Lurking In The Shadows

 

Expected Publication:  September 26th, 2013

Shadows

By: Robin McKinley

Nancy Paulsen Books

ISBN-13:  9780399165795

 

Maggie knows something’s off about Val, her mom’s new husband. Val is from Oldworld, where they still use magic, and he won’t have any tech in his office-shed behind the house. But—more importantly—what are the huge, horrible, jagged, jumpy shadows following him around? Magic is illegal in Newworld, which is all about science. The magic-carrying gene was disabled two generations ago, back when Maggie’s great-grandmother was a notable magician. But that was a long time ago.

Then Maggie meets Casimir, the most beautiful boy she has ever seen. He’s from Oldworld too—and he’s heard of Maggie’s stepfather, and has a guess about Val’s shadows. Maggie doesn’t want to know . . . until earth-shattering events force her to depend on Val and his shadows. And perhaps on her own heritage.

In this dangerously unstable world, neither science nor magic has the necessary answers, but a truce between them is impossible. And although the two are supposed to be incompatible, Maggie’s discovering the world will need both to survive.

Review

 

     It's Maggie's Senior Year of high school and she's determined to enjoy herself.  But with an extremely creepy new Stepfather who seems to be covered in shadows and may or may not be an illegal magician, Maggie is seriously stressed out.  When strange things begin happening and Maggie is drawn into them against her will, can she keep herself and her family safe?  Also, just what dangerous secrets have her friends been keeping from her.  And is magic really gone from her genes, or is Maggie more special than she ever imagined?
     I am a fan of Robin McKinley, but I like her best when she is writing high fantasy books such as her Damar novels The Blue Sword and The Hero and The Crown.  That said, I was excited to be able to read a new novel by her that sounded like a foray into contemporary magic.  This book was far more of an odd cross between science and the most tantalizing hints of magic that McKinley could write, without actually giving us the full-fledged kind I long for as a reader!  I disliked the way I was thrown into the odd terminology that McKinley seemed to have created from thin air.  I'm still not quite sure what cobeys and silverbugs are even a few days after I've finished reading the book.  I felt consistently lost and annoyed at the sink or swim feel of the world-building.  Things did get better as the book progressed, but I had some feelings of confusion up to the very end.  The differences between the different lands (Oldworld = magic, Newworld = science) were interesting and the choice to make one scientific governmentally and the other magical was intriguing.  It built the conflict for the majority of the book, but it wasn't a very active conflict until close to the ending.  Mostly the novel's conflict centers around Maggie and her much misunderstood Stepfather Val for a good portion, until the shit really starts to hit the fan when Maggie shows unexpected talents (won't say anything further on it!).   
     I think the strongest thing about this novel was the characters.  I really did not like Maggie all that much.  Yes, she was a strong protagonist.  But her colloquialisms (she said 'critters' instead of 'animals' and it made me want to axe-murder her so hard) got on my nerves and the innocence, bordering on downright stupidity of her mindset made me want to dropkick her a few times.  Her relationships with her best friends Jill and Takahiro were what saved her for me.  They were each strong, fleshed out characters on their own (Taks especially) and I enjoyed watching them come into their own.  Also the family dynamic between Maggie, her Mom, Val and her brother Ran was so realistic it made me cringe at some points in sympathy.  All of Maggie's animals also have distinctive personalities and my favorite in particular was a mysterious creature called Hix (untraditional to say the least).  The addition of origami as an important plot device was interesting and entirely unique.  I feel like all the action in this book happened in the last 75 pages or so and that didn't help me to enjoy it any more, as I already felt like it dragged and got confusing/boring for a fair bit.  The way it ended was decent in terms of wrapping up the main plots, but it still left things wide open for a sequel.  Especially in the case of Casimir, who is an afterthought of a character who only seems to exist as a romantic interest for Maggie and later on, Jill.  I would be interested in knowing his backstory which was pretty vague.  All in all, not one of my favorite reads of the year but I appreciate it's strength in characterization and ability to confuse the heck out of me!  I would recommend for fans of her more intricately detailed works, such as Pegasus and Sunshine.

