Review: Vampire University

Constantly moving as she grew up, Taylor had learned the hard way how to blend in wherever she went. But when she moves to VanCamp University for her freshman year of college, she immediately finds herself at the center of attention of nearly everyone she encounters. From the charismatic and mysterious Evans twins, to her quirky, clingy roommate Hannah, it seems that the people in Taylor’s new college life have no intention of letting her be the wallflower.

It’s not just blending in that Taylor has to worry about, though. At VanCamp University, there is more to the staff and students than meets the eye. While trying to adjust to her new life on campus, she finds herself in a world where fairy tales and reality collide, where gargoyles and leprechauns mingle with humans and vampires, and where nothing is as it first appears.

And as she discovers the truth of her own unusual heritage, Taylor learns that fairy tales are just the beginning.

This was a little different from other vampire books I have read and for this was grateful. Yes the main character does not know vampires exist until she arrives at the school and then she gets thrown in the deep end. I really enjoyed the descriptions and unique take on these vampires.

The story was intriguing and left me wanting more. I read it in about 3 sittings and did not want to put it down. The characters were interesting, each one has their own story to tell and I am looking forward to finding out more in the next one.

Taylor was a good little grumpy main character. But then again with everything that went on, she is allowed to be a little grumpy.

Overall this was a very enjoyable book.

4 out of 5 stars

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ARC Review: The Heroine’s Journey

Two girls separated by centuries, one living in the Middle Ages and one in the here and now, find common ground in their heroines’ journeys: the need to forge their own lives and identities and the hope of meeting that one, true love.

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

First off, I love the cover it is beautiful. I really liked the idea of this book, each of the girls stories are great but, I often felt myself confused between the two and had a hard time working out which way was up. The names were too similar, I know this was on purpose, but I still felt more could have been done to separate the stories.

But other than being confused I enjoyed the story and the history was really enjoyable and from what little I know, accurate.

The writing was melodic and very well written. I would read more from this author.

3 out of 5 stars

ARC Review: Dragon Defender

Tags

adventure, children's, dragon, family, young adult

Peter Clark can build a robot from scratch and pick a lock in two minutes or less. But he can’t figure out why his mother left or why his grandma refuses to talk about her. When Uncle Dominick shows up on Peter’s twelfth birthday with a letter that hints at answers and an incredible story about dragons, Peter follows him, determined to find out the truth about his mother’s disappearance.

What he finds is a reality far different from what he ever could have imagined – where dragons live in hiding, hunted by poachers for their magical parts, and a small group of men and women work tirelessly to protect them. These are the Dragon Defenders. Peter’s uncle is one. So was his mother. Now it’s Peter’s turn.

I recieved a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this novel, it was different and a nice quick easy read. I never felt confused and I liked the characters. The story progressed nicely and was easy to follow.

I love the idea that there is more to the story than anyone yet knows, not even the dragon defenders know all it it. Much more to discover in the next one.

Peter was a great main character, we learned with him, which I always love, he was adventurous and helped his new friends even when they had done wrong. Even when his world is turned upside down he does what he feels is right.

I am looking forward to the next book in the series and will be reading more from this author.

4 out of 5 stars

ARC Review: Don’t Stay Up Late

In the small town of Shadyside, don’t stay up late, because horrible things can happen…

Both day and night, Lisa Brooks is plagued with nightmares and hallucinations. Could they be caused by the horrifying accident that landed her in the hospital for weeks? When Lisa finds out that a neighbor is looking for a babysitter for her little boy, Lisa jumps at the chance to keep busy and take her mind off of her troubling thoughts. But then the murders start — and her friends begin dying one by one. Are Lisa’s nightmares coming true? Find out in the next installment of R.L. Stine’s Fear Street series, Don’t Stay Up Late.

I received  a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I remember reading R.L. Stine books as a kid, but not much else about them apart from that I liked them. This brought back memories but it was also more modern and more adult, even as I teenager I felt the books were a little childish.

