YA Reading Challenge COMPLETED!

Woohoo! Another one bites the dust! Check out my complete list here. Only two left now. One with only a little bit left. One with a lot a bit left. We shall see . . .

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake + Giveaway!

Published August 30, 2011.

Cas Lowood has inherited an usual vocation: he kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead - keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn't expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian house she used to call home.

But she, for whatever reason, spares his life. (ARC back blurb)

Apparently the publishing gods were listening to me as I begged, pleaded and whined about getting more YA horror onto the market because ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD certainly delivered! Part Supernatural, part Buffy with a penis (just don't tell Cas that), part Exorcist, ANNA is both incredibly spooky and touching all at the same time. It grabs the horror and throws it at you in little bursts, never overdoing it but it likes to play at the heartstrings too. It still carries some of that teen relationship schtick that most other YA books have but it's different and even more unattainable than Buffy and Angel's tryst. So there's really something for everyone but just be warned about the gore and spook elements. If you don' like that stuff, it might not be your bag.

There's something immediately likable about Cas. He's not a complainer but he's not a showboat either. There's a subtlety to his function that if tipped any other way he'd probably come off as annoying. But Blake does a phenomenal job of keeping him grounded and inherently appealing. He's got a job that he does. No big deal. He does it and moves on. That's it. It's best not to get strings attached to anything because that's just a hassle. He's so grounded out in logic that I can't help but fangirl him. Nearly every move he makes actually makes sense. There was barely a moment in the story where I was reading and disbelieving something he was doing. He followed a natural order to everything that was going on and he really never went against that. Scoffing at ridiculousness need not apply.

I also liked that his mom was a big buddy in the story. Whereas a lot of YA tends to shove parents into the background, ANNA didn't really do that. Of course the teens did a lot of the goings on and there was some bemoaning of parental worrying on Cas's part but that's natural. His mom, and Morfran, weren't wisps of smoke in the background leaving their children alone. They played active rolls in helping Cas figure out what the deal was and I really liked that. Again, more reality. More elements that actually made sense. Love it.

Carmel (sorry, but that's an absolutely atrocious name) and Thomas prove good supplements to Cas's abnormal evenness (because really, such a level-headed character is rare in YA). Carmel played the giggly popular girl well but she's a basket full of surprises. I ended up really liking her simply because she shattered every preconceived notion I had about her. Thomas didn't. He lived up to everything I originally thought he was, but that doesn't mean I didn't like him. He was useful to Cas, and insistent about it, which Cas begrudgingly took at the beginning but Thomas proved himself. Both of these guys showed Cas that he doesn't have to go it alone. They made him open up his eyes. For someone that was so open to strange and unusual things, Cas ended up being pretty close-minded about a lot of things mundane. I guess that comes with the territory.

I loved the gore simply because it came out of nowhere. It's not something you really expect in YA so when it popped up it was a total surprise and then I cheered a little. Not because a character got hurt, but because here's an author that's unafraid to take that step. How could I not love that? And there were some genuinely freaky moments going on that had me looking over my shoulder. I can't really like a book more once it does that. That's pretty much the pinnacle. The horror has done it's job. It's freaked me out and, even for a moment, unsettled me. Win.

I can't wait to read more in Blake's ANNA series if what I'm going into looks anything like this. YA horror, how nice it is to see you again. I hope you stay for a long, long time and have many, many little horror babies. Please.

Ban Factor: High - With all the talk of voodoo and ghosts and witchcraft and nothing Christian to balance it out, the banners would attack this like Westboro Baptist at a gay pride parade.

Giveaway Time!!!

I have a finished copy on my hands. You want it? Just fill out the form for your chance to win!

• Open to US residents 13 years of age and older only.
• One entry per person per email address.
• Duplicate entries will be deleted.
• Following my blog is required.
• Giveaway ends November 3rd, EST.

ETA - Just read the press release I found in my giveaway copy and what does Tor compare the book to? Supernatural and Buffy. It's okay. You can call me awesome for my amazing prophetic abilities.

Ashfall by Mike Mullin + Giveaway!

Published October 11, 2011.

Under the bubbling hot springs and geysers of Yellowstone National Park is a supervolcano. Most people don't know it's there. The caldera is so large that it can only be seen from a plane or satellite. It just could be overdue for an eruption, which would change the landscape and climate of our planet.

Ashfall is the story of Alex, a teenage boy left alone for the weekend while his parents visit relatives. When the Yellowstone supervolcano erupts unexpectedly, Alex is determined to reach his parents. He must travel over a hundred miles in a landscape transformed by a foot of ash and the destruction of every modern convenience that he has ever known, and through a new world in which disaster has brought out both the best and worst in people desperate for food, water, and warmth. (goodreads.com)

I've known about the caldera for a while so when Mike approached me to review ASHFALL, it was an instant yes. How I missed this one in my NetGalley wandering, I have no idea but Mike was kind enough to send me a copy and OMG am I glad he did.

The first couple of chapters were absolutely horrifying. Like literally had me shaking, horrifying. The thing is, I think what made it really horrifying is that this is something that's going to happen. Not if, but when. We have no idea and we can only pray to whatever god exists that we'll have some kind of warning sign to help prepare us but that doesn't make it any more palatable. Knowing that a popular tourist attraction can and will annihilate us can tend to keep one up at night.

The story is told from the POV of Alex and almost immediately it starts into the destruction in Iowa from the erupting volcano. Alex's house gets hit by a volcano-projected meteor, nearly trapping him inside of it. It's a total down-slide from there but the sheer resilience of this kid is absolutely astounding. Of course he had help along the way (he'd literally be dead if he didn't) but his will to reconnect him with his family was so strong that he pushed on to walk from Iowa to Illinois to find his parents and sister that were only supposed to be away for a weekend. You see Alex start from a little boy (despite his 15 (16?) years) and morph into this young man that can field dress a pig and survive the elements.

Of course, Darla helped him along there. If it wasn't for her, Alex would have been left at the curb well before the end of the book. Darla starts off overly strong but it's a logical strong. It's not the type of attitude where it's 'I can do anything better than you' but more like 'holy crap, we don't have enough food to feed a drifter, we need to think of ourselves first.' Her logic really grounds out Alex's inherent altruism that, at times, can really bite them in the ass. What's even better is when they actually point out his stupid altruism. Self-deprecation is always a win for me.

