Publisher: Amazon Digital Services LLC
Release Date:  March 30, 2014
Format: Kindle ebook
Pages: 241 (ebook)
Source: Amazon
Genre: YA Paranormal
Review Date: November 21, 2016
Rating: 3 bookmarks

Synopsis: ​Nothing is safe around Kristyl Barnette. Windows break. Books rocket across the room. Lights flicker. Strange occurrences follow the sixteen-year-old everywhere. 

When tragedy forces her to move to the small town of Clearwater, Michigan, with her estranged aunt Jodi, Kristyl tries to leave her past behind. But Clearwater has secrets of its own—a mystical history that intersects with Kristyl’s life and might shed light on the inexplicable events that plague her. 

When a mysterious illness threatens her aunt’s life, Kristyl will do anything to cure her. Enlisting the help of witches could save Jodi, but is dealing in magic worth the consequences?

Crystal Magic is an urban fantasy tale with elements of magic focusing on witches and psychics. There was even a bit of time travel, which was fun to read.  This title was a fast and entertaining read.

I so rarely get to read books not only written by a Michigan author, but also that take place in Michigan. Freeman earns bonus points for that.  The author also does a great job with character development. I believed the situation that Kristyl finds herself in. I also bought that she's foreign to her abilities and that she grows into learning about her abilities and what she can do.  Along with her, other characters are in a similar situation when it comes to discovering who they are and what they can do.

Publisher: Entangled Teen
Release Date: August 5, 2014
Format: Kindle
Pages: 534 (Paperback)
Source: Amazon
Genre: YA Paranormal
Review Date: August 18, 2014
Rating: 4 bookmarks 

Synopsis: Katy knows the world changed the night the Luxen came.

She can't believe Daemon welcomed his race or stood by as his kind threatened to obliterate every last human and hybrid on Earth. But the lines between good and bad have blurred, and love has become an emotion that could destroy her—could destroy them all.

Daemon will do anything to save those he loves, even if it means betrayal.

They must team with an unlikely enemy if there is any chance of surviving the invasion. But when it quickly becomes impossible to tell friend from foe, and the world is crumbling around them, they may lose everything— even what they cherish most—to ensure the survival of their friends…and mankind.

War has come to Earth. And no matter the outcome, the future will never be the same for those left standing.

First, before I get into the review of the story, let me address the cover art...I don't like it.  The previous covers look nothing like this one. The fact that this cover matches the two new combined special collectors edition re-releasing the first four books will not make me run out and buy them to match. Blah, now it just seems reminiscent of the Veronica Rossi's Under the Never Sky series covers instead of being unique.  

Back to the subject at hand.  Opposition picks up exactly where Origin left off.  No more than a few days has lapsed since Daemon, Dawson and Dee take off to join the Luxen that have come to earth.  Katy, Archer and Luc are left trying to sort our if the three have changed teams or if they are still fighting with them. Obviously, there's no way in the world Daemon would go against Katy. Not possible.

Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Release Date: April 15, 2014
Format: Hardcover
Pages: 416
Source: Amazon
Genre: YA Dystopian, YA Paranormal
Review Date: June 16, 2014
Rating: 3 bookmarks

Synopsis: Vengeance will be hers.  

Allison Sekemoto once struggled with the question: human or monster? With the death of her love, Zeke, she has her answer. Monster.

Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren, the psychopathic vampire who murdered Zeke. But the trail is bloody and long, and Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions - her creator Kanin, and her blood brother, Jackal. The trail is leading straight to the one place they must protect at any cost - the last vampire-free zone on Earth, Eden. And Sarren has one final, brutal shock in store for Allie. 

In a ruined world where no life is sacred and former allies can turn on you in one heartbeat, Allie will face her darkest days. And if she succeeds, her triumph will be short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.

I'm sad to say that I'm a tad disappointed with this installment. I acknowledged that it's completely possible that I set the bar really high being that I loved the first two books so much. This in turn probably caused my disappointed when it didn't meet that expectation.  

This book had a slow start for me.  It took me much longer than I anticipated getting through the book. It wasn't boring by any means, but it wasn't a page turner like the first two in the trilogy either.  

