Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Review: Whispers at Moonrise

“You couldn't always control life, just your response to it.” 
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Book: 4 of 5
Pages: 383

Shadow Falls Camp is back in session with the most explosive installment yet.  A shocking new threat will rock Shadow Falls—changing it forever and altering Kylie’s journey in ways she never imagined.
Even at a camp for supernatural teens, Kylie Galen has never been normal. Not only can she see ghosts, but she doesn’t seem to belong to any one species—she exhibits traits from them all. As Kylie struggles to unlock the secrets of her identity, she begins to worry that Lucas will never be able to accept her for what she is, and what she isn’t…a werewolf.  With his pack standing in their way, Kylie finds herself turning more and more to Derek, the only person in her life who’s willing to accept the impossible. As if life isn’t hard enough, she starts getting visits from the ghost of Holiday, her closest confidante.  Trouble is, Holiday isn’t dead…not yet anyway.  Now Kylie must race to save one of her own from an unseen danger before it’s too late—all while trying to stop her relationship with Lucas from slipping away forever.   In a world of constant confusion, there’s only one thing Kylie knows for sure.  Change is inevitable and all things must come to an end…maybe even her time at Shadow Falls.

"This has everything a YA reader would want....I read it over a week ago and I am still thinking about it. I can't get it out of my head. I can't wait to read more. This series is going to be a hit!" -Awesomesauce Bookclub 

My Thoughts: 
I can already tell you now that this book series will one day be made into a movie. How do I know that? Just by reading this series you can feel the suspense and thrill of adventure coming off the pages. Your immediately transferred into a world filled with non-stop mystery, drama, romance, and more. It's like the more you read the deeper you get into discovering something new that you never knew was there before. C.C. Hunter's way with fluidity of language in the novel kept me focused the entire time that I was reading. I pretty much got the book in the mail and read it all in that same day without putting it done, that's how brilliant it was!

C.C. Hunter knows how to take readers on an emotional rollercoaster; (Like Zayn Malik says "Just close your eyes and enjoy the rollercoaster that is life") and that's just what I did when stepping into the world of Shadow Falls. But I have to say the ending caught me off guard. I was not prepared and had been left speechless. All I could think was "Why?" and "I can't believe you would do this". By the time I could speak all I wanted to do was jump into the story, grab her shoulders shaking her senselessly while yelling in her face "Are you stupid!? You can't just up and leave! FIGHT FOR WHAT YOU WANT!" But sadly that can't happen. 

All and all this book was excellent and I can't wait to read the final installment. 


Cover Rating: B

Review: Taken at Dusk

“You will be what you are, and whatever it is, you will be fine. Everyone has to accept that and love you for who you are; it doesn’t really matter where your heritage comes from” 
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Book: 3 of 5
Pages: 380

Step into Shadow Falls, a camp for teens with supernatural powers.  Here friendship thrives, love takes you by surprise, and our hearts possess the greatest magic of all.

Kylie Galen wants the truth so badly she can taste it. The truth about who her real family is, the truth about which boy she’s meant to be with—and the truth about what her emerging powers mean.  But she’s about to discover that some secrets can change your life forever…and not always for the better. Just when she and Lucas are finally getting close, she learns that his pack has forbidden them from being together.  Was it a mistake to pick him over Derek? And it’s not just romance troubling Kylie. An amnesia-stricken ghost is haunting her, delivering the frightful warning, someone lives and someone dies. As Kylie races to unravel the mystery and protect those she loves, she finally unlocks the truth about her supernatural identity, which is far different—and more astonishing—than she ever imagined.

"This series always seems to somehow entrap me in its pages. I read Taken At Dusk in a matter of hours and I loved every moment of it." -Jena

My Thoughts:
As always CC Hunter never fails to amaze me with her story-telling. She did a great job creating a story that doesn't only revolves with our protagonist, but also extended to her supporting characters. I got so pulled into this story that I felt completely sad when it ended. This book makes you laugh, it makes your stomach drop, overall it has a way of trapping you in the story from beginning to end. In C.C. Hunter definitely did not disappoint with this one! 

Cover Rating: A

Wednesday, March 21, 2012

Apologies To All

Things have been so hectic that I haven't had time to get on and post reviews of the books I've read, but like the saying goes "I'm making a comeback" and I have tons of reviews for you all on some amazing series. So for the few followers I have (and hoping to get more) I hope you haven't forgotten about me because I haven't forgotten about you (:

Sincerely, Megan

Saturday, January 14, 2012

In My Mailbox (#1)

I'm stoked! I went shopping this weekend with my mother, got a few paperback copies, one hardcover and a iBook. So, check them out :)

Bought
Mistwood by Leah Cypess

The Shifter is an immortal creature bound by an ancient spell to protect the kings of Samorna. When the realm is peaceful, she retreats to the Mistwood. But when she is needed she always comes.