But Darla functions as his rock and, quite frankly, it's nice and refreshing to see the boy having to get rescued time after time after time in a story. Not that Alex is a little pansy weakling but Darla's a farmhand. Her ability to survive and adapt is a little better than his. And the relationship they form is something unlike what I've seen in other books. I liken is to Alex in Ilsa Bick's ASHES and her relationship with Tom. ASHFALL'S Alex's relationship with Darla is a little more intense but there's something purer about it. Their survival depends on each other. They actually have to work at it. Where they are didn't come free. They earned every second of it and, for me, that makes it that much sweeter and far less lust-at-first-sightish.

As I said before, this book had me shaking. The setting was realistic to the point where I could feel the ash on my skin, taste it in my mouth, hear the roaring of the erupting volcano. And the fact that it actually reads accurate makes it all the more realistic. I had a little bit of issue with how the military was portrayed (I could ask soldier boy for clarification, just haven't gotten around to it yet). The whole situation seemed a bit dramatized for the sake of, well, drama. Although I do know that true martial law is quite possibly one of the most horrifying things on the planet and while they'd get shit done, it'd be at the sacrifice of a lot of people, the individual actions of the soldiers that Alex and Darla interacted with just didn't seem right to me. They just seemed far too douchy. I am a touch biased but I'd like to think that even in martial law, most soldiers would maintain a modicum of humanity and douche nozzles like those guys would be the exception, not the norm. That could just be me being hopeful. Like I said, I could get more accurate clarification on that but it's based in hypothetical, technically. There's some experience there when dealing with vets so I guess it'd be a little less hypothetical than normal.

ASHFALL was easy to read and while I felt, at times, it read a little too simplistically (I would have liked some greater detail in some parts, less inane description in others), it made its point. It got Alex's story across without flowery prose and without pretense. I really felt like I was reading about Alex from Alex. For the most part I didn't read the book and feel like I was reading anyone other than Alex (there were a few times where I felt the wording was a bit out of character but not enough to have a major effect).

The best part, I think? There's nothing paranormal about ASHFALL. No zombies, no mutant hybrids. Just science. The earth's biggest zit explodes and this is the aftermath of that. Really, people losing their minds was scary enough. And that's what made this book really hit home: just how real it was, and could be. You don't close the book and go whew! That was freaky! Glad I don't have to worry about it. You close the book when you're done and go, oh shit. I need to stock up on bottled water. The lack of anything paranormal, to me, makes it all the scarier because it's that much more rooted in reality.

For apocalyptic stories, ASHFALL comes in second to ASHES by Ilsa Bick for me. Everything that happens is based on science, nothing seems out of place and at the end it'll leave you shaking just a little bit harder than when you started. The ending leaves a few things open but the sequel comes out next year so you won't be left hanging for long. Yet another apocalyptic book that I'm proud to say rockets itself up and over nearly everything else that's out there. Read it and get scared.

Ban Factor: Medium - There is premarital sex but it's fade to black and I believe subtle enough that the banners wouldn't be smart enough to pick up on it. Swearing's on the low side but it's there a little. If anything I think it'd be the sex that'd kill it but they'd be happy about the Christianity (not that it's a Christian book).

Giveaway Time!!!

Want my ARC? Then just fill out the form below for your chance to win!

• Open to US residents 13 years of age and older only.
• One entry per person per email address
• Duplicate entries will be deleted
• Giveaway ends October 20th at midnight, EST.

When I Was Joe by Keren David

Published January 1, 2010.

It's one thing watching someone get killed. It's quite another talking about it.

But Ty does talk about it. He named some ruthless people and a petrol-bomb attack forces him and his mum into hiding under police protection.

Shy loser Ty gets a new name, a new look and a cool new image. Life as Joe is good. But the gangsters will stop at nothing to silence him. And then he meets a girl with a dangerous secret of her own. (book back blurb)

This book hooked me in right from the beginning. David has a simplistic way with words that both conveys the deepest emotion possible for the character while being as poignant as can be. That's a hard balance to strike and I think David does it perfectly. The words are simple but they're deep enough to suck you in and hold you there.

I thought that Ty was an immediately likable character. You can't help but latch onto him as soon as you find out he's on the run, which is pretty much right from the beginning. The story starts on some pretty high action and while it peters out, the threat of something happening lingers just beneath the words and keeps you, and Ty, on edge. His actions in his new life are indicative of the paranoia he's bound to have.

I was less than thrilled with his mom, Nicki. She would be someone I'd deem a Mom in Denial. She'd had Ty young, 15 I believe, and she kind of hangs that guilt on him at times but lifts it off of him and puts it on herself the rest. It's kind of underhanded and the jabs can be subtle but they're there. She nearly blows their cover because she gets to slip back into the teen mode that she missed and a lot of the time, I just don't pity her. I'm thinking I should but . . . you sleep in the bed you make. I don't feel the situation she's in is a result of shitty parenting. The best parents in the word can end up with kids that hang out with the trashiest kids. I just think it's a matter of circumstances. She didn't do anything bad per se but she's not a contender for the mom of the year award either. Perhaps cut in half all those times she spent going out and singing drunk karaoke and things might have turned out differently. Parents have to have lives of their own too but not at the sacrifice of their children.

But Nicki and Ty work well off of each other. Ty makes up for the parent that Nicki isn't (which isn't something he should be doing but rather a role he was kind of forced to step into) and she is a mom when the situation calls for it (most of the time). Ty is a character that sees his faults and tries to improve on them. And I think that's the most important, and endearing, part of him: how he wants to improve himself. He tries so hard but sometimes things slip. Maybe they could have been helped, maybe not. But he tries as much as he can and I like him for that.

When Ty has to make another switch I felt his escape was a little too easy (an escape from the situation at school as opposed to thugs on his ass). He made some mistakes that he was about to be punished for but the bobbies had to come in and move him because he's become too high profile. By the end of the book he's pulled a 360, going back to something resembling his old self, just without friends at all. Really, I'm surprised he wasn't psychotic by the end of the book for all the personalities he had to juggle.

And I liked his relationship with Claire. It was probably the purest thing in Ty's life and I was sad when he had to let it go. It was something so nice and sweet that he could hold on to, that balanced out everything else in his life. He could be himself around her and I felt at as much of a loss as Ty did when Claire was ripped away from him. But she lingered and I'm glad for that.

