Infinite Days - Rebecca Maizel

Infinite Days is the debut novel by Rebecca Maizel and it was released on 3rd September 2010 by Macmillan Children's Books and it is 400 pages long.

Plot
Lenah Beaudonte is a 500 year old vampire. She has no morals, no humanity left in her at all and doesn’t care who she kills to be able to feed. Along with Lenah is a powerful coven of vampires who she handpicked to join her. At least that’s who she was, until her lover Rhode performed an extremely dangerous ritual to turn her back into a human.

Now very much alive in the present day, Lenah is human once again and back to being a teenage girl. The life ahead of her is so very far away from any kind of life that she knew before and she’s going to have a lot to learn. Rhode enrolled Lenah in a prestigious boarding school and even though she isn’t a vampire anymore, she still gets a large amount of attention. While being buried, preparing to become human again, Lenah left behind her powerful coven and she knows the day that they will come looking for her is fast approaching. Will she be able to fit into this very strange life and hide away from the vampires she once called friends before they come to destroy her?

What I thought
The whole idea behind the story was a very interesting one and something I had never heard about before, which is what drew me to this book. In no other book have I heard about vampires being able to become human again so I was really excited to learn how this was done. It was good to see that not every vampire could do this and that it was extremely dangerous to try to perform the ritual. When Lenah becomes human again, she is a teenage girl who has been out of society for a very long time. There are some funny moments when it comes to Lenah figuring out new technology and what else is new in the world. I imagine it would have been very confusing for her, waking up and not having any idea about what is happening in the world. Not only that, but Lenah had never been to a modern day high school before so this was going to take a lot of getting used to.

Another thing that I liked about the vampires in this story was the fact that there was no good and bad side. All vampires are bad in this case and Lenah’s past is proof of that. The reasons behind the evilness were well explained and I thought they were very believable. These vampires lose everything about their human selves once they are turned so there is no humanity or soul to keep them away from being truly bad.

I really liked the fact that I got to learn about Lenah’s time with her coven and how she met Rhode and Vicken. These parts of the story were really interesting and gave me the chance to find out who Lenah really is, or was in this case. I love to know at least a little bit of history behind a character so this really worked for me. Lenah’s coven were made out to be extremely dangerous but when the time came to meet them, it was all over far too quickly and I didn’t believe they were that powerful after all. I would have liked to have seen a bit more action and conflict between Lenah and her coven to make this more believable.

I just didn’t love the relationship between Lenah and Justin. To me, it didn’t feel real at all and I couldn’t really believe what was going on between them. I think my main problem was that they didn’t really have any time at all to get to know each other. As soon as Lenah arrives at school, Justin is extremely quick to drop his current girlfriend who he seem to have been with for a while. This aspect of the book was one seen all too often. I really never believe that a couple can fall madly in love without even knowing the simplest of things about each other. I would have liked to have seen a lot more interaction between the two, rather than to read about the time Lenah spent with Tony. Although their friendship was nice, it didn’t seem all that important to the story at times.

One of my favourite characters was Rhode, even though he isn’t really around that much. The idea of him and his morals, even as a vampire, were really interesting and I would have loved to have seen what he would do in Lenah’s situation. I never thought I would say this about a vampire but Rhode is a true sweetheart and made me melt a little bit.

I hate to say it, because I was really looking forward to this one, but I didn’t love Infinite Days at all. There were quite a lot of good points for me but also quite a few bad points. The story moved along at quite a slow pace for a long time and I never felt like anything great or exciting was going to happen. Unfortunately, this book fell short of my expectations.

Shadows - Amy Meredith

A Dark Touch Novel: Shadows is the debut novel by Amy Meredith. It was released on 1st April 2010 by Red Fox and it is 240 pages long.

Plot

Fifteen year old Eve Evergold comes from a wealthy family and lives in a small town in the Hamptons called Deepdene. After spending the summer in Hawaii, she’s about the start high school. After a whole summer away, Eve is informed of the two new guys at school and they’re both totally hot.

Eve and best friend Jess are lucky enough to run into both of the new boys before school starts but things don’t go quite as planned with either. Luke is cute, blonde and a preacher’s son but he thinks Eve is spoilt. Mal is dark, mysterious and brooding but barely says a word to Eve. It seems like she cant win with either guy.

Strange things are happening in Deepdene that are ruining Eve and Jess’ social life. Someone close to Eve is a demon and loads of people she knows are going insane. It seems like Eve’s newfound superpowers are the only thing that may be able to stop the demon.

What I thought
Eve and Jess were everything that I hated about female characters. Both were spoiled and full of themselves and knew that having money could get them whatever they wanted. As soon as I realised what kind of girls they were, there was an instant dislike and I’m afraid that I really didn’t warm up to them. They just seemed so shallow for the most part that I couldn’t find much about them that I did like. Eve has her moments of being stronger than I had expected but it doesn’t last very long and only in a couple of different parts. Jess wasn’t so bad though and was a good best friend for Eve but it was a shame that she didn’t have a bigger part in the story.

I think the biggest problem for me was that the book was so short. Maybe if it had been longer it would have given me more of a chance to get to know Eve and Jess and see a different side to them. If I could have managed to see beyond their shallowness then I have a feeling that I would have enjoyed this book a lot more.

Amy Meredith tried to throw in some interesting twists into the plot to keep the story exciting and unpredictable but I unfortunately saw through them all. I did like the way that she tried to throw the reader off the right track but it was just a bit too transparent. I guessed who the demon was pretty early on due to some things just not adding up about the character in question.

The supernatural aspects of the book were a very interesting idea with a good background explaining some of the reasons why they were happening. I wish that the supernatural aspects of the story had been strong enough to overpower the weak characters because they were all I was paying attention to most of the time. I just didn’t care what Eve was capable of and what would happen to her in the end.

As you can see, there were very few things that I liked about this book and I can only be thankful that it wasn’t expensive. I do feel quite sad that this is the first book to go into Hell! There are going to be at least two more books in this series but I definitely wont be buying them.

By Midnight - Mia James

By Midnight: A Ravenwood Mystery is the debut novel by Mia James (This is the pen name of Tasmina Perry and John Perry). It was released on 7th July 2010 and is 448 pages long.

