Title: Shadow Kiss (Vampire Academy #3)
Author: Richelle Mead
Published: November, 2008 by Razorbill
Thanks: Penguin, AU
Pages: 443
Rating:  
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Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with a rare gift for harnessing the earth’s magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest vampires – the ones who never die. The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa’s best friend, makes her a Dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making Lissa one of them.

Rose knows it is forbidden to love another guardian. Her best friend, Lissa – the last Dragomir princess – must always come first. Unfortunately, when it comes to gorgeous Dimitri Belikov, some rules are meant to be broken…

Then a strange darkness begins to grow in Rose’s mind, and ghostly shadows warn of a terrible evil drawing nearer to the Academy’s iron gates. The immortal undead are closing in, and they want vengeance for the lives Rose has stolen. In a heart-stopping battle to rival her worst nightmares, Rose will have to choose between life, love, and the two people who matter most… but will her choice mean that only one can survive?

Final Thoughts:
It’s hard to really settle on one feeling for this series. They can be thrilling, sending you speeding through the pages, but that only seems to happen once you reach the fourth quarter of the book. The majority of it just seemed to drag on, with little to no action in the plot to keep it interesting. I spent over a month trying to get through this book. It was more of the same—academy drama, Rose keeping things from Lissa in order to ‘protect her’, and the Rose/Dimitri forbidden-relationship tension.

Title: Frostbite (Vampire Academy #2)
Author: Richelle Mead
Published: April, 2008 by Razorbill
Thanks: Penguin, AU
Pages: 327
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Lissa Dragomir is a Moroi princess: a mortal vampire with a rare gift for harnessing the earth’s magic. She must be protected at all times from Strigoi; the fiercest vampires – the ones who never die. The powerful blend of human and vampire blood that flows through Rose Hathaway, Lissa’s best friend, makes her a dhampir. Rose is dedicated to a dangerous life of protecting Lissa from the Strigoi, who are hell-bent on making Lissa one of them.

Rose has serious guy trouble. Her gorgeous tutor, Dimitri, has his eye on someone else, her friend Mason has a huge crush on her, and she keeps getting stuck in her best friend Lissa’s head while she’s making out with her boyfriend, Christian.

Then a nearby Strigoi attack puts St. Vladimir’s on high alert, and the Academy whisks its students away on a mandatory holiday ski trip. But the glittering winter landscape and posh Idaho resort only provide the illusion of safety. When three students run away to strike back against the deadly Strigoi, Rose must join forces with Christian to rescue them. Only this time, Rose – and her heart – are in more danger than she ever could have imagined…

Final Thoughts:
Not a lot was achieved throughout this instalment. It felt more like a side story on the way to something bigger. For the most part, I felt like I was waiting for the plot to happen. There’s a fair bit packed into the last quarter of the book, and when it got going, it was good, but in leading up, I thought we spent far too much time with Rose worrying about where her non-relationship with Dimitri was going. Where was all of the Lissa/Rose bond stuff (or more importantly—their friendship) that was introduced in book one?

Title: The Coldest Girl In Coldtown
Author: Holly Black
Published: September, 2013 by Little, Brown Books
Pages: 419
Rating:  
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Tana lives in a world where walled cities called Coldtowns exist. In them, quarantined monsters and humans mingle in a decadently bloody mix of predator and prey. The only problem is, once you pass through Coldtown’s gates, you can never leave.

One morning, after a perfectly ordinary party, Tana wakes up surrounded by corpses. The only other survivors of this massacre are her exasperatingly endearing ex-boyfriend, infected and on the edge, and a mysterious boy burdened with a terrible secret. Shaken and determined, Tana enters a race against the clock to save the three of them the only way she knows how: by going straight to the wicked, opulent heart of Coldtown itself.

Final Thoughts:
With my interest waning in Holly’s Curse Workers series, I was reluctant to start Coldtown. Borrowing it from my local library, I’d renewed it twice before I had actually started reading it. Within the first few pages, I was bored. I wondered to myself whether I’d have to give up on it, but by page ten things had taken a turn and I couldn’t stop. It became really engrossing, with characters you could care about, ones you really wanted to win—or to lose—and a lead girl that didn’t irritate me one bit. Tana was fully of worry, but incredibly strong willed and at times, morally conflicted. It all added together making her someone I really wanted to read about.

Title: City of Heavenly Fire (The Mortal Instruments #6)
Author: Cassandra Clare
Published: May, 2014 by Margaret K. McElderry
Pages: 725
Rating:  
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Shadowhunters and demons square off for the final showdown in the spellbinding, seductive conclusion to the #1 New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

Darkness has descended on the Shadowhunter world. Chaos and destruction overwhelm the Nephilim as Clary, Jace, Simon, and their friends band together to fight the greatest evil they have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Sebastian Morgenstern is on the move, systematically turning Shadowhunter against Shadowhunter. Bearing the Infernal Cup, he transforms Shadowhunters into creatures of nightmare, tearing apart families and lovers as the ranks of his Endarkened army swell. Nothing in this world can defeat Sebastian, but if they journey to the realm of demons, they just might have a chance.

