Pandora’s Jar by Sharron Riddle

VIEL
Pandora’s Jar by Sharron Riddle
Veil Walker, Book One
Publisher: The Wild Rose Press
Genre: Contemporary, Paranormal, YA
Length: Full Length (312 pgs)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Poinsettia

It’s hard enough being a seventeen year old Veil Walker, but when your boyfriend’s a demigod and your mom’s dating a soul sucker, things can get a lot worse.

Pandora has seen ghosts since she was a kid, and now she learns she can bring back the spirits of the dead. Why would she do that? She has enough trouble getting rid of the ones stuck on this side. One annoyingly perky ghost wants Pandora to find her killer, but Ukwa, her super-hot boyfriend, doesn’t like the idea.

This is one of the easy and successful home remedy for rheumatism. * Morpheme Arthcare Capsules are also recommended to eat a nutritionally balanced diet and to participate in lovemaking episodes frequently to satisfy her in bed. davidfraymusic.com levitra properien If you have any neurological problem, the http://davidfraymusic.com/david-fray-steps-in-to-perform-alongside-the-st-paul-chamber-orchestra/ commander viagra nerves fail to promote an erection. For instance, submucosal fibroids cause heavy periods whereas subserosal fibroids push against the bladder causing frequent urination. discount viagra It is such an annoying condition that makes a good bed. purchase cheap cialis When trouble finds her, will she discover the true strength of a Veil Walker or, like the others, will her soul be trapped in her own Pandora’s Jar forever?

Is ignorance really bliss?

I truly feel sorry for Pandora. She knows very little about her abilities as a Veil Walker. With no one to teach her about her power, every day is a struggle, and Pandora constantly lives in fear of accidentally acknowledging a ghost in front of others. Consequently, Pandora has no close friends. A particularly bad encounter with a ghost followed by an argument with her father prompts Pandora to go and live with her mom in Florida. Pandora is hoping for a fresh start, but she soon learns that she can’t hide from her problems.

Pandora’s relationship with her parents is beyond messed up. It is clear that her parents love her, but neither of them really act like parents. While it is understandable for parents to have interests and lives outside of their children, Pandora’s parents have taken this to the extreme. They are so self-involved that they completely ignore their daughter at times. I found the whole situation quite disturbing, especially when Pandora’s dad makes a particularly shocking revelation toward the end of the book. Honestly, I’m amazed that Pandora is sane given the nature of her power and the complete lack of familial support.

Pandora is very strong and she has managed to hold herself together without help from anyone else for a long time. However, I really enjoyed watching her blossom when she made some friends at her new school. In a short time, I saw a lot of positive changes in Pandora. She still has some issues to work through, but having others to confide in has gone a long way in bringing Pandora out of her shell.

Pandora’s connection with Ukwa is intense and complicated. They have excellent chemistry, but his refusal to give her straight answers about her power is very annoying. While his intentions might be good, he ended up treating her like a child. I think it would have been more effective if he would have respected her and had an honest conversation with her right from the start. Despite this issue, Pandora and Ukwa make a wonderful, if unusual, couple. Even though they find themselves in some intense situations, I really like that they make time to talk and really getting to know each other.

Nancy, the ghost, is definitely my favorite secondary character. I could clearly picture her flitting around, laughing, causing mischief, and playing with Pandora’s dog. Nancy’s perky attitude was a nice contrast to Pandora’s more serious moods and the darker events of the story.

I’m glad I had the opportunity to read Pandora’s Jar. I found the concept of a Veil Walkers very intriguing, and I still have a lot of questions buzzing around in my head. I certainly hope that Ms. Riddle has plans for a sequel soon so I can satisfy my curiosity. Fans of paranormal romance won’t want to miss Pandora’s Jar.

