Review: Divinity

Divinity 
Patrica Leever
200 pages (Paperback)
Omnific Publishing
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes&Noble


Blurb: 
Demons.

They’re everywhere, hiding in plain sight. Chances are, you’ve interacted with one or two of them in your lifetime without even realizing it...

Demon hunter Evelyn Brighton saves unsuspecting humans from the malevolent creatures masquerading around them every day. Working under the Lebriga Corporation’s direction, she never fails to bring her A-game with her keen skill, fiercely independent spirit, and the best weapon in her arsenal: the Divinity blade.

Evelyn’s world is turned on its ear, however, when she is ordered to train cocky new recruit Daniel Summers. They both feel an instinctive pull drawing them to one another, the ancient spells tattooed into their skin illuminating whenever the two hunters come into contact. But with evil looming over the city of Los Angeles, Evelyn and Daniel’s mutual competitiveness and sense of duty to Lebriga and all humankind forces them to hold back their desires. Will their restraint be enough to keep them focused and save southern California, or will the dark forces prevail?

Set in modern-day Los Angeles, Divinity is an action-filled, fast-paced marriage of urban fantasy and paranormal romance. Edgy, witty, and sexy, it will bind you in its spell.
 
Review: 
I had been meaning to read Divinity by Patrica Leever for sometime now but had never found the opportunity to do so. Excitingly enough, I got a Nook this weekend, giving me the perfect reason to download a new book and read it in one go on my fancy new reading gadget.

Divinity is about a world full of demons and focuses on the gifted hunters that are out to protect the human race from all of the nastiness in the world. It was a quick-paced, short read that introduced its world and characters quickly before moving on with the plot. However, while I found many of the characters interesting and I was sometimes very pleased with the relationships between different characters, such as the different couples or the relationships between hunters and handlers, the speed of the story left something to be desired with the depth of knowledge and emotional feelings that I had for the characters.

The other issue in it for me was that the love relationship between the two main characters, Evelyn and Daniel, developed much too quickly. I normally thoroughly enjoy when couple are 'fated' for each other, however this felt too fast for me and ridiculously unbelievable. While very little actually happened between the couple until later in the book, the surety they had at times was too unrealistic for me.

What I did enjoy was the world that these characters lived in. The magic that was brought to life in the story was unique and very interesting.

The story was also told split between Evelyn's and Daniel's points of view. Sometimes this is a major flop in some books but it worked very well in this case, as it allowed me to see both sides of the story and to get more detail that I would have otherwise.

I would recommend this to people who are looking for a short and quick, yet fun, paranormal read.

Overall, I give this a hangover level three out of five.

Interested in purchasing the book? Check links above!

Review: Project Cain

Project Cain
Geoffrey Girad
341 pages (Hardcover) 
Simon & Schuster BFYR
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes&Noble
 
Blurb:
Sixteen-year-old Jeff Jacobson had never heard of Jeffrey Dahmer, the infamous serial killer who brutally murdered seventeen people more than twenty years ago. But then Jeff discovers he was constructed in a laboratory only eight years ago, part of a top-secret government cloning experiment called Project CAIN. And scientists created him entirely from Jeffrey Dahmer's DNA.

Jeff isn't the only teenage serial-killer clone. Others have been genetically engineered using the DNA of the Son of Sam, the Boston Strangler, and Ted Bundy. Some clones were raised, like Jeff, in caring family environments; others within homes that mimicked the horrific early lives of the serial killers they were created from.

When the most dangerous of the boys are set free, the summer of killing begins. Worse, they hold a secret weapon even more deadly than the terrible evil they carry within.

Can Jeff help catch the "monsters" before becoming one himself?

Review:
This is one of those books that I had been anxiously awaiting a long time ago. It came out, I bought it in pure excitement, and then put it on my nightstand to be read after I finished the several that I was in the middle of.  Somehow, miracle of miracles, I am actively reading my way through my back-logged to-be-read pile this summer. Top of the list: Project Cain.

The premise of this story was one that interested me to no end. Serial killers? Sign me up! (As long as they stay in the pages.) And the added mixture of cloning to the plot sounded like it would add a unique twist. This also interested the Biology major in me. The question of how much nature and nurture each have to do with the way a person turns out is such an engaging question that I couldn't imagine not enjoying this book. For the most part I was correct.

The story was fast-paced and full of action toward the end. However, two things held me up a bit. Firstly, there was a lot of soul searching and inner monologue, especially in the beginning of the book. While it made sense, as the main character,  Jeff  (as in the clone of Jeffery Dahmer), found out he was not a normal boy but was in fact a clone. Unfortunately I was not really in an inner journey sort of mood. The second thing that I wasn't overly fond of was the way the dialogue was written. Girard wrote it in a style that was meant to hopefully be engaging to young readers, in particularly boys. While the style, full of short sentences and lists did contribute to the fast pace of the novel, I disliked that quotation marks weren't used. It threw me of a bit and I never really adjusted to it.
Another thing that I struggled a bit with was that the characters didn't excite me. Jeff struggled with his identity for the majority of the novel and some of the other characters fell flat due the journal-like format of the story. The growth of the other characters was lacking and there relationships to the main character were hard to understand.

