Joanne12

This book was ok. It wasn't what I expected. I saw that this book got so many great reviews so I was expecting something spectacular...add to the fact that I love dragons I thought I was in for a great read. I'm disappointed that this book fell flat for me.

I like the concept of dragons and half dragons in a world with humans and living peacefully with them. I guess the word I'm looking for when it comes to this book is Boring.

It was just so dry without anything really happening. The whole first half of the book is about the coming of the head of the dragons to celebrate the 40 years that the peace treaty upheld. Nothing really happened in those pages. The book opens up with the funeral of the prince..We only hear about what happened instead of reading his murder as it happened. There was a half-hearted investigation by Seraphina (the Main C.) and Prince Lucian Kiggs (bastard son and head of the queens guard). They actually go to talk with some banished knights but after than nothing really happens. They figured out who killed him way to easily that it was laughable. The rest of the book is about a coo to kill the head of the dragons by dragons who don't agree with him and the humans have to protect him. Right cuz there's a lot that the humans can do against a fleet of dragons. The book was just way too long.

Seraphina was ok..she was boring. She was the assistant music mistress in the palace and was in charge of planning and setting up the festivities for the arrival of the King Dragon (just gonna call him that..its easier). I got bored of her saying how much work she had to do and yada yada yada. I do like the fact that she is half dragon with scales on parts of her body. I have to applaud her for dealing with those crippling visions because they sound a like a huge pain in the ass. The whole thing with her garden and tending her grotesques that lived there in her head was weird. At times I was like "What the hell am I reading?" I also was so over her complaining about being half dragon and her self-wallowing. Get over it already...

The rest of the characters were bland as well. Prince Lucian Kiggs was boring too. Don't get me wrong he's a nice sweet guy and I like him but hes so blah..but perfect for Seraphina. He didn't really have much to do in the book except guard the palace and his royal family. He was another one who was hung up on himself being a bastard. Like I said..get over it already. There was hardly any romance and when it was acknowledge it popped as soon as it bloomed.

I really like Orma though who is Seraphina's uncle and a dragon. He is hilarious in the way he talks and acts because the dragons in this book are cold and unaware of how to act socially around people. Dragons pride themselves on being emotionless. I like Orma because he acted like a dragon but at the same time he felt love for Seraphina and his sister (Seraphina's mother) even when he wasn't supposed to and he didn't want to give that feeling up. He goes out of his way to help Seraphina even changing into a dragon (they're not supposed to so that) to fly to her aid. It was touching.

I also liked Princess Glisselda. She was funny, cheerful and silly but at the same time had a regal power to her as well. She really likes Seraphina and the two become friends. Glisselda and Kiggs are engaged (they're cousins..gross) and Glisselda wants Kiggs and Seraphina to be friends too. Its funny because she's always throwing Kiggs and Seraphina together so she's kind of playing matchmaker without even knowing it.

I also liked Seraphina's father even though he wasn't always there for his daughter. I feel for her father because the man married a dragon and didn't even know it until she died giving birth to Seraphina. He was also a lawyer in the palace so it would be very bad for him if anyone found out he married a dragon and had a half dragon daughter. The poor man was in a bad predicament. One thing Seraphina has are visions that her mother left her...basically they are her mothers memories. I loved the memory of her mother and father when they kissed. Its more than the kiss...its the thing they say before the kiss like "I didn't know what to do when you said you didn't want to see me again" kinda stuff. It was sweet and one of my favorite parts.

One thing I did like about the book was Seraphina's grotesques. I like how we find out that they are all half dragons and that she actually meets 3 of them in real life (there are 17/18 in all). You get to meet them but you don't get to learn a lot about them. You get to know their personalities but not their stories which is something I wanna know. That is probably one of the only reasons I'm going to read the next book because I want to know more about the half dragons and I wanna meet the others. I'm given to understand that the next book is about Seraphina finding the other half dragons. I hope I'll like that one better than this one.

This review is also posted on Spantalian's Book Reviews

Ok so I did something I said I'd never do and that is read a fairy book. I don't know why but the fairy genre turns me off. Every time I see and book read the synopsis, if I see the word fae, fey, fairy or faery it goes immediately back on the shelf. I really don't know what it is about fairies but I just can't. However many of the reading challenges I'm doing have options to read a fairy book and I decided to give this book a shot. I love Julie Kagawa and her Blood of Eden series; she's one of my favorite authors. So I figure if anyone can do fairies , Julie Kagawa can right? and she totally did. I loved this book and its one of my favorites.

I loved Kagawa's who fairy realm and mythology. I liked how she explained how fairies were born and how they are kept alive. It was very interesting, after I go over the ridiculous names of the realm like Nevernever, Tir Na Nog, Seelie, Unseelie for example. I also liked the creatures she included as the fey. When I think of Fey, I thing of Tinkerbell like creatures (which I found are are called pixies). Kagawa's term of "fey" means other creatures like Chimera, Mermaids, Sirens, Goblins, Satyrs, Centaurs and others that I wouldn't think of as fey. It was an interesting take on the mythological creatures I know of. I also liked how each part of the Nevernever was different from each other. The forest was its own territory with goblins and other creatures living in it. Then there was the Seelie court of the summer fairies where everything was green with flowers, bushes and trees. The Unseelie court of the winter fairies was cold with snow, ice and mountains. The Iron Fey kingdom was basically a junk yard with all kinds of electronics and machinary. I especially liked the iron dragon. I also liked how Kagawa subtly explains why the other fairies are hurt by iron and how the iron fairies came about. She doesn't outright say why they can't touch iron but from the conversations going on you understand why that is.

I gotta say that this was one book where I loved all the characters. I loved Meghan who was brave in the face of what she found out. She panicked a bit when she found out about the fairy realm and that she was half fairy but that was to be expected. Meghan is very loyal to her friends and family and thinks of them first before herself. She is willing to do anything to save her brother, Ethan from the iron fey. She goes through hell and back to get to him. She never complained about what she had to do to get him and she lost a lot doing so. She is also very determined, loving and caring. You can see that she has what it takes to become a fairy queen.

I loved Puck as well. His tricks and pranks were hilarious and the laughed out loud at the things that came out of his mouth. He is very easy going and its like nothing bothers him. He is very protective of Meghan and you can see that he's in love with her although it was never said. He was willing to risk his life and the wrath of King Oberon for her which shows how loyal he is to the people he cares about. It was crazy to find out how old he was especially since he has the body of a 16 year old. I hope there's a lot more of him in the next book.

I also loved Ash. At first he was cold and hard but as he continued on the journey with Meghan, he became loving and caring and more like her. You are told why Ash was the way he was at first and what happened to him is sad and you feel for the guy. But I loved how Meghan melted his heart and made him "Feel alive again". Ash is also very loyal to Meghan and risks his life to help her save Ethan. At first he helped Meghan because of a deal she made with him (note: making deals with fairies is a very bad idea). But then as the romance heated up between them, he helped her because he loved her. He went willingly into the iron realm where he became physically sick from being around all the iron. He actually almost died helping her. I like the romance between them because it was subtle and not in your face. Romance was not the main focus of the book~ rescuing Ethan was. The romance was a happy accident. I like Ash with Meghan and hope that they end up together.

I loved Ethan. He is four in this book and he is able to see fairies because of his imagination and because of the fact that he is a kid and believes in them. He does seem wise beyond his years especially after Meghan rescues him. I absolutely loved Grimalkin. He was hilarious and just as funny as Puck. His antics made me laugh as well as his attitude and sarcasm. I liked how he helped Meghan, even if she did make a deal with him, and in the end how he helped her because he wanted to. I also loved how he would constantly remind Meghan that he is coming along with her for entertainment. He is a character I would love to meet. I also loved the pack rats who help Meghan and Ash in the iron realm.

