The Winter Sea by Susanna Kearsley

The Winter Sea

( UK Title: Sophia's Secret )

by Susanna Kearsley

Genre: Contemporary | Romance | Historic

History has all but forgotten the spring of 1708, when an invasion fleet of French and Scottish soldiers nearly succeeded in landing the exiled James Stewart in Scotland to reclaim his crown. Now, Carrie McClelland hopes to turn that story into her next bestselling novel. Settling herself in the shadow of Slains Castle, she creates a heroine named for one of her own ancestors, and starts to write. But when she discovers her novel is more fact than fiction, Carrie wonders if she might be dealing with ancestral memory...making her the only living person who can know the truth of what did happen all those years ago - a tale of love and loyalty...and ultimate betrayal. 

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The Splendor Falls by Rosemary Clement-Moore

The Splendor Falls

by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Genre: Young Adult | Supernatural

Can Love Last Beyond the Grave?

Sylvie Davis is a ballerina who can’t dance. A broken leg ended her career, but Sylvie’s pain runs deeper. What broke her heart was her father’s death, and what’s breaking her spirit is her mother’s remarriage—a union that’s only driven an even deeper wedge into their already tenuous relationship.

Uprooting her from her Manhattan apartment and shipping her to Alabama is her mother’s solution for Sylvie’s unhappiness. Her father’s cousin is restoring a family home in a town rich with her family’s history. And that’s where things start to get shady. As it turns out, her family has a lot more history than Sylvie ever knew. More unnerving, though, are the two guys that she can’t stop thinking about. Shawn Maddox, the resident golden boy, seems to be perfect in every way. But Rhys—a handsome, mysterious foreign guest of her cousin’s—has a hold on her that she doesn’t quite understand.

 Then she starts seeing things. Sylvie’s lost nearly everything—is she starting to lose her mind as well?

Summary: Sylvie Davis is sent to her late father's ancestral home for the summer in Alabama to recover from "The Accident" that ruined her career in ballet.  Bitter and distraught, Sylvie begrudgingly adapts to her new historical residence even though there are some unsettling rules (ex. no dogs in the house), bewildering small-town beliefs/superstitions, and two young men that she develops conflicting/unbalancing feelings for.  Even though the lush green gardens outside her home brighten her days, Sylvie's nights are haunted by a watcher in the windows and high-pitched howling noises from the nearby woods.  Any attempts to discover the secrets of her father's Old South legacy are usually interrupted by the Teen Town Council/Shawn Maddox or the local ghost town (Cahawba) archaeological dig volunteer, Rhys Griffith.  And when the legendary ghost stories begin to become reality, Sylvie takes it upon herself to set the past straight by uncovering the mysteries of Bluestone Hill.

Review: Sylvie was a rocky character for me, she either came off a stubbornly strong or frustratingly vulnerable and as much as I wanted to recognize her as an independent female lead, in my eye, she only succeeded in lacking confidence.  I know she had good reason to be gloomy, but her coarse actions towards events in the story dampened my feelings towards her.  On the other hand, Rhys was a highly witty and delightful character.  He portrayed a compelling figure that actually revealed many of the stories historical facts and much-needed revelations that moved the tale along.  Shawn also depicted a vibrant character who shined greatly as the small-town's favorite son, but who also had a darker more complex and intense side.  The side-characters were all entertaining enough (somewhat excluding cousin Paula who was more of a downer than anything else) without distracting from the main leads -- a plus!

The story had an intriguing concept full of ghosts, folk-lore, history, mythology, etc. that it instantly appealed to me, but there was almost too much going on in each of those areas that they kind of eclipsed each other.  Also, sadly, some parts that I felt were very important in the story were either anti-climatic/down-played and only slightly revealed right at the end (ex. the whole 'past-life' concept), thus I would have liked a bit more development altogether.  I was entertained though by the spook-factor created from the local ghost beliefs/visions which added a little supernatural thrill.  Plus, the romance sparks were there, just slightly hollow.

  

Likes: Personally, I did enjoy Sylvie's soy milk drinking/meat-substitute eating lifestyle since recently I've adapted to becoming a part-time vegan and got a hoot out of her reactions to the southern dishes. Also, the Welsh mythology was something all together new for me (and that's saying something for a historical/folk-lore Nut like me)!

