Vampire Academy Series by Richelle Mead (Spoiler Free)

Two races of vampires walk our world. One, the Moroi, are alive and wield elemental magical. The other, the Strigoi, are undead and evil-feeding on the innocent to survive. Rose Hathaway-a half-vampire with poor impulse control-is training to be a bodyguard for a Moroi princess. Learning to decapitate and stake is hard enough, but Rose's real danger may lie in an illicit romance with one of her instructors...

My Rating: 3.9/5 Stars
Genre: Paranormal (Vampires), Romance, Young Adult

Season of the Witch by Natasha Mostert

In her award-winning novel, Mostert blends alchemy, the art of memory, high magic and murder to create a highly original psychological thriller. 

Gabriel Blackstone is a cool, hip, thoroughly twenty-first century Londoner with an unusual talent. A computer hacker by trade, he is also a remote viewer: able to 'slam a ride' through the minds of others. 

But he uses his gift only reluctantly ― until he is contacted by an ex-lover who begs him to find her step-son, last seen months earlier in the company of two sisters. 

And so Gabriel visits Monk House, a place where time seems to stand still, and where the rooms are dominated by the coded symbol of a cross and circle. 

As winter closes in, Gabriel becomes increasingly bewitched by the house, and by its owners, the beautiful and mysterious Monk sisters. But even as he falls in love, he knows that one of them is a killer.



My Rating: 4.1/5
Genre: Paranormal (Witches), Romance, Adult Fiction

Goodreads Link

Anna Dressed in Blood (Anna #1) by Kendare Blake

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. 

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead, keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay. 

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home. But she, for whatever reason, spares Cas's life.



My Rating: 4.4/5
Genre: YA, Dark Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Horror, Paranormal (Ghosts), Romance

Ebook, 387 pages 
Published August 30th 2011 by Tor Teen

The Infernal Devices by Cassandra Clare (Trilogy Review)

Step back in time with the Shadowhunters with this eBook collection of the New York Times bestselling Infernal Devices trilogy.

When 16-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London’s Downworld,where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos. Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What’s more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa’s power for his own. Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by — and torn between — two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm’s length . . . everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world… and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.”


Trilogy Rating: 5/5
Genres: Fantasy, Paranormal (Angels), Young Adult, Romance

Fallen (Fallen #1) by Lauren Kate with SPOILERS

What if the person you were meant to be with could never be yours? 

17-year-old Lucinda falls in love with a gorgeous, intelligent boy, Daniel, at her new school, the grim, foreboding Sword & Cross . . . only to find out that Daniel is a fallen angel, and that they have spent lifetimes finding and losing one another as good & evil forces plot to keep them apart. 

 Get ready to fall . . .

My Rating: 1.5/5
Genre: Fantasy, Paranormal (Angels)
Read sometime in 2010 



Hardcover, 1st Edition, 452 pages 
Published December 8th 2009 by Delacorte Press (first published 2009)

Legacy of Lies (Dark Secrets #1) by Elizabeth Chandler

Something is haunting Meghan...

She has seen Scarborough house only in her dreams. Now Meghan was here, visiting the grandmother she'd never met and her new-found cousin Matt, too handsome by far, who wanted her to disappear. Grandmother was so cold, so distant. Why did she finally reach out to Meghan after all these years? And why was Matt so determined to call her his "almost" cousin? For all her prophetic dreams, nothing could have prepared her for Matt's astonishment when he first saw her... or the reaction of perfect strangers who looked at her with fascination - and fear.   

Meghan thought she knew who she was. Until she came to Grandmother's house. Until she met Matt, who angered and attracted her as no boy had ever done before. Then she began having dreams again, of a life she never lived, a love she never knew... a secret that threatened to drive her to the grave.

Paperback, 182 pages
First Published October 1st 2000 by Simon PulseMy Rating: 4.5/5
Genres: Young Adult-Paranormal
Read from September 1 to 2, 2014

Daughter Of Smoke & Bone (Trilogy) by Laini Taylor

The Daughter of Smoke & Bone Trilogy is composed by three books: Daughter of Smoke and Bone, Days of Blood and Starlight, Dreams of Gods and Monsters. From master storyteller and National Book Award finalist Laini Taylor comes a sweeping and gorgeously written modern fantasy series about a forbidden love, an ancient and epic war and hope for a world remade.

My Rating: 4.9/5

Genres: Urban Fantasy, Young-Adult
Read from September 5 to 16, 2014

First published by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers

Forever (The Wolves of Mercy Falls #3) by Maggie Stiefvater

Then.

