Tag Archives: paranormal

Book Review: Evolution by Kelly Carrero

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Evolution CoverBook: Evolution by Kelly Carrero

Self-Published by Kelly Carrero in October 2012|138 pages

Where I Got It: I own the e-book

Series: Evolution #1

Genre: YA Sci-Fi/Paranormal

Blog Graphic-What It's About

Seventeen year old Jade Sommers’ life is turned upside down the moment she sees the inch long cut across her face heal right before her eyes.

Jade thinks she is going insane, but her boyfriend, Aiden Scott, knows better. He knows what she is. And like him, she was born this way.

Now if finding out that people like her shouldn’t exist isn’t bad enough, Jade’s best friend is kidnapped by the psycho who terrorises her dreams. With the help of Aiden, Jade has to figure out how to save her before it’s to late.

But what Jade doesn’t know is not everything is what it seems. She is merely a puppet in a sadistic game to find out what she is truly capable of, and that game has only just begun.

Blog Graphic- What I Thought

I’ve had Evolution for a while, and finally started reading it, but I also wasn’t a big fan of the book.  It had the potential to be really interesting, but it also fell short.

The book is sort of based on that idea that we only use a certain percentage of our brains, only in this book, there are people who have evolved to the point that they have special abilities because they can use a larger percentage of their brain.  Sort of like that movie that came out a couple of years ago with Morgan Freeman and Scarlett Johansson, Lucy?  That’s what I was reminded of, but without the whole drug-trafficking story line.

So, there were things about this book that didn’t make sense to me.  She was told she had all of these abilities, but her boyfriend, the only person she knows who has the same abilities as her, doesn’t really explain what’s going on, and why some people can do what they can, and others can’t.  The part in the summary where it mentions someone terrorizing her dreams, and that she’s a puppet in this huge game?  That didn’t really happen in the book. At all.  I finished this book (which was a lot shorter than I thought it would be) with more questions than I did when I started.  Did her boyfriend know the entire time that Jade has supernatural abilities?  Because the summary made it seem like he knew, and hung around in Australia for that reason.

I was also left wondering why someone kidnapped her best friend, why a select few have this ability, and what sort of “game” is going on?  Considering everything the summary says this book is about, I really expected a lot more to be going on.  I want more of an explanation than the idea that some people are born really advanced.  This first book makes it seem like it’s this very select group of people…and yet it also seems like it’ might be somewhat common.

And Jade’s mom is super-absent, but has no problem with her teenage daughter constantly staying at her boyfriend’s house.  That seemed a little weird to me, and it makes me wonder what was going on with her mom, because her mom constantly blew her off.  And it seemed like the mom was hiding something.

There’s just no backstory, and while the idea was interesting, I just didn’t like how it was told.  It was too rushed, too short, and really hard to believe. And I know I have said that there are no explanations for anything, but it was really frustrating.  Things happened for no reason, and the book didn’t make a lot of sense because of that.

The characters were a little too…boring.  Aiden was too perfect, and Jade was not memorable.  Actually, Aiden wasn’t very memorable either, and I could not tell you a single thing about them.  I really couldn’t.

Blog Graphic- My Rating

1 star.  The idea was sort of interesting, but the lack of explanation about pretty much anything makes me not want to keep reading the series.

Book Review: The Eternity Cure

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The Eternity CureBook: The Eternity Cure by Julie Kagawa

Expected Publication is April 30 2013 by Harlequin Teen|Pages:

*The Eternity Cure is an e-book advanced review copy from netgalley.com*

Series: Blood Of Eden #2

Genre: YA Dystopic/Paranormal Vampire

Goodreads|Julie Kagawa’s Website

Summary: Allison Sekemoto has vowed to rescue her creator, Kanin, who is being held hostage and tortured by the psychotic vampire Sarren. The call of blood leads her back to the beginning—New Covington and the Fringe, and a vampire prince who wants her dead yet may become her wary ally.

Even as Allie faces shocking revelations and heartbreak like she’s never known, a new strain of the Red Lung virus that decimated humanity is rising to threaten human and vampire alike.

