Review 2012

Review: Uncommon Criminals by Ally Carter

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Heist Society #2

Uncommon Criminals by Alley Carter

Title: Uncommon Criminals (Heist Society, #2)
Author: Ally Carter
Genre: Contemporary, Crime, Young Adult
Publisher: Orchard (5th July 2012)
Blurb:

Kat’s back – and this time she’s making up her own rules . . .

Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life: Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief. But for the last two months she’s simply been known as the girl who ran the crew that robbed the greatest museum in the world.

Now she’s been asked to seal the infamous Cleopatra gem – and return it to its rightful owner. Most people say it’s impossible, not least because the emerald is cursed. But with the help of her best friend – the gorgeous Hale – and the rest of her crew, Kat’s not going down without a fight . . .

The sequel to the hit novel, Heist Society, Uncommon Criminals is another heart-stopping, jet-setting thriller by bestselling author, Ally Carter.

Rating: ***** (5 star)
Review:

Uncommon Criminals is the second book in Ally Carter’s brilliant series Heist Society. Kat and the gang are back. Life has moved on since the end of the first book in the series, and Kat and the gang have gone back to work.

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Review: Graceling by Kristin Cashore

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Graceling Realm, #1

Graceling by Kristin Cashore

Title: Graceling (Graceling Realm, #1)
Author: Kristin Cashore
Genre: Sword and Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisherr: Gollancz Fiction (1st July 2010)
Blurb:

In a world where people born with an exceptional skill, known as a Grace, are both feared and exploited, Katsa carries the burden of a skill even she despises: the Grace of killing.

Feared by the court and shunned by those her own age, the darkness of her Grace casts a heavy shadow over Katsa’s life. Yet she remains defiant: when the King of Lienid’s father is kidnapped she investigates and stumbles across a mystery. Who would want to kidnap the old man, and why? And who was the extraordinary Graced man whose fighting abilities rivalled her own?

The only thing Katsa is sure of is that she no longer want to kill. The intrigue around the kidnapping offers her a way out – but little does she realise, when she takes it, that something insidious and dark lurks behind the mystery. Something spreading from the shadowy figure of a one eyed king . . .

With elegant, evocative prose and a cast of unforgettable characters, Kristin Cashore creates a mesmerizing world, a death-defying adventure, and a heart-racing story that will captivate you, and leave you wanting more.

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

Gracelingis the first book in the Graceling Realm series by Kristin Cashore. This book was first published in 2008, so I’m a little late to the party. Graceling tells the story of Katsa, a girl who is isolated by her Grace.

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Review: Angel by L. A. Weatherly

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Angel by L. A. Weatherly

Title: Angel (Angel #1)
Author: L. A. Weatherly
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Usborne (1st October 2010)
Blurb:

Willow knows she’s different from other girls. And not just because she loves tinkering around with cars. Willow has a gift. She can look into people’s futures, their hopes and their regrets, just by touching them. She has no idea where she gets this power from . . .

But Alex does. Gorgeous, mysterious Alex knows Willow’s secret and is on a mission to stop her. The dark forces within Willow make her dangerous – and irresistible. In spite of himself, Alex finds he is falling in love with his sworn enemy.

Utterly intoxicating and deeply compelling, ANGEL is an epic take of love, destiny and sacrifice.

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

Angel is the first book in L. A. Weatherly’s Angel series. It tells the story of Willow and Alex. At the start of the book Willow thinks she is a pretty normal highschool student, even if she is considered weird by her peers. The narration is a mixture of first – from both Willow and Alex’s point of view – and third person.

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Review: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

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A Blood of Eden Novel, #1

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Title: The Immortal Rules (A Blood of Eden Novel, #1)
Author: Julie Kagawa
Genre: Dystopian, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: MiraInk (24th April 2012)
Blurb:

IN A FUTURE WORLD VAMPIRES REIGN.

HUMANS ARE BLOOD CATTLE.

AND ONE GIRL WILL SEARCH FOR THE KEY TO SAVE HUMANITY.

SHE MUST DECIDE WHAT – AND WHO – ARE WORTH DYING FOR.

–

MY VAMPIRE CREATOR TOLD ME THIS:
‘Sometime in your life, Allison Sekemoto, you will kill a human being. The question is not if it will happen, but when. Do you understand?’

I DIDN’T THEN, NOT REALLY.

I DO NOW.

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

The Immortal Rules is the first book in Julie Kagawa’s second series Blood of Eden. Kagawa has moved away from the fair folk who populated her first series The Iron Fey, and is instead focusing on vampires. In The Immortal Rules we follow Allison – Allie – Sekemoto, who has learnt how to survive in a dystopian future.

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Review: Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

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Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead

Title: Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy #3)
Author:  Richelle Mead
Genre:  Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher:  Razorbill (4th February 2010)
Blurb:

WHAT IF FOLLOWING HER HEART MEANS LOSING HER BEST FRIEND – FOREVER?

ROSE HATHAWAY KNOWS IT IS FORBIDDEN TO LOVE ANOTHER GUARDIAN. HER BEST FRIEND, LISSA, MUST ALWAYS COME FIRST. UNFORTUNATELY, THEN IT COMES TO THE GORGEOUS DIMITRI BELIKOV, SOME RULES ARE MEANT TO BE BROKEN.

Lying to Lissa about Dimitri is one thing, but suddenly there’s way more than friendship at stake. The immortal dead are on the prowl and in a heart-stopping battle, Rose will have to choose between life, love and the two people who matter most.