Plot
April Dunne loved her life in Edinburgh so when her parents make her move down to Highgate, London, she isn’t impressed one little bit. She’s stuck in a creepy old house and enrolled in a prestigious school for the gifted which she is sure she wont fit into.

Everyone at her new school, Ravenwood seems to be better than she is at everything. They’re either incredibly smart or ridiculously beautiful, sometimes even both. April finds a friend in Caro, a girl extremely interested in the past of Highgate and the school. Caro begins to explain to April all of the crazy theories that she has but can any of them be true?

April knows that she isn’t supposed to be out alone at night because of a murder that happened before she arrived but she can’t help herself. The gorgeous Gabriel saves her from being caught in a terrible incident in the graveyard but there is a lot more to him than meets the eye. Could the guy who saved her be a part of the strange goings on or is there something worse in the dark?

What I thought
The main reason why I bought this book was because it was set in England. Most books in the same genre have been set in America recently so I thought that this would be a nice change. I think the setting gave the story a really eerie feeling to it and helped to add mystery and intrigue to the weird things that were already happening.

I really enjoyed learning about the background of the Highgate vampire and how it fit into the rest of the story. Any of my readers will know that I’m a sucker for mythology and a good mystery so this was a great part of the book for me. I was never really sure throughout who this vampire was so the fact that I couldn’t guess early on was a huge plus. I hate being able to guess the whodunit within a couple of chapters. Mia James kept me guessing and I was very thankful for that.

While April had her moments of being fantastic, I didn’t love her. In fact, I didn’t love any of the characters. I hate to say it but even Gabriel wasn’t enough for me and I had such high hopes from him early on. April had her moments of being witty and strong but not enough of the time. There were a couple of times where I felt like she was extremely weak and quite frankly, a bit of an idiot. I wanted to slap her.

Hmmm, Gabriel. I’m really not sure what to say about him. He was dark, brooding and mysterious yet I didn’t love him at all. Surely this is what most of us ask for in a bad boy? Maybe it was because he didn’t have a motorbike (I’m pretty into that at the minute). There was just something about him that I guess I cant really explain but it made me not like him very much. There were times when I wanted to say ‘What the hell do you think you’re playing at?!’ and these really added to my feelings about him.

There were a few things I did like about the characters in general though. Mia James never tried to disguise the fact that they were teenagers. I have said in past reviews how not many of the teenagers in books seem real enough to me but not in this book. These teenagers party, get drunk and have sex. These parts of the book aren’t overdone at all though. I remember what I was like at secondary school and can honestly say I did all of those three things. I was so glad to see that the characters weren’t made out to be perfect and that they were making the most of being able to have fun.

Overall, By Midnight had both its good and bad points so I’m putting it in Purgatory. I am curious to know what happens next though so I will be buying the sequel if there is one.

My Love Lies Bleeding - Alyxandra Harvey

My Love Lies Bleeding is the first book (and debut novel) in The Drake Chronicles series by Alyxandra Harvey. It was published in the UK on 4th January 2010 by Bloomsbury and it is 256 pages long. Thanks to Bloomsbury for sending me a copy for review!

Plot
Solange Drake is the only female vampire to ever be born and is part of an old vampire family. The Drakes. Solange isn’t an only child though, she has seven vampire brothers. Being the only female vampire to be born is far from a blessing for Solange as the Queen sees her as a threat and most male vampires want her for themselves. As her sixteenth birthday approaches, the Drake family realise the danger of Solange’s upcoming change into a full vampire…if she makes it through the change.

Solange is kidnapped very close to her birthday and it seems like best friend Lucy and older brother Nicholas are the only people who can save her. They set out on a rescue mission but there is something between Lucy and Nicholas that they have both been fighting for quite some time. Loving a vampire can’t be that bad…can it?

What I thought
I love anything that has some mythology behind the story so once I realised there was a lot more to this book than the main plot, I was excited. Even though there are quite a few different vampire clans, they are easy to distinguish one from another so I never felt confused by this aspect. I’d like to find out about some of the other clans in future books. I really liked the idea that Solange was the only born female vampire and how that made the current Queen feel. This was a completely unique aspect for me because I have never read anything else with something like this before.

My Love Lies Bleeding is narrated by both Luce and Solange, enabling me to be able to really get into the story. Hearing the story from two different aspects let me know what was happening at different times and in different places so I felt like I knew exactly what was going on at all times. I was surprised to see how much action there was in this book. Even though the synopsis sounded like it would be quite exciting, I really wasn’t expecting there to be so much. The action scenes are very well paced and breaks up the rest of the story. There is so much happening on both sides of the story and I really felt like anything could have happened, knowing that there will be more books in the series.

Both Luce and Solange also have their own love interests so it was a welcome change to not see a love triangle at all. As the book is quite short, I did feel like both of these relationships could have been expanded on a bit more, especially when it came to Luce and Nicholas. I instantly liked both characters because they had strong personalities. Luce wasn’t afraid of anything, maybe because she had pretty much grown up with a family of vampires. She was very strong and was quite the match for Nicholas who was a bit cocky and full of himself at times. Luce never lets him feel as though he is better because he is a vampire and she’s determined to make sure everyone knows that being a human doesn’t mean she is useless.

Luce and Nicholas’ relationship was an interesting one because there were so many feelings that weren’t always explained fully. To Luce, Nicholas goes from being Solange’s annoying brother to someone who totally shocks her to someone she finds herself liking a lot more than she should. The tension between the two was really well written and believable because of this. I could feel the strain between the two because of who they both are and I liked learning more as their relationship developed.

I thoroughly enjoyed My Love Lies Bleeding and I’m now really looking forward to reading the second and third books in the series: Blood Feud and Out For Blood. Hopefully the other Drake brothers are just as hot as Nicholas.

The Ghost and The Goth - Stacey Kade

The Ghost and the Goth is the debut novel by Stacey Kade. It was published on 29th June 2010 by Hyperion Books and is 288 pages long.

Plot
Alona Dare had everything she could ever wish for. Senior in high school, cheerleader, hot boyfriend and was voted homecoming Queen three years in a row. Her perfect life ended on the day she skipped gym class and walked in front of a bus! Now Alona is stuck in a half-life, watching over her friends and how they deal without her, but has no idea why she is still around or how to move on.

