Whispers at Moonrise!

I was so excited for this book to come out!  I pre-ordered it off of Amazon and it came out October 2...pretty sure I was done it on October 4 (only because I didn't get it until the 3rd).  This is the fourth book in the Shadow Falls series that I have recently read, by C.C. Hunter.

In this book, Kylie has just discovered what type of supernatural she really is - a chameleon. Which means that she exhibits traits from all types of supernatural species.  She is slowly beginning to understand what it means to be a chameleon, but worries that Lucas will never be able to accept her for who she is, and what she isn't - a werewolf.  Derek is as caring a friend as ever and she finds herself leaning on him more often that she should.

If Kylie wasn't already confused enough, she starts getting visits from the ghost of Holiday (the camp director and her closest confidante) - the only problem is, Holiday isn't dead...not yet.  Now Kylie must discover what that ghost wants and if there is any way she can save her friend from dieing for real.  In all the confusion, Kylie realises that one thing is inevitable - change, and the fact that all things must come to an end...maybe even her time at Shadow Falls.

This book was great!  Another fast paced adventure for Kylie and her friends at Shadow Falls.  Many things change in this book, and sadly Kylie must say goodbye to some amazing friends as she tries to discover who and what she is.  Can't wait for the next book, but sad that I will have to wait until Spring 2013 for it :(

Randoms From iBooks...

Every now and then I take a look at iBooks and see if I can find a free book that catches my eye.  I also check it for books that I find on Amazon that might be much cheaper.  Well this month I found two!  I read them both last week and they were pretty good for costing me a total of $3 between the two :)

The first book I read is called "Easy" by Tammara Webber.  This book is about a girl named Jacqueline who followed her longtime boyfriend Kennedy to the college of his choice.  She never saw a breakup coming and after two weeks of hiding in her dorm room she wakes up to realise that she is now single, attending a state university instead of a music conservatory, stalked by her ex-boyfriend's frat brother, and failing a class for the first time in her life!

She receives Landon's email address from her econ professor (the class that she is now failing) and he begins tutoring her through a series of helpful, but also flirtatious emails.  She begins to think that she really would like to meet Landon, but their schedules never match up.  Meanwhile, a cute guy, Lucas, that she had not previously noticed in her econ class becomes her own personal saviour one night after a frat party.  She becomes equally interested in Lucas, an artist who asks her if he can sketch her one night.  She begins to fall for Lucas, but is thrown for a loop when her relationships with Landon and Lucas collide.  Now she must figure out who she can trust while trying to avoid her stalker and deal with her feelings toward her ex when he suddenly comes back into the picture.

The second book I read is called, "The Rock Star's Daughter" by Caitlyn Duffy.  This book is about 15 year old Taylor Beauforte, the daughter of rock star Chase Atwood, lead singer in the band Pound.  She has only met her dad twice in her entire life and only knows about him from what she sees on MTV and in magazines.  He pays for her to go to the Treadwell Academy, a boarding school in Massachusetts. 


Taylor has just come home for the summer, when her hard-partying mom, Dawn dies and Taylor's world is turned upside down.  She is now going to be joining her father and his new wife and child on his band's summer U.S. tour.  Taylor is still grieving for the loss of her mother, trying to figure out who her dad really is (the supportive authority, or a liar and cheat), dealing with her new step mother Jill, and deciding what it means to be the daughter of a famous rock star.  She finds herself in many new situations that the old Taylor would never have let herself get into and longs for her old, simple life of books and her violin.  Will she ever fit into her father's world?

The Lost Hero

"The Lost Hero" is the first book in the "Hero's of Olympus" series written by Rick Riordan, a second series that ties into his first series, "Percy Jackson and the Olympians".  In this book, we meet some new characters - Jason, Leo, and Piper.  Jason finds himself on a school bus not remembering anything about his life - who he is, where he's from, and what he is doing on that bus.  Luckily enough, he meets his friends Leo and Piper who seem to know him and tell him that he has been at the Wilderness School for troubled teens with them for the past few months - oh and that they are on a field trip to the Grand Canyon.

While on their field trip strange things happen.  The group is attacked by a wind spirit and is saved when a girl and boy arrive on a chariot being pulled by Pegasus.  So strange, but Jason, Leo, and Piper are brought to Camp Half-Blood where they are filled in that they are in fact demi-gods.  All of this seems familiar to Jason, like he already knew that about himself, but he can't remember why.  Leo and Piper are surprised by this information, but are quickly claimed by their godly parents.  Jason discovers that he has already been claimed by his parent at some point in the past, but again can't remember when that was - he does remember that he is a son of Jupiter (or Zeus in Greek terms).

Not long after arriving at Camp Half-Blood, Jason is given a prophecy and must go on a quest.  He decides to bring Piper and Leo with him, even though it seems as though they will never make it back alive.  Piper and Leo are dealing with secrets of their own - Piper father has been kidnapped by a giant who wants to eat him and Leo has a special power that he doesn't want anyone finding out about.

Will the three heroes make it through the quest to save Hera and stop a giant from rising?  Let's hope so!  I really enjoyed this book - it is just a fun and exciting as the Percy Jackson series was.  Reading this book introduced many new gods, as well as their Roman counterparts. All very interesting and I honestly think that I learn more about Greek mythology from reading these books that I did in the Greek mythology class I took in university, haha!  Looking forward to reading the next couple books in this series.

49...50...51!!!

This is it!  I set a goal to read 50 books this year and wow - I didn't think that I would achieve it by October!  Now I am just going to see how many I can complete by the end of this year...should be interesting to see how many I can read :)  Any who, books 49, 50 and 51 are from a new series I started - The Shadow Falls novels by C. C. Hunter.

The first book in the series is called "Born at Midnight" and follows a girl named Kylie Galen who finds herself at the wrong party one night which just happens to change her life forever.  He mother (with the advice from her therapist) forces Kylie to go the Shadow Falls Camp - a summer camp for troubled teens.  Upon arriving Kylie realises that these teens aren't exactly troubled they way she was thinking.  Instead she finds out that her fellow campers are actually vampires, werewolves, fae, witches, and shapeshifters who are there to learn to control their abilities and be able to blend into the human world.

Kylie doesn't believe that she belongs in this camp - she certainly isn't any of those things!  All of the campers as well as the camp's director insist that she does belong and that she will figure out who and what exactly she is in time.  They only thing that Kylie knows for certain is that she can see a ghost and she doesn't like it.  In this book Kylie tries to figure out what she is and what it is her ghostly friend needs from her.  She also has to deal with her feelings toward to boys in the camp - Derek, an extremely hot fae and Lucas, a werewolf who Kylie knows from her past.  The summer is shaping up to be very interesting indeed!

