Waiting on Wednesday: Dreamfire

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine and is a fun way to see what books other bloggers just can't wait to get their hands on!

DREAMFIRE

Kit Alloway

Paranormal Young Adult

Releases February 24th, 2015 from St. Martin's Griffin

From Amazon:

Unlike most 17-year-olds, Joshlyn Weaver has a sacred duty. She's the celebrated daughter of the dream walkers, a secret society whose members enter the Dream universe we all share and battle nightmares. If they fail, the emotional turmoil in the Dream could boil over and release nightmares into the World.

Despite Josh's reputation as a dream walking prodigy, she's haunted by her mistakes. A lapse in judgment and the death of someone she loved have shaken her confidence. Now she's been assigned an apprentice, a boy whose steady gaze sees right through her, and she's almost as afraid of getting close to him as she is of getting him killed.

But when strangers with impossible powers begin appearing in the Dream, it isn't just Will that Josh has to protect–it's the whole World.

I've only read one other series that deals with dream walking (I think. I've read a lot of books so it's possible I've read more than one about this particular ability and just don't remember. Awesome.) and I absolutely loved both books so I'm hoping I'll have the same luck with Dreamfire. Maybe dream walkers are going to prove themselves to be young adult fail-safes for me. I have high hopes.

I just really like the sound of this one, I'm a sucker for characters who are emotionally or physically damaged in some way, and Josh, with weight of loved one's death on her shoulders, fits that bill pretty perfectly. Plus, romance. I'm easy to please, what can I say ;-)

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Review: Death and the Girl He Loves

DEATH AND THE GIRL HE LOVES
Darklight #3
Darynda Jones
Paranormal Young Adult
272 pages
St. Martin's Griffin
Available Now
Source: Finished copy from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
The fate of the world is not something a girl wants on her shoulders, and that is especially true for Lorelei McAlister. 

Unfortunately for her, that is exactly where the world’s fate has decided to take up residence. Lorelei has seen firsthand the horrors that lie beneath our everyday world. And those horrors are getting her friends killed. Because of this, she agrees to leave the sanctity of her hometown and is sent to a different world entirely. A boarding school. But even here she is being watched. Someone knows what she is. What she carries inside her soul. And on top of that she’s seeing visions. 

This is nothing new for Lorelei. But these visions are something more: death, destruction, and the end of the world. Lorelei must face the fact that there are people who want her dead, and no matter where she goes, no matter how far she runs, the lives of her friends and family are in mortal peril. Lucky for her, her friends and family include the handsome Angel of Death, a fiercely protective half-angel, and a ragtag group of loyal supporters who aren’t afraid to get a little dirty in the name of fighting pure evil.

MY THOUGHTS
Death and the Girl He Loves reunites us with the trademark humor of Ms. Jones, her characters sparking with sarcastic fire and delighting us with the casual barbs and witty taunts they toss back and forth throughout. Though imminent death hovers quite literally on the horizon for most of this book, the story never loses the qualities that so drew us to it in the very first installment, the emphasis on family and friendship–as well as just a touch of romance–as strong as ever to keep us hovering on the edge of our seats, waiting to see just if and how Lorelei is going to fulfill all that is prophesied.

Though Lorelei is endlessly funny and has us wishing we could live in this world simply to be a part of the banter between her, Brooke and Glitch, she can be more frustrating at times in this final book than she has books past. We find ourselves swinging back and forth between sympathy for her given the sheer amount of pressure placed on her young shoulders, and frustration given her tendency to wallow in self-pity. She’s severely lacking in the self-confidence department, so convinced she’s going to fail the entire time that she shakes our confidence in her as well, and we end up wondering if she’ll be able to step up to the plate when the time comes. That being said though, she’s at least not ignorant to her own pessimism and owns up to it on a number of occasions, we just can’t help but wish she’d dare to believe in herself as much as those around her so clearly do.

Given Lorelei is in no way, shape or form the type of heroine who would win in any sort of hand to hand combat situation, the way the final battle goes down is both beautifully fitting and completely unexpected, Ms. Jones forcing us to tip imaginary hats in acknowledgement of how many steps ahead of us she’s been all along. There are a few lingering questions with regard to some things Jared mentions about his relationship with Lorelei, but they’re questions that don’t necessarily demand answers, and we’re left more than content with a rather fascinating conclusion.

