The Vampire Diaries: The Awakening by L.J. Smith - Review

Well friends, this one isn't going to be pretty. I'll try and keep things short, sweet and to the point, but let me preface my review by letting you know that this was such a hard book for me to finish. I had to try so very hard not to quit this book midway through, but I wanted to finish it out and give it a chance.

"Insurgent" by Veronica Roth Exclusive Excerpt!

If you've read Divergent, the first in the popular series by Veronica Roth, it can be assumed that you are being driven crazy by the thought of having to wait until May 1st for book two, Insurgent. Well, this may be a little something to hold you over, or just make you more excited... either way it's pretty awesome!

Torn by Amanda Hocking - Review

As this second installment of the Trylle Novels is rereleased on February 28^th, I thought I’d reread and review this book to encourage some people to pick it up. This series by Amanda Hocking is creative, wonderful and hard to put down.

In Torn, book two, we again follow Wendy, the changeling and Trylle princess, on her adventures. This time though, Wendy gets herself and her friends in a little bit of a predicament. After fleeing the Trylle compound with her biological brother Rhys, she returns to her old home to see her adoptive family. Once there, she and her family members are captured by a different breed of troll and taken to a different compound, far away from their Minnesota home. Once there, Wendy begins to find out a lot more about herself and the past that Elora has lead her to believe was the truth. Without giving too much away, this book introduces us to a sort of love triangle? Square? Trapezoid? I’m not exactly sure which shape it creates but Wendy has to sort through some serious feelings as she has three different boys vying for her affections. As if that wasn’t enough, she must also make the choice between her duty and her own free will.

Vampire Shift (Kiera Hudson Series Book One) by Tim O'Rourke - Review

Lately, I’ve hit a bit of a slump in finding books that appealed to me. I’ve been staring books that I end up stopping because they don’t grab me, I don’t feel I can relate, it’s poorly written or all of the above. I recently read an article about Tim O’Rourke and how his books are said to rival Stephanie Meyer’s work. Needless to say, I was pretty intrigued and decided to check out Vampire Shift, the first in the Kiera Hudson series by Tim O’Rourke. The cover alone drew me in and after I began reading, I simply couldn’t put the book down.

Vampire Shift follows a 20-year-old Kiera who just graduated from the police academy. Upon graduation, she volunteers to be stationed in the small English town of The Ragged Cove. This costal town has a bad reputation for the number of murders that have been occurring over the past few years. Once she arrives in the town, she thinks that she may have gotten herself into a very strange situation. With her special gift of sight, she is a very thorough policewoman and she sees clues that no one else seems to be able to see. After her run-in with a vampire at her second crime scene, Kiera begins to question her fellow policemen and her own past. Complete with crucifixes, graveyards and holy water, this story will definitely have you guessing!

Hollowland by Amanda Hocking - Review

This was my first zombie book and let me say, I was a bit hesitant to start. I have no idea why, but the blood and gore associated with zombies freaked me out (which is a little strange considering my attraction to vampire stories…). With Hollowland, I once again put my faith in Amanda Hocking and I was not disappointed.

Hollowland follows Remy King on a quest across what is left of the future United States after a zombie disease took hold of much of America’s population. Remy and her unlikely friends including an ex Rock star, a medical student, and lion named Ripley, battle zombies on their way to find Remy’s brother. He's  been moved from their previous quarantine center to a safer location and they must fight through the wasteland that is the U.S. to reach saftey. Everyone knows that Remy’s brother is extremely sick and fragile but no one expects the truth… which you’ll have to read the book to find!

Divergent by Veronica Roth - Review

Wow. Honestly, I think that’s the only thing I can say after finishing this book. And even now, after being done, I don’t think I can write a review simply because I am currently on overload. I feel like I've just been running through the streets of future Chicago fighting my way to safety… but here goes!

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter - Review

Unlike many people, I’m a huge fan of the outpouring of fiction based on Greek Mythology after Rick Riordan’s Percy Jackson novels. I love the idea of retelling an age old story, but with a modern twist and this book was no exception.

The Goddess Test is about Kate, who has spent the majority of her life caring for her sick mother. Her mother’s last wish is to move home to where she grew up. Of course Kate agrees, but that means moving in the middle of high school to a place where she has no friends. Then, she meets Henry who is handsome, mysterious and tortured. The thing about Henry is that he claims that he is Hades, God of the Underworld. He offers Kate a deal, a deal that if she accepts; he will keep her mother alive… as long as she passes seven tests. Kate is positive that he's crazy... that is until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare - Review

I was a little slow on the uptake of The Mortal Instruments series; they came out before my policy of not taking one person’s negative opinion of a book into account before reading. Thus, City Of Bones sat on my shelf for a long while before I picked it up. Eventually, The Mortal Instruments became one of my favorite series.  Once I began reading Clockwork Angel, I soon fell in love with the characters and their world and I’m eagerly awaiting the next books in both of the series (like most of the YA fiction lovers of the world).

Carrier Of The Mark By Leigh Fallon - Review

After reading a few very positive reviews for this book, I was worried that my high expectations would ruin the book for me. As it turns out, Carrier Of The Mark met and exceeded my expectations and I couldn’t put the book down!

Fallon’s story follows a young American girl who moves to Ireland from the United States. She and her father have been moving around every few years since her mom passed away and she was hoping that this move might keep them in one place long enough for her to finish high school with some friends. Megan starts school and seems to be adjusting well to Irish life… that is until she sees Adam. Her draw to Adam is unlike anything she’s ever felt before and from his acts of clumsiness and constant staring, she believes that he is feeling the same way. Soon, Megan becomes entangled in a new life with a vast history in which she struggles to find her place.

Switched by Amanda Hocking -Review

Amanda Hocking is probably my favorite author of the moment. I’ve read the Trylle Series a few times but I decided that I needed to reread them and put them up on the blog to encourage anyone I could to read them! I’m doing so now because the Trylle series is being published in paperback this spring and so even if you don’t have an ereader, you’ll be able to enjoy these awesome stories.

Switched is the first book in a series of three (Torn and Ascend are the second and third installments of the Trylle books). This story follows Wendy who has never quite fit in with her family. The only one who seems to agree with her is her mother, who happened to try and kill her when she was six. Wendy soon finds out that she is in fact a troll, and not the type of troll you’re thinking of (bright pink hair and a rhinestone bellybutton came to mind). The Trylle are a tribe of trolls that are more or less humans that have abilities and are more in tune with nature. Wendy is thrown into a world where she is expected to act as royalty and forget the family that raised her. Of course there is a sexy male lead, Finn, who struggles with his duty to protect Wendy and his feelings for her. This book ends with a bang and will make you start on book two immediately!