Need to be Reading...

The Casquette Girls by Alys Arden. 

After the Storm of the Century rips apart New Orleans, Adele Le Moyne and her father are among the first to return to the city following the mandatory evacuation. Adele wants nothing more than for life to return to normal, but with the silent city resembling a mold-infested war zone, a parish-wide curfew, and mysterious new faces lurking in the abandoned French Quarter, normal will have to be redefined.

Events too unnatural – even for New Orleans – lead Adele to an attic that has been sealed for three hundred years, and the chaos she unleashes threatens not only her life but everyone she knows. Mother Nature couldn’t drain the joie de vivre from the Big Easy, but someone or something is draining life from its residents.

Caught suddenly in a hurricane of eighteenth-century myths and monsters, Adele must quickly untangle a web of magic that links the climbing murder rate back to her own ancestors. But who can you trust in a city where everyone has a secret, and where keeping them can be a matter of life and death – unless, that is, you’re immortal.

This book just flew to the top of my TBR list. I'm not promoting it because the author asked me to or because I'm participating in a book tour or because I'm a nice person.

I am genuinely excited about reading this book, and I wanted to pass it along, pay it forward, spread the news. So check it out, view the trailer, click the GoodReads link and add it to your shelf. 

Enjoy!!!

Cheers!!

Tour Stop! Review: Fall For Me by K.A. Last

“Angels aren’t supposed to fall in love, especially with each other. But for the record, you were worth it.”

Grace Tate is a Protection Angel and Vampire Hunter, and she has always followed the rules. But some rules are made to be broken…

Until now the fight against evil has been simple, and falling in love was never part of the plan. So what happens when it’s beyond Grace’s control, and when she least expects it she falls for the wrong person?

All hell breaks loose, that’s what.

At Hopetown Valley High, not everything is as it seems, and the one person Grace thought was her enemy becomes her most important ally.

Blood will be shed, lives will be lost and friendships will be tested. It all comes down to one decision, and when Grace tries to save all those dear to her, she realises not everyone can be—or wants to be—saved.

Angels and vampires? When I found out about this interesting combination, I really couldn't resist.

I was struck by the unique and completely underdone dynamic in this novel. Usually we've got the vulnerable girl needing to be rescued by the strong, supernatural guy. Grace is anything but a damsel in distress, and while I felt that her connection with Josh was sudden and overwhelming (something that is overdone), I still think she kicks some major butt. She doesn't need to be saved and she's not afraid to do what's in her heart.

I loved Grace's relationship with her twin brother, Archer. His snark and ego only made him more lovable in my eyes, and I really enjoyed the connection, secrets, and legacies they shared. It's strange but unique, and their family's story really needs its own novel.

Seth is, by far, my favorite. He's the bad boy with the dark, mysterious personality, so it's no wonder. The love triangle between Seth, Josh, and Grace is pretty tug-of-war, but I'm leaning toward Seth, if I have to choose a side.

The characters in this story stand out with their own personalities. They each have a face and a voice, but there was something about them that lacked that "umph." I was wrapped up in the story, but I didn't feel a strong connection with them. Their emotions and point-of-views sometimes felt pretty out-of-nowhere, kind like the attraction between Grace and Josh. There were times that they just didn't feel genuine.

I liked the writing style and the dual point-of-view, but the story did feel to progress slowly. When jumping from one character's view to another, the story would step back a few paces and go through a scene we just experienced again from the other side of the spectrum. It felt like the whole "one-step forward-two-steps-back" kind of thing. However, K.A. Last has a definite talent for storytelling and description. The fight scenes were awesome and I could always envision what was happening as if I were watching a movie instead of reading a book.

The combo of vampires and angels, the storyline, and the complexity of the relationships between the characters will have me recommending this novel. While I did feel a few negatives, the positives far outweigh anything critical I could have to say. I look forward to reading the prequel, Sacrifice, and the sequel, Fight for Me soon!

K. A. Last was born in Subiaco, Western Australia, and moved to Sydney with her parents and older brother when she was eight. Artistic and creative by nature, she studied Graphic Design and graduated with an Advanced Diploma. After marrying her high school sweetheart, she concentrated on her career before settling into family life. Blessed with a vivid imagination, she began writing to let off creative steam, and fell in love with it. She now resides in a peaceful leafy suburb north of Sydney with her husband, their two children and a rabbit named Twitch.

