I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga - It's Creepy Good!

First let me say, I know it has been a long time but I have been busy reading the A Song of Ice and Fire series by George R. R. Martin, and you can't rush them!  I took a break reading the fifth book because I don't want to finish it too soon especially since the sixth book isn't coming out until 2013.

Recently I received a pleasant surprise when 14 books showed up in a box on my doorstep.  The first one that I was drawn to was I Hunt Killers by Barry Lyga.

Jasper (Jazz) Dent lives with his nearly insane grandmother in Lobo Nob.  He has a best friend Howie, who is a Type A Hemophiliac, and a girlfriend, Connie.  They are the only two people in Jazz's life that he truly cares about and trusts.  Jazz has adults looking out for him, like G. William, the local sheriff, but there are also a few who want to exploit him, like Doug Weathers a sleazy reporter looking for fame at Jazz's expense.  Then there's his father, Billy Dent, the "world's most infamous serial killer," who use to take young Jazz with him for on the job training.

Life seems to be going along smoothly for Jazz ... or the appearance of normalcy is working for him ... when a body is found in Lobo Nod. 

I am not one to give anything away, so I will stop there.  What I will say is I love how Mr. Lyga lets you into Jazz's mind to see the struggles he has within himself.  It is all kinds of warped, but I found myself rooting for Jazz throughout the book, no matter what.

Mr. Lyga kept me guessing until the end, and I can't wait to read the next book... there better be a Next Book! : )  I give the book five out of five!

Under the Vampire Moon Contest by Lynsay Sands

I am spreading the word that Lynsay Sands has a fabulous contest going on right now in honor of her new book, Under the Vampire Moon which will be released on April 24, 2012.

You can pre-order the book now on Amazon.com.

Book Description from Amazon:

When Vampires Go On Vacation . . .
Escaping a horrible marriage, Carolyn Connor has no desire to think about men—a vow she's determined to keep while on vacation in St. Lucia. She'll take the Caribbean sun and sea and plenty of tropical drinks with those cute umbrellas poolside, thank you. She absolutely does not need male company, no matter how tan and rock-hard his body may be.
Easy enough, but then Carolyn meets the charming Marguerite Argeneau, who is infamous among her family for her matchmaking prowess . . .
Christian Notte has well known the power of finding a life mate. He's seen enough of his Argeneau relatives taken down for the count, but he never imagined he'd let himself fall in love—until he meets the enthralling, charmingly skittish, and oh-so-mortal Carolyn. But how will he reveal what he is and still convince this once-bitten mortal to trust him with her heart . . . and her forever?

Good Luck!

The Selection by Kiera Cass

When The Selection by Kiera Cass came in the mail on Saturday I decided to set aside book five of George R. R. Martin's A Song of Ice and Fire series to read it.  (Don't get me wrong, I LOVE everything about Mr. Martin's books, but I was happy to take a break from the heaviness of A Dance with Dragons.)

I was struck by how apropos the political caste system in The Selection was to what is going on in America today and was very intrigued by the back story of how the country of Illéa came to be.

The caste system in Illéa goes from ones to eights, with ones being the wealthiest and eights being homeless.  Our protagonist, America Singer, and her family are fives within the system.  There are very strict laws in Illéa regarding relationships outside of your caste system and America is in love with Aspen Leger who is a six, so they have to hide their relationship from everyone. 

Applications for The Selection have gone out to all eligible young women in Illéa.  The Selection is a contest of sorts wherein 35 young women are randomly chosen to move to the palace and possibly be chosen by the Royal Prince Maxon to be his bride.  Anyone chosen automatically becomes a three within the caste system, and their families are compensated each week that they are gone. The girl chosen by Prince Maxon will automatically become a one, as will her family.

America wants nothing to do with The Selection because she loves Aspen and refuses to leave him.  After careful thought, Aspen makes her promise that she will apply telling her he couldn't live with the "what ifs" that might be between them if she doesn't even try.  Her mother also bribes her to apply, telling her that she can keep half of any money she makes if she just fills out the application.

America applies, believing that the chances of her being selected out of the thousands of applicants are very slim and with the extra money she now has, she plans a surprise dinner for Aspen.  Needless to say, Aspen's male ego takes over with the whole "I am supposed to provide for you, not the other way around" macho thing, and he breaks up with her.  America is heartbroken, and when her name is called out on the weekly Capital Report as one of the 35, she is happy to leave Carolina.

