Australian Vs. U.S.A Book Covers.

Tempest Rising (Tempest #1)

by Tracy Deebs

Australian.

American.

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Book Review (16).

Slide

by Jill Hathaway 

Publication: 27th March 2012

Publisher: Balzer + Bray For HarperCollins

Pages: 256

Genre: Mystery/Paranormal

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

Vee Bell is certain of one irrefutable truth—her sister’s friend Sophie didn’t kill herself. She was murdered.

Vee knows this because she was there. Everyone believes Vee is narcoleptic, but she doesn’t actually fall asleep during these episodes: When she passes out, she slides into somebody else’s mind and experiences the world through that person’s eyes. She’s slid into her sister as she cheated on a math test, into a teacher sneaking a drink before class. She learned the worst about a supposed “friend” when she slid into her during a school dance. But nothing could have prepared Vee for what happens one October night when she slides into the mind of someone holding a bloody knife, standing over Sophie’s slashed body.

Vee desperately wishes she could share her secret, but who would believe her? It sounds so crazy that she can’t bring herself to tell her best friend, Rollins, let alone the police. Even if she could confide in Rollins, he has been acting off lately, more distant, especially now that she’s been spending more time with Zane.

Enmeshed in a terrifying web of secrets, lies, and danger and with no one to turn to, Vee must find a way to unmask the killer before he or she strikes again. 

My Thoughts.

I've been lucky with the last few books I've read which have had different forms of paranormal in them, this one is no exception.

We have Sylvia 'Vee' who has the ability to slide into other people's minds and see what they are doing if she ever so much as touches an item another person has imprinted a strong feeling into.

One night she happens to slide into the body of a person who has just killed one of her sister's best friends, Vee knows this as fact but the killer made it look like she's killed herself, but because know one would believe her she doesn't tell anyone, the list of suspect's grow and then her sister's other friend 'commits suicide' and Vee had slid into the mind of the last person to see her alive and you'll be shocked at who it is.

We of course have a romance with Vee and a new kid in town Kane, her best friend Rollins doesn't want to be around her and tries to avoid her as much as possible but then she slides into his mind and see's why he never invites her over to his house and it's pretty sad.

I had my suspicions towards the end about the killer and I was right but the reason why I never guessed, so if you like a murder mystery with a bit of paranormal mixed in then this is the book for you.

I give 4/5

Book Review (15).

Her Dark Knight

by Sharon Cullen 

Publication: 28th November 2011

Publisher: Carina Press

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Age Appropriate: Adult

Madelaine Alexander is on a mission. When her boss sends her to the hottest nightclub in town to meet with the owner, she won't be deterred, even if that means standing in line for fifty-eight minutes in torturous heels while she'd rather be home in her pj's with a bowl of popcorn.

A Knight of the Templar, Christien Chevalier was given immortality along with the responsibility of protecting the treasure of the Templars. He's been unwavering in his task for centuries until his one true love—who died seven hundred years ago—shows up in his club, demanding his attention.

Christien couldn't protect Madelaine when they first fell in love. She was married to a lord and he was simply a knight. Now, through some unknown miracle, she stands before him again and they have a second chance. But Christien fears that Madelaine is being used as a pawn in a dangerous game, a game of good versus evil that could affect all of mankind...

My Thoughts.

I have to start by saying I absolutely loved this book, the storyline was exciting and sad and the flashbacks to the past to explain the present was a great idea.

I loved the characters Madelaine "Lainie" and Christien and you could just feel the love and attraction they had for each other it definately drew me in and I didn't want to stop reading.

We have our heroine Laine having to drop some papers off at a nightclub for a client at a firm she works for after finally making it inside after having lined up for 58 min and then being accosted by a drunken nightclubber she is saved by Christien who taken aback by how much Laine looks like his lost love from 700 years ago.

While in his prescence she has flashbacks to a previous life (she thinks she's hallucinating) of him and her.

Christien thinks he's being set up, while Lainie thinks she's going crazy (not knowing she's the reinarnation of Countess Madeline who Christien was in love with so long ago).

Christien was made immortal 700 years ago after Madeleine died and his job all these years was to protect a book which if fallen into the wrong hands could start the apocalypse.

So these two start to fall in love in the present and it seems Christien isn't the only immortal back from Lainie's previous life and they don't have good intentions towards her.

I really didn't want this book to end it was all things paranormal books should be, I'd really like to know what happened after they found it each other again.

I can't say  enough good things about it and will have to check out all the author's other books.

I give this 5/5

Musing Mondays (4).

Musing Mondays Is A Weekly Meme Hosted Over At Should Be Reading.

Are you currently collecting any authors? Why? 
Do you have all of their books? If not, why not? 
Did you buy all the books in the collection at the same time, or did you buy a book here, a book there? Have you actually read all of the collection? If not, why not?

The authors who's books I currently collect are: Stephenie Meyer, Sherrilyn Kenyon, Christine Feehan, Kelley Armstrong and Richelle Mead.

I love all their writing and I've never really read a bad book by any of them.

I own all of the books by all of these authors.

I didn't buy all the books at the same time but when I started reading a series I'd buy them then.

And yes I've read every single book all these authors have written.

Australian Vs. U.S.A Book Covers.

Legend (Legend #1)

by Marie Lu

Australian.

American.

Book Review (14).

The Lure of Shapinsay

by Krista Holle 

Publication: 2012

Publisher: Self Published

Pages: 351

Genre: Paranormal/Historical Romance

Age Appropriate: Ages 15+

Ever since Kait Swanney could remember, the old crones of the village have been warning her to stay away from the selkies. They claim that like sirens of old, the seal men creep from the inky waters, shed their skins, and entice women to their deaths beneath the North Sea. But avoiding an encounter becomes impossible when Kait is spotted at the water’s edge, moments after the murder of a half-selkie infant.

Unexpectedly, Kait is awoken by a beautiful, naked selkie man seeking revenge. After she declares her innocence, the intruder darts into the night, but not before inadvertently bewitching her with an overpowering lure.

Kait obsesses over a reunion deep beneath the bay and risks her own life to be reunited with her selkie. But when she lands the dangerous lover, the chaos that follows leaves Kait little time to wonder—is it love setting her on fire or has she simply been lured?

My Thoughts.

Before starting off I have to say I have read a lot of paranormal books and this is the first I've ever read a book about Selkies, I wasn't entirely familiar with what they are but now that I know I wonder why they aren't commonly written about more.

The story starts in 1848 we have our heroine Kait selling her wares to make money for her and her twin brother Blain when a commotion comes from her best friend's house, she's just given birth a to half-human, half-selkie baby, her best friend's father takes it to ocean and throws it into the sea.

As soon as Kait finds out what happened she wades out into the ocean hoping to save the baby with no luck not realising she was seen by a male selkie who believes she was the one who threw the baby into the ocean, he decides to take revenge and creeps into her house at night when she's asleep to kill her but finds he can't.

The selkie does come back and wakes her accusing her of being a murderer she explains what happened and he believes her, from that moment on they can't seem to stay away from each other, Kait worries she's fallen in love with Eamon (she gave him his name as he didn't have one) because of his lure and she's also engaged to another man arranged by her brother, and Eamon agrees to stay on land with Kait and never go near the water again.

So throughout the story you wonder will he leave her and go back to the ocean? will she get out of her arranged marriage? and finally is she really in love with Eamon?

The only complaint I would have was I would have liked to have known what happened after the last page maybe an epilogue would have been good because I still have a lot of unanswered questions.

But I loved great premise and a great story.

I give it 4/5.                                                                                                                                                                                                   A big thanks to the author Krista Holle for allowing me to read and review this book.