It was an engaging story and although I did guess some of what was going on, I did not guess all of it. I really enjoyed the smooth writing style which flowed very well and the story that kept me captivated.

There were a few small flaws I noticed but I cannot say what they were without giving away the story. But with this kind of book I did not mind much, it’s a book that is meant to be taken seriously. It’s a book about fun and scaring kids. It wasn’t too scary but then again I am an adult, I can imagine a young adult reading it late at night or at a camp or something and then being afraid the dark because of the monsters lurking there.

I raced through this book and would read more.

4 out of 5 stars

 

ARC Review: Southern Fried Wiccan

Tags

christian, wicca, young adult

Cilla Swaney is thrilled to return stateside, where she can hang up her military-brat boots for good. Finally, she’ll be free to explore her own interests–magick and Wicca. But when she arrives at her grandma’s farm, Cilla discovers that life in the South isn’t quite what she expected. At least while country hopping, she never had to drink G-ma’s crazy fermented concoctions, attend church youth group, make co-op deliveries…or share her locker with a snake-loving, fire-lighting, grimoire-stealing Goth girl…

…Who later invites her to a coven that Cilla’s not sure she has the guts to attend. But then Emilio, the dark-haired hottie from her charter school, shows up and awakens her inner goddess. Finally, Cilla starts believing in her ability to conjure magick. Until…

…All Hades breaks loose. A prank goes wrong during their high school production of Macbeth, and although it seems Emilio is to blame, Cilla and Goth may pay the price. Will Cilla be able to keep the boy, her coven, and the trust of her family? Or will this Southern Wiccan get battered and fried?

I received a free copy of this book via netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

This book had a great premise and I did enjoy it but I thought there would be more magic in it and less religion. A lot of the book I felt like I was being preached to, which I really did not like.

The main character Cilla was interesting. She wanted to believe in Wicca but not all of it, she also judged people very quickly and took a long time to get over that feeling. She seemed to dislike people quickly and distance herself from her classmates. She is a fairly independent person which is always good, but she seemed to cause trouble for her Gran, never really listened to what she had to say.

The story was okay, it flowed well, but when I think back on it, nothing really happened, she went to school, flirted with a boy and made a friend (kind of) and went to a coven. It was well written though.

Cilla didn’t always use her classmates names, she used their labels like Goth and Jock, so when the name was used I got really confused as to who they were.

3 out of 5 stars

Review: Covert

After seven friends take a trip to a secluded log cabin, what should have been a drunken weekend of fun end ends in the tragic and brutal murder of two of them.

Mackenzie Keaton and four of her friends wake in a disorientated state to find the bodies of Josh Harper and Courtney Young on the kitchen floor.

With the police determining that there was no forced entry or signs of a struggle, suspicion turn to the five survivors. And everyone’s finger is pointed to Josh’s estranged brother, Blake.

Mackenzie refuses to believe any one of them could have done it and embarks on her own investigation to prove their innocence, but after a few shocking revelations, she is forced to face the fact that one of them is the murderer.

I am sucker for this kind of book. Young adults in a secluded place, murder happens, who was it. Not sure why but I love it. Probably the fault of slasher films like Scream and I know what you did last summer.

I was hooked from the word go. I loved how it started, so many questions, not as to what was happening then but the secrets the group kept. There seemed to be so many I never thought I would find them all out. It took me ages to work out the book was set in the UK, not a big deal but I like to know where I am ready about, makes it more interesting.

The characters were interesting. I never really felt you got to know them since there was so many secrets and things being revealed that did not fit into the previous persona I had worked out for them.

In a way it was similar to those films since it had a false ending as such, there was a year later bit when the true killer was revealed. The motive was weak for me. Very weak.

The killer was actually my first guess since it’s someone un-obvious if that makes sense.

I think I would read more from this author but not sure if I would read this kind of book.