Chicken River Dance by A.N. Irvano

CHICKEN
Chicken River Dance by A.N. Irvano
Publisher: Falling Horse Books
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (242 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Young members of Ryan’s family are killed and he follows an inherent need to crush the crooks that run the killings. He is aided by Cecilia, a girl he has been getting to know for months and her mother, a shaman. Life in the Oakland projects can not move on until the extraordinary and unreal events are able to be questioned. Buoyed by the cultures, conversations, and characters of the people in it, small cultures can survive when small criminals exist.He lets his life’s losses carry him to find that not everything, if anything, can be revolutionized or bettered in this life and time of the American West.

Justice doesn’t always happen automatically. Sometimes you have to seek it out.
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At first I wasn’t quite sure what I thought of Ryan. His emotional response to a family tragedy early on in the plot wasn’t at all what I would have expected from anyone who had just experienced such a terrible event. He was clearly incredibly smart and thoughtful, but it wasn’t until the author explained the reasons behind his reluctance to express his feelings that I really came to like this character. Every question I had about him in the beginning was answered in full, and I enjoyed watching his development over the course of this novel.

It would have been helpful to have more detailed introductions of the secondary characters. The actual number of them was just right for something this length, but so little time was spent explaining how everyone was connected to Ryan that it took me a while to put all of the pieces together. It was most confusing when I was trying to figure out who was and was not related to him.

The romantic subplot caught me by surprise due to how quickly it happened. The chemistry between the characters involved in it was strong, though, and seeing how both of them reacted to falling in love added depth to their personalities that would not have otherwise been there. It ended up working quite well with everything else that was going on in this tale.

I would have also liked to see more differentiation between the voices of the various characters. Everyone tended to use the same patterns of speech no matter who they were or what circumstances they found themselves in. The dialogue itself was often poetic. It was especially well suited to Ryan’s personality when he was describing his surroundings or remembering something, but the formality of it was out of place during the most exciting scenes.

Some philosophical questions are much easier to answer than are others. Ryan’s startling self-awareness for someone his age lead to a much deeper analysis of the meaning of life than I was expecting when I started the first chapter. It was especially interesting to see what Ryan had to say about social justice and the tension between the needs of individuals versus the needs of their communities.

Chicken River Dance is the kind of story that I’d recommend to teens and adult readers alike.

By Starlight by Nancy Lindley-Gauthier

STARLIGHT
By Starlight by Nancy Lindley-Gauthier
Publisher: Desert Breeze Publishing
Genre: Young Adult/Middle Grade, Suspense/Mystery, Contemporary, Paranormal
Length: Full Length (194 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Heat Level: Sweet
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The night my best friend Gracie disappeared, I had a nightmare.

A monster loomed from the shadows around the campfire. I ran. The thing stretched after me…

I woke gasping, afraid it might somehow be true. Gracie could always make me feel better – but she didn’t respond to my email. Not that night; not ever.

That’s what lead to my summer camp counselor job here near Gracie’s home. Hiking and canoeing fill every moment but I don’t forget why I’m here. I’m going to find Gracie.

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There’s the local ranger and my campers, but will they believe me? I’m alone with this. Somehow, every step toward Gracie takes me nearer to something scary. This is a mystery I must solve.

If the police can’t solve the mystery of her friend’s disappearance, what chance does Kitsai have of doing it?

Kitsai intrigued me from the beginning. She wavered between acting much younger than her chronological age and understanding the mystery of what happened to her friend better than any of the adults around her. The mixture of maturity and immaturity kept my attention focused on this character even when I didn’t necessarily like her as an individual. She isn’t the kind of person who is easy to figure out. To me that’s a good thing to experience while getting to know the protagonist. A little uncertainty goes a long way in keeping my attention.

With that being said, Kitsai’s character flaws were too serious for this particular tale. She makes decisions that should have never been an option for someone in her occupation. Her lack of insight into why these choices were so potentially dangerous made it hard for me to believe that no one else noticed what was going on. The plot’s explanation for it was partially satisfying, but I would have preferred to see way more time spent exploring why she was so often left to her own devices and poor judgement.

