This was a good read. I really enjoyed the story and I liked watching it unfold and grow as the book went on. That's how I felt about Waterspell, the story just keeps getting bigger and bigger. It's like an iceberg, with 90% of its mass being underwater, I feel like I still have only seen the tip. I totally understand what the main character, Carin kept saying. Just when she finds one things out there are at least two more questions that come to her mind. This book left things so open that I could see it really turing into a long series.

I really really liked Carin. She is strong willed and stubborn, yet caring. She knows how to look out for herself because she has to. As someone who considers herself to be a pretty independant person, I really respect that trait in people. She was a little too nosey for her own good, and it got her into trouble because she is not the sneakiest person around, but somehow it all just fit her. It's hard to explain, but I just felt like Carin was a really well developed character and all the parts of her personality complemented each other and it just worked. I was a little bummed that there was no romance at all in the story. I thought something might happen with the stable boy but he was surprisingly absent for almost all of the story.

My favorite part of the book is that the "puzzle book" that the warlock cannot read is "through the looking glass"! I Alice in Wonderland, so it was really cool to see it incorporated as a mysterious and powerful book. (I reccomend anyone that has not read through the looking glass to read it immediately) I am dying to find out if this book has some sort of deeper involvement. I think it does, but this book is pretty vague on things like that. You don't really get any solid answers that you can "hang your hat on".

While I did enjoy this story and am interested in reading the second book in the series to see where it goes, I would have liked a few more questions to have been answered in this first installment. It's odd, in a way so much happened in this book, but on the other hand I felt like we made only a little overall progress. If that even makes sense. But Carin and the warlock have so much potential to go on some really cool adventures and journeys and I really want to see something epic develop. All of the groundwork has been laid in this first book, so I am thinking and hoping that the second book just picks up where this one left off and runs with it!

This is certainly an eventful book! And it really grows on you as you keep reading. When I started the book I thought it would only be so-so but by the time I was done, I really enjoyed the story. And when I was about 2/3 of the way in, I took a reading break and got some food and rushed right back to reading. I didn't even realize how much I had started liking the book until that break. Because I was kind of coasting along reading and then once I stopped reading to take a break, I wanted to keep reading because I wanted to know what was going to happen next.

I found the world of daemons and secrets interesting! And the world was nicely built and very complex. It was a different take on daemons than I have encountered before. There were a few things that confused me in the beginning of the book, but once you get into the story it all becomes easier to understand. I will say this. I could not get Nualla's name right! I think the glossary of terms and the pronunciations should have been at the start of the book, not the end. Because I called her nutella more than a few times in my head. But I do love nutella, so it was never a bad thing for me. hehe. I also loved how committed Patrick was. He would do anything for Nualla. He is a really great guy, and the two of them together is pretty awesome. (and hot)

There were some parts of Daemons in the Mist that seemed a little unrealistic to me. First of all, Patrick accepted everything way too easily. I just don't think people would be this accepting of the supernatural or otherworldly even if it's staring them in the face. I mean I love to read paranormal books and such but if a vampire was sitting next to me, I would be freaked out or in denial or something. And then her dad just seemed to take everything in stride too. I mean, hello! His daughter is only 18! But even though a few scenes in the book seemed unrealistic, I couldn't help but get swept up in the story. I really enjoyed it and I can't wait to read the second book!

P.S. I went back and forth with the rating on this one. Because I did find some parts unrealistic but I ended up enjoying the story so much! So I'll with a 3.8 that bumps up to a 4 gavel. :)

The thing that I liked most about Awakening was the amount of detail that went into the story. This world is so rich, I totally loved it! The characters are good too, but the detail that went into the world building was the star for me.

I really connected with Ana. I felt for her, her life certainly has not been the easiest, and then with everything new happening she doesn't know what to believe. There is certainly a lot going on all at once for Ana, and it is just all so new to her. Luckily she has Athen, who is so amazing. Seriously, he is almost too good to be true. But i'll get back to him.

Karen is Ana's only friend from her "normal" life. I liked Karen, you can tell that she is really a good person and that she looks out for Ana. But there was a point in the middle of the book that kind of struck me as odd. There was this situation with Karen that kind of came out of left field but wasn't really explained or developed. It kind of just faded away. I would have liked to see a little bit more of her and figured out what was going on exactly.

Athen and Arie are super cute. I loved their brother/sister dynamic, and I found them really funny. There are still some unanswered questions, so I'm really excited to see where the second book will go. With the devastating ending of this book, I have an inkling of what is going to be a main focus but hopefully some more things will be answered. In a way, the second book is the most important to me in a series. The foundation has been set and now you can really get into the story, so I am even more excited to see what is going to happen. I am really liking this series, and I hope the next book has some good endings for Ana and Athen.

I am really enjoying this series! I love all the twists and turns that keep popping up. Because I really connected with Heven in the first book, even though this one was in multiple POVs like book 1, so I saw this book through her eyes. It was pretty powerful. I felt her love, her distrust, and her stress. I was also pretty paranoid while reading Charade. I felt like everyone had something to hide. I didn't fully trust a lot of people in the book.

