Kiss of Death by Rachel Caine

Kiss of Death by Rachel Caine

published by Signet

241 pages

$6.99 (paperback)

FTC: This is my book and I am not being compensated for this review.

What it's about:

Vampire Michael Glass just received the call he's been waiting for all his life. His music has attracted the attention of a heavily connected music producer who wants him to cut a demo and play some dates--which means Michael will have to enter the human world.

But he won't be alone. He's been assigned an undead escort, which includes immortal enforcer Oliver, as well as Michael's human friends: rebellious Eve, oft-misunderstood Claire, and courageous Shane. And with that mix of personalities, this is going to be a road trip from hell.

But what waits for them proves more perilous than they thought. Caught between humans who hate them and a savage party of traveling vampires out to create a blood-soaked feast for themselves, Michael and his friends may not make it to the show on time...or ever.

My thoughts:

This is the 8th book in the Morganville Vampire series by Rachel Caine. I love this series but I do feel like the series really ended with book 6. After that book there is no long continuing story plot. It is just one disaster after the other that happens. Don't get me wrong, I love the books, but it should have ended with book six.

Claire is such a strong leading lady. I love it. She's a genius that with a few minutes to spare can do anything. It's fantastic. The main four are fabulous characters. Eve who is always trying to be dark but really is a pretty princess inside, Michael who is georgous and sweet, and then Shane. What is there not to love about Shane? He's strong, protective, and incredibly romantic, even if he doesn't think so. These books would never work if you took out any one of these main four. They work too well together.

This is a pretty short read filled full of action from the first page to the last. Living in Morganville is never easy for the four characters and apparently neither is leaving Morganville. This book will keep your pulse rate high and leave you wondering how in the world they are going to get out of this situation.

My rating: 9/10

Torched

Torched by April Henry

published by Putnam

212 pages

$16.99 (hardcover)

FTC: This is my book and I will not be compensated for this review.

What it's about:

When her parents are bused on drug charges, the FBI give Ellie a choice: cooperate by infiltrating the Mother Earth Defenders (MED), a radical environmental group that may be turning to violence--or stand by and let her parents go to jail for life.

Soon, Ellie is immersed in the dangerous world of extreme activism, including setting a Hummer dealership on fire. But the more time she spends undercover--particularly with coyote, the strikingly handsome green-eyed MEDic--the harder it is to tell who's right and who's wrong. When MED's plans turn to murder, will Ellie have the courage to keep her cover and save her parents--even if it means losing Coyote and putting her own life on the line?

My thoughts:

This was a very quick read.

Living in Oregon and being very into environmental studies made me connect to this book on a very big level. I found myself getting mad at "the man" and wanting to join MED. This probably wasn't what was supposed to happen, but it was. I even found myself thinking of what my MEDic name would be.

It was this connection I felt with the book that made me really enjoy it.

However, if I did not feel this connection to the book, I probably wouldn't have enjoyed it as much. I only understood the importance of what the MEDics were trying to say in this story because I spent a year studying it in school and make it a point to learn this information. The book did not explain what the MEDics were trying to say and why it is important to save certain types of animals. It was expected of the readers to understand it or to take the word of the characters.

Honestly, the story was a little cheesy, but I didn't mind that at all. It played out more like an episode of something you'd see on the CW rather than something like Law and Order.

This was a quick, entertaining read that captivated me and made me want to get more involved with my local environmental groups. I really enjoyed the book but I would not recommend it to everyone. If you enjoy stories about the environment and what people are trying to do to save it, this is a must read. Otherwise I'd say you might want to find something else to read.

My rating: 9/10

Out Today

Early To Death, Early to Rise by Kim Harrison

$16.99 (hardback)

228 pages

What it's about:

Madison Avery's dreams of ever fitting in at her new school died when she did. Especially since she was able to maintain the illusion of a body, deal with a pesky guardian angel, and oh yeah, bring the reaper who killed her to his untimely end. Not exactly in-crowd material. It's amazing that her crush, Josh, doesn't think she's totally nuts.

