The Dying of the Light by Derek Landy

 

 Series: Skulduggery Pleasant
Author: Derek Landy
Page Count: 605
Published: August 28th, 2014
Publisher: HarperCollins Children's Books
  5 Stars ★★★★★ 

Darquesse is on the loose and is planning to end the world. Skulduggery is working to find her and stop her before it's too late. With his friends and colleagues, he searches for Darquesse with hopes to save Valkyrie as well, and to separate her from the evil that has taken over her. 

Will they find Darquesse in time? Will Skulduggery be able to save Valkyrie along with the world? Or will the world end, everybody dying with it?

I can't really talk about my feelings about this book, the ninth book in the Skulduggery Pleasant series, without talking about what I think about the series itself as a whole, and all of the other books within it. Every book moves the greater story-line a bit further along, with unique and exciting situations arising within each one. I think this combination of having different issues within each book along with a progression towards the concluding events of the series itself really makes this book special. 

What else makes this book, and series, special? Everything. Literally everything. The characters are amazing! Everything from their names to their backgrounds to their powers makes for an extremely entertaining read. This is the only series where I've found characters with epic names such as Valkyrie Cain, Ghastly Bespoke, Anton Shudder, and of course, Skulduggery Pleasant. There are evil characters, good characters, and lots of characters who fall somewhere in between. Some are serious, some are silly, and some find the perfect balance between humorous and solemn. I have liked every single character within this series, including every villain, because they are all just so interesting and entertaining!

Of course there are the personal relationships that form between these characters as well. There are business or work relationships, such as Valkyrie and Skulduggery's arrangement with the Sanctuary. Then there are friendships, such as the one that forms between Valkyrie and Skulduggery, Tanith and Valkyrie, and existing friendships such as that between Ghastly and Skulduggery. This series focuses a lot more on friendship than on romance, and as a reader I got to care about the characters in the same way that they cared about each other. This made me shed tears at times, for example times when Valkyrie thought she lost Skulduggery forever, or when various other characters found themselves in unfortunate circumstances. 

Considering this book in specific, I had put off reading it because until recently, everybody thought that it was the last book in this series. As a serious, long-time fan of this series, I really didn't want it to end. Then, Derek Landy announced that he'd be writing another book, and possibly more after that, so I finally picked this one up and read it. 

As usual with the other novels in the series, I was completely blown away. I cannot wait for the tenth book, and I really hope the author writes even more novels featuring Skulduggery and Valkyrie when he is finished that one. 

I think that everyone who loves stories about magic should read this book! If you like books with elements of horror and humor, including some emotional elements and amazing characters, this series is definitely for you. 

Find The Dying of the Light on Goodreads

Shade by Jeri Smith-Ready

 

Series: Shade
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready
Page Count: 309
Published: May 4th, 2010
Publisher: Simon Pulse
  3.5 Stars ★★★

Aura was born after the Shift, which means that she can see ghosts. She wonders why the Shift actually happened in the first place, and she wishes that she could reverse it so she could live without having to listen to ghosts tell her their stories or demand justice all the time.

When her boyfriend Logan suddenly dies, Aura is devastated. But because of the Shift, she finds herself able to talk with him, spend time with him, and pretend that he's still truly here with her. With the new boy, Zachary, being so supportive of everything that's going on, her feelings become conflicted and she's not sure if she really wants to be with Logan anymore. 

The idea of many people being able to see ghosts seemed very original to me. Upon reading this book, I can say that I was very interested in the theories that Aura had concerning the Shift, and I want to know what caused it! I think that was my favourite part about this book. 

However, I feel like the way that the world had evolved after the Shift didn't seem to really add up to me. I understand taking measures to keep ghosts out of public areas, I understand making new police or government forces to keep ghosts in line. But the way that people acted when their loved ones died seemed not to match up with what they had discovered.

You'd think that after learning that ghosts and an afterlife of sorts exists, people would be calmer concerning death. Yet, the culture surrounding death didn't really change, people still found themselves absolutely devastated and stuck on their personal beliefs surrounding death. This didn't make sense to me, and unfortunately it made the world that Aura lived in seem a little less real to me. 

