Review of The Aftermath by Jen Alexander

Review of Jen Alexander's The Aftermath

Release Date: August 26th, 2014

Synopsis as found on Amazon.com:

Sometimes, I dream that I'm someone else.

A girl with dark hair who doesn't worry about hunger or thirst or running from flesh-eaters.

In her world, those sorts of things don't exist….

Since the spring of 2036, when the world changed forever, Claudia and a small clan of survivors have roamed the streets of a very altered Nashville—polluted and desolate, except for the ever-present threat of cannibals. Together they must undergo punishing tests of endurance and psychological challenge—sometimes with devastating consequences—all just to live another day.

With food and water in dwindling supply, and with danger lurking around every corner, no one can be trusted. And as her world starts to make less and less sense, Claudia begins to realize something terrifying: she is just a pawn in some sort of game, and all of her actions are being controlled from afar by a mysterious gamer. So when she meets a maddening and fascinating outsider named Declan, who claims to be a game moderator, she must decide whether to join him in exchange for protection and access to the border.

If they play the game right, they are each other's best hope for survival—and a life beyond the only world Claudia's ever known: the terrifying live-action game known as The Aftermath.

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Excerpt from The Aftermath:

Missions to free captured Survivors from flesh-eater dens, and the fraying bonds between the members of our clan, are the only remnants of the humanity we'd once known - a time in my life I can't even remember because I had awakened in this world with no recollection of my past. Who was I before all this? Was I carefree and loved, a girl with a family and a real home? Or was I manipulative, like the person I've become, this person who has killed other people time and time again? Even though everything I've done is out of necessity - the need to survive - the longer we live this way, the less human I feel.

Sooner or later, there won't be any humanity left to salvage.

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Claudia Virtue isn't sure who she is anymore. Her thoughts contradict with her feelings, she is no longer in control of her own actions, and she keeps having these dreams about a girl that looks just like her, but is in a completely different world. She is the leader of her clan and she is in charge of making sure they aren't killed by flesh-eaters (Savage Cannibals), as well as making sure they have enough food, water, and supplies by taking them on missions. She is just starting to realize that her weird behavior and the unexplained blackouts that she keeps having are not the result of something she is doing.

From the very beginning, you know something is wrong. It all seems too surreal and there is something sinister going on. When she is knocked out while on a raid with her boyfriend, she wakes up to find that she can finally see what is really happening. Claudia and her friends are living inside of a video game. They are only characters being played by real people in the real world. While her friends are still oblivious, she has become sentient. When her player logs off, she used to black out and only wake back up when her player logged back on... but now, she is able to control herself for that period of time.

Claudia is the result of a glitch in the program. She can't let anyone find out or the game moderators will delete her. All she wants to do is find a way out. So when an attractive dark haired boy offers to help her escape if she can help him find someone, there is only 1 thing to do.

This book is not what I expected when I purchased it... but in so many ways, it is better than I could have ever imagined. So much happens that I didn't see coming that every page kept me on my toes. I enjoyed every second of reading it and now I'm aching for more. The ending is a cliff-hanger that only gives you half of the answers that you were searching for and I need to know what happens next.

I love a book that makes me beg for more and The Aftermath is definitely that book!!

Review of Michael Vey: Battle of the Ampere by Richard Paul Evans

Review of Richard Paul Evans' Michael Vey: Battle of the Ampere

Release Date: May 6th, 2014

Synopsis as found on GoodReads.com:

The hair-raising action continues for Michael Vey in this charged third installment of the #1 New York Times bestselling series.

Michael, Taylor, Ostin and the rest of the Electroclan have destroyed the largest of the Elgen Starxource plants, but now they’re scattered across the Amazon jungle. The Elgen have joined forces with the Peruvian army to capture the Electroclan, and only Michael has managed to remain free. With his friends due to stand trial for terrorism—a charge that may carry the death penalty—Michael will need all his wits and his abilities if he’s to save them.

Meanwhile, on the other side of the world, Dr. Hatch and his loyal Electric Children have seized control of the E.S. Ampere—the super yacht the Elgen use as their headquarters. With the Elgen fleet now under his control, Hatch heads back to Peru to pick up his army and then begin his quest for global domination.

