Need by Carrie Jones

Publisher: Bloomsbury
Release date: December 23rd 2008
Age group: Young adult
Pages: 306
Author info: Website
My rating: ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥  

Pain shoots through my head. Fireworks. Explosions. All inside my brain. The white world goes dark and I know what's about to happen. 

 Zara White suspects there's a freaky guy semi-stalking her. She's also obsessed with phobias. And it's true, she hasn't exactly been herself since her stepfather died. But exiling her to shivery Maine to live with her grandmother? That seems a bit extreme. The move is supposed to help her stay sane...but Zara's pretty sure her mom just can't deal with her right now.

She couldn't be more wrong. Turns out the semi-stalker is not a figment of Zara's overactive imagination. In fact, he's still following her, leaving behind an eerie trail of gold dust. There's something not right - not human - in this sleepy Maine town, and all signs point to Zara.

 In this creepy, compelling breakout novel, Carrie Jones delivers romance, suspense, and a creature you never thought you'd have to fear.

I have not read Need in a fair while. Please bare in mind that this review was written two coffees, little sleep, and based off an old Goodreads review. But, I do remember loving this book. So, as always, here's what stood out to me the first time I read this intriguing novel (that I can remember):

1) I was truly suprised how much I enjoyed Need. When I first purchased this story, I had not heard much hype about it, so I was not expecting brilliance. I tend to lack affection for pixie or fae novels, except for a few exceptions, because most of the time I don't find them dark enough. Need has to be an exception. And although parts were fairly predictable, it had interesting and unique aspects to it that kept me reading.

2) The gorgeous Zara is strength of this novel. My goodness, she is such a wonderful character. She is fairly sarcasm (which I adore), and she is strong. Progressively through the book, she finds reason to force herself out of depression, and soon she no longer mopes, she does not find situation to seek out sympathy from others. Her character development is admirable. Unfortunately, I found her love interest to be a rather flat, two-dimensional character, although Zara herself kept me wanting to turn pages.

3) The phobia idea is truly fresh. I never had, and still have not, encountered a book so centred on phobias of others and ones personal deepest fears. I loved that every chapter title was a phobia, it's definition, and how it always had some sort of relevance to what occurs in that chapter. Zara's quiet chanting of phobia names to ease anxiety adds to her complexity, her unique character.

In relation to the phobias, I loved the deep seeded ideas of this novel. The fact made clear that humans are fearful of the unknown, and so naming what is feared helps overcome that fear. And of course, the idea of Autophobia - the fear of oneself, which is a powerful aspect of this story.

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cover reveal - The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead

The Fiery Heart is the fourth novel in Richelle Mead New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series (spin off to International bestselling Vampire Academy series) set to be released November 19th this year!

In The Indigo Spell, Sydney was torn between the Alchemist way of life and what her heart and gut were telling her to do. And in one breathtaking moment that Richelle Mead fans will never forget, she made a decision that shocked even her. . . .

But the struggle isn't over for Sydney. As she navigates the aftermath of her life-changing decision, she still finds herself pulled in too many directions at once. Her sister Zoe has arrived, and while Sydney longs to grow closer to her, there's still so much she must keep secret. Working with Marcus has changed the way she views the Alchemists, and Sydney must tread a careful path as she harnesses her profound magical ability to undermine the way of life she was raised to defend. Consumed by passion and vengeance, Sydney struggles to keep her secret life under wraps as the threat of exposure—and re-education—looms larger than ever.

Pulses will race throughout this thrilling fourth installment in the New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series, where no secret is safe.

-- Goodreads description

What do you think? Looks good doesn't it? I'm literally counting down the days to this one!

Other books in the Bloodlines series:

Sweet Evil review

Title: Sweet Evil (The Sweet Trilogy #1)

Author: Wendy Higgins

Published: May 1st 2012 by HarperTeen

My rating: 

My summary: 

One girl, one boy. One good, one evil.

What if your survival depended on you being a bad influence?

