Blog Tour ~ Kissed by Kimberly Loth *Review

Kissed (The Thorn Chronicles)

by Kimberly Loth

Trapped in a dark cult, sixteen-year-old Naomi Aren has lived a quiet, albeit unhappy, life nestled deep in the hills of the Ozarks. With uncut hair, denim skirts, and only roses for friends, Naomi seldom questions why her life is different from other kids at school. Until the day her abusive father, who is also the cult’s leader, announces her wedding. Naomi must marry Dwayne Yerdin, a bully who reeks of sweat and manure and is the only one person who scares her worse than her father.

Then she meets Kai, the mysterious boy who brings her exotic new roses and stolen midnight kisses. Kisses that bring her a supernatural strength she never knew she had. As the big day approaches, Naomi unearths more secrets of about her father’s cult. She learns she has power of her own and while Kai may have awakened that power, Naomi must find a way to use it to escape Dwayne and her father—without destroying herself.

Buy the book: http://amzn.to/1oeQAPf Only 99 cents

Review:
Kissed was a very quick read. Not because it was short, but because it was a very engaging story. It was also not what I was expecting. The description really only addresses the first third of the book, and where it ends is where the action picks up.


Naomi was  great character. She begins the story as a frightened girl, who is looking for someone to save her. As the story progresses she becomes stronger, willing to do the things she never would have dreamed of doing before. The changes in her though are believable as she adjusts to everything that happens to her and with Kai.

This book was much more than I thought it would be and I am very excited to see where this series goes.

About the Author
Kimberly Loth can’t decide where she wants to settle down. She’s lived in Michigan, Illinois, Missouri, Utah, California, Oregon, and South Carolina. She finally decided to make the leap and leave the U.S. behind for a few years. Currently, she lives in Cairo, Egypt with her husband and two kids.
She is a high school math teacher by day (please don’t hold that against her) and YA author by night. She loves romantic movies, chocolate, roses, and crazy adventures. Kissed is her first novel.

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Review: Dead (A Lot) by Howard Odentz

Dead (A Lot)
by Howard Odentz
Published: July 31, 2013
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books

Synopsis:
Last Friday night, the world changed-and not for the better. 

Zombies are among us. School's out for the foreseeable future, and with Mom and Dad at the lake house, my twin and I are on our own in this mess. Which is fine as long as we can avoid being on the menu.
 
Tripp Light's teenage world is suddenly filled with "poxers"-the infected ones, the ones that have the Necropoxy virus. In an entire world gone mad and bad, Tripp's only hope of survival is to clear a path through zombie land with his sister and head for the hills (aka his aunt's farm) to rendezvous with his parents.
 
Success clearly favors the fittest and the fastest. Survival demands the twins make hard, ruthless decisions, but that all changes when Tripp and his twin hear a distress call via the radio. Prianka Patel, a girl Tripp loves to hate, is trapped and surrounded in a bakery. Soon, the twins have quite a collection of misfits and survivors and miles to go before anyone can sleep safely again.
No matter where Tripp looks, everyone everywhere is dead.
Like really dead... a lot.

Review:
Zombie book are my current favorite read, yet I have come to the realization that not all zombie books are equal. Thankfully, Dead (A Lot) is on the positive side of that equation. Odentz manages to create a zombie novel that is not simply a zombie book.

The character Tripp is an amusing and probably pretty accurate portrayal of a teenage boy. He's not the politically correct main character that we can view as perfect. He's rude and childish at times, chauvinistic and even discriminates against a physically disabled man. Yet, he is likable, because he isn't spiteful and most importantly he changes and grows. If you don't like Tripp in the first few chapters, keep reading.

The only issue I had was with the ending. I felt it was a bit rushed and wished Odentz had spent just a few more pages fleshing things out.

  

Blog Tour: Nightmare City by Andrew Klavan *Review

I am so excited to be hosting the next stop along the Nightmare City Blog Tour! You can click the tour banner to check out other stops along the tour!

Nightmare City

by Andrew Klavan

Release Date: 11/05/13

Thomas Nelson Publishers

Tom Harding only wants the truth. But the truth is becoming more dangerous with every passing minute.

