Seers Aren't Always Crazy, Fallen Aren't Always Bad
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The world says Rayna is crazy because she thinks she sees wings. The doctors tell her it is her way of believing her mother went to a good place after she passed away. She convinces herself, and everyone who has control over whether she stays in the mental health clinic, that she no longer sees wings. Being in remission, they allow her to go back to school. Her family struggles to rebuild their relationships. Her father thinks she is very fragile and doesn't want her to even go back to school, let alone take a job at the local diner. Her sister becomes resentful of her illness and the time it has caused her to be away from home, the relocations the family made to help her feel better, and the pain she causes her family by not being normal.

 Everything is going okay for a while until it happens again. Cam enters the scene, a new kid at school with glorious white wings. She tries to hold it together and pretend she doesn't see them because she doesn't want to be locked up again. Things escalate though, when Cam figures out she can see him, and for the first time ever she sees black wings when Kade shows up. This leads her through a battle between good and evil, angels and fallen angels. She has to deal with deaths of her classmates and ultimately try to save any more from being casualities in this war.

 I enjoyed most aspects of this book. Some parts of it were a little difficult too see as really happening. Oddly enough, it wasn't the angels or supernatural aspects. It was more like the part where Rayna was allowed to keep her waitressing job when she seemed to be so bad at it. The part where Kade dressed her up like a hooker, why did he do that? Then she was cut very badly and bleeding everywhere when she broke the window out of a car, and dressed like a hooker, but when she showed up at Lee's house that way it didn't seem like anyone found it odd.

 I liked the character of Kade more than Cam. But, Kade gets to be the rough and tumble, throw caution to the wind guy, and Cam has to be on his best behavior. Kade is a fallen angel, but there is that romantic notion that he fell from grace for the love of Rayna's mother. He has black wings but his actions show he has a good heart.

 The end wasn't really an end, there is so much of the story left untold.

 I was given a copy of this book for free in exchange for an honest review.
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Generations before, the true world was torn into pieces in an attempt to isolate and weaken The Eater of the World, a mysterious entity who creeps into people's minds, whispers their darkest nightmares, and gradually blots out their existance--sometimes not so gradually. The landscapers who split the world are mostly gone now and those who remain fear Glorianna Belladonna and others with the power to confront the Eater. Belladonna has largely reconciled herself to never knowing love--largely but not completely.

Michael is a magician, a luck-giver for good or for ill. He makes his rounds, traveling through the world, singing his songs and playing his flute, trying to bring balance wherever he goes. But the Eater is whispering and a man who travels, who seems to have no connection, who has odd powers, is the perfect victim of the secret fears the Eater can plant. When Michael has a chance to find Belladonna, to connect with someone who won't find his magic frightening but rather empowering and even sexy, he can't resist. What he doesn't know is that this may just be what the Eater is waiting for.

Author Anne Bishop creates a wonderful universe in her Ephemera series. The concept of thousands of miniworlds, connected by the magic of bridges which sometimes take the person who walks them to a completely different place works well, as does Bishop's extended metaphor of gardening, with the landscapers literally controlling their sections of the broken world through a linkage to their gardens.

Bishop delivers a pretty good book but it doesn't quite live up to the promise of the universe she's created. The opening of the book, with Glorianna unhappy and wanting to be accepted by the landscapers, with Michael unhappy and not knowing what to do, with Michael's sister unhappy and bitter, with Merrill unhappy and trying to create a perfect world--yes, these are interesting characters but for the most part sitting around being unhappy isn't the most compelling story-telling. BELLADONNA could have done with a few more twists and turns in plot and a few less conversations abou the (admittedly fascinating) way the world of Ephemera works.

More so than in SEBASTIAN, the earlier novel in this series (see our review), Bishop does integrate the romance with the plot. Still, it would have been nice to see more about what makes these two people right for one another. It seemed to me that Bishop relies a bit too much on magic.

