Me on Waiting on Wednesday (383)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: Fake Blood
Author: Whitney Gardner
Release Date: September 4, 2018
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

From Goodreads:

It’s the beginning of the new school year and AJ feels like everyone is changing but him. He hasn’t grown or had any exciting summer adventures like his best friends have. He even has the same crush he’s harbored for years. So AJ decides to take matters into his own hands. But how could a girl like Nia Winters ever like plain vanilla AJ when she only has eyes for vampires?

When AJ and Nia are paired up for a group project on Transylvania, it may be AJ’s chance to win over Nia’s affection by dressing up like the vamp of her dreams. And soon enough he’s got more of Nia’s attention than he bargained for when he learns she’s a slayer.

Now AJ has to worry about self-preservation while also trying to save everyone he cares about from a real-life threat lurking in the shadows of Spoons Middle School.

This sounds fun and quirky and full of weird kids. It sounds like something a little different than most middle grade stories. And the fact that it's a graphic novel, I'm so on board.

Me on Manners & Mutiny

Title: Manners & Mutiny
Author: Gail Carriger
Release Date: November 3, 2015
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Hachette Book Group imprint)

Lessons in the art of espionage aboard Mademoiselle Geraldine's floating dirigible have become tedious without Sophronia's sweet sootie Soap nearby. She would much rather be using her skills to thwart the dastardly Picklemen, yet her concerns about their wicked intentions are ignored, and now she's not sure whom to trust. What does the brusque werewolf dewan know? On whose side is the ever-stylish vampire Lord Akeldama? Only one thing is certain: a large-scale plot is under way, and when it comes to fruition, Sophronia must be ready to save her friends, her school, and all of London from disaster—in decidedly dramatic fashion, of course.

Manners & Mutiny is the final book in what's become an adventurous, clever, witty, and entertaining series. Unique characters. Conflict upon conflict up on torn loyalties. Vampires and werewolves and young ladies flashing fans in order to send secret messages.

Sophronia is, as always, Sophronia. Looking for the hidden truths in peoples' actions. Looking to uncover the plot of the Picklemen. But with her past transgressions and actions being held against her, it's harder and harder for her to find those in positions of authority at Madmoiselle Geraldine's to believe her claims. Difficult, yes, but Sophronia isn't one to back down. She soldiers on, worrying about her friends, worrying about Soap. Wondering if Agatha is right, that she now assumes the worst of people, even her own family. Does she? After her time at finishing school, does Sophronia now no longer trust anyone? Does she assume that everyone lies, that everyone has something to hide? Pessimistic, yes, but the past few years have taught her to be suspicious, taught her to observe and discover. Training to be an intelligencer does change one.

As with the previous books, there is no shortage of mystery or deception, of truth-seeking or secret-uncovering. Of Picklemen-hunting or sootie friendship-making. But this is certainly the most dastardly plan Sophronia has ever had to untangle and thwart. The one that might reveal the most about this secretive intelligencer world of hers. The one that, if mishandled, might bring down society as they know it. Fortunately, Sophronia isn't one to back down and will go down with the ship, so to speak, if that means saving the day.

This series is dangerous, comical, intriguing, full to the brim with the impossible, and I've enjoyed it immensely. It took some time for me to enjoy the first, to allow myself to be immersed in this world, because it requires full immersion. This series needs you to listen, to watch and observe and follow Sophronia during these years at Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality. It needs to to believe in airships and mechanimals, in vampires and werewolves, in the impossible. Now that it's all over, I should like to re-read it, see what secrets, if any, are given away early. A great series to read for those looking for steampunk and a story that mainly focuses on adventure and intelligence with a dash of female friendship and romance thrown in for fun.

(I received an e-galley of this title to review from Hachette Book Group Canada through NetGalley.)

Me on The Coldest Girl in Coldtown

Title: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown
Author: Holly Black
Release Date: September 3, 2013
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Hachette Book Group imprint)

Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave. One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is dark, dangerous and fast-paced, held together by flawed and deadly characters. Black brings new life to vampires in this incarnation of the creature. Along with the vampires, Black gives readers Tana, a reluctant heroine with secrets of her own and a way of making the wrong decision that only serves to get her deeper and deeper into the heart of Coldtown.

In the beginning, Tana is by no means the hero of the book. She just happens to be the only survivor of a vampire attack on a house party, she just happens into the room with her infected ex-boyfriend and a mysterious (and possibly insane) vampire. She just happens into everything that follows, going along with the flow, but she has her reasons. And she doesn't run from the situation, she feels the need to follow it, to keep going, and so she goes with them into Coldtown. The dark secret in her past complicates things, fill her with thoughts of not belonging, and this pushes her to continue the journey through the gates.

The reason Tana follows along and continues deeper and deeper into a complicated situation is because she makes mistakes. She doesn't always put her trust in the right person, she isn't always the smartest girl around, but she actively wants to fix those mistakes. No whining, no passing it off on someone else, someone stronger or deadlier. Tana has the ability to take charge, to make the hard choices, and she does it.

The vampires in this book are shown in a darker light, the way a creature known in horror and genre circles should be shown. Vampires are deadly, brutal, an infection, a menace to be locked away and kept from killing the human population. There are those characters who do glamourize them, who want to join them, who see beauty in life after death and living in a cold popular cage, but they are the minority. For most, they feel safe with the existence of the Coldtowns, knowing the vampires are locked away and can't escape. Unless someone lets them out, of course.

