On My Wishlist...

On My Wishlist is a great event that Book Chick City runs every Saturday. It's where you list all of the books that you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming. I thought that this was a fantabulous idea so I thought I would join in!
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"Wynter Chelsea: The Legacy" by  Becca Michelle Ritchie

From Goodreads: "Four hundred years ago a creature descended upon the Earth. The supernatural hunted innocent lives wanting blood and vengeance. Two families, the Wynters and the Chelseas, knew of the darkness that reigned over the world. For thousands of years they hunted and killed to protect those who knew nothing of the dangers.

Amanda Chelsea vies to be a part of the Wynter Chelsea legacy, constantly craving the thrill of a lifetime that her older brother, Jack, and the two Wynter boys experience. At seventeen, Amanda’s passion to fight is overwhelming, and she cannot come to grips with why the boys are protecting her. Abilities are cast upon the new generation of Wynters and Chelseas, only in hopes of guiding them to vanquish the impenetrable creature. Even as Amanda Chelsea receives the power of empathy, feeling other people’s emotions, it brings more harm than a vital potency. Through the turmoil in New Jersey, Dustin Wynter is the only one able to relate to Amanda with a similar gift. As Jack’s rage boils over the edge, Dustin must put the pieces back together and hold the legacy up with a shaking arm and a quirky brother by his side.

When the world couldn’t seem to become anymore dangerous, both parents of each family go missing. Now with no choice but to bring Amanda along, she finally is able to fight without hassle, but is it worth it? Is the disappearance of the ones she loved a price that she has to pay for her dream to join the legacy? Traveling across the United States, the four young adults must confront their hidden emotions and ultimate reason for living.

Wynter Chelsea is a novel about finding truth in oneself and truth in the world amid the darkness that follows. Readers of the young adult genre will connect with Amanda’s coming of age story, where life seems to be at the tip of her fingers but she can’t hold on to it. Wynter Chelsea has a spark of comedy with Trevor Wynter and love with the bubbling young romance of Amanda and Dustin. With a strong sense of love, loss, and sacrifice, Wynter Chelsea connects the sentiment of the reader to the page. When the reader closes the novel, their heart will surely be left within the lines."
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"You Against Me" by Jenny Downham 

From Goodreads: "If someone hurts your sister and you're any kind of man, you seek revenge, right? If your brother's been accused of a terrible crime and you're the main witness, then you banish all doubt and defend him. Isn't that what families do? When Mikey's sister claims a boy assaulted her at a party, his world of work and girls begins to fall apart. When Ellie's brother is charged with the crime, but says he didn't do it, her world of revision, exams and fitting in at a new school begins to unravel. When Mikey and Ellie meet, two worlds collide. Brave and unflinching, this is a novel of extraordinary skillfulness and almost unbearable tension. It's a book about loyalty and the choices that come with it. But above all it's a book about love - for one's family and for another."
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"The Last Watcher" by Misty Burke

From Goodreads: "Sarah Thompson knows what it's like to have a midlife crisis at twenty nine. She has spent the last several years running her own yoga studio and trying to survive being single in a small gossipy town. And if that were not enough, she decides it is the perfect time to go back to school. So you see, Sarah's world was already spinning when she learns that her hunky professor has teeth … as in Vampire teeth!

This undead hero, aka Charles Underwood, introduces her to a fantastic world filled with good and evil. It is a world where Sarah learns that she is a Watcher. Her birthmark foretells a prophecy that throws her into the middle of a magical conflict where battle lines have already been drawn. Does Sarah trust this new found hero or is she just a pawn in his plans to win the war?"

What is on your wishlist? 

"Friday Night Bites" by Chloe Neill

From Goodreads: "The story of a young heiress's initiation into the dark society of the Chicagoland Vampires continues...

Ten months after vampires revealed their existence to the mortals of Chicago, they're enjoying a celebrity status usually reserved for the Hollywood elite. But should people learn about the Raves-mass feeding parties where vampires round up humans like cattle-the citizens will start sharpening their stakes.

So now it's up to the new vampire Merit to reconnect with her upper class family and act as liaison between humans and bloodsuckers, and keep the more unsavory aspects of the vampire lifestyle out of the media. But someone doesn't want peace between them-someone with an ancient grudge..."

I always find it a shame when a book that I love has a sequel and I don't find the sequel to be as good as the first. If you will recall I reviewed the first book in the series, "Good Girls Bite", and in my review I pretty much praised everything about it. I loved that Merit was so kick-butt, I loved all of the secondary characters (which I typically loath), and I just loved the world that Chloe Neill created. But this book? It wasn't the worst sequel I have read by any means (as you will see I did rate it 8.5/10), but it did fall flat for me.