When Sam met Grace, he was a wolf and she was a girl. Eventually he found a way to become a boy and their love transformed from curious distance to the intense closeness of shared lives.

Now.
That should have been the end of their story. But Grace was not meant to stay human. Now she is a wolf. And the wolves of Mercy Falls are about to be hunted in one final, spectacular kill. 

Forever. 
Sam would do anything for Grace. But can one boy and one love change a hostile, predatory world? The past, the present and the future will all collide in one pure moment - a moment of death or life, farewell or forever. 

Paperback, 416 pages
First published July 12th 2011

My Rating: 2.5/5
Genres: Fantasy, Young-Adult
Read from 23 August to 26, 2014

Linger (Wolves of Mercy Falls #2) by Maggie Stiefvater

The longing.
Once Grace and Sam have found each other, they know they must fight to stay together. For Sam, this means a reckoning with his werewolf past. For Grace, it means facing the future that is less and less certain. 

The loss. 
Into their world comes a new wolf named Cole, whose past is full of hurt and danger. He is wrestling with his own demons, embracing the life of a wolf while denying the ties of a human. 

The linger. 
For Grace, Sam and Cole, life's a constant struggle between two forces - wolf and human - with love baring its two sides as well. It's harrowing and euphoric, freeing and entrapping, enticing and alarming. As their world falls apart, love is what lingers. But will it be enough?

Paperback, 384 pages
First Published January 1st, 2010 by Scholastic Inc.

My Rating:4.1/5
Genres: Fantasy, Young-Adult
Read from August 18 to 22, 2014

The Iron Queen (The Iron Fey #3) by Julie Kagawa

My name is Meghan Chase. 

I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, where behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron Fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from my banished prince who's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it. 

This time, there will be no turning back. 



Paperback, 358 pages 
Published January 25th 2011 by Harlequin Teen 



My Rating: 3.5/ 5
Genres: Fantasy, Young-Adult
Read from August 4 to 5, 2014

Shiver (Wolves of Mercy Falls #1) by Maggie Stifvater

For years, Grace has watched the wolves 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. 


Paperback, 392 pages
First published 1 August 2009 by Scholastic



My Rating: 3.1/5
Genres: Fantasy, Young-Adult
Read from August 14 to 17, 2014
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The Iron Daughter (The Iron Fey #2) by Julie Kagawa

Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the winter faery queen. As war looms  between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey - ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her.

Worse, Meghan's only fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor would be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.  

Paperback, 359 pages
First published January 1st by Harlequin Teen


My Rating: 3.8/5
Genres: Fantasy, Yound-Adult
Read from 2 August to 3, 2014
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Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea (Between #1) by April Genevieve Tucholke

You stop fearing the Devil when you're holding his hand... 

Nothing much exciting rolls through Violet White's sleepy, seaside town.. Until River West comes along. River rents the guest house behind Violet's crumbling estate, and as eerie, grim things start to happen, Violet begins to wonder about the boy living in her backyard.

Is River just a crooked-smiling liar with pretty eyes and a mysterious past? Or could he be something more?

Violet's Grandmother always warned her about the Devil, but she never said he could be a dark-haired boy who takes naps in the sun, who likes coffee, who kisses you in a cemetery... who makes you want to kiss back. 

Violet's already so knee-deep in love, she can't see straight. And that's just how River likes it. 

Blending faded decadance and the thrilling dread of gothic horror, April Genevieve Tucholke weaves a dreamy, twisting contemporary romance, as gorgeous told as it is terrifying - a debut to watch. 

Hardcover, 360 Pages
Published August 15th 2013 by Dial

My Rating: 4.5/5
Genres: Young Adult/Paranormal
Read from 10 August to 13, 2014
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Obsidian (Lux 1) by Jeniffer L. Armentrout

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access and a whole lot of boring... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things where looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something... unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like a Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don't kill him first, that is.

Paperback, 2nd Edition, 335 pages

Published May 8th 2012 by Entangled Teen (first published November 23rd 2011)

My Rating: 3.8/5

Genres: Young-Adult, Paranormal
Read from July 17 to 19, 2014
Get online in Alibris




THE REVIEW:



Well, it was ok. I had some problems at first with the fact that Daemon was acting quite like an asshole, and i was reluctant to see Kate's response to that. Plus, I LOVED the fact that this book had some small parts of trolling Twilight, i really ROFLEd when i came across them. 

“What are you? A vampire?”

He rolled his eyes “Are you serious?”

....

“Will you show me you what you really look like? You don’t sparkle, do you?”

