KEEP CALM AND LOVE BOOKS: creepy

Pages: 400 pages

Publication Date: September 10th 2013

Publishers: Tundra Books

ISBN: 1770495479 (ISBN13: 9781770495470)

It's almost a year since Gaby Winters watched her twin brother die. In the sunshine of a new town her body has healed, but her grief is raw and constant. It doesn't help that every night in her dreams she fights and kills hell-beasts. And then Rafa comes to town. Not only does he look exactly like the guy who's been appearing in Gaby's dreams, he tells her things about her brother and her life that cannot be true, things that are dangerous. Who is Rafa? Who are the Rephaim? And who is Gaby? The truth lies in the shadows of her nightmares.

Now, What I Thought:

So, this book originally intrigued me because it was considered almost as good as, Susan Ee's Penryn and the End of Days trilogy, which is a huge compliment on Paula Weston. I can officially say that even though the storylines are completely different, I do agree with the comparison. This book was actually incredible! I loved how everything played out and the sequence of events were perfect. Everything happened at such a perfect time that it flowed so nicely. It was very well written and deserves a lot more hype. Weston is an Australian author and it was pretty difficult to get her books, considering I was greedy and ended up ordering them straight from Australia, so I could have them a year before they were published in Canada, where I am. LOL I know that's cheating a little but seriously, these books were so addictive and so much fun to read, I needed these books one after the other.

The energy between Gaby and Rafa is incredible. Since the first time she, thought, she met him till the end of the book, was just consistent non-stop electricity between the two. The big drama was that Gaby seemed to have this whole life before, where she can't seem to remember a single thing about it. She learns a lot about her 'true' self and how heartless this Gabe could be. The other mystery is her brother. What exactly happened to her twin brother if she can't trust this new life's memories? Is her brother really dead? Or was that just part of this non truthful life she's been living. So we definitely get to see the journey and trip from both Gaby and Rafa to find out, considering Rafa and Jude are best friends.

I liked how Weston played on the memory aspect in this series because it was interesting when we would hear about the two different, yet same physical person- Gaby and Gabe. I really liked that and it had a bit of a psychology theme to i, which I really enjoyed. It seemed to have brought more to the book then just an average YA angel novel. I really liked this book and I'm really excited to read what happens when Gaby gets her memories back, because it has to happen some day!

angels - 9:27:00 PM

Shadows (The Rephaim #1) by Paula Weston | Review

Pages: 400 pages Publication Date: September 10th 2013 Publishers: Tundra Books ISBN: 1770495479 (ISBN13: 9781770495470 ) ...

Pages: 446 pages

Publication Date: October 21st 2014

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

ISBN: 0373211341 (ISBN13: 9780373211340)

Every touch has its price

Layla Shaw is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life—no easy task for a seventeen-year-old who’s pretty sure things can’t get worse. Her impossibly gorgeous best friend, Zayne, is forever off-limits thanks to the mysterious powers of her soul-stealing kiss. The Warden clan that has always protected her is suddenly keeping dangerous secrets. And she can barely think about Roth, the wickedly hot demon prince who understood her in ways no one else could.

But sometimes rock bottom is only the beginning. Because suddenly Layla’s powers begin to evolve, and she’s offered a tantalizing taste of what has always been forbidden. Then, when she least expects it, Roth returns, bringing news that could change her world forever. She’s finally getting what she always wanted, but with hell literally breaking loose and the body count adding up, the price may be higher than Layla is willing to pay…

Now, What I Thought:

I definitely wouldn't go as far as saying this book was better than the first, White Hot Kiss, but it was pretty good and yet also frustrating. This, like the first, were light and easy to read and you get into it really fas. So seems like Roth is pretty much with Layla at this point. Obviously at the beginning of the book the two have their problems considering what happened in the last book. There was a huge sacrifice Roth had to make which ultimately Zayne swoops in, saving Layla's broken heart. There were some pretty funny moments right at the beginning when Roth came to the institution and they all had a discussion about Layla like she wasn't standing right there. Some pretty awkward things happened and I loved reading it.

So the Lilin are here and they're wild and also slowly taking over. In this book there are witches, which is cool and I liked that Armentrout incorporated that into the plot. Bambi was amazing of course as she now is on Layla practically permanently. A huge plot twist happens to one of Layla's friends and it was crazy towards the end of the book because I have no idea what Layla is going to do in the next book! As for the romance, Armentrout actually put out a post that basically said, she'll be hosting a poll while she's writing her last book of the series, Every Last Breath, for the the fans to vote who they want Layla to end up with, Roth or Zayne. That is so freaking cool as an author! I was so impressed by that and just respect her so much more now because she is literally incorporating her fan's opinions and ships into the story. It's pretty much no surprise who won but I'm not going to say for obvious spoiler reasons.

There's a funny scene, it's really not funny in the context but I found it pretty stupid that I had to laugh. While Layla went to the movie theatre, a man goes up to her that seems scarcely familiar with a water bottle of clear liquid... HMMMM LAYLA I wonder what that is. Oh wait, if an old man resembling the church guy comes up to you in public with clear liquid while saying "I can expose you" I wonder what's going to happen next. Any guesses? Yep, you bet it's holy water and can we all just remember that Layla can't actually touch it? Well any guesses as to what the guy did? Yep, threw it on her. In public. God (no pun intended) sometimes I just wanted to punch Layla and Roth and even Zayne sometimes.