I really enjoyed The Eternity Cure, and found it a lot more intriguing than The Immortal Rules.  I think it’s because we’ve moved past the world-building and were able to get into the world of New Covington.  I found the new strain of the Red Lung virus really interesting, particularly with the potential cure for it.  I liked how I was completely surprised by it.  It was so unexpected, but also intriguing…and I’m curious about how that cliffhanger ending will change things, because I’m pretty sure that it will.  I was taken off-guard by it, so it will make things very interesting in the next book.

I’m still not sure about Allison as a character.  I still haven’t connected with her the way I thought I would, but she is interesting…and her reaction to…things…will be interesting to see.  We also Kanin and Zeke and Sarren, and their stories are an odd mix of okay and interesting.  I know that might seem weird, but it really is the best way for me to describe it.  Sarren unleashing a strain of the Red Lung Virus to start over and destroy things…I liked it, and it’ll be interesting to see how everyone tries to work against Sarren to cure the Red Lung virus.  Zeke is still an okay love interest, and Kanin…I wanted to care about Kanin, but I found myself not caring about him in The Eternity Cure.

The two characters that I really liked were Jackal and Stick.  Jackal was, well, himself, but him making Allie believe that he was working with Sarren in order for them to get the cure was interesting and unexpected and expected all at the same time.  Plus, Jackal was really entertaining at times, which I didn’t expect.  I don’t think we’ve seen the last of him, so I can’t wait to see what he does next.

Stick’s story…I loved Stick’s story in The Eternity Cure.  We don’t see him after he rats out Allie, and seeing him was a surprise.  He’s now an aide to Salazar, the Prince in New Covington, and we learn why he did it.  He’s a much different character and I do want to see if he’ll make an appearance in any future books in this series.

And because I need to go back to the ending…I won’t spoil it for anyone, but holy cow!  Totally not expected, given something that is promised earlier in the book, but at the same time…I shouldn’t have been surprised by it, and yet I was.  I can’t wait to see what Kagawa does with this…like I said earlier, it will make the next book really interesting.

Final Thoughts:

I really enjoyed The Eternity Cure- I think I enjoyed it as much as I enjoyed The Immortal Rules, but for very different reasons.  There were quite a few interesting twists, and I can’t wait to see what happens next!  The Eternity Cure gets 4 stars.

Book Review: Mind Games

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Mind Games CoverBook: Mind Games by Kiersten White

Published 2012 by|Pages:

Source: E-book|Nook Store

Series: Mind Games #1

Genre: YA Paranormal Thriller

Goodreads|Kiersten White’s Website

Summary: Fia was born with flawless instincts. Her first impulse, her gut feeling, is always exactly right. Her sister, Annie, is blind to the world around her—except when her mind is gripped by strange visions of the future. 

Trapped in a school that uses girls with extraordinary powers as tools for corporate espionage, Annie and Fia are forced to choose over and over between using their abilities in twisted, unthinkable ways…or risking each other’s lives by refusing to obey.

In a stunning departure from her New York Times bestselling Paranormalcy trilogy, Kiersten White delivers a slick, edgy, heartstoppingly intense psychological thriller about two sisters determined to protect each other—no matter the cost.

When I saw that Kiersten White had a new book coming out, I knew I had to read it.  I liked Mind Games, but not as much as I expected.

I absolutely LOVE that there’s this school that uses girls who have these amazing abilities for corporate espionage and that there’s this corporation who has their hands in, like, everything.  And these powers are intriguing- I just wish we knew more about this school and powers and what people can do with them.

Fia and Annie have a really interesting relationship- Annie is the only one who can “see” Fia, which makes it easier for Fia to do what she’s told.  And if Annie doesn’t do what she’s told, especially in regards to Fia…well, let’s just say they’re in a very interesting situation.  What I find really intriguing is that they aren’t twins.  I know this might be a little random, but I’m glad they’re not twins.  Actually, I think them wanting to protect each other and keep each other safe is a lot more effective because they’re not twins.

