Review: Queen of the Dead by Stacey Kade

Title: Queen of the Dead

Author: Stacey Kade

Release Date: May 31st, 2011

Publisher: Hyperion Teen

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 288

Source: Won ARC at TBF ‘11 (also ebook from publisher via Netgalley)

Series: The Ghost and the Goth #2

Other Titles in the Series: The Ghost and the Goth (#1)

Summary (goodreads.com): After being sent back from the light, Alona Dare - former homecoming queen, current Queen of the Dead - finds herself doing something she never expected: working. Instead of spending days perfecting her tan by the pool (her typical summer routine when she was, you know, alive), Alona must now cater to the needs of other lost spirits. By her side for all of this - ugh - “helping of others” is Will Killian: social outcast, seer of the dead, and someone Alona cares about more than she’d like.

Before Alona can make a final ruling on Will’s “friend” or “more” status, though, she discovers trouble at home. Her mom is tossing out Alona’s most valuable possessions, and her dad is expecting a new daughter with his wicked wife. Is it possible her family is already moving on? Hello! She’s only been dead for two months! Thankfully, Alona knows just the guy who can put a stop to this mess.

Unfortunately for Alona, Will has other stuff on his mind, and Mina, a young (and beautiful) seer, is at the top of the list. She’s the first ghost-talker Will’s ever met—aside from his father—and she may hold answers to Will’s troubled past. But can she be trusted? Alona immediately puts a check mark in the “clearly not” column. But Will is - ahem - willing to find out, even if it means leaving a hurt and angry Alona to her own devices, which is never a good idea.

Packed with romance, lovable characters, and a killer cliffhanger, Queen of the Dead is the out-of-this-world sequel to The Ghost and the Goth.

My Review:

Alona and Will were working well together in more ways than one, then Will meets a fellow ghost talker, one thing or another leads Alona to do something stupid and BAM you’ve got a hell of a twist that makes Queen of the Dead a great book! This sequel to The Ghost and the Goth is still from the alternating perspectives of Alona (the ghost) and Will (the goth who isn’t really goth so much as a quiet kid who’s trying to find his place in a world where he sees and hears ghosts). I really liked that Will met some fellow Ghost talkers but I’m actually on Alona’s side of things. I understand why she does that big stupid thing (that I will say no more about for the fear of spoiling it) even if it was, well, stupid. All I can say is that I can’t wait for the next book. I wanna see how Alona’s gonna get out of trouble this time! I also found myself feeling bad for Alona more so in this book than in the first book because Alona is starting to cope with how her family is coping with her death; which by the way isn’t going well. Alona’s coping, I mean. Will is trying to help her but he’s got things of his own he’s coping with! Overall, I really liked this book and I recommend it to everyone who read the first book (which should be everyone).

Review: Die for Me by Amy Plum

Title: Die for Me

Author: Amy Plum

Release Date: May 10th, 2011

Publisher: HarperTeen

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 352

Source: ARC ebook from publisher via Netgalley

Series: The Revenants #1

Challenge: Debut Author Challenge (hosted by The Story Siren)

Summary (goodreads.com): In the City of Lights, two star-crossed lovers battle a fate that is destined to tear them apart again and again for eternity.

When Kate Mercier's parents die in a tragic car accident, she leaves her life--and memories--behind to live with her grandparents in Paris. For Kate, the only way to survive her pain is escaping into the world of books and Parisian art. Until she meets Vincent.

Mysterious, charming, and devastatingly handsome, Vincent threatens to melt the ice around Kate's guarded heart with just his smile. As she begins to fall in love with Vincent, Kate discovers that he's a revenant--an undead being whose fate forces him to sacrifice himself over and over again to save the lives of others. Vincent and those like him are bound in a centuries-old war against a group of evil revenants who exist only to murder and betray. Kate soon realizes that if she follows her heart, she may never be safe again.

