Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

JESSICA SERIES BOOK 01

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey
Harcourt
Published in 2009
ISBN 9780152063849
354 Pages

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Amazon (Paperback)
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CHECKED OUT THE BOOK FROM MY PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Review/Rating:

4 out of 5



Jessica is just a normal, average teenager until a mysterious exchange student, Lucius Vladescu, comes to her school. He claims that she is his fiance and that she is a Romanian vampire princess. If she doesn't marry him, it will mean war between the two powerful vampire families. Now what will happen to her peaceful senior year?

Another vampire book. Yaaay. :) I'll try to read some non-supernatural books that are not childish, for my next upcoming reviews.

This is most likely going to be a short review, since I'm lazy right now. :P As you know, I read plenty of vampire books, so I'm pretty much going to like it. :) There might be some spoilers. :P

This book was actually pretty good. There are enough details of events so that you don't think it is going too fast, but the descriptions of the characters could have been a little bit more detailed. There are plenty of conflicts to make the plot interesting, which most of the books I have been reading lately have that problem --- not enough conflicts or not enough details to the conflict to make the plot/book more interesting.

The things I really didn't like was how the book ended, and how she stayed with him despite him being arrogant, stubborn, violent, and acts like he is stuck in the middle ages. :( Other than those things, I like the book.

I might re-read this later. Anyways, there is a short story on the author's website, and a sequel coming out called Jessica Rules the Darkside in Fall 2011. I'll review the short story later. Right now, though, I have a lot of other books to read.

Other Reviews/Author Site:

Beth Fantaskey
Goodreads: Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey
Library Thing: Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey
Soothe Rain Drops: Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey
Reviewer X: Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

Need by Carrie Jones

NEED SERIES BOOK 01

Need by Carrie Jones
Bloomsbury
Published in 2009
ISBN 1599903385
306 Pages

PLACES TO BUY FROM:

Amazon (Hardcover)
Barnes & Noble (Hardcover)

CHECKED OUT THE BOOK FROM MY PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Review/Rating:

3 out of 5



When Zara's emotions shut down for a long time because her stepfather died in front of her, Zara's mom sends her to live with her grandmother. Though when Zara arrives in a cold Maine, she meets someone that has been stalking her, but who is he and what does he want? Also, why does he leave a gold dust trail wherever he goes? Is he human or is he something Zara should be more afraid of?

Okay. Another supernatural book. :P Hopefully, I will make this review a short one because it takes longer to write a longer review of it. :( Oh, there may be some spoilers. :)

It is actually pretty interesting in some areas, but in others... it was kind of bleh. Some things that are interesting about the book, in my opinion, were how the chapters were titled after phobias --- it kind of made it interesting to learn about some phobias I never knew they named, and also I like the idea of using pixies and weres in the main storyline --- since I mostly read books on vampires and weres, it was a nice change of pace. Though, in the summary where it says, "...a creature you never though you'd have to fear," I have actually read some books where pixies are feared, but I don't remember which ones.

Some of the things that I didn't like about the book were the lack of or very few descriptions of characters and events, and also the ending of the book kind of felt rushed. I think, personally, that the author could have made it a little bit longer, if she added a little bit more descriptions and added more into the context of the story. I kind of hope there will be a sequel, but I'm not wasting my breath on it.

Other Reviews/Author Site:

Carrie Jones
Goodreads: Need by Carrie Jones
Library Thing: Need by Carrie Jones
A Dream of Books: Need by Carrie Jones
Mindful Musings: Need by Carrie Jones

Devilish by Maureen Johnson

 

Devilish by Maureen Johnson

Razorbill

Published in 2006

ISBN 1595140603

263 Pages

PLACES TO BUY FROM:

Amazon (Paperback)
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CHECKED OUT THE BOOK FROM MY PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Review/Rating:

4 out of 5



Jane Jarvis and Allison Concord have been best friends for a long time, but what does Jane do when she finds out the at Allison sold her soul to the devil? As Jane tries to save her friend's soul, she sacrifices her own soul to save the soul of her friend. What could make matters worse? She falls in love with a 116-year-old boy, and she has to keep from getting expelled from school.

