Live Fast, Die Young
by Vanessa Barneveld
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Alex has dreamed of going to Yale, becoming a pediatrician and spending his life with his best friend Molly. Molly is just as hard working and dedicated to going to college with Alex and nothing is about to stop her. So when Alex comes back from a recent trip to visit his dad, Big Dave in Sydney and seems to have lost his drive for school, studies and even Yale, Molly is livid. What Molly doesn't know is that Alex has a secret, his trips to visit his father haven't been just that, he has been getting chemotherapy and treatments for Stage IV Melanoma, problem is none of it is working. Live Fast, Die Young is the story of Alex and Molly, as they deal with this diagnosis and a six month sentence. Author +Vanessa Barneveld tells the story from both Molly's view and Alex's view, and brings in real teenage emotion and thought processes.
Live Fast, Die Young is a relatively short novella that it is engaging. You are easily able to understand the characters. It is a great young adult read. The only thing I can think to say bad is that, reading it as an adult, I can see the problems in a few of their rationals, but as sixteen year olds, I definitely see that the author, Vanessa Barneveld has captured the mindset and thought processes of the characters and real life teenagers. It is a cute, short story that is a great read and I enjoyed it quite a lot. It has no sex or real language in it, so I would feel comfortable letting even younger kids read this one. It will remind kids, nothing in life is forever, and to grab what you can while you have the chance.
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unvamped
by Elizabeth Stevens
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Charles is a 700 plus year old vampire, or at least he was until last night, who has become just a little jaded to life on earth with humans. Petronella, or Ellie is a young witch who hasn't decided if this is a gift or a curse, she just wants to be normal. Lee is your typical teenage werewolf, trying to adjust to the monthly changes and not enjoying it, wanting to be normal. One night, quite by chance, all three would encounter each other and all their lives would become entangled. Charles would try to quench his thirst on Ellie, who would curse Charles turning him human, and Lee would see is all from a distance. No big deal right? Wrong. Now they find that they will each need each other to figure out this messed up thing called life as a teenage vampire, witch or werewolf. Unvamped is a catchy title for the story, partly of Charlie, who is no longer a vampire, but also of Ellie and Lee. Author Elizabeth Stevens takes normal human emotions of growing up and translates them to these paranormals and gives a divine story.
Although the title would make you think that Unvamped is mostly about Charlie, and while he is the main character, he has a lot to learn or relearn to shed his jaded ways. It is still just as much about Ellie, a powerful young witch with so much potential that she is a threat to some, and promise to others and she just wants to be a teenager. Lee is having trouble controlling his changes from boy to wolf, and this is causing problems, which only grow with the book. The funny thing is that Charlie is the one that seems to be the best equipped to help Lee out and deal with the issues. It's an uneasy alliance between these three in the beginning then becomes a friendship that changes so much about them all. Author Elizabeth Stevens gives the reader a wonderful story with so much to recommend it for any reader.
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Second Skin (Skinned) Book 2
by Judith Graves
My rating: 4.4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Through the visions of Marie, Alec's mom, and Alec himself, and the sights given to her by Wade, Eryn knew what was to come, and she didn't like it one bit! In order to save the town of Redgrave she would have to give in to her inner wolf, and it would cost someone she cared about their life. She wasn't ready to face that, but whether she was ready or not, the showdown was approaching. Second Skin (Skinned Book 2) finds Eryn still caught between Alec and Wade, still trying to find out what happened to her parents, and still unsure of herself. Things are getting more hairy and deadly in the town of Redgrave, this time, all the parties are going to have to work together if they want to save the town. Author +Judith Graves weaves teenage feelings into this story of friendship, betrayal, romance and good vs evil.
Second Skin is the second book in the Skinned series and continues right where the first book, Under My Skin left off. It has the main characters, a small band of teenagers fighting the paranormal in the town of Redgrave and keeping most of the town from knowing anything about it. Of course there is the local sheriff, Logan, a vampire of the worst sense that has his own agenda keeping the kids on edge too. Author +Judith Graves weaves many layers of story into this novel, friendships, romances, family, betrayals, and so much more. It will keep you on the edge of your seat, turning page after page until all the sudden you are at the end and wanting more! This is a wonderful book for young adults and adults alike. I also feel comfortable in recommending it for middle school readers and younger as parents see fit.
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Little Red Gem
by D.L. Richardson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Ruby was having a bad couple of weeks, things just didn't feel right between her and boyfriend Leo, and this is when she really needed them to be the most right. In a fit of anger Ruby drives away from Leo and is killed in a car crash, but her ghost is left behind to wander the earth, trying to get the one answer Ruby didn't get from Leo before the crash, who much he really loved her. Little Red Gem follows the ghost Ruby as she tries to follow Leo, and her old friends and find out what is going on. As young teenagers, this love is eternal and the most important question to Ruby, she has to know. D L Richardson write a tell of teenage love, mixed with rock and roll, and the everyday issues surrounding teens.
D L Richardson does an amazing job blending music into this book. Not only is Leo in and band and writing his own songs, but Ruby was in a band and writing her own songs. A number of original songs, written by the author, specifically for the book are in the book which is unique and fun, making it more relevant to teens. Little Red Gem deals with a number of issues that face teens today including drinking and pregnancy. It also presents parents that are flawed and have made mistakes, who are maybe a bit more understanding and not your typical sit-com parents. This is a great book for teens and young adults, even adults will enjoy the book. A fun read.
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Bait (Order of the Spirit Realm, Book 1)
by K.C. Blake (Kasi Blake)
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
When you have grown up all your life, moving from place to place all the time because there are real monsters hunting you, you sleep with a dagger under your pillow. Bay-Lee Bishop does, but on the night that she is visited by dead rocker Tyler Beck, she doesn't have a chance to reach for it. Good thing because they become the main characters of the story, Bait (Order of the Spirit Realm Book 1). After Tyler's visit, Bay-Lee is visited by a Reaper, and finally it is time for her to follow her father to his famous school for monster hunters, Van Helsing's Academy. Being the head guys daughter is not easy, and Bay-Lee enters school with a target on her back. She must learn to find and make friends, cope with a prophecy and deal with dead rocker Tyler Beck's alter-ego, Nick who turns out to be her mentor. Kasi Blake creates the story of two realms, the world and the spirit, and between them monsters, in the forms of werewolves, vampires and more cross over to destroy humans. Hunters are here to prevent that from happening.
Bait is a terrific blend of action and adventure, mystery and intrigue, and a little teenage romance tempered with parental conflict. Paranormal or fantasy, it is a compelling story that will keep readers of all ages turning the pages wanting to see what happens next. Kasi Blake gives the young adult-teen reader set a new world order to follow and find something to look forward to in the next book. Even though there is a bit of a teenage romance, there is no sex, perfect for this age range!
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Circumstellar
by J.W. Lolite
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .
Ingrid has always been a bit different, her eyes are purple, and there aren't that many of those around and then of course there is the fact that they have a sort of glow to them, but her Aunt Kaline won't say anything about it, won't talk about her parents to her or about much of anything else for that matter. So Ingrid counts on her best friends Lesia and Ty for what she needs in life. They have been best friends since the time Ingrid moved to Dust Veil and they have always been there for her. As things begin to get strange, and she uncovers information about her parents they are still there for her and it turns out there are reasons the three of them were drawn to each other in the first place. J. W. Lolite brings the story of a child of mixed parentage, who has some secrets but the abilities to help, but doesn't know it yet in Circumstellar. It is more a story of the loyalty of friendship and family than the other worldliness of the parentage.
Circumstellar is a great story for teens and young adults. Although it is in this popular ideal of a child who has special abilities but was raised as a human child and only finds out in their teens, it is not about those abilities as much as it is about the loyalty of the friendships, the family and the connections to people. The abilities are second and don't play much of a role in the story, in fact they are hardly developed and are not in play in what Ingrid needs to do, it is friendship and loyalty that is what decides what happens. J.W. Lolite gives the reader a story that will attract the young reader because of the genre, but attract the parents because of the message and delight both with the story.
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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
Secrets
The Hero Chronicles, Book One
by Tim Mettey
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Nicholas has moved at the end of summer every year that he has lived with his Aunt since his parents death. It's just part of his life, not that he likes it, but that is the way his Aunt says it has to be, and he has to keep from making friends or talking too much about himself. This time they move closer to his old hometown, the first time they have come back this way since they left, and things are beginning to change. He falls for a girl, and wants to form relationships for the first time, but his Aunt is still cautious but allows him more this time around. Only problem, strange things are happening. Tim Mettey takes the concept of a hero, adds some paranormal and a world in flux after a huge natural disaster to create a story that you want to be part of. Secrets starts out this series with the knowledge that there is a great deal in the world that Nicholas doesn't know about, and now is apparently the time for him to find out about a number of those.
Recently hero books seem to be all the rage, but this book is different. Nicholas is considered a hero by a number of people, but he doesn't think that way. He thinks he is a normal teenager, which gives this a different vibe. Nicholas is not a cocky kid, but a true humble and confused teenager and that is part of what makes Secrets a wonderful book. Secrets is the first book in the Hero Chronicles series that Tim Mettey has created. This book will pull you in and remind you of high school if you are an adult, but be so relate-able to the young adult and teen market. The paranormal slant to the book gives it a new and different vibe, but at the same time I could easily see Nicholas fitting into our local high school. I found this to be a easy to relate to novel that drew me in. I love it for the young adult and teen market, in fact will gladly share it with my teens at home. This is definitely worth the time to read.
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The Hero Chronicles
Book One - Secrets
Book Two - Trust My Review
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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The World of Karov (Children of Demilee, #1)
by Elyse Salpeter
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Adam and Alec are identical twins, in looks only. In their minds they are complete opposites. Alec is deeply disturbed, and takes after their father. Adam longs for a normal life, and he risks it all to runaway and try to find that life. Just as he thinks he has found the answers and is about to marry, his twin Alec kidnaps the bride and disappears. Adam searches with no luck, only to come upon someone who offers him a chance to start over in a new life on a new world. The World of Karov needs Adam, and he finds a place of respect. Adam may have left his past behind, but it will forever color his feelings and what he does? Can he make a new life or will his past continue to haunt him forever? +Elyse Salpeter weaves a wonderful tell of two worlds, two lives and two twins completely different yet always interconnected.
The World of Karov is a wonderful place for Adam to be. He is respected and not pitied because of his brother and father. He has a talent that is useful and he finally begins to feel that he has a place, even if it is on a different world than that of his birth. Somehow though, family can not be forgotten or left behind, and one day Adam will have to face his again. +Elyse Salpeter has written a tale that is so bold and different, you just have to keep reading. While the main character starts the book at age eight, this book is directed towards Young Adults and Adults alike. There is meaning in everything for both generations to glean.
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A Healing Heart
by Melissa A. Hanson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Bailey is young and pretty, she has everything going for her until a drunk driver changes her world. In the blink of an eye she goes from a happy teen to the only survivor of a terrible accident. Why did she survive? How can she go on in life? Will the nightmares ever end? A Healing Heart is a wonderfully touching story that follows Bailey, two years after the crash as she tries to rebuild her life and move on. It will take a chance encounter with another teen who has faced their own struggles for her to come to grips with the pain and move on. Melissa A. Hanson tells a remarkable story of loss, pain and guilt that is slowly overcome by love and happiness. All this through the eyes of teenagers making it a moving and inspirational story.
A Healing Heart is a wonderful book for teens, as the main characters are high school teens who have had to face some terrible events in their lives. How they rebound from those events and what happens next will leave you in tears as you journey with them to a healing place. Viewing the story through the eyes of the teen characters sheds a different light on the feelings and emotions they have to deal with. Melissa A. Hanson writes a powerful story of survivor guilt, and how to get past it with the help of friends and family. It is an inspirational story for the young adult and teen readers, but at the same time as an adult it is a compelling read as well.
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Kathryn Cooper Review
Sadie's War : A Supernatural Uprising Novel
by Jayelle Cochran
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
It is a MUST read!!
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .
I received an Advanced Copy of the book to review. The book is scheduled to be released towards the end of February 2014.
