Review: BLOODY VALENTINE by Melissa de la Cruz

BLOODY VALENTINE
by Melissa de la Cruz
Hardcover, 160 pages
Published December 28th 2010 by Hyperion Book CH

Placement in the Pile: Middle of the Stack

Summary:
Vampires have powers beyond human comprehension: strength that defies logic, speed that cannot be captured on film, the ability to shapeshift and more. But in matters of the heart, no one, not even the strikingly beautiful and outrageously wealthy Blue Bloods, has total control. In Bloody Valentine, bestselling author Melissa de la Cruz offers readers a new story about the love lives of their favorite vamps - the passion and heartache, the hope and devastation, the lust and longing. Combined with all the glitz, glamour, and mystery fans have come to expect, this is sure to be another huge hit in the Blue Bloods series.

Review:
Fans of the Blue Bloods series will enjoy this fast read that gives a deeper glimpse into the characters that they love.

This book is a compilation of three short stories that are sweet, romantic, and perfect for a valentine's read. My favorite was the third story where we get to see Jack and Schuyler's bonding ceremony.

I wish there was more to be said about this one. So my review is short and sweet, it is a good, fast read. Oh and the cover is GORGEOUS! Love it.

Review STARGAZER by Claudia Gray

STARGAZER
by Claudia Gray
Published March 24th 2009 by HarperTeen
Hardcover, 329 pages
Source: Publisher

Placement in the Pile: Middle of the Stack, inching towards New Heights

Summary: (Spoilery for the first book)
Evernight Academy: an exclusive boarding school for the most beautiful, dangerous students of all—vampires. Bianca, born to two vampires, has always been told her destiny is to become one of them.

But Bianca fell in love with Lucas—a vampire hunter sworn to destroy her kind. They were torn apart when his true identity was revealed, forcing him to flee the school.

Although they may be separated, Bianca and Lucas will not give each other up. She will risk anything for the chance to see him again, even if it means coming face-to-face with the vampire hunters of Black Cross—or deceiving the powerful vampires of Evernight. Bianca's secrets will force her to live a life of lies.

Yet Bianca isn't the only one keeping secrets. When Evernight is attacked by an evil force that seems to target her, she discovers the truth she thought she knew is only the beginning....

Review:
For the fact that this one didn't have something that made me upset with the narration of the story, in my head I'm placing it above the first book. It was a good read, a good story.

The plot here however just keeps getting more and more strange and involved in the paranormal. So if heavy paranormal stuff isn't your thing, this book starts to veer off in that direction. It involves a ghostly wraith and you discover more about Bianca's past that she doesn't even know yet, fancy that. But it ends up that everyone around her does know, and has been keeping from her.

Then throw in the romance aspect. In this novel it is clear that Bianca is in love with Lucas, but the nature of their relationship isn't easy, and there is another boy or should I say vampire, from Evernight vying for her affection.

This book left me wanting to know more, and was better written than the first. I am excited to find time to read the next one in the series.

Review EVERNIGHT by Claudia Gray

EVERNIGHT
by Claudia Gray
Published June 1st 2008 by HarperTeen
Hardcover, 327 pages

Source: Library

Placement in the Pile: Reaching New Heights (with reservations)

Summary:
Bianca wants to escape.

She's been uprooted from her small hometown and enrolled at Evernight Academy, an eerie Gothic boarding school where the students are somehow too perfect: smart, sleek, and almost predatory. Bianca knows she doesn't fit in.

Then she meets Lucas. He's not the "Evernight type" either, and he likes it that way. Lucas ignores the rules, stands up to the snobs, and warns Bianca to be careful—even when it comes to caring about him.

"I couldn't stand it if they took it out on you," he tells Bianca, "and eventually they would."

But the connection between Bianca and Lucas can't be denied. Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart . . . and to make Bianca question everything she's ever believed.

Review:
I read this book quite a while ago, and I realized just yesterday that I never reviewed it! So since it's vampire month, let's go back and review it shall we?

I thought this book was pretty great. Bianca is a character that you feel for and you feel the tension in the school situation etc. Her romance with Lucas is pretty darn great too, but it isn't the only reason to read the book for those of you who aren't huge romance fans. I like the vampire legends and theories here. It made for a great read. This book was screaming "give me a Top Picks mark!"

The problem? It isn't until nearly page 200 of this 300 page book that the main character is honest with you. The rest of the time Bianca has known something about herself, her parents, the academy etc. that the narration of the book from her perspective hides and talks about as if it's a big mystery. This is a HUGE problem for me. It makes Bianca an unreliable narrator, because if she is witholding something on purpose she is not just lying to the reader, she is lying to to herself.

Honestly, if the plot weren't interesting I would have closed the book then and there. As a reader I felt like I had been cheated and that this hiding the facts was just a ploy to create stronger tension in Bianca's life. Really, if she had been honest from the beginning I think it would have been a better book.

That being said, the last 100 pages were so good that it redeemed it for me some, thus the Reaching New Heights status. Cause I was honestly tempted to give it a very low score because of this misleading. In the end I wanted to read more about these characters, knowing that Bianca couldn't hide info from us like that again...right? So I read on.

