Alexis Gordon is gifted, but she doesn't really know it. She just sees it as a 'green thumb' and loves to work with plants. When a slip in the mud sends her tumbling into a construction pit, she discovers the grave of a murdered child. This book definitely starts with quite a bang. A bang that wakes Alexis up to a whole new world of abilities.

But this grave may be just the beginning. When Detective Kevin Sutherland takes the case to the famous (to readers of the series) Stefan Kronos, things get really interesting. An ability no one has seen before is in play. And it doesn't want to play fair. The identity behind this strange ability remains a mystery until the very end - which I really enjoyed. It kept suspense and danger levels high and made it really hard to put the book down. In the end, I was quite on the edge of my seat.

There were a few points the story hit an unexpected dragging point, and it seemed like the romance aspects didn't always flow as well as the suspense aspects. Don't get me wrong, Alexis and Kevin make a great couple. But many of their more personal moments seemed to interrupt the suspense instead of helping to build it. I never understood the point of driving out of town to the other house all the time (you'll understand when you get there).

A good addition to the series. I'd like to see a few less totally out there abilities and just a creative use of 'normal' psychic abilities or the series may end up being just a little too crazy for my taste.

With Nyx on the loose, Alice has gone into hiding after losing her powers and is holed up in a magical safe-house. At the safe-house, we get to meet Cameron, who is one heck of a character. He's a gentle giant that quickly becomes part of Alice's close-knit group.

The Pain Children are some really nasty creatures. They each have their own crazy aspect that makes them quite deadly - and when they gather together - they are a near unstoppable force. No one knows what Nyx's goal is other than to cause havoc and pain. And that's just what she's doing.

Alice struggles to find her powers and learn how to harness them in new ways. Isaac is forced into an otherworldly battle that may cost him his soul. But if he wins, then he will emerge with a new power from a plane no one really knew how to access before. This battle was quite intense, but not in a physical way. Isaac is put to a moral and emotional test that really gives the reader a look into his past and what makes him tick deep inside.

All these events will come together in quite a fantastic way. New powers, new factions, and show-down with some really nasty baddies make this book a great read.

Starting into the next series-set of the Shannara world, we get started with some familiar faces - which I love. Grainne was redeemed in the previous series, and she is now the High Druid. But not everyone has forgiven and moved on. Her past still haunts her, and it's about to lead to some really nasty magic. Her own druids are set against her, and when she disappears mysteriously, there are none that seem to really care.

There are a few people loyal to her though, and they instantly set off on the quest to find Grainne's family and friends from her previous story. There's a lot of building blocks in this story, and not a ton of action. It comes in bits and pieces as the druids try to stop Grainne's friends from finding her or finding out what was done to her. But the Ohmsford family has always been a resourceful one, and they slip through tight places by the skin of their teeth.

At the end of the story, we're left with a little knowledge, but not a lot was done. I loved some of the characters, especially the new seer Pen meets on the way. There are betrayals and new friends, wins and losses, everything you might expect in a high fantasy story. I'm liking the groundwork laid so far, and this may be one of my favorite sets of characters yet. I'm excited to see what happens to Grainne next.

Lady Ariana Boxstall is frightened. She's afraid that if her somewhat reckless brother doesn't marry and produce an heir soon, that he'll end up dead and she and her mother will be left in the hands of a cruel cousin. Ariana Boxstall may or may not be overreacting. Death is on everyone's minds and she wants to make sure her family is secure.

She strikes a deal with her brother that he will marry soon, but she has to marry first....and she's not really the debutante anymore. Her first season was a disaster, and she's not looking forward to going on a new husband hunt. As a taller than average woman, she does not fit into the ton's status quo.

I enjoyed Lady Ariana a lot. She was intelligent and curious, but also afraid to make waves with it by being too open. She was insecure and confident at the same time. She was a real person, with numerous faults balance by lovely personality attributes and a true caring about those close to her. This is balanced out by the Earl of Kynaston, who is not exactly what he appears at first (of course).

