“Ghost Town” by Rachel Caine

This is the latest in the Morganville Vampire series. Claire Danvers has moved to Morganville to attend college there, but has ended up an unwillingly embroiled in the vampire politics of the local community. As the series has gone on, Claire’s fate has become almost inevitably entwined with the Founder of Morganville. The vampires in this series are for the most part, every bit as menacing and dangerous as their kind should be, making for a spine tingling thriller of a plot.

I’ve loved every one of this series of YA books, they’re funny and exciting, and there is a genuine sense of peril for the characters up against the strained relationships between the humans and vampires. A quick, easy read, I know, but the pages just whizz by as I get caught up in Claire’s story. I wondered how Caine would continue the series as the first six or seven books had a cliffhanger to take you on to the next book each time, and the last couple of books have had an uneasy conclusion but didn’t leave you on the edge of your seat exclaiming, “You can’t leave it there!!!!”, but I have liked how she’s developed what’s happening in Morganville. This one doesn’t leave you on tenterhooks as such, but it does leave you feeling you know what the next book will be about, but not how she’ll deal with it.

“Captivate” by Carrie Jones

[SPOILER ALERT for the previous book in the series Need]

Captivate is the second book in this YA supernatural series about pixies and shape shifters. In the first book Need, teenager Zara is having a tough time after witnessing the death of her beloved stepfather and moves in with her grandmother to try and move on with her life. A mystery involving teenage boys going missing leads Zara to find out that she is the daughter of a Pixie king. She also learns that pixies are not the only supernatural creatures in the world, but shapeshifters in the form of wolves, bears, eagles and tigers exist as well. At the beginning of this second instalment, Zara and her friends are holding her father and his pixies in captivity, but this means her fathers kingdom is weak, and it’s not long before the arrival of another pixie king looking to take over the territory. Zara must find a way to keep herself and her friends safe from the war that is brewing in this supernatural tale.

I have to admit, after I read the first book in the series, I thought I probably wouldn’t bother with any more, but I ended up choosing it as the free book in a 3 for 2 offer. It was okay, but nothing more. The author did surprise me with the direction she took with Zara’s story, as I thought it would be exactly the suspense of how to keep her from the action she ends up taking that would keep the series going, so now I’m sort of intrigued to see the next instalment as well. Having said that, I’ve read a lot of books in this genre since the accursed Twilight saga got it claws (or should that be fangs) into me, and this series ranks very low down on my favourites. There is a third book out now, and a fourth planned, and although I am mildly interested in following it up, I’m not going to be rushing out to buy it at the moment.

The Mortal Instruments trilogy by Cassandra Clare

The three books, City of Bones, City of Ashes and City of Glass make up the Mortal Instruments trilogy and I think they really warrant reading all three fairly close together and immerse yourself in the world that Cassandra Clare has created.

The world itself is the world we know, but there is a hidden side to it. Our way into the story is through Clary, and New York teenager and her best friend Simon, who after witnessing a murder, suddenly find out about the world of demons, angels, vampires and werewolves. The mundanes (humans) in the story are oblivious to this hidden world that exists all around them, but for some reason, Clary starts to be able to see through the glamour, and is drawn to the mysterious Jace.

I enjoyed reading these books, there were interesting characters and the secrecy of the Shadowhunters in the mundane society made the adventure seem all the more exciting. The epic nature of their quest makes for a thrilling adventure, and I loved that each of the characters has their own part to play and their own story which contributes to making them feel real and alive.

I loved the relationship between Jace and Clary, and had sort of guessed how it would be resolved, just not sure of the exact details, and I lost my heart to Simon with all the things that happened to him throughout the story.

However, I did find the concept of Idris and Alicante a bit confusing – was it part of our world or a different one altogether? Maybe I missed something in the explanation of it, but I didn’t really understand how it worked.