Will Killian is the only person that knows Alona has stuck around and she isn’t very pleased about the fact. Will is a social outcast at school, always listening to music with his hood up, shutting out everyone and everything. He’s the only person who can tell Alona why she hasn’t moved on but he really wants nothing to do with her after how she treat people while she was alive. If having Alona stalk him wasn’t enough, there are many more ghosts hanging around the school with unfinished business and they are very persistent once they realise what Will can do.

What I thought
Big thanks to Dwayne from Girls Without A Bookshelf for loaning me this book as I had been wanting to read it for a while now!

I really enjoyed the fact that this was told from the point of view of both Alona and Will. Sometimes multiple POV’s can be confusing at times but Stacey Kade gave each character their own distinct voice which was easy to follow. The fact that both characters were so different made me like each of them equally but for many different reasons. Alona was sassy and sarcastic but had many moments of clarity and wisdom from being able to see things from the outside. Although Will had obviously come to terms with his gift, he wasn’t prepared to do anything with it and just wanted to coast smoothly though life and ignore everything that was going on around him.

Both characters develop a lot in quite a short space of time due to their interactions with the other. The way that Alona and Will change happens at a lovely and realistic pace. Nothing between them ever feels wrong or out of place and their reactions to each other were perfect considering that they were complete opposites when Alona was alive. I would have put the book down immediately if they had become so nice to each other instantly because I wouldn’t have believed it at all.

There is some romance but not loads which was a good thing in my eyes. Quite a lot of YA books that I read mostly concentrate on the romance aspect of the story so this was a nice change. This romance wasn’t the case of ‘I love you’ in a matter of days and that was one of the biggest reasons why I liked this aspect so much. I will be looking forward to seeing how things develop in further books though as Alona and Will could have a lot to deal with.

While most of the story is quite light-hearted due to the banter between Alona and Will, there are some darker moments which I thoroughly enjoyed. I would have liked to have seen these parts expanded upon a bit more or had them happen more often but maybe that will happen in the second book in the series. There were quite a few times where I didn’t really know where the story was heading because of the twists that came coming. I like to be kept guessing with books and Stacey Kade definitely achieved this. The ending was wrapped up really well without many loose ends. Although The Ghost and The Goth is going to be a part of a series, I loved the fact that it worked so well as a stand alone. I didn’t feel like I was desperate to know more but I also knew that the story could go a lot further in many ways.

The Ghost and The Goth was a lovely story with many surprising aspects. I wasn’t expecting it to be quite so funny and I definitely wasn’t expecting the supernatural plot twists to give it a darker feel at times. Stacey Kade managed to mix the two really well to make this a very enjoyable read for me. I cant wait for the sequel to find out what is going to happen next!

Claire de Lune - Christine Johnson

Claire de Lune is the debut YA novel by Christine Johnson. It was released in the UK on 5th August 2010 by Simon Pulse (Simon and Schuster) and it is 352 pages long. Thanks to the publisher for sending me a copy for review.

Plot
It is Claire’s sixteenth birthday and she’s having the most fantastic day. Pool party filled with loads of people including her best friend, Emily and the hot guy, Matthew, she has been crushing for so long now. Unfortunately, the party has to end early due to werewolves. Hannover Falls hasn’t seen any werewolves in a very long time but since people start dying, it sends the whole town into a state of panic.

Not only did Claire get pulled away from Matthew and realised that she had some crazy rash, her mother also informs her on the night of her birthday that she is a werewolf. As her packs leads her through initiation, Claire must try to deal with this extreme change in her life as well as keeping it a secret from everyone else. Matthew’s Dad is the one leading the werewolf hunt to rid Hannover Falls of its problems but this killer werewolf is no where to be seen. It’s looking like Claire is going to have to make the choice between her pack and her human friends.

What I thought
I had been waiting for this book for quite a while and was extremely excited by the idea of it. Unfortunately, I think my expectations were way too high and I was left feeling a bit disappointed after reading it.

Claire was a great main character because she was so real. When she finds out she is a werewolf what does she do? Has a screaming row with her mother. That is exactly how I would have imagined a teenager to react and also what I think I would do in that situation. Although she does eventually come round to the fact that she can’t change who she is, Claire still tries to find ways around the pack’s rules and being able to keep parts of her human self, which she isn’t prepared to give up. For these reasons, I liked her but there were also things I didn’t like. Even though Matthew clearly showed how much he liked her, she still had to question things. Why can’t a girl just accept that a hot guy likes her without whining about it?

Claire and Matthew’s relationship was nice though when Claire stopped moaning (and notice how normal their names are). The fact that Claire is a werewolf didn’t seem to mess with their relationship too much, mainly because she couldn’t tell him what she was. It was great to see a couple have a relatively normal relationship in this genre without one of them having a past that would threaten their lives or one of them get kidnapped with the other having to come to the rescue. I’m sure you see what I’m getting at here. Although I do like those aspects in other books, it is nice to read something else for a change. Some could say that their relationship was too sweet but I really liked it.

I really enjoyed the new ideas that Christine Johnson brought in about werewolves. The fact that the whole world new that they existed and they were real was something that I have never read about before in this genre so it made for a really nice change. There were also other ideas that were new to me but I didn’t feel as though some of them were explained in enough detail. It wasn’t that I didn’t understand what was going on but more that it was so interesting that I wanted to know more about the background of the werewolves. I really liked the fact that there weren’t any male werewolves but again, this was an aspect that I felt needed more explanation and a lot more detail regarding why this was the case.

There were a couple of things that I really didn’t understand though. As werewolves are known throughout the world, I didn’t really get the need for such secrecy. I know the pack was just trying to protect themselves but it seemed a bit over the top. Another thing was the way that human men were described. I didn’t like the way that they were pretty much described as sperm donors only and that they weren’t really good for anything else. That was way too harsh for my liking but at least Claire didn’t agree with this part.

Although I was fairly certain I knew who the killer werewolf was, there was twists thrown in all over the place that made me second guess myself. Throughout the story, I kept changing my mind a little bit and towards the end, my original thoughts were near the bottom of the stack of suspects. I liked that this book made me think and that there were numerous possibilities as to who the killer was.

So, as you can see, I didn’t love Claire de Lune but there is a lot of promise if there is to be a sequel.

Finding Sky - Joss Stirling

Finding Sky is the debut novel from Joss Stirling. It is published by Oxford University press in October 2010 and is 320 pages long.

Plot

Sky Bright has just been uprooted from finally having a normal life. Her adoptive parents have decided to move from England to Wickenridge, Colorado due to work and the two couldn’t be any more different. Although High School is an extremely strange experience for Sky, she manages to make some good friends quickly and they show her how things work and who everyone is. Someone who immediately stands out to Sky is well known bad boy, Zed. After seeing him for the first time, she can’t get him out of her head…literally. All the girls in Wickenridge want a piece of Zed but he pays them no attention. He only seems to have eyes for Sky even though she thinks he doesn’t like her.

Zed informs Sky that they have a lot more in common than she ever could have thought. They are both Savants, people with extremely special gifts. Savants each have a soulfinder, someone who balances our their gifts and also the person that they are going to be with forever. When Zed tells Sky that she is his soulfinder, she has no idea what he is talking about and doesn’t believe that she too is a Savant.

Sky has had a troubled past though and has a hard time believing anything he says about being a Savant but the two seem to be connected. Sky and Zed aren’t the only Savants though and someone else knows their secret. Sky is going to have to learn to deal with this shocking news quickly otherwise her time with Zed could be cut very short.

What I thought
As soon as I heard about this book, I desperately wanted to read it. Everything about it made me want to read it, including the extremely pretty background (even though it reminds me of Shiver).

I loved the world that Joss Stirling created. The idea of Savants were clearly established and she added a lot of information about the characters‘ gifts. Although there was no real history behind why people were this way, there was the idea of the 7th of 7 children. I thought that this gave Savants a bit more depth instead of just randomly being who they were. I did have slightly mixed feelings about the soulfinder thing though but I will get to that soon.

It seems like female main characters are growing on my lately as I really liked Sky. Her reactions to Zed’s strong affections towards her were only natural, which is why she wasn’t focusing on the supernatural aspects of what he was telling her. I would freak out if someone told me they wanted to spend their whole life with me at that age! In any normal circumstance I would have said that it was completely unbelievable but both Sky and Zed being Savants saved this part of the story for me. That is why I had slightly mixed feeling about ‘soulfinders’. Sky was also a really strong character who wasn’t about to let anyone tell her what to do. If I had been in her situation at the beginning of the book, living somewhere that is so different from what she is used to, I don’t think I could have been as strong as she was. Sky had a lot of determination to make her new life work for her and she wasn’t about to let anything get in the way of that.

Sky’s background is revealed at a good pace that runs really well with the rest of the story. Nothing is given away too early or fully until the right time. I liked how it went back and forth from Wickenridge to the action with the other Savants. The intensity gradually progresses at different stages in the story and it kept the story really well paced, giving a fantastic mix of action and explanation when the times were right.

Zed and his family were all great characters because of their different gifts and personalities. Not so sure about all of their weird names though! It would have been nice for at least one of them to have a normal name or for the reasons for their names to have been explained. In such a large family, Joss Stirling managed to give them all their own voice and let them stand out. They were all quite important characters as the story went on so it was good that they didn’t all blend into one.

After so much happening, it was nice to see that there was no massive cliff-hanger. Even though Finding Sky works extremely well as a stand alone book, I would still like to see a sequel. I would like to see how Sky works through her problems and how things work out for her and Zed but most of all, I want to know her real name. Something else that could be quite interesting is if we got a book for each of Zed’s brothers and follow them in their quests to find their soulfinder.

Finding Sky is a great book with an interesting story and loveable characters. I know I’ll be wanting Joss Stirling’s next book after reading this one.

The Sky is Everywhere - Jandy Nelson

The Sky is Everywhere is the YA debut novel by American author, Jandy Nelson. It was released on 7th June 2010 by Walker Books UK and is 368 pages long. Thanks to Walker Books UK for sending me a copy for review.

Lennie Walker's older sister Bailey was always the one in the spotlight. She had the perfect relationship and a promising career as an actress. Lennie was quite happy to be the quiet sister, the one living in the background but when Bailey dies, she finds herself lost and struggling to deal with her own life, as well as the lost of her sister and best friend.

When Lennie goes back to school, she realises just how much has changed. There's a new boy, Joe, that everyone is talking about, sat in her chair when she goes to band practise and Bailey's boyfriend Toby is always hanging around the house but Lennie doesn't know how to deal with everyone around her. As Lennie tries to deal and work through her grief, she feels connected to both boys. Sharing the love for her sister with Toby and the love of music with Joe, Lennie's world gets more complicated than she ever could have imagined and Bailey's voice is always in the back of her mind, trying to remind her who she really is.

What I thought
The Sky is Everywhere has to be one of the most beautiful books that I have ever read. I certainly wasn't expecting to be as in love with it as I am now, even after hearing so many good things about it. I was so glad to not be disappointed by this book after it was surrounded by such a big hype.

If you read the back of the book, it is clear that the story is going to deal with the topic of loss and grief, which will always be a hard topic to address. Jandy Nelson managed to write this beautiful story and characters without ever losing who they really were or what they were feeling. Each character that was connected to Bailey deals with her death in different ways which sometimes results in clashes between them. I can't say that I could connect with Lennie on such a personal level, not having lost anyone this close to me, but I could certainly feel what she was going through and sympathise with her and her situation. The part that I could connect with though was her relationship with her sister. I have always felt as though I have lived in my elder sisters shadow a little bit so I can only imagine what Lennie would feel once Bailey had died and she was left all alone and getting a lot of attention.

Lennie has two really difficult relationships to deal with from the very start of the story. As soon as Joe appeared, I knew that I was going to love him. Coming from Paris, I knew that there was going to be something very sensual and amazing about him that I was going to fall in love with straight away. The blossoming relationship between him and Lennie was delightful and I thought it was just what Lennie needed. They instantly had a connection and amazing chemistry as they had so much in common and a lot that they could share. Their connection was so believable from the off and I couldn't wait to find out how things were going to progress between them.

What Joe doesn't know is that Lennie also has a strong connection with Toby and because of this, I felt so sorry for him. I was really apprehensive about this part of the story because I wasn't sure that it was going to work or feel right but it did in ever single way. I could understand what and why Lennie was feeling what she did towards Toby and vice versa. The problems they shared were perfectly in context with the rest of the story and only enhanced it in my opinion. Lennie and Toby also had passion and chemistry but in a completely different way to what she has with Joe.