As a reporter for his high school newspaper, Tom Harding was tracking the best story of his life when, suddenly, his life turned very, very weird. He woke up one morning to find his house empty . . . his street empty . . . his whole town empty . . . empty except for an eerie, creeping fog and whatever creatures were slowly moving toward him through the fog.

Now Tom's once-ordinary world has become something out of a horror movie. How did it happen? Is it real? Is he dreaming? Has there been a zombie apocalypse? Has he died and gone to hell?

Tom is a good reporter he knows how to look for answers but no one has ever covered a story like this before. With the fog closing in and the hungry creatures of the fog surrounding him, he has only a few hours to find out how he lost the world he knew. In this bizarre universe nothing is what it seems and everything including Tom's life hangs in the balance.

Amazon / B&N / Kobo / Book Depository

Review:
I loved Andrew Klavan's novel Crazy Dangerous and had really high hope for Nightmare City. Klavan did not disappoint! The first few chapters were completely creepy. I had to stop reading at one point because I was too freaked out to keep reading.

The main character, Tom, was really well written. He was complex and Klavan did an amazing job of making Tom interesting without having him come across as over the top. I was drawn in by his fear and the constant curiosity that drove him forward in his quest for answers.

Klavan has managed to create a unique story, that has twists and turns to keep you guessing. Even though this is Christian fiction, it is dark and definitely meant for older teens. Nightmare City explores some very deep and dark questions though that I do think need to be addressed with young adult readers and he does not shy away from them.

 
About the Author
Andrew Klavan is a best-selling, award-winning thriller novelist whose books have been made into major motion pictures. He broke into the YA scene with the bestselling Homelanders series, starting with The Last Thing I Remember.He is also a screenwriter and scripted the innovative movie-in-an-app Haunting Melissa.

***Author Links***
http://www.andrewklavan.com/
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/271685.Andrew_Klavan
https://twitter.com/andrewklavan
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3 print copies of Nightmare City (US only)

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Blog Tour: The Ghost Files by Apryl Baker *Review

I'm excited to be hosting the next stop in The Ghost Files by Apryl Baker Blog Tour! Keep reading to read my review of The Ghost Files and to enter the giveaway for a copy of The Ghost Files!

The Ghost File

By Apryl Baker

Published: August 13, 2013

Publisher: Limitless

Available: Amazon

Cherry blossom lipstick: check
Smokey eyes: check
Skinny jeans: check
Dead kid in the mirror: check

For sixteen year old Mattie Hathaway, this is her normal everyday routine. She’s been able to see ghosts since her mother tried to murder her when she was five years old. No way does she want anyone to know she can talk to spooks. Being a foster kid is hard enough without being labeled a freak too.

Normally, she just ignores the ghosts and they go away. That is until she see’s the ghost of her foster sister… Sally.

Everyone thinks Sally’s just another runaway, but Mattie knows the truth—she’s dead. Murdered. Mattie feels like she has to help Sally, but she can’t do it alone. Against her better judgment, she teams up with a young policeman, Officer Dan, and together they set out to discover the real truth behind Sally’s disappearance.

Only to find out she’s dealing with a much bigger problem, a serial killer, and she may be the next victim…

Will Mattie be able to find out the truth before the killer finds her?

Review:

I love when a heroine has some spunk and Mattie definitely has that! But spunk has a very fine line with me between being enough and trying to hard. Baker though manages to keep from going too far with Mattie, and has created a character that stands up for herself and what she believes while not being annoying.

The chemistry between Mattie and Officer Dan is obvious, but it's hard to define. Part of my thinks that they could be long lost siblings, yet I suspect that further in the series Baker may decide to make them love interests. Personally I vote for them to be siblings, but even if Baker decides to take the alternate route, I don't doubt that she can pull it off and pull me onto team Dan. That said there were a couple of other potential guys popping up in Volume I, so I suppose I'll have to be surprised on the next one.

As for the actual ghosts, well they are spooky. Baker does an amazing job of painting a picture of the horrors Mattie is seeing and experiencing. Not that the whole book is one big scare. There's touches of humor sprinkled through out, main due to Mattie's mouthy attitude and the relationship between Mattie and Dan.