Now, this is a very strange observation I know, but there was an episode of a Victoria Wood television series about 20 years ago called “We’d Quite Like To Apologise…” about getting stuck in an airport waiting for a flight for a holiday to Alicante in Spain, and the association with that was so strong for me, that I couldn’t help but smirk at the reference each time Alicante was mentioned. Was the Alicante in Idris supposed to be the same Alicante in the real world of Spain? I’m sure this wouldn’t bother anyone else who read the books, but unfortunately, it just took me out of the story occasionally.

On the whole though, a very satisfying series of books, and I’ve recently heard that another two books have been commissioned by the publishers, but I haven’t seen any more details, so it will be interesting to see where she takes the story. I’m also looking forward to the prequels, the first one due out in a few weeks time, called Clockwork Angels.

“Waking The Witch” by Kelley Armstrong

Waking The Witch is young witch Savannah’s first full length story, and follows her as she decides to cover her first solo investigation unbeknownst to Paige and Lucas who are enjoying a well deserved holiday. I loved how Armstrong shows Savannah trying to prove that she has conquered her hot-headed, impetuous nature and act like a mature, experienced investigator, all the while making some mistakes and some enemies along the way.

Lots of twists and turns to keep the reader on their toes, the story of the case is pacy enough to keep you turning the pages leading to an almost Scooby Doo style reveal at the end, something I certainly hadn’t seen coming, and it is left with the promise of more Savannah stories to come.

I’ve never been disappointed by a Kelley Armstrong book yet, and this was no exception. A worthy addition to the Women of the Otherworld series.

“Linger” by Maggie Stiefvater

I absolutely loved the first book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls trilogy, Shiver, and it was such a great story, I’d been hoping it would remain as a stand-alone book, so when I found out there would be two more I had mixed feelings. However, as time drew nearer to the release of Linger, my anticipation mounted and I couldn’t wait to read it when it was finally released.

What a wonderful book Linger turned out to be. Stiefvater plugs into the gamut of teenage emotions including Isabel’s anger, Cole’s depression, Sam’s insecurity and loneliness and Grace’s hidden sadness and worry. I did miss the closeness and intimacy of the story of Grace and Sam with the inclusion of Isabel and new character Cole as narrators, but both felt necessary as the story develops and leads up to a heart wrenching climax and cliff hanger for the final part of the story.

There is an undercurrent of sadness running through this book. It pervades every line of the writing, and left me with a feeling of melancholy as I finished the book. Stiefvater’s writing is beautiful yet measured, and her style is clean but emotive.

I was a little disappointed with one aspect in that one of the elements I loved most of Shiver was the descriptions of landscape and homes and even trucks, yet this was missing from Linger although I guess the setting hadn’t changed at all, so the need it wasn’t there, nevertheless, I missed them.

Overall though I loved it, and will wait eagerly for the final installment so I’ll be able to read the whole saga again in one fell swoop!

“Dead Witch Walking” by Kim Harrison

The first of a supernatural series, Dead Witch Walking follows white witch Rachel Morgan, who quits her job as a runner working for Inderland Security (IS). No-one gets to walk away from their contract at IS without paying a price, usually with their life, so Rachel has to find a way to outrun the assassins and set up her own agency in order to make a living. In order to do this, she decides she’ll find the necessary evidence to out one of the city’s most respected businessmen, Trent Kalamack, as the drug lord she believes he is.

I hadn’t been intending to start another supernatural series of books, as I’m already engrossed in far too many, but I was out for the day and close to finishing the book I had with me, and picked this one up from a charity shop to tide me over until I got home.

Although it is set in the US, there was something about it that made it seem more global than the other series of books I’ve been reading. I think perhaps it’s because the Sookie Stackhouse and Anita Blake series are both set in southern states, whereas Harrison has set her book in a big city, Cincinnati, and it gave it a more urban and cosmopolitan feel, which I liked a lot.

However, on the whole, I though the story itself wasn’t anything out of the ordinary in this genre and the characters didn’t really grab me.