Michael will have to free his friends then find a way to stop Hatch, but the organization behind the mysterious voice that has guided him to this point has been compromised. Hatch knows Michael and the Electroclan are coming. And he’s ready for them.

Can the Electroclan win the battle of the Ampere? Or has Michael’s luck finally run out?

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I really have enjoyed Evans' Michael Vey series so far. It brings to mind the earlier books in the Maximum Ride series by James Patterson (before it started to drag on, that is). The characters are well thought out, complicated and yet relatable. Michael in particular, with his Turrets Syndrome, is especially relatable in the sense that he has a disability and yet is still able to fight through his problems. It is always great to have a main character who isn't the picture perfect boy next door. 

While I did enjoy this book, I do agree with many readers in the thought that the plot was not as well thought out as the first 2 books. Book 3 is all about the aftermath of Book 2, Rise of the Elgen. They traveled to the jungles of Peru to save Michael's mother from a Starxource plant and in the process blew it up. The may have saved his mother, but in destroying the plant, they have destroyed the power source for the majority of Peru's electricity. So now, not only are they running from Dr. Hatch & Elgen, but the Peruvian government has labeled them terrorists and dispatched its army to hunt them down. They have already captured over half of the Electroclan and now it is up to Michael to save them.

While the plot focuses on the saving of Michael's friends, the fact that most of the book lacks the action of the first 2 really does lose a lot of what I loved about the series. In my eyes, this book could have been seriously condensed and made into a novella... but I know that some of the things that happened in it have opened it up for Book 4. I am just hoping that when I read the next book it picks back up and doesn't slow back down when the book after that is released.

Review of Magisterium: The Iron Trial by Holly Black & Cassandra Clare

Review of Holly Black & Cassandra Clare's Magisterium: The Iron Trial

Release Date: September 9th, 2014

Synopsis as found on GoodReads.com:

Most kids would do anything to pass the Iron Trial.

Not Callum Hunt. He wants to fail.

All his life, Call has been warned by his father to stay away from magic. If he succeeds at the Iron Trial and is admitted into the Magisterium, he is sure it can only mean bad things for him.

So he tries his best to do his worst - and fails at failing.

Now the Magisterium awaits him. It's a place that's both sensational and sinister, with dark ties to his past and a twisty path to his future.

The Iron Trial is just the beginning, for the biggest test is still to come . . .

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Excerpts from The Iron Trial:

Fire wants to burn, water wants to flow, air wants to rise, earth wants to bind, chaos wants to devour.

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"I see through the masks of skin you wear," the Devoured continued. "I see your future. One of you will fail. One of you will die. And one of you is already dead."

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My friends and family know how much I love Cassandra Clare. I have been a fan of hers since the first Mortal Instruments book came out and have been a loyal follower of everything she does. I even drove one time to meet her at a small book store 3 hours away (Holly Black was also doing a signing there on the same night, so I met them both). I have also read most of Holly Black's books (Minus the Tithe series, because I am not a big fan of books about Faeries... the see the irony). With all that, I was still nervous to pick up this book. I waited until a friend told me to read it before I even thought about it. I loved the Harry Potter series and this book sounded a little too close to an American version of it.

The characters are different from any either of the authors have written about before. They are each flawed in different ways and that difference is what draws you into the story. Call has been raised thinking all magic is bad and has a limp from the debilitating break in his leg that happened in infancy. You definitely feel for him when he is being picked on and as the story progresses cheer for him when he does well. Tamara comes from a wealthy family of magic users who push her to do well. She has an older sister named Kimiya who also goes to the Magisterium, so she always has that person to look down on her when she isn't doing her best. Aaron has nothing. While he finished as number 1 in the Trial to be accepted into the Magisterium, he comes from a family of regular humans. That is as far as he knows they were human, seeing as how his mother is dead and his father left him when he was a child.

While the characters and general plot may be different than their previous work, there were quite a few scenes in the story where I saw similarities to Clare's previous work. The named blade that Call carries is similar to the Seraph blades that Shadowhunters carry in the Mortal Instruments series. There is a scene where the characters come in contact with a man who was once devoured by fire that brings to mind a scene from City of Bones where a witch with a Demon inside of her fights with the characters in that story. These are just 2 examples and though they might be small, they are noticeable.

