"After Eden" by Katherine Pine

From Goodreads: "Devi knows she shouldn't trust the new employee at her favorite used bookstore. Sure, he's funny, smart and hands down the sexiest guy she's ever met, but something dark lurks behind his unassuming smile and sinful green eyes.

Still, a girl can't always afford to be picky. When an angel abducts your twin brother it should come as no surprise that the one person who can help you get him back is a demon--and only if you're willing to pay his price."

While I really enjoyed the idea of the idea behind this story (a teenage girl trying to find her twin brother who disappeared six years earlier only to discover that her and her brothers are at the center of a battle between Heaven and Hell due to the fact that he does not possess a soul, much like angels, thereby making him an almost holy entity who is very dispassionate and who can do nothing but follow God's will and she does not possess spirit, much like demons and devils, giving her complete free will), I just found the story to be lacking (more so the middle of the story than the beginning/ end of the story, those were much better developed than the middle in my opinion). In all honesty I was just very confused as to what was actually occurring in the middle of the story, I feel like I got really sidetracked by all of the 'religious talk' (I did feel that some parts were quite preachy). That being said, I always love when an author can describe a scene, a character physically, etc. in a way that you could totally picture it in your head and Katherine does this in a way unlike any other author I have ever read before- her writing is seriously breathtaking. 

I did think that a few of the characters, especially Oz and Devi, were described beautifully (seriously, not only is Oz really hot, but he is a total sweetheart- that is, when he isn't manifesting his demon self). However, I was quite confused by their thought processes. Their thoughts seemed to jump around with very little connection between them- almost in an erratic manner (one minute things were calm, collected, and really cute between them and the next minute one of them was bawling their eyes out for reasons that I couldn't phantom). And I somewhat felt that the book deviated a bit too much from its original storyline (finding Devi's brother) for my liking (ie. 'padding' Devi's best friends ex-boyfriends car, etc.). 

All in all, while I feel like a few of the characters in this story were really great and totally swoon-worthy, I just don't feel like the story lived up to its potential. That being said, I do think that Katherine has the potential to be a seriously amazing author and I do look forward to what she has is store for us next!

Rating: 6.5/10

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

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: "Soul Thief" 
Author: Jana Oliver
Release Date: August 30, 2011

From Goodreads: "Riley Blackthorne’s adventures continue in the second spellbinding Demon Trappers novel, as she battles demons… and a love that could destroy her. 

At the start of the second thrilling installment of the Demon Trappers series, 17-year-old Riley Blackthorne has about had it up to here. After the devastating battle at the Tabernacle, trappers are dead and injured, her sweet boyfriend Simon is gravely injured, and now her beloved late father’s been illegally poached from his grave by a very powerful necromancer. Add to the mix: Ori, one sizzling hot freelance demon hunter who’s made himself Riley’s unofficial body guard, and Beck, a super over-protective “friend” who acts more like a grouchy granddad, and Riley’s almost ready to leave Atlanta altogether.

But as the demon count in Atlanta increases, the already crippled Trappers Guild has its hands full, and, when the Vatican finally sends its own Demon Hunters to take care of the city’s “little” problem, pandemonium breaks loose. Only Riley knows that she might be the center of Hell’s attention: an extremely powerful Grade 5 demon is stalking her, and her luck can't last forever. As Riley’s life becomes a dangerous balancing act, will she be strong enough not to tip? And who will be there to catch her if she falls?"

"Anna and The French Kiss" by Stephanie Perkins

From Goodreads: "Anna is looking forward to her senior year in Atlanta, where she has a great job, a loyal best friend, and a crush on the verge of becoming more. Which is why she is less than thrilled about being shipped off to boarding school in Paris—until she meets Étienne St. Claire: perfect, Parisian (and English and American, which makes for a swoon-worthy accent), and utterly irresistible. The only problem is that he's taken, and Anna might be, too, if anything comes of her almost-relationship back home. 

As winter melts into spring, will a year of romantic near-misses end with the French kiss Anna—and readers—have long awaited?"  

