Obsidian (Updated)

Publisher: Entagled Publishing

Publish Date: already out

Version: e-book

Series: A Lux Novel

Starting over sucks.

When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I’d pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring…. until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.

And then he opened his mouth.

Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something…unexpected happens.

The hot alien living next door marks me.

You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon’s touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I’m getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades.

If I don’t kill him first, that is.

“Katy’s Krazy Obsession” is a book blog by Katy Swartz, who recently moved to Ketterman, West Virginia.  Her mom, Kellie Swartz decided that they needed a fresh start after living in the same spot in Gainesville, Florida after Katy’s father had died.  In Ketterman, Katy and her mother move in next door to the Blacks, Daemon and Dee.  When Katy meets Daemon, her initial reaction was that of shock of the way he looked.  She almost couldn’t ask him where the nearest store was, her reason for going over there in the first place.  Then Daemon talks to her and all bets are off.  By the end of the conversation, Katy is calling Daemon a “douchebag,” but he does give her directions to the store in Petersburg.

While at Foodland in Petersburg, Katy meets Dee, Daemon’s brother.  After talking with her a little, she agrees to come over to Katy’s house and help her with the flower garden later.  Through Dee, Katy gets more exposure to Daemon, although he isn’t any nicer to her.   Dee eventually makes him be nice to Katy and take her swimming.  This is the start of the love/hate relationship that Katy and Daemon have.

It isn’t long before Katy starts noticing that the Blacks, along with some other students in town are not “normal.”  While taking a walk in the woods with Daemon, he saves Katy from a bear and thus puts a trace on her.  This trace will lead certain people straight to her.  After a few more strange things happen, Katy is finally let in on the truth.  The only thing left is to figure out how to get a trace off of her, keep her safe and how to keep the identities of her new friends a secret.

When I started this book, I couldn’t put it down.  If you read my reviews, you know that I like things are not mainstream.  It makes my brain work and I like that.  This book was definitely that.  The fact that Daemon was such a jerk in the book made it all the better.  I was always waiting for the next altercation that Daemon and Katy would have.

• Katy.  In the beginning of the book, she decides that she is no longer going to be “reserved, practical Katy.”  Even though Daemon is acting like a jerk toward her trying to scare her away from Dee, she is still friends with Dee.  She takes in everything that happens in the book and fights for what she cares about.


• Dee.  Dee is one of a set of triplets.  There are Daemon and Dawson.  You don’t hear too much about Dawson because he disappeared with a girl the year before.  Dee wants to have a normal friend and that is what she sees in Katy.   She stands up to Daemon to keep her as a friend.


• Daemon.  Yes, I like Daemon.  Even though he acts like a jerk to Katy in the book, he will fight to protect his family and those he cares about.  That is what is important.  Even though he does give Katy unnecessary stress and tries to keep her from being friends with Dee, he does have his good moments.  


• Carissa and Lesa.  They are Katy’s two friends that she makes in school.  They inform Katy of the local gossip and about Dawson.  They are good friends to her.  Even though they don’t know what is happening, they are good friends.

• Ash.  I understand where she is coming from regarding Katy, but I still don’t like her.  She acts bratty and wishes she were Daemon’s girlfriend.


• The Arum.  They are the people who are after Daemon, Dee and others of their kind.  They don’t hesitate to hurt anyone that comes in their path.


• Daemon.  I put him on both sides because I don’t like the way he acts in the beginning of the book.  Even after Katy finds out about them, he still has his moments.  

I thought that this cover was brilliant.  There is a girl and a boy on the cover.  I presume the boy to be Daemon and the girl is Katy.  I like how you can see Daemon’s green eyes.  The title is written in hexagons at the top of the cover.  The green really makes it stand out and again helps bring out the green in his eyes.  The byline “They’re not like us…” fits here and you can tell from looking at the pictures that they look kinda perfect.

Tentative release date: February 21, 2012
This is described as Lux 0.5 and was meant as a prequel to Obsidian.  From the sounds of the synopsis, you don't have to read Obsidian to understand what is happening in this book.  This book stars Dawson, the lost triplet of Dee and Daemon.