WHEN I WAS JOE is a unique contemporary that deals with something wholly unpleasant, and something that really isn't talked about much. How can it? Witnesses in witness protection tend to keep their lives hidden. So getting a glimpse into this jilted lifestyle and seeing how ruinous it can actually be was eye-opening. But Ty handled it all so well and I think he's such a fantastic character for it. He's still human, and he shows his human side quite often in the book but it only functions to make him a more dynamic character. If you're looking for a book that shows strength at it's greatest, WHEN I WAS JOE is it.

Ban Factor: High - There are some sexual innuendos thrown in there and there's plenty of swearing. While it might not be at the forefront of the banner's ban list, I wouldn't be surprised if it's on there already.

This Girl is Different by JJ Johnson

Published April 1, 2011.

What happens when a girl, homeschooled by her counterculture mother, decides to spend her senior year in public school? First friendship, first love—and first encounters with the complexities of authority and responsibility. (netgalley.com)

Well, this is absolutely a unique book with a take on homeschooling that doesn't veer into the weird religious road. So that was nice. But THIS GIRL IS DIFFERENT solidified my notion that I just don't like hippies. At all. Martha, Eve's mother, I wanted to beat her to death with her own Birkenstocks. I'm all for people wanting to have a self-sustaining lifestyle and all of that. I think that's fantastic. But those that don't follow it through, complain about "The Man" holding them down and then try to force themselves onto other people, effectively becoming "The Man" (see re: nonconformists conforming to the nonconformist conformity) and piece-mealing their lives to suit them bother the shit out of me. For instance they live in a self-sustaining house but Martha drives a Volkswagen micro bus. Well, they certainly cancel each other out. Or complaining about "The Man" but she doesn't have a problem actually working for one and using it as an outlet to force her ideals down others' throats. It's just a big basket of contradictions that annoyed the ever-loving hell out of me.

But remove Martha from the scene and it really isn't so bad of a story. Eve's a great character. She's strong and sticks to her laurels even though everyone, and I mean everyone, ends up against her. She doesn't waver in the slightest and that makes her such an amazing person. She's extremely intelligent and can go toe to toe with authorities in arguments with viable opinions well above what her classmates could probably offer. While I don't agree with some of her stances (like students being equal to teachers, sorry kids, school isn't a democracy, the teachers aren't your equals and they're not meant to be your friends), I could empathize with a lot of what she stood for (clean bathrooms, teachers not berating and insulting students, better food in the cafeteria, etc.). The majority of her stances weren't unreasonable but the world she grew up in was an extreme so while Eve herself isn't an extreme person, her actions leaned that way because that's how she was taught to handle them. And that came around to bite her in the ass hard.

I really liked how Rajas and Jacinda took Eve under their wing even before Eve got to school. They accepted her for who she was and defended her when she really started to open her mouth. The bounds of their friendships did get tested and both Jacinda and Rajas made themselves look exceptionally human. And I really liked that. They reacted to situations like I believe normal teenagers would react and while it didn't make them look all that great, it made me like the story even more for it's reality. These two characters hold their own.

What kind of tampered my like for the book a bit was the ending. I don't want to spoil but what I will say is that the ending is like something you'd see in your typical teen movie. It pretty much killed the reality of it for me because I felt it was a little too out there to be acceptable. That doesn't mean I didn't like it and I wasn't happy with the ending but in terms of realism, I wasn't buying it.

The main drawing point for me with THIS GIRL IS DIFFERENT is Eve. She's such a fantastic character. You can see how strong she is at the beginning, watch as she crumples under the pressure of school and then builds herself back up towards the end. While she second-guesses herself and why she decided to enter public school, she never wavers from her beliefs. She stands strong even though the entire grain is against her. Your really can't help but admire something like that. I wish more YA had characters like Eve, that show such impeccable strength of character. Granted I do think she's an anomaly. Many teenagers under her kind of duress would have caved, I believe. But she didn't. I didn't find it outside of the norm because of the way Johnson wrote Eve. Her breakdown as her world crumbled was believable enough, and her mother's insistence in staying strong was so vivid, that I could believe it. In this case, growing up so sheltered really helped Eve stay Eve.

If for nothing else, read THIS GIRL IS DIFFERENT for Eve, to read about a truly strong character walk from one end of the plank to another. It is a sweet story, if not a little unbelievable at the end. You'll find yourself taken aback at some points and rooting all of them on at others. It didn't blow my socks off, but it was good nonetheless.

Ban Factor: Medium - There's some definite disregard for authority going on in this one but I don't know if it's enough to make it onto the banners' radar. There's also some mild swearing and some light petting but it could be innocuous enough to slide by.

The Freak Observer by Blythe Woolston + Giveaway!

Published August 1, 2010.

When her younger sister dies, 16-year-old Loa's clockwork galaxy collapses. As she spins off on her own, Loa's mind ambushes her with vivid nightmares and sadistic flashbacks a textbook case of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder. But there are no textbook fixes for Loa's short-circuiting brain. If she keeps her eyes open and her neurons busy, there's less chance for her imagination to brew up nightmares and panic attacks. Maybe then she'll be able to pry her world from the clutches of death. (goodreads.com)

Carolrhoda Lab for the win yet again! Seriously, I've been on top of this inprint since they debuted with DRAW THE DARK and TRAITOR and they've yet to publish anything even remotely resembling a word turd. Their books are so rich and deep that you just get sucked right in and you don't even realize you were under water until you emerge breathless. THE FREAK OBSERVER is no exception.

Now this is literary YA that I can sink my teeth into. It's succinct but vibrant. Loa doesn't pity herself even though she is probably someone that should. The story is relatively plotless, with Asta's death happening before the story even starts. When you first enter, you're walking into Loa's shit storm of a life without an umbrella and you can feel every ping and fleck of poo as it hurls at her.

The main antagonist is someone that exists only in Loa's mind, The Bony Guy. Death. He's always there, haunting her, keeping her alone in life. And her loneliness is tangible. Her parents don't see her as their child but as a burden, especially when she falls out of line, like getting hit by a car. Such a bad kid. Her only friend moves away but she finds something out about him that makes her doubt the relationship for most of the book. Her little brother is kept at a distance by her parents, as if they're afraid he'll catch something from her. This girl leads such a loveless, lonely life that you can't help but feel for her.

The good thing (as if there's only one) is that Woolston doesn't drag the drama out for hundreds upon hundreds of pages. The story is poignant, telling the parts that need to be told for Loa's mind to get from point A to point B and then it's done. And it's marvelous. It's literary without the heinous, door stopper fat.

