Happy Halloween!

Happy Halloween everyone! This is the end of October and thus the end of paranormal themed month. Stay tuned though, because I have lots of fun posts, reviews, giveaways and lots of guest posts for you to enjoy next month! November sees my blog being taken over by British authors and I cannot wait.

But for now, here is the list of posts and reviews that went up during October. I had planned on doing so much during this month, but I did my best. (The photo is of the pumpkins we carved for Halloween this year. Fun, right?)


Introducing Paranormal Month

Reviews

Nightshade by Andrea Cremer
Raised By Wolves by Jennifer Lynn Barnes
13 To Life by Shannon Delany
The Dark Divine by Bree Despain
Claire de Lune by Christine Johnson
Paranormalcy by Kiersten White
Dead Reckoning by Charlaine Harris
Vampire Academy by Richelle Mead
The Dead Girls' Dance by Rachel Caine
Frostbite by Richelle Mead
Darkness Falls by Mia James
Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead
Die For Me by Amy Plum
Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon
Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready
Deception by Lee Nichols
Sea Change by Aimee Friedman
Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs
The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan
Lament by Maggie Stiefvater
The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney
Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick
Crypt: The Gallows Curse by Andrew Hammond

Posts

Maggie Stiefvater (Awesome Women)
Werewolves on Film and TV
Buffy the Vampire Slayer villians
My Favourite Vampires by Mia James
Ghost films
Scary films to watch for Halloween

In My Mailbox 39

Welcome to another edition of In My Mailbox. IMM is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi of The Story Siren in which bloggers get the chance to share with their readers the books that have recently come into their possession. I really love this meme and I look forward to seeing all my favourite blogger's books each week. Thank you to Kristi for hosting something that is such fun!

Here are the books that I acquired this week...


Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick - The noise between Patch and Nora is gone. They've overcome the secrets riddled in Patch's dark past...bridged two irreconcilable worlds...faced heart-wrenching tests of betrayal, loyalty and trust...and all for a love that will transcend the boundary between heaven and earth. Armed with nothing but their absolute faith in one another, Patch and Nora enter a desperate fight to stop a villain who holds the power to shatter everything they've worked for—and their love—forever.

This was a swap from ReadItSwapIt. It's a lovely hardcover book, which is signed by Becca! I'm really looking forward to reading it, especially as Crescendo really took my breath away.

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India Dark by Kirsty Murray - Melbourne, Australia, 1909: faced with the prospect of employment in either the match factory or the jam factory, 13-year old Poesy Swift auditions for a children’s theatre company that specialises in popular music-hall songs.

Before she knows it, she’s on a two-year tour through Asia. At first it’s all an adventure, but by the time they reach south India, many of them have been disciplined by the manager and their performances hide enormous turmoil backstage. At the end of their last show, all but two of the children turn on their minders and go on strike, then walk out into the hot Madras night.

The lovely people at Templar sent along their catalogue of new books coming out and let me choose books I'd like to read. I really liked the sound of this one, I feel like I'm drawn to books set in India lately. Can't wait to get started.

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Beat the Band by Don Calame - Cooper Redmond has only one thing on his mind: tagging as many bases as possible by the end of sophomore year. He’s already picked out a prime target: the divine Prudence Nash, whose sexy serpent tattoo haunts his dreams. But when Coop is paired with the infamous “Hot Dog” Helen for a semester-long Health project on safe sex, his hopes of making it to the Majors are suddenly DOA. It’s going to take something seriously epic to resuscitate his reputation — something like winning the Battle of the Bands with his best buds, Matt and Sean.

There’s just one problem: they totally suck.

Get ready for riffs on hot girls, Health class, and social hell in this hilarious follow-up to Swim the Fly.

I've had the first book, Swim the Fly, on my shelves for a little now and I'm absolutely itching to read. Now that I have the sequel, I have even more incentive to get to it quicker.

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Fins Are Forever by Tera Lynn Childs - On Lily Sanderson’s eighteenth birthday she’ll become just a girl—still a mer girl, true, but signing the renunciation paperwork will ink Princess Waterlily of Thalassinia out of existence. That leaves plain old Lily living on land, dating the boy she loves, and trying to master this being human thing once and for all.

Now that Lily and Quince are together, mer-bond or not, she’s almost content to give up her place in the royal succession of Thalassinia. But just when she thinks she has everything figured out, Lily’s father sends a certain whirlpool-stirring cousin to stay with her on land. What did Doe do to get herself exiled from Thalassinia and stuck in terraped form, when everyone knows how much she hates humans? And why why why is she batting her eyelashes at Lily’s former crush, Brody?

The seafoam on the surf comes when a merboy from Lily’s past shows up. Tellin asks Lily for something that clouds her view of the horizon. There’s a future with Quince on land, her loyalty to the kingdom in the sea, and Lily tossing on the waves in the middle. Will she find a way to reconcile her love, her duty, and her dreams?

I very recently read the first book in the series, Forgive My Fins, and I thought it utterly adorable and sweet and romantic and I really, really want more of these characters and of the story!

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My Soul to Steal by Rachel Vincent - Trying to work things out with Nash—her maybe boyfriend—is hard enough for Kaylee Cavanaugh. She can’t just pretend nothing happened. But “complicated” doesn’t even begin to describe their relationship when his ex-girlfriend transfers to their school, determined to take Nash back.

See, Sabine isn’t just an ordinary girl. She’s a mara, the living personification of a nightmare. She can read people’s fears—and craft them into nightmares while her victims sleep. Feeding from human fear is how she survives.

And Sabine isn’t above scaring Kaylee and the entire school to death to get whatever—and whoever—she wants.

I do really love this series and I'm always excited for a new book by Rachel Vincent. It really won't be long until I've read this one!