Rating: 4/5
 

Find Darynda

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This book was sent to me by the publisher free of charge for the purpose of a review. 

I received no other compensation and the above is my honest opinion.

Waiting on Wednesday: The Haven

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine and is a fun way to see what books other bloggers just can't wait to get their hands on!

THE HAVEN

Carol Lynch Williams

Paranormal Young Adult/Dystopian

Releases March 4th, 2014 from St. Martin's Griffin

From Goodreads:

For the teens at The Haven, the outside world, just beyond the towering stone wall that surrounds the premises, is a dangerous unknown. It has always been this way, ever since the hospital was established in the year 2020. But The Haven is more than just a hospital; it is their home. It is all they know. Everything is strictly monitored: education, exercise, food, and rest. The rules must be followed to keep the children healthy, to help control the Disease that has cast them as Terminals, the Disease that claims limbs and lungs—and memories.

But Shiloh is different; she remembers everything. Gideon is different, too. He dreams of a cure, of rebellion against the status quo. What if everything they’ve been told is a lie? What if The Haven is not the safe place it claims to be? And what will happen if Shiloh starts asking dangerous questions?

Though the premise doesn't sound completely new or different and the YA market is certainly saturated with dystopians at the moment, I still find myself intrigued by this one. The cover is gorgeous, clean and simple, and I can't help but be drawn to a book that just begs me to ask all sorts of "what if" questions. I'm a questioner to the nth degree when reading, and The Haven is simply taunting to me with its mysteries, so all I have left to say about this book is yes, please:)

Review: Stolen Nights

STOLEN NIGHTS
Vampire Queen #2
Rebecca Maizel
Paranormal Young Adult
303 pages
St. Martin's Griffin
Available January 29th
Received for blog tour through The Readiacs

Warning: Review contains spoilers from Infinite Days, but no spoilers from Stolen Nights.

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Lenah Beaudonte should be dead. But having sacrificed herself to save another, she finds herself awakening with strange powers that are neither vampire nor human—and a new enemy on her trail. In her vampire life, Lenah had thought that being human was all she ever wanted; but the human heart suffers pain, heartbreak and loss.

With her new powers growing and the dark force of the Nex after her soul, Lenah faces a choice: between the mortal love of gorgeous Justin, whose passion fed her human soul, and taking a different path to become the mistress of her own destiny, wherever that may lead...

MY THOUGHTS
Stolen Nights is a complicated read; not necessarily so in terms of plot, but rather as a result of an emotional attachment that formed quickly and with surprising strength in the opening chapters of Infinite Days before quieting as Lenah’s human journey continued, only to return and be played upon with deft fingers in this second installment. Rhode’s sacrifice for Lenah in the first book had a profound impact, the utter love and devotion he felt for her creating a specter that continually raised the fine hairs on our arms as memories of him danced through Lenah’s mind, and while our affection for Justin grew as the story progressed, the indelible marks left by Rhode’s fingers around our hearts remained. Now in Stolen Nights, those marks return with a painful vengeance, Justin’s ability to staunch some of the emotional bleeding rendered completely ineffective in the face of Rhode’s presence as a flesh and blood mortal.

A character with whom a deep and poignant emotional connection is formed despite limited page time is rare, but so is one such as Rhode Lewin, therefore his effect on us should come as no surprise. Our time with him in Stolen Nights is granted in brief snippets, but just as was the case with Infinite Days, so much feeling is communicated by his very presence, and we feel the full weight of his love, his frustration and his pain as he struggles in this new life settle heavily into our bones. Our previous affection for Justin seems to disintegrate almost immediately once we realize Rhode’s survived the ritual as Lenah has, shocking us a bit with our own fickleness until we realize Rhode has owned our love and loyalty from his first appearance, making the emotional entanglements between the three of them all the more complex.

Lenah is as stripped bare by Rhode’s return as we are, her months-long relationship with Justin no match for her centuries-long relationship with him, but a cruel decree rubs salt in an already open and raw wound, creating chaos from the order Lenah had created with her selfless act to save Vicken at the end of book one. Though it’s clear to us that if circumstances were different Lenah would move heaven and earth to be with Rhode again, some of the selfishness so inherent in a vampire’s makeup seems to rise to the surface despite her current mortality as she repeatedly turns to Justin as a balm to soothe the pain of Rhode’s proximity. Her actions are something we understand logically, knowing the wounds Rhode tears open his with unexpected arrival are not ones she can simply close on her own, but she does at times test the boundaries of our tolerance, continually thinking only of her own pain without once acknowledging either Rhode’s or Justin’s.