The book was heavy with fairy mythology which I loved. There was some action in it especially near the end. There wasn't a million things going on. There was one focus of the book and that was to rescue Ethan. The book wasn't all over the place and was nicely written. Julie Kagawa did a marvelous job. While I can't say that I will read anymore fairy books by other authors (still something about fairies I con't like) I will say that I will be continuing this series. Maybe after I finish this series I will be willing to try other authors. Baby steps.

This review is also posted on Spantalian's Book Reviews

This book was really good.

That being said, this book also pissed me off epically. Beware there will be some spoilers but not also because we already know what happens in the end from the first chapter.

SO basically the story is about Autumn and Finny who are/were best friends. Their mothers were best friends and pregnant at the same time. Finny and Autumn were born one week apart and up until they were 13 they were inseparable. They lived next door to each other and during elementary school they had no other friends aside from each other. That all changes on one New Year's eve when Finny kisses Autumn. Autumn tells they whole story from the beginning of freshman year in high school, with flashbacks to herself and Finny when they were younger.

Autumn is a cool character. Not my favorite but I liked her because she was spunky, different and weird. She had this thing for tiaras and wore them all the time. She called herself and her friends the misfits of their school. She begins dating Jamie in freshman year and is with him until the day after graduation of their senior year. I didn't really like Jamie all that much. There was nothing wrong with him- he was a really nice guy (until he cheated on Autumn with her best friend) and he loved Autumn very much. I guess I just didn't like them together because I wanted her with Finny. Also it didn't really seem like she really loved Jamie. Sure she said it but there was the other factor of her not being sure and her thinking about Finny all the time. I think she tried to convince herself that she love Jamie and succeeded in deluding herself. Also at times you get the feeling that their relationship was not all that healthy. Autumn had to give in to Jamie all the time, he was selfish and she wasn't allowed to do certain things or wear certain clothes because he said no. For instance she wasn't allowed to open the window when they were driving. She couldn't wear an army green jacket because he said he wouldn't like it on her. Gimme a break. Autumn and Jamie talked about getting married and such and she was kind of clingy to him saying things like "Promise you'd never leave me." Those parts made me gag. I remember thinking I'm going to marry my first boyfriend and whatever and now that I look back I can't believe how stupid I was. But I guess at that age that's what you feel.

At times Autumn frustrated and pissed me off til no end. One thing that really pissed me off was that she kept saying she wasn't ready to be kissed when Finny kissed her at 13. Gimme a break ok. Get the fuck over it. She threw away their friendship over that? Because she wasn't ready? There would be no way I'd give up my best friend over something like that. What she should of done was talk to him about it and they could have been together the entire time they were in high school because even at that age they were in love with each other. But no, she had to start ignoring him and whatever. And she cried herself to sleep when he kissed her. WTF is that about? Grow a backbone please! She thought that Finny was experimenting on her and didn't like her that way. Like I said she should of talked to him about it instead of doing what she did. God, sometimes kids frustrate me to no end.

I absolutely love Finny. He was hot and sexy and sweet and loyal and all good things anyone wants in a boyfriend or friend. He absolutely loved Autumn even while he was dating another girl. He began dating Sylvie when he found out Autumn began dating Jamie. He wanted to find someone to love since he couldn't have Autumn. However he still loved Autumn with all his heart. He was so sweet and kind and caring. I loved when he and Autumn talked to each other even though they each had their own friends and significant others. It didn't happen a lot but when it did I was ecstatic. Anyone could see that they were perfect together. He was there for Autumn when Jamie broke up with her. There are just no words to describe a wonderful person like that. He was my favorite character by far.

OMG the love scene was so perfect! Autumn was waiting for the perfect time to have sex. She didn't do it with Jamie even though he asked for it. Autumn knew she wasn't ready (I applaud her for that) and she wanted it to be perfect, in the perfect moment. She couldn't imagine having sex when she was with Jamie and it further proves my point that they didn't belong together. He wasn't the one. Finny was. When they finally admit their feelings for each other it was beyond sweet. She had found her perfect moment and they made love. She didn't regret a single moment of it because Finny was the ONE!!!!!! The sex scene wasn't raunchy or nasty or anything. It was simply two people in love being together and it was tastefully done. They told each other they loved each other and Autumn actually wanted it to happen badly. I was smiling when I read this scene. It is my favorite of the whole book and not because they have sex. It's all the underlining things that make it my favorite.

I was so not happy with the ending. I wanted to throw the book even though I knew the ending. I though that when he died, Autumn and Finny would be together for awhile and then it happened. But no. It happened the next day that they finally got together and admitted they loved each other. The next day after they made love he died. WTF is that about? I hate when authors do that shit. Why can't there be a happy ending? And further more why do I do this to myself? Why do I read these books that end crappily and I know will piss me off? I was so pissed off when he died. I hate it. They had finally just admitted they love each other and were together and this shit happens. I can't f***en believe it. Autumn kinda knew also that something was going to happen because she kept asking Finny not to go (he was breaking up with Sylvie who had just gotten back from Europe...He had decided a month before things happened with Autumn that he was going to break up with her when he and Autumn still didn't admit their feelings for each other). He tells Autumn as he's leaving "After this, things are going to be the way they were always supposed to be." Apparently fucken not.

His dead made me heartbroken. I could actually fell my hear and chest area ache. That's when you know when a book is awesome even though sucky things happen.

After Finny dies, Autumn tries to commit suicide and fails. She wakes up in the hospital. I guess the author tries to make the ending a little better by insinuating that Autumn is pregnant (yup she and Finny didn't use a condom). When the nurse asks Autumn about her last period she realizes that she doesn't know when the last one was. Finny died in the beginning of August and she tried to commit suicide in late September. Its not said outright that she is pregnant but you know she is. I guess that is supposed to be a sort of happy ending because she gets to have his baby and always keep a part of him with her. This did not make me feel any better because I kept thinking, well now the baby won't ever meet his father who was such a great person. And the baby can't replace the loss and love that she had for Finny. And Finny won't be there to raise the baby with her. I know I'm a pessimist but I'm thinking about the reality of what will happen.

I loved and hated this book. I recommend anyone and everyone to read it. That is all.

This review is also posted on Spantalian's Book Reviews

I NEED THIS BOOK NOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This book was OK. It wasn’t what I expected it to be. I gotta admit I’m a little disappointed with the book.

I guess it has a lot to do with the writing. A lot of it didn’t make sense to me especially when the characters were talking. Some of the characters use such a weird slang that teenagers today don’t use at all. For example one of the characters said “they came in mad waves. But check it –it was epic.” Another character said “Dude a Zach thresher.” What the hell does that even mean? The book was just full of sentences like those that made it mind numbing to read. I seriously have no idea what the characters were saying for around half of the book because they talked like idiots. No one really talks like that in real life.

Also the book half the time didn’t make any sense in what was going on. In the beginning you’re introduced to Nick and his family. His sister, Amanda, has problems but no one really even knows what she has. I gather from the book that the doctors don't know whats wrong either so they said she has Asperberg's and gave her meds and no more is said on the subject. She is obsessed with these palmbot video games (which I don't even know what that is)and she talks in questions which drove me crazy to read. Here is a sentence on how she talks: "Okay, three things? One, do I have to? Call you Nero? {..}Thank you for? Sticking up for? Mr. Bator?" In my head she sounds like a robot. After awhile I got a headache from her talking.

