Review: Forgiven by Jana Oliver

           Book: Forgiven (The Demon Trapper's Daughter #3) by Jana Oliver
           Pages: 354
           Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
           Source: Library

Short Synopsis: The Vatican Demon Hunters are after Riley as they think she is working for hell. Ori, the fallen angel is still haunting Riley, and the demons seem to be out of control in Atlanta. 

My Thoughts: I absolutely love this series. Action, drama, and romance all in one great read, with each book leaving you wanting to read the next soon after. 

The days are growing darker for 17-year-old demon trapper Riley Blackthorne. With her father’s reanimated body back safely, Beck barely speaking to her because of a certain hunky Fallen angel, and a freshly-made deal with Lucifer, she has enough on her hands to last a normal teenage lifetime. Though she bargained with Heaven to save his life, her ex-boyfriend Simon has told the Vatican’s Demon Hunters that she’s working with Hell. So now she’s in hiding, at the top of everyone’s most-wanted list.
But it’s becoming clear that this is bigger than Riley, and rapidly getting out of control:  something sinister is happening in Atlanta… or someone. The demons are working together for the first time ever and refusing to die, putting civilians in harm’s way. Riley thinks she might know who’s behind it all, but who’s going to believe her? Caught between her bargain with Heaven and her promise to Lucifer, Riley fears the final war is coming – and it may be closer than anyone thinks…
--From Goodreads

Wow. Another awesome read by Jana Oliver. Riley Blackthorne is once again caught up in a bunch of paranormal drama, as she finally finds her father, but her happiness is short lived. She still has a lot to deal with. 

First there's Ori, who is still torturing her and wants to claim her soul. She still has feelings for Ori, but ever since finding out that he is an angel of darkness and works for hell, she knows that there can never be anything between them again. 

And on top of it all, Riley still worries about the deal that she made to both heaven and hell. First she made a deal with heaven to save Simon's life, and exchange, she has to prevent the apocalypse, then she made a deal with hell in order to save her father's soul, she owes Lucifer a favor. What's a girl to do?

Riley makes a lot of mistakes, but with friends at her side like Beck, and Peter, she knows that she will be able to get through them. I disliked the fact that Simon grew nastier and nastier as he still refused to believe that Riley was innocent. I was glad to know that he finally knew he made a mistake with Riley and hopefully will treat her better. 

The relationship between Riley and Beck was very torture-ish as though there is a lot of chemistry between the two, and they obviously care for each other, they are usually hot one minute and cold the next. We discover new depths on Beck and his struggling past, as Justine, the reporter that Beck is involved with, threatens to dig into Beck's history, whether he wants to or not. 

I'm not quite sure what to say about the Vatican and the Demon Hunters. Obviously they are good and want to help with the cause, but overall, I'm just annoyed with the fact that they didn't really believe Riley until they saw her marks of both heaven and hell on her body.

Each novel is left with a very emotional jaw dropping ending, and definitely am impatiently waiting for the next and last installment in the series. All I'm saying is, there better not be another cliffhanger at the very end. 

Would I recommend this book: Yes

Rating: I give this book a 4/5. 

Review: Deadly Little Lessons by Laurie Faria Stolarz

     Book: Deadly Little Lessons (Touch series #5) by Laurie Faria Stolarz
     Pages: 336
     Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
     Source: Library

Short Synopsis: After all the drama that's happened in Camelia's life, even more drama ensues, as Camelia finds out she's adapted, and escapes to an arts program in Rhode Island.

My Thoughts: I love how creepy and intense this series is, but I find it a bit ironic that Camelia rarely needs help from the police, and always finds the culprit.

Camelia Hammond's trying junior year of high school is finally over...but her troubles aren't. After she discovers a painful truth about her family, she escapes to a summer arts program in Rhode Island. Determined to put family - and boyfriend - drama behind her, she throws herself into her artwork.
At the arts school, she gets caught up in the case of Sasha Beckerman, a local girl who is missing. Even though all signs suggest that the teen ran away, Camelia senses otherwise. Eager to help the girl, she launches her own investigation. She finds a blog by someone named Neal Moche, a psychometric who might have clues to Sasha's whereabouts. There is something familiar about Neal, and Camelia realizes how much she misses Ben, despite being committed to Adam.
But time is running out for Sasha, and Camelia will have to trust her powers if she's to save her. Will the lessons Camelia has learned in the past give her the strength to do so?
--From Goodreads

Camelia has special powers, also known as psychometry. She can sense things through touching objects. She also experiences visions through her art, pottery. As Camelia tries to get her life together, she gets another hit, and discovers that she was adopted, and that her aunt, is really her mother. 

