Review: Forgiven (The Demon Trappers #3) by Jana Oliver

Riley has made a bargain with Heaven, and now they've come to collect. 

Lucifer's finest are ruling the streets and it seems that Armageddon might be even closer than Riley imagined. But with her soul and her heart in play it's all she can do to keep herself alive, let alone save the world. Riley's not afraid of kicking some major demon butt, but when it comes to a battle between Heaven and Hell, she might need a little help...

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Oh Jana Oliver, why did you do this to me? If I enjoyed book one, and I loved book two, this was a bit of a disappointment for me and it's been one of my most waited for books this year.


I think I really struggled with the pacing with this book. There were some parts where I was just skim reading to get to something interesting which is a big sign that I'm really struggling, there were parts where I was gripped and then it just got boring again and the pacing was just anything but consistent.


I also felt that Riley lost a lot of her sass, I loved her before because she was so tough but the only times that came out in this one was with Beck. I get that she's been hurt by Simon and Ori, but her character really changed for the worse and I was not a fan, it improved by the end so hopefully she'll be back to my Riley in Foretold. Beck was the shining light in this book, I just adored him and his Taylor Swift obsession and pet rabbit, he's a softy inside of his hardnut, rough exterior. I also love the romance that started between Beck and Riley, the tension finally gets resolved and WOW I loved reading about that!


Overall, this was a bit of a disappointment since I thought so highly of books one and two, but I still will read book four just because I'd like more Riley and Beck.


Overall Rating: C-

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To be released by Macmillan Children's UK on 1st March.
Book received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Stones for my Father by Trilby Kent

Corlie Roux’s farm life in South Africa is not easy: the Transvaal is beautiful, but it is also a harsh place where the heat can be so intense that the very raindrops sizzle. When her beloved father dies, she is left with a mother who is as devoted to her sons as she is cruel to her daughter. Despite this, Corlie finds solace in her friend, Sipho, and in Africa itself and in the stories she conjures for her brothers.
But Corlie’s world is about to vanish: the British are invading and driving Boer families like hers from their farms. Some escape into the bush to fight the enemy. The unlucky ones are rounded up and sent to internment camps.

Will Corlie’s resilience and devotion to her country sustain her through the suffering and squalor she finds in the camp at Kroonstad? That may depend on a soldier from faraway Canada and on inner resources Corlie never dreamed she had….

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As a lover of historical fiction I knew that I had to read Stones for my Father when it was pitched to me and overall I liked the story. I loved how short this book was; (I managed to read it in a one single bath and I didn't come out all pruney and the water was still quite warm!) this also meant that the story was purely about Corlie's struggle meaning that even though I still learnt about the Boer war, I didn't have to try to follow any complicated politics or anything.


Corlie was a fantastic character with an honest voice. Whilst most of the time she seemed her age - twelve or thirteen, she also had times where we saw how the war and her mothers treatment had forced her to act like an adult. The character of Corlie's mum was well written and utterly unlikable, we're later given a backstory to why she dislikes Corlie but I still didn't really sympathise. I loved Byrne, the soldier who helps Corlie through brief appearances in the story, he gave Corlie a way to see the soldiers as people and show the reader both sides to the war. I also loved Gert, Corlie's funny and clever younger brother.


I felt that the narrative was okay, but nothing great and at times Kent seemed to slip into parts where she was explaining things too much and it bored me a little, there were times when things were thrown in the cover the plot holes or explain something foreign and it kind of threw the narrative off balance for a while. the pacing was okay as well, but I would have liked a little more confrontation as it went a little slow for me.


Overall, this book was enjoyable enough and had a fantastic group of characters and great description, however the writing wasn't something that I found particularly good and would maybe appeal to the target audience of young/preteens more than young adult.


Overall rating: C

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Book released on March 22nd 2011 by Tundra books.
Book released from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Arcadia Awakens by Kai Meyer

To New Yorker Rosa Alcantara, the exotic world of Sicily, with its network of Mafia families and its reputation for murder and intrigue, is just that—exotic, and wholly unknown. But when tragedy strikes, she must travel there, to her family’s ancestral home, where her sister and aunt have built their lives and where centuries of family secrets await her. Once there, Rosa wastes no time falling head over heels for Alessandro Carnevare, the son of a Sicilian Mafia family, whose handsome looks and savage grace both intrigue and unsettle her. But their families are sworn enemies, and her aunt and sister believe Alessandro is only using Rosa to infiltrate the Alcantara clan. And when Rosa encounters a tiger one night—a tiger with very familiar eyes—she can no longer deny that neither the Carnevares nor the Alcantaras are what they seem.

