Star Cursed by Jessica Spotswood

Publisher’s summary: With the Brotherhood persecuting witches like never before, a divided Sisterhood desperately needs Cate to come into her Prophesied powers. And after Cate's friend Sachi is arrested for using magic, a war-thirsty Sister offers to help her find answers—if Cate is willing to endanger everyone she loves.

Cate doesn't want to be a weapon, and she doesn't want to involve her friends and Finn in the Sisterhood's schemes. But when Maura and Tess join the Sisterhood, Maura makes it clear that she'll do whatever it takes to lead the witches to victory. Even if it means sacrifices. Even if it means overthrowing Cate. Even if it means all-out war.

In the highly anticipated sequel to Born Wicked, the Cahill Witch Chronicles continue Cate, Maura and Tess's quest to find love, protect family, and explore their magic against all odds in an alternate history of New England.

My Take: I’m such a huge fan of this series! Oh my! It is so good!

I’m starting to realize that I am loving books that are set in historical periods, but with paranormal aspects. I know that what I’m describing is historical fiction, but I don’t really need books that have true “historical moments in time” in them. I think I just really like books that pick a historical time era and then use that era’s lifestyle and incorporate it into the story.

Okay, enough about my liking of historical fiction and back to the book. I loved Star Cursed because in Born Wicked we learn about the historical setting of the story as well as the prophesied destiny of the three Cahill sisters, what they are each capable of and what motivates each of them. We also learn a little bit of the motivations of the horrible Brotherhood, and we also learn to be leery of the Sisterhood. Then, in Star Cursed, we get to know about the Sisterhood first hand, and we learn about the role they actually play as well as who to trust and whether or not a prophecy can be changed.

I loved following along with Cate’s story as she tries to decide if she’ll be a leader of the Sisterhood, struggling with her own wants and needs. I liked following her constant dilemma of trying to do the right thing and do what’s best for her sisters. I never had a moment where I thought Cate made a bad choice, and I was always really fond of her character. But, just like in the first book, I’m not a fan of Cate’s sister, Maura. I think she’s a brat…I have a better word for her, but I’ll keep that out of my review. But I absolutely love her other sister, Tessa. She’s just way too cute, she is extremely mature for her age, and I loved seeing her become more and more wise throughout the story. There are also some new characters in this book that I grew really fond of as well.

While reading, you know that the story’s leading up to something pretty insane. The story does get to some real nail-biting moments and, along the way, there’s a really sad moment and a lot of really happy moments. But all the while, I had this strange feeling that I should be bracing myself for something that would totally rip me to shreds, and I just knew that it would be a huge betrayal that would cause it. Boy was I right! It wasn’t anything that I could have imagined, and it’s just horrible! It’s one of those epic cliffhangers…like a truly awful, but totally awesome, cliffhanger.

Star Cursed was so good that I literally picked up Sisters’ Fate the moment I was finished reading Star Cursed (even though it was 11:30pm) because I was determined to continue the story. I really hope that the upcoming release of Sisters’ Fate will get more readers into this trilogy because I think these books are not getting the attention they deserve!

Half Bad by Sally Green

Publisher’s summary: In a world of witches, there is only good and evil.

Begin the hunt!

Sixteen-year old Nathan lives in a cage: beaten, shackled like a dog, trained to kill. In a modern-day England where two warring factions of witches live amongst humans, Nathan is an abomination, the illegitimate son of the world’s most terrifying and violent witch, Marcus. Nathan’s only hope for survival is to escape his captors, track down Marcus, and receive the three gifts that will bring him into his own magical powers-before it’s too late. But how can Nathan find his father when his every action is tracked, when there is no one safe to trust, not even family, not even the girl he loves?

Half Bad is an international sensation and the start of a brilliant trilogy: a gripping tale of alienation and the indomitable will to survive.

My Take: So…Half Bad is just crazy insane! Some of the things in this book were so crazy that I had a hard time even imagining them happening!