The last thing Dawson Black expected was Bethany Williams. As a Luxen, an alien life form on Earth, human girls are…well, fun. But since the Luxen have to keep their true identities a secret, falling for one would be insane. Dangerous. Tempting. Undeniable.

Bethany can’t deny the immediate connection between her and Dawson. And even though boys aren’t a complication she wants, she can’t stay away from him. Still, whenever they lock eyes, she’s drawn in. Captivated. Lured. Loved.

Dawson is keeping a secret that will change her existence...and put her life in jeopardy. But even he can’t stop risking everything for one human girl. Or from a fate that is as unavoidable as love itself.

Tentative Release Date: May 29, 2012
Onyx is the second book in the Lux series.  Again, it has Daemon and Katy on the cover.  I like the blue on this one.  Green is okay, but blue is my favorite color.  The ending of Obsidian left lots of questions, so I will be anxious to see if they are answered in this book.  Well, at least some of them. 

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.

Something worse than the Arum has come to town…

The Department of Defense is here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we're linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there's this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that's possible. Against all common sense, I'm falling for Daemon. Hard.

But then everything changes…

I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…

Find Jennifer

Buy Obsidian

Every Other Day

Publisher: Egmont USA

Publish Date: December 27, 2011

Version: NetGalley e-book

Series: unknown

Every other day, Kali D'Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She attends pep rallies. She's human.

And then every day in between . . .She's something else entirely.

Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism.

When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her and, unfortunately, she'll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends, Kali takes a risk that her human body might not survive. . .and learns the secrets of her mysterious condition in the process.

Kali D’Angelo isn’t a normal girl.  Every other day, she is something other.  She doesn’t know what she is, but she feels the need to hunt preternatural beings.  She is drawn to them.  Her blood is poison to them.  This is her normal.  What is not normal is attending high school.  She attended Heritage High for three weeks before she made a friend in Skylar Hayden.  She meets Skylar in a pep rally and they instantly hit it off.  Even though Skylar warns her that her reputation will suffer if she is seen hanging out with her, Kali does it anyway. 

At lunch, she is introduced to Darryl, John Michael and Genevieve, who also become her friends and will help her out later in the book.  They help her figure out how to pass her history test that she has coming up.  This is when she meets one of Skylar’s brothers, Elliot and his girlfriend, Bethany Davis.  The thing that catches Kali’s eye is not the popular couple, but the ouroboros tattoo on Bethany’s back, which is a death sentence and means she was bitten by a chupacabra.  Bethany is the daughter of Kali’s father’s boss and Kali was sent to Heritage High to get in good with her.  She never expected anything like this.

When Kali goes to her next class, all she can concentrate on is the ouroboros that is on Bethany’s back.  Finally she gets out of class, gets Bethany out of her class and asks her if she has a tattoo.  Surprisingly, Bethany knows about the ouroboros and what it signifies.  Kali manages to lure the chupacabra to her and by doing so, saves Bethany’s life.  Kali is presently human and having the chupacabra in her presents a whole slew of problems.  First and foremost, is surviving until the next day, when she will not be human anymore and the chupacabra will die.   As soon as the chupacabra enters Kali and before she passes out, she meets Zev.  When I say meets, he talks to her in her mind.

There is this agency, Chimera, out to get Kali because she has the chupacabra.  During finding out all about Chimera and the roles that her father and Bethany’s father plays in it, she finds out more about Zev and plans to rescue him.  Now, Skylar, Bethany and Kali (with the help of Skylar’s brothers) must figure out how to do that and stay out of Chimera’s way.

This book was an interesting read.  It was different than the normal I’m a demon, vampire, werewolf, whatever books that I have read in the past.  The fact that she only had “super-powers” every other day and had to absolve herself that she was human the other days, really upped the excitement in the book. 

• Kali.  She goes out and hunts preternatural beings not only because she has this overwhelming desire to do so, but she also is helping mankind in the process.  When she makes a friend in Skylar, she is still skeptical.  Not because she wonders if Skylar is a true friend, but because she doesn’t want to put her at risk.  


• Skylar.  Skylar introduces herself to Kali in a pep rally in the gym.  She first introduces herself as the “school slut.”  She elaborates on this in detail telling Kali how she got this title.  Kali is intrigued by her right away.  Skylar has five brothers and they have taught her a little about nearly everything.  Whenever she needs something, a brother is there.