As exciting and blood-stained as this book is, there was something that bothered me. Nothing plot-wise or character-wise, but instead the timeline of the book. I felt the flashback chapters, those on Tana's past, on the vampire's past, interrupted the story that was currently taking place. While each chapter is related to how Tana ended up in Coldtown, it stopped the flow of the story for me.

Vampire characters in YA are overused, but what Black does, by including Tana, by tweaking the modern world with the addition of the Coldtowns, is give readers something new. This book has a way of being both familiar and original. Dangerous consequences arise after each and every decision made in Coldtown, and every attempt to help or fix a problem is painfully difficult, but that doesn't stop Tana from trying to save everyone she can.

(I received a finished copy of this title to review from Hachette Book Group Canada.)

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (135)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: The Coldest Girl in Coldtown
Author: Holly Black
Release Date: September 17, 2013
Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (Hachette Book Group imprint)

From Goodreads:

Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.

One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.

The Coldest Girl in Coldtown is a wholly original story of rage and revenge, of guilt and horror, and of love and loathing from bestselling and acclaimed author Holly Black.

I only sort of remember the short story (good thing I've got the anthology), but it's Holly Black so how can I not want to read this? Not totally sold on the cover, though. I think a real hand instead of an illustrated hand would've been cool.

Me on Waiting on Wednesday (113)

Waiting on Wednesday is a bunch of weekly fun hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. :)

Title: The Indigo Spell
Author: Richelle Mead
Release Date: February 12, 2013
Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin imprint)

From Goodreads:

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.

I think I like this series more than Vampire Academy, Sydney is a little more interesting than Rose, and Sydney's starting to get involved in a lot of different messes and problems and plots to ruin the world.

Me on Black City

Title: Black City
Author: Elizabeth Richards
Release Date: November 13, 2012
Publisher: Putnam (Penguin imprint)

In Black City, humans and Darklings are separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races are still running high after a terrible war. Then Ash, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie, the human daughter of an important figure, meet and do the unthinkable: they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection, both first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings towards each other, knowing that if they're caught they'd be executed, but the connection is too strong. When they find themselves at the centre of a deadly conspiracy that threatened to throw the city back into a war, they must make some hard choices that could result in their deaths.

Black City is a mix of genres that started off promising but then turned rather predictable. A dystopian setting with ash constantly flying through the sky, creatures that are essentially vampires but they're not called vampires, and a tragic love story fill this book. It's not necessarily a new and fresh idea, but the author deserves some credit for taking what's close to overdone and tired and re-worked it enough. The tension was constantly turned up after each page, keeping me interested, but then a twist blew everything right up into the air and the book took a tumble into predictability.

I've become wary of books that mix genres like this, books that combine the dystopian and the paranormal. It can work but it can also fail. Here, it sort of worked, but that's because the vampires aren't called vampires. Instead, they're Darklings. Instead, there are different kinds with different physical characteristics. Instead, it's sort of treated more like a disease, even more so in terms of the Wrath. It's reminiscent of Partials in that sense.

The two characters are recognizable stock characters. Natalie is privileged and frightened, she needs some spine, she needs to take control of her life. What makes her stand out are the secrets in her past and that what she discovers, combined with some bold choices, changes her future. Ash is shunned and abused, a foot in both worlds, but if he fights back he could be executed. Like Natalie, Ash has some secrets and will have to make some big decisions. The two of them make up a classic, and by classic I mean familiar and often-used, star-crossed lovers couple that suffer from a little instant love. Instant attraction and instant lust are okay, but not instant love.

What continues to surprise me is that school settings in dystopian or science fiction or even fantasy novels still feel like present day high school. There's a certain social order, there are cliques and groups and popular people. It makes me think that the pain of high school will never go away because high school will never die.

As the story progressed, I found it interesting, but then a massive twist appeared. Lots of things changed and, honestly, it became rather predictable. It surely put a damper on my enjoyment of the book as a whole. That being said, I'll continue the series but it's because I'm curious as to how it will all end.

(I received a finished copy from Penguin Canada.)

Me on Strange Angels

Title: Strange Angels
Author: Lili St. Crow
Release Date: May 14, 2009
Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin imprint)

Dru Anderson has been "strange" for as long as she can remember, traveling from town to town with her father who hunts the things that go bump in the night. It's a weird life, but a good one... until it all explodes, in an icy, broken-down Dakota town when her dad disappears and a zombie busts through her kitchen door. Alone, and more than a little terrified, Dru's going to need every inch of her wit and training to stay alive. The monsters have decided to hunt back, and this time, it's Dru who's on the menu

Strange Angels is packed with tension, action, and more than one smart mouth who won't stop. What hold the book together is a strong, rather dangerous, and impossibly stubborn heroine without a hint of teenage girl sugar-coating over top. Dru's a badass, and she makes no attempt to hide that fact that she's rough and ragged at the edges. This is certainly not a typical YA paranormal novel.

Dru leads a very odd life, constantly on the road with her dad hunting the supernatural monsters that terrorize other people. It's clear that Dru's going to be a little more bizarre than most teenage girls, because what normal well-adjusted girl becomes her father's helper when he goes off killing monsters?

