Review: Texas Gothic by Rosemary-Clement Moore

Title & Author: Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement Moore
Genre & Series: Young adult, Stand-alone?   

Published on July 12, 2011 by Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Hardcover, 416 pages

Where did I get the book: Bought it
                                                         
Blurb: Amy Goodnight's family is far from normal. She comes from a line of witches, but tries her best to stay far outside the family business. Her summer gig? Ranch-sitting for her aunt with her wacky but beautiful sister. Only the Goodnight Ranch is even less normal than it normally is. Bodies are being discovered, a ghost is on the prowl, and everywhere she turns, the hot neighbor cowboy is in her face.

Review:  I first heard about this book at the Romantic Times book convention. I was there attending the Teen day event, and one of the many authors there for the event was Mrs. Clement Moore.  She was reading an excerpt from Texas Gothic, and from that point on I was hooked. While she was reading it, I couldn't stop smiling and grinning like an dum-dum. Texas Gothic is paranormal young adult novel, that has both ghosts and witches. The novel starts out with Amy house sitting for her aunt while she's away on a trip to China. Amy thought her entire summer was gonna be boring and non-eventful while tending to chores on the farm. Things starts to get crazy, when an archeological dig near the farm unearths human remains, and Amy begins to see ghosts. A ghost that seems not to be haunting the farm area but Amy herself. Amy comes from a line of witches, and all she ever wanted was to be normal, and pretend that magic wasn't real. Well in order to get rid of this ghost, Amy is going to have to rely on her magical roots.

The story takes place in Texas hill County, near Austin. The paranormal aspect of the book was subtle, while the main focus of the book was solving the ghost mystery. The author did a great job in mending Texas history, with the plot and the background history of the characters. Readers can definitely tell that the author is a Texas native. Amy's character was fun and snarky, I love that in characters I read about. There are a lot of great/funny dialogue between Amy and the characters throughout the book (between her sister, Phin and the love interest Ben).  Between all the ghost hunting that happens in the book, one of the subplot involved is the relationship between Amy and Ben, who is kinda like their rival farmers. The beginning of the book was fun and interesting but as you get to the middle the story got kinda boring and was just slowly treading a long with nothing really exciting happening. A little more than halfway through the story picks up again as Amy and the gang solves the ghost mysteries and finally gets an explanations for everything that was happening...which kinda turn out not to be paranormal at all.

Overall a fun novel, if you like mysteries with a little bit of magic than this is the book for you! The magic in the book are really subtle like I said before. The Goonight family sells product that has a little "something extra" since the farm is cater to different plants and herbs (with the occasional farm animals) that Aunt Hy uses in her product.  And Amy and her sisters sometimes uses the occasional simple spell (verbal enchantments) in solving the ghost mystery.

Wow: Waiting on Wednesday

 

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly post started by Breaking the Spine, to show books that we are patiently waiting for.

Blurb: There can only be one allegiance.
It’s her time to choose.

Some humans can see the fae. McKenzie Lewis can track them, reading the shadows they leave behind. But some shadows lead to danger. Others lead to lies.

A Houston college student trying to finish her degree, McKenzie has been working for the fae king for years, tracking vicious rebels who would claim the Realm. Her job isn’t her only secret. For just as long, she’s been in love with Kyol, the king’s sword-master—and relationships between humans and fae are forbidden.

But any hope for a normal life is shattered when she’s captured by Aren, the fierce and uncompromising rebel leader. He teaches her the forbidden fae language and tells her dark truths about the Court, all to persuade her to turn against the king. Time is running out, and as the fight starts to claim human lives, McKenzie has no choice but to decide once and for all whom to trust and where she ultimately stands in the face of a cataclysmic civil war.

Release date: October 25, 2011

Blurb: There was a time when I prayed for Rachel to be real. Until the night I learned she'd always planned to kill me.
When Dani was eight, she fell from a building. No one believed her claim that she was pushed by Rachel . . . her imaginary friend. It took years of therapy to convince Dani that Rachel wasn't real.
Now fifteen, Dani wants to make it as a dancer. But a deadly freak accident sends Dani a terrifying message: Rachel is back, she's real, and she'll stop at nothing to kill Dani.
Complicating matters is Jesse, the school bad boy who's being stalked by his own invisible childhood nemesis. Dani and Jesse join forces to learn why their astral tormenters are back. Their investigation leads to a horrifying discovery—and the terrible experiment that binds them to each other.

Release date: September 8, 2011

Blurb: Their love was meant to be.

When Megan Rosenberg moves to Ireland, everything in her life seems to fall into place. After growing up in America, she's surprised to find herself feeling at home in her new school. She connects with a group of friends, and she is instantly drawn to darkly handsome Adam DeRís.