I feel like Merit really lost herself in this book mainly because of a boy (I felt similarly about Dante Valentine in Lilith Saint Crow's Dante Valentine series). I would have been okay with Merit and the fact that she seemed to only have eyes for Ethan had she been honest about it. But she wasn't. Whenever anyone would ask her, "Do you have feelings for Ethan", she would automatically reply with "NO!" and then clam up. Or even when she would think something along those lines, she would convince herself that she was wrong or just being silly. Here is a secret Merit... You really, really, really like Ethan. Accept it. But because she was unable to accept this fact, she just was all confused throughout the book and really missed out on some great opportunities (ie. in the Morgan department and whatnot).

Also, the secondary characters that we were introduced to in "Good Girls Bite"? Anyone recall Mallory? Morgan? Jeff? Catcher? Her grandpa? Well, I just felt that they barely played a role in this book whatsoever. And I really missed them. I felt these characters really brought a lot of humor to the first book, but because they did not play all that large of a roll in this book, that humor that I had expected was pretty non-existent and I almost found the book to be too serious.

All in all, as mentioned, it wasn't terrible by any means. I just hope that in the next book in the series, "Twice Bitten", that Merit is a lot more honest with both herself and the secondary characters. 

Rating: 8.5/10

"Some Girls Bite" by Chloe Neill

From Goodreads: "First in a brand new series about a Chicago graduate student's introduction into a society of vampires.

Sure, the life of a graduate student wasn't exactly glamorous, but it was Merit's. She was doing fine until a rogue vampire attacked her. But he only got a sip before he was scared away by another bloodsucker and this one decided the best way to save her life was to make her the walking undead.

Turns out her savior was the master vampire of Cadogan House. Now she's traded sweating over her thesis for learning to fit in at a Hyde Park mansion full of vamps loyal to Ethan "Lord o' the Manor" Sullivan. Of course, as a tall, green-eyed, four-hundred- year-old vampire, he has centuries' worth of charm, but unfortunately he expects her gratitude and servitude. But an inconvenient sunlight allergy and Ethan's attitude are the least of her concerns. Someone's still out to get her. Her initiation into Chicago's nightlife may be the first skirmish in a war and there will be blood."
 
Typically I rate book boys based on their swoon-worthiness (ie. wholesome boys with their Abercrombie and Fitch model looks, sweet/ caring personalities and awesome senses of humor). But the boys in this book? Well they are in a league of their own, they surpass the swoon-worthy category and land smack-dab in the centre of the smoldering category. Seriously between Catcher, Ethan, and Morgan, a girl has nothing to complain about!

Merit (a name that I now love) may seriously be the most kick-ass girl I have ever come across. Seriously (move aside Faythe, Ellie and Isabella). She is so dynamic- from her wit, to her obvious intelligence, to her aforementioned bad-assness.

As for the secondary characters in this book? Well usually I loathe the secondary characters, I just feel like they are unnecessary or get in the way (or both at the same time *shudder*), but the secondary characters in this book? Well I don't think that there was one that I didn't like (though I will admit that there are a couple I like more than others *cough, cough, 21 year old Jeff who is a video-game addict/ mysterious shifter* or Mallory. Oh Mallory, or who I like to call seriously-the-best-friend-any-one-could-ever-ask-for-because-she-doesn't-let-anything-faze-her).

All in all? This book reminds me of what I am missing out on by skipping over adult PNR and almost exclusively focusing on YA paranormal. From this moment on I vow to seek out other adult PNR like this to read and I vow to read all of Chloe Neill's remaining books.

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...

Title: "Vanish"
Author: Sophie Jordan
Release Date: September 6th, 2011

From Goodreads: "To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone.

Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family’s. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride’s heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on—that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love?

In bestselling author Sophie Jordan’s dramatic follow-up to Firelight, forbidden love burns brighter than ever."

"Empty" by Suzanne Weyn

From Goodreads: "It's the near future - the very near future - and the fossil fuels are running out. No gas. No oil. Which means no driving. No heat. Supermarkets are empty. Malls have shut down. Life has just become more local than we ever knew it could be. 

Nobody expected the end to come this fast. And in the small town of Spring Valley, decisions that once seemed easy are quickly becoming matters of life and death. There is hope - there has to be hope - just there are also sacrifices that need to be made, and a whole society that needs to be rethought.

Teens like Niki, Tom, and Gwen may find what they need to survive. But their lives are never going to be the same again." 