VERDICT:  2.5/5  Stars

*I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie.  No favors or money were exchanged for this review.  This book's expected publication is September 26th, 2013.*

The Borderlands of Death and Life

Published:  October 9th, 2012
The Unfailing Light (Katerina # 2)
By: Robin Bridges
Delacorte Books for Young Readers
ISBN-13:  9780385908306

Having had no choice but to use her power has a necromancer to save Russia from dark forces, Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, now wants to forget that she ever used her special powers. She's about to set off to pursue her lifelong dream of attending medical school when she discovers that Russia's arch nemesis--who she thought she'd destroyed--is still alive. So on imperial orders, Katerina remains at her old finishing school. She'll be safe there, because the empress has cast a potent spell to protect it against the vampires and revenants who are bent on toppling the tsar and using Katerina for their own gains. But to Katerina's horror, the spell unleashes a vengeful ghost within the school, a ghost more dangerous than any creature trying to get in.

Review

 

     Katerina, Duchess of Oldenburg has used her necromancy to save all of Russia and the Tsar in particular.  But now she just wants to put it aside and go to medical school like she's always dreamed of, becoming a Doctor like her Father.  Katiya is forced to put her plans on hold when she finds out that Lich Tsar, Konstantin, is still alive and after the Tsar.  She is forced to return to the Smolny School and the Empress casts a spell to protect the school and keep all the girls from being able to leave without her say so.  The spell awakens something that has been dormant in the school for the better part of a century.  Now Katiya not only has to deal with the court intrigues and threat of Konstantin, but also the machinations of a violent spirit, who will stop at nothing to get what they want.  Even if that means murder is carried out.  Can Katiya find a way to save all the girls in the school, uncover the secret of the mysterious Germanic Princess Alix and protect the Tsar?  And what secrets are those closest to her keeping that have the power to destroy them all?

     I had absolutely loved the original premise of the first book in this series.  It was doing something that nothing else I've read recently in YA has gone in the direction of.  It combined Russian history with paranormal elements, but went further back past the Romanov dynasty.  The happenings of the this story are set about 20 years before the downfall of Imperial Russia and the line of Tsars.  But mostly its about a teenage girl, trying to find her place in a world of political intrigues, while struggling to come to terms with the dark powers within herself.  This sequel expands upon the first book, with a leisurely plot that stops just short of being meandering.  Katiya is vacationing in Greece with her Mother, Cousin and Aunt before going off to medical school in Zurich.  But a disturbing encounter with the Lich Tsar in the caves leads to her plans being put aside and being forced to return to her finishing school. 

      After the events of the previous book, we are told by Katiya that George (the son of the Tsar) has proposed to her a couple of times but she has refused him because of their opposite positions on the Light and Dark Courts.  I feel like the reasons for this and the differences between the types of vampires, fae and the existences of werewolves/shapeshifters were far more expanded and clarified in this book than the first one.  There was some play on the love triangle between Vampire Prince Danilo, George and Katiya but the majority of this book was centered around the struggles of the side characters like Princess Alix, Katiya's Brother Piotr and George himself with his descent into a secret order that might actually be treasonous and evil.  The storyline with the ghost in Smolny was a slow burn and for me it was pretty obvious as to her identity, but I did enjoy the exposition as to her motives/fate at the end of the book.  Also, the aspect of Katiya being able to pass into the land between life and death was really well drawn and interesting to me as a reader.  The revelation about her Mother was definitely NOT what I expected and I'm curious to see what Bridges does with it.  I do feel like there wasn't enough action to really know the direction book three will take, but I liked the easy pace of this one (I'm not in the majority here though I would assume).  Not a perfect sequel, but it keeps up the momentum of the series, if slightly directionless.  And I'll be reading the third one to see how it all ends!  Recommended for those looking for something completely different from the average YA paranormal read, historical or otherwise.

 

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

 

**No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.**

She's So High Above You

Expected Publication:  April 9th, 2013

The Rising (Darkness Rising # 3)

By: Kelley Armstrong

HarperCollins

ISBN-13: 9780061797088

Things are getting desperate for Maya and her friends. Hunted by the powerful St. Clouds and now a rival Cabal as well, they're quickly running out of places to hide. And with the whole world thinking they died in a helicopter crash, it's not like they can just go to the authorities for help.

All they have is the name and number of someone who might be able to give them a few answers. Answers to why they're so valuable, and why their supernatural powers are getting more and more out of control.