First off, I want to talk about the writing style of this book! I read the non-Americanized manuscript and I don’t know how much the writing style will change in the final Americanized version, so I won’t talk about some of the wording I didn’t understand that I had to research online to figure out what the author was talking about (that was fun!) Anyways, the writing starts off as if someone were speaking to you directly, putting “you” (the reader) in the actual POV of a boy (Nathan) who’s locked in a cage and you are being told, step-by-step, what you are doing. I wasn’t really a fan of this style because it was hard for me to distinguish between what was actually happening with what the boy really wanted to happen. Then the second part of the book is in the first person past tense POV of Nathan before he was put in the cage, but there’s also a little portion of this section that was written as if Nathan’s older sister is telling him about what happened to him when he was only a baby. By a little more than midway through the book, the story leads back to the present tense and moves forward from there.

Other than the writing, the story itself was crazy! I felt so bad for Nathan throughout the story. There is a cute romance that was introduced, but the crazy, bizarre things that Nathan endures were way more interesting to me than the romance. Once the story got to the present tense, I think that was when I really started to like the story, and the last few chapters were by far my favorite. There are a few characters that were introduced in those last few chapters that I really liked, along with a whole change in scene, and everything that went down in the end was totally awesome. And the very last scene was just brilliantly done! It left me thrilled with the end, but also left so many doors open for the story to continue!

After reading this book, I’m really excited to see what others will think of this story. I think that it’s one of those stories that you either will really like or that you will really NOT like. I can hardly wait to see!

Snakeroot by Andrea Cremer

Publisher’s summary: The next thrilling novel in the internationally-bestselling Nightshade series!

Fans asked for it, and now they've got it! Andrea Cremer is continuing the story she began in in her internationally bestselling trilogy: Nightshade, Wolfsbane and Bloodrose. In this new installment, Bosque Mar haunts the dreams of both Adne and Logan, trying to escape for the Nether, where Calla, Shay and the other Guardians trapped him in the final battle in the War of All Against All. Will he turn Adne to the dark side? Will Logan reclaim his birthright? And will darkness take over our world? In a novel filled with magic, romance and breakneck action, master storyteller Andrea Cremer's newest installment will not disappoint!

My take: You guys have no freakin’ idea how exciting it was (and still is!) that I got the opportunity to read Snakeroot early! I’m a huge Andrea Cremer fan, and I was super excited when she announced that she was going to continue her Nightshade series with the side characters from the Nightshade Legacy. And OMG!...Andrea totally satisfied my hunger for this world with Snakeroot!

I’ll have to admit that as I was getting close to the end of Snakeroot (and even after I was finished), I started to get super worried that there wasn’t going to be any more books following this one. But whew! I cleared it up with Andrea…Snakeroot is the first book in a NEW trilogy. And thank goodness there’ll be more because this story isn’t close to being finished in Snakeroot.

In Snakeroot, the story is told in several different points of view. The primary point of view is Adne because she obviously will be playing a big central part in this trilogy. We also get to read in the POV of Connor, Sabine and Logan Bane. The best part about reading a story with these side characters is that we get to really understand their characters better than we did in the Nightshade trilogy. For example, my view of Logan is totally changed from the way I saw him in the previous Nightshade trilogy to how I’m thinking of him now from reading Snakeroot (Nightshade Legacy.) I don’t know why I just thought he was a wimpy punk in Bloodrose, thinking that was the reason he did what he did in the last book (or if he was just starting to see what the Keepers were doing wrong), but I for sure didn’t see him for who he really is…and we get to see who he really is in this book.

The one thing that frustrated me big-time is the lack of communication between Adne and Connor. This seems to be a common factor in a lot of YA books, but I guess if we all had perfect communication, we would never have issues…right? LOL

There’s a whole new plot twist that I really liked where the Searchers now have no idea what to do with themselves, and there is a whole lot of craziness going on as they try to figure out what to do. On the other hand, there is something truly horrible going down that the Searchers really should be putting their focus on.