• Skylar’s brothers: Elliot, Reid, Nathan, Vaughn.  There is another brother, but he is not mentioned in the book.  The thing that strikes me is that her brothers are so vast.  Elliot is still in high school.  Reid works for the FBI.  Nathan is a lawyer and Vaughn is a Veterinarian.  The other thing that is awesome is how protective of Skylar they are and how they react to Kali, a new friend.


• Zev. He is the voice in Kali’s head.  She soon learns that he is like her.  He talks to Kali (through her mind) and keeps her sane.  He is there for her through tough times.  


• The science in the book.  It is very believable.  I’m not sure if it is 100% real, but it is believable nonetheless.  I like that scientific classifications are used in the book when appropriate.


• Bethany Davis.  She is a cheerleader, who is the girlfriend of Skylar’s brother Elliot.  She is also the one that Kali first notices the ouroboros tattoo and exchanges the chupacabra with her.  Even though Kali gives her many opportunities to back out and leave Kali to her mess, Bethany helps her through all of this.


• Professor Armand D’Angelo.  He is Kali’s father.  He has no idea what his daughter goes through every other day, but he is one of those single dads who is trying to raise a teenage daughter and is doing the best that he can.  Kali describes him as not very outgoing, yet you can tell throughout the book, that he really cares.


• Paul Davis.  He is Bethany’s father.  This was another case where I wasn’t sure which side to put him on.  He seems like an overall good guy, but he has a few issues.  He is also one of the main people that work for Chimera.

• Chimera.  This is the agency that is first introduced to the book when they come to the school to get Kali and Bethany after the exchanging of the chupacabra/passing out incident.  They are the ones who are experimenting on preternatural beings.


• Preternatural beings.  Okay, I know that this one is a given, but I really didn’t like the chupacabra and the other beings that they came in contact with throughout this book. Some were expected and some were not.  This list excludes the Alan.   There isn’t much mention of them in the book, but what it does say describes them as being gentle creatures.

The cover has an hour glass with a red liquid in it.  This cover is simple, vibrant and I like it.  It goes well with the book as every 24 hours, Kali’s blood (and body) changes from human to nonhuman and vice versa.

Find Jennifer

E-books versus Print

There has long been a debate on which is better.  I like both of them for various reasons.

E-books

I have an iPad and like to use that when I'm at home.  I don't take it elsewhere because it's not really worth it.  The space requirements for e-books is what draws me to them.  The other thing I like about e-books is that I have a dictionary function that I can use in the book.  Trivial, I know.  I find that when I read a print book, I miss that. I know that there is the whole piracy aspect of e-books and I wish that there was a way to overcome that.  My library:

My favorite e-book programs containing over 300 books

Print

I have tons of print books.  I have a library, bookshelves in my room and I am still in need of more bookcases.  I like to take print books to work because when I can read is sporadic sometimes and print books are just easier. You sometimes get a better feel of a print book than you do an e-book.  Covers and other aspects don't always translate to e-books.  The only drawback is they take up so much space.
The pictures are of my virtual library (my iPad) versus my actual library.  Including the latest additions.
My library and some new additions:

Messy and full...

The bookcase in my room.  Also full

New Additions.  Excited about these!

What is your opinion?

Tempest

Julie Cross

Publisher: St. Martin’s Griffin

Tentative Publish Date: January 17, 2012

Version: Advanced Readers’ Edition from Librarything FirstReads

Series: Tempest

This story starts out with Jackson Meyer writing entries in his journal.  He is doing this because his friend, Adam Silverman, has told him that she should record his experiences.  One thing about Jackson is he can time travel.  It is the year 2009 when he first starts experimenting with Adam and time traveling.  Adam is the only person that Jackson has told about his abilities.  

He is dating Holly Flynn and works at a day camp.  Holly suspects that there is something Jackson is hiding.  Due to Jackson’s and Adam’s time traveling experiments, Jackson is late for a date with Holly on October 29^th.  This creates tension between them and Jackson goes over to Holly’s dorm to smooth things over.  They are awoken on October 30^th by the sounds of someone knocking on the door.  Jackson soon realizes, that the people who are at the door want to do he and Holly harm.  He tries to get them to leave, but in the chaos, Holly ends up getting shot.

