Review: Never Tell a Lie

Title: Never Tell a Lie
Author: Hallie Ephron
Pages: 288
Rating: 4/5

It all started with the yard sale. Ivy was eight months and one week pregnant when she insisted that she and her husband, David, clean out the junk they'd inherited with the old Victorian house they'd bought three years before. Call it nesting, call it nerves—she just wanted it all gone: the old electrical fixtures, the boxes of National Geographics from the 1960s, the four black wool greatcoats.

Neither she nor David recognized the woman at first. But it turned out that the customer asking about the lime-green glass swan dish—the woman who looks just about as pregnant as Ivy—was none other than Melinda White, a former high school classmate of David and Ivy's. When Melinda was a child she used to play in their new house, she explained. It looked like they'd been doing some work. Would it be all right if she took a look around? David took Melinda inside. And she never came out.

Now David's under police suspicion, and Ivy finds herself digging deep into the past to clear his name. But David's history, she begins to discover, is not necessarily the history she remembers, and before long Ivy has uncovered a twisted web of deceit, betrayal, and lies, both the ones we tell those we love and the ones we tell ourselves. . . .

Relentlessly fast-paced and disturbingly creepy, Never Tell a Lie is a page-turning thrill ride about how well we know the people we love, and how far we are willing to go to protect the secrets of our past (Cover Blurb).

I heard about this book when J. Kaye reviewed it for her blog and immediately wanted to read it. I'm not a huge fan of thrillers (I used to be and think I burned myself out reading them one after another) but this really sounded good. I was planning on getting it from the library or waiting for it to come out in paperback when I stumbled upon the website BookSwim. Its an awesome website where they loan you books and then you send them back for free (like a Netflix but with books). Well of course I had to try it out and Never Tell a Lie was in my first book package that I received on Tuesday.

I had hit a brick wall with my reading, and hadn't even picked up a single book all weekend, so I was super excited when my books arrived. I started this book late Tuesday night and quickly flew through the first 100 pages. I really enjoyed this book and the writing style of the author. The characters were well developed and believable. I really liked Ivy, the main character of the story, and pushed for her to overcome the evils of the story the entire time.

The reason I only gave the book a 4 rating is because I had it figured out by the first 100 pages. It was slightly predictable, but still rather enjoyable and I would definitely recommend it to other readers who are looking for a fast paced, quick read.

Stress...and my "secret" boyfriend...

What the day from you know where. If one more thing happens at work I am going to scream. If its not one person it's another. Once things get figured out I'll be a little more free to talk about what is going on and I can explain some of that stress away. As for tonight...I'm off to read and listen to my boyfriend sing to me...care to listen too?

Review: Vampireville

Title: Vampireville
Author: Ellen Schreiber
Pages: 231
Rating: 3.5/5

Can Raven stop Dullsville from becoming Vampireville?

For goth-girl Raven, dating her dream boyfriend is complicated, especially because Alexander's secret means they can only meet at night. And now they must be extra wary, with Alexander's arch rival, Jagger, creeping around town. Then Jagger's exquisitely pale sister Luna also surfaces—and seems to have her sights on Raven's own longtime nemesis.

Raven and Alexander must begin a terrifying hunt for Jagger and Luna's secret hideout. Can they drive them away before Dullsville is eternally threatened by these menaces from the Underworld?

This is the third book in the Vampire Kisses series, and I didn't like this one nearly as well as the first two. I don't know if the thrill of reading a new vampire series is wearing off or I'm just burning out too quickly on this series.

In this installment of the series, Alexander and Raven set out to rescue Trevor, Raven's longtime foe, from a life of Vampirehood. Throughout the way, there are several strange encounters with vampire twins, Luna and Jagger. Alexander and Raven go all over town, searching for the twins coffins in which they sleep during daylight hours. Once found, they hope to hide them, forcing the twins back to Romania. To me, that whole situation was straight out of an old black and white vampire flick and it really started to annoy me.

Also, the writing in this series is not stellar - you can definitely tell it is directed to a younger crowd. However, during the first two books, this did not bother me. In this one, I found myself picking apart sentence structure and everything else. I do believe, a lot of the issues, were bad timing on my part. Things have been stressful at work, and there's been a few situations at home lately that DH and I have had to handle (stupid stupid water company...grrr) that most likely affected me as I was reading last night.

I started the four book in the series this morning and hope to finish it and number five this week.

Review: Kissing Coffins

Title: Kissing Coffins
Author: Ellen Schreiber
Pages: 224
Rating: 4.75/5

Not far from Dullsville someone's lurking in the dark...

After meeting the handsome and shadowy Alexander Sterling, goth-girl Raven's dark world has a bright, new glow. But as in her favorite moving, Kissing Coffins, Raven knows that love always has its complications, especially when Alexander has a big secret to guard.

When Alexander suddenly disappears, Raven leaves Dullsville to begin a dangerous search to find him. Can she stay safe, no matter who - or what - she encounters on the way (Cover Blurb)?