And as Camelia receives all this news, she also starts getting visions and hears a girl crying. She has reason to believe that a girl has been kidnapped, and does everything she can to know more about the case. 

Camelia decides to enroll in an arts program to absorb the information that she discovered, as well as try to get more information about the missing girl. As Camelia finds out her many similarities between the missing girl, Sasha and herself, Camelia is also blowing the chance of a lifetime with her art classes. Camelia must try to find the missing girl before it's too late, and deal with her personal life. 

Camelia is a very obsessed character. Once she gets into a project, or is intent on doing something, she is set on doing that one thing. She is stubborn, and won't quit till she finds out what she needs. Through her pottery, Camelia discovers clues that helps her through the case. 

I wasn't a fan of the love triangle between Camelia, Adam, and Ben. Camelia for the most part, didn't seem to have her full attention on Adam, and I felt that she was stringing him along. I also disliked the way they "broke up." If I remember correctly, Camelia says that she just needs "time" and "space," not really indicating that they broke up. And then she immediately jumps into a relationship with Ben. 

I also find it ironic that with every time Camelia has a problem, she's able to solve it mostly without the help of the police. The ending was a bit rushed, and too neatly packed together. Overall, I still enjoyed the spookiness factor of it all, and it was still an entertaining read. 

Would I recommend this book: Yes

Rating: I give this book a 4/5.

              

Residue Winnder!

Hey fellow readers! This is just a short announcement letting you all know who the winner of the signed copy of Residue goes to...




a Rafflecopter giveaway



Congratulations! Your mailing address will be forwarded to the host in order to receive your copy. I will also be e-mailing the person to let them know they have won. Thanks so much to all those who participated, and check back soon for more fun stuff! :)

Review: Soul Thief (The Demon Trapper's Daughter #2) by Jana Oliver

           Book: Soul Thief (The Demon Trapper's Daughter #2) by Jana Oliver
           Pages: 339
           Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal
           Source: Library

Short Synopsis: Riley and the rest of the trapper gang is dealing with the after math of the demon overflow at the Tabernacle, and Riley is still trying to get to the bottom of things of who reanimated her father.

My Thoughts: Not quite as good as the first, but still a fast paced read that definitely left me wanting to read the next in the series.

Seventeen-year-old Riley has about had it up to here. After the devastating battle at the Tabernacle, trappers are dead and injured, her boyfriend Simon is gravely injured, and now her beloved late father's been illegally poached from his grave by a very powerful necromancer. As if that's not enough, there's 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. With all the hassles, Riley's almost ready to leave Atlanta altogether.
But as Atlanta's demon count increases, the Vatican finally sends its own Demon Hunters to take care of the city's "little" problem, and 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…
Soul Thief is Book Two in Jana Oliver's bestselling young adult series, Demon Trappers.
--From Goodreads

Wow. Okay, so I loved reading the first one and liked where it was headed. In this one, I was furious at Simon for the majority of the novel. I guess Oliver  had to make a bad guy in the novel, and Simon was it. Yes, I get that Simon went through an ordeal, but he was particularly nasty, not just towards Riley, but everyone else too. It was also never really stated who Simon was talking about or with when he was told that Riley worked for hell by a mysterious "he."
I'm not sure what to make of Ori and the whole ordeal. There was some inkling that I knew Ori wasn't who he really said he was. I was very shocked at the turn of events and how Riley decided to form a relationship with Ori. Ori felt like a really shady character, never really giving Riley any full answers. It was a shame because I really did enjoy the character Ori, and the fact that he swooped in and saved Riley on multiple counts, but overall, I did not trust him.
And then there's Riley's whole ordeal with the trappers blaming Riley's father for breaking the circle. I really disliked the fact that everyone wanted to blame Riley's father for the hoards of demons attacking them. No one paid attention to the fact that he came to warn them and not be the one to harm them. I hated the fact that Simon sold out Riley, giving her a huge mess to deal with. I was ready to write Simon off the list, but it really sounded like someone was manipulating him, and I really wanted Riley to try to help him with whatever was happening to Simon. Overall, another drama filled book, one definitely not to miss, am I am itching to get my hands on the next one.