Then there's his dad who he calls the Dude that its awhile before you even realize he's Nick's father. He's also cuckoo and talks to things like the appliances, checks and pens. For some reason he is unemployed and makes Nick work instead of getting off his ass and finding a new job. Nick ahs to work night shifts at a chick factory cutting up chicken to pay for rent and his sister's meds. His mom left them with the father. She was a real bitch about it too. She took them to the mall and left them there.

There are also a lot of flashbacks to Nick's life as he's running from the zombies who aren't zombies (Oh yes you heard right). I guess the author wanted you to get to know Nick and his life through these flashbacks but they really had nothing to do with they story and should have been left out. After awhile they kinda annoyed me. There would be some action going on and then then next chapter would be a flashback. Its like when your watching tv and the show is getting good then it cuts to a commercial and your like "Oh hell! WTF?"

I had no real feelings about Nick as a character. He was ehh for me and I didn't really care about him or his love interest who was freaking weird also. Nick was also a little nuts himself. After his accident at work caused him to be sent to a delinquent camp where they have to go on a trek in the forest/mountains. On the bus to the trek sight, Nick begins to hear a voice in his head and its none other than Dwayne, The ROCK, Johnson. I mean gimme a break here. I know it was done to be funny but it really wasn't. So Nick was hearing The ROCK in his head....yeah that's normal.

The only thing the book had going for it was the zombies. When they came it was gory and sick and twisted and that made the book bearable. I liked the scenes that were described in bloody detail telling you how the zombies were eating people and such. It was awesome...until you find out that the zombies are not really zombies......I won't say more in case anyone is going to read the book.

If you are confused about my review don't worry...your just as confused as I am...

This book was just a big mess..not my cup of tea.

This review is also posted on Spantalian's Book Reviews

This book was hilarious and awesome. One of my new favorites.

The book is about a girl named Bianca who gets the new nickname, The DUFF (designated ugly fat friend)from Wesley Rush who is a man-whore and will sleep with anything that has a v*****. He coins this nickname while talking to Bianca in hopes of getting her helping him get into one of her friends pants. AS if that would get anyone to help someone. Anyway, Bianca's life at home becomes very difficult and she uses Wesley (even though she hates him) to escape the stress and feelings. It starts off as a single kiss which leads into great sex. Of course that doesn't work out too well when they both start to fall for each other.

I loved Bianca. She is so sarcastic, bitch and cynical...she reminds me of myself..in a good way. She doesn't take any bullshit and calls thing like she sees them. She's not fooled by anyone or anything and she is kind of like an adult instead of a teenager in high school. She decided to vent her feelings and stress in a way that may not be too smart: sex with someone she hates. Bianca has been hurt by a guy in the past so she is not a gushy romantic girl who falls in love. Throughout the whole book, even when she gets feelings for Wesley, she never uses the word love. She believes, and in part she is right, that teenagers don't really fall in love and that romantic love takes years to develop. I do applaud Keplinger for this in her book because frankly, the word love gets thrown around too freely in books, movies, and in real life. Love is a huge feeling and huge commitment and its shouldn't be taken lightly. Bianca's home life sucks at the moment~ her mom wants a divorce that causes her father to spiral back into his drinking habit. All the while Wesley is there for Bianca and not only for sex. He listens to her about her life and he confides to her about his. There are scenes where they play video games and scrabble together to pass the time. He even saves and takes care of her one night where he dad has a particularly bad night of drinking and hits her. Wesley knows all her secrets and never tells anyone. He had become her friend and she began to have feelings for him which causes her to do something stupid and end it with him. Of course it doesn't take, she dates someone else but in the end she ends up with Wesley which I really wanted to happen and am happy with the ending. Her talk with him about their relationship is hilarious: "You are going to take me on dates. Nice dates....And I'm probably going to be a bitch most of the time. I guarantee I'll find a reason to yell at you almost everyday and don't be surprised if a few drinks get dumped on you from time to time. That's just me and you're going to have to deal with it. Because I'm not changing for you or anyone else". sweet lol

I also really liked Wesley. While he is a man-whore he really is a good person. He is egotistical, full of himself, confident and cocky. He sexy as hell and he knows it..actually he flaunts it. He doesn't say no to sex and will sleep with anyone. He, like Bianca, is also damaged and has absentee parents. He stays in a mini mansion all alone, while his parents are always away. His sister lives with his grandmother who doesn't like him because of his lifestyle and promiscuity. He sleeps with girls because he is using them to fill the loneliness he feels. And he is just find with that method until Bianca. He was all into the fling they were having but he was also changing as well. He began to fall for her too. After she cut off the fling, he was still worried about her with her father's drinking as well changing himself. He stopped being such a flirt and a slut and he was trying to fix things with his family because of her. Bianca was being difficult and avoiding him but he wasn't giving up on her. He once said to Bianca in the beginning to the book "Wesley Rush doesn't chance girls. They chase him". He wrote a note to her saying "Wesley Rush doesn't chase girls, but I'm chasing you". How sweets. The letter he wrote to her basically professing his love for her was sweet and such an awww moment. I like how she changed him for the better, even though that wasn't what she was trying to do. He did the same for her as well.

I liked Bianca's friends and dad as well. The poor man didn't see the divorce coming and he just couldn't take it so he started drinking again. However he knew it was wrong and after the night when Wesley took Bianca away, he apologized to her and starting attending AA meetings. I loved her friends Casey and Jessica who always looked out for her and was constantly worried about her.

All in all a great read that ended exactly the way I wanted it to. Who could as for better?

This review is also posted on Spantalian's Book Reviews

This Book was amazing and I loved it. I know a lot of people have a problem with Dan Brown and hate and criticize him but I absolutely LOVE him. His books are amazing and I love how he incorporates history and works of history into his plots. His books are entertaining to read and keep guessing til the very end. Inferno was no different.

The book begins with Robert Langdon waking up in a Florence hospital with a bullet wound to his head and retrograde amnesia. He has no recollection of the past two days of his life and he never will remember them. From there the book takes off with action right in the first 3 chapters. Langdon has to figure out why he is in Italy and why he is having visions of a woman telling him to "seek and find". Of course he is accompanied by a woman, Sienna Brooks, who is not who she seems to be. The plot involves a scientist who is very concerned with human overpopulation that he designs a kind of plague to help curve the increasing population. Robert Langdon is tasked to find the location of where the plague will be released in order to contain it and prevent it from being released. As with all other of Brown's books, its a race against time to stop events that can change the world.

In this book you get the history of some of Italy's greates cities like Venice and Florence. Brown describes the wonderful and beautiful sights in great detail that it feel like you're there walking the streets with Langdon. I payed special attention to the different sights, building and museums in this book because later on in this month, on June 26 I am leaving for a 15 day vacation for Italy where I will be visiting Florence and Venice, among other cities. As I read the book I wrote down some of these sights so that I will be able to see them in person when I go. Its very exciting.
There is another city in another country that this book takes the reader to, also with detailed description of the city and its sights. I won;t say where it is because that will give part of the book away.

Again, we follow Robert Langdon on his adventure. I love Robert Langdon's character. He is a professor I would love to have taken when I was in college. I love how intelligent he is and how his brain is able to figure things out. I never tire of the way Langdon figures out what's going on or where he has to go. Some people may criticize that Langdon has all the answers but that never bothers me. His character is designed to be intelligent and well read so it is logical that he knows about a lot more things pertaining to symbolism, history of the world and art history than an average person. I also enjoy the flash backs to Langdon teaching his students or giving a lecture to other professionals because the reader can learn new things. I also enjoy how passionate Robert is and how he always puts himself in danger to d o the right thing. He gets injured and is one the run which makes his character more realistic. He is also not afraid to admit when he doesn't know or understand things.

