Some nightmares never end.

For Janie and Cabel, real life is getting tougher than the dreams. They’re just trying to carve out a little (secret) time together, but no such luck.

Disturbing things are happening at Fieldridge High, yet nobody’s talking. When Janie taps into a classmate’s violent nightmares, the case finally breaks open – but nothing goes as planned. Not even close. Janie’s in way over her head, and Cabe’s shocking behavior has grave consequences for them both.

Worse yet, Janie learns the truth about herself and her ability – and its bleak. Seriously, brutally bleak. Not only is her fate as a dream catcher sealed, but what’s to come is way darker than she’d feared…

Janie has slotted into her new life as an undercover detective well. It seems to give her a sense of purpose, that her gift is being used for the greater good. But it does have its downsides – like not being able to be seen publicly with Cabe. They’ve been an item for a while now and they’ve never even been on a real date. Janie’s friends don’t know that she’s even involved with someone. That part really sucks.

But it’s necessary, and they both know it. That doesn’t make it any easier, though. Especially when Janie gets assigned to a case that entails Janie trying to seduce a teacher. Someone at Fieldridge High is doing the dirty with students, and Captain wants Janie to find out exactly who it is.

And Cabel hates every single second of the assignment. When Janie gets herself into a bit of trouble, Cabel does something that only adds to her already big pit of bad.

As if having to seduce her teacher wasn’t enough, Janie starts noticing that stuff with her body isn’t working quite right either. She does some digging and stumbles across a piece of information that breaks her already busted heart.

Although it’s only 248 pages long, a whole lot happens in this novel. Janie and Cabel take their relationship to several places of unchartered territory. I’m sure girls all over the country will swoon, scream in despair, sigh in relief, and throw their books against bedroom walls as the events unfold before their eyes.

McMann has mastered the art of ‘less is more’ and crafts her tale in surprisingly few words. Her writing style is unique, enjoyable, and more than a little addictive. The narrative moves along at an engaging pace and never once did I find myself wanting to skip over paragraphs, sentences, or even single words.

With just the right amount of romance, heartache and suspense, Fade is a real page-turner. I recommend that you set aside a block of time before beginning this one, though,  because once you start, there will be no stopping till you hit the end.

Janie and Cabel’s world is one that I love to lose myself in. I am one hundred per cent invested in their story and I can’t wait to see what happens next.

Publication year: 2009

Pages: 248

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Teaser Quote:

“Are you familiar with these?”

Janie smiles, reaches inside her bag, and pulls out an identical package.

“Excellent.” Captain nods. “Cabel. What’s your job?”

“Watching in agony, sir.”

Captain supresses a smile.

There were no surprises in Gatlin County. We were pretty much the epicentre of the middle of nowhere. At least, that’s what I thought.

Turns out, I couldn’t have been more wrong. There was a curse. There was a girl. And in the end, there was a grave.

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she’s struggling to conceal her power and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town’s oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

Ethan has lived his whole live in Gatlin. He knows everything, what is expected of him, where he can go and his exact place in town. A place that Ethan desperately wants to break out off. Each day is the same. School, basketball practice, dinner, sleep. A routine that Ethan could repeat in his sleep, that is, if he got any sleep. Ethan has been plagued by dreams. Dreams so real that Ethan wakes up covered in dirt and water, dirt and water that can’t be explained away. Something is happening in Gatlin, and Ethan is at the centre.

Enter Lena. If being an outsider isn’t bad enough, Lena is the niece of Macon Ravenwood, commonly referred to as Old Man Ravenwood by the people of Gatlin, and living out at the old Ravenwood plantation, which superstitions has it is haunted. To top it all off, Lena isn’t what you would call ‘normal’ for Gatlin. For one, she has no interest in being a cheerleader, instead plays the viola, wears more black than the average person and sits at the front of the English class. To top it off, strange things seem to happen around Lena – windows exploding, thunderstorms appearing and changing room arrangements are just the beginning.

Ethan is drawn to Lena in a way that can’t be explained. Something about Lena reminds Ethan of the presences felt in his dreams. Suddenly, Lena becomes the centre of Ethan’s world. As everyone at Jackson High is doing everything they can to make Lena a nothing, Ethan is absorbing as much of her world as possible. Ethan is the only one who has noticed the sharpie-drawn number on her hand, and while his classmates are quick to blame Lena for the strange occurrences, Ethan tries to get Lena to open up and give her a chance to explain why they are happening. With Ethan not taking no for an answer, Lena eventually lowers her guard, slowly by slowly letting Ethan into her life.

And as more strange events occur, even Lena can’t deny that she feels the same connection that Ethan feels for her. Ethan is thrown headfirst into the world of the Casters and discovering an ancient connection to the past, along with Lena, they are pitted against the universe. As Lena’s 16^th birthday draws closer, Ethan and Lena must discover the key that could change Lena’s future.

Beautiful Creatures is one of those books that don’t happen very often. Fresh and new, Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl have woven an urban fantasy novel that gives the often over-done young adult romance genre something different. A love story told from the male perspective. Seeing the story and reading through Ethan’s perspective was something that I loved about this book. Too many romance books have the female character constantly fawning over the male lead. This didn’t occur, and it was the differences that made reading from Ethan’s point of view work. Ethan didn’t overtly say that he was in love with Lena, yet it was his attention to the small details surrounding Lena that allowed me as a reader to see the true depth of his love before Ethan would even admit it to himself. The material of the Caster’s was also something that I enjoyed immensely. Their whole world was this rich culture that was thought out and developed in fine detail, yet at all stages seemed plausible and read, especially the way that Lena and her family moved around the topic of their special abilities with people not of their family. Linked in with this was Ethan’s aunt Amma, a character that I fell in love with by the end of the novel. Along with the many members of Lena’s family and Ethan’s friends at school, there were many a variety of characters that made the world of Beautiful Creatures enriching and enjoyable to read about.

Beautiful Creatures is one fantasy world that I would like to visit.

Pages: 626

Publication date: Australia - 2010, USA - Dec. 2009

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*Beautiful Creatures is also our Book Club read for the month of January.  Join the discussion here.

There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce–and goes out of his way to make that very clear–she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret . . . even if it kills her.

When Luce wound up at Swords & Crosses, a reform school for disturbed kids, she never thought she’d meet anyone worth knowing. I mean, it’s a school for kids with problems – naughty, psycho, crazy and messed kids. The place even looked and felt like a jail. But this is life, and things never turn out the way we expect, do they?

Meet Daniel. The moment Luce lays her eyes on him she feels it. This thing. A connection. Like she’s met him before or something. All this in one little glance. But if he felt it, he certainly isn’t showing it. Daniel makes it more than clear that he’s not interested in Luce, that she should stop stalking him, stop harassing him. He doesn’t want her, so why can’t she stay away from him? Why can’t she get him out of her head? She knows there is something off about him and she’s determined to figure out what it is. Only then will she be able to shake her heavy heart.

I hate the way Daniel treats Luce. He’s more than just a little rude. Even more than that, I hate the way Luce shamelessly keeps going back for more. I kept asking myself where this girl’s self-respect was, and how she could let a boy treat her so badly. I’ve read enough books like this to know by now that often, my initial reaction to characters like Daniel is wrong and that much more lays beneath the surface. Even though I was aware of this, as I was reading, I couldn’t help but feel ticked off by him. The question is you should be asking yourself is, did I stay this way, or did he win me over in the end?

