help humans get rid of them. Though she is very good at her ghost hunting job, sometimes she brings her work home with her literally.

In this adventure she finds Mae West of all people along with a handsome, lad named Anthony who has all but fallen head over heel's for Larue. She however only has eyes for Callahan, the hunky coffee shop owner next door to her book shop.

When a new good looking stranger comes to town to take over his cousins business all hell breaks loose. The leader of the local coven becomes ill suddenly, Larue's BFF Mindy begins acting strange, as does Callahan. And she begins being followed by someone in the shadows.

With the help of Mae, Anthony, and Callahan's dead grandfathers ghost, Larue finds her father and thwarts the efforts of a power hungry Witch. In the end helping Mae and the men move on into the light.

Ghouls Night Out reminded me a bit of MaryJanice Davidson's Betsy Taylor without all of the sex. I found myself even giggling a bit.

Neat, clean, and humorous. What more could you ask for to read on a nice day at the beach.

3.5 of 5 stars

Book Review: Everything Erotic Vol. I, II, & III

Today's review will be on the Everything Erotic collection, volumes I, II, & III

Warning: These books contain explicit Sexual Content. Graphic Material. Adult Content. Mature Readers Only.

The Everything Erotic series is a collection of short erotic stories from authors Whitley Gray, Greta Goddard, M.K. Elliott, Nickie Asher, Scarlett Jameson, Boone Brux, Alice Gaines, CJ Ellisson, Danielle Gaven and Delilah Devlin.

Each of these fabulous writers brings forth stories that will curl your toes, make you blush, as well as leaving you wanting more and more. You will most assuredly want to grab your significant other to satisfy your own needs and hopefully his or hers as well. It's really to bad there is no snow on Kauai because I could have used some to cool off as I read each of these volumes.

Not only will you become aroused by these books, you may learn some interesting facts about the history of sex. There is a some helpful advice on some toys and other products that may spice up your sex life. From lubes to rings it's all spelled out with where to get them and how to use them.

This series is a GREAT gift for the holiday season! It's time like these that I wish my family were Jewish. I could get one book for each day of Chanukah and read them all the season long. Pick up your copies early and check out the toy's section too. They would, along with the books make FANGTASTIC stocking stuffers!! I know I want some!! :)

4 of 5 stars for volumes I - III

Book Review: Wandering Stars

 
                                                  Today's review is on Wandering Stars by Marlon Pierre-Antoine

Wandering Stars is a unique story in and of itself, at least for me. I haven't seen many books out there where the main character falls in love with the Devil himself. Though I felt that the plot was decent, I did find myself wondering why Leo was even there. All of the other characters seemed to have a firm place in the story, but Leo?

Alice is a 17 year old girl, living a "normal" if not hum-drum life. She lives in a small apartment with her mother and works at the local value-mart type store along with her best friend Evelyn and Leo. Most of what Alice does is work, sleep, and hang out with Evelyn, but all of that changes on the evening of the storm.

Though there were warnings to stay inside because of the approaching storm, Alice's Great Dane Indie still needed to be taken out. Grabbing his leash, Alice and Indie head out to the beach where she sees two men under the pier. As she goes closer, she can just make out the sounds of their voices but not the actual words, but she does suffer from terrible pain at hearing them, eventually making her pass out. Little did she know that one of those men was Lucifer. The King of Darkness.

Now she can't seem to get the dark haired Lucifer out of her mind. She dreams of him nightly. When she finally does see him she is drawn to him like no other. Eventually Lucifer confesses who he is and the two fall in love, but their love could destroy all of Heaven.

Wandering Stars was a good book with a good story line; however, nothing really stood out for me. Evelyn was a good supporting character, but again Leo didn't really do much, though he should have. Once you read the book you will understand what I mean.

I give props for Originality, I have to take away for grammatical and spelling mistakes.

3.5 of 5 stars

Book Review: The Secret of Lies

 
                                             Today's Review is on The Secret of Lies by Barbara Forte Abate

The Secret of Lies is an absolutely fantastic book!  An impressive and detailed story of love, loss, and betrayal.  From the very beginning I felt my heart reach out to Stephanie, and it stayed there wrapped in her life story even hours after I had finished reading.