I will say this, there is a twist in the story almost to the end. I didn't see it coming and it really made the whole book worth reading. I love when a story ends up being the opposite of what I thought.

Do not read this thinking about Harry Potter or the Mortal Instruments, because I don't want you to pick it apart like I did. I'm going to have to read it again just to love it as much as I was hoping to.

Review of Charmed by Michelle Krys

Advance Review of Michelle Krys' Charmed

Release Date: May 26th, 2015

Synopsis as found on GoodReads.com:

Indie has spent the last few weeks frantically searching for Paige. She's tried every spell imaginable, but witchcraft has gotten her nowhere, and she's going crazy with guilt. Despite what her warlock boyfriend, Bishop, tells her, Indie knows it's her fault her best friend was kidnapped by the Priory. And with the Priory destroyed, finding Paige feels more hopeless than ever-especially when Indie discovers that Paige isn't even on Earth. She's trapped in Los Demonios, an alternate dimension of Los Angeles filled with evil paranormals. No one who has gone there has ever come out.

Fueled by terror and loyalty, Indie is desperate to find a way into the underworld prison. She'll worry about getting out later. But facing the dark world's most dangerous witches and warlocks on her own means keeping her plan hush-hush-and forging alliances with some sketchy people, including a seriously sexy sorcerer.

Sometimes a witch must keep secrets from the people she cares about most. And sometimes she isn't the only one with secrets…

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I'm writing this review on a day that has not been the greatest, so seeing as how my mind is a little jumbled from some family stuff that is going on, I am hoping the review does not reflect that. I do find that when I am having a bad day, though, a great book tends to make me feel at least a little bit better.

This book is the sequel to Krys' first book, Hexed, about a girl who finds out that she's a witch when her mother is kidnapped and tortured to find a powerful spellbook. The main character, Indigo (Indie for short), is a strong female role model for teen readers. Although she separated herself from her former best friend, in book 1, after finding out that she had slept with Indie's boyfriend at the time, Bianca is still a character in book 2, but she has become her human arch nemesis. I say human, because there are other more villainous characters in this story, but Bianca is the only nemesis without powers.

Hexed ended on a cliffhanger when we found out in the last chapter that Paige, Indie's one and only true friend, was kidnapped by the man she had just killed. Sadly, he was the only person who knew her whereabouts. This is the main plot point in Charmed. While Paige may have been the first missing person we knew about, many teens start to go missing in their town. The first 100 pages are about Indie and her new boyfriend Bishop searching for Paige, while the rest is all about trying to save her.

This book brings a lot of new characters into the story, as well as some competition for Indie's heart. We find out why Aunt Penny never came to Indie's rescue, what really happened to the missing teens, and the truth behind Indie's family history. There is quite a bit of action, as well as some self discovery in magic. If you enjoy books about witches or magic, you will surely love this book.

Review of Crimson Bound by Rosamund Hodge

Advance Review of Rosamund Hodge's Crimson Bound

Release Date: May 5th, 2015

Synopsis as found on Amazon.com/GoodReads.com:

An exhilarating tale of darkness, love, and redemption inspired by the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, from the author of Cruel Beauty.

When Rachelle was fifteen she was good—apprenticed to her aunt and in training to protect her village from dark magic. But she was also reckless—straying from the forest path in search of a way to free her world from the threat of eternal darkness. After an illicit meeting goes dreadfully wrong, Rachelle is forced to make a terrible choice that binds her to the very evil she had hoped to defeat.

Three years later, Rachelle has given her life to serving the realm, fighting deadly creatures in a vain effort to atone. When the king orders her to guard his son Armand—the man she hates most—Rachelle forces Armand to help her hunt for the legendary sword that might save their world. Together, they navigate the opulent world of the courtly elite, where beauty and power reign and no one can be trusted. And as the two become unexpected allies, they discover far-reaching conspiracies, hidden magic . . . and a love that may be their undoing. Within a palace built on unbelievable wealth and dangerous secrets, can Rachelle discover the truth and stop the fall of endless night?