Enter Cam. He’s the guy you love to hate. He’s charming, he’s beautiful, and he’s definitely interested in Luce. He flocks to her immediately, stepping on anyone else’s chances of even attempting to score with her. And Luce likes him back, she does. That’s why she’s not backing away from his advances. But there’s just something … missing, and she can’t quite figure out what it is. Maybe it’s that everything with him is just so easy. There isn’t any inner emotional struggle, no deep pain caused from simply being around him. But is easy what she’s even looking for?

Like all good complex characters, there is more to Cam than meets the eye. Just when you think you’ve got him figured, he turns around and does something that will totally throw you off course. Cam is surprising, in many ways.

Actions speak much louder than words, so if you want to know the truth about these boys, watch what they do, rather than what they say.

This is the kind of book where not a lot happens, yet everything happens. It takes a while to get going, but it’s definitely worth the wait. This is one of those character-intensive kinds of reads that focuses a lot on relationships and friendships, but there is a bit of action too. It’s right at the end, though, so make sure you stick it out.

Fallen is an effortless, engrossing read. This is an excellent first book in what I expect is going to be a mind-blowing series. Hold onto you shorts, folks, this one is going to be big.

Pages: 452

Publication date: 2009

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Half-human, half-angel, Meridian Sozu has a dark responsibility.

Before she can fully recover, Meridian is told that she’s a danger to her family and hustled off to her great-aunt’s house in Revelation, Colorado. It’s there that she learns that she is a Fenestra—the half-angel, half-human link between the living and the dead. But Meridian and her sworn protector and love, Tens, face great danger from the Aternocti, a band of dark forces who capture vulnerable souls on the brink of death and cause chaos.

On Meridian’s sixteenth birthday, life takes an unexpected change. Imagine waking up only to be told that you’re not normal – not even human, in fact. Fenestra is not a word that she’s familiar with, but when she learns what they are, things suddenly start making a whole lot of sense. She’s like the window to the other world, people (and things) need the Fenestra in order to pass from this life into the next.

So that’s why things have always died around her… she’d always thought that there was something cosmically wrong with her, that they were dying because of her. It is comforting for Meridian (in a creepy kind of way) to learn that they don’t die because of her, but because they need her. Helping people cross to the other side is dangerous stuff, though, and Meridian must learn how to harness and control her powers. Nothing would suck more than getting dragged into the other world by a soul who doesn’t know how to let go…

And now, more than ever, Meridian has reasons to stay in this world.

Meet Tens. He’s Meridian’s assigned protector. It’s his destiny, his purpose in life, but what he doesn’t tell Meridian is that if he dies trying to protect her, she dies too. This is a relationship of an entirely different calibre. They’re going to be spending their entire lives together, trying to keep each other alive, so it’s a good thing they seem to be falling deeply in love with each other, too. I can’t imagine having to spend my whole life with someone that I didn’t love… can you? It’s not all roses and candy, though, and learning to trust someone with your life doesn’t come so easily.

How will Meridian cope with her new responsibilities as a Fenestra, and will she be able to carry the torch after her mentor is dead and gone?

Upon arriving at her Aunts house, considering her circumstances, I thought she learned to trust her new friends all too quickly. While I understand that Auntie is the kind of character that makes people feel comfortable immediately, I thought Meridian could have spent a little more time questioning her motives. She was, after all, ripped from her family and told she may never see them again. Her relationship with Tens develops at a nice pace, though. Readers are kept waiting just long enough to incite a bit of a frenzy within.

Meridian has all the elements of a good supernatural story. Readers both young and old will love this one! I’m interested to hear what you guys think about this one!

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For years, Grace has watched the wolves in the woods behind her house. One yellow-eyed wolf–her wolf–is a chilling presence she can’t seem to live without. Meanwhile, Sam has lived two lives: In winter, the frozen woods, the protection of the pack, and the silent company of a fearless girl. In summer, a few precious months of being human . . . until the cold makes him shift back again.

Now, Grace meets a yellow-eyed boy whose familiarity takes her breath away. It’s her wolf. It has to be. But as winter nears, Sam must fight to stay human–or risk losing himself, and Grace, forever.

When Grace’s community decides that they need to do something about the ‘wolf problem’ in the woods, Grace flips. Her wolf is in those woods. She has to stop them before its too late. Thankfully, it doesn’t take much of a commotion to get the hunters to pull back. A little screaming about her friends being in the woods here, a little pleading helplessly there, and its done. But when Grace goes home, she almost can’t believe what she’s seeing. There’s a boy on her door stoop, bleeding half to death, and instantly she knows instantly who it is. She’d know those eyes anywhere. She’s been looking into them for the last six years, wistfully hoping – wishing – that things were different. Well, it seems that life is about to give her what she wants for a change, even if it is for a short time only.

Sam can’t believe it’s her. He can’t believe she’s here, seeing him, looking at him like that. He can’t believe that he was shot and it brought on a change. A few minutes ago he was a wolf, and now … well, now he was human, but unless he did something about the bleeding he wasn’t going to be anything soon.

And so starts the snapshot in time that is Grace and Sam. It seems that there isn’t even a question of whether they’re together or not. Sam and Grace, although hesitant to assume the other’s intention initially, are instantly an item. They’ve been watching each other – falling in love with each other – from a distance for six years now. The time for formalities has long passed, especially considering they have so little time together in the first place. Sam knows it in himself, he can feel the end coming – this is the last year that he’ll change back to a human. Ever. The problem is, it’s the middle of winter. The cold is what makes him change in the first place. In order to keep Sam in his human form for a long as they can, Sam and Grace do everything they can to keep Sam warm. But Minnesota winters are tough, and sometimes, nature is unbelievably unpredictable. Will their race against the weather be all in vain, or will they get their happily ever after?

As far as paranormal romances go, this is, hands down, the best one I’ve read in a long while. Grace is a formidably strong character that will go to great lengths to protect her own. When it comes to her heart, there’s no messing around. I reckon girls everywhere are going love Grace; they’ll love who she is and what she has.

Sam is more than just the lust-worthy teenage heartthrob that we see in YA fiction so often these days. He’s got the emotional maturity of someone who far surpasses his years and seems to understand the ins and outs of love entirely. He loves Grace – completely and absolutely – and he knows exactly how to treat a girl. It doesn’t get better than this, girls. Sam is, without a doubt, the Edward Cullen of 2009.

Maggie Stiefvater totally steps up to the plate with Shiver. I’ve been a fan of hers right from the beginning, but I have to say, Shiver completely blew my mind. Once I started reading, there was positively no stopping. I felt drunk – love drunk! Too much Sam and Grace will do that to you.

Watch out for the ending, though. As I’m sure it will leave some ambling around despairingly. I know I was! As angsty as it was, the ending was totally appropriate and totally necessary. I commend Maggie for taking the path she did – this one is definitely an example of the road less travelled in YA lit, and is a breath of fresh air! I am totally in love with Shiver, and I plan on telling absolutely everyone I meet about this one.

Rating::

How far will Rose go to keep her promise?

