Bad Blood #4 by Mari Mancusi

Genre: Vampires

Paperback: 256 Pages

Published: January 5, 2010

Series: Blood Coven Vampire

            1. Boys that Bite        

            2. Stake That

            3. Girls that Growl

            4. Bad Blood

            5. Night School

            6. Blood Ties

            7. Soul Bound

            8. Blood Forever

Rating:★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

The newest Blood Coven novel-accompanied by edgy repackages of the rest of the series

Sunny McDonald is in the ultimate forbidden relationship. Her boyfriend Magnus is a vampire, and the leader of the Blood Coven. And when the Coven decides that Magnus needs a mate to be his co-ruler, Sunny's humanity puts her out of the running. The Coven's chosen candidate is Jane Johnson, a magna cum laude graduate of Oxford University who just happens to look like a vampire supermodel.

Sunny is suspicious of a Rhodes Scholar who can't answer the most basic poli-sci questions, but Magnus brushes it off as petty jealousy. Still, when the Blood Coven goes to Las Vegas for a vampire convention, Sunny and her twin sister Rayne secretly tag along. And Sunny's not going home before she learns the truth about Jane. Because not everything stays in Vegas-especially bad blood.

My Review:

So this time around the book is told from Sunny's point of view. So things are progressing quickly. Sunny has feelings for Magnus, but she isn't willing to commit to being a vampire because she still wants to be able to live her life. She wants to go to college and wants to be free. But if she becomes a vampire there will be many more responsibility as the blood mate of Magnus, who happens to be the leader. So when Magnus is assigned a blood mate by the council Sunny starts to have second thoughts. Magnus and this new blood mate will be like husband and wife and Sunny doesn't want to lose him. However, the blood mate, Jane is very suspicious. Sunny doesn't trust her at all and she knows Jane is up to no good. Overall, this was just like the previous books: it was okay to read, but like I said before I'm not that invested in this series. 

Girls that Growl #3 by Mari Mancusi

Genre: Vampires

Paperback: 256 Pages

Published: October 2, 2007

Series: Blood Coven Vampire

            1. Boys that Bite

            2. Stake That

            3. Girls that Growl

            4. Bad Boys

            5. Night School

            6. Blood Ties

            7. Soul Bound

            8. Blood Forever

Rating:★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Rayne McDonald thought getting into the Blood Coven was the hard part. But now there's a new breed of trouble in town...and the former slayer and her vampire boyfriend may be the only ones who can stop it. 

Now that she's an official vampire and full-fledged member of The Blood Coven, Rayne assumes her vampire slaying days are over. Sure, she doesn't have any vampire powers, thanks to a mutated blood virus, but she and Jareth can go out in the sun, which is a pretty good trade-off. 

But just when Rayne's starting to enjoy her afterlife, she's contacted by Slayer Inc once again. It seems that a member of her high school's football team has disappeared—and the powers-that-be think the cheerleaders had something to do with it. Now Rayne has to infiltrate the squad before the cheerleaders have a chance to sink their teeth into someone else...

My Review:

  

            I continued with this series because I really liked Rayne's character and attitude. She is funny, sarcastic and a bad ass chick. So what happened to her in this book!? Rayne was constantly talking about her self and how much she hates life. "I hate every one, I hate the world, everyone hates me...," this is all Rayne said and it got very annoying. Another thing that annoyed me was her relationship with Jareth! I mean was it even a relationship? There weren't any romantic scenes, kisses, or any melt my heart moments. I was very disappointed and I was really looking forward to reading more about Rayne and Jareth.

            

So the story took a whole new turn when we find out that Rayne's destiny wasn't really to become a vampire, but to slay them. Now Rayne is forced to work for a company who wants her skills and knowledge of vampires and use it against them. I really give the author props for originality because this story definitely has potential. Overall, the plot was a little better than the previous books and it was able to keep me entertained. Plus it was a very quick read.  

Stake That #2 by Mari Mancusi

Genre: Vampires

Paperback: 288 Pages

Published: December 5, 2006

Series: Blood Coven Vampire

            1. Boys that Bite

            2. Stake That

            3. Girl that Growl

            4. Bad Blood

            5. Night School

            6. Blood Ties

            7. Soul Bound

            8. Blood Forever

Rating:★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Two sisters—as different as the sun and the rain. For one, getting into the Blood Cover is to die for, but it seems destiny has something else in mind...

Rayne McDonald had it all figured out. Get turned into a vampire, become the mate of the Blood Coven leader, and live the high-life for all eternity. Too bad the head vamp took a bite out of her twin sister by mistake. Now, not only is Rayne still not a vampire, but she learns she's a slayer instead—destined to destroy vamps gone bad. 

After being recruited by a secret organization, Rayne is given her first mission: infiltrate a seedy bar downtown and expose its vampire owner, Maverick, for purposely spreading a nasty blood virus. Luckily the Blood Coven sends some help—in the form of sexy vampire Jareth. Will vampire and slayer be able to settle their differences and work together to bring down the evil Maverick? Or will they find their own hearts on the line?

