Rave - Fifth Grave Past The Light by Darynda Jones.

Charley Davidson may not look like your everyday, run-of-the-mill grim reaper, but she has vowed to reap grimness wherever she goes despite this unfortunate fact. Sadly, she gets sidetracked when the sexy, sultry son of Satan, Reyes Farrow, moves in next door. Since he is her main suspect in an arson case, she has vowed to stay away from him until she can find out the truth. But when dead women start appearing in her apartment, one after another, each lost, confused, and terrified beyond reason, Charley has no choice but to ask for his help, especially when it becomes apparent that her own sister Gemma is the serial killer’s next target. With Reyes’s ability to observe incorporeally, surely he can find out who’s responsible. Even if he can’t, arsonist or not, he is the one man alive who could protect Gemma no matter who or what came at her. But he wants something in return. Charley. All of her, body and soul. And to keep her sister safe, it is a price she is willing to pay.

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Wow. I'm going to tell you guys straight up that this book was brilliant. It was a delicate balance of action, romance, and supernatural intrigue, doused in a healthy dose of Charley's special brand of comedy! 

The book starts off great and only gets better from there. Charley has an infestation of crazy dead ladies in her apartment, all featuring the same MO. Naturally, she wants them gone, so, using her usual crazy, hilarious methods she sets out to find the killer. Of course, things are never that simple: she also has a Super Sexy Son of Satan  (and various other calamities) to deal with along the way. 

It all makes for a very easy and entertaining read, and I think that these books get better and better as they go along. The plot in this book is a lot simpler than it was in Fourth Grave Beneath My Feet, but because of...certain things Charley finds out about herself, it feels like this book is building up to something BIG. And I seriously can't wait to find out more.

Reyes is a H-A-W-T as ever in this book, but he's also strangely sweet. I know, I was freaked out too. It seems he's super committed to Charley now, which is great, because he's slightly less mysterious and more willing to answer all her questions - which I was really excited about. Trouble is, she doesn't ask them, they usually end up having sex instead or something comes up. I get that Darynda wants to keep his secrets, well, secret for as long as possible, but I am thirsting for information here! XD

All in all, I love Charley's antics and this story gets:
 Four hats! Absolutely magical!

Fifth Grave Past The Light - It's Out!

Fifth Grave Past the Light by the fabulous Darynda Jones is out today!!! Here's the synopsis:

Charley Davidson may not look like your everyday, run-of-the-mill grim reaper, but she has vowed to reap grimness wherever she goes despite this unfortunate fact. Sadly, she gets sidetracked when the sexy, sultry son of Satan, Reyes Farrow, moves in next door. Since he is her main suspect in an arson case, she has vowed to stay away from him until she can find out the truth. But when dead women start appearing in her apartment, one after another, each lost, confused, and terrified beyond reason, Charley has no choice but to ask for his help, especially when it becomes apparent that her own sister Gemma is the serial killer’s next target...

Looks good, huh? Well, I can tell you right now that it isn't good - it's great! I've literally just finished it and I'll have the review up as soon as I find the motivation to type. :)

Review - Divergent by Veronica Roth

In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue—Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is—she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself. 

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves… or it might destroy her...

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Wow. Just, wow. This book had been recommended to me a couple of months ago, and I only got around to reading it now. My only regret is this: I should have read it ages ago!

This is another YA dystopian novel, set in a world where society is divided into five Factions based on personality traits: Abnegation (the selfless), Erudite (the geeks), Candor (the honest), Amity (the peaceful) and Dauntless (the brave). On your sixteenth birthday you have to choose your Faction, which decides where you spend the rest of your life. 

Here is where Beatrice comes in. She has grown up in Abnegation, learning to be small, plain and unnoticeable. Abnegation is the type of Faction where selflessness is praised, vanity is scorned and you're not allowed to look in the mirror for more than a couple of seconds every three months - when you're getting your hair cut. Beatrice hates it there, so on the Choosing Day, she transfers to Dauntless.

Dauntless initiation is the hardest one around. Everyday life includes: jumping on/off buildings and moving trains, combat training, target practice, and mastering your fears. That's without taking the less...amicable members into account. Oh, and another thing? If you fail your initiation, you get kicked out and become Factionless, which roughly translates as homeless. 

