{Book Review}: Spellcaster by Cara Lynn Shultz

Title: Spellcaster
Author: Cara Lynn Shultz Website | Twitter
Stand Alone or Series: Spellbound, #2
Genre: YA Fiction/Paranormal Romance
Publisher: HarlequinTeen (March 27th 2012)
Hardcover: 384 pages
ISBN:  9780373210503 
Source: NetGalley*
Available On: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | TheBookDepository | Kindle | Nook

Description from GoodReads:
Finding your eternal soulmate - easy. 

Stopping a true-love-hungry evil - not so much… 

After breaking a centuries-old romantic curse, Emma Connor is (almost) glad to get back to normal problems. Although...it's not easy dealing with the jealous cliques and gossip that rule her exclusive Upper East Side prep, even for a sixteen-year-old newbie witch. Having the most-wanted boy in school as her eternal soul mate sure helps ease the pain-especially since wealthy, rocker-hot Brendan Salinger is very good at staying irresistibly close.... 

But something dark and hungry is using Emma and Brendan's deepest fears to reveal damaging secrets and destroy their trust in each other. And Emma's crash course in über-spells may not be enough to keep them safe…or to stop an inhuman force bent on making their unsuspected power its own.

My Review

First Impressions: I enjoyed Spellbound and thus was excited about book #2.


Plot & Characters: One of the things I enjoyed the most about Spellbound was Emma's sense of humor and it was not the same in Spellcaster. Although I enjoyed it, it just didn't seem that different from the 1st book. Emma and Brendan fight for their love against a psycho[path, everything seems hopeless but their love and determination win in the end. I just wanted less predictable. I enjoyed it but expected more.


Final Thoughts: An ok series for those who enjoy YA Paranormal Romance. I will read the next on just to see where the story goes.


Buy, Borrow or Skip: Borrow, you can always buy later if you love it. :)


My Rating:

{Book Review}: Above by Leah Bobet

Title: Above
Author: Leah Bobet Website | Twitter
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Genre: YA Fantasy
Publisher: Arthur A. Levine Books  (April, 2012)
Hardcover: 368 pages
ISBN:  9780545296700 
Source: Publisher
Available On: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | TheBookDepository | Kindle | Nook
Description from GoodReads:

Matthew has loved Ariel from the moment he found her in the tunnels, her bee’s wings falling away. They live in Safe, an underground refuge for those fleeing the city Above—like Whisper, who speaks to ghosts, and Jack Flash, who can shoot lightning from his fingers.
But one terrifying night, an old enemy invades Safe with an army of shadows, and only Matthew, Ariel, and a few friends escape Above. As Matthew unravels the mystery of Safe’s history and the shadows’ attack, he realizes he must find a way to remake his home—not just for himself, but for Ariel, who needs him more than ever before.

My Review

First Impressions: Above sounds like a fun read full of adventure and wonderful characters. It sounds different from anything that I have read.


Plot & Characters: I wanted to love this book but I was completely confused at the beginning. The book is written to reflect Mathew's background. He lacks a proper education so he is missing words, or just strange structure in his sentences. I found the writting style interesting but had difficulty understanding. It brought to mind me the book Room by Emma Donoghue not in the subject matter but in the writing style since Room is told by a child.


After a few chapters I was able to relate to Matthew and understand him. However, I was not able to get into the story and found it difficult to finish this book. Above is more the story of individuals that are trying to find a place where they belong than a story about supernatural creatures and their adventures. 


Final Thoughts: This is one of those book that you will either love or hate. If you enjoy books that are written in creative ways then this may be the book for you. If you are looking for a fun read where you will read the adventures of the beautiful bee girl in the cover of this book then read the synopsis again because the cover is deceiving. I think the cover is beautiful but a bit misleading.


Buy, Borrow or Skip: I would say borrow for this one. 


My Rating:

{Review}: Halflings by Heather Burch

Title: Halflings
Author: Heather Burch Website | Twitter
Stand Alone or Series: (Halflings, #1)
Genre: YA Fiction/Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Zonderkidz (January, 2012)
Hardcover: 287 pages
ISBN: 9780310728184
Source: *NetGalley
Available On: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | TheBookDepository | Kindle | Nook

Description from GoodReads:

After being inexplicably targeted by an evil intent on harming her at any cost, seventeen-year-old Nikki finds herself under the watchful guardianship of three mysterious young men who call themselves halflings. Sworn to defend her, misfits Mace, Raven, and Vine battle to keep Nikki safe while hiding their deepest secret—and the wings that come with.
A growing attraction between Nikki and two of her protectors presents a whole other danger. While she risks a broken heart, Mace and Raven could lose everything, including their souls. As the mysteries behind the boys’ powers, as well as her role in a scientist’s dark plan, unfold, Nikki is faced with choices that will affect the future of an entire race of heavenly beings, as well as the precarious equilibrium of the earthly world.

