April 11, 2014 by dayparker - 2 Comments

Remember Me.

Shari Cooper hadn’t planned on dying, but four floors is a long way to fall. Her friends say she fell but Shari knew she had been murdered. Making a vow to herself to find her killer, Shari spies on her friends, and even enters their dreams. She also comes face-to-face with a nightmare from beyond the grave. The Shadow – a thing more horrible than death itself – is the key to Shari’s death, and the only thing that can stop her murderer from murdering again.

If you like ghosts, mysteries, and paranormal, you will most likely love this book!

April 10, 2014 by dayparker - 0 comments

Thirst series

Alisa has been in control of her urges for the five thousand years she has been a vampire. She feeds but does not kill, and she lives her life on the fringe to maintain her secret. But when her creator returns to hunt her, she must break her own rules in order to survive.

Her quest leads her to Ray. He is the only person who can help her; he also has every reason to fear her. Alisa must get closer to him to ensure her immortality. But as she begins to fall in love with Ray, suddenly there is more at stake than her own life….

The synopsis doesn’t do the series justice. Alisa is a kick ass Vampire with heart, even after five thousand years of being on Earth.

April 9, 2014 by dayparker - 0 comments

Darkest Powers trilogy

My name is Chloe Saunders and my life will never be the same again.

All I wanted was to make friends, meet boys, and keep on being ordinary. I don’t even know what that means anymore. It all started on the day that I saw my first ghost – and the ghost saw me.

Now there are ghosts everywhere and they won’t leave me alone. To top it all off, I somehow got myself locked up in Lyle House, a “special home” for troubled teens. Yet the home isn’t what it seems. Don’t tell anyone, but I think there might be more to my housemates than meets the eye. The question is, whose side are they on? it’s up to me to figure out the dangerous secrets behind Lyle House…before its skeletons come back to haunt me.

I really liked the pacing of this book, it held my interest until the end and kept me guessing. The vulnerability of the characters made them all the more real.

April 8, 2014 by dayparker - 0 comments

House Of Night series

The House of Night is a thrilling, New York Times bestselling book series that follows 16-year-old Zoey Redbird as she is “Marked” by a vampyre tracker and begins to undergo the “Change” into an actual vampyre. She has to leave her family in Broken Arrow, OK, and move into the House of Night, a boarding school for other fledgling vampyres like her. It’s tough to begin a new life, away from her parents and friends, and on top of that, Zoey finds she is no average fledgling. She has been Marked as special by the vampyre Goddess, Nyx. Although Zoey has awesome new powers, it’s hard to fit in when everyone knows you’re “special.” As Zoey tries to make new friends and maybe find a hot boyfriend (or two), she comes up against all kinds of evil, from the perfect-looking, super-popular girl with not-so-faultless plans, to the mysterious deaths happening at the House of Night and all over Tulsa. Things at the House of Night are not always what they seem. Can Zoey find the courage deep within herself to find the truth and embrace her destiny?

I really liked the mixture of Vampire/goddess/Native American/Angel. It made for an intriguing blend and story. Not your typical vampire novels. Definitely for mature YA.

April 3, 2014 by dayparker - 3 Comments

Blue Bloods

When the Mayflower set sail in 1620, it carried on board the men and women who would shape America: Miles Standish; John Alden; Constance Hopkins. But some among the Pilgrims were not pure of heart; they were not escaping religious persecution. Indeed, they were not even human. They were vampires.The vampires assimilated quickly into the New World. Rising to levels of enormous power, wealth, and influence, they were the celebrated blue bloods of American society.

The Blue Bloods vowed that their immortal status would remain a closely guarded secret. And they kept that secret for centuries. But now, in New York City, the secret is seeping out. Schuyler Van Alen is a sophomore at a prestigious private school. She prefers baggy, vintage clothes instead of the Prada and pearls worn by her classmates, and she lives with her reclusive grandmother in a dilapidated mansion. Schuyler is a loner…and happy that way. Suddenly, when she turns fifteen, there is a visible mosaic of blue veins on her arm. She starts to crave raw food and she is having flashbacks to ancient times. Then a popular girl from her school is found dead… drained of all her blood. Schuyler doesn’t know what to think, but she wants to find out the secrets the Blue Bloods are keeping. But is she herself in danger?

This is an intriguing series. I love how De La Cruz morphs angels and vampires. It’s like a supernatural version of Gossip Girl.

March 31, 2014 by dayparker - 1 Comment

Moonflower

Title: Moonflower
Author: Angela J. Townsend
Published: March 31st, 2014 by Clean Teen Publishing
Page Count: 238
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance Horror
Content Warning: Graphic violence
Recommended Age: 17+

Synopsis

Natasha remembers little from her Russian childhood, other than the lingering nightmares of her mother’s tragic death. So when someone close to her hands her a one-way ticket to Russia, along with the deed to her family farm, and then is brutally murdered, she has little confidence about what awaits her in that distant land.
With doubt and uncertainty, Natasha has no choice but to leave her life in America for an unknown future. Once overseas, the terrifying facts as to why she was really summoned home come to light.
Fact one: Monsters do exist.
Fact two: The only thing keeping those monsters out of the world is an ancient mural hidden below her family’s farm.
Fact three: The mural that keeps the evil out of the world is falling apart.
The final fact: It’s up to Natasha to restore it and save the world from a horror unlike anything seen before.
Luckily, Natasha isn’t alone in her mission. Three Russian Knights are tasked with protecting her from the demons as she restores the mural. And leading the Knights is the handsome and strong Anatoly, who seems to be everything Natasha could hope for in a man. Unfortunately, there is one huge problem. Her Knights are forbidden from having relationships with the artists they protect, and Anatoly is a hardcore rule follower. But rules cannot stop the way she feels.
When a horrifying demon breaches the barrier and pulls Anatoly inside the mural, Natasha can’t help but charge, once again, into the unknown—this time to save the man she secretly loves. Now on the demons’ turf, she risks her own life to free the very one who is supposed to be protecting her. Little does she realize that if she should fail, it could mean the destruction of the very last barrier shielding mankind. Will Anatoly refuse Natasha’s help? Or will he finally realize, when love is at stake, the rules will be broken.

