Title: Texas Gothic
Author: Rosemary Clement-Moore
Published: July, 2011 by Corgi Books
Pages: 400
Rating:  
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Amy Goodnight knows that the world isn’t as simple as it seems—she grew up surrounded by household spells and benevolent ghosts. But she also understands that “normal” doesn’t mix with magic, and she’s worked hard to build a wall between the two worlds. Not only to protect any hope of ever having a normal life.

Ranch-sitting for her aunt in Texas should be exactly that. Good old ordinary, uneventful hard work. Only, Amy and her sister, Phin, aren’t alone. There’s someone in the house with them—and it’s not the living, breathing, amazingly hot cowboy from the ranch next door.

It’s a ghost, and it’s more powerful than the Goodnights and all their protective spells combined. It wants something from Amy, and none of her carefully built defenses can hold it back.

This is the summer when the wall between Amy’s worlds is going to come crashing down.

Final Thoughts:
I was expecting something a bit more witchy. Instead, the books spent the majority of its time digging up bones, literally. It took me almost a week to get through this one, which is partially why I rated it as low as I did. The other reason stems from the fact that plot left me confused as to where it was going, what was important, and generally underwhelmed. It wasn’t all bad though, the characters had their fun quirks and nuances, which in a different plot probably would have really interested me. There’s also a cute cowboy next door reigning in the romance front. Definitely for those who enjoy the “I hate you.” “No, I hate you more.” types of romances. Lots of tension!

Title: Lockdown (Escape From Furnace #1)
Author: Alexander Gordon Smith
Published: October, 2009 by Farrar Straus Giroux
Pages: 273
Rating:  
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Furnace Penitentiary: the world’s most secure prison for young offenders, buried a mile beneath the earth’s surface. Convicted of a murder he didn’t commit, sentenced to life without parole, “new fish” Alex Sawyer knows he has two choices: find a way out, or resign himself to a death behind bars, in the darkness at the bottom of the world. Except in Furnace, death is the least of his worries.

Soon Alex discovers that the prison is a place of pure evil, where inhuman creatures in gas masks stalk the corridors at night, where giants in black suits drag screaming inmates into the shadows, where deformed beasts can be heard howling from the blood-drenched tunnels below. And behind everything is the mysterious, all-powerful warden, a man as cruel and dangerous as the devil himself, whose unthinkable acts have consequences that stretch far beyond the walls of the prison.

Together with a bunch of inmates—some innocent kids who have been framed, others cold-blooded killers—Alex plans an escape. But as he starts to uncover the truth about Furnace’s deeper, darker purpose, Alex’s actions grow ever more dangerous, and he must risk everything to expose this nightmare that’s hidden from the eyes of the world.

Final Thoughts:
It took me almost a week to read this. I was initially turned off by the first few chapters that I put it down and ended up reading three vampire books in the process. I came back to it, determined to finish it, and after the first hundred pages, surprisingly it wormed its way into my subconscious. I didn’t love the book, but it got addictive. It’s essentially Prison Break for early to mid-teens. It plays heavily on the male friendship aspect as the wrongly imprisoned try to deal with, and find a way out of, their new gritty, despair-filled futures.

Title: Dark Reunion (The Vampire Diaries #4)
Author: L.J. Smith
Published: May, 1992 by HarperCollins
Pages: 274
Rating:  
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The Final Conflict… The Last Deadly Kiss

Elena: Now she rises from the dead to recreate the powerful vampire trio.

Stefan: Summoned by Elena, he keeps a promise to her and fights the most terrifying evil he’s ever faced.

Damon: Joining the brother he once called an enemy, Damon battles this new horror with strength, cunning, and deadly charm.

Final Thoughts:
I’m surprised and impressed by how much L.J. puts her characters through. I can’t say that things ever felt stable or boring. While a lot has changed since the previous book, it still holds the romantic vibe laced with an air of imminent doom. There’s a lot of action this time around, originally being the final book in the series. Personally I liked book three better, but still enjoyed this one for all of its mystery, danger and emotional growth.
Just a warning, there are spoilers for the previous book ahead.

Title: The Fury (The Vampire Diaries #3)
Author: L.J. Smith
Published: November, 1991 by HarperCollins
Pages: 245
Rating:  
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Love can kill

Elena: with Damon at her side, and wild with her craving for blood, the changed Elena struggles to control her desires.

Damon: his hunger for the golden girl wars with his hunger for revenge against Stefan.