Inspired by the classic fairy tale Little Red Riding Hood, Crimson Bound is an exhilarating tale of darkness, love, and redemption.

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Excerpt from Crimson Bound:

The Forest was just like her dreams. The dark, tangled growth of trees, branches, and roots woven together. The cold air, pulsing with half-heard-laughter, that tasted of blood and smoke. The glint of a bonfire in the distance.

This was the Great Forest, the Forest of Dreams and Dreadful Night: the dark, primeval wood that had once covered all the world in the days before the sun and moon. She'd seen its phantom shadow a thousand times, haunting the streets of Rocamadour, blossoming around her when she met the forestborn in the wood near Aunt Leonie's cottage. She'd dreamed of it night after night.

She had never imagined that when she finally walked all the way inside, it would feel like home.

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This stand alone book from the author who brought us Cruel Beauty. Even though this is a stand alone novel, you can definitely tell that the same author wrote both and I do enjoy her writing style. I am just sad that I did not see more of the fairy tales that the book was based off of. Where Cruel Beauty is based on Beauty & the Beast (and you can really see B&B), Crimson Bound is based on Little Red Riding Hood and The Girl With No Hands. I had to look up the second story online to find out what it was about, because it was not a popular fairy tale that I read as a child. Where I can see bits of The Girls With No Hands inside of the book, ideas from Little Red Riding Hood are few and far between.

Now, if I were to completely separate the idea of this book being based on fairy tales from my mind, I would have enjoyed it much more. The Wild Hunt popped up in the story and that brings the book to a more Fantasy/Fair Folk aspect, which is not something I tend to read.

Having read her first book in the series (I'm calling it a series even though they are separate entities, seeing as how they have concentric covers and similar ideas), I did find this one a tad bit disappointing. Just read my review before you read the book so that you know not to think about Little Red Riding Hood when you are reading it, even though it says it twice in the synopsis.

Review of Zeroes by Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan & Deborah Biancotti

Advance Review of Scott Westerfeld, Margo Lanagan & Deborah Biancotti's Zeroes

Release Date: September 29th, 2015

Synopsis as found Amazon.com:

X-Men meets Heroes when New York Times bestselling author Scott Westerfeld teams up with award-winning authors Margo Lanagan and Deborah Biancotti to create a sizzling new series filled with action and adventure.

Don’t call them heroes.

But these six Californian teens have powers that set them apart.

Take Ethan, a.k.a. Scam. He’s got a voice inside him that’ll say whatever you want to hear, whether it’s true or not. Which is handy, except when it isn’t—like when the voice starts gabbing in the middle of a bank robbery. The only people who can help are the other Zeroes, who aren’t exactly best friends these days.

Enter Nate, a.k.a. Bellwether, the group’s “glorious leader.” After Scam’s SOS, he pulls the scattered Zeroes back together. But when the recue blows up in their faces, the Zeroes find themselves propelled into whirlwind encounters with ever more dangerous criminals. At the heart of the chaos they find Kelsie, who can take a crowd in the palm of her hand and tame it or let it loose as she pleases.

Filled with high-stakes action and drama, Zeroes unites three powerhouse authors for the opening installment of a thrilling new series.

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A group of teenagers find a connection in each other, forming a ragtag team of kids with super powers. Each of them has a unique power different from the other, but all of them were born in the same year. They don't know where their powers come from, even though there is a bit of speculation, but they have formed a team to learn how to control them. They don't wear lycra uniforms with capes & they aren't superheroes, so they call themselves the Zeroes.

The story begins with the group having been split up after a falling out they had the summer before, but the moment one of them finds themselves in need of help, they all band together to rescue him. I mentioned before each of them has a different superpower, but they also have given themselves codenames that coincide with their ability:

Bellwether (which means "the one who takes the lead") is their leader. It is a running joke that they call him Glorious Leader throughout the book. He has the power of persuasion, but like most of the team, his power only works best when there are more than 6 people. He needs an audience to perform and more than once it is said that he is going to end up a politician some day. 