**Sadie's War was officially released February 23rd. You can now find it on Amazon.**
Young Sadie is blind and alone, left to live on the streets in an area called the Gutter. She is poorly equipped for life on the streets and doesn't understand the most basic of ideas of the world. Fester literally runs into Sadie one day, and he is captivated by her beautiful blue eyes. He makes it his mission to keep an eye on her, and when he finds her almost frozen on the street, he takes her to his home. Once there, her lack of understanding of the world becomes even more clear, and Fester feels the need to protect her, as well as his friend Michael and his sister Chloe, who all live together. What follows is Jayelle Cochran's amazingly beautiful and poignant story of love and family, abuse and neglect, fear and trust. Wrapped into a supernatural war between regular humans and those with special power's, that Sadie mistakenly believe's is all her fault. Sadie's War is a journey of learning and adventure.
Sadie's War, as she thinks it is all her fault, is driven by one action. The fierce need to protect her from harm that both Michael and Fester feel. Sadie has no ability to trust, but slowly learns that all the lessons in her life where wrong, and that she can trust people. Although the two main characters, Sadie and Fester have suffered terrible physical and mental abuse at the hands of their parent's, the abuse is not detailed and only alluded to. Jayelle Cochran does a wonderful job of telling this remarkable story without terrorizing the reader. The fear and love that the characters feel come through in the book so vividly it had me crying and laughing all throughout the book. Even given the topics, this would still be a good book for young adults, with some parental guidance for any questions they might have. I found it to be a story of hope and love, of life after tragedy and what family can provide if you allow it. Amazingly poignant.
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Amazon Link to the book
Bloodstone - Deep Water: Book One
by Jeffrey Aaron Miller
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite .
In the world of Jeffrey Aaron Miller's imagination there is a small village that lays nestled in the valley surrounded by mountains. Over the years, the village has isolated itself and cut itself off from the outside world. The idea was for protection, but soon they are to learn that it did not work. Jaren is a young man, bored with life in the isolated village. Arelas is a merchants daughter, one day a large team of horse-mounted knights ride into the village, only to destroy it completely. Jaren and Arelas are able to escape through a hidden cave. Bloodstone follows them as they travel from town to town, only to find that the knights have been there and destroyed it too, looking for people. A dying stranger gives them some answers to what is going on, and they set out on a quest to stop the madness.
Bloodstone gives you the feel of a old-world tale, with knights and villages surrounded by walls, and most people traveling by foot. This feeling makes is easy to envision this world where a small bit of magic has turned a King and his Knights mad with power and greed. Jeffrey Aaron Miller gives us a hero in a young boy, probably around 16 to 18 years old and the daughter of a merchant close to the same age as a heroine. As they travel the world looking for answers, they find themselves in much more than they bargained for. The story was well written and kept my attention throughout, although I have to admit that I did not enjoy the sudden end to the book, as it is book one. I do want to read the next book now, so I am sure that was the intention. This book would be great for all readers, and with the ages of the characters, even young adults and teens would be able to relate and enjoy the story.
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Sorrow's Knot
by Erin Bow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
On the world were Sorrow's Knot take's place, the tribe of Free Women, think they live on the edge of the earth, Nothing goes beyond the forest. It is their job to protect the tribe, or at least the binder's job. The story tells us of three you kids who are trying to find their places in the tribe, but they aren't going to stick to the old rules. Otter feels that she is going to be a binder, her mother is a binder, but little does she know her mother has other plans for her, she refuses to let her learn to be a binder. The shock and sadness causes her to move into an old hut that was abandon, followed son after by her two best friends, Cricket and Krestel. They each use the magic they have to find their way, to understand the old stories and to unravel the mysteries that are their world. Erin Bow wraps the unknown of a foreign world with the familiar and weaves a story that will keep you glued till the very end.
Sorrow's Knot is a fantasy book because it takes place on another world, but you will forget that as you read the book. As you start reading it feels more like an old Indian Folk Legend from long, long ago that wraps around you as you read. There are mysteries in the old stories, and Cricket finds them first, and I think I enjoyed that because he was the least valued in their tribe, it only made sense that Erin Bow would bring him to the top. The characters are teenagers, which is what puts it in that coming-of-age story group, but it so much more. Teens and adults alike will love this book, and enjoy the world that has been created.