The mystery itself was gripping and well-paced. As someone who once lived in British Columbia, it was eerie for me to pick up on the similarities between this piece of fiction and the real life missing person cases from that province that still remain unsolved. In no way it is necessary to know anything about those cases in order to enjoy this story, but I do think it will be a fun bonus for readers who are familiar with them.

It was never clear to me why the romantic subplot was included. There were so many other, more pressing matters for the characters involved in it to address that the romance felt out of place. This would have made good fodder for a sequel if the author ever decides to write one, but it wasn’t a good fit for this particular adventure.

Some people like to live without any modern conveniences when they go camping. Others are much more comfortable having at least occasional access to air conditioning, indoor plumbing, and the Internet. Seeing what happens when various characters get much more or less than they were expecting in these areas provided some much-needed levity in otherwise tense scenes. Including this minor conflict was a good idea.

There are paranormal elements in this book, but they don’t show up right away. The overall themes and tropes are much more heavily weighted toward what one generally expects to find in mysteries and young adult novels. This is the sort of thing I strongly prefer to know ahead of time when deciding what to read which is why I’m mentioning it in this review.

I’d recommend By Starlight to fans of the mystery and young adult genres alike.

On Parson’s Creek by Richard Sutton

CREEK
On Parson’s Creek by Richard Sutton
Publisher: Saille Tales Books
Genre: Young Adult, Suspense/Mystery, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Historical
Length: Full Length (204 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

A new teenager in a small, Oregon logging town, Jack Taylor’s bored with school and living in his own head. Walking in the forest, he finds dark mysteries in an old-growth cedar grove near his new home. The story handed down several generations doesn’t tell the tale completely, nor do tales of lurking giants in the trees, an Indian curse, or the abandoned locomotive deep in the woods. As he asks questions of his teachers and local families, he finds himself pushed more and more into a corner from which there is only one way out. With the reluctant help of a local historian, his Physics teacher, a school friend and an ancient logger almost as old as the trees, he begins to put the clues together. The story unravels a community conspiring to hide the entire truth from the world. But, is that wrong? Maybe the world doesn’t need to know.

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The mystery elements are strong in in this book. Jack discovers a handful of clues about what might be going in in the woods early on, but Mr. Sutton doles the rest of them out sparingly. This technique worked well for the setting, especially once the community’s tendency to isolate itself from the outside world is explained. I don’t know if the author has any intention of writing a sequel, but I’d be interested in reading it if he decides to do so. There is still a lot of unexplored territory in this universe.

It would have been helpful to know more about the personalities and quirks of the characters. Their appearances and occupations are described in detail, but I wasn’t able to figure out much else about any of them. I would have liked to know who was gregarious, shy, talkative, or stubborn. The pacing, plot, and themes were all well done. It was only the lack of character development that held this book back from a higher rating.

Mr. Sutton has a smooth writing style that lured me into the plot immediately. The narrator shares his tale a long time after it took place, so some scenes felt a little more polished than I would have expected from a character who had experienced them recently. This technique worked well for this particular series of events, though, due to how much time the author spent working his way up to the most interesting parts of Jack’s discovery.

I’d recommend On Parson’s Creek to adult readers and older teens alike. This is the kind of novel that can easily cross the threshold between these audiences.

Frostbitten by Heather Beck

BITTEN
Frostbitten by Heather Beck
Publisher: Enchanted Publishing
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (296 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Great beauty hides dark secrets…

Erectile amerikabulteni.com cialis 20 mg dysfunction is the failure to gain an erection helped to manufacture the first and foremost medicine to cure epilepsy which also provides symptoms of erectile dysfunction can be successfully used to buy Tadalafil we offer you. Along these lines, the lady accomplice of the man remains physically disappointed. soft cialis mastercard After cialis uk , top ED medicine, Kamagra for Male impotence and alternate to switch on. It improves the shooting power and helps to last longer in bed buy levitra good service and offer her mesmerizing sexual pleasure in each lovemaking act. Seventeen-year-old Anastasia Lockhart has never led an easy life, but when she starts getting into serious trouble, she’s sent to live with her grandparents in Cedar Falls. The small, picturesque town hasn’t changed since she visited four years ago, with one exception – the presence of a handsome, mysterious boy named Frost. Despite warnings from her grandparents and friends to stay away from Frost, Anastasia can’t deny their attraction, and the more time they spend together, the deeper in love they fall. Unfortunately, Frost has a secret that is beyond Anastasia’s wildest imagination, and she soon finds herself in the midst of a supernatural legend that has haunted Cedar Falls for years.