For some teens, this is their reality. Each born and raised by fallen angels, and to serve a different purpose - to deal drugs, to persuade kids to be alcoholic, or to get them in bed as soon as they meet them.

Southern girl Anna Whitt has always been blessed with the gift of seeing and feeling other's emotions, although sometimes it doesn't feel like such a gift. She can feel darkness pulling at her from within, but luckily for good girl Anna, she has her Angel part to balance it out.
It's not until she meets Kaiden Rowe, a son of a fallen angel, does she learn the truth about her terrifying heritage.

Now her balance of angel and devil is put to the test, and in the end... will Anna embrace the good, or the evil?

My thoughts:

It's not often when I can put a five-star-rating on a book without having to really think it through, to decide if I think it's worthy. Sweet Evil is one of those exceptions. As soon as I finished it, I knew I had to give it five stars.

The story brings out a roller coaster of emotions from the reader, and it flies over a long period of time, covering what most authors would cover in two books, but yet I didn't feel exhausted after reading it, I just wanted more.

The characters are well developed and likable  even Anna, who I originally thought would be one of those annoyingly goody-two-shoes no-faults kind of girl. She does come across like that in the beginning, although her character changes and evolves which I believe all good stories should have.

The ending was incredibly heartbreaking yet fulfilling at the same time and there was a massive cliffhanger, so I've already pre-ordered the sequel, Sweet Peril (set to be released April 30th 2013) because can't wait to read it.

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House Of Night review

Title: Marked (House of Night #1)

Author: P.C. Cast, Kristin Cast

Published: October 16th 2012 by Atom

My rating: 

My summary: 

Zoey Redbird is an ordinary teen going to an ordinary school and has an ordinary life. Until the day she is 'marked'. Zoey and her friends have always known vampyres are real, though they never dreamed they would become one themselves. 
Because of the mark, Zoey soon changes into a vampyre and can no longer live among humans. 
She must leave her family and friends and join The House of Night, a school for young vampyres, learning on a nocturnal schedule.
But Zoey is no ordinary vampyre. She is chosen by the vampyre's goddess, 
And at The House of Night there is something wrong. Vampyres aren't using their powers to do good. 
With help of the powers Nyx gave her, and her new friends at House of Night, Zoey must stop those who are going against everything the goddess has taught them.

My thoughts:

The House of Night is co authored by a mother and her daughter. Their creativity leaps of the page in this book. They have captured every character so well and made every detail believable. This novel gives a new twist to vampires that I have never come across before. 
The mixture of goddesses and vampyres really works for me as it is refreshing to read something so different to most young adult paranormal romance fiction.

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Frostbite review

Title: Frostbite (Vampire Academy #2)

Author: Richelle Mead

Published: April 10th 2008 by Razorbill

My rating: 

My summary:

Winter break has arrived at St Vladimir's but Rose feels anything but celebratory. Her badass mother punched her in the face, a guy she could never like has a massive crush on her, and she keeps getting stuck in the mind of her best friend Lissa while she's making out with her boyfriend.
And as if Rose's problems aren't enough, the academy is crawling with guardians after a recent Strigoi attack, and the landscape of the beautiful posh Idaho resort all the students are sent to is only an illusion of protection.
When a few of her friends sneak off to make an attack on the deadly Strigoi, Rose joins forces with Lissa's boyfriend to save them. 
But as Rose soon finds out, heroism isn't as easy as it may seem...