But Maya is unprepared for the truths that await her. And now, like it or not, she'll have to face down some demons from her past if she ever hopes to move on with her life. Because Maya can't keep running forever.

Old secrets are revealed and unexpected characters make a surprising return in this stunning conclusion to Kelley Armstrong's New York Times bestselling Darkness Rising trilogy.

Review

     Lets just start off with this statement: I am Armstrong's biggest fan for her other YA series, Darkest Powers.  That said, the first two books in this series had filler syndrome and mostly failed to impress me in any real lasting way.  I went into this one kind of fuzzy on the characters and happenings of her last novel, but it wasn't too difficult to refresh as it started right where the other one left off.  Maya, Daniel and Corey are still on the run from the St. Clouds and all of the rival Cabals who would like to use the kids to their own advantages.  With the rest of their friends either missing or kidnapped, time is running out for Maya and the boys to think up a solution and finally get some answers once and for all about who/what they are.  But can they all survive the journey to the answers?  I thought that this book wrapped up the series quite nicely and tied up all the loose ends.  My only major complaint stems from all of the terminology involving Cabals and their people.  I felt like I'd been dropped inside of a series I hadn't been reading from the start and while fans of her adult novels may have been familiar, I wasn't.  It was jarring to say the least.  Maya still seemed pretty cold as a character to me and the resolution to the love triangle between her, Daniel and Rafe surprised me but didn't make me jump for joy like in Darkest Powers with Simon, Chloe and Derek.  Speaking of my fave characters from the other series, it was wonderful to see them get some play in this conclusion because they way their series ended was fairly abrupt.  I know I felt like they still had stories to be told.  The action in this one is non-stop, which was a nice change from all of the build-up in the other two that left me antsy and bored as a reader more than once.  Overall, I wouldn't recommend this series to anyone who isn't a die-hard fan of Armstrong's but at the same time it was far from the worst I've read.  And this last book was definitely the strongest.  If you've read the other two books, you should finish the series to get some true closure! :)

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

*I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie. No favors or money were exchanged for this review. It will be available for purchase on April 9th, 2013*

The Moonlight Made You a Monster

Published: January 29th, 2013
Othermoon (Otherkin # 2)
By: Nina Berry
Kensington Teen
ISBN-13: 9780758276933

Everyone has secrets. I had no idea mine would lead me into shadow. Dez has found the place where she belongs. With the otherkin. With Caleb. Or so she thought. As the barriers between our world and Othersphere fall, a wall rises between Dez and Caleb, leaving her fiercest enemy her only friend. 

And maybe something more. 

Now Dez must make a devastating choice: keep the love of her life, or save the otherkin from annihilation.

Review

     Dez is hoping life might head in the direction of normal - at least for a little while.  After rescuing Siku, a fellow shifter and friend, from the Tribunal with the rest of their friends she just wants a break.  But then a stranger breaks in  and steals her DNA, and her Mom is possessed by something from the Othersphere - something that just may be Dez's birth mother.  Forced to go on the run again, Dez returns to Morphael's school so that they can make a plan to stop the Tribunal from wiping out all the otherkin in one attack.  But can Dez and her friends stop a particle accelerator or is that too big for the teens?  And will Dez be able to do the right thing for the damaged Lazar and keep her relationship with Caleb from crumbling?  I went into this with very high hopes, having really loved the first book.  I was disappointed.  Dez has almost no character development, shows signs of idiotic martyr syndrome, and moons over Caleb who treats her like dirt for most of the book.  Not that she's perfect either, as she persists in lying to him about anything involving his enemy, half-brother Lazar.  I thought that the only one who really showed any development was Lazar, who became a truly interesting and layered character in this book.  November and Siku's relationship wasn't a surprise, and Arnaldo's family issues were just another situation for Dez to meddle in when she should have kept out of it.  I was surprised by London and Amaris' relationship and how close they became, but it was extremely sweet.  It almost made up for the emotionally unstable train-wreck that Dez and Caleb were building throughout the book as I watched in horror.  The plot itself felt like a less thought-out redux of the first book, with them trying to stop the bad guys against all odds.  And the revelations about Dez's birth mother and her true origins were kind of 'blah.'  Ximon became even more one-dimensional as a villain, with even more evil deeds being added to his greatest hits.  But I am still holding out hope for the next book and thinking that maybe Nina Berry just succumbed to the disease that seems to plague YA authors.....the dreaded sophomore syndrome!  Overall, not what I would have liked to read but better than a lot of second books in series that I've read in the past.

