"Twice Bitten" by Chloe Neill

From Goodreads: "Shapeshifters from across the country are convening in the Windy City, and as a gesture of peace, Master Vampire Ethan Sullivan has offered their leader a very special bodyguard: Merit, Chicago's newest vampire. Merit is supposed to protect the Alpha, Gabriel Keene-and to spy for the vamps while she's at it. Oh, and luckily Ethan's offering some steamy, one-on-one combat training sessions to help her prepare for the mission.

Unfortunately, someone is gunning for Gabriel, and Merit soon finds herself in the line of fire. She'll need all the help she can get to track down the would-be assassin, but everywhere she turns, there are rising tensions between supernaturals-not least between her and a certain green-eyed, centuries-old master vampire."

This book is frustrating to say the least- I don't know if I have ever so mentally and emotionally strained while reading a book I did while reading this. Whenever I became truly elated with what was happening between them Chloe would rip my heart out and stomp on it, leading me to throw my book across the room out of frustration and heartbreak.

And I am further frustrated because while I would love to see Merit and Ethan together mainly because they would be a super powerful couple, I am still not exactly sure how I feel about Ethan. I understand that his house has to be a big concern to him, but exactly how big? Can he not be selfish every once and a while and go after what he truly wants? Does he always have to make sacrifices? Also, I am somewhat wary of their relationship because what would stop it from ending like Ethan and Lacey's did (especially taking into consideration that it does seem like Merit is going to be made into a Master, like Lacey was, which will eventually separate her and Ethan as their have to look after their respective houses)? Despite my frustrations I do believe that this book is exceptionally better than the second book in the series, "Friday Night Bites", however not as good as the first book in the series, "Some Girl's Bite".

I was really glad to see Jeff play a larger role in this book than in the previous ones- I find him to hands down be the most intriguing character (I wanna know what he shifts into!). I think that in this book he became so much more than the quirky/ nerdy boy that we saw in the earlier books- he really pulls out his bad-ass, and dare I say, almost dangerous-bad-boy side. I also think that Fallon is a pretty bad-ass (I suppose that being in the female child in a family of boys would force her to become pretty hardcore) and intriguing character, I can't wait to see how her and Jeff's relationship develops.

Rating: 9.5/10

"Illusions" by Aprilynne Pike

***I got really caught up with this book/ review and I couldn't make it spoiler-free. I apologize.***

From Goodreads: "Laurel hasn't seen Tamani since she begged him to let her go last year. Though her heart still aches, Laurel is confident that David was the right choice.

But just as life is returning to normal, Laurel discovers that a hidden enemy lies in wait. Once again, Laurel must turn to Tamani to protect and guide her, for the danger that now threatens Avalon is one that no faerie thought would ever be possible. And for the first time, Laurel cannot be sure that her side will prevail."

When I first started reading this book I kinda felt like it had deviated a bit too much from its original story line- a young girl discovers that she isn't exactly who she thought that she was and is torn between two boys- with all of the troll talk, the introduction of seemingly random characters (Klea and Yuki), and the likes of. However I soon got over that initial thought when I got swept up by all of the action and adventure.

Laurel really got on my nerves in this book- I thought that she was extremely selfish for the good first half of the book. Tamani sacrificed everything for her and the majority of the time she didn't even give the boy faerie a second glance and it wasn't like she was unaware of the fact that he sacrificed everything for her, she totally knew and she really didn't care or she thought that David sacrificed more for her. Though I must admit that I really did start to come around to her halfway through the book when she decided to break it off with both boys. This was clearly one of the most mature decisions she had made in the series. Also I thought that David was extremely childish and unrealistic in this book. Did he really not understand that a relationship with Laurel was totally unconventional (as was Laurel herself), therefore how could be try and stick her in a cookie cutter mold? As for Tamani? Well I didn't think it would be possible, but I totally fell even harder for the boy faerie.

I thought that there were quite a few humorous parts in this book and I really appreciated them- they helped to break up the otherwise quite serious and suspenseful plot. For instance when Laurel was asking Tamani why he couldn't be nicer to her boyfriend he responded with, "I just don't want to cozy up to the guy whose girl I have every intention of stealing". Or when Shar threw Tamani against an invisible barrier to see if Tamani could enter it and Shar (who is a quite stoic and serious character) responded with, "You... bounced!"

