The Iron King by Julie Kagawa

The Iron King
(The Iron Fey Book #1)
by Julie Kagawa

Genre: Fantasy / Paranormal Romance / Young Adult

My name is Meghan Chase.

In less than twenty-four hours I'll be sixteen. Countless stories, songs, and poems have been written about this wonderful age, when a girl finds true love and the stars shine for her and the handsome prince carries her off into the sunset.

I don't think it will be that way for me.

Meghan Chase has a secret destiny—one she could never have imagined...Something has always felt slightly off in Meghan’s life, ever since her father disappeared before her eyes when she was six. She has never quite fit in at school...or at home. When a dark stranger begins watching her from afar, and her prankster best friend becomes strangely protective of her, Meghan senses that everything she’s known is about to change. But she could never have guessed the truth—that she is the daughter of a mythical faery king and is a pawn in a deadly war. Now Meghan will learn just how far she’ll go to save someone she cares about, to stop a mysterious evil no faery creature dare face…and to find love with a young prince who might rather see her dead than let her touch his icy heart.

I've been seeing this book EVERYWHERE and have been shunning it for a while due to all the rave ratings its been receiving, but I finally bit the bullet and read it myself and . . . LOVED IT! It has an odd mixture of Alice in Wonderland, A Midsummer's Night Dream, Legend and mostly - Labyrinth. It has all the classic fairy tale elements: a child kidnapped by fairies, a magical quest, and a handsome prince. Plus, Meghan finds out she 1/2 Faery herself, so things become a lot personal throughout the book. Next up - The Iron Daughter, coming out August 1st.

Likes: I had thought Robbie/Puck's silliness would grow on my last nerve, but he did quite the opposite when I finished the book. Presently Surprised!

Dislikes: It's almost too similar to the 1986 Jim Henson film, Labyrinth.

Rating:

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You Are So Undead To Me by Stacey Jay

You Are So Undead To Me
(Megan Berry Book #1)
by Stacey Jay

Genre: Urban Fantasy / Young Adult

Megan Berry's social life is so dead. Literally. Fifteen-year-old Megan is a Zombie Settler by birth, which means she's part-time shrink to a bunch of dead people with a whole lot of issues. And things are about to get even worse. Someone at school is using black magic to turn average, angsty Undead into flesh-eating Zombies and it's up to Megan to stop the zombie apocalypse...

Studying her Settler textbook is important, except Megan just wants to be a normal sophomore in High School. Her biggest worry right now is getting a date to the Homecoming dance, not the zombie on her doorstep. So, when an old friend shows up to teach Megan some new tricks and zombies begin attacking her all over town, she becomes a bit preoccupied and doesn't realize danger is closer than she thinks.

I've been on a big zombie fix lately since reading Dan Waters Generation Dead series, but I feel this book was written for a much younger crowd - thus I didn't find it really interesting. I found the plot lacking, the characters flat, and the all over story predictable. Megan was immature and she didn't really develop much throughout the story. I didn't find myself enjoying any of the side characters as well and the end was just plain CHEESY!!!! Stacey Jay's writing style was pretty boring to me as well, didn't flow well and I found myself skipping paragraphs to read ahead. If you're looking for a quick bit of fluff to read, this might satisfy your needs - but I think you'd be much happier looking elsewhere.

Likes: The idea of "Settlers" was growing on me, but the story didn't carry it through enough for my interest.

Dislikes: Too many similarities to Buffy; just switch the vamps for zombies and it's pretty much the same story line.

Rating:

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My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent

My Soul to Keep
(Soul Screamers Book #3)
by Rachel Vincent

Genre: Urban Fantasy / Young Adult

WHEN KAYLEE CAVANAUGH SCREAMS, SOMEONE DIES AND KAYLEE IS ABOUT TO SCREAM HER HEAD OFF...

Kaylee has one addiction: her very hot, very popular boyfriend, Nash. A banshee like Kaylee, Nash understands her like no one else. Nothing can come between them. Until something does. Demon’s breath. No, not the toothpaste-challenged kind. The Netherworld kind. The kind that really can kill you. Somehow, the super-addictive substance has made its way to the human world. But how? Kaylee and Nash have to cut off the source and protect their friends—one of whom is already hooked. And when the epidemic hits too close to home, Kaylee will have to risk everything to save those she loves.

