Dance with a Vampire by Ellen Schreiber

 

Series: Vampire Kisses
Author: Ellen Schreiber
Page Count: 208
Published: April 21st, 2009
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books
  4 Stars ★★★★

In this continuation of Raven and Alexander's story, Valentine Maxwell, Jagger's younger brother, has arrived in Dullsville and appears to be targeting Raven's brother. Raven fears that this might be some sort of revenge plot because of the issues that she, Alexander, and Valentine's siblings dealt with in the past, so with Alexander's help, she tries to uncover what's going on. 

At the same time, Raven is having doubts and worries about her dream of becoming a vampire. She wants to be with Alexander and she knows that he loves her just as much as she loves him, so when Valentine threatens to tell her vampire lover about her secret worries, she fears that her relationship with him might become more complicated, or that it might not even survive at all. 

The Vampire Kisses series is such an enjoyable series. The books are perfect for when you want a short read after tackling a long, complex book or if you're trying to ease yourself from a reading slump. While the writing style might be a bit simpler than in other young adult books, it's still a great read for fans of vampire love stories. 

Even at the fourth volume in this series, Raven is still the funny, quirky, unique character that was introduced to readers in the first book. She is so, so likeable, and I find her sense of style, her hopes and dreams, and her love for vampires endearing. She actually reminds me a lot of myself. It's nice to have goths or alternative individuals within fiction that aren't the personification of the gloom-and-doom stereotype. 

Alexander remains the somewhat cliche, swoon-worthy, gothic vampire, love interest that Raven fell for in the first book. I find him just as endearing as Raven, with his romantic gestures and dark style. However, I have to say that I was a bit disappointed with his character in this novel. I was considering Raven's fear that Alexander would, for whatever reason, reject her when she admitted her worries about becoming a vampire. This made me wonder what might be going on in their relationship, if he might not be as sweet as the author shows us on the page. I mean, I think most people would make sure that their partners don't think they might leave them over legitimate fears concerning becoming what is basically a whole other, paranormal or supernatural, species? It seems like common sense, and Alexander must have failed Raven in some way if she was worrying over this so much. 

This book ended with a rather sad cliffhanger, though not a hopeless one. I'm glad that I own the next book so that I can read about what happens next sooner rather than later! This is a series that I like to come back to, it's one that I think I'll read until it ends. 

Overall, a very enjoyable book. While it raises somewhat frustrating questions concerning Raven and Alexander's relationship, I honestly think that these questions add some intrigue and a bit of suspense to the story. 

I recommend this series to fans of YA vampire romances. If you're looking for a short paranormal read, this series is for you.

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Something by Shelby Lamb

 

Series: Wisteria

Author: Shelby Lamb

Page Count: 304
Published: March 7th, 2017

Publisher: Grunge Bookz

  4 Stars ★★★★

 I received a free copy of this book from the author in exchange for a review.

Aubrey is what many would consider 'damaged': she's obsessed with her ex-boyfriend, she's depressed, self harms, and deals with a lot of other issues. However, things start to get worse for her when she picks up a book titled 'Something'. As she shares passages from the book with others, strange occurrences take place and those around her start questioning their sanity. 

This book explored some of the real-life issues people might face, with some paranormal creepiness thrown in. It was a great combination and it worked very well! While written in third person, the author told the story of the chaos that ensues after reading passages from the mysterious book 'Something' from the perspectives of multiple characters, including the depressed Aubrey, teen mom Kendra, ex-boyfriend Nathan and aspiring porn star Bella. 

I wasn't too sure what to expect, considering how unique the idea seemed to me. I have never read anything like this book before, and I'm sure I won't read anything similar for a long time. Including real-life issues alongside paranormal ones is something I really like in a book and this one delivered on this for sure. 

I liked reading about the different characters and their personal situations. I can't say that I actually liked all of the characters, but their problems were intriguing and sometimes heart-breaking. Aubrey's self-esteem, self harm and related issues were realistic to me, in that they're something that I see a lot in real life as well, and I thought that this made the book more believable. Bella's hopes and dreams to become an adult entertainer seemed to make her determined and despite her mean-girl streak, I found myself cheering her on and hoping that she'd achieve her goals! Kendra appeared to be quite sweet and I think that she tried looking on the bright side of things even though she was dealing with motherhood at such a young age. As for Nathan, I felt some sympathy for him, having to deal with Aubrey's obsessive behavior. 

The paranormal aspect was enjoyable and mysterious. I often wondered if maybe the characters were slipping into madness, and that there wasn't really anything other-worldy going on at all. I must admit that at some times I found myself a bit confused because I wasn't really sure what was going on, some situations were a bit unclear to me. 

Another issue was the grammar, there were enough changes in word tense and spelling errors that at times it felt a bit disruptive. Because this is an ARC, I'm hoping that the book will be edited again before its actual release to fix these mistakes, however I can't ignore the way that these mistakes disrupted my reading experience, because it affected my enjoyment of the story.

In conclusion, I can say that this book was really, well, something. I want to know what happens next and I will probably read the next book when it comes out. If you like new adult paranormal mysteries, you might enjoy this. Readers who like books that mix real life issues with other-worldy intrigue will like this novel as well. 

Find Something on Goodreads

The Ghost and the Goth by Stacey Kade

Series: The Ghost and the Goth

Author: Stacey Kade
Page Count: 281
Published: June 29th, 2010

Publisher: Hyperion Books

  4 Stars ★★★★

Alona Dare is one of the most popular girls in school, excited to graduate at the end of the year. But then she gets hit by a bus and dies. Her soul doesn't leave Earth yet, though,  and the only living person who can see her is Will Killian.