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What a wonderfully imaginative story this was, with common paranormal aspects such as shapeshifting mixed in with less common ideas, such as the mafia. the setting was amazing and the story was fantastic. The thing that really excelled in this book was the attention to detail paid by Meyer that really made the setting come to life, with the wealthy mafia families battling it out in the beautiful parts of Sicily.


I loved Rosa as a main character, to be honest she started out very simple - a messed up kid - but as the time passes we begin to see her change into a strong woman, ready to stand up to anybody who knocks her down. i didn't find her particlurly relatable but it was a pleasure to read her story. I love the romance with Alessandro as well, it was Romeo and Juliet story (and yes, the Romeo was very swoonworthy), but with a far less tragic ending. i loved watching their relationship develop, there were the sweet moments and the moments filled with doubt and sadness but to me this was one of the better romances in a paranormal book.


The writing style in this book was nothing exceptional, but the descriptions of the places were so vivid that i could honestly imagine this beautiful area of Sicily, and the islands and the country roads and that really made me warm to this book. I struggled with the pacing for a little while, mostly in the first quarter of the book, before Rosa began to find out the mysteries of the families, but then when she did find out and when we start to get to the more action and suspense packed parts of the books I was absolutely gripped...


I really cannot wait to read the sequel to this book because despite not loving it, I really did enjoy this read and I can't wait to see where Rosa and Alessandro's story will go. I'd recommend this to people looking for a paranormal book with a little more substance.


Overall Rating: B-

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Due to be released March 1st by Templar Publishing
Book received as and ARC from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Happy Birthday to You by Brian Rowe

Newlyweds Cameron and Liesel Martin aren't able to celebrate their wedding bliss for long. Not only is Liesel unexpectedly pregnant... they're also facing the end of humanity!

Liesel's evil witch sister Hannah has cast a spell to make all humans on Earth age a whole year with every day. It's up to Cameron and Liesel to stop her... and save the world! Who will survive? And who will perish?

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The first two books in this series were laugh out loud funny and fantastically romantic and I loved them. I loved this one just as much, but it was very different, it was intense and a lot darker. There are a lot of deaths in it and in a way it reminded me of gritty, end-of-the-world books in that it showed the darker side of the human psyche at times, some of the deaths were gruesome and funny, it was kind of like a sick joke and whilst it was different to the first two book and some readers may be annoyed by this, I welcomed the change in tone.

In this installment we see Liesl and Cameron racing against this time to stop the rapid aging of everybody but them, it's different because here Cameron is a lot more active in this one and I liked to see him be the hero, both of the main characters seemed a lot more mature in this book, which went well with the change in tone and I liked to see. Hannah was a great bad guy, she really is an evil witch and I also liked the introduction of their adopted sister, who served as a smaller but still important bad guy in the storyline. The other characters, like Kimber, Cam's younger sister and Wesley, his best friend also pop up as main characters and we get to read from their points of view.

There are some pretty crazy twists in this book, I won't describe any for fear of spoilers but there's one at the end of the book that left me with tears falling and some more during the book that I seriously hoped were going to turn out to not be true. I loved the pacing - it was quick and action packed read, and I think that the change in tone really showed Rowe's versatility as an author.

Overall, a fantastic end to a serious that I have completely loved. I would recommend this series to absolutely anybody, even my worst enemy.

Overall Rating: A-

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Received as an eBook for review from the author.

In My Mailbox (25/02/12)

In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by The Story Siren, 

in which you post all of the books/e-books/audio books that you have recieved/bought/won this week and link 'em all up!

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For Review:

        

Forgiven (Demon Trappers #3) by Jana Oliver (Print: 1st March, Macmillan Chlidrens)

Shooting Stars by Allison Rushby (Print: 28th February, Walker Books)

Big Frog by Rob Badcock (Print: From author)

The Weepers, The Other Life by Susanne Winnicker (NetGalley: May 1st, Marshall Cavendish) 

Treachery of Beautiful Things by Ruth Frances Long (NetGalley: August 16th, Penguin Book)

Talisman of El by Alecia Stone (NetGalley: May 20th, Centrinian Publishing)

The Plight and Plot of Princess Penny by Michael Mullin (eBook from author)

Intangible by J Meyers (eBook from author)

Open Minds by Susan Kaye Quinn (eBook from author)

College Library




Warm Bodies by Isaac Marion

Swapped

  