When the zombie shows up, everything goes downhill. Dru's on her own now, she's got to remember what her dad taught her before she forgets it all in a massive panicked rush, and she's got to remember how to survive. Because she knows what's out there in the cracks and crevices, what thrives in the shadows. Of course, what she doesn't expect comes in the form of two stubborn boys who are willing to keep her safe.

Books where the setting and the season leaks out from the page and into my hands are rare, and this one does it. Dru's surrounded by snow, winter coming down on the Dakotas, and as I read this a chill crept out and into my hands. So visual and so realistic.

As a book that features one of the more gritty, harsh, stubborn, and complicated heroines I've come across, I would certainly recommend this book to fans of Vampire Academy and the TV show Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Sometimes, you need a heroine who drives a truck with an AK-47 in the back, and Dru's that kind of girl.

(I own a copy of this book.)

Me on Second Chance

Title: Second Chance
Author: Heather Brewer
Release Date: October 16, 2012
Publisher: Dial (Penguin imprint)

The summer after Joss failed to kill the vampire Vladimir Tod, he gets a second chance to prove himself as a slayer. He's sent to New York City to hunt down a serial killer that the Slayer Society believes to be a vampire. It's up to Joss to lead his Slayer team, and through their detective work, they discover who the real culprit is, that there's more than one killer. He'll have to use all of his skill to save the innocent people of NYC. His status as a Slayer depends on it.

Second Chance is a deeper look into the mind of a very complicated and conflicted character. The whole series looks to be a more in-depth look at Joss's character, at his mind and his motives for doing what he does, and what the reader will find is that his mind is dark, troubled, and filled with so much angst over what to do next.

The book returns to Joss' side and his job as a Slayer after the sudden revelation that the friend he just made (before this book starts) is the vampire Vladimir Tod. This makes for a very confused Joss, because his job is to kill vampires to keep the human population safe, but he knows Vlad, he knows he's not evil. It makes for some massive internal and external conflict. In New York, he's forced to keep many secrets from his uncle and the rest of the Slayers around him, but they're also keeping some secrets from him. And it's up to Joss to figure out who this serial killer is, whether it's a vampire or not, and if there's only one killer to hunt down.


It should be surprising to open this book to discover that his sister Cecile is still constantly on his mind. Never mind the new revelations with Vlad, Joss is still unsuccessfully coping with his sister's murder. This is his ongoing struggle, to discover who murdered her, to find the vampire that did it, and to drive his stake into its heart. But his dreams of Cecile are haunting, almost brutal, and it could make the reader question Joss' sanity at times.

A definite recommendation for those who've read and enjoyed The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series, but for those who are new, make sure to at least read First Kill before reading Second Chance.

(I received a finished copy from Penguin Canada.)

June 23 - Richelle Mead

Yesterday was the last stop on Richelle Mead's tour for The Golden Lily. It's not the first time I've seen Richelle, I was at a writer's conference a few years ago and watched her speak about writing and urban fantasy and YA, but this is the first time I got books signed by her.

Like most signings, the set up was to have her read and talk, then answer questions, then sign books. I showed up a couple hours before the event started. I heard some girls showed up at 9am. Before the bookstore opened. Hardcore fans or what. I think I was about 12th in line (and was the end of the line for a good almost half hour), but then people started to show up around noon-ish and soon the line grew and grew. My guess would be between 100 and 150 people showed up, maybe closer to the high end. Less than Cassie Clare and Holly Black, more than Tahereh Mafi, maybe around the same as Marissa Meyer or the Smart Chicks Tour.

So, this is how close I was. How awesome. And no one was sitting directly in front of me. Weird. If the people who didn't get seats knew that, someone would've rushed up and taken it.

Richelle showed up looking all pretty. Curse you, authors and all your pretty. She said she was going to show up in jeans and her husband said, "You're going to another country, you have to look nice," or something along those lines. Pffft, we're not picky. ;) Then she read from The Golden Lily, a part from Chapter 12 when (plot point spoiler) Sydney and Adrian go to the self-defence class. So funny.

Then she answered a bunch of audience questions, some of which I tweeted yesterday but some I didn't. She knew there would be a spin-off series about halfway through the Vampire Academy series, she thought Sydney was interesting, and she knew Adrian would need his own series. She describes her writing style as very dialogue-heavy and full of pop culture references. There's going to be a Rose/Dimitri short story in an anthology soon and has to do with "prophecy." Her own desire to write keeps her writing, she'll look back at the books she's had published and feels happy, and she likes seeing readers and fans who make her want to write a better book. There's no movie news, but there's a production company trying to shop it around (the market might be a bit too vampire-heavy right now). She doesn't listen to music while writing, she'll get distracted by the lyrics, but listen to music when driving and thinking about the book is fine.

Her advice to writers is to write what you want to without caring what others might think and to keep writing every day because it can be hard to write again after taking a break. She always wanted to write, you read enough books and sometimes you get the desire to write your own, but she felt she needed to be older and a little disciplined before writing such a sprawling story like the Vampire Academy and Bloodlines series and her other series. She outlines the entire series so she knows how each book will end and how the series will end, then outlines each book meticulously. There was only one ending for Last Sacrifice, it didn't suddenly change halfway through the series. There aren't any characters based off people she knows, but she did once know a guy who dressed like Abe dresses. There might be similarities between Mason (from Vampire Academy) and Micah (from Bloodlines) but they're not secretly related or anything. And she brought Mason back to mess with Eddie's head. ;)

Then came the signing portion of the event. I only had two books with me, my copy of Vampire Academy and a copy of The Golden Lily that I bought there.

