NaNoWriMo Winner!

I did it! I passed the 50,000 word count today and won NaNoWriMo 2010! It was my very first year and as a NaNo virgin I must say it was a lot more work than I thought it would be - but I figured out a method that worked for me, and I am now hooked. I am going away for an extended weekend (going to a Steelers game @ Buffalo yay!) but when I return it will be back to writing for me, just not so all-consuming and obsessive :)

My Soul to Steal - 5 Stars!

Title: My Soul to Steal

Author: Rachel Vincent

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal

Page Count: 352 Pages

Rating: 5/5

*Spoiler Alert*

There are no spoilers for My Soul to Steal but if you haven't read the previous books in the Soul Screamers series this review may contain spoilers, so beware...and go and pick up the first book because this series is fantastic.

*ARC received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

YOU WANT MY SOUL AND MY BOYFRIEND?
Trying to work things out with Nash—her maybe boyfriend—is hard enough for Kaylee Cavanaugh. She can’t just pretend nothing happened. But “complicated” doesn’t even begin to describe their relationship when his ex-girlfriend transfers to their school, determined to take Nash back.
See, Sabine isn’t just an ordinary girl. She’s a mara, the living personification of a nightmare. She can read people’s fears—and craft them into nightmares while her victims sleep. Feeding from human fear is how she survives.
And Sabine isn’t above scaring Kaylee and the entire school to death to get whatever— and whoever—she wants.
I DON’T THINK SO.

My Review:

I honestly can't get enough of Rachel Vincent's writing. There hasn't been a book of hers yet that I haven't devoured. My Soul to Steal is another I can add to that list, and I can't wait until it sits on my bookshelf next to the others.

My Soul to Steal is the forth Soul Screamers novel (along with a fifth prequel novella) following Kaylee Cavanaugh - a teenage bean sidhe (banshee).

Kaylee's battle in this chapter of her story is not only against the dark powers of the Netherworld, but also with Nash's ex-girlfriend - Sabine. Kaylee hasn't even really had time to decide if she wants him back before she has to fight to keep him, while fighting a Hellion to save her own life.

I found the emotional roller-coaster very compelling. I was just as confused as Kaylee was, but I felt for Sabine also. I love it when I get so caught up in a book that I am arguing along with the characters, and that was certainly the case here.

As always I am a huge fan of literary wrenches being thrown in, and wasn't disappointed. I found the plot twists to be believable but not predictable - my favorite kind.

The mystery of the deaths overlapping with the drama of Kaylee and Nash's love triangle made for a gripping and exciting read. I can't wait to read the last book in the series (If I Die) to see how ends, although the title kind of scares me :)

My Rating: 5/5

You'll like this series if you liked:

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent, Twilight by Stephenie Meyer, The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, or The Gathering by Kelley Armstrong.

A Quick Review -Tyger Tyger

Title: Tyger Tyger
Author: Kersten Hamilton
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Action & Adventure
Page Count: 320 Pages
Rating: 5/5

*Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Teagan Wylltson's best friend, Abby, dreams that horrifying creatures-goblins, shape-shifters, and beings of unearthly beauty but terrible cruelty-are hunting Teagan. Abby is always coming up with crazy stuff, though, so Teagan isn't worried. Her life isn't in danger. In fact, it's perfect. She's on track for a college scholarship. She has a great job. She's focused on school, work, and her future. No boys, no heartaches, no problems.

Until Finn Mac Cumhaill arrives. Finn's a bit on the unearthly beautiful side himself. He has a killer accent and a knee-weakening smile. And either he's crazy or he's been haunting Abby's dreams, because he's talking about goblins, too . . . and about being The Mac Cumhaill, born to fight all goblin-kind. Finn knows a thing or two about fighting. Which is a very good thing, because this time, Abby's right. The goblins are coming.

My Review:

Once I started this book I couldn't put it down. The characters were fantastic and the storyline had perfect rise and fall, keeping me hooked to the last word.

Tea's character was very likable and I fell in love with her little brother Aiden right away. The goblins were depicted disturbingly well - I loved them in all their creepiness. Finn was just the right amount of Irish heart-throb to steam up the page.

The setting in both worlds was written beautifully. The story had a nice balance of emotion and action. Add to that a few twists to surprise me and it's not hard to tell why I can't wait for the next book in this series.My Rating: 5/5

You'll like this series if you liked:

Wicked Lovely by Melissa Marr, Paranormalcy by Kiersten White, The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, or Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Twenty Boy Summer - Banned Book #2

The second book I chose to read for the banned/challenged book challenge this month (books people are trying to get on the ALA list). Again I don't think there should be a bann on this book but I would only recommend this for young adults and older teens not tweens.

Title: Twenty Boy Summer
Author: Sarah Ockler
Genre: Young Adult, Fiction
Page Count: 304 Pages
Rating: 4/5

“Don’t worry, Anna. I’ll tell her, okay? Just let me think about the best way to do it.”
“Okay.”
“Promise me? Promise you won’t say anything?”
“Don’t worry.” I laughed. “It’s our secret, right?”
According to Anna’s best friend, Frankie, twenty days in Zanzibar Bay is the perfect opportunity to have a summer fling, and if they meet one boy every day, there’s a pretty good chance Anna will find her first summer romance. Anna lightheartedly agrees to the game, but there’s something she hasn’t told Frankie–she’s already had her romance, and it was with Frankie’s older brother, Matt, just before his tragic death one year ago.
TWENTY BOY SUMMER explores what it truly means to love someone, what it means to grieve, and ultimately, how to make the most of every beautiful moment life has to offer.

