Class of '98 is a quick, fun read about two people that are unhappy with their lives by the time their ten year reunion rolls around. They somehow end up back in time- reliving their senior year. Class of '98 is all about them getting a second chance. Jackie and Matt knew of each other in high school but they weren't really close. Jackie had purple hair and was in the "alternative" crowd and Matt was a big time popular football jock.

As soon as I was reading about the high school reunion, I knew I was really going to enjoy this book. It was hilarious how accurate it seems. I haven't had my ten year high school reunion yet because I graduated in 2006, but it is coming up in a few years (holy cow!) and already you can see the people getting married and having babies. It seemed like that was all everyone talked about at the reunion, and if people kept coming up to me telling me I haven't changed at all I would have been even more agitated about it than Jackie was. A.I. Player did a great job of weaving humor into her writing. She made this book really fun to read.

When they first go back in time, Jackie seems to have thought through the implications a little more soundly than Matt had, but surprisingly at the very start it was Matt who wanted to work with Jackie and get them home ASAP. I would have thought it would have been more the other way around, but pretty quickly into their first week of being back in high school Matt seems to become complacent and they end up spending a lot of time in the past. I think once Matt saw that he had his 17 year old body and athletic abilities back he was glamoured into liking his "glory" days once again. I have no idea how he put up with his awful girlfriend the first time around though. She was enough of a witch to make me drop everything to get back to the future pronto!

Even though Jackie and Matt were very different people back in high school, this time around they saw a lot more of each other. It's completely understandable, they really were the only other person they each had to talk to about what they knew what happening to them, but it was still cute nonetheless. You just can't help but root for the two of them to get together. I really wanted both of them to be happy with their second chances. Class of '98 doesn't have tons of crazy twists and turns, and overall it is a fairly predictable read but I enjoyed that about it. It was kind of a feel good book. Once I started reading, that was what I expected from the story and that was what I got. Class of '98 delivered on being a nice, fun read that made me happy and put a smile on my face.

Dust was not at all what I expected. It was much darker, but still nonetheless very enjoyable. The book starts out pretty happy go lucky in the Pixie's Hollow. Sure the main character, Rosealie doesn't really feel like she fits in with the other Pixies, but she is happy and content where she is and she loves being out in nature. All pixie's love nature, but Rosalie seems particularly in tune with everything around her. We get to know her roommate and some of the other pixie's her own age and when they started talking about finding a pixie mate, I started scoping out the potential guys for Rosalie. The only one that seemed even a little nice was the one that followed her up to her tree house to talk to her. No one else even seemed to take notice of her. But soon after that, Rosalie is taken. Kidnapped and thrown in a dark cave with no food or water. She awakens days later and is taken to a spriggan camp, where she is basically a prisoner, forced to mine pixie dust all day every day until she dies.

The chapters of the books are set out as days, the number of days that she has been a captive. And the whole tone of the book changed. It went from happy, nature loving to very oppressive and sad. The camp seemed awful and the conditions that the pixie's were forced to live and work in were horrible. The spriggans would continually break the pixie's wings so that they couldn't even try to fly away. I was a little worried that this awful place would start to break Rosalie's spirit and she would begin to lose her mind like so many of the other pixie's imprisoned with her. But finally Rosalie makes her big move! And ends up in prison. (I don't feel like I am giving too much away because it took her going to prison for the book to come to life for me.) So much of the camp was dark and oppressive that I gave up any hope that this book would have a romance in it. There was just so much hate and not even one male that I could like.

Once Rosalie is in the prison she goes through a couple of guards. Fineley was beyond awful and then she got assigned Jack, I was worried that he would be even worse. Jack starts to really see what is being done to Rosalie and he doesn't like what he sees. I'm not going to go too much more into the story because I don't want to spoil anything else from this point forwards. But I will say this, Dust took me by surprise multiple times. Each time I thought I had the book figured out, it changed into something else. I really liked that about it. It wasn't your typically ya story by a long shot. The ending set up the next book in the series perfectly, and I feel like we really got to know the characters and the world well. If you are looking for a different kind of Fae story, give Dust a try.