Isabel remembers nothing. Nothing before the prince rode into her forest to take her back to the castle. Nothing about who she is supposed to be, or the powers she is supposed to have.

Prince Rokan needs Isabel to be his Shifter. He needs her ability to shift to animal form, to wind, to mist. He needs her lethal speed and superhuman strength. And he needs her loyalty—because without it, she may be his greatest threat.

Isabel knows that her prince is lying to her, but she can't help wanting to protect him from the dangers and intrigues of the court... until a deadly truth shatters the bond between them.

Now Isabel faces a choice that threatens her loyalty, her heart... and everything she thought she knew.



Nightspell by Leah Cypess

A stand-alone companion novel to the much-acclaimed MISTWOOD. When Darri rides into Ghostland, a country where the living walk with the dead, she has only one goal: to rescue her younger sister Callie, who was sent to Ghostland as a hostage four years ago.
But Callie has changed in those four years, and now has secrets of her own. In her quest to save her sister from herself, Darri will be forced to outmaneuver a handsome ghost prince, an ancient sorcerer, and a manipulative tribal warrior (who happens to be her brother).
When Darri discovers the source of the spell that has kept the dead in Ghostland chained to this earth, she faces a decision that will force her to reexamine beliefs she has never before questioned - and lead her into the heart of a conspiracy that threatens the very balance of power between the living and the dead.


Got In Mail
Sweep: Volume 1 by Cate Tiernan

The first three Sweep books bound into one gorgeous edition at a fabulous price! Morgan Rowlands never thought she was anything other than a typical sixteen-year-old girl. But when she meets Cal, a captivatingly handsome coven leader, she makes a discover that turns her whole world upside down: she is a witch, descended from an ancient and powerful line. And so is Cal.

Their connection is immediate and unbreakable; Cal teases out Morgan's power, her love, her magick. But Morgan discovers too soon that her powers are strong - almost too powerful to control. And she begins to suspect that Cal may be keeping secrets from her . . . secrets that could destroy them both




 Sweep: Volume 2 by Cate Tiernan

Morgan Rowlands is a blood witch, the last of a long line of ancient and powerful witches and the holder of an unfathomable power. With the help of her love, her soul mate, Cal, she has realized her true self - but at at price. For Morgan and Cal share a terrible, dark secret, one that binds them together even as they are rent apart.

Yet there is something about Cal's hunger for magick that firghtens Morgan.... And now there is another one who can bring Morgan clarity, truth... love. Morgan must decide who is her true love, and who is out to destroy her forever....



Deadly Little Secret by
Some secrets shouldn't be kept...

Up until three months ago, everything in sixteen-
year-old Camelia's life had been fairly ordinary: decent grades; an okay relationship with her parents; and a pretty cool part-time job at the art studio downtown. But when Ben, the mysterious new guy, starts junior year at her high school, Camelia's life becomes anything but ordinary.

Rumored to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend's accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus. Except for Camelia. She's reluctant to believe the rumors, even when her friends try to convince her otherwise. She's inexplicably drawn to Ben...and to his touch. But soon, Camelia is receiving eerie phone calls and strange packages with threatening notes. Ben insists she is in danger, and that he can help--but can he be trusted? She knows he's hiding something... but he's not the only one with a secret.

        iBook
The Poison Diaries by Maryrose Wood
 
Jessamine Luxton has lived all her sixteen years in an isolated cottage near Alnwick Castle, with little company apart from the plants in her garden. Her father, Thomas, a feared and respected apothecary, has taught her much about the incredible powers of plants: that even the most innocent-looking weed can cure -- or kill.

When Jessamine begins to fall in love with a mysterious boy who claims to communicate with plants, she is drawn into the dangerous world of the poison garden in a way she never could have imagined . . . 