I just know this is going to be a great new trilogy where I’ll constantly be dying to read the next book in the series because I’m already craving for the Nightshade Legacy book #2 and Snakeroot isn’t even scheduled to come out until December. *sigh*

Make sure you come back tomorrow to see Andrea Cremer’s Guest Post for the 2nd Annual Authors are Rockstars event. To make it even better, it’s Andrea Cremer’s birthday tomorrow and there’ll be a giveaway!

The Bitter Kingdom by Rae Carson

Publisher's summary: The third book in Rae Carson's award-winning The Girl of Fire and Thorns fantasy trilogy. Elisa, the seventeen-year-old sorcerer-queen, will travel into an unknown enemy's realm to win back her true love, save her kingdom, and uncover the final secrets of her destiny. Veronica Roth called The Girl of Fire and Thorns "intense, unique . . . definitely recommended."

Perfect for fans of Tamora Pierce and George R. R. Martin's style of sweeping and deeply satisfying epic fantasy, the third and final book in the trilogy takes the young queen on a journey more dangerous than any she has faced before. Elisa will stand before the gate of the enemy. And she must rise up as champion—even to those who have hated her—or her kingdom will fall. Full of sorcery, adventure, sizzling romance, and secrets that challenge everything she believes, this is a bold and powerful conclusion to an extraordinary trilogy. As USAToday.com proclaimed, "Rae Carson has proved she's a master and has shaken up the YA genre."

My take: I’m totally blown away and in complete and utter awe with what Rae Carson has accomplished in The Bitter Kingdom! There was so much that happened in this story that it’s hard to believe that it all happened in just one book!

I’ve done a lot of thinking when it comes to Elisa’s character. OMG! She has changed so much from that first scene in the first book (The Girl of Fire and Thorns) when she’s getting herself ready for her wedding. She’s now so much more independent, confident and way more calculating than she has ever been before. And she handles every situation throughout this book perfectly.

I didn’t really have many expectations for this book because the characters and world Rae Carson has created are so completely unique and, after she killed off some pretty important characters in the first book, I went in with only one expectation, and I’m pretty freakin’ thrilled with the way the story turned out.

I think my favorite character in this book is a new character that is introduced pretty early on in the story. She plays such an important role throughout the story, and adds some fun spice as well, that I just loved, loved, loved it!

I’m sad to see this series go, but I don’t think the series could have had a better ending than the ending in The Bitter Kingdom.

Spellcaster by Claudia Gray

Publisher’s summary: When Nadia's family moves to Captive's Sound, she instantly realizes there's more to the place than meets the eye. Descended from witches, Nadia can sense that a spell has been cast over the tiny Rhode Island town—a sickness infecting everyone and everything in it. The magic at work is darker and more powerful than anything she's come across and has sunk its claws most deeply into Mateo . . . her rescuer, her friend, and the guy she yearns to get closer to even as he pushes her away.

Mateo has lived in Captive's Sound his entire life, shadowed by small-town gossip and his family's tormented past. Every generation, the local legends say, one member of the family goes mad, claiming to know the future before descending into insanity. When the strange dreams Mateo has been having of rescuing a beautiful girl from a car accident actually come true, he knows he's doomed.

Despite the forces pulling them apart, Nadia and Mateo must work together to break the chains of his terrible family curse, and to prevent a coming disaster that even now threatens the entire town, including Nadia's family, her newfound friends, and her own life. Shimmering with magic and mystery, New York Times bestselling author Claudia Gray's new novel depicts a dark and unforgettable world of witches, curses, buried secrets, and star-crossed romance.

My take: Wow! I’m actually really surprised how much I really liked this book! When I got to the end of Spellcaster, I wasn’t quite sure if it was going to be in a series, but I’m thrilled to find out that there is going to be a series…because I’m seriously eager to find out what happens with the characters.