Absolutely can't wait until Volume II comes out!

About the Author

So who am I? Well, I'm the crazy girl with an imagination that never shuts up. I LOVE scary movies. My friends laugh at me when I scare myself watching them and tell me to stop watching them, but who doesn't love to get scared? I grew up in a small town nestled in the southern mountains of West Virginia where I spent days roaming around in the woods, climbing trees, and causing general mayhem. Nights I would stay up reading Nancy Drew by flashlight under the covers until my parents yelled at me to go to sleep.

Growing up in a small town, I learned a lot of values and morals, I also learned parents have spies everywhere and there's always someone to tell your mama on you. So when you get grounded, what is there left to do? Read! My Aunt Jo gave me my first real romance novel. It was a romance titled "Lord Margrave's Deception." I remember it fondly. But I also learned I had a deep and abiding love of mysteries and anything paranormal. As I grew up, I started to write just that and would entertain my friends with stories featuring them as main characters.

Now, I live Huntersville, NC where I entertain my family and watch the cats get teased by the birds and laugh myself silly when they swoop down and then dive back up just out of reach. The cats start yelling something fierce...lol.

I love books, I love writing books, and I love entertaining people with my silly stories.

PS: DO NOT GET IN MY WAY IF THERE IS A SALE ON AT TARGET - my home away from home!

Connect with Apryl:

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Amazon: The Promise

Amazon: The Awakening

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 Other Books by Apryl Baker:

 

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Review: Fitz by Mick Cochrane

Fitz
by Mick Cochrane
Published: November 13, 2013
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Available: Amazon

Synopsis:
A father, a son, and a gun. This could make for an interesting day..

Sometimes Fitz would look at himself in the mirror, an expression of pathetic eagerness on his face. He was a dog in the pound, wanting to be adopted. He'd smile. What father wouldn't want this boy?

Fifteen-year-old Fitzgerald—Fitz, to his friends—has just learned that his father, whom he's never met, who supports him but is not a part of his life, is living nearby. Fitz begins to follow him, watch him, study him, and on an otherwise ordinary May morning, he executes a plan to force his father, at gunpoint, to be with him.

Over the course of one spring day, Fitz and his father become real to one another. Fitz learns about his father, why he's chosen to remain distant and what really happened between him and Fitz's mother. And his father learns what sort of boy his son has grown up to become.

Review:
Fitz starts off by jumping right into the action with Fitz taking his father hostage. I thought this was a great way to grab the reader and throw them into Fitz's life. Then it slowed right down to the point where I wanted to skip pages. Not the best thing with a book that is fairly short.

I suppose I was just expecting more drama, more action, more excitement. Fitz, though, is a literary tale that focuses on Fitz's journey to understanding who he is, as defined by his absent father. Fitz is obviously a very troubled boy, and Cochrane gives us bits and pieces that show Fitz has a lot of stuff going on in his head. I just never felt connected to him. It felt more like I was simply being told everything and I wanted to actually experience Fitz's anger and sorrow.

This is definitely a book that would appeal to more literary work lovers, though I think readers who have gone through similar upbringings as Fitz may be able to connect easier with his character.

Review: In Too Deep by Coert Voorhees

In Too Deep
by Coert Voorhees
Published: July 9, 2013
Publisher: Disney Hyperion
Available: Amazon

Synopsis
Annie Fleet, master scuba diver and history buff, knows she can’t fight her nerd status as a freshman at her Los Angeles private school. And she doesn’t care—except for the fact that her crush, Josh, thinks she’s more adorable than desirable. Annie is determined to set him straight on their school trip to Mexico. But her teacher has other plans: he needs Annie to help him find Cortez’s lost-long treasure.

Suddenly, Annie finds herself scuba diving in pitch-black waters, jetting to Hawaii with Josh, and hunting for the priceless Golden Jaguar. But Annie and Josh aren’t the only ones lured by the possibility of finding the greatest treasure ever lost at sea. Someone else wants the gold—and needs Annie dead. In deeper danger than she ever imagined, can Annie get the boy and find the Jaguar, or is she in over her head?

Critically-acclaimed author Coert Voorhees delivers breathtaking romance and non-stop action in his newest novel, the spirited and captivating In Too Deep.