Wow, Keep You From Harm was so good! Really good. I got it for review maybe a month or two ago and by the time I got around to reading it, I forgot that it had a paranormal element to it. So when I started reading I thought it was going to be your normal contemporary, slightly angsty romance. But wow, was I wrong. I mean there was romance, and drama but there was also this really cool ability to heal woven in. I have read plenty of paranormal and special ability books, but Keep you From Harm felt fresh and different. It really felt like a contemporary drama/romance plus a paranormal. All wrapped up in one.

Raielle is breathtakingly beautiful and it seems like every single guy she comes into contact with seems to want her. But she is so jaded and consumed with just dealing with surviving her whole life that she genuinely seemed oblivious to her looks, which was kind of nice because she wasn’t rude or conceited AT ALL. She was very guarded, and sometimes that made her come off as kind of harsh and short with people, but once you got to know her she was the most selfless person ever. It was really incredible the lengths she would go to to help others.

When her brother came to get her, she had never even heard of him. Her mom kept him and the rest of her/and his family from her. So naturally, she was a little skeptical of him. She is just used to being on guard, that she is slow to open up to new people. I really wanted to like her brother, and I think I did like him, but I think a lot of my hesitance towards him was because of Raielle. She rubbed off on me, and I couldn’t help but feel some of her skepticism towards him.

The romance between Raielle and Lucas was great. They were instantly attracted to each other. I wouldn’t call it instant love, I would call it attraction. Because the love and romance took time to grow between the two of them and they faced their share of ups and downs. Overall, it was very realistic and more than a little drama and angst filled. But it worked for the two of them. They both have a past and they both have to face their past throughout the course of the story.

Keep you From Harm is such a great story. I couldn’t get enough of it. I was sad when it was done because I wanted to read more. It leaves you at kind of a pivotal moment. I wouldn’t say it is a cliffhanger per se, but it does leave you wondering what will happen next. There are so many levels to this story. There is the romance between Raielle and Lucas, who I absolutely LOVED, there is the relationship with Raielle and her newly found family, and then there is the mystery of her power and trying to find out more about it and her real father. I am really impressed with Keep you From Harm and it is a series that I will definitely be continuing.

My Name is Rapunzel is a very magical and nicely told re-telling of Rapunzel. I have not read too many fairy tale re-tellings, but funnily enough most of the re-tellings that I have read and seen have been about Rapunzel. I am not really sure why. Tangled for instance is a super cute disney movie about Rapunzel, and in that version she was the long lost daughter of a king and queen. In My Name is Rapunzel, the opposite is true. Rapunzel is in love with the son of the king, and just as they were about to start their lives together, a witch cursed them. All over that golden hair of hers. The witch cursed Rapunzel with immortality so that she would always have access to her hair and she made henry, Rapunzel’s love, disappear.

The book alternates between the past and present. It starts out in the past when she is going to run away and start a life with Henry and after a few chapters it switches to the present day. It continues to alternate between Rapunzel telling her past and the present until the two times merge into one. Rapunzel is telling her story to a newspaper writer that doesn’t believe in fairy tales. Rapunzel has been kept away from the rest of society for so long that when she read an article about fairytales from him she finally snapped. I felt really bad for Rapunzel, throughout the whole story you could really feel her isolation and how sad it made her. Every time she got close to someone or had some sort of friend or family, they were taken from her. It must be such a lonely existence. But at least she had her dragon looking over her. Yep, I said a dragon. My Name is Rapunzel has all the classic makings of a good fairy tale- magic, a crazy old witch, a curse, and even a dragon.

I loved the detail in My Name is Rapunzel. K.C. Hilton did a great job filling in the gaps in Rapunzels story and telling everything about her life. I loved her version of the tale. And I loved the vivid detail that the castle was described in. Rapunzel spent a lot of time inside, since she was banned from going into the village for so long, so she explored every inch of the castle. One of my favorite things was the secret underground garden that she discovered. It was extra little scenes like this that made me really enjoy My Name is Rapunzel. There were plenty of twists and turns too. Some of them were predictable, but more than a few took me by complete surprise. If you are a fan of re-tellings, you should really check out My Name is Rapunzel. It’s a magical and fun story.