Dislikes: The overall story's plot development was too lethargic and disordered for my reading taste. The ending left me asking questions that, I felt, weren't fully answered as well as confusion in some of the misleading directions the story took.  All in all, it left me a bit baffled!

Rating:

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Love in the Time of Dragons by Katie MaCalister

Love in the Time of Dragons
(Light Dragons, Book 1)
by Katie MaCalister

Genre: Paranormal Romance | Dark Fantasy

If you found out you were a famous fire-breather, you’d be freaked out too.

Tully Sullivan is just like any other suburban mom—unless you count the days every year that she zones out and turns base metals in to gold. Those are weird.

And now she’s woken up in a strange place surrounded by strange people who keep insisting they’re dragons—and that she’s one too. But not just any dragon. She’s Ysolde de Bouchier, a famed figure from dragon history.

Tully can’t shape-shift or breathe fire, and she’s definitely not happy being sentenced to death for the misdeeds of a dragon mate she can’t remember. All Tully knows is that she wants her son back. So she’ll have to find a way to solve the crimes of a past she has no memory of living…

Tully wakes up, away from home for over five weeks and within the care of people convinced she's someone she's not, especially someone who is a dragon! She struggles to remember her current life while being bombarded with memories/dreams of a past life and knows her two contrasting worlds could never lead to a good end. Thus, she must face some strange truths while trying to blend her past with her present/future.

I'll just say it . . . I'm not a fan of Katie MaCalister. I think I decided to check this book out since it was new in a series and sounded somewhat intriguing (plus I needed a new audio-book for walks around the park on Sundays), but then I forget how much I thoroughly dislike MaCalister's characters - esp. her female leads! The majority of her characters are way too kooky for my taste (I mean, come on...a dog demon...seriously?) and too oddly comical (not in a good way) without any enjoyable substance. I never really get the humor in the books either, but I did finish this tale hoping it would get better and felt utterly let-down at the end. It was a total 'MEH' read for me. Honestly, I just felt so lost listening to the chapters with the characters silly reactions to certain life-changing events and their NON-reactions to others that it just left my flabbergasted overall. Also, I had no emotional connection/bond with anyone pivotal figure in the story since the two protagonists were my least favorite people/dragon/whatever and many of the side-characters were just too irritating & peculiar (ex: son obsessed with mummification), so here's hoping more of you enjoy this book than I did.

Likes: I had high hopes that the whole concept of 'mate forgets mate, mate meets mate again' would be more substantial and momentous in a book, but this story was just so mellow about it that it felt so unexceptional and shall I say it . . . 'blah'.

Dislikes: Could Tully be more of an dull lead? She came off a so naive that I was truly shocked by many of her mannerisms and scatterbrained actions.

Rating:

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Witches of East End by Melissa de la Cruz

Witches of East End
The Beauchamp Family Book # 1
by Melissa de la Cruz

Genre: Contemporary Romance | Fantasy

It’s the beginning of summer in North Hampton, and beautiful Freya Beauchamp is celebrating her engagement to wealthy Bran Gardiner, the heir to Fair Haven and Gardiners Island. But Freya is drawn to Bran’s gorgeous but unreliable brother Killian, and sparks fly when the two decide to play a dangerous game, following an ancient story of love, betrayal and tragedy that harks back to the days of Valhalla.

Witches of East End follows the Beauchamp family—the formidable matriarch Joanna and her daughters Freya and Ingrid. Freya, a sexy bartender, has a potion to cure every kind of heartache, while Ingrid, the local librarian, solves complicated domestic problems with her ability to tie magical knots. Joanna is the witch to see when modern medicine has no more answers; her powers can wake the dead. Everything seems to be going smoothly until a young girl, Molly Lancaster, goes missing after taking one of Freya’s irresistible cocktails. As more of the town’s residents begin disappearing, everyone seems to have the same suspects in mind: the Beauchamp women.

Fraught with love, small-town secrets, and witchcraft, Witches of East End will capture any reader who craves a page-turning, heart-stopping story of myth and magic from an author who knows how to deliver.