Once Dead Twice Shy by Kim Harrison

Bright Young Things by Anna Godberson

The Girl Who Was on Fire by Various

Gifted:

The Alchemy of Forever by Avery Williams 

from the awesome Lesley at My Keeper Shelf

Free from Amazon UK:

     

The Rock Star's Daughter by Caitlyn Duffy 

Bound by Kira Saito

44 by Jools Sinclair

In Cassie's Corner by Dale Mayer

Stained by Ella James

Evernight by Claudia Gray

Daughter of the Sea by Mira Zamin

Review: Pure Enough by Sandy DeLisle

Having sex for the first time is a big decision for anyone, but for sixteen-year old Katherine Brinkman, the decision is even more complicated. Under the close watch of her parents, Katherine has never had a boyfriend. But that changes when she moves to a Chicago suburb for her mom’s teaching sabbatical and meets a group of free-spirited friends, including the charming and incredibly hot Aidan Koutsoukos. When Aidan isn’t serenading Katherine with love songs or making her laugh with his charismatic wit, he’s tempting her with his wavy, black locks, riveting brown eyes and perfectly sculpted body. While Katherine is falling for Aidan, her hometown of Black Earth, Iowa, is planning its first purity ball; a ceremony where girls publicly pledge to remain virgins until marriage. Once she returns home, will she honor her family and friends and pledge her virginity with her father as a witness? Or, will she give in to her desires under the influence of her new friends? As Katherine wrestles with this life-altering decision, she must decide if she is…PURE ENOUGH…

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Okay, despite a very shaky start I ended this book LOVING it. I knew that there was going to be a lot of religion in here, but at the beginning I thought i was going to have to stop reading because it started out a bit preachy, continuing into the book though I found that it was completely different message that was being put across and I believed in it and supported it.  This book is, more than anything, a story of coming of age and finding independence as it focuses on Katherine (Kat) who has come from the rural, religious country to a city suburb and begins to see that some of the things she was told are wrong aren't that wrong at all.


I loved slowly watching Kat develop from this religious girl living under the thumb of her strict family into an independent and strong person, but still somebody who kept her beliefs and that is what I loved. It wasn't a girl changing herself for a boy, it was a girl who realised that what she was being forced to think wasn't actually what she belueved in. Her feelings towards the purity ball idea were were well written and I agree with them, I think she was such a relatable character, one of the most believable characters I have read in a long time. The background characters were fatastic, Aidan was lovely, i love how he himself wanted to have sex but like Kat he treated it like a life changing decision and respected what she wanted to do, he was caring an supportive and I loved him, Char was also a great supportive friend and I did enjoy her as a character.


Finally, I absolutley loved the writing in this book, it was so realistic and the author definitely got into Kat's head. DeLisle definitely made me believe the Kat was real and relate to her and I had no problems at all with pacing or plot points.


Overall, I absolutely adored this book, though the start was a bit shaky the rest of it was amazing. a fantastic coming of age story with a well written moral.


Overall Rating: A-

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Received as an eBook from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Review: Slide by Jill Hathaway

Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister’s friend Sophie didn’t kill herself. She was murdered.

Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn’t actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else’s mind and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. She’s slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed “friend” when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie’s slashed body.

Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can’t bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting off lately, more distant, especially now that she’s been spending more time with Zane.

I cannot explain how excited I was when I got this book through the post, I have totally been looking forward to it, I've heard great reviews and the synopsis sounded awesome. Did it live up to my expectations? Absolutely.

One of the best things for me was the narration. Vee is this very anti-popular and punky character but this isn't thrust in the readers face as these characters so often are, it's hinted at within the story but only for storyline purposes. The narration is great, it's very well written with some absolutely beautiful passages.

The storyline is kind of original but you could compare it to books such as The Body Finder or Wake/Gone/Fade. I also feel as though there was an element of predictability in the way that the romantic aspect developed. The murder mystery side of things was totally unpredictable though, I really kept me guessing all the way through so I was gripped by that. The book is quite short and whilst it's never on-the-edge-of-the-deat page turner it has pretty good pacing and I never got bored.

The romance in this book was amazing. Not really a love triangle, but I totally knew that Rollins had feelings for her even if Vee wasn't admitting it, I loved Rollins but I was not keen on Zane, he was okay but I didn't really feel the romance. There are also family relationships that are so authentically written. I liked the relationships between Vee, Mattie and their dad, they were so real.

Overall, a great read despite some similarities to other books. there was great romance and fantastic writing. Well recommended.

Overall Rating: B+

Released by HarperCollins on 1st March 2012.
Book received from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.