Of course this book has many more supporting characters which makes everything more complicated and a little confusing as to who is on what side. Just when you think you figured something out, Brown puts in a twist to make you realize that you actually have no idea what going on. Its a lot of fun. The ending is awesome and crazy.

I highly recommend this book for anyone who wants a fun read

This review is also posted on Spantalian's Book Reviews

I liked this book well enough.

Some part of it were crazy. I felt like I was going insane alone with the main character, Mallory.

The book is about Mallory, who killed her boyfriend in self defense. She is sent to a boarding school to get away from everyone in her town, especially the mother of her boyfriend who had gone off the deep end. While there she thinks she is hallucinating and thinks that Brian'a ghost is following her. She is known as the girl who killed her boyfriend and she almost has no friends. She does re-meet Reid, a boy she knew awhile ago, and the two start a little romance that was nicely done and not the focus of the book. Some crazy s*** goes down and Mallory has to basically figure out "Who done it and what was done".

I liked Mallory. She wasn't a cold blooded killer. She was generally sorry for what she did and is haunted by it (although most of it is in her mind). When she gets to her new school she meets Reid again. She is cautious about the relationship and at times pushes him away because she "doesn't want to ruin his life too", which I commend her on. Since everyone at her school knows about what she did, she is eventually framed for a awful crime and last quarter of the book is about her figuring out who framed her. During the book, there are many flash backs to the night she killed Brian as well as how she met Brian and some events that took place before the murder. I liked this aspect of the book because you get to see and figure out what happened that night with Mallory. Mallory has buried an important part about that night in her mind and we get to see her put all the pieces back together and realize it wasn't totally her fault. I do get why she killed him and why it was ruled as self-defense.

However....As for Reid, I think this kid has a death wish. I mean he goes after the girl who killed someone. I get that she may be nice enough and he knew her once upon a time, but I don't think I would EVER get with some one who killed a person. Personally I just wouldn't feel safe, thinking that the person I'm with could snap at any moment. Killing changes a person and you just never know HOW it changed them. I just would't take that chance. But to each his own.

Anyway this book was an easy read and could be finished in a day or two. Unfortunately, I had a lot of stuff to do for work (and I wanted to watch the walking dead :D) so it took me longer than I'd like. I would recommend this book to be read because it is entertaining.

This review is also posted on Spantalian's Book Reviews

This book was ok..it really wasn't what I expected....

I expected lots of vampire action since the synopsis says there is a vampire war but I didn't get it. It was a lot of talking, preparing and strategizing with very little action. There also was wayy to much going on. First it was the traitors in the vampire council that Liz and Michael (the main characters) had to run from, then it was preparing for the war that really never came by training vampires and witches, then they find a child, Jenna who is later found out to be possessed from a demon, then they find her vampire mother Cass who is the oldest vampire known until her maker summons her to try to turn Jenna into a vamp, then they make a new home and a new vampire council, then a druid wizard comes, then they deal with Jenna's possession as well as Angie's whose Jenna's caretaker, then they deal with the renegade vampire clans that were turned by their enemies to fight in the war and then its all about Liz' leadership and becoming the vampire queen. Oh yeah I forgot Cass teaches the witches and vamps to make magical portals and then Jenna figures out how to make time travel portals which causes Cass to go back in time to save her husband who she then has to turn into a vampire who becomes nothing like he used to be and is all power hungry. So Cass takes her husband away from the castle they are all living in to train him to be a vampire and just disappears.....yes she disappears leaving her "beloved" daughter Jenna with a demon possessing her and her position as council leader (which gives way for Liz to become the leader). Cass leaves and is not seen for the rest of the book. oh and some shit happens where Liz has to go back in time to prevent Jenna from learning how to make time travel portals so that in the present time no one know about them because they are too dangerous. When now that I think about it may the have something to do with Cass' disappearance....If Jenna never learned how to time travel then Cass couldn't have saved her husband because she wouldn't know about it, he wouldn't become a vampire and she would not of left to be with him...but that doesn't get explained or even mentioned in the book...Liz still sends vamps to try to find Cass and her husband...Apparently the vampires in the book are not so smart that they didn't figure out what I just did about Cass and her husband...that or the author totally forgot that she erased everyone's knowledge about time travel portals. If your going to mess with time travel at least get it right and remember what things should and shouldn't happen. Are you confused yet?? I am and I just finished reading the book.

Some of these things should have been delved into more while some should have been put into another book. After the first initial battle of the war, it is put on the back burner while the time travel portals , the druid wizard and Jenna's demon take precedence. After all those situations, it was like "Oh yeah they are supposed to be in the middle of a war so lets get back on that but not really". Not to mention that the ending sucked and was not an ending at all. The traitor Monroe who betrayed everyone and started the war is not seen in the book beside a few times in the beginning... apparently he sucks as a leader and the war ended before it even began and some of the vamps on his side now want to kill him. Oh and they never find him in this book. It just ends with Michael and Liz trying to find the renegade vampires who don't want to fight in the war and bringing them to the castle to live. I mean really. The war was a half assed attempt to have some action in the book and it didn't even deliver. The only reason the war was there was so that in the end Liz could rise up as the vampire queen. That was its only purpose.

The book was a bit confusing to read, in the writing aspect as well. The povs kept switching from one character to another in a one or two paragraphs. You would be reading from Liz's pov then 2 paragraph's later it would switch to Michael's pov, then to any of the numerous characters in this book. Also the way people spoke in the book was not really believable. I mean yes the older vampires who are hundreds of years old will speak in their formal crusty language but new vampires like Liz don't. Liz is 24 and she talks like a granny. Heck my granny didn't even talk like that. And then you had vampires like Michael who spoke all hip in one sentence and then in the next he spoke like a grandpa.

The characters were ok.. nothing special. Liz was kinda whiny and annoying. There'a a war going on and all she cares about is seeing Michael. Please. I gotta say though that Michael was sexy~ he knew how to fight and was the old council's vampire assassin. He trained all the vampires for the war that never came. Gregorio, Michael's vamp father was old but kinda grandpa like.

I really liked the characters if Athena, Angie, Cass and Jenna. Cass is Athena's and Gregorio's "mom". She is fierce. Athena is beautiful, kind and very caring especially to Liz. Angie is spunky, funny and sarcastic. She is also very protective especially of Jenna who she becomes in charge of when the group moves to the new castle. Jenna is a cute little girl who is funny, smart and talented. Not much information is given about her which sucked. No one knows why she can communicate telepathically with vampires and why she knows certain things that she shouldn't (this continues even after the exorcism). There are just a lot of unanswered questions about her that the reader wants to know since she becomes a main character.

I also like the mythology of each vampire and they're history. Cass was turned in Ancient Egypt when she was known as Hathor. She became the lover of Osiris, the vampire. Before she was turned she had a son who carried on her bloodline. She kept a close watch over her bloodline until the last of it was born and that was Athena. Cass was going to change Athena but a vampire named Zeus changed Athena first. Years later she met Gregorio, who was an injured general in the Roman army. She gave him her blood and he turned. Later on probably centuries later in Roman history, Gregorio turned Michael who was also in the Roman army. It was interesting to read, especially about Cass' history because it gave a new spin on the gods and goddesses of different mythologies. Those that were considered gods/goddesses were actually vampires. Its cool to think about and very clever.