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Reviewed by Amitha Knight
Reviewed by BookHounds
Reviewed by Tasha Saecker
Divided against Yourselves
by Bill Hiatt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
Divided Against Yourselves is the second book in the Spell Weavers series, but unlike a number of series this book can be read on it's own without having read the first book and without feeling lost. Tal is a teenager dealing with reincarnation, in fact he is the reincarnation of the original Taliesin, a bard in King Arthur's court. Tal has successfully to this point merged his past lives together with his present life quite well. His best friend Stan is also a reincarnation, but his is not going so well. He past life as King David wants to take control too often. Even after defeating the witch Ceridwen last Halloween, Tal and the guys think they can relax and go back to normal life, only for Tal to be surprised by the appearance of Morgan Le Fay, who help Ceridwen at Halloween. Tal and his warriors work to figure out what Morgan wants and how to protect everyone at the same time. Bill Haitt does a wonderful job of weaving a magic tale into a modern day high school and making it work.
This is the first book I can remember reading that took on the reincarnation topic as a theme to the magic. It was novel of Bill Haitt to think of that plotline for a story, and it made this story compelling and interesting. It also opened a number of question that have me asking what is the next book after Divided Against Yourselves. I found the teenagers in the book to be real and remind me of my own teenagers at home, some of the bantering between the boys is stuff I hear coming from the boys in my sons room all the time. I felt the story was well developed and the action scenes would entertain and keep a good range of boys interested in reading. There is a puppy love vs. true love kind of thing, you know the kind that happens when you're sixteen through that along with the magic would keep girls reading. There are so many different side stories and themes in the book that are weaved together so well into a complete story that it will appeal to a great variety of readers.
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Entwined Courage
by Tracy Lane
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Readers' Favorite
For centuries two worlds have existed in peace and harmony, the world of magic, a crystal city that floats high above the planet. Down below, on the planet, the common folk, who have no idea that the crystal city really exists believing it to be a myth. In the crystal city there are two forms of magic, the light and the dark, and they have stuck an easy balance and rule together for the good of both worlds. +Tracy Lane brings us into this world and introduces us to a young squire who is duty-bound to obey his master no matter what he asks of him. The problem is that his master is a greedy power hungry dark mage who wants all the power for himself and cares for no one else. He orders his squire, Kayne to steal a powerful artifact which he must do, but he cannot fully comply with his master and breaks his duty by hiding the artifact instead of giving it to the master. Entwined Courage is the ensuing story of Kayne's struggle to right the wrong he did by obeying his master and protect a young girl, Aurora who he involved in this plot without thinking.
+Tracy Lane does a wonderful job of describing the characters so vividly that you can imagine the evil in the eyes of Kronos and the compassion in the eyes of Iragos, As Entwined Courage continues the friendship between Kayne and Aurora grows, and much to Aurora's dismay she finds that she has magic in her. When she and Kayne work together to get away from Kronos, even with Aurora never having any training, they can do some amazing magic. Along with the story of righting his masters wrong, there is another story. This one is the one that involves Aurora's misguided belief in what the mages really do. She is sure they only protect the resources of the planet. She never thinks to consider that the common folk are the biggest resource they protect. As they work to right the wrong, Aurora must also grow up and figure out what she really believes about the mages and where her place in the two worlds really is.
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In His Father's Footsteps
by Bev Irwin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars
Reviewed for +Reader's Favorite.
At some point in everyone's lives there came that time when we stopped looking to our parents as our idols and role models and started letting our friends be the bigger influence. In His Father's Footsteps is a tale of just that time in a young boys life. He has reached that age when the influences of school friends are making the life and lessons his father taught seem old fashioned and out of date. As the story progresses and Jason is called upon to track his father and bring him home, the skills and lessons his father taught him become the things that he must rely on the most. +Bev Irwin does a wonderful job of twisting teenage angst and survival into a compelling adventure for children and teens of all ages.
The story is so easy to relate to because, at least as an adult we all can remember a time when we felt the same way. Our friends were more important and more knowledgeable than our parents. +Bev Irwin does a wonderful job of blending those feelings with the struggles to find his father and bring him home. In his Father's Footsteps is heartwarming to adults and a lesson to teens. This book could be read by either and enjoyed. The coming of age story, the unique setting and adventure, make it captivating. It might not be all that long of a book, but I still couldn't put it down until I had finished it all. I wanted to see where the story went and how the relationship between father and son finally turned out.
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