Review: The Forever Song

The Forever Song by Julie Kagawa

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Allison Sekemoto has given up on being a good vampire. After being turned, she tried relentlessly to keep her humanity within herself. Now Sarren has killed the love of her life, Zeke, and Allison has embraced her monster in order to hunt down and kill Sarren. As she continues to follow Sarren, she discovers the path is leading straight to Eden, the last vampire-free zone left on Earth. She is not alone. Her creator, Kanin, and Jackal, her blood brother, have joined her on this quest. Can they reach Sarren before Eden is destroyed? Will Allison be able to overcome the shocking truths that Sarren has in store for her?

The Forever Song is the third and final book in the Blood of Eden series. Readers who were disturbed with the characters killed off in the last book will find new twists and turns in this next volume. Kagawa will not disappoint readers with the fast paced style and they will remember that these three books span about one year of Allison’s life. As a series finale I found that the larger questions were all answered, yet Kagawa left a few openings for short stories or a spin off series in the future. The Forever Song is a satisfying read and a great conclusion.




View all my reviews

Review: Yes, It's Hot in Here: Adventures in the Weird, Woolly World of Sports Mascots

Yes, It's Hot in Here: Adventures in the Weird, Woolly World of Sports Mascots by A.J. Mass

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Modern day mascots are believed to have originated from the Renaissance jester. Their main role is entertaining an audience and keeping them focused on the “floor.” Yes, It’s Hot in Here explores what it is like to be a mascot in the sports world. Mass covers high school, college and professional sports teams and what is expected from these individuals. Although there are times where Mass comes across as a jaded ex-employee, readers will see his love for this role and explore aspects of the team mascot that only a few would have already known. This is not a book I would normally pick up, but it was nominated to be a “Rosie Book” and after looking deeper into the description I thought I would give it a try. Once I got into the stories, I couldn’t help but keep reading. This is one of those books that will need to be talked up, yet will satisfy the readers who are willing to try.



View all my reviews

Review: Sunrise

Sunrise by Mike Mullin

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



It has been nearly a year since the Yellowstone supervolcano erupted and sent North America into a harsh winter and chaos. Towns and groups are attacking each other and the government is not willing or able to assist. Alex and Darla have come to the realization that their home is not safe and the adults are not willing to step up and do what is necessary. Can they do what it takes to survive? What lines are they unwilling to cross?

Sunrise is the final book in the Ashfall series. Those of us who have waited over a year and half for this final book will quickly discover that the wait was worth it. Mullin doesn’t spend any time coddling readers with background and memory jogging. He plunges quickly into the next era of this adventure and sweeps the reader along for the ride. As Alex and Darla face new and harrowing trials, the reader will quickly realize how unprepared the average person would be to survive an apocalypse of this magnitude. I know I would not be an Alex or a Darla, but I hope if I am ever faced with a life surviving situation like this, I can find people like them and join their team.




View all my reviews

Review: The Klaatu Terminus

The Klaatu Terminus by Pete Hautman

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Tucker Feye and Lia continue their adventures through the Klaatu Diskos. The Diskos appear to be not so random anymore and the pair, along with a few others, keep jumping into them willingly and are sucked into the Timesweeps along the way. Is there anything special about these individuals? Why are the Diskos centered on Hopewell? Their journey takes them into the recent past, the present and the distant future. If you did not read books 1 and 2, don’t even think about jumping into this book. Readers who have already finished the first parts of this series will not be disappointed in the action, relationship exploration and truths revealed. Hautman weaves the many time streams that have popped up into a finale which will delight the reader. Many questions previously left unanswered will all be explored in this final volume in the series. The ending is worth the wait and only a few (not me) will figure out the why to it all.




View all my reviews

Review: Shattered Secrets

Shattered Secrets by Krystal Wade

My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Abigail Nichols has boy problems. After crushing after her best friend for years, they finally kiss and then he ignores her for 3 months. She decides to go on a date with a childhood friend, but knows there is no connection. She is hoping it will make Derick jealous and it does, but then her life is turned upside down after she is kidnapped, thrown in the trunk of a car and taken to a remote cabin. She is rescued by none other than the two boys who she pit against each other. Both have been keeping secrets from her and Abigail quickly realizes that her entire life was just a series of lies. Her parents are not who she believed they were and darker forces are at work around her.

Shattered Secrets is the first book in a new series by Krystal Wade. Readers of Wade’s Darkness Falls series will see a lot of parallels between the stories. Both story lines have a girl who has powers she wasn’t aware of, is being hidden on earth away from her native world and two boys that equally believe they are the one for her. These parallels might be enjoyable for some readers, but for me it was a turn off. I wanted a new story with new developments, not the same story with different characters. I still enjoyed the book and will look for the second book in the series, but wish the series were more different.




View all my reviews

Review: The Here and Now

The Here and Now by Ann Brashares

My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Prenna James believes she is finally adjusting after immigrating to New York five years earlier. The largest issue with her immigration wasn’t that it was a different country, but that it was a different time. See … Prenna is from the future. In her future, a mosquito-borne plague has mutated and the world as she knew it was in shambles. Prenna and the group she immigrated with have several important rules they must follow. They must never tell a time native about themselves, they must not interfere with their history, and they should never become intimate with anyone outside of their community. Then Prenna falls for Ethan Jarves and everything changes. She begins to question the rules set down and wonders if any of the rules are really meant to be kept.

The Here and Now is a science fiction story with so many time paradoxes the reader will not want to try and keep them straight. Readers of Brashares’ The Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants series will enjoy the relationships explored throughout, but they must be willing to step away from the realistic genre into the sci-fi genre. Who set the rules and why were they created? If the future is so bad, why are they not allowed to change it? Although this novel can easily be classified as science fiction, it has enough adventure and romance to pull in a multi-faceted reading group. The Here and Now appears to be a stand-alone novel and the ending is satisfying in its own right, but it looks like other short stories or books could come out of this world.




View all my reviews

Review: Far From You

Far From You by Tess Sharpe

My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Sophie’s parents do not believe her. She has been drug free for six months, but when her best friend is killed during what everyone believes was a drug deal gone wrong, Sophie is sent away. She must go into rehab and get clean. Since she has already kicked the habit, when she returns she is even more determined to find out what happened that night and why she was set up instead of also being killed. Can she find out who was behind the murder? Can she uncover the truth before she becomes a victim again?

Far From You is a fast paced who-done-it that will have readers attempting to guess the real reasons of the murder and drug set up. Sharpe creates a situation where the main character knows there is more to the story, but the layers of secrets that need to be revealed are ever developing. The story comes to the reader in multiple points of view and gives them insight into other developments without exposing the truth too soon. Far From You will satisfy male and female readers of all ages, not just the teen crowd.




View all my reviews