Paranormal Romance

Review: Frostbite by Richelle Mead

/ beckireads / 3 Comments
Vamprie Academy #2

Frostbite by Richelle Mead, UK edition cover.

Title: Frostbite (Vampire Academy #2)
Author: Richelle Mead
Genre:  Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher:  Razorbill (1st October 2009)
Blurb:

. . . WINTER BREAK TURNS DEADLY

A MASSIVE VAMPIRE ATTACK HAS PUT ST. VLADIMIR’S ACADEMY ON HIGH ALERT. WITH THE DEADLY CREATURES CLOSING IN, THIS YEAR’S TIP TO THE WINTER PEAKS OF IDAHO HAS JUST BECOME MANDATORY.

But Rose Hathaway can’t escape her (guy) troubles. Her relationship with gorgeous tutor Dimitri can never be and her closest friend has just confessed to his huge crush on her . . .

The glittering winter landscape may seem like the perfect hideaway – but Rose, and her heart, are in more danger that she ever imagined.


Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

Frostbite is the second book in the Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead. Rose and Lissa have settled back into life at St. Vladimir’s, but things are starting to heat up and the Strigoi are getting bolder.

Continue reading →

Review: Burned by P.C. and Kritin Cast

/ beckireads / Leave a comment
House of Night #7

Burned by P.C. and Kristin Cast, UK edition.

Title: Burned (House of Night #7)
Author: P.C. and Kristin Cast
Genre:  Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher:  Atom (7th October 2010)
Blurb:

Y’all need to get yourselves together. Here’s a newsflash from the only High Priestess you have left at this dang school: Zoey isn’t dead. And believe me, I know dead. I’ve been there, done that and got the fricken tee-shirt.

Zoey Redbird is the youngest High Priestess in House of Night history and is the only person – vamp of fledgling – who can stop the evil Neferet from raising all kinds of immortal trouble. And she might just have a  chance if she wasn’t so busy being dead.

Well, dead is too strong a word. Stevie Rae knows she can bring her BFF back from her unscheduled va-cay in the Otherworld. But it’s going to take a lot more than hoping to bring Zoey back. Stevie Rae might have to give up a few secrets of her own . . .


Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

Burned is the seventh book in the House of Night series by the mother and daughter team P.C. and Kristin Cast. Burned starts with the dramatic events at the end of Tempted, but this time from a different point of view.

Continue reading →

Review: Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

/ beckireads / 2 Comments
The Cahill Witch Chronicles: Book 1

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Title: Born Wicked (The Cahill Witch Chronicles: Book 1)
Author: Jessica Spotswood
Genre:  Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher:  Putnam (7th February 2012)
Blurb:

Everybody knows Cate Cahill and her sisters are eccentric. Too pretty, too reclusive, and far too educated for their own good. But the truth is even worse: they’re witches. And if their secret is discovered by the priests of the Brotherhood, it could mean an asylum, a prison ship – or an early grave.

Before her mother died, Cate promised to protect her sisters. But with six months to choose between marriage and the Sisterhood, she might not be able to keep her word . . . especially after she finds her mother’s diary, uncovering a secret that could spell her family’s destruction. Desperate to find alternatives to their fate, Cate starts scouring banned books and questioning rebellious new friends, all while juggling tea parties, shocking marriage proposals, and a forbidden romance with the completely unsuitable Finn Belastra.

If what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren’t safe. Not from the Brotherhood, the Sisterhood – not even from each other.


Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

Born Wicked is the first book in Jessica Spotswood’s The Cahill Witch Chronicles. In this book we get to meet Cate and her sisters Maura and Tess, and watch their struggle to fit in.

Continue reading →

Review: Kiss The Dead by Laurell K. Hamilton

/ beckireads / Leave a comment
An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Novel #21

Kiss The Dead by Laurell K. Hamilton, UK edition cover.

Title: Kiss The Dead  (An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Novel, #21)
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher:  Headline (7th June 2012)
Blurb:

I KNEW WITHOUT DOUBT THAT IF ANY MORE VAMPIRES TRIED TO ATTACK US I’D KILL THEM TOO, REGARDLESS OF APPARENT AGE, RACE, SEX, OR RELIGIOUS AFFILIATIONS. I WAS AN EQUAL-OPPORTUNITY EXECUTIONER; I KILLED EVERYBODY.