When I read the last few sentences of the book (which at the time I did not know were the last few sentences) and flipped the page hoping for more but was instead met with the acknowledgments page I literally gasped aloud and screamed, "Oh. My. Gosh!". I think that this book had an even worse ending than Sophie Jordan's "Firelight"- seriously what is up with YA books that end during the most epic part? Is a little closure too much to ask for?

All in all despite the cruddy cliffhanger ending and some childishness exhibited by the characters this is a great installment to Aprilynne's "Wings" series- in fact, this might be the best book in the series to date.

Rating: 10/10

Waiting on Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating...
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Title: "Above"
Author: Leah Bobet
Release Date: 2012

From Goodreads: "Matthew's father had lion's feet and his mother had gills, and both fled the modern-day city to live in underground Safe, a secret community of freaks, ghost-whisperers, and disabled outcasts hidden beyond the subways and sewers. Raised underground, Matthew is responsible for the keeping of both Safe's histories and the traumatized shapeshifter Ariel, the girl he took in, fell in love with – and can't stop from constantly running away.

But Safe is no longer safe: the night after a frightening encounter in the sewers, Safe's founder Atticus is murdered by the one person Safe ever exiled: mad Corner, whose coup is backed by an army of mindless, whispering shadows.

Only Matthew, Ariel, and a handful of unstable, crippled compatriots escape to the city that cast them out; the dangerous place he knows only as Above. Despite Ariel's increasingly erratic behaviour and with the odds against them, Matthew must find a way to rescue Safe from Corner's occupying army. But as his quest leads him through abandoned asylums and the dregs of urban poverty, Matthew discovers that the histories he's devoted his life to aren't true: Corner's invasion -- and Ariel's terrors – are rooted in a history of Safe much darker and bloodier than Matthew ever imagined.

And even if he manages to save both home and Ariel, he may well lose himself."
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Title: "Silence"
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Release Date: October 4, 2011

From Goodreads: "The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They've overcome the secrets riddled in Patch's dark past...bridged two irreconcilable worlds...faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty and trust...and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in one another, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for—and their love—forever."

"Game of Pawns" by Leonard D. Hilley II

From Goodreads: "Twelve execution style murders have occured in Newark, New Jersey, in less than a week. Each murder has a calling card- a red pawn on each corpse. Kat Gaddis and Lucian investigate the homicides and discover the last four victims were employed by GenTech, a company that recently merged with Mech Cybernetics. After FBI director Mike Carpenter shares evidence with Kat, they soon discover political ties and corruptions that place Kat's life in direct danger. New players emerge and what seems like serial murders suddenly becomes a struggle for biotech knowledge and power. Kat is thrust into their game-The Game of Pawns."

While I enjoyed this book immensely, I unfortunately did not enjoy it as much as the first two books in the "Predators" series, "Predators of Darkness: Aftermath" and "Beyond the Darkness". I felt like in this book the parallel plot lines surrounding each character did not come together as nicely as in the previous ones. I had a very difficult time trying to keep all of the characters (the majority of the characters being new or only briefly touched upon in the previous two books) in order, for instance Slayton, Denton, Matthews, Typhis, and Jensen.

Furthermore, I personally did not feel all that much of a connection to the more so new characters (ie. Joe and the gang) than the previous characters and I felt that the characters that I loved in the previous books weren't quite themselves in this one, they had almost, in a sense, lost themselves (ie. when Lucas was a mess over Lydia's kidnapping. I felt like in the previous books had this happened he would have remained calm allowing himself to have better control of the situation, when in reality he was, I hate to say, a blubbering mess and he tried to jump into rescuing her without a concrete plan and he had to be talked out of said plan by Joe or Dr. Helmsby. Wasn't he supposed to be smart? How could he fall in the same trap over and over again?)- save for the talking rats- I thought that they were an amazing addition to this series, they really brought forth the humor that was needed in this overall quite serious book and Typhis- I really did like him despite him being a kinda psycho. Typhis legitimately cared about his creations children and became emotionally attached to them unlike Idris ever did- for Typhis his experiments were much more meaningful than just he financial gain they presented.

Furthermore, in this book I loved how much the characters really knew one another, when the vast majority of the characters had heard that Lydia was kidnapped their first response was something along the lines of, "Lucas will do everything in his power to find her".

All in all, while this is not my most favourite book in this series it is by no means bad. It is still possesses one of the most original story lines I have ever read, let alone heard of, before and I really hope that in the (near) future Leonard gets all of the recognition that he deserves for being an amazing author!