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Betrayal by Lee Nichols - Emma Vaile is the most powerful ghostkeeper in centuries. Which is great for battling the wraith-master Neos and horrible for her social life. Emma knows fellow ghostkeeper Bennett Stern is her soul mate, but when ghostkeepers fall in love, the weaker one loses all power. And until Neos is defeated, Bennett and Emma can't risk it.

When the temptation of being with Emma gets to be too much, Bennett disappears, pursuing a dangerous path to increase his powers. Heartbroken and alone, Emma tries to lose herself in school. But when the Knell, a secret ghostkeeping society, sends two new ghostkeepers to Echo Point—one a snarky teen guy, the other a British scholar—Emma throws herself into training to battle Neos. But as the team grows stronger, so do the ghosts. And worse, one of their own will betray them. One Emma never suspected. . .

This series really took me by surprise. I read Deception awhile back and it was SO addictive that I really didn't do anything until I'd finished reading it. I don't normally sending begging email requests to publishers, but I did in order to get hold of Betrayal! And I really don't regret it at all, thank you so much Emma! :)

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Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead - After a long and heartbreaking journey to Dimitri's birthplace in Siberia, Rose Hathaway has finally returned to St Vladimir's Academy - and to her best friend, Lissa. But Rose's heart still aches for Dimitri, and she knows he's out there, somewhere. She failed to kill him when she had the chance. And now her worst fears are about to come true.

Aha! Finally, I've recieved the last book I need in order to complete the Vampire Academy series. I'm still absolutely kicking myself for not getting to these books before now, but better late than never, right?! I still have the fourth book to get to before this one, but at least I have this and Last Sacrifice to hand in case I want to read them back to back! Hurrah.

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The Iron Queen by Julie Kagawa - My name is Meghan Chase.

I thought it was over. That my time with the fey, the impossible choices I had to make, the sacrifices of those I loved, was behind me. But a storm is approaching, an army of Iron fey that will drag me back, kicking and screaming. Drag me away from the banished prince who's sworn to stand by my side. Drag me into the core of conflict so powerful, I'm not sure anyone can survive it.

This time, there will be no turning back.

Ooh. I do love the Iron Fey series, and I'm super excited about this one! :)

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Fracture by Megan Miranda - Eleven minutes passed before Delaney Maxwell was pulled from the icy waters of a Maine lake by her best friend Decker Phillips. By then her heart had stopped beating. Her brain had stopped working. She was dead. And yet she somehow defied medical precedent to come back seemingly fine—despite the scans that showed significant brain damage. Everyone wants Delaney to be all right, but she knows she’s far from normal. Pulled by strange sensations she can’t control or explain, Delaney finds herself drawn to the dying. Is her altered brain now predicting death, or causing it?

Then Delaney meets Troy Varga, who recently emerged from a coma with similar abilities. At first she’s reassured to find someone who understands the strangeness of her new existence, but Delaney soon discovers that Troy’s motives aren’t quite what she thought. Is their gift a miracle, a freak of nature—or something much more frightening?

I'd never heard of this book before it arrived, but it sounds thrilling!

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And those are the books that arrived in my house over the last two weeks! Which books did you get? And where should I start?

Guest Review: Crypt: The Gallows Curse by Andrew Hammond (Paranormal Month)

Guest review by Kulsuma at Sunshine and Stardust

CRYPT: The Gallow’s Curse by Andrew Hammond was an exciting paranormal novel. It was full of action, horror and mystery. The main character, Jud Lester, is the star member of the organisation the Covert Response Youth Paranormal Team. CRYPT investigates incidents where the police cannot find answers because the paranormal is at work.

When a series of shocking attacks across London leaves victims dead or injured, the CRYPT must find out who the ghosts are, why they have returned and how to stop them before it’s too late, all whilst avoiding the media spotlight. This is because CRYPT is a secret organisation and if the general public were to know that it investigated instances of the paranormal, they would be both terrified and in uproar.

The idea behind CRYPT: The Gallow’s Curse was very interesting as I loved the idea of teenage ghost- busters solving crime that adults couldn’t due to their lack of Extra-Sensory Perception. I was happy with the scientific explanation given for how ghosts can appear as it wasn’t farfetched.

The chapters were short and fast paced and the constant shift between various characters allowed me to visualise the story in stark detail as well as understand the vast multitude of people affected by the ghosts. The filmic quality of CRYPT is one of the highlights of the book. The vivid and grotesque descriptions interspersed throughout have stayed with me as they had me flinching in terror and disgust.

Jud was an interesting character with a lot of potential that was not fully realised. He was a conflicted character with a sad history; his mother had been killed by a ghost and he’d been convicted of the crime and now must live with a new, secret identity. This secret weighs him down throughout the book. I was not as emotionally invested in Jud as I had hoped to be. I did not feel a strong connection to him.

Bex De Verre, his partner, was feisty, smart and sarcastic. Together they try to find out who the ghosts are and why they are wreaking death and destruction across London. This was simple for me as I only had to read the title to know who the culprits were.

There was some repetition in the first half of the book which slowed the pace of the novel; however this was resolved as the book continued. I liked the surprising twists and turns and the build up of tension that lead to the dramatic climax.

On the whole, I enjoyed reading CRYPT: The Gallow’s Curse and would recommend it to fans of the paranormal, horror and action genres. I look forward to reading the sequel, CRYPT: The Traitor’s Revenge which comes out in March 2012.

Guest review by Kulsuma, thank you!

Meet my guest reviewers!

I haven't really mentioned very much about my personal life on this blog lately (that is mostly what my Twitter stream seems to be for lately!) but it's been a struggle lately. A death in the family that I'm still getting over, my father in and out of hospital, an end of the year exam for my university course, and my ever present difficulties with my mental health seems to be taking their toll on my blogging and reading mojo lately. Thankfully, and I really do mean thankfully, three very nice people have stepped forward and have volunteered their time and energy in order to help me out. I couldn't be more appreciative of this. It really makes me heave a big sigh of relief knowing I have some back-up. So Carrie, Kulsuma and Jenni, THANK YOU.