The recent Strigoi attack at St. Vladimir’s Academy was the deadliest ever in the school’s history, claiming the lives of Moroi students, teachers, and guardians alike. Even worse, the Strigoi took some of their victims with them. . . including Dimitri.

He’d rather die than be one of them, and now Rose must abandon her best friend, Lissa—the one she has sworn to protect no matter what—and keep the promise Dimitri begged her to make long ago. But with everything at stake, how can she possibly destroy the person she loves most?

If there is one thing Rose is good for, it’s a promise.  And she made Dimitri – her trainer, mentor, and the love of her life – the promise of a lifetime. When Dimitri is taken by enemy Strigoi at the end of the last book, Rose knows that she owes it to him to make good on her promise, no matter how much it will destroy her to do so. After all, he’d do it for her if the situation were reversed. But what would you do to preserve the honor of someone you loved? How far could you go to carry out their last wish? If it meant destroying a part of yourself, would you be able to follow through?

So Rose sets off on a mission from which she knows she may never return. Fighting Strigoi is deadly stuff – especially when that Strigoi has the man of your dreams. He knows your every move, your every weakness.  Rose has no idea what exactly happened to Dimitri, but she knows that whatever it is, it can’t be good. There is no good anywhere where Strigoi are concerned.

Blood Promise finds Rose in Russia, searching for her once beloved – dead, alive, or turned. Russia is everything Dimitri ever said it was, and then some. Its beautiful, crazy, and feels much more like ‘home’ than she ever thought possible. When she stumbles upon Dimitri’s family, though, she doesn’t expect the greeting she’s given. Will they welcome her with open arms as she delivers them the worst news possible, or will they cast her away with cold and darkened eyes? I don’t know about you, but if a strange girl showed up on my doorstep with the same news that Rose has, I know how I’d react…

Interestingly enough, as Rose travels across Russia, it seems that Vladimir Academy is never too far away. Adrian pays Rose a dreamy visit or two, and Rose can’t help but check in on Lissa now and then. It seems that Lissa is a bit lost without Rose and lands herself in all kinds of trouble. Is she woman enough to pull herself together, or will she need her best friend to fix everything once more? My initial feelings towards Lissa were all confirmed three times over in this novel: she’s weak, fragile, and freaking annoying! Again, I disliked reading her through Rose’s thoughts and I thanked my lucky stars that she wasn’t the focalising character.

Meanwhile, back in Russia someone reminds Rose exactly why she came in the first place, and she realises that its time to move on and being her search once more. Just when she thinks she’s never going to find what she came looking for, something off-the-charts kind of crazy happens and Rose’s world is thrown completely and absolutely freaking upside down. Although I’m not going to disclose exactly what this is, I was supremely thrown by these turns of events. I was very uncomfortable as I read through this section of the narrative, always hoping and praying that what was happening would right itself once more. When I realised that this wasn’t going to happen any time soon I became incredibly frustrated. Rose’s character takes an entirely new form in Blood Promise, and I can’t say that I’m altogether happy with her transformation. She loses her edge, and although I understand that the circumstances are pretty much out of her control, I kept waiting for her to get her groove back together. I’m happy to report that she eventually did, but it took way too long for her to shizzle her way back into the Rose Hathaway we all know and love.

Cryptic much? Well, you’re just going to have to read to find out what I’m talking about…

Now I know you’re all wanting to know: Is he, or isn’t he? I could tell you but I’m feeling particularly evil right now and I think I’ll keep that particular spoiler to myself. If you want to find out whether Dimitri is Strigoi, alive, dead, or whatever, then I suggest you run out to your local bookstore as fast as you possibly can and get hold of a copy. I will, however, leave you with this piece of information….

Dimitri DOES make an appearance in this novel. Your questions will be answered and you wont have to wait too long to find out what the hell happened to him. Will you be surprised? Maybe. Maybe not. Depends what you’re hoping for!

While Blood Promise is not my favourite Vampire Academy novel to date, I did read this one in a single sitting. Once I started reading I was desperate to find out what happened. I reckon this one has a little bit of everything for everyone: love, lust, hate, anger, sympathy, empathy, envy, desire, action, skill, and the edge that we’ve all come to expect from the Vampire Academy novels.

I reckon the fans are going to lose it over this one. I can’t wait for the discussion to start.

P.S There’s a new player in town whom I think we’re going to see much more of in the future. While her presence was necessary in Blood Promise, I don’t think we were treated to everything she has to offer. Watch this space…

Rating::

Wind kissed my ear, cool and soft, and I heard a voice. It sounded like clover tastes, green and new and sweet.

“Where y’at, Iris?”

Iris and her friend think they have the ability to talk to the dead. They love hanging out in cemeteries and they play around with ouija boards and spell books. Nothing too much has ever happened before, though, so one summer when someone actually talks to Iris – someone that is definitely not alive – she can’t help but take notice.

When Iris tells her best friend, Collette, about her encounter, the pair of them set about finding out everything they possibly can about this ghost. After some pretty simple investigative work, they got enough information to start piecing all the bits together, and Iris realises that her ghost hits a lot closer to home than she first realised.

The story around town goes that Elijah simply went missing, and his body was never found,but for Iris, it just doesn’t add up. Elijah went to school with her father, and whenever Iris asks anyone her dad’s age – including her father – about what happened to him, everyone always changes the subject. It seems that her town folk are all too good at dodging her questions and Iris begins to think that some people might know more than they’re actually letting on. But when Iris figures out the truth about her ghost, she’s not even sure she wants to know …

Iris is a normal girl that I think a lot of young teens will be able to relate to. And while this isn’t one of those romance charged supernatural stories that seem to be so popular right now, I reckon true supernatural fiction fans will be impressed with Shadowed Summer. This one has all the elements of a true ghost story without being totally freaky, so even if you’re spooked by regular ghosty stories, I reckon you’ll be able to digest this one without wetting your pants.

I did, however, find Collette (Iris’s best friend) a little on the annoying side. I thanked God every moment that I spent reading this novel that Collette was not the focalising character. She’s shallow, spiteful and far too jealous of all the things Iris has – even though she’s got plenty of fabulous things herself.

This is a quick and easy read that gives the reader the exact kind of closure s/he is looking for.

Rating::

Dru Anderson has what her grandmother called “the touch.” (Comes in handy when you’re traveling from town to town with your dad, hunting ghosts, suckers, wulfen, and the occasional zombie.)

Then her dad turns up dead—but still walking—and Dru knows she’s next. Even worse, she’s got two guys hungry for her affections, and they’re not about to let the fiercely independent Dru go it alone. Will Dru discover just how special she really is before coming face-to-fang with whatever—or whoever— is hunting her?

Dru’s world is very different to yours and mine. See, in her world there are many, many things that go bump in the night. Zombies, vampires and werewulfs are just the start of it. Dru’s dad is a professional monster fighter and has taught Dru how to take care of herself, but being the daughter of a demon hunter has its downsides. Dru has to be ready to pack up her entire life at a moments notice and hit the road. Life for Dru has been kind of lonely…

Then her dad comes home from some kind of demon killing mission one night all zombie-fied. Dru is no idiot, she knows that thing that looks like her dad isn’t really him, and she knows that unless she does something fast, she too could find herself six feet under. Without thinking twice, Dru slaughters her zombie-dad right in her very own living room.