Becoming use to her bean sidhe-side has taken some life adjustments and long lessons, but Kaylee now faces a personal battle that only she herself can solve. Drug addictions, kidnappings, demon possessions, Netherworld celebrations, boyfriend troubles are just a few of the battles Kaylee deals with in Rachel Vincent's My Soul to Keep.

I kinda skipped ahead in the Soul Screamer's series by jumping to the most recent release. I started the second one and will finish it soon, but I got caught up reading this one and finished it in one night. It starts out quite frightfully with Kaylee being able to cross over into the Netherworld by just dreaming about death, meaning she has no real control over her powers yet and she puts off sleep for most of the book. Then she begins to realize some of her classmates are acting strange and that the cause is Demon Breath. From there on, it's a downward spiral into darkness (literally!) and she has to make some important decisions about her life, love, and family/friends.

Likes: Kaylee getting a backbone when dealing/talking to her cousin.

Dislikes: Nash's actions.

Rating:

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My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

My Soul to Take
(Soul Screamers Book #1)
by Rachel Vincent

Genre: Urban Fantasy / Young Adult

SOMETHING IS WRONG WITH KAYLEE CAVANAUGH

She doesn't see dead people, but...
She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally. Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about the need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next...

Kaylee cannot control herself when she sees someone wearing the death shroud. She knows death is imminent and because of her Bean Sidhe (aka Banshee) heritage, an uncontrollable scream builds inside her every time. She never knew about the effects of her birthright (thinking she would have panic attacks instead) until high school hottie Nash Hudson's voice began to calm and coax her wailing side into submission. Now girls are dying left and right and Kaylee wants to help even though its not her "job" to do so.

This was a quick read, but it was highly fun as well. I enjoyed the mixture of folklore and mystery and Kaylee came off as very realistic - stuck between an illness that brutally takes over her in not the best of situations and learning to enjoy the attentions of Nash, a popular ladies-man from her school. Along the way - you get to meet Reapers, learn about Kaylee's past, and slowly see a world that is unknown to most, except Bean Sidhe.

Likes: What Kaylee sees in the Netherworld fog . . . spooky!

Dislikes: The story dragged here and there.

Rating:

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Gone by Lisa McMann

Gone
(Wake Series Book #3)
by Lisa McMann

Genre: Paranormal Romance / Young Adult

Dream-catcher Janie must decide her fate: continue living in society and helping the police but eventually become blind and crippled, or isolate herself completely. The choice becomes even more difficult when her father, in a coma and on the brink of death, comes into her life for the first time and reveals important information to Janie through his dreams. Cabel remains a steadfast and loving companion, and Janie’s mother, a barely functioning alcoholic, plays a greater role in this volume.

Things should be great for Janie--she has graduated from high school and is spending her summer with Cabel, the guy she's totally in love with. But deep down she's panicking about how she's going to survive her future when getting sucked into other people's dreams is really starting to take its toll. Things get even more complicated when she meets her father for the very first time--and he's in a coma. As Janie uncovers his secret past, she begins to realize that the choice thought she had has more dire consequences than she ever imagined.

I sped through the previous two wonderful books in the series (WAKE & FADE), but was majorly disappointed in this one - the last one in the series,too. I felt each book was great at building up the drama and GONE was just a major let down on all over. The plot felt blah, nothing too exciting, the characters weren't developing as much as I would have liked and it was more depressing than anything else throughout. Sure we meet the father and had some dream facts revealed, but you could almost predict what would happen to her already. I read this quickly just to see if anything got better near the end (nope!) and I felt Lisa McMann really pushed Janie & Cabel's relationship to add something to the story that she wasn't getting from the plot. Most Dream Catcher followers will read this to finish the series, but as a stand alone - just don't!

Likes: Can't really remember . . . ?!?!?

Dislikes: Lets see . . . no definitive climax, no closure, & no new material. Blah!