Well, Daemon and Katie's relationship is really unique. It's obvious that beneath the surface they care for each other and more than that, there is something building up between them but they won't be in the same place without a quarrel at the least. I swear that after the hell of insults he gave her, i would burn the book if they ended up with a "happily ever after". I liked Kate's character and wits though, and the fact that she mistrusted his intensions in the end. Plus, she is a blogger!! She is a book lover!! How many times have you stumbled across a female character who has OTHER interests apart from her lovelife? [SPOILER] She has standards too, but that doesn't stop her from "heavily making out" with Daemon. [End of Spoiler] Plus, I am really bored stumbling across male characters who act like moral nuns strait from a monastery. Daemon? Yes, he is a "douchebag". Yes, he is an alien. And yes, he is a male who acts like a male and grabs any given chance to have fun. 

As about the other characters of the book there isn't much to say. I find Dee too naive for my tastes, though i  like that it's natural and not any kind of pretense. Ashe is bitchy tho the heart and annoying but we don't see her often - Katie, Daemon and Ashe shear a unique moment somewhere in the first chapters of the book [SPOILER] (Katie dumping her spaggeti on both of them in an act of annoyance and jealousy) [End of Spoiler] which made me laugh out loud for a long time. I really really REALLY like Lesa, her humor and straightforward-ness. Generally this book's characters act like normal teens, and they are alive down to the core.

What did cost this book the 4th star i would open handendly give to the raiting, is that for reasons that are still not overt to me it did not hold my interest to the end. So yes, it was not "thrilling". it was "ok".

The Iron King (The Iron Fey #1) by Julie Kagawa

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny; One she could never have imagined.

Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan's life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school or at home.

When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses than everything she's known is about to change.

But she never could have guessed the truth - that she's the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn to a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she'll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil, no faery creature dare face; and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

Paperback, 363 pages

Published February 1st 2010 by Harlequin Teen (first published January 1st 2009) 
My Rating: 3.5/5
Genre: Fantasy, Young-Adult
Read from July 25 to August 01, 2014
Order online in Alibris


THE REVIEW:

Overall, The Iron King by Julie Kagawa is a book i enjoyed reading. It has a very interesting storyline, that carried out well though it was based on the play A Midsummer Night's Dream. That alone made it a challenge, because.. ehm, Shakespeare is still Shakespeare and The Iron King is just another teen-arlekin-young-adult novel. Knowing that quality difference between the two i was not dissapointed. On the contrary, i admired the author who created a world i could not get enough of. That book made me wanna scream

[SPOILER]

What made me hesitant really, is the fact that there is a love triangle comprised by the main characters, Meghan, Ash and Puck/Robbie. And guess what? Love triangles are not my thing. What made me continue reading this is the fact that both boys have interesting story plot between them and the both have strong personalities which do make it difficult to choose between the two. None of the two is perfect (say hello, Twilight) without loosing the glamour of their faery nature.

Meghan was really getting on my nerves at first. Whiny, erratic and unable to get a hold on her daily problems - all being things i dislike. But as the book carried on, i got along with her because she changed to someone more focused, determined and mature.

[End of Spoiler]

Unfortunately the poor language Julie Kagawa used is what really let me down. My personal opinion is that a more... lyrical style of storytelling would be more fitting. It's based on "A Midsummer Night's Dream" after all. What kept me interested is the catching story, with its twists and turns that i wasn't expecting at all. Ashe, the brooding prince, Puck/Robin the prankster, Grimalkin the infuriating and lovable cat and Meghan made quite the team - I laughed, loved and cried with them and in the end i was caught in a bargain. I would go on with the second book of the series. And you know how unbreakable the faery bargains are! :) 

If you want to check out my reviews on the rest of the books in the series, click on the image below to be redirected:

The Unbecoming Of Mara Dyer (Mara Dyer #1) by Michele Hodkin

Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through she can fall in love.

She's wrong.

Paperback, 452 pages

Published October 23rd 2012 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers (first published September 27th 2011)

Personal Rating: 1/5
Genres: Young-Adult, Paranormal
Order online in Alibris


MY REVIEW:



Well, first of all, i was in deep thought rating this book. There were some little parts of it that were thrilling, but that was it. Starting with the good qualities

1) The parts that are meant to "scary", "terrify" or "trouble" the reader did make my hair stand up. 

2) Then, there are little twists in the plot i really liked. 

3) Promising theme and artwork on the cover. I was mistaken by judging this book from its beautiful cover. 

Moving on to the main body of this review. My main complaints are:

1) Difficulty to decipher the meaning of some of the dialogues. Period. I found that really annoying, it made me wonder if the american readers got easily through that part - because as an excellent speaker of british english, i lost the gist of it. 

