Grasping at Eternity: Book Review

Grasping at Eternity

Karen Amanda Hooper

Starry Sky Publishing

May 25th 2012

Young Adult | Paranormal | Romance
Reincarnation

Official Blurb - 
Leave it to Maryah Woodsen to break the one rule that will screw up eternity: Never erase your memories.

Before entering this life, Maryah did the unthinkable—she erased. Now, at seventeen years old, she’s clueless that her new adoptive family has known her for centuries, that they are perpetually reincarnated souls, and that they have supernatural abilities. Oh, and she's supposed to love (not despise) Nathan, the green-eyed daredevil who saved her life.

Nathan is convinced his family’s plan to spark Maryah's memory is hopeless, but his love for her is undying. After spending (and remembering) so many lifetimes together, being around an empty version of his soulmate is heart shattering. He hates acting like a stalker, but has no choice because the evil outcast who murdered Maryah in their last lifetime is still after her.

While Maryah’s hunter inches closer, she and Nathan make assumptions and hide secrets that rip them further apart. Maryah has to believe in the magic within her, Nathan must have faith in the power of their love, and both need to grasp onto the truth before they lose each other forever—and discover just how lonely eternity can be.

X-MEN meets MY NAME IS MEMORY in Karen Amanda Hooper’s latest young adult release.

The characters seem a bit odd or maybe shallow. Yet even so I wanted to know what happened to them. But they really inspired me with a case of please slap these idiots. For being so wise and old Nathaniel is a git. I was totally voting against him. I mean is it really such a hard thing to grasp that he should court his true love? Does he have no game and has to rely on an eternal sold bond to get a girl? How pathetic. I really wanted him to put us all out of our misery or man up and act normal. So never happened. He gives up way too easily for being made solely for the purpose of loving her. Very sad.

There are some corny and cheesy moments. Overall the story and characters were decent. The whole eternal power things was weird. They had some of the strangest powers. But when push came to shove in battle all those odd ball talents seemed pretty cool and believable.  I think a few improvements could have really made this a stellar book.

The Taker: Book Review

The Taker

Alma Katsu

Simon & Schuster

September 6th 2011

Adult | Paranormal
Immortality

Official Blurb - 
True love can last an eternity . . . but immortality comes at a price. . . . On the midnight shift at a hospital in rural Maine, Dr. Luke Findley is expecting another quiet evening of frostbite and the occasional domestic dispute. But the minute Lanore McIlvrae—Lanny—walks into his ER, she changes his life forever. A mysterious woman with a past and plenty of dark secrets, Lanny is unlike anyone Luke has ever met. He is inexplicably drawn to her . . . despite the fact that she is a murder suspect with a police escort. And as she begins to tell her story, a story of enduring love and consummate betrayal that transcends time and mortality, Luke finds himself utterly captivated.

Her impassioned account begins at the turn of the nineteenth century in the same small town of St. Andrew, Maine, back when it was a Puritan settlement. Consumed as a child by her love for the son of the town’s founder, Lanny will do anything to be with him forever. But the price she pays is steep—an immortal bond that chains her to a terrible fate for all eternity. And now, two centuries later, the key to her healing and her salvation lies with Dr. Luke Findley.

Part historical novel, part supernatural page-turner, The Taker is an unforgettable tale about the power of unrequited love not only to elevate and sustain, but also to blind and ultimately destroy, and how each of us is responsible for finding our own path to redemption.

Whoa, this is a very dark book. Not to mention the first word being a bit high on the foul scale.  Has a very journal like feel.  The only reason I made it fifty pages is because I like Luke.  But I soon discovered that this book is not for me and had to stop reading. It was obvious that the book was going to go places I would rather not tread.

DNF

Fallen From Grace: Novella Review

Fallen from Grace

M. J. Putney

St. Martin's Griffin

March 15th 2011

Young Adult | Paranormal
Magic

Official Blurb - 
Fallen From Grace: A Bonus Dark Mirror Short Story

Allarde, a gorgeous, wealthy noble has hidden his true nature. Discover his diary and witness his sudden fall from grace.

This cover is way to pretty to be a novella. Not nearly enough people will get to admire it. Though at the same time this level of darkness is not what I would associate with Allarde. He seems to be such a bright star in the books.

Really liked seeing inside Allarde's head. It was great to get some back story and helped me better understand his choices. I liked that it starts and ends the same. Very funny.

Beasts and BFFs: Novella Review

Beasts and BFFs

Shannon Delany

St. Martin's Griffin

December 17th 2010

Young Adult | Paranormal
Werewolf

Official Blurb - 
A Bonus 13 to Life Prequel Story.

Meet Jessie Gillmansen as she realizes that things might not be what they seem in the town of Junction.

Very short but reminded me of how awesome 13 to Life was or at least the first few books in the series.

Untouched: Novella Review

Untouched

Jus Accardo

Entangled Publishing

March 27th 2012

Young Adult | Paranormal

Official Blurb - 
Until he met Dez, Kale’s days were filled with violence and death. He was used as a weapon of destruction by the power hungry men of Denazen. He’s a Six. A person with an abnormal ability. Some people call them gifts, but not Kale. Kale’s touch means instant death.

But now there’s Dez, the girl he can touch, and they’re hunting down Sixes and warning them about Denazen. Kale is learning about the world outside captivity and trying to put his dark past behind him. But they underestimated how badly Denazen wanted him back.

