Farm by Emily McKay

Genre: Vampires

Paperback: 420 Pages

Published: December 4, 2012

Series: The Farm

            1. The Farm

            2. The Lair

            3. The Vault

Rating: ★★★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Life was different in the Before: before vampires began devouring humans in a swarm across America; before the surviving young people were rounded up and quarantined. These days, we know what those quarantines are—holding pens where human blood is turned into more food for the undead monsters, known as Ticks. Surrounded by electrical fences, most kids try to survive the Farms by turning on each other…

And when trust is a thing of the past, escape is nearly impossible.

Lily and her twin sister Mel have a plan. Though Mel can barely communicate, her autism helps her notice things no one else notices—like the portion of electrical fence that gets turned off every night. Getting across won’t be easy, but as Lily gathers what they need to escape, a familiar face appears out of nowhere, offering to help…

Carter was a schoolmate of Lily’s in the Before. Managing to evade capture until now, he has valuable knowledge of the outside world. But like everyone on the Farm, Carter has his own agenda, and he knows that behind the Ticks is an even more dangerous threat to the human race...

My Review:

      Well, well. Color me surprised. If you had told me before I read this book that I would enjoy reading it I would have pointed and laughed in your face. The Farm turned out to be an original well written book about vampires and I'm impressed. We have read about killer vampires, vegetarian vampires, vamps that sparkle, and vamps that can go out in the sun. But vamps who are not vamps is something totally different.

            This book introduces vampires who are not quite vampires. HUH!? What the heck am I talking about!? Well, for starters, these kids are genetically altered humans who drink blood straight from the heart after ripping it out of your chest with joy and hunger in their eyes. Yeah, sounds kinda scary right (just be sure to not read this book at 3 in the morning when your all alone at home)?

            Anyways... plot and character wise I gives a thumbs up to this book. I liked the dedication between Lily and her twin sister Mel. They stuck together through thick and thin and Lily really loved her sister. Carter on the other hand, was a shady character. I couldn't tell whether he was good or bad, but he definitely had a hidden agenda. 

          What I didn't like about this book was how it got confusing at certain points. There were some plot holes and I was constantly re-reading to see what important detail I missed. By the end of the book I felt like I had more questions which were left unanswered. Overall, I liked the first book in this series, however I do not feel a compulsion to continue with this story. Hopefully, Mel and Lily find a way out of the hell of a farm they are on and I hope Carter is one of the good guys. 

Night School #5 by Mari Mancusi

Night School by Mari Mancusi

Genre: Vampires

Paperback: 256 Pages

Published: January 4, 2011

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:

Vampires, Slayers and…FAIRIES? Sunny and Rayne McDonald are about to get SCHOOLED. 

After their parents’ shocking revelation about their fae heritage and an attack on their lives, the McDonald twins find themselves on the run—forced to hide out at Riverdale Academy , a boarding school for vampire slayers, deep in the Swiss Alps. With no cells, no internet, and no way to contact their vampire boyfriends—the twins are on their own.

Being a vampire stuck in a school full of slayers isn’t easy. Especially with no blood substitute stocked on campus. Soon Rayne finds herself succumbing to her bloodlust and losing control—especially around the arrogant, but devastatingly handsome Corbin Billingsworth the Third—who isn’t sure whether he wants to kiss her…or kill her.

But when Sunny starts acting strange, Rayne realizes Riverdale Academy may be hiding some deadly secrets of its own—leading to a showdown in Fairyland that may cost the twins their lives.

My Review:

For some odd reason I like this series, even though I have a billion issues with the writing style, the characters, the plot, and pretty much everything. I have my ups and downs with Rayne and Sunny, but over all they are good characters who have lots of potential to become great ones.

           

      So first we found out that Rayne was planning on becoming a vampire, but instead Sunny was turned into a vampire. Then Sunny wanted to find a cure to be un-vamped. While Sunny was looking for a cure, Rayne finds out that she is in fact a vampire slayer and a secret company wants to hire her and use her knowledge of vampires to get rid of them. Now Sunny and Rayne find out that they are half fairy and their mom is a princess who is being called back to her land or what ever. Man this series has definitely gotten complex. It's one thing to start the book with vampires taking over, but to add slayers and now fairies?! Now that's just crazy.

           

    I liked how the author used a variety of supernatural characters, but at one point it just got too much for me. I was constantly confused as to where the plot was going and because of that I didn't enjoy this book that much. Plus every book so far has ended with a cliffhanger that you will not see coming. It was funny at times and I was entertained for a bit, but for me the book didn't make me jump up and down like a little girl. So hopefully, the next book takes it up a few notches. 

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.  

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... 

Reckoning #5 by Lili St. Crow

Genre: Vampires

Paperback: 307 Pages

Published: November 1, 2011

Series: Strange Angels

            1. Strange Angels

            2. Betrayals

            3. Jealousy

            4. Defiance

            5. Reckoning

Rating:★

Goodreads Synopsis:

The electric finale in New York Times bestselling author Lili St. Crow's Strange Angels series!

Nobody expected Dru Anderson to survive this long. Not Graves. Not Christophe. Not even Dru. She's battled killer zombies, jealous djamphirs, and bloodthirsty suckers straight out of her worst nightmares. But now that Dru has bloomed into a full-fledged svetocha - rare, beautiful, and toxic to all vampires - the worst is yet to come.

