STARGAZER by Claudia Gray – REVIEW

 

HarperTeen – March 24, 2009

Bianca is determined to make it through the year even though without Lucas it is going to be hard.  She has made it her mission to find out why Evernight is accepting human students so Lucas can tell his superiors and his mission will be complete.  Evernight is completely safe and she wants the Black Cross, a group of vampire hunters, to back off and drop their investigation.

Bianca’s vampire instincts are getting closer to the surface.  She needs more and more blood to stay satisfied and her parents say it is only a matter of time before she takes the final step and kills for the first time to become a true vampire.  The trouble is, Bianca doesn’t know if that is what she wants. 

Things aren’t as they seem in Bianca’s life.  Secrets are being kept from her at the same time she is keeping secrets from others.  In order to maintain any kind of relationship with Lucas, she must rely on Balthazar for help to get on and off campus.  On one of their outings, Bianca is approached by a troubled female vampire who is being hunted by the Black Cross.  It turns out she is Balthazar’s sister and once he learns she is out there, he is desperate to find her and bring her back to Evernight for safety.  Charity, Balthazar’s sister, isn’t cooperative though and causes trouble for everyone.

Add in some major ghostly hauntings and you have a sequel that rivals its predecessor.  STARGAZER is  just as engaging as EVERNIGHT.  My emotions went right along with Bianca’s.  You’ll feel her need for love and blood just as she does.  STARGAZER doesn’t disappoint and it looks like it is only going to get better in the books that follow.

 

 

 

 

Stargazer
(Evernight Novels
(Hardback))

 

SHADOW KISS by Richelle Mead – REVIEW

 

 

Thank you Richelle Mead!  You have given fans of the Vampire Academy series a wonderful third novel.  SHADOW KISS is probably the best out of the three.  Reading VAMPIRE ACADEMY and FROSTBITE first is a must in order to really understand what is going on in the series.

Rose Hathaway is training to be a Guardian.  Once she graduates from St. Vladimir’s Academy she will be assigned to guard her best friend Lissa for the rest of her life.  Even though everything is going along as planned, she is feels waves of jealously and anger.  A lot of these feelings come from the fact that she can never have what she truly wants – love.  

Dimitri, her mentor and teacher, is set to be her partner after graduation. He and Rose will be the team that guards Lissa on a daily basis.  The problem is, Rose and Dimitri are in love.  Knowing their love isn’t allowed, they make sure to keep their relationship professional – when they can.

Rose has started seeing ghosts and she feels sure they are trying to tell her something.  Soon she begins to understand they are telling her that danger is on the way.  Danger that will involve everyone at St. Vladimir’s.  Rose is no stranger to fighting, but this time it is going to be war.  Not everyone survives and Rose ends up having to make the hardest decision of her life – one that will effect both her and Lissa.

SHADOW KISS left me breathless and in tears.  I can’t wait for the next book in the series to come out.  The way SHADOW KISS ends leads me to believe that the next one will be even better.  There are so many possibilities that it makes my head spin.

 

SHADOW KISS by Richelle Mead – BOOK TRAILER

 

MUST LOVE BLACK by Kelly McClymer

Philippa doesn’t consider herself a true goth.  She just likes wearing black.  When she sees an ad in the paper looking for a nanny for twin, 10-year-old girls with the stipulation that the applicant “must love black,” she feels like she has found the perfect summer job.  It doesn’t hurt that taking this job will get her out of going on a honeymoon cruise with her father and new step-mother.  She leaves for her new job directly from the wedding reception.  Geoff, the totally hot gardener and part-time driver, shows up to drive her to Chrysalis Cliff, the posh hotel/spa the twins live with their father.

Instructions are very clear when she arrives at work.  Philippa is supposed to keep the kids out of the way of the guests and make sure they have fun.  Fun is even scheduled into their busy day.  The problem is, the kids aren’t necessarily interested in typical fun.  They are extremely practical kids, so Philippa has to approach fun in inventive ways.

