My Most Anticipated Book of 2011

The book I am most looking forward to releasing in the next five months is most definitely Rachel Vincent's If I Die.

If I Die by Rachel Vincent

No one wants to be this teacher’s pet . . .

Everyone else is talking about Eastlake High’s gorgeous new math teacher, Mr. Beck, but Kaylee Cavanaugh has bigger things on her mind. Kaylee’s a banshee—her scream is a portent of death.

But the next scream might hit too close to home. Kaylee’s borrowed lifeline has almost run out.

Yeah—it’s a shock to her, too. So to distract herself from her own problems, Kaylee is determined to defend her school against the latest supernatural threat. That hot new teacher is really an incubus, who feeds from the desire of unsuspecting students. The only girls immune to his lure are Kaylee and Sabine, her boyfriend’s delinquent ex-girlfriend. Now the unlikely allies have to get rid of Mr. Beck…before he discovers they aren’t quite human either.

But Kaylee’s running out of time, and those who love her will do anything to save her life.

Anything.

Soul Screamers: The last thing you hear before you die.

Release Date: September 20th

Touch of Frost Review

Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep

My name is Gwen Frost, and I go to Mythos Academy — a school of myths, magic and warrior whiz kids, where even the lowliest geek knows how to chop off somebody's head with a sword and Logan Quinn, the hottest Spartan guy in school, also happens to be the deadliest.

But lately, things have been weird, even for Mythos. First, mean girl Jasmine Ashton was murdered in the Library of Antiquities. Then, someone stole the Bowl of Tears, a magical artifact that can be used to bring about the second Chaos War. You know, death, destruction and lots of other bad, bad things. Freaky stuff like this goes on all the time at Mythos, but I'm determined to find out who killed Jasmine and why—especially since I should have been the one who died. . .

My Review:

Okay, a mystery with a Greek God, or should I say Goddess, twist is definitely my cup of tea. The idea that all of these descendents from the gods, Spartans, etc. could be in one place is amazing in itself, but having them as wild, moody teenagers is so much better!

Gwen Frost is a sarcastic good girl with a heart of gold. When everyone gave up and left a student's murder go unappreciated, she made it her personal duty to stand up and find the killer. I really liked that she was a character who didn't lie down and take "No" for an answer. She also wasn't one to sob out her problems like some YA characters. But even though she wasn't a vulnerable girl, she was still totally approachable.

The swoon-worthy Logan Quinn is a Spartan hotty that will melt your socks off. (Just thinking about him gives me shivers.) He's extremely mysterious, which I think is appropriate for this mystery, and he can kick butt like nobody's business! I really hope to see a lot more of him in the next book because there wasn't a whole lot of him in this one, just enough to make me want so much more!

All in all this book is a definite must-read for any fan of Greek gods, 300, or gypsies.

5/5 stars

*I received a copy of this book to review from Kensington Books. This in no way altered by opinion/review.

The Cover of My Dreams

I know that this cover has already been spread across the internet, but I just had to have it on my blog. It is SOOOOO awesome!

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins

Hailed as “impossible to put down,” the Hex Hall series has both critics and teens cheering. With a winning combination of romance, action, magic and humor, this third volume will leave readers enchanted.

Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Council strips them away. Now Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies—the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that’s what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn’t as confident.

Sophie’s bound for one hell of a ride—can she get her powers back before it’s too late?

I can't believe that this series is almost over, but at least this cover's going to help it go out on a BANG!

Zan-Gah and the Beautiful Country

Zan-Gah and the Beautiful Country by Allan Richard Shickman

The prehistoric saga continues in Zan-Gah and the Beautiful Country, the sequel to the award winning Zan-Gah: A Prehistoric Adventure. In this story, Zan's troubled twin brother, Dael, having suffered greatly during his earlier captivity, receives a ruinous new shock when his wife suddenly dies. Disturbed and traumatized, all of his manic energies explode into acts of hostility and bloodshed. His obsession is the destruction of the wasp men, his first captors, who dwell in the Beautiful Country. When he, Zan-Gah, and a band of adventurers trek to their bountiful home, they find that all of the wasp people have died in war or of disease. The Beautiful Country is empty for the taking, and Zan's people, the Ba-Coro, decide to migrate and resettle there. But the Noi, Dael's cruelest enemies and former tormentors, make the same migration from their desert home, and the possibility develops of contention and war over this rich and lovely new land.