So, BELLADONNA has some flaws. Still, Bishop can string together a story. Some of her sketches--of the Eater entering people's minds, for example--are powerful stuff. Glorianna's plan to defeat the Eater is highly emotional and definitely gripping. And the world of Ephemera--or rather the countless miniworlds of Ephemera--is endlessly fascinating.
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ARC was provided free for an honest review.

I gave this book about 3 stars, meaning it wasn't great, but it was not bad either. Overall, the characters were likable, but I think that there could have been a bit more depth to them. At the same time, the protagonist is almost manic. She flits back and forth between steely resolve, overwhelming grief, and rational fear. Some variety is great, but it happens a lot. The main male character suffers the same flaw. Additionally, the author tries to infuse the character with some whimsy via fashion. It seems like she was trying to make her main character a bit like Undead and Unwed, Aisling Grey, or Sookie Stackhouse, but this bit is not really woven into the character except when she gets dressed. Last critique, the author, at times, goes into British mode and goes deep into describing the scenery or house, but it comes off as a bit pretentious at times.

The good stuff: The tension between the two main characters is good, and there is foreshadowing (some more obvious than not) to keep you a bit ahead of the game. The paranormal here is a twist on the ghost/witch/etc. bit. The journey the protagonist takes as she is compelled to accept the paranormal is a strong arc, and the book ends without loose strings. Not everything needs to be a trilogy. If you are looking for a diversion, this book is not bad, but don't take the blurb regarding the Manolos to heart. It's not a comic paranormal romance with a kookie lead.
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In some ways this book is a standard YA paranormal fantasy novel, but the author added enough fresh elements to keep me turning the pages.

Angie Dovage is something of an outcast in her high school due to being abducted as an infant and being raised rough by her druggie mother. When a handsome guy moves in next door, she is instantly attracted, but some things about Reese Hernandez seem a bit strange, like the fact that he seems to attract crows. Theres also the guy with shifting facial features, Rafette, who seems to be following Reese around. Eventually Angie finds out that Reese isn't a normal teenager, but a human cursed to become a harbinger of death. Hes come to her town because a major tragedy will soon occur, and many people will be killed. Beyond that looming danger, Rafette, who is another cursed being, has his own menacing plans for Angie.

The conventional elements are definitely here. Unpopular teen girl meets handsome guy with paranormal baggage, and love almost instantly ensues. Both of them are in danger from a wicked supernatural being and have to find a way to save themselves. And, yes, Angie does turn out to be special, different from other human beings. About the only thing thats missing is a love triangle, which the author flirts with but dismisses fairly quickly.

However, the author twists all these elements just enough to keep me reading. Yes, Angie is special, but not so much because of a paranormal power as because she is musically talented. Reese is a cute paranormal guy, but his attraction to death is still treated as being obviously creepy. Rafette is equally creepy (really, I could see that character in a scary movie) and his actions are evil, but hes not a one-dimensional baddie. Neither of them is quite like any other supernatural creature Ive encountered before in a book. Angie does eventually save the day for Reese and her friends, but she does it almost accidentally, and theres still a high body count overall.

The only false note for me was Reeses instant and overwhelming feelings for Angie. I had trouble believing that a being who is over a century old and who has lived a life filled with suffering and death would be attracted to teenage girl quite that quickly. The author does attempt to justify it, but it still didn't quite work for me.

Readers who aren't turned off by encountering typical YA paranormal tropes are likely to enjoy reading this novel. I did, enough so that Im going to keep an eye out for future books by Meg Kassel.

An eARC of this novel was provided by the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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The Beautiful Ashes is a fast-paced story, written in first person point of view, past tense, from Ivy's perspective. She hasn't had just a bad day, she's had a bad month, and at the start of the story, it seems to just be getting worse! Ivy can see other dimensions superimposed on the dimension here on Earth, and her whole life she has thought she was hallucinating, and that what she was seeing couldn't be real. After her sister disappeared and  her parents were killed in an accident, she decided to try to find her sister herself, and went asking questions in all the wrong places.