Website ~ GoodReads ~ Facebook ~ Twitter 

Happy Reading Everyone :)

Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

To survive in a ruined world, she must embrace the darkness…

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a walled-in city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them—the vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself dies and becomes one of the monsters.

Forced to flee her city, Allie must pass for human as she joins a ragged group of pilgrims seeking a legend—a place that might have a cure for the disease that killed off most of civilization and created the rabids, the bloodthirsty creatures who threaten human and vampire alike. And soon Allie will have to decide what and who is worth dying for… again.

Enter Julie Kagawa's dark and twisted world as an unforgettable journey begins.

Vampires today are romanticized to the point that they are no longer feared as monsters. In fact, they are admired, envied, and desired. Julie Kagawa's vampires aren't completely old-school, but their brutality hits closer to the lack of humanity in these ever-evolving monsters. 
Allison Sekemoto loathes vampires and the control they have over the city and every human in it. She doesn't much seem to like humans either, but she does what she must to survive. That's her entire life: survival. 
She's an intense character; honest and courageous, she faces life head on and accepts it for what it is: unfair and brutal. When she becomes one of the monsters she hates, she doesn't dwell on her decision, but adapts. 

You don't dwell on what you've lost, you just move on.

In fact, I think that becoming a vampire made her more human, if that makes sense. She works so hard to resist the urges that her "demon" forces upon her that her humanity seems to be pushed beyond any limits she had known before the change. 
I do have to mention Kanin, her creator. Talk about tortured. This guy literally carries the weight of the destroyed world on his shoulders. I sincerely hope he finds what he's looking for and can forgive himself. 
Allison's opposite in every way, Zeke still has faith that there can be good in the world. His optimism is almost naive, but deep down, he knows what he's facing, what dangers lie around every shadowed corner; he just chooses to hope. 

And sometimes, hope is the only thing that gets us through the day.

Their relationship is ... strained, each of them wanting something that should be impossible. It's a nice switch-up; it's typically the guy who's the badass, mysterious vampire and the innocent girl who needs to be saved. Refreshing to see this human/vampire dynamic from a different perspective.
Julie Kagawa's world building is amazing. We are led from a rotting vampire city filled with starving people to the outer world littered with vicious rabies to the ruins of Chicago to the safety of Eden. It's quite the journey, and Kagawa transitions from one world to the next with ease, enveloping us with her descriptive writing and the emotions that are transferred to us through the characters. (One element I do hope to learn more about in The Eternity Cure (Blood of Eden #2), is how the plague came about and destroyed the free world. Kagawa touches upon the subject, never going into it too deeply, but from what I can tell, there's an excellent setup to learn more.)
The story as a whole is simply amazing. Action packed, heart-breaking, hopeful, and brutally honest, I can say that The Immortal Rules is more than I expected. The concept of humanity shines through all the monstrosities, allowing us to remember that the human spirit is stronger than we give it credit for. Even as a "monster," Allison holds on desperately to her loyalty and the nature to protect those she cares for. 

With such well developed characters and a fast-paced, intense story-line, readers will carry around this story long after the last page is turned.
Highly recommend!
(Also, check out my "Questions for Discussion" post about The Immortal Rules via Hubpages!)

Happy Reading Everyone :)

Review: The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda

Don’t Sweat.  Don’t Laugh.  Don’t draw attention to yourself.  And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.

Gene is different from everyone else around him.  He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood.  Gene is a human, and he knows the rules.  Keep the truth a secret.  It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.

When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him.  He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity?

I've never read a book like The Hunt before. A dystopian-ish world completely overtaken by vampires?  I know this genre is increasing in popularity, but the books I read that entail the creatures of the night usually involve them doing whatever it takes to keep their deep, dark secret. Also, Fukuda's vampires are closer to the nasty bloodsuckers that made up the original vampire stories. The ones that instill fear in people, not curiosity.

The Fukuda vampire is as weird as it is nasty. They have a slight drooling problem, scratch their wrists incessantly and do this weird elbow-to-armpit thing when gettin' steamy with someone of the opposite sex. Yes. You read that right. Also, their sense of smell and awareness has suffered because they have hepers (humans) living literally right under their noses, and they have not a clue.