One thing that probably also put me off was the typeface and the size of the book. I can’t quite put my finger on why, but I found it difficult to read, and the book was slightly smaller but thick, which I found made if hard to hold comfortably, and I think this had an adverse affect on my enjoyment of the book in general.

I certainly won’t be dashing out to by the next one, but if my TBR pile ever diminishes to next to nothing, I might consider picking up more of the series.

“Burned” by P. C. and Kristin Cast

The latest in the House of Night series, Burned is told from various points of views, including Aphrodite, Stevie Rae, Rephaim and Stark, and I think the change to the perspectives is a welcome change to the series.

I think the series is definitely getting better again, after a good start, it started to go downhill when it became formulaic, but the last couple of books have really moved the story along and captivated my interest again.

I’ve never really been bothered by the awkward attempts at teenage vernacular in the previous books, but what I found irritating this time was the attempts to write in the accent of the characters. I know where the characters are from, so I don’t need the constant apostrophised words of Stevie Rae or the attempts at Scottish dialects of some of our new characters to know how they speak.

Just one final thing … I’m loving Aphordite more with each installment! She’s by far the funniest and most interesting of them all for me. Can’t wait for Awakened but 2011 seems too far away

“Shiver” by Maggie Stiefvater

Ever since Grace was attacked by the wolves in the woods behind her house, she’s been fascinated by them, especially the one with the yellow eyes, who seems to watch her throughout the winter. That wolf is Sam, a human boy who changes into a wolf as the summer turns to winter every year, running with his pack, living for those few precious, warm summer months when he can be human again.

A return to YA fantasy with a werewolf book this time. I absolutely loved it. Each of the chapters is written from the point of view of one of the two principle characters, so you see the story from each of their perspectives. The connection and the developing relationship between them felt very real and believable, and the sense of growing desperation builds as the story progresses.

I thought the descriptions were very good, and I had a very strong picture in my head of the landscape, the buildings and even the trucks and cars.

The only complaint I have is that the ending felt a little bit rushed, and I’m not sure I was 100% convinced by it, but I enjoyed the rest of the story so much that it didn’t spoil the book for me at all. In fact, I enjoyed it so much, it’s one of the few books from this genre I’ll be keeping to read again.

“The Reckoning” by Kelley Armstrong

Another fantastic page turning thriller from Kelley Armstrong, in this, the final book of the Darkest Powers trilogy. Despite the short period of time covered in the three books, the characters are very well developed, and the suspense is palpable as they grow even closer while trying to figure out just who is on their side and how they will escape the clutches of the Edison Group.

Fans of Armstrong’s Women of the Otherworld series will recognise the various types of supernaturals in the world she’s created for her books, and I imagine it’s a great way for her to capture the imagination of teenagers who will undoubtedly want to read move of her work as they grow up.

I’m glad to see this was written as a trilogy, and whilst it doesn’t neatly tie up all the loose ends, it does provide a fitting end and closure on this particular episode of the lives of Chloe, Derek, Steve, Tori and Liz, but is an open enough ending to return to some or all of them at a later stage, or even bringing them into the wider Armstrong world in her other books.

“A Touch of Dead” by Charlaine Harris

This books is a collected anthology of short stories about Sookie Stackhouse, the heroine of Harris’s Southern Vampire series.

This book was a quick and easy read, but for true Sookie fans only I’m afraid, as it’s a hardback book, s-t-r-e-t-c-h-e-d to 208 pages, with a large typeface, big spacing, blank pages, a title page for each story plus a double page illustration at the start of each one, it did smack of publishing a book just to make money.

The stories themselves were entertaining enough, but overall, I found them unsatisfying, and I even felt the reveal in the conclusion of the story “Giftwrap” was slightly sickening. I’m very glad I borrowed my copy from the library and didn’t spend my hard earned cash on it, as I think it was poor value for money, and only for those who want to collect the entire Southern Vampire series.