A lot of the time I feel that in YA books of this nature (chick LIT/ romantic comedy) the female character isn't all that developed whereas the male is almost hyper-developed (we can seriously recall every fleck of colour in his eyes and we know how his one dimple comes out when he smiles his crooked smile)- the female being so less developed so that the targeted audience (YA females in the majority of cases) can imagine themselves in her place and it really is a shame that the female character lacks a personality because she has a potential to be such an amazing (and well-rounded) character. Therefore I am beyond ecstatic to see that St. Clair (aka Etienne), the male lead, isn't the only character who is well developed with an indescribable personality in this book, his counterpart, Anna, also has one- in fact, I think that she almost had a bigger personality than he did, her witticisms and their playful banter really made the book for me. 

I think that why this book is so successful, besides the aforementioned witticisms and playful banter, is because Anna and St. Clair are flawed (as silly as that may seem). In being flawed that they are extremely realistic and you truly can relate to them. Also, the secondary characters, Meredith, Rashmi, and Josh, were quite relatable and they did fuel the plot quite a bit (a lot of the time I feel like secondary characters are just 'there' and are quite unnecessary but I didn't feel like that at all while reading this book). What I also liked about this book was its setting, I loved reading about places in Paris that I have visited (when we went to the Patheon last summer we were totally kicked out of the crypts by some grump security guard too!).

All in all, this is a really fun read that I highly recommend! Not only does it have a totally swoon-worthy male lead but it also has a totally well-developed plot that you cannot help but relate to!

Rating: 10/10

"Infinity" by Sherrilyn Kenyon

From Goodreads: "At fourteen, Nick Gautier thinks he knows everything about the world around him. Streetwise, tough and savvy, his quick sarcasm is the stuff of legends. . .until the night when his best friends try to kill him. Saved by a mysterious warrior who has more fighting skills than Chuck Norris, Nick is sucked into the realm of the Dark-Hunters: immortal vampire slayers who risk everything to save humanity. 

Nick quickly learns that the human world is only a veil for a much larger and more dangerous one: a world where the captain of the football team is a werewolf and the girl he has a crush on goes out at night to stake the undead. 

But before he can even learn the rules of this new world, his fellow students are turning into flesh eating zombies. And he’s next on the menu. 

As if starting high school isn't hard enough. . .now Nick has to hide his new friends from his mom, his chainsaw from the principal, and keep the zombies and the demon Simi from eating his brains, all without getting grounded or suspended. How in the world is he supposed to do that?"

While I have been a fan of Sherrilyn Kenyon's "Dark Hunters" series, I must admit that this book didn't do all that much for me. In all honesty I was quite confused by this book, I don't fully understand how a young adult who has most likely never have read Sherrilyn's "Dark Hunters" series as it is an adult series that is packed full of blood, sex, and gore (subject matters that are not as prevalent in YA literature), would be able to comprehend exactly what was going on in this book, when I, who, as mentioned, has read her series could barely do so (though I admit that it has been a few years since I last read her "Dark Hunters" series and over the years I haev forgotten various plot elements in the books, minor characters and so forth). I found myself more so trying to relate characters to one another, recall their histories and so forth while reading the book than enjoying the book itself.

I am further confused by this book because on the one hand it does seem quite adult (as a contextual background of Sherrilyn's "Dark Hunters" series would be somewhat necessary in understanding this book), but on the one hand it does seem to be quite juvenile with the video-game/zombie-infestation storyline.

What I did enjoy about the books were the characters themselves, specifically Nick. He was such a well developed character with his snarky yet absolutely caring and selfless nature (seriously, the kid was full of awesome one liners). And Acheron! Sherrilyn's "Acheron" is my favourite book in her "Dark Hunters" series and therefore I was super happy to see him play a role in this book, however I wish that his part in the book would have been less mysterious (this book is hands-down one of those books that provides you with more questions than answers).

All in all, I don't think that this is Sherrilyn's best book by any means and if you have picked this book up without ever having read her "Dark Hunters" series and set this book aside thinking that Sherrilyn's writing style wasn't for you, while I recommend reconsidering and trying out her "Dark Hunters" series!

Rating: 6/10

ARC Review: "If I Die" by Rachel Vincent

***May contain minor spoilers***

From Goodreads: "No one wants to be this teacher’s pet . . .