VERDICT:  2.5/5  Stars

* I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book was published January 29th, 2013.*

Necromancing My Heart

Published:  September 18th, 2012
Necromancing the Stone (Necromancer # 2)By: Lish McBride
Henry Holt & Company
ISBN-13:   9780805090994

With the defeat of the evil Douglas behind him, Sam LaCroix is getting used to his new life. Okay, so he hadn’t exactly planned on being a powerful necromancer with a seat on the local magical council and a capricious werewolf sort-of-girlfriend, but things are going fine, right?

Well . . . not really. He’s pretty tired of getting beat up by everyone and their mother, for one thing, and he can’t help but feel that his new house hates him. His best friend is a werebear, someone is threatening his sister, and while Sam realizes that he himself has a lot of power at his fingertips, he’s not exactly sure how to use it. Which, he has to admit, is a bit disconcerting.

But when everything starts falling apart, he decides it’s time to step up and take control. His attempts to do so just bring up more questions, though, the most important of which is more than a little alarming: Is Douglas really dead?

Review

 

     Sam is just starting to adjust to life in Douglas' mansion, dealing with being a member of the local council and getting a grip on his necromancing powers.  He is finally starting to move past the horror of his fight with Douglas and all the pain the other man caused - but he's dead now, so it's over...right?  With a betrayer inside Sam's close knit circle, it isn't long before the shit starts to hit the fan again.  When strange things start happening and the people he loves begin to be threatened, Sam starts to question if he actually killed Douglas completely.  And if not, how do you destroy a ghost once and for all?  I was really excited for this book after the hilarity and overall fun of the first one.  I wasn't disappointed and the book drops you in right where Hold Me Close, Necromancer left off.  Sam is living in Douglas' house, using his wealth to make his friends' lives better.  And to hopefully make up for all the pain his secret powers have caused everyone.  His relationship with Brid is starting to feel more serious and the disapproval of the pack isn't standing in their way, but it is making Sam uncomfortable.  James, the personal servant of Douglas, is having trouble switching allegiances and is making things difficult for Sam, encouraging the other inhabitants of the property to make his life hellish.  These inhabitants include garden gnomes, a fierce warrior race, with names like The Darkness Known as Mittens, Gnome ChompSky, Chauncey the Devourer of Souls, Gnoman Polanski, and Chuck the Norriser.  Also, there is a minotaur and some nymphs who like to party.  My personal favorite was the pygmy chupacabra named Taco that becomes Sam's pet!  I liked the buildup between James and Sam's sister Haley, it was very sweet. 

     My main disappointment was the devillainization of Douglas at the end of the book to make him seem more sympathetic and human.  It just didn't ring true with the rest of the book.  I mean for chrissakes, the man has a zombie Keanu Reeves as HIS MINION!!!  The romance between Brid and Sam, with it's manufactured agnst at the death of her Father was ridiculous and the distrust she suddenly had for Sam was hard to swallow.  Overall this managed to avoid second book syndrome with some fairly clever dialogue, interesting new characters and decent plot twists.  But it did end up being somewhat mediocre compared to the series' stunning debut.

 

P.S.  The extra half star in the rating is courtesy of Thunder Gnome.  It made me laugh so hard I almost cried.

 

VERDICT:  3.5/5  Stars

 

*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores, online, or maybe even at your local library.*

Kinfolk, But Not By Blood...

Published: July 31st, 2012

Otherkin (Otherkin # 1)

By: Nina Berry

Kensington

ISBN-13: 9780758276919

I thought I knew myself. Then I met Caleb.

Dez is a good girl who does as she’s told and tries not to be noticed.
Then she rescues a boy from a cage, and he tells her secrets about herself.
Now inside her burns a darkness that will transform her.

Everything is about to change -- and neither Caleb, nor the Otherkin, nor those who hunt them are prepared for what Dez will unleash.

