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

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."

Find Angelfire on Goodreads

Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Series: Goodnight Family

Author: Rosemary Clement-Moore
Page Count: 416
Published: July 12th, 2011

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

  4 Stars ★★★★

Amy is a member of the Goodnight family, although she does everything she can to distance herself from the fact that her family uses magic. She just wants to live a "normal" life. 

When she and her sister, Phin, agree to take care of her aunt's farm while she is gone, a bunch of old bones are discovered on the next ranch over, and Amy finds herself giving in to the Goodnight side of herself and giving magic and the paranormal another chance. She might even find love along the way.

I quite enjoyed this book. Very spooky and mysterious at times yet funny and romantic at others, it caught my attention from the very beginning.

I was guessing and wondering, theorizing and pondering the events of the story the whole time. Were the happenings paranormal in nature? Or were they hoaxes, tactics used to scare off superstitious citizens and discourage them from investigating? 

While it was occasionally a little slow at times, it was still a great, captivating YA paranormal read overall, which dared to stray from the usual insta-love and love triangles found in many other novels of the same genre.

I recommend this novel to YA readers looking for a great mystery with paranormal elements. 

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Blood Magic by Tessa Gratton

Series:The Blood Journals

Author: Tessa Gratton

Page Count: 405
Published: May 24th, 2011
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers

5 Stars ★★★★★

Silla's parents died under suspicious circumstances; what appeared to be a murder-suicide. But after receiving a mysterious book of spells, she begins to wonder if there is more to what happened on that fateful day.

Nick moves in next door and finds Silla in the cemetery, and her blood brings back memories of his mother.....and magic. Together, along with Silla's brother, Reese, they unravel the mystery of their families' histories, the surprising connections, and the terrifying truth.

I really loved this book. It has earned it's way into my list of favourite books. First, there was Silla. A complex character, I felt connected to her and I cared about her story and her life. I often saw things the way that she saw them, and I felt her every emotion as if they were my own feelings.

Nick is a likeable love interest. He is perfect for Silla, and he has a mysterious past which connects him to her in ways that he never thought could be true. I found this a unique idea because I haven't read many books where the love interests are more closely connected than they thought; usually they just meet, sparks fly, and romance ensues. But with Nick and Silla, it went much deeper than that.

I was so deeply involved in the story that I cried at times. I had to put the book down so that I could grab a tissue! The beautiful writing mixed with the complex plot and amazing characters made me forget that I lived in the real world and not in the world of this book.

I recommend this book to those who want a dark, unique paranormal story without a love triangle. If you like emotional stories with supernatural elements, this book is for you.


Find Blood Magic on Goodreads

Beautiful Cover(s) of the Day!

L.J Smith is famous for writing the Vampire Diaries books. The Night World novels are another one of her captivating series, 10 books in total, now compiled into three omnibus books and one yet to be released. Their covers are undeniably intriguing with their gothic edge and simple colour schemes. I find that book series with covers such as these, a different colour scheme for every book, tend to catch my eye easily and side by side the covers tend to compliment each other.

The blurb

"Vampires, werewolves, witches, shapeshifters -- they live among us without our knowledge. Night World is their secret society, a secret society with very strict rules. And falling in love breaks all the laws of the Night World.

In Secret Vampire, Poppy thought the summer would last forever. Then she was diagnosed with terminal cancer. Now Poppy's only hope for survival is James, her friend and secret love. A vampire in the Night World, James can make Poppy immortal. But first they both must risk everything to go against the laws of Night World.
Fugitives from Night World, three vampire sisters leave their isolated home to live among humans in Daughters of Darkness. Their brother, Ash, is sent to bring the girls back, but he falls in love with their beautiful friend.
Two witch cousins fight over their high school crush. It's a battle between black magic and white magic in Spellbinder."

Find Night World on Goodreads 

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?"

Find this book on Goodreads 

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

Asylum by Madeleine Roux

Series: Asylum
Author: Madeleine Roux
Page Count: 313
Published: August 20th, 2013

Publisher: HarperTeen

5 Stars ★★★★★

Dan is attending New Hampshire College Prep this summer, and his dorm room is located in the old Brookline Asylum. 

He befriends Jordan and Abby, and explores the abandoned area of the asylum, which is strictly forbidden for students to access. Soon after, he finds himself having disturbing dreams and visions, and receiving threatening notes. Researching the asylum brings to light the horrible experiments and practices that the cruel warden subjected his patients to. 

As the dreams, visions, and notes escalate, the unspeakable occurs, and Dan finds himself in the very center of the terrifying situation. Will he, and his friends, survive the summer?

There were so many amazing things about this book, I'm not sure where to start! 

I was captivated from the first chapter. Roux's writing flows smoothly and I instantly liked Dan. I like how I didn't know absolutely everything about Dan, Abby, and Jordan right away.

I need to mention that I was pleased that amongst all of the creepy paranormal and psychological stuff going on in this book, real issues were addressed through the lives of the characters. For example, Dan was adopted and had to spend some time in the foster care system. Abby's family was having problems and she was unsettled for a portion of the novel because of this. Jordan was attending the program secretly because his homophobic parents had attempted to send him to a gay conversion camp.

Another thing I loved about this book is the guessing game that was going on in my head the entire time. I couldn't decide if Dan was crazy, or if he was really experiencing the things he claimed to experience throughout the novel. 

I wondered who could possibly be behind the disturbing notes and why Dan was having such strange dreams and visions. One moment, I was suspecting one of the characters. The next, I had changed my mind and was scrambling to put the pieces together myself, to figure out who was behind all of this madness.

The photographs throughout the book really added to the creepy-factor by giving me visuals of Dan's visions/dreams and of the settings and objects the three friends came across. It enhanced the story because I was able to better imagine what Dan, Abby, and Jordan  were going through and discovering. 

I recommend this book to fans of YA, mysteries and thrillers, and to anyone searching for a genuinely creepy read.

Find Asylum on Goodreads

Between The Devil And The Deep Blue Sea by April Genevieve Tucholke

Series: Between

Author: April Genevieve Tucholke

Page Count: 360
Published: August 15th, 2013

Publisher: Dial

3 Stars ★★★

Violet's ex-rich family isn't much help to her and her brother; after all, their parents ditched them for Europe. When a hot, mysterious stranger inquires about renting out the guesthouse..... Violet has no idea what is to come. Supposed sightings of the 'Devil', deranged children and a hallucinating friend is just the beginning, and all of it started when River moved into town.....

I was sort of disappointed when I read this book; I was expecting something a little darker, with more of the horror element to it. I wasn't afraid for the characters like I have been in some other books. 

I also did not like Violet enough to care about her situation and found that she made choices which were not always fully explained and thus left me confused. I did not connect to her and I actually found myself feeling empathetic towards the "villain" of the story, instead.

However, this book was not entirely disappointing. While I love angels, vampires, werewolves, etc.., I appreciated that the author chose to deviate from the stereotypical YA novel's cut-out paranormal type characters and try something a little more original.

I recommend this book to those who are looking to expand away from the angels/vampires/werewolves in many of the other current YA books. 

Find Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea on Goodreads