One problem I had with the book was that there was very little action. The battle scenes were weak and instead of being in the moment, they were more of a recap of what was going on. It was like reading about a battle in a history text book. Boring. The only scene that I liked was when Liz and Michael went to kill the renegade vampires. There was action, blood and sword fighting in that scene that I quite enjoyed. Oh and Michael was sexy wielding his swords...there I go sounding like a granny...

One thing that I despise in paranormal books was present in this book....insta-love... gag me now. The author tired to cover up the insta-love by saying that it was the connection between the maker and fledgling that made Michael and Liz fall in love. In essence she was now his mate and basically their connection, I guess you could say, made them fall in love. I just didn't buy it. The book opened with them loving each other after a night of knowing him..get real. And I don't know, it just seemed like their love was forced, sure they said the right words to each other and kissed and stuff but it did't feel real like it does with other books. Maybe it was just me but I wasn't buying it. And they kept calling each other mate like they are animals or something.

Unfortunately, I though this book was going to be my cup of tea since I love vampires but I was sadly mistaken. :(

This review is also posted on Spantalian's Book Reviews

I absolutely loved this book. It had everything in it~ fairy tales/folklore, paranormal aspects, a hot guy, a hilarious kick ass heroine, annoying but loving best friend, a witch, NO insta love and a whole slew of problems. My kind of book.

I just loved the whole plot of the book. Its basically about Anne freeing Anastasia Romanov from the witch Baba Yaga's hut. When Anastasia's family was being assassinated, some magical brotherhood (this is where Ethan comes in) calls and compels the Russia folklore witch Baba Yaga, to save Anastasia and keep her in her hut until some girl (Anne) comes to save her. I can't say more without giving away too many things...sorry

I really liked way the book was written because the POV's switched around. One POV was Ethan's, another one was Anne's, another one was Anastasia's in the present time and yet another one was Anastasia's letters to her family telling of how the situation she was in came to be. Its all very interesting really and it gives another, although totally not possible, spin on the theories that say Anastasia survived the assassinations.

Now on to the characters.

Anne is simply hilarious. She keeps having recurring dreams that she is Anastasia her entire life (which tells Ethan she is the "chosen one"). She sees Baba Yaga's hut in her dreams and re-lives the assassination of the Romanov's over and over. A few weird things happen before Ethan talks to her and she basically thinks she's going crazy. However once Ethan informs her, she comes to terms with what she must do. I like Anne because she smart. She doesn't buy what Ethan is telling her right off the bat. She forces him to explain what's going on and many times she still doesn't believe him. And when she does she has the normal reaction that I wish a lot of heroines in paranormal books have~ she panics. And I love the way Ethan's so called hotness doesn't affect her one bit. She even asks him many times when he's trying to explain "Who the Hell are you?" She isn't all like "Ok your hot, so whatever you say I'm going to agree with, say ok and do it, then we can make out later and fall instantly in love." Instead Anne has common sense and realizes that although Ethan is good looking and she may begin to like him, that now was really not the time to be thinking about that. She needed to focus on saving Anastasia. At times she felt down right uncomfortable around him. Anne is also determined which I like because no matter how dangerous or life threatening the mission is she wants to complete it and help Anastasia. The few times Ethan told her she should walk away she refused. And she did it because she's genuinely good and wants to help Anastasia- she didn't do it to get the guy. Also her sarcasm and jokes made me laugh and made her a likable character as well.

I also liked Ethan. He is described as good looking with these piecing bright blue eyes. Ethan is about a hundred years old. He was the one who was told to say the spell that would call Baba Yaga to get Anastasia. So he was there watching the assassination. Ethan is immortal until Anastasia gets saved. Once she is saved he becomes mortal. He is kind of a wizard or witch I guess who uses spells and has magical powers. Anne also has these powers and he eventually shows her how to use them. Ethan wants to save Anastasia because he cares about her well being as well. Everything that the brotherhood's leader, Vicktor, told him was a lie and no he wants to right what he did....which was trapping Anastasia with Baba Yaga. Ethan genuinely cares for Anne and doesn't want to see her get hurt. Of course he gets feelings for her too but he doesn't let that deter him from his mission. Ethan is also sarcastic at some points which was funny. He is really a good guy. And I just have to include this part of a scene which I found to be totally hot-
"She may be yours for now" I say as I push myself up in one fluid moton. "But" I add as he fires again and a bullet lodges itself in my left shoulder, "I think you've forgotten that I've outlived almost everyone. Including you".
His eyes widen as I stride over to him. He shoots again. I jolt as the bullet burns its way into the right side of my chest, but I keep moving. Then I rip the gun from his grasp and pocket it"
Like I said~ hot

The other characters are good as well. Baba Yaga is supposed to be a mean witch but she wasn't so bad in this book. Tess, Anne's best friend, is hilarious and over the top. Some of the things that came out of her mouth had me rolling on the floor. Vicktor is an ass and he's selfish. He is an important character and very involved in the story but I can't say anything else because it will ruin the book.

I also loved the non insta-love romance. At this stage, Anne and Ethan are just beginning to care for each other. They only kiss once in the book which I liked because it shows that the romance was not the focus of the book or the focus between the characters. They acknowledged they had feelings for each other (no to each other but to themselves) but they realized that there were more important things on their plates. In the end, Anne even says that shes not sure what Ethan and herself mean to each other. Which is how it is supposed to be with a 16 year old girl and 18 year old boy. It makes the romance part at least more realistic.

I cannot wait to continue the series and see where the rest of the books lead.

This review is also posted on Spantalian's Book Reviews

I really liked this book and the authors spin on "witches". While I did like the book I also did have a few problems with it.

First let me say that I really liked that this book was written in the guy's pov. With paranormal books and paranormal romance you almost never see this, at least in the books that I've read. I liked seeing things from Ethan's view and I like seeing how Ethan falls in love and what love looks like from a HUMAN Guy's perspective. I like Ethan's character as well. I like how he stands up for Lena in school and how he stands up for the right thing even if it means he's going to be alienated. I like how he is willing to stand by Lena's side no matter what, even if it means him getting seriously hurt. He loves Lena so much and so completely that its really touching. He is willing to do anything for her and he doesn't care what side she will be on when she is claimed. He's definitely a keeper.

As for the other characters I really like Macon Ravenwood. I like how he is so prim and proper. He also cracked me up a few times. It was a little annoying how mysterious he was but I liked him and how he changed his own nature to protect Lena at all costs. Amma was ok. She was weird too but she kind of annoyed me. I did like how she helped Lena at the end of the book and while she was weary of Macon she still worked with him to protect Lena and Ethan. Link is too hilarious and he's a good guy. I also liked Boo who protected Lena and followed her everywhere to make sure she was safe.

I liked the witch mythology in the book. I liked how each caster has their own specific power and their own specific name. Lena is a natural which is not really explained fully in the book. I kinda get the idea that she can control the 4 elements. I loved when Ethan and Lena were reading the Book of Moons and we learned about some aspects of the caster world. And OMG the Caster Library was awesome. I would love to run amok in there! I also loved the flashbacks/visions which showed how Lena's family became cursed. The story the visions told was so sad. I can't imagining going through what they girl in the visions went through. I can't say that I wouldn't do the same thing she did, especially if I was a caster.

The romance was done well. No insta love and no love triangles. Ethan was attractive to Lena but they didn't immediately fall in love. They hung out with each other and for more than half the book they didn't know what they were to each other. Were they friends or more? It was cute how they were treading carefully about using the word girlfriend and boyfriend until Link uses it for them and they agree that they are in a relationship. I love how they don't drop the L bomb unnecessarily and even have a hard time saying it to each other for the first (and only time in this book). Its like the characters and authors realized that the L word is important and should not be thrown around willy nilly. Anyway I love how both Lena and Ethan would do anything for each other and how they keep being together and keep trying to be together even though everyone is saying they can't be.