Review

   Desdemona (better known as Dez by her friends and family) has a loving Mom and Step-Dad, great friends and a safe home.  Plus the boy that she's been crushing on has just noticed her, although her back brace makes it kind of humiliating on top of the excitement she feels.  Then Dez shapeshifts into a tiger for the first time and all Hell breaks loose.  She's shot, kidnapped and stuck inside a cage by an organization called the Tribunal who wants to eliminate all shifters.  But she manages to escape, rescuing Caleb the boy in the cage next to hers on the way out.  It turns out that Dez is Otherkin and is able to tap into her shifter form due to an alternate dimension known as the Othersphere.  Forced to go into hiding at a special school for Otherkin teenagers, Dez and Caleb (who is actually able to call up the shadow in other objects and control it, but not shift himself) slowly begin to make ties with the other shifters, even though their clans are very stand-offish and self-serving.  But when the Tribunal attacks the school itself and the school's leader, Morfael, is wounded and other students captured it will be up to Dez, Caleb and the others that are left to face the Tribunal head on for a change.  Can they work together in time to save the clans from starting a war on each other?  And what explosive secrets is Caleb hiding that will change everything?

     I have been trying to steer clear of shifter/vampire/werewolf/fairy/angel, etc. fiction as of late because it always seems to disappoint my expectations.  This book pleasantly surprised me!  I liked Dez from the start, even if she is a little bit whiny about the back brace.  But the book got into the action right away pretty much, with Dez being forced to deal with a supernatural world underneath her own.  And yes, she's pissed off and bewildered.  But she's also strong, kick-ass and take names which lends to my liking of her.  She rolls with punches very well, especially with a tradition of wishy-washy YA heroines trailing behind her.  I liked that this book had some major set-up for the rest of the series, but also had a lot of action sequences to break up the monotony.  The tentative friendships between the kids from each Clan, who had been pre-conditioned to dislike and distrust each other their whole lives, very realistic.  When the shit hits the fan, those beginning steps almost get thrown from the window until Dez steps up and decides to take on the Tribunal.  It had a Percy Jackson vibe, but with shapeshifters.  The one thing I could have done without was the unnecessary romance between Dez and Caleb.  But it was easily ignored and for that I was grateful.  I just hope the next book bypasses the usual Supe love triangle.  Here's hoping! :)

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book was published July 31st, 2012.*

Not So Crazy For You

Expected Publication: November 27th, 2012
Wild About You (Love At Stake # 13)
By: Kerrelyn Sparks
Avon Books
ISBN-13: 9780062107718

The thirteenth book in the Love at Stake series features Howard Barr, the were-bear!
Handsome Howard…Hunky Howard… Hot Howard…

It’s not every day that Elsa Bjornberg feels fragile, not when she hosts a home renovation show where she can effortlessly demolish a kitchen. But from the moment she meets Howard Barr, this bear of a man makes her feel like a woman. And the way he looks at her, as if she was a pot of honey he’d like to lick…

Howard is not like most men. For one thing, he’s a shapeshifter. And he always thought his celebrity crush would never amount to anything more than drooling at Elsa on the TV. When his meddling vampire employer gets involved, the star is suddenly within his grasp—and within a hair of her life. For an ancient curse forbids their newfound love, and Howard is suddenly torn between his desire for her and his desire to keep her alive.

Review

 

   Howard Barr is leading a fairly solitary life, but even he gets lonely watching all his friends marry off and have kids.  Right now he's focused on revenge for Rhett Bleddyn for killing his first love and getting him banished from his home for two decades.  He won't stop until Rhett's career, place as werewolf packmaster and underhanded embezzlement are stopped once and for all.  Meanwhile, Elsa Bjornberg has come to the Dragon Nest Academy where he is a security guard to do renovations on the building next door.  Sparks fly from the very first touch and their family histories may just be inextricably linked.  But can they manage to fight an ancient curse that threatens to keep them apart?  This book was one that I was really excited to read.  I loved Howard in the other books and the series has managed to keep momentum pretty well up until now.  I was majorly disappointed.  I like fluff as much as the next person, but this book felt like it had no plot and zero real romance.  Howard and Elsa are both focused on each other's looks above all else and she is absolutely unable to see past the fact that he's a were-bear, which is not synonymous with MONSTER.  I felt really frustrated at how weak-minded Elsa was and how easily she let others talk her into questioning the fact that Howard was harmless and a good guy.  The epiphany she has to that effect felt seriously fake and forced.  Also, Howard's desperation to be with Elsa and then pushing her away for her protection (at the very end of the book almost), as a basic afterthought was dumb.  I liked the parts with Tino and Shanna was amusing, if annoying.  Her Aunts were insufferable and the way they change their minds at the end with no convincing was very weak.  But Howard and Elsa's "romance" did absolutely nothing for me.  So utterly contrived and without any appeal for me.  I hope the next one is better. 