Their rocky "friendship" was an entertaining development that will keep you wondering when they'll both get their heads of the sand and realize they're perfect for each other. There's a good scandal (of course - but who doesn't love a good scandal) and suddenly things start to fall into place.

Merely a Marriage was a fun and quick read with some engaging side characters that just might need their own story if they don't have one already.

**I voluntarily reviewed a copy of this book**

This was a bit of a different Amish Romance for me. There were some new issues and complexities to the relationships that I really enjoyed. They made the characters seem far less fictional and much more like real people dealing with real life. There's also more than one relationship that needs a little help if it's going to be everything it should.

Bethel is our main character. Recovering from an accident, she needs physical therapy. Which, as you can imagine, causes conflicts with some of her beliefs. Water therapy, weight training, and stretching are all hard to do in Amish traditional clothing. I feel like the author handled this conflict beautifully, showing the delicate balance between tradition/beliefs and doing what's best for their community. Their way of finding a way to stay true to what they stand for, while at the same time giving Bethel the things she needs, was amazing.

On the side we have Bethel's sister and brother-in-law fighting a very hard battle against depression. Another delicate balancing act between having faith in God to see them through and doing what needs to be done to keep people well. While this storyline took the backseat to Bethel's, I feel like it was an important one and loved how it gave a face to in issue that many just don't understand.

The downfall to me was the stress between the new Amish community and their country town neighbors. It was just one thing too many and really just made the non-Amish neighbors seem like complete jerks (with the exception of one or two). It was over-stereotyping and I just didn't seem to enjoy that little bit of the story.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book**

This is a different kind of fantasy novel. Instead of going back to the lands of castles, knights, and mages, we go to a sort wild west frontier world. The ancient mythological creatures all existed and have now gone extinct, but their magic was captured in the relics and bones they left behind. People who can harness the magic trapped in these relics are highly sought after, and it gives them a lot of powerful abilities.

Maggie falls into the dangerous world of relics when her family is killed in a relic-spawned fire. Her life takes some really crazy turns from working in a traditional wild west saloon to living in the local mansion on the whim of the owner. He promises to teach how to harness the power of the relics, but of course, we have to have a bad guy, and he's it. He has a lot of ulterior motives. I was so happy to see that Maggie caught on to them so quickly. She's a smart girl, and seeing that play out without her blindly going along was quite refreshing.

The big drawback of this was that it ends like a series - but there's nothing more out there. The ending was really a bit of a letdown. While there's a lot that's wrapped up, there's promises made and more things to go do and figure out.

**I voluntarily read a review copy of this book**

When you start All the Ugly and Wonderful Things, you need to keep an open mind. Wavy is not your usual kid. She won't eat in front of people, she won't talk, and she takes care of her brother that's just a few years younger than she is. It isn't an easy life and her parents aren't really a part of it. Even though her childhood was so different and neglected, there is a level at which I was able to connect with and understand her. I understood why she had each and every oneof her odd behaviors, and I didn't find that they made her a freak or wierd, I found that they made her unique and special.

Wavy had a brilliant mind. And she loved easily. When she meets an associate of her father's, Kellen, she sort of reverse adopts him. They become inseparable, but their relationship takes a dangerous turn before Kellen and turn it around. There are parts of this relationship that seem incredibly pure and unable to be tainted, and there are parts that made me feel sick to my stomach. The author definitely knew how to make me, as a reader, feel on every single page.

The story tells Wavy's story from the beginning until after college. It's one rollercoaster ride of a story. You will either love or hate the people she meets along the way. Some never change, and some do. Just like life. It's hard to describe this book well without giving everything away, but I do think you should read it. It is mind-opening and strange, it has a tarnished purity to it, and I couldn't put it down.

As the title suggests, not everything beautiful is good, and not everything ugly is bad.