More alone than ever, Dru decides that she can’t stay in her house for a minute longer, and takes off.

Meet Graves. He lives at the mall in some kind of backroom but that’s all we really learn about him. He’s hell bent on finishing high school with spectacular grades, but has that whole bad-boy allure about him. He’s completely mysterious and something tells me that we’re definitely going to learn more about him in the coming novels, but for now, all I can say is that I’m pretty certain he’s jonesing for Dru. Dru shacks up with him for a while (in the sleeping in the same room sense, not the romantic sense) and they develop and odd kind of friendship. Then they’re attacked by a stack of demon beaties and Dru realises that she’s not safe.

Enter Christophe. He’s a djampire and pisses Dru off instantly. He’s got information about her dad’s death – information which, he’s not readily giving up – and that makes Dru instantly suspicious of him. But he’s here to help, apparently, and Dru is faced with some pretty tough decisions. Does she let this half demon guy into her life for the sake of safety, or should she trust her instincts and run like hell – away from him, away from everything. It becomes pretty clear that Dru isn’t going to be able to help herself, but is Chris going to be the savior she’s looking for?

Dru is one of those tough-as-nails characters that has the potential to be a real girl power kind of role model for female teen readers. At the moment, though, I find her rock hard exterior a little frustrating. I wanted her to grieve the death of her father properly – I mean, she did slay his zombie butt, after all – and maybe she did, in her own rock hard way, but for me, she moved on from his death way too easily. Although I completely understand why she’s like this, I hate that she is so untrusting. I can forgive her for this, though, because she’s spent her whole life running from, and fighting big bad beasties. Can’t imagine you’d see too much humanity in anything like a demon, that’s for sure.

Strange Angels is all about the tension. From the first chapter right till the very end, each page is full of nail-biting tension. Unusually, though, I didn’t actually find myself compelled to keep reading. Strange Angels is full of unanswered questions, which frustrated me to no end. I can see, however, that having so many unanswered questions in the story is a bit of an aphrodisiac for some and will drive the kiddies wild.

The one thing I absolutely loved about this book was Lili St. Crow’s writing style. She manipulates the English language brilliantly and her imagery is outstanding. It was very easy to picture just what was happening in the story and my imagination came alive with all kinds of mental images. Even though I found many other aspects of this story frustrating, the fact that I loved Lili’s writing style so much made reading Strange Angels an enjoyable experience.

Rating: :

I’ve been trying to write my review of this novel for a few days now. Trying, and failing. So, I’ve decided to take an approach that I don’t normally follow. Instead of launching into a detailed description of plot and character, I’m going to post the blurb as shown on the back of the novel (so you at least get a little insight into what it’s all about), and then I want to discuss a few key literary devices that I thought worked well. This isn’t something I normally do, but I don’t think I can say what I want any other way. So here goes…

A lonely gay teen bides his time with trips to strangers’ funerals and Ouija board sessions, desperately searching for someone to love–and a reason to live following a suicide attempt.

Walking an empty stretch of New Jersey highway on an autumn night, he meets a strange and beautiful boy who looks like he stepped out of a dream. But the vision becomes into a nightmare when the boy turns out to be the local urban legend, the ghost of a star athlete killed in 1957–a ghost with a deadly secret and a dangerous obsession.

Vintage: A Ghost Story is an intense thriller that looks at the dark side of gay urban fantasy, where the dead can never rest and trapped spirits never find peace.

Although this novel is narrated in first person, the narrator has no name. Actually, that might not be entirely true, but if he does have a name, readers never find out what it is. The first time I read Vintage through, I felt that by not giving him a name, the author robbed the narrator of authority. Because he was nameless (and also gay), I felt like the author was trying to tell me that his identity didn’t matter, that being gay meant that he wasn’t worthy of a title like a name. I found myself getting all ticked off about the kinds of impressions that would leave on potential queer teens. However, I was so intrigued by this concept of a nameless narrator that as soon as I finished reading Vintage, I went back to the beginning and started again. I very quickly changed my mind over how I felt about this character. I realised that by not giving him a name, the author was actually empowering the character and inviting you, the reader, to assume his identity and really place yourself in the story. This, then, made the story more powerful and a whole lot more engaging than the first time I read it. This gave me the opportunity to step into his shoes, to not be myself for a few hours and really immerse myself in his world. I now saw that this gave the narrator loads of authority, unlike my previous assumptions.

I also enjoyed the fact that, while not necessarily ‘out’, and although the narrator had certainly encountered adversity because of his sexuality in the past, he seemed more than comfortable as a queer teen. He was not struggling to comes to terms with his sexuality, which was very refreshing. I thought that Vintage highlighted a really clear distinction between comfortably keeping one’s sexuality to himself, and fearfully doing so. Coming out should be the choice of the individual, and just because you’re comfortable with your sexuality doesn’t automatically mean that you have to come out. I really enjoyed this aspect of this novel.

Vintage is a quirky queer teen read that I’m almost certain would be enjoyed by readers both gay and straight. There’s something about a good old ghost story that has a real universal appeal. Watch out for the supernatural sexual encounter!
Rating::

Lucius opened his mouth slightly, and I felt the faintest touch of his fangs touching my skin just above the spot where my blood pulsed strongest.

His fangs…

I didn’t care it if was irrational. I didn’t care if it was impossible. I just wanted to feel them. I needed them, like I’ve never needed anything in my whole life. In my mouth, my own teeth began to ache. That delicious, delirious agony of something struggling so hard to be born.

When Lucius rocks into town, declaring that he’s a vampire and Jessica is his betrothed (and also a vampire), Jessica tells the big tall Romanian guy to take a hike. I mean, come on, vampires? Insert big, loud snorting noise here. Jessica isn’t buying it, not even when her parents encourage her to listen to Lucius’s story, especially the part about the whole betrothed stuff.

But vampires aren’t real. Right? Right. So that means that her parents must have gone crazy, and the guy with the hypnotizing stare and ancient disposition must be some kind of crack pot. And Jess can’t be a vamp. She’s lived in her body her whole life. She’d know about something like that, right? But then Jess’s parents invite him to stay with them for as long as he needs, and Jessica thinks that maybe her parents have gone a little mad too.

Lucius enrols at her school and wins everyone over. Well, everyone with ovaries, anyway. He follows Jess everywhere, holds the door open for her, buys her lunch, defends her honor – gah! It’s just so frustrating and Jess wonders why he just can’t leave her alone?

If you’re like me, you’re probably wondering what the hell Jessica’s problem is. If a really hot, European guy ambled into town and told me that he wanted me to be his princess, my reaction would be the exact opposite of Jess’s. But Jess has her reasons, or reason, rather, and his name is Jake.

Jake isn’t anything like Lucius. He’s American, for one. He doesn’t have any of that European allure that Lucius has, but he’s nice. And he likes Jess. Enter love triangle here.

In terms of character, I found Jess annoying. I found being inside her head incredibly frustrating and I almost wished – no, I definitely wished – that this story had been told through Lucius’s perspective. I hated her naivety. Sure, if someone told me that they were a vampire I wouldn’t believe them either. But when the proof is presented in front of you and you just keep denying and denying and denying on the surface when deep down you really believe, well, that just gets annoying. And I really hated that Jess decided she wanted Lucius when she realized he no longer wanted her. Even though I hated all these things about her, I was compelled to keep reading.