If you're jonsing for a phenomenal character-driven story that's low on plot but amped up with a multi-faceted character whose crutch is physics because it's the only dependable constant in her life, you'll love THE FREAK OBSERVER. I feel like all I'm doing is expounding on the fangirlishness with this review but it is that level of amazing. It's a character study with a glimmer of hope at the end. It's near hopeless but not quite. Loa is one of the most amazing characters I've seen and to have gone through everything that she has, it's a miracle she's not in the fetal position sucking her thumb by the end of the story. No. At the end she's standing up straighter than at the beginning. And for that she's all the more amazing.

Ban Factor: High - It's chock full of swearing and some sexual scenarios, not to mention the craptastic home life the MC has. Book banners would pee themselves with this one.

Giveaway Time!!!

Want my finished copy? Then just fill out the form below for your chance to win.

• Open to US residents 13 years of age and older only.
• One entry per person per email address.
• Duplicate entries will be deleted.
• Giveaway ends September 29th at midnight, EST.

Dust & Decay by Jonathan Maberry

Pub date: August 30th, 2011.

Six months have passed since the terrifying battle with Charlie Pink-eye and the Motor City Hammer in the zombie-infested mountains of the Rot & Ruin. It’s also six months since Benny Imura and Nix Riley saw something in the air that changed their lives. Now, after months of rigorous training with Benny’s zombie-hunter brother Tom, Benny and Nix are ready to leave their home forever and search for a better future. Lilah the Lost Girl and Benny’s best friend Lou Chong are going with them.

Sounds easy. Sounds wonderful. Except that everything that can go wrong does. Before they can even leave there is a shocking zombie attack in town. But as soon as they step into the Rot & Ruin they are pursued by the living dead, wild animals, insane murderers and the horrors of Gameland –where teenagers are forced to fight for their lives in the zombie pits. Worst of all…could the evil Charlie Pink-eye still be alive?

In the great Rot & Ruin everything wants to kill you. Everything…and not everyone in Benny’s small band of travelers will make it out alive. (goodreads.com)

Evul. Jonathan Maberry is an evul, evul man. Holy good mother this was such a truly awesome sequel that I'm having a hard time forming it into words.

I LOVE Maberry's zombies. Love them. They're so Romero but don't second guess them. Like any good virus, it mutates so while he sticks to the classic Romero notion of slow, shambling, unthinking zombies, there's a twist. And it's pretty terrifying.

As if you thought things couldn't get any harder for Benny and Nix and Lilah and Tom (and Chong now), you thought so wrong you need to go dunk yourself in a dunk tank. Maberry does things to his characters that only the most sadistic of gods would do to its people. And I love him for it. He stretches and bends his characters, pushing them to the brink of their own destruction, just to see what they would do. Maybe they make it out, maybe they don't. But none of them are unscathed by it. They all show the battle scars of a mental and physical war run ripshod over their persons time after time after time. And they're all the better for it. Maberry's characters are some of the deepest, most dynamic I've found in YA to date. If you don't love them, I'm going to question your integrity as a human being.

There are horrifying revelations popping up all over the book that'll have you gasping (probably literally) and just maybe screaming at the book (just watch where you do it, you don't want people to think you're too insane). Mayberry goes THERE over and over and over again. Where's THERE? Where you think he just wouldn't go with the plot, where it would be too terrifying, too gruesome to even contemplate. He goes THERE, comes back and then crosses THERE to the other side where there's unknown stuff waiting. DUST & DECAY will keep you guessing until the last page. Maberry is so willing torture the hell out of his characters that you couldn't possibly admit to yourself that he might go THERE and when he does, whether you guessed it or not, you're still shocked.

And the ending? EVUL. Had me in tears. Literally. Thankfully I was home and could weep openly without judgment (although my dog did look at me a little strangely). There's resolve yet everything shatters but at the same time life goes on. You watch as these kids slog through hardship after hardship and yet even at the end, faced with the choice of going back to something easy or pressing on to something unknown, they take the road less traveled because it's who they are, shaped by the Ruin into something they were always meant to be.

Jonathan Maberry should be dipped in gold and worshipped as the zombie god he is. Read this series. Read it now. Then read it again and again and again. It is so fantastic in so many ways that I can't even possibly name them all. I don't think the language has created a few of those descriptors yet. Just read it.

The Gray Wolf Throne by Cinda Williams Chima

Pub date: August 30th, 2011.

Han Alister thought he had already lost everyone he loved. But when he finds his friend Rebecca Morley near death in the Spirit Mountains, Han knows that nothing matters more than saving her. The costs of his efforts are steep, but nothing can prepare him for what he soon discovers: the beautiful, mysterious girl he knew as Rebecca is none other than Raisa ana’Marianna, heir to the Queendom of the Fells. Han is hurt and betrayed. He knows he has no future with a blueblood. And, as far as he’s concerned, the princess’s family killed his own mother and sister. But if Han is to fulfill his end of an old bargain, he must do everything in his power to see Raisa crowned queen.

Meanwhile, some people will stop at nothing to prevent Raisa from ascending. With each attempt on her life, she wonders how long it will be before her enemies succeed. Her heart tells her that the thief-turned-wizard Han Alister can be trusted. She wants to believe it—he’s saved her life more than once. But with danger coming at her from every direction, Raisa can only rely on her wits and her iron-hard will to survive—and even that might not be enough. (goodreads.com)

Holy crap. Absolutely fantastic. Crap, crap, crap. Why crap? Because after THE DEMON KING and THE EXILED QUEEN, what do I have left to say?

The world is still as utterly fantastic as it's always been. Richly colored and full of life, Chima hasn't let it slip by as a sacrifice to the greater plot. It still plays its role magnificently, hanging out just on the edge of the background and foreground, being its own character but knowing when not to be overwhelming.

I'm all for Han and Raisa but there was a piece of me that rooted for Raisa and Amon too, despite how implausible (even more so than her and Han) the relationship was. It did end up going down the route it was destined to go down (as intoned in the second book, the Byrnes are not about to break the line any time soon, 1,000 years of history supports that). Even though it went where it was supposed to go, I couldn't help but feel a little bit sad. For as long as it was pushed off, the harsh reality could be ignored. No more and it was a bit of a hard pill to swallow. But they both swallowed it because they had to.

The mounting tension between Raisa and Han is just phenomenal. When he finds out just who Raisa is, it's heartbreaking. You want to tear through the pages and slap some sense into him but it's Han. He's far too steadfast for something like that. But they're forced together anyway (in a more professional manner) so any ill will Han does have towards Raisa he's forced to swallow it back for the greater good.