The very first scene in Spellcaster starts off with something crazy happening. I was totally caught off guard that something like that would happen right from the start. If the beginning of the book could start off that way, then the end just has to be pretty awesome, right? Well my assumptions were correct! The ending was pretty awesome.

Spellcaster is different than most of the other books I’ve read because it moves back and forth between the POV of the protagonist Nadia and the villain. So the difference with this book is there is not a whole lot of surprise. The benefit to seeing the story in the POV of the villain is that you know that she’s extremely crazy! She’s right up there with the all-time ultimate of all evil villains.

Personally, I loved the character Verlaine the best. So I was super happy when we got a couple POV scenes with her character. I would love it a lot if the next books in this series have her character throughout because I would love to learn more about her.

Overall, Spellcaster is a really quick and fun read. It reminded me why I love Claudia Gray’s writing style.

Born Wicked by Jessica Spotswood

Publisher’s summary: A gorgeous, witchy, romantic fantasy by a debut author! Perfect for fans of Kristin Cashore and the Beautiful Creatures series!

Everybody thinks 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 would mean an asylum, a prison ship--or an early grave. Then Cate finds her mother's diary, and uncovers 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. But if what her mother wrote is true, the Cahill girls aren't safe--not even from each other.

My take: Oh! Crap! Did that ending really just happen? What? Seriously? Now I’m extremely upset that I loaned out my copy of Star Cursed because I really want to read it…like now!

I was a little leery about starting Born Wicked because I’ve heard some pretty mixed opinions about this book. But I’m now extremely happy that I read it! And I’m now thinking that the people who had negative thoughts about this book probably didn’t end up reading the whole book because I loved it! And the ending was absolutely phenomenal! Oh, that crazy, hectic ending for sure has set the tone for the remainder of this series, and I’m thrilled. I’ll have to admit it’s a pretty big cliffhanger, but it still ended perfectly brilliantly.

The characters were all very well developed. While reading Born Wicked, I came to feel really bad for Cate (protagonist) because she was left with the burden of protecting a huge secret and taking care of her sisters at such a young age. In their world, it is very dangerous to have any magical capabilities whatsoever, and Cate and her sisters have serious magical capabilities! They’re all witches! And Cate has to try super hard to keep this fact a secret…even from their very own father!

The world that these girls live in is very disturbing and dark. It, for sure, is not a time era I would envy living in, even if I didn’t have magical capabilities.

There is a little bit of a love triangle in this one but, in my opinion, there really isn’t a competition. So I’d be shocked if Jessica Spotswood played up that love triangle in the following books.

This book was a lot of fun to read. If you like witches in a world of historical fiction, you’ll for sure love this book. And those of you who never finished this book, you need to pick it back up!

The Crown of Embers by Rae Carson

Publisher’s summary: She does not know what awaits her at the enemy's gate.

Elisa is a hero.

She led her people to victory over a terrifying, sorcerous army. Her place as the country's ruler should be secure. But it isn't.

Her enemies come at her like ghosts in a dream, from foreign realms and even from within her own court. And her destiny as the chosen one has not yet been fulfilled.

To conquer the power she bears, once and for all, Elisa must follow a trail of long-forgotten—and forbidden—clues, from the deep, hidden catacombs of her own city to the treacherous seas. With her go a one-eyed spy, a traitor, and the man whom—despite everything—she is falling in love with.

If she's lucky, she will return from this journey. But there will be a cost.

My take: Yep! Rae Carson did it again! She’s written another phenomenal book in her Fire and Thorns trilogy. I can’t say that The Crown of Embers was better than The Girl of Fire and Thorns because TGoFaT first introduced me to this fascinating fantasy world Rae Carson created with all of its exciting and crazy things, but there were some things about TCoE that I did like better than TGoFaT.

First of all, the ending to The Crown of Embers sucks! Hardcore!!! But at the same time, there is something else entirely that Elisa does in the end that totally rocks! What an ending!