So give this one a try. Be aware of this issue with the narration and just go along for the ride.

In my Mailbox (11)

As always, thanks to the StorySiren for hosting IMM.

From the Library:
WICKED LOVELY
by Melissa Marr
(audiobook)

Rule #3: Don't stare at invisible faeries.
Rule #2: Don't speak to invisible faeries.
Rule #1: Don't ever attract their attention.

Suddenly none of the rules that have kept Aislinn safe are working anymore, and everything is on the line: her freedom; her best friend, Seth; everything.
Faery intrigue, mortal love, and the clash of ancient rules and modern expectations swirl together in Melissa Marr's stunning twenty-first-century faery tale.


EVERNIGHT
by Claudia Gray

Bianca wants to escape.

She's been uprooted from her small hometown and enrolled at Evernight Academy, an eerie Gothic boarding school where the students are somehow too perfect: smart, sleek, and almost predatory. Bianca knows she doesn't fit in.

Then she meets Lucas. He's not the "Evernight type" either, and he likes it that way. Lucas ignores the rules, stands up to the snobs, and warns Bianca to be careful—even when it comes to caring about him.

"I couldn't stand it if they took it out on you," he tells Bianca, "and eventually they would."

But the connection between Bianca and Lucas can't be denied. Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart . . . and to make Bianca question everything she's ever believed.

From Publishers:
FRAGILE ETERNITY
by Melissa Marr
paperback released April 1st

Seth never expected he would want to settle down with anyone—but that was before Aislinn. She is everything he'd ever dreamed of, and he wants to be with her forever. Forever takes on new meaning, though, when your girlfriend is an immortal faery queen.

RADIANT SHADOWS
by Melissa Marr
published April 20, 2010

Half-human and half-faery, Ani is driven by her hungers.

Those same appetites also attract powerful enemies and uncertain allies, including Devlin. He was created as an assassin and is brother to the faeries' coolly logical High Queen and to her chaotic twin, the embodiment of War. Devlin wants to keep Ani safe from his sisters, knowing that if he fails, he will be the instrument of Ani's death.

Ani isn't one to be guarded while others fight battles for her, though. She has the courage to protect herself and the ability to alter Devlin's plans—and his life. The two are drawn together, each with reason to fear the other and to fear for one another. But as they grow closer, a larger threat imperils the whole of Faerie. Will saving the faery realm mean losing each other?

STARGAZER
by Claudia Gray
Paperback released December 1, 2009

Evernight Academy: an exclusive boarding school for the most beautiful, dangerous students of all—vampires. Bianca, born to two vampires, has always been told her destiny is to become one of them.

But Bianca fell in love with Lucas—a vampire hunter sworn to destroy her kind. They were torn apart when his true identity was revealed, forcing him to flee the school.

Although they may be separated, Bianca and Lucas will not give each other up. She will risk anything for the chance to see him again, even if it means coming face-to-face with the vampire hunters of Black Cross—or deceiving the powerful vampires of Evernight. Bianca's secrets will force her to live a life of lies.

Yet Bianca isn't the only one keeping secrets. When Evernight is attacked by an evil force that seems to target her, she discovers the truth she thought she knew is only the beginning....

HOURGLASS
by Claudia Gray
Published March 9, 2010

Bestselling author Claudia Gray’s Evernight series continues. In Hourglass, Bianca and Lucas have found a way to be together. But it means lying to the people who care about them the most.












*These are two series' that I have been wanting to read for a long time! I am excited to get into them!

Review JESSICA'S GUIDE to DATING on the DARK SIDE

JESSICA'S GUIDE to DATING on the DARK SIDE
by Beth Fantaskey

Details:
February 1st 2009 by Harcourt

Hardcover, 351 pages

Placement in Pile:
Top Picks(hmm . . . maybe that's too generous), Middle of the Stack(no, definitely not)
Reaching New Heights  (ok, I'll go with this, but it should really be noted that I wanted to rate this one as "Hanging on to Top Picks by it's finger nails")



Summary:
The undead can really screw up your senior year ...

Marrying a vampire definitely doesn’t fit into Jessica Packwood’s senior year “get-a-life” plan. But then a bizarre (and incredibly hot) new exchange student named Lucius Vladescu shows up, claiming that Jessica is a Romanian vampire princess by birth—and he’s her long-lost fiancé. Armed with newfound confidence and a copy of Growing Up Undead: A Teen Vampire’s Guide to Dating, Health, and Emotions, Jessica makes a dramatic transition from average American teenager to glam European vampire princess. But when a devious cheerleader sets her sights on Lucius, Jess finds herself fighting to win back her wayward prince, stop a global vampire war—and save Lucius’s soul from eternal destruction.