Jackson “jumps” or time travels to get out of that situation.  At first, he cannot believe he left Holly there to die.  As he goes back over what happens, he wonders if they knew that he was able to jump.  He jumped to 2007.  He cannot figure out what is happening and tries to get back to 2009.  While trying, he jumps to 2003, 2004 and 2007.   While he is stuck in the past, he gets to spend time with his twin sister Courtney, who has previously died.  He also learns more about his dad and the people that were after him.  His main thought at first is to weave himself into Holly’s earlier life and prevent the event on October 30^th, 2009 from happening.  Through Holly, he meets Adam again and he helps Jackson make sense of things and the new people who show up in Jackson’s life.  There are many things about time travel and his history that Jackson doesn’t know about.  The questions are, is he willing to pay the price to find out and how far will he go to protect Adam and Holly?

When I first received this book in the mail from Librarything’s First Reads, I was ecstatic!  This was a book that I was anticipating reading for a while and it didn’t disappoint.  There have been a few books recently which deal in time travel.  The thing I like about this is that it is always different.  You can basically have a book about the same thing (time travel) and have a different experience each time because the opportunities are so vast.  What makes Tempest so great is that the learning experience that Jackson embarks on while he is trying to get back to 2009.

The year is 2009.  Nineteen-year-old Jackson Meyer is a normal guy… he’s in college, has a girlfriend… and he can travel back through time. But it’s not like the movies – nothing changes in the present after his jumps, there’s no space-time continuum issues or broken flux capacitors – it’s just harmless fun.

That is… until the day strangers burst in on Jackson and his girlfriend, Holly, and during a struggle with Jackson, Holly is fatally shot. In his panic, Jackson jumps back two years to 2007, but this is not like his previous time jumps. Now he’s stuck in 2007 and can’t get back to the future.

Desperate to somehow return to 2009 to save Holly but unable to return to his rightful year, Jackson settles into 2007 and learns what he can about his abilities.

But it’s not long before the people who shot Holly in 2009 come looking for Jackson in the past, and these “Enemies of Time” will stop at nothing to recruit this powerful young time-traveler.  Recruit… or kill him.

Piecing together the clues about his father, the Enemies of Time, and himself, Jackson must decide how far he’s willing to go to save Holly… and possibly the entire world.

 

▪Jackson Meyer.  In the beginning of the book, he is more self-centered and thinks more of himself than other people.  When he gets toward the end of the book, he is more appreciative of Adam, Holly and his Father and what they’ve been through. Jackson learns more about himself and who he is during his stint in the past.  In the end of the book, he has tough decisions to make that don’t just affect him. 

▪Holly Flynn.  Even when things get weird around Jackson, she sticks with him. 

▪Adam Silverman.   Adam is described as a “science nerd.”  When Jackson jumps back to 2007 and “meets” Adam for the first time, it doesn’t seem to faze him that much when Jackson tells him about his time travel capabilities.  Adam is a smart person who is always thinking ahead.

▪Courtney Meyer.  Jackson’s twin sister who died of cancer.  When Jackson jumps back to when he can actually interact with Courtney, she trusts him when he tells her that he is from the future.

▪Emily.  I don’t know much about her character as it is not discussed a lot until the last part of the book, but what I do know, I like.  She is the young girl that Jackson keeps seeing that reminds him of Courtney.  You might be asking how can you like a character that you know very little about?  To find that answer, you'll have to read the book and then you'll understand more.

▪Kevin Meyer.  I wasn’t sure which side I was going to put him on.  He is Jackson’s and Courtney’s father.  The reason for my hesitance is that there is a lot of information that he kept from Jackson and whenever he shows up, trouble seems to follow him.  I believe that his intentions are good.

▪Dr. Melvin.  This is a doctor that has taken care of Jackson and Courtney all of their lives.  He seems to want what is best for Jackson.  This is another one who was hard to determine if I liked him or not because there are things brought up near the end of the book that make me not like him.