Witches of East End revolves around two sisters and their mother in a small coastal town. With a long, colorful & paranormal past, all the Beauchamp women currently settle for a mundane lifestyle within the community while silently mourning the loss of their powers. When tragedy strikes, the family chooses to take risks using their forbidden magic for good which in turn gives them each a new purpose in life. With the plot colliding between such movies scripts as "Thor" and "Practical Magic", these powerful witches/women created by de la Cruz discover joy, adventure, heart-ache, and inner strength in this new magical series.

While all the Beauchamp ladies are "neither old nor young", "their physical appearances [correspond] to their particular talents" (pg. 29) :

Freya, the young vibrant one, can pull off looking within the age ranges of 16-23 and has a passion of igniting passion and is often characterized as "the first blush of Love". She can easily brew concoctions for all types of romance, but internally struggles with her own upcoming marriage.

Ingrid, the strong silent type, works for the locally under-funded library and can appear "anywhere from 27-35" years old. Known as the "Keeper of the Hearth," she is mostly stubborn and strongly believes in the rules (especially regarding her job), but slowly lets down her rigid guard in more ways than one throughout the book.

Joanna, the wise mother, has the heart of a child but carries the features "of an older woman in her early sixties". She's been around for centuries and carries dark secrets from her daughter while anguishing over past losses.

I had high hopes for this book, eagerly anticipating the whole witch theme since I'm a fan of de la Cruz's Blue Blood series, but, sadly, this story was a let down. To me, it felt like it was all over the place, either in the present or past, either in this sisters head or a side characters and, honestly, I would expect that from a book later on in a well-rounded series, but not from the first story. In my opinion, the tale would have flowed better if the author would have stuck to one family member per book - it would have created more interesting character development, a richer in-depth setting, and helped the reader better grasp this new

Beauchamp world full of witchy powers. Yet, what the reader received at the end of page 323 was a jumble of short stories that felt more like an anthology than an actual novel.

Other than that, the story dragged immensely, but I'm still holding out that this series can turn itself around since it took reading the first three books chronologically of de la Cruz's popular vampire series to become a favorite on mine. These characters have promise, the current story did contain some nice twist/turns, and the plot (though slightly lacking right now) can really expand into many intriguing areas in the future - IF - the author would actually work on creating a tale meant more for an adult audience (since Witches of East End could easily fall into the 'advance' young adult category -- nothing too hot & heavy/ deadly & devious in this tale to cast it into an "R" rating) So, here's hoping that something 'wicked' cool comes from the Beauchamp women in Book #2!

Likes: I'd be tempted to taste Freya's new cocktail menu at the North Inn Bar :)

Dislikes: I wanted to get immersed in the story, but due to the plot being all over the place I was overwhelmed more often than not.

Rating:

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The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

The Eternal Ones
(Eternal Series Book #1)
by Kirsten Miller

Genre : Young Adult | Paranormal Romance

Haven Moore is a high school senior who has had visions of previous lives since she was a small child. Her strict, religious grandmother and guardian insists that she is possessed by demons. Haven believes she is being driven to find the current reincarnation of her true love.

The teen is a fine seamstress and has saved $12,000 making prom dresses with her gay friend, Beau. As her small-town world closes in around her, she decides to make a run for it to New York City, where she has seen the love of her lives come back in the tabloids because he has been accused of murder. This novel is a mystery, a thriller, and a love story. There is also a touch of the occult via the Ouroboros Society, an organization that purports to gather members from the reincarnated of the world. The element of mystery is consistently sustained from the beginning as Haven tries to determine if the man she loves is trying to kill her.

Ever since Haven Moore was 9 years old, she's been having flashbacks of realistic events that haven't happened yet. As a child, she would always mention of having "another mother", talk about her "other big self" and other unnatural things for someone so young to even know about. Thus, she was shunned early on by the students at school, thought cursed by her church, and practically kept prisoner by her strict grandmother/caretaker. Luckily, she had a best friend, Beau Decker, who kept her sane while memories of a past love, Ethan, kept her dreaming of something better in life. Eventually, research on her visions led to actual historical facts which convinced Haven that she was the reincarnation of a girl named Constance from the 1920s. She also discovered her "Ethan" was reincarnated as well as Ian Marrow, a New York rich society boy whose face is across all the gossip tabloids. Yet, as things begin to heat up in her home town in Tennessee, Haven escapes to try to figure out what all her visions means and just who she really is.

