Guardian (The Guardian Series, Book 1)
by Sara Mack
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
How do you deal when everything has collapsed around you? At least to Emma, the whole world has collapsed and there is no reason to go on, her boyfriend James has died and she has no will to carry on. Her family and friends are worried, so her best friend Shel comes to stay for awhile, and tries to make Emma face life again. Which might have worked, if only James' spirit hadn't started talking to Emma. Now she is trying to let everyone around her think she is fine and moving on, while she is living just to spend time with James' spirit. Guardian is the position that James agreed to take in able to remain as a spirit on earth and be able to watch over Emma, the problem is, he is not suppose to be spending so much time with her, he is supposed to be training and learning to be a Guardian to someone. Author Sara Mack creates an amazing tale of young love, cut short by death, and the effects of choices on life afterwards.
Guardian is said to be the first in a series, which is good, because a number of questions are left unanswered in the first book. In this book though, we learn a great deal about James and Emma's relationship through flashbacks and dreams, which are well written and fit into the story wonderfully. From the start you find yourself feeling for Emma, crying along with her, wanting to help her heal, liking James coming back and then becoming not so sure about it. There is the side story of their friends Shel and Matt, and you find yourself enjoying that story and understanding Emma's frustration at first, but wanting the same for her again. It is a complex and deep story with a number of layers and some unexpected events that you don't see coming. I feel comfortable recommending this book to all ages of readers, given parental consent, there is no sex and only the reference to the accident and one fight scene, but it is not graphic. I feel it is a great story to read and talk about with your teens and such. Enjoy readers!
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Neria
The Future Demon Huntress, Book One
by A.S. Johnson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .
Neria thinks she is just a normal high school student, except that she has weird dreams. Her mom thinks they should talk to the priest at school. Neria The Future Demon Huntress reveals that what she really is, much to her disbelief is a demon hunter. This takes some getting used to and she has to deal with the fact that her life is being planned out for her, without her consent. Kellar is an older boy at school that she has a crush on, but what she doesn't know to begin with is that he knows she is a demon hunter and it is his job to protect her. She will deal with a budding relationship with Kellar, then the fact that he knew more about her than she did and can she still trust him. A.S. Johnson writes a paranormal novel of the life of a demon hunter, but it is also steeped in the Catholic faith and exorcisms. It is definitely not your typical paranormal novel.
The ability of A.S. Johnson to take a paranormal concept of a demon hunter and place her into the middle of the Catholic church, surrounded by high level church people is a new and different concept in paranormal novels. The main characters are high school students, so it is a great young adult book, but that being said even as an adult I found it worth the time to read. Neria The Future Demon Huntress has romance between Neria and Kellar, training through the church, and the future of the world in the paranormal hunter concept. It touches on so many planes that the novel is extremely realistic.
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The Future Demon Huntress
Book One - Neria
The Vampire Empress Chronicles
Book One - Caroline's Path
Book Two - Charlotte's Journey
Other Books - Not in a series
Orion
Native Nights: Roxanna
Wraithsong -
Desirable Creatures Series, Book I
by E.J. Squires
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It's her senior year in high school, yet Sonia isn't quite looking forward to the end of school like she thought she would. He mother has hinted that they are traveling to Wisconsin, of all places, but she won't tell Sonia anything more. Now she has to spend time working with a gardener at school after classes. Not what see wants to do, but she earned her punishment expect it turns out this gardener is another senior, and a good looking male at that. As Sonia and Anthony find themselves attracted to each other mysteries of another generation and realm come crashing down on them.
Sonia is a Huldra, and she comes into her full powers on her eighteenth birthday. All the sudden her mom has disappeared. Anthony and Sonia share what knowledge they can and work together to find her mom. Maureen, who is Anthony's mom is the one who has Hedda, maybe. It seems that Maureen wants Sonia to think Anthony is the bad guy, and Layla thinks Anthony is the bad guy, and Olaf is acting the bad guy? What is a young girl to do?
This is a touchy and heartfelt story of an innocent and pure relationship between Anthony and Sonia that they were neither looking for, but were afraid of and had been told to avoid. Yet the love that they have sets a beacon and shining light for all in the story and for all who read. It is not a story of physical love, but of a true emotional and caring connection made. It is in such sharp contrast to the ruthless manipulation of Maureen and the world today, that it is shocking at times, hard to understand at others and a clear as black and white still at other times.
The author E.J. Squires has written a few other books. This is third now that I have read by this author. I am always surprised to find that she has put so much thought, meaning and life into each character that you feel they are real people, not just stories in a book. Not only does she create this characters that you like and you want to read about and you connect with, but she does it with her settings too. The realms in this book, although I did note a couple of the same realms coming up in the books, but the places in America too. She describes everything with such an eye for detail that you can feel like you are there, but yet at the same time, she is able to edit enough that you are not overloaded.