I did, however, love Lucius. Not at first – I needed some convincing – but after a hundred pages or so, I was sold. I loved his rebellious streak; I loved his old manner. I loved how he chose the one girl he knew Jessica would hate him to fraternize with.

The cover is beautiful, although the guy who is obviously supposed to be Lucius reminds me a little of the Count from Sesame Street. What do you think?

I’m pretty sure fans of teen vampire books will want to give this one a go. Make sure you tell us what you think!

Rating::

Carpe Corpus is the sixth book in Rachel Caine’s popular Morganville Vampires series.

For Bishop, it seemed easy.
“No,” said Shane. “No, stop.’”
Right there, right in front of them Frank Collins coughed, choked, and came back to life. It looked painful, and it seemed to take forever for the thrashing and the screaming to stop.
When it did, he wasn’t Frank Collins. Not anymore.

Morganville has always been a pretty shady place to live. But that was before Bishop rolled into town; now it’s something much worse. Boys and girls, welcome to hell.

Carpe Corpus finds Claire Danvers in more trouble than ever before. Her boyfriend is locked up in jail, Eve isn’t talking to her, Amelie appears to have lost her nerve (and control of the town) and Michael has switched teams, preferring to ride with Bishop and his bad boys. Things couldn’t get much worse than that, right?

Wrong.

Bishop is out for blood – anyone’s blood. Morganville is headed for a full-scale war, and poor little Claire is right in the thick of it. With Amelie out of action, Claire now works for Bishop – a fact that she utterly despises. But things don’t stay that way for long, and before she even realises what’s happening she’s back at the Glass House, Shane is out of prison, and they’re all fighting for their lives. Again.

People die. Vampires die. Tears are shed. Bonds are broken, and eternity is stolen from a few worthy contenders. But there is also hope, too. Claire learns that love can heal even the deepest wounds. Oh boy, can it ever. Love is perfect, even if ‘perfect’ isn’t what everyone always said it was.

Carpe Corpus taught me not to underestimate the underdog – which I suppose is the whole point of an underdog anyway. It’s those sneaky characters that lurk in the shadows that really take you by surprise. In more freaking ways than one. There were so many things that were right under our noses, so many things that I should have anticipated, that I just didn’t. I suppose Rachel has done her job well, as I was so distracted by what was right in front of my face, so caught up in the now, that I forgot to ask those questions like “hey, what’s he doing here?”

Carpe Corpus stays true to the Morganville way of things. I guarantee that you’ll be on the edge of your seat while you read. I guarantee that there are at leat two scenes that you’ll re-read – over and over and over. And I guarantee that when you get to the last page, and you realise that you’re going to get at least some closure this time, that Rachel isn’t going to leave you mid-scene with your mouth hanging wide open in shock, you’ll be smiling for days. I was. In fact, I think I still am!

Rating::

Check out our review of the previous Morganville book, Lord of Misrule, here

For Ever, life at Laguna Beach is anything but sun, fun and living the Californian dream. Ever hides her slimline figure and pretty face under baggy jeans and hooded sweatshirts so she doesn’t attract any unwanted attention, or any attention at all, in fact. You see, Ever is in mourning. She lost her entire family in a car accident the year before and doesn’t think she deserves the second chance she was offered. Why not her? Why them? Why did they have to leave her behind like this?

To make things even more traumatic, Ever is seeing the ghost of her dead sister everywhere. They’re even having conversations. It’s a comfort for Ever, though, because it almost feels like Riley is still alive – even if she is in the whispy, non-corporeal sense. Something else is happening to Ever, too. She’s developed a kind of psychic power where she can see into people’s minds. But Ever knows it’s not polite to wade through people’s privacy like that so she does very little with her gift.

But then Damon comes along and things start to change. For one, she can’t see inside his mind at all, which is very strange indeed. But it’s more than that. Something about Damon is off. Ever notices this straight away but can’t seem to put her finger on it. The more time she spends with him, the more her imagination gets carried away and suddenly she finds herself contemplating all kinds of crazy things about him.

Damon is totally not what he seems. Or at least, he’s not what Noel wants you to think he is. He’s old – very old, in fact – he drinks a red substance straight from a glass at dinner, he keeps disappearing, he’s got loads of money, and he’s got books signed by authors that died a century ago. Sounds familiar, huh?

Well sorry to disappoint, but Damon is no vampire. He’s just a guy that has lived for a helluva long time. And apart from the mind reading stuff, his tricks are limited and fairly unimpressive. He’s not running from a big bad (not really) and he’s not a threat to Ever in any way. Where oh where is the conflict, I ask? This is no forbidden romance guys, so don’t go into it thinking it’s going to be all hopeless like Romeo and Juliet. It’s not. Not even close.

I know that there are hoards of girls out there that really got into this novel, but I found Ever so irrational and so whiny that being inside her head was just annoying. As I sit here and type this, I’m strapping on my protective armour and picking up my sword, because I know I’m going to offend masses of readers when I say that this book was average. In fact, I think the best thing about it is the beautiful cover art. I put it down three times before I forced myself to pick it up and keep reading. It took foooooorreeeeevvveerrrrrrrr to get started.

Having said that, I didn’t hate it, but I most certainly didn’t love it. I’m not even quite sure I liked it. If someone handed me the second one, I’d read it (or I’d at least give it a chance) out of sheer curiosity. But I’m hoping someone I know has a copy because I’m not forking out my hard earned dollars to acquire it.

On a final note I would like to ask why everyone is comparing this to Twilight? Why are people comparing every single novel that comes out these days to Twilight? There are no vampires present within the pages of Evermore, and the love story that plays out between Damon and Ever bares no resemblance to that of Bella and Edward. So I ask you, why oh why is this being compared to Twilight? In my personal opinion, the two don’t even really belong in the same genre. My two cents, though, and I’m sure others will have much to say about the issue.

Rating: :

She’s been uprooted from her small hometown and enrolled at Evernight Academy, an eerie gothic boarding school where the students are somehow too perfect: smart, sleek, and almost predatory. Bianca knows that she doesn’t fit in.

At Evernight Academy nothing is as it seems. The description on the back of the book calls Evernight Academy gothic. I think that’s a little misleading and the writer of the blurb should have told potential readers the truth about Evernight Academy – that it’s not just a school, but is in fact a school for vampires. But Evernight is shaking things up this year and they’ve allowed human enrollments for the first time, too. The humans, of course, are entirely unaware that more than half the school’s population are actually undead Americans. There are strict rules about exposing yourself to a human, though, and vampires are forbidden from biting the human students. But honestly, how cruel is that? Dangling humans under vampire noses is like putting chow in front a dog and telling him that he’s not allowed to have it. How long would poor puppy be able to resist something like that? Not very long, I’d imagine. And it’s the same with the vampires. Put them in living quarters with humans and there are bound to be problems. Problems of the bloodsucking kind.

Meet Bianca – the newest enrollment at Evernight Academy. She’s shy, smart and a bit of a loner. But she gets housed with Patrice, who is more poised and beautiful than anyone Bianca has ever met. She’s so full of confidence that just being in the same room as Patrice makes Bianca feel more than a little uncomfortable. Can an outsider like Bianca and an It Girl like Patrice be friends? Who knows….