 

▪The EOT or enemies of time.  The way that they are pictured in the majority of this book puts them in bad light.  I will have to read the subsequent books before making a final judgment on that.  They want to capture Jackson and are who Kevin Meyer and his team fight against.

▪Chief Marshall.  He is the one who is in charge and isn’t afraid to let everyone know it.  He doesn’t seem to have a compassionate bone in his body.

 

On this cover, you are shown clouds and a thunderstorm.  In the front are a boy (Jackson) and a girl (Holly) trying to reach each other.  This fits the story well, because that is basically what the book is about.  Jackson trying to get back to Holly.  I really like the colors in this cover.  That is what drew me to the book primarily.

This is what it said about this book on Julie's website:

Here's the 411 on this title you may have seen around online.

WHAT IS IT? This is basically like a prequel and it's about 10,000 words which might not mean much to the non-writers. I think it was around 50 pages double spaced in a word document.

DO YOU HAVE TO READ THE BOOK FIRST? Nope. But I would highly recommend reading the free excerpt first which is the first four chapters. You get a sense of how time travel works in TEMPEST from the opening and I don't rehash those rules in the bonus story. If you have read the book from one of the "early review" opportunities or because you're related to me, and you liked the characters, specifically Jackson, Adam, and Holly, then you will most likely enjoy TOMORROW IS TODAY.

WHAT SHOULD I EXPECT? Expect a lighter tone and a lot of fun because this story is before everything went bad for Jackson. When time-travel was just fun and games. It's even before Jackson got the girl. You'll get a little more insight into both Holly and Adam's characters.

WHEN CAN I GET IT? It's available for e-readers on December 6, 2011. You can pre-order now and have it automatically download on December 6th.


HOW MUCH DOES IT COST? It's FREE! totally and completely 100% free.




Order it here
Read the first four chapters of Tempest here

Find Julie Cross

Dearly, Departed

Lia Habel

Publisher: Random House Publishing Group

Publish Date:  October 18, 2011

Version: netgalley e-book

Series: Gone With The Respiration

Real ladies can give orders, Real gentlemen can take them, and Real zombies don’t eat brains.

This series starts out by introducing us to Abraham “Bram” Griswold and tells of his death in the Celesto Mine with his best friend Jack on July 4, 2193 in “Punk-controlled Brazil.” 

After that, you are taken to Nora Dearly’s point of view and tells of the last day of school at St. Cyprian’s School for Girls.   This is not only the last day of school, it is also the first day that Nora is no longer in mourning.  She has mourned the death of her father, Dr. Victor Darling, for a year now.  Nora is waiting with her best friend, Pamela Roe aka Pamma, for their carriage to take them back home.  When the carriage finally arrives, they get in and are about their way.   A lag in traffic causes them to be at a standstill and Nora decided to walk.  She lives underground and is close enough to her home that she should make it safely.  While she is walking home, she encounters someone who wants to talk to her about her father and then insists that she come with them.  This scares Nora, she screams and is saved by two constables.  The constables take her home and after dealing with her Aunt Gene and guardian, Nora decided to get ready for the evening.

The next day, Pam came over to visit and Aunt Gene suggests that they accompany her while she goes out and visits people during the day.  This takes them to the Allisters’ house, where you first meet Michael Allister, who Pam is crushing on.  That evening, while Nora was watching war holos, she was kidnapped by undead soldiers and taken to Z Beta Base.  It is there that she learns more about the species of men who captured her, why they want her in the first place, about her father’s work and what is happening in New Victoria.

Nora is given just as much information as she asks for at first and this is a lot for her to handle.  Captain Bram Griswold or just Bram, is the one who primarily deals with her.  When Commander Wolfe is not on base, he is the commanding officer.  After days of being held captive, Nora finds out that her homeland of Elysian Fields was under attack and her aunt and Pamela might be in danger.  With her newfound friends, Renfield, Chas, Tom and Coalhouse, and Bram, they set off to rescue Pam. 

Meanwhile, Pam is trying to get her family to leave their home to go into hiding, so they won’t get the illness.  When she finally does, it might be too late as everyone is trying to get to where Pam wanted to hide out.  She runs into Michael Allister.  She leaves her family and goes to the roof with Michael and her brother Issy to get better phone reception.  Will Nora make it in time to rescue Pam before anyone gets hurts?  What will happen to the members of Company Z?

