The Deadliest Bite by Jennifer Rardin

Pub. Date: June 2011

Publisher: Orbit

Format: Paperback , 336pp

Sales Rank: 1,317

• Series: Jaz Parks Series
• ISBN-13: 9780316043816
• ISBN: 0316043818

Synopsis

I have two choices. Carve Brude's name into Hell's bile-encrusted gates. Or lose my soul.
After an assassination attempt on Vayl, I find myself pulled into a tangled web that takes the gang to Romania. So how will I save a ghost, rescue a demon, and cheat the Great Taker out of a soul he's slavering for while defeating my nastiest foe yet so that Vayl can, at last, cherish a few precious years with his sons? With careful planning, major violence, and one (hopefully) final trip to Hell.
My Review:
This was the 8th and final Jaz Parks book written by Rardin whom unfortunately passed away in 2010.
I had not read the first 7 books in this series but found that the story was well written enough that I was able to read it as a stand alone although I now plan to go back and read the first 7 books.
A good read if you are looking for bad ass demon butt kicking action,crazy characters with a sense of humor, a bit of insanity and romance to boot.
I give Jaz and her motley group of willing and reluctant demon fighters a recommendation of 3.5 out of 5 stars!

Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Pub. Date: June 2011

Publisher: HarperCollins Publishers

Format: Hardcover , 416pp 

Sales Rank: 16

Age Range: Young Adult

      ISBN-13: 9780062026774
       ISBN: 0062026771

Synopsis

Can there truly be love after death?
Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.
Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.
Thrilling and evocative, with moments of pure pleasure, Hereafter is a sensation you won't want to miss

My Review:
While this book took me a bit to get into I found it to be altogether a pretty good story.
I always adore a good love story with twists that have you cheering the characters on and hoping they beat all the odds and boy do they have some to beat!
Between nightmares, memory loss, The evil villain,  family and the fact Amelia is a ghost you have your choice of which plot twist you like most.
I recommend this story with 3 out of 5 stars!

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

 

How do you defy destiny?
Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.
As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.
My Review:
What a great book!
I finished it in one day. Just couldn't put it down.
The storyline in it's self is very well written and continued to keep me interested from start to finish.
I loved all the characters, though I have to say my favorite was Hector.
There is tons of action,tragedy,multiple love plots, and deception what more could you possibly ask for aside from the next book to hurry up and be available!
This is a great beginning for a new series!
I give Josephine a Strong 5 star review for this great book

Die for me by Amy Plum

My life had always been blissfully, wonderfully normal. But it only took one moment to change everything.
Suddenly, my sister, Georgia, and I were orphans. We put our lives into storage and moved to Paris to live with my grandparents. And I knew my shattered heart, my shattered life, would never feel normal again. Then I met Vincent.
Mysterious, sexy, and unnervingly charming, Vincent Delacroix appeared out of nowhere and swept me off my feet. Just like that, I was in danger of losing my heart all over again. But I was ready to let it happen.
Of course, nothing is ever that easy. Because Vincent is no normal human. He has a terrifying destiny, one that puts his life at risk every day. He also has enemies . . . immortal, murderous enemies who are determined to destroy him and all of his kind.
While I'm fighting to piece together the remnants of my life, can I risk putting my heart—as well as my life and my family's—in jeopardy for a chance at love?
My review:
Die for me is definitely one that I will be putting on my most loved list for the year.
With a  devastating loss,a new beginning,new friends, the discovery of a paranormal existence,and a great love story.
Kate's life will keep you turning the pages to see where Amy takes the story of  her and Vincent from moment to moment.
I can't wait to see what comes next!

I recommend Die for me with a solid 5 stars!

One hundred candles by Mara Purnhagen

Synopsis

It's taken a long time for me to feel like a normal teenager. But now that I'm settled in a new school, where people know me as more than Charlotte Silver of the infamous Silver family paranormal investigators, it feels like everything is falling into place. And what better way to be normal than to go on a date with a popular football star like Harris Abbott? After all, it's not as if Noah is anything more than a friend….
But my new life takes a disturbing turn when Harris brings me to a party and we play a game called One Hundred Candles. It seems like harmless, ghostly fun. Until spirits unleashed by the game start showing up at school. Now my friends and family are in very real danger, and the door that I've opened into another realm may yield deadly consequences.
My review:
I thought this book was a fun read.
With an easy to follow story line, strong character, a plot full of creepiness,deception,sadness and of course love
Not knowing it was a second book in a series I found it to be great on it's own but look forward to see what the future holds for Charlotte and her family.
I recommend One hundred candles with 4 stars!