This was a refreshing read, something paranormally different from most of what is out there. Past lives that are reincarnated over and over again so that they may finally be together, a true love that doesn't end . . . utterly romantic and still sadly tragic. I enjoyed Haven's struggle of dealing with her debilitating visions of places/people she had never seen in her current life. The past twist was just as fascinating and I wish we would have gotten even more detailed glimpses into more of their past lives besides the most recent one in 1925. I adored the relationship between Haven and Beau and found myself easily getting caught up in the overall mystery of The Eternal Ones. Yet, about 2/3rds into the book, I felt Haven became very wishy-washy in her Ouroboros Society beliefs and that she was exasperatingly tedious with going back and forth in her trust in Ian/Ethan. I did find some parts shockingly spooky (ex. her discoveries while being held captive near the end), but all in all I thoroughly was captivated and cannot wait for what is next.

Coming Soon: Book # 2 - ALL YOU DESIRE - August 9th, 2011

Likes: What little bits we got of the past-life stories was fascinating, especially the story set during ancient Crete.

Dislikes: Lots of controversial religious beliefs were brought up throughout the story and since I'm not really not a fan of religious debates or political prejudices brought up in any type of book, I frowned upon it here too.

Words of Wisdom: "Unless you make the jump, you'll never know what is on the other side." (audio-book)

Rating:

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Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel

Infinite Days
(Vampire Queen #1)
by Rebecca Maizel

Genre: Young Adult | Paranormal Romance

“Throughout all my histories, I found no one I loved more than you…no one.” Those were some of Rhode’s last words to me. The last time he would pronounce his love. The last time I would see his face. It was the first time in 592 years I could take a breath. Lay in the sun. Taste. Rhode sacrificed himself so I, Lenah Beaudonte, could be human again. So I could stop the blood lust. I never expected to fall in love with someone else that wasn’t Rhode. But Justin was…daring. Exciting. More beautiful than I could dream. I never expected to be sixteen again…then again, I never expected my past to come back and haunt me…

Lenah awakes after sleeping for 100 years to find herself mortal and newly enrolled within a high school to slowly adapt to her new surroundings. Her sire, Rhode, sacrificed himself so that she may have a chance at mortality again and can experience a life that she gave up so many years ago. Yet, being queen of a powerful coven and stepping down from her responsibilities isn't something to be taken lightly, thus, her old "family" is on the hunt to bring her back . . . alive or (re)dead!

This book was praised rather highly and because of that, I eagerly anticipated reading it. But, sadly . . . I wasn't impressed. The main problem I had at the end was I felt none of the characters had any real depth to them. Sure, you learn their past stories and/or meet side characters that relay more facts about them but, when all is finished, I felt that I didn't really know these people any more personally than I did at page 1. Thus, Infinite Days was one of those tales were the blurb on the back of the book was better than the actual story overall.

I wish I could put my finger on the actual reason behind me not enjoying this (AUDIO!)book; perhaps the character development was lacking or the plot lagged too much - but the main part is - the story wasn't doing anything for me! I never got around to liking Lenah herself and I was not happy at all with her relationship with Justin (it just seemed so fake from the beginning) and of all the ways to end . . . blah!

I had also expected more from an old vampire soul like Lenah, maybe more knowledge of the world, more insight into love/relationships, but she just came off as a normal inexperienced teenager. Plus, she kept talking about how really horrible she was during her vampire reign that I so desired to hear more about that as well, but it was unsatisfactorily left out. The one praise I have for this book is that the concept was original, but I felt it could have been written into a much richer tale and for me, it was just so-so.

Likes: Great characters names like Rhode or Vicken.

Dislikes: *Spoiler* How Lenah had to kill her coven to stay alive and because of that . . . she came off as very selfish to me. She made her coven into what they are, she also made the decision to become human again and now she's making those of her past suffer for it. I could go on and on about this fact, but I'll stop at that.

Rating:

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Undead and Unfinished by Mary Janice Davidson

Undead and Unfinished
(The Undead Book #9)
by Mary Janice Davidson

Genre: Paranormal Romance

In Undead and Unfinished, the ninth novel featuring the adventures of Vampire Queen Betsy Taylor, Betsy strikes up a deal with the devil. Now, Betsy has the ability to read the Book of the Dead without going insane and she finally gets the chance to discover all the dark mysteries it holds. When a visit to Hell turns into a time traveling journey filled with risky encounters, Betsy gets more than she bargained for. As she interacts firsthand with her past generations, Betsy’s meddling will impact the future in ways she does not yet understand.

