Book Review (99) Magic Of The Moonlight - Ellen Schreiber

Magic of the Moonlight (Full Moon #2)

by Ellen Schreiber

Publication: January 2012

Publisher: Murdoch Books

Pages: 229

Genre: Paranormal

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

** Warning Contains Spoilers From The Previous Book In The Series**

Beware of a bite under a full moon…
it will complicate your love life.

Celeste has more to worry about than a secret romance with a hot guy from the wrong side of town. That guy, Brandon, is a werewolf. With gossip and hostility swirling at school, it’s time to find a cure for his nocturnal condition, and perhaps the one person who can help is his scientist father. But what if a “cure” makes things worse and Brandon becomes a werewolf full time? And with rumors circulating that there are werewolves in Legend’s Run, is it possible that there is another among their classmates?

To keep Brandon’s secret safe, Celeste must hide her relationship with him from her best friends, but with the Moonlight Ball approaching, she must make a choice. Her dream is to go with her one true love—Brandon. But once the sun goes down, the clouds separate, and the full moon appears, could she really walk into the dance on the arm of a werewolf?

In this installment of the sumptuously romantic Full Moon series, Celeste faces her fears and her friends and finds out whether she’s strong enough to stand up for herself and her one true love.

My Thoughts.

This is the second book in the Full Moon series and it starts several days after the ending of the previous book.

Nash has found out Brandon's secret and proceeds to blackmail Celeste with the information, in exchange  for not telling anybody that Brandon is a werewolf he has Celeste pretend that they are dating again, he tells her that he's protecting her because Brandon is dangerous, but that's not the case and Celeste wants nothing more than to let her friends and everyone else know that she and Brandon are dating and not only that but they are in love with each other.

But Brandon is hoping for a cure and calls his Dad a scientist who's working in Europe to come home and hopefully help him cure his ability to change into a werewolf.

One day at school Celeste decides to sit with Brandon at lunch in hopes to stop the name calling and graffiting of his car and locker but it only makes things worse especially with Nash and her idea of people accepting their relationship made clear that they won't.

I loved the ending of this because now there are two werewolf's running around in Legion's Run and it's not who you would think, but it will make for an interesting third book with this added to the storyline.

I still love Celeste and Brandon as a couple I just wish that they had more together time as that's what makes the story, I really didn't like Nash throughout most of this book  and I guess that was the point, he should have realised how much Celeste meant to him before when they were together and not now because he's jealous of all the time she spends with Brandon.

Jake and Dylan are just filler characters there so that Celeste's two best friends Ivy and Abby have boyfriends and I really could do without them, and while her friends, Ivy in particular bug me a bit they do have their good moments.

I did like this book but it wasn't as exciting as the first one, and it had it's moments of repeating the same thoughts over and over, once is enough maybe twice but we understand that they can't be a couple together in public I just don't need to read about it constantly, that's really my only complaints,

I'm looking forward to see how Schreiber moves the storyline forward in terms of an extra werewolf running around and I can't wait for the third book.

I give this 3.5/5.

A Big Thanks To Deanna @ Murdoch Books.

 

Upcoming Books That Don't Yet Have A Cover.

Loki's Wolves (Blackwell Pages #1)

by K.L Armstrong, M.A. Marr

From Publisher's Weekly - 

The Blackwell Pages will tell the story of two 12-year-old boys and one girl, all distant descendants of the Norse gods, who must journey to prevent the impending Ragnarok (the apocalypse). The first book,Loki's Wolves, is slated for publication in Spring of 2013.

Expected publication: May 2013 by Little, Brown Books for Young Readers 

Cainsville (Omens & Shadows #1)

by Kelley Armstrong

"The main character is 24-year-old young woman who has led a very privileged life, until she discovers she was adopted...and her birth parents are convicted serial killers. Her birth mother convinces her to investigate one of the old murders to prove their innocence. There are paranormal aspects, but they're different than the Otherworld--second sight, omen & portents etc rather than werewolves & witches."

Expected publication: 2013

Control

by Lydia Kang 

17 year-old Zelia has a fatal flaw, and it’s not being a lab geek or dressing like a small troll. If she forgets to breathe, she’ll die.

