Humans Are So Predictable

September 8th, 2010

My mothers favorite movie is “It’s a Wonderful Life.” (insert gagging noise) I hate this movie, always have (maybe cause it was force fed to me on a annual basis) and I fear always will, but regardless of my gag reflex there are parts of it I do actually remember, and did (very reluctantly) find endearing.  One of those very brief, (and if I may say so… cheesy moments,) is the declaration: “Every time a bell rings an angel gets its wings.” Cute right? Yea, I thought so too, until Adornetto smashed that little glimmer of light to smithereens in “Halo” and ruined my mothers chances of ever getting me to plop my rear down to watch that snoozer of a movie again.

(I have a point… I promise, just hang with me for a few more seconds)

Bethany is an angel. (<– ah ha! see point)  Not the hey-we-play-harps-for-fun kind, more the I’m-missing-a-belly-button-and-I-run-with-the-big-dogs kind.  Sent from heaven on a mission to save Venus Cove from the forces of evil (totting her… uh hum…siblings Gabriel and Ivy) Beth does exactly what every teenage girls mother would expect. She gets side tracked by a cute boy.  (Oh woe is me) Unable to control herself Bethany starts to give away more than is acceptable, and by the time she realizes it… it just might be to late.  Can love really conquer all? Will Venus Cove crumble from the absence of compassion, and for God’s sake…who is the dude in all black, and why does he talk like a “Poetry for Dummies” book?

If I’m being honest, it took a significant amount of effort to get “into” this book.  The set up drug horribly, and then once the angst was resolved things just seemed to rotate in a hold pattern, until I reached the 75% mark.  After the 75% mark however, things got wild, and I reverted back into my paranormal junkie persona (aka binge drinking coffee when I should have been sleeping just to see what happens next.) Something notable? The novel as a whole was mild compared to the majority of YA found of the shelves these days who rely on “dark” to hype their readers. Yes, there was an enormous amount of angst, but the drug abuse and absent parents (which seem to be a standard now) were surprisingly switched with doting, overprotective, no-sex-til-marriage types. (Refreshing if you ask me.) The character development was good, which saved the initial drag, and the last 4 chapters are almost enough to make you forget them all together. (Can you say Fire?)

In the end “Halo” turned out to be an average read, with slightly better than average writing. (What would that be in teenage slang? “Eh… it’s was ok”)

If you enjoy books like “If I Stay,” “Hush, Hush” or “Angel Star” this one is right down your alley, and I dare to say you won’t be disappointed. (if you are, well… send me a bill) For everyone else… spend your money on something else like… the GAME Halo, at least it’s not boring, and you get to carry around a wicked big gun.

Oh! Did I mention it ended in a cliffhanger? Yeah… that’s right people… another series. (Damn it)

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: Never let an Archangel fool you with his endearing pancake making abilities… he’s still a bad ass, and he can still smite you.

For a complete book description click image.

(3/5)

Mid-Year Paranormal Preview

August 8th, 2010

Dear Paranormal Junkies,

I’m sorry! Can you ever forgive me? I have been so focused on cleaning out my inbox lately that I have been a tad bit neglectful towards you.  Well… the buck stops here, and to prove it… I have put together a list for you.  Here are the biggest of the big slated to come out in the next few  months.  Most of them can be pre-ordered for your Kindle, all of them can be pre-ordered in hardback.  So, here is to making amends, and forging a new path.  My promise to you is this. Every 3rd book I review will be a paranormal. Guaranteed. (Because to be honest… I kind of miss them too.)

Click the book Image for additional details, Click the TITLE to view the book trailer.

Happy Reading my fellow Kindle-ites and remember: I love you :)


2010 End of the Year Paranormal Must Buys!


Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

Release Date 8.31.10

Three angels are sent down to bring good to the world: Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, a teenage girl who is the least experienced of the trio. But she is the most human, and when she is romantically drawn to a mortal boy, the angels fear she will not be strong enough to save anyone—especially herself—from the Dark Forces.

Is love a great enough power against evil?





Beautiful Darkness By Kami Garcia

Release Date 10.12.10

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena’s family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.

Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan’s eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there’s no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town’s tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.


The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

Release Date 8.31.10

Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still.

When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London’s Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.

Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What’s more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa’s power for his own.

Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm’s length . . . everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world. . . . and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.


The Replacement by Brenna Yovanoff

Release Date 9.21.10

Mackie Doyle is not one of us. Though he lives in the small town of Gentry, he comes from a world of tunnels and black murky water, a world of living dead girls ruled by a little tattooed princess. He is a ReplacementÑleft in the crib of a human baby sixteen years ago. Now, because of fatal allergies to iron, blood, and consecrated ground, Mackie is fighting to survive in the human world.

Mackie would give anything to live among us, to practice on his bass or spend time with his crush, Tate. But when TateÕs baby sister goes missing, Mackie is drawn irrevocably into the underworld of Gentry, known as Mayhem. He must face the dark creatures of the Slag Heaps and find his rightful place, in our world, or theirs.

Edward Scissorhands meets The Catcher in the Rye in this wildly imaginative and frighteningly beautiful horror novel about an unusual boy and his search for a place to belong.


Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick

Release Date 10.19.10

The sequel to the New York Times Best selling phenomenon, Hush, Hush!

Nora should have know her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch (who, title aside, can be described anything but angelic), and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking up. Patch is starting to pull away and Nora can’t figure out if it’s for her best interest or if his interest has shifted to her arch-enemy Marcie Millar. Not to mention that Nora is haunted by images of her father and she becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to him that night he left for Portland and never came home.

The farther Nora delves into the mystery of her father’s death, the more she comes to question if her Nephilim blood line has something to do with it as well as why she seems to be in danger more than the average girl. Since Patch isn’t answering her questions and seems to be standing in her way, she has to start finding the answers on her own. Relying too heavily on the fact that she has a guardian angel puts Nora at risk again and again. But can she really count on Patch or is he hiding secrets darker than she can even imagine?


Firelight by Sophie Jordan

Release Date 9.7.10

Descended from dragons, the draki’s ability to appear human protects them from hunters. Jacinda lives with her pride in the Cascades, but she chafes under her special status as the only fire-breather in hundreds of years. Recklessly breaking the “no-fly” rule, she attracts hunters; mercifully, one hunter, a beautiful boy who looks upon her with wonder, lets her escape. After this, the pride intends to hobble her rebelliousness, and Jacinda is forced to flee. But while twin sister Tamra, who never manifested and was shunned, is happy with the move, Jacinda feels only anguish within Nevada’s desert climate. Then she meets Will and, despite recognizing him as the same draki hunter, feels herself come alive. Jordan’s compelling addition to the supernatural star-crossed lovers theme is equal parts taut suspense and sensuous romance, with visceral writing and believable relationships among characters, particularly among Jacinda’s family. A foreshadowed twist and a thrilling confrontation in the end pages leave Jacinda heartbroken and in trouble, and readers will howl for more. Grades 8-12. –Krista Hutley


Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Release Date 8.31.10

Evie’s always thought of herself as a normal teenager, even though she works for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals’ glamours.

But Evie’s about to realize that she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.




Nightshade by Andrea Cremer

Release Date 10.19.10

Calla Tor has always known her destiny: After graduating from the Mountain School, she’ll be the mate of sexy alpha wolf Ren Laroche and fight with him, side by side, ruling their pack and guarding sacred sites for the Keepers. But when she violates her masters’ laws by saving a beautiful human boy out for a hike, Calla begins to question her fate, her existence, and the very essence of the world she has known. By following her heart, she might lose everything–including her own life. Is forbidden love worth the ultimate sacrifice?







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