My Review:

Hmm... I know, that's not really a good way to start a review but I have very mixed feelings about this series. I wasn't that interested in this series however, I read every single book so I guess that says a lot about my reading habits. It's not that I didn't like the concept, it's the fact that the books seemed a little too childish. Sunny was a very annoying character. She kept worrying about herself and didn't care about the bond between Magnus. He has feelings too, she should at least ask him how he's doing. But Sunny was just focused on Sunny.

           

Rayne on the other hand, was very interesting. I loved her sense of humor and sarcastic approach to everything. If I was her I would be pissed that Magnus bit the wrong sister. However, Rayne is taking it well and not acting like a whiny baby like her sister. One thing that annoyed me was the writing. The entire book was written in a blog entry style with so many OMGs and FYIs that I was ready to fling my book across my room. And another thing that was kinda annoying was how the books switched from each sisters point of views. (I just hate that in books). So overall, it was just an okay read for me.

Boys that Bite by Mari Mancusi

Genre: Vampire

Paperback: 272 Pages

Published: April 4, 2006

Series: Blood Coven Vampire

            1. Boys that Bite

            2. Stake That

            3. Girl that Growl

            4. Bad Blood

            5. Night School

            6. Blood Ties

            7. Soul Bound

            8. Blood Forever

Rating:★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Two sisters—as different as the sun and the rain. For one, getting into the Blood Coven is to die for. But for the other, getting out could be lethal...

When Sunny McDonald gets dragged to Club Fang by her twin sister Rayne, she doesn't expect to find anything besides a bunch of Goth kids playing at being vampires. But when some guy mistakes Sunny for her dark-side-loving sister and bites her on the neck, she finds out that his fangs are real—and deadly. 

Now, Sunny has less than a week to figure out how to reverse the bite, or else she's going to end up as the perpetually undead. And not only will she be a vampire, she'll also be bonded to Magnus—the bloodsucker who bit her—forever. And forever is a really long time..

My Review:

      I was debating whether to give this book a three or four stars. I settled with three stars because it was a light read however,  I wasn't very much invested in this series. It was funny and I liked the concept the author was trying to convey, but I read this series in between series that I was waiting for the book release for.

            

      The characters were fun quirky twin sisters who ended up at the wrong place and wrong time. Sunny was dragged to Club Fang by Rayne who wanted to be bit by a vampire. Instead of Rayne, the vampire, Magnus accidentally bit Sunny. After realizing he made a mistake, Sunny losses her mind. She doesn't want to be a vampire, she wants to go to college, have a life, and not suck blood! She has only a week to figure out a cure or she will be bonded to Magnus forever. And forever is a really long time...

           

     Overall, a very quick read. I'm not really a fan of vampire books anymore so I can't really say that I loved this series. But if vampires is your thing then I definitely recommend this book. The concept was different from the normal vampire books so props to the author for originality.  

Aces Up by Lauren Barnholdt

Genre: Contemporary

Paperback: 288 Pages

Published: August 10, 2010

Series: None

Rating:★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Seventeen-year-old high school senior Shannon Card needs money. And lots of it. She's been admitted to Wellesley, but her dad just lost his job, and somehow she has to come up with a year of tuition herself. But Shannon's dream of making big bucks waitressing at the local casino, the Collosio, disappears faster than a gambler's lucky streak. Her boss is a tyrant, her coworker is nuts, and her chances of balancing a tray full of drinks while wearing high-heeled shoes are slim to none. Worse, time is running out, and Shannon hasn't made even half the money she'd hoped.

When Shannon receives a mysterious invitation to join Aces Up, a secret network of highly talented college poker players, at first she thinks No way. She has enough to worry about: keeping her job, winning the coveted math scholarship at school, and tutoring her secret crush, Max. But when Shannon musters up the nerve to kiss Max and he doesn't react at all, the allure of Aces Up and its sexy eighteen-year-old leader, Cole, is suddenly too powerful to ignore.

Soon Shannon's caught up in a web of lies and deceit that makes worrying about tuition money or a high school crush seem like kid stuff. Still, when the money's this good, is the fear of getting caught reason enough to fold?

This fun, sexy, recession-proof story is a bubbly summer read with surprising depth—great for fans of Sarah Mlynowski.

My Review:

        Shannon Card needs money. And lots of it. Not for anything bad, but for her education. After her father lost his job it's up to Shannon to come up with the money or not get an education. So when she finds a waitress job at a casino she's thanking her lucky starts. The job is fine and she's making money, but the problem is the money isn't enough. So when she gets an anonymous invitation to join Aces Up, a secret network of talented college poker players who play in order to pay for college, Shannon is appalled at the idea. But when she realizes she needs more money she decides to give it a shot.

      As her nights at the casino making money get dangerous she meets Cole, a sexy 18 year old leader who is too powerful to ignore. Spending time at the casino and in Cole's company, Shannon finds herself in a web of lies that keeps getting bigger and bigger. Overall, it was an okay book. I read this book when I didn't have anything to read so I wasn't really interested in this story. It was alright for a stand alone, the characters were likable, and the plot was good enough to keep me awake. 