My Review:

After everything that poor Zan-Gah has been through, he still can't seem to catch a break. Poor Dael is causing way too much trouble and old foes are popping up left and right.

The book starts out with an introduction to a character that I absolutely LOVED! Her name is Pax. She's smart, witty, and she can totally show up the boys with all of their macho-ness. I thought that having her introduced in this book will definitely appeal to the girls out there who are wanting to read or are reading this book.

Dael who is in the forefront of this story is crazy with grief. I feel bad for him, but at the same time I want to scream at him. (Does that make sense?) And Zan-Gah, who has already done so much for Dael, now has to deal with all of Dael's moodswings.

The plot of this book wasn't as straight-laced as the first Zan-Gah book mainly because there is no main journey like when Zan-Gah wanted to find Dael in Zan-Gah: A Prehistoric Adventure. In this book there are a couple adventures that all come together to form this epic journey.

This book, in my opinion, added to the audience of the first book by throwing in Pax and getting into some female empowerment.

4/5 stars

* I recieved this book to review via Earthshaker Books. This in no way altered my opinion/review.

Vacay here I come!

Hey guys! Just wanted you to know that I will be gone tomorrow through Saturday due to a spontaneous vacation. We're going to Minneapolis, Minnesota's Mall of America!

If you need to contact me for any reason here's my e-mail address: oreo_93(at)hotmail(dot)com

Reviews: Bite Me, Try Me, and Fang Me by Parker Blue

Bite Me by Parker Blue
An edgy book for teens that spans the gap between YA and adult fiction. Life after high school is tough enough without having to go 15 rounds with your inner demon. Val Shapiro is just your ordinary, part-demon, teenaged vampire hunter with a Texas drawl. And a pet hellhound named Fang. Soon enough she finds herself deep in the underbelly of the city, discovering the secrets of the Demon Underground and fighting to save those she loves. Whether they love her back or not.

My Review:

I couldn't believe how amazing this book was! Val is a sassy, smart and totally willing to kick anyone's butt to get what she wants! Her partners in good are hilarious, especially a certain hellhound named Fang. I guarantee everyone will love him!

The plot of the story is very original and funky. The supposedly "evil" creatures aren't as bad as they seem and everything is just thrown together in this great plotline that has Val Shapiro running around trying to find answers.

There were only a couple of problems I had with this book and that was that at some points toward the end, Val would revisit the same places and still not get any information. To me it just seemed unimportant.

Try Me

This part-demon teen vampire fighter and her faithful terrier hellhound are once again patrolling the dark city streets of San Antonio, Texas. Val's hunky human partner, Detective Dan Sullivan, is giving her the cold shoulder since she beheaded his vampire ex-fiancée. Vamp leader Alejandro is struggling to keep the peace between vamps, demons and humans. The mucho powerful Encyclopedia Magicka has been stolen, someone in the Demon Underground is poisoning vamps, and Val's inner lust demon, Lola, is getting very restless since Val's now partnered with sexy Shade, the shadow demon with the blond good looks of an angel.

The second book in Parker Blue's Demon Underground urban fantasy series plunges readers deeper into a heady world of passion, friendship, intrigue and mystery. 

Parker Blue lives in the wilds of Colorado with her own faithful hellhound, and she's hard at work on the next Val Shapiro book in the Demon Underground series.

My Review:

The book started in a really fresh way that had me thinking that it was going to be just as good, if not better than the first book. Val Shapiro is still kicking butt and taking names with her faithful sidekick, Fang. However, some characters just start getting a little annoying, along with Val's attitude. Now, it may sound bad, but it's just a few small parts that annoyed me. Maybe it was just the author trying to make Val sound stressed, but it just irked me.

Another thing that irked me was that Val towards the end was once again revisiting places just like she had in the first book. I was highly upset that when she tried to solve the case she ended up going back and forth and learning nothing.

There were some really good points in the book, like a certain crush blooming into something more than sly glances. And Val becoming more and more confident with herself.

Fang Me

The vampires want it. The demons want it, too. And someone is willing to kill Val for it.Val and Fang have to find the powerful Encyclopedia Magicka before either of San Antonio's warring underworld factions locate it or the consequences will be deadly for the entire city. As usual, Val's vampire enemies (they still call her The Slayer) want her dead.

Even some of her fellow demons may be less than trustworthy, since they'd like to grab the legendary book of spells before she does. Val has a personal claim to the Encyclopedia--her demon father left it to her when he died--but someone stole it recently. And that can't be good.Battling vamps and dodging demons, Val struggles to unravel the mystery and find the thief.