In book two, "Awake at Dawn", Kylie meets a new ghost who insists that someone she loves will die if Kylie doesn't help her and now she must figure out just who the person is that she is supposed to save.  Meanwhile, Kylie is still trying to figure out what she is and it is getting more confusing each day.  She is beginning to develop new powers that don't exactly make sense and make it harder to figure out what exactly she is.  Kylie is also dealing with her growing feelings toward Derek who is pushing for them to become more than friends and this situation is only complicated more upon the return of Lucas.  Who will she pick, what is she, and who is it she loves that is going to die if she doesn't figure it out?  This is a little much for one 16 year old girl! 

In the third book, "Taken at Dusk", Kylie is getting closer to figuring out what she is, the truth about her real family, and who she is meant to be with.  She is visited by yet another ghost with a message for her "someone lives and someone dies".  The only problem is that this ghost can't remember anything from her life, which doesn't exactly help Kylie figure out what the message means.  Kylie is trying to figure out the ghost's message as quickly as possible and in doing so finally figures out the truth about what she is!  The only problem - what she is is nothing she would have even considered.  Now she is left to sort out what it means and what exactly she is capable of.

Can't wait until the next book in this series - which I should hopefully be getting in the next week!  I really like this series, it always keeps me guessing!  Kylie can be a bit dramatic with all of her problems, but the storyline in each book fast paced and is bound to leave the reader wanting more.

Book Club Back On!

After a month hiatus in August from our book club, we are back on for September with a great choice by Bonnie!  I had this book on my to read list for awhile so I was really excited when she picked it.  The book that we read is called "Little Princes" by Conor Grennan.  This is a true story about Conor's journey through Nepal in search of its lost children.

The story starts when Conor decides to quit his job in order to take a year travelling the world.  Before he begins his as he calls it "selfish part" of the trip, Conor decides to do some humanitarian work at an orphanage called the "Little Princes Children's Home" in Nepal.  It is here that he meets an amazing group of young boys who change his life.  He soon realises that these boys are not orphans at all - child traffickers promised their families that their children would be protected from the civil war in Nepal, taken care of and sent to school - all for an a large fee.  The traffickers would then abandon the children far from home in Nepal's capitol city, Kathmandu.

Once learning the truth about the children's past, Conor decides to set out on a journey to reunite the children with their parents.  Before he goes, he must overcome many obstacles - setting up a foundation that will fund his journey, open a new orphanage for other children who he rescues from a notorious child trafficker, and figuring out a way to make it through the remote parts of Nepal which is just finishing a civil war.  Conor is somehow able to overcome all of these obstacles, find many of the children's parents, open his very own orphanage, and somewhere through his journey manage to meet the love of his life.

This story was eye opening.  I did not know anything about this situation in Nepal and was shocked at how resilient the orphaned children were.  Conor did a truly amazing thing for these kids and continues to do so today.  I am proud to say that by purchasing this book, some of the proceeds have gone to the Next Generation Nepal children's home - a great way to spend $13!

Beautiful Disaster

This book was an Amazon recommendation and they didn't disappoint.  Beautiful Disaster is written by Jamie McGuire and is about college freshman Abby Abernathy as she tries to re-create herself in a new town.  Abby has a bit of a sketchy background and when she meets Travis Maddox she knows that she must avoid him if she wants to keep up with her new way of life. 

Unfortunately for Abby this is difficult.  First because her best friend is dating his cousin/housemate and second because she agrees to a bet with him.  If he looses he must remain abstinent for a month (difficult for him because he tends to bring a new girl home every night) and if she looses she must move in with him for a month.  Well of course Abby looses and move in she must.  At first Abby and Travis have a hard time with each other - she is constantly mad at him and he is constantly confused by her ever changing mood.  As you can probably guess they eventually end up together, much to the entire school's surprise.  Their relationship continues to have it's extreme ups and downs and they break up and get back together again a few times. 

Travis is surprised when he learns about Abby's past, but it only makes them even more perfect for each other.  Abby tries to forgot who she was and move on with
Travis, but has a hard time because he sets off some triggers for her at times.  We get a happy ending after all and it is very satisfying to see the couple get what they deserve.

This book was pretty good, not great though.  I did read it in about one day, so it definitely caught my attention, haha.  There is going to be a sequel I guess you could call it.  It goes through the story from Travis' point of view, which should be very entertaining!  I will definitely check that one out.

Twilight!

I think that I have read this series of books about 4 times now, but as the final movie is being released in just 2 short months and I had a week off, I decided to re-read again just to remind myself what is supposed to happen (so I can compare with the newest movie).  It was fun to read this series again.  I love the world that Stephanie Meyer created when she introduced these vegetarian vampires to us.  Her writting is fun, easy to follow, and very descriptive - you can really see what Bella sees when she looks at the world she lives in and we feel her highs and lows as she tries to understand to relationships with Edward and Jacob.

I'm pretty sure the most people have read these books so instead of explaining what happens in each I am going to talk about my favourite part in each :)

Twilight: My favourite part in this book is when Edward takes Bella to the meadow for the first time.  She is overwhlemed by the beauty of the meadow and she gets to see Edward in the sun for the first time.  She described his skin in the sun by saying the it shimmered like diamonds.  This part was really the first time that as a reader I started to understand everything about the vampires in the Stephanie Meyer world.  Bella was figuring out about each of the family members and what it meant to be a vampire right there with the reader and this part was one of the most striking to me.  Everything seemed so vivid and I began to see how Bella wanted to become a part of this world that Edward lived in.

New Moon: I think that my favourite part in this book is when Bella and Jacob take their bikes out for the first time and Bella falls off and hits her head.  Jacob tells her that she is bleeding and she appologises.  Jacob then asks why she is appologising for bleeding.  It is at this part that Bella starts to realise that being with Jacob would be easy, normal, because he is human like her - she doesn't have to worry about clearing a room if she say, gets a papercut, haha.  I also like the times when Bella refers to Jacob as her own personal sun  because he is so friendly and warm.

Eclipse: I have two favourite parts in this book - first the Tribe's histories.  This part was so interesing to me.  Stephanie Meyer did not have to explain why the Quileute's changed into wolves when vampires were near, but she went into this very descriptive and imaginative back story about how they were first spirit warriors and how one of them decided to share the form of the wolf and this is how the first shape shifter was born into the Quileute tribe.  My other favourite part in this book is when Jacob has to warm Bella up the night they spend in the tent on the mountain.  Jacob and Edward's discussion is really funny and I was laughing at all of the funny things Jacob says - especially the part when he says, "well I am hotter than you", hahaha - love it!