A few thing bothered me about the book. One was that it was about 100 or so pages way to long. Some of the useless scenes could have been cut out and the action could of been closer together instead of so far apart.

Another thing was that I really didn't like how all the characters in the book sounded like uneducated hicks. I mean I know southerns have an accent and have a southern drawl but sometimes it was painful to read. And there were many times where things, food, holidays and such were claimed as being "south" or "southern" or "famously southern". When you have to mention over and over that something is southern then its really not. It was just annoying.

Also when Ethan and Lena were reading the Book of Moons, the writing was ridiculous. I don't think that anyone in the past wrote like that. Here is a passage:
"until the darkening bringes the tyme of clayming, at the sixteenthe moone, when the person of powere has the freedome of wille and agencie to caste the eternal choice, in the end of daye, or the laste moment of the last oure, under the clayming moone"
Really WTF is that? I know people spelled thing differently centuries ago but come on like this? Maybe I'm wrong about this but nevertheless it was annoying to read.

Now,finally, on to Lena. I don't really know how I feel about her. I guess you could say I feel indifferent towards her. I mean I know Ethan loves her but he can do so much better. She is just so boring and has no personality. I just didn't connect with her at all and I don't really care about what happens to her. I found myself asking why Ethan chose her out of all people. Better yet why did the authors make her the way she is. Ethan deserves so much more. I found Lena to be very whiny and completely out of control of her feelings. She, what 15, and she has no idea how to control her powers by now? What the hell was she doing for the last 15 years? She was also soo annoying about her claiming. All she did was whine about it and give up on herself. All she did was mope and say "Oh I'm going to go dark" or "when I go dark". When Ethan was trying to be positive and thinking of ways to keep her from going dark or thinking of ways to find out more about her claiming, Lena wasn't having any of it, instead preferring to wallow in her misery. I wanted to slap her and tell her to wake the f*** up and figure things out instead of just complaining and taking it. You can be damn sure that if that were me, I would leave no stone unturned and I would not stop until I found an answer or die trying. There would be no way that I was leaving my fate up to a curse. Lena, however seemed fine to do that. It was like she wasn't even looking for answers or how to choose her own fate until Ethan came alone. She was just a character to me and one that I don;t really care about, at least at this point in the series. Lena is not really a positive or a negative point of the story. Like I said I don't really care about her. I'm more interested in reading about Ethan's adventures in her world.

All in all a good read..just wished it was shorter

This review is also posted on Spantalian's Book Reviews

I was kind of disappointed in this book. I have read a few of Julie Anne Peter's book and I absolutely loved them. I don't know what happened with this one. The writing is very choppy and half the time what the characters are saying don't make sense- its like jumping into the middle of a conversation where you don't really know what's going on. Johanna (main C) will be saying one thing then Reeve (her g.f) changes the subject completely and says something else and Johanna answers her about what she was taking about before Reeve changed the subject.

Johanna is the main character in the story. She is a lesbian. She lives in am apartment that's on the property of her parents house (I think its above the garage?). He parents both died and her sister and her husband live in the main house. Johanna is obsessed with this girl Reeve who is also a lesbian. Johanna even goes as far as having sexual erotic daydreams about Reeve in a place she calls "joyland" which to me was really weird and freaky. Its insane how attached Johanna gets to Reeve when they finally begin to, and I use the term loosely, see each other. Johanna finally gets to meet and talk to Reeve after she begins to help Reeve's brother Robbie, with his senior project. The book take place a few weeks before graduation. Just the level of intensity that Johanna feels for Reeve is not really believable to me. I feel like the feelings Johanna throughout the book for Reeve were way too intense given the amount of time they spent together. Usually it was Johanna pulling Reeve closer and Reeve was back away. Plenty of times, while they were out Reeve would get in a mood and bail out on Johanna. It seemed like even though Johanna had Reeve as her girlfriend she was till always chasing her to keep her. It seemed also like Johanna was a little stupid. She let Reeve hit her and while she's bleeding all over herself she's chasing Reeve to get her back and thinking stuff like "Its ok baby. I'm here. Its not your fault". It was just weird, creepy and not believable. I mean the relationship only lasted for like 2 weeks but Johanna was acting like they were together for 10 years. Her feelings just didn't mesh with the story.

Reeve's life is a cesspit. She and her brother Robbie live with their drug induced mother and uncle. Reeve's uncle is her dad's brother and is together with her mother. Her uncle is vicious and physically beats the mother and Reeve. Her father was no better. He used to molest Reeve and Robbie when they were little. She is a very troubled girl who only knows violence in her life and so she solves problems by hitting. She hits her brother Robbie, who is a highly functioning autistic. She hits Johanna. She has hit all her other girlfriends too and some even try to warn Johanna but she wouldn't listen. Reeve is also moody and just plain mean. Any little thing Johanna says sets her off. I totally understand why Reeve is the way she is...come on her life sucks but Johanna is stupid to get involved and stay with her when Reeve is beating her up.

Johanna's friend Novak is a pig. She uses Johanna's apartment to sleep with her boyfriend. She basically tells Johanna that she want to use the apartment and then kicks Johanna out of it when she comes with her boyfriend. The stupid thing? Johanna lets her take advantage of her. Its ridiculous.

I gotta say the only person I liked in the book was Robbie. Like I said he is autistic and weird but he is also sweet and protecting. Many time he protects Reeve and his mother from his uncle and tries to hit the uncle but Reeve always stops him. He also protects Johanna went Reeve started to ounch her in the face. He is also a huge guy. He is very simple minded but he is not stupid. He has been through what Reeve has but he never hits anyone unless he is provoked and that is only when anyone threatens to take his instrument case he carries around. Reeve takes care of Robbie but she also calls him mean names like 'asstard' and she hits him. When I say hit, I mean she punches him in the face or stomach. Many times Johanna tries to get Reeve away from Robbie when she is hitting him. Robbie never hits her back though. I just got really angry when Reeve hit Robbie and I wanted to deck her in the face. What happens to him is sad and I was really pissed about it too.

The romance was crazy, with Reeve being hot one minute and cold the next. Some of the things she did to Johanna were horrible but Johanna was an idiot for taking it. Reeve gets Johanna fired from her job when she is caught stealing and Johanna covers for her. Johanna also volunteers at a Hospice center and Reeve gets her kicked out of there as well when she tries to make out with Johanna on a bed that contains a comatose girl. That was completely disgusting and yet.. Johanna still wanted her. Reeve change Johanna in such a way that Johanna didn't want anyones help when the shit hit the fan at Reeves house and Johanna even went so far as to assault her own sister. And this book was a lot more graphic that I would have liked. I mean I read Y.A. novels for a reason. If I wanted to read a book with sexual language and sex scenes I'd read a trashy romance novel.

This book was so not my cup of tea but I'd still tell people to read it and formulate your own opinion. Hopefully the next book by Peters will be better.

This review is also posted on Spantalian's Book Reviews

I liked this book. It was good but not great. Teh story didn't really pull me in as much as I wanted it too. I liked reading about angels and author's different mythologies about angels and fallen angels. While this book did have some mythology on angels it wasn't nearly enough for me to keep me riveted to the book. I do like the way the angels in the book apparently have different jobs and ranking like guardian angels, avenging angels and angels of death. There was no where near enough information for my tastes on the nephilim, except that their bodies can be controlled by fallen angels for 2 weeks every year. I liked the story well enough but it was missing something for me.