Rating: 8.5/10

I received this book from the author to read and honestly review. I was not compensated in any way for said review. 

"Beyond the Darkness" by Leonard D. Hilley II

From Goodreads: "The Darkness Continues...

Three years after Daniel and the other survivors escaped the terrorizing, blood-thirsty shifters in Pittsburgh, his friends have moved forward with their lives, but Daniel cannot. He believes the conspiracies within TransGenCorp have not ended and more shifters exist.

Then Daniel receives a phone call from Lucas that bolsters his paranoia.

Lucas is being charged with murders he insists his clone committed.

Daniel soon discovers darker atrocities are emerging, which not only place his life in immense danger, but all his friends as well."  

When I first saw that "Predators of Darkness: Aftermath" had a sequel, this book, I am not going to lie, I was a bit disappointed. I thought that "Predators of Darkness: Aftermath" had wrapped up very nicely and that any additional books wouldn't be as good as the original.  Furthermore, I felt that the characters really deserved a break after all of the hell that they went through  in "Predators of Darkness: Aftermath". However all of my worries will ill-founded and I am happy to say that this book was as good as, if not as better, than the first book. 

Once again Leonard exhibits his ability to create seamlessly blend multiple story lines without ever overloading the reader, as well as creating extremely dynamic and multi-faceted characters. In fact, a number of characters that I only felt "meh" towards in "Predators of Darkness: Aftermath", like Johanna, Lydia, and Lucian, I completely fell head over heels for in this book because it was evident that they truly grew and learned from their past mistakes. Furthermore, I came to love my old favourites, Morton, Daniel, and Lucas, even more in this book. 
  
All in all, I highly recommend this series to everyone! As I mentioned in my review of "Predators of Darkness: Aftermath" these books have such a wider audience than one would think (myself being an almost exclusive reader of YA PNR/UF would never have picked these books up in a million years based solely on the covers or the synopsis and for that I would have truly missed out on some amazing reads). 

Rating: 10/10 

I received this book from the author to read and honestly review. I was not compensated in any way for my review.

"Predators of Darkness: Aftermath" by Leonard D. Hilley II

From Goodreads: "Fear What Lurks In The Shadows

 The desolate streets of downtown Pittsburgh in 2073 are a reminder of the missile attack that forever changed the lives of the surviving scientists and students hidden in the fallout shelter of Helmsby's Genetic Research Center. Believing themselves to be the only survivors, they station themselves inside the center until food supplies near depletion. Thinking the fallout has lessened, they emerge three years later to discover strange creatures patrolling the streets in search of human flesh and blood. The creatures possess the ability to shift their genomes and alter their appearances by realigning their genetic sequences. Daniel Hutchinson, their leader, teams with Lucas Ridale and together they set out to scavenge the area for food and supplies with the hope to find other survivors. But Daniel's most recent journey uncovers mysteries more frightening than the shifters. He discovers the tip of Pittsburgh has been fenced off from the rest of the area. Low-flying helicopters observe the streets, making him ponder the question: Were the shifters released as simply part of a military experiment with humans being their prey?"  

When I first started reading this book I found myself growing increasingly frustrated with it because it was so far removed from what I typically read (YA UF/ PNR) and I seriously considered not finishing it. However, I decided to press on (because I hate to not finish a book) and as I delved deeper into the book, I found myself enjoying the book more and more and I could only shake my head at my earlier ridiculousness. This is not only the best dystopian/ sci-fi-ish book that I have read before, but also one of the most original. 

You would think that there would be too much going on this in book- from shifters to clones to a Gollum-like creature to corrupt military personnel- but there really isn't. There wasn't any point in this book that I thought to myself, "Gosh, he really did include the kitchen sink didn't he?" The world building in this book is impeccable, as is the character development, and after reading it and thinking about all of the different layers Leonard wrote, well, my mind is blown. Furthermore, because the book is so fast-paced you are truly kept on the edge of your seat while reading this book and you cannot help but want to consume it all in one sitting. 

This book has totally made me a hardcore sci-fi convert and I find that to be so astounding because, as previously mentioned, I was previously a strict YA PNR/ UF reader. What this shows is that Leonard is a literary genius and that he is able to bridge the gap between seemingly opposite or unrelated genres.  I think that if "Æon Flux", the "Resident Evil" films, and "Shade's Children" by Garth Nix were to have a child, this would book would be the result.

Rating: 10/10

I received this book from the author to read and review. I was not compensated in any way for my review.