I looked through the pictures that one of the employee-helper-people took and I have the same pose in (almost) all of them. *sigh* Sad face. Stupid Lindsay, stop sticking your hand up into your neck.

Richelle noticed that my paperback copy of Vampire Academy has the old cover (before they invested some money in them, her words (how cheeky)) and I told her that when I bought copies of Frostbite and Shadow Kiss, the covers changed so I have two old covers and the rest all new covers. Oh, publishing. Don't ever change.

Thanks so much to Chapters for the event, for Penguin Canada for bringing her up here, and to Richelle for being awesome. :)

Me on The Golden Lily

Title: The Golden Lily
Author: Richelle Mead
Release Date: June 23, 2012
Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin imprint)

Tough, brainy Alchemist Sydney and doe-eyed vampire princess Jill are still hiding out in Palm Springs at a human boarding school. Their fellow students, spoiled children of the wealthy and powerful elite, carry on in ignorance as Sydney, Jill, Eddie, and Adrian do everything they can to keep their secret hidden. That Jill's a vampire princess hidden away to keep her alive. But with some forbidden relationships and dangerous threats, keeping a secret is harder than expected. This time around, Sydney's got even more on her plate, like questioning the motives of the Alchemists, like dealing with a possible new threat to everyone's safety, like maybe figuring out what to do when a guy asks you out.

Second in the series, The Golden Lily doesn't fail to disappoint for loyal fans of both this and the previous Vampire Academy series. Readers will be tossed straight back into Sydney's story, complete with all her issues and neuroses, her uneasiness over her Moroi friends drinking blood, her gradual acceptance that perhaps not all vampires shouldn't be trusted.

What makes reading this series so much is Sydney. She's smart, she's interesting, she's got morals. Apart from the Alchemist knowledge, she's rather plain, there's nothing super about her, she's not fashionable or outgoing, but it's the other aspects of her character that make her enjoyable. It's the multiple internal and external conflicts that she's mixed up in, the fact that the Alchemists want to use her to keep tabs on the vampires, the fact that she's liking Jill and Eddie and Adrian more than the Alchemists, the fact that the Alchemists are keeping secrets from her that might get her killed. It's all about instinct now, which feelings to trust, which people to trust.

The biggest surprise in this new installment is the prospect of Sydney getting a boyfriend. Considering the fact that she's more focused on schoolwork and the job at hand, you know she'll be flustered and ever so confused when she doesn't know how to proceed with a guy that likes her.

The side characters like Jill and Eddie and all the others are so fleshed out and flawed, and such a contrast to Sydney's practicality. It's the vampire's ability to control the elements, to use magic, that's at odds with Sydney's Alchemist nature to only believe in something when she sees it.

This is what I expect from Richelle Mead: interesting and outrageously complicated characters, something insidious hiding in the shadows, conflict upon conflict upon conflict, revenge and betrayal, loyalties stretched to the breaking point, romantic entanglements and love rectangles and polygons. Fan will relish this new story, and also be left clamoring for more.

(I received an advance copy to review from Penguin Canada.)

Me on The Hunt

Title: The Hunt
Author: Andrew Fukuda
Release Date: May 8, 2012
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can't run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn't hurt, and he doesn't drink blood. He's human, and he knows the rules: don't sweat, don't laugh, don't draw attention to yourself, and don't fall in love with one of them. It's the only way to stay alive in a world filled with vampires. But when he's chosen to participate in a hunt for some of the last remaining humans, his carefully constructed life begins to crumble. He's thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel, and into a pack of dangerous hunters. Now that there's something worth fighting for, the need to survive is stronger than ever, but is it worth the cost of his humanity?

The Hunt is dark, mysterious, and dangerous. This whole book is about survival, about staying under the radar, about hiding yourself in plain sight. One wrong move, an extra breath or a misstep, a scratch or a scent, and the vampires would be all over him. His years of hiding would be worthless.

Reading a book where every move a character makes could be his last is interesting, it makes the book rather immediate and frightening. He has to blend in with the vampires no matter what, because if he doesn't, if he twitches or gets a papercut or happens to smell, they will be all over him. It'll be a bloodbath.

There was a certain vibe or feeling I kept getting while reading this book that constantly reminded me of Heather Brewer and her The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series, but the only thing they seem to have in common is the vampire element. Here, the book is very dark, very dangerous, very immediate and cautious. It's like the reverse of Brewer's series, instead of the vampire hiding amongst the humans it's a human hiding in the vampires. Not sure which would be more dangerous.

It's my opinion that this would be a great suggestion for teenage guys to read. There's action and danger, there's blood-thirsty monsters. There's that one perfect but unobtainable girl constantly thrown into situation with the main character so he can't avoid her unless he wants to look suspicious, but she's got her own secrets. Like everyone else does in this book.

(I received an advance copy from Raincoast Books.)