I don't really know how I feel about Nora. I mean I like how she is studious and into her school work because that's not really seen a lot in books. Usually the good girl meets the bad boy and everything is not important any more. At least in this book Nora held on to things other than Patch but we'll see how that goes in the rest of the books. Nora did annoy me too. Sometimes the way she talked was so not believable. She used proper sentences and big words and it just seemed forced and fake to me. The way she described herself put me off on her right away. She said "I'm a smoky eyed brunette with volumes of curly hair that...." I mean who even thinks of themselves like that? That was too much for me. Someone's too full of herself. And add to the fact that she's not really a brunette but an auburn hair color. I love auburn hair and I found it ridiculous how she corrected and insisted to patch that it was brown. I also found Nora to be hilarious at times which softened me to her. I loved when she said to Vee (When they were at Victoria Secret and Vee was trying to find a bra) "They're called sports bras and they have a nasty side effect called the uniboob". That had me rolling on the floor. One thing I didn't like about Nora was her indecision about Patch. She had so many doubts about him, she kept saying something was off and wrong about him, that she was afraid of him, that he's annoying and irritating but the next thing you know she's with him all the time and they're kissing and whatnot. Its like "Oh your scary and your wrong for me but come here and lets me stick my tongue down your throat". I mean come on. Just decide, do you want him or not and if you do they shut up about how wrong, scary and dangerous he is. Sheesh

At first I really didn't like Patch. And what's with the name Patch? When I read his name throughout the book I kept thinking of the dog Patch from 101 Dalmatians. Can we please have some regular names here? And what the hell kinda name is Vee and Kjirsten? Really? Anywhoo back to Patch. I totally didn't expect him to be a bad boy and an ass at that. Don't get me wrong, I love bad boys but I hate guys who are cocky and that was Patch. He was so into himself, kept referring to sex and thinking he's God's gift to women. Please. And he was so mean to Chauncey in the beginning of the book. If he was in my class and did what he did to Nora to me, I'd punch him in the face. I won't deny that he's hot or anything, but his cockiness turned me off to him. However, as the story went on, I got to like him more and more as he showed his caring and gentler side when he was with Nora. I liked how protective her was towards her and the infrequent sweet moments he had with her. I loved Patch's sarcasm and his humor. I was on the floor laughing during that whole scene in biology class where Patch was explaining to the teacher about what he looks for in a mate and how he knows if his target is sharing his feelings. When he used Nora as his example and was describing how she was feeling in front of the whole class it was epic. I could not stop laughing. So by the end of the book I gotta say I do like Patch. And his name grew on me too. I just gotta say though that his fall from Heaven was for the stupidest reasons. But hey, if he didn't fall, he wouldn't have met Nora and we wouldn't have a 4 book series about them. lol.

My thoughts on some of the other characters: Elliot was an ass. I knew something was up with him from the beginning. He was creepy. Vee, I liked. She was funny, over the top dramatic and I loved the way she put Nora in sticky situations. I liked how she is a loyal friend to Nora and watches out for her. Even though we only met him for a short while, I liked Rixon. I hope we see more of him in the later books.

The romance was the same as usual. Girl meets hot guy and falls instantly in love but tries to deny it to herself for as long as she can, while the same exact thing is happening to the guy but we don't hear about it. I don't get these romances. Yeah sure the world is filled with hot guys. But I;m not gonna fall in love with every hot guy I see. Especially if they annoy me as much as Patch annoyed Nora. Once thing I liked about this book though was that the word love was not thrown around willy nilly. Both Patch and Nora never said "I love you" to each other or confessed their love for each other to other people in this book. Sure Chauncey said Patch loved Nora but no one who matters said it.

So the big question since these books came out has been Hush Hush or Fallen. Whenever I hear one of these books mention, I also hear "Well which one did you like better Hush Hush or Fallen?" or "you should read ______. Its better". Here my vote: for me Fallen is wayyy better. To me it has more mythology, more action and an epic love that spanned centuries. For me its just better. However I encourage everyone to read both books and decide for themselves which is better.

This review is also posted on Spantalian's Book Reviews

So the only words to really describe this book are creepy, freaky and horrifying. And I loved every minute of it. This book is not for the faint of heart. It has nasty descriptions, disgusting scenes, creepy and freak characters and horrifying and awful situations. And apparently I found some more words to describe the book. Haha

So this book opens up directly where the last one left off. B has escaped the underground facility where she was kept and is now on the streets of London which are deserted. One reason I liked this book is because it showed how a huge city like London can be completely destroyed. I live in New York, about half and hour away from the city and I can't imagine it being completely deserted. It's be kinda freaky to walk around with no one there. But it just goes to show, the larger the city the harder it falls. But I love how the city is completely devoid of humans but B still manages to find some brains to eat so she can keep her mind.

I also liked how the book gave some info about how the rest of the world was doing with the apocalypse. I always though that if something like a zombie apocalypse were to happen, the world would be doomed. I just felt the utter despair of the whole situation when the book mentioned that its takes only ONE zombie and only ONE zombie scratch at that to completely kill off any humans in a safe zone. Its scary to think about because that can happen with any kind of contagious diseases, even ones we have now. When I read apocalyptic or dystopian books, I sometimes get overwhelmed because stuff like this could really happen. Oh not the zombie or vampires or monster apocalypses but real life deadly diseases can be spread to pandemic proportions and cause havoc and death like these books portray. Its scary and just something to think about.

Soo any way back to the book.

B has grown on me and now I actually liked her. She's a better human as zombie than she ever was as a actual human. Sad how that happens sometimes to characters. Its takes them being dead to change themselves for the better. Oh well. I absolutely love B's sarcasm in the book even in death situations, of which she faces quite a few in this book. In once scene soldier open fire on her and the soldier tells her "Just shut up and play dead, you damn zombie bitch" to which B replies "up yours, numbnuts!". That had me rolling on the floor. B has gotten spunkier as well as more caring and I guess you can say smarter at surviving than she was before.

In the book B also meets some loony people who are just so stupid that you wish for their deaths by the zombies and it would serve them right. I'm talking about, and I mean this in no offensive way, mentally insane people. You'll just have to read the book to see what I mean.

Ok now, how freaking creepy is Mr. Dowling. He makes the skin crawl off my body. I hate when they describe him because it freaks me out. I hate regular clowns to begin with but then throwing in a psychotic clown with intestines around him, cuts in his face and body parts on him? Completely freaks me out. He is completely psychotic and sick and he loves to hurt people and do horrible things for fun. He is a sociopath if I'd even seen one. Plus we learn that he doesn't speak like humans do. He squeaks and has a mutant translate for him. He freaking squeaks! Thanks Mr. Shan for those nightmares tonight.

While I did like the book I'm kinda angry that this is the third book of the series and we know squat about Mr. Dowling, The Owl Man and the mutants. Is Mr.Dowling a kind of zombie or another kinda creature all together? I mean who can survive having crevices carved out in his face, a human eye stuck somehow on his nose and hair stapled to his head? No wonder he's a loon. I want to know more about him and how he became insane. I also want to know who these mutants are and how did they get that way. The have bumps, rotting teeth and open pus sores on their face. Are they the original ones who started the zombie virus? And who is the Owl Man? He seems like a human but he works with Mr.Dowling and the zombies don't attack him. I have a feeling that he is the mastermind of the whole zombie virus. Did he create the mutants and did he create them to spread a zombie virus? Did he create Mr. Dowling as well? They seem to be buddy buddy with each other as gross as that is. There is so much lack of information about them that it's driving me crazy!