I'm excited to start reading all these books and once I'm done I'll be doing reviews on all of them, which I know you're all looking forward to (: 


Tuesday, January 10, 2012

Review: Clockwork Prince

 “We live and breathe words. .... It was books that made me feel that perhaps I was not completely alone. They could be honest with me, and I with them. Reading your words, what you wrote, how you were lonely sometimes and afraid, but always brave; the way you saw the world, its colors and textures and sounds, I felt--I felt the way you thought, hoped, felt, dreamt. I felt I was dreaming and thinking and feeling with you. I dreamed what you dreamed, wanted what you wanted--and then I realized that truly I just wanted you.” 
Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare
Publisher: McElderry Books
Book: 2 of 3
Pages: 498

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa's powers for his own dark ends.
With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister's war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will; the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do? As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart.


"Beautiful, breathtaking, and heart-clenching. The Infernal Devices has become one of my favorite series and has, I dare say, surpassed The Mortal Instruments series. For all those YA lovers out there, Cassandra Clare has given us an aphrodisiac for the soul. This book is absolutely worth of your time. Go pick it up!" -Tatiana Vila




My Thoughs:
Cassandra Clare, you have gone and done it again. My heart is officially torn into pieces and I'm unsure that it will ever be fixed, but in a good way. Of all the things to say I cannot tell you how much you've brought the characters to life. Their stories, adventures and past pull us into the heart of Clockwork Prince as though we've been a part of it all along. But I know for a fact that was you're plan this whole time..

Just like J.K. Rowling with her extraordinary writing to pulling us into the world of Hogwarts, you have pulled us into the world of Shadowhunters. With each chapter that we read, it was taking us a step deeper into the adventure, chaos and love triangle. There was so many things that we got the chance to fully grasp. Like, the meaning and what it took of being a Shadowhunter, what really lies behind hidden doors that people try to shield, having the raw honest truth ripped out of you or thrown in you're face, the darkest horrors of people's past that they can never run away from, ect. For all this series has to tell I can go on forever, but I would probably spill to many secrets and I wouldn't want to ruin that for anyone now would I? Which I'm not going to, so you don't have to worry.

In the end, this series is truly the most magnificent master piece I have gotten to read from The Infernal Devices and I can't wait for more to come.

On another note:
I would like to point out that this series, along with The Mortal Instruments, is mistaken as being another "Twilight". These series do have similar plots with the love triangles having one guy be the "mysterious bad boy" and the other guy being "the perfect good boy", but if you've notice things are quite different then what they seem to be. I can a sure you that these series ARE NOT like anything you've read from "Twilight" and that they give you much more then you're hopeless love triangle. Because that's all that goes on in The Twilight Sage, non-stop fighting over who's going to get the girl or who she will pick. So please, just give these series a chance and see the adventures that are waiting for you inside. I promise you it will be worth you're time. And if that doesn't get you going, then you can message me anytime for more info as to why you should read it and I'll tell you(:

Cover rating: A++ 

Wednesday, January 4, 2012

Cover reveal: City of Lost Souls

City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare
The Mortal Instruments #5
May 8, 2012


Woot~This has to be one of my FAVORITE covers so far from TMI. I’m freaking excited for this book to come out! The work they put into the cover is truly magnificent., especially the models for Clary and Jace on the cover. I feel like I’ll finally get the love story that I missed out on in CoFA. The models for me look so much like Clary and Jace, it's exactly how I pictured them to look. I loved the first four Mortal Instruments books and I can hardly wait to see what happens in this next installment. With that said, what do you guys think of the cover? Do you love it as much as I do?

Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Cover reveal: Before I Wake

Before I wake by Rachel Vincent 
Soul Screamers #6
June 22, 2012

For me, every cover in this entire series has always caught my attention. This cover is as breath taking as the last and will defiantly draw everyone's eye when it hits shelves in bookstores around the world. I can’t wait to read what happens next. Hopefully "Never To Sleep" will keep me satisfied til then. It’s still a long wait, not just for me, but for everyone else. Congratulations to Rachel her soul ripping series and another book that's sure to be a hit! 

Monday, January 2, 2012

My Top 8 YA and Paranormal Novels of 2011

It's time for my favorite novels of 2011! I must express with you all the love I have for these amazing books that came out. We can all agree that it was the best year for YA and Paranormal authors, every day of the week new novels were filling out shelves and flying off them. I could swear that each time I walked into the book store a new novel would catch my eye and I just had to buy it right then and there. I mean, it's not every day (or we should say year) that we get great books like these that come out and bring so much joy to our life's. It's a rare case to find such outstanding works of master pieces. With ending in a year that has brought us tons of fantastic books, you can expect more brilliant books to come in 2012. So with that said, here are that books that brought me joy while gripping my heart and never wanting to let go.