But Han's resilient. He knows full well he's being used but he flips the situation to his advantage. He finds all of the holes that would end up benefiting him while performing his duties and he takes them. He makes sure that he plugs those holes with his desires first and foremost. You can't help but be impressed by someone like that. He holds his own against the bluebloods and he deserves some respect for that.

Raisa is still infinitely awesome. After multiple attempts on her life she continues to land on her feet. Like Han, she's fully aware that she's being used by everyone around her, not to mention being underestimated constantly (bad on those doing it) but she's had enough political upbringing to view things from all sides. She doesn't make hasty decisions and knows strategy like no seventeen-year-old does. I don't feel like I'm reading about someone so young but about someone even older than me for how she holds herself. I love her more and more with every book.

And the ending? Cruel to the point of barbarism. If I'm not mistaken there's one more book in the series yet to come out. How long do I have to wait for that one???

If you haven't started reading this series yet, you really need to get on it. It's such a relatable, engaging high fantasy novel that I think even someone that isn't the biggest fan of fantasy will get pulled right into it. Sure there's magic and wizards and a whole new world but it's about the people, first and foremost. And the people are just so dynamic and intriguing that you won't want to take your eyes off of them. THE GRAY WOLF THRONE is a fantastic piece of the SEVEN REALMS puzzle. This series just keeps getting better and better. I'm going to have to create a sixth bite rating for the next one.

The Blending Time by Michael Kinch + Giveaway!

Published October 1st, 2010.

In the year 2069, turning seventeen means mandatory Global Alliance work assignments that range from backbreaking drudgery to deadly canal labor. Trying to survive in a world that's been ravaged by plagues and environmental disasters, three "s'teeners" from the harshest backgrounds think they've gotten lucky. Jaym, Reya, and D'Shay are chosen to be among thousands of blenders, whose task is to help repopulate and rebuild Africa after a devastating solar flare.

But the continent itself - roiling with civil war and mercenaries intent on crushing the blending program at any cost - poses the gravest danger. Separated, the three friends struggle to escape the violence and chaos, and somehow reunite. But will following rumors of a mountain hideout lead them to sanctuary, or cost them their lives? (book back blurb)

This book was a weird one for me. I wanted to really like it but at the end of the day, my like for it ended up falling pretty short of where I thought it was going to be.

My favorite aspect of it was the grittiness. I love gritty books that actually make you feel gritty and not in a grossed out way. I've read books where the characters are just gross but the world around them isn't. That just makes me gag, dirty characters. But when the world is gritty, and the author's awesome enough to actually project that onto your person through words, that's fantastic. It helps me anchor into the book more. I feel like a greater part of it and even if I end up not liking it all the way through, I at least felt something from it. Kinch does such a good job of portraying this dusted, wasted world that was once ours that I couldn't help not feel its grit all over me.

I really liked the characters too. I was rooting for all three of them as they tried to make their way through such a disorganized, corrupt society that disguises itself as something functioning. They're extraordinarily brave for taking the role of a blender a world away just to escape certain death in the canal. Despite the fact that they could be walking into it all over again. And again, I have such a soft spot for authors that beat the ever-loving snot out of their characters. I think Reya took it the worst but came out all the stronger for it. That's not to say D'Shay and Jaym had it easy but, well, to save some spoilers, what Reya went through was infinitely more terrible than what the boys had to handle.

Most importantly, once they all got to Africa, the story felt real to me. The presence of the pseudo-government faded and the realities of a dying world floated to the surface with all of their open sores on display. I believed what I was reading for that part. I didn't so much buy what was going on in the US and the total dissolution of society in a span of 50 years. I felt that wasn't time enough for all of that to happen. But I was able to suspend my disbelief enough to get over that hurdle and to Africa where I think Kinch really nailed it. There it became less about what the world had become and more about how people were trying to survive. I liked the focus shift that THE BLENDING TIME provided in that respect.

I didn't like the slang that was used. Not for any particular reason. It just really grated on me. It's basically just a lot of words chopped in half. It came off more lazy than anything else and it grated me every time I read one of the characters using it. Like 'scrapers for sky scrapers. I just didn't find it necessary.

Other than that I don't really have a valid reason for not loving THE BLENDING TIME. Maybe it was just the timing I had reading it. Or my mood those couple of days. Ultimately, it's a really good book. A hell of a lot better than some of the dystopians that are coming out now that completely spit in the face of worldbuilding. It just didn't grab me. I don't think I run into instances like this a lot but when I do, it bothers me. Why didn't I love this book? I have no idea. It just didn't hit me right. I don't know what else to say.

But I'd definitely recommend it to others and I know I'd like to keep reading the series to find out what happens with the characters. It's a great dystopian that, I feel, is more deserving of a place on the shelves than some of the other prettier covers that act as nothing but a facade for lackluster verbiage. Despite my lower rating, you should read this. Hopefully it'll hit you harder than it hit me.

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Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

Published September 2010.

Three angels are sent down to bring good to the world: Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, a teenager girl who is the least experienced of the trio. But she is the most human, and when she is romantically drawn to a mortal boy, the angels fear she will not be strong enough to save anyone - especially herself - from the Dark Forces.

Is love a great-enough power against evil? (book back blurb)

DNF with a big, fat, capital RETCH. When I first got this book I thought it sounded really interesting and not too long after the ARCs were distributed rave reviews were coming out about it. Great! Then the article came out that made modern women's ovaries die. And then the revelation came that this novel is a TWILIGHT fanfiction heavily influenced by TWILIGHT. Add in Christian moralizing and 1950's gender roles and I let it slide for a while. Until now.

Oh I have not had a lulz novel like this probably since TWILIGHT. I so wanted to read all the way through so I could enjoy the lulz to the fullest extent. Alas, I could not. I'm not a fan of drowning in excessive and needless description. I'm also pretty rankled that Gabriel, THE archangel, has been reduced to cooking mushroom risotto. How Adnornetto survived this smiting, I have no idea. If she'd been fucking with Supernatural's Gabriel, she'd spend the rest of her life in a herpes commercial.

There were just far too many inconsistencies for my liking. Like that Bethany (WTF kind of angel name is that anyway?) knowing next to nothing about humans but she sure had a knack for spotting fashion. I wouldn't think she'd know what cashmere or a Peter Pan collar was. And don't forget Bethany mooing about how plain, average, boring, etc. she was. We mustn't ever forget that. Because it's repeated constantly. Right, TWILIGHT? Wait, what book was I reading?