Me on The Immortal Rules

Title: The Immortal Rules
Author: Julie Kagawa
Release Date: April 24, 2012
Publisher: HarlequinTeen

Allison survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city, by scrounging for food during the day. Some days, it's her hatred of them, the vampires, that keeps her going, but then one night she's attacked and she has to make the ultimate choice. Die, or become a vampire. Faced with her own looming mortality, Allie becomes what she hates, and to survive she has to learn the rules of being immortal. But then she's forced to flee into the unknown, into the wilds of the world outside the city she's always known, and falls in with a group of humans seeking a legend, a cure for the rabid creatures that threaten both the vampires and the humans. But it isn't always easy to pass as human, especially around a certain boy, and Allie has to decide what, or who, is worth dying for.

The Immortal Rules is a refreshing vampire YA novel in a saturated market. Fast-paced and exciting, readers are always on a journey with Allison, the human turned semi-reluctant vampire. The concept is nothing new, a human turned and hiding her vampirism from other humans, but the author has tweaked it enough that, mixed with the dystopic/post-apocalyptic disease setting, the book isn't left feeling old and stale. This book has a uniqueness that will help it stand out and grab hold of readers.

The most surprising and enjoyable element of this book was the pacing. It was almost always fast and moving. When it wasn't, it wasn't moments of stalling but instead times of contemplation for Allie. Who wouldn't need time to think and learn about being a vampire?

Allie has loads of guts and strength. Some reluctant vampires are bothersome, no one really wants to spend their time reading a book about someone filled to the brim with complaints and self-pity, but Allison was different. It wasn't that she was necessarily thrilled to be a vampire, but she didn't spend most of the book harping on it. It was like she had a kind of tenuous understanding, that all the wishing in the world wasn't going to turn back time, that she couldn't snap her fingers and be human again, scrounging for food and struggling to survive and stay Unregistered.

There's an old world feel to the book, most likely brought on by the ruins of the cities, the starvation, the desperation, but it didn't feel ancient or medieval. It's very much a ruined future for the human race in a familiar setting. I'm noticing this more and more, dystopian novels taking place within 100 years of the current date. In that time, there will be differences, but hopefully not enough to completely alienate readers, make them feel like they're reading something that takes place thousands of years in the future.

I don't always want to talk about book length, but I'm curious if books are getting longer. I don't think with this book it's an issue. Yes, it's fairly big, and yes, there's a lot of action and confusion and Allie's philosophical musings on being human and being a vampire, but with this story I feel it worked. There were points where I thought the story could've ended, but not enough had happened. So much does happen to Allie in this book, but everything moved along at a quick pace. There was rarely enough time for Allie to catch her breath, if she felt like breathing at all.

This book was something new and fresh, standing out amongst all the other YA novels with vampire characters. Hopefully, readers will give it a try. I imagine fans of the authors previous work, The Iron Fae series, will also enjoy this.

(I received an e-galley of this book to review from Harlequin through NetGalley.)

Me on Reckoning

Title: Reckoning
Author: Lili St. Crow
Release Date: November 1, 2011
Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin imprint)

There will be spoilers for the other four books in the series. If you haven't read this series and you plan to, start with the first book, Strange Angels.

Dru's escaped with her life, but she's not out of the woods yet. On the run in a stolen car with Graves riding shotgun and the Broken wulf Ash curled up in the backseat, Dru heads for somewhere she knows will keep them safe, somewhere where she can plan their next move. But the Order wants her back, and Dru has to roll with the punches once again, facing possible betrayal from the one person she trusts more than anyone else.

At the end of Defiance, we left Dru realizing that she bloomed, became a full-fledged svetocha, extremely rare and extremely toxic to male vampires, but she was freaking out over saving Graves. This book is Dru after her blooming and her getting used to the new abilities and her new appearance. And Dru is still learning how to deal with the feelings she has for both Graves and Christophe. It's never easy with those two guys.

Reckoning was exactly what I wanted in terms of plot movement. It was still fast-paced, there was lots of action, lots of opportunity for Dru to do what she does best: kicking butt and taking names. It had what I wanted. I wanted Dru totally freaking out and trying to cope, I wanted Dru caught in the middle again, I wanted Dru fighting to survive with every single breath left in her body. I wanted Dru to realize that blooming was good, that change was good, that things weren't going to go back to the way they had been before Graves was kidnapped, before she met Anna, before she saved Ash, before she met Christophe, before Graves found her. Even before her father died.

Because this is the final book in this series about Dru, the story had to come to an end, but which story? Will it be the end of Dru's search to avenge her parents' deaths? Will it be the end of the new life Dru has come to know? Will Dru finally make a choice between Graves and Christophe? I could always feel the end coming, hoping to delay it as much as I could. Commenting on the ending would involve spoilers and ruin the book for those who haven't read it. It's an ending, it's the ending we get, it's the ending that fills us with continued speculation and hopes and dreams that the author might cave and give us a sixth book (even though I don't see that happening). Still, there's nothing wrong with dreaming, right?

This series has taken hold over a part of me for the last two years when I first read Strange Angels. Now, with Reckoning over and the last page turned, I will look back on the good times, reflect on the bad, and keep a constant vigil for another book or series set in this fascinating and dangerous world Dru is a part of.

(I purchased this book for both my own enjoyment and for review purposes. And the picture above corresponds with the cover of my copy of the book. I like how they revamped the creepy face on the left. Much better than the previous cover. That face looked almost cheesy. This one is honestly spooky.)