The different paranormal creatures are many and varied, there are angels, demons, hell-hounds, dragons and others, and they all have their role to play in the upcoming battle between good and evil. Ivy seems to have a role to play, too, but she doesn't know much about herself until she is practically kidnapped by Adrian - who is saving her from a cop who isn't really a cop.

The Beautiful Ashes involves a complex world, and even at the end, I don't think I had achieved a full grasp of that, or the mythology. I did learn enough, however to enjoy the story, the action, the plot and the amazing fights that happened. Entering a realm that that is very different from those I usually enter through books contributed to my enjoyment, as did the characters who were all willing to put their lives on the line for their cause.

The writing is good, I mean, it's written by Jeaniene Frost, right? However, the story and the characters are very different from her adult series - and I enjoyed that as well. Seeing a favorite author branch out into a different genre, and going into places that are far beyond the usual was really pleasing to me, and I can't wait to see what will happen in the next instalment in the Broken Destiny series.
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Kaylee Cavanaugh can feel when someone is about to die, and when she does, she gets to the urge to scream. She's already been hospitalized for it. Fortunately, she doesn't often come across people who are about to die. That is until classmates of hers start dying for no cause and Kaylee might be the only person who can do something to stop the mysterious deaths.

MY SOUL TO TAKE is standard YA paranormal fare. If you want to be blown away by a book, this probably isn't it. If, however, you're looking for some enjoyable light reading and are a fan of teen paranormal romances, Rachel Vincent's YA debut is worth picking up.

Bean sidhes are new in YA fiction, and it's refreshing. Kaylee doesn't really have superpowers - no super-speed or super-strength or ESP or whatever. Another pleasant thing about this book is the fact that Kaylee's standard love interest (hot and popular and interested in the not-hot, unpopular heroine) is also a bean sidhe, and I'm struggling to think of another series in which both the protagonist and the love interest are supernatural beings living in the human world.

The characters are pretty straightforward. Kayeee's likaable enough, but she doesn't have any traits to really make her stand out, and Nash - her love interest - seems to have no flaws. But Kaylee's best friend, Emma, and Tod the Reaper add some fun to the cast. (Tod's my favorite character in the series.) Vincent's writing is also solid enough. No sparkling sentences or anything truly remarkable, but nothing wince-inducing.

All in all, MY SOUL TO TAKE is a fun read. If you're looking for something to distract your from everyday life and you're a fan of the genre, then pick up MY SOUL TO TAKE. If paranormal books aren't your thing, then you might want to skip MY SOUL TO TAKE, although I'd recommend it over some other popular titles.
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Fortunately after ten books and a few shorts, MacAlister doesn't belabor the making of a Beloved, and for the most part I enjoyed A Tale of Two Vampires a bit more than I have the preceding few Dark Ones stories. There is still the zany heroine and dark - but not so angsty this time- leading man that are a prerequisite for the series and I liked the bit of time travel which tied the whole thing together.

I actually appreciated that with the exception of a bit near the end that brought back the cast from the previous book - complete with Viking ghost sidekicks - the book didn't go into absurd craziness territory that a few of the more recent books have, but even with having all of the past kooky characters in one room, it least didn't stay in that mode for long.

So I enjoyed MacAlister's light sexy and humorous offering and the only real nit I did have is that a loose end from the previous book, gets resolved in this story as sort of a throw off - I thought the fate of Dafyd had short story potential.
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I love that not all the bad guys are really bad guys and that some of them are actually good guys you just don't know it right away and there is some interesting developments to the Braith and his siblings story line
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Max is the son of a seer and has clairvoyant visions of things to come, and then, oh, no, he doesn't because he doesn't see the shot coming and doesn't know who the bad guy is or where he's taking Cordelia. You're like someone trying on several hats trying to decide which one to wear. I see this is the first with promise of other stories in a series to come, so maybe you just need to grow with your protagonist. Max has great listening and observational skills honed by his parents and others which make him interesting enough. My vote is lose the visions.