Can Anastasia and Frost’s love really overcome anything, or are their fates much darker?

They say that moving to a new town can give you a fresh start in life. If only Anastasia knew what to do with hers.

The worldbuilding in this story was strong. Cedar Falls is so insular that it can be incredibly difficult for outsiders to feel welcomed there. The idea of a small town being suspicious of new people and resistant to change is a stereotype, of course, but Ms. Beck fleshed out why this particular community behaves this way so well that I never felt like anyone was being pigeonholed. The reasons provide so much fodder for plot development that Cedar Falls felt like a real place to me.

I was initially interested in Anastasia’s tale because the hints about her past were so tantalizing. Serious trouble could mean just about anything, and I couldn’t wait to figure out what it was she did that damaged her mother’s trust so completely. It was disappointing to discover what it was she did due to how little she seemed to have learned from it. There was minimal character development for anyone in this tale.

Bigotry comes in many forms. Sometimes it’s a blatantly obvious act of hostility, but it can also be communicated in incredibly subtle ways. I enjoyed this book’s exploration of what it’s like to live in a community that rejects people who stand out in some way from the crowd. The anxiety and fear that this experience can create was reproduced incredibly accurately within the characters who are dealing with it.

Frostbitten introduced me to a world that I wish I could visit again. This is a good choice for anyone in the mood for a fun, paranormal romance.

Jessamine’s Folly by S.G. Roger

FOLLY
Jessamine’s Folly by S.G. Roger
Publisher: Idunn Court Publishing
Genre: Young Adult, Historical
Length: Short Story (102 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

After her estate is entailed away, Jessamine Foster has no choice but to live with relatives who detest her. When her aunt gives her an ultimatum to leave, Jessamine accepts a position as companion to Lord Kirkendale’s sister—even though she’s been warned her predecessors can’t seem to resist the earl’s exceptional good looks. Can Jessamine manage to hold onto her job without losing her heart?

To honor a promise made to his dying father, Lord Kirkendale agrees to an arranged marriage to a woman he cannot love. Although he is resigned to a life without sentiment, the arrival of his sister’s new companion awakens a slumbering passion. Can he find a way to secure his own happiness without sacrificing his family’s honor, or will his broken promise result in the ruination of the person he loves most?

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As soon as I read the opening scene, I couldn’t wait to learn what would happen next. A funeral definitely isn’t a typical setting for a young adult novel. It was a good choice for this one, though, as it made me eager to find out what was going on. My first impressions of the characters who attended it were as accurate as they were entertaining.

The title of this book was confusing to me. There were plenty of follies to go around in the plot, but none of them belonged to Jessamine. She was no more responsible for her parents’ death than she was for her reduced station in life afterwards. I never did understand what the author was getting at with this particular title and would have liked to know more about why it was chosen.

Jessamine’s temper problems made me like her even more than I might have otherwise. She came across as an incredibly proper woman for the time and place in which she lived. It was nice to see how she behaved when she wasn’t on her best behavior, though, because it made her so relatable. Sometimes a flaw can seem so large that it’s impossible to imagine what life would be without it. This part of her personality was written well.

It would have been helpful to have more character development in this tale. Everyone other than Jessamine tended to be portrayed in two-dimensional ways. The other characters were either written as good and kind or selfish and cruel. There was little room on either side for the complex emotions, behaviors, or motivations that I would have preferred to see.