Lennie, Toby and Joe, along with some of the other characters were extremely well written. The enthusiasm and detail that has gone into creating such interesting characters is so clear that you cannot help but fall in love with them all. Lennie's Grandmother and Uncle also have a big part to play in the story and are two very unique characters. They really brought something different to the table as well as a lot of humour. I loved that Gram was slightly eccentric and nothing like my Nanna and Big, Lennie's Uncle was so strange that I wanted him as my own Uncle. Both of these characters added a fair amount of humour to the story in places due to their personalities which helped give the story a lighter feel at times which I felt was needed so that it didn't become depressing.

The story is very well paced, taking enough time to really develop what is happening to Lennie and those around her. Everything that I could have possibly wanted to know was covered and in great detail so I never felt as though I missing anything or important facts were left out. Everything about the structure of this story drew me in and kept my attention the whole way through. As the story is told from Lennie's point of view, it makes it feel very personal and almost as though it is like reading her diary of what she is feeling and how different events affect her.

The way that this book is presented is just as beautiful as the story itself. The text is printed in blue, to match the title and cover of the book. I find it easier to read in blue (I actually write everything in the same colour), compared to black, so I was very pleased with this choice. Throughout the book are pictures of handwritten notes between Lennie and Bailey and poems that Lennie wrote on different things. I adored this aspect of the book as it was unlike anything I had ever seen in this type of book. This was something that added to the uniqueness of The Sky is Everywhere and something that brought the realisation of Lennie and Bailey's relationship to life. As we don't get to see anything of their relationship before Bailey died, this was a great way of learning about their past and just how close they really were. I actually went through the book again after I had finished reading it just so I could look at these parts again.

The Sky is Everywhere is one of the most impressive debut novels I have ever come across. Jandy Neilson clearly poured her heart and soul into this story, making the words come alive on every page. It's beautiful. It's sad. It's heart-warming. It's so much more than all of those things. This was another book that I planned to read a couple of chapters of at 11pm that kept me awake until gone 3am because I couldn't have put it down if I had tried. Everyone needs to read this book!

Infinity (The Chronicles of Nick) - Sherrilyn Kenyon

Infinity (The Chronicles of Nick) is Sherrilyn Kenyon’s first YA novel that will tie in with her adult, Dark-Hunter series. This is the first book that I have read by this author but I have been told that this series will be prequels for the Dark-Hunter series, where Nick is a main character. The Chronicles of Nick will run until the timeline mixes with the Dark-Hunter novels. Because of this, I will be reading this series first and then going into Dark-Hunters, although you don’t really have to in order to follow what’s going on.

Plot
Nick Gautier is 14 and although he comes from a bad neighbourhood with barely any money, he thinks he knows everything. Unfortunately, his mother has other ideas and is determined to dress him and teach him the difference between right and wrong. She doesn’t want Nick to grow up being anything like his father who is now in prison. Everyone at school picks on him and makes fun of the clothes he wears, causing Nick to get into trouble and the blame always falling on him.

After being suspended from school for a fight that he didn’t start, Nick runs into some friends needing some help. When Nick realises what they really want help with, he refuses which results in his so called friends nearly killing him. Luckily for Nick, a dark and mysterious warrior saves him. When the hospital bills are too much for Nick and his mother to pay, Kyrian offers to let Nick work off the bills. What Nick doesn’t realise is that he is about to be working for Immortals who will risk everything to save humanity. Nick knew that there were some bad people in the world but nothing compares to what he is about to deal with.

What I thought of…

The story
I bought this book thinking that it was going to be 100% serious, especially after reading the synopsis/ looking at the cover. The story began by giving me time to get to know and like Nick, which I did and then delving into what was really going on. It doesn’t take Nick long to get in trouble and have his so called friends turn on him so there is quite a bit of action in the beginning. After this, I thought that the story was going to be about Nick and what he is/ what Acheron and Kyrian are and what everyone’s part in the story was. I was so wrong.

I didn’t mention it in the synopsis as I didn’t want to give too much away but after the beginning, it is revealed that students are turning into zombies are eating the other students. You’re probably thinking WTH now, just as I was when I got to this part. Don’t get me wrong, I really did enjoy this part of the story but it came completely out of no where. I think I would have been happier if something about this had been mentioned on the back of the book as I think the synopsis is quite misleading. This part of the book was like something out of a zombie apocalypse film but a 12 rated one. The middle of this book is a lot of fun and everyone acts like you would expect 14 year olds to act…with the addition of some serious weapons.

The ending does get back to being quite serious which I was glad about. Towards the end of the book, more about what Nick is and what he can really do is revealed, giving hints at what we have to come in future books in the series. Instead of being left with a huge cliff-hanger, the ending was nicely rounded up and left me feeling very satisfied after everything that had happened.

The characters
Nick is cocky, full of himself at times but really funny with it. I think this was mainly a cover a lot of the time. Nick has had to deal with some pretty hard times in his 14 years but tries to cover his pain and anger by showing extreme confidence when things aren’t going well. There were many times throughout this book that I just couldn’t believe that Nick was only 14. I think that if he had been made to be 16, I would have believed some of it a bit more but I guess being 14 was used to fit with the Dark-Hunter series.

Something that I loved about Nick was how family orientated his is. His mother is a stripper (yes, a stripper) and doesn’t earn much money so Nick does everything he can to help her out, even though he usually ends up getting in her way and annoying her. All his mother wants is for him to grow up and be successful in something and keep himself out of trouble, which is something that she’s beginning to realise might not happen due to his answering back. The conversations between Nick and his mother were really funny and very realistic for a teenage boy to have. Between the back chat and minor arguments, you can easily tell how much they love one another, making it a special relationship to read about.

Bubba and Mark were two of my favourite characters because they were just so unbelievable but hilarious at the same time. Bubba owns a shop where he will attempt to fix any problem. He might fix a computer that wont work with a chainsaw for instance. Who knows what kind of crazy ideas are in his head. Mark is Bubba’s co-worked but just as crazy. When Nick and his friends realise what is causing the Zombie attacks, Bubba and Mark are the first port of call to figure out what to do. No one else in town is going to have any idea how to stop them or have the most insane weapons to do it with. These two characters provided so much humour that I was literally laughing out loud when they were around.