This book started out good with the backstory of Bram, but then slowed when it got to the history of New Victoria.  I understand that the history is crucial to any story; I just have never liked history.  It makes a book harder for me to read when there is a lot to go through.  Putting that aside, this was a really good book.  I like books that are full of action, has some G-rated romance and where the main characters learn something and Dearly, Departed has all of that.

Love conquers all, so they say. But can Cupid’s arrow pierce the hearts of the living and the dead—or rather, the undead? Can a proper young Victorian lady find true love in the arms of a dashing zombie?

The year is 2195. The place is New Victoria—a high-tech nation modeled on the manners, mores, and fashions of an antique era. A teenager in high society, Nora Dearly is far more interested in military history and her country’s political unrest than in tea parties and debutante balls. But after her beloved parents die, Nora is left at the mercy of her domineering aunt, a social-climbing spendthrift who has squandered the family fortune and now plans to marry her niece off for money. For Nora, no fate could be more horrible—until she’s nearly kidnapped by an army of walking corpses.

But fate is just getting started with Nora. Catapulted from her world of drawing-room civility, she’s suddenly gunning down ravenous zombies alongside mysterious black-clad commandos and confronting “The Laz,” a fatal virus that raises the dead—and hell along with them. Hardly ideal circumstances. Then Nora meets Bram Griswold, a young soldier who is brave, handsome, noble . . . and dead. But as is the case with the rest of his special undead unit, luck and modern science have enabled Bram to hold on to his mind, his manners, and his body parts. And when his bond of trust with Nora turns to tenderness, there’s no turning back. Eventually, they know, the disease will win, separating the star-crossed lovers forever. But until then, beating or not, their hearts will have what they desire.

In Dearly, Departed, romance meets walking-dead thriller, spawning a madly imaginative novel of rip-roaring adventure, spine-tingling suspense, and macabre comedy that forever redefines the concept of undying love.

"Boy, I am going to feed you to the infected myself," Michael growled. I think he almost made my brother cry. Good.

 

▪Nora Dearly.  I like how at the beginning, you are told the story of her father’s passing and that day represents the first day that she is out of mourning even though she still feels sad and doesn’t want to be what everyone expects her to be.  When she is taken to Z Beta Base, at first she has some fear and prejudices, but she works through them and truly shows her character.

▪Abraham “Bram” Griswold.  He initially takes on the task of watching after Nora when she is on his base.  You can tell by the things he says and does, that he is a gentleman.

▪Renfield, Coalhouse, Chas and Tom.  These are Bram’s closest friends inside the Z Beta Base.  Therefore, they are the soldiers that Nora has the most interaction with.   They don’t even hesitate when they are asked to help Nora.

▪Pamela Roe.  She is Nora’s best friend.  While Nora is gone, people tell her that she should use this opportunity to “move herself up in the world” as she was in the spotlight.  Pam wasn’t hearing it and was genuinely concerned for Nora’s safety.  She is a loyal friend.

▪The fact that manners and modesty have returned in civilization.  While reading this, I would occasionally get confused as to what time period I was reading from.  It was obviously written in the future, but some of the customs made it seem like it was from the past.

 

▪Company Major Dorian Averne.  He is the commanding officer of the punk army in Bolivia.  He is not averse to torturing people to get what he wants.

▪Vespertine Mink.  She is one of the kids at school who tease Pam about her situation and that she is on scholarship to the school. 

▪Michael Allister.  I don’t like him.  I won’t tell you why.  For the majority of the book, he is a gentleman.

▪Company Commander James Wolfe.  He is the commanding officer at Z Beta Base.  He doesn’t seem to like his situation very much.  He is always grouchy.  I don’t like the way that he handles things.

On the cover you see a girl, who I presume to be Nora, wearing a black dress and holding a black parasol while standing in what appears to be a cemetery.  Underneath the title, it reads “love can never die.”  When reading the story, you find out more about the parasol and so that makes sense.  The fact that Nora was wearing black also makes sense because she had to wear black for a year while she was mourning her father’s death.  I think that this cover is not only appropriate in what it contains, but the coloring of it also play up the book nicely.