Breaking Dawn: Again, two favourite parts in this one.  First being when Bella sees Isle Esme for the first time.  I love how Stephanie Meyer describes the simple beauty of the island at night, as well as the house they stay in.  My other favourite part is when we get to meet all of the other vampire covens and nomads.  I liked all of the different abilities that they had and how Bella found out about each - so neat!

So ya, I guess that I can't wait to see the final movie of this series! All of the others were well done, even though they did change quite a bit when I don't really think they had to, but oh well.  I think that this movie is going to be the best of the series for sure! 

Vampire Diaries

So I think that I am a much better reader than I am blogger.  I read 6 books in the last month or so and haven't posted about any of them, oops!  Today I am going to catch up on what I've been putting off (in order to read more, haha).

I started reading the Vampire Diaries series after the show first started.  They are pretty good books, but not my favourite.  They are completely different from the show, other than the character names, so maybe that is what initially put me off a bit.  The book that I just read is called Vampire Diaries The Return: Midnight volume 3.  This series is written by L.J. Smith and is written from Elena Gilbert's point of view.

In this book, Elena, Bonnie, Meredith, and Damon have returned from the Dark Dimension and Damon accidently made himself human after taking a present that was meant for Stefan (so he and Elena could be together as humans - Stefan is a vampire).  Now, Damon is set on finding a way back to the Dark Dimension so that he can find a powerful vampire to turn him back.  Meanwhile, the evil fox twins are still destroying Fells Church (the town that Elena and her friends live in) and controlling all of the kids to who live there. 

Damon and Bonnie end up back in the Dark Dimension so that he can become a vampire again.  Elena and Stefan meet up with them there to try to destroy the biggest star ball to try to save Fells Church.  Matt, Meredith, and Mrs. Flowers stay behind to try to save the kids there and deal with the fox twins if they show up.

This book does have a somewhat happy ending; Fells Church is saved, Elena and her friends are able to return to a normal life, but Damon needs saving that none of his friends can help him with.  I assume that the next three books of this series are more about Damon finding himself a way back to Fells Church and maybe Elena.  Not sure if I am going to continue with this series - it is interesting, a lot of very strange ideas, places, and characters, but sometimes a little too strange, even for me, haha.  We shall see...

Divergent

My most recent reads were Divergent and Insurget by Veronic Roth.  These books take place in a post apocalyptic Chicago and are fitting with the popular dystopian society fiction books that are all the rage again after the Hunger Games series.

The first book, Divergent introduces us to the world as 16 year old Beatrice knows it.  There are 5 Factions that people separated into and each favours a different quality that their people have - Dauntless (fearlessness), Candor (honesty), Amity (peacefulness), Abnegation (selflessness), and Erudite (intelligence).  Beatrice was born into Abnegation and now at the age of 16 she is required to take the aptitude test that will determine which faction she is best suited for.  She will get to choose which faction she wants to be in, the one she was born into, or the one she is most suited to be in at the Choosing Ceremony.  During the aptitude test each teen faces different situations in a simulation and how they respond determines the Faction they are best suited for.  Unfortunately for Beatrice, she discovers that she is suited equally for 3 factions - Abnegation, Dauntless, and Erudite - this means that she is Divergent.  What that is she does not know, but she is told to keep it to herself because it is dangerous for others to know she is Divergent.

Beatrice decideds to join Dauntless instead of remaining in Abnegation because she feels that she is too selfish to stay there.  She gives herself the nickname Tris and leaves her family behind.  Tris soon finds out that to become one of the Dauntless you must undergo an initiation period where only 10 out of the 20 initiates will make it in, the others will become one of the Factionless.  She is taught to shoot a gun, win a fist fight, and face her worst fears.  Tris learns a lot about herself and more about what it means to be Divergent.  She also falls for a boy whose chosen name is Four.  As the book goes on, we learn that there is unrest in the Factions and one of them does something terrible at the end of the book.

The second book in this series is called, Insurgent.  This book finds Tris and Four fighting for their freedom from those who seek to control the Factions.  They are joined by others who want their freedom.  Tris must use all of her Divergent traits in this book if she is to overcome  the obsticals in her way.  She must also try to save other Divergent people and help to keep them secret from those who seek to distroy them. 

These books are difficult to discribe properly, as I feel all dystopian books can be.  Usually people just look at me and say, well I guess that sounds interesting?  These books are awesome and I can't wait for the third one (not coming out until fall 2013)!  Anyone who liked the Hunger Games should give them a try - fun and fast paced, with just enough left out for you to keep guessing all the way through.

Bared to You...

After reading the 50 Shades of Grey series, Amazon made a recommendation that I couldn't ignore.  Bared to You by Sylvia Day is the first in her Crossfire novel series.  This series looked similar to 50 Shades, but I had heard that it was ever better!  Definitely interested and I must say...Amazon was right, again.  This book was awesome and I read it over 2 days - I was a little mad every time I had to put it down to teach another swim lesson, haha.

This book is about Eva Tramell a twenty something year old who recentely moved to New York after graduating university.  She comes from a well-to-do family and lives in a fancy apartment with her friend Cary (a guy, just to be clear) who is an up and coming model.  Eva landed a good job in a advertising firm as an assistant and the book starts with her mapping out the route to the building this new job is in, the Crossfire building.  It is here that she literally runs into Gideon Cross.  He is incredibly handsom, incredibly rich, and just so happens to own the building that she is going to be working in.

He begins to pursue Eva and she cannot seem to say no when it comes to Gideon.  He completely overwhelms her, but she is afraid that scars from her past might come between them.  That is until she realises that he has demons of his own.  Eva is brought deeper into Gideons world and the two of them find pleasure and common ground that neither had experienced before.  The only question is, will their pasts come between their future?  Can they overcome their own demons and be happy together?

Who knows!  This was only the first book and I couldn't put it down!  I can't wait to find out what happens between these two.  The second book comes out October 2 and trust me, I will be starting it that day, haha!  This book had many similiar qualities that 50 Shades had, but without all of the Dom/Sub stuff.  No whips, handcuffs, or buttplugs to speak of...yet?  Loved the characters - Eva was great and a very strong leading woman, and Gideon was all a girl could ask for in a leading man...strong, caring, super handsom, and he definitely knew how to treat a woman right ;)

The Shiver Series

I have been so bad about posting after I read books lately that I have quite a few to catch up on!  I am pleased to say that I have been reading a lot lately, even though I have been super busy this summer.  That said, I have been wanting to read this series for awhile - the book covers got the best of my couriosity a couple of years ago and I finally got the books and read them :)  This series is written by Maggie Stiefvater and is about werewolves (I think she was working that whole Twilight angle, but it works).