But enough about me. Please do say hello and make Carrie, Kulsuma and Jenni feel very welcome! (also? go follow their blogs and support three awesome UK bloggers!)

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Carrie - Hi everyone, I'm Carrie and I blog over at Teabelly (teabelly.wordpress.com). I started blogging in 2006, on Livejournal (where I still can be found) and started my public blog in 2007. It's not an especially focused blog, it's just about my life, with book and film reviews thrown in. I also started roller derby this year, so there's a lot about that, and my many bruises.

I'm 30 years old, live in London and work in publishing, but not with the 'fun' books. I'm definitely more of a fiction reader, and some of my favourite books and authors include Barbara Kingsolver/The Poisonwood Bible, John Irving/The World According to Garp, and Margaret Atwood/The Blind Assassin. After reading The Hunger Games series this year I started to get back into YA fiction. There is some amazing stuff out there at the moment, and I'm enjoying discovering it.

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Kulsuma - Hi! I’m Kulsuma. I’m 20 years old, though I’m much younger than that at heart. I am currently doing a degree in English Literature and Creative Writing which I’m enjoying very much. I’m in my third and final year and am wondering what to do after I finish. Any ideas? I love reading, writing, music, movies and food! Can’t forget about food.

My obsession though, is books. I love reading books. My favourite genres are dystopian and fantasy but I also love action, adventure and contemporary. Basically, all of them. I have so many favourite books, but the ones topping the list are Harry Potter by J.K. Rowling (which is a given, of course), The Hunger Games by Suzanne Collins, Artemis Fowl by Eoin Colfer and The Chronicles of Ancient Darkness by Michelle Paver, all of which you must read if you haven’t already! If you need more recommendations, just ask. I’m not sure if I should say which books I don’t like as I tend to be in the minority. For example, I didn’t like Shiver by Maggie Stiefvater and Divergent by Veronica Roth *ducks out of the way of the rotten vegetables thrown at her*.


*I would like to add that Kulsuma blogs at sunshine and stardust*

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Jenni - I can't remember a time when I didn't love books. Not content with filling every spare inch of space of my parents' house with books I now live in Aberystwyth, which reportedly has more books per person than anywhere else in the world, and am fulfilling my earliest dream of becoming a librarian.

My To-Be-Read pile is often threatening to tip over, and when it starts to look a little more stable I add to it from my endless selection of bookmarked reviews and book lists. I read books from most genres and am always willing to try something new.

When I'm not reading I can be founding blogging at Juniper's Jungle or on twitter as @juniperjungle. I also watches far too much telly and share my thoughts on that at TV Canary

I am an aspiring author and hope to finish my first draft sometime before the end of 2011.

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Thank you very much, you three! You've probably already seen one or two of their guest reviews already on the blog, but do expect to see more coming soon.

REVIEW: Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick (Paranormal Month)

I'll be the first to admit that I wasn't the biggest fan of Hush, Hush. I really liked the idea of it, but I found Patch to be creepy and Vee to be irritating and I wanted Nora to grow a backbone. I was on the fence for quite a while about whether or not I wanted to pick up the sequel, Crescendo by Becca Fitzpatrick, but when a friend sent over her spare copy of the book, I figured I might as well give it a try.

And my experience of reading Crescendo was a very different experience to that of reading Hush, Hush. Perhaps it was my lower expectations going into reading the book, perhaps it was my own emotional vulnerability as I read Crescendo at a very trying time in my life - whatever it is, it turns out that I really enjoyed Crescendo. I found Crescendo to be really heart-breaking to read and I found my heart hurting and the tears flowing down my face as I read it.

I still have my issues with it, of course. I find it really disturbing that Nora and Patch have a relationship in which Patch doesn't trust Nora enough to tell her important information and that Nora's lack of trust and faith in Patch means that she's able to be manipulated into believing terrible things about him. But then, without these sort of conflicts I guess it would be hard for the plot to move forward like it does. These weren't large enough issues for to stop enjoying the story however.

Crescendo begins shortly after Patch sacrificed himself and became Nora's guardian angel. Things should be wonderful for the loved-up couple, but Patch is under close watch as trouble brews between fallen angels and the nephilim and worryingly for Nora, Patch seems to be spending an awful lot of time with Nora's arch-enemy, Marcie Millar. As Nora frets and worries and makes important and drastic decisions with her relationship with Patch, who doesn't let Nora in what's going on or what he has planned, other strange things begin to occur.

When an old family friend, Scott Parnell, arrives, it seems to be the beginning of Nora unravelling both the mystery of what Patch is up to (and what's going on between Patch and horrid Marcie) but also about Nora's father's death 14 months ago. Things begin to get really dangerous and poor Nora is left without the protection of Patch.

Like I said, I found Crescendo to be heartbreaking. I could fully understand the confusion and hurt that Nora feels as Patch distances himself from Nora in order to spend more time with Nora's enemy. She's hurt and jealous and angry but what's worse is that she still wants to be with Patch and to be near him. I felt like I had a bit more respect for Nora as she makes these difficult choices, I didn't have any strong dislike for either Patch or Vee this time around, and for the most part, I found Crescendo to be hugely addictive reading, very exciting and incredibly emotional. I'm so glad that I gave this book a chance to change my mind about the series!

Scary films to watch for Halloween (Paranormal Month)

OK. Now most of you should know by now that I'm a pretty big wuss when it comes to scary films. I jump really easily and if I don't have a blanket or something to hide behind, then it's just not good at all.

The thing is, when I was growing up, my brother LOVED scary films. And when we'd go to rent films at Blockbuster or wherever (remember doing that?!) he'd always badger either of my parents until they give in and let him have whatever he wanted. And so I'd be stuck watching the scary films. Now that I'm older and can avoid all scary films at whatever cost.. N likes them. So they're aren't out of my life forever. Hmph. Doesn't mean I like them!