Both Annie and Fia narrate the book, and I’m not sure how I feel about it.  It’s just…how the book was set up in terms of time didn’t work for me.  You have the past, which takes place over 2 or 3 years.  And then you have the present time, which takes place over the course of the week.  So, Mia gets 2 chapters- 1 for the past, and 1 for the present, and then it’ll switch to Annie for a couple chapters, 1 for the past, 1 for the present.  And it switches back and forth like that for the entire book.

In all honesty, the timeline was weird.  It really felt like 2 very different stories that didn’t quite work together, and I think that very much colored my thoughts on Annie and Fia as narrators- to the point that I spent more time paying attention to the timeline than I should have.  There were a lot of pieces, and for the most part, they work together fairly well.  I get understanding their past helps understand what’s currently going on, and the present makes a lot more sense when you understand how they got to that point.  And it is a thriller, with spies and whatnot, so I like that you have to piece things together, and don’t completely know what’s going on.

Mind Games does have White’s trademark humor, and there were a few times I couldn’t help but giggle.  It’s definitely different than her Paranormalcy series, but I’m intrigued enough to keep reading.

Final Thoughts:

I did like Mind Games, and even though jumping between past and present didn’t work for me, I’m intrigued enough to see what happens next.  Mind Games gets 3 stars.

Book Review: Bitter Blood

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Bitter Blood CoverBook: Bitter Blood by Rachel Caine

Published November 2012 by Penguin Group|Pages:416

Source: E-book|Purchased from the Nook Store

Series: Morganville Vampires #13

Genre: YA Paranormal- Vampires

Goodreads|Rachel Caine’s Website

Summary: For years, the human and vampire residents of Morganville, Texas, have managed to co-exist in peace. But now that the threat to the vampires has been defeated, the human residents are learning that the gravest danger they face is the enemy within…

Thanks to the eradication of the parasitic creatures known as the draug, the vampires of Morganville have been freed of their usual constraints. With the vampires indulging their every whim, the town’s human population is determined to hold on to their lives by taking up arms. But college student Claire Danvers isn’t about to take sides, considering she has ties to both the humans and the vampires. 

To make matters worse, a television show comes to Morganville looking for ghosts, just as vampire and human politics collide. Now, Claire and her friends have to figure out how to keep the peace without ending up on the nightly news… or worse.

I just love this series, and being caught up is a little strange to me.  I’m looking forward to Fall Of Night, but I’m actually really glad I was able to read the first 13 in a pretty quick succession.

So…here we go with the usual stuff I talk about anytime I review a Morganville Vampires book.  The characters are pretty consistent, and even when they do things I don’t expect them to, there is a good reason for why their acting wonky.  Like…Shane reacted to a certain…event…in a way that I would expect.  Did Michael do something I didn’t expect him to?  Of course, but there was a really good reason it.   

Things are also really well-paced, and Caine does a great job (as usual) with building on previous books.

Now that the usual is out of the way…Morganville is very different now.  ID cards for all citizens (but very different depending on whether you’re human or a vampire) and Oliver and Amelie hooking up and a new Captain Obvious…which was surprising in a very unsurprising way.  If that makes any sense…and it might not, because I really don’t want to give that away.

Things do go back to normal- at least, as normal as Morganville gets.  I did find the reaction to Eve and Michael’s marriage interesting, and I also liked that Michael refused to divorce Eve, even though he’ll likely face a very public punishment for going against Amelie’s wishes.  I’m really intrigued by this punishment, which is a surprise that isn’t surprising.

That seem to describe the book really well.  Surprises that aren’t surprising…and Caine does it well.  Like, really well.  I can honestly say that certain things didn’t surprise me, but Caine does in a way that does surprise you.  It’s just one of those things that is impressing me more with every one I read.

The multiple perspectives work great, especially with everything going on.  I really love reading the Myrnin chapters, which really cement my love of Myrnin.  There’s a part of me that wishes Miranda narrated a chapter or two, because her story has a lot of potential.

Final Thoughts:

Bitter Blood is another great addition to this series.  You’d think after 13 books (and counting!) this series would feel tired, but it isn’t.  I just love everything about this book, and I can’t wait to see how things play out for everyone!  Bitter Blood gets 5 stars.