This book has me hoping that I don't dream tonight. It has been a while since I have read a creepy mystery like this one. I really enjoyed the mystery and story. Of Dreams and Shadows is the story of a serial killer that doesn't even stop killing after he has been killed. It alternates between the past and the present. The mystery to be solved takes place in the present but we also get to flash back in time to learn about the backstory of Silas- the killer.

Jenna is the new girl in a small town so there was a novelty with her for all of the people in the town. She caused a big stir in the school with both the guys and the girls. I liked that she made a good group of friends quickly, and it was refreshing to see that there was really only one "mean girl" at the school, and everyone saw what kind of person she was. It took away the power that she had. I really liked Jenna with Chase, but we had to wait a while for him to come around to her. The romance was certainly not rushed, it was refreshing.

The mystery of Sarah's death and of who Silas was was really interesting, and really picked up in the second half of the book. I liked it that way. The first half of the book was more about character building. And this way we really got to know who all the people were. There were glimpses into what the mystery was but we really got into the meat of it in the second half of the book. I thought the plot was organized really well that way. I was impressed with this debut novel from D.S. McKnight. The mystery was not exactly straightforward. There were mini twists and turns sprinkled throughout just to keep you guessing. A couple of times I was questioning Sarah and Silas' motives, and there were points that I didn't even know who to trust anymore. This book says it is the first in a series and I was really excited to see that. I want to read more about Jenna and Chase now that they have finally found each other. But the book seemed to end, so I am curious to see where the next book is going to go. Fans of mystery will love Of Dreams and Shadows.

Darkness of Light has made me excited for paranormal books again. They used to be the kind of young adult book that I read the most, but then I kind of started to drift away from them. Darkness of Light reminded me why I love them so much. It is probably one of the best books I have read all year. I could not put it down. It has just enough mystery to keep you guessing and keep you flipping pages, but not too much to where you are pulling your hair out just to get some answers. Don't get me wrong, Ember doesn't get any satisfying answers from anyone until 3/4th into the book, but there is always so much going on that it didn't frustrate me. The plot was always moving forward. I never felt like it was stagnant or stalled in anyway. I loved the character development and the creatures in this book seemed fresh and unique.

Ember just wanted to know what she was. But at the same time, she kept holding out hope that she was normal. She saw all these crazy things happening around her, and I think on some level she always knew that she was different, but she just didn't want to admit it to herself. If I were her, I would have demanded answers much sooner, or done my own research to try and figure it out. I would have been experimenting with my powers. Anything to try and see what was going on. Especially because she was getting in trouble for the strange things that were happening. I felt bad for her though. The cops labeled her a trouble maker, and she thought she was crazy and that she was having hallucinations. That must have really taken a toll on her.

Eli was just as mysterious. I couldn't figure out what he was or what Ember was. That was one of the things that I loved about Darkness of Light. Stacey Marie Brown did such an awesome job telling an amazing story but still maintaining the mystery to keep you maddeningly interested. I have a few books on my TBR pile before I can get to the sequel and it is driving me crazy already! I just want to skip everything else I have to read so I can read the next book.

I loved the romance between Eli and Ember. Eli knew a lot more than Ember in terms of the paranormal. He grew up knowing what he was and what she was and he was supposed to hate her. It was interesting watching him struggle with himself and what he felt for her. Of course, for Ember that meant that he seemed hot and cold all the time. But I thought the build up between them was great. They would make a few steps towards friendship, and then something would inevitably happen that would push them further apart. I really like the two of them together, but in the end of the book I just wished that Eli would have taken a stand and done more for Ember. I guess we will see what happens in the next installment.

Darkness of Light is a fantastic book! I was so engrossed in the story that I didn't even realize I was done with the book or how much time I had spent reading the book until I came up for air at the last page. I just lost myself in the story completely. Which is something I love. I can't wait to read the next book. There are so many things I want to find out. I want to see more of Telin, a character we really only got to see in dreams so I don't have much of an opinion on him yet, and I really really want to see what is going to happen with Eli, as well as learning more about Ember's powers. Darkness of Light is one of the bext paranormal books I have read all year. This is going to be an amazing series.