That's all :D

This review is also posted on Spantalian's Book Reviews

This book was really good and really cute. It retells part of the 12 dancing princesses, part of beauty and the beast and part of the Hades and Persephone myth. I really liked it.

Reveka is the main heroine who is 13 years old and is an herbalist apprentice in the castle where the 12 dancing princesses live. She was an orphan who lost her mother and her father was a solider. Reveka was raised by nuns in an abbey in Transylvania for more than half of her life. The abbess there disliked Reveka and told her father that she was a great liar. It was here, in the abbey, that Reveka began to learn about herbs by being an apprentice to the nun herbalist. When her father retired from being a solider he came to get Reveka, as traveled around with her, while he worked as a gardener. They finally came to the castle in Sylvania where Reveka became an herbalist apprentice and her fatehr became the gardener for the castle. By the time Reveka and her father got the castle, the curse of the princesses had been going on for 6 years. There was a long standing reward for anyone who could break the curse. This part of the book is part of the retelling of the 12 dancing princess with some variation. The person holding the princesses to their oath to dance is a "zmeu", a dragon that can shape shift into a human. This zmeu called Dragos, ruled a part of the underworld and needed a bride. Then comes Reveka, saving the day by offering herself to be the zemu's bride to save her father and the people of Slyvania. This is where the story changes to part beauty and the beast and part Hades and Persephone's myth. To fully become queen of that part of the underworld, Reveka has to eat the food of the underworld.

I really liked Reveka. She was brave, sarcastic, determined, caring, and sympathetic. She did whatever she had to do and does the right thing when it truly matters. She saved her father, the princesses and the kingdom without thinking about what will happen to her. At first she is determined to break the curse for the reward money because she has a dream of owning her own herbary. Later on as she sees the sleeping dead people who tried to break the curse, breaking the curse herself became less about the money and more about helping those sleeping people and the kingdom, who at anytime could be at war with the Hungarians or the Turks. She is brave in the face of Dragos and freely agrees to become his wife. She is honorable and she is determined to keep her promise to Dragos, no matter what. And no matter what, Reveka did come to love Dragos and his little slice of the underworld.

I also liked Dragos too. While he was a nasty looking zmeu, that didn't define him. He was a caring person and a caring ruler who genuinely cared for his realm and the welfare of it and the soul there. He needed a bride because his land was dying and a Queen was needed to make it better and heal it. He was honorable in the way that he did not kidnap a bride like Hades did. Instead he made an offer with the princesses. He explained how he really had no choices in finding a bride that he had to resort to the bargain he made with the princesses. He is gentle with Reveka and he does come to care for her. He is not happy about taking her away from her father and her life (she is only 13) but he wants to do what he has to for his realm. He is lonely and compassionate. Reveka figures out that Dragos was a real prince once and that he is not a true zmeu, but he is cursed.

I didn't like the princesses except for Otalia, who was nice to Reveka. The rest of the princesses were snotty. They didn't seem to care about the people they put in the death sleep when they tried to break the curse. I also didn't really like Reveka's father too much until the end. For much of the story he was kinda mean to Reveka and he let the abbess poison him against Reveka, believing that she was some horrible liar. He constantly scolded her and told her to say away from the curse. I just feel like since he wasn't around to raise her for more than half of her life because he wouldn't stop being a solider, he didn't really have a right to be so hard on her. I did like the speech he made to Dragos, when he went to try to save Reveka though:

"A threat to the world will move you?" Pa asked, furrowing his brow. "I can threaten the world. I could brush aside the names of Vlad and Attila, and rain down hell on this earth if it meant freeing my daughter, I could make the Battle of Poirenari look like a Christmas feast. I could tear open the throat of Corvinus's country and leave his blood for the Turks to drink. I could slash the flank of the Turkish Empire and lure in the Polish and let them fight until Doomsday. I've always been a man who fought to create peace, but I could become a man who fights to create chaos. Tell me, Prince Frumous, is that what it would take?"

I liked the ending because it left room for the author to continue the story with another book or to leave it as a standalone, although I wouldn't mind a second book because there was a lot of unanswered questions about Dragos and his underworld. Any way I recommend this book to everyone.

This review is also posted on Spantalian's Book Reviews

I really liked this book. For some reason this series has totally gripped me. Its not like it has a lot of action but there's just something about it that I love.

This book picks up right where we left off at the end of "The Line". Rachel has crossed the line into Away. She arrives at the camp with Pathik where she meets Indigo and Malgam, Mrs. Moore's love and son. While there she also meets Nandy, Malgam's wife; and Fisher, a boy a little older than herself. In the book she also find her father, who is alive.

I loved reading all about Away and Pathik's camp in this book. The Others are people who learned to survive in a truly horrible situation. They make due with what they can. They have a "hospital" where injured and sick people are taken and a healer who works on them. They have homes that they have made with mud and stones. The hunt and gather food to eat. They have a school and make due with sitcks, pans and sand for school supplies. They have neighboring camps that are their enemies. They have weird animals like Nipper, who is like a lynx with sheep wool instead of fur. They basically live like the very first ancient people did. But this is in a world where just across the line they have vehicles and technology that hasn't even been invented in our world yet. Its amazing to see the contrast between both worlds.

Its also amazing to see the gifts that some of the Other's have. Pathik has teh ability to sense people's emotions. A girl named Serena, can take people's feeling away. A little boy named Bender can bend metal. Kinec can make things move with his mind. Malgam can see through other people's eyes. Indigo's gift is deadly. All the children go to a class called Usage, where they learn how to control their gift and learn when to use their gift. Above all else, they are taught never to harm or kill anyone with their gift. Reading about these people's powers make me wish they were real cause I'd like to have some!

I really liked Indigo a lot. He's the leader of Pathik's camp and he is very kind. He is friendly, wise and genuinely likes Rachel. He doesn't approve of hurting or killing people with their gifts. He is self-sacrificing and does what is best for his people and family. At first Maglam rubbed me the wrong way because of his reaction to Rachel who was a Reg. Later on he softens to her and is really a kind, gentle, wise man like his father Indigo. Nandy is sweet, caring and tough. Fisher is sneaky, mischievous, funny and knows how to push Pathik's buttons. We learn more about Pathik in this book too. He clearly cares for Rachel but he won't admit it even though he shows it in stuble ways like holding her hand, giving her looks and protecting her. He is just like his grandfather and father, he is kind and caring but can be fierce and protective. He is also wise for his age. He, like Indigo and Maglam is all about doing the right thing. I also liked Rachel in this book as well, who is kind to the Other's and while she may be afraid of their gifts she doesn't show it and doesn't treat the other's like less than human. In fact she is the odd one out in this book, being constantly called a "Reg" by the Others.

Pathik and Rachel's romance is subtle and not the center of the book. Its really cute to read about the little touches, looks and word they exchange that show the reader their feelings to each other, even if they won't admit it. Later on in the book they kiss and while the author alludes to the fact that they both know how they feel about each other, nothing is ever said aloud....at least not yet. But I like the idea of them together and hope that is does happen.

There are some action scenes in the book, like when Rachel, Indigo, Nandy, Pathik and others go to rescue her father from the neighboring camp, the Roberts. The same group who rescued Rachel's father crosses the line again to go get Rachel's mom and Mrs. Moore to bring them to away. Some people die, one of which really pissed me off. The group, mostly intact, crossed back into Away at the end of the book and decided to go to the Island that Indigo had wanted to move to. The book ends off with the group, again mostly intact, on the beach of the island they have not explored yet.

I can't wait for the next book of the series, so I can find out what happens on the Island.

This review is also posted on Spantalian's Book Reviews