Review - Bad Apple

Bad Apple
Book One
Barbara Morgenroth
Genre: Mature YA
Publisher: DashingBooks
ASIN: B0045JK2XW
Word Count: 39,000
Cover Artist: Photo by Aleshyn Andrei
Cover design by Barbara Morgenroth
Buy Links: Amazon, B&N, Kobo

Book Description:

“You tell and next time you won’t even be able to crawl away.”

Neal Marchal lived with this threat for the next eight years. When she finds her neighbor murdered, she knows who did it. The why is the secret the family has been keeping forever. The reminder to never reveal the secret is her limp.

She rebuilt her life and now Neal has everything to live for—music, performing and a growing affection for the young man who pulled her to safety.

Then Joe comes home. Neal knows Joe’s going to finish what he started 8 years ago because she told. But this time Neal vows the outcome will be different.

Review:

Typically, a young adult novel involves vampires, werewolves, witches, or sometimes all of them. I pleasantly surprise to find out that Bad Apple ignores the overused supernatural plots (though I do like to occasionally read them) as the author chose to use a more realistic plot.

The main character is teenager girl named Neal who has had a troubled life starting with the death of her when she was a small child and later with the death of her father. She stayed with her new family consisting of her step-mother, Liza Janie, who can't hold a job. Her step-brothers, Joe and Toby, did nothing but torment Neal. Her life takes an unexpected twisted turn when she finds the body of her best-friend Paul. The authorities soon announce that Paul was murdered. Who would kill Paul?

Review - Tales of Tremora: The Shimmering

Tales of Tremora: The Shimmering
Written & Illustrated by: William Westwood, Jr.
Publisher: Book Publishers Network
Pub. Date: May 6, 2011
ISBN: 978-1935359791
ASIN: B005C2CLYO
Pages: 331

Review:

In the tradition of The Chronicles of Narnia, The Harry Potter franchise, and the Lord of the Rings, comes the award-winning first book in Tales of Tremora series titled The Shimmering. 

Exactly one year to the date, Michael's father, a forest ranger, went into the forest close to their house and mysteriously disappeared. The authorities did everything they could, but there wasn't any evidence to his disappearance. It was just like he went "Poof" and he was magically gone. 

On his fourteenth birthday, Michael went into the forest, just like his father did, and without realizing it, he steps into another world called Tremora, where he meets a strange individual calling himself Tracker. It seems this person was more than aware that Michael would appear into Tremora. As he is led deeper into the stranger land, he meets other odd characters, such as Wazalops and wizards.

13 Days of Halloween: Tombstones: The Last Drop

Tombstones: The Last Drop
By John Peel
Publisher: Archway Publisher
ISBN: 978-0671535308
Pub. Date: December 1, 2005
Pages: 160

Review:

During the late 1980s to the middle 1990s, the horror genre was very popular in the middle grade and young adult market, many thanks to Point Horror, but there where other publishers that released horror books as well. Archway Paperbacks tried to release a new series titled "Tombstones", but only two books were brought out in 1995.

Jared Irving is determined to find out if the Full Moon Enterprises is dumping toxins into the local streams in Tombstones: The Last Drop. The Full Moon Enterprises is breaking federal laws by using deadly chemicals, but the town people seem to ignore it, or they just don't want to believe it as the company has brought in many new jobs for the area.

While getting samples at a nearby stream, Jared meets a creature of the night and it will be the last thing that he will ever see.

13 Days of Halloween: Review - Dances with Werewolves

Tombstones: Dances With Werewolves
By John Peel
Publisher: Archway
ISBN: 0-671-53529-3
Pub. Date: October 1995
Pages: 154

Review:

A serial killer known as "The Hinsdale Slasher" has been terrorizing a small Midwestern town. Holly Brand learns that Graham is actually the killer and he has kidnapped her best-friend Zakiya. With the help of her aunt, Police Chief Debra Dorn, Holly finds out where Graham has taken Zakiya, but this killer is not what meets the eye. He is actually a werewolf!

Holly becomes a hero and a media sensation after she kills "The Hinsdale Slasher", but only her aunt and best-friend know that he was in fact a werewolf. Suddenly, the ordinary teenager's, Holly, life is completely changed. All the media reporters wants her to do an exclusive interview and the poplar boys want to date her, including the star high school football player, Jeff.

She gets nominated to be the Midwinter Dance Queen, which upsets a popular girl, Gina, who wants revenge!