Vamp Queen Betsy Taylor's at it again and no matter what goes down in Minneapolis, whenever Betsy's involved, it's usually not good. Her sister Laura or as Betsy's refers to her (numerous times!) throughout the book, Antichrist, gets involved in a scheme to visit her true mother, the Devil, in Hell.  Wanting to tag along (reluctantly!) to make sure everything is A-okay, Betsy follows Laura to have a personal tour down-under, witness the hellish treatment of Ted Bundy and Henry VIII, and travel in time.  Yes, that's right - I said travel in time since Laura needs to practice that skill if she's to take over her Mother's position upon retirement.   Something neither are willing to do, but it's not like you have much choice in Hell.  

This use to be such a cute series and who couldn't enjoy Betsy Taylor—former model, newly unemployed secretary, 30, and still single—who wakes up after being flattened by a small SUV in a tacky coffin wearing cheap knock-off shoes and is now the Queen of the vampires?  Come on . . . that was a hilarious plot!  But the last few books in the series have been major major bombs!!!  I couldn't even finish the last one and, sadly, I've stopped buying the ridiculous hardback copies of this series.  Thanks to my library though, I can safely test the waters again with the next addition, Undead and Unfinished.  I'm not offering praise or anything, but Davidson is at least is taking steps in the right direction with Book #9.  I struggled at times to continue (Could Betsy just SHUT UP for once and stop making senseless chatter?), but at least I finished this story and the ending was surprisingly shocking to me . . . didn't see that coming at all!  I did enjoy the Devil's description of being the "giver of knowledge" since "knowledge is like a hammer . . . it's neither good nor evil.  What matters is how you apply it." (pg 125) I think that was probably the deepest thought throughout this whole book.  If you've been a fan from the beginning, you'll more than like be tempted to check this one out and honestly it's not as bad as the last two (those were just SAD excuses for books) but it's nothing great to brag about it either.  Pure Fluff!

Likes: The references to The Body Shop's Strawberry bath gel . . . OMG I love that stuff, too!

Dislikes: I use to think Betsy's obsession with shoes was quirky, but now it's just ridiculous!

Rating:

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Blue Bloods: Keys to the Repository by Melissa de la Cruz

Blue Bloods : Keys to the Repository
(Companion to The Van Alen Legacy)
by Melissa de la Cruz

Genre: Companion | Paranormal Romance | Young Adult

Lavish parties. Passionate meetings in the night. Bone-chilling murders. Midterms. The day-to-day life of Schuyler Van Alen and her Blue Bloods friends (and enemies) is never boring. But there's oh-so-much more to know about these beautiful and powerful teens. Below the streets of Manhattan, within the walls of the Repository, exists a wealth of revealing information about the vampire elite that dates back before the Mayflower. In a series of short stories, journal entries, and never-before-seen letters, New York Times bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz gives her hungry fans the keys to the Repository and an even more in-depth look into the secret world of the Blue Bloods.

Half-Blood

Birth Name: Schuyler Theodora Elizabeth Van Alen Chase

Origin: September 1, 1992, New York, New York

Known Past Lives: None: she is Dimidium Cognatus (half-human, half-vampire), the first and only one of her kind.

Azrael, Angel of Death, Twin Angel of the Apocalypse

Birth Name: Madeleine Alexis Force, known as "Mimi"

List of Human Familiars: See pages 84-88 in Records of Human Interaction for full list. (Too many to mention here; number in possible violation of the Code.) HA!