My thoughts:

***caution spoilers ahead, read with caution***
In Frosbite you learn more about the powers of Spirit, and we get introduced to Adrian Ivashkov, another Spirit user, like Lissa.
He's a rather complex character, a bit of a wreck, but I instantly liked him. He had good sense of humour and even though Rose didn't like him, and he wasn't such a big character, I knew he'd become a bigger, because he had a certain likable quality in him.
We also learn more about Mason in this book and I was liking him more and more and was really upset when he was killed. He had a massive crush on Rose and they had a fight, which was why he left to find the Strigoi nest, so Rose blamed herself for his death, which is sad.
Dimitri and Rose's relationship doesn't deepen in Frostbite as Dimitri has his eye on someone else, which tears Rose up.
Later on in the book when Rose and Christian (that's Lissa's boyfriend) go to rescue Mason, Mia, and Eddie when they try and seek out the Strigoi's nest, they find them, but they can't rescue them. The Strigoi capture them all, and hold them captive, feeding off Eddie. 
They do manage to escape with the help of Christian's fire power and Mia's water power, and Rose ends up killing two Strigoi (with a blunt sword by the way, which is skilled) but Mason is killed.
In the process of this, Mia and Rose bond, and the old hatred between them dies. So from you go from hating Mia at the beginning of them book to thinking she's epic at the end. That's pretty clever of Richelle Mead.
In the end, Rose's worries of Dimitri liking someone else is relieved as he tells her he couldn't love anybody else apart from her. So sweet :')
Overall, I loved this book maybe even more than the first in the series, and Richelle Mead has done a wonderful job of making me love the characters even more (if that's even possible?)

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Finale review

Title: Finale (Hush, Hush #4)

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Published: October 23rd 2012 by Simon & Schuster for Young Readers

My rating: 

My Summary: 

This is the fourth and final book in the bestselling Hush, Hush series. In the previous book, Silence, Nora swore an oath that if Hank Miller (aka The Black Hand and her dad) died, she'd take his place as leader of the Nephilim race. And, naturally, he died so she became the leader. So in Finale Nora is to lead the Nephilim army to war against the fallen angels, which also means against Patch (aka fallen angel and love of her life).
Naturally, she doesn't want to do this, so she and Patch devise a plan: lead everyone to believe they are no longer together and while Nora tries to convince the Nephilim not to fight the fallen angels, Patch would be finding out as much as he can about the fallen angels' plans, stopping the war before it even begins.
But even the best of plans turn astray and when Nora finds herself with a supposed friend turned into unexpected enemy, and an troubling addiction to deal with, it leaves her unprepared for her most frightening journey yet...

My thoughts:

It's done. Patch and Nora's story is finished and I'm more than bit sad about that. Although, I must say it ends well and I don't find myself wishing there was another book so I guess that means it's completed.

Overall I enjoyed this book, yet it's not my favourite in the series.
Oh, and Nora totally changes. She goes from sweet protective Nora to manipulative ass-kicking Nora. I actually think I liked the earlier Nora more, it seemed more HER - just saying.

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The Golden Lily review

Title: The Golden Lily (Bloodlines #2)

Author: Richelle Mead

Published: June 12th 2012 by Razorbill
Rating: 

What it's about:

All Sydney Sage wants to do is go to college, to be normal. But instead she's stuck in a life of undeserved loyalty and secrets. She's an alchemist, one of a group of humans who work to keep the vampire world from the humans, keeping them safe.

Sydney's current assignment is to keep Princess Jill Dragomir safe from assassins who want to create a civil war at high court, at a boarding school in Palm Springs. She's praised for her loyalty and obedience, and is held as an example of a commendable alchemist.

Sydney had always wished for such a title, believing that what she did was important, and that all vampires are bad, but as she gets to know Jill, Eddie, and most of all, Adrian, she discovers that maybe what the alchemists say about the creatures are wrong -- that maybe vampires can be good after all.

And then a shocking discovery is made: Sydney's blood may be a prevention to the coming of the Strigoi -- the most powerful and dangerous of vampires, those that don't die. She knows she should let tests be done on her blood, but what if it's true? What if her blood really is special? What if it's ... magical? That's exactly what Sydney fears most.

But when her loyalties are tested once again, Sydney finds herself torn.

Should she follow the alchemists ... or her heart?