All-in-all not a bad little story. I enjoyed it in spite of the writer's shifting focus.
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Though Mardi Gras in New Orleans is a fun time for many, for the Dark Hunters, it means a lot more work than usual. While many people descend on the city to celebrate the occasion, their presence is quite attractive to the Daimons who live to harvest their souls, in order to live another day. Acheron is forced to call in extra Dark Hunters, and he has to be careful to keep them apart for various reasons, not least of which is that too close proximity to one another tends to drain them.

Talon just knows this Mardi Gras is going to be worse than usual, and not just because of the Daimons. Since Kyrian is no longer one of them, Artemis has relocated another Hunter as a replacement, none than than Valerius, who looks just like the man who crucified Kyrian all those years ago, and won't Kyrian and Julian both lose their minds over that when they find out? Then, Ash is bringing down the psychopath Dark Hunter from Alaska, Zarek, whom no one likes or trusts. And hes got that whole crazy thing going on.

Talon is a loner who lives out in the bayou, with a couple of gators,  and likes it that way. Like all Dark Hunters, he has a story, of treachery and betrayal, and failure to save the sister he loved. He does his job and he does it well. But sometimes the gods have ideas of their own. Such as Talon being run down by a huge Bacchus-shaped Mardi Gras float. Luckily for him a good Samaritan spies the accident and runs to his aid.
Sunshine Runningwolf is an artist who lives above her familys bar, after coming from a bad divorce and swearing off men. But she cant resist helping someone in need, so against her better judgment, she takes the injured man back to her apartment, when he refuses to go to a hospital. She has no idea what shes getting herself into.

These two are poles apart  shes a health food fanatic with a big heart, while he considers coffee and beignets major food groups. Hes a Dark Hunter and shes human. And yet there is something between them something deeper than the length of their acquaintance would explain.
Something bad is going down this Mardi Gras. Can the Dark Hunters set their differences aside in order to work together to defeat it? And can two stubborn people such as Sunshine and Talon come to realize what it is they have together?

This is another great Dark Hunter book, with a really great plot, and more of the characters we love, including those were going to get to know better, such as Zarek and Wulf, Fang and Vane. There is more of Acheron in this book, which Ive been wanting, and hints at someone I know is coming.  I love the glimpses we start to get into Acherons story, and cant wait to read his book. We also see more of the squire Nick and meet his mother. Nick is a smart-mouthed punk who sometimes needs his ears boxed, but he serves a useful purpose, even so.

The Dark Hunter series is an intricately woven story, rich with detail and great characterization. There is never a dull moment with these books. The love scenes are both tender and sensual. Talon and Sunshine are a great couple. I swear, each Dark Hunter is sexier than the one before. I don't know how she does it.

Highly recommend this book and look forward to the next one.
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Not having read the first book in the series, I did feel at a bit of a disadvantage trying to keep up with the myriad of characters. Although there is a handy cast list at the beginning, I did find it a bit of a pain having to flick backwards and forwards to find out who everyone was. Once I had the characters established, I enjoyed the story and warmed to Pandora, even though I personally didn't get the sound healing, the paranormal friend Enoch or the animal whispering or the mystical elixir of life. One or two of the components would have perhaps been credible to a sceptic but all of them together stretched my imagination just a bit too far. I am sure, however, that these themes will appeal to many others.
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3.5 Stars

*I received a free eARC of this book via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.*

I really like books about uncommon supernatural creatures, so, when I saw this one had a golem as the protagonist, I jumped at the chance to read it.

The funny thing is, Adem is a golem, something that plays a huge role and has a major effect on the story, but hes one of the most human characters Ive ever read about. This was definitely a character-driven book, which is what I like, and though I didn't necessarily relate to him, he was a character I really empathized with. This poor character, everything he tried to do ended up going so wrong, and I just *felt* for him. All he wanted was to be human so that he could stop hurting people, and I couldn't blame him for that. Even when he was being selfish and in denial, it tugged at my heart strings and I couldn't even be mad because I understood.