2) What's going on with high-school drama these last After-Twilight years? I can see many resemblances, which upsets me. I personally think that Meyer's story did influence many others to become fans, readers and writers of the paranormal. But, not many do have the story-telling abilities of Stephenie Meyer. 

3) And then again, this book almost made me lose my interest with the pages spend on endless tell-tales of love and hate, between "him" and "her". Hey, hasn't anyone told you that this guy is spineless? It seemed like our hero had a taste for inadequate girls with lack of manners. We are lucky he didn't lick the soles of her shoes. 

4) Many parts of the story-line where not smoothly combined. I got the impression of someone who was in a hurry to finish a book, and just smashed in every pretty idea she had in her mind. 

Overall? It's a shame. I would not complain about the plot, or the guy's character if not for the last complaint i listed above. Sorry guys :) Hope we don't share the same point of view and you liked it/will like it if you read it.

Darkest Powers by Kelley Armstrong (Series Review)

The  Summoning (Darkest Powers #1)

My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again.

All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don't even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost - and the ghost saw me.

Now there are ghosts everywhere and they won't leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a "special home" for troubled teens. Yet the home isn't what it seems. Don't tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on? it's up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House...before its skeletons come back to haunt me.

Hardcover, 390 pages
Published July 1st 2008 by HarperCollins
Personal Rating: 4/5 

Genres: Young-Adult, Paranormal
Order online in Alibris

The Awakaning (Darkest Powers #2)

Chloe Saunders is on the run

and raising hell. Literally. 

Chloe Saunders is not your average supernatural teenager. Genetically altered at birth by a sinister team of scientists, she can barely control her terrifying powers. Now the team that created her has decided it's time to end the experiment. Permanently.

Now Chloe is running for her life along with a charming sorcerer, a troubled werewolf and a temperamental young witch. Together they have a chance for freedom - but can Chloe trust her new friends?

Hardcover, 360 pages
Published April 28th 2009 by HarperCollins
Personal Rating: 5/5
Genres: Young-Adult, Paranormal
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The Reckoning (Darkest Powers #3)

Chloe Saunders is fifteen and would love to be normal. Unfortunately, Chloe happens to be a genetically engineered necromancer who can raise the dead without even trying. She and her equally gifted (or should that be 'cursed'?) friends are now running for their lives from the evil corporation that created them.

As if that's not enough, Chloe is struggling with her feelings for Simon, a sweet-tempered sorcerer, and his brother Derek, a not so sweet-tempered werewolf. And she has a horrible feeling she's leaning towards the werewolf...

Definitely not normal.




Paperback, 391 pages
Published April 12th 2011 by HarperCollins
Personal Rating: 4/5
Genres: Young-Adult, Paranormal
order online in Alibris

TOTAL SERIES RATING: 4.3/5

... AND THE REVIEW :)

Hello there :) 

First of all, i have to say that this review belongs to the "Darkest Powers" series as a whole, as i could not judge the books as seperate individuals - the series has a strong feeling of continuity. But, as i didn't want to upset anyone, i marked the spoilers throughout the review. 

Starting off with the negatives:

1) This series lacks of depth of language and descriptions. Well, don't mistake that line as crazy off-road expectations but, the way it is right now, i had to put my galloping imagination into work so that i would fill in the gaps. And yet, the same boring words and expressions, into my face day after day. 

2) I wouldn't place it at the "Yound-Adult" range. I coped with it because in the age of 19, i still fancy bedtime stories. It probably should be addressed as "teen fantasy fiction", as it is absolutely suitable for readers who are in their early-mid teens.

... And moving to my fave part :)

1) Personally, i distaste the group of books which contains Twilight,  Hush, Hush and  Fallen. And probably that's why i stick with Darkest Powers and  The Mortal Instruments. I like it when the heroine is a quick thinker, who knows how to overcome obstacles even if she has her moments of self pity and hard self-critic. Yes, our journey starts with a rich, self centered and i-am-the-good-girl Chloe, but in the end, she shows us and finally admits that she changed. Still the rich girl, but her aims benefit the team, and when her beloved ones are in danger, she flashes some claws. 


[SPOILER]

2) Our Chloe does not fall for Mr Charming, who in our case, goes by Simon. Instead, she falls for the most unlikely choice: The not-so-pretty, moody and rude Derek. And its not the classic crap of "Love at first Sight" thing. At first, he ignored her. (as Derek confirms in Darkest Powers Bonus Pack 1 ). The feeling was almost mutual because she almost hated him. But, love knocked their door ONLY when they had faced their biggest problems together, and entirely accepted each other. Makes me think of Beauty and the Beast, and that's what makes me feel that this relationship is incompetent.

[END OF SPOILER]