So Beatrice changes her name to Tris and gets her head in the game. She makes some friends (and enemies) along the way, and she just happens to snag the hottest instructor in the series. *sigh*

Tris is a well-rounded character. She is flawed enough to make her three-dimensional, but not so much that you hate her guts. She is relatable and tells a great story, and it's very easy to get caught up in her life. Also, she just happens to be Divergent. I will explain:

Most of the "state exam" thingies and the "official stuff" are done on Simulators. That means that you get injected with this serum and your transported to a dream-like world. Then the people in the control room make up these scenarios (great for the fear mastering!) and measure your reactions. The thing is that, like in most dreams, you don't know you're dreaming....unless you're Divergent. Being Divergent means that you know you're in a Simulation and you can manipulate the scenarios - meaning you can control the "dream".

For some top secret reason, the government are all about eradicating the Divergent, which is dangerous for Tris, and interesting for us readers. 

Anyway, I loved this book. It was an effortless read, with just the right amounts of mystery, plot, comedy and romance. I connected with the characters and enjoyed the story - and I can't wait to read the sequel! I give it:

 Four hats! It was magical!

Goodbye Dublin, Hello Vancouver!

Hey guys! I'm off to Canada tomorrow (yay!) so there won't be many posts over the next three weeks...unless I can find some free internet. I know, I know - what will you do? It's okay guys, I'll be back before you know it, or, well, before August.

Rant - Of Triton by Anna Banks

In this sequel to OF POSEIDON, Emma has just learned that her mother is a long-lost Poseidon princess, and now struggles with an identity crisis: As a Half-Breed, she’s a freak in the human world and an abomination in the Syrena realm below. Syrena law states that all Half- Breeds should be put to death.

As if that’s not bad enough, her mother’s reappearance among the Syrena turns the two kingdoms—Poseidon and Triton—against one another. Which leaves Emma with a decision to make: Should she comply with Galen’s request to keep herself safe and just hope for the best? Or should she risk it all and reveal herself—and her Gift—to save a people she’s never known?

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This book let me down. Of Poseidon had it's issues, but overall it was a good YA novel. The sequel, however: ugghhh.

This book picks up immediately after Of Poseidon ends. Emma's mother has been found out and has, quite frankly, gone off the deep end. Is it possible for an author to write their own characters "out of character"? Because that's what it looked like to me. 

Emma's mother - long lost Princess Nalia - suffers a complete personality change. Gone is the somewhat oblivious, caring mother from the first book. She is now replaced with this bratty, selfish woman who puts her own needs before her daughter's, and damn the consequences. Maybe it's but me, but I thought that it's a parent's prerogative to put their child first. After all, they're the one's that had the child. Nalia made her choice when she ran away from her responsibilities and had a baby - mistake or no. 

Another things I just couldn't wrap my head around: Nalia's "mating circumstances". Nalia has been living on land for about twenty years now. She is forty years old, because on land, the mermaid people age faster. Now Grom, her One True Love, has been living in the water, so he hasn't aged much at all. Add to that the fact that he is Emma's boyfriend's brother and I get all sorts of disgusted and creeped out. Seriously, on top of everything else, we are now going to add pedophilia to the novel??? If my mother was dating my boyfriend's brother - no, wait, she wouldn't. Because it's weird and freaky!

Also, Emma. I liked her considerably less in this book. While I would be super supportive if she were to, I don't know, hold an Intervention for her mother, or excommunicate her, or even GET ANGRY - she doesn't. All we get is this inner monologue of brattiness and self-hatred. The only thing "bratty" about her is that she's not rejoicing to the heavens that Nalia and Grom have found each other, like everyone else is. And then she hates herself because she's "not being happy for her mother". Seriously. 

I guess I just felt very alone reading this book. It was very frustrating and I felt like screaming "Does nobody else find this weird!!!??"

I would give detailed synopsis, but the whole book is pretty much Nalia-related politics. There is some action and revolutionary overhauling, but the plot doesn't make much sense and the characters suck.

This book gets:

 One hat. Not even Galen's hotness could save this thing.

Am I right? Wrong? What did you think? Let me know. :)