The first book is called, Shiver and it is here that we meet Grace and Sam.  Grace is a 17 year old girl who lives in a small town in Minnesota.  She has spent her entire life watching the wolves in the woods behind her house.  There is one wolf inparticular that she likes to watch, her wolf, the one with the yellow eyes.  Sometimes it seems as if he is watching her as well and she has always felt that she knows this wolf, but can't figure out why.  Sam is an 18 year old boy/wolf.  He has lived out his winters as a wolf and summers as a boy since he was bitten at the age of 7.  He is Grace's wolf and has never dared talk to her, until now.  Once Sam and Grace meet they are inseperable - falling in love is easy and it is as if they were meant to be.  The only problem is, winter is coming and Sam is going to change back into a wolf - this time it might be forever.  The couple needs to think of a plan to save Sam, before it gets too cold.

The second book in this series is called, Linger.  In this book we meet a new wolf, Cole who is a former famous musician, now thought to be dead.  Sam has fought off becomming a wolf (won't explain how so as not to ruin the surprise), but now Grace has a problem.  She was bitten by a wolf as a child, but never shifted.  Now Grace is feeling sick and Cole (who also happens is be a bit of a genius) believes it is because she never shifted as a child and now needs to.  Grace's condition get worse and she must go to the hospital.  Her parents suspect that Sam has something to do with Grace being sick and won't allow him near her.  Cole figures out how to make Grace shift and at the last moment, Grace is able to sneak out of the hospital and shift into the wolf she should have become years before.  Unfortunately for Sam, he finds himself now having to wait through the winter hoping that Grace will return.

The final book in this series is called, Forever.  It begins with Sam trying to get through each day as he waits for the weather is get warm.  Cole is playing mad scientist, trying to figure out a cure so that Sam and Grace can be together again as humans forever.  The situation with the wolves is getting bad in town though.  Grace's disappearence has caused people in town to think that the wolves are at fault and that they need to be eliminated.  Sam and Cole must work quickly to find Grace, a cure, and a new place for the wolves to live before they are all killed. 

I enjoyed this series!  It was an easy read and always kept me guessing what was going to go wrong next, haha.  I was a little disappointed with the ending of the thrid book - I wanted something a little more conclusive, but I will just have to assume the best I guess.  Anyways, great love story and the characters were fun.  I especially liked Cole and his transformation.

The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society

This was another book club book - this one chosen by Meghan.  The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society was written by Mary Ann Shaffer and Annie Barrows and is set in 1946 in London, England and on the island of Guernsey which is just off the coast of England. 

The book begins when the main character, Juliet Ashton, a writer recieves a letter from a stranger who just happens to be one of the founding members of the Guernsey literary and potato peel pie society.  He asks of her a favour, to find other books by and author he has come to enjoy and this is how Juliet begins her involvement with the people of Guernsey. 

The entire book is told through a series of letters.  Characters writting to Juliet, Juliet responding, and at times characters writing to each other.  Juliet learns how the society was started during the German occupation of Guernsey throughout WW2.  She quickly begins to adore the members of the society and decides to visit Guernsey and write a book about their memories of the German occupation there.

When Juliet arrives in Guernsey, she is immediately greeted as a long lost friend by the members of the society with whom she has been corrosponding.  She realises that she has not only found a story for a new book, but possibly a new home for a lost soul such as herself.

This book was fantastic!  So many memorable characters who made me laugh and cry right along with them.  So thankful for our book club because I may have not picked this book up had it not been for them.  A great read and at times shocking (I didn't know some of the things discussed about the war). 

Fallen

I have been wanting to read this series for awhile and actually bought the first 2 books around Christmastime with some gift cards.  Well I finally got the final two books of the series and had a chance to read it all.  What is this series, well it is called The Fallen Angels series by Lauren Kate.  I must say I really enjoyed these books.  They fall into the teen book category and have some similarities to other series I have read in this genre, but definitely had a different take on things.

In the first book in the series, Fallen we meet Luce.  She is a 17 year old girl from Georgia and has just been sentenced to go to a reform school after being involved with the dead of one of her former classmates.  It is at the reform school, Sword and Cross that she meets Daniel.  She can't figure it out, but she feels as if she knows him from somewhere and is immediately drawn to him.  Luce falls for Daniel and discovers a mysterious hidden past that is about to drastically change her future.

The second book in this series, Torment finds Luce being shipped off to another boarding school, this one in California (unbeknown to her parents) called Shoreline.  This school is special though; it houses students called Nephilim - part human, part angel.  Luce has just found out that her relationship with Daniel (who she now knows is an angel) is cursed.  For the past thousands of years, Luce and Daniel find eachother, fall in love, and then she dies all around the age of 17.  This time though, things are different.  Luce is still alive and Daniel is determined to keep her that way.  Luce is frustrated with Daniel because he won't tell her about any of their past lives together or why they are cursed, so she becomes determined to find out on her own (with the help of a few friends).

The thrid book, Passion begins with Luce making a decision.  She chooses to ignore Daniel's warnings and dives into an Announcer (a link to her past lives) to find out who she was.  Throughout this book Luce gets to see her past selves falling in love with Daniel over and over and it sadly ending with her death each and every time.  Even though the story seems the same each time she lives it, Luce learns more about her and Daniel's love and more about the curse that keeps them apart.  While Luce is traveling through her past, Daniel is frantically trying to find her somewhere in time. 

The final book in this series, Rapture sees Luce back in present day after being saved by Daniel.  No the pair must race against time as Lucifer tries to re-write history.  Luce and Daniel team up with old friends to try and find three objects that will lead them to where Lucifer is.  All the while, Luce is learning more and more about who she was/is and it is up to her to figure out how to break the curse and stop Lucifer - will she succeed in time?  Will Luce and Daniel end up together?




These books were very suspenceful and I found myself rooting for Luce and Daniel to figure it all out so that they could finally be together once and for all.  Loved the ending - very fitting.  Would recommend these books to anyone interested in a good love story that survives time.

The Mortal Instruments

I have read the first four books in the Mortal Instruments book series before, so when I got book 5 I decided to reread book 4, but not the first three (I felt I remembered enough from them to get along).  So, book 4 City of Fallen Angels, by Cassandra Clare - I can't say enough about this series....soooo good!!!

Clary and Jace have returned to New York after the battle in Iridis and she is now training to become a Shadowhunter (they fight deamons and keep the peace between downworlders - vampires, werewolves, fairies, and warlocks).  Her and Jace are offically dating - about time!  All in all, everything seems pretty good, but then Jace starts pulling away from her and she can't figure out why. 

Meanwhile, Simon has his own issues he needs to deal with - he's dating two girls who are eventually going to figure it out, he's now a Daylighter (vampire who can walk in the sun), and has the Mark of Cain (causes anything bad people want to do to him to turn back on them times seven). 