However, one thing I loved about this was the amount of research that was clearly put into the novel. The number of facts and statistics were nearly overwhelming. It some other reviews I had seen that many people considered the book to much of an info-dump, but I enjoyed the conspiracies and theories, all born of fact. Besides, as the story is only written from the point of view of Jeff I can only imagine a bit of info-dump as the main character was thrown into this plot with all of the information flying at his

Overall, the story was a really intriguing concept that needed to be more finely tuned in some places in order to more emotionally involve the reader. (It is however possible that the adult version of this novel, Cain's Blood, would appeal to me more.)

I give this story a hangover level of 3 out of 5.

Interested in purchasing the book? Check out the links above!

Review: House of Purple Cedar

House of Purple Cedar 
Tim Tingle 
192 pages (Paperback)
Cinco Puntos Press
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes&Noble


Blurb: 

"The hour has come to speak of troubled times. It is time we spoke of Skullyville." Thus begins Rose Goode's story of her growing up in Indian Territory in pre-statehood Oklahoma. Skullyville, a once-thriving Choctaw community, was destroyed by land-grabbers, culminating in the arson on New Year's Eve, 1896, of New Hope Academy for Girls. Twenty Choctaw girls died, but Rose escaped. She is blessed by the presence of her grandmother Pokoni and her grandfather Amafo, both respected elders who understand the old ways. Soon after the fire, the white sheriff beats Amafo in front of the town's people, humiliating him. Instead of asking the Choctaw community to avenge the beating, her grandfather decides to follow the path of forgiveness. And so unwinds this tale of mystery, Indian-style magical realism, and deep wisdom. It's a world where backwoods spiritualism and Bible-thumping Christianity mix with bad guys; a one-legged woman shop-keeper, her oaf of a husband, herbal potions, and shape-shifting panthers rendering justice. Tim Tingle—a scholar of his nation's language, culture, and spirituality—tells Rose's story of good and evil with understanding and even laugh-out-loud Choctaw humor. 

Review:  

I was given House of Purple Cedar by my librarian, who asked if I would review the book for him, being that it had just arrived new to our library. Once I obtained the book I looked up reviews done by other to gauge if I would like the book. All the reviews I found rated the book highly and it seemed like it would be a page turner. It turned out to not be. 

In my own personal opinion, I did not enjoy House of Purple Cedar and find the ratings to be off.  When I first started reading the book I thought it was interesting, for about the first chapter. Afterwards, the chapters dragged on, not really coming to a point. Many of the stories told in the book, which contributed to the whole story, could have been smaller, which would help make the story a faster read. 

The book itself is to highlight the horrible discrimination PoC go through, especially Native Americans. The Choctaw people, in their small Oklahoma town, had to deal with a lot of discrimination towards Native Americans as a whole being. I am all for equal treatment for everyone, and there should be more books written about it, but there could have been a more interest sparking way to write the book. 

This is just my personal opinion on the writing and format of house of Purple Cedar, and it's not meant to offend others. 

Overall, I give House of Purple Cedar a level 1 hangover out of 5. But an A for effort. 

Interested in purchasing the book? Click the links at the top! 

Review: The Naturals

The Naturals 
Jennifer Lynn Barnes
308 pages (Hardcover)
Goodreads - Amazon - Barnes&Noble

Blurb: 

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie.

What Cassie doesn’t realize is that there’s more at risk than a few unsolved homicides—especially when she’s sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own. Sarcastic, privileged Michael has a knack for reading emotions, which he uses to get inside Cassie’s head—and under her skin. Brooding Dean shares Cassie’s gift for profiling, but keeps her at arm’s length.

Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms closer than Cassie could ever have imagined. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive. 

Review: 

I heard about The Naturals a few months before it came out and it sounded like it was going to be a really great book. I'm glad to say that it didn't disappoint me. In fact, I read it in a day because I wasn't able to put it down 

The novle was very fast paced, which I really liked. There weren't any parts in the middle of the story where it seemed to lag. 

I also really liked the cast of characters. Cassie was really interesting and I especially liked the mental processes she went through while profiling. I also very much enjoyed hoe realistic she was, even though she was "different." The rest of the characters, shane, Lia, Michael, Dean, and some of the rest, were also really fun and I liked there bickering and reactons to each other. Cassie's profiling training with the FBI agents was also extremely interesting. 

The other aspect of the novel that I loved was the mystery. Every few chapters there would be a snippet from the killer's point of view and they really added to the story. I didn't expect the ending at all, to be honest. 

The only small issue I had was the similarity between The Naturals and Kimbely Derting's The Body Finder series. However, there were enough differences that it was still enjoyable. 