Heven has so much going on in her life. I really feel for her, this is no easy task in front of her. Plus she has to deal with this crazy important quest, and with Logan taking away sam time. I never fully trusted or even liked Logan. He just seemed so much more evil than Sam.

Logan, Cole, Kimber, and Heven's mom and Gran all show up in book 2 and play pretty important roles. That was one of the things that I really like about this series- there are a lot of well fleshed out, and important players in the story. That is nice, so many times there are only a guy and a girl and everyone else is secondary.

The demons are seriously creepy too! I mean, these are the things of nightmares. I both loved and feared reading the descriptions of the demons in the fight scenes. The one thing I did notice about this book is that it took me a pretty long time to get through. I don't know if it was too long in the middle or if I was just tired from work. But it did take me a while to get through. But the ending more than made up for the drawn out middle. The ending was bing, bang, boom- full of action! Some of the twists I saw coming and some I didn't, which was the perfect mix for me. There was less romance in this one than in the first book, so I would like to see some more in the next one.

I think if you like mysterious paranormals that have a good amount of action and adventure, this series is for you! I really enjoyed charade and the ending leads perfectly into the next book. I can't wait to read it

Lately I have been in kind of a reading slump. It's not that I have been reading bad books, because I haven't, but I just haven't really gotten into the last few books that I have read. They just took me a lot longer than normal to get through. But I think I am officially over my reading slump! I'm pretty excited about this, and I'm also pretty excited about Final Life. It was such a great read! I thought the pacing was perfect, the characters were well developed and the story-line was really intriguing.

I think the real star of Final Life was Dominique. She was relatable, smart and intuitive. She was accepting of the supernatural but also a touch skeptical and questioning. She was a little stubborn and shy, but it rounded out her personality well, in my opinion. Farrell, Trent, Jan and Infiniti rounded out the cast of characters in Final Life and I really liked them all. We got to know Trent more than Farrell, which kind of bummed me out. Trent is a great guy, but I wanted to really get to know Farrell, and learn more about his thoughts and feelings. I think there is a really good chance of seeing more of him in book 2, so I can't wait for that!

I kind of wish we saw a little bit more of Infiniti and Dominique's friendship. At one point Infiniti said that Dominique was her best friend and she thanks her for their friendship. It was a really nice moment, but we didn't really get to see too many "best friend moments" throughout the book. I would have liked to see a little bit more of that as a backstory.

Overall, Final Life was such an excellent read. I read the book pretty quickly and I was left wishing I had book 2 in my possession so I could read it right away. I can't wait to see more of the Transhuman saga unfold. I am really interested in learning more about them. The writing is great, and the plot is even better. This is a series to look out for.

2012 is the year of great contemporaries! I really, really enjoyed Forbidden Territory. I finished it in one sitting, and I am kind of bummed that it's only a standalone. I really would love to read more about Mica. And Lexy too, but I think Mica has some real spin off potential. Forbidden Territory is a fast paced, action packed, fun story. I loved the story between the two friends as well as the romances. This is a perfect summer read!

The story is split between Lexy and Mica's point of view. I liked that the book was set in New Zealand too. I would love to visit there! I really liked reading some of the slang and terms they used too. I loved the split point of view and I think the fact that Melissa and Brenda collaborated in the story really added to it. It read like it really was two different people, Lexy and Mica had very distinct voices and I loved that! I liked both of them but I was a little bit more partial to Mica. And Eli too. I just have this thing for slightly protective guys. There is just something about them.

The action in this story is pretty intense! It kind of reminded me of the movie Without A Paddle. (which is a hilarious movie. You should watch it if you haven't already) but this was like the teen version of that movie. But with romance thrown in. I liked it! Lexy and Mica were so impressive! They really held it together and kept a cool head. I was so proud of them.

If you are looking for a sweet tale of friendship, romance and more than a little action and adventure, I would recommend checking out Forbidden Territory. It really was a fun read!

update: I just went to upload my review to amazon and they titled the book the Lexy and Mica Series volume 1! I am so excited that this is not a standalone :)

Wow! This book moved me so much. What a fantastic story. I didn't signed up for this blog tour a few months ago and I haven't read the summary of the book since then. So when I picked up Silent Song to read this week, I couldn't exactly remember what the summary said. As I started reading, I thought it would be just another high school contemporary with a play/drama setting. (and I do love those! I think I mentioned my love of plays in stories in my review of Knee Deep by Jolene Perry) So I was happily reading along, falling in love with Alice and Keith, when all of a sudden the story started to change. And I loved it even more! Silent Song is near the top of my best reads of 2012 list for sure.