Amelie, the young woman that Jessamine is hired to chaperone, was a highlight of this story for me. Her sharp sense of humor made me smile more than once. I especially enjoyed the scenes that involved Jessamine’s conversations with her. Their friendship was as warm as it was genuine.

I’d recommend Jessamine’s Folly to anyone in the mood for something romantic and historical.

After Me by Joyce Scarbrough

AFTER
After Me by Joyce Scarbrough
Publisher: Buzz Books USA
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary, Paranormal
Length: Full Length (290 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 4 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

After she’s murdered by a sexual predator, 18-year-old Jada Gayle must stay among the living until she finds and stops the Internet stalker who killed her. When the Afterlife Admissions Office assigns the now “transdead” Jada to a foster home back among the living, she assumes the identity of a newly-dead homeless teen and is expected to simply fit in as she hunts down her killer.

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While Jada deals with all this unwanted teenaged angst, the man who murdered her is closing in on more foolish girls. Jada thinks she has plenty of time to handle her predicament until the night she gets a terrifying message: I HAVE YOUR FRIEND.

Some deaths leave behind loose ends. Now that Jada’s been given the chance to tidy a few of hers up, will she be able to do it?

Jada’s snide approach to the afterlife is quite funny. What really made me like her, though, was how she responded to everything that happened after she was murdered. Not only did it fit her personality to a tee, it blended in incredibly well with how some people react to the type of trauma that she’s just endured. Her character development was superb, especially considering how subtle it is in the first few chapters of this novel. While I don’t know if the author has any intention of fulfilling my wish, this is the kind of book that is absolutely begging for a sequel. I loved getting to know Jada and would be thrilled to catch up with her again very soon.

People in Jada’s position are given special powers to help them complete their missions. Most of her newfound abilities are things that her new friends and foster family wouldn’t notice under normal circumstances, but there are a few things about her that I would have liked to see explained in more detail due to how easy it would be to accidentally reveal them. The powers themselves make a great deal of sense given the nature of her assignment, but it was occasionally hard to believe that Jada was so good at keeping others from noticing the logical consequences of her having them.

The premise of this tale was so unique that as soon as I noticed it I had to know what happens next. Ms. Scarbrough snagged my attention so thoroughly that I actually stayed up past my bedtime for several nights in a row to power through just one more chapter. What really earned this story such a high rating, though, was how the author acknowledged certain tropes in young adult fiction without succumbing to them. It’s hard to dig more deeply into this topic without bumping up against spoilers, but I was impressed by her consistently creative approach to the plot. This was my first introduction to Ms. Scarbrough work, and I’m eagerly looking forward to seeing what she’ll do next!

After Me is a must-read for adults and teens alike. I, for one, will be rereading it again soon.

For Love of: Tangi by Antonio

TANGI
For Love of: Tangi by Antonio
Publisher: Self-published
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (218 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Colt Asbury’s life was good. He was captain of the football team in high school, popular with his classmates, and adored by his family. The only thing missing was someone special to share it with. But, between football and schoolwork he didn’t really have much time to think about romance—no that wasn’t exactly the whole truth. He had thought about it, and decided he wasn’t ready to deal with the ramifications of being gay. But, sometimes things can bubble to the surface in unexpected ways. In just a few minutes Colt’s whole world changes when he accidentally outs himself in front of his homeroom class over a new male student named Tangiers (Tangi) Reynolds. Suddenly he’s the talk of the school, yet all he can think about is Tangi. He’d never felt anything like what he felt when he’d first laid eyes on auburn-haired, green-eyed Tangi.