But Megan is about to discover that her feelings for Adam are tied to a fate that was sealed long ago—and that the passion and power that brought them together could be their ultimate destruction.

Release date: October 4, 2011

Review: Supernaturally by Kiersten White

Title and Author: Supernaturally by Kiersten White
Genre and series: Young Adult, Paranormalcy #2

Published on July 26, 2011 by HarperTeen
Hardcover, 352 pages

Blurb: Evie finally has the normal life she’s always longed for. But she’s shocked to discover that being ordinary can be... kind of boring. Just when Evie starts to long for her days at the International Paranormal Containment Agency, she’s given a chance to work for them again. Desperate for a break from all the normalcy, she agrees. But as one disastrous mission leads to another, Evie starts to wonder if she made the right choice. And when Evie’s faerie ex-boyfriend Reth appears with devastating revelations about her past, she discovers that there’s a battle brewing between the faerie courts that could throw the whole supernatural world into chaos. The prize in question? Evie herself.

 Review: First off when I read Paranormalcy I loved it and couldn't wait for the second novel to come out; so I really thought that Supernaturally was going to be just as good and exciting. I thought wrong. What Supernaturally lacked from Paranormalcy  was action and excitement. In Paranormalcy there was a perfect balance of enough detail along with dialogue and usually a writer builds up to create a great climax, but this novel was dull, and only till the end did it start getting interesting. Supernaturally is mainly about Evie figuring how to live a normal life after IPCA and her continued relationship with Lend. The couple goes through problems like any other long distance relationship would face, and there is some drama involved. The author then tries to shift the attention to Arianna and we find out some of her past and current problems. Also a new character is added and introduced as well and his name is Jack; Jack's character I liked very much; he is  spontaneous, jumpy, and unique... exactly like a kid high on sugar.  There were some parts that were amazing, and there is a little twist as well, and I did get a tad emotional at the end, but overall it wasn't as great as I thought it would be; I would say it was okay. I hope that the last book of the series is better.

Reviewed by Vu

2 sTARS

Review: Hard Bitten by Chloe Neill

Title & Author: Hard Bitten by Chloe Neill
Genre & Series: Urban Fantasy, The Chicagoland Vampires #4

Published on May 3, 2011

Trade paperback, 368 pages

Where did I get this book: Bought

Blurb: Times are hard for newly minted vampire Merit. Ever since shapeshifters announced their presence to the world, humans have been rallying against supernaturals-and they're camping outside of Cadogan House with protest signs that could turn to pitchforks at any moment. Inside its doors, things between Merit and her Master, green-eyed heartbreaker Ethan Sullivan are...tense. But then the mayor of Chicago calls Merit and Ethan to a clandestine meeting and tells them about a violent vamp attack that has left three women missing. His message is simple: get your House in order. Or else.

Merit needs to get to the bottom of this crime, but it doesn't help that she can't tell who's on her side. So she secretly calls in a favor from someone who's tall, dark, and part of underground vamp group that may have some deep intel on the attack. Merit soon finds herself in the heady, dark heart of Chicago's supernatural society-a world full of vampires who seem ready to fulfill the protesting human's worst fears, and a place where she'll learn that you can't be a vampire without getting a little blood on your hands...

Review:  I read the first three books in the Chicagoland vampires series and loved it. I had really high expectations especially after reading Twice Bitten (book 3). Prior to picking up Hard Bitten, I've been seeing a lot of negative reviews on it, and became iffy on whether to read it or not. Hard Bitten picks up a couple of weeks after Twice Bitten, with Merit doing what she does best being sentinel to the Cadogan House. Mayor Tates calls Ethan and Merit in to a meeting to discuss 3 missing women that was apparently attacked by bloodlust vampires. Things start to go from bad to worst for the Cadogan house and as usual it's up to Merit to figure out what happened and fix it.

What I love about the three previous book was the chemistry and interaction between Ethan and Merit, but we didn't really get to see much of that in this book. The only interaction I saw the most was between Merit and Jonah...and really nothing much there. I was also hoping to see more plot lines involving Gabriel Keen and his pack, but sadly they were not in the book as much as I would like...maybe just two scenes. The book was slow in comparison with all the previous novels, and lacking action scenes this time around. The ending was a shocker, and probably why many fans of the series were so angry and gave negative reviews. Overall despite it being slow, it was still a good book. I wasn't happy about the ending like most readers, but am still interested in picking up the next book to see what will happen next.

To those that have already read the first three books, not as great as the previous but if you want more Merit  and Company than I suggest you borrow this from the library or from a friend. To those that haven't read this series, don't let the bad reviews for this book stop you from starting the series. The first three books are fun and entertaining...and you never know what you're missing out on!