Would I recommend this book: Yes

Rating: I give this book a 4/5.

Teaser Tuesdays!

Hey readers! It's time for Teaser Tuesdays. Hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading, this week's teaser is...

At the end of the sixteenth century, religious upheaval brings fear, superstition, and doubt to the lives of mortals. Yet unbeknownst to them, another world lies just beyond the Veil: the realm of the Sithe, a fierce and beautiful people for whom a full-mortal life is but the blink of an eye. The Veil protects and hides their world…but it is fraying at the edges, and not all think it should be repaired.
Discarded by his mother and ignored by his father, sixteen-year-old Seth MacGregor has grown up half wild in his father’s fortress, with only his idolized older brother, Conal, for family. When Conal quarrels with the Sithe queen and is forced into exile in the full-mortal world, Seth volunteers to go with him.
But life beyond the Veil is even more dangerous than they expected, and Seth and Conal soon find themselves embroiled in a witch-hunt—in which they are the quarry. Trapped between the queen’s machinations at home and the superstitious violence of the otherworld, Seth must act before both of them are fed to the witch-hunters’ fires…
--From Goodreads

My Teasers: "'I know what you are,' she said. 'I've seen your kind before.' Pushing my glass away, I got to my feet. 'I'll be going.' 'No.' Her claw of a hand was round my wrist, and surprisingly strong. 'I don't mean you harm.'"
--P.g. 116, "Rebel Angels: Firebrand," Gillian Philip

To play along with Teaser Tuesdays, all you have to do is...


• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

Be sure to leave your link so I can check out your awesome teasers too! :)

Top 5 Monday Rants!

Hey there! It's time for another Top 5 Monday Rants. This week's topic is... book worlds I would NOT want to live in...

1) All These Things I've Done series by Gabrielle Zevin. Not only is chocolate banned, but so is caffeine. I practically live on those two! What world would we live in without chocolate and caffeine? And on top of it all, Anya, the main character, has to deal with corrupt politicians.

2) The Delirium series by Lauren Oliver. I have to admit, I wasn't a fan of the books, but the world she creates is definitely one I would not want to be in. Who would want to live in a world where love did not exist? And to come to an age where you have to have a procedure to get rid of it? Yikes. 

 3) The Hunt series by Andrew Fukuda. Seriously. It's bad enough that there's a world with vampires in it, but then, to be a human, extinct in a world overrun by vampires. And if they ever find out that you're human, you end up as their meal. How scary would that be?

4) The Chemical Garden Trilogy by Lauren DeStefano. With having a life span of only 25 years, I'd be dead already! And on top of the life span drama, if you're a girl in her prime, you'd also have to worry about being kidnapped and sold to a polygamous husband! Ouch!

5) And last but not least, Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin. In a world where everything is in ruins, people have to wear masques in order to survive the toxic air. And the masques are mad expensive and rare. Seriously. I doubt I'd survive in that world.

Anyway, that's it for my Top 5 Monday Rants! Hope you all have a good Monday :)

In My Mailbox!

Hey readers! It's a posting of In My Mailbox. Hosted by The Story Siren, this week I got...

For Review:

e-book copy of 14 -- Peter Clines ( From NetGalley)

(unsolicited) Override -- Heater Anastasiu (Thanks to St. Martin's Griffin)

(Unsolicited) Rebel Angels: Firebrand -- Gillian Phillip (Thanks to Tor Teen)

From Library:

Pitch Perfect: The Quest for Collegiate A Cappella Glory -- Mickey Rapkin

Forgiven -- Jana Oliver (The Demon Trapper's Daughter #3)

That's all the books I got this week. Be sure to leave your link so I can check out your awesome books too :)