I feel like this is going to be a really short review because I think pretty much anything I’d say would be a spoiler. One of the things I especially loved about this book was trying to discover who Elisa can trust and who she couldn’t. There were also some really hard decisions that Elisa had to make in this book, decisions that both horrified me and delighted me. There is one particular decision that Elisa makes that totally horrified me, but I was even more shocked that the other characters around her were actually supportive of her decision…like she made the right one! But then I found this other really tough, pressing decision Elisa has to make quite funny…even though it’s completely obvious (at least to me!) what particular decision Elisa just needs to make, without question!

Do I sound like I’m talking in riddles? This is the only way I feel like I can express my thoughts while doing my best to refrain from revealing spoilers.

I was a little disappointed that I didn’t get to read more about the little prince in this book because he is one of my favorite characters in this series. But we do get some more of Hector in this book and I’m swooning hardcore!

The end has a pretty SUCKY, awesome cliffhanger but I wasn’t very surprised. And I just know that the last book in Rae’s Fire and Thorns trilogy The Bitter Kingdom will be fabulous because TCoE ended in a way that the last book in the series can only be amazing! TCoE is a book I’m for sure going to be pimping to everyone.

OH! And BTW…I listened to both The Girl of Fire and Thorns and The Crown of Embers on audio, and the audios are fabulous! I’ve already recommended them to a few friends and they also loved the audios too.

The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

Publisher’s summary: In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch--a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood--or else she might be next.

My take: The Indigo Spell was THE best book so far in Richelle Mead’s Bloodlines series! Richelle Mead reminded me once again how each book in her series is always better than the last. I’m so unbelievably in love with this book in more than a few ways.

And the number one reason I love this book so much? Adrian! And oh! Wow! WOW! We get so much of Adrian in The Indigo Spell. I thought there was no possible way I could be more in love with that boy than I already was. But I was so wrong...oh boy...was I wrong! I’m swooning big-time right now!

What I got from a lot of people who are struggling with this series is that the first two books started off slow, and it was hard for some readers to relate to, or even like, Sydney. I didn’t have a problem liking Sydney. I liked her pretty much as soon as she was introduced in VA, but I think in The Indigo Spell it will be a lot easier for those readers to relate to her. There are a lot of things she does in this book that I just absolutely loved, which made me admire her character a lot more. I do understand why some readers may have struggled with the slow start at the beginning of the previous two books, but I don’t think that will be a problem at all with this book. There were so many fun and entertaining things that Sydney was involved in throughout the whole book, that it was almost impossible for this book to be slow.

OH...I’m so tempted to talk about so many things in this review, but I’m so scared that I’ll reveal spoilers. Almost everything I started typing in my excitement while writing this review had to be deleted because I just want readers to experience this book without any hints or spoilers.

Something happens at the end of The Indigo Spell that makes Sydney’s situation extremely complicated, but everything else in this story ended up just how I was hoping it would. I’m more than satisfied with this book! And I’m so extremely excited for, and already impatiently waiting for, the next book in Richelle Mead’s Bloodlines series!

Check out my teaser quote HERE!

Carnival of Souls by Melissa Marr

Publisher's summary: In a city of daimons, rigid class lines separate the powerful from the power-hungry. And at the heart of The City is the Carnival of Souls, where both murder and pleasure are offered up for sale. Once in a generation, the carnival hosts a deadly competition that allows every daimon a chance to join the ruling elite. Without the competition, Aya and Kaleb would both face bleak futures—if for different reasons. For each of them, fighting to the death is the only way to try to live.

All Mallory knows of The City is that her father—and every other witch there—fled it for a life in exile in the human world. Instead of a typical teenage life full of friends and maybe even a little romance, Mallory scans quiet streets for threats, hides herself away, and trains to be lethal. She knows it's only a matter of time until a daimon finds her and her father, so she readies herself for the inevitable. While Mallory possesses little knowledge of The City, every inhabitant of The City knows of her. There are plans for Mallory, and soon she, too, will be drawn into the decadence and danger that is the Carnival of Souls.