Review:
I absolutely loved the idea of this story. An adventure story with a girl who is not only the more knowledgeable, but also the one who saves the day grabbed my attention. The cover was great and I had some pretty high expectations. Voorhees did not disappoint. In Too Deep is a well developed, fast paced adventure with some great romance thrown in the mix.

Annie is a great protagonist. She is shy, geeky, and completely head over heels for a guy she doesn't think would ever be interested in her. And she stays this way. All the way to the end. There is no sudden change in her interest in treasure hunting. There is no end to her love of scuba diving. There is no disappearance of her shyness or geekiness. Not that she doesn't grow as a character, because she does. But there is no sudden 180 just because she develops some confidence. 

Josh isn't the typical hot male protag that so many YA books are focusing on. Yes he's hot and funny, but he's also a real guy, and he reacts just like a real guy would. There's no cheesy, over the top romantic gestures or words coming from him. But it didn't matter. In the end I could forgive his name dropping, inflated ego, and his lack of amazing ability at everything he does, because I believed in him as a person.

So, why the 4 star rating if I loved the story and the characters? Well, it had to do with the believability of Annie being 15 years old. I didn't buy that aspect. Not only were we expected to believe that she was a master scuba diver, but also that she had been giving lessons at her mom's scuba shop for a long time, that she was left to train people in dangerous situations, and that her parents went along with ideas of her going for extended trips not only as part of a school group, but also on one with a guy and his famous mom? I had to ignore all of the references to her age and pretend she was 17 or 18 in order to buy into these aspects.

I noticed that Voorhees has another few YA books out and I'll definitely be checking those out.

 

 

Review: Flutter by Gina Linko

Flutter
by Gina Linko
Published: October 23, 2012
Publisher: Random House Books for Young Readers
Available: Amazon

Synopsis:
All Emery Land wants is to be like any other 17-year-old—to go to school, hang out with her friends, and just be normal. But for as long as she can remember, she’s suffered from seizures. And in recent years they’ve consumed her life. To Emery they’re much more than seizures, she calls them loops—moments when she travels through wormholes back and forth in time and to a mysterious town. The loops are taking their toll on her physically. So she practically lives in the hospital where her scientist father and an ever-growing team of doctors monitor her every move. They’re extremely interested in the data they collect when Emery seizes. It appears that she’s tapping into parts of the brain typically left untouched by normal human beings.

Escaping from the hospital, Emery travels to Esperanza, the town from her loops on the upper peninsula of Michigan, where she meets Asher Clarke. Ash’s life is governed by his single-minded pursuit of performing good Samaritan acts to atone for the death of a loved one. His journey is very much entwined with Emery’s loops.

Drawn together they must unravel their complicated connection before it’s too late.

Review:
This is a very hard review to form. There was so much about Flutter that I loved, yet all of it is dashed by the ending. I promise no spoilers, no matter how hard they are to avoid!

Linko has a beautiful writing style. The story had at times an almost otherworldly tone to it that I felt really built up the looping and the daze that Emery's life has become. The concept was awesome. That Emery is looping to another place or time was such an interesting idea. I loved that this wasn't an easy ability. By that I mean it wasn't something she just did with no consequences or notice. Her looping caused extended seizures which were causing her organs to shut down. She was dying and people around her were attempting to place a scientific explanation on it.

The main characters are very well developed. Emery and Asher are complex people and each have their own secrets. While Emery struggles to trust Asher, he is driven by guilt to protect her and everyone else. Their romance builds slowly and it progressed naturally. That said I felt that the 'villians' in the story felt one dimensional. Oh, there were hints that maybe there was something more about them, but in the end they are simply bad guys doing bad things.

So with an amazing concept, beautiful writing, and great characters, why didn't I love it? Two words. The ending.

I stayed up until one in the morning reading Flutter, anxious to find out what happens and when I got to the last few pages I just felt let down. I wanted an explanation. I wanted a real conclusion to the story lines and closure to relationships. I got none of that.

I've been going back and forth on my rating. I rated it a 3 at first, but I'm leaning more to a 4. The longer I think about it the more I realize that if I hadn't truly enjoyed the writing and story, I wouldn't have felt so let down by the ending.