In fact, you can probably see from my list, that I'm kind of stuck in a certain time period in terms of scary films! :)



Poltergeist - I've already mentioned this in my post about ghostly films, but I seriously still believe that it's the scariest film I've ever seen in my entire life. How did they do that, I'm still cringing in fear decades later.



Nightmare on Elm Street - I think this series of films are the only exceptions to my ban all films scary. When I was younger, I was absolutely fascinated by Freddy Krueger and the whole Elm Street thing. Dorky as it was, my friends and I formed a Nightmare on Elm Street club, where we tried to act out different scenes from the different movies. We'd meet under the slide in the playground and were, of course, the absolute epitome of cool. Ha. (I chose this wonderfully cheesy poster from the third film, just because.)



Halloween - N really likes the Halloween films and we have them all, though they are sually only pulled out once a year. My favourite Halloween film is probably the one with Busta Rhymes, only because on the extras for the DVD it has THE funniest outtake I've ever seen. I won't say any more than that.



Friday the 13th - The Friday the 13th films were my brother's favourite films I think. I can't honestly say that I remember them very clearly, because a lot of time watching them was spent hidden behind a blanket. But like Halloween, they feel quite classic to my childhood.



Jaws - I love the theme music to this, who doesn't? The movie itself is so atmospheric and wonderful and scary. When I first watched it, I was very much into swimming. I was on the swim team, we'd often go to the beach and swim in the ocean. And I remember a very distinct period of time after watching Jaws that I couldn't bear the thought of going out into the water. This movie gave me nightmares.



Scream - The only semi-recent film on my list! What I like about the film is the homages to older films like Nightmare on Elm Street. I like that Drew Barrymore dies in the first few minutes. I had a girl-crush on Neve Campbell at the time and quickly developed a crush on Skeet Ulrich. I liked the characters and the dialogue, and it did a great job of keeping a non-fan like me happy as well as scary film fans like N happy at the same time.

And that's it for me. What are you favourite scary films? Feel free to mock me for my choices!

REVIEW: The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney (Paranormal Month)

It's no big secret that I'm not a big fan of faerie fiction. I've tried and often failed to enjoy popular books and authors who write successful faerie YA so it was with some trepidation that I started The Iron Witch by Karen Mahoney.

And I was surprised. There's a lot in The Iron Witch that makes it such a promsing start to a new series. I found the mixture of magic and alchemy and faeries to be quite interesting as well as the sweet relationship between Donna and her best friend, Navin.

When Donna Underwood was seven, her family were attacked by faeries. They killed Donna's father and left her mother mad. Donna herself needed to be healed with magic, leaving her arms permanently branded with swirling iron-laced tattoos. Her strange tattooed arms has meant that's she always been a social-outcast with her only friend being the adorable and loyal Navin Sharma.

Though it pains her to lie to Navin, Donna feels that she really must protect Navin from the dangers of knowing about the fey as well as her family's involvement in alchemy. But this knowledge isn't to be kept secret for long as Donna and Navin stumble across some unusual things that build up to something incredibly dangerous. With only the help of the strange boy she meets at a party, Xan, Donna must face the fey again and barter the most sacred knowledge of the alchemists in order to save those she cares about.

It can be quite exciting, The Iron Witch, and once I started I read the book in almost a single sitting. It's very readable, and while I was a bit apprehensive about learning about something as heavy-sounding as alchemy, I found the information regarding it flowed quite nicely. My only complaint about the book is that I wish there had been more time to explore the major relationships in The Iron Witch - that of Donna and Navin as well as Donna and Xan.

It is obvious to the reader how much Navin cares for Donna, much more than that of just a best friend, so I'm really hoping that more time is spent delving into their friendship more. And while Xan was suitably good-looking and mysterious and him and Donna obviously have this connection together, I really wanted to see the two interact more. I felt like the things that he did during the book were a bit of a stretch after knowing Donna for such a short period of time. But these small niggles didn't stop me from enjoying the book at all and I look forward to the sequel!

REVIEW: Lament by Maggie Stiefvater (Paranormal Month)

Oh, Maggie Stiefvater, how I adore you more and more with each books of yours I've read! I'd been resisting reading Lament for a very long time (despite a lot of praise from other bloggers) as I really, really don't seem to get a long well with fey in my fiction. Faeries and I just don't seem to get along, or so I thought. Because there are authors who are able to dodge past my faerie-hating ways and make me grudgingly change my mind. And Lament by Maggie Stiefvater is such a book.

I'm not entirely sure that I even knew what Lament was about before I started reading it. I'm not even sure why I picked it up, as all I knew about it is that it is a book of faeries. But pick it up, I did, and I put my hand up right now and admit freely that I was wrong. All my misconceptions about this book were competely without foundation. As soon as I started reading, I felt immediately hooked.

I loved Dierdre's anxiety and nerves before performing in front of an audience as stage fright is definitely something I can relate to. I love the way in which music plays such a large part of the narrative, and that Dierdre is, unusually a harpist. I love all of the characters from Dierdre, to Dierdre's best friend, the very funny and adorable James, to her grandmother and oh, especially Luke Dillon, the mysterious boy who swoops in and convinces Dierdre to perform a duet with him.

And with the arrival of Luke, strange things begin to happen. Because Dierdre is an unusual girl who the gift of seeing faeries. Her huge amount of musical talent means that Dierdre is caught between two faerie assassins and everything will change. Lament is hugely exciting and fast-paced with all the twists and turns but for a lot of the book it felt like the faerie intrigues were just the background to the brilliant characters. I felt really emotionally connected to the three main characters, Dierdre, James and Luke and my heart beat wildly at not knowing what could happen to any of the three.