My take: Holy crap! Melissa Marr has an extremely demented mind. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised after reading her Wicked Lovely series! Or even by going to her book signings and getting toe tags as swag! But even then, I did not at all expect Carnival of Souls to be so crazy bizarre. And that is not, at all, in a bad way…I absolutely loved it! Carnival of Souls only just proved what a brilliant, unique, writer that Melissa Marr is. This is one of those books that when you start reading it, you wouldn’t even try to make a prediction of where the story will lead.

In the Carnival of Souls, the story is written from the POV of several different characters, and each character is completely unique. So we get to experience this bizarre world Melissa created through several different viewing angles. And she actually ties up all the angles in the end…quite amazingly. When I first started reading, and even throughout the story, I had trouble deciding if I even liked any of the characters. I don’t want to say too much to avoid spoiling anything, but right when I thought that I might like a character, that character would do something that would totally baffle me and leave me wondering, “Is this supposed to be a bad guy, or a crazy, demented good guy?” Luckily, in the end, we finally see where each character stands, and you can decide for yourself if you think they are good or bad.

It’s not just the characters in Carnival of Souls that are extraordinary; it’s the lifestyle of the daimons that are even stranger. It’s baffling to think that these daimons would actually choose to live in The City, rather than trying to live in the human world.

The ending of Carnival of Souls leaves at a cliffhanger, but it didn’t kill me to leave the story from there. And I’m more than eagerly hoping that there will be a sequel…and soon.

Poison Study by Maria V. Snyder

Publisher’s summary: About to be executed for murder, Yelena is offered an extraordinary reprieve. She'll eat the best meals, have rooms in the palace—and risk assassination by anyone trying to kill the Commander of Ixia.

And so Yelena chooses to become a food taster. But the chief of security, leaving nothing to chance, deliberately feeds her Butterfly's Dust—and only by appearing for her daily antidote will she delay an agonizing death from the poison.

As Yelena tries to escape her new dilemma, disasters keep mounting. Rebels plot to seize Ixia and Yelena develops magical powers she can't control. Her life is threatened again and choices must be made. But this time the outcomes aren't so clear….

My Take: The first time I heard about this book was from Jaime (Two Chicks on Books), and it was Jaime who finally got me to read Poison Study by literally putting the book into my actual hands! And I am so happy that she introduced me to this series. This is ultimately a brilliant book in so many ways that I will have a hard time explaining all my feelings about it.

Poison Study starts off pretty strange, but everything that happens from the first page had me captivated. The book starts out with Yelena walking resolutely to her sentencing, to be executed for a murder she committed. But at the last minute, Valek (the Commander’s right-hand man), offer’s Yelena a cruel and drastic way to have her sentence commuted.

Immediately and from the very beginning, I did not like Valek! I felt like he was evil and manipulative. But the further along I got into the book, I found myself in absolute awe over how smart he was. Manipulative is an understatement! And then I started to wonder if he even really was a bad guy! There are some crazy betrayals, and a couple of characters that I thought in the beginning were bad guys end up being some of my favorite characters in the book.

There are so many awesome twists and turns in this book that I’m now fascinated by Maria V. Snyder’s imagination! Poison Study was a lot of fun to read, and I’m more than a little excited to start reading Magic Study!

Rift by Andrea Cremer

Publisher’s summary: Chronicling the rise of the Keepers, this is the stunning prequel to Andrea Cremer's internationally bestselling Nightshade trilogy!

Sixteen-year-old Ember Morrow is promised to a group called Conatus after one of their healers saves her mother's life. Once she arrives, Ember finds joy in wielding swords, learning magic, and fighting the encroaching darkness loose in the world. She also finds herself falling in love with her mentor, the dashing, brooding, and powerful Barrow Hess. When the knights realize Eira, one of their leaders, is dabbling in dark magic, Ember and Barrow must choose whether to follow Eira into the nether realm or to pledge their lives to destroying her and her kind.