 

VERDICT:  2.5/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via Edelweiss.  No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is November 27th, 2012.*



Gather Round the Poison Tree

Expected Publication: July 10th, 2012
Poison Tree
By: Amelia Atwater-Rhodes
Random House Children's Books
ISBN-13: 9780385737548

The rich stew of the author's creations—SingleEarth, vampires, shapeshifters, Tristes, the Bruja Guilds—are at full boil here in the story of two 20-ish young women trying to out run their very different pasts, and figure out where they fit in and who they might become. Each has landed in a more "normal" place, and each wonders if, like a tattoo that can't be covered up, they can ever really fit into "normal."

Review

   The book starts off with a prologue that introduces our main characters all at once - then they are separated for half the book until reuniting and not always recognizing one another.  Sarik is a shapeshifting Tiger, who escaped her brutal clan after the murder of her human sister by their Father.  Christian and Alysia are a part of a Bruja Guild - assassins with a strange, complex code of honor.  Jason is a vampire once ensalved to his maker.  Just a few years later Sarik and Jason are part of SingleEarth, a humanitarian organization for supernatural creatures, Alysia is a mediator for SingleEarth on the run from a bounty by Bruja and all of them collide.  Then someone attempst to harm Alysia and she is forced back into the harsh world of the Bruja.  In trying to save two children of her kind, Sarik may have to face the one person she would do anything to forget - her Father.  And what will Christian do know that he is a Triste witch in training, after Alysia reveals her true reasons for leaving Bruja?  Can all of them survive the political and personal intrigues long enough to make it out alive?  I have read EVERY SINGLE BOOK that Amelia Atwater-Rhodes has ever written.  ALL OF THEM.  I loved each of them equally madly, up until the publication of All Just Glass, a sequel to Shattered Mirror written almost a decade after the first book.  It was truly subpar, not at ALL in keeping with the feel of the original book.  Then come an ARC for this book, which I decided to try because it's in her universe that I already know.  This book is NOT teen oriented like the summary would have you believe, despite being published by Random House's Children's Division.  It was all about adults and their complicated, messy, political intrigues.  Half the time I had no clue what the heck was even going on because of how convoluted the plot became.  In trying to tell overly complicated stories for four separate characters, Atwater-Rhodes succeeded in making them all two-dimensional and superficial.  I felt like I never truly got to know any of them, not even Sarik or Alysia who have most of the novel focus.  I felt like SingleEarth was debased by being used as a plot device instead of a living, breathing setting with it's own stories.  It just served to move the story elsewhere with it's presence.  I am truly disappointed by the fact that the author seems to have decided to "spice up" her writing when it was perfect the way it used to be.  In my honest opinion it's not an improvement.

VERDICT:  2/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is July 10, 2012.*

Not Written In The Stars...

Expected Publication: May 22nd, 2012

Fated (Soul Seekers # 1)

By: Alyson Noel

St. Martin's Press

ISBN-13: 9780312664855

The first book in a magnificent new series about a girl who can navigate between the worlds of the living and the dead by #1 New York Times bestselling author Alyson Noël.

Lately strange things have been happening to Daire Santos. Animals follow her, crows mock her, and glowing people appear out of nowhere. Worried that Daire is having a nervous breakdown, her mother packs her off to stay in the dusty plains of Enchantment, New Mexico with a grandmother she’s never met.

There she crosses paths with Dace, a gorgeous guy with unearthly blue eyes who she’s encountered before...but only in her dreams. And she’ll get to know her grandmother—a woman who recognizes Daire’s bizarre episodes for what they are. A call to her true destiny as a Soul Seeker, one who can navigate between the worlds of the living and the dead. Her grandmother immediately begins teaching her to harness her powers—but it’s an art that must be mastered quickly. Because Dace’s brother is an evil shape-shifter who’s out to steal her powers. Now Daire must embrace her fate as a Soul Seeker and find out if Dace is one guy she’s meant to be with...or if he’s allied with the enemy she’s destined to destroy.

Review

   Daire Santos has lived with her single mother for her entire life, because her Father died before she was born and his mother, her Grandma, disappeared.  But now that Daire has turned sixteen, her Mother's free-wheeling traveling lifestyle has become too much for her - or so it seems.  On the surface it appears that Daire is suffering from a break with reality and her mental health is in jeopardy.  But in reality she is the newest in a long line of soul seekers, able to navigate between the worlds of the living and the dead.  Now she is sent to live with her long-lost Grandma and learn to control her powers before it's too late.  Not everyone wants her to succeed, including the family of evil shape-shifters living in town.  Also, Daire forges a connection with Dace, a boy she's seen only in her dreams.  Can she discover her allies and manage to stand against the evil threatening to destroy her?  Or will Daire be consumed by it?  I will admit that I went into this ambivalently, expecting the worst on a subconscious level.  I have read exactly one and a half books by Alyson Noel, because I couldn't stand the direction of her Immortals series after the first book.  So, I was wary.  I ended up liking Daire and admiring her stubborn nature (much like my own) and wishing that I had a Grandma as cool as hers.  Every other character in the novel fell flat for me.  This book had far too much setup for my tastes and it left me feeling disconnected.  The powers that Daire struggled with felt a little too vague for my mind to comprehend and I was disappointed by how little time was spent on action versus romance and boring trivialities.  The mythology of the Native American tribes was at various times over and under utilized. I probably won't read the next book in the series.  It wasn't a horrible book, certainly not the worst I've ever read, but it was far from the best as well.

VERDICT:  2.75/5  Stars

*I received an Advanced Reading Copy from the publisher, via LibraryThing. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is May 22nd, 2012.*

 

The Dawn of A New Era

Published: October 11th, 2011
Awake at Dawn
By: C.C. Hunter
St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN-13: 9780312624682


Now that she’s settled in at Shadow Falls Camp, Kylie Galen’s determined to discover the extent of her supernatural abilities. But with a ghost insisting someone Kylie loves is about die, a rogue vampire on a murdering rampage, and her sixth sense telling her someone is watching her, Kylie’s quest for answers is quickly put on hold.

To make matters worse, just when she’s about to give her heart to Derek, a half-fairy, he starts pulling away. When Lucas, a werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past, returns, Kylie’s feels more conflicted than ever. Her weekend with her mom should have been the just the break Kylie needs, but it turns out to be her breaking point. Someone from the dark side of the supernatural world has plans for Kylie--and it'll take all her resources to get back to Shadow Falls alive...

Review

   Kylie has finally begun to settle in at Shadow Falls, but she still feels like she doesn't quite belong.  Still unsure of what supernatural subcategory she belongs in, Kylie feels at loose ends.  She still has her friends Della and Miranda to try and help her figure it out.  Also, Kylie has decided to search for her birth father Daniel's biological parents, by finding his adoptive ones.  She's having a hard time tracking them down though.  Derek is confusing her and Lucas is still on her mind even though he's gone.  Kylie is also getting creeped out because someone's been following her and she has no idea who it is.  When she starts growing up and out overnight, she freaks out.  Her new super-strength is a little much to process.  Holliday is desperately trying to find funding to keep the camp open while rebuffing offers from Burnett, the vampire that she shares a mutual attraction with.  Kylie is in constant conflict, trying to keep the peace between her best friends Miranda (a witch) and Della (a vampire).  Oh and her cat Socks keeps getting transformed into a skunk - don't ask.  Her best friend from home, Sara, is ignoring her and she doesn't know why.  There's also a ghost trailing her, warning her that "she'll die if you don't save her."  Will Kylie find her grandparents, learn what she is and be able to save 'her', whoever that may be?  I did enjoy this book and I honestly loved the change in Kylie's relationship with her Mom (although the 180 did give me a little bit of whiplash).  The things that really bogged this book down for me were the constant crying jags, misunderstandings with Derek, problems (mean insults) between Della and Miranda, and the general angstiness of the book overall.  It definitely has sequel syndrome, but it kept me reading despite that.  I am going to read the next book and would still recommend the series to newcomers.

VERDICT:  3/5  Stars

*No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book is now available in stores and online.*