Things start to get really weird at Clary's mom and Luke's wedding shower - Clary and Jace go missing and when Simon, Alec, and Isabelle go looking for them they get a lot more than they bargined for.  Things are set in motion this night that will change all of their futures.  They will all have to deal with the loss of a dear friend and gain another enemy.

Book 5 - City of Lost Souls.  In this book Clary must deal with the aftermath of that night on the roof of the apartment building.  Jace has disappeared and Sebastian might be back!  Now she is being questioned by the Clave as to her involvement in the happenings that night, when all is wants to do is find Jace. 

So much happens in this book, but if I say much more I will give it all away!  Clary must make a decision that could save every one, including Jace or she could loose the one she loves most.  Decisions are made, lines are drawn, relationships start and end, and the Shadowhunters world is changed forever with one night's events.

Can't wait for the sixth installment of this series, but I think I might have to wait awhile :(

Book Club Book :)

Wow! It has been awhile since I last posted...have definitely been reading since, but have been slacking on the posting, oops.  So, our last book club book was chosen by Helen and is called, "Not Wanted on the Voyage" by Timothy Findley.  The book club discussion definitely helped me like this book more than I initially did after reading it.

The book is a Noah's Ark spin off where all of the characters from the Bible story are present, but vastly different from the original story.  Noah is kind of a crazy man who believes that everything he sees is a sign from God telling him to do another horrible thing.  His wife was my favourite character in the book - she was kind hearted and loved all of the animals abord the ark, especially her cat, Mottyl.  She had to put up with Noah and his antics, as well as deal with him treating her like a second-class citizen on the ark - she and the lesser members of the family were forced to stay below deck, cook, clean, and take care of all of the animals.

We do learn a lot about each character in the family, their background, and really why they choose to behave the way they do on the ark.  We also get to find out why there are no more unicorns and deamons in the world.  I really liked that the author included these mythical creatures in the book and explained why we no longer have them (even though these descriptions were pretty gruesome). 

I think this book is an interesting read on it's own, but is made so much better after being able to discuss it with others (book club).  I enjoyed the characters and story - quite a unique way of telling the Noah's Ark and would recommend it as a book club pick, but maybe not an individual read.

Mr. Grey!!

So after hearing about these books from basically everyone woman I work with, I finally caved and decided to read them.  Which books are these?  They are the "Fifty Shades of Grey" books of course!  Written by E L James (her first novels, by the way) this trilogy is about a self made millionaire named Christian Grey and the women who makes him realise he does indeed have a heart, Anastasia Steele. 

From the moment Ana literally falls into Mr. Grey's office building he knows that he wants her.  She is enchanted by his good looks and witty charm, but can't believe that someone with his kind of power and wealth would be interested in a lowly student, such as herself.  Christian wants Ana, badly, but what she discovers about him when she agrees to a date is possibly more than she can handle.  Christian is a Dom and he wants her to be his Sub.  Yikes! 

Ana is willing to try some of the things that Christian likes, but she craves for more - a real relationship, not the Dom/Sub contract that he has had in the past.  Christian comes to realise that he needs Ana more than he even thought himself possible.  It is through this realisation that the real story starts. 

Christian had an incredibly messed up childhood and it has taken him years to get to where he is - a control freak who doesn't like to be touched (and this is an improvement), haha.  Ana is the one who frees him, teaches him to love himself and accept that there are others in his life that love him too.

I cannot say enough about how fun these books were to read!!  Witty, shocking, passionate, fun, scary - everything one can ask for in a page turner that I literally could not put down!  Even though Christian has some unusual tastes in the bedroom that take a little bit to get used to - wow - this story was really fun to read.  I would 100% recommend this series to any woman who wants a fun (mind you a little racey) story about a whirlwind romance. 

P.S. my absolute favourite parts were the e-mails....always made me laugh out loud (especially how they signed there names). 

Jodi Scott
Smitten Blogger ;)

The Seven Kingdoms Series

This is a series of three amazing books written by Kristin Cashore!!!  I read the first two books a few years ago and have been waiting patiently for the last 2 years for the third book of the series to be published...well that day finally came at the beginning of May.  I was so excited to read this book, but decided to re-read the first two books since it had been awhile (plus I really like them).


The first book in the series is called, "Graceling" and is about a girl named Kasta who is the niece of one of the 7 Kings.  She lives in a world where there are people called Gracelings - this means that they have some sort of super-human ability and you can tell who they are because of their two different coloured eyes.  Kasta is a graceling - her grace, killing.  She is used by her uncle from a young age to carry out his dirty work throughout his Kingdom.  The story focuses on Kasta when she is about 18 years old.  This is when she meets Price Po who is graced with hand-to-hand fighting skills.  It is with him that she finds out the truth about her own grace and the truth about one of the other kingdom's Kings.  Kasta and Po travel together and befriend Princess Bitterblue, who has her own story later on.  I can't really say too much more without giving away the entire story, but I will say there is fighting, love, loss, lies, and many incredible truths.

The second book in the series is called, "Fire" and is about a girl with the same name.  This book takes place on the other side of the mountains that the first story took place.  This place is called, The Dells and it is here that we meet Fire, the last living human "monster".  The Dells does not have gracelings, as the 7 kingdoms do, they instead have monsters - ordinary animals who are extraordinarily coloured and can take over a person's mind.  Fire is described as incredibly beautiful with hair the colour of fire.  She carefully guards her ability to control others' minds in fear that she will become the monster her father was.  When Prince Brigan brings her to the castle to help the royal family uncover a plot to destroy them, she realises that maybe she can use her ability to help them save the kingdom.  This book is quite different from the first, especially when comparing the female leads.  Kasta, fearless, strong, and unwavering, while Fire is timid, unsure of herself, but turns out to be surprisingly courageous.

The final book (well it might be - I hope not), takes place 9 years after the first book.  We are now meeting the 18 year old Queen Bitterblue.  She is still friends with Kasta and Po from the first book but, now she is facing having to deal with a kingdom she doesn't quite understand.  One who is waking up after being controlled by her horrible father for the past 35 years.  Bitterblue must learn about the horrific past her father lived in order to help the people in her kingdom live a better future.  I really enjoyed this book and was excited to see all of the characters I loved from the past two books, reemerge in this final story.

Amazing series!  Incredibly creative, thoughtful, and well planned out.  I couldn't put any of these books down and know I will re-read all of them again in the future!

Book Club Book - Something Fierce

This book was picked by one of the girls in book club for our April read.  The book is called "Something Fierce" written by Carmen Aguirre and was the Canada Read Choice 2012 Winner.  Needless to say, we went in with high expectations after that claim to fame, haha. 