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About the Author:
Angela Townsend was born in the beautiful Rocky Mountains of Missoula, Montana. As a child, Angela grew up listening to stories told by her grandparents, ancient tales and legends of faraway places. Influenced by her Irish and Scottish heritage, Angela became an avid research historian, specializing in Celtic mythology. Her gift for storytelling finally led her to a full time career in historical research and writing. A writer in local community circulations, Angela is also a published genealogical and historical resource writer who has taught numerous research seminars. Currently, Angela divides her time between writing, playing Celtic music on her fiddle, and Irish dancing.
Angela’s first novel, Amarok, was published through Spencer Hill Press in 2012. She later went on to sign with Clean Teen Publishing in 2013 and currently has two novels published through them: Angus MacBain and the Island of Sleeping Kings and River of Bones. Her third novel, Moonflower is scheduled for release in March 2014. Angela resides on a ranch, in rural Northwestern Montana, with her two children Levi and Grant.

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Excerpt from Moonflower by Angela J. Townsend:

Seattle, Washington

The shadows came for me at night, in my sleep, evoking demons as they crept over me, pressing down, tangling around my arms, my legs, my neck. I struggled to open my eyes. To move. To breathe. Panic swelled. Twisting and thrashing, I battled to break free. The shadows turned to vapor, and it was my mother who held me now, clutching me to her bloody body as we huddled together. Her ragged, uneven breath feathered across the back of my neck.
She whispered one last Russian lullaby.
My father appeared in the doorway, his heavy boots dripping snow on the oak floor. His eyes were cold, vacant, a rifle tight in his hands. He advanced, yelling Siberian curses that fell from his lips like hissing snakes. He snarled and aimed the weapon at my mother’s chest. Her eyes stretched wide in horror, her lips twisted in a final scream as she pushed me to safety.
A bullet exploded through her torso, shattering my existence in a mixture of steel, blood and bone, colliding at the speed of light. My father lowered the gun, grabbed my mother’s wrist and checked for a pulse. A satisfied smile crept across his lips as he dropped her lifeless arm.
A whimper escaped my throat. He spotted me cowering in the corner, his eyes blazing with scalding fury. He raised the weapon, aimed it at my forehead, and the shadows came for me again…

March 28, 2014 by dayparker - 0 comments

The Trylle trilogy

I like the fact that the story is told from the changelings perspective. I was surprised by what Wendy does when it comes to love, I have to say it’s the most realistic teen love story aside from the obvious Trylle. Hocking took a big chance on that and I think she nailed it! Not your typical love story.

March 26, 2014 by dayparker - 6 Comments

The Twilight saga.

Funny, you either love them or you hate them! I love romance and the paranormal and this was the perfect balance for me. I loved them because Stephanie is such an amazing author. Just as I would start to maybe want to put the book down something would happen that made me want to keep reading. Stephanie knows how to enthrall the reader.

March 21, 2014 by dayparker - 2 Comments

Bloodlines

Sydney is an alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of human and vampires. They protect vampire secrets – and human lives. When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she thinks she’s still being punished for her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. But what unfolds is far worse. Jill Dragomir – the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir – is in mortal danger, and the Moroi must send her into hiding. To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to act as Jill’s guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the last place anyone would think to look for vampire royalty – a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. But instead of finding safety at Amberwood Prep, Sydney discovers the drama is only just beginning…

I love the dynamics between Sydney and Adrian. You can see the change in Adrian from the VA series to Bloodlines. Sydney seems to have some secrets of her own, even if she doesn’t know what they are yet…

March 20, 2014 by dayparker - 3 Comments

Vampire Academy series

St. Vladimir’s Academy isn’t just any boarding school—it’s a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They’ve been on the run, but now they’re being dragged back to St. Vladimir’s—the very place where they’re most in danger…

Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy’s ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world’s fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever.

I love Richelle Mead! Her books are riveting until the end. Roses snarkyness is refreshing along with her penchant for trouble, making for a plethora of adventures.

March 19, 2014 by dayparker - 0 comments

The House Next Door

On a whim, Emma Donovan bets her twin brother, Charlie, that she can spend the entire night alone at the spooky, abandoned house next door. The place is seriously creepy, but she’s determined to overcome her fears and prove her brother wrong. Until she finds herself reliving a horrific night from the house’s past and a passionate love with a handsome — and strangely familiar — young man.

When Charlie finds her, he’s sure it was all just a dream. Yet Emma has persistent paranormal experiences involving the house and the young man from the past. As her “dreams” intensify, Emma becomes convinced that they are very real…and that she has a dreadful part to play in the supernatural reenactment of a tragic love.

If you love ghost stories, this is a great love/ghost story!