Kingsley Martin

Assigned to investigate the murder of Aggie Carondolet, Kingsley enrolled as a student at Duchesne.  With his cocky confidence, smoldering air of mystery, and devastating good looks {NOTE FROM RENFIELD: SCRIBES, ARE YOU SURE VENATOR MARTIN HASN'T HACKED INTO THIS FILE?}, Kingsley was a legend only a week after arriving at Duchesne. {NOTE TO RENFIELD FROM K.M. HI RENNY!}

You'll find fun facts like this and more scattered all throughout Keys to the Repository.  It gives detailed accounts of all the main character's family backgrounds, current status, list of bond mates, physical characteristics, as well as city maps, a full history of the Blue Bloods, and a peek at Bliss's "Wolf Pack" side story in search of the Hounds of Hell.  Lovely stuff for all followers of the Blue Blood series, like myself.  It's a companion read, so don't expect much.  I personally have a love/hate relationships with companion reads.  On one hand, I enjoy the little details and shorts stories about all of my favorite characters, while on the other hand, I hate that the fans have to wait even longer for an actually book, and not just an encyclopedia, to continue the series.  Yayy that Misguided Angel (Book #5) is right around the corner on October 26.  We even get a special treat with Bloody Valintine, a romantic novella, that will be published next year! Double Yayy.

Keys to the Repository answered some nice questions of mine (like: What was Schuyler and Jack's first meeting at the Perry St apartment like? or More insight to what happened to Dylan Ward) but then left me blank on so much more (like: Is it true that Stephen Chase, Schuyler's red blood father is only "presumed" deceased? or Wait, so . . . Kingsley was only believed to be trapped in the underworld and not finished?) If you like Schuyler and the gang, you'll enjoy all the "documents" within Melissa de la Cruz's newest work.

Likes: "Mr. Darcy's Requests" was nice!  "Stolen moments, stolen kisses, a secret oasis." Yummy! (pg 59)

Dislikes: Sometimes there's so much information to absorb that I get overwhelmed and can only read the books for bits at a time.

Rating:

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Acheron by Sherrilyn Kenyon

Acheron
(Dark Hunter Book #12)
by Sherrilyn Kenyon




Genre: Paranormal Romance / Historic

Eleven thousand years ago, a god was born. Cursed into the body of a human, Acheron spent a lifetime of shame. But the strongest steel is forged from the fires of hell…

Acheron’s human death unleashed an unspeakable horror that almost destroyed the earth. Then, brought back against his will, he became the sole defender of mankind. Only it was never that simple. For centuries, Acheron has fought for our survival and hidden a past he’ll do anything to keep concealed. Until a lone woman who refuses to be intimidated by him threatens his very existence. Now his survival—and ours—hinges on hers, and old enemies reawaken and unite to kill them both. War has never been more deadly...or more fun.

What goes into making a God? Acheron begins life as a human with hopes of living a privileged and royal life, except everything goes wrong. He is tossed away like trash from his mortal family and struggles for 21 years until his birthright changes everything. Though thousands of years of passed, Acheron is still struggling to overcome the horrors from his youth. Enter Tori; she's equally stubborn and determined to get Ash (the modern Acheron) into helping her resolve her grandfather's reputation of locating the real Atlantis, but nothings as easy as she hopes.

First off . . . this book if HUGE. Almost 800 pages. I got hooked with the first half and loved it. I enjoyed the ancient historic feel to the story and the grief was really gut-wrenching. You cry for all that Acheron goes through. Then you skip ahead a couple of 1000 years to him settling in as a God. Then you skip many many many more 1000 of years to the modern day. I felt this part didn't do the book justice. I couldn't grasp how easily Acheron feel for Tory when he had literally tons of time to come to terms with all the skeletons in his closet. I dunno' . . . their story felt rushed and not as enjoyable as the beginning part. Overall, it was a fun read but a bit awkward considering the size of the book.

Likes: I loved the mythology.

Dislikes: Ash came off as a pansy near the end. I know it was suppose to represent him letting his guard down, but it just felt forced and not natural to me.

Rating:

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Ruined by Paula Morris

Ruined
by Paula Morris

Genre: Paranormal Romance / Fantasy / Young Adult

Rebecca couldn't feel more out of place in New Orleans, where she comes to spend the year while her dad is traveling. She's staying in a creepy old house with her aunt. And at the snooty prep school, the filthy-rich girls treat Rebecca like she's invisible. Only gorgeous, unavailable Anton Grey seems to give Rebecca the time of day, but she wonders if he's got a hidden agenda. Then one night, in Lafayette Cemetery, Rebecca makes a friend. Sweet, mysterious Lisette is eager to talk to Rebecca, and to show her the nooks and crannies of the city. There's just one catch: Lisette is a ghost. A ghost with a deep, dark secret, and a serious score to settle. As Rebecca learns more from her ghost friend -- and as she slowly learns to trust Anton Grey -- she also uncovers startling truths about her own history. Will Rebecca be able to right the wrongs of the past, or has everything been ruined beyond repair?