Now Madison has learned that she's the dark timekeeper, in charge of angels who follow the murky guidelines of fate. Never one to abide by the rules, she decides it's time for a major change to the system. With the help of some unlikely allies, Madison forms a rogue group of reapers who definitely don't adhere to the rules of the heavens.

But as she grapples with the terrifying new skills that come with being a timekeeper, Madison realizes she may not be prepared for what lies ahead--unless she gets some seriously divine intervention.

Oh how I love Kim Harrison books! I've been waiting a year for this book and picked up my copy of this as fast as I could.

Harry Potter theme park

So, as everyone knows, there is going to be a section of Islands of Adventure in Orlando Florida that is going to be Harry Potter themed. Aka the new Harry Potter theme park. It opens sometime next month but a few of the stars from the Harry Potter films have already been and their trip was recorded. This is just a sneak peak video of what the theme park is going to have and what it looks like.

http://www.universalorlando.com/harrypotternews/?__source=EDW276548&ptyid=18787341

Wish I could put the actual video on here but the site won't let me. I can't believe how excited I am for this theme park. I already have my tickets and trip planed for this September!!!!

The Body Finder

The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

published by Harper Teen

327 pages

$16.99 (hardcover)

FTC: This is my book and I will not be compensated for reviewing it.

What it's about:

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies--or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes the dead leave behind in the world...and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find dead birds her cat left for her. But now that a serial kkiller is terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, Violet realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet find the murderer--and Violet is unnerved by her hope that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer... and becoming his prey herself.

My thoughts:

I immediately fell in love with this book. It brought back so many memories of high school and emotions I also had to deal with. I had butterflies in my stomach during most of the beginning of the story while she is explaining her feelings towards her best friend Jay. The writing really brought out everything and sucked you in.

The characters were fantastic. Violet wasn't one of the typical stupid leading women. For the most part that is. She did some stupid things but she was a believable character. Jay was the best part of this whole book. He was the type of character that made you wish boys like that actually existed and that you were dating one.

The story plot was pretty good if not very creepy. I didn't fully enjoy being in the killers head while he was hunting but if it wasn't for those parts, the story wouldn't have been nearly as creepy or believable.

I don't know what else to say about this book. I absolutely loved it and read it in two sittings. It would have been in one sitting if I didn't have to wake up the next morning.

My rating: 10/10

Out Today

Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead

$17.99 (hardback)

What it's about:

Dimitri gave Rose the ultimate choice. But she chose wrong…
After a long and heartbreaking journey to Dimitri’s birthplace in Siberia, Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St. Vladimir’s—and to her best friend, Lissa. It is nearly graduation, and the girls can’t wait for their real lives beyond the Academy’s iron gates to begin. But Rose’s heart still aches for Dimitri, and he's out there, somewhere.
She failed to kill him when she had the chance. And now her worst fears are about to come true. Dimitri has tasted her blood, and she knows in her heart that he is hunting her. And if Rose won't join him, he won't rest until he's silenced her...forever


It's finally out!!!! I know I can't wait to get my hands on this book.

Flash Burnout by LK Madigan

Flash Burnout by L.K. Madigan

published by Houghton Mifflin

321 pages

$16 (hardback)

FTC: I bought this book and will not be compensated for reviewing it.

What it's about:

Click

Fifteen-year-old Blake has a girlfriend and a friend who's a girl. One of them loves him, the other one needs hiim.

Click.

He snapped a picture of a street person for his photography homework; Blake never dreamed that the woman in the photo was his friend Marissa's long-lost meth-addicted mom.

Click.

Blake's participation in the ensuing drama opens up a world of trouble, both for him and for Marissa. He spends the next few months trying to reconcile the conflicting roles of boyfriend and friend.

Click.

In a tangle of life and death, love and loyalty, comedy and tragedy, Blake will emerge with a more sharply defined snapshot of himself.