My Review

First Impressions: Talk about an action packed start. In the first pages Nikki is chased by hell hounds.


Plot & Characters: Not one, not two but three supernatural mysterious guys. Mace, Raven, and Vine are trying to find out what it is about Nikki that causes the forces of darkness to want her dead. I enjoyed the love triangle, the strong female character and learning about the history and role of Halflings. The mysterious villain is someone I wish to learn more about in the next installment of this series.


There are many parts where you can predict what will happen next and wonder why it is taking the character so long to figure things out. There are other parts where you are left wondering and trying to figure out what is going on. The writing is good but I just don't feel that Halflings offers anything different from the rest of the YA angel paranormal romance novels that are out there. I enjoyed it and will read the next one mostly because I want to find out more about the villain.


Final Thoughts: If you are a hard core YA paranormal romance reader that cannot get enough  love triangles, mysterious bad boys, "I love you but It's better if we are not together" conflict and demon fighting angels then you will enjoy Halflings.


Buy, Borrow or Skip: Borrow for now, I really have to see where this story is going. The first book was good but nothing stood out.


My Rating:

Book Trailer: 


*Thanks Zondervan and Netgalley for giving me the chance to read Halflings prior to its release in exchange for an honest review.

{Book Review}: Tempest by Julie Cross

Title: Tempest 
Author: Julie Cross Website | Twitter
Stand Alone or Series: Tempest, #1
Genre: YA Fiction/Sci-fi
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin  (January 17th 2012)
Hardcover:  334 pages
ISBN:  9780312568894 
Source: For honest review from publisher
Available On: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | TheBookDepository | Kindle | Nook

Description from GoodReads:

The year is 2009. Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.
That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.
Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.
But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler. Recruit… or kill him.
Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

My Review

First Impressions: I am not an usual reader of this genre but the idea of time-traveling and the motives of trying to save the girl he loves pulled me in to read this book.


Plot & Characters: Jackson is trying to live a normal life and control his time-traveling abilities. That all changes when his girlfriend is shot and he finds himself stuck in the past. 


I enjoyed the adventure Tempest takes you on. However, I was not able to relate to the characters or understand how their world worked. Especially when it came to the rules of time travel I have no clue how they work. I was constantly having to go back and forth trying to figure out what year it was. There were other aspects that were a little hard for me to believe like his friends Adams incredible knowledge.


The pulling force in this story is Jackson's want to save Holly's life. This is what made me want to read this story. Yet, I found their relationship weak and at times a bit strange. 


Final Thoughts: The adventure and suspense where great but the story and character development were a bit weak for my taste. The only other time-traveling story I read was The Time Traveler's Wife and Tempest was very different so I can't compare it. It could be that I am not an usual reader of this genre or that it lacked the romance or connection between Jackson and Holly for me to give this a higher rating. 


Buy, Borrow or Skip: Borrow unless you enjoy action packed sci-fi thrillers and are not looking for the romance between the characters.


My Rating:

Book Trailer:

{Review}: Overbite by Meg Cabot

Title: Overbite
Author: Meg Cabot Website | Twitter
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Harper Collins
Hardcover: 278 pages
ISBN: 9780061735103
Source: Library
Available on: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | TheBookDepository

Description from GoodReads:

Meena Harper has a special gift, but it's only now that anyone's ever appreciated it. The Palatine Guard — a powerful secret demon-hunting unit of the Vatican — has hired her to work at their new branch in Lower Manhattan. With Meena's ability to predict how everyone she meets will die, the Palatine finally has a chance against the undead. 
Sure, her ex-boyfriend was Lucien Antonescu, son of Dracula, the prince of darkness. But that was before he (and their relationship) went up in flames. Now Meena's sworn off vampires for good ... at least until she can prove her theory that just because they've lost their souls doesn't mean demons have lost the ability to love. 
Meena knows convincing her co-workers — including her partner, über-demon-hunter Alaric Wulf — that vampires can be redeemed won't be easy ... especially when a deadly new threat seems to be endangering not just lives of the Palatine, but Meena's friends and family as well. 
But Meena isn't the Palatine's only hope. Father Henrique — aka Padre Caliente — New York City's youngest, most charming priest, has also been assigned to the case. 
So why doesn't Meena — or Alaric — trust him? 
As she begins unraveling the truth, Meena finds her loyalties tested, her true feelings laid bare ... and temptations she never even imagined existed, but finds impossible to resist. 
This time, Meena may finally have bitten off more than she can chew.