Yes, I know, another supernatural book. I love them. :) Short review because I read it like four days ago, and I don't really remember much. :( Though, I remember what I didn't like about it. ;)

This book is actually pretty good. I like how the author made the devil into an organization, instead of just being one person. There is tons of suspense and twists in the book, and I just fell in love with Owen. :)

The book was too short and not really enough description, but for some reason, I really like the lack of description. For the ending of this book, it wasn't really completed, so I hope that the author will come out with a sequel or something. So, my only pet-peeves with this book were that it was too short and the ending was kind of bad. :(

Other than those things, it is a pretty good book, if you just want something to do in like one afternoon. :)

Other Reviews/Author Site:

Maureen Johnson
Goodreads: Devilish by Maureen Johnson
Library Thing: Devilish by Maureen Johnson
Tay's Bookshelf: Devilish by Maureen Johnson
Dear Author: Devilish by Maureen Johnson

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

 

Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

Multnomah Publishers

Published in 1997

ISBN 1576738167

479 Pages

PLACES TO BUY FROM:

Amazon (Paperback)
Barnes & Noble (Paperback)

CHECKED OUT THE BOOK FROM MY PUBLIC LIBRARY.
I OWN A SINGLE COPY.
BOUGHT THROUGH AMAZON.COM.

Review/Rating:

5 out of 5



As a prostitute, the only way Angel can stay sane and survive is by keeping what she hates the most always in her mind, never forgetting it for a second. What she hates the most are men who only use her, and she always thought men are all the same, that is, until Michael Hosea. One day, when Michael saw her walking, God told him to marry Angel, and so he goes to convince her. It takes several visits to convince her and break what she thinks of men, but when Michael is about to give up, an accident causes them to live together. After they arrive at his house, he is faced with a new challenge: Convincing Angel that he really actually does love her. Though, whenever someone thaws her frozen heart, she runs away out of fear. What will it take for Angel to stay and love Michael? Well that depends on if she can face the one thing she always tries to run away from.

I don't normally read Christian fiction, but the summary of the book is what drew me to it --- not the fact it was about religion or had religion aspects in the book. I don't really like Christian fiction due to the fact that normally it is too much religion and not enough plot put into the book --- this book doesn't do that. :)

This book is really inspirational and heart-warming; I was pretty much trying not to cry throughout half of the book. ;) Even though it is a retelling of a biblical story, this book was so good that I couldn't put it down --- I read it in less than 2 days. I love the descriptions she uses (and the author uses a lot of them). :) This book left me thinking of several things that other Christian fiction books don't let me think about --- other Christian books shove religion down your throat. :( Another thing I like about this book, despite being Christian fiction and about God, it doesn't really shove it down your throat --- it has a plot that really gets to people and lets them think about things instead. Though, personally, I was reading it for the romance part of the book. :P And the ending of the book is pretty good --- not really rushed and there's an epilogue chapter to find out what happens to them in the end. :)

I'm not going to post anymore than that because, well, you should really read it. :) Just one more thing, I wouldn't read this if you are immature in thinking, since there are sensitive and serious issues in the book. :)

Other Reviews/Author Site:

Francine Rivers
Goodreads: Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
Library Thing: Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
Average Girl Reads: Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers
Tina's Book Reviews: Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers

Betrayed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

THE HOUSE OF NIGHT SERIES BOOK 02

Betrayed by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast
St. Martin's Griffin
Published in 2007
ISBN 9780312360283
310 Pages

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Amazon (Paperback)
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Review/Rating:

4 out of 5



Zoey Redbird has finally managed to feel like she belongs at the House of Night and as the Leader of the Dark Daughters, but now she has to juggle not one boyfriend, but three boyfriends. And everything was going great until humans Zoey knows are being killed, fledglings dying more often than before, and a betrayal from someone close to her. However, will this betrayal break her or strengthen her?