My thoughts:

I love this book! A little too much, I think. I've been a fan of Richelle Mead's books forever, but this one just proves how amazing she is. The Vampire Academy series was always a bit predictable (apart from the ending in Shadow Kiss, of course -- that was totally unexpected) but Bloodlines is completely new, and The Golden Lily (the second book in the series) had me hooked from the very first page. It leaps right into the story, and even though it might seem a bit slow in places, every part is crucial for the story.

We get to know Sydney more, and love her even more, in this book, which is great. Other characters we love from the Vampire Academy series are present, like Dimitri, Sonya, Angeline and the usual suspects from Bloodlines: Adrian, Eddie, Jill and Trey. We're introduced to Brayden, who at first seems to be Sydney's perfect match; he loves intellectual chats and appreciates everything she does. However, the more I got to know him the more I disliked him. He comes across full of himself, a bit of a know-it-all, and he's just plain annoying.

I love the friendship that develops between Sydney and Adrian. Adrian is a great character. He's hilarious and has a sarcastic wit, which I love. He wrote this email to Sydney when he was staying with Dimitri and Sonya:

Day 24. Situation is growing worse. My captors continue to find new and horrific ways to torture me. When not working, Agent Scarlet spends her days examining fabric swatches for bridesmaid dresses and going on about how in love she is. This usually causes Agent Boring Borscht to regale us with stories of Russian weddings that are even more boring than his usual ones. My attempts at escape have been thwarted thus far. Also, I am out of cigarettes. Any assistance or tobacco products you can send will be greatly appreciated.
--Prisoner 24601

So funny! I love the reference to Les Misérables. Adrian's definitely my favourite character.
A lot of people don't like reading about Sydney as much as the other characters, but I do. Unlike feisty Rose from Vampire Academy, Sydney is studious and responsible and dedicated, although not always ... Adrian and Sydney spend most of their spare time together, and even though she keeps reminding herself that she's doing it because it's part of her job, it's obvious that Sydney just wants to spend time with him, which she feels guilty about all the time.

The story is far more intriguing than Bloodlines, and it's really starting to take off now. Pieces are connecting together, and I know they will even more so in the next book. And don't hate me for saying this, but I actually enjoy reading about Adrian a teensy bit more than I do Dimitri.

I was glued to the pages of The Golden Lily for two days straight until I finished it, and I wasn't disappointed. The cliff hanger is massive, so now I'm counting down the days until the next book, The Indigo Spell, comes out.

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                     On sale now!                     Expected publication: 12th of February, 2013

                    

                                                              

Internationally bestselling Vampire Academy series:

                                                                                                                                  

Richelle Mead:

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Daughter of Smoke and Bone review

Title: Daughter of Smoke and Bone (Daughter of Smoke and Bone #1)

Author: Laini Taylor

Published: September 29th 2011

Rating: 


What it's about:

Once upon a time,

an angel and a devil fell in love.

It did not end well.

Ever since seventeen-year-old art student Karou can remember, her family has been the monstrous creatures of the 'Elsewhere'. She's always been able to balance her two lives -- her human one, and the one with her foster father, Brimstone, doing his dirty work: trading wishes for teeth with murderers and hunters -- by travelling through portals scattered across the world.

When the portals close, Karou is trapped in the human world, and all alone. But when she meets Akiva, an angel who once tried to kill her, she finally starts getting the answers she has so desperately been searching for. The answers aren't really what she had been expecting ... they're a lot worse. And now Karou needs to make a decision, which has the power to change everything ...

My thoughts:

I read Daughter of Smoke and Bone in a day, I loved it that much.

The main character Karou, is an interesting one. She's got bright blue hair, many tattoos, and is an art student with a cult following of her drawings around her school. She comes across as strong and sassy, and is known for her vivid imagination, although as you get to know her better, she seems incredibly lonely. She feels empty inside, as though something is missing, and that hollow is only filled when she's with her 'family'. But when the portals close, she's all alone, and that empty feeling overwhelms her. As you read, you get the feeling that you don't know exactly who Karou is, and that she herself doesn't even know. That mystery kept me hooked.