My name is Anita Blake and I am a vampire hunter and necromancer, as well as  a US Marshal. So when a fifteen-year-old girl is abducted by vampires, it’s up to me to find her. And when I do, I’m faced with something I’ve never seen before: a terrifyingly ordinary group of people – kids, grandparents, soccer moms – all recently turned and willing to die to avoid serving their vampire master. And where there’s one martyr, I know there will be more . . .

But even vampires have monsters they’re afraid of. And I’m one of them . . .

Rating: **** (4 stars)

Review:

Kiss The Dead is the twenty-first book in Laurell K. Hamilton’s epic An Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter, Novel series. Anita is in a very different place to where she was in the first book Guilty Pleasures, and at this point in the series it is very definitely an adult book. On the whole I’ve really enjoyed this series, watching Anita and her guys change and develop, and this book was no exception.

Continue reading →

Review: Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

/ beckireads / 2 Comments
Vampire Academy #1

Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead

Title: Vampire Academy (Vampire Academy #1)
Author: Richelle Mead
Genre:  Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher:  Penguin (26th May 2009)
Blurb:

Lissa Dragomir is a mortal vampire.

She must be protected at all times from the fiercest and most dangerous vampires of all – the ones who will never die.

Rose Hathaway is Lissa’s best friend – and her bodyguard.

Now, after two years of illicit freedom, they’ve been dragged back inside the iron gates of St. Vladimir’s Academy. The girl’s must survive a world of forbidden romances, a ruthless social scene and terrifying night-time rituals.

But above all, they must never let their guard down, lest the immortal vampires take Lissa – forever . . .


Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

Vampire Academy is the first book in Richelle Mead’s Vampire Academy series. Although this series has been out for around five years, this is the first time I’ve read it. I read its spin-off Bloodlines first (read my review here) so I had a bit of an idea what I was getting into when I started this book.

Continue reading →

Review: Abandon by Meg Cabot

/ beckireads / 4 Comments

Abandon by Meg Cabot, UK edition cover.

Title: Abandon (Abandon Trilogy #1)
Author: Meg Cabot
Genre:  Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher:  Macmillan (1st September 2011)
Blurb:

Pierce knows what it’s like to die.

Last year she flatlined following an accident.

During that time Pierce saw a dark world and met a mysterious, irresistible boy.

Now that boy, John Hayden, has turned up at school. Every time she sees him Pierce finds herself in terrible danger. Yet she’s still drawn to him.

John wants to take her back to the place she fears the most: the Underworld.

The question is, why?


Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:

Abandon is the first book in Meg Cabot’s latest trilogy. I am a huge fan of Meg Cabot’s for a variety of reasons. I really enjoyed reading The Princess Diaries, All American Girl duology, and I particularly enjoyed her The Heather Wells Mysteries series – I thought the titles were brilliant. So I went into this book will a LOT of expectations, and it totally lived up to them.

Continue reading →

Review: Immortal City by Scott Speer

/ beckireads / 4 Comments
Immortal City #1

Immortal City by Scott Speer, UK edition cover.

Title: Immortal City (Immortal City #1)
Author:Scott Speer
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher:  Scholastic Children’s Books (5th April 2012)
Blurb:

Jackson Godspeed is the hottest Angel in a city obsessed with Immortals. Everyone loves him.

Everyone except Maddy Montgomery, that is. She’s not interested in shallow celebrities . . . Until Jackson takes refuge in the diner where Maddy works and an irresistible connection pulls them together.

But as Maddy is drawn into Jackson’s glamorous world, she’s exposed to more than the paparazzi. A serial killer is murdering Angels. Maddy and Jackson could lose each other for ever.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

Immortal City is Scott Speer’s debut novel. It tells the story of a mortal and an Angel falling in love in the city of Los Angeles.

Continue reading →

Review: Tempted by P.C. and Kristin Cast

/ beckireads / Leave a comment
House of Night #6

Tempted by P.C. and Kristin Cast, UK edition cover.