This  book is such an eyeopener and I actually found myself freaking out more and more while reading it. Imagine that gas becomes scarcer and more expensive than it already is (seriously, within the last couple of weeks in Southern Ontario gas has increased by at least 12 cents a liter- great). I never knew to what extent we relied on gas an if it were to become non-existent how it would affect everyday life (seriously, no TV! How would I watch my darling Damon on "The Vampire Diaries"?!? No fresh food/ produce- besides what could be grown locally- and most importantly, no water).

Now I must say that this book is pretty environmentally-friendly preachy, but I didn't too much because it is something that I think that we need to be more aware of and something we should really make an effort to change (ie. do you really have to leave the tap on when you brush your teeth or do you have to leave your phone charger- or any charger in general- plugged in when it is not charging anything? Do you know how much power those babies suck up?). One of the characters ends up finding an abandoned model home that is entirely eco-friendly and self-sustaining- the Whippersnapper- and it is one of the coolest things I have ever read about before in a book (think the hollowed out tree in "My Side of the Mountain", but you know, in a house form) and I would love to see the Whippersnapper become a reality.

My largest complaint of this book is the characters. I personally didn't feel a connection to them whatsoever, which I found to be quite shocking since there is almost always at least one character that I love in a book.

All in all I think that this would be a great book for middle grade kids and those who like stories where it seems like all hope is lost but at the end you are left with a flicker of hope.

Rating: 7/10

"Witch and Wizard" by James Patterson

From Goodreads: "The world is changing: the government has seized control of every aspect of society, and now, kids are disappearing. For 15-year-old Wisty and her older brother Whit, life turns upside down when they are torn from their parents one night and slammed into a secret prison for no reason they can comprehend. The New Order, as it is known, is clearly trying to suppress Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Being a Normal Teenager. But while trapped in this totalitarian nightmare, Wisty and Whit discover they have incredible powers they'd never dreamed of. Can this newly minted witch and wizard master their skills in time to save themselves, their parents—and maybe the world?"

But I think that this little snippet from page 176 of the book better explains the book:

"1) I, everyday ordinary Wisty, am a witch. Washboard-tummy Whit is a wizard. We don't exactly know how to control our powers. 
2) Whit and I were sentenced to death by an insidious individual named The One Who Is The One. 
3) And my parents are wanted for treason. And we still have no idea where they are, or whether they are still alive. 
4) We were tortured in a "magic-dampening" prison. So possibly we are even more powerful than we know. 
5) A dead girl- who just happens to be the true love of my brother's young life - showed up mysteriously and rescued us from prison. 
6) I turned Bryon Swain into a weasel. That, I'm very proud of. 
7) The world is actually plural, not singular. Between the Shadowland, Freeland, Overworld, and Underworld, it's hard not to lose count. 
8) And one of those worlds is being run by a bunch of kids... from the manager's desk in a semi-demolished department store. It isn't paradise, but at least its a place where freedom still reigns.
9) I am being asked to help orchestrate a prison raid that might save kids from being vaporized. But maybe not. Actually, it might get them all killed."

I really haven't read any good reviews about this book (seriously, look it up on Goodreads and almost every single review on the first page has rated it as one star) and I don't understand why it has been rated so poorly. A lot of the reviews say that it was a blatant rip-off of "Harry Potter" and all I can think is, "Did we read the same book?" How are they so similar? Because they are about witches, wizards, and prophecies? Do you know how many books revolve around those themes? A lot. I don't think that it is fair to say that this book is a rip-off by any means, the differences far outweigh the similarities in this instance. I thought that it had an interesting plot line and it was very fast paced/ action-packed and by now it has probably become more than a little bit apparent that I prefer when books have a little romance aspect to them, but despite this book not having really any romance to it I personally still really liked it. 

I think that the main reason why I liked this book was because of (in addition to the interesting plot line, that is) Whit and Wisty. Despite all of their hardships they were really quite funny characters. I lost track of the number of times I burst out laughing at their antics, like when Wisty was learning the extent of her abilities and yelled "Ooh, I'm a bad scary witch," I said in a psycho kind of voice. I'm going to turn you into a pumpkin. Bibbidi-Bobbidi-Boo!" (pg.117) and accidentally turned another character in the book into an animal.  And I think that the both of them were just really sweet, they obviously cared a lot about one another and it was nice to see their brother/ sister bond grow throughout the book. Furthermore, I love seeing kids develop their powers over the course of a book and there was a lot of that going on in this book, from learning how to make horseflies and leeches appear out of thin air to bursting into flames to shooting lightening out of their hands. 

All in all? I do think that this is a really great book. While it is mostly serious with all of the action and adventure there is most definitely a comedic aspect to it that it genuinely funny and that does help break up some of its seriousness. I am looking forward to seeing its film adaptation (my copy of the book contained a special preview of the movie screenplay and it sounded pretty awesome). 

Rating: 8.5/10