Title: Shift (Shade #2)
Author: Jeri Smith-Ready
Published: April, 2011 by Simon Pulse
Pages: 367
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Aura’s life is anything but easy. Her boyfriend, Logan, died, and his slides between ghost and shade have left her reeling. Aura knows he needs her now more than ever. She loves Logan, but she can’t deny her connection with the totally supportive, totally gorgeous Zachary. And she’s not sure that she wants to.

Logan and Zachary will fight to be the one at her side, but Aura needs them both to uncover the mystery of her past—the mystery of the Shift. She’s not the only one seeking answers, though, and danger grows as she discovers new truths.

Who can Aura trust with her secrets? And to whom will she give her heart?

Final Thoughts:
This took me AGES to get through. It just wasn’t clicking for me. I kept finding myself putting it down mid chapter, leaving it a few days, then telling myself I had to get back into it. It was just so different from the first book, and not in a positive way. With great ideas, this paranormal had heaps to offer, but unfortunately most of the plot this time around gave way for a mess of relationship drama. And with Aura playing musical beds, I really couldn’t connect with her. For me, this love triangle (and at times, square), just didn’t work.

Title: Girl Defective
Author: Simmone Howell
Published: March, 2013 by Pan Macmillan
Thanks: Pan Macmillan, AU
Pages: 294
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

We, the Martin family, were like inverse superheroes, marked by our defects. Dad was addicted to beer and bootlegs. Gully had “social difficulties” that manifested in his wearing a pig snout mask 24-7. I was surface clean but underneath a weird hormonal stew was simmering…

It’s summer in St Kilda. Fifteen-year-old Sky is looking forward to great records and nefarious activities with Nancy, her older, wilder friend. Her brother – Super Agent Gully – is on a mission to unmask the degenerate who bricked the shop window. Bill the Patriarch seems content to drink while the shop slides into bankruptcy. A poster of a mysterious girl and her connection to Luke, the tragi-hot new employee sends Sky on an exploration into the dark heart of the suburb. Love is strange. Family Rules. In between there are teenage messes, rock star spawn, violent fangirls, creepy old guys and accidents waiting to happen. If the world truly is going to hell in a hand-basket then at least the soundtrack is kicking. Sky Martin is Girl Defective: funny, real and dark at the edges.

Final Thoughts:
I was hoping to like this one. The premise sounded fun, but I didn’t expect to love it. But love it, I did. Girl Defective is very near unputdownable. It was struggle come bed time when ‘just one more chapter’ turned into five. Filled with such engrossing, realistic and distinct characters, I felt like I’d picked up a John Green novel. Steeped deeply in family issues, the main character, Sky, holds herself out as the only semi-sane one amongst them. Very easy to connect with, her own angst seems to play second fiddle as she navigates the craziness that keeps gravitating around her.

Title: Demon Eyes (Witch Eyes #2)
Author: Scott Tracey
Published: October, 2012 by Flux
Thanks: Flux
Pages: 395
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Demons don’t die without a fight…

After destroying the demon Lucien, Braden—son of Belle Dam’s most powerful warlock, Jason Thorpe—doesn’t need the power of his witch eyes to see that everything in his life is turning against him: friends, family, and even his visions. When disturbing nightmares of Lucien’s return haunt him, Braden discovers that the simmering feud between the city’s two witch dynasties is fast approaching its explosive boiling point.

While struggling to come to terms with his attraction to Trey, Catherine Lansing’s son who should be his mortal enemy, a diabolical plan starts to unveil before Braden’s eyes. Young women are disappearing from Belle Dam, and as he investigates, Braden is forced to explore the dangerous unknown power within himself. But when the truth about his family is revealed, Braden must pay a terrible price.

Final Thoughts:
This book drained me. I wanted to like it. I really, really did. It just didn’t click for me. I enjoyed Witch Eyes a great deal, but with this one, it just fell flat. I felt like I was reading one big epilogue for basically the first half of the book. Nothing happened. The characters avoided each other, or if they did interact, it was incredibly stilted. As for the ‘plot’ of the book, it seemed like it wasn’t going anywhere. Read a hundred pages of characters whining, throw in few lines about the creepy voice in the main character’s head and repeat. How I managed to finish this one is beyond me.

Title: Vortex (Tempest #2)
Author: Julie Cross
Published: January, 2013 by St. Martin’s Griffin
Pages: 358
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Jackson Meyer has thrown himself into his role as an agent for Tempest, the shadowy division of the CIA that handles all time-travel-related threats. Despite his heartbreak at losing the love of his life, Jackson has proved himself to be an excellent agent. However, after an accidental run in with Holly—the girl he altered history to save—Jackson is once again reminded of what he’s lost. And when Eyewall, an opposing division of the CIA, emerges, Jackson and his fellow agents not only find themselves under attack, but Jackson begins to discover that the world around him has changed and someone knows about his erased relationship with Holly, putting both their lives at risk all over again.