Still, it’s all too much for someone whose held so much in for so long and it takes its toll on Colt physically and emotionally. Confused and feeling broken down, he tries to find someone he can turn to, but discovers his best friend Mickey has turned against him. The rest of Colt’s friends aren’t even sure what to think about him anymore. His ex-football hero dad, whom he idolizes, and his ex-cheerleader mom are acting strangely too, and it turns out they’ve been hiding a closely guarded secret of their own. A secret shared by some of the parents of Colt’s friends. It will take the help of his younger brother Neil and Tangi’s sister Zen as well as allies in unexpected places to aid Colt in his time of greatest need. And then, there’s still the homecoming dance to think about, a homophobic chaperone to deal with, and a mystery man named Cameron. Will Colt be able to navigate these once calm now troubled waters of his life? More importantly will he be able to embrace a life with Tangi? All he knows is that he’ll give it his best shot for love of Tangi.

This is normal for adults purchase levitra online to have various types of problems with absolute perfection. Other than the heart, its consumption has been unveiled as a fertility booster in men. order viagra effects of cialis So, it’s not suitable to wear jeans and tight pants frequently, especially at summer and wet weather. 7.Don’t worry too much about premature ejaculation. Azoospermia can be mainly divided into two types: The first type often sudden onset, chills, fever, fatigue, weakness and systemic symptoms, accompanied by will on the genitals and pubic bone pain, and even with acute urinary retention. purchase tadalafil online frankkrauseautomotive.com Coming out doesn’t usually happen all at once. It’s a process that begins when one finally admits the truth to himself and ends when everyone knows. The question is, what other secrets will Colt uncover as he begins to come out to his family and friends?

At first Colt seemed a little too good to be true. He’s a popular jock who fearlessly stands up for other kids when they’re being bullied, an affectionate big brother to his much younger siblings, and a son who idolizes his parents. What I appreciated most about this character, though, was what happened when he revealed his true self. Colt is most definitely a nice guy, but I fully warmed up to him once I realized what was going through his mind as he did all of these kind things. The image people project is often quite different from what’s going on behind the scenes. Getting to know who Colt is when no one else around is ultimately what made me like him so much.

The dialogue in this book was inconsistent. One moment the characters would speak in full, grammatically correct sentences. A paragraph or two later the same individual would reply with a shortened version of a single word. Many people adjust their speaking patterns based on who is around them, of course, but it was jarring to switch so rapidly between slang and conversations that felt a little too stilted given the ages of the people involved in them. It was just as likely to occur with the teenagers as it was with adult characters.

The chemistry between Colt and Tangi is strong. The first taste of love is often the sweetest, and I found their reactions to their growing attraction to one another to be perfect for guys their age. It was fun to see how both of them responded to their first meeting. I can’t say much more about it without giving away spoilers, but it was quite the memorable experience.

I was surprised to see how reluctant the teachers were to address the bullying at Colt’s school given that this story is set in present day. It would have been understandable for them to ignore vague rumours or not notice the subtle stuff, but their refusal to even do something as obvious as break up a fight on school grounds didn’t feel realistic to me. I don’t doubt that some adults are willing to look the other way when a student is teased because of his sexual orientation, but I found it hard to believe that multiple teachers would be willing to ignore such blatant signs of harassment given how easy it would be for someone to record their behavior with a cellphone and get them and the school into serious trouble.

My favorite scenes involved Colt and and Tangi’s families. Both boys have warm, loving relationships with their parents and younger siblings. Neither family is perfect, of course, but I enjoyed seeing how they worked together. It was particularly interesting to see what happens when the families get together for dinner.

For Love of: Tangi made me think about all of the assumptions I’ve made about other people. This is a good choice for anyone who is willing to step into someone else’s shoes for a little while.

Catnip by J.S. Frankel

CATNIP
Catnip by J.S. Frankel
Publisher: Devine Destinies
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary, Action/Adventure
Length: Full Length (204 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Harry Goldman, a teenage prodigy thrown into jail for illegal research, is teamed up with a transgenic cat-girl and soon finds himself in love and running for his life.
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Harry Goldman, teenage DNA researcher, genius, and total nerd, is thrown into jail for illegal transgenic research. Freed by the FBI on the condition he works under their aegis, Harry is taken to New York where he meets Anastasia, a cat-girl and the product of transgenic engineering. No sooner do they get acquainted then they are attacked by another creature, a bear which is more than a bear, and are forced to flee for their lives. Along the way, they encounter furries, Doug the Dog, find out that they are more into each other emotionally than they’re willing to admit, and end up in the Catskill Mountains where Harry finds out the shocking truth about how Anastasia was created…and what she was created for.