Anyways, the book was great and it was pretty easy to read. Again, for just a light read and sometimes humorous, this was pretty good. I had a lot of fun reading this and we end it on a high-note of sorts, at least for me.

angels - 12:05:00 AM

Stone Cold Touch (The Dark Elements #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout | Review

Pages: 446 pages Publication Date: October 21st 2014 Publisher: Harlequin Teen ISBN: 0 373211341 (ISBN13: 9780373211340 ) ...

Pages: 393 pages

Publication Date: September 6th 2005

Publisher: Penguin Group (USA)

ISBN: 0451216954 (ISBN13: 9780451216953)

In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood.

The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams.

Now, What I Thought:

This whole series is amazing. Honestly, it was so different and very interesting to read Ward's words because they're not like the normal vampire books. The book opens up with some of the brotherhood in a club, and we're basically just seeing their P.O.V and mind set. Pretty much that's when I realized this wasn't going to be a fluffy twilight type of vampire story. There has explicit scenes, swearing and gore. This is not a book for children that is for sure. Each book in the series is following the story of a different brother's P.O.V and plot. So being the first book, it follows the leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood, Wrath. After his most trusted friend and follower dies, he grants the one wish he had, find his half-breed daughter and protect her. This is when Beth comes in. A seemingly normal 25 year old women who works a middle class job. She automatically gets called, being the friend and reporter for the police, to the crime scene where her unknown father was murdered. This is when Wrath first sees Beth, and from there it's just hectic.

I did not realize how much sex was going to be in this novel. Lets just say Wrath is a .... hell of a dude... Anyways, Beth and Wrath have an immediate connection and slowly she becomes apart of her father's world and starts falling for the big intimidating leader. The way the vampires work in this story is that they can eat food just like normal people, but need blood to survive and stay strong, and that blood has to be from a vampire. There are a lot of character introductions in this book and it's a bit hectic trying to remember them, I will admit. But Ward's writing style was so easy to read and follow that it definitely helped with the remembering of the names.

If you're into vampire-erotica type of novels with lots of action, fighting and character development then this is the book and series for you! I did thoroughly enjoy this book but I wouldn't say it's my favourite in the series. Just to keep that in mind, if you do read this and want to read on there are better books in the series. J.R. Ward's book, Dark Lover, was a great introduction to the Black Dagger Brotherhood series anyways, no matter which book was better.

Adult Fiction - 9:19:00 PM

Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood #1) by J.R. Ward | Review

Pages: 393 pages Publication Date: September 6th 2005 Publisher: Penguin Group (USA) ISBN: 0451216954 (ISBN13: 9780451216953 ...

Pages: 346 pages

Publication Date: April 21st 2009 by Disney-Hyperion

ISBN: 1423108760 (ISBN13: 9781423108764)

Alexis thought she led a typically dysfunctional high school existence. Dysfunctional like her parents' marriage; her doll-crazy twelve-year-old sister, Kasey; and even her own anti-social, anti-cheerleader attitude. When a family fight results in some tearful sisterly bonding, Alexis realizes that her life is creeping from dysfunction into danger. Kasey is acting stranger than ever: her blue eyes go green sometimes; she uses old-fashioned language; and she even loses track of chunks of time, claiming to know nothing about her strange behavior. Their old house is changing, too. Doors open and close by themselves; water boils on the unlit stove; and an unplugged air conditioner turns the house cold enough to see their breath in.

Alexis wants to think that it's all in her head, but soon, what she liked to think of as silly parlor tricks are becoming life-threatening--to her, her family, and to her budding relationship with the class president. Alexis knows she's the only person who can stop Kasey -- but what if that green-eyed girl isn't even Kasey anymore?

Now, What I Thought:

This was so cool! I couldn't believe how interesting ghosts and a possessed 12 year old can be. This was my first book I've ever read from Katie Alender and I have to say I'm pretty impressed. It was a cool concept and was written very nicely and well-paced. Everything happened at a perfect time, and I never once got bored. So, Alexis is the typical outsider in school, she wears her own fashion, has different coloured hair and what not. Basically, she doesn't care what anyone thinks, especially the mean cheerleaders. Her little sister now, Kasey, just wants fit in. She's best friends with the ever so mean cheerleader's little sister... until Kasey breaks her arm. I mean just from the synopsis, how Kasey's eyes turn green, she's talking in 18th century language and she is loosing her memory... it's pretty clear that Kasey is possessed. It also doesn't help that Kasey has a strange obsession with dolls, like her whole room has shelves after shelves of dolls just sitting.. staring.. yikes. Alexis, being a normal yet dysfunctional teenager doesn't want to believe anything's wrong with her sister but when dangerous and violent things start happening in her home and to her family, she cant keep overlooking the strange things Kasey does anymore.

This book, to say the least, was... creepy. It definitely had that creepy, ghost, chill factor. Very paranormal and even has romance in it. I loved the events adding up to the end, they were creepy and Kasey especially was creepy. She did a lot of horrible things, to her friends, her family and finally at the end, to her sister. It's gong to be interesting to read how the real Kasey is going to live on seeing as I'm sure she can remember everything she's done, or at least be told. After all, she is just a 12 years old girl. I really can't wait to read and review the next book in this series, and see how Alender can create even more creepiness.

ALSO, the trailer for the next book is up, and hello creepiness!!!!! Here's the trailer:

From Bad to Cursed by Katie Alender Book Trailer