J.A. Souders hit the ground running with Renegade. This was the first book I have had the pleasure of reading of hers and let me tell you, it kind of knocked my socks off. The plot is creeptastic and just plain mind blowing. In my opinion anyways. I enjoyed the characters but I think the real superstar here is the world and the masterful writing of J.A. Souders.

If I had to describe the leader of Elyisum, who is called Mother, in one word it would be twisted. She is power hungry, and ruthless and super twisted! I was so creeped out by her, but at the same time I was so impressed with the way J.A. Souders had everything planned out. She may have been an evil villain, but Mother was a super villain. Mother was grooming Evie as her daughter, but Evie has a lot of spunk in her when she is not being controlled. That was my favorite part about her. I liked her at the start of the book, but by the end of Renegade I loved her. Rounding out the cast of characters was my favorite of all- Gavin. He is my adorable little southern guy. I couldn't get enough of him. He just seemed so real. His emotions, his reactions, it was all so believable.

The most awesome part of Renegade is the plot. Trust me when I tell you that J.A. Souders is a master at plot weaving. She threw twists and turns at us, kept the plot going at a very brisk pace and gave incredible detail to Elusium. And I loved her writing style. The use of repetition with the chapters was so unique and it grabbed me right away. I was sucked into the creepy world of Renegade and I loved every minute of it. This is such a great dystopian story. It seems like there are so many dystopians popping up all over the place and so many of them are just so-so. Renegade is a cut above the rest. It was twisted, and scary, and one heck of a ride. I kept thinking the book couldn't get any better and then it did. It just builds and builds and builds. Renegade is a must read for any fan of dystopian.

I loved the first book, so I was super excited when I got a copy of the second book. I really liked Persephone and Hades, so I couldn't wait to read more about the two of them. However, the last book ended with a few extra problems set up, so I knew it was not going to be smooth sailing for the two of them. And that turned out to be a bit of an understatement. There were tons of obstacles thrown at Persephone in this book. The Daughter of the Earth and Sky was a great addition to the Daughters of Zeus series. It solidified in my mind that this is a great YA Mythology series. One of the best ones that I have read so far.

Persephone is starting to come into her goddess powers, even though she is a bit young. And she is very powerful as both goddess of spring, and queen of the underworld. And throw in the Charm that her dad, Zeus bestowed upon her and she really is a force to be reckoned with. But the best part about her, is that she is such a sweetheart. She can be feisty sometimes, and just a tad stubborn, but she has such a kind and caring heart. She is so hard on herself sometimes. She feels awful about what happened with a certain god of the reapers in the first book. And she thinks Hades will hate her for it.

In this second installment in the Daughters of Zeus, we meet Aphrodite. She is an interesting character. I didn't always know quite what to make of her. I never really loved her, but then again I never really hated her. She is pretty complicated. Much more like the normal version of the aloof and kind of cold gods that I am used to.

There were plenty of adventure, and twists and turns throughout the story to hold your attention, and all sorts of fun new characters from greek myth. Plus, all of your favorite characters from the first book. For a while in the story, I was pretty sad. It was really tough for Persephone and it wasn't a happy tale for her. I had such a connection with her from the first book that I didn't like seeing all these awful things happen to her. She was very lonely for a lot of this story.

Daughter of the Earth and Sky sets up the next book perfectly. It ends in a cliff hanger, but before we get to that part, there was kind of a happy little wrap up to a lot of the subplots and smaller issues from the story. I really liked the way Kaitlin Bevis addressed the characters problems, and I liked the more positive note that Persephone and Hades ended on for the two of them. Of course, the cliff hanger throws all of that up in the air... so who knows what will happen. I did kind of want to know what is going to happen with Persephone binding herself. It was just mentioned in the book that she did it, but then it wasn't brought up again. Something we will find out in the next book, i'm sure.

Daughter of the Earth and Sky is a great second installment to the Daughters of Zeus series. I am so in love with these characters. The series just sucks you in. I could not put this book down. What a great series.