Review:
At first I thought, come on another vampire book?  But, let me say that Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side is nothing like what's out there in way of vampires.  IT is SOOOOOO much better.
I read this book in one sitting, that alone should tell you how much I loved the book. And when I say one sitting, I mean I didn't get up to use the bathroom once. Which also means, when the loveable character, Lucius the hot Romanian vampire, wrote home witty commentaries about the rough-edged girls from the states and Vegan's love for lentils, I practically peed myself. Who knew vampires could be so irresistibly hilarious?
The interactions between Lucius and Jessica, a curvy sized 10 senior from the middle of farm-ville country, were comical, romantic, thought-provoking, and layered with depth that I wouldn't expect in a book with such a light-hearted title. What I found is this book is anything but a light- hearted, teen fluff book. It's much meatier than the title lets on.
The themes in the novel, some light and others gritty and dark, came together in the end in what I would call an 'almost' masterful combination. Alas, the climax of the novel drew the characters into such a dark spiral of actions that it verged on too much, making me feel as though the main characters were acting apart from their true personalities instead of acting as characters that are learning and growing. Thus, the reason for my unclear placement in the pile.

My suggestion: Despite my unclear placement, go read this one because it ROCKS!

Review HEARTS AT STAKE by Alyxandra Harvey

HEARTS AT STAKE
BY ALYXANDRA HARVEY

Published:
December 2009 by Walker Books
Paperback 256 pages

Placement in Pile:
Reaching New Heights

Summary:
On Solange’s sixteenth birthday, she is going to wake up dead. As if that’s not bad enough, she also has to outwit her seven overprotective older brothers, avoid the politics involved with being the only daughter born to an ancient vampire dynasty, and elude Kieran Black—agent of an anti-vampire league who is searching for his father’s killer and is intent on staking Solange and her entire family.

Luckily she has her own secret weapon—her human best friend Lucy—who is willing to defend Solange’s right to a normal life, whether she’s being smothered by her well-intentioned brothers or abducted by a power-hungry queen. Two unlikely alliances are formed in a race to save Solange’s eternal life—Lucy and Solange’s brother Nicholas, and Solange and Kieran Black—in a dual romance that is guaranteed to jump start any romance-lover’s heart.

Review:

This was a really fun, easy read. I liked the new twists on the traditional vampire lore. (At least I think it's new, I am admittedly not a vampire expert) The whole idea of a blood change at 16 that could kill you, and still aging after the change, were new ideas to me. I really enjoyed Lucy's "kick butt-ness" and Solange's sweet personality. And Nicholas and Kieran are pretty attractive boys. ha ha ha... It is told from both POVs (Solange and Lucy) which I wasn't expecting. I love the brothers, and the romantic plots were fun and engaging. It wasn't life changing, or a favorite book EVER, but it was definitely an entertaining, good read with a couple interesting twists.

Enjoy!

Review BREAKING DAWN by Stephenie Meyer

BREAKING DAWN
by Stephenie Meyer
Published August 2nd 2008 by Little, Brown and Company
Hardcover, 754 Pages

Placement in the Pile: Top Picks

Summary:
To be irrevocably in love with a vampire is both fantasy and nightmare woven into a dangerously heightened reality for Bella Swan. Pulled in one direction by her intense passion for Edward Cullen, and in another by her profound connection to werewolf Jacob Black, a tumultuous year of temptation, loss, and strife have led her to the ultimate turning point. Her imminent choice to either join the dark but seductive world of immortals or to pursue a fully human life has become the thread from which the fates of two tribes hangs.

Now that Bella has made her decision, a startling chain of unprecedented events is about to unfold with potentially devastating, and unfathomable, consequences. Just when the frayed strands of Bella's life—first discovered in Twilight, then scattered and torn in New Moon and Eclipse—seem ready to heal and knit together, could they be destroyed... forever?

Review:
By far the best of the series. I cried for joy, I cried for sadness, I cried just because! I laughed so hard I cried. I have never been happier with a book and they way it tied up all the loose ends. Unfortunately, it also was a bit anti-climactic in that the fight scene at the end. It could have shown Bella's power and been a bit more epic.

SM did a WONDERFUL job of ending Bella and Edward's story. From her interviews about this novel, I totally agreed that there just isn't much more to tell. However after watching the interview on Oprah (the questions online that weren't on the air, linked in my intro post last week) I now am itching to know what happens in the future with them, the Volturi and Nessie and Jacob (Okay I must add here that I HATE that kid's that name with a passion).

Alright, so you may have noticed my rating and praise for this book is very high. The thing I think is so interesting is this is a very polarizing book. Lots of people loved it, but criticize it's YA rating, lots of people didn't like how things just worked out perfectly. But I loved seeing Bella and Edward finally having the marriage and relationship they were destined for. As an adult that was my favorite part.

Now, I will say I am all for parents and schools limiting the age of children who have access to this book. It may be YA but it is certainly gor an older YA audience.

What do you think?

Oh and there is no definite info out there on if this one will be made into a movie, but Summit has bought the rights to it, and it seems likely that with the Twilight films being so popular it will be made.

I own this book and was not compensated for a review.

CNN Story on Vampires in Movies

To celebrate Twilight week I thought our readers would be interested in this article. Plus there's a really cute picture of Edward, er, Rob...

CNN's From Dracula to Edward: The Changing Faces of Vampires