Review: The Opposite of Hallelujah by Anna Jarzab

The Opposite of Hallelujah
by Anna Jarzab
Published: October 9, 2012
Publisher: Delacorte Press
Available: Amazon

Synopsis:
Caro Mitchell considers herself an only child—and she likes it that way. After all, her much older sister, Hannah, left home eight years ago, and Caro barely remembers her. So when Caro’s parents drop the bombshell news that Hannah is returning to live with them, Caro feels as if an interloper is crashing her family. To her, Hannah’s a total stranger, someone who haunts their home with her meek and withdrawn presence, and who refuses to talk about her life and why she went away. Caro can’t understand why her parents cut her sister so much slack, and why they’re not pushing for answers.

Unable to understand Hannah, Caro resorts to telling lies about her mysterious reappearance. But when those lies alienate Caro’s new boyfriend and put her on the outs with her friends and her parents, she seeks solace from an unexpected source. And when she unearths a clue about Hannah’s past—one that could save Hannah from the dark secret that possesses her. Caro begins to see her sister in a whole new light.

Review:
The Opposite of  Hallelujah was a well crafted story that delved into the psyche of a teenager struggling with faith, family, and life. I though Jarzab did a great job of building believable characters and even though Caro got on my nerves a lot, it was because she was responding in a way that would be typical of a teen. She didn't know how to deal with some of the things happening to her and her family, so she was trying to take the easy way out. 

I really enjoyed seeing how Caro grew throughout the story. And that is probably the biggest reason why I didn't mind that she got on my nerves. In the beginning she acts like a spoiled brat, but even then there are hints that maybe she could be likeable. By the the time the climax comes around, I really felt for her and could see her realizing that the people around are more than what she sees on the surface.

There is of course a romance angle, and I actually liked Pawal. He's not the over the top romantic lead, or the bad boy, he's just a regular boy. There is no inta-love between them, and their relationship made sense. I especially loved how Jarzab deals with him finding out about Caro's lies.

Review: Kissing Tennessee by Kathi Appelt

Kissing Tenessee: and Other Stories from the Stardust Dance
by Kathi Appelt
Published: April 1, 2004
Publisher: HMH Books for Young Readers
Available: Amazon

Synopsis:
Mason and Carrie Marie can't get up the courage to ask each other to dance. Russ's girlfriend has died, and now he's just trying to live without her. Peggy Lee has grown up with Tennessee--how can she ever think of him as more than a friend?

In these moving tales and others, Kathi Appelt captures the sometimes amusing, sometimes touching missteps of some unforgettable students, who come together one last time for the most memorable night of their young lives.

Review:
I picked this up because really who can resist a bunch of stories centered on a dance? Okay, so lots of people. I however am not one of them. I was lucky enough that my junior high had dances every month in addition to the lunch time sock-hops the last Friday of every month (No, I didn't grow up in the 50's!).

I loved the idea of this book, and some of the story blurbs were exactly what I was looking for. That said, it just didn't deliver. I wanted drama, romance, fun, and a few tears. What I got was vague emotions from the characters, little to no character development, and a tiny little book with a large number of stories. I really feel that Appelt should have just focused on a few of the short stories and built them up enough to get the reader to actually care about what is happening. I can understand not wanting to turn everything into a novel, but even short stories need to have some character depth.

This would be a book I'd recommend for a tween with a short attention span.

Review: The Dead and Buried by Kim Harrington

The Dead and Buried
by Kim Harrington
Published: January 1, 2013
Publisher: Scholastic Point
Available: Amazon

Synopsis:
A haunted house, a buried mystery, and a very angry ghost make this one unforgettable thriller.

Jade loves the house she's just moved into with her family. She doesn't even mind being the new girl at the high school: It's a fresh start, and there's that one guy with the dreamy blue eyes. . . . But then things begin happening. Strange, otherworldly things. Jade's little brother claims to see a glimmering girl in his room. Jade's jewelry gets moved around, as if by an invisible hand. Kids at school whisper behind her back like they know something she doesn't.