Crash is the only team member whose power does not work on people. She has the ability to destroy any electronic item. She hears the sounds that every little piece of machinery makes and more often than not, gets a headache from all of the background noise.

Flicker was born blind. She discovered her powers while her twin sister read to her, which she did every night. She has the power to see through anyone's eyes. At first they thought it was some kind of twin magic, but then she started to see through the eyes of people she didn't even know. Her power works best when there is a group of people, because she can jump from person to person and see every angle of a situation.

Anonymous is mostly a mystery. He is always there one minute and gone the next... that's because his power is for everyone around him to forget about his presence unless you are looking directly at him. If you begin to notice him, he can cut the strands of your focus. This power is one of the saddest, because he can't truly make friends when no one can remember he is there.

Scam is the focus of the story for quite a while in the beginning of the book. His power is always getting him in trouble and he is actually the reason the team broke up in the first place. He began to talk at the age of 2 spouting out complete sentences that made him sound like a genius. Sadly, that was only his other voice. He has his regular voice that betrays his emotions and he chooses what is said from it. Then there is his other voice... it is smooth and always knows what to say. If he wants something or is thinking about something, the other voice creepily says what it needs to to get it. It knows things it shouldn't, making him seem almost psychic sometimes. His power is the only one that works best 1 on 1.

Mob is the last member of the team. She isn't actually a member of the team, but her story intertwines with all the other characters, thus making her an intrical part of the book. Her powers have to do with the swaying of emotion in a crowd of people. It works best when there are more than 6 people. All the clubs in their town have a standing order to let her in for free, because when she is having a good time on the dance floor, everyone in the club is having a good time. On the reverse side, when she is sad or angry, she can cause people to become an angry mob.

I have read a lot of books about superheroes this year, but this one definitely has something new to add to the genre. It was exciting and beautifully written... but I love anything Scott Westerfeld writes.

Review of Tether by Anna Jarzab

Review of Anna Jarzab's Tether

Release Date: March 10th, 2015

Synopsis as found on GoodReads.com:

Tether, the sequel to Tandem, continues the captivating tale of rebellion and romance that spans parallel worlds.

Everything repeats.

Sasha expected things to go back to normal once she got back on Earth. But now that she knows parallel worlds are real, and that an alternate version of herself exists in a world called Aurora, her old life no longer seems to make sense . . . and her heart breaks daily for Thomas, the boy she left behind. Troubled by mysterious, often terrifying visions and the echoes of a self she was just beginning to discover, Sasha makes the difficult decision to journey once more through the tandem.

Thomas is waiting for her on the other side, and so is strange, otherworldly Selene, Sasha’s analog from a third universe. Sasha, Selene, and their other analog, Juliana, have a joint destiny, and a new remarkable power, one that could mean salvation for Selene’s dying planet. With Thomas’s help, Sasha and Selene search for the missing Juliana. But even if they can locate her, is Sasha willing to turn her back on love to pursue a fate she’s not sure she believes in?

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The sequel to Jarzab's incredible book about Parallel worlds, an imminent war, and a force that can be stopped by no one... Love.

In Tandem, we met Sasha. A regular girl living a boring life about to go off to college. She had a crush on "the boy next door" and her future was all but set in stone. That is, until the boy next door finally notices her. The tides seem to be turning... especially when that boy ends up to be her crush's doppelganger from another universe. She is thrust into a world very similar to her own, except America is ruled by a monarchy and her doppelganger, or alternate, is the future queen.

In Tether, Sasha has returned home, but all she can think about is Thomas. The boy she left behind in an parallel universe. She doesn't know what happened to him... until one day she finds a note. The only thing it says is "He's alive." This will bring her on another whirlwind adventure back into another universe to find him. But she finds more than she bargained for... another alternate of herself from another universe. Her name is Selene and she has come to enlist both Sasha and her alternate, Juliana, to help in bringing her dying world back to life.