With action, adventure, magic, and tantalizing sensuality, this book is as fast-paced and breathtaking as the Nightshade novels.

My take: Loved it!!! Yep…all I need are those two words! For a while now, I’ve been in a little bit of a reading/blogging funk, and Rift was just the book to pull me out of it! When I first picked up Rift, it did take me a while to get into the story, but I think it was mostly because I needed to allow myself to get connected with the time era of the story. But once I got myself there…I didn’t put it down until I finished it, and that is not an exaggeration. Even when I walked around my house to do something, Rift never left my hand.

What I loved most about this book was the main character, Ember. She grew up in a time era when women were only used for looking pretty, getting married and having children…where the daughters of rich men usually arranged for their own daughters to get married, just so they could acquire more power or land. Ember’s dream her whole life was to fight like a warrior, but her dad had other plans for her. Luckily for Ember, her father owed someone big time…and, as payback, they came to collect Ember literally in the beginning of the book.

I knew this book was a spin-off from the Nightshade trilogy, so I was more than thrilled to see what this story was all about. But when I first started reading it, I was concerned that there might not be any paranormal elements to it. But, as always, I was wrong! What I loved about this book is that we get to read about how magic was being used properly, but then how evil was unleashed into the world with evil magic as well. We actually read about the first wraith entering earth! It’s awesome!!! Now that I’ve read this one, it makes me want to go back and read the Nightshade trilogy again to see if there are any cool links.

I think the characters were all pretty predictable for me. I had natural instincts about each of the characters in this book, and I ended up being right about all of them. There were no surprises, but that could have been Andrea Cremer’s intention, but I couldn’t really tell you if that was her intent. There is one particular character early on that I thought was a prick…but then I’ve come to realize that he’s either a complete idiot, or he’s pure evil! I guess I’ll have to find out in the next book, and it’s going to drive me insane having to wait for it.

The only thing I was a little disappointed about in Rift is that I only got a very small piece of the romance in the end. But I can see how it was not really possible to put the romance in the majority of the book because, unfortunately, to make the romance work, it would have had to be an extremely long work-up. But other than that, the whole story was amazing, the ending was awesome, and the romance in the end was intense but cut very short. I can’t wait to see what the next book brings me!

Something Strange and Deadly by Susan Dannard

Publisher’s Summary: There's something strange and deadly loose in Philadelphia. . . . Eleanor Fitt has a lot to worry about.

Her brother has gone missing, her family has fallen on hard times, and her mother is determined to marry her off to any rich young man who walks by. But this is nothing compared to what she's just read in the newspaper:

The Dead are rising in Philadelphia.

And then, in a frightening attack, a zombie delivers a letter to Eleanor . . . from her brother.

Whoever is controlling the Dead army has taken her brother as well. If Eleanor is going to find him, she'll have to venture into the lab of the notorious Spirit-Hunters, who protect the city from supernatural forces. But as Eleanor spends more time with the Spirit-Hunters, including the maddeningly stubborn yet handsome Daniel, the situation becomes dire. And now, not only is her reputation on the line, but her very life may hang in the balance.

My Take: The moment I saw the cover of Something Strange and Deadly and read the summary, I was more than eager to read this book. So the moment I got a copy in mail, I was more than eager to pick it up and start reading it right away. And now that I’ve read Something Strange and Deadly, I have to say that I’m in between liking it, and really liking it.