When Dez sacrifices herself to save the new Six they’d rescued from falling into the corp’s hands, Kale is lost. Denazen has brought out its best to get the job done. Samsen, a nightmare from Kale’s past—the only person he’s ever truly feared—has come for them, and it soon becomes obvious he has his own twisted agenda.

Kale will need all his training to get Dez back and ensure they make it out, free—and alive. But will it be enough?

Interesting getting to see inside Kale's mind.

Heart pumping action.

One crazy sicko for a bad guy as well as a dark view into what Kale keeps hidden. How the childlike innocence can exist side by side with that darkness is a mystery.

Even in a tiny novella these two characters sure get into heaps of trouble. Recommend this novella if you need another action hit from these characters.

Content:
Language: Moderate

Violence: Heavy

Touch: Book Review

Touch

Jus Accardo

Entangled Publishing

November 1st 2011

Young Adult | Paranormal

Official Blurb - 
When a strange boy tumbles down a river embankment and lands at her feet, seventeen-year-old adrenaline junkie Deznee Cross snatches the opportunity to piss off her father by bringing the mysterious hottie with ice blue eyes home.

Except there’s something off with Kale. He wears her shoes in the shower, is overly fascinated with things like DVDs and vases, and acts like she’ll turn to dust if he touches her. It’s not until Dez’s father shows up, wielding a gun and knowing more about Kale than he should, that Dez realizes there’s more to this boy—and her father’s “law firm”—than she realized.

Kale has been a prisoner of Denazen Corporation—an organization devoted to collecting “special” kids known as Sixes and using them as weapons—his entire life. And, oh yeah, his touch? It kills. The two team up with a group of rogue Sixes hellbent on taking down Denazen before they’re caught and her father discovers the biggest secret of all. A secret Dez has spent her life keeping safe.

A secret Kale will kill to protect.

Brash characters.

Kale confuses at times. So innocent and child like and yet dangerous and straight forward. Really not your average character. He has all the mechanics of your average teenage male but none of the mental complication.

It felt like a long action movie where you just can't bear to have it stop. An adrenaline high. What next? Like some drug addiction. Need another hit.

Just what insane chess board situation will they get into next?

I would have given it four stars but it was a bit too brash and bold for my tastes. Plus I am not sure I want to develop this particular addiction for this series. What will I do when it ends? But I did enjoy it and wouldn't mind reading the next one just to see if my prediction is right. 

Prediction:

The price for the healing will be that they won't be able to touch anymore. Which is why he will learn to control his ability. What better motivation than to be able to touch the person you love?

Content:
Language: Moderate to Heavy
Sexual: Heavy
Violence: Moderate

Born Wicked: Book Review

Born Wicked

Jessica Spotswood

Putnam Juvenile

February 7th 2012

Young Adult | Paranormal
Witch

Official Blurb - 
Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it would mean an asylum, a prison ship—or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with only six months left to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word... especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood—not even from each other.

Very dull and boring at the beginning. I almost gave up. But since it the story felt so very like Chime which I liked I decided to persevere.

The whole reason I picked up this book was that I was informed that Finn was my perfect fictional guy. Finn is perfect. So that turned out to be pretty true. Bookish, smart, adaptive, passionate, loving, good looking, humble, basically just perfect.

Oh my gosh!

I want to slap Cate!

Oldest villain trick in the book. I NEED to slap some sense into Cate. Don't ever believe the bad guys. If you come with us we promise not to do unspeakable acts of harm to your loved ones. Otherwise we will have no choice but to compel you to do as we want by hurting them. Only it doesn't matter what you do they will never stop using those threats. If you ever refuse they will just tread it out again. In fact the more you let them get away with the more their control over you becomes complete. Idiot girl! If I didn't like Finn so much I would say good riddance to Cate and her dumb sisters. For being the prophsied sisters they are really disappointing. They are certainly not protective of each other. So sad. Pathetic really. How can they be the prophesied sisters if they are so easily bullied?

Finn. . .

*sigh*

He gives us everything and even takes a path he doesn't want for this girl and she doesn't even have the backbone to do her part. *makes strangling motions with hands* Wish I could wring Cates scrawny neck.

So obviously the book gets much better from my first bored impression. All of which begins with Finn. And the fact we finally get to learn some plot moving secrets.

So mad about the ending. Too high-handed by half.

Content:

Violence: Mild

The Indigo Spell: Book Review

The Indigo Spell

Richelle Mead

Razorbill

February 12th 2013

Young Adult | Paranormal
Vampire

Official Blurb - 
In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch--a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood--or else she might be next.


Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, the Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles, and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive—this time in a part-vampire, part-human setting where the stakes are even higher and everyone’s out for blood.

While Adrian did pull out some of his charm this time around it still couldn't compare to the romance between Dimitri and Rose. The difference between fire and a bright warm light. Both are great but not quite the same.

Sydney reminds me of the Cat in the Hat except no where near as flamboyant. But she can stand on unsteady foundation while balancing an unbelivable number of things. All without falling or dropping anything. And she has the unfailing confidence much like the Cat in the Hat. Yet just like the Cat in the Hat I think her demise is certain and fast approaching and the chaos that will result with be just as messy.

I felt that there was much too big a deal made over Marcus. While he was completely full of himself he just wasn't that amazing. In fact I found him rather annoying and will be glad to be rid of him.

Still a great read with great characters. I am so glad the wait isn't too long for the next book. How will Sydney get out of her current predicament and is there any possible future for Adrian and herself?

Content:
Language: Mild
Violence: Moderate