Soon, Jade must face an impossible fact: that her perfect house is haunted. Haunted by a ghost who's seeking not just vengeance, but the truth. The ghost of a girl who ruled Jade's school — until her untimely death last year. It's up to Jade to put the pieces together before her own life is at stake. As Jade investigates the mystery, she discovers that her new friends in town have more than a few deep, dark secrets. But is one of them a murderer?

Review:

The Dead and Buried is a well written, well paced ghost story. There is no gore, but the spooks are definitely there. I've always been a bit freaked out about the idea of ghost and seances, and you will never convince me to try a Ouija board. Not that I believe in that. 


Harrington does a good job of developing Jade into a 3-dimensional character. While I thought she was a bit of a brat at first, she managed to redeem herself and I realized that when I was a teen, I would have acted in a similar way. She's a bit shallow, but at the same time refuses to back down in the face of peer pressure and befriends the school oddball. Harrington doesn't get preachy with the anti-bully undertone and that's what made me like this book even more. She gets her point across and does it without seeming like it was forced or driven by an agenda. This was the same with the issues of blended families. Jade obviously has some pent up emotions form her mother's death and her father's remarriage that she needs to deal with. At first it all seemed one sided, and that is where I felt Jade's brattiness took over. Then bits and pieces of her stepmother fell into place and it was easy to see that some of the issues were hers.

Secondary characters are written just as well and each hint at the deth of their lives beyond the pages that they appear on. While it's hard to see any of them as a killer, it is also hard not to question their guilt. None of them are truly innocent of the things that Kayla (ghost girl) was doing, and each had their own motives for wanting her gone. I thought that the morbid curiosity of the other students was spot on. It's like a giant group of rubber neckers who have nowhere else to go. They all want to be friends with Jade simply for the fact that she lives in the dead girl's house.

There were few surprises in The Dead and Buried, but that did little to curb my enjoyment. This is a ghost story that works well and isn't trying to be something it isn't. If they made this into a movie it would be exactly the kind I would want to see.

Review: Love and Other Perishable Items by Laura Buzo

Love and Other Perishable Items
by Laura Buzo
Published: Dec. 11, 2012
Publisher: Knopf Books for Young Readers
Available: Amazon


Synopsis:
Love is awkward, Amelia should know.

From the moment she sets eyes on Chris, she is a goner. Lost. Sunk. Head over heels infatuated with him. It's problematic, since Chris, 21, is a sophisticated university student, while Amelia, is 15.

Amelia isn't stupid. She knows it's not gonna happen. So she plays it cool around Chris—at least, as cool as she can. Working checkout together at the local supermarket, they strike up a friendship: swapping life stories, bantering about everything from classic books to B movies, and cataloging the many injustices of growing up. As time goes on, Amelia's crush doesn't seem so one-sided anymore. But if Chris likes her back, what then? Can two people in such different places in life really be together?

Through a year of befuddling firsts—first love, first job, first party, and first hangover—debut author Laura Buzo shows how the things that break your heart can still crack you up.

Review:
Love and Other Perishable Items is one of those hard books to pin down. The book is written through the points of view of both Amelia and Chris. I wasn't expecting that. Amelia's voice is very true to her age and I could definitely relate to her innocence. It was refreshing to read about a young girl who isn't involved in drinking, drugs, and sex. A girl who is not worldly. Amelia is 15 and frankly she acts it. Does she fantasize about Chris, yeah, but the reader is also aware that the chance of this being her 'one true love' is pretty slim. This is a testament to Buzo's ability to accurately capture the mind of a teenager.

Chris's voice was different. He's a 21 year old guy and has obviously experienced more of life than Amelia is even aware of. He's slightly melodramatic, but hey he's an English buff. He sees in Amelia what he is looking for, but he's also very aware of her innocence and like most 21 year old guys, he's not really interested in a chaste relationship.

The relationship that develops between Amelia and Chris is interesting to say the least. As the story progressed I grew a bit concerned with how Buzo was going to pull it together. I had seen 2 possible endings. One I would have rolled my eyes at and the other not really satisfying. Yet, she managed to pull out a completely different ending and at first I was a bit put off, but when I read the final page I felt like it had ended perfectly. 