Zelia has suffered from Ondine’s Curse since birth, a malady that makes every breath a conscious effort. Yet after she and her younger sister Dyl are orphaned, it’s not Zelia’s misfit status that causes trouble. It’s her sister. Dyl isn’t just pretty and sweet—she’s illegal.

In the year 2150, DNA must be pure by law, and anyone with enhanced genes face death. Before an underground foster family can offer the sisters sanctuary, Dyl is abducted by people determined to profit from her trait, whether she’s alive, dismembered, or dead.

Zelia's only allies are the freak-show inhabitants of her new foster home. Along with the unexpected love of a very strange boy, she will need her flaws, their illicit traits, and every single breath to save the only family she has left.

Expected publication: 2013 by Dial/Penguin

ACID

by Emma Pass

This action-packed novel introduces us to Jenna Strong, a truly kick-ass heroine who is serving time in an all-male prison for the murder of her parents. With the story set one hundred years in the future in a Big Brother style society, Britain is now under the control of ACID – a terrifying all-seeing police force.

Expected publication: 2013 by Random House Children's Books

In the Shadow of Blackbirds

by Cat Winters

Cat Winters's IN THE SHADOW OF BLACKBIRDS, the story of a teen girl mourning the loss of her first love in 1918 California, where a flu has turned deadlier than a world war, and spirit communication has become a dark and dangerous obsession, illustrated with early-twentieth-century photographs.

Expected publication: 2013 by Amulet Books

A Point So Delicate

by Brandy Colbert

A ballet prodigy's life begins to unravel when she is forced to admit to the role she played in her childhood friend's abduction.

Expected publication: 2013 by Penguin

Luminance Hour

by Ryan Graudin 

In which a partying prince falls in love with a Kate Middletonesque fae, who has been protecting the British royal family for centuries, and who must make an impossible choice amidst a backdrop of a palace murder and paparazzi mayhem.

Expected publication: 2013 by HarperTeen

The Rules (Project Paper Doll #1)

by Stacey Kade

1. Never trust anyone.

2. Remember they are always searching.

3. Don’t get involved.

4. Keep your head down.

5. Don’t fall in love.

Five simple rules. Ariane Tucker has followed them since the night she escaped from the genetics lab where she was created, the result of combining human and extraterrestrial DNA. Ariane’s survival—and that of her adoptive father—depends on her ability to blend in among the full-blooded humans, to hide in plain sight from those who seek to recover their lost (and expensive) “project.”

But when a cruel prank at school goes awry, it puts her in the path of Zane Bradshaw, the police chief’s son and someone who sees too much. Someone who really sees her. After years of trying to be invisible, Ariane finds the attention frightening—and utterly intoxicating. Suddenly, nothing is simple anymore, especially not the rules…

Expected publication: April 2013 by Disney-Hyperion

Spellcaster

by Claudia Gray

A well-meaning young witch, Lia, finds she must call upon darker powers to defeat a dangerous enchantress and break the curse on the man she loves.

Expected publication: March 2013 by HarperTeen

The Nightmare Affair

by Mindee Arnett 

16-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare. Literally. Dusty is a magical being who feeds on human dreams.

Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder. The setting is Arkwell.

And then it comes true.

Now the Dusty has to follow the clues--both within Eli’s dreams and out of them--to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.

Expected publication: March 2013 by Tor Teen

Cover Reveal: The Madman's Daughter - Megan Shepherd

London, 1894. Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father’s gruesome experiments. But when she learns her father is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations were true. 

Juliet is accompanied by the doctor’s handsome young assistant and an enigmatic castaway, who both attract Juliet for very different reasons. They travel to the island only to discover the depths of her father’s madness: he has created animals that have been vivisected to resemble, speak, and behave as humans. Worse, one of the creatures has turned violent and is killing the island’s inhabitants. Juliet knows she must end her father’s dangerous experiments and escape the island, even though her horror is mixed with her own scientific curiosity. As the island falls into chaos, she discovers the extent of her father’s genius—and madness—in her own blood.

Expected publication: January 2013 by Balzer + Bray

Cover Reveal: The Gathering Dark - Christine Johnson

Keira’s hallucinating. First it’s a door hovering above the road; then it’s a tree in her living room. But with her parents fighting and her best friend not speaking to her, Keira can’t tell anyone about her breakdown. Until she meets Walker. They have an electric connection—and somehow it’s as if he can see the same shadowy images.