In the very beginning of this book there is a pretty awesome scene that has Eleanor (the protagonist) coming face-to-face for the first time with one of the Dead…and it delivers a mysterious message to her. Dun, dun, duhhhhn!!! (LOL…that sounded better in my head than after I typed it out!) And, at that moment, I was really intrigued by the story. But beginning almost right after that scene I had a really hard time getting into this book. I tried to rack my brain as to why I was struggling so much while reading this story. At first, I thought it was maybe just the time-era when the story was written. But then I realized that I love a lot of books written in the era of the 19th century. So now I’m left here thinking that maybe I was just feeling like I was reading a book without any paranormal elements to it. I guess the Dead and the ghosts that actually were in the story, weren’t in it enough for me…even though “they” are what this story is all about. Does that even make sense? Otherwise, the story was really good! There were a couple twists that I put together pretty quickly, but there was one twist that totally caught me by surprise!

As for the characters, I really like Eleanor! She is a really good protagonist, especially coming from that era in time. There’s also a character named Jie, who’s introduced a little bit later in the book who was probably one of my faves! Best of all, Daniel is an awesome love interest! Mysterious, smart, dangerous…I could go on and on!

So, basically, in Something Strange and Deadly you can find an awesome female protagonist in the 19th century era, a hottie boy who is off limits, with zombies and ghosts added into the mix! Does that sound like something you want to read?

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins

Publisher’s summary: Talk about terrible timing…Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Councel strips them away. With her powers locked inside her, Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies – the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that’s what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn’t so sure.

The only known spell that can help Sophie regain her magic is at Hex Hall – the place where it all began, and now the headquarters of the evil Casnoffs. Together with her best friend, the vampire Jenna; her boyfriend, Archer; her fiancé, Cal (yeah, her love life is complicated); and a ghost for a sidekick, Sophie must battle an army of demons. But even with her friends at her side, the fate of all Prodigium rests on her shoulders alone.

Sophie’s bound for one hell of a ride… Can she get her powers back before it’s too late?

My take: Holy crap! That was certainly the best way to end the series! I have to give Rachel Hawkins a round of applause because this is for sure a series that I will keep on pimping out to anyone who will listen. LOL!

It was pure torture to wait for the release of Spell Bound! The moment I got it in the mail I’m pretty sure I squealed! I was so eager to get my hands on Spell Bound that I went home on my lunch break to check the mail! So, yes, I read this book almost immediately after the release date.

Spell Bound starts off pretty much right where Demonglass left off, and that was a relief because Demonglass has a freakin’ crazy but awful cliffhanger. The entire book flows perfectly, and it kept me on my toes the entire time. Even if I had a moment’s thought that I could relax, BAM, something would happen and I was back on my toes again.

The characters in this trilogy play a tremendous factor as to why I adore this trilogy so much. Sophie, for one, is a kick *ss protagonist! I almost forgot until I picked up this book how totally awesome her snarky humor is! Her personality adds that perfect touch to the trilogy, and I totally love her. I wish Sophie and I were BFFs because that would totally rock! Archer! Oh Archer! I love you Archer! Anyways, Archer compliments Sophie without a glitch. I think some of the best parts in this trilogy were whenever Sophie and Archer would banter back and forth. Then there’s Jenna; she is the best BFF for Sophie! Jenna is such a sweet, cute, loveable vampire that I just wanna squeeze and hug. Lastly, there is Cal! He is the sensible sweet guy who I just love to love, and I would totally be OK with taking him home to meet my dad. Oh, my, gosh! I almost forgot Elodie! I couldn’t stand that chick in Hex Hall but she turns out to be one of my fave characters in Spell Bound.

The ending to Spell Bound was incredible! Nearing the end of Spell Bound, there is a gut-wrenching tragedy and the story started to get extremely crazy and chaotic, and I started to worry that Rachel Hawkins might not be able to end the series properly! Once it was all over I thought, “Holy crap! She totally pulled it off!” She tied up everything as if she knew exactly how it was going to end and how it was going to get there.

This trilogy has a nice mix of magical creatures in the urban fantasy world, but the series primarily surrounds witches and demons. If you're looking for a book with totally awesome characters, an amazing romance, a lot of action, and some fun twists, then this is the series for you!