Here is Bubba’s sales pitch for his shop:
‘Computer Problems?
Dial 1-888-Ca-Bubba
If I can’t take care of your problems one way…
I’ll take care of them anotha’

We tend to all manner of ills for you. Zombies, rodents, and vampires. If you got a pest, we got a cure. Just call us now. We will believe you’.

The supernatural beings were also great characters. Acheron and Kyrian can really kick some ass and come across as people you really wouldn’t want to meet in a dark alley at any time. From what I understand, Acheron is a big part of the Dark-Hunter series so I know there will be more of him to come in this series. I really liked the fact that they weren’t totally lovely to Nick all of the time. Although they are being shown as saviours at the moment, I think that is something that will change in future books due to how they act and some of the things they say.

The Simi was another character that I loved from the supernatural side. I’m not completely sure what she is but I do know that she likes blood and killing things. Oh, and BBQ sauce. Simi acts really childish with things like “You threaten him and you make the Simi really unhappy and want to eat your head”, but at the same time, she is just too funny with it. She was my favourite character overall and now, I want one of my own (so long as she wouldn’t want to eat me though).

The only real problem I had with the characters in the book was that there were so many. I had a problem following who was who and which side they were on for a little while. I guess that if you have read the Dark-Hunter series then you will be familiar with some of the characters but if not, it might end getting a little confusing.

Overall
Infinity was not what I was expecting to read at all but I enjoyed it in an extremely strange way. I didn't completely love it though because of how the story evolved. If it had been more straight forward then I think I would have liked it a lot more. I think if you read the back of the book, then pretty much forget it all and keep an open mind about what you are about to read, then you might like this one. Infinity is a interesting mixture of comedy, teen rebellion and a deep and mysterious back-story that entertained me throughout.

Book 2 in the Chronicles of Nick is being released in 2011 and will be called Invincible.

The Dark Divine - Bree Despain

The Dark Divine is the debut novel from Bree Despain and it was released in the UK on 5th July 2010.

Grace Divine is a Pastor’s daughter with a reputation to uphold, never really being able to do exactly what she wants. Her family aren’t as perfect as they make out to be though. Three years ago saw Grace’s brother, Jude, turn up on the porch covered in his own blood but Grace is completely in the dark about what really happened. On that same night, Grace’s childhood best friend, Daniel, went missing without a word. Until now.

Everyone at school is talking about the hot new guy but then Grace realises that it’s Daniel. Jude made her promise never to talk to him or see him again but once she sees him, all of those feelings she thought she had buried come flooding back. Grace has always been taught to learn to forgive people, no matter what they have done and takes it upon herself to try and sort Daniel’s life out for him.

As Grace grows closer to Daniel, family secrets unfold and she realises that she is in a lot deeper than she thought possible and in immediate danger. Not only is Grace risking her own life, but also the lives of the people she is closest to and loves. It’s all down to Grace to figure out secrets of the past in order to save everyone, including herself.

What I thought
Having seen pictures of this book roaming around blogs, I knew had to have it because of the cover. I was very lucky to find this in a BOGOF offer in Waterstones which shocked me a little as it is a very new release. Now having finished reading The Dark Divine, I don’t really think that the cover fit’s the story very well at all but it’s very pretty so I can overlook that.

Once I realised that Grace was a Pastor’s daughter and it was likely that there was going to be a lot of religion in the story, I was a little worried about how much I was going to enjoy this book. Although there is quite a lot about Christianity, it all fits in really well with the story, especially towards the end. I didn’t feel as though the religious parts were overdone or in your face at any point because it worked so well with what was happening. I would say though that if you are against religion at all then this probably isn’t going to be a book for you. I don’t mind it too much so long as it doesn’t preach at all.

I really liked Grace as a main character even though I wasn’t sure to begin with. Yes, she is supposed to be the ‘good girl’ of the book but it soon becomes clear that she isn’t about to do everything that her family tells her to. I do love a girl with a backbone and who can think for herself, someone who refuses to be told what to do. Although Grace does give in for a short time and loses part of who she is, it doesn’t take long for her to figure things out and be back to her normal self again. Her reactions to certain situations were definitely justified so I didn’t end up thinking of her as whiney or annoying (like I do with many female characters) at any point.

The story took a little too long to get into the real action but I still enjoyed the build up. Learning about Grace and Daniel in both the past and present let me really connect with both characters, realising the hard times that they have had to go through in order to be who they are. It was nice to be able to learn about Grace and Daniel’s past without having to wait until the second book. I loved the fact that Daniel was Grace’s childhood crush and there was something between them that they thought could never be acted upon. This was something that made me think that they are destined to be together. When the second book is released, I will already feel as though I know an awful lot about them both and will really be able to get straight into the story.

As I said earlier, this was part of a BOGOF offer but that offer was for vampire books…and this isn’t one. You can imagine my surprise when I got so far through the book and realised that this book wasn’t even close to being about what I thought it was. The fact that I had no idea what this book was really about made it so much more enjoyable as I didn’t know what was going to come next. Another thing that I didn’t guess was what was really going on. Bree Despain throws in a few good red herrings which made me guess the wrong outcome. The mystery aspect of the story was very interesting and was fused really well with a budding romance. For me, the story was really well balanced with a bit of everything that I could have asked for.

I was really surprised to learn that this was Bree Despain’s debut novel because it was written so unbelievably well. The ending left me wanting more without feeling disappointed and I cant wait to learn what happens between Grace and Daniel next.

Beautiful Creatures - Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

In Gaitlin, South Carolina, 16 year old Ethan Wate has been having some crazy dreams. Dreams about a beautiful girl with amazing green eyes whom he always fails to save from great danger. Waking up from these dreams leaves Ethan wet and sometimes with mud under his fingernails.

When Lena Duchannes moves into town, everyone begins to talk as she is the niece of the crazy man who lives at Ravenwood. The whole school is speculating over whether she is hot or not but when Ethan sees her for the first time, he realises that she is the girl of his dreams, in the literal sense. Strange things begin to happen quickly after her arrival and the whole town are quick to point the finger at her. Ethan sees something different in Lena though and begins to take her side over friends that he has known his whole life, also pushing him into unpopularity.