Every summer Stephanie "Stevie" Burke and her sister Eleanor travel to Long Island and the summer home of their Aunt Smyrna and Uncle Cal.  Nothing is out of the ordinary until one summer when there is a noticeable difference in the relationship of Smyrna and Cal and the relationship between Cal and Eleanor.  Everything comes to a head the night Stevie and Jake come upon Eleanor and her uncle locked in a naked and compromising position.

Then Eleanor goes missing only to be found floating among the rocks by Stevie.  Stevie is not the only one that knows about the relationship between Cal and Eleanore though. Stevie's aunt Smyrna has also known. With her parents so grief stricken, Stevie agrees with her aunt to keep the truth about the relationship between her husband and Eleanor a secret.

As time goes on and Stevie suffers the loss of her father, the loss of her aunt, and the loss of her mother. The one thing she can not seem to loose the guilt that she has carried from that horrible night.  She is even unable to open herself to the love she feels for Ash and his love in return, even after they are married.

The Secret of Lies was an intense story for me.  An amazingly accurate account of how many lives can be affected by one single moment in time, and how long the repercussions can last. 

My only complaints are 1. That there were some grammatical errors; for which I have to lower my rating, 2. I felt that poor Jake wasn't given a proper good-bye, and 3. I just hate how the book ended, but then again I hopeful for a sequel.

4.5 of 5 stars

Book Review: Awake at Dawn

 
                                               Today's review is on Awake at Dawn by C.C. Hunter

Awake at Dawn is the second book in Hunter's Shadow Falls series that focuses on the life of Kylie Galen. Though she is surrounded by a variety of supernaturals she still doesn't know what she is exactly.

In this installment Kylie experiences both physical and emotional changes. She becomes faster and her hearing becomes heightened. Her heart rate increases, she grows taller, and even her breasts increase a whole cup size.

Though her relationship with Derek seems to be heating up she dreams about Lucas. This causes Derek to ultimately back away until she can make her choice between him and Lucas and not feel guilty about it. When she finds out that Derek has decided to work with Burnett's team she begs him not to go but he too must sort out his feelings too.

As if that is not enough, Kylie is being visited by a ghost who is trying to let her know that someone she loves is in danger. Along with that, there is another threat to Kylie. The rogue vampire from the first book is back and he's watching her, and with the help of his grandfather he just may have her as his wife, but not if Lucas has any say in it.

Awake at Dawn is full of excitement and adventure. I just wish Kylie would make up her mind between the two boys, but then again I may find it hard to make up my mind too if I had two gorgeous young men vying for my affection.

3 of 5 stars

Book Review: Chihuawolf

 
                                             Today's review is on Chihuawolf by Charlee Ganny

Chihuawolf is Ganny's first book written for today's younger audience with an affinity for Werewolves. An exceptionally well written story of the underdog finding his true self.

Paco is just a tiny short-haired dog with protruding eyes who has a major case of big dog envy. In order to win the love of the graceful Afghan Hound Natasha, Paco sets out on a mission to become a Werewolf.

With the help of B-Boy; the energetic Jack Russel, Paco goes to Mount Diablo with his best friend Coco, the Labrador Retriever, to find the Werewolf and drink rain water from one of its paw prints. After all, B-Boy found this method on the internet therefore it must be true.

When they find the Werewolf,  Paco decidedly changes his mind. The Werewolf isn't exactly what Paco had imagined. Ugly, dirty, and mean, the Werewolf follows Paco and Coco down the mountain and into their neighborhood. Along the way Coco gets injured making her unable to help when Natasha is dognapped.

Paco will need the help of all of his other friends to rescue Natasha and thwart the nasty Werewolf.

It is no surprise to me that Chiuawolf is so good. I have read other books by Ms. Ganny under her different pseudonym's Savannah Russe and Lucy Finn and all were excellent.

4 of 5 stars