Review - Hidden: A House of Night Novel by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

Hidden: A House of Night Novel
By P.C. Cast & Kristin Cast
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
ISBN: 978-0312594428
ASIN: B007IM0PRQ
Pug. Date: October 16, 2012
Pages: 320


Review:

The 10th installment in A House of Night series picks up where Destined ended, with the High Council finally finding out that the High Priestess Neferet is nothing but pure evil. Neferet has broken all ties with the Tulsa's House of Night. This of course takes a lot of weight off Zoey Redbird's shoulders, who already has enough problems to deal with. Neferet wastes no time with her schemes and she sets fire to school's stables. Two innocent felines die in the fire. Or were they killed by someone else?

Lenobia barely has time to mourn for Dragon's losses as she keeps seeing her lover Martin (whom died many, many years ago and appeared in Lenobia's Vow) in her dreams. Or are these signs? She starts to suspect that her new horse-keeper, Travis, (who was hired by Neferet) may possibly be Martin reincarnated.

Things couldn't get any worse. Right? Think again!

Review - Troll Hunters

Troll Hunters
By Michael Dahl
Illustrated By Ben Kovar
Publisher: Stone Arch Books
ISBN: 978-1434245908
Pub. Date: August 1, 2012
Pages: 320
Buy Link: Troll Hunters

Review:  

Set in the outskirts of a small community, a group of teens, Pablo, Zak, Thora, and Bryce, head out to the quarry to watch the Draconid meteor shower, but something strange occurs as if something came out from the depths of the quarry's water. Giant troll creatures are unleashed.

The kids take refuge at Dr. Hoo's mansion that was hidden in the woods. He is one of the few people that have known that the trolls, whom are afraid of light, were going to take over the world. The bad trolls call themselves the Gathool, whereas the good trolls go by the name Drakhool.

Review - The Twisted Window

The Twisted Window
by Lois Duncan
Publisher: Open Road Young Readers
ASIN: B008L8GHT6
Pub. Date: August 28, 2012
Pages: 194
Buy Link:
The Twisted Window (Laurel-Leaf Suspense Fiction)

Review: 

The Twisted Window is written by the teen thriller-master, Lois Duncan. The book was original published back in 1987, but has been released onto Kindle with a few minor changes, the mention of cell phones, DVDs, etc. I've been a Lois Duncan fan every since I read I Know What You Did Last Summer (the book, not the movie) when I was a teenager, so when I saw this book up on Netgalley, I had to review it.

Tracy Lloyd had recently lost her mother, her father practically abandoned her, and she now resides in a small town with her aunt and uncle. The plot begins with a strange boy named Brad started staring at her during lunch hour at school. Brad is from Albuquerque, but he doesn't exactly go to her school. He follows her around and eventually asks her out. She thinks it is a date, but it isn't what he had in mine.

Review - The Zombie Always Knocks Twice

The Zombie Always Knocks Twice
Hollyweird #1
By: E. Van Lowe
Genre: YA Paranormal
Publisher: Imajin
Cover Artist: Ryan Doan
Kindle ebook: 978-1-926997-74-2
Trade paperback: 978-1-926997-81-0
Page Count: 177 pages

Book Description:

Hollywood California, Swimming pools, movie stars… and now the risen dead.

Hollywood can be a difficult place to grow up, especially if you’re Kristine Golden, a fifteen-year-old necromancer with a sworn duty to lay the risen dead back to rest and no desire to be in the movie business.

When handsome deadie Alex Romero swaggers into her life, Kris must keep her promise, despite her growing feelings for him. If that’s not enough to give a girl a headache, a murderous zombie comes knocking at Kris’ door, rocking her world and threatening her family.

Can Kris solve the mystery of the rampaging zombie before someone else winds up dead? Or will the walking dead take over Hollywood and turn it into… Hollyweird?


Review:

In book one of the Hollyweird series, fifteen-year-old Kris Golden works part time at Disco Diva's Diner. She spends her free time auditioning for parts that her agent lines up for her. It's Hollywood, where everyone wants to be a star. Her school life isn't the greatest as her Algebra grades aren't so well, plus she is like the only girl in her high school who doesn't have a boyfriend. Kris may seem like your regular California girl, but she has a secret.

Kris is a necromancer, she can raise the dead.