At this point in time, I feel more than comfortable in saying that if I walked into a bookstore and saw this author's name on a book, I wouldn't even have to read the covers, I would buy it straight up. I have read enough to know that I will be pleased with what she writes. Anyone who is looking for a good romance, some Norse mythology and fantasy all mixed together, this is your book. Young and old alike, I even feel more than comfortable allowing my teenage daughter to read this book.
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Arielle: Immortal Awakening
Immortal Rapture Series, Book One
by Lilian Roberts
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .
Arielle has always been a bit different, she can read the mids of some people. Aside from that, she has searched, never really dating all that much, looking for a prue and true love, one that resembles that in her favorite novel. Sebstain is far from normal and her knows it, but he has spent his entire life looking for the one person her can truly love. While Arielle is on vacation, Sebstain spots her and knows that she is the one, but it takes him almost two months to work up the courage to talk to her. Now he can't imagine life without her, there is only one problem. Arielle is a human and Sebstain is immortal. How will Arielle take the news, and how will Sebstain keep her safe from another immortal that has vowed to destory all he loves? Lilian Roberts gives us a new and differnt paranormal story, no vampires but immortals and blends it with a deep and immediate love story. Arielle Immortal Awakening is the first book in a series that will follow Arielle and Sebastain to hopefully answer the qestions.
Arielle Immortal Awakening is scheduled to be the first book in a series, and be forewarned, it does end on a bit of a teaser, which will have you waiting impatiently for the next book. The idea of immortals has been around in stories with the vampires and other paranormal creatures, but there was always a price to their immortality, with vampires it was blood. That is not the case here, but yet there is a deep ad quick love that develops that results in trust questions only because of the speed in which they fall. Lilian Roberts has done a wonderful job in giving the reader a new look into the paranormal romance genre and this is defintely a book for those who are looking for a heart-stopping romance. Although it is a romance, it could actually be read by young adults as well as adults.
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Riduna
The Riduna Series, 1
by Diana Jackson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .
Harriet always thought she had her simple life planned out. She would grow up on Riduna, marry and raise a family never leaving her tiny island home. Sometimes dreams aren't enough to face the realities of life, and the harsh realities of life can change even the best of dreams. Edward grwe up next door to Harriet and he had always dreamed of traveling, going to sea and adventuring but he always thought he would come back to the safe port of home in Riduna, and Harriet. When tragedies occur and Edward is far at sea and nowhere to be the rock that Harriet needs, his cousin Joe becomes her rock and protector. Riduna follows these three people through life and the developments of the world and war and all the changes that occur to change all of their dreams. Diana Jackson does a wonderful job of giving a family saga that touches your heart with love and heartache. You become involved in the family and want to know more and want to see what occurs.
Riduna is such a small island, but among the friends we met in the beginng, some can't wait to leave, some can never see leaving, and some who never planned to leave find things that they have no control over can change even the best of plans. Diana Jackson is a great writer and develops a wonderful story that has you feeling part of the lives of these people. You can almost imagine yourself on the island of Riduna right in their lives. There are historical events that truly occured mixed into the story that makes it feel even more real, and like this could really be someone's actual life. This is a great book, the first of two book in the series, and would be a wonderful read for anyone of interest.
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Never Lost
by Riley Moreno
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Romance and Paranormal are popular genre's today, and add in a young adult main character and you have most of the recent top sellers. Given that information, Never Lost is something of its own completely.
The main character is Harper who at 16 is forced to move from Chicago to a tiny farm village in Wisconsin where her mother grew up. Life is changed in an instant, and not to the better as far a Harper can tell. The first person she meets in this new town is Danny Benson, the problem, Danny is a 17 year old ghost who has been wandering the woods for the last 39 years!
The interactions and relationship that develops between Harper and Danny is unlike any ghost-human relationship you have ever read about, in fact Danny appears more human than ghost. It is an intense relationship and it helps Harper to adjust to the move, but it won't last for long.
Although this is a short book, it was originally written in five small installments, but I read them all together at once. This book packs a powerful story and kept me wanting more till the end, in fact I still want more of the story.
This is a great young adult or teen story, the trials of moving to a new town, all fit with life and make this story so easy to relate to in many ways.
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How To Get Your Ex-Boyfriend Back - The Proven Step-By-Step System to Restore Your Relationship!
by Natalie Watson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Let's face it, at some point in all of ours lives, we have found ourselves on the losing end of a relationship. Things just weren't going well, and you wondered if the relationship could be restored. How to Get Your Ex-Boyfriend Back is an easy to follow guide that gives you practical advice, and advice that if more women would listen to daily, would save more than just relationships!
One of the easiest and simplest things that the author talks about is that you need to take care of you. No man wants to be with a frump. If you have starting letting yourself go and not making an effort for your boyfriend, that might be the reason the relationship fizzled. This is true not only in dating, but in marriage as well. I know it works, on the days I take an extra effort to dress nice and put on jewelry and such, he notices, he makes comments, he acts a whole different way around me. Is it worth the effort? You bet!
Whether you are dating or in a rocky marriage, this book has tips that can help you win back the guy you love, or keep the guy you love with you. The tips are easy and if you are willing to do them, they will work, just buy the book.
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