If you're looking for a coming of age story then I definitely think this is one to pick up. Aussies may be interested to know that the story is set in Australia. :)

  

Blog Tour: Storm by Evan Angler ~ Review

I am so excited to be part of the Storm by Evan Angler Bog Tour. Click the tour banner to check out other stops along the tour.

Storm 

by Evan Angler

Published: May 7, 2013

Publisher: Thomas Nelson Publishers

Available: Amazon, B&N

Synopsis:
In a future United States under the power of a charismatic leader, everyone gets the Mark at age thirteen. The Mark allows citizen to shop, go to school, and even get medical care--without it, you are on your own. Few refuse to get the Mark. Those who do . . . disappear.

Logan Langly went in to get his Mark, but he backed out at the last minute. Ever since, he's been on the run from government agents and on a quest to find his sister Lily, who disappeared when she went to get her Mark five years earlier. His journey leads him to befriend the Dust, a vast network of Markless individuals who dissent against the iron-grip rule of the government. Along the way to the capital to find Lily, the Dust receive some startling information from the Markless community, opening their eyes to the message of Christianity and warning that humanity is now entering the End of Days.

In "Storm," Logan and his friends are the leaders of the Markless revolution. But while some Markless are fighting Chancellor Cylis' army, the Dust is busy trying to find a cure for a horrible epidemic sweeping through the Marked. And it's difficult for them to know who to trust, especially when they aren't sure if Logan's sister Lily, one of the commanders in Cylis' army, is on their side or not. And all across the nation--and the world--the weather is become less stable, and a storm is brewing that bigger than any of them could have ever imagined....

Review:
When I first learned about the release of Storm I was so excited. I've been lucky enough to be a part of all three tours in the series and have enjoyed each one. But there is something about Storm that had me enjoying it even more.

Storm is the third installment in Evan Angler's Swiped series. So be forewarned - read the first two books first (they're great) and be prepared to read the fourth when it comes out (you'll want to).

I loved how the we jump right back into the action. Angler manages to give us a break down of what's happened so far in the series and even though it's a lot of information, I didn't feel like it was an info dump.Since it had been a while since reading the previous books it was nice to be reminded about where things stood. The action continues as we jump between story lines and groups of characters. Angler doesn't waste time on plot lines that are not integral to the main plot, and there is no way to skip or start skimming pages. If he writes it, it is important to the story. I love this type of writing as it weaves the story together in a tighter pattern. There's no way to not see the connections he's making.

The characters were the other stand out for me. Although Logan was the main character in Swipe and in Sneak, here he becomes the more of a center character among a larger cast. The group of characters has certainly grown since the first book, and at first I thought it would be a little much, but Angler spends enough time with each group of characters and manages to connect them to each other in a way that eventually made me forget how many there were.

There is definitely a religious undertone to this series and subtle references to stories from the Bible. I don't think that should distract anyone from reading Storm or any of the books in the series. This is an awesome continuation to this series and I can't wait to see where Angler takes it next.

About the Author

Evan lives without the Mark, evading DOME and writing in the shadows of Beacon.
Swipe is his first book. But if anyone asks, you know nothing about it, and you didn't hear anything from him. Don't make eye contact if you see him. Don't call his name out loud. He's in enough trouble already.
And so are you, if you've read his book.


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Review: The Rules by Stacey Kade

The Rules (Project Paper Doll, #1)
by Stacey Kade
Published: April 13, 2013
Publisher: Disney-Hyperion
Available: Amazon

Synopsis:
1. Never trust anyone.

2. Remember they are always searching.

3. Don’t get involved.

4. Keep your head down.

5. Don’t fall in love.

Five simple rules. Ariane Tucker has followed them since the night she escaped from the genetics lab where she was created, the result of combining human and extraterrestrial DNA. Ariane’s survival—and that of her adoptive father—depends on her ability to blend in among the full-blooded humans in a small Wisconsin town, to hide in plain sight at her high school from those who seek to recover their lost (and expensive) “project.”