Aside from that, I found it unrealistic how quickly Aura developed a crush on another guy after her boyfriend passes away. I mean, not only is she upset about his death, but she actually can still hang out with him and have some sort of relationship with him. So why would she start having all these feelings for Zachary? She barely knows him, yet she's getting butterflies in his presence. Meanwhile, she supposedly loves Logan with all her heart, and he's still there! This didn't add up to me either.

I'm not sure if I'll read the sequel, but I might decide to because I want to know more about the Shift! As I mentioned, this was the best aspect of the book, in my opinion. I can only hope that the world and character's relationships will start to make more sense to me in the next book. 

If you want a book about ghosts with original ideas, you'll like this one. If you're interested in romantic YA books, this novel is for you.

Find Shade on Goodreads

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 Creatures of the Night

I saw this tag at The Book Goddess and thought I'd give it a shot, it seems interesting and I love paranormal books.

1. Vampires

Vampire Kisses by Ellen Schreiber, The Morganville Vampires by Rachel Caine, Evernight by Claudia Gray and Twilight by Stephenie Meyer are 4 series which I very much enjoy, I love the unique takes on the vampire myths and legends. Night World by L.J Smith is also a great series which includes vampires, but I'm not listing it under any specific category because it equally includes and focuses on everything from vampires to shape shifters to witches, so it appears to fall in a category of its own, in my opinion. 

2. Werewolves

Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater is the book which first got me interested in werewolf stories. Twilight also qualifies for this category.  

#3. Zombies and #4. Super-powered Human

I haven't read many zombie books or books centering on people with superpowers, but the Skulduggery Pleasant series by Derek Landy covers both of these categories perfectly. 

#5. Ghosts 

I really enjoyed the book Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake. I found that it brought a new twist to the monster / ghost hunting theme. Absolution by Gail Gallant was also an enjoyable ghost read.

#6. Witch/Warlock/Spellcaster

Beautiful Creatures by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl explores the idea of magical beings in a unique way. Straying from the 'paranormal boy, human girl' trend, it was bound to be a hit. The Sweep series by Cate Tiernan also includes magic and witches, however it takes a religious, Wiccan approach, mixing reality and fantasy.  Skulduggery Pleasant also qualifies for this category.

#7. Fairy/Fae

Two of my favourite fairy/fae series' includes the Faeriewalker series by Jenna Black and the Iron Fey series by Julie Kagawa. Both take unique approaches to the world of the fae and both are equally mesmerizing and unforgettable. 

#8. Demons

I don't think I've read a book which focuses primarily on demons, but the Halo trilogy by Alexandra Adornetto contains some great demon characters, especially in book two, Hades. 

#9. Angels

While Halo also qualifies for this one, the Fallen series by Lauren Kate and Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick were the two series which introduced me to angel fiction, and, along with Twilight, to paranormal romance in general.

#10. Aliens

The only alien book I have ever read is Obsidian by Jennifer Armentrout. I have a few on my to-read list, but as of now, this is the only one I have actually read.  

I hope you all enjoyed this tag! It was very fun to complete. If you make your own post based on this tag, please leave a link in the comment section. 

Say Her Name by James Dawson

Series: N/A

Author: James Dawson
Page Count: 287
Published: June 5th, 2014

Publisher: Hot Key Books

  4 Stars ★★★★

It's Halloween night, and Bobbie, along with her friend Naya and hot boy Caine, decide to try the 'Bloody Mary' ritual. They laugh it all off when nothing happens....until they start experiencing strange and disturbing happenings.

Bobbie finds the words 'five days' written in the steam on the bathroom mirror the next day, and she comes to realize that 'Bloody Mary' isn't just some lame urban legend after all; it is very real and very dangerous, and if she, Naya, and Caine don't solve the mystery surrounding this legend, they may not make it through the next five days alive.

This was a YA thriller-horror novel, sprinkled with the slightest bit of romance and a whole lot of mystery. I found it played with my mind a lot and had me wondering if the characters might be hallucinating, or if they really were experiencing what the narrator said they were experiencing. At some points, I wondered if the culprit was a living person instead of a supernatural force. I was constantly guessing what the outcome would be, and I love books that do that to me!

Bobbie was a very likeable protagonist. I found her very down-to-earth, and I admired her determination. Whenever something unfortunate happened to her, I worried over what would come of the situation. I rooted for her from the start and throughout the entire book; I never really got tired of her or thought she was being stupid or over dramatic, as I feel about many other characters in YA novels.