My Review:

Two girls dealing with their grief over the loss of a loved one, told in a honest and emotion felt way. I was drawn to Anna from the first lines, and I was crying by the end of the first chapter.

Told from Anna's perspective you work through the emotions and decisions she has to make when faced with moving on after the death of a loved one, but Sarah Ockler also shows the varying shades of denial and diversion that the other characters use to try and survive the grieving process as well.

It was also a fun story of a summer vacation with two best friends. I found it to be a quick but fulfilling read.

My Rating: 4/5

You'll like this series if you liked:

The Last Song by Nicholas Sparks, The Last Summer by Ann Brashares, Keeping the Moon or Along For the Ride by Sarah Dessen.

Crash Into Me - Banned Book 1

I decided to take part in the banned/challenged book challenge this month. The challenge: read some of the books that are being banned/challenged (books people are trying to get on the ALA list). This is the first book I've read (on purpose) from the list and I'm shocked that it would be on there, but then again I don't think there should be a list to begin with so...

Title: Crash Into Me
Author: Albert Borris
Genre: Young Adult, Fiction
Page Count: 272 Pages
Rating: 4/5

Owen, Frank, Audrey, and Jin-Ae have one thing in common: they all want to die. When they meet online after each attempts suicide and fails, the four teens make a deadly pact: they will escape together on a summer road trip to visit the sites of celebrity suicides...and at their final destination, they will all end their lives. As they drive cross-country, bonding over their dark impulses, sharing their deepest secrets and desires, living it up, hooking up, and becoming true friends, each must decide whether life is worth living--or if there's no turning back.

My Review:

An interesting look into the minds of four teens battling suicide. They travel across country together on an ever evolving pilgrimage to death valley. They plan to finally die together, they didn't plan to learn how to live. Very honest and compelling story about life, death and the struggle in-between.

I loved all of the "Top 10 Lists" and the bits of humour laced through the book to lighten the mood. One of my favorite quotes is "Suddenly I grasped what was happening- they were all trying to save me. I never thought I was worth saving."

My Rating: 4/5

You'll like this series if you liked:

Thirteen Reasons Why by Jay Asher, Looking for Alaska by John Green, or Just Listen by Sarah Dessen.

Hunger, by Jackie Morse Kessler - A Quick Review

Title: Hunger
Author: Jackie Morse Kessler
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Page Count: 180 Pages
Rating: 5/5


*Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Lisabeth Lewis has a black steed, a set of scales, and a new job: she's been appointed Famine. How will an anorexic seventeen-year-old girl from the suburbs fare as one of the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse?
A wildly original approach to the issue of eating disorders, Hunger is about the struggle to find balance in a world of extremes, and uses fantastic tropes to explore a difficult topic that touches the lives of many teens.

My Review:

I was captivated by the premis of this story when I read the synopsis, and I have to say that it didn't disappoint. It was a true and honest look into the mind of a girl with an eating disorder set in a fantasy world. A fellow reviewer worded it best saying, "The concept of someone starving herself on purpose being forced to see people starving because they have no choice really pulled me into this story, and I couldn’t wait to see how the author was going to tackle it." TO

Lisa was believable and engaging, a character that I was able to connect with and easily enter into her world. The writing style was fantastic. There were lots of funny moments thrown in with the serious ones, and I found myself feeling hungry many times while reading the book just from the realism in her words.

Quick read and a great start to what will be a great series!

My Rating: 5/5

You'll like this series if you liked:

I don't know if I've read anything quite like Hunger, but maybe the same feel as Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. Amazon has it paired with books such as: Beautiful Darkness by Kami Garcia, Annexed by Sharon Dogar, and Crazy by Han Nolan

Amethyst Bound - Quick Review

Title: Amethyst Bound
Author: L. Shannon
Genre: Fiction - Adult, Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Page Count: 432 Pages
Rating: 3.5/5


*Received from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review*

Toni Giovanni is a thief...although she prefers to call it the high-risk recovery business. Her current job feels suspiciously easy-until a mysterious artifact draws her into an ancient prophecy and binds her soul to a spirited dragon named Amethyst.
But Toni isn't quite ready to be taken over by a dragon, even if Amethyst's appetite for sexy archaeologist Dr. Ben Davis mirrors Toni's own. And she's got a big problem on her hands: turns out the prophecy predicts that dragons will end the world...and there are many more dragons out there.
Toni's going to need all the help she can get.

My Review:

I really wanted to like this book. I loved the premis and the characters. The world building was there, but it just needed more meat. Being a novella, it was understandably shorter, but it had to rush through some things that I really wish had been explored, and the relationships progressed way too fast. I found myself wishing that there was another half to the book that filled in the jumps that were made in the story line.

All in all I was left wanting more, which is a good thing. I will probably read the other two books in the trilogy when they are released as I really did like Shannon's take on the dragon lore. I would recommend this book if you are looking for a quick and light Paranormal Romance.

My Rating: 3.5/5

You'll like this series if you liked:

Destiny Kills by Keri Arthur.