Book 2 is definitely continuing where the first left off. We still have the same villains in the story, the General & Libertas, but this story has us not knowing who to trust. Who is working for them and who is working against them? While the entire book I thought I know who the good guys were, Jarzab knows how to leave you shocked at the ending. I am definitely rooting for a happy ending for everyone, but I know not everyone will come out smiling in the end. She gives us nail biting suspense, as well as an all new group of characters to get to know... not all of which make it out alive in the end. I was pretty happy with how the story continued, but I wasn't psyched about the characters getting strange new powers. The telepathy I can see as being an effect of being tethered together, but the rest is a little less believable.

Here's hoping the trilogy ends well. I guess we'll find out when book 3 is released.

If you enjoyed Tandem, check out these other books about alternate universes:

Kasie West - Pivot Point
Erica O'Rourke - Dissonance
Amy K Nichols - Now That You're Here

Review of Ever After High: Kiss & Spell by Suzanne Selfors

Review of Suzanne Selfors' Ever After High: Kiss & Spell

Release Date: April 7th, 2015

Synopsis as found on Amazon.com:

What's a girl to do when she accidentally turns her crush into a frog? Ginger Breadhouse had a hard time growing up with the Candy Witch for a mom. It's not easy making friends if everyone believes your mom tried to cook Hansel and Gretel! But now that Ginger's attending Ever After High, she has a chance to forge her own path, and she's trying to make a name for herself as the host of the MirrorCast show Spells Kitchen. The problem is, she needs viewers!

 

Ginger hopes a magical recipe from Professor Rumpelstiltskin will be a showstopper -- but when the magic backfires, it turns Hopper Croakington II, son of the Frog Prince, into a small green amphibian! And the longer he remains under the spell, the more froglike he becomes. Can Ginger turn Hopper back into his regular self before it's too late?

 

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I am such a tweenage girl, because I can never get enough of Ever After & Monster High. I love the books, the animated shows, the MH movies, and even the dolls... yes, I am a grown man who loves dolls... well, Ever After High & Monster High dolls, at least. I was a little concerned of the changes that were being made in the books when Selfors took over writing what Shannon Hale had started. While I love the fact that we are getting the perspective of new characters with different lineage, I think there is a loss of the narrative omniscient voice that was present in the beginning of the series. While some people may enjoy the changes being made, I just find them to be a little out of character for the how the series began.

 

Kiss & Spell brings us a story in the eyes of Ginger Breadhouse, the daughter of the Candy Witch from Hansel & Gretel, with whom the readers met in Next Top Villain. Very much like Raven Queen, Ginger is rebelling against her story in that she also does not want to take over as the Candy Witch. While she does love to bake, she doesn't want to poison anyone. She doesn't want to be a Villain at all. This book follows Ginger as she tries to make her MirrorCast show, Spells Kitchen, a success. We also learn that she has a big crush on Hopper Croakington II, son of the Frog Prince.

 

This story definitely gives a lot of information on Ginger's back story and what happens to make her not want to be a Villain, as well as a small look into a few other character's lives. While Raven & Apple do make appearances in this book, they again are only in supporting roles.

 

Like all of the other EAH books, this book is quite short and definitely meant for a younger crowd, but if you go in expecting it to be a short fun read, you won't be disappointed.

Review of Hero by Perry Moore

Review of Perry Moore's Hero

Release Date: May 5th, 2009

Synopsis as found on GoodReads.com:

The last thing in the world Thom Creed wants is to add to his father's pain, so he keeps secrets. Like that he has special powers. And that he's been asked to join the League - the very organization of superheroes that spurned his dad. But the most painful secret of all is one Thom can barely face himself: he's gay.

But becoming a member of the League opens up a new world to Thom. There, he connects with a misfit group of aspiring heroes, including Scarlett, who can control fire but not her anger; Typhoid Larry, who can make anyone sick with his touch; and Ruth, a wise old broad who can see the future. Like Thom, these heroes have things to hide; but they will have to learn to trust one another when they uncover a deadly conspiracy within the League.

To survive, Thom will face challenges he never imagined. To find happiness, he'll have to come to terms with his father's past and discover the kind of hero he really wants to be.

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I was really excited when I picked up Hero, because there is a quote from Stan Lee on the cover which says "An unforgettable experience - not to be missed!" and the book is written for Young Adults with a strong gay male character. You don't find many YA books like this one... that's for sure. Maybe it was the quote from Stan Lee or the fact that I wanted for it to be so much more, but even though I enjoyed the plot, I found it a bit lacking in some areas.