Review - The Bucktail Brothers of the Fighting 149th

The Bucktail Brothers of the Fighting 149th
By: William P. Robertson & David Rimer
Publisher: Infinity Publishing
ISBN: 978-0741467300
Pub. Date: August 5, 2011
Pages: 212

Times were hard on families during the Civil War years. In The Bucktail Brothers of the Fighting 149th, the Cole family’s barn burns down to the ground. Money is tight and they don't know where they are going to get the money to rebuild the barn, until their sons Henry and Willie Cole decide to join the 149th Pennsylvania Volunteer Infantry lead by Lieutenant Colonel Walton Dwight. Their mother is distraught at the thought of her two teenage sons going off to war. Their father felt that way at first but the $100 cash for the boys joining would help raise a new barn and keep the farm going for awhile.

Henry and Willie say goodbye to their parents and head off with their infantry. They quickly learn the ways of being a solider, even though Henry is a little cocky at times and Willie is stubborn. The two brothers become part of the Pennsylvania Bucktails that fought on the fields of Gettysburg. Their fellow soldiers fell dead and others are wounded, but with great courage the boys fought forward.

Review - The Vampire Hunter's Daughter: The Complete Collection

The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter: The Complete Collection 
By Jennifer Malone Wright 
Genre:YA paranormal 
ISBN: 978-0615650081 
ASIN: B008ASVXR8 
Number of pages: 222
paperback 
Word Count: 78,734
Buy Links: 

Amazon B&N

Book Description:

This special edition of The Vampire Hunter’s Daughter contains parts I-VI, the complete collection. Fourteen-year-old Chloe witnesses her mother’s murder at the hands of a vampire. Before the vampire can kidnap her, there is an unexpected rescue by a group of vampire hunters.

Overwhelmed by the feeling of safety, Chloe passes out and they whisk her away to their small community. When Chloe wakes, she comes face to face with the only other living relative, besides her mother, whom she has ever met: her grandfather. Chloe’s mother kept her hidden from the family; now, Chloe tries to unveil the family secrets.

Through her grandfather, she learns her mother was a vampire hunter. In fact, her entire family is descended from the powerful bloodlines of vampire hunters. Chloe agrees to join the family she has never known for one reason only: Chloe vows to kill the vampire responsible for her mother’s murder. With vengeance in her soul, Chloe is even more determined to follow through on her vow when she discovers the true identity of her enemy and how he is connected to her.

Experience the world of vampires hunter’s, vampires and mythology with Chloe in this exciting series.

Review:

I've been a vampire fan since I can remember, watching movies and reading books from the genre, so I eagerly read through The Vampire Hunter's Daughter in one night, courtesy of Bewitching Blog Tours.

The book opens up with a fourteen-year-old Chloe Kallistrate being awakened by her distraught mother in the early morning, telling her to hide in the closet as they are coming for her. Who is coming for her? Blood-sucking vampires of course!

Review - Children of Angels

Children of Angels
By Kathryn Dahlstrom
Publisher: WinePressPublishing
ISBN: 978-1606152164
Pub Date: February 22, 2012
Pages: 224
Buy Link: http://ow.ly/dDUau
Blog Tour: http://litfusegroup.com/author/KDahlstrom 

Jeremy Lapoint is a victim of bulling at Anoka Middle School by a fellow student, Sid Lundah, and a couple of his friends. The bulling consist of naming, calling, dumping everything out of Jeremy's book bag, and even destroying his iPod that his grandmother gave to him. To make matter, worse, Jeremy's father is in prison for theft.

Things start to change for young Jeremy on the day he learned to fly. Yes, I said he could fly! 

An angel named Asiel appears to him explaining that Jeremy is a Nephilim, a half human/half angel, and that he is not the only one as there are two hundred-thirty kids spread across America, Europe, and Canada. Being what he is, Jeremy is one of the few that can see the demons that walk the Earth, therefore he must be trained to use his new powers, such as increased strength, invisibility, and how to mute himself so others can't hear him.

Author Kathryn Dahlstrom has written a creative plot for kids that doesn't involve vampires or werewolves, but instead focus on a world where there are half human/half angels while at the same time throwing in a superhero story. Kids will easily connect with the main character Jeremy as he is a bullied student who discovers the difference between angels and demons. I enjoyed reading the book and I recommend it to readers of all ages.

Disclaimer - I received this book free of charge from WinePressPublishing and the Litfuse Publicity Group.

About the Author:

When Kathryn Dahlstrom’s husband was transferred to Los Angeles, she traded Minnesota’s black-bear country for the inner-city and taught children at a Child Evangelism Fellowship Good News Club in Watts. She also began her writing career. In addition to writing six titles in the Good News Club children’s fiction series published by Child Evangelism Fellowship Press, the author is also a screenwriter and film producer. Currently, she and her husband, Tim, live on wooded acreage north of Minneapolis/St. Paul where they care for her mother. They also have an adult daughter, Kristina. Find out more about Kathryn at http://www.kathryndahlstrom.com

Review - Integration

Integration
By Imogen Rose
Publisher: Imogen Rose
ASIN: B008IVNJTC
Pub Date: July 7, 2012
Pages: 416

Second Haiku warning:

A boyfriend missing

A lover must pay in blood

A princess must die

Welcome back to Bonfire Academy.

 
 Review:

Integration picks up the story where Initiation left off and at the same time it is a prequel to Faustine. The book is set at the private Bonfire Academy, where all the students have paranormal origins, such as vampires, fairies, shifters, witches, hybrids, and many other types.

The story centers on Cordelia, who has finished her enrichment years at the school. She is now starting an optional school year as a student mentor and is the apprentice to Professor Bern, who is the head of the Department of Paranormal Powers and Control.

Also retuning is Faustine, who is staring her second year and she faces many challenges as she is a human/demon hybrid. Surprisingly, Mason is also back at the school after being kicked out the year before, but his father pulled some strings getting him back in.

ARC Review - The Hallowed Ones

 
THE HALLOWED ONES
Laura Bickle
Reading level: Ages 12 and up
Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Graphia
Pub Date: September 25, 2012
ISBN-10: 0547859260
ISBN-13: 978-0547859262

Blurb:

If your home was the last safe place on earth, would you let a stranger in?

In this captivating thriller, an Amish settlement is the last safe haven in a world plagued by an unspeakable horror…

Katie is on the verge of her Rumspringa, the time in Amish life when teenagers are free to experience non-Amish culture before officially joining the church. But before Rumspringa arrives, Katie’s safe world starts to crumble. It begins with a fiery helicopter crash in the cornfields, followed by rumors of massive unrest and the disappearance of huge numbers of people all over the world. Something is out there...and it is making a killing.

Unsure why they haven’t yet been attacked, the Amish Elders make a decree: No one goes outside their community, and no one is allowed in. But when Katie finds a gravely injured young man lying just outside the boundary of their land, she can’t leave him to die. She refuses to submit to the Elder’s rule and secretly brings the stranger into her community—but what else is she bringing in with him?

Review:

I've been an Amish fiction fan for several years every since I read my first Beverly Lewis book. I'm also a fan of vampire novels, like the Vampire Diaries and The Southern Vampire Mysteries. In The Hallowed Ones I get a combination of Amish fiction and vampires!

ARC Review - The Lost Prince

The Lost Prince
By: Julie Kagawa
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
ISBN: 978-0373210572
Pub Date: October 30, 2012
Pages: 400

Ethan Chase lives a life full of fear. His sister, Meghan Chase, is now the Iron Queen, and he is about to start classes at a new school, in which he dreads. You see, just like his sister, he can see Faeries and if these creatures find out that he can see him, then his life would be over.

He keeps to himself as he doesn't want to attract attention, but a teenage girl, Kenzie St. James, takes an interest in him, despite his resistance. Then he meets another schoolmate, Todd Wyndham, who he recognizes is a half-faerie. Todd thinks someone or something is after him.

Mysterious ghost like faeries appear and soon Todd disappears without a trace. Todd's parents and the police have no clue where the boy could have gone, but Ethan knows what happened to him. Those ghostly faeries took him and the faeries now have eyes on Ethan.

Review - Pasadagavra by Marta Stahlfeld

Pasadagavra
Book 2 of The Darkwoods Series
By: Marta Stahlfeld
Publisher: Book Publishers Network
ISBN: 978-1937454371
Pub Date: June 27, 2012
Pages: 240

Picking up after the events of the Darkwoods, the wraith mice Princess Zuryzel has a lot of responsibility as she leads an army against the Darkwoods Foxes, who outnumber and out power them. Zuryzel is growing up to be an independent adult mouse who must journey to unseen places to find out whom really started the war.