This book is a true story and basically a biography about the author's life as she grew up within the Chilean resistance.  We first meet Carmen when she is 6 years old and living in Vancouver, Canada after her family fled Chile following General Pinochet's coup in 1973.  Five years later her family (mom, step-father, and younger sister) return to South America to help with the Chilean resistance movement.  Carmen learns very young in life that she cannot tell anyone what her family really does.  She learns to lead a double life and she takes the reader with her throughout her family's travels, trials, and tribulations.  Eventually Carmen becomes involved in the resistance when she turns 18 and we are taken in further to this movement and what exactly it entails.

I really didn't know anything about the revolutions in South America and that many Nazi leaders fled there after WWII  to reestablish themselves as leaders in this new country.  I was also surprised that part of the reason these South American countries were lead the way there were was because of American influence and their corporations.

This book was very interesting, but at times hard to understand for me due to my lack of prior knowledge about the subject matter.  All-in-all, a very good read and I'm sure would be even better if you knew the history behind the story.  It really is amazing the things that people have had to live through and how they survive.  Really makes me appreciate my comfortable life here in Canada.

The Last Olympian!

The final book in the Percy Jackson series...The Last Olympian!  This book is exciting from beginning to end - there is so much going on that I couldn't possibly explain it all.  In this book, the prophecy about Percy has finally come to be - it is one week before his 16th birthday and the evil Titan Lord Kronos is ready to attack Olympus.  Percy and his friends must work together to help save Olympus while the Olympic Gods are busy battling another monster.

This book explains a lot about the kids' pasts, their parents involvement and how important is it for the Olympians to have children (hero's).  The book reaches it's climax with a battle between Percy and Kronos where an unexpected hero saves the day.  The book has a happy and sad ending; many things are changed for the better and the author leaves room for more stories about Percy and his friends (which I am planning to read in the Hero's of Olympus series).

I would recommend these books to any reader at any age.  They are fun, fast, and full of excitement!  I learned a lot about the Greek Gods and their mythology, so these books were also educational.  I liked this since I am a teacher :) 

Next book on my list is the book club book for this month!

Percy Jackson Books 3 and 4

I said I would post next when I had finished books three and four of the Percy Jackson and the Olympians series and here I am, posting :)  I cannot explain how fun and easy these books are!  I am flying though them!

Percy Jackson and The Titian's Curse is book three in the series.  Percy is halfway through his grade eight year and is called upon by his friend Grover to lead a rescue mission during Christmas break.  Percy and his friend Annabeth, along with the newest member of their group, Thalia, go to the school where Grover is stationed to bring a couple of half bloods back to camp.  The mission goes badly when Annabeth is lost to the bad guys, but Percy, Thalia, and Grover are able to rescue the two new half bloods with the help of Artemis and her hunters.  The new half bloods are Bianca and Nico.  Bianca agrees to become one of Artemis' hunters once she finds out that she is a half blood, but it means leaving her little brother behind.

Once the group gets back to camp they find out that Artemis has gone missing and the hunters receive a prophecy from the Oracle to go on a quest.  Zoe (the leader of the hunters) chooses Bianca, Thalia, and Grover to go on the quest with her, leaving Percy behind.  Of course, Percy decides to follow them in order to help save Annabeth.  The group sets out on another quest where lives are lost, prophecies are explained, and the evil Titan Lord gets closer to rising back to power. 

The fourth book in this series is called, Percy Jackson and the Battle of the Labyrinth.  In this book, Percy, Annabeth, Tyson, and Grover must enter the Labyrinth to stop Luke from getting his evil army into Camp Half-Blood.  They are racing against time to find their way to the center of the Labyrinth where Daedalus's workshop is, so that he might help them stop Luke.

This book is full of surprises!  I really enjoyed this one - it tied up some loose ends from previous books and we got to see Percy finally noticing Annabeth as a bit more than a friend.  This book doesn't have the happy ending that the rest have.  Many people die, and the half-bloods are now only one year away from the horrible prophecy possibly coming true.  I sort of remember how the series ends, but can't remember all the details, so I am excited to read the last book in this series again!

Percy Jackson and The Olympians Series

I read this series a few years ago, but wanted to re-read them since I really couldn't remember much of what happened in them, just bits and parts.  I originally borrowed the books, but a couple of months ago I saw the entire 5 book series in a boxed set on Amazon for less than $30, so I decided to buy it knowing that I wanted to re-read them.

The author of this series is Rick Riordan and the first book is called, "The Lightning Thief".  The series focuses on a boy named, Percy Jackson who is 12 years old and in this first book he finds out that he is a demi-god (half human, half god).  With the help of his friend Grover (who turns out to actually be a satyr disguised as a human), Percy gets to Camp Half-Blood where he finds out that his father is Poseidon.  Percy is selected to go on a quest (he invites his friend Grover, and a girl named Annabeth who is a daughter of Athena, to go with him) to find out who stole Zeus' master bolt and return it to him in Olympus.  The three friends face many monsters along the way, they also discover a traitor in the camp, as well as an even bigger problem that is sure to come up in later books.

This book is a great start to the series.  It is full of adventure, mystery, and you actually learn a surprising amount about the Greek Gods and their mythology.  It's a quick and easy read, but very well written.

The second book in this series is called "The Sea of Monsters".  We meet up with Percy at the end of his grade seven year at another new school.  He has made a new friend named Tyson and with the help of a surprise guest (Annabeth) they are able to get away from the school before it is over-run by a bunch of Cannibals!  The three of them make their way to Camp Half-Blood for another summer only to find it much changed.  The tree that protects the borders of the camp from monsters has been poisoned!  Percy has also been having strange dreams about Grover who seems to be in trouble and need his help.  Percy, Annabeth, and Tyson (who Percy finds out is a good cyclops and his half brother) sneak out of the camp after a rival camper (Clarisse, daughter of Ares) is given the quest to find the golden fleece that will save the camp.  They all must travel through the Sea of Monsters in order to retrieve the fleece and save Grover from having to marry (or be eaten) by the cyclops Polyphemus.  After nearly dieing a few times, they make it back and the fleece saves the camp, but another unexpected thing arises from healing the tree.  Thalia, daughter of Zeus, is freed from the tree and is once again amongst the campers of Camp Half-Blood! 

Will post again after I read the next two books of the series :)  Love these books, they are so fun to read and always keep you on the edge of your seat!

New Black Dagger Brotherhood Book!!!

I have been waiting for this book for nearly a year!!!  Love this series so much - it is awesome and I recommend it to anyone who likes a good straight talking vampire who knows how to treat a lady like gold ;) 

The newest book in this series by J.R. Ward is called "Lover Reborn" and focuses on the Black Dagger Brother, Torhment who had lost someone very close to him in one of the previous books.