Thom is afraid to tell his Dad that he's gay. His Dad was Major Might, a superhero without powers who was forcibly retired when a choice that he made ended up costing the lives of thousands of innocent people. Everyone in the world knows his story and everyone knows his face. Thom's Mom has long since been gone, having left them when he was only a child, she packed up and disappeared one night. Living in seclusion in a regular town, they work to be happy. Hal, Thom's father, works in a factory, unable to do much more than heavy lifting since one of his hands is nothing more than a melted mess leftover from the catastrophe that cost him his costume. Thom gets through everyday. He has school, the basketball team, and a few part time jobs. Even though he has not had a cold or been sick since he was a child, he does get debilitating seizures every once in a while.

Very early on in the book, while at a basketball game, a kid from the opposing team calls Thom "That Gay Kid" in front of his father, his couch, and his entire team. This line ends up being foreshadowing for the whole book. While his father tries hard to act like Thom will find a wife and settle down some day, Thom is trying as hard as he can to find a way to tell his Dad the truth. Not only is he fighting those emotions, but now he is starting grow into powers he didn't know he had until during that same basketball game, when a player is severely hurt, his hands start to burn and he heals the boys wounds.

There is a lot of teenage angst , a lot of unrequited love, a lot of uncomfortable situations... which are all part of a closeted teenage boys life. I enjoyed reading those parts. There were times when I was reading when I felt like I was missing something. There were a lot of characters at certain times, so sometimes I got a little confused. I also didn't like that almost all of the A-list heroes (as they are called in the book) were based on characters from both Marvel & DC. Justice, the alien who crash landed on a farm when he was a baby, is most definitely based on Superman; Warrior Woman, who uses a lasso and comes from an island of Amazons, is Wonder Woman; and American Agent, who got his powers from a super strength serum, is Captain America... just to name a few. That to me is either very smart or very unimaginative.

I could go on for a while on my likes and dislikes of this book... maybe that is a good thing, because it means it got me thinking a lot, but I just usually like it when I am left with an over all joy after finishing a book. Oh well! Better luck next time, right?

Review of Destined: Ash by Shani Petroff & Darci Manley

Advance Review of Shani Petroff & Darci Manley's Destined: Ash

Release Date: March 31st, 2015

Synopsis as found on GoodReads.com:

Destiny is pre-determined. It is strictly monitored. It is unchangeable.
Or is it?

Madden’s life is a whirlwind of privilege and perks. Born into the elite Purple ring, she is fated to be a Minister of the Seven. Although her position comes with the burden of great responsibility, she’s nothing if not confident in her future. After all, Destiny Specialists have determined how she will fulfill her life's purpose, and they are never wrong.

Her classmate Dax, an Ash, is clinging to the opposite end of the spectrum. While everyone around her knows what destiny awaits them, Dax’s fate is…missing. Isolated and ignored, she refuses to let her lack of status define her.

After a stunning twist of fate, Dax and Madden’s paths intertwine in ways neither could have possibly imagined. The two are forced to question their own past, present and future as they realize who they are is not necessarily who they were meant to be.

Ash is an unforgettable journey into an alternate future which will leave readers wondering just how much we can control our own fate. Destiny is calling. Will you fight for yours?

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"Purple, Crimson, Green, Yellow, Brown, Slate, Ash, touch one from the outer rings and you'll get a rash."

A child's rhyme is enough to tell you what it's like to be a member of one of the outer rings. At birth, every infant is scanned so their destiny can be extracted. The more important your destiny, the higher the ring you are. Purple's have the most money, they get the best jobs, and are over all the most important. Where as, an Ash lives in the furthest ring. They live in poverty. Most buildings in the outer rings are dilapidated and family's live off of meager rations.