My Review:
Let me begin by saying that I love Meg Cabot's books and really enjoyed Insatiable. I just have no idea what happened with Overbite.


*Contains Spoilers for Insatiable*


Overbite begins where Insatiable left off. Meena is now working for the Palatine. She is still set on staying away from vampires, especially one handsome/ son of Dracula / Prince of Darkness, Lucien. It might not be so simple to stay away from him. When an old boyfriend reappears and wants more than to see how she is doing she is once again in the middle of a mystery and forced to bring Lucien back into her life.


Overbite is missing the passion and romance of Insatiable. I was expecting the romance and fun narration of Insatiable and I just did not get it in Overbite.


*Overbite Spoilers*


I see that Meg chose the healthy choice for Meena but I just did not see the romance between Alaric and Meena. The plot was also not very interesting. It was nice to see more of Lucien's past. I just don't understand the point if it ended the way it did. 


Recommended if you want to read a book about a girl who chooses to listen to her head and not her heart.


Book Trailer:

{Review}: ARC Between the Sea and Sky by Jaclyn Dolamore

Title: Between the Sea and Sky
Author: Jaclyn Dolamore Website | Twitter
Genre: Fantasy/YA Fiction
Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books
Hardcover:  240 pages
ISBN: 9781599904344
Source: Good Choice Reading Book Tour
Available on: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | TheBookDepository

Description from GoodReads:
For as long as Esmerine can remember, she has longed to join her older sister, Dosinia, as a siren--the highest calling a mermaid can have. When Dosinia runs away to the mainland, Esmerine is sent to retrieve her. Using magic to transform her tail into legs, she makes her way unsteadily to the capital city. There she comes upon a friend she hasn't seen since childhood--a dashing young man named Alandare, who belongs to a winged race of people. As Esmerine and Alandare band together to search for Dosinia, they rekindle a friendship . . . and ignite the emotions for a love so great, it cannot be bound by sea, land, or air.


My Review:
Mermaids are slowly becoming my favorite paranormal creature. Jaclyn Dolamore does a great job at creating a magical world where not only do mermaids exist but so does a race of winged people and they interact with humans on a daily basis. I would have liked to see more of the winged people's traditions like we see with the mer-people. 


Between the Sea and Sky takes us on a journey to find Dosinia (Esmerine's sister), and discover if the love Esmerine and Alandare share is strong enough to keep them together. 


Esmerine is a strong determined girl that will go through a lot including physical pain ( it hurts her to walk on land) to assure that her sister is well. She is also in a constant struggle with what she feels like doing and what she should do. She wants to be on land and read and be with Alandare but at the same time she loves the sea and cannot imagine not being able to go back. It made me feel a bit sad because I could not imagine how they would be able to be together.


I absolutely loved the idea that Esmerine and Alandare's love for books brings them together. I like that Jaclyn made them childhood friends because the story does not allow them to really get to each other but it makes sense if they already did and are just rekindle-ling that friendship and turning it into love. 


An entertaining and different take on a mermaid fairy tale. The ending was not much of surprise. You can see how it is going to end but that does not deter it from being quite enjoyable. 


Recommended for those who enjoy fairy tales. 

{Review}: Night Star by Alyson Noel

Title: Night Star (The Immortals, #5)
Author: Alyson Noel  Website | Twitter
Genre: YA Fiction/ Paranormal Romance
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin (November, 2010)
Hardcover: 302 pages
ISBN: 9780312590987
Source: Library
Available on: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | TheBookDepository

Description from GoodReads:

After fighting for centuries to be together, Ever and Damen’s future hinges on one final showdown that will leave readers gasping for breath. Don’t miss this explosive new installment of the #1 bestselling series that’s enchanted millions across the world! 
Haven still blames Ever for the death of her boyfriend Roman, no matter how hard Ever’s tried to convince her it was an accident. Now she’s determined to take Ever down…and destroy Damen and Jude along the way. Her first step is to tear Ever and Damen apart—and she has just the ammunition to do it. 
Hidden in one of Ever’s past lives is a terrible secret about Damen—a secret that illuminates new facts about her relationship with Jude, but that’s so dark and brutal it might be enough to drive her and Damen apart once and for all. As Ever faces her greatest fears about the guy she wants to spend eternity with, she’s thrust into a deadly clash with Haven that could destroy them all. 
Now it’ll take everything she’s got—and bring out powers she never knew she had—to face down her most formidable enemy. But in order to win, she must first ask herself: is her own survival worth dooming Haven to an eternity of darkness in the Shadowland? And will learning the truth about Damen’s past hold the key to their future?