The more Keira slowly confides in Walker, the more intense—and frightening—her visions become. Trusting him may be more dangerous than Keira could have ever imagined. Because Walker is not what he appears to be—and neither are her visions.

Expected publication: February 2013 by Simon Pulse 

Book Review (98) Once In A Full Moon - Ellen Schreiber

Once in a Full Moon (Full Moon #1)

by Ellen Schreiber

Publication: January 2011

Publisher: Murdoch Books

Pages: 292

Genre: Paranormal

Age Appropriate: Young Adult 

Beware of a kiss under the full moon. 

It will change your life forever. 

Celeste Parker is used to hearing scary stories about werewolves—Legend’s Run is famous for them. She’s used to everything in the small town until the mysterious Brandon Maddox moves to Legend’s Run. Despite already having the perfect boyfriend, Celeste finds herself immediately drawn to the handsome new student. After a chance encounter late one night with a pack of wolves, Celeste is rescued by gorgeous, enigmatic Brandon. Is Brandon’s transformation a trick of the shadows in the moonlight? Or is there more to the werewolf stories of Legend’s Run?

My Thoughts.

I am a huge fan of Schreiber's series Vampire Kisses so I've always wanted to get around to reading this series and see what her take on the werewolf myth would be.

I have to say I wasn't disappointed and her take on werewolves is different from other books which is a nice change.

Celeste is a popular girl in school with her football star boyfriend Nash, but she's come to realise that she's doesn't really love him and she's only with him because it's what's expected of her and whom her best friends want her to be with.

Legend's Run is divided by Eastern and Western in other words Rich/Poor and at the local High School which was used by both cliques are determined by your residence and in which area you live.

One day a new student Brandon turns up and as soon as Celeste and his eyes meet there is a connection and Celeste can't stop thinking about him but since he's from the poor side of town she's not meant to associate with him.

One afternoon after having a reading done by a psychic with her best friends Ivy and Abby she decides to walk home while doing so it starts snowing quite heavily and she gets lost, while yelling for help a group of wolves surround her but she is saved by Brandon who scares them away with a stick but not before being bitten first.

After that Celeste can't stop thinking of him and after they start meeting in secret they start to fall in love with each other, but you see that bite that Brandon got while saving Celeste isn't just any ordinary bite and it will change both their lives forever.

I loved Celeste and Brandon as a couple they were so sweet together and I was definitely glad that she broke up with Nash who was so self absorbed that his idea of a date was to take Celeste to watch his sport practice (romantic? I think not) and it's not until they break up that to win her back he decides to act as a boyfriend should but it's definitely too little too late.

I just wish that Celeste hadn't spent so much time worrying about what everybody else thinks and just did whatever it was she wanted to do.

This kept me captivated and I read it all in one sitting, if you like the Vampire Kisses series you should love this too.

I give this 4/5.

A Big Thanks To Deanna @ Murdoch Books Australia.

Cover Reveal: Gone At Zero Hundred 00:00 - C.R Hiatt

Synopsis.

Sydney Marie McSwain and her pal, Cody Beck, team up to take on a secret club called The Devil’s Door where members are branded with the tattoo of a devil and call themselves The Privileged Ones.

Sydney Marie McSwain – a tomboy who yearned for a father.

Cody Beck – a wannabe filmmaker, wisenheimer and flirt.

Jaden White – the star who led the high school hockey team to two championships, and was now on the A-list for NHL scouts.

Sydney Marie McSwain loves her mom, Anna – a private investigator in the coastal city where they live – but they had a major issue between them. Anna refused to give Sydney the identity of her father. On the day of her high school graduation, they were battling it out, once again. An hour later, Sydney, Cody and Jaden were at the local café, and watched as Anna was gunned down, and it was broadcasted on live TV.

Faced with immediate responsibility, Sydney and Cody agreed to take over the agency, only they changed the name to McSwain & Beck. At the same time, Sydney convinced Sutter Beach Detective, Ace Carter, to help her track down her father.

Out of the blue, a model walked in and hired them to follow her step-brother. While Cody was busy editing a trailer to solicit new clients, Sydney settled into her lemon-yellow pickup to do surveillance, and wound up staking out a secret club called The Devil’s Door whose suspicious members wore the tattoo of a devil.