Darkest Mercy by Melissa Marr
Wicked Lovely #5 
 
Honestly I'm at a loss now that this series is finally over. It's heartbreaking to know that I've been left behind in reality while the world of Wicked Lovely continues on without me. I'm deeply in love with Faeries (their my favorite paranormal creatures) that I wish I could join them.

For all the Faerie series I've read, this one is the kicker. It has grown attached to me like new flower bud that attaches it's self to the earth (I hope that makes sense) and it didn't go on forever and grow tiresome like most series have done. All the different events with each character has opened them in a new perspective that allowed me to understand them more. Plus, I've grown to like some of them that I disliked before. This book will tug at you're heart and fill you with sweet emotions.




 Beautiful Chaos by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
A Beautiful Creatures Novel #3



Beautiful Chaos brings much more events to light than the first two did. The action is more thrilling and of course like all great series, it ends on a ridiculous cliffhanger (that made me want to scream and pull my hair out yelling "Why!?"). What's funny is, I don't really enjoy books where boys are the main character and narrate the whole time. You can say I prefer them more as the good looking mysterious guy that the main girl always falls head over heels for, but surprisingly Ethan really hit it off for me. I enjoyed every minute of him and I still can't get enough.

Beautiful Chaos makes me pumped for the last book to come out, but it also makes me sad that I'm gonna have to wait for it!But you know, it's worth the wait because I know Garcia and Stohl are putting their all into this last installment of Beautiful Creatures series.


 Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini


I'm a huge fanatic when it comes to Greek mythology, so when I stumbled upon "Starcrossed" and read the review, I knew I had to get it and it does not disappoint one bit!

The story was well written and the ending was fantastic with all the action and adventure happening at once. I've heard it's suppose to be a trilogy (which I'm looking forward to). The mystery has yet to be solved nor were all the questions answered in the end, so how could the adventure stop now? One thing I took noticed in "Starcrossed" was that it reminds me of The Mortal Instruments by Cassandra Clare, due to the fact that the relationship between Helena and Lucas (the main characters) are forbidden despite the huge attraction they have for one another. And if you've read, there's a part near the end that reminds me of it more cause of what her mother admits to them all (tho I don't believe it to be true)With that said, I'm definitely planning to buy the sequel when it comes out. This was an exciting adventure for me to read and I highly recommend it to all of you YA, Paranormal and Greek mythology lovers to get it.



Awake at Dawn by C.C. Hunter
A Shadow Falls Novel #2

 
With every paranormal aspects of this book, I continue to love it more and more. All the different species are interesting, the way  each and everyone of them interacting with each other makes the series more fun, you don't see the much often in other series. I'm really more interested into knowing what species Kylie is and I can't wait to find out.
I enjoyed every minute of this book, but the ending is what really caught my spark! A certain event happens (again I'm not going to ruin it for any of you) in the back half of the book that I believe will set this series apart from other YA and Paranormal novels. It has really added a new situation to the scene and I can hardly wait for the third book to come out!

Soul Screamers by Rachel Vincent
Soul Screamers Novel Volume 1 #0.5-2


This book really knocked my socks off! I enjoyed the fascinating discovering about Kaylee’s origins. I enjoyed that her aunt, uncle, cousin and father got huge parts in this series and I loved getting to read their stories. At first, they seem like the typical family, but behind closed doors you quickly find out that there is a lot more then what you know. The investigation of finding out why Nash and Kaylee's classmates were dating had me on the edge of my seat. I wish that Rachel Vincent would of spend more time on the origins of bean sidhe, the Irish folklore and that she didn't make Nash always so quick to come to the rescue.

Overall, I thought this was a fantastic YA novel. The ending was amazing and the storyline was well written.. Kaylee has the potential to be a great heroine if she would just shut the hell up and listen to others for once. If she manages to accomplish that, it could make this series very entertaining.



Wolfsbane by Andrea CremerA NightShade Novel #2

I was over joyed to be back in the Nightshade world with the pack. Once again Andrea's writing pulled me in and kept me  needing to know what happened next. Plus, getting to read more of Calla and Shay,with the developments of their relationship, was a joyous ride. Having each of them with their own stories and quirks to tell was entertaining sense of humor. The plot of twists, romantic tensions and betrayal make this book much more of a amazing read. The stories and memories each characters share in Wolfsbane are nothing more then outstanding.
If you though Nightshade was intense, just step into the world of Wolfsbane and you'll get more then you've asked for, but in a different way that's better. My one complaint? The cliffhanger Wolfsbane left us with, I wanted more then what they left! (Which I did from Bloodrose)