I'm absolutely dying to read the sequel, Ballad, and will eagerly read anything that has ever or will ever be published by Maggie Stiefvater! Even (especially!) if it's about faeries.

REVIEW: The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan (Paranormal Month)

Oh MAN. Why has it taken me so long to start reading this series? I bought The Demon's Lexicon by Sarah Rees Brennan last summer after hearing some wonderful things about the series but then the book just sat on my shelves unread for nearly a year. And that is an absolute shame because this book is wonderful. It has some great characters, an interesting premise, it's well-written and it is exciting! I will definitely not be waiting as long to read the second and third books in the trilogy, I can tell you that.

The Demon's Lexicon starts off with two brother, Nick and Alan as they are attacked by demons in their kitchen. Seems a fairly common occurrence since years ago, their mother stole magical charms from a very powerful magician. Since then the family have been on the run and never stay in the same place for long. Nick and Alan are pretty handy with weaponry, Nick favouring his sword and Alan his gun.

But this attack is different, as it has been witnessed by Jamie and Mae, two other teenagers who have come to the brothers for magical help. Nick, who is rather cold and unfeeling and just plain mean, would rather just pack up and leaveand look after themselves but Alan, his older and sweeter and gentler brother, wants to help them out. So Jamie and Mae get wrapped up in the brothers' lives as well as this weird and dangerous world involving magicians and demons.

I absolutely love the mythology that Sarah Rees Brennan creates in this story. I haven't read many books involving demons, but it made everything really tense and actiony. They were pretty cool and I love the image of a sword-wielding Nick protecting Alan. There was also the Goblin Market with the dancing and the charm stalls and the circles that completely had me hooked. I could definitely see myself being seduced by the charm and difference of it all with that tinge of darkness surrounding it all.

But for me, aside from the demon details and the action sequences as the boys go into battle against the hordes of demons coming their way, my favourite aspect of the book are all of the wonderful and complex relationships between characters. Especially between the two brothers, Nick and Alan. I really love them together. I loved how Nick is mean and surly to everyone except Alan and you could really tell how much Alan does and sacrifices in order to protect Nick. Even the way in which Jamie and Mae play into the story and the characters is wonderful to witness. But all of the relationships are so filled with secrets and lies and caring that I found myself almost heartbroken towards the end as some of those massive revelations start having a severe affect on everyone.

Sarah Rees Brennan wrote this The Demon's Lexicon really cleverly. There are so many hints and little clues that lead up to the twists in this book and I didn't pick up on a single one of them. I read this book and I gasped and my heart twisted and beat more quickly wondering what would happen next. These characters really became real for me and I was so swept into the story and the emotion of it. Fantastic book and I can't wait to read the sequels!

Susan K Mann (Awesome Women)

It's my great pleasure to welcome back Susan K Mann back to my blog today. Susan writes a variety of things on her website, from book reviews to product reviews as well as life with her beautiful children. There's always something fun and interesting over at her blog. Over to you, Susan...

Can you tell me a little something about yourself?

I'm Susan, I work as an Operations Manager & Software Developer for an IT company. I'm married, have two boys aged 2 and 4. I love to read, I love to blog and I love to write. My favourite book and film is Practical Magic, both are different from each other.

Did you have a role model growing up?

Kylie Minogue I think as Neighbours was a big hit when I was growing up. Charlene was the one to be.

Who do you look up to now?

The Queen, she always looks the part. She does a lot despite what people think. She looks good for being over 80. And she holds her head high no matter what her kids get up to.

When you were little, what did you want to be when you grew up?

A Fashion Designer from a very young age. I even got accepted to Art school. But I changed my mind.

Tell me something about the women in your life who have been an influence on you?

My older cousin Fiona, she has 5 boys, all of whom she home schools. She was a single parent for many years and she is now a Doula who delivers loads of babies.

Who is your favourite fictional character? And why?

Sabrina the Teenage Witch. I grew up with her as a teenager, we were the same age in real life. I wish I could have her cool life, be special, have a secret to hide and let's face it who didn't want to change their clothes with a snap of the fingers.

What were you like as a teenager and how did you cope with all the changes that occurred?

I was not a bad teenager but I wasn't an angel. I dated a lot, drank a lot and got up to quite a few lets say not ideal past times. I did however still do my school work and got my exams.

If you had any advice for yourself as a teenager, what would you say?

Do everything, try everything and have fun. All within reason. Stay out of trouble but a small amount isn't so bad. Then you will grow up and be ready to settle down with no regrets.

Of the issues and concerns that women are faced with today, what's the area you most like reading about?

I like my books to be an escape so I don't read a lot about issues in real life. But I do like my women characters to be strong, self sufficient and no pushovers allowed.

Is there anything else you'd like to add?

Life is short, live it and love it. And take happiness when it comes your way.

Thank you so much Susan! I admit to really loving Sabrina the Teenage Witch myself :)

Please do visit Susan at her blog, and if you'd like to take part in my Awesome Women interviews, please find information about that on this page.

REVIEW: Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs (Paranormal Month)

AWWW! What an absolutely sweet story Forgive My Fins by Tera Lynn Childs is. I'd heard good things about it and I was definitely looking forward to it, but I really wasn't expecting it to be as fun and light-hearted as it is. I read this book very quickly and it really put the biggest smile on my face. What a lovely book!

Lily Sanderson is a really wonderful character. She's so adorable that I couldn't help smiling at her funny little fish analogies (for example, she sees her next door neighbour with his shirt off and thinks 'Lord love a lobster!' which actually made me laugh out loud!) and her absolute uselessness at asking out her long-term crush, Brody Bennett. Even with the help of her best friend, Lily is still so tongue-tied and nervous around Brody that it's been getting a bit ridiculous. Lily has loved Brody from afar for three years and yet still nothing has happened between them.