Been a couple of days since I have read it, so I'll try to remember what I was going to say about it. :( Oh, yeah, vampires again, so watch out for spoilers. :P

In the second book of the House of Night, Zoey is faced with more challenges: Falling in love with two or three guys, humans from Zoey's human life dying, the death of a lot of fledglings in a short period of time (one of whom is Zoey's best friend), her powers growing, seeing the "ghosts" of the dead fledglings, and a betrayal of someone close and dear to her.

Okay, a little bit less high school drama in this book, and there are a lot more things that are supernatural. Yay! :) The high school drama is the only real thing that annoys me in this, but at least they act kind of like real teenagers, unlike another book I know. :(

After you skip over the high school drama, this book is pretty good, but the book should be a little longer. The author kind of squishes everything in a less than 400 page book, which doesn't do that much, when it comes to descriptions of events and people. :( If there were some more description in it, I would most likely like this series better.

Though, this series is good, if you don't want that much description put into your books - it had a little bit less than the first one. Other than the high school drama and not that much (about average amount) description, this book is great for a quick read. It only took me about 10 hours total to finish all of it. :) Just a warning, there is a gay character in the book, and they talk about sex, kissing, and things like that a couple of times.

Other Reviews/Author Site:

P.C. and Kristin Cast
House of Night Series
Goodreads: Betrayed by P.C. and Kristin Cast
Library Thing: Betrayed by P.C. and Kristin Cast
What to Read After Twilight: Betrayed by P.C. and Kristin Cast

Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

THE HOUSE OF NIGHT SERIES BOOK 01

Marked by P.C. Cast and Kristin Cast

St. Martin's Griffin

Published in 2007

ISBN 9780312360269

306 Pages

PLACES TO BUY FROM:

Barnes & Noble (Paperback)
Amazon (Paperback)

CHECKED OUT THE BOOK FROM MY PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Review/Rating:

4 out of 5



Zoey Redbird was just an ordinary teenage girl, that is, until a Tracker Marks her as a fledgling vampyre. Now, she has to join the House of Night, a school that helps fledgling vampyres grow into adult vampyres. At the House of Night, she discovers that she is the chosen one of the vamprye Gooddess, Nyx. When she discovers she has powers that a fledgling shouldn't have, like bloodlust, Imprinting, and other things, she will have to go head to head with others who use their powers for themselves? Worst yet, will she be able to survive the change into an adult vampyre?

Okay, I know, another vampire-like book. I love vampire books, so get use to it. :) I read this in 10 hours, and I fell asleep after reading it, so this review might not be that good. :(

For this series (The House of Night), it starts out pretty good by letting us kind of know about how her life is really like before she is Marked and how much people are jerks after she is Marked by the Tracker. Then it goes through the problems she goes through as a teenager (blah, blah, blah) and her family history. Those parts are kind of (actually very) boring, though. :(

Then, when she goes to the House of Night, after an accident leaves her mark filled in and making her even more different than the other kids at the school, she discovers that it is not as bad as what humans make it out to be. Basically, then, it is same as regular high school, but only with powers, bloodlust, and things like that added in it. :( Other than that, it was a pretty good book. I don't really like how the high school drama part was most of the book. Too many things that are school and normal related than supernatural related things. :(

Hopefully, the second book is much better than this one. Also, there are a lot of descriptions and details about places, events, and the characters, which I really like and make the story a lot more enjoyable. Just a warning, there is a gay character in the book, and they talk about sex, kissing, and things like that a couple of times.

Other Reviews/Author Site:

P.C. and Kristin Cast
House of Night Series
Goodreads: Marked by P.C. and Kristin Cast
Library Thing: Marked by P.C. and Kristin Cast
A Bookaholic's Review: Marked by P.C. and Kristin Cast
What to Read After Twilight: Marked by P.C. and Kristin Cast

Stargazer by Claudia Gray

EVERNIGHT (ACADEMY) SERIES BOOK 02

Stargazer by Claudia Gray

Harper Teen (Imprint of Harper Collins Publishers)

Published in 2009

ISBN 9780061284403

329 Pages

PLACES TO BUY FROM:

Amazon (Paperback)
Barnes & Noble (Ebook)

CHECKED OUT THE BOOK FROM MY PUBLIC LIBRARY.