One of the biggest kickers in the mere 100 pages that I read was the angels of Light being sent down to Earth to save people from the Agents of Darkness . . . in a very white, rich, cozy beach town. OMG THE HORROR!!!! How will they ever accomplish their mission? SAVE WHITEY! Save the white prep school! For serious, did God have nowhere else to send them or was this the place where you send the "special" kids to make them feel like they're contributing?

Other gems worth mentioning: the angels' last name is Church (you're fucking kidding me), Bethany needs to be saved by Xavier when she's drunk (just cut off her effing wings now), Bethany is a fallen angel without actually falling (sorry, you don't get to say fuck it to your mission from god for RPattz hair and turquoise eyes and get to remain in his grace, I'm not even fucking baptized and I know that), Molly (the Babylonian whore, apparently) was already chastised by the super pure Xavier for leading Bethany astray, Gabriel admits to them being human and making mistakes (uh . . . wha . . .?). Imagine what I would find if I read more than 100 pages.

What a self-serving, moralizing, preaching pile of horsefunk this is. Why was this not published with a Christian publisher? Because it's obviously trying to force a message down the readers' throat. Alexandra, maybe you feel your place is barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen with your man to protect you but don't try to teach the human race moral lessons through thinly disguised self-insert fiction. I feel bad for this girl. She's so young and already she's reaching Jerry Falwell levels of douchery. I don't appreciate being told how horrible I am for the things I do with a hypocritical vag of an angel character that would SOONER LOSE HER GOD'S GRACE THAN LOSE THE EYE OF THE HOT CAPTAIN BOY. And Molly's the immoral, demon-possessed slut.

Holy shit balls. I'd recommend this book to the young Ann Coulters of the world that believe Christianity is the all-encompassing shit and women are merely things to be controlled by the menfolk. This is TWILIGHT on steroids. It's quite frankly insulting to be preached to by a hypocrite.

To keep my tangent in check I'm going to end this here but I will leave you with some lulz-worthy quotes that made me go -

It seemed from my reading of literature that being in love meant becoming the beloved's entire world. The rest of the universe paled into insignificance compared to the lovers. When they were separated, each fell into a melancholy state, and when they were reunited their hearts started beating again. Only when they were together could they really see the colors of the world. When they were apart, that color leeched away, leaving everything a hazy gray. (pg 12 ARC)

I think the medical world would refer to that as the unhealthy obsession of one suffering from bipolar disorder.

It had been decided that a school would be a useful place to begin our work of countering the emissaries of darkness, given it was full of young people whose values were still evolving. (pg 21 ARC)

Read: influential teenage brains are easier to manipulate.

I'd listened in on the prayers of teenage girls and most of them centered on being accepted by the "popular" crowd and finding a boyfriend who played on the rugby team. (pg 27 ARC)

Fan of pigeonholes, are we?

We had predicted that our arrival was bound to make an impression but we hadn't counted on people stopping to openly gawk at us, or stepping aside as though they were being visited by royalty., (pg 29 ARC)

Modesty's an over-rated human trait anyway.

I was starting to get a sense of the extent of the damage done by the Agents of Darkness and it wasn't looking good. (pg 35 ARC, in response to an uptick in robberies, freak accidents and the flu)

Oh noes! Not teh sniffles!

That was going to be a problem during games seeing as we angels didn't have a navel - just smooth white skin, freckle and indentation free. (pg 42 ARC)

Can someone let the neo-Nazis know that the Aryan nation has relocated to Heaven? Thanks.

"They all seem lost to me," Gabe said. "I wonder if any of them really know what life is all about. I didn't realize we'd be starting from scratch. This is going to be harder than I thought." He fell silent and we all were reminded of the epic task we had ahead of us. (pg 48 ARC, in response to the normal actions of teenage girls seeing a good-looking guy)

Don't stress yourself out. We all know how horrible teenage girls can be. Maybe that option of going to Africa to deal with those silly mercenaries might have been a little easier.

The proverb that Cleanliness is next to Godliness couldn't have been more accurate. (pg 77 ARC, in response to Molly's messy locker).

Are you fucking kidding me?

We thought of technology as a sort of corrupting influence, promoting antisocial behavior and detracting from family values. (pg 101 ARC)

I hope you don't break your neck falling off of that high horse of yours.

Carrie Pilby by Caren Lissner

Published July 1, 2010.

Teen Genius (and Hermit)

Carrie Pilby's To Do List:

1. List 10 things you love (and DO THEM!)
2. Join a club (and TALK TO PEOPLE!)
3. Go on a date (with someone you actually LIKE!)
4. Tell someone you care (your therapist DOESN’T COUNT!)
5. Celebrate New Year’s (with OTHER PEOPLE!)

Seriously? Carrie would rather stay in bed than deal with the immoral, sex-obsessed hypocrites who seem to overrun her hometown, New York City. She’s sick of trying to be like everybody else. She isn’t! But when her own therapist gives her a five-point plan to change her social-outcast status, Carrie takes a hard look at herself—and agrees to try.

Suddenly the world doesn’t seem so bad. But is prodigy Carrie really going to dumb things down just to fit in? (netgalley.com)

DNF.

It sounds pretty quirky and fun but when I got into it, all I got was an irredeemable character that was too good for everyone else and really wasn't willing to change.

I wanted to like Carrie. I really did. But I hated being in her head. I just can't empathize with someone that's genius enough to give Stephen Hawking a run for his money but can't figure out how or why she needs to NOT be a douche to people. Maybe it's because I'm not smart enough to understand that kind of smart. Or maybe I refuse to believe that someone that smart is so lacking in common sense. I've heard the notion that people that smart are void of street smarts and common sense. Maybe I'd like to think a person's parents would do a better job of raising their kid to not be such a prick despite their intelligence. I don't know.

Just her entire perspective on life, how she viewed other people, how she treated other people, how she felt it was her mission to right people and put them in their places, it really bothered me. I can guess that she sees the light at the end of the book but I couldn't stick around to find out. Maybe if the book were in third person it would be a little more tolerable but actually being in first, and being inside her head, I just couldn't get over how crappy of a person she was.

Of course there are multiple sides to a story and I liked the way this story was told; just not who it was about. If you can hang in there long enough you might just like it. You're going to have to put up with a pretty lame person, though. And it's not someone that's lovably lame. Carrie's just ick. I couldn't relate in the slightest. I couldn't see redemption for her and I couldn't hold out any longer.

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry + Giveaway!

Published October 5, 2010.

In the zombie-infested, post-apocalyptic America where Benny Imura lives, every teenager must find a job by the time they turn fifteen or get their rations cut in half. Benny doesn't want to apprentice as a zombie hunter with his boring older brother Tom, but he has no choice. He expects a tedious job whacking zoms for cash, but what he gets is a vocation that will teach him what it means to be human. (goodreads.com)

I didn't know what I was getting into when I picked up ROT & RUIN. I just knew that I hadn't heard anything bad about out it or any of Maberry's other works. Don't expect me to break that chain either. I thought ROT & RUIN was amazing.

It's one thing to have a piece of horror focus on the scary: like George Romero's Dawn of the Dead. The living dead are supposed to be scary by default and that's how the book starts off. Zombies that live out in the Rot & Ruin, in the unknown. They kill people. They're something to be feared and reviled and we're supposed to applaud those that cut them down.

Benny, just like many other teenage boys, makes rash and emotion-filled decisions without really thinking them through. He hates his brother Tom because he thinks he ran away from their parents instead of helping them. He idolizes Charlie Pink-Eye because he kills the enemy. Getting a job is probably the worst thing that could happen to him right now. Pretty stereotypical teen boy thoughts, I think. But it's what Maberry does with them, how he forms and moulds Benny into something Benny never thought he could be.

Maberry removed the freak-out horror from a horror setting but in a good way. Zombies are still things to be feared, but as we piggyback along with Benny, we come to the same realizations that Benny does - zombies were people once too. Little by little Tom breaks down Benny's facade, chips away at his barriers and gets him to see the truth. Sure, zombies should be feared but they also deserve respect. It's amazing how far a little psychology could go.

Tom employs a different tactic for dealing with zombies, one that he tries to enforce on Benny. Benny, begrudgingly, adopts it but after a while, he does realize it's a better method. It's a hard lesson he has to learn but playing with your food before you eat it isn't necessary 99% of the time.

And I'd be a big fat crank of a liar if I said I wasn't crying at the end of the book. It was the nail in the coffin so to speak and while you can kind of see it coming, you can't really brace yourself for what happens. Benny does not escape learning some horribly hard lessons but he takes them all in stride and the growth he shows by the end of the book is astronomical. One of the blurbs on the back of the hardcover is Nancy Holder saying, "George Romero meets THE CATCHER IN THE RYE . . ." and I really couldn't agree anymore.

There is so much more to ROT & RUIN than just zombies. It's a coming of age, lessons-learned story with the horror of the undead thrown in. And don't forget the snark. There's snark in spades here. You'll be equal parts engrossed and terrified. Turning the pages will be automatic and something you won't want to stop doing. If you want a new perspective on zombies and read an absolutely amazing story at the same time, read ROT & RUIN now. You won't regret it.

Giveaway time!!!

Want my finished copy of ROT & RUIN? Just fill out the form below for your chance it win it.

• Open to US residents 13 years of age and older only.
• One entry per person per email address.
• Duplicate entries will be deleted.
• Giveaway ends August 1st at midnight, EST.

Fearscape by Simon Holt

Published October 5, 2010.

It's been a year since Reggie first discovered the Vours, and the Winter Solstice is approaching once again. It will be another night of unspeakable horror for those unlucky enough to be taken by the Vours, because this time, she won't be able to stop them. The Vours have imprisoned Reggie in a psychiatric hospital, where she is subjected to a daily routine of unfathomably sadistic experiments. Her life is a living Hell, but she won't give up. They attacked her brother. They killed her friend. And Reggie will never stop fighting back. (goodreads.com)

Like all horror sequels, this one is a bit more watered down than the others simply because the horror factor that existed in the original, the thing that made the books scary, is something we're already used to. We've been desensitized to it over the course of three books. That's not a matter of storytelling. It just happens. It's very hard to maintain true horror through multiple sequels because of that. And that's across the genre, not just in FEARSCAPE.

The tension was still there, though. The notion of 'would Reggie make it out or wouldn't she' kept me turning the pages to find out. While I wasn't afraid like I was for the first book, I still wanted to get to the end and find out how all of this resolved itself.

The major twist of the story I kind of saw coming but it didn't hamper it down for me at all. It still kept its creep factor and that's the important part. Even though I could see it coming, what I couldn't see was the characters' reactions to it. So reading for that alone was worth it.

The ending provides the story with a nice resolve without it being all fluffy bunnies and rainbow farts about it. There's still a major threat out there when the story ends but there's enough hope running through everyone that the future doesn't look totally dismal. That's what I really liked about FEARSCAPE - it provided me with a nominally happy ending without it being illogically so. There's nothing I hate more in horror than a happy ending that just doesn't fit the rest of the story.

I went into FEARSCAPE with the reservation that it might be a bit of a turd. I hadn't heard too great of things about the final book in THE DEVOURING series but I didn't mind it. By the way of horror, it could have been a hell of a lot worse. Nothing can shit the bed more like a bad horror sequel and this one didn't do that. It kept the tension up, it maintained its spook factor and it royally screwed with the characters. I really can't ask for more. I wouldn't get your hopes up too high. I wouldn't call it fantastic but all things considering, it was pretty decent. If you've read the other books in the series, I don't think this would disappoint a fan. And if you haven't read the others, I'd highly recommend them. YA needs more horror like this.

Blog Tour: Haunting Violet by Alyxandra Harvey + Giveaway!

Published June 21, 2011.

Violet Willoughby has participated in one too many fake seances to believe in the supernatural - especially after watching her mother fool widows and wealthy old men into handing over their fortunes. But she is forced to reconsider her jaded views when her mother is invited to conduct seances at the country estate of prominent Spiritualist Lord Jasper. There Violet encounters a frightening vision she can't ignore - the ghost of a girl her own age, seeking justice from beyond.

Thrust into the center of an unsolved murder amidst the highest echelon of Victorian society, Violet must discover the mystery behind this girl's violent death, before her twin sister suffers the same fate. The only person Violet can trust with her new secret is her mother's assistant Colin, the boy she's grown to love but can never be with because of the rigid rules enforced by the world Violet and her mother have swindled their way into. Can Violet find a way to accept her new talent and prevent another murder without risking her own chances for a future with the one she loves? (book back blurb)

I find the Spiritualist movement absolutely fascinating simply because so many people were hoodwinked so rampantly, and publicly, for so many years and it took a decent amount of time for them to catch on. This higher level of society, too hoity toity for their own good, bamboozled into thinking that women with wooden planks bound to their knees were their dead relatives come back to contact them. So smart they were.

What I loved most about HAUNTING VIOLET was that it didn't take itself too seriously, just like Violet didn't take herself too seriously. Here she was, having grown up in a world of trickery and lies, and she was nominally undaunted by it. She didn't get suckered into the life like her mother did. She held her own ground and kept being her own person. The book overall was a behind-the-scenes look at the lives of "street people" working their way into the first class cabins, the games they played and how duped they made the people above them who thought they were just that, above it all.

Violet is a strong, well-intentioned character that doesn't take any shit, not from ghosts or Colin or her "better off" suitor. Her mother she puts up with a little more but, well, I can relate with her there. The breaking point comes a little later when it comes to the parental figures. But she does reach it, just not in the way you might think. Or someone as strong as Violet, you'd think her set on one path but she really ends up wandering down another. It's shocking and at the same time relatively expected, but she doesn't curl in on herself. Violet stands tall, regardless of what she faces.

The main plot, Violet solving the murder mystery of the ghost's death, is compelling and at times frightening. The ghost shows up at the most inopportune times and does things to Violet that not only frighten her but aggravate her as well. It doesn't take Violet long to desensitize to the ghost and start throwing the sass right back. How else is she supposed to solve the murder when the victim won't even cooperate?

Violet just has so much sass and spice about her, it's hard not to like her. Not that I went in going "I'm not going to like Violet." She's just such a dynamic, resilient character that you can't help but root for her. Even when it comes to Colin, things aren't simple with her and she lets it be known that she's pulled in multiple directions about it. Subtlety isn't really her thing, as evidenced a few times throughout the book. And while she gets embarrassed at first, she gets over it. Quickly. You can't help but love someone that springs back to their feet as often as Violet does.

The voice is fantastic. The second I started reading HAUNTING VIOLET the voice had me. It has just enough pomp about it to showcase the Victorian times but it's not so convoluted that that's all it becomes. It sounds just like what a "lower class" person pretending to be an upperclass one would sound like. It's compelling and riveting and it had me turning the pages. Seriously, I zoomed through this one in about a day. I didn't want to put it down.

Harvey's ability to capture the time yet keeping it relevant and interesting is great. Not only are you sucked into the plot of trying to find this killer hiding in plain sight but you're immersed in this beautiful world that's nothing but lies. You can't help but feel guilty for Violet and want to hit her mother with a stage coach (did they have stage coaches in England or just carriages?). Violet's mother is the type of pseudo-villain that you just love to hate. She's such a rich character that her nastiness just oozes off of her and you try to keep away lest you get some on you but you stay close enough so that you can get all her dirt.

Overall, HAUNTING VIOLET is a fantastic historical fiction steeped in accuracies and riddled with compelling characters that'll drive you through straight until the end. You'll get sucked in in no time and as you read, you'll find yourself trying to work out who dunnit, competing with Violet to see who can come to the right conclusion first. You don't want to miss this one.

Giveaway time!!!

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• Open to US residents 13 years of age and older only.
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• Giveaway ends July 14th at midnight, EST.

Fat Vampire by Adam Rex + Giveaway!

Published August 1, 2010.

Doug Lee is undead quite by accident - attacked by a desperate vampire, he finds himself cursed with being fat and fifteen forever. When he has no luck finding some goth chick with a vampire fetish, he resorts to sucking the blood of cows under cover of the night. But it's just not the same.

Then he meets the new Indian exchange student and falls for her - hard. Yeah, he wants to bite her, but he also wants to prove himself to her. But like the laws of life, love, and high school, the laws of vampire existence are complicated - it's not as easy as studying Dracula. Especially when the star of Vampire Hunters is hot on his trail in an attempt to boost ratings . . . (book back blurb)

Absolutely fantastic. There is just no other way to say it. FAT VAMPIRE spoofs the hell out of everything that is vampire nowadays but maintains this underlying tone of seriousness that really hits home. Underneath it all it's about a kid fitting in in life. How many kids now are all vampire obsessed and want to turn into a vampire? Well Adam Rex takes that notion and slaps reality home like a puck into a net. If you're a meatball-looking geek in life, then guess what? You're going to be a meatball-looking geek in undeath. Except your lack of eating won't get you to lose any weight. Sorry.

It throws everything that pop culture has made of vampires right back in its face. Yeah, it sucks to have to go to school when you're a vampire because of that slight light sensitivity you have. The remedy? A poncho. Constantly. As if you weren't made fun of enough. And even as a vampire you can't get chicks to get with you because you're a bit of a creep factor. You take the je ne sais quoi that vampires are supposed to have and give it a holy water bath because that vampire blood didn't eradicate your inner comic book-loving goof.

The best part? The homage to The Lost Boys. Oh yeah, it's in there. And it's not very subtle if you're a fan of the movie. But it's awesome all the same.

There wasn't a character in FAT VAMPIRE that I didn't like. I thought Doug was an insanely complex character that even from the beginning wasn't your standard geek because he's never not a vampire in the book. So while he wants to geek out at Comic-Con, he needs to raid the local blood mobile in order to do it. And you can see him change; slip into his vampire skin a little better. And people notice it too, but it's not necessarily in a good way. And he has a hard time with this and it shows. Doug's just such a dynamic character; I really couldn't get enough of him.

Sejal was pretty cool too. There was really no bowing to American pressures at all and she really stood her ground when it came to Doug. She told him how it was without any pretenses and didn't back down. She's super girl for doing that, I think. But in the end she was there for him exactly how he needed her to be, which is different from how he wanted her to be. Read it and you'll see what I'm talking about.

The ending? Amazing. At first it starts off kind of quirky and goofy and then it just slams you with seriousness that leaves you going awww in a sad sort of way. It doesn't cut any corners, it doesn't sugar-coat anything. It ends exactly how the story should end and I love it all the more for it.

Again, absolutely fantastic. It's a satire without really being a satire but maintains it's seriousness about itself without taking itself too serious. It's funny (Doug is called Assferatu, win), it's witty and it puts vampires right back in the grave where they belong. Read it. You'll love it.

Giveaway Time!!!

Want to win my ARC? Then just fill out the form below for your chance.

• Open to US residents 13 years of age and older only.
• One entry per person per email address.
• Duplicate entries will be deleted.
• Giveaway ends July 4th at midnight, EST.