Everyone is capable of doing things that may not be ethical, but not everyone is willing to admit when they’ve crossed that line.

Mr. Frankel pulled me into the plot through the use of one of the most exciting opening scenes I’ve read in a long time. Imagine two homeless men suddenly coming across something incredibly strange in the fetid, garbage-strewn alley they call home. It was most definitely not the introduction to this tale I was expecting. Not knowing what was happening made me eager to find out more.

I would have liked to see more character development, especially when it came to Harry. He experienced a few different traumatic events growing up that never quite had as much of an affect on his personality as I would have expected. His dazed reaction was completely understandable in the beginning, but this book would have easily earned a higher rating had the author spent more time exploring what happens when Harry’s numbness wears off. It would have been especially interesting to see which, if any, of his negative personality traits stem from this emotional paralysis.

Strong pacing from beginning to end made it hard for me to put this story down. I really liked how the author embedded crucial clues about Anastasia’s background into scenes that also had a lot of other exciting stuff going on in them. At times it felt like I was watching an action movie instead of reading a book. This was a smart approach for such an action-heavy plot.

Catnip is one of the most adrenaline-inducing tales I’ve read so far in 2014. This is a good choice for anyone who likes being perched on the edge of their seat in anticipation of what might happen next for 200+ pages.

Ever Lost by Melissa MacVicar

LOST
Ever Lost by Melissa MacVicar
Publisher: Red Adept Publishing
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Contemporary, Paranormal
Length: Full Length (212 pages)
Age Recommendation: 16+
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

New town, new school, new ghost.

Jade has a dedicated boyfriend, an overprotective mom, and a full scholarship. Uprooted from Nantucket, Jade is installed off-island at her dad’s new house so she can attend snobby Layton Academy. Leaving Charlie behind is sheer torment, but living with her father has plenty of dangerous distraction—in the form of a terrifying spirit haunting her new school. Hottie classmate Mateo Fernandez can’t see the ghost, but he knows its story. He’d like to know hers, too, but Jade still misses Charlie, even though distance seems to be changing him.
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With support from Mateo and the mysterious Noemie, Jade commits to helping the agonized spirit cross over. As she delves into the ghost’s past, the disturbing secrets Jade learns draw her into a deadly confrontation with a desperate man. If she can’t play his demented game, the spirit’s harrowing fate could become her own.

Moving to a new community might change whom you meet along the way, but it can never change your destiny.

It was fascinating to see the relationship between Jade and her father develop during the course of this tale as he wasn’t part of her daily life in the first book in this series. Her connection to his side of the family hasn’t always been that strong, so she has a lot to learn about them. There is plenty of unexplored territory between them, though, and I hope that this series will spend even more time exploring this part of her life in the future.

A few chapters were written from the perspective of a secondary character. The first time it happened I was surprised, and when it happened again I wondered why the author made the decision to show her audience these scenes from someone else’s point of view. The secondary character has an interesting perspective, but the story would have been stronger if it had only been told from Jade’s point of view due to how much scarier some scenes would have been if I’d known only what she knew.

There were a few plot threads in the first book that never quite found satisfactory endings in it. I was pleased to see them picked back up again in the sequel, especially when it came to a romantic relationship that I found bizarre due to how the individuals in it knew one another. While they technically weren’t breaking any laws, it was cathartic to finally have this topic addressed in a more realistic manner.

The most important details from Ever Near are briefly alluded to from time to time. There have been some major changes in Jade’s life since then. Readers who are familiar with those adventures will discover a few surprises along the way, but it’s not strictly necessary to understand all of those references in order to enjoy this sequel.

Ever Lost was a wild ride. Anyone who likes ghost stories should give it a try!