There were two major plot twists that were the peaks of the story that caused moments of surprise, sadness and hope.  Beyond that, there were valleys where the moaning and groaning of several characters was a bit much for my taste.

Kane proved to be the glue that holds his offspring together, not only does he have to hold everything together while they are in pursuit of Sarren, but he then makes the ultimate sacrifice in stopping him. Jackal isn't as bad as he seems, apparently under that cold exterior he has a heart after all. Allie has clearly grown up even more, and has finally accepted herself as she is.  Good, bad or indifferent she's got bigger worries than to cry over than being a monster.  As one would think, trying to save the world, vampires and humans alike, from a deadly virus will put things in different perspective.

Publisher: Harper Collins Publishers
Release Date: First published March 1, 1999 / Audio unabridged edition released October 27, 2009 by Harper Audio
Format: MP3
Pages: 276 pages (Paperback) / Audio Length: Approx 6.5 hours
Narrator: Rebecca Mozo
Source: Library Borrow via Overdrive
Genre: YA Paranormal, YA Urban Fantasy
Review Date: March 4, 2014
Rating: 2 bookmarks

Synopsis: Elena: beautiful and popular, the girl who can have any boy she wants. Stefan: brooding and mysterious, desperately trying to resist his desire for Elena for her own good. Damon: sexy, dangerous, and driven by an urge for revenge against Stefan, the brother who betrayed him. Elena finds herself drawn to both brothers....who will she choose?

Hey friends!

I have a mini review for you today!  A mini review is my short and sweet analysis of a book.  You'll know in 350 words or less if this is a book I recommend.

Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
Release Date: First published October 1, 2013/ Audio unabridged edition released October 2013 by Hachette Book Group USA
Format: MP3
Pages: 305 (Hardcover) / Audio Length: Approx 7 hours
Narrator: Candice Accola
Source: Library Borrow via Overdrive
Genre: YA Paranormal
Review Date: February 11, 2014
Rating: 2 bookmarks

Synopsis: Supernatural meets The Da Vinci Code in this action-packed paranormal thriller, the first book in a new series from New York Times bestselling author Kami Garcia. 

I never believed in ghosts. Until one tried to kill me.

When Kennedy Waters finds her mother dead, her world begins to unravel. She doesn’t know that paranormal forces in a much darker world are the ones pulling the strings. Not until identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart break into Kennedy’s room and destroy a dangerous spirit sent to kill her. The brothers reveal that her mother was part of an ancient secret society responsible for protecting the world from a vengeful demon — a society whose five members were all murdered on the same night.

Now Kennedy has to take her mother’s place in the Legion if she wants to uncover the truth and stay alive. Along with new Legion members Priest and Alara, the teens race to find the only weapon that might be able to destroy the demon — battling the deadly spirits he controls every step of the way.

Suspense, romance, and the paranormal meet in this chilling urban fantasy, the first book in a new series from Kami Garcia, bestselling coauthor of the Beautiful Creatures novels.

Pros: In general, it was hard to find pros for this book.  I had high hopes, but felt supremely let down.  I think that the sub characters helped the story along. Had some of the secondary characters not have been interesting; this would have been a one bookmark rating. I did like the whole Illuminati aspect of things, which added another dimension to the back story.

Cons: Kennedy.  I wanted to like her, but she's too insecure for my taste. Dare I say even a little bland?  I like a strong and witty female lead. Yes, she's strong in some respects, and in others she's a seriously insecure kid.

The love triangle is weak at best and that’s sad because most YA stories revolve around the love interest.  Honestly, I didn’t understand why either of the twin boys even liked her. I just didn't get the love "triangle" in this story.  

All the teens are 17, with exception of the one 15 year old. I felt that the story sort of fell on the younger side of the YA genre. Personally, I like older YA, so this just felt a tad young for me.  I really expected this to be more like Anna Dressed in Blood.  It's definitely in the wheel house, but it's much dryer and slower. Even the supposed plot twist, wasn't such a big deal. 

Sadly the narrator didn't help things. She was a tad bland. At times, the story turned into background noise.