The second book in the Vampire Kisses series, Kissing Coffins is even better than the first one. Alexander has suddenly disappeared and Raven sets out by herself to find him. Going to visit her hippie aunt, she enters The Coffin Club and discovers the super creepy and scary vampire boy Jagger. Jagger is also looking for Alexander, but his motives are much darker than Raven's.

All in all, this book of the series, was definitely darker than the first one, and had more action. However, it still had all the same aspects that made me like this series in the first place. One of my favorite parts of this series is how it is so full of vampire cliches, including when Alexander is almost killed from accidentally inhaling some garlic powder.

My favorite part of the whole book is when Alexander is telling Raven about Jagger and states, "My parents were bohemians and we really never fit in with our kind. We were what was known as vampire vegetarians." I immediately thought of my boyfriend Edward Cullen...hehehe. But anyways, enough about that. I'm off to start the next book Vampireville and then to bed for a good night's sleep!

January in Review

Reading wise, January was a great month. I finished 8 books and managed to review each and every one of them. Considering the fact that I only read about 25 books total last year, I think I'm well on my way to making my goal. Also, I completed one entire series (that's one more than last year...lol) and brought my goal of series to complete down to 4.

Real life wise, January was a bit rough. My company that I currently work for was bought out by the company that I use to work for - I had very specific reasons for leaving so I'm a little concerned as to what is going to happen now. DH has been working long long hours and we haven't had a chance to be together hardly at all. Plus, we had to put down Ralph and Sammy, my Doberman, has a really nasty infection behind his ear (I told my vet this weekend that I didn't want to make it a habit to see her every week...lol). He's on antibiotics and we'll probably have to take further action later this week ---it is just too nasty to talk about.

Well, I'm back to work and then back home to clean up the mega mess left from the Super Bowl Party... I don't know what kind of reading I'll get done tonight :)

Review: Vampire Kisses

Title: Vampire Kisses

Author: Ellen Schreiber

Pages: 253

Rating: 4.5/5

The mansion on top of Benson Hill has been empty and boarded up for years. But a new family has moved in. A family that never ventures out during the day. Who are these creepy people –– especially the handsome, dark, and elusive Alexander Sterling? Or rather, what are they? Could the town gossip actually be true? Are they vampires?

Raven, who secretly covets a vampire kiss, both at the risk of her own mortality and Alexander's loving trust, is dying to uncover the truth.

This was my last book I completed in January. I really enjoyed this book and it was a super fast read. Raven is a goth chick who's goal in life is to grow up and be a vampire. So, when a super creepy family moves into the old abandoned mansion, she is convinced that something spooky is going on - plus, there's a really cute goth guy living there that she just has to check out. Along with her best friend, Becky, Raven sets out to find out what is going on and ends up losing her heart along the way.

The funny thing about this book is how it describes the vampires. They don't go out into the sunlight, they don't eat garlic, and they turn into bats at night. This was just so different from the other vampire books I've read recently and I had to laugh. It was rather funny, after reading Twilight, to go back to something that said vampires slept in the ground and turned into bats.

There are four more books already written in this series and I have already ordered them from Amazon. I'm looking forward to reading them in the next month. At this rate, by the end of the year, I should no everything I need to know about vampires!

Review: Vampire Academy

Title: Vampire Academy

Author: Richelle Mead

Pages: 336

Rating: 4/5

St. Vladimir's Academy isn't just any boarding school—it's a hidden place where vampires are educated in the ways of magic and half-human teens train to protect them. Rose Hathaway is a Dhampir, a bodyguard for her best friend Lissa, a Moroi Vampire Princess. They've been on the run, but now they're being dragged back to St. Vladimir's—the very place where they're most in danger. . . .

Rose and Lissa become enmeshed in forbidden romance, the Academy's ruthless social scene, and unspeakable nighttime rituals. But they must be careful lest the Strigoi—the world's fiercest and most dangerous vampires—make Lissa one of them forever (Barnes and Noble.com).

I finished this book early last week but never had a chance to write up the review. I really enjoyed this book and thought it was a good start to a series. I've started the second book in the series but accidentally left it in my desk drawer at work over the weekend so I had to read something else.

I think my favorite part of this novel, was the history within it. The novel focuses a lot on St Vladimir and his shadow kissed friend Anna. St. Vladimir was a healer, and used his powers to heal plants, animals, and other people. However, these healings left him a little crazy, and Anna was always there to help him out. Rose uses this information to solve the mystery of her and Lissa's relationship --- and to also figure out who the bad guy is. It's all very surprising and suspenseful - especially the last 50 or 60 pages.

Rose is my favorite of the series so far. She's bad ass, she's tough, and she doesn't let a lot of things bother her. And her "relationship" with her trainer Dimitri is hot --- I wouldn't mind letting him push me around a few times either...lol. I look forward to reading about how this relationship transpires.

I originally picked up this novel because of my obsession with the Twilight Saga and all things Twilight. I was looking for other novels to fill the void left by the absence of completing those books. While Vampire Academy is completely different from Twilight, I still really liked it and will be keeping me eyes out for other things by this author.