My thoughts:

In this story, the reader is in the head of 15 year old Blake Hewson. This is how I always imagined it would be like being inside a guys head, simple. Blake doesn't have very meny complicated thoughts and really lives life one day at a time. I found myself loving the absolute simpleness of his thoughts. There was not a lot of analysing and whining commentary. I fell in love with the voice of the story within the first few pages. It made me want to sit down and read the whole story in one sitting.

The characters are all very likable and I couldn't help but get annoyed at Blake towards the end. My favorite character was actually his mother. While she played a small role, I loved the contrast between her and Marissa's mother.

This was a short, cute story of what in the world do you do when stuck in a complicated situation. How do you control your relationships with your friendships and Blake finding out that nothing is ever that simple.

My rating: 9/10 just because I have too many questions left over.

The Forest of Hands and Teeth

The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan

published by Delacorte Press

$9.99 (paperback)

308 pages

FTC: I bought this book and am not receiving compensation for reviewing this book.

What it's about:

In Mary's world, there are simple truths. The Sisterhood always knows best. The Gardians will protect and serve. The Unconsecrated will never relent. And you must always mind the fence that surrounds the village. The fence that protects the village from the Forest of Hands and Teeth.

But slowly, Mary's truths are failing her. She's learning things she never wanted to know about the Sisterhood and its secrets, and the Guardians and their power. And, when the fence is breached and her world is thrown into chaos, about the Unconsecrated and their relentlessness.

Now she must choose between her village and her future, between the one she loves and the one who loves her. And she must face the truth about the Forest of Hands and Teeth. Could there be life outside a world surrounded by so much death?

My thoughts:

I always thought this book sounded a lot like the movie "The Village." I absolutely hated that movie so I wasn't sure about this book.

This book is set sometime in the future, probably about 200 years away from now. Some weird freak accident has happened and now most of the world is full of zombies.

Yes, that's right, this story is about zombies.

I don't think I have ever hated a character as much as I hated Mary, the main character in this book. At first you feel bad for Mary. Both her parents are dead, her brother abandons her and she might be forced to marry someone she doesn't love. How can you not feel bad for her? As the story went on, I found myself getting so angry at Mary that I was hoping she would get turned into a zombie. She is very, very selfish and didn't seem to mind hurting everyones feelings, if not their lives.

There were a few questions that were left unanswered by the end of this book. I am okay not knowing the answers and do not plan on reading the next book in the series to find out the answers. Most of this book was a few of the characters wandering around the forest. It was very much indeed like the movie "The Village."

My rating: 4/10

Books Out Today

The Red Pyramid by Rick Riordan

Since his mother's death six years ago, Carter Kane has been living out of a suitcase, traveling the globe with his father, the brilliant Egyptologist Dr. Julius Kane. But while Carter's been homeschooled, his younger sister, Sadie, has been living with their grandparents in London. Sadie has just what Carter wants--school friends and a chance at a "normal" life. But Carter has just what Sadie longs for--time with their father. After six years of living apart, the siblings have almost nothing in common. Until now.

On Christmas Eve, Sadie and Carter are reunited when their father brings them to the British Museum, with a promise that he's going to "make things right." But all does not go according to plan: Carter and Sadie watch as Julius summons a mysterious figure, who quickly banishes their father and causes a fiery explosion.

Soon Carter and Sadie discover that the gods of Ancient Egypt are waking, and the worst of them--Set--has a frightening scheme. To save their father, they must embark on a dangerous journey--a quest that brings them ever closer to the truth about their family and its links to the House of Life, a secret order that has existed since the time of the pharaohs.

Spells by Aprilynne Pike

Six months have passed since Laurel saved the gateway to the fairie realm of Avalon. Now she must spend her summer there, honing her skills as a Fall faerie. But her human family and friends are still in mortal danger-- and the gateway to Avalon is more compromised than ever.

When it comes time to protect the ones that she loves, will she depend on her human boyfriend, David, for help? Or will she turn to Tamani, the electrifying faerie with whom her connection is undeniable?

I have already picked up my copy of The Red Pyramid and can't wait to start reading it!