Final Thoughts:  I expected a slow start being that the couple of Beautiful Creatures books that I read also started pretty slow, but I think I was hopeful because this book was written by only half of that writing duo. But unlike the BC books, the pace didn't pick up. Not ever.  Beyond the slow pacing, I didn't care for the heroine, and it’s important for me to like the focal character of the story.  I didn't connect with her.   Will I read the next book in this series? Nope.  Would I recommend this? No, not really. 

Happy Reading, 
Tamara

Publisher: Silver Lined Books 
Release Date: January 3, 2011
Format: ebook
Pages: 252
Source: Amazon
Genre: YA Paranormal
Review Date: January 5, 2013
Rating: 2 bookmarks

Synopsis: What happens when you receive a guardian angel?
What if you don't believe you need one?
What if one wants you removed?

There are people out there that want either Sterling or Claire for themselves.
Someone who will stop at nothing to have Sterling.
Someone who will do anything to reclaim Claire's affections.
Together, Sterling and Claire will dissuade them.
Someone will fall. Someone will hurt. And others will...

Cloud Nine is a short read and this case, that's a good thing.  Oh boy...what can I say about this book. This is a book club selection and I wouldn't have picked this for myself.  First off, you guys know that I'm a sucker for good cover art! I know that a pretty cover is not always a sign of a good book, but it is a sign of resources. An artist for cover art, an editor for the story, etc. In this case, the cover art was a accurate representation of what the story is.  

I rated this two bookmarks and that was generous. I was debating on giving it only one, but it wasn't THAT bad. Overall I really felt that the writing was immature, the characters weren't developed and the world building was none existent. In the fantasy genre, world building is crucial, in my opinion anyway.

There was a good premise to the story and I liked the idea of what this book could have been, but the author missed opportunities to delve into the world of the Angels. Instead she barely scratched surface of the paranormal aspects and focused more on the "romance"...if that's what you want to call it. The level of romance in this book is lukewarm at best, so it's safe for younger teen readers.

What's a mini review you ask? Simply put, it's a short and sweet version of my review. You'll know in 350 words or less if this is a book I recommend.  This is my first time doing a mini review,so if you like this format please let me know! I may do more reviews in this format in the future.

Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: August 7, 2012 
Format: Audio MP3 (Go Audio, Released August 7, 2012)
Pages: 332 (Hardcover) / Audio Length: Approx 10 hours
Narrator: August Ross
Source: Library Borrow via Overdrive
Genre: YA Paranormal
Review Date: September 22, 2013
Rating: 3 bookmarks

Synopsis: It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on. 

His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.

Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.

Pros: First let me point out that Blake did a great job with character development.  Cas is obsessing about Anna and is unable to forget her.  He starts seeing her and he becomes determined to bring her back, which takes the story to England.  That's a fun change of pace. I liked the new environment, and I liked to see Cas even more out of his comfort zone.  Of course Thomas and eventually Carmel come along for the ride. Carmel is a bit loopy for a short time, but that did add a bit of drama to the friends dynamic. Cas has to make nice with Gideon and his father's former group called the Order. Can they be trusted? Unlikely. That whole dark secret society made things more interesting.

Cons: Sadly Anna wasn't in this book much as I would have liked. That's too bad, because the scenes with her were the best ones. Now about Cas's mother...hmm, that's a whole other conversation.  Also, even though I thought that was good that Cas wanted to help Anna, when it came down to it, I couldn't wrap my mind around trying to rescue a dead murderess. I guess Cas thought she had redeemed herself. I wish his motives were more than trying to rescue a dead girl he likes. Regarding the narrator, he is so-so. When he changes his voice to do Carmel or Cas's mother...or any female character, it's sounds very odd.

Final Thoughts: I rated this 3 bookmarks and that's a stretch. I would have given it 2.5, but I rounded up. Honestly, I expected more. I was hoping that the second story would be more scary than the first. Sadly, it fell a little short.  If you've read and loved Anna Dressed in Blood, then you may want to read this, just don't get your hopes up.  If you haven't read either book, I'd say pass on this series. It's okay, but there are better out there.


Happy Reading and Listening,
~Tamara
Check out my review of the first book, Anna Dressed in Blood