But will her choice mean that only one survives?


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

Shadow Kiss is the third book in Richelle Mead’s brilliant Vampire Academy series. In this book Rose Hathaway is faced with some difficult choices. Still recovering from the aftermath of Frostbite Rose needs her friends, but life has never been that simple.

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Review: My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent

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Soul Screamers #3

My Soul to Keep by Rachel Vincent

Title: My Soul to Keep (Soul Screamers #3)
Author:  Rachel Vincent
Genre:  Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher:  MiraInk(15th April 2011)
Blurb:

KAYLEE HAS ONE ADDICTION: HER BOYFRIEND NASH

Like Kaylee, Nash is a banshee. So he understands her like no one else. Nothing – supernatural or otherwise – can come between them. That is, until something does.

Demon’s breath – a potent paranormal drug with the power to kill. Somehow the super-addictive substance has made its way to the human world. Kaylee and Nash need to cut off the source and protect their human friends – one of who is already hooked.

Bu Kaylee’s plans are soon derailed when she discovers another secret demon’s breath addict in their midst. Nash.

Now she’s ready to kick some serious Netherworld but – but is it too late to save the boy who’s stolen her heart?


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

My Soul to Keep is the third book in Rachel Vincent’s fantastic Soul Screamers series. My Soul to Keep starts just as Kaylee completes the grounding she earned as a result of her actions in My Soul to Save (you can find my review here), and attends her first post-grounding party. Things go a little awry.

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Review: Torn by Amanda Hocking

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Trylle Trilogy #2

Torn by Amanda Hocking

Title: Torn (Trylle Trilogy #2)
Author:  Amanda Hocking
Genre:  Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher:  TOR (1st March 2012)
Blurb:

Acknowledging that she was different from everyone else wasn’t difficult for Wendy Everly – she’d always felt like an outsider. But a new world and new family is a little hard for any girl to accept. Leaving behind the mysterious country of her birth, she is determined to fit back into normal life. But the world she’s left behind won’t let her go that easily . . .

Kidnapped and imprisoned by her family’s enemies, Wendy soon learns that the between good and evil aren’t as defined as she thought. And those things that she’d taken for granted may have been lies all along. With the help of the dangerously attractive Loki, she escapes back to the safety of Förening – only to be confronted by a new threat.

It’s time to make a choice – can she put aside her personal feelings for the sake of her country? Torn between duty and love she must a choice that could destroy her one chance at true happiness.


Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

Torn is the second book in Amanda Hocking’s Trylle Trilogy. It continues Wendy’s story after the events of Switched.

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Review: Faery Tales & Nightmares by Melissa Marr

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Faery Tales & Nightmares by Melissa Marr

Title: Faery Tales & Nightmares
Author: Melissa Marr
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher:  HarperCollins (1st March 2012)
Blurb:

Dangerous promises and beguiling threats swirl together in a dozen stories of enchantments, light and dark.

Uncanny and unexpected creatures appear from behind bushes, rise from under the seas, or manifest for seasonal storms to pursue the objects of their attention – amorous or sinister intent – relentlessly.

Takes of favourite characters from Marr’s Wicked Lovely novels mix with accounts of new characters for readers to fall in love with . . . or fear.

Rating: ***** (5 stars)

Review:

Faery Tales & Nightmares is a collection of short stories by Melissa Marr, some of which are set in her Wicked Lovelyuniverse – answering questions that weren’t answered in the books – whilst others are of new characters and places. There are twelve stories in total in the collection.

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Review: Biting Cold by Chloe Neill

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As this is the sith book in the series it may be possible that this review will contain spoilers for previous books in the Chicagoland Vampires Novel series.
A Chicagoland Vampires Novel, #6

Biting Cold by Chloe Neill

Title: Biting Cold (A Chicagoland Vampires Novel, #6)
Author:Chloe Neill
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Gollancz Fiction (9th August 2012)
Blurb:

Turned into a vampire against her will, Merit found her way into the dark circle of Chicago’s vampire underground, where she learned there was more to supernaturals than met the eye, and more of them than the public ever imagined. And not all the secrets she learned were for sharing – among humans or inhumans.

Now Merit is on the hunt, charging across the stark American Midwest, tailing a rogue supernatural intent on stealing an ancient artefact that could unleash catasrophic evil on the world. But Merit is also the prey. An enemy of Chicagoland is hunting her, and he’ll stop at nothing to get the book for himself. No mercy allowed. No rules apply. No lives spared. The race is on.

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

Biting Cold is the sixth book in Chloe Neill’s brilliant Chicagoland Vampire Novels.  We are reunited with Merit, Sentinel of  Cadogan House, and recently turned vampire. A lot has happened to Merit and her House since she became a vampire. It has been an exciting and enjoyable read. This sixth book is no different.

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Review: A Witch in Winter by Ruth Warburton

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Winter Trilogy #1

A Witch in Winter by Ruth Warburton

Title: A Witch in Winter (Winter Trilogy #1)
Author: Ruth Warburton
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher:  Hodder Children’s Books (5th January 2012)
Blurb:

When love is tangled up in magic, how do you know what’s real?

When Anna meets Seth, it’s magic. But her hidden powers unleash a spell that sparks a war among witches and enslaves Seth’s heart.

Rating: *** (3 stars)

Review:

A Witch in Winter is Ruth Warburton’s debut novel and the first book in her Winter Trilogy. In it we meet Anna Winterson, a teenager who has recently moved from London to the town of Winter into Wicker House.

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