Me on First Kill

Title: The Slayer Chronicles: First Kill
Author: Heather Brewer
Release Date: September 20, 2011
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile (Penguin imprint)

When Joss McMillan was 10, his sister was murdered, killed by a vampire who snuck into her room and drank her blood. Three years later, Joss is brought to the Catskills by his uncle for some training. Some special training. training to be come a Slayer, a killer of vampires. But what happens when they discover vampires also hidden in the Catskills? What happens when they believe there's a traitor among them? Will Joss be able to survive?

Heather Brewer brings her minions right back to the beginning, but this time she gives us Joss's side of the story that first began in her The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series. Readers will dive right back into a world populated by humans, vampires, and Slayers, and new readers don't have to worry about missing anything important (but I would advise that they read Vlad's series as well, to learn both sides of the same story).

Such a change from Brewer's other series. Here we get Joss at what could be his most vulnerable, his most desolate and lost and confused. He's so young but also so emotional, a trait his uncle is ready to beat out of him. Even if it costs him his life. This book made me love Joss the way Vlad's series made me love Vlad. They were so similar in the beginning, lost and confused, not sure who he could talk to or turn to, trying to figure out the new change in their lives. Trying to stay alive.

This book was interesting, giving us the beginning of Joss, before he was harsh and unforgiving, before he wanted to kill Vlad because he was a vampire. Joss the Slayer is all we knew, all Brewer gave us, and this allows us to understand the circumstances, to walk the mile in the other person's shoes so we learn why he does what he does.

I adored the scenes with Kat. I want more Kat. I didn't expect her to be there, the one spot of normal in Joss's harsh and brutal summer, but I loved it.

Fresh but familiar, Heather Brewer don't disappoint loyal minions left wanting more at the end of her previous series and gives them another tortured soul to care for, one who does what he does in the memory of his murdered sister.

(I received an advance copy from a friend and fellow blogger. She'd picked it up at ComicCon on a whim and I told her I wanted it.)

Me on Drink, Slay, Love

Title: Drink, Slay, Love
Author: Sarah Beth Durst
Release Date: September 13, 2011
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry (S&S imprint)

Pearl is a normal vampire, drinks blood, allergic to sunlight, mostly evil, until a unicorn shows up and stabs her in the chest. Her family doesn't believe her (since unicorns don't exist), but when they discover she can now withstand the sun, they want to use it. The Vampire King of New England has chosen Pearl's family to host his feast, and her family want her to visit the high school, make some friends so they can be the main course.

The only problem? Pearl's starting to feel some twinges, like she has a conscience. What's a sunlight-loving vampire to do?

A unique and interesting concept. Vampires as evil (this is not unique, I know, but stay with me) and getting stabbed in the chest by a unicorn turns them nice. There's that weird twist of, "oh, hey, that's different, I don't remember that coming up in a book before," and that's when potential readers become readers.

Pearl is evil. It says so in the summary. She's calculating and manipulative, she's like the anti-hero. She's an evil vampire who doesn't give a flying leap about humanity and drinks blood to survive, even though she was 'changed' by a bright and sparkly unicorn, the symbol of cute and bubbly little girls. But things start to change, she's starting to feel a twinge here and there, a shift in her head and her chest, and BANG! she's got a conscience. Something new and nice to screw with her years of being a manipulative and cold-blooded vampire.

Plus she's caught in this vague and supposedly impossible middle ground, craving the sun but living off blood, being used by her parents as a means to a tasty end but being liked by teens at school who just want to be her friend. Bloody rock, meet hard place covered in sunshine. This book turns into a moral lesson, a book about making the right choices, about doing what's right and not what's expected, about family and if they're really the best environment for you if your views and theirs no longer stay the same.

And of course there has to be awkward moments for Pearl attempting to navigate the weird and confusing circles of high school and teenage popularity. Especially if her only reference is movies from the 1980's, like Pretty in Pink or The Breakfast Club. High school has changed since then, Pearl.

Intriguing and fun, Drink, Slay, Love was an entertaining read, a glimpse into a young vampire's life when her life is altered in the biggest of ways. Apparently, being stabbed in the chest by a unicorn gives you a conscience. Who knew?

Me on Bloodlines + Blog Tour

Welcome to the next stop on the Bloodlines blog tour. I'm your resident reviewer/total book nerd. ;) And this is my first ever time being part of a blog tour. And I'm day 2. I can feel the pressure to be awesome. *biting fingernails* Also, thank you so much, Penguin Canada. You're so awesome for sending me an advance copy of this to review. It's possible I was ready to beg a friend to borrow hers. ;) Here's a link to the trailer.

I was just going to post a review, but I thought about it and I'm going to give you something extra at the end, a little compare and contrast between Rose, everyone's favourite Dhampir and Guardian, and Sydney, our new intrepid narrator and wary Alchemist. But first, the review (the whole post might be a little long).

Title: Bloodlines
Author: Richelle Mead
Release Date: August 23, 2011
Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin imprint)

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, part of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets, and human lives. Ripped from her bed, Sydney thinks she's still being punished for helping dhampir Rose Hathaway, but it's far worse than she imagined. Jill Dragomir, the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir, is in danger and needs to be hidden. To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to be Jill's guardian, to pose as her roommate and hide her in the last place a vampire would be, Palm Springs, California. Instead of finding safety and a semblance of security, Sydney discovers the drama is just the beginning.