Everyone else is talking about Eastlake High’s gorgeous new math teacher, Mr. Beck, but Kaylee Cavanaugh has bigger things on her mind. Kaylee’s a banshee—her scream is a portent of death.

But the next scream might hit too close to home. Kaylee’s borrowed lifeline has almost run out.

Yeah—it’s a shock to her, too. So to distract herself from her own problems, Kaylee is determined to defend her school against the latest supernatural threat. That hot new teacher is really an incubus, who feeds from the desire of unsuspecting students. The only girls immune to his lure are Kaylee and Sabine, her boyfriend’s delinquent ex-girlfriend. Now the unlikely allies have to get rid of Mr. Beck…before he discovers they aren’t quite human either.

But Kaylee’s running out of time, and those who love her will do anything to save her life.

Anything.

Soul Screamers: The last thing you hear before you die."

It is inevitable people are going to be heartbroken by this book because Kaylee has to make some really serious and life-changing decisions to make.  That being said, the heartbreak that you are bound to experience while reading this book doesn't make you dislike the book one bit, if anything, it makes you love the world that Rachel has created even more than you thought possible. 

It becomes evident that Rachel has grown as an author tremendously as an author while writing this series- while I only felt "meh" about the first two books in the series, "My Soul to Take" and "My Soul to Save", I found "My Soul to Keep" and "My Soul to Steal" to be exceptionally better than the first two and "If I Die"? Well, all I can say is that Rachel really outdid herself and I am truly left speechless. 

I found that Kaylee really started to come into herself in "My Soul to Steal" (becoming a strong, independent female who wasn't afraid to stick to her guns) and she became even more so in this book, which made me like her all the more. Furthermore, while I really liked Tod in the earlier books I found myself falling even harder for him in this book. Where he was geeky and cute in the earlier books he was totally hot and swoon-worthy in this book (seriously, the whole random swirly eye thing, the over-protectiveness, and the rumbly/ lower octave voice thing going on, I don't know how a girl couldn't fall for him)! Also, I found myself really liking Sabine in this book (well, the first half more so than the second half), her life situation is pretty cruddy (being born a mara- aka a living nightmare) and therefore you cannot help but feel for her and overlook the fact that she is a conniving booger. As for Nash? Well, it should come as no surprise (based upon my reviews of the earlier books), but I have never been a fan of him and therefore (as horrible as this may sound) I wasn't at all saddened by his outcome in this book- dare I say it? I was quite happy with  his outcome... 

Rating: 10/10 

Thank you so much to Harlequin Teen for providing me with this book and special thanks to Lisa! 

I received this book from the publisher to read and honestly review. I was in no way compensated for my review.

In My (OMG) Mailbox!

 

In My Mailbox is a weekly post hosted by Kirsti at The Story Siren as a chance to share the books we've bought or received over the past week.
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 Bought
"Illusions" by Aprilynne Pike (I have already read and reviewed it HERE)
"Tales of the Otherworld" by Kelley Armstrong (My Kelley Armstrong collection is almost complete! All I need now is "Walking the Witch" and "Spellbound". If you haven't read this anthology yet I highly recommend doing so ASAP. While I like Kelley's full length novels I think that I love the anthologies even more- which is weird for me because I am typically not an anthology kind of girl).

Received for Review
"If I Die" by Rachel Vincent (The other day I was having such a cruddy day and my mom texted me to let me know that a book had arrived for me and I was more than a bit confused because I wasn't expecting anything, so I raced home to see what it was. When she handed me the envelope and I saw that it was from Harlequin Teen I almost had a heart attack and then when I opened it and saw that it was this book, well... There may have been tears involved. It totally made my cruddy day go away... I finished reading it a few hours after starting it and let me tell you, y'all are in for a treat this fall. Special thanks to Harlequin Teen and Lisa. PS. I totally learned how to use my [somewhat cruddy] webcam after having my laptop for 3 years... ;) ).

Received for Review 
"Released" by Megan Duncan (Thanks Megan!)
"Airel" by Aaron Patterson and Chris White (Thanks Dorothy and Pump Up Your Books!)
"The Commander and the Den Assan Rautu" by Michelle Franklin (Thanks Michelle!)
"After Eden" by Katherine Pine (Thanks Katherine!)

What did you get in your mailbox?