Review/Rating:

5 out of 5



In book two of the Evernight series, Bianca goes through another challenge --- surviving two forces that both want her on their side. On both sides, it means giving up Lucas, a vampire hunter she fell in love with, and sacrificing her morals or life to be with one of the two forces. Will she give in to the destiny that one of the two groups want for her --- or will she pick her own destiny to follow...?

Like the last review, I love books about vampires, too. So this review is going to be a good one, unless I name anything that may have bugged me. Also, there might be a lot of spoilers.

Like the first book of the series, Stargazer starts out with what happens towards the middle or end of the book. It pretty interesting when the authors do something like that, but only if they write it to a point where it is summarizing the past or future events or it is similar to what happens later on in the book.

Stargazer continues to where Evernight left off: Lucas leaving and them trying to figure out how to see each other again. They do see each other again, but their relationship gets kind of rocky when Balthazar gets to be a tag along person on Lucas' and Bianca's dates (Poor Bathazar :(), because he wants to find his little sister.

Also in book 2 of the series, Bianca continues fighting to pick her own destiny, instead of following what others want for her, and to stay with the person she loves, Lucas. Although, personally, I wish Bianca would end up with someone that has some of Lucas and Balthazar's personality traits. I'm tied between the two of them for which one I rally want her to end up with. :(

This book also a lot of fun information about things like how similar ghosts and vampires are, how Bianca actually was conceived, and why her parents actually want her to become a full vampire. Anyways, the ending of the book is another cliffhanger. :( I guess we have to wait until the series finally finish until the cliffhangers stop. :P

Other Reviews/Author Site:

Claudia Gray
Goodreads: Stargazer by Claudia Gray
Library Thing: Stargazer by Claudia Gray
Karissa's Reading Review: Stargazer by Claudia Gray

Evernight by Claudia Gray

EVERNIGHT (ACADEMY) SERIES BOOK 01

Evernight by Claudia Gray

Harper Teen

Published in 2008

ISBN 9780061284397

327 Pages

PLACES TO BUY FROM:

Amazon (Paperback)
Barnes & Noble (Ebook)

CHECKED OUT THE BOOK FROM MY PUBLIC LIBRARY.

5 out of 5



In the first book of a 4 book series, Bianca transfers to a new school, Evernight Academy, and she doesn't fit in this overachieving, old, and eerie school. When she tries to run away from the school and her parents, she meets a boy, Lucas, in the dark forest surrounding the school. They both come to love each other, and despite their differences, they decide to try to make it work. However, it is doomed to fail when the sides they are on clash --- to finish a long battle that had started long before they were even born. As this upcoming battle makes Bianca question everything she's ever believed in, will their love for each other stay or will it crash and burn?

Like the last review, I love books about vampires, too. So this review is going to be a good one, unless I name anything that may have bugged me.

It first starts out with what is most likely going to happen towards the end of the book, so it's a set-up to get you reading the entire book. The Twilight Saga also did this. However, the way it was worded, I went, "What was the prologue for? It doesn't make sense, even though I read all of the book." Yes, I know people like the Twilight Saga and they may be able to get it the prologue better than I did, but let's face it, it's my review, not yours, and I will delete comments that have no intelligence to it. :)

Throughout the book, Lucas and Bianca are very touchy and kiss a lot --- yes, I like that part, since it made them seem more like teenagers than the constant dodging that Edward and Bella seem to do, when they were "trying" to be "romantic". Okay, anyways, the ending leaves you hanging and it kind of makes you want to read the second book even faster. I'll see if my library has it, and make a review about it, but if they don't, oh well then.

Short review because I can't really say I like this series until all the books come out. Though, this book is a very good way to set up for a book series. :P So, basically, the first book is really good, but I don't like the cliffhanger at the end. :( I guess it's a good thing that the author made it into a series. :) :P

Other Reviews/Author Site:

Claudia Gray
Goodreads: Evernight by Claudia Gray
Library Thing: Evernight by Claudia Gray
Karissa's Reading Review: Evernight by Claudia Gray
Chaotic Book Obsession: Evernight by Claudia Gray