During the summer Philippa attempts to improve the kids’ relationship with their father and get to know Geoff a little better.  She isn’t quite sure if he has a girlfriend or not, but the girl that seems to be claiming him is the complete opposite of her.  Philippa’s summer turns out to be very enjoyable despite the fog-enshrouded mansion, tarot card reading twins, and possible ghosts.

Kelly McClymer, author of the Salem Witch series, has written an enjoyable and light novel.  Watching the relationship between Philippa and the girls is touching.  It would be nice to read a sequel and be able to keep up with the characters, but MUST LOVE BLACK doesn’t leave you hanging at the end.  The ending is wrapped up nicely and the reader feels satisfied.

 

MUST LOVE BLACK by Kelly McClymer – REVIEW

Philippa doesn’t consider herself a true goth.  She just likes wearing black.  When she sees an ad in the paper looking for a nanny for twin, 10-year-old girls with the stipulation that the applicant “must love black,” she feels like she has found the perfect summer job.  It doesn’t hurt that taking this job will get her out of going on a honeymoon cruise with her father and new step-mother.  She leaves for her new job directly from the wedding reception.  Geoff, the totally hot gardener and part-time driver, shows up to drive her to Chrysalis Cliff, the posh hotel/spa the twins live with their father.

Instructions are very clear when she arrives at work.  Philippa is supposed to keep the kids out of the way of the guests and make sure they have fun.  Fun is even scheduled into their busy day.  The problem is, the kids aren’t necessarily interested in typical fun.  They are extremely practical kids, so Philippa has to approach fun in inventive ways.

During the summer Philippa attempts to improve the kids’ relationship with their father and get to know Geoff a little better.  She isn’t quite sure if he has a girlfriend or not, but the girl that seems to be claiming him is the complete opposite of her.  Philippa’s summer turns out to be very enjoyable despite the fog-enshrouded mansion, tarot card reading twins, and possible ghosts.

Kelly McClymer, author of the Salem Witch series, has written an enjoyable and light novel.  Watching the relationship between Philippa and the girls is touching.  It would be nice to read a sequel and be able to keep up with the characters, but MUST LOVE BLACK doesn’t leave you hanging at the end.  The ending is wrapped up nicely and the reader feels satisfied.

 

BAD GIRLS DON’T DIE by Katie Alender

Alexis lives a dysfunctional high school existence.  She keeps to herself taking and developing her own photographs in a darkroom at home.  She doesn’t have any friends at school.  She watches her parents grow farther and farther apart while they focus on their careers instead of home, but most unsettling of all is her younger sister’s fascination with her doll collection. Kasey won’t allow anyone near them and Alexis knows she has heard Kasey talking to them in the middle of the night.

Strange things have been happening around the old house they live in.  Water boils on its own, doors open and close automatically, and Kasey’s eyes begin to change from their normal blue to a fiery green.  With the help from an unlikely ally, Alexis begins to put together the pieces of a mystery that will lead to the cause of the disturbance in her house and the cause of her sister’s evil possession.  

As far as ghost stories go, this is a good one.  There are several layers to the mystery and the author generates a completely creepy feeling throughout the entire book.  Be sure to pick up this book as soon as it comes out in April of 2009.  You won’t be disappointed.  Plus – what a cool cover!  Even the cover is creepy.

 

BAD GIRLS DON’T DIE by Katie Alender

Alexis lives a dysfunctional high school existence.  She keeps to herself taking and developing her own photographs in a darkroom at home.  She doesn’t have any friends at school.  She watches her parents grow farther and farther apart while they focus on their careers instead of home, but most unsettling of all is her younger sister’s fascination with her doll collection. Kasey won’t allow anyone near them and Alexis knows she has heard Kasey talking to them in the middle of the night.

Strange things have been happening around the old house they live in.  Water boils on its own, doors open and close automatically, and Kasey’s eyes begin to change from their normal blue to a fiery green.  With the help from an unlikely ally, Alexis begins to put together the pieces of a mystery that will lead to the cause of the disturbance in her house and the cause of her sister’s evil possession.  

As far as ghost stories go, this is a good one.  There are several layers to the mystery and the author generates a completely creepy feeling throughout the entire book.  Be sure to pick up this book as soon as it comes out in April of 2009.  You won’t be disappointed.  Plus – what a cool cover!  Even the cover is creepy.