This story follows 2 characters. Madden is very important to the society. Her destiny is to be one of the 7. The 7 are the ministers who make the rules and rule over all of the rings in New City. Needless to say, Madden was born as a Purple. Even though both of her parents were born Crimson, when she was born, they moved into a home in the Purple ring. The second character is Dax. She has a lot of siblings... all of which are boys. It was her mother's destiny to have a girl and when her parents had her, they stopped. They couldn't afford another child if they wanted. Dax is an Ash... actually, she is lower than an Ash, because she was born without a destiny. Most parents decide to turn "blanks" (as they call those without destinies) over to the city, because when blanks are kept, the family is highly taxed.

Although this story has moments of being reminiscent of other dystopian books I have read, it is very different in a lot of ways. The way it is most obviously similar is definitely the caste system. We have all read the Hunger Games by now and if you haven't, you've seen the movie... I also love the Selection, both of which have distinct caste systems. It is different in that this story is all based on destiny.

There is a love story involved in Ash... well, actually, there are 2 love stories. Both are of the star-crossed love variety. So even though we don't have a love triangle (thank goodness), there is still something for the romantics. There is a mystery that is revealed 100 pages in that takes over the story (in a good way) and definitely opens the book up to become multiple books. Seeing as how I love dystopian tales, I was very happy with that outcome.

Review of Seriously Wicked by Tina Connolly

Advance Review of Tina Connolly's Seriously Wicked

Release Date: May 5th, 2015

Synopsis as found on GoodReads.com:


The only thing worse than being a witch is living with one.

Camellia’s adopted mother wants Cam to grow up to be just like her. Problem is, Mom’s a seriously wicked witch.

Cam’s used to stopping the witch’s crazy schemes for world domination. But when the witch summons a demon, he gets loose—and into Devon, the cute new boy at school.

Now Cam’s suddenly got bigger problems than passing Algebra. Her friends are getting zombiefied. Their dragon is tired of hiding in the RV garage. For being a shy boy-band boy, Devon is sure kissing a bunch of girls. And a phoenix hidden in the school is going to explode on the night of the Halloween Dance.

To stop the demon before he destroys Devon’s soul, Cam might have to try a spell of her own. But if she’s willing to work spells like the witch...will that mean she’s wicked too?


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I know I say this about lots of genres, but I am a fan of books about witches. They are one of my top five favorite characters to read about. I love seeing what an author does with the idea of a woman (or a man) who can cast spells found in a spell book. Because even though the idea can sometimes be the same, what an author does with it is completely different.


In Seriously Wicked, Connolly tells the story of a girl named Camellia (Cam for short) who is all but the hired help for her bossy Mother figure, Sarmine. Cam is sure that she was kidnapped at birth from a loving mother and father, because there is no way she could be related to this... witch! She can't even perform spells herself, no matter how hard Sarmine tries to make her. When she isn't doing house hold chores, homework (for the human school that she demanded she go to, because it is the one place that makes her feel normal), or taking care of the very large and loveable dragon in their garage, she is going errands for the witch to get ingredients for her spells.


When the new boy at school, Devon, helps Cam to find the last ingredient Sarmine needs to cast a spell calling forth a Demon to do her bidding, he unwittingly gets the Demon as a new body guest. Now the cute and kind guy she likes is doing things that are very unlike him. Luckily the Witch gave him a list of tasks to complete in the next 3 days and then he has to go back to where he came from. So Cam is doing everything to help the Demon complete those tasks before he eats Devon's soul and she never gets the chance to have her first kiss with him.


This book is full of quirky humor that will appeal to any young teen girl (or those of us who have the spirit of a teen girl). It is quite short, clocking in at 208 pages, so should be a relatively quick read. Connolly's writing is very reminiscent of books written by Tera Lynn Childs. It's very fun, mostly happy, and very family friendly.


If you enjoyed this book, you may like these as well (or vice versa):


Sarah Mlynowski - Bras & Broomsticks
Kelly McClymer - The Salem Witch Tryouts
Tera Lynn Childs - Oh. My. Gods.
Cara Lynn Shultz - Spellbound
Laurie Faria Stolarz - Blue is for Nightmares
Lynne Ewing - Daughters of the Moon
Cate Tiernan - Balefire
Cate Tiernan - Sweep


I could probably name some other series based around witches, but some would be much darker than this book was. As it is, a few of the books I listed above are pretty dark as well.