But Lily has a pretty big secret that she's been hiding - she's no ordinary girl, but rather a half-human, half mermaid. And when mermaids kiss, they form a lasting bond and are mated for life. Lily is determined that Brody will be the recipient of that permanent bond, but she's finding it rather difficult to take that next crucial step by telling him how she feels. When her annoying neighbour Quince offers to help, Lily reluctantly agrees. What follows is the sweetest and most utterly adorable paranormal story of first love and acceptance and friendship. Honestly, I've not come across a more sweet story than this one in a long time.

While at times I found Lily to be a tad annoying in her unchangeable views about Brody and the future of their relationship, everything else about the novel felt too wonderful to let that detract from it. I found Quince to be charming and sweet. I loved the quirkiness of Lily and the beautiful landscape of this underwater kingdom. I really didn't expect to love a mermaid story as much I did, but the light-hearted romance of this book really balanced out the gloomy/mopeyness of some of the other paranormal books I've been reading for this event.

I absolutely loved Forgive My Fins and I am eagerly anticipating the sequel! Well done, Tera Lynn Childs!

REVIEW: Sea Change by Aimee Friedman (Paranormal Month)

I wasn't quite sure what to make of Sea Change by Aimee Friedman before I started reading it. I hadn't heard very much about it and came to it with very little knowledge. It's fairly short and the way in which the paranormal and romantic aspects of the book play out leave me to wonder if perhaps this is the first book in a series? Though I haven't seen any information to support that idea.

Miranda is a 16 year old girl who is very science-orientated. She relishes the idea of spending the summer on the mysterious island that her mother grew up on sorting through the belongings of her grandmother who passed away and who left her house and things to Miranda's mother. Miranda also seems to be running away from some unknown drama that has left her without the support of her friends or her ex-boyfriend. Having very little experience in relationships, Miranda seems at a loss on Selkie Island when she's befriended by society-type girls who try to convince Miranda to have a summer fling. Instead, Miranda meets Leo, a handsome stranger she runs into on the beach who might just be more than he appears to be.

It's a strange book, this one. While on the one hand, I enjoyed the atmosphere of Sea Change and learning of the different stories and myths surrounding the island but I also wanted more. On the other hand, I didn't really believe the very different changes that occur to Miranda's mother once she's back in the company of the snobby rich women she grew up with. In some ways, it felt as though there were more to the story between Miranda and her mother, that perhaps history was repeating itself in terms of Miranda making the same choices and behaviours that her mother did in light of the upbringing that Miranda's mother had, but then that storyline petered out and I was left feeling a little confused. And while I did like Leo and Miranda as a couple, I felt like there wasn't enough page time for their relationship.

I liked Sea Change well enough, but it was both too short and the storyline not developed enough for it to go beyond that.

REVIEW: Deception by Lee Nichols (Paranormal Month)

Ooh. How much did I love this book? Deception by Lee Nichols is a wonderful first book in a series, one that makes me very excited. I loved everything about it, from the fun twist on the paranormal, the private school setting, the interesting characters and especially the romance.

I'd had no previous knowledge of the book before it landed on my doorstep, but after reading several favourable reviews, I was completely intrigued and curious to see what I thought. I only intended to read a few chapters before bed, and I was completely hooked. I really loved Emma's sense of isolation in particular and how alone she felt as this new world of ghosts and being a ghostkeeper is revealed to her.

Emma Vaile's parents leave on this mysterious trip and Emma feels like it's the perfect opportunity to throw a party and get into some trouble. But what Emma doesn't expect is for the police to show up and take her into custody. With a lack of parental presence in her life, she is shipped off to New England with her acting guardian, Bennett Stern, a friend of Emma's older brother who Emma has had an almighty crush on for years. There, strange things begin happening. The visions that Emma sees happen more often and are stronger, and at times Emma is transported to a different time period. It is finally revealed to Emma that she is a ghostkeeper, someone who can communicate and control ghosts.

And I felt so many things for Emma throughout the entire book. Mostly I felt really bad for her, as she's dealing with her parents virtually abandoning her, along with her oldest friend. She's in a new town, trying to fit in at a new school, whilst living with someone she has all these feelings for but Bennett isn't around nearly enough. Nobody is really there for Emma and then this ghostkeeper thing is sprung on her and it just makes Emma question why nobody told her beforehand. Why the big secret? And if that wasn't enough, Emma finds out she's in all kinds of danger and that ghostkeepers have been hunted and murdered lately and is Emma's new-found powers over ghosts the key to solving a murder?

Honestly, I really loved this book. I found Emma to be a wonderful character who is easily relateable. I loved her new friends at school and especially learning a new mythology about the ghosts in this series, with the different capabilities of ghostkeepers and about ghosts alongside Emma. This book is entertaining and exciting and I really, really look forward to reading more in the series!

Ghost films (Paranormal month)

I think I'm only reading one book this month about ghosts, but it's Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready and it's one of my favourite paranormal books at the moment. I think Jeri Smith-Ready has done a fantastic job giving ghosts a new mythology and creating a world in which ghosts are visible to a certain group of people and not other and they have a whole new set of rules and restrictions, some of which are still unknown and being newly discovered. It's a great series and I'm very excited about it.

So in that vein, I thought I would talk a little bit about ghosts today.



Ghostbusters - Somewhat randomly, we watched Ghostbusters the other day with the boys. I'm not entirely sure how they liked it, as I was so exhausted from a cold and being up late the night before that I fell asleep part of the way through it. But it's such a classic film from my childhood that I was getting warm-fuzzies just hearing the theme music and seeing New York. So even though I fell asleep before seeing the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man and I can't quite recall how the film ends, Ghostbusters is still one of my favourite films. It's just very, very funny. And I'd much prefer all of my ghostly encounters to be funny, wouldn't you?