That same night, Sydney received a call from one of her mom’s former clients, only the client was gunned down at the location where they agreed to meet. The mysterious discovery of a DVD revealed the possibility that teenagers were being abducted, only nobody reported them missing.

On the hunt for the victims, McSwain & Beck were chased by men in ski masks, nearly gunned down by members of a cartel called the outlaws, Sydney’s precious pickup was broken into; then the step-brother they were hired to follow, was found dead and Sydney was the number one suspect.

If things weren’t bad enough already, they had to figure out how to crash a red-carpet Mardi Gras bash being held on a private cruise ship, before it sailed off into the sunset, where they just might meet the devil, himself.

Now, the clock was ticking…

And time was running out…

How was she ever going to find her father, now?

“Their lives were in the hands of two 18 year-olds…”

Title: Gone at Zero Hundred 00:00

Genre: YA action-mystery thriller

Published: March 30, 2012

Author: CR HIATT

Website: http://www.crhiatt.com/

Blog: mcswainandbeck.com

Twitter: @mcswainandbeck

Facebook Page: https://www.facebook.com/CRHIATT?bookmark_t=page

(ARC) Book Review (97) - Betrayed (The Guardian Legacy #2) - Ednah Walters

Betrayed (The Guardian Legacy #2)

by Ednah Walters 

Publication: 5th June 2012

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

Pages: 336

Genre: Paranormal

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

** Warning Contains Spoilers From The Previous Book In The Series**

Lil isn't just an average teenager. She's one of the Nephilim--the descendants of humans and angels--which gives her some serious psi skills and a mission for redemption. Just when Lil thinks she's found a balance between her normal life with human friends and her training to become a Guardian, she's warned that someone close to her will betray her. When the boy she loves starts acting strangely and one of her human friends acquires a supernatural ability, Lil begins to realize that someone is manipulating the people she loves... and won't stop until she's been lured to the dark side.

My Thoughts.

This series just gets better and better, Ednah Walters name should be up there with the likes of Stephenie Meyer and Richelle Mead, why it isn't is beyond me.

In most series the sophomore release is usually not as good as the first but this book definitely surpassed it's predecessor Awakened and that book was fantastic!

Words cannot explain how much I loved this, it is high up on my favourite series for sure  and I'm highly anticipating the next book in the series Hunted.

I would suggest that you read the first book Awakened before delving into this one, only because there's a lot of information you find out in that book which helps to set up the storyline in Betrayed.

This book takes place eight months after the end of the last book and Lil is pretty much on house arrest, she's not allowed to go out hunting with the other trainee guardians and her spare time away from school is spent training with a new trainer Master Haziel, or leather face as Lil refers to him.

Lil starts getting phone calls from her father Valafar even after her phone is completely destroyed it's then that she realises that he's using a medium someone she knows and not only that there is a traitor among the guardians who is feeding knowledge to Valafar.

Bran starts to act really strange, he's never around and when he is he's very distracted, Lil knows he's keeping something from her but he won't tell her what it is.

Of course the trainee guardians are all back Sykes, Remy, Izzy and Kim, I love these characters there is not one character in this series that I'm not interested in reading about and I love that, I especially love the interactions between Sykes and Lil they are hilarious and then add Bran into the mix and it's just laugh out loud funny, as much as I love Sykes I'm glad that Walters hasn't gone down the same path that most other authors do and add in a love triangle, Lil and Bran are perfect together.

We actually get to see Izzy's powers in action which I love as we never really got to see them in the last book, Grampa looks set to start a relationship with Cardinal (Aunt) Janelle, helped along by both Lil and Janelle herself which is really sweet it's about time that he had someone for himself and to let go of his past.

And Lil's human friends are back Kylie, Mackenzie, Nikki and Amelia, but Kylie ad Mackenzie start acting weird as well and Lil feels like she's losing everyone she loves, Celeste (Bran's sister) is in this book a whole lot I really like her character and I like that Lil has a friend that she can talk to about all the supernatural happenings.

As for the end and the traitor well I definitely got that one wrong I changed my mind a couple of times through the book but was wrong both times, which reflects on how good Walters writing is.

I'm so happy to have discovered this series and it's author and I look forward to another exciting instalment next year.

I give this a huge 5/5.

A Huge Thanks To Spencer Hill Press For Allowing Me To Review This Book.