I also loved the relationship between Adem and Jordan, a child he saved. Adem was so protective of Jordan, and Jordan was so understanding of Adem, and they just made this really adorable team, something we didn't get to see a lot of in this book but might get more of in the next book.

The story itself was also well thought-out. Everything made sense, and the information about the realms and the gods was explained in a way that was easy to understand (even for someone like me who doesnt read many books in this genre). I also thought the portrayal of the Underworld was interesting and especially enjoyed that portion of the book. There were also some twists that kept me on my toes, completely unsure of who to trust, and tension that built up nicely toward the end.

I wouldve liked to get to know the side characters a little more since I found some of them really likeable (e.g. Jordan) and others interesting (e.g. Abazel), but other than that, I really don't have any complaints. I think it was just one of those books that didn't quite fit *me* and *my* reading preferences personally (its classified on Amazon as paranormal and dystopian but seemed more high fantasy and metaphysical to me), hence the rating. Overall though, I did enjoy this book, and I think anyone who is more into these genres will enjoy it even more than I did!

Original Review @ Metaphors and Moonlight (link in profile)
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3.5 Stars
~Reviewed by ANN & posted at Under the Covers Book Blog

HAUNTED WOLVES is book two in the Green Pines series and begins where the last book finished off. As a result, I think it's imperative that you this series in order. There is a shift of focus to a new couple, Colin and Lorelei. In comparison, this second installment is far most angsty than the first. Lorelei has some secrets that she has been hiding from everyone, however Colin is the one person who sees through it like glass.

It is their dark dance that is most appealing to readers. I think it gives us a greater understanding of the events that have transpired and how the wolves are coping with it. It also creates dimension in characters that are new to us but have the ability to burrow into our hearts.

As I read, I found this book to have a tone similar to Nalini Singh's Psy-Changeling series and more specifically with her changeling characters. There's that touch of angst and a harrowing tone that laces the pages of this book. But that isn't to say that there aren't smiles along the way. I thought there was a good balance of focus on the couple while also integrating the rest of the pack into the storyline. With so many characters, it's easy to get lost in the worldbuilding, the magic and the romance. I thought Moira Rogers did this well.

The only thing that kept me from giving this book a solid 4 is that I don't think it gave me a lasting impression. I was looking for something that clawed into me with the amount of angst involved. Apart from that though, this was a nice journey while it lasted.

*ARC provided by publisher
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New to me author Rachel Firasek delivers an entertaining and enjoyable story about a woman who doesn't play well with others but is in the business of helping others.  When we first meet Piper, she is a child who has been suddenly orphaned.  Fast forward to the present and the woman Piper has become is someone who shields herself from others.  The touch of other people brings visions she would rather not see.  The opposite sex is drawn to Piper in a sexual nature and though Piper is used to it, she does not appreciate it.

Piper works with the Dark Hills Police Department helping her friend Tally look for missing people.  As an empath, Piper is able to draw images of someone's memory from an item they own in the hopes that it will provide enough clues to lead the police to finding them.  When Piper meets Bennett Slade, she is shocked that his touch doesn't result in crude visions and instead of making her trust him, her guard goes up even higher.  Slade's wife was murdered years ago and his daughter was kidnapped.  He asks for Piper's assistance in locating her and Piper refuses.  Initially, I was a little annoyed at Piper's attitude.  She's got a huge chip on her shoulder and when she gets angry, she can be quite mean.  Piper relents and agrees to help Slade, only after having a dream about his daughter.  She suspects Slade is not being honest with her and thinks he might have had something to do with his wife's murder and daughter's disappearance.