Everyone thinks that Will is crazy. He can see and speak with spirits, but nobody believes him. To make it worse, the school principal is constantly picking on him and he hates his doctor. When Alona dies, they form an unlikely friendship, and together they face a malevolent entity with unknown motives.

I had been wanting to get my hands on this for a while when I noticed that it went on sale. I immediately rushed to purchase it, and I finally got to reading it several months later. I wasn't too sure what to expect from this book, as it isn't very similar to the other, more serious paranormal stories that I usually read.

I think the first thing I need to mention are the characters. As I started reading, Alona Dare seemed very much an incarnation of the high school cheerleader stereotype. She seemed careless and vain, even cold at times. As the story moved along, I felt like the author was trying to show me the deeper, more serious parts of Alona's life and experiences. The author seemed to want to make Alona grow as a person throughout the book, to change for the better. While this did occur, I felt like it wasn't nearly enough to redeem her character. Sure, she may have changed her views when it came to Will, eventually falling in love with the boy she previously referred to as a 'freak', but I felt like overall her development as a person was superficial. Did I absolutely loathe her character? No, she did have some likeable qualities. But I found myself unable to connect with her.

I found Will to be the best character in this book. Unlike Alona, I was able to connect with him and I cared about his life and story. I didn't find him at all superficial or stereotypical. He was a very complicated character with a troubled past and an uncertain future. He was what really kept me interested in the story. 

The story itself was a humorous paranormal romance, with elements of mystery. As I mentioned, I usually read more serious paranormal stories, so this was a change for me. I appreciated the author's use of humor, however there were times when I felt the humor to be too stereotypical, or that it was in scenes where I felt it didn't make sense to include humor. I'd like to note that not EVERY scene contains humor, but sometimes I felt like one scene needed it more than another. 

I recommend this book to YA readers fond of humor mixed with romance. If you'd like a light ghost story, this novel is for you.

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Beautiful Cover(s) of the Day!

I remember the first time I saw Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton at the bookstore. I was drawn in by the cover immediately and with an intriguing synopsis, it found its way onto my to-read list. While I may not have attained my own copy as of yet, I certainly hope to someday!

Each of the covers in this series remain gothic but play with colours and tones in a way that is pleasing to the eye. I also get a badass heroine type vibe from the way the model is posing, and from her outfits and weapons.

 The blurb:

"First there are nightmares.
Every night Ellie is haunted by terrifying dreams of monstrous creatures that are hunting her, killing her.

Then come the memories.
When Ellie meets Will, she feels on the verge of remembering something just beyond her grasp. His attention is intense and romantic, and Ellie feels like her soul has known him for centuries. On her seventeenth birthday, on a dark street at midnight, Will awakens Ellie's power, and she knows that she can fight the creatures that stalk her in the grim darkness. Only Will holds the key to Ellie's memories, whole lifetimes of them, and when she looks at him, she can no longer pretend anything was just a dream.

Now she must hunt.
Ellie has power that no one can match, and her role is to hunt and kill the reapers that prey on human souls. But in order to survive the dangerous and ancient battle of the angels and the Fallen, she must also hunt for the secrets of her past lives and truths that may be too frightening to remember."

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Beautiful Cover(s) of the Day!

The Winter trilogy by Ruth Warburton has some of the undeniably most beautiful young adult book covers I have ever seen. The colours contrast perfectly and draw the eye to it, making it sure to stand out to readers. I haven't read the first one yet but it is on my shelf, partially thanks to the lovely cover that drew me in.

The blurb 

"The first in a taut supernatural trilogy filled with action, suspense, witchcraft, and complicated romance

Anna Winterson doesn't know she's a witch and would probably mock you for believing in magic, but after moving to the small town of Winter with her father, she learns more than she ever wanted to about power. When Anna meets Seth, she is smitten, but when she enchants him to love her, she unwittingly amplifies a deadly conflict between two witch clans and splits her own heart in two. She wants to love Seth, to let him love her—but if it is her magic that's controlling his passion, then she is as monstrous as the witch clan who are trying to use her amazing powers for their own gain. When love is tangled up in magic, how do you know what's real?"

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Beautiful Cover(s) of the Day!

The Morganville Vampires Series by Rachel Caine is a popular YA/NA book series. I have only read book one, Glass Houses, but I was very impressed and I definitely recommend it.
There are several different and beautiful versions of the book covers, but these are my favourites for sure! I am a sucker for gothic covers (pun intended) and these draw me in.

 The blurb:

"From the author of the popular Weather Warden series comes the debut of an exciting new series set in Morganville, Texas, where you would be well advised to avoid being out after dark.

College freshman Claire Danvers has had enough of her nightmarish dorm situation. When Claire heads off-campus, the imposing old house where she finds a room may not be much better. Her new roommates don't show many signs of life, but they'll have Claire's back when the town's deepest secrets come crawling out, hungry for fresh blood. Will she be able to face the town's terror or will she drown like everyone else?"

Find The Morganville Vampires on Goodreads 

Beautiful Cover(s) of the Day!

The Dark Heart Trilogy by Lee Monroe is a paranormal romance containing werewolves and angels, amongst other supernatural creatures.  I may have only read the first book, but the 2nd is definitely on my to-read list. What drew me to this trilogy in the first place were the gorgeous covers! The contrast between the dresses and the background, along with the gothic element to them, makes these covers AMAZING!!!

The blurb:

"Jane Jonas is nearing her 16th birthday and troubled by unsettling recurring dreams where the same mysterious boy her age comes to her, telling Jane that they are each other's destiny. Her mother is becoming anxious about Jane's disruptive sleepwalking episodes, but for Jane her dream world and reality are about to collide."

Dark Heart Forever on Goodreads