Casper - Don't laugh! Casper is another one of my favourite ever films! When I was younger, I would watch Casper every single time it was on television! It's the perfect film to watch at Halloween and I really just can't get enough of it. Casper is just adorable, and I love his awkwardness around Christina Ricci. I love the other crazy ghosts and their interactions with Bill Pullman - so it's a really wonderful mix of sweet and funny. Another winner in my book.



Poltergeist - Because then there's this film. I haven't been able to bring myself to watch Poltergeist in well over 15 years however, because I seriously remember it as being the SCARIEST FILM I'VE EVER SEEN IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. Without any exaggeration there. Sometimes just the thought of this film will send a shiver up my spine. Perhaps I should really watch it again, just to see if it really IS that scary or if it's just my memory blowing things out of proportion? Me? I think it's the former. *shudder*



Ghost - OK enough of the scary stuff. Ghost with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore is really the level of creepy ghostiness that I can handle. Which basically means I can handle very little actual scariness. Feel free to leave recommendations (for other people, of course!) of actual movies containing ghosts that are not cheesily romantic...


The Sixth Sense - I saw The Sixth Sense at the cinema when it first came out and I still think it's a really cleverly done film. I really love everything about it, from the acting to the unfolding of the big twist. It's a great film, one that's subtly quite creepy and atmospheric.

So that's my wimp's list of ghostly films. As I said, feel free to share actual *scary* ghost films in the comments, if you like...

REVIEW: Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready (Paranormal Month)

Shift by Jeri Smith-Ready follows on a few months after the shocking events that took place in Shade. Aura had expected that Logan would finish his final concert and pass on... and instead, he turned Shade. Since then, Aura has put her life mostly on hold while she waits for news of Logan, waits for him to come back.

I thought Shade was an incredible book, taking the paranormal genre and twisting it into something new and fresh. It had a brilliant cast of characters and this wonderful mix of tension-filled romance as well as an exciting mysteryto unravel. Shade is the book that most took me by surprise last year. And Shade is completely on that same level, only without the surprise. Instead I had higher expectations this time, and Jeri Smith-Ready really delivered. Shift is very addictive reading and once I started, I didn't want to put the book down until I'd finished, desperate to know how things would play out. A huge thank you to Luisa from Chicklish for sending me this book!

I'm still really impressed with the mythology of the ghosts in these books, and Shift really builds on what we've already seen. The ghosts and especially Zachary and Aura, these two special people who are born so close to the Shift that changed the world, are given some incredible new abilities and different limitations throughout the course of the book. It really changes what this world knows about ghosts and shades and these new changes play a huge part in changing the relationships between all three of the main characters, Aura, Logan and Zachary.

And it definitely is a huge drawing point for me, these three characters and the way in which they interact with each other. Usually when I'm reading a book with a love triangle such as this one, there is a clear winner that I'm rooting for wholeheartedly, but for the most part, I was fairly evenly divided between both Logan and Zachary during Shade, though one did pull ahead quite a bit during Shift. I just love how clear it is how much Aura loves Logan, how much their relationship when he was alive meant to her and how willing she is to hold onto what she had. Even though there is the absolutely swoony Scottish Zachary there who cares for Aura and really wants more from her. I loved how Aura's relationships with both boys changed during Shift even though Zachary doesn't wait around for Aura to make up her mind. And while at times, she isn't quite fair on either boy, she really needs more times to sort out her own feelings and to work out what she needs and what will be best for her.

Which brings us to the mystery aspect of the story. There is still so much for Aura to learn about how and why the Shift occurred, more about her mother's personal history, the identity of her father, the different things Aura has learned about her capabilities with ghosts and especially why so many government officials so interested in her. A lot of this explored during Shift, but it's like we're given so many different jigsaw puzzle pieces but not quite told how they all fit together. Some questions are answered, and it's an exciting journey to take with some very surprising and almost shocking revelations. This book is absolutely brilliant and I cannot wait for the next book in the series, Shine. Bring it on!

REVIEW: Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon (Paranormal Month)

Isn't the cover of Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon gorgeous? Something about the green really grabs me. And butterflies! Did you know that I like butterflies?

I think for Dead Beautiful, I really tried to avoid reading any real in-depth reviews for this one. Every so often I love coming at a book without any previous knowledge of it and finding everything out on my own. It doesn't happen like that very often, but I'm so glad that I had a completely clean slate for this one. I had no idea what sort of paranormal creature I was dealing with beforehand within this story. Which is a very good thing because as the reader, we don't find out the big reveal until our main character, Renee, does around the halfway point. And around 500 pages, that's a lot of space to fill.

Despite it all, Dead Beautiful doesn't drag. At times, when reading, I did become aware that not a lot was happening to push the story forward, but I didn't care. The story is so infused with interesting information and little hints that play a larger part towards the end and I was fascinated. I loved the setting of Gottfriend Academy with it's insistence on maintaining old-fashioned ideals, I loved the inclusion of the study of Latin and philosophy, and the mystery that seems to incorporate a student's death and a kind of sinister local history.

We begin the story with our main character, Renee, as she inexplicably discovers her parent's dead bodies in the forest. With both parents' deaths ruled as heart failure, Renee's estranged grandfather becomes her legal guardian and despite Renee's protests and her questions and grief over the loss of both parents, he sends Renee off to Gottfried Academy.

Gottfried Academy is an unusual boarding school. There's a dress code and a strict rule against having romantic relationships amongst students. Academic importance is placed on strange subjects such as Latin and horticulture. As Renee tries to find her place in this new environment as well as deal with her loss, she becomes involved in this mystery of a recently dead student whose death shares some similarity with that of her parents'. She's determined to find out more, no matter how deadly or dark it becomes. At the same time, Renee can't help but be drawn to Dante, the hot but mysterious boy who clearly has some secrets of his own.