Her invisibility may not be able to help her as she stumbles into a world of betrayal that leads her to the Stone Tribe city of Pasadagavra. Secrets are revealed as she is confronted with a deadly pirate, who may or may not be responsible for the war. To make matter worse, the mice and their squirrel allies may not be able to defend the city from the Foxes.

Review - The Unsacred Gift

The Unsacred Gift
by C.S. Dorsey
Publisher: CreateSpace
ISBN: 978-1460939703
Pub. Date: April 9, 2012
Pages: 218

In the tradition of the 80s and 90s Point Horror teen books, comes The Unsacred Gift by C.S. Dorsey, where a young woman, Sissy, carries a terrible secret - she has visions of someone's death just by touching them.

Her grandmother's birthday is approaching and Sissy returns home, after leaving her small town for several years, to attend the party. To her surprise, her mother has been engaged to a man for over a year. Sissy continues to have nightmares of her sister's death from when she was a child. She recalls trying to warn her mother of what was going to happened, but it was too late.

Review - Subversive: The Warrior Book 3

Subversive: The Warrior Book Three
Written by: Rebecca Royce
Publisher: Decadent Publishing Company, LLC
ASIN: B008MNFSSG
Pub. Date: July 17, 2012
Pages: 151

Forty-some-years ago, an apocalypse destroyed most of civilization all except for a small group of humans whom has established a community called Genesis. Life isn't easy for these people, as clans of vampires and werewolves want to eliminate the human race.

Rachel Clancy is struggling with her newfound responsibility of being part of the "Warriors," a select members of Genesis who have the ability and strength to take on the night creatures. And of course she is still has mixed feelings about her ex-boyfriends, all while she is somewhat handed pick to lead the Warriors. There is no more hiding from the creatures. They must fight back with everything they have or humanity will be lost forever.

Review - Angel Eyes

ANGEL EYES
Written by: SHANNON DITTEMORE
Published by: THOMAS NELSON
ISBN: 978-14016-8635-2
Pages: 328
Pub Date: 2012

    In this YA paranormal Christian thriller, teenager Brielle is dealing with the death of her best friend. She leaves the big city life and returns to the small town life in Stratus, Oregon to live with her father. Stricken with grief and guilt, she starts anew at the Stratus High School, hoping that her emotional pain will go away.

    She is befriended by Jake, a new student that sits next to her during calculus class, and the two of them have an instant chemistry. Whenever a situation occurs, mysteriously Jake is there to help her as he has supernatural powers. Brielle has special gifts of her own as she can cross into another realm, which is normally seen by angels and demons.

Review - Isabella: Protector of the Last Dragon

Isabella: Protector of the Last Dragon
AUTHOR: M Anthony Phillips
PUBLISHED BY: Xlibris, Corps
ISBN: 978-1469133706
RELEASE DATE: 2011
PAGES: 296

    Recently, a scientist discovered a live 700-year-old male dragon in Asia and it is considered to be the world’s greatest discovery. Around the world everyone is at awe over the discovery. Even in Missouri, where Isabella Treehorn and her brother Kaelyn are struggling to get over the recent death of their mother, and dealing with their new life with Uncle Titus.

    Isabella starts to have strange dreams about talking dragons and the Lords of Death who want to kill her and the dragons. When she visits the Ming Dynasty Dragon Exhibit, she learns that she has the ability to talk to hear and talk to the dragon who calls himself Tianlong. Other dragons may exist, but there are others who want to hurt them. Tianlong’s mate, a female named Ling-L, is out there somewhere. Isabella along with her brother, uncle, and grandmother must find the last dragon before it is too late.

Review - The Earth Painter

The Earth Painter
AUTHOR: Melissa Lee
PUBLISHED BY: Crushing Hearts and Black Butterfly Publishing
ASIN: B007YXIQIO
RELEASED DATE: April 29, 2012
PAGES: 190

    Holly Scrugg’s life is turned upside down when her father loses his job and they have move to Chesnee, South Carolina just prior to her 18th birthday. She is not looking forward to meeting new friends at school and would rather read her Kindle than socialize with other students. To her dismay, she is assigned to the Drama Club, where she notices a young man named Theo, but nobody else can see him.

    She runs into the Theo at local restaurant called The Fish Camp, where the boy had painted beautiful realistic scenery on the walls. The strange thing is that the owners do not remember ever hiring him nor do they recall ever meeting him.