The Summer My Life Began by Shannon Greenland

The Summer My Life Began by Shannon Greenland
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

From the blurb:

Elizabeth Margaret — better known as Em — has always known what life would contain: an internship at her father’s firm, a degree from Harvard and a career as a lawyer. The only problem is that it’s not what she wants. When she gets the opportunity to get away from it all and spend a month with the aunt she never knew, she jumps at the chance. While there, Em pursues her secret dream of being a chef, and she also learns that her family has kept some significant secrets from her, too. And then there’s Cade, the laid-back local surfer boy who seems to be everything Em isn't. Naturally, she can’t resist him, and as their romance blossoms, Em feels she is living on her own terms for the first time.

Imagine you're 17, on the verge of graduating from high school, and your whole life is planned out for you - follow in your father's footsteps by attending Harvard, getting a law degree, joining his firm, marrying an appropriate boy and producing the requisite 2.5 children. Imagine that's not the life you envision for yourself, but you're stuck - afraid to speak your mind because your pretentious, cold-hearted mother, emotionally distant father and snobbish, grand-standing grandmother have forgotten that you're your own person and have since your birth tried to mold you into what they think is the perfect daughter. You've been bullied your whole life into thinking that you will only be loved if you live up to their expectations of you.

The New Death and Others by James Hutchings

The New Death and others by James Hutchings

My rating: 2 of 5 stars


From the blurb:

Death gets a roommate...

An electronic Pope faces a difficult theological question...

A wicked vizier makes a terrible bargain...

44 stories. 19 poems. No whiny vampires. There's a thin line between genius and insanity, and James Hutchings has just crossed it - but from which direction?

I don't really know what to shelve this as. The book is a collection of short stories and poems, some just a few sentences, that cover a lot of different topics. Some were over my head, some were interesting, some were really good and some had a quiet poignancy. It's an eclectic mixture, for sure.

This wasn't really the book for me.

I received a free electronic copy of this book from the author in exchange for a review.



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The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


From the blurb:

In a future world, Vampires reign. Humans are blood cattle. And one girl will search for the key to save humanity.

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die… or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn't easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

This was my first foray into Julie Kagawa's writing. Apparently, I've been a) living under some rock for some time, or b) missing the memo, or possibly c) too involved with Edward Cullen to give attention to any vampire books outside of Twilight.

Clearly, I've been missing out. Julie Kagawa delivers with her first foray into the world of bloodsuckers (not the sparkly kind, oh no) a gripping dystopian tale of a post-apocalyptic world where vampires have become the master race and humans are no more than walking blood bags.

Whisper Cape by Regan Walsh

Whisper Cape by Regan Walsh

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


From the blurb:

WHISPER CAPE is a town of secrets and Addison MacKenna soon becomes tangled in a web of them. Believing that her continual and worsening nightmares are both the key to her own new abilities and the clue to her father’s death, Addie knows she will not rest until she has the answers she craves.The only one who can protect her, instruct her in the use of her powers and teach her how to destroy the murderous monster is the same man who makes Addie’s heart race and her blood heat with passion.

Cael Sheridan may be arrogant and mysterious but he's also undeniably gorgeous. A member of a secret society, he is sworn to protect the woman he believes to be the daughter of his recently murdered mentor. In the process, he finds it impossible to resist her magnetic sensuality, complicating his efforts to shield and guide her as she learns to manage her newly acquired skills. At the same time, Addison has much to teach him about trust and commitment. Fate has brought them together, but will it make them stronger or destroy them both in end?

In her debut novel, Regan Walsh combines elements of the supernatural with a contemporary love story, and a cast of mostly believable characters. It's a story of good vs. evil, of falling in love, of finding out truths you never expected, all set against a romantic backdrop of a small coastal town.