My Review:

This is the very first book I read on my Kindle and oh boy I couldn’t have asked for a better book to begin with. This is an amazing start to what I’m sure will be a great new series, in fact I’m positive it is. At first it seemed like one of those books where the parents die, the girl is sad, girl meets boy, all is good. It sort of is, but there is so much more than that when you add in Paris and the fact that the boy is well a hot zombie type person. Now before you let your imagination run wild no one eats any brains in Die for Me and there are no apocalypses, zombie or otherwise. I love the concept of the revenants in this book because it is completely new to me. I love that this book doesn’t have vampires or werewolves or fairies or any of the other overdone supernatural beings. I love that this book’s setting isn’t in the States, but in Paris it makes it seem as if anything can happen if you go abroad (which I am a total believer in). I also love Kate! She’s so cool; I love the fact that she doesn’t jump into a relationship with Vincent that she may regret, she thinks about it then decides she doesn’t just jump in like other heroines. I guess my only complaint about Kate was that she was a tad whiny at one point but hey she’s a normal teenager and I like that! I also love that even though I read this a couple weeks ago I still think about it, this plot just sucked me in and its hard to get out of. I can’t wait for the next book! I recommend this to everyone, go get it ASAP!

Review: Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

Title: Demonglass

Author: Rachel Hawkins

Release Date: March 1st, 2011

Publisher: Hyperion

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 359

Source: Library originally, but I have since bought a copy

Series: Hex Hall Trilogy (#2)

Other Titles in the Series: Hex Hall (#1) *check out my review here*

Summary (goodreads.com):

(((SPOILER FOR HEX HALL)))

Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch.

That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (aka witches, shapeshifters, and fairies). But that was before she discovered the family secret, and that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth.

Turns out, Sophie’s a demon, one of only two in the world—the other being her father. What’s worse, she has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is precisely why Sophie decides she must go to London for the Removal, a dangerous procedure that will destroy her powers.

But once Sophie arrives she makes a shocking discovery. Her new friends? They’re demons too. Meaning someone is raising them in secret with creepy plans to use their powers, and probably not for good. Meanwhile, The Eye is set on hunting Sophie down, and they’re using Archer to do it. But it’s not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?

My Review:

Just when I thought this series couldn’t get better Rachel Hawkins adds a few huge plot twists and I fall in love with this series! I had the pleasure of meeting Rachel this weekend at the Teen Book Festival in Rochester, NY. During her Paranormal Panel (with Shannon Delany, author of the 13 to Life series) she talked about why Demonglass had such a cliff hanger ending. I won’t say what happens at the end just that I understood Rachel when she said that she “ended the book where [she] did because that’s where the story ended.” There are new characters, a new setting and even bigger conflicts! Rachel did an excellent job of reminding readers of what happened in the previous book without it seeming as if she was retelling Hex Hall all over again. It's rare when I like a sequel more than the first book, but Demonglass pulls it off. There’s so much action in this that it was hard for me to put it down! Pick up this book and Hex Hall today! Even if it’s just to stare at the beautiful covers! :D

Review: City of Glass by Cassandra Clare

Title: City of Glass

Author: Cassandra Clare

Release Date: March 24th, 2009

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry

Age Group: Young Adult

Pages: 541

Source: Bought (ages ago)

Series: The Mortal Instruments (Book #3)

Other Titles in the Series: City of Bones (#1), City of Ashes (#2), City of Fallen Angels (#4)

Summary (goodreads.com): To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters -- never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.

As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadow-hunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadow-hunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her new found powers to help save the Glass City -- whatever the cost?

My Review:

Holy Wow! What a roller coaster of emotions this book was! Once I picked it up I couldn't put it down. It took me a couple years to actually start reading it because I didn’t want the series to end! Then Cassandra Clare announced that there would be three more books in TMI series so I finally felt like I could read CoG and not be sad that it was ending. I loved this book and I feel if this was the end I would have been okay with it. I loved that we got out of NYC for this book and went to Alicante. Even with everything bad that was happening there it was so magical and one of a kind! If you liked the first two books you will love this one as well. This is a short review, but I find that’s better than giving something away! Trust me, you will not be sorry; this book is great!