I did very much love the mystery of this book - not only of what paranormal activity was being explored but also who the murderer is and why. I thought the relationship between Renee and Dante was utterly sweet and tension-filled. The writing style really pulled me in and I read this rather chunky-sized book in no time because I just didn't want to let go.

I thought the ending was absolutely perfect! I did think it was a standalone novel (and I would have been more than happy with that!) but I've just seen that there will be a sequel in 2012. Very interesting, readable and well-constructed paranormal YA!

REVIEW: Die For Me by Amy Plum (Paranormal Month)

Die For Me by Amy Plum has such a gorgeous cover, doesn't it? I love the colour of it. And I especially love that this book is set in Paris! For the life of me, I can't think why there aren't more YA books set in Paris. What an absolutely beautiful and inspired setting for any story, but especially one so focused on romance as this book.

I'd read quite a few reviews of Die For Me before reading Die For Me which had pointed out similarities in this to that of Twilight. And as I was reading, with that in my head, I could very much see certain aspects of both books that felt alike. But after some initial likenesses, I stopped comparing the two and was able to view this book on its own merits. And it is a very readable and enjoyable book.

I really felt for Kate and her sister who are dealing with the recent death of their parents in very different ways. As they've moved to Paris to live with grandparents, Kate seemed to retreat within herself and within books whereas her sister preferred socialising and being around other people to distract her from her grief. I do love a good bookworm for a main character!

When Kate is persuaded to leave the house and read somewhere else instead of her room, she comes across Vincent. Good-looking and mysterious and charming Vincent with a very big secret of his own which could spell danger for our Kate. They pretty quickly become involved, but is Kate's heart ready for a potentially harmful relationship so soon after the death of her parents? I had no idea what a revenant was before reading Die For Me, and I won't spoil it for anyone here, but I shall look forward to reading more about them in future books in the series!

Despite the very lush setting, a different paranormal mythology to wrap my head around, and some fun and interesting side characters, this book didn't quite manage to grab me emotionally. I wanted more from Kate and Vincent's relationship, more tension, more build-up. There's still enough there to have kept me reading and I shall still look out for sequels, but it didn't have that little bit extra that I was hoping for.

REVIEW: Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead (Paranormal month)

I completely get now why everyone loves this series so much. I didn't really have any idea how emotionally involved I had been with this story and these characters until a shocking cliffhanger ending had me re-evaluate everything I thought about this book and the series. Richelle Mead, you have written such a wonderful and addictive series and I am in awe of you!

Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead is the third book in the Vampire Academy series and thus does contain spoilers for the previous two books. As we begin Shadow Kiss, Rose is feeling a little fragile, still reeling from the events of Frostbite. Rose is carrying around so much grief and guilt for Mason's death. So much so, that she believes herself to be seeing Mason's ghost. He's haunting her and Rose thinks she's losing her mind at such a pivotal stage in her dhampir training.

And what's brilliant is how much Dimitri is there for Rose and it really shows how much they care for each other. I really love the relationship between these two in this book. They really grow in terms of their friendship and the closeness between them. And what's a little bit sad and disappointing is that Rose and Lissa do not grow closer. Instead there's so many secrets and lies and cover-ups between them and I hate to see that between two best friends.

And oh all of the action scenes! Very exciting. Rose and the other dhampirs are in the middle of a practical assessment and are teamed up with Moroi to test how well the dhampirs do in protecting their charges against the instructors. It's great fun, but the action of course does not stop there as there are rumours of Strigoi banding together and attacking Moroi. Of course Rose gets involved with life-shattering consequences.

This is such an incredible series, with wonderfully strong, interesting and complicated characters and relationships, edge of my seat action, heart-breaking romance and a cliffhanger that nearly made me collapse from shock and upset. I'm absolutely gasping to read the next book in the series!

Guest Post: Mia James' Favourite Vampires

I'm really pleased today to host the final stop in the Darkness Falls blog tour! Mia James is here today talking about her favourite vampires - and who to cast as Gabriel or Benjamin?

Who is your favourite vampire? And who do you picture Gabriel or Benjamin as?! To find out more about the books, please visit www.ravenwoodmysteries.com

Over to you Mia...



Hmm...Brad Pitt? Tom Cruise?

R-Patz?

Which to choose?

One of the most useful exercises a writer can do when you're beginning a novel is ask yourself 'who would play this character in a movie version of the story?' - that way you can get a first picture of them in your head.

When I was writing By Midnight, I pictured April as played by Romola Garai when she was in 'I Capture the Castle' and April's best friend Caro as Heather Matarazzo who played Lily, the side-kick in 'The Princess Diaries'. That was just the starting point of course and as the story developed April and Caro took on a life of their own, especially in the second Ravenwood book Darkness Falls where their friendship is stretched to breaking point.

But when it came to the male leads - brooding, mysterious Gabriel and blue-eyed smooth-talking Benjamin - it was harder to pin them down. Here are a few of the movie vampires I auditioned for their parts:

Brad Pitt. As Louis in Interview With The Vampire, Brad should have been the perfect vampire, but the silly hair and the weird squeaky voice were a bit of a turn-off.



Similarly, Tom Cruise is a bit too fey, possibly because of all the lace. Antonio Banderas is by far the sexiest vamp in this film.



Stephen Dorff. He's super-cool in the first Blade film, even covered in blood. And he takes his top off a lot.



Kiefer Sutherland. Way before becoming Jack Bauer in 24, Keef was blonde and seductive in The Lost Boys, where the vampires all lived in a 'party cave' and rode motorbikes. Wasn't keen on his scratchy little beard, though.



David Boreanaz. As Angel, he was suitably dark and brooding, looks good in a long overcoat and has a deeply troubled past, but in Buffy, Spike ended up being more interesting - the bad boys are more sexy, aren't they?

Sadly none of them were quite Gabriel or Benjamin. But then that's where books trump Hollywood every time, isn't it? - you can use your imagination to cast the story however you like.