Overall, I give it a hangover level of 5 out of 5. 

Want to purchase the book? Check out the links at the top! 

Waiting On Wednesday: Drop Dead Demons

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Breaking the Spine. It lets us spotlight that haven't been released and that we can't wait for. This week we've picked Drop Dead Demons by A&E Kirk, which is scheduled to release on May 27, 2014. 

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Seventeen-year-old Aurora Lahey has figured out why everyone is trying to kill her...now she just needs to figure out how to stop them.

Between all the hell-hired assassins and secret society traitors hunting her down, Aurora didn’t think life as the Divinicus Nex could get worse.

Sure, she's discovered some lethal powers of her own. Plus, six sexy, super-charged, demon-hunting Hex Boys are watching her back. And yes, Aurora doesn't mind running into the muscled arms of the hottest one—and he’s not complaining either.

But when a seductive stranger with questionable motives delivers a deadly ultimatum, Aurora and the Hex Boys plunge into a do-or-die hunt for a legendary treasure that will either finally shift power in their favor or unleash hell on earth.

Pursued by demons of mythical proportions, Aurora and the Hex Boys race deeper into a shadowy world of a centuries old mystery and brutal conspiracy, where no one and nothing is what it seems. Where love and betrayal go hand-in-hand, and trusting the wrong person not only breaks your heart, but can get you killed.

Hiding her Divinicus Nex status from those chasing her, lying to her pretend-wish-he-were-real boyfriend, dodging demons, breaking into tombs, hunting her blackmailer, and passing Physics...Aurora could do that in her sleep.

Or more likely, die trying. 

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I cannot wait for this book. I read the first book of the series when it was still brand new and I loved the whole story and plot since then. I've been waiting two years for Drop Dead Demons to finially come out and it has, I couldn't be any happier. The plot line is great and not to mention all the guys in the story are hot. 

What are you waiting for this Wednesday? 
Let us know in the comments below! 

Review: Geek High

Geek High 
Piper Banks
242 pages (paperback)
NAL Trade
Goodreads -  Amazon - Barnes&Noble

Blurb: 

At this school, everyone's a geek. And Miranda Bloom still can't fit in...

Miranda is a math genius with divorced parents, an evil stepmother, and no boyfriend in sight. She can't even fit in with the other geeks at the Nottingham Independent School for high-IQ students, because they actually have useful talents. Miranda, on the other hand, is known as "The Human Calculator," which doesn't amount to much when people have, you know, their own calculators.

Then Miranda gets stuck planning the school's Snowflake Gala. And as she struggles to find a date and drum up some school spirit at Nottingham-aka "Geek High"-she finds that who you are means more than where you fit in. 

Review: 

Here I am again with another teen/YA book, this week it's Geek High. My mother bought me this book for my birthday back in 2012 and I enjoyed it quite a lot. Enough that I wrote a review for my English class that same year. It follows the first semester of her sophmore year in high school, hitting all the highs and lows hat come with it. 

I liked how realistic the story line is. Parents are divorced, mother moves for a job and daughter has to move in with her dad. Totally plausable in the real world. The main character, Miranda, had a very believable personality and many of the things that she does throughout the story follow what an actual teenage girl would do. Character development of the supporting characters is moderately high, and I mean that in a good way. 

I would say that Geek High would be an enjoyable read for anyone who likes reading YA stories, and teenage girls may be able to relate to many of the twist and turns that miranda goes through. it's a great weekend read, but I would say you may want to be on the mature side, like 13 or older, as mature content is mentioned. 

Overall, I would give Geek High a level 4 hangover out of 5. 

Want to purchase the book? Check out the links at the top!

Waiting On Wednesday: City of Heavenly Fire

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted over at Breaking the Spine. It lets us spotlight books that haven't been released and that we can't wait for. This week we've picked City of Heavenly Fire by Cassandra Clare, which is scheduled to release May 27, 2014. 

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ΕRCHOMAI, SEBASTIAN HAD SAID. 

I am coming.

Darkness returns to the Shadowhunter world. As their society falls apart around them, Clary, Jace, Simon and their friends must band together to fight the greatest evil the Nephilim have ever faced: Clary’s own brother. Nothing in the world can defeat him — must they journey to another world to find the chance? Lives will be lost, love sacrificed, and the whole world changed in the sixth and last installment of the Mortal Instruments series!

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Jordyn has been on the edge of her seat while waiting for this installment of The Mortal Instruments to be released. I will admit that I myself have not read any of the books in this series but Jordyn did force me to watch teh movie adaptation of it. i will say the storyline itself seems very interesting, just not my personal style. that doesn't mean I can't wait for it to be released, though. not only are we spotlighting this book but we also have a countdown for it on one of our sidebars. The cover fits along very well with the rest of the known covers and i know fans have been debating over which two characters are actually suppose to be on the cover. 

What are you waiting for this Wednesday? 

Let us know down in the comments!