Though Lenah’s thoughts are self-centered for majority of the book, the conclusion sees the expansion of her previous tunnel vision, her mistakes with Rhode, Justin, Vicken and so many of those she’s met in her extraordinarily long life made clear and accepted, complete with a gut-wrenching remedy that leaves us numb save for a throbbing ache in our chests. An epilogue from Rhode himself thankfully leaves us with a spark of hope that perhaps things for Lenah and company will not be left as they are, and we may all be given one more chance to see Lenah and Rhode as we so desperately wish them to be.

Rating: 4/5

Review: Foretold

FORETOLD
Demon Trappers #4
Jana Oliver
Paranormal Young Adult
352 pages
St. Martin's Griffin
Available Now
Received from publisher for review

THE STORY (from Goodreads)
Now that Riley’s managed to (just barely) fend off Armageddon, everything’s changed. Well . . . most things. After their passionate kiss before the big battle in the cemetery, Beck is back to treating her like a little girl, as if nothing ever happened. While she’d love to just tell him off and move on, Riley vowed to take care of Beck the way he’s taken care of her since her father’s death—but she’s about to get a whole lot more than she bargained for. When she’s commissioned to go with Beck to his hometown and help him care for his dying mother, they stumble too close to a dark and murderous secret, one that Beck fears will drive Riley away from him forever. As chaos breaks loose, Riley may be Beck's only hope for redemption . . . and survival.

Meanwhile, up in Atlanta, it’s quickly becoming clear that Heaven may have won a battle, but the war is far from over. Riley and Beck face a stormy future, as Lucifer's ex-right-hand-man, Sartael, proves himself to be more resilient than anyone thought. He has Atlanta in his grip and is about to begin a brutal war with the prince of Hell. As the seconds tick down toward a final confrontation, it's up to Riley and the man she loves to finally defeat their old enemy, or lose everything they've fought for.

MY THOUGHTS
Foretold brings Riley’s journey full circle; what she finds within herself and in her feelings for Beck finally beginning to eclipse what she’s so brutally lost along the way, wrapping this series up in beautifully satisfying fashion. This final installment is essentially separated into two parts, the first half uncovering Beck’s dark and troubled past while the second half focuses on angelic politics as one of the Fallen finally makes his play for the throne of Hell, but Ms. Oliver skillfully ties the two separate threads together through Riley and Beck’s personal relationship, thereby ensuring we’re given a cohesive and thoroughly addictive story.

The first half of this tale is a true joy to read even as the pain in Beck’s past tugs at our heartstrings, granting us the glimpses of what’s molded the man we’ve come to love into the man he is; something we’ve longed for from the moment we met him and knew his attitude toward Riley was a defense mechanism protecting a vulnerable soul. It’s our time with him in small-town Georgia where memories are long and grudges run deep that allows us fully understand the fear that so often drives Beck’s reactions to Riley, a revelation that adds a stunning depth to their relationship in the second half of the book and makes us reevaluate their every interaction up until that point.

Perhaps the most gratifying aspect of this final installment is the continued growth of both Beck and Riley, the giant steps forward they made in Forgiven only lengthening in stride in Foretold, the channels of communication something both give much needed time and attention to opening. While Riley and Beck both have secrets from the other, they don’t keep them hidden for long, sparing us the drawn-out tension and inevitable drama when all is revealed and instead opting to put their trust – a truly momentous gesture for each of them – in the other’s hands in the hope their problems will find a long-awaited champion ready to tackle whatever is laid at their feet. Finally, we see the two of them together as a team; inseparable and fortified by honesty, love, and respect, and standing strong hand in hand even as Atlanta faces her darkest night yet.

Foretold is nothing short of a stunning conclusion to the Demon Trapper series, touching on every wish we have for Riley and Beck and seeing that they come true in the gritty, fiery, and thrilling style we’ve come to expect from these books. Fans of this series will absolutely want to cancel any plans for their day when they decide to crack Foretold’s spine, as there is no putting it down once Riley and Beck have them back in their clutches.

Rating: 4.5/5