Lena's family are different from the rest in Gaitlin. As soon as she befriends Ethan, they find themselves caught up in a curse that has followed her family around for centuries and time is running out for them to solve it and save Lena's life.

My Opinion

What really got me about this story was that parts were so real, aside from all the magic of course. What made the story so real was the setting and the history of the town. There is high school drama and bitchiness, quirky members of the neighbourhood and dysfunctional family gatherings from both sides. Some of the things that were happening sounded exactly like what a tiny town in America would be like, where everyone knows everything that is going on.

The plot was fantastic and I loved a lot about it. There were quite a few surprises along the way and enough twists to keep me guessing which is something that I always like. My biggest problem with the plot was that it moved along at a very unsteady pace. At times there is a lot of action happening but then it switches to a long time without any and at nearly 600 pages, it is a long read anyway. I would have been happier if there had been some more excitement inbetween the action scenes just to help keep my interest. It becomes clear early on that Ethan and Lena are inexplicably linked but the story doesn't reveal the real reasons why for quite a while.

The authors spend a lot of time describing Gaitlin and made it possible to picture myself in the world that I was reading about. Gaitlin is a Southern, old fashioned town but it also has plenty of secrets, ones that I didn't see coming at all. Nothing really seemed out of place about the setting as all of the characters fit in perfectly.

Beautiful Creatures is told from Ethan's point of view which makes a change from a lot of the YA novels that I have read recently. Normally it is the guy that has everything going on but this time, the roles are reversed. Due to this, there is a lot of testosterone flying around between Ethan and his basketball buddies which gave the story a different feel.

There is a lot of mythology and history behind this story which was something that I really enjoyed. Most of the books that I've been reading recently have been about werewolves or faeries etc so this change was really good. The whole history and reasoning behind the 'casters' was fascinating to read and one of the main reasons why this book had me hooked.

The main characters had quite a few inconsistencies. As Ethan is supposed to be a 16 year old boy, you'd expect him to at least think like one. Nothing about him screamed teenager to me so it was quite hard to like him. Ethan and Lena spend a fair amount of time alone together in their bedrooms and under the covers but they do nothing more than kiss. At least Bella and Edward had the sex talk. It came across as extremely unbelievable and I think the books target audience would agree. I know a lot of YA authors make their books really tame but this also makes them unrealistic. I'm sure late teenagers can handle some mild sex scenes.

Although Ethan was a sweet, caring kid, he was a complete idiot. At one point, his best friend, Link, begins to hang out with Lena's hot but evil cousin and Ethan knows just how bad she is. He doesn't even really warn Link against her and doesn't try to stop him when he says that they're going away together for a few days. If that was me and my best friend, I would have smacked him over the head before letting him go off with someone evil and scary. Stupid unrealistic boy.

Lena was more convincing than Ethan but only just. She knows that everything is about to change but she just wants to be normal for a while. All she has ever wanted was to fit in at school and make friends, which was the most believable part of her. For the most part, she did seem like a normal teenage girl who didn't want a bad high school experience. She was also quite funny at times, especially when she uses her powers to play practical jokes on the cheerleaders. That's something that I can imagine myself doing.

While there were so many things that I really liked about this book, there was a lot that I was very unsure about. Knowing that there is a sequel puts my mind at ease a bit though, giving me hope that the little things that bugged me will have been fixed.

2010 Debut Author Challenge

Like my good friend Lynsey over at Narratively Speaking, I have only just found out about the 2010 Debut Author Challenge which is hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren. The challenge is to read at least 12 YA/MG novels by debut authors that are released this year. The challenge runs from 1st January until 31st December. I do read a fair amount of debut novels so I figured I should participate in this fab challenge.

Here's what I have either already read or plan to read:
1. Shade - Jeri Smith Ready
2. Wintercraft - Jenna Burtenshaw
3. Della says: OMG - Keris Stainton
4. The Dark Divine - Bree Despain
5. Beautiful Creatures - Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl
6. Infinity - Sherrilyn Kenyon
7. Firespell - Chloe Neill
8. Claire de Lune - Christine Johnson
9. Glimmerglass - Jenna Black
10. Before I fall - Lauren Oliver
11. Bleeding Violet - Dia Reeves
12. 13 to life - Shannon Delany
13. Mistwood - Leah Cypess
14. Sea - Heidi R. Kling
15. Whisper -Phoebe Kitanidis
16. Firelight - Sophie Jordan
17. Nevermore - Kelly Creagh
18. Under My Skin - Judith Graves
19. The Sky is Everywhere - Jandy Nelson
20. The Ghost and the Goth - Stacey Kade
21. My Love Lies Bleeding - Alyxandra Harvey
22. Claire de Lune - Christine Johnson
23. Finding Sky - Joss Stirling
24. By Midnight - Mia James
25. Paranormalcy - Kiersten White


I have some reviews for these ready to post so will add links as they come. Some of these are already pre-ordered, some in my wish list and some should be getting shipped very shortly. I'm pretty sure that I will be able to do a lot more than 18 but I know those are definite buys so far.

Enjoy the challenge everyone!

Wintercraft - Jenna Burtenshaw

Wintercraft is the debut novel by Jenna Burtenshaw and it was published in May 2010.

In Morvane, while getting ready to open her Uncle Artemis’ bookstore on the busiest day of the year, Kate Winters doesn’t realise that her whole life is about to change. Wardens from the High Council raid the town, lead by Silas Dane, a notorious killer, in order to find something that they want. One of the Skilled, someone who can see between the veil of life and death. Morvane has been left alone for a long time but now, the Wardens and Silas know exactly who they want. Kate.

When Kate and Artemis realise that she is one of the Skilled, Artemis takes a drastic move in order to save his niece. He’s taken away by the Wardens just Kate’s parents were 10 years earlier. Kate must try to hide what she is in order to save herself and to help her Uncle but Silas isn’t someone who can be fooled. He wants Kate to help him but he isn’t the only one with a need for her power.

Kate wants nothing to do with her newfound powers and abilities but she isn’t given much of a choice concerning what she must do. There is only one thing standing between her and helping Silas in his mission…the book of Wintercraft.