I had to put this cover up there because I like that they not only have Nora on it but also what I presume to be Bram.  In the book, it says he looks very good in his captain's clothes and this represents not only that, but his and Nora's relationship.  I really like the zombies in the background and the fire.  All good points in the book.  I like the saying "Tall, Dark and...Dead?"  It fits the book well.

The only bad thing I have to say for this cover is in the title.  I know that this is a UK cover and the grammar might be different there, but in the US title and cover, it is Dearly (comma) Departed.  As in her last name is Dearly.  This cover doesn't have the comma.  Is that important?  I don't know. It might be.

On Habel's blog and on Goodreads, it says that there is an upcoming book in the series called Dearly, Beloved.  It doesn't show a cover or anything, just that it is expected out 2012.

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Ascend

Amanda Hocking

Publisher: Amanda Hocking 

Soon to be published by: St Martin’s Griffin

Publish date:

                e-book: already out

                print: 24 April 2012

Version: e-book

Series: Trylle Trilogy

This is the last book in the Trilogy, following Switched and Torn.   Many things happen at the beginning of this book.  Loki requests amnesty from Elora, who is getting weaker and Wendy must step in to fulfill her role as princess.  It is after then that Wendy finds out how he has been tortured by the Vittra King.  On top of that, Wendy has her wedding to be concerned about.  Even though every aspect of the wedding is being planned for her by Marksinna Krohn and Willa, she is still worried about it.  In Torn, Wendy learned what it is that the Vittra King wanted from her and in Ascend, she realizes that he will not stop his assaults on the Trylle until he gets what he wants.

The day after her wedding, this realizations hits home as she learns that one of the Trylle communities have been severely demolished by the Vittra and there are many people who are homeless and hurt.  Wendy along with a few other people travel to the community of Oslinna, to see what help they can be there and to show support for the Trylle communities that aren’t in Förening.  Wendy comes up with a plan to delay any more attacks on the Trylle people from the Vittra.  But that plan comes with a price…

I thought that this was a good ending to a good series.  Like all good series, I wish that they would go on and on, but I’m sure that it wouldn’t be quite as exciting.  I will admit that Hocking answered all the questions I had formed throughout the series in this last book.  I would highly recommend it to anyone!!


My lists for likes/did not like are growing smaller as I review more books in the series.  Not because I like/did not like the characters any more or less, it is just redundant give the same rationale for them.  So, instead, I tried to highlight the main themes of the books.

Third and final book in the Trylle Trilogy.

With a war looming on the horizon, Wendy’s fate seems sealed.

But everything she sacrificed might be in vain if she can’t save the ones she loves.

Her whole life has been leading up to this, and it’s all coming to an end.

• Wendy.  I know I have said this for every book in this series, but I really like her character and how she shows so much growth and maturity in this book.
• Tove.   Tove has a hard decision to make in this book and I think he makes a wise choice.  For that, I like him even more.
• Loki.  You don’t really get to know him very well until this part of the series, but I think he is a good guy.  He knows what is right and isn’t afraid to go after it.  Even though he has some stigma about his family history, that doesn’t deter him from the person that he becomes.  Yes, some things that he does in the book are in poor taste.
• Finn.  I liked Finn a little more in this book than I did in Torn.  He doesn’t seem like he is at war with himself as much in this book than in the previous books.   
• Matt, Rhys, Willa.  I’ve put them all in one category because they are background characters, but are still important to Wendy and what she has to accomplish. 

• Oren, the Vittra King.  Again, he is just a person who only cares about what he wants and will stop at nothing to get it.

As I stated in the cover review for Torn, this really isn’t a just review because I know what the print covers will look like and I like them more.  However, the Ascend e-book cover almost looks exactly like the other e-books covers having the same blue colors, the same sky.  Only difference that I noticed was that the flowers were different and this one said Ascend.  The print cover show a girl (whom I presume to be Wendy) in a field with a chair.  I presume the chair to be a throne.  It does not look like a throne to me.  In the books, the Trylle throne is described and this isn’t what I pictured it to be.  Having said that, this is a pretty cover and I love the colors on it.