There were some holes in this novel, which keeps me from giving it any more than three stars. How did the vampire takeover begin? There were little details ~ such as vampires being called people and humans maintaining the animal name of "heper" ~ that created a believable world where humans are supposed to be the inferior species, but how did it become that way?

And how in the heck can the bloodsuckers not smell Gene, who simply washes with soap and water, but they will go into a frenzy if the hepers who live in the dome escape and exude their scent all over the place? They use soap just like Gene. So how does Gene get away with it? Does he have some kind of weird mutated skin that always smells like roses? Just didn't add up.

The addition of another group of hepers living in the dome (the ones to be hunted) added more depth as it caused Gene to doubt his assumptions that they are little more than ignorant cave people. He sets himself apart from the other humans, above them, but at the same time he doesn't want to "forget who he is." He doesn't want to be a vampire (although he goes through great pains to fit in with them perfectly), but he doesn't really consider himself a "heper" either. It's quite the contradiction, and it makes me wonder why he didn't just have himself turned and save himself all the loneliness and drama.

The action and suspense in this novel is pretty intense. You're always on the edge of your seat wondering if this is the moment that Gene loses his cool and his very carefully placed mask slips. If this is the moment he becomes hamburger. He has his face-palm moments (like almost dying of thirst when he knows there's a pond a short walk away), but he's definitely courageous and can surprise you with his resourcefulness in the face of hissing fangs that will tear him to shreds. 

It wasn't really the characters themselves that held my attention ~ there just wasn't enough substance for me to grasp onto ~ as it was the storyline. Very creative. I loved the idea and concept of an elite group of vampires holding a lottery hunt for the "last" hepers on Earth. And if you're not a fan of sparkling, angsty vampires, then this is a book for you. These things are gag-worthy disgusting at times. Ruthless. Bloodthirsty. Animalistic. They can't control themselves, and that's what makes this book so suspenseful.

Pretty decent read, and the ending has me absolutely reading the next book. Well played, Fukuda.

Three stars from this reader.



Happy Reading Everyone :)


~ Keely ~

Monday Montage

Monday Montage is  weekly meme I created in order to beat the dreaded "monday blues." I figured I had to give the day some kind of redeeming quality, so I picked a book I was currently reading or had just recently finished and put together a "montage" of images, videos, songs, and humor inspired by the contents of that book.

Today's inspiration comes from The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda:

::love Twilight, but this is funny::

::good question...::

::because I love Dean and Sam::

::k, sorry.. again, LOVE Twilight, but funny::

Have a great week!

Happy Reading Everyone :)

~ Keely ~

Review: City of Ashes

Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.

To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?

In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


Without a doubt, Cassandra Clare knows how to weave a twisted fairy tale into something you just want to wrap around yourself and curl up with for hours. I'm usually a character driven reader, but in this unique and rare case for me, I think I'd have to say the story creates the characters. There are so many unexpected elements, tragedies, emotional spikes, and battles that as soon as you get used to the way you think the story is going, it changes on you and presents a completely different perspective. The storyline is creative, original, and completely open to anything both possible and impossible.

I'd love to take a stroll through Clare's magic-filled mind. Her descriptions always leave me wondering, "how'd she come up with that?" Her imagination seems childlike, but it also adds that tinge of horror that makes what we are reading believable - in that fairytale way, of course. The demons she comes up with are, strangely, one of my favorite aspects. Some of them made me gag - no, really - which they are inevitably supposed to do with their evil intentions and overall nastiness. Disgusting demons aside, the other creatures she depicts, such as the fairies of Seelie Court and the hybrid Downworlders, draw you to this 'other' world, making it seem more real than the 'mundane' world Clary always thought was reality before she discovered the Shadowhunters.

The one and only problem I had with the book was Clary. She's not the most unlikable heroine I've ever come across, but her suffering maturity level and unfailing ability to ignorantly force her way into grave situations - on the premise that she wants to 'help' when really she just freezes, screams, and waits for someone to save her - really grated my nerves. However, I do understand that this world is still new to her and that she severely lacks the training that the others possess. I hope her 'helpless female syndrome' subsides as she learns more about herself and her heritage.
Now although I did say that I think the storyline steals the show in this book, as a character driven reader, I couldn't help but be entranced by the complexity of the relationship between Jace and Clary. All I'm gunna say is that I don't think Jace is who he thinks he is, and the angst they are causing each other is going to, has to, subside eventually.

Happy Reading Everyone :)

~ Keely ~