What I thought
Wintercraft is exactly what a young adult fantasy book should be. Jenna Burtenshaw, in her debut novel, has created a gothic world full of mystery, magic and mayhem. The cover of the book is very well fitting and will give you an idea of the world that you are about to be transported to. The descriptions of the different settings were so vivid that I truly felt like I was a part of the story and it was actually pretty scary. There is no way that I would want to be Kate, having to deal with everything that she does throughout the story. Each setting has a history all of its own and one that made me want to know more. It was very interesting just how different some of the places were. Morvane and Fume couldn’t be more different yet they still have some similarities due to what is happening.

Wintercraft is a very well paced story. Although it was quite slow at times, there was also a fair amount of fast paced action scenes. While I like action in the books that I read, I don’t want it to happen on every single page. Having the slower parts of the story gave me time to catch my breath and reflect on what had just happened. I felt like the plot picked up exactly where it need to in order to keep readers hooked, which is exactly how I felt. I do think that Wintercraft is very much a ‘build up’ book and that the second in the series is going to reveal a lot of what I wanted to find out.

Kate was wonderful as the main character. What made me like her so much was that she’s a mix of everything that I both love and hate in female characters in this genre. There were times when I thought she was incredibly strong and brave to do some of the things that she does but then it was counterbalanced with a softness and vulnerability. While Kate wants to get away from Silas and save her Uncle, she also understands that she has to make some sacrifices to get what she wants and that means not doing what she thinks is right. Kate’s personality is very mixed and because of this, I never really knew what she was going to do, making everything an exciting mystery. It did take me a little while to warm to her though but I think that was mainly down to the story being told in 3rd person. I really like knowing what’s going on in a character’s head so maybe if it had been written in 1st person, I would have liked her more earlier on in the story.

Silas Dane is the ultimate bad guy but I loved him anyway. As a man who doesn’t give a thought to killing people and doing what he has to, I should have hated him because he was horrible and selfish. But I didn’t. There’s something about Silas that drew me to him and I think that was not knowing his full story. A lot of what has happened to him is explained in Wintercraft but I definitely think that there is more to come. Even though he is the bad guy, I was also able to see and understand his reasons for being the way that he is and I think that is one of the biggest things that made me not hate him.

There is no romance in Wintercraft which was such a welcome change for me. As much as I enjoy the love triangles and usually routing for the other guy, it was nice to read a book that was ALL about the story for a change. I do have a feeling that romance is going to come for Kate in the second book and I have a few guesses already about what might happen. As Wintercraft is so unpredictable in its plot (in a good way), I fear that I am going to be completely wrong and something totally different will happen.

Wintercraft is something different from a lot of YA novels that are being released at the minute and an amazing first release from Jenna Burtenshaw. Book 2 in this series, Wintercraft: Blackwatch is due to be released in April 2011 which is way too far away for my liking.

Thanks to Headline for providing me with a copy of Wintercraft for review. You can head over to the website for the book here: http://www.wintercraft.co.uk

Della Says: OMG - Keris Stainton

17 year old Della has liked Dan Bailey since forever. At her sister's going away party, he finally takes some notice of her and asks her out. The morning after the best night of her life, Della realises that her diary has gone missing, ruining her good mood.

Whoever took her diary is using it against her, revealing some of her deepest secret thoughts on facebook and through notes. Dan was the only other one in her room that night but surely it can't be him can it? He seems genuine enough but what does he really see in Della? The things that have been revealed about Della's life have been pretty embarrassing so far but will she be able to figure out who's doing it before it gets much, much worse?

What I thought
This is one of the first YA novels that I have read that hasn't been in the fantasy or paranormal genres so I was slightly worried about what I was going to think of it. Thanks to Rhiana Reads... who passed on a copy of this book to me.

I was actually really surprised at how much I enjoyed reading this book. It is told completely in first person through Della's point of view which really made me connect with her quickly and feel for her because of what she was going through. Della is quite the average teenager with many hang ups about herself and she is far from confident and beautiful. Finally, someone has written a normal teenager. I do hate those teenagers in books who are beautiful and popular but still find something to whinge and moan about. In this book, Della has every reason to feel insecure, not because she isn't pretty, but because her mother and sister get so much more attention than her. This was a part of her character that I could relate to as my sister was always prettier than me and everyone always seemed to like her a lot more.

The relationship between Della and Dan was lovely to discover. I was so happy that Della finally got her chance at happiness and having something that she had wanted for such a long time. The way the two acted around each other, going from awkward to slowly getting more comfortable, really brought back some memories for me. Going out with someone for the first time is nerve wracking, no matter what age you are and I can remember feeling very much like Della did. I can only imagine how scared she was about going out with Dan considering how long she had been obsessed with him for.

Everything about the way that the teenagers in this book were written makes them so believable. There is a fair amount of swearing and as much as some people will moan about this, I think it is a common occurrence in teens in the UK and not using this kind of language would only have made the characters seem like they were in a fairytale. I probably wouldn't recommend this book to anyone under the age of 14/15 though due to some of topics regarding sex as they are somewhat explicit. Again though, normal behaviour when I was 17.

There was a fair amount of comedy throughout the story, especially with Della's parents. Both best friend Maddy and Dan totally loved her Dad and so did I. He wasn't your average teenagers Dad which was what made me love him immediately. At least he wasn't one of those Dads in these kinds of books that think his daughter/s are little angels that don't drink, don't fool around with boys and don't swear. Della's Dad was very realistic.

As for the mystery aspect of the story, I thought I had guessed who was using the diary against Della quite early on but I was wrong. There wasn't many people that it could have been and who I thought it could be was never even mentioned but something about them stuck in the back of my head. I love being kept guessing and being proved wrong because normally I am right about these aspects of a story. Some of the things that were used against Della were so embarrassing that I know I wouldn't have been able to handle it as well as she did. I think if that had been me, I would have demanded to move schools or something.

I was a little disappointed at how quickly the book ended after everything had been figured out. I would have liked for it to have been drawn out a little more or something extra added to the end instead of the way that it was done. This is the only slight problem that I had with the book overall.

Della says: OMG is a must read for older teenage girls and I think that a lot of adults will be able to relate to it in someway. There are quite a few important lessons to be learnt from this book, like not caring what other people think of you and learning to respect yourself which is something I wish I had been like at 17. I will certainly be putting Keris Stainton n my list of authors to read from now on.