3 out of 5 stars

Review: Queen of Attolia

Revenge
When Eugenides, the Thief of Eddis, stole Hamiathes’s Gift, the Queen of Attolia lost more than a mythical relic. She lost face. Everyone knew that Eugenides had outwitted and escaped her. To restore her reputation and reassert her power, the Queen of Attolia will go to any length and accept any help that is offered…she will risk her country to execute the perfect revenge.

…but
Eugenides can steal anything. And he taunts the Queen of Attolia, moving through her strongholds seemingly at will. So Attolia waits, secure in the knowledge that the Thief will slip, that he will haunt her palace one too many times.

…at what price?
When Eugenides finds his small mountain country at war with Attolia, he must steal a man, he must steal a queen, he must steal peace. But his greatest triumph, and his greatest loss, comes in capturing something that the Queen of Attolia thought she had sacrificed long ago…

I loved this one as much as the first. It was fun and exciting, plenty of twists and turns to keep me guessing. It was good to see into the thoughts of different characters and see what made them tick.

Gen was up to his old tricks and being a great character as ever. I was upset by what happened to him but glad when he got his bounce back. It made the book great again.

I sometimes find politics boring in books but not this one. I really enjoy reading about everything that is going on.

I cannot wait for the next book.

4 out of 5 stars

Review: The Prom, The Date and a Whole lot of Laxatives

Tags

young adult

All is fair in love and war, right? Well these girls seem to think so!
The prom, the date and a whole lot of laxatives is told in the honest but hilarious voice of sixteen year old Alex Hunter.
Alex has her eye on the gorgeous Cody McKenzie and things are going well until she finds out that Kitty Vickers has him in her sights too.
Unfortunately for Alex, Kitty Vickers is the most popular girl at school and makes Alex’s life a living hell. Alex isn’t giving up without a fight, with the help of her three loyal mates they come up with hilarious ways of ‘bringing down’ Kitty Vickers.
It seems Kitty can pull off anything, the boys want to be with her and the girls just want to be her!
That is until Alex comes up with her best plan ever, or is it……

This book annoyed me a lot. The was only one character I actually liked and that was Lewis. He was the only one who seemed real. I know you get nasty people in real life but this was a whole town of selfish nasty, spiteful people and one good one.

Alex was mean, very self involved to the point where some of her actions could be taken as more than just a prank, they could warrant being arrested.

The story had me engaged from the beginning but as I got into it, I found it harder and harder to keep myself reading. I was using it for a challenge so I made myself finish even though I did not really want to.

The story itself was okay but a lot of it I was cringing at. I will not be reading the next book in the series.

2.5 stars out of 5

Review: Forsaken

Tags

vampires, young adult

Nora Colburn was perfectly content in life. A junior in high school, she had good friends, a great family, and did well in school. Nothing particularly exciting ever happened where she lived, and everything was stable. But that all drastically changes when a new student arrives at Nora’s school. Wild rumors swirl about his past, and Nora becomes determined to find out the truth. As she gets to know the mysterious student, he shares with her an ancient secret… one that may yet put both of them in grave danger. And for the first time in her life, Nora is exposed to a completely unfamiliar world. She is swept away on an exhilarating journey that takes her to a place where romance and great destiny may yet await… and where supernatural powers run wild.

Love the cover of this book. I am pretty sure the dress was featured in the book, or something similar, so at least it is relevant.

I was really intrigued by the premise of this book. I found the start really strong and inviting but it got a tad boring for me. Very predictable, like Twilight with a little more thought into the concept of vampires. I liked to dream world but it didn’t really fit the story for me.

The new boy (I cannot remember his name) was a very odd character. Very similar to Edward Cullen, moody to begin with then got really friendly then for no reason shares his deepest darkest secret.

Nora left home with some one she had not known very long with out telling her friends or family, she never went back and never spared a thought to how they would feel. Very annoying and selfish. That really bugged me. And the end was interesting. Really you can become a vampire that quickly? And be okay?

I will not be reading the next book in the series.

2.5 out of 5 stars