Because getting out alive is going to cost more than she's ever imagined. And in the end, is survival really worth the sacrifice?

DRU ANDERSON'S NOT AFRAID OF THE DARK.

BUT SHE SHOULD BE.

My Review:

  

I have no idea why I even continued to finish this series.

      This series was suggested to me by someone (don't remember who it was) who said it was similar to Vampire Academy. I really liked Vampire Academy so I decided to give it a shot. This series was nothing like Vampire Academy. Sure it had lots and I mean lots of similarities, but the story sucked. The characters were wimpy, boring, and unrealistic. The main character whined a lot and couldn't make up her mind about anything. I don't really remember much of anything that happened and the parts that I do remember were so similar to V.A. I felt that I was re-reading that series again, but in a more boring setting.  

Strange Angels (SA) vs. Vampire Academy (VA):

1. Love triangle: main girl falls for her trainer and a goth looking guy who is always there for her.

2. Jealous boyfriends

3. Djamphirs in Strange Angels seems a lot like the Dhampir in Vamp. Acad.

4. Svetocha in Strange Angels is just like Strigoi in V.A.

5. Main girl has to save the entire world cause if she doesn't innocent lives will be lost. Bla Bla Bla..

    Basically, the concept is the same. The only difference is that Vampire Academy was actually a really good series that I was able to finish in a few days. Where, Strange Angels wasn't exciting because I felt like I already read this story. Dru was an annoying character and the fact that she fell in love with Christophe--a guy who is old and has had a relationship with her dead mother when she was younger-- was just disturbing. I just couldn't wrap my head around that and somehow I ended up hating this series. Hopefully, other books by Crow are better and I actually enjoy reading them.

P.S. I'm not gonna lie but the covers were amazing!!!

Defiance #4 by Lili St. Crow

Genre: Vampires

Paperback: 272 Pages

Published: April 19, 2011

Series: Strange Angels

            1. Strange Angels

            2. Betrayals

            3. Jealousy

            4. Defiance

            5. Reckoning

Rating:★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Now that sixteen-year-old Dru's worst fears have come true and Sergej has kidnapped her best friend Graves, she'll have to go on a suicidal rescue mission to bring him back in one piece.

That is, if she can put all of Christophe's training to good use, defeat her mother's traitor, Anna, once and for all, and manage to survive another day...

My Review:

I have no words for this review...so I will let these gifs do the talking:

The beginning: 

The middle: 

At the end: 

Jealousy #3 by Lili St. Crow

Genre: Vampires

Paperback: 316 Pages

Published: July 29, 2010

Series: Strange Angels

            1. Strange Angels

            2. Betrayals

            3. Jealousy

            4. Defiance

            5. Reckoning

Rating:★

Goodreads Synopsis:

Dru Anderson might finally be safe. She’s at the largest Schola on the continent, and beginning to learn what it means to be svetocha—half vampire, half human, and all deadly. If she survives her training, she will be able to take her place in the Order, holding back the vampires and protecting the oblivious normal people.

But a web of lies and betrayals is still closing around her, just when she thinks she can relax a little. Her mentor Christophe is missing, her almost-boyfriend is acting weird, and the bodyguards she’s been assigned seem to know much more than they should. And then there’s the vampire attacks, the strange nightly visits, and the looks everyone keeps giving her. As if she should know something.

Or as if she’s in danger.

Someone high up in the Order is a traitor. They want Dru dead—but first, they want to know what she remembers of the night her mother died. Dru doesn’t want to remember, but it looks like she might have to—especially since once Christophe returns, he’ll be on trial for his life, and the only person who can save him is Dru.

The problem is, once she remembers everything, she may not want to...

My Review: 

            Basically, Dru is supposedly a badass fighting chick who can handle guns and other weapons right? Well through out the whole book she is crying, whining, and complaining about how bad her life is. Get over your self. You're in a war, life is supposed to suck.... What pissed me off a lot was how she would cry her eyes out and then say, "This is really damaging my tough girl rep" or something equally stupid. Umm.. when did you ever have a tough girl rep? Dru is one of those characters that make you want to rip your hair out and the amount of times I rolled my eyes at the book was ridiculous (I can probably tell you what my brain looks like). Plus the romance sucked.

            I absolutely hate love triangles. There is nothing worse than a love triangle in a book that has the potential of being good. Of course Dru has to fall for the guy who saves her, tells her he likes her, then leaves her to keep her safe. *Sigh. Insert eye roll* Then she falls for the goth geek guy who is actually really nice and sweet. But Dru has no idea who to choose; The bad-dangerous boy or the sweet goth one that actually gives a shit. It's like the saying goes, "If you like two people, fall for the second one. If you really liked the first one, you wouldn't have fallen for the second."

            Anyways... all that actually happened in this book was Dru going up against the other svetocha--Anna-- who has a past involving Dru's mom and Christophe. There are other minor arguments with Anna where people stare and talk about them. There is also a extended shopping spree scene and more obsession over Graves and Christophe. Dru spent half the book obsessing over these two guys and towards the end she still couldn't make up her mind. So over all, egh.