3 stars

Cover Spotlight

Book covers I found on various sites and blogs (2)

November 1, 2011

December 6, 2011

February 7, 2012

February 21, 2012

January 3, 2012

February 7, 2012

Review: Kindling the Moon by Jenn Bennett

Title & Author: Kindling the Moon by Jenn Bennett
Genre & Series: Urban Fantasy, Arcadia Bell #1

Published on June 28, 2011

Mass Market paperback, 384 pages

Where did I get this book: Bought

Blurb: Meet Arcadia Bell: bartender, renegade magician, fugitive from the law. . . .
 
Being the spawn of two infamous occultists (and alleged murderers) isn’t easy, but freewheeling magician Arcadia “Cady” Bell knows how to make the best of a crummy situation. After hiding out for seven years, she’s carved an incognito niche for herself slinging drinks at the demon-friendly Tambuku Tiki Lounge.But she receives an ultimatum when unexpected surveillance footage of her notorious parents surfaces: either prove their innocence or surrender herself. Unfortunately, the only witness to the crimes was an elusive Æthyric demon, and Cady has no idea how to find it. She teams up with Lon Butler, an enigmatic demonologist with a special talent for sexual spells and an arcane library of priceless stolen grimoires. Their research soon escalates into a storm of conflict involving missing police evidence, the decadent Hellfire Club, a ruthless bounty hunter, and a powerful occult society that operates way outside the law. If Cady can’t clear her family name soon, she’ll be forced to sacrifice her own life . . . and no amount of running will save her this time.

Review: Wow, I don't even know where to begin. When I first picked up this novel, and read the synopsis I knew it was going to be good. The novel wasn't just good it was beyond good...it was AMAZING. Mrs. Bennett created a believable cast of characters and one of the best world building I have ever read...and let me tell you there isn't many authors that can do that. Arcadia a.k.a Cady is a magician/ bar owner of the Tambuku Tiki Louge. Cady is a strong, snarky, likable kiss ass heroine. The male love interest in the book is Lon Butler, he is 20 years cady's senior. A little odd a first with the big age different, but the author made it work. Lon is also a likeable character, he let's his words and actions show how he feel about Cady. Most male characters that I've read before are somewhat afraid of telling the person they're attracted to how they feel, because they don't want to come across too emotional. But I love that Lon's character expresses exactly how he feels. Lon also has a thirteen year old son, Jupe. Jupe is a fun, bubbly, and super smart kid.

I LOVE this book so much. The next Arcadia Bell book doesn't come out till summer 2012....such as long wait! So to sum it up, Amazing characters and world building, and a totally original plot. This is the best book I have read so far in 2011, and it's a debut novel! If you haven't read this book yet...what are you waiting for? Go out and get it NOW.


Highly HIGHLY recommended to all Urban fantasy fans and PR fans. Definitely a shelf keeper, Mrs. Bennett is now on my auto-buy list. Eagerly awaiting the next Arcadia Bell book!!


Rating: ★★★★★

WoW: Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly post started by Breaking the Spine, to show books that we are patiently waiting for. 

Blurb: In sixteen-year-old Felicita’s world, magic
is strictly controlled—or so those in power like to believe.
After her dearest friend, Ilven, kills herself to escape an
arranged marriage, Felicita chooses freedom over privilege.
She fakes her own death and leaves her sheltered life as
one of Pelimburg’s magical elite behind. Living in the slums,
scrubbing dishes for a living, she falls for charismatic Dash
while also becoming fascinated with vampire Jannik. Then
something shocking washes up on the beach: Ilven’s death
has called out of the sea a dangerous, wild magic. Felicita
must decide whether her loyalties lie with the family she
abandoned . . . or with those who would twist this dark
power to destroy Pelimburg’s caste system, and the whole
city along with it

Release date: February 28th 2012,

 Blurb: Life is looking up for Sabina Kane. Now that her scheming grandmother is dead, the threat of war has passed and the rulers of the dark races are about to sign a treaty to ensure ongoing peace. Her relationship with sexy mage Adam Lazarus is strong and all her friends are around her. Even her magic training is progressing further than she ever expected. The only two dark spots in her otherwise settled life are her guilt over her sister Maisie's fragile mental state and Sabina's own sinking sense that she's got unfinished business with Cain, the mysterious cult leader she let get away months earlier. When a string of murders rock the New York dark races community and threatens to stall the peace negotiations, Sabina finds herself helping to find the killer. Her investigation leads her down troubling paths that have her questioning everything - and everyone - she knows. And the closer she gets to the murderer, the more Sabina realises this is one foe she may not able to kill

Release date: January 1, 2012