Before I Fall by Lauren Oliver

Genre: Contemporary

Paperback: 470 Pages

Published: October 25, 2010

Series: None

Rating:★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

With this stunning debut novel, New York Times bestselling author Lauren Oliver emerged as one of today's foremost authors of young adult fiction. Like Jay Asher's Thirteen Reasons Why and Gayle Forman's If I Stay,Before I Fall raises thought-provoking questions about love, death, and how one person's life can affect so many others.

For popular high school senior Samantha Kingston, February 12—"Cupid Day"—should be one big party, a day of valentines and roses and the privileges that come with being at the top of the social pyramid. And it is…until she dies in a terrible accident that night.

However, she still wakes up the next morning. In fact, Sam lives the last day of her life seven times, until she realizes that by making even the slightest changes, she may hold more power than she ever imagined.

My Review:

I have heard many good things about this book so I decided to give it a shot. After reading I'm a little disappointed at the ending. I didn't expect the ending to turn out the way it did because I was hoping for more of a happy ending. But I guess the author had other things in mind.

Samantha is a young high school student who is a total bully. She is one of those popular girls who don't care about hurting others feelings and think they are the best since they are on the top of the pyramid. One day all of Sam's glory, popularity, and life is gone in the blink of an eye when she has a terrible accident. In the accident she dies, but when she wakes up the next morning alive and breathing she dismisses the accident as a dream. But when she realizes she's reliving her day, her reality suddenly changes. As she relives her day, she tries to change certain situations to prevent herself from dying that night. Instead she dies again and wakes up the next morning. This cycle continues for the next seven days until Sam learns her lesson and accomplishes what fate has planned for her.

Overall, this book was ok. Not amazing as I thought it would be and the hype for this book was over exaggerated. One thing that annoyed me was how I had to read about her day over and over again. Everyday it was the same and the story got really boring. It wasn't until the last few chapters where things started to pick up. However, the ending was bogus and I ended up not liking this book since it seemed like I wasted my time reading when I already knew how the book would end.

Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

Genre: Wolves

Hardcover: 360 Pages

Published: July 13, 2010

Series: The Wolves of Mercy Falls

            1. Shiver

            2. Linger

            3. Forever

Rating:★

Goodreads Synopsis:

The astonishing #1 New York Times bestseller.

In Maggie Stiefvater's Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

My Review:

Hmm. When this book came out I wasn't sure if I wanted to read it. The first book was an epic fail in my opinion, but I wanted to give this series a chance to see if it would turn the story around. I'm sad to report that it did not.

We're back at Mercy Falls with Grace, Sam and their struggle of being together. Grace suddenly feels sick and is told that her destiny to become a wolf is near and she can't escape her fate. (Wait! What now??) In the first book Grace was introduced as a lonely human and now she is turning into a wolf! Okay that just seems odd. Why would she turn into a wolf and not know that she was able to? Sam on the other hand, is struggling with his new found life and dealing with the young wolves Beck brought with him from Canada. So basically, this book was very slow and the plot didn't really progress. The only thing that I noticed that was added to this was the point of views of Isabel and Cole which brought an interesting and fresh idea to the story. Overall, it just wasn't my cup of tea and I was really looking for something different to read.    

After Midnight by Lynn Viehl

Genre: Vampires

Paperback: 349 Pages

Published: May 8, 2011

Series: The Youngbloods

            1. After Midnight

            2. Dead of Night

Rating:★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Ever since the death of their parents, Catlyn Youngblood and her two older brothers have shared a nomadic existence, always moving from place to place. When they at last settle for good in the sleepy backwoods town of Lost Lake, Florida, Cat thinks she might finally have a normal life.

While riding her horse late one night, Cat meets an enigmatic boy named Jesse Raven. Even more strange than her overpowering attraction to him is Jesse's apparent aversion to daylight. Only under the cover of darkness can they meet. As Cat and Jesse's bond grows stronger, Cat discovers an incredible secret about the Ravens' and her own family's pasts--a secret that could destroy their love. Their families, knowing the truth, conspire to keep them apart. But Cat and Jesse will risk everything to be together . . . including death.

My Review:

            GOSH! I am so over this vampire crazy fan-girl drama shit. I mean, c'mon come up with something new! After Twilight, any vampire books I have read were just nothing compared to it. All  these books recently have a similar story to Twilight or Vampire Academy and it's pissing me off. So it's safe for me to say that I did not like this book at all. A lonely sad girl? Check. A creepy guy who saves her at some point? Check. They fall in love and can't live without each other? Check. Bad guys? Check. Every cliché detail that you can come up with, boring plot, and no originality? Check, check and check.  

            Catlyn aka Cat lives with her two brothers Patrick and Grayson, after the death of their parents. Patrick is the older one and has taken care of his two younger siblings for a long time. After moving from place to place, they finally decided to settle down in a small town in Florida. Starting a new school and making friends all over again is hard for Cat, but she's making the best of her situation. One night, she decides to take her horse out for a late night walk and meets Jesse Raven, the mysterious boy who lives on an island with his parents. As their friendship continues they start to fall for each other, but family secrets prevent them from being together. Yeh, bla...bla...bla...