 

The Goddess Test by Aimee Carter

 

 

Publishers Weekly

In Carter's first YA novel, the Greek pantheon isn't just down to Earth, it's occupying Eden, Mich., and attending high school. Kate Winters doesn't notice anything special about classmates Ava, James, and Dylan, but pale-eyed Henry gets her attention when he appears to resurrect Ava from the dead after a malicious prank goes horribly wrong. Kate can't quite believe that Henry is the god of the underworld, as he claims, but she also can't dismiss him. Kate's mother is dying of cancer, and Kate is willing to grasp at anything that might win her one more loving maternal conversation. The bargain she strikes with Henry is a grim one, but the full enormity of what she has undertaken—"live forever or die trying"—is not revealed until it's too late to recant. Carter wears her influences openly, with many passages reading like outtakes from Robin McKinley's Beauty by way of Neil Gaiman's Sandman. Nevertheless, the narrative is well executed, and Kate is a heroine better equipped than most to confront and cope with the inexplicable. Ages 13 18. (May)

My review:

I loved loved loved this book.

I am very fond of Greek mythology and this story was a wonderful new twist.

Following Kate a great main character who lets face it is better than most of us. Henry the loveable greek god of the underworld as well as a great supporting cast of characters.

The whole idea of this book is wonderfully well written and flows in a manner that had me not wanting to put it down. For a story filled with the loss,passion,friendship,deception,and love

 I reccomend The Goddess Test with 5+ stars!

Wither by Lauren DeStefano

 

Synopsis

By age sixteen, Rhine Ellery has four years left to live. She can thank modern science for this genetic time bomb. A botched effort to create a perfect race has left all males with a lifespan of 25 years, and females with a lifespan of 20 years. Geneticists are seeking a miracle antidote to restore the human race, desperate orphans crowd the population, crime and poverty have skyrocketed, and young girls are being kidnapped and sold as polygamous brides to bear more children.

When Rhine is kidnapped and sold as a bride, she vows to do all she can to escape. Her husband, Linden, is hopelessly in love with her, and Rhine can’t bring herself to hate him as much as she’d like to. He opens her to a magical world of wealth and illusion she never thought existed, and it almost makes it possible to ignore the clock ticking away her short life. But Rhine quickly learns that not everything in her new husband’s strange world is what it seems. Her father-in-law, an eccentric doctor bent on finding the antidote, is hoarding corpses in the basement. Her fellow sister wives are to be trusted one day and feared the next, and Rhine is desperate to communicate to her twin brother that she is safe and alive. Will Rhine be able to escape--before her time runs out.

My review:

 This Book made me step back and say Wow!

 A very well written story!

 Able to catch your attention from line one and hold it until the very last word.

 I hope we never come to live in a world like this, yet in some ways we already do which makes it so much more believable and scary.  

The girls are so different and yet here they are in this cage of a life with no choices of their own.  I found myself wondering what life I would choose if given the choice to live their old lives or the life as a Sister wife.

Rhine who narrates the story from her view and her desire to escape is strong willed with a never ending desire to be home again. She is caring but also a very capable liar able to deceive to her advantage.

Jenna who is resigned to live the rest of her life as a sister wife is quiet but misses nothing that is going on around her.

Cecily is a naive child who sees love, wedding bells, children and one big happy family. She cannot imagine a better life and therefore cannot imagine why everyone is not thrilled to live this life they share.

 In the beginning I disliked linden the husband but by the end I just felt sorry for him.

 His father gives me the creepy crawlies all through the story.

I look forward to see where Lauren takes this story. Will there be a happy ending to this series?

I guess I will have to wait and see.

I recommend this book with 4.5 starts from cover to cover!