I liked Slade immediately, though his existence as a vampire was not revealed soon enough for me.  I got a quick sense that Slade is drawn to Piper and is desperate for her help.  Unfortunately, he doesn't tell Piper what he is and when she finds out, she's less than happy.  I enjoyed the author's take on Slade's breed of vampire.  He can walk in daylight and doesn't sleep in a coffin like the vampires we are used to.  Instead, Slade is part of a race of people who have to consume blood as a medical necessity.  Though Piper is upset when she learns the truth, she has to trust Slade because the evil being responsible is not like anything Piper has come face to face with before.

I eventually warmed up to Piper once I realized her attitude and apathy towards people shielded a woman who has seen unspeakable horror and endured pain nobody should have to experience.  I also admired how she connects to Slade's daughter and the lengths she is willing to go through to rescue her.  Though she is easily annoyed at the woman who raises her, she risks everything to ensure her safety as well.

Overall, this was a good start to a series that looks to be intriguing and I am very curious what Piper will do with what she has discovered at the end of Piper's Fury.
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I downloaded this book along with 4 or so others so by the time I got around to reading it i didn't even remember the synopsis. Which made it better to be honest. Not knowing what the characters were made me want to keep reading it well through the night.

At first it reminded me a lot of the fallen series and I kept making comparisons between the characters but let's face the fact that what sets this story apart is that Evie is actually a good and interesting character! I didn't find her just a blank slate to immerse myself into which was good because I have a hard time liking those types of characters.

If you're like me and find love triangles annoying this one isn't so bad. Evie's feelings may be a little mixed at first but she knows what she wants early on and sticks with it.

Overall I enjoyed this book a lot!! I just nabbed the next installment and am bypassing my TBR pile to continue the story.
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Oh, there be calamities aplenty in this book.  I won't go into all of them, but just when you think you're in the clear a whole heap of them happen, several of which seem overkill and meant solely to ratchet up the danger factor, that the book becomes more than a smidge unbelievable.

But anyway, all those things aside, Out of the Ruins has a nice message.  It is Christian fiction and romance at that, so if that's not your cup of tea, then this book won't be either.  It's not exactly mine, but I find that venturing out of genre can sometimes be a good thing.  This was not a bad one, just an overly dramatic one.  Predictable, yes, but that's part of the draw.  You know how it's going to go more or less, it's just a matter of how one gets there.

Abby's sister is dying from cancer in 1905 and gets taken to a hospital in San Francisco where the attractive doctor Robert has suggested she go.  Things happen, earthquakes happen, people get separated, find each other, get separated again and so forth up until the happy ending.  This really should have been an emotional ride, but I found that it just wasn't.  I liked the history parts and some of the things surrounding the earthquake events ring pretty true.  The relationships feel more or less realistic.  It's just that the collective experience of the book doesn't seem very true to life by the end.

Note: Free copy obtained via Amazon Vine program in exchange for an honest review.
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Reader thoughts:  Foul wraith mist takes over kingdoms one at a time, and Wil's band is more concerned with justice for her people than saving the world.  Then she starts to realize those goals are closer than she thought.
This book had a lot of bending the rules, which may have weakened or strengthened it.  There's also a lot of identity masking, which is quite fun.
Secrets and betrayal!  Two of my favorite things.  In books, that is.
Wil did a couple things that didn't seem to quite fit (lying to her friends, trying to kill the one guy), but everything else was connected by strong motivation to help her kingdom or refugees.  I liked seeing her go from such hate to understanding.

Writer thoughts:  Ending on a cliffhanger?  Risky, but I know why.  I'll certainly have to find the second book soon.  Still, this can annoy a lot of readers.
Wil was given the right balance of skills and limitations.  She can forge anything, she's a great fighter, she's a good liar, but she's a bit too trusting and not quite careful enough.  Things are not easy; she works hard.  This makes her likable.  However, she's a thief, and she doesn't have to be.  There's no mention of the Ospreys ever trying honest work.  This makes her slightly less likable.