It is hard for me to say much about this book, because it will ruin a lot of surprises in the books that came before it - you definitely need to read this series in the proper order because each book builds on the story lines from the other ones, even though each book focuses on a different Brother.

Torhment needs to find a way to move on in this book and we see him struggle through making new relationships, mending old ones, and realising that it's ok be happy again.  I really liked this book and Torhment has always been one of my favourite Brothers, so it was great to see him finally get his happy ending after going through so much in the other books.

Can't wait for the next book in the series and I'm really hoping it will be about Qhuinn and Blay (I'm sure Xcor and Layla will be in there too) - going to be amazing!

To learn more about this series visit J.R. Ward's webpage: http://www.jrward.com/bdb

Clockwork Prince

This is the second book in the Infernal Devices series by Cassandra Clare.  I was super excited to read this book because the first one was so good and had quite the cliff hanger ending that left me with a lot of questions.

This book starts a few weeks after the previous one ended.  Tessa, Will, Jem, and the rest of the London Institute occupants are summoned to a Council meeting where their actions from the first book are under review.  The meeting does not go very well and the members of the London Institute find themselves in a difficult situation - the must discover the plans of the man who calls himself The Magister within the next two weeks! 

Tessa, Will, and Jem help the others to try to figure out what the Magister wants and where he is, but in doing so they discover a traitor living amongst them.  This traitor does however, help them discover a lot about one of their rival Shadowhunters, as well as some of what the Magister has been up to.  There are some lives lost and many changed because of this traitors actions, but the London Institute's occupants become better for learning the truth.

Throughout this story we see Tessa become much closer with Jem, even though she still has feelings for Will.  This triangle comes to an unexpected place, where Tessa does choose one of the boys, but I am not sure if I like her decision or not.  Hopefully more will develop in the next installment.

Anyways, didn't want to give much away since this is a series of books.  I did love this one just as much as the first book in the series, maybe even more since this story looked into the past for many of the characters and we got to see more into each of the relationships in the story.  Can't wait for the next book, although I will probably have to wait another year for it :(

Book Club Book #2

It has been awhile since I have read a book from book club - bad me.  I didn't get a chance to read the February choice for the book club that I am a part of, but made sure I made the time to read March's pick!  March's book club book was called "The Secret Daughter" by Shilpi Somaya Gowda.  This book was great!  We had a fabulous time discussing it last week and were even treated to one of the dishes mentioned in the book (thanks Pryia for cooking for us)!

The Secret Daughter is written from multiple character's perspectives and over the course of about 25 years.  It begins in a small village in India with Kavita giving birth to her second child whom she gives up for adoption.  Daughter's in a small village like this are rare because the families cannot afford them; this is why Kavita's first child (another daughter) is killed the night she is born.  Kavita cannot stand the thought of her second daughter's life ending before it has even begun so she gives this daughter up.

We next meet Somer and Krishnan a couple who has been unsuccessful in having a child of their own.  They are both doctors who met in medical school (Somer being originally from California and Krishnan from Mumbai, India).  Krishnan's mother gives the couple the idea of adopting a child from his home town of Mumbai and the couple go to India to pick up their daughter.  We find out the the daughter they are to be adopting is the one that Kavita had given up earlier in the book.  Somer and Krishnan instantly fall in love with their new daughter and are determined to do everything for her back in California where they now live together.

The book explores the lives of Somer, Krishnan, and their new daughter Asha, as well as Kavita and her family.  The author impressively depicts the struggles that each family goes through; finding their own family unit despite cultural differences (Somer, Krishnan, and Asha) and just being able to survive in the Mumbai slums (Kavita and her family).  We get to see Asha grow up and return to the place she was adopted from as she discovers her Indian roots, as well as her parents learning who they are and how they missed out on things because of their lack of communication throughout their marriage.

This book was fantastic!  I learned a lot about India, which was very interesting and the story that the author wove was exciting, sad, happy, and even frustrating at times.  All in all, a great choice for book club - we definitely had a lot to discuss!  Looking forward to reading this month's choice :)

Clockwork Angel

Remember when I bought a bunch of new books after Christmas with all of my great gift certificates??  Well, I am finally going to get to read them!  One of the books that I bought is the second in the Infernal Devices Series.  I really want to read it, but I haven't read the first book to the series in over a year and was a little foggy about what had happened.  I decided to re-read the first book (one of my favourite things to do) to help me remember all of the details and hopefully notice some new ones! 

This book is called Clockwork Angel, by Cassandra Clare.  It is set in London, England in 1878 (more than 100 years before the the other series by Clare - the Mortal Instruments - which this book precludes) where a 16 year old girl named Tessa Gray travels across the Ocean from New York to go and live with her brother Nate after their aunt has died.  Unfortunately for Tessa, she is kidnapped by two women who call themselves the Dark Sisters upon her arrival.  It is through them that she learns of an entirely different world that she never knew existed - one where vampires, werewolves, fairies, warlocks, and demons exist.  The Dark Sisters teach Tessa that she is actually a Downworlder with a very rare ability - she can transform into any other person at will.  A man calling himself "The Magister" wants to claim Tessa and use her for her power, but she escapes the Dark Sisters and the Magister with the help of people who call themselves Shadowhunters.

Tessa is taken to the London Institute that is run by Shadowhunters and it is there that she befriends this group of strangers and gets some answers about who she is and why the Magister is hunting her.  Tessa begins to fall for two of the Shadowhunters who also live at the Institute, Will and James.  They are as different as two boys can be - dark and light, thoughtful and impulsive, as well as calm and violent.  As she grows closer to both of them, a deadly plot unfolds that has Tessa in the centre - the Magister is creating an army to come and get her and she must decide where her loyalties lie.  She wants to save her brother (who we find out has been taken by the Magister), but she also wants to help her new family at the Institute save the world from the Magister.

This book was great to read again - definitely worth the time :)  I can't wait to see how the second one unfolds after the ending in the first!  Lots of secrets to come out and hopefully we discover the truth about Will's past, as well as how Tessa became what she is.

Fever Series Complete!

So I was a bit lazy with my posting this past week - been a little busy because I was at OFSAA swimming in Milton, ON.  The team did great!  Second place overall, second place in Jr Boys, Jr Girls, and Sr Boys, and first place in Sr Girls!  Congrats on a great season Riverside Rebel Swimmers!

Anyways,  I finished reading the Fever Series books - I had 2 to go, Dreamfever and Shadowfever.  They were fantastic!  This series just kept getting better as it went.  I don't want to give away too much from these books by explaining what happens in each (plus they get pretty complicated), so I am going to be brief. 