America's life changes dramatically once she begins participating in The Selection and I found myself rooting for her the whole time.  I have to admit, I couldn't put this book down -- staying up until 2:30 a.m. to finish it the same day it came in the mail!  I was dying to see what was going to happen to this strong-willed young lady and wanted to scream NOOOOO when I realized that this was the first book in a series and that I am going to have to wait to find out what happens next! 

I truly enjoyed the refreshing and unique premise of the story as well as the characters and their interactions with America.  I give the book 4½ out of 5 and recommend you pre-order it now.  I can't wait for Book Number 2!

First book review of 2012 - "A little Night Magic" by Lucy March

First let me wish everyone a very Healthy, Prosperous and Happy New Year!

I received a copy of "A Little Night Magic" by Lucy March in the mail right before the holiday weekend, and once I started reading it, I didn't want to put it down. 

Olivia "Liv" Kiskey lives in Nodaway Falls and works as a waitress at Crazy Cousin Betty's Waffle House. I like Liv.  She is someone a lot of us can identity with: she has girlfriends she loves, but who sometimes make her mad; she loves a man even though he apparently doesn't share her feelings; and she has a connection to her community, but feels there has to be something more for her out in the world.

Frustrated and embarrassed by unrequited love, she plans to move to Europe and find a new life for herself... well, that was the plan until a couple of strangers come to town, wake the magic within her and turn her life and those of the people she loves upside down.  Will Liv be able to fight the evil that has taken so much away from her -- will she even survive?  Laughter, friendship, love, sadness, fear, anger... it's all in there and worth the read.




I am glad that the book jacket says "Anything's possible in this irresistible new series..." because I want more!

Definitely give this book a four out of five and recommend you pre-order it!


 

The Shattering, by Karen Healey

What can I say about The Shattering by Karen Healey other than I love this book. I love how Ms. Healey writes using the voices of each of the main characters, and I love all three of them, Keri, Janna, and Sione.

Keri and Janna are friends who had grown apart (like a lot of friends do), but they reconnect when Keri's older brother commits suicide, just as Janna's had years ago.  They meet up with Sione, who's older brother had also taken his own life and they come to believe that there is a pattern and that their brothers were, in fact, murdered.

As they embark on their journey to try and find the murderer, they realize that there might be something more sinister at foot.  The Shattering captivated me from the first page... it is full of suspense, with well written characters who I found myself rooting for until the end.

I would definitely recommend this book and I give it four and a half out of five.

Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin

I was pleasantly surprised by Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin. This book is about promises, family, friendship, loss, betrayal and, ultimately, self discovery and love.

When Phoebe Rothschild starts the new school year late due to a severe asthma attack, she finally gets to see Mallory Tolliver, the new girl in school everyone has been bad-mouthing.  Phoebe is immediately taken with the disheveled, improperly dressed Mallory, and risks losing all of her friends to take the strange new girl under her wing.


Phoebe and Mallory's friendship blossoms... until Mallory's brother Ryland moves back home and turns everything upside down.

Again, I don't want to say too much and run the risk of ruining the surprising twists and turns of Extraordinary.  When I first started reading the book and it went from Phoebe and her friend Mallory, to Mallory and her true life, I was put off a little bit.  But as the story progressed I wanted to find out more - find out what was truly going on.  I was pleasantly surprised by this heartwarming story of friendship and love, and would give it a three and a half out of five.

Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan (second in the trilogy)

Darkness Falls by Cate Tiernan starts off two months into Nastasya's stay at Rivers Edge, a sort of rehabilitation home for wayward immortals.  Nas has overcome some major obstacles and she is starting to allow herself to get close to all of those around her when things start to go horribly wrong.

The more Nas discovers about herself at Rivers Edge, the more she starts fearing that she is a child of dark magick and that she is the cause of everything that is going wrong.  Nas starts pulling away from everyone and after one horrific evening she ultimately runs away from Rivers Edge. 

While in the middle of the woods surrounding the farm, who should come upon Nas but her old friend Incy, the immortal she came to Rivers Edge to get away from in the first place.  Not only that, she has been having recurring nightmares about him recently, but Incy is being so sweet and kind, she begins to second guess her reasoning for running away from him in the first place and leaves with him.

Nastasya is happy to be living a luxurious life full of fun, fabulous clothes and gourmet food with Incy, especially after spending months at the farm doing menial tasks and only eating what they harvested.  Underlying all of this though is her nagging suspicion that maybe she should have stayed at Rivers Edge.  Her thoughts keep going back to River and Reyn, but she brushes it all aside talking herself into believing in Incy.

Big mistake!  I couldn't put this book down - I kept thinking Run Girl!!  I am telling you - read Immortal Beloved and pre-order Darkness Falls, which I give a rating of five out of five!