My Review:
I loved this series when it began. I am just getting tired of how long they made it. I have read 5 books and Ever and Damen are still not allowed to be together. Seriously?


It might be that I am just angry at their inability to find a solution but Ever is just annoying. I can't believe it takes her 5 books to realize that she loves Damen and that he is the one for her. I mean I could have told her that after book 1.


It seems like they elongated the Haven problem just to give them a villain for this book. Ahh! I just want them to find a cure and be together. Is it too much to ask for? Do they really have to make me read 6 books? 


Do I recommend this book? I guess if you are like me and just want to know how it ends then go ahead. Nothing unexpected occurs and it might make you angry but at least when it's all over you read the whole series. I will say that it was a lot more entertaining than the last two. 
If you have not started and want to don't say I did not warn you. You will probably have a crush on Damen but it will take you 6 books of Ever making dumb mistake after mistake and when their biggest problem is their inability to touch well it can get quite boring. 


My Rating:

Book Trailer:

{Review}: Bumped by Megan McCafferty

Title: Bumped
Author: Megan McCafferty Website | Twitter
Genre: YA Dystopian
Publisher: Balzer + Bray (April, 2011)
Hardcover: 323 pages
ISBN: 9780061962745
Source: Library
Available on: Amazon | Barnes&Noble | TheBookDepository

Description from GoodReads:
When a virus makes everyone over the age of eighteen infertile, would-be parents pay teen girls to conceive and give birth to their children, making teens the most prized members of society. Girls sport fake baby bumps and the school cafeteria stocks folic-acid-infused food.

Sixteen-year-old identical twins Melody and Harmony were separated at birth and have never met until the day Harmony shows up on Melody’s doorstep. Up to now, the twins have followed completely opposite paths. Melody has scored an enviable conception contract with a couple called the Jaydens. While they are searching for the perfect partner for Melody to bump with, she is fighting her attraction to her best friend, Zen, who is way too short for the job.

Harmony has spent her whole life in Goodside, a religious community, preparing to be a wife and mother. She believes her calling is to convince Melody that pregging for profit is a sin. But Harmony has secrets of her own that she is running from.

When Melody is finally matched with the world-famous, genetically flawless Jondoe, both girls’ lives are changed forever. A case of mistaken identity takes them on a journey neither could have ever imagined, one that makes Melody and Harmony realize they have so much more than just DNA in common.

My Review:
In Melody's and Harmony's world humans become infertile at the age of 18. Teenage girls are urged to "bump" and get pregnant. There are even agents who help sponsored girls find a wealthy couple that will pay large amounts for a baby. When Harmony appears on Melody's front door after being separated at birth, they will have quite an adventure trying to understand each other and at the same time learn things they never knew about themselves.


What I liked: Bumped is different from other dystopian novels I have read. It focuses on the everyday life and the choices of the two main characters and not them fighting an oppressive government. Sure, they may disagree but they are not trying to save the world just make decisions that make them happy.The dual narrative allowed me to see Melody's mainstream philosophy and Harmon's religious, righteous way.It was great to see how two physically identical girls were molded by society and can have such different views. Fighting to be themselves and to find the right path for themselves adds a nice element to the story. 


Did not like: The futuristic lingo without explanation was a bit confusing at first. They should have added a glossary to the beginning or explained and not just assume we can derive what these words mean. It would have also been nice to see more of their world. To get a bigger picture of how their world works. Hopefully this is done in the sequel.
The negative ideas such as teen pregnancy are not discouraged. It might give a younger audience the wrong idea. I am not saying they should die and suffer because they got pregnant but it would be nice to see realistic consequences being shown. 
Why does it have to be series? WHY? They could have easily added a few more chapters and made it stand alone book. Unless they add something amazing to the next book I cannot see the point. 


Overall, a good book that if you have time and want to read a dystopian that is more like Teen Mom than the Hunger Games or if you are tired of characters that want to change the world and want to read about two girls that are just trying to find themselves in a crazy world, then this is the book for you.


My Rating: