Wishlist Wednesday # 24

Wishlist Wednesday is hosted by Pen to Paper. It is the place to showcase one book that has been on our wishlist.

On My Wishlist is: House of Shadows by Rachel Neumeier

Blurb from Amazon:
Orphaned, two sisters are left to find their own way.

Sweet and proper, Karah’s future seems secure at a glamorous Flower House. She could be pampered for the rest of her life… if she agrees to play their game.

Nemienne, neither sweet nor proper, has fewer choices. Left with no alternative, she accepts a mysterious mage’s offer of an apprenticeship. Agreeing means a home and survival, but can Nemienne trust the mage?

With the arrival of a foreign bard into the quiet city, dangerous secrets are unearthed, and both sisters find themselves at the center of a plot that threatens not only to upset their newly found lives, but also to destroy their kingdom.

I’m loving the green cover. That’s what drew me to the book. From the blurb, I like the two sisters being so different from each other but their fates are still intertwined.

The setting worries me a little because it sounds like it might be in a medieval world. I like the medieval world…I just prefer to not read it frequently.

Review: Awaited by Lynn Rush

Title: Awaited
Author: Lynn Rush
Series: Wasteland # 2
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format: E-book
Source:  Bewitching Book Tours
Pub. Year: 2012
Purchase: Amz/ B&N
I receive a free copy of this novel from Tours in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb from Amazon:

The Voice is a Powerful Thing….

Russell Leonard is a centuries-old Guardian who’s lost faith in his purpose. So when he’s charged with procuring the first female Guardian in over two centuries, he can only hope it’s the red-headed beauty who’s been haunting his dreams for months. And if it is, he intends to claim her as his.

But when he finds his dream woman, Annabelle is mute and bears no Guardian’s Mark. He soon realizes she’s been tainted by an ancient evil. Russell must somehow release the secrets trapped within this delicate soul to help her tap into the only weapon powerful enough to silence a millennia-old demon-her voice.

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Random: Read the first book, it may appear to be a standalone book but I believe it helps to know what happen in the first book.

It’s been about a month and a half since I’ve read the first book and I’m wishing that I have read this book sooner. There are just some things that I’ve forgotten. The first book isn’t crucial to understanding Awaited but it helps to have read it before. The reason is that certain aspects of the world-building such as the hierarchy (Beka and David) or Jessica are not really explained. They are just taken for granted. Like I said, it’s not crucial but knowing makes the book feel more solid.

Character-wise, Annabelle is an interesting character because she is a mute main character. It’s rare to see a main character have a disability so she starts off being unique. Her uniqueness is built upon by giving her a depressing past and special abilities. She was similar to David in that she knows darkness first-hand.  She has a terrible past, filled with demons and torture. Russell as the Guardian is an intriguing character because I couldn’t understand why he lost his faith. He starts dreaming about a woman and he loses his faith in God, um, I don’t accept that. The dream was probably the catalyst but it’s not the sole reason. He is still interesting because of his faith and devotion to Annabelle. It’s unshakeable. I believe Jessica became more unstable but considering she was unconscious for the first book, she may have always been insane. She has a lovely personality though.

The first female Guardian in over 200 years plotline seemed secondary to Annabelle and Russell’s love story. No one was actively looking for her. It was much more in passing thought that the new Guardian was considered. She turns out to be a very energetic teenager. She is surprised but eager about her new future. Other plotlines are slowly introduced but there is enough information to keep them going at a good pace. The main focus is the love story that has a bumpy road but it never waivers the love between Russell and Annabelle. I’m not fond of that because they never doubted each other. It was just a complete certainty; Russell questions it at time but he never goes deeper than a superficial scratch.

One of the things that left me very confused is the the advancement of technology and laws. It’s been about 35 years since the first book was written and in that time, humans have decided to have brain chips implanted in their heads. Apparently, the chips work as identification cards and money (possibly). It is not explained why the brain chips rose in power or how the technology came to be. It’s confusing because the technology is not explained but more importantly, the chips do not have an actual purpose in the book. They are just there. About the laws, Russell gets freaked out when he falls for Annabelle and he thinks she is 18. He thinks society is going to look down upon their relationship but when he finds out that she is 19, he obtains a sense of relief. Did the age of consent move up or what just happened? I find there are certain world-building aspects of the book that were not explained properly.

Overall, it was a nice edition to to the Wasteland Series. The romance wasn’t as captivating as Beka and David’s romance but it was unique. I’m looking forward to the next book because it seems like the romance will include Jessica. Like I said, she is a little random so I can’t wait to read what she says.

4 BB-Ready for capture

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66th in the 150+ Reading Challenge
Also qualifies for: E-book, 2nd in a Series, Where are you reading?-Colorado

Review: Jaded by Kenya Carlton

Title: Jaded
Author: Kenya Carlton
Series: Standalone
Genre: Supernatural Romance
Format: E-book
Source:  Bewitching Book Tours
Pub. Year: 2012
Purchase: Amz/ B&N
I receive this novel free of charge from BBTours in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb from Amazon:

War correspondent Mia James is back on US soil and ready to tackle a juicy political story that could make national headlines. A politician’s aid goes missing, and the son of the wealthiest family is the only suspect. Determined to take down the mayor of the small seaside town, Mia comes up against an angry ghost with her own agenda.  Afraid she may be suffering from post traumatic stress Mia figures that she’s way over her head and enlists the help of resident black sheep Gabe Montgomery. Now, she must solve the mystery of her not so friendly ghost, stop herself from falling in love with the mysterious winery owner, all while making it out alive.

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Random: Am I reading the same book as everyone else? Because this is not what I was thought it would be.

(P.S-I’m sick right now so I might be judging the book too harshly)

I’m in complete disbelief regarding this book. Either I am a really negative person when it comes to reviews or I misunderstood the book completely because I’m unsure of it. I think it has potential but it was squandered away by the book’s short length. This is a book that should have been longer by at least another 100 pages.

Let’s talk characters. I had trouble separating characters from each other because there was a rapid introduction. Mia and Tracy are the journalist who are investigating a crime that is just launched upon the readers.  It turns out only Mia is investigating a mystery while Tracy investigates Sheriff Martin Conway. There is Gabe who knows Mia right off the bat. There is Jonathan and his father, the Mayor, who are feuding with Gabe. In the beginning, it was hard to keep track of the characters but they were shelled out later. That’s the good thing. I like that Sherriff Conway was developed a little more than just the Mayor’s errant boy and Tracy’s boy toy.

I have issues with the crime introduction. Yes, it is in the blurb that an aide disappears but it should be introduced in the book more gently. The disappearing aide disappeared before the books started and as a reader, I didn’t know that. I had assumed that the missing aide would disappeared after the women arrived in town because it looked like Mia just wanted a gossip piece on the Mayor instead of investigating the missing woman angle. It would have been nice to know that the characters were already investigating the disappearance prior to their arrival so the information doesn’t appear out of nowhere. I was like “What aide” and I thought I skipped something so I had to re-read the first twenty pages. There was one reference to the aide and it used to word “diddled” but I thought “diddled” meant “fool around (sex).” I’m starting to think it meant “killed.” Yeah, it meant killed. Maybe this is my misunderstanding. I don’t know. (I’m blaming it on the fact that I’m sick). I guess in the end it doesn’t matter because I still felt like I was dropped into the middle of an investigation.

One of the things that lays heavily in favor of the book is Jade the Ghost. She is really fantastic in her possessions and how she makes her presence known. She is aggressive and strong. It’s halfway scary. Her background and the events before her death are interesting. Jade’s background is interesting because I haven’t read a modern book that uses that twist anymore. I love it because it proves that classic twists are classic for a reason and they stand the test of time. I was surprised by it because it is so classic that it is rare to find in a modern book. Jade and the dream memories are amazing, by the way.

Technically, I should give this book four black butterflies because every lost element is a half of butterfly. Rapid introduction of characters and dropping the case on the reader is one lost butterfly. Except I can’t give it to the book because it lost the potential to tell a fantastic story. More pages, more character development, better transitions between scenes would have gone a long way. There is a scene that starts “Where the hell have you been” and I thought Mia had said it about her sunglasses because she was looking for them. Maybe she lost the sunglasses previously. No, that sentence is spoken by Steve, her boss, and it’s a cell phone conversation. I’m like “Where did he come from” because Mia is not on phone, she never picked up the phone nor did she dialed Steve. Awkward. There are a few scenes like the one above. Random but there are not enough commas in the book.

A lot of what I focused on may seem like minor things but they are important to me. I think that it is a good book. It has a solid storyline. The mystery is good and it doesn’t have major plot holes. It just needs more fine-tuning.

3.5-Pretty to look at, maybe capture

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65th in the 150+ Reading Challenge
Also qualifies for: E-book, Ghostly, Men in Uniform

Wishlist Wednesday # 23

Wishlist Wednesday is hosted by Pen to Paper. It is the place to showcase one book that has been on our wishlist.

On My Wishlist is: The Dark Unwinding by Sharon Cameron

Blurb from Amazon:
A spine-tingling tale of steampunk and spies, intrigue and heart-racing romance!

When Katharine Tulman’s inheritance is called into question by the rumor that her eccentric uncle is squandering away the family fortune, she is sent to his estate to have him committed to an asylum. But instead of a lunatic, Katharine discovers a genius inventor with his own set of rules, who employs a village of nine hundred people rescued from the workhouses of London.

Katharine is now torn between protecting her own inheritance and preserving the peculiar community she grows to care for deeply. And her choices are made even more complicated by a handsome apprentice, a secretive student, and fears for her own sanity.

As the mysteries of the estate begin to unravel, it is clear that not only is her uncle’s world at stake, but also the state of England as Katharine knows it. With twists and turns at every corner, this heart-racing adventure will captivate readers with its intrigue, thrills, and romance.

I’m loving the sound of this novel. The cover is somewhat interesting but a “peculiar community” and asylum is a better pitch sale. Plus, I’m all for genius/lunatic inventor because they have interesting theories about the workings of the world.

Review: Afterlife by Naomi Clark

Title: Afterlife
Author: Naomi Clark
Series: Afterlife # 1
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format: E-book
Source:  Author
Pub. Year: 2009
Purchase: Amz/ B&N
I receive a copy of this novel free of charge from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb from Amazon:
Yasmin Stoker is a ghost tour guide who spends her days showing tourists around Shoregrave’s haunted hotspots. She also happens to be a wraith who spends her nights hunting Revenants, newly-risen flesh-eating vampires. On one of her regular hunts, she witnesses a mysterious ghostly girl pulling the body of a teenage boy underground. Who and what is this girl, and why is she attacking men around the city? Yasmin investigates, but it quickly becomes clear that somebody wants to keep her from finding the killer and they’ll do anything-including ambushing her with ghouls and cacodaemons-to stop her. With only a persistent private eye and a taciturn vampire (one of the Immaculate, no less) to help her, Yasmin must deal with fanatical necromancers, crazed ghosts, and a sexy history teacher in her quest to solve the mystery. And along the way she uncovers some heartbreaking truths about her own existence.

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What I like about it: Props for creativity.

(I’m feeling a bit under the weather so let’s start with a bang).

Yasmin was a strong protagonist who has a very high moral ground. She prides herself on never hurting or killing humans so she looks down upon those paranormal beings who need humans to survive. She is a wraith; she needs to feed on souls in order to live and she only takes the soul of vampires. Yasmin is hard on her roommate, Emma, who is a succubus. Emma wants to feed on who humans who unfortunately end up dead or in a coma. That’s a huge “No-no” for Yasmin. Yasmin and Emma have a tense friendship but they are good friends. It is my first time reading about wraiths (other than the ones mentioned in Stargate: Atlantis which do feed on humans) so I can’t complain about the wraith mythology. Clark revealed some interesting tidbits about the true origin of wraiths so I’m looking forward to reading about it in the next book.

Secondary characters are interesting as well. Private Investigator Ethan Banning is investigating the murders of children in Shoregrave and Lost Anchorage. He may be freaked out by the Pale World and its paranormal inhabitants but he is enjoying the ride. Nicomedes the Lich Lord and overlord of Shoregrave was insane but intriguing. He is pinning after his lost love while slowly losing touch with reality. Plus, he stitched his eyes together. Creepy. Vampire Durante is a constant source of irritation to Yasmin because she needs him but doesn’t like what he is. It’s a interesting relationship but it should become even more so because Clark keeps hinting that they have a past together that Yasmin cannot remember.

Plot-wise, the story moved at a good pace. There are enough interactions between different paranormal creatures while the murder case is moving forward. The murder case and the Golden Ghost are fascinating because there is so much more going on than what is on the surface. There really isn’t a major plot hole in the story overall. It is solid.

One of the things that I liked about this novel was the origin story of the vampire. In Clark’s world, vampires are created when the soul of the deceased return to possess their own body. It looks like they still required another vampire to exchange blood with but the soul is returned back to its body. It solves the dilemma of wondering whether a vampire has a soul or not. The vampire with a soul and vampires are a great source of philosophical inquires and emotional turmoil for Yasmin.

A thing that left me off-balance was the location. I don’t know if the world of Afterlife takes place on our world (Earth) or if it is a secondary world. I think it takes place on our world because it is modern. It left me unbalanced since there are no recognizable cities or monuments. It is obvious that humans don’t know about the Pale World though. I wish there was something more to anchored the reader.

Overall, it was just a solid story with a murder case at the heart of the Pale World.

4 BB-Ready for capture

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64th in the 150+ Reading Challenge
Also qualifies for: E-book, First in a Series, Ghostly

Review: The Rising Moon by Nilsa Rodriguez

Title: The Rising Moon
Author: Nilsa Rodriguez
Series: Rising Moon # 1
Genre: YA Paranormal
Format: E-book
Source: FMB Tours
Pub. Year: 2012
Purchase: Amz/ B&N/ Smashwords
I receive a copy of this novel free of charge from FMB Tours in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb from Amazon:
How many lives do you have to live to realize that love is stronger than time and death? Orphaned at the age of five, Angelia (Lia) Lafosse was left with questions about whom and what she truly was. One thing was clear. Lia was different. Some might even say cursed. With the help of her best friend, Ryan Woodruff, she begins to unlock the secrets of her families past and discover answers that prove more startling than she ever imagined. Not only was she a werewolf, but a reincarnation of the immortal werewolf, a werewolf with immense powers beyond any of her kind. A werewolf that if discovered by the Lobison’s to have returned, can jeopardize both Lia and those she love. As destiny finds her love does too and they couldn’t be more different. Torn between Lyle Ulric, the charming werewolf whose bloodline is as ancient and powerful as her own. And Adam Ambrose, the mysterious and alluring vampire who’s determined not to allow fate or anyone tear their love apart again. Lia has to make a choice… Destiny or Love…Run or Fight…Live or Die

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Random: If being immortal means never dying, then how does the reincarnation of an immortal work?

This could have been a fantastic book because it has a unique storyline and has a Native American community at the heart of the book. It just falls short of being a fantastic book because the main character gladly drank the kool-aid.

Let’s talk about Lia. For someone who is a loner, she sure is popular. More importantly, she doesn’t have a loner’s personality. Lia finds out new information that changes her life rapidly and she adapts to it quite rapidly which is not a trait that is usually found in people who feel the need to be alone. She doesn’t question why people are talking to her whereas a loner would question the motivation behind people talking to her. Especially if no one notice her previously. It could be prank but she just accepts the people coming into her life. Any information that she is given is accepted as a fact. Werewolves exists? She believes after one person tells her that it is true. Either she is gullible or she isn’t smart enough to question it. When it comes to the supernatural world, there is no disbelief on her part. That’s not to say that she isn’t a strong character. She has a devotion to her family that is admiring. It is fantastic that she doesn’t break down when she learns about the mythology surrounding her (but at the same time, it makes her seem inhuman because she is not freaking out even a little bit).

The supporting cast are of Native American blood. Ryan is the one who befriends Lea. Why? He thinks he has a crush on her. Anyways, he introduces her to the woman who spills everything about werewolves and vampires to Lia. He is pretty much the only one who plays a strong supporting character because none of the other tribe members are fleshed out. Kima, a shifter, comes to a close second in being fleshed out but not really.

Even the love interests are not completely fleshed out. Lyle is a werewolf, well, a Lobison. When he transforms, he loses all sense of humanity yet somehow still manages to save Lia. He just loves Lia immediately so there is no background as to why he loves her. He just does. He is a strong character that goes against his family wishes to show that he cares about Lia. Adam is a vampire and he is also in love with Lia because she is the reincarnated soul of his loved one. He only likes Lia because she reminds him of a dead woman and Lia loves him. He doesn’t care for Lia because of who she is; he cares about Lia because a dead woman. That’s not love. At least Lyle cared for Lia for Lia yet Adam is the one Lia ends up choosing. Ryan was in the midst of this love triangle for awhile but it was one-sided on his side.

One of the the biggest issues that I have with this novel is how everything is introduced to Lia. Better yet, how secrets are just immediately told. Lia doesn’t have to work to discover that she is a shifter, someone tells her right away. Lia doesn’t have to beg to find out more information about her biological mother. People are drawn to tell the truth to Lia so the novel makes everything come easy to Lia. There is no suspense in learning about the world-building because everything is told directly. It is just too convenient. To make matter worse, Lia accepts it as fact. She has no disbelief about anything that is told to her. She was also kidnapped and accepts it. She doesn’t even struggled to escape because it was a loved one who kidnapped her.

In the end, there are some strong points in the novel. It has a unique storyline that could have been explored more. A different version of a werewolf that is much deadly than the average werewolf. If the book had made Lia a little less accepting and more inquisitive about what people were telling her, then the book would have been good even with the screwed-up love triangle.

2BB-Look for in the Library

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63rd in the 150+ Reading Challenge
Also qualifies for: E-book, YA Mythology Where are you reading?-Wyoming

Review: The Corpse Goddess by Kristi Jones

Title: The Corpse Goddess
Author: Kristi Jones
Series: The Corpse Goddess # 1
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Format: E-book
Source: Bewitching Book Tours
Pub. Year: 2012
Purchase: Amz
I received a copy of this novel free of charge from BBT in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb from Amazon:
Party girl Meg Highbury wakes up the morning after her twenty-first birthday with one hell of a hangover—and a walking corpse in her apartment. Meg turns to her straight-laced neighbor Armando for help, and together they discover that Meg is a Valkyrie. What’s more, her first duty is to trade places with the corpse.

But Meg is being sent to her Death Duty too soon. In a race against time, Meg frantically tries to find a loophole to avoid her gruesome fate, but while Meg is determined to live whatever the cost, Armando’s strict moral principles keep getting in the way of her plans for escape.

Can Meg walk the “right” and narrow path, possibly sacrificing her mortal life, for love? And if she can, will Armando have the stomach to love a rotting corpse of a girl who is falling apart in more ways than one?

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Random: If you are not into reading about explicitly decaying bodies, turn away. There is also some spoilers ahead. Just be warned.

Second Warning: Let me get this out of the way. This book is filled graphic description of decaying bodily functions. Meg (main character) pees herself ….multiple times. Maggots and rotting flesh are in abundance. I’m giving my readers a fair warning because I was shocked but will not disapprove of the rotting information. It is called Corpse Goddess so I thought “Mummy” and not an actual corpse. My bad.

Meg has to be the most physically disgusting main character I have ever read and I like to read about serial killers. A lot of props have to be given to Jones for writing a main character that is gassy, physically stinks, skin is tuning blue and falling off. Meg is just plain gross. She is a decent character but I didn’t particularly cared for her in the beginning. It was annoying that she never really took responsibility for her actions and bringing the curse upon herself. There is always someone to blame and the only time she admits fault is when she says “We did this” so that is not even a full admission. Anyways, she is a brave character who puts herself to danger to rescue her friends. Meg is driven to save her own life but she put herself through an emotional turmoil that was completely unnecessary (if she had only listened more closely). It adds great complexity to her character but it makes her appear to be an idiot. The situation would have also been helped if either of the Gonzalez Men had stopped arguing with Meg about moral reasons and just brought up the most obvious reason then the emotional turmoil would have never have happened. It is really an idiotic dead giveaway.

Now, who are the Gonzalez Men? One is Armando who is Meg’s neighbor and the other is Dr. Gonzalez, Armando’s father. They have a great relationship which is great contrast to Meg’s parental relationship. Armando and Dr. Gonzalez have beautiful scene where they are talking about responsibilities to our loved ones and it is moving. Possibly the best scene in the book because it is so heart-wrenching and honest. Possibly the best parental relationship that I have seen as well. Mind you, they are still idiots for not stating the most obvious problem of Meg’s solution.

Are you ready to find out why all the characters are idiots but still decent people? It is in the scene where the girls accidentally summon Loki. It stand out because it cements Meg’s stupidity and the scene wasn’t faithful to Loki’s character. As readers, we are told the Valkyrie can only be women and this is told repeatedly to Meg and the Gonzalez Men (Dr. Gonzalez actually does research on Valkyries) by her father yet the person she chooses to be her Valkyrie replacement is a man. Wow, this is Meg’s life on the line and she commits a vital mistake that it is hard to believe that she actually wants to save her life. Even Loki is confused by her logic. Let’s move on to Loki and why he is a failed god. Loki is the god of tricks; he may play a jokester but he is smart. This Loki talks and laughs like a three year toddler. He is supposed to be a funny man but it is hard to see when he is acting like a complete idiot (and not even the adorable idiot). The only good thing about Jones’s Loki is his sick sense of humor and it is sick. Loki would do something like that and it fits his character but his mannerisms are shot to hell.

Yes, I have called the all characters idiots for forgetting this major requirement of Valkyries. A good portion of the book is spent debating and dividing the group over the Valkyrie replacement so it is vital to the book. The fact that they were debating over nothing since the replacement is wrong means the book drove circles around itself. The debates while interesting and philosophical are invalid because it is a man who Meg wants to be a replacement. As readers, we are not going to be emotionally invested in the moral debate if the end result is pointless. Meg crossed the line for nothing. If the replacement was a woman, then, yes, the debate would have resonated more strongly with us because it would have been a “make it or break it” situation. Meg crossing the line would have changed her fate. Crossing the line for a man just adds emotional turmoil and dimension.

The book is actually really decent except for the Valkyrie replacement issue. I spent so much time focusing on it because I felt cheated. I just knew it was going nowhere. Once it crosses the whole “Man Valkyrie” issue, it turns out really good. There are amazing twists in the end and I fairly enjoyed the grossness of the book. That’s why I gave it four black butterflies. Yes, I may have complained a great deal about it but it is a good book. Did I mentioned there is a zombie in the mix as well?

Oh, one last thing. I love the fact that Jones portrayed the Gonzalez Men as Mexican and actually allowed them to speak Spanish. There was also some German and British mixed in there as well. Pretty good of showing people and their nationalities/race.

4 BB-Ready for capture

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62nd in the 150+ Reading Challenge
Also qualifies for: E-book, First in a Series, Zombie, Where are you reading?- Texas

Review: Waiting For Daybreak by Amanda McNeil

Title: Waiting For Daybreak
Author: Amanda McNeil
Series: Standalone
Genre: Science Fiction
Format: E-book
Source:  Author
Pub. Year: 2012
Purchase: Amz
I received this novel free of charge from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb from Amazon:

What is normal?

Frieda has never felt normal. She feels every emotion too strongly and lashes out at herself in punishment. But one day when she stays home from work too depressed to get out of bed, a virus breaks out turning her neighbors into flesh-eating, brain-hungry zombies. As her survival instinct kicks in keeping her safe from the zombies, Frieda can’t help but wonder if she now counts as healthy and normal, or is she still abnormal compared to every other human being who is craving brains?

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Random: If you are looking for a fast-paced zombie book, this isn’t it.

For a zombie book, it is very different in the genre. It stands out in the genre because it is not typical “Let’s run away from zombies” and that might be its downfall. It is atypical and so much of the book happens inside of the mind that even the zombies can’t bring an excitement to it. It is a psychological zombie book and this is the type of book where nothing happens for about 60% of the book (at least in my opinion), 60%-90% is somewhat interesting, and the final 10% is fantastic.  At the same time, I really enjoyed the book.

The first half of the book is spent with Frieda just talking about her disorder, the day before the world descended into chaos and the new world with the Afflicted (Zombies). Nothing happens and I couldn’t help but wonder if the rest of the book was going to be about her ramblings. The only good thing in the first section of the book is that Frieda is a unique character. She claims to feel too much and ends up hurting herself in order to stop feeling. She paints herself as the psycho girlfriend because of her disorder (bipolar, I would say) but she is not too crazy, just depressed and a little crazy. It is interesting to see a zombie apocalypse from the mind of a mentally ill person. In a way there is certain disassociation with what is happening around her, she doesn’t care about the what is going on and her life didn’t change dramatically from before and after the apocalypse. She is still isolated emotionally and physically. Besides the threat of zombie of eating her, she is surprisingly well adjusted to her new world.

It is a zombie book because it has zombies but the zombies are really tame. Maybe that’s not the right way to describe it. There isn’t enough interactions with zombies to qualify the novel as an exciting, fast paced zombie book. There are some fast-paced actions scene but the zombies are secondary to the plot. The zombies play the role of questioning what normalcy means. They contribute to the mental instability of Frieda who has never considered herself normal before the infection. The zombies while dangerous to Frieda (because they want to eat her) are much more dangerous in terms of what they represent. It becomes apparent   when Frieda meets another survivor who has a rather bleak view of humanity. It’s an interesting perspective that I enjoyed reading about. I still would have prefer her wondering about zombies to be broken up by intense zombie fighting. I’m just glad that the cat got sick (which is a horrible thing to say coming from a cat lover) because the action started with him.

At the end of the day, it’s much more about Frieda trying to find out what normal means in a world gone wrong instead of a zombie book. I believe that it is a fresh take on zombies in the fiction genre.

4 BB-Ready for capture

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61st in the 150+ Reading Challenge
Also qualifies for: E-book, Self-Published, Zombie, Dystopia, Science Fiction, Where are you reading?-Massachusetts

Review: Zan by Dalya Moon

Title: Zan
Author: Dalya Moon
Series: Spiritdell # 1
Genre: YA Fantasy
Format: E-book
Source:  Author
Pub. Year: 2012
Purchase: Amz
I received this book free of charge from the author in exchange for an honest review.

Blurb from Amazon:

Magic. Power. Secrets. Everybody has something to hide.
Zan is a boy with a strange power: the ability to see all of your secrets, past, present, and future … if you’re a girl. Oh, and if you put your finger in his belly button.

With that specific, intimate touch, Zan is able to visit the Secret Town of any girl. There’s just one problem. He never likes what he finds.

When Zan meets Austin, a mysterious girl with long hair and a contagious enthusiasm for life, it doesn’t take long for her curiosity to get the better of her. Zan braces himself to see the worst, but then the unexpected happens.

In his vision, he doesn’t see anything.

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Random: It’s a quirky summer read.

This is a fantastic summer beach/pool book. It’s a light and fluffy even with the little talk about brain tumors.

Let’s talk about Zan. In order to activate his powers, he needs a girl finger stuck in his belly button which is hilarious and creative way to activate his powers. Zan acts like a typical teenage boy who is more interested in obtaining a girlfriend (Austin). Julie and James are his best friends. They are distinct from each other even though they are twins. Austin is the type of girl you want to feel bad for because she is in trouble. She is a decent and nice person.

The introduction of the paranormal elements in the book are well-spaced throughout the book. It starts with Secret Town and the fates of females. There are tea-induced mind-walking or astral projection moments that are interesting and quite revealing. As to how Zan obtained his powers, it is still a secret but we do learn more about his abilities and why there are so negative. The final paranormal scene was the most eye-opening because it reveals the most of information about Zan’s powers and his parents. Don’t expect any parental supervision in this novel because the adults are gone/oblivious or trying to kill Zan.

I’m not sure if I completely understand the importance of Zan’s powers. They are just so quirky that I can’t see how they can be use for the greater good.  There is a group who tries to steal Zan’s powers but I’m not sure why. Yes, Zan can tell the future but it is only for females and the fact that he needs to be poke in the belly button might hinder him. Not every girl is going to want to poke a man’s belly button. I’m looking forward to seeing Zan use his powers in a new way. I’m also looking forward to a more tightly connected paranormal world.

Overall, this is a good book. It’s about Zan and his obsession with Austin. It touches the paranormal world that Zan is a part of but is it not a heavy or mind-blowing introduction.

4 BB-Ready for capture

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60th in the 150+ Reading Challenge
Also qualifies for: First in a Series, E-book, Self-Published,

Promo Post: The Rising Moon by Nilsa Rodriguez

Title: The Rising Moon
Author: Nilsa Rodriguez
Series: Standalone
Genre: YA Paranormal
Format: E-book
Source:  FMB Book Tours
Pub. Year: 2012
Purchase: Amz/ B&N/ Smashwords

Blurb from Goodreads:
How many lives do you have to live to realize that love is stronger than time and death?

∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞∞

Orphaned at the age of five, Angelia (Lia) Lafosse was left with questions about whom and what she truly was. One thing was clear. Lia was different. Some might even say cursed.

With the help of her best friend, Ryan Woodruff, she begins to unlock the secrets of her families past and discover answers that prove more startling than she ever imagined. Not only was she a werewolf, but a reincarnation of the immortal werewolf, a werewolf with immense powers beyond any of her kind. A werewolf that if discovered by the Lobison’s to have returned, can jeopardize both Lia and those she love.

As destiny finds her love does too…and they couldn’t be more different. Torn between Lyle Ulric, the charming werewolf whose bloodline is as ancient and powerful as her own. And Adam Ambrose, the mysterious and alluring vampire who’s determined not to allow fate or anyone tear their love apart again.

Lia has to make a choice… Destiny or Love…Run or Fight…Live or Die