Bloodlines is the start of a companion series to Vampire Academy, beginning after the events that almost cost Rose and Lissa their lives multiple times, and now everyone's favourite stoic Alchemist and part-time character Sydney has returned, becoming our new narrator. So reluctant to get involved, so wary of getting kicked out or sent away to be "re-educated," Sydney is shoved into a situation she wouldn't dare touch with a 10 foot pole, but she has her reasons.

Familiar but still new and different, Richelle Mead gives us a new series with former side characters like any good companion novel. Think Dia Reeves (Bleeding Violet and Slice of Cherry), Stephanie Perkins, or Heather Brewer (The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod and The Slayer Chronicles). These are characters both beloved and left behind at the end of Last Sacrifice: Sydney, Jill (Lissa's discovered half-sister), Adrian (the Moroi spirit user with an addiction Rose turned away), and Eddie (a dhampir Guardian just skating the edge after some unfortunate events). I think a lot of readers are waiting for Adrian to find his girl after being dumped by Rose for Dimitri.

I like Sydney, she's unique and intelligent, but rather closed off. Who else would you bring in but Adrian to chip away at her walls and completely infuriate her with his thousands upon thousands of issues and addictions and his bitterness over Rose? And Jill's sweetness and semi-naivete needs hardening up. A bit of Sydney needs to rub of on Jill, and vice versa.

Now, it's all about Sydney being surrounded by vampires and part-vampires and humans. A social butterfly, Sydney is not. Far too smart for the prep school she and Jill are dumped it, she has to learn to navigate the human world, a world full of resentful teen girls, jock guys, and unique teachers. She has to keep her wits about her, to trust her instincts, to trust the right people (which might also be the wrong people, but it does happen), to learn that the world, be it the human, Moroi, or Alchemist world, is more gray instead of black and white.

And maybe that vampires aren't so bad to hang around with. Well, the Moroi, at least. She can still avoid the Strigoi as much as she wants.

Filled with twists and turns and many questions with few answers, Bloodlines will satisfy loyal Richelle Mead readers and leave them hanging on by the tips of their fingers for more. A wonderful blend of familiar characters and problems with a new setting. And, of course, new problems. Here, the stakes are so much higher than they were before, and now everyone's out for blood. But whose blood is wanted more?

Now, with the change in series and setting comes a change in narrator. Readers will miss the strong and rough and gutsy and ballsy Rose, but Sydney is strong in her own way. Strong in character and belief, in doing what's right and not necessarily what's best for the Alchemists (good thing, too). Sydney wants to keep Jill safe, to keep her alive, and to keep her hidden from any Moroi or Strigoi or whoever might want to kill her. Like Rose, she'll help and keep people safe. Unlike Rose, she's maybe not as street smart or used to teenage drama in a school environment. And, like Rose, Sydney puts up with Adrian's crap and wants him to chance.

If only Sydney could kick butt like Rose. She seems like a reluctant heroine, not necessarily comfortable in her new role, but she'll do it. And as the series goes on, Sydney will be amazing.

Me on Defiance

Title: Defiance
Author: Lili St. Crow
Release Date: April 19, 2011
Publisher: Razorbill (Penguin imprint)

Before reading this, I reread the first three books in the series. Partially to remind myself what had happened, but mostly because they're freaking awesome. :)

Oh, and there are spoilers for Strange Angels, Betrayals, especially Jealousy, and maybe Defiance. If you want to read the other books first, you might not want to read this.

Dru's always been a good listener. She listened to her dad, but she did have to gun him down when he showed up at their house as a zombie. Then she listened to the Order when they popped into her life, but they kept lying to her. She even listened to Christophe, but still lost the only friend she had left.

Now, Dru's done listening. She's doing things on her own extremely pissed off terms, and she'll fight Sergej, king of the evil vampires, if she bloody well wants to. If the Order has a problem with that, they can kiss their sweet little svetocha goodbye.

I spent the last three days (May 3, 4, & 5) reading this series. I got through Betrayals and Jealousy both in one day. I felt like a junkie just after midnight on the 5th, wanting to read Defiance because Jealousy has a brutal ending but needing to get some sleep.

This book was just as mind-blowing and just as powerful as the others in the series. It took almost nothing for me to get swept back into Dru's deadly and extremely mixed-up world, a world she's somehow survived sort of on her own ever since she had to kill her brand new zombie dad. Nothing happens slowly, even though Dru's continually anxious about how long things are taking. The pacing is quick but smooth, no rough edges to get caught up on or stumble over. Four books in, St. Crow still has the ability to pull me straight into Dru's world until it feels like I'm smack in her head watching everything twist and move and crumble around her.

And once again, nothing's easy for Dru. She really has pulled the shortest straw possible for easiness of life. And thank God that she's still the same Dru I love reading about. She's armed, she's gritty, she's not girly but has that girly part of her brain that worries about zits and looking like a rumpled slob in front of Graves and Christophe, and she's forever ready to beat the crap out of whoever she has to to find out the truth.