 

THE SUMMONING by Kelley Armstrong

THE SUMMONING is a story about Chloe Saunders, a typical high school teen with hopes of attracting the eye of a long time crush and becoming an award winning movie director when she finishes school.  All her hopes go down the drain when she sees the ghost of a badly burned, long dead janitor at her school.  She runs screaming through the halls and is restrained by teachers until an ambulance comes to pick her up.  The next thing she knows, she is on her way to Lyle House, a home for troubled teens.

Chloe attempts to be a model student and is determined to get better.  After a couple of sessions with the doctor on staff at Lyle House, Chloe is convinced she has schizophrenia, but Derek, a sullen and rude boy, makes her consider other possibilities.  Derek tells her she is a necromancer, a person able to communicate with the dead.  The thought is terrifying, but strange incidents around Lyle House lead her to believe Derek is right.

I enjoyed reading THE SUMMONING from start to finish, but I have to say that the beginning could have moved a little faster.  I was expecting more ghost communication than there was.  Part of the reason there isn’t much communication with ghosts is the fact that the doctors have Chole on strong medication which supress her abilities.  I’m sure we’ll see more ghost activity in the sequel, THE AWAKENING.  Once I got a quarter of the way into the book I knew I wasn’t going to be able to put it down.  I just settled in and enjoyed the ride.

 

THE SUMMONING by Kelley Armstrong

The New York Bestselling Author of the Women of the Otherworld Series, Kelley Armstrong, has busted in on the young adult market.  THE SUMMONING is a story about Chloe Saunders, a typical high school teen with hopes of attracting the eye of a long time crush and becoming an award winning movie director when she finishes school.  All her hopes go down the drain when she sees the ghost of a badly burned, long dead janitor at her school.  She runs screaming through the halls and is restrained by teachers until an ambulance comes to pick her up.  The next thing she knows, she is on her way to Lyle House, a home for troubled teens.

Chloe attempts to be a model student and is determined to get better.  After a couple of sessions with the doctor on staff at Lyle House, Chloe is convinced she has schizophrenia, but Derek, a sullen and rude boy, makes her consider other possibilities.  Derek tells her she is a necromancer, a person able to communicate with the dead.  The thought is terrifying, but strange incidents around Lyle House lead her to believe Derek is right.

I enjoyed reading THE SUMMONING from start to finish, but I have to say that the beginning could have moved a little faster.  I was expecting more ghost communication than there was.  Part of the reason there isn’t much communication with ghosts is the fact that the doctors have Chole on strong medication which supress her abilities.  I’m sure we’ll see more ghost activity in the sequel, THE AWAKENING.  Once I got a quarter of the way into the book I knew I wasn’t going to be able to put it down.  I just settled in and enjoyed the ride.

 

BLISS by Lauren Myracle

Bliss in the Morning Dew has hippie parents and when they ditch her at her grandmother’s house on their way to Canada she is forced to survive in a world that is completely alien to her.

After living on a commune for years, Bliss expects high school to be like The Andy Griffith Show and is looking forward to starting frienships with people her age.  Her grandmother enrolls her at Crestview Academy, an elite school that used to be a convent, which makes her both nervous and excited.

Much to Bliss’ relief, she doesn’t have any trouble finding girls to hang out with and everyone seems to be extremely patient with her asking questions like: 1) what is a parade float? and 2) what are Flavor Straws?  Everything seems to be going great until she begins to hear the voice of a long dead novitiate – Liliana.  Liliana is trying to get someone to perform a ceremony that will release her spirit and allow her to have power again and since Bliss has always been able to sense things from the “other” side, she seems like the perfect candidate.

Lauren Myracle, the author of TTYL, has written a disturbing horror novel that takes the reader deep into the hippie culture.  She mixes facts from the 1969 Charles Manson Family Murders, a creepy ghost story, and typical high school drama into a wonderfully creative story.  The use of quotes from 60’s culture TV Shows, Commercials, and Transcripts from the Charles Manson trial add to the charm of this book.  While the middle of the story is a little slow, it doesn’t detract from the quality as a whole.