Final Thoughts:
This is what books should be like. I never felt bored, I never wanted to put it down, the characters didn’t frustrate me. Please, people, write more books like this. Vortex may be markedly different from its predecessor, but it works. There’s less of a focus on the romance—it’s not gone, but it comes in second. So much happens in this novel that thinking back, it’s hard to imagine it all fit into just over 350 pages. You may find yourself missing some of the old characters, but with plenty of new ones thrown at you, you won’t have time to notice. Plus, if you’re anything like me, you will soon lose yourself in the intricately plotted mess that is time travel.

Title: The New Hunger (Warm Bodies #0.5)
Author: Isaac Marion
Published: January, 2013 by Zola Books
Thanks: Zola Books
Pages: 128
Rating:  
Purchase: Zola Books

New York is a bayou. New Orleans is a reef. The entire country has been devastated by natural disasters and governmental collapse, and on top of everything else there is the annoying problem of zombies trying to devour you at every turn. But for sixteen-year-old Nora and her younger brother Addis, they are about to discover the most frightening thing yet: being abandoned in this horrific world by their own parents.

Left with only a bag of clothes and a first-aid kit, Nora and Addis begin a harrowing journey to connect with anyone who isn’t looking to rob them or eat them. A wounded man wrecks a meal of green beans and French fries at the top of the Space Needle in Seattle. An attempt to get a good night’s sleep in a fortified motel is ruined by an undead face staring at them through the window. And they just can’t seem to shake someone – something – that’s been following them everywhere they go….

Meanwhile, traveling toward the city with her parents is a young girl named Julie. She is only twelve, but has already seen friends die and her school burn. She has watched her father become nearly as cold and remorseless as the Dead. All she wants is someplace to call home, even if it never really will be.

Final Thoughts:
I was incredibly surprised to find this one waiting for me in my inbox this morning. I had no idea there was going to be more in Warm Bodies world, let alone a prequel and a sequel. After madly devouring it last year, finding The New Hunger today was most definitely what I needed to draw me back into actually enjoying reading. I couldn’t stop, carrying my laptop around just to keep reading when I realised it was beyond time that I cooked myself something resembling dinner. It was that kind of book. Seriously, don’t start it if you have to go to work. Or better yet, take the day off.

Title: Alice In Zombieland (White Rabbit Chronicles #1)
Author: Gena Showalter
Published: October, 2012 by Harlequin Teen
Thanks: Harlequin Teen, AU
Pages: 404
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Had anyone told Alice Bell that her entire life would change course between one heartbeat and the next, she would have laughed. From blissful to tragic, innocent to ruined? Please. But that’s all it took. One heartbeat. A blink, a breath, a second, and everything she knew and loved was gone.

Her father was right. The monsters are real….

To avenge her family, Ali must learn to fight the undead. To survive, she must learn to trust the baddest of the bad boys, Cole Holland. But Cole has secrets of his own, and if Ali isn’t careful, those secrets might just prove to be more dangerous than the zombies…

Final Thoughts:
Not quite what I was expecting, but still enjoyable. It did take me a while to get through the start, but I’m putting that down to my haphazard reading schedule as of late. One thing I noticed while reading this, was that the characters are likeable—all of the them. It’s something I appreciate moreso now after a year of sifting through many irritating leads. While the romance didn’t draw me in as much as her Intertwined series, I still found myself enjoying this for the zombie-fighting action. Oh…and Ali’s new best friend, Kat.

Title: Finale (Hush Hush #4)
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Published: October, 2012 by Simon & Schuster
Pages: 454
Rating:  
Purchase: The Book Depository

Nora and Patch thought their troubles were behind them. Hank is gone and they should be able to put his ugly vendetta to rest. But in Hank’s absence, Nora has become the unwitting head of the Nephilim and must finish what Hank began. Which ultimately means destroying the fallen angels – destroying Patch.

Nora will never let that happen, so she and Patch make a plan: lead everyone to believe they have broken up, and work the system from the inside. Nora will convince the Nephilim that they are making a mistake in fighting the fallen angels, and Patch will find out everything he can from the opposing side. They will end this war before it can even begin.

But the best-laid plans often go awry. Nora is put through the paces in her new role and finds herself drawn to an addictive power she never anticipated.

As the battle lines are drawn, Nora and Patch must confront the differences that have always been between them and either choose to ignore them or let them destroy the love they have always fought for.

Final Thoughts:
This was the book that just wouldn’t end. Usually I like a long read, but with Finale, I just had to keep putting it down. I think it took me around three weeks to get through this tome. Honestly, I wasn’t expecting it to be a masterpiece judging on the previous books, but I was at least expecting something a little more. Hush, Hush had me addicted, but I’ve been growing more and more frustrated the further I delved into the series. Nora is an idiot—it’s as simple as that. She likes to think she’s not, but she is. If you can put up with that, by all means, jump in, you’ll probably…what am I saying, I can’t recommend this book.