Lives will be lost, love sacrificed, and the whole world will change. Who will survive the explosive sixth and final installment of the Mortal Instruments series?

Final Thoughts:
This book ate my whole weekend. It was just so long. I’ve spent the past six hours on my couch getting through the last 300 pages, feeling like I just wanted it to end. Don’t get me wrong, it was a great book, a great end to the series, but it was just so…I guess ‘tiring’ is the word. All of the characters get a look in, with most getting a fair share of the time spent exploring and wrapping up their plots, but in doing this, it really slowed down the pacing with all of the jumping back and forth to all of the different perspectives. It’s probably a good thing for people who are sick of certain characters, but I just wanted to get to the end and put the heavy (you could use it as a brick) book down.

Title: Midnight Alley (The Morganville Vampires #3)
Author: Rachel Caine
Published: January, 2011 by Razorbill
Pages: 372
Rating:  
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Morganville is such a nice place to live… And die. If you don’t mind that sort of thing.

When Claire Danvers learnt that her college town was run by vampires, she did what any intelligent, self-preserving student would do: she applied for a transfer and stocked up on garlic. The transfer is no longer an option, but that garlic may come in handy.

Now Claire has pledged herself to Amelie, the most powerful vampire in town. The protection her contract secures does little to reassure her friends. All of a sudden, people are turning up dead, a stalker resurfaces from Claire’s past, and an ancient bloodsucker extends a chilling invitation for private lessons in his secluded home.

Final Thoughts:
Stepping back into this series almost two years after finishing The Dead Girls’ Dance I have to wonder why I left it for so long. I could barely put it down over the past day. It was like catching up with an old friend, slipping right back into conversation like no time had passed. The main character, Claire, and her three housemates, are such a likeably unique bunch. Each of them smart—most of the time—and able to steer well enough clear eye-roll-inducing mush that some other books have led me to recently.

Title: Unafraid (Archangel Academy #3)
Author: Michael Griffo
Published: February, 2012 by KTeen
Thanks: Kensington
Pages: 403
Rating:  
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The boarding school known as Archangel Academy possesses a legacy of secrets known only to a privileged few. For in this peaceful, charming part of England lives a population of vampires at war with one another–and Michael Howard is caught in the middle of it all. . .

When Michael left his small Nebraska hometown to enroll at Archangel Academy, he couldn’t have imagined how much the experience would change him. Once mortal, Michael is now a vampire with a destiny that was foretold long ago, and a group of friends with their own mysterious abilities.

But there are enemies too, some of them hiding in plain sight. Being strong enough to defend himself isn’t enough. Michael must find a way to protect his entire race of vampires. Dark forces within the school will drive everyone to take sides in the escalating violence. And for all his new powers, Michael will discover that love, jealousy, and vengeance have a danger all their own. . .

Final Thoughts:
It took me over two months to make it through this one. I just found it a struggle to maintain an interest in the story. While I found myself originally drawn into the series and its British academy teeming with sixteen year old vampires, as it progressed, the overall story arc surrounding one seriously pissed off principal failed to enrapture me. In terms of Michael and Ronan’s relationship, I found that book three really didn’t take them any further. The mountain of angst they were put through in the previous instalment is practically non-existent now. Some may like that—they have past their tests and it’s them against the bad guys rather than mistrusting each other. I like a bit of both though. If things don’t get shaken up just a little, they can feel stagnated.

Title: Team Human
Author: Justine Larbalestier & Sarah Rees Brennan
Published: July, 2012 by HarperTeen
Pages: 344
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Just because Mel lives in New Whitby, a city founded by vampires, doesn’t mean she knows any of the blood-drinking undead personally. They stay in their part of town; she says in hers. Until the day a vampire shows up at her high school. Worse yet, her best friend, Cathy, seems to be falling in love with him. It’s up to Mel to save Cathy from a mistake she might regret for all eternity!

On top of trying to help Cathy (whether she wants it or not), Mel is investigating a mysterious disappearance for another friend and discovering the attractions of a certain vampire wannabe. Combine all this with a cranky vampire cop, a number of unlikely romantic entanglements, and the occasional zombie, and soon Mel is hip-deep in an adventure that is equal parts hilarious and touching. Acclaimed authors Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan team up to create a witty and poignant story of cool vampires, warm friendships, and the changes that test the bonds of love.

Final Thoughts:
This book should have come with a warning label. I almost choked my own incessant laughter amongst a fit of coughing and spluttering. I was constantly grinning like a kid on Christmas over how thoroughly I found myself loving Mel and her vampire-boyfriend eradicating ways. Breathing sarcasm, and backed by a heavily rooted disliking of vampires that wanted to date her friends, Mel was the kind of character you just glom onto and don’t want to let go of. The plot seemed a little flimsy to start with, but it quickly grew beyond the initial premise, adding in a mystery, angsty friends, and cute guys.