At the same time, she's fighting her attraction to sweet, sexy Shade--her favorite shadow demon. Rumor has it that Val will lose her part-demon, vampire-fighting powers if she gives herself to him.With a crowd of vamps and demons out to trick her or kill her, it's not a good time for her to risk her job as the city's best vampire hunter by falling in love. The stakes are high and aimed right at her heart. But Lola, Val's hungry little lust demon, doesn't like being denied. Will Lola finally get her way?What's a part-lust-demon-teen supposed to do? Whatever it takes.

My Review:

After the first two books, I was a little scared to read this one so I waited awhile. I was glad I did. The world seemed newer even though I had already read the previous books.

But some things still stayed the same in the world of Val Shapiro. Val and Fang were still their funny selves. And Fang's friend still had me rolling with laughter. Some things were totally different however. Val for instance became really bossy at times and she seemed to be completely ignoring other people's feelings. She also, in my opinion, began to believe that she was the only one who could do anything.

But most of that pales in comparison to the fact that the ending of this book was freaking awesome! It was nothing like the first two books and it made me want the fourth book so much that it hurts!

*I received these books via Netgalley. This in no way altered my opinion/reviews.

The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa: Behind the Scenes cover shoot

Cursed Cover

Cursed by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Dying sucks--and high school senior Ember McWilliams knows firsthand. After a fatal car accident, her gifted little sister brought her back. Now anything Ember touches dies. And that, well, really blows.

Ember operates on a no-touch policy with all living things--including boys. When Hayden Cromwell shows up, quoting Oscar Wilde and claiming her curse is a gift, she thinks he’s a crazed cutie. But when he tells her he can help control it, she’s more than interested. There’s just one catch: Ember has to trust Hayden's adopted father, a man she's sure has sinister reasons for collecting children whose abilities even weird her out. However, she’s willing to do anything to hold her sister's hand again. And hell, she'd also like to be able to kiss Hayden. Who wouldn't?

But when Ember learns the accident that turned her into a freak may not've been an accident at all, she’s not sure who to trust. Someone wanted her dead, and the closer she gets to the truth, the closer she is to losing not only her heart, but her life. For real this time.

Release Date: September 2012

I love that this cover isn't another girl wearing a swirly dress. Don't get me wrong, I love the dresses, it's just so refreshing to see a cover that is unique. Plus I really wish I had red hair!

Zan-Gah Review

Zan-Gah: A Prehistoric Adventure by Allan Richard Shickman

Zan-Gah, seeking his lost twin brother in a savage prehistoric world, encounters adventure, suffering, conflict, captivity, and final victory. In three years hero passes from an uncertain boyhood to a tried and proven manhood and a position of leadership among his people. Themes include survival, brotherhood, cultures, gender roles, psychological trauma, and nature's wonders and terrors. This is the electronic version of Zan-Gah: A Prehistoric Adventure, which has been awarded Mom's Choice Gold Medal for Series, the Eric Hoffer Notable Book Award, and was a finalist for ForeWord Magazine Book of the Year.

My Review:

I had no idea what to expect from this book except for it being set in a prehistoric era. When I picked it up to start reading, I wondered if I really wanted to begin it when I had so many other books to read. However, once I actually made my way through the book I became fascinated with this boy-to-man story.

Zan starts off as that kid who is trying so hard to be a man. His journey to manhood had me gasping, laughing and ready to turn the next page so I could see what happened next! Zan is the type of character that you don't expect to like, until you get to know him. He's honest, meaning he won't hold back his true feelings on the matter at hand. He's athletic, meaning he'll harm you if necessary, or get your dinner. The side characters like Zan's Uncle Chul, Aunt Siraka-Finaka, and Rydl made me smile through almost all of their story mentions.

The plotline of the story was completely unpredictable, well maybe not the ending, but every other aspect was something I didn't expect. One minute Zan-Gah would be scrambling over cliffs, and the next he would be wandering in the desert.

All in all, I'd recommend this book for anyone who just wants to try something different from the paranormal, fantasy, or contemporary books that rule your life. Also, I know this would have been one of my favorite books when I was in middle school/junior high, so anyone who has relatives or neighbors that age, you might want to prod them into reading this book, especially boys who are coming of age.

4/5 stars

*I received a copy of this book from the Earthshaker Books to review. This in no way altered my opinion/review.