lisaluvsliterature's Reviews (4.19k)

I can understand what some reviews are saying that they don't like about this. But I personally really enjoyed it. I think it was good to have all the background information and to learn so much about the history. Now, I started in really quick, and didn't quite get the probably correct descriptions of some of the characters, and so ones that I was thinking were older are maybe not the way I was thinking, since they seemed to be kind of involved with a younger character, Adne. I'm not sure how I feel about Shay in this one. He's kind of putting a lot of pressure on Calla. I'm really disappointed in Ren as well, but I can totally understand why she is having all the 2nd thoughts about whether to give in to her feelings about Shay, or not give up on Ren. She feels as if she's betrayed Ren, especially after she goes back and finds out what has actually happened to her pack. The story is really sad, but really gripping. I had trouble putting it down. So great book. I felt the same though as with the last few books of the Harry Potter series, or the Twilight series. I had to rush through them to know what happened, but now I have to wait forever to read the next book! That to me is the sign of a great story!

I got this book as an ARC from the bookstore I work along with the sequel, which I haven't read yet. But I will soon, because I really did enjoy this book. This is another zombie story. But I like that we have started in after all of it has started and it is the "after time". Our main character is Cass, who has just woken up and is not sure exactly why she is where she is, or why she is alive. The surprise in why she is alive is that she has the tell-tale marks of having been attacked by the zombies on her back, and the strips of flesh missing on her arms tells that she was a zombie. Yet now she's not. The only thing on her mind now is finding out where her daughter Ruthie is. Her daughter who she last saw the night she was taken by the zombies.

The zombies in this story are a little different, they just want to eat the skin. And they do drink blood, or at least when they see blood it hypnotizes them. These aren't the slow, shuffling zombies really, but they are pretty stupid. At least that's what everyone thinks, although they are beginning to do things that makes people wonder. Cass meets a man named Smoke at the first settlement of people she finds. Smoke agrees to take her back to the library where she was taken to try to find her daughter.

She finds out her daughter was taken by a group of women, kind of a cult. And she must find out how to get in to see if her daughter is okay and to rescue her. So that's where the book kind of leaves off for the sequel. And it's a big cliffhanger, so I'll be ready to pick up part two pretty soon.

I got to read this early as an e-galley through NetGalley from Harlequin. I'm so mad though because I forgot there was a 2.5 in the series called [b:Haunting the Night|11542006|Haunting the Night|Mara Purnhagen|http://photo.goodreads.com/books/1312467509s/11542006.jpg|16481488] and so I didn't read it before. And it's so stupid because it was a free e-book! Oh well, I downloaded it and will go back and read it. I still really enjoy this series, and this book was no less enjoyable. We join back in with Charlotte and her mom is still in a coma. Charlotte is trying to do what she can in secret to communicate with the spirit world to try to help her mom. After defeating the Watcher, she is sure it has to be something spiritual causing her mom to be in a coma. It turns out the Watcher is not gone though, and there are other people out there, called Protectors, that can help against Watchers.

I love reading about paranormal investigators as I really enjoy shows such as Paranormal State, and I like going on ghost hunts. So it is neat to read about a family that does this. I enjoyed the flashback in this book as well to learning about some past ghost hunts the family had been on. Expect a review of part 2.5 after a couple more books on my list.

I waited a little extra long to read this because first I had to wait for this author to come to town when I would actually get the copy I had to buy in order to get into the event. But it was well worth the wait. If it wasn't for the new puppy I got about a week ago, I'd have been done a lot quicker. But puppies tend to need attention. Anyway, this was a very good conclusion to the series. While it definitely left off with some questions of what would happen next, it was done in a way that you don't have to know. Yes, I'd love to know what all Cole was able to figure out, and how the wolves do, but I'm okay with where it ended. One thing that I had a bit of trouble with, and you'll find I say this quite often, was the jumping back and forth between characters. Sometimes that frustrates me, I want to continue with a character when it jumps to a new one. Sometimes I get confused on which character is being used at the moment, but not with this book. I knew exactly who it was. You could tell from each point of view because the characters really had their own personalities that were so different, you just knew from the first line who it was. At least I did. I gave it only 4 stars because of my issues with the multiple point of view, but that is really the only thing about it I didn't like. Like I said, all the stories were tied up good enough to end. There were some sad losses of characters, but that is really needed in a good book. Loved it!

I was so excited when this book came out because I loved the first one, Eternal Ones. But since I read the first one as an ARC, it seemed an extra long time since I'd read it. So when I first picked up the book it took a little bit to remember the whole story exactly. But once I got into the story it all started coming back, and I got sucked right into the story. And it got to where all I wanted to do was read, but as seems to be happening since school started back up, I didn't have as much time. My adorable little puppy Dora, also kept me from reading as much. So it took me much longer than it should have, because if it wasn't for the puppy, I'd have probably finished it late one night in bed.