Jealousy ended like a punch in the stomach with Anna shooting Dru, Christophe making Dru drink his blood, and Sergej leaving a note saying he's going to Break Graves the way he Broke Ash. It doesn't take long for Defiance to get right back into the action, it doesn't take long for Dru to continue killing nosferatu or learn how to fight with Christophe or ask over and over again if the Order has found Graves.

I don't want to give away spoilers, but the places this book went and where it ended in preparation for the last book in the series was so good and so satisfying. Because it's Dru, nothing was even close to perfect, and at the end it's clear there's a giant mess left to be fixed, but I so know I'm going to get what I want in the last book.

Dru kicking some ass. ;)

Powered by a strong heroine who's not afraid to get a little dirty, Defiance is what readers of Lili St. Crow's Strange Angels series have been waiting for after the huge action-packed mess of Jealousy. Dru's learned, she's grown, she's on the edge of blooming into a full-fledged svetocha, and she'll do anything and everything and whatever it takes to get her Goth Boy back.

When Reckoning hits shelves in November, it'll feel like the end of an era. No more Dru, or Graves, or Christophe. It's almost enough to make me want to hug these books to bed. ;)

Me on Gushing About Lilith Saintcrow

I love urban fantasy/dark fantasy/paranormal books. There's something about real life that can get so boring sometimes, there's something wild and unexpected missing. In urban fantasy novels, that something wild and unexpected is right there, usually hidden in the shadows, creeping around in the background. It makes the book that much more interesting, like real life mixed with something that's bound to keep you on your toes.

If the world-building is done right, then you get totally swept into the book and start to feel like you're right there with the characters, seeing what they see.

That's how I feel whenever I read Lilith Saintcrow's Strange Angels series. There's a bunch of spoilers, so be warned.

This series just sort of found me, too. Early in 2009, I read the first Vampire Academy book by Richelle Mead. That July, I ordered the next two, cause that's all that was out at the time. At the end of Shadow Kiss was the cover and a preview (the prologue) of this book called Strange Angels by Lili St. Crow. I saw the cover and was curious. I read the prologue and fell in book-love. I bought it and for the past 2 years have fallen under Lilith's siren spell.

I think it's the character of Dru that sucked me in. She's not your normal heroine. She knows, and I mean knows, how to fight her way out of a situation or two, she knows her guns and weapons, and she knows a bunch of 'Real World' stuff, like wulfen and faeries and apparitions and the like. She's rough around the edges, she's got a smart mouth, she's punchy like you wouldn't believe. She's awesome. Dru's like Buffy the Vampire Slayer without the blonde hair and cheerleading background and more gruff attitude..

Sure, Dru's not your average girl and could so kick your butt (and knows it), but she's not heartless. She's got a clear sense of right/wrong and she cares about people when they're being pushed around. I think I was waiting a little not so patiently for a girl like Dru who's not all that of a girl and has accepted it. She's not focused on how to find a date while fighting roach spirits or poltergeists. She's focused on how to fight them while hoping her dad lets her come along on a hunt or two.

Dru knows the world is dark and creepy. There's a distinct lack of perfect in the Real World, as there should be. Her mom was killed, her grandmother died, her dad turned into a zombie, she just discovers she's part-vampire, and there's a different super creepy evil vampire after her who wants to kill her. There's no sugar-coating whatsoever, even when Graves drops into her life with his aspirations of being a physics professor (which is so cool) and ends up being turned into a loup-garou.

I also think the whole djamphir and svetocha idea is different and intriguing. Vampires can be written about forever and ever, but a world where female vampires are really really rare? Where they're a little more than average until they 'bloom' and become strong and pretty? And they're poisonous to evil vampires just being in the same room as them? That's wicked. In a cool, creepy vampire way. ;)

There's just something about these books, especially the first one, that makes me want to read it over and over and over again. Thank God these books exist (and that they're in paperback). I so wish I'd written this series.

The different characters are so fleshed out and so close to being real. Dru with the huge chip on her shoulder, Graves and his sense of humour mixed with his ability to roll with all the punches, Christophe's need to protect Dru plus a little vampire creepiness. Ash. I love Ash. I could happily devour a new series all about Ash. He's the broken lost soul Dru has to fix right before she fixes her own broken lost soul.

For all her strength and knowledge and determination and blood-boiling anger, Dru's still fragile.

I finished reading Defiance today (May 5, review to be posted May 10), and after reading nothing but these books for the past 3 days I feel like a junkie coming down from an amazing high. It was like a bomb went off in my head and obliterated everything but (spoiler) Dru, Graves, and Ash. I didn't want it to end. I wanted to keep reading. Once I was done, I went back and read the ending because it was so good. I still don't want to book to be over because I know I'll be counting the days until Reckoning.

I want to punch myself in the face for not writing these books before Lilith Saintcrow did.

I can't believe the series is coming to an end with Reckoning due to come out November 1, 2011. It almost feels like the end of a weird and dark and dangerous era of a couple of years. Even if there's no more Dru and Graves and Christophe, the piece of my soul that loves how Lilith Saintcrow writes and world builds and makes me want to hug these books to sleep would cry for joy if there's ever another book or series set in the same world.

That would be spectacular.

It doesn't seem like I've gushed nearly enough about this author and this series and these characters, but what else can I say? Besides go out and buy these books if you've been looking for a flawed and fragile but still amazingly strong heroine. ;)