This paragraph may contain what some consider to be spoilers, however I find mentioning these things necessary for potential readers. A few warnings; there is a student-teacher relationship, teen pregnancy, and violence against a pregnant teen. There is also a scene in a psychiatric hospital, and one character finds herself covered in cuts, which while not from self harm, are described very similarly to the way self harm cuts appear.

This book was a nice change from the usual paranormal romances that I read. It was refreshing, unique, and very creepy. The ending took me by surprise and I recommend it to YA readers who enjoy the thriller and horror genres, and who may be interested in reading a unique spin on the Bloody Mary legend.

Find Say Her Name 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.

Find The Ghost and the Goth on Goodreads

The Dead Girls' Dance by Rachel Caine

Series: The Morganville Vampires

Author: Rachel Caine
Page Count: 248
Published: April 3rd, 2007

Publisher: NAL Jam

  5 Stars ★★★★★

 

 

In the second book of the Morganville Vampires series by Rachel Caine, Shane's father is determined to kill as many vampires as possible. However, being under Amelie the vampire's Protection, this isn't exactly a good idea, because the inhabitants of the Glass House worry that they will be blamed for the actions of his anti-vampire biker gang.

Nothing is as it seems, and nobody can really be trusted. 

This book was intense. 

Rachel Caine really knows how to draw her readers in from the very beginning. The action started in the first chapter and continued non-stop throughout the whole book, with a good balance in terms of both physical action and mental plotting.

The Dead Girls' Dance was also very emotional. Because the author succeeded in making me care about the characters in book one, the misfortunes that fell upon them in book two were heart wrenching and shocking. 

I also like how Rachel Caine blurs the lines between good and evil. Very few characters are one hundred percent good or one hundred percent evil. I find myself switching back and forth over whether I want them to lose and surrender, or to succeed in their endeavors.

I don't have any negative comments or criticism regarding this novel. Very entertaining and thought-provoking, I recommend this book/series to YA readers looking for a great vampire book with complex ideas and elements of mystery.

Find The Dead Girls' Dance on Goodreads

Beautiful Covers of the Day!

The Kissed by an Angel series by Elizabeth Chandler has what I consider to be an example of perfect book covers. With a plain black background, the colourful flowers catch your eye and are quite intensified through their contrast to the background. Guaranteed to draw readers in, they are nothing less than absolutely gorgeous!

The blurb:

"An angelic romantic suspense trilogy in one volume!

"Kissed by an Angel": Ivy and Tristan have the love of a lifetime--until Tristan dies in a car accident. Now Tristan returns as an angel, but Ivy is unable to feel his presence.

"The Power of Love": Tristan has learned that the person responsible for the car crash is after Ivy. Can he cross the boundaries of life and death to warn Ivy that she is in trouble?

"Soulmates": Tristan must rescue Ivy, but if he does so his mission will be finished and he will have to leave his true love forever."

Find Kissed by an Angel on Goodreads 

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

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

Absolution by Gail Gallant

 Series: Apparition
Author: Gail Gallant
Page Count: 288
Published: September 2nd, 2014
Publisher: Doubleday Canada

5 Stars ★★★★★

Amelia has a gift. She can see ghosts. 

She and Morris, a paranormal investigator, assist those plagued with hauntings, and in Absolution, Amelia investigates a haunted hotel with a tortured ghost who harbors a dark past. 

This book was great! It completely reached above and beyond my expectations and pulled me into the story from the start! There aren't enough, good quality mystery YA novels out there, but this is one of the few that have blown my mind! 

Amelia was an incredibly likeable character, and I was able to connect to her and her thoughts, emotions, and experiences with ease. She felt like a real person at times, not just a fictional character. 

The author was able to creep me out at the appropriate instances, for example, when Amelia was trying to communicate with the ghost and when the ghost  actually appeared. However, this is one of the YA books that does not override the characters' personal issues with paranormal ones, so I was able to keep track of and remember the relevance of both the "real-world" and the paranormal events in the story.

I recommend this novel to fans of ghost stories and to YA readers looking for something that deviates from intense love triangles and balances romance with mysterious events and happenings.

I received this book in a first reads Goodreads giveaway.

Find Apparition on Goodreads