Dreamfever - the walls between Man and Fae have come down freeing all of the Unseelie from their prison.  Mac has been taken and raped by the Unseelie Princes and is now Pri'ya.  She must claw her way back to who she really is (with the help of one Jericho Barrons - love it) and battle the Unseelie-filled streets of Dublin.  Mac is faced with many decisions in this book and is always confused about who she should trust - Barrons, V'lane, the other Sidhe-seers, and even herself.  This story ends with Mac wishing she had never come back to herself and making some extreme choices in order to preserve her own sanity. 

Such a great book - so many surprises!  This one left a lot more questions for the reader - how is she going to continue, who is telling her the truth - does anyone ever tell her the truth??  Couldn't wait to see how Moning was going to end the series!

Shadowfever - the epic conclusion to the Fever Series.  This one begins with Mac making a very scary choice and aligning with some of her enemies.  She comes to her senses (with the help of the Sinsar Dubh surprisingly) and goes back with her former allies when some circumstances change.  Throughout this book Mac is questioning who she really is and what her true history could be.  Did she have parents?  Is she evil?  Is she even human?  All is answered and the ending is quite shocking - definitely didn't see this one coming!  All in all, a great series!  Had fun reading it on my Ipad which I haven't done before :)

Looking forward to my next book!  This one is going to be a re-read because I got the second book to the series recently, but can't remember enough of the first book to not re-read.  Good thing I liked it the first time around!

Fever Series - Book 3

These books are really fast, fun reads!  I liked this book much better than the first 2.  I think I was right in saying that the author's writing was going to change as the main character does - Mac is having to grow up fast and she definitely does in this book.  The third book in this series is called, "Faefever".  This book begins where Darkfever left off...with Mac lying in a puddle because she has come very close to the evil Sinsar Dubh.  It is here that she finally understands how it is traveling around the city and how it actually looks.

After recovering from her encounter with the Sinsar Dubh, Inspector Jayne drops in at the bookstore looking for more answers about Dark Zones, etc, but Mac shrugs him off and tells him he would be better off not knowing anything that could get him killed.  Unfortunately for Inspector Jayne, Mac sees Barrons do something later that night that causes her to change her mind about bringing in more people to help her.  She invites Inspector Jayne over for "tea" and some answers the next day - what she doesn't tell him is that she is going to feed him Unseelie and make him see what is really in the city!  She also strikes a deal with him to help her find the Sinsar Dubh.

After meeting with Jayne, Mac calls up Christian MacKeltar where they discuss what has been going on, etc. and Christian asks Mac if she can convince Barrons to help them with a ritual on Halloween night (the night that all of the walls between the Fae and Humans will come crashing down if they don't succeed).  She agrees and does end up getting Barrons to agree as well.

Mac also finds the secret headquarters of the Sidhe-seers and confronts their leader with V'lane at her side.  She wants to show them what she is capable of and to try to convince them that she can help, but things don't quite go her way.

Many more things happen in this book, but I will skip to the end right now.  Halloween comes and with it all hell breaks loose!  The barriers between the Fae world and the Human world collapse and all of the Unseelie are released into the Human world.  People are dieing everywhere and Mac is forced to hide in a church until morning (she can't get to any of her protectors).  In the morning she comes out of her hiding place and is ambushed by the Lord Master and the Unseelie Princes who force themselves on her, making her Pri-ya (a human addicted to Fae sex).

This book was really intense and I couldn't have seen that ending coming at all - what a shock!  I have no idea how Mac is going to come back from this one and am really excited to see how it all unfolds :)

The Fever Series - Book 2

Unlike the Inheritance Cycle books, the Fever Series books are quick, easy reads, so I will be posting a little more frequently now.  I just finished the second book entitled, Bloodfever by Karen Marie Moning.  I have read another of Moning's book series (The Highlander Series) and am a little disappointed with her writing in this new series.  It seems somewhat childish compared to the other series' books.  This might  be because the character that is telling the story is a little immature and Moning is trying to portray that through her writing - at least I hope that is the reason and I hope that "Mac" grows up a bit soon!

Anyways, Bloodfever, book 2...this one starts out with Inspector O'Duffy coming to Mac at the book store with more questions, but this time they are about the "Dark Zones" that he has found on past maps.  Mac acts as if she doesn't know anything more than he is telling her and eventually he leaves.  Unfortunately for Inspector O'Duffy, he is found dead a couple of days later.

That night Mac wakes up knowing something is wrong.  She finds that all of the lights in the bookstore have been turned off and a window has been left open so that the Shades can get in - someone is trying to kill her!  She manages to turn on most of the lights with the help of a lot of flashlights, but as she gets to the main floor she trips and falls, loosing most of her flashlights in the process.  Luckily, V'lane (a Fae Prince) comes to her rescue and turns on the rest of the lights, but she must agree to spend one human hour with him at the time of his choosing as payment for his help.

Mac is troubled by another investigator when O'Duffy is found dead, this one is Inspector Jayne.  He brings Mac into the police station where he questions her for hours about O'Duffy's meeting with her on the day of his death and eventually has to let Mac go, since he has no real evidence against her, but warns her that he is going to be watching her.

A few days later, Mac meets another sidhe-seer named Dani who tells her that there is a sidhe-seer Council right there in Dublin who are trained to kill the Fae.  Mac discovers who their leader is and where their headquarters is located.  She goes to visit them and learns a little about their past, but is also asked to join them which she refuses to do until she knows more about them and the other people around her.

V'lane appears to Mac not long after this and tells her that it is time for their hour together.  He brings her to Fairy where he creates an illusion of her sister that she is able to spend the day with.  Unfortunately, when V'lane brings Mac back to Dublin she discovers that she was actually gone for an entire month because time passes differently in Fairy.  Barrons has been worried about her because he couldn't figure out where she was or if she was alive.

Throughout this book Mac keeps seeing a specter who basically looks like the Grim Reaper.  At the end of the book she is cornered by a bunch of Hunters and Unseelie when the specter shows up again.  This time the specter is able to grab her and it takes her to an underground part of Ireland called The Burren.  She discovers that her specter is actually Malluce (the vampire) and the he has taken her to torture her until he dies.  It comes down to an extreme battle between the two of them and Malluce beats Mac until she is almost dead - this is when Barrons makes an appearance.  He feeds Unseelie meat to Mac and she is able to survive and they escape after killing Malluce (for real) this time.

The book ends with Mac going to meet a guy she had run into awhile back, Christian MacKeltar.  While walking to meet him, she senses the Sinsar Dubh is very near and collapses on the street, but unlike the last time she came close to it she doesn't pass out.  She figures out this is because she ate the Unseelie and that part of her has changed.

This was a pretty exciting book and I am looking forward to the rest of the series - there are a lot of questions that need to be answered!!