Perhaps Lucas knows. Lucas is also a new arrival at Evernight and is instantly drawn to Bianca. And lucky for Bianca because the moment she sees Lucas she knows she’s in love. Life would totally suck if her first true love didn’t return her affections, don’t you think? But there is more to Lucas than meets the eye. He seems well informed about Evernight and its history, and he really, really doesn’t like Patrice and her friends. In fact, he dislikes them so much that he does everything in his power to isolate Bianca and himself away from their prying eyes. Then one night during a hot and heavy make out session, Bianca does something so unbelievably weird and wrong that it changes everything between her and Lucas. This event works as a sort of catalyst for the downward spiral of everything in Bianca’s life, and suddenly Bianca’s world becomes a regular Jerry Springer episode.

I don’t want to give anything crucial away, but I will say this…

- Someone flees Evernight, fearing for their life.

- Someone breaks the Evernight code and bites a human.

- Someone unexpectedly becomes a vampire.

- Someone has an evil, ulterior motive which shakes the foundations of Evernight through history.

- Love is made, trust is lost, hearts are broken and unexpected friendships are formed.
I decided to read Evernight because a lot of people had told me it had a similar Bella and Edward kind of love story happening. I can safely say, with complete and total conviction, that this is not true. For me, Bella and Edward were so real and so alive that I had to remind myself repeatedly that they were fictional and that their connection was fabricated. Not real in any way. Lucas and Bianca’s connection isn’t so intense. Not even half as much, in fact. I felt like Claudia Gray was telling us they had a connection, rather than showing us they did. And just because she was telling me that Lucas loved Bianca and Bianca loved Lucas doesn’t for one second mean that I’m going to believe that. I just wasn’t feeling it with these guys.

Will I read the second novel? Yes, simply because I want to know what happens. Will I loose sleep if I don’t get my hands on it right away? No, I wont.

Evernight is a solid read, but nothing to write home about.

Rating: :

The heat is on. Rose is entering the final stages of her guardian training and before she can graduate into a fully qualified guardian, she is required to undergo six weeks of field experience first. After spending two years of her life guarding Lissa from real attacks, Rose thinks that the field experience will be a piece of cake. But the Academy throws her a curve ball and assigns her to guard Christian – Lissa’s boyfriend and the very same Christian that Rose doesn’t exactly like. Rose finds herself suddenly confronted with a whole stack of new challenges that have absolutely nothing to do with guarding and protecting the life of a royal.

As if spending six days a week with Christian isn’t enough drama for Rose to deal with, something weird is going on with her. She’s been seeing Mason, like really seeing him, and she thinks that maybe she’s going a little crazy. But Mason died, she saw him slip away with her own two eyes. So what, or who, is she seeing now? Ghosts aren’t real, right? Maybe not, but maybe they are… Rose desperately wants to talk to someone about ghost-Mason, or whatever it is that she is seeing, but she knows that sharing her story would lead to no good. No good at all.

Then there is Dimitri. Even though she’s tried, Rose just can’t shake her feelings for him. How could she, when he’s everything she’s ever wanted? How many girls can say they found their dream guy, their soul mate, during their adolescence? Not too many, I would assume. Rose however, has found her soul mate, it doesn’t take a genius to figure this out – she just can’t have him. It’s a cruel twist of fate, but soul mates or not, Dimitri and Rose know that guardian/guardian relationships are strictly forbidden. Will that be enough to keep them away from each other, or can love really conquer all? Loving Dimitri is the scariest thing in Rose’s life, and she knows that if anyone found out, both their lives could be ruined forever. Rose and Dimitri face some very interesting challenges indeed. Will they walk away from their guardian destiny to be with each other, or will they continue to deny themselves, deny each other?

Just when Rose thinks that her life couldn’t possibly get anymore complicated, the Strigoi launch a surprise attack on the Academy and suddenly everyone Rose ever cared about is unsafe. This time, the Strigoi fight dirtier than ever before and take something of Rose’s that will change her life forever.

“I ran. I didn’t look back. I didn’t ask what he was going to do because I already knew. He was going to stop as many Strigoi as he could so that I could get help. And a moment later I heard grunts and hits that told me he’d found another. For only a heartbeat, I let myself worry about him. If he died, I was certain I would too.”

Prepare yourself for a monstrous cliffhanger ending that will leave you gasping for breath.

Rose learns a lot in this installment and watching her develop as a person is a humbling experience. In all the loss, through all her trials, Rose never loses sight of who she is, or what she stands for. She is stubborn and fierce but she’s also selfless and loyal – qualities that are a rarity in today’s society.

Richelle Mead has outdone herself with this installment. Fabulously written, full of action and nail-biting suspense, Shadow Kiss is an unputdownable read.

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Zachary is an angel – literally. He’s had many charges over the years but being Miranda’s guardian angel is his toughest gig yet. See, he’s in love with her and love just complicates everything. Deep down Zachary knows that he would do anything to keep her safe – he’d even risk his own position in heaven. When Miranda heads out one night with her friend, Zachary sees trouble coming a mile off – trouble of the vampire kind. In the process of trying to protect Miranda from becoming a meal, Zachary breaks the one rule guardian angels are never allowed to bend, under any circumstances, and he reveals himself in human form.

As punishment, Zachary is cast out of heaven and sentenced to life on earth, as a human. Knowing he failed the love of his life, Zachary begins on a downward spiral of destruction. Someone upstairs, however, thinks that Zachary deserves a second chance and the heavens assign him a task – to kill Dracul, the most bad ass vamp around. If he succeeds, he’ll win back his place in heaven and his guardian powers will be returned to him. When he gets to the Dracul castle, however, he doesn’t expect to find Miranda all vamped out and running the show. This complicates things, just a little. See, even though she’s now a vampire, Zachary can’t shake his feelings for her and embarks on a mission to not only eliminate her master, but save her soul from her vampire self.

Miranda is a lousy vampire. She’s not evil enough, nor scary enough to throw her authority around like her master expects her to. Some of the servants even like her a little. Then, Zachary arrives at the castle and she’s drawn to him immediately. He makes her want to be a better person – if its possible for a vampire to live like a person at all. She stops drinking human blood, opting for animal blood instead, and helps Zachary orchestrate his plan to eliminate the master. But the question remains – can Zachary save Miranda, or is she destined for a life of eternal damnation?

Eternal is narrated through both Zachary and Miranda’s points of view. I love this technique of dual narration because it allows the reader to really get both sides of the story. Zachary is an adorable character whose strength and conviction is admirable, at the very least. I found Miranda’s failed attempts at being evil humorous at first, but towards the end her self-pity was a little on the annoying side. Even so, I was compelled to keep reading. You know the author has some serious talent when you’re interested in reading about a character you don’t like very much. For Zachary’s sake I found myself hoping for the best. Does he get his girl and his place in heaven back? Or does the Dracul master ruin his life forever?

Only the pages of Eternal have the answers…

Set in the same world as Smith’s previous novel Tantalize, Eternal will draw you in - fangs, angel wings and all!

Available February, 2009

Rating: :

Have you ever wondered what your dreams mean? Well, Janie does, because her life is one huge dream after the other.

Except the dreams aren’t her own.

Janie is gifted – or cursed, depending on which way you look at it – and has the ability to step into other people’s dreams. Its something she can’t control, though, and she often finds herself being ripped out of her own consciousness only to be sucked into the dreams of those sleeping around her. And it seems that everyone around her hides their deepest, darkest secrets in their dreamland. She knows things about the kids around her that no one else does, but she can’t tell anyone because everyone would just think she’s crazy, right?

Wrong.

Cabel doesn’t think Janie is crazy, but he does know that something is quite right with her. Although she tells him nothing initially, he seems to understand that there is, in fact, something to tell. Cabel starts looking out for Janie and eventually, he finds himself in a bit of a predicament. You see, Cabel has some secrets of his own – secrets, which, if they were to be revealed, could destroy everything he has worked for.

That’s the pesky thing about love, though. It always seems to pop up at the most inopportune times. Often, it forces people to make very hard choices indeed. But Cabel isn’t having it, not this time. He wants the best of both worlds and does everything in his power to ensure that he can have a future with Janie. The question is, will Janie let him in?

She’s scared of her powers, and because she has spent her whole life shutting people out, including someone like Cabel in her life is going to take a bit of work. But as the novel progresses, it becomes clear that Janie can’t do this for much longer alone, and she’s actually a much more valuable player than she ever expected to be – in anything.

Wake is a short, punchy read that will have your head spinning from the very first page. It’s a unique story idea, and the narrator’s voice is raw, edgy and above all – it’s real. Wake is full of characters that remind me of teenagers found out in the real world. The people in Wake (for the most part) are doing things that kids everywhere are doing, too. Lisa McMann should be commended on her bravery, as she leaves nothing to the imagination. In an age where so many young adult novels are sugar-coated, McMann chooses an honest approach, instead.

Wake is a diamond in a sea of broken glass. I can only hope its brilliance is repeated in the upcoming sequel, Fade.

For those of you that are interested, we’ve been reading Wake in our bookclub on the forum this month. Click here to join the discussion.

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If you’ve been living under a rock somewhere, you might not have heard of this book. In case you haven’t, Frostbite is the second installment in the Vampire Academy series - a very popular series by Richelle Mead.

Those that have been following the site will be aware that I did not enjoy the first Vampire Academy book. Although I didn’t think my review was overly harsh, the vast majority of visitors that read it did. Nearly everyone disagreed with me, and some not so politely, either. So I made it my New Year’s resolution to read the rest, just to appease you guys – and I’m so glad I did. I picked up Frostbite yesterday afternoon and I read it all in about five hours.

Before I move on, I’d just like to say that I stand by my original review of Vampire Academy. The characters were shallow, and being inside Rose’s head was annoying. However, reading Frostbite changed my opinion of Rose and reading her narration was an enjoyable experience, rather than a tedious one.

The sexual tension that was more than evident between Dimitri and Rose in Vampire Academy kicks up a few gears in this installment. Rose has it bad for Dimitri and pines for him through most of the novel. Alas, Dimitri is still her mentor and – as people tend not to age backwards – is still much older than her. Would you defy everything, and everyone, for love? And at seventeen, is it really possible that Rose loves Dimitri in a ‘for life’ kind of way? Rose is a reckless girl, and clearly, is a bit of a slave to her emotions. And let’s be honest here – teenage hormones can get a little crazed at times. As the novel goes on, although readers never get the chance to step inside Dimitri’s head, it becomes clear that these are the kinds of questions he’s asking himself. So, in order to move on with his life and get over Rose he starts acting out a contingency plan and receives a very tempting offer from a very attractive royal. They hit if off immediately and things for Dimitri look prosperous. Accepting such an offer, however, will mean turning his back on Rose forever – in his capacity as her mentor, co-worker and any possibility - no matter how small - that they might become lovers.

So will he, or wont he?

All I’m going to tell you is that Rose does a pretty spectacular job of sabotaging any chance of them ever getting their problems sorted out. When it comes to Dimitri, Rose is her own worst enemy.

While the tension between Rose and Dimitri takes up a huge chunk of the story, its not the entire tale. I mean, this is a vampire novel, after all, so there has to be some kind of vamp action, right?

Right.

The Strigoi are at it again, causing havoc and embarking on killing sprees. Only this time, it looks as if the Strigoi are teaming up with an unsuspecting partner, and suddenly Rose and her friends find themselves in more trouble than they know what to do with. Lives are lost, friendships are broken, and new ones are made. The action in Frostbite is gripping enough that I actually found myself yelling at my book. Emotions were definitely running high.

My favourite thing about this novel is the way in which Rose’s character develops. She manages to grow up a whole lot without losing her edge, her rebellious nature. She makes a few mistakes, sure, but this time she actually learns from them. Lissa still remains her number one priority, but this time around, the novel isn’t entirely focussed on keeping Lissa alive. Perhaps that is another reason that I liked this one much more than Vampire Academy. In both Vampire Academy and in Frostbite, Lissa presents as a very self-centred character. She’s shallow, spoilt and bratty. She’s supposed to be Rose’s best friend, yet their friendship seems awfully one sided. The sections of the novel where Rose steps inside Lissa’s head are definitely my least favourite moments. I was happy to learn that there seemed to be a whole lot less of them this time around.

Frostbite is a sharp, engaging read that tantalizes the senses. Although it’s categorized as a vampire novel, it’s really a story about love, friendship and finding your place in the world – the vamp action just gives it that little extra kick!

I’m proud to say that you’ve made a convert out of me. Richelle Mead, I heart you!

Rating::

Bit of a thrill junkie? Then you’re going to love this one. I suggest you hold on to your seats, folks, because you’re in for one hell of a ride. Skeleton Creek is an anomaly. And a very, very good one at that! Patrick Carman calls it “cross platform storytelling” because it incorporates both the traditional use of text, as well as video footage to tell the story.

A terrible accident occurs one night when Ryan and Sarah are messing around at the local closed down dredge. In the darkness, Ryan falls over – or maybe someone pushes him *gasp* you’ll have to read it yourself to find out – and he tumbles through the support barrier, knocking him unconscious and shattering his leg. He winds up in the hospital, and both Ryan and Sarah’s parents forbid them from seeing each other anymore.

On the night of the accident, Sarah had her video camera and caught the whole thing on tape. When she watches it back, something shows up on the tape that has her bones rattling inside her body. She secretly sends the video to Ryan, who is equally freaked by the image on the tape, and the two start an investigation behind their parents’ backs.

You wont believe what they uncover …

Ryan’s part of the story is delivered via his journal. While he’s cooped up in bed recovering from his fall, writing absolutely everything down is the only thing that stops him from going insane. Sarah’s part is delivered entirely through video. She blogs messages to Ryan, and she also uses her camera to document her investigative findings.

The video sections make Skeleton Creek. It would still be a great story without them, but they add a new level of interaction with the characters that you just don’t get from ordinary books. Although most of the information is delivered through Ryan’s journal, several key pieces come from Sarah’s footage. I found myself reading as fast as I could in order to get to the next password quicker (videos are posted on a website and the passwords given in the text are required to access them). The pieces of the footage taken at the dredge are actually really creepy, and they give the story authenticity. The whole thing has a real Blair Witch feel about it, but in its own unique (and supremely good) way. The last scene (delivered by video) had me sitting on the edge of my seat, and as the picture on screen faded into blackness I clapped both of my hands over my mouth to muffle my scream. There was no part of me – not even a tiny subconscious part – that saw that one coming. It’s definitely a strong contender for the Best Cliffhanger of 2009 award.

Oh why must you torture us so, Patrick? WHY, WHY, WHY?

The good news is, though, that the sequel is out in the summer of 2009 (the American summer, that is), so interested parties wont have to wait too long.

Skeleton Creek is not suitable for those with heart conditions as reading/viewing may cause hot flushes, and excess pounding of the myocardium. Other side effects include interrupted breathing patterns, sweaty palms, and nervous behaviours such as excessive foot tapping, nail biting and grinding of the teeth. If symptoms persist upon completion of reading, you can email Patrick at fanmail@patrickcarman.com as I’m sure he’d love to hear all about it!

A fly by the seat of your pants read that will captivate both male and female audiences.

Available February 10, 2009

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This is the fifth installment in the Morganville Vampire series. Here’s what it says on the back of the cover:

In the college town of Morganville, vampires and humans coexist in (relatively) bloodless harmony. Then comes Bishop, the master vampire who threatens to abolish all order, revive the forces of the evil dead, and let chaos rule. But Bishop isn’t the only threat.

Violent black cyclone clouds hover, promising a storm of devastating proportions as student Claire Danvers and her friends prepare to defend Morganville against elements both natural and unnatural.

Honestly, I don’t think the blurb does the book justice. Not even close. I’ve tried to write my review a few times already, and failed miserably. My delete button has been getting quite a workout over the past week or so. See, I’m afraid to leave out anything crucial, but the problem with that is, everything that happens in this novel is important. Every single sentence, every single word has some greater significance.

See my conundrum?

So I’ve decided, that instead of giving a summary, in a rare moment of weakness I’m going to let my inner fan girl out. I usually try and keep that part of my personality out of my reviews, but the Morganville books  have some kind of hold over me, and i’m incapable of being calm. So, I’ll be writing a number of reviews of Lord of Misrule, each on focusing on a particular aspect of the novel. I’ve just got so much to say, and the book is so good, that I think it is totally warranted.

For this particular review, the winner is … drum roll please …

Shane and Claire.

*cue fan girl screams here*

The book opens exactly where Feast of Fools left off. Amelie is rounding everyone up, assigning people jobs and preparing her ‘army’ against Bishop. Evidently, everyone is saying goodbye because Amelie split up all four members of the Glass House. It’s a tense moment because all four of them know that there is a huge chance that some, or all, may not return alive. In a very public display of affection that stuns Eve into action, Michael tells her that he loves her before running out. When Shane and Claire say goodbye to each other I was sitting on the edge of my seat, fully expecting him to do the same. But much to my annoyance, he doesn’t. And, neither does Claire. Frustration maximus.

*cue sad violin music now*

But fear not Shane and Claire fans. Although the scenes between the couple are so good that readers are tortured almost to boiling point, we do get a little pay off, and Shane eventually tells Claire that he loves her.

Finally!

Hallelujah!

Praise the Vampire Lord!

The whole scene is very Shane-esque, but its still super sweet and my heart made a whole lot of little thumpa thumpa noises while I was reading it. As soon as it was over I went straight back to the beginning (twice) and read it again before moving on. What I liked most about the scene is not the fact that he Shane finally admits that he’s in love with Claire (which of course, is what we’ve all been waiting for), but the fact that his character isn’t lost in amongst all the lovey-dovey goo. I find that’s a common problem with mushy scenes like this in YA books. When they’re being written, because the target audience is so often female, writers really ham up the love-mush, and male characters end up doing and saying a whole bunch of things that seem out of place just to appease the female readership. Shane Collins, however, is anything but mushy and this is reflected supremely well in this scene. His character remains firmly in-tact and true to himself. He’s quite direct about it all, actually, but Rachel Caine (being the goddess that she is) has weaved a tiny sprinkling of mushy love-goo in amongst Shane’s brashness which should have hearts beating, and girls swooning, all over the world.

All I have to say is, move over Edward Cullen, you’re about to lose your crown - to a vampire hating human!

There are many other Claire and Shane moments that really touched my heart throughout the novel, but I don’t want to give everything away. Needless to say, I’m stoked with the way their relationship is growing throughout the series. Their characters are evolving, and their relationship is progressing the way a lot of adolescent relationships do. Vampire problems aside, they’re believable in every way - something which I think is kind of rare in fiction for teens today.

Readers of Lord of Misrule are given just enough of Shane and Claire to temporarily satiate their hunger. But thats the thing about an appetite, it doesn’t stay satisfied for long. After just a couple of reads through, I guarantee you’ll be begging and screaming for more.

I’m sure the question on everyone’s lips is, do they, or don’t they? Their relationship comes a long way in this installment, and after you tell someone you love them, what else is there to do? I bet you’d like to know, right? Well, I’m not going to tell you. You’re just going to have to read it for yourself to find out.
Till next time, over and out!

Rating::

I’ve always been into the supernatural, and I love the urban fantasy stuff that has been circulating lately. Vampires, werewolves, ghosts – you name it, I’ll read it. But give me something about zombies and I’m more likely to make fun of it . For some reason, zombies and I don’t mesh. They’re the one fictional construct that I just can’t digest. I know it’s irrational (I mean, come on, I like vampires) and honestly, I can’t pinpoint exactly why I feel like this, but its always been this way and I never thought I’d change.

Until now.

Christopher Golden’s Soulless was so much better than I thought it was going to be. Admittedly, when I picked it up I didn’t really know it was a novel about zombies, so I probably didn’t approach it with the same prejudice that I would if I’d had that information. Silly me didn’t read the blurb properly before I bought it, and I walked out of the store thinking it was a novel about ghosts. I’m happy to report, however, that I’m not sorry I made that mistake.

Written in third person, Soulless is one of those novels that follows a whole bunch of different characters through their experiences until they all meet up and cross paths at the end. It starts with Phoenix, the daughter of a renowned Medium who is appearing on the local breakfast news show for a major séance with other known Mediums. No one, not in their wildest dreams, expected that they’d wake the dead for real. Chaos falls upon New York City and quickly spreads to neighbouring communities. Suddenly, America is locked in the biggest stand off of all time: the dead versus the living.

What I liked most about this novel was not the zombie, supernatural elements, but the way the characters changed and adjusted to the circumstances around them. What would you do to survive? If it came down to killing just a few innocent people to save several dozen more, could you do it? What exactly would it take to turn you into a murderer? The majority of the novel follows everyone as they run away from trouble, but when they decide to turn around and face trouble head on, these were the questions I found myself thinking. Not surprisingly, some of the characters deliberately put themselves in situations that offered me some answers. And I can’t say I was happy about all of them, either.

Fast-paced and action-packed, I could see this making a really great movie. Golden does a superb job of creating a very clear picture of the chaos. And while it was closed off nice and clean, I have to ponder whether there will be a sequel.

Soulless wasn’t one of those jaw-dropping, life changing reads, but its definitely worth a go. As long as you’re not too put off by the violence, I reckon everyone will get a little kick out of this one!

Rating: :