We start off with Haven and Iain in Italy, Iain is thought to be dead, which they did because he was wanted for a murder, that he didn't commit. Also, Adam, the guy who has loved Haven in all her lives, but is evil, has promised Haven one lifetime in which he will let her live her life without his interference. Her childhood friend Beau, who she learned also was with her in past lifetimes, calls to let her know that he has met someone who says he is Beau's soulmate from a past life, and Beau is going to meet him in New York. Shortly after Beau becomes incommunicado, and Haven receives a call from another friend back home, Leah, who can see the future. She tells Haven that Beau is in trouble, and there is a woman in NY that can help her. When Haven tells Iaian who this woman is, he tells Haven this woman is really a fake. But she has to go anyway as she will do anything to save Beau. As Haven is really sure that Adam must have something to do with Beau's disappearance, she accepts the woman's proposal to try to entrap Adam to get him to help her, and maybe find out what he's done. The woman is part of an ancient group of women called the Horae, also reincarnated, who are trying to get Adam away from the world so he will quit causing so many people to die.

But as Haven hangs around with Adam, he tries to show her how he is changing to be a better person for her. Haven is warned that he's opened a school to make zombies out of the young reincarnated kids to make them his slaves. So she goes to visit the school, and is instead very impressed by what is being done for these kids, so they are not made to feel freaks for the very things she had to go through as a child. She begins to really believe Adam has changed for the better, and is not sure she wants to help the Horae imprison him anymore. There are some twists and turns, and the story keeps you guessing till the end on who is really the bad guy in keeping Beau hidden.

As with the first book, I loved again going back to read about the past lives and how history was worked into them. A great book, and I now can't wait to see what happens in the next one as this left off with another cliffhanger in a way.

I got this book as an egalley from Netgalley. It was an interesting retelling of Cinderella. I wasn't so excited by it though, that I couldn't put it down easily. I enjoyed that in this book the prince is not Prince Charming. That the heroes were actually people working for the prince. The stepsisters are just sisters, annoying, but not evil. The mother is also not evil, just absentminded and stressed since their father disappeared. I liked the use of a fairy tale within the fairy tale. The tale of how each person is connected with a tree was an interesting storyline. I'd like to see that a little bit more explored. I didn't like the fact that Cinder and Ella were 2 separate people, that just didn't sit well for me for some reason. Even though it was a very creative way to tell the story, just didn't seem to be my cup of tea. But, it is definitely a retelling of a fairy tale in a new and creative way, and I will recommend it to people who enjoy that type of story.

More review later. But for now I'll just say thank goodness I know there is going to be a 2nd part, I need to know what happens next!

Above is what I first thought after finishing the book, and below this is my full review.

So, I got this book from Netgalley. I've been looking forward to reading this ever since I first saw it on some other bloggers' sites. The story is another dystopian setting. However, I read one or two reviews, and got kind of nervous about it. Someone said it was the same thing as some other recent dystopian novels. So I was worried I might feel that way as well. However, once I got into it, I was pleasantly surprised that it was different, and it did grab me to where there were times I didn't want to put it down to do what I needed to do. Were there similarities to books like Delirium? Yes, but not enough that it wasn't its own story. The fact is that in this future time, there is a virus that has killed off many people, and girls are now put in schools to make sure they are raised properly, and can go out into the world ready to be successful. It turns out though, that this bright future Eve has worked so hard for, even coming in at the top of her class, is all a lie. So she runs away.

She runs into Caleb, who at first she fears as she has been taught to do all her life in school. But soon she comes to trust him and think that life might actually be okay out here, as long as she can be with Caleb.

The twists and turns in this were pretty good. There were some sad parts, and some happy parts. As I said in my original review, I'm so glad this is listed as a part 1 of a trilogy, because I need to know what happens after this book ends.

I was unsure whether to go ahead and post a review of this since it doesn't come out until January, but saw that everyone else seemed to, so here goes.

Again, people call this a dystopian book, but to me this isn't what I consider dystopian. It is science fiction to me. There is a disease that starts to take out a whole island population, I think in Canada. Of course the government decides on a quarantine to keep it contained. This virus starts by making you feel like you have the flu, then you become really friendly and gossipy and will say whatever is on your mind. The main character is Kaelyn, and she first is introduced to this virus when her friend's father who has been sick says some really kind of prejudiced things to her when she is at their house one day. The story is told through her letters that she is writing to a boy who used to be her best friend. She is writing him because she was not nice to him right before he left the island. So we get to see the whole thing through her eyes. We get to hear about the people of the island panicking when they feel that the government has left them to die. Her father is actually a doctor who deals with this type of issue and so he is at the hosptital constantly and Kaelyn and her mother and brother must make it without him. She also has an uncle and cousin on the island, who it ends up they must take care of them as well at a point.
I like the science details, not too detailed for just anyone to read, like a teen, but enough that as someone who would have been really into the science at that age would be sucked in. Maybe it is the fact that I just saw the movie Contagion recently as well, but it was a good book, and I was hooked. Like another review on Goodreads said, it started a bit slow, but once the disease started taking over, I was at a point I didn't want to put it down. Can't wait to put it on my recommendation table at the bookstore where I work!