But when a cruel prank at school goes awry, it puts her in the path of Zane Bradshaw, the police chief’s son and someone who sees too much. Someone who really sees her. After years of trying to be invisible, Ariane finds the attention frightening—and utterly intoxicating. Suddenly, nothing is simple anymore, especially not the rules…

Review:
I really loved how this story started off. It doesn't try to fool us into thinking the Ariane has a great life among the humans, or that it's easy for her to follow 'the rules' her adoptive father has established for her. She's part alien and there's nothing sexy or glamorous about it. For me that is the best thing about this. Other alien books I've read have managed to make the aliens hiding among us to be highly attractive with superpowers galore.

Ariane definitely has some super powers, but there's also a physical downside to being an alien, such as the mention that her bone break easily due to their lower density levels and the grayish tinge to her skin. It was these little differences that made Ariane believable in her role as E.T. and stops this from being another alien story. Kade manages to keep some of the scary alien stereotypes while mixing it with a more sympathetic alien.

I ended up reading this through in one sitting and enjoyed the story. There were parts were I felt it lagged, but the story would quickly get back on track,  and I'm looking forward to reading more of this series.

 

Review: Stung by Bethany Wiggins

Stung
by Bethany Wiggins
Published: April 2, 2013
Publisher: Walker Childrens
Available: Amazon

Synopsis:
There is no cure for being stung.

Fiona doesn’t remember going to sleep. But when she opens her eyes, she discovers her entire world has been altered—her house is abandoned and broken, and the entire neighborhood is barren and dead. Even stranger is the tattoo on her right hand—a black oval with five marks on either side—that she doesn’t remember getting but somehow knows she must cover at any cost. She’s right.

Those bearing the tattoo have turned into mindless, violent beasts that roam the streets and sewers, preying upon the unbranded while a select few live protected inside a fortress-like wall, their lives devoted to rebuilding society and killing all who bear the mark.

Now Fiona has awakened branded, alone—and on the wrong side of the wall.

Review:
I loved that this book jumped right into the action. The rest of the story was actually really fast paced. Fiona is on the run and doesn't know who to trust in a world she has no memory of. The action is what made this a fast read and I read it pretty much straight through in one sitting (maybe stopping briefly for food).

I loved the concept of the tattoo marking her as 'infected' and early on we learn that her mark signals people that she is among the deadliest of all the marked. I can't expand much more on how they were marked or 'infected' without giving away too much, but I will say that the explanation was interesting and I was satisfied with the science of it (or lack of science, depending on your personal preference for detailed scientific explanations).

The romance between Fiona and Bowen didn't do much for me. I liked both characters and could see a bit of a spark between them but the constant action along with the tight time frame had me doubting the intensity of what they claim to feel. I would have been just as happy without the romance.

 

Review: Being Henry David by Cal Armistead

Being Henry David
by Cal Armistead
Published: March 1, 2013
Publisher: Albert Whitman Teen
Available: Amazon

Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old "Hank" has found himself at Penn Station in New York City with no memory of anything --who he is, where he came from, why he's running away. His only possession is a worn copy of Walden, by Henry David Thoreau. And so he becomes Henry David-or "Hank" and takes first to the streets, and then to the only destination he can think of--Walden Pond in Concord, Massachusetts. Cal Armistead's remarkable debut novel is about a teen in search of himself. Hank begins to piece together recollections from his past. The only way Hank can discover his present is to face up to the realities of his grievous memories. He must come to terms with the tragedy of his past, to stop running, and to find his way home.

Review: 
I have to admit, I was expecting something more along the lines of an adventure story when I started reading. Not that there wasn't adventure, because there was, but I suppose I thought Being Henry David  would be a bit fluffier. 

Being Henry David is a coming-of-age, adventure story written for boys. Even though it could appeal to girls, Armistead clearly didn't write a 'girly' boy (by that I mean another Edward or Jacob or any other male character in a book for girls). Armistead has created a character boys will understand. Hank thinks and acts like a typical guy. He's not obsessively in love with a girl, or waxing poetic at the sight of his love interest. That fact alone had me liking this book.

There is a nice mix of adventure and literary fiction. Even if you're not familiar with Henry David Thoreau there is enough information about his life and work scattered throughout the novel that it is easy to see why Hank has connected with this long dead author.

Being Henry David would be a great book for mid- to upper teens, particularly boys. There is some violence and drug use (or at least the reference to drug use), but nothing gratuitous.