Alice is so cute and sweet. Honestly, I can't picture her as one of the mean popular girls, even though she admits that she was multiple times. I really liked her. She is quirky and a really good person. But Keith stole the show for me. He is just so moving. The descriptiveness of his eyes was my favorite. Those moments when he was alone with Alice made me melt a little bit. He is just such a haunting character. He is one of those guys that will just stick with me. (and the cool part is, he isn't even the normal "hot" love interest. He has long silver streaked hair, is pale and super thin and paints his nails black constantly. But it just makes him Keith, and I loved everything about him. He was so vulnerable, and that was just so refreshing to see)

Silent Song deeply affected me. The writing is beautiful and descriptive. Ron Nieto struck so many chords within me. This book really moved me and I loved every second of it. I can't stop thinking about it. This is just such a great book. I almost can't believe that this is Ron's first book. Amazing job!

Lonely souls is the first book in a new series by Karice Bolton. I really like Karice's take on the paranormal. Her books are always really interesting reads. I particularly enjoyed Lonely Souls because it gave me a look into the world of covens and witches. I love seeing each others individual takes on magic and covens in particular. I don't have very much knowledge on the subject of my own but out of the few witch coven books and series I have read, there always seems to be a slightly different spin on some aspect, and finding these differences is what I like most while reading.

The Witch Avenue series looks like it is going to be really good. I like Triss. Logan described her as bossy, but in a lovable way. And I think that is the perfect description of her. She certainly is bossy and a little stuck in her ways, but in a totally relatable way. At least for me. And Logan is kind and loyal but he seems to get lost within himself a lot throughout the book. It's funny, Triss' friends commented about Triss being very guarded, and throughout the story I thought that Logan was the guarded one. He would close himself off at the slightest mention of his "past". I understand why, but after the first few times, i was really hoping that he would open up to Triss a little more. I'm excited to see how he grows in the next book. And man oh man, did triss really make him work for her affections. Poor Logan! But I think that they make a great team, regardless of their relationship status.

Lonely Souls has a kind of dark feel about it, and I liked that about the book! There are some pretty neat spells thrown in, some good action, a little romance, and a lot of mystery. I thought it was a pretty awesome combination. I can't wait to find out what is to come of triss' mother, and what is in store for Logan and Triss in the next book. Ms. Bolton, I am officially a fan!

I LOVED Bridger, so I was really excited to read Traitor. Megan has created such a full and detailed world, or should I say worlds, and I loved getting lost within them once again.

This is an action packed book. In fact, im starting to realize that anything staring Ash is going to be action packed because this girl is stubborn as a mule and just about as impulsive as they come. But I just love her. She always has the very best intentions and she is just so good hearted. She wants to save everyone.

I loved Reece so much more than Liam in this book and I am kind of scared that he is going to "find some hot faerie" to use his own words. I'm not going to tell you what goes on in the romance department of this book because guessing is half the fun. But I will say that both Liam and Reece make a pretty good showing in Traitor.

One thing that I loved about this book was that it kept me guessing! I did not see some of this coming. It is just really well done. I will say that I wish I saw more of Ash's powers. At the end of the last book she was doing all sorts of awesome stuff, but we didnt really get too many opportunities to see her further develop them in Traitor. Someone else stole the show in the powers department, I think.

The Bridger series by Megan Curd is full paranormal creatures and awesome far away worlds. It is like a fantasy mixed with a paranormal, and I just love the combination. The whole cast of charaters bring something to the story, no one is just there superficially. I am loving this series and I can't wait to see what the next book will bring!

This is a "short on time" teen book. And short it is. At under 100 pages it took me only 45 minutes or so to read. But since the characters are two senior girls in high school, I assume that it is still considered a YA book. I was really excited when I saw the theme of this book was the 80s. I love 80s music. But unfortunately Retro Geeks fell short of my expectations. (pun unintentional, but maybe fitting) Retro Geeks read more like a middle grade book with older characters. Ollie, the younger brother and youngest character in the whole book, was actually the most mature.

I liked Ollie and Ally, but Molly (the other main girl) got on my nerves. And virtually all of the other characters were mean girls or other high school cliches, and all very immature. And don't get me wrong, sometimes I love a good cliche but all of the characters in this book felt so one dimensional and flat to me. I couldn't connect with any of them or even get to know them. And that was probably due to the fact that the book moved so fast since it was trying to build a complete story in about 85 pages, which is a very tall order.

Now that is not to say that this book was the worst ever or anything like that. It had a lot of potential. I think that it could have been a lot better developed and the characters could have been fleshed out more and then there would have been a more compelling story. There was a whole lot of telling and not showing going on. It just felt very rushed to me.

I think that younger readers would appreciate the story more than any YA audience. Even though the characters were all around 17 years old, they acted much, much younger. So I would say that this book would be best for girls around 9-12 who are looking for a quick, cute read. I don't think I will be trying anymore short on time stories. I like my books more developed that this one was. I would however, be interested in seeing a full length novel by this author to see more of her writing style. Her writing wasn't bad it just read more like a story outline or shell. The bullet points were all there but no detail and no meat. Retro Geeks was cute, but just not for me.