The novel is set in Prague, adding to the eeriness. With its cobblestone streets and macabre pubs, Prague is a perfect setting for a story with forbidden magic and so many dark secrets.

The demonic creatures -- the chimaera -- are very different from the human look-alikes so popular right now. These creatures seem almost like ancient Egyptian gods: human body with the head of a bird, for example. They're creepy and intriguing, and I loved reading about them.

Laini Taylor makes it clear that despite the fact the chimaera are called monsters by others, nothing is black and white. Karou feels love and loyalty toward her chimaera family, although betrayal and heartbreak plagues them, causing Karou to have to make the most challenging decision she has ever made.

Taylor perfectly balances action and mystery with wit, passion and romance. Her storytelling seeps into the soul, at times haunting and even tragic. This fast-paced story bridges many different worlds, cultures and generations, but always returns to one girl. When the truth of her forgotten past is revealed, readers won't know what hit them.


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Just released: Lullaby

Title: Lullaby (Watersong #2)

Author: Amanda Hocking

What it's about:

After her ordeal with the three girls -- Lexi, Thea, and Penn -- Gemma has to live with them to be able to cope with her quickly growing powers. However, the longer she stays with them, the harder it is to resist entering their magical world.

Meanwhile, Harper, Gemma's loyal sister, and Daniel, Harper's gorgeous friend who is luckily immune to sirens' powers, are trying to find Gemma to save her from the three deadly girls who have tricked her into following them into their world.

When they find Gemma, no one can deny the change in her. All she wants is to return to her old life -- to the ones who love her. Harper and Daniel had been prepared to help her do just that, but how can they save her from the three girls who have taken her under, when she first needs to be saved from herself?

Fall under the spell of Lullaby, the second novel in the Watersong series from New York Times bestselling author, Amanda Hocking.

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Review coming soon!

Hush, Hush review

Title: Hush, Hush (Hush, Hush #1)

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick


Published: October 13th 2009 by Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers
Rating: 

What it's about:
Nora Grey has her future figured out. She'll go to summer school, get great grades, and go to the best college. Romance is definitely not part of the plan. She had never been interested when her best friend, Vee, encouraged her to date. All the guys seemed so ... boring. Well, at least until Patch comes along. With his knowing smile and darkly glittering eyes, it seems as though he can tell what she's thinking: that he's dangerous. Yet, at the same time, he seems to understand Nora, and she's drawn to him ... even though she doesn't want to be. But just when she begins to open up to Patch, terrifying things start to happen, and all clues lead back to him.

Suddenly, Nora doesn't know whether to trust Patch or not -- although she hopes she can. So, she decides to dig up some answers, and when she does, they're more frightening then she could ever have imagined.

She finds herself in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and the fallen. It's time for Nora to choose a side -- if she makes the wrong choice, it could cost her her life.

My thoughts:

There was a lot of hype about Hush, Hush when it was first published, but I didn't read it until the next book in the series, Crescendo, was released.

The first few chapters were a bit of a bore to be honest, and Patch didn't live up to his so-called sexy reputation he'd received from many reviews. Nora seemed like a bit of a snob; I liked her friend Vee much more. I was starting to feel disappointed, but then things suddenly changed.

Maybe it was Nora's near-death experience, or maybe the creepy and sinister Elliot, the friend of Vee's date, that swayed my decision about this book -- I'm not sure, but I was very glad I hadn't given up on it. Patch's arrogance and cockiness suddenly seemed more alluring, and the excitement and suspense went up several notches with Nora's few moments in danger. She then gave up being snobby, and her determination to find out Elliot's secret made me like her much more. Vee was comic relief throughout the book; she always had a witty comeback ready to be fired whenever appropriate.

Hush, Hush had me hooked. The suspense kept me on the edge of my seat, and the mystery had me turning every page excitedly. This book lived up to my expectations, and I couldn't put it down until I had finished the last page.