Stefan: tormented after losing Elena, he will do anything to get her back. Even if it means becoming what he once despised. . . .

Getting what they want may come at a deadly cost.

Final Thoughts:
Just about everything I had a problem with last time around was addressed in this third instalment. The characters evolved, there was real tension, and basically the plot just got better. The last book served its purpose in advancing the overall direction of the series, but in terms of my own personal enjoyment, there was no contest, I couldn’t put down the The Fury. A lot of the teen angst that had plagued Elena faded with the advent of greater problems. Damon’s gradual change also played a part in my enjoyment. While I love evil Damon, semi-good but snarky Damon is just as fun.
Just a warning, there are spoilers for the previous book ahead.

Title: The Struggle (The Vampire Diaries #2)
Author: L.J. Smith
Published: October, 1991 by HarperCollins
Pages: 236
Rating:  
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Torn between two vampire brothers

Damon: determined to make Elena his, he’d kill his own brother to possess her.

Stefan: desperate for the power to destroy Damon, and protect Elena, he gives in to his thirst for human blood.

Elena: the girl who can have anyone finds herself in the middle of a love triangle . . . one that might turn deadly.

Final Thoughts:
A fun escape, although having turned twenty last month, The Struggle is showing signs of its age. The names, the clothing, the speech patterns jarred me at times, but taking it for what it was, I really enjoyed it. Having come into the books after watching the TV series, the differences are obvious, but the heart of it still lies in the love triangle. This Elena is a little frustrating at times, though. I didn’t exactly agree with all of her decision making. The plot may not have been as complicated if she hadn’t been so stubborn. But even with the hurdles, these books have a way of packing a major punch at the end. It’s hard to just read one at a time.

Title: Every Other Day
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Published: December, 2011 by EgmontUSA
Thanks: EgmontUSA via NetGalley
Pages: 336
Rating:  
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Every other day, Kali D’Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She attends pep rallies. She’s human.

And then every day in between . . .She’s something else entirely.

Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism.

When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her and, unfortunately, she’ll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends, Kali takes a risk that her human body might not survive. . .and learns the secrets of her mysterious condition in the process.

Final Thoughts:
This one turned out to be nothing like I’d thought it would. The first chapter didn’t reel me in so I set aside for a few days, little did I know, chapter two was completely different. For some reason I’d expected it to be all about demon hunting, instead it turned into an awesome paranormal conspiracy. The characters felt real, each with their own intertwined histories that made them who they were. Here, not only did the main character get ample development time, the two sidekicks did as well. While there could have been more on the romance front, with the tight timeframe of the plot, I’m relieved it didn’t fall into the trappings of insta-luv.

Title: Fang Me (Demon Underground #3)
Author: Parker Blue
Published: March, 2011 by Bell Bridge Books
Thanks: Bell Bridge Books via NetGalley
Pages: 194
Rating:  
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The vampires want it. The demons want it, too. And someone is willing to kill Val for it.Val and Fang have to find the powerful Encyclopedia Magicka before either of San Antonio’s warring underworld factions locate it or the consequences will be deadly for the entire city. As usual, Val’s vampire enemies (they still call her The Slayer) want her dead. Even some of her fellow demons may be less than trustworthy, since they’d like to grab the legendary book of spells before she does. Val has a personal claim to the Encyclopedia–her demon father left it to her when he died–but someone stole it recently. And that can’t be good.

Battling vamps and dodging demons, Val struggles to unravel the mystery and find the thief. At the same time, she’s fighting her attraction to sweet, sexy Shade–her favorite shadow demon. Rumor has it that Val will lose her part-demon, vampire-fighting powers if she gives herself to him.With a crowd of vamps and demons out to trick her or kill her, it’s not a good time for her to risk her job as the city’s best vampire hunter by falling in love. The stakes are high and aimed right at her heart. But Lola, Val’s hungry little lust demon, doesn’t like being denied. Will Lola finally get her way?What’s a part-lust-demon-teen supposed to do? Whatever it takes.

Final Thoughts:
With a plot very much like that of book two, I didn’t find it as enthralling. There are new characters though, that help bring the tension. Shade and Val’s relationship has its strains and so does Val’s life in general. Reading the first three books in the series in a row has allowed me to witness the progression of the characters over a short period. I like that they’re learning about themselves and growing, but this whole ‘search for magick books’ plot feels like it’s been going on for way too long. Let’s get back to the vampires.