Rating:

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Kiss of Life by Daniel Waters

Kiss of Life
(Generation Dead Book #2)
by Daniel Waters


Genre: Paranormal Romance / Young Adult

The phenomenon that’s been sweeping the country seems to be here to stay. Not only are the teenagers who have come back from their graves still here, but newlydeads are being unearthed all the time. While scientists look for answers and politicians take their stands, the undead population of Oakville have banded together in a group they’re calling the Sons of Romero, hoping to find solidarity in segregation.

Phoebe Kendall may be alive, but she feels just as lost and alone as her dead friends. Just when she reconciled herself to having feelings for a zombie -- her Homecoming date Tommy Williams -- her friend Adam is murdered taking a bullet that was meant for her. Things get even more confusing when Adam comes back from the grave. Now she has romantic interest in two dead boys; one who saved her life, and one she can't seem to live without.

The story opens with Adam dealing with his new "life" as a zombie. Some of the newlydead come back more agile & talkative and then some have a much harder time adjusting to being undead. Adam falls into the latter. He can barley speak, barley walk, and his thoughts are all jumbled. Phoebe, on the other hand, is torn between guilt and affection for him. She's sad he sacrificed his life for her, but she's still deeply moved he has feelings for her, something she never knew until after his death. Their relationship has its ups and downs throughout the story all while the zombie generation begins to make rebellious protests (a sort of zombie revolution) to the way they're accepted in society.

I love when you like the first book in a series and then you read the second book . . . and enjoy it ever more! I devoured this story. I got so caught up in Adam's development and Phoebe's torn feelings between Adam and Tommy that I found it hard to put down. It's an emotional tale and you really see the characters change from chapter to chapter. The ending probably wasn't as gut-wrenching as the first book, but it still gets the tension going and gets the reader excited for book three - Passing Strange

Likes: All the visits to the zombie dance club AFTERMATH in New York.

Dislikes: Discovering the Hunter Foundation's experiment of how to "cure" being undead.

Rating:

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Eyes Like Stars by Lisa Mantchev

Eyes Like Stars
(Theatre Illuminata, Act I)
by Lisa Mantchev

Genre: Paranormal Romance / Fantasy / Young Adult

Beatrice Shakespeare Smith, a likable 17-year-old, must find a way to make herself invaluable to the Théâtre Illuminata or she will be forced to leave the only home she has ever known. How she arrived at the theater as a baby is somewhat of a mystery, and through the years she has been allowed to run free and cause mayhem of one kind or another. Beatrice proposes to restage Hamlet set in ancient Egypt and promises it will be the sell-out performance that will restore the Théâtre to its former glory. If that were all, the story line would be fairly straightforward. However, the Théâtre Illuminata is no ordinary theater. Characters from the world's major plays live inside, summoned forth by pinning a note on the Call Board. They are bound to the physical confines of the theater by the pages in The Complete Works of the Stage, an enchanted book. Scene changes happen magically by command, though human Properties and Scenic Managers argue over which pieces belong to whom.

Bertie has only ever known the Théâtre; it's been her playroom, her connection to friends, and her home since infantry. Her room is a set, she pulls all her clothes from wardrobe, and she uses props and stage makeup whenever she likes, but things are beginning to change. Her actions are no longer being over looked and, since she's not a true "character" but a orphan given to the Théâtre, she's (now 17) being treated as someone who has to take full responsibility of her life. Thus, to prove her step into adult hood and that she can truly be apart of "home" - she decides to direct a play. Not just any play, a new version of Hamlet.

This story really sparkled! Honestly, I got the book from the library solely for the cover - which I found amazing. She rocks the blue hair! Yet, the story is so unique and enjoyable that it is hard NOT to dig right in. I loved Bertie's various personalities (vulnerability, curiosity, being sarcastic, etc.) and I believe her character really made her different from most female leads. Plus, the chemistry she develops with Nate, a pirate from THE LITTLE MERMAID, and Ariel, an air spirit from THE TEMPEST kept me coming back for me. It's truly an enchanting tale and I cannot wait for Perchance to Dream.

Likes: Bertie's stubborn interactions with the Théâtre manager are hilarious! Great humor throughout.

Dislikes: I know the fairies from A Midsummer Night's Dream where there to provide comic relief, but they were almost TOO annoying at times.

Rating:

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