Title: Tempted (A House of Night Novel #6)
Author: P.C. and Kristin Cast
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher:  Atom (27th April 2010)
Blurb:

This blood smelled too dark. Too thick. There was too much of something in that wasn’t human. But it was still blood, and it drew her, even though she knew the wrongness of it deep in her soul.

Dangerous secrets come between Zoey and Stevie Rae, putting the House of Night at great risk. Stevie Rae, with her super red vamp powers, thought she could handle keeping stuff from her BFF, but her latest secret is a big one. Zoey’s left with trust issues while she needs her friends – and boyfriends – like never before.

Zoey banished malevolent immortal Kalona from Tulsa, but the battle is far from over. He now seeks power at the highest levels, and the Vampyre High Council is falling under his thrall. Without Zoey’s help, the world could still burn in the fiery hell of Aphrodite’s visions. And will Zoey’s connection with A-ya, a Cherokee maiden who tempted Kalona in ages past, help or hinder her resistance to the dangerously seductive immortal?

Two girls walk a tightrope between good and evil. And their choices will see everything they love saved – or destroyed.

Rating: **** (4 stars)

Review:

Tempted is the sixth book in P.C. and Kristin Cast’s House of Night series. The story starts almost directly after the events of Hunted, and as such this review will contain spoilers for previous books in the series. This book is a really good read; on a par with the previous books in the series.

Continue reading →

Review: Hunted by P.C. and Kristin Cast

/ beckireads / Leave a comment
House of Night # 5

Hunted by P.C. and Kristin Cast, UK edition cover.

Title: Hunted (A House of Night Novel #5)
Author: P.C. and Kristin Cast
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher:  Atom (27th April 2010)
Blurb:

The door close with a sickening thud of finality, shutting my friends out and leaving me alone with my enemy, a fallen angel, and the monstrous bird creature his ancient lust had created. Then I did something I’d only done twice before in my life. I fainted.

It’s all happening, though Zoey Redbird wishes it wasn’t. She has her friends back, which is great. But a dark angel has taken over the House of Night, supported by High Priestess Neferet. Not so great. This leave Zoey hiding out with the (supposedly friendly) red fledglings in Tulsa’s prohibition era tunnels. The not greatness continues.

Naturally, Zoey also has boy issues to stress her out, with a chace to make up with super-hot-ex Erik. But thoughts of the archer that died, semi-permanently, in her arms keep distracting her. Then he shows up as Neferet’s newest minion. Well, hell. Zoey and her friends will need a plan to put things right, and soon, if she can just keep her head and her heart intact.

Rating:**** (4 stars)

Review:

Hunted is the fifth book in P.C. and Kristin Cast’s House of Night series. The story takes up hours after the events of Untamed, as such this review may contain spoilers. The storyline of Hunted kept me really entertained, and whilst it didn’t have me quite as hooked as Untamed it wasn’t far off.

Continue reading →

Review: SpellBound by Rachel Hawkins

/ beckireads / 2 Comments
Hex Hall #3

SpellBound by Rachel Hawkins, UK edition cover.

Title: Spell Bound (Hex Hall #3)
Author: Rachel Hawkins
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher:  Simon Pulse (29th March 2012)
Blurb:

Sometimes Sophie Mercer wishes she could go back to before she started Hex Hall, the school for magical Prodigium. In one year she’s gone from average girl-next-door to discovering she’s a demon with extraordinary powers. And, just as she is starting to get her head around that, the Prodigium Council strip away her magic and kidnap her friends, leaving her defenceless and alone.

Now, stranded at the mercy of the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who want to destroy all Prodigium, Sophie could really use a little magical help. But the Brannicks have a few revelations of their own, and Sophie’s world is turned upside down . . . again.

Can Sophie find her friends, regain her powers and take on the bad guys and win? Or will this final battle be one step too far?

Rating:**** (4 stars)

Review:

SpellBound is the third book in Rachel Hawkins’s fantastic Hex Hall series. We see Sophie continue her journey – did this start just two books ago – with lots of twists and turns along the way.

Continue reading →