Rebecca is left with her 'Aunt' Claudia, a French Quarter Tarot card reader, and her daughter Aurelia while her father is out of the country. Adjusting to a new city, new school, and new friends is harder than she imagined, but after sneaking into a nearby cemetery late one night - her life becomes a lot stranger.

It's a good old New Orleans ghost story! I think I enjoyed this story more for the fact of picking out all the places Rebecca lived, visited, went to school, ate at, and what-not around the city. It's fun to actually have the detailed places set in my mind first and to then build the story around them. It's a good history lesson as well, for the cities past and people. Though it got a bit cheesy at the end, the book throughout was enjoyable and very true to the New Orleans culture.

Likes: Lisette's annual journey to here home through the city.

Dislikes: It became very predictable and the ending happened too quickly for my taste.

Rating:

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A Certain Slant of Light by Laura Whitcomb

A Certain Slant of Light
by Laura Whitcomb

Genre: Dark Fantasy / Young Adult

In the class of the high school English teacher she has been haunting, Helen feels them: For the first time in 130 years, human eyes are looking at her. They belong to a boy, a boy who has not seemed remarkable until now. And Helen--terrified, but intrigued--is drawn to him. The fact that he is in a body and she is not presents this unlikely couple with their first challenge. But as the lovers struggle to find a way to be together, they begin to discover the secrets of their former lives and of the young people they come to possess.

Helen died 130 years ago and since then she has occupied various bodies. She's not exactly a ghost, but she depends on her hosts immensely since she's avoiding what happens after death. Her first host was a poet, heavily hinted to be Emily Dickenson, (thus the title of the book is pulled from her own poetry) and the latest an English teacher, Mr. Brown. It's a lonely existence for Helen - never to be seen, heard, or even feel for herself again, but one day, at school, someone mysteriously sees past her host and slowly awakens her to other possibilities.

There's a certain slant of light,
On winter afternoons
That oppresses, like the heft
Of cathedral tunes.

Heavenly hurt it gives us;
We can find no scar,
But internal difference
Where the meanings, are.

None may teach it anything,
'T is the seal, despair,
An imperial affliction
Sent us of the air.

When it comes, the landscape listens,
Shadows hold their breath;
When it goes, 't is like the distance
On the look of death.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book! The concept was so unique, so poetic, and so disturbing that I was hooked from the first page. It was enthralling to read the different types of existence Helen has with her hosts and the type of person James helps her become. It's the perfect mixture of grittiness and sensuality to stir the imagination - a must read!

Likes: That it's simply a beautiful and haunting love story.

Dislikes: The image of a purgatory parallel to our own life. Scary!

Rating:

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Fallen by Lauren Kate

Fallen
by Lauren Kate

Genre: Paranormal Romance / Young Adult

Luce must spend her senior year at reform school after her boyfriend dies in a mysterious fire. She suspects that the dark shadows that have tormented her all her life had something to do with it. When she meets supernaturally gorgeous Daniel, she feels a familiar longing, making her believe they have met before. Although Cam is clearly interested in her, Luce only wants Daniel, who runs both hot and cold. He tries to keep Luce at a distance, telling her that the truth would kill her as it has many times before.

Luce begins Sword & Cross, a run down boarding school, due to a troubled past. Upon entering, she is instantly drawn to bad boy Daniel and secretly continues to deal with her constant hallucinations of shadows. Throughout the tale, she begins to learn about her past which in turn reveals frightening glimpses of what her future brings.

I listened to this story via audio book during a long journey. If I would have been reading along in an actual book, I may not have finished the tale. It was quite predictable throughout and during other times . . . quite boring. I had hoped to get caught up with MORE of why she had such a strong "love" for Daniel, but it didn't go there. The characters were somewhat flat, the overall story not engaging, and the main struggle at the end weak. Surprisingly enough, it's being made into a movie.

Likes: Daniel's remembrance of Luce's past lives.

Dislikes: Not really enjoying any of the secondary characters.

Rating:

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