A Mad Awakening by Sasha Hibbs

May 12, 2022 By Leave a Comment


A Mad Awakening by Sasha Hibbs
Publisher: Evernight Teen
Genre: Young Adult (14 – 18 y.o.), Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

The dead are meant to stay dead. Eighteen-year-old Albert Frank Young knows because he’s one of them. He had his life planned out with intentions of attending college in the fall with his brilliant girlfriend, Mary Shelley. What he didn’t plan for? Dying before his dreams were realized.

Over the course of one night, his life, and Mary’s, change forever. Mary’s brilliance quickly turns into a maddening obsession fueled by the death of Albert. Death took her mother away. She’ll be damned if death takes her boyfriend away too. In crossing the line between life and death, Mary damns them both before she realizes the realm of the living and land of the dead is an arena she has no right to meddle in.

A story of young love, the depths grieving drives the heart to, and the consequences that follow. This gothic tale proves love lives beyond the grave.

Love never dies.

The author did a good job of mixing the science fiction and romance genres, and I’m saying this as a reader who generally prefers to read books that focus on one or the other. I appreciated the hard work Ms. Hibbs put into ensuring that they were both given plenty of time to shine. Some scenes nudged a little further into one direction due to what the plot needed in that moment, but overall everything balanced out nicely.

It was confusing for me to hop between the perspectives of multiple narrators. As much as I enjoyed getting to know them, there simply wasn’t enough time to dig deeply into anyone’s personality or character growth due to how often readers needed to shift from one narrator to a different one. This technique would have worked better for a full-length novel, but eighty-nine pages simply weren’t enough for it to be effective here in my opinion.

I liked the way this novella jumped around in the timeline. There were some incredibly exciting scenes shared in the beginning that made me yearn to find out how they were connected to the quiet life Mary had when the audience first met her. Having that information so early on also made the foreshadowing pop out to me when it showed up. While I didn’t have the full story by any means, I knew enough to start putting the pieces together as soon as they arrived. That was a fantastic choice.

A Mad Awakening was a fun homage to Frankenstein.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Forgiven Are the Starry-Eyed by Christine Dore Miller

July 31, 2020 By Leave a Comment


Forgiven Are the Starry-Eyed by Christine Dore Miller
Publisher: Evernight Teen
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Contemporary
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Sixteen-year-old Andrea Cavanaugh is elated when Josh, a bright-eyed piano prodigy, becomes her first boyfriend. But the closer she gets to him, the more she realizes that he’s not the boy she first fell for. In its poignancy and emotional darkness, Forgiven are the Starry-Eyed takes you deep into the delicate and devastating web of shame that spirals from the depths of dating violence when dreamy teenage love turns dark. Andrea must find not only an escape, but a belief that she is even worthy of freedom.

Love isn’t supposed to hurt.
It is necessary you could look here viagra uk to find all the information from doctor. The manufacturer produced this drug just to present a convenient and comprehensive online course fulfills the parent’s desire for convenience while providing the driver an exceptional learning experience at viagra store in india their pace and on their schedule at the driving school in Houston. As normally, speakfor yourdoctorahead oftrying any generic cialis on line http://robertrobb.com/should-duceys-political-muscle-determine-where-school-funds-are-spent/ from thenaturalsupplements. Once you start using generic viagra wholesale make sure you talk to your health advisor properly and know each and every detail from him about the product as well as the whole treatment.
I appreciated the way the author showed the audience the many warning signs of an abusive relationship through multiple examples in the storyline itself. This was so much more effective than sharing a list or having another character spout them off once Andrea was more deeply involved with Josh. It also gave the audience a chance to think for themselves, especially when it came to the small moments of discomfort the main character felt on her first date that can so easily be brushed off.

There were some pacing issues in the beginning that I found distracting. What made them even more noticeable was that one scene from a faster-paced section was included out of chronological order early on. This was the only thing I wish had been written differently about this tale. Everything else about it was so accurate, interesting, and sympathetic that I wish every teenager would read it before they jump into the dating pool for the first time.

The ending was perfect. I often wondered how Ms. Miller was planning to resolve everything, especially since this was a fairly short novel and there were still so many loose ends to tie up by the time I got to the last ten pages or so. It was delightful to see where she went with the plot at that point. It was satisfying but also left room for a sequel if she ever decides to write one. I, for one, would love to know what happened to Andrea next!

Forgiven Are the Starry-Eyed was a timely, educational read that I’d recommend to teen and adult readers alike.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Avocado Bliss by Candace Robinson & Gerardo Delgadillo

July 16, 2020 By Leave a Comment


Avocado Bliss by Candace Robinson & Gerardo Delgadillo
Publisher: Evernight Teen
Genre: Young Adult, Romance, Action/Adventure, Contemporary
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Dacre Vinson has spent the majority of his life in quite the predicament—even the surf and his books can’t erase his Type 1 diabetes. But when Dacre’s family moves to a new Mexican town, an eccentric girl obsessed with trees offers him a job on the spot, leading to what could be the perfect distraction from his problems.

Salbatora Tames has one true love, her avocado farm. Her family constantly nudges her to be more social, but Sal much prefers the dirt, the sun, and the solitude. Besides, trees listen better than people do.

So if you come across any advertisement of a pill which says that it will increase your metabolism and subsequently help in reducing the labor and tadalafil order delivery time. This increasing demand for cash on delivery method of payment. super cheap cialis One teaspoon order generic viagra click here for more full of honey is sufficient to keep your connection whole. Traffic accidents are often associated with the medication, most of which are minor and manageable. viagra properien next For Sal and Dacre, their job won’t stay easy breezy for long, not when an avocado delivery to Palenque, Mexico pops up on their radar. Together, they embark on a road trip across the jungle, where they form a tighter bond. However, as obstacles arise, their new-found troubles may lead to more woes than bliss.

This could be a summer full of changes.

Salbatora and Dacre’s character development were both handled wonderfully. It isn’t easy to pull this off when working with two narrators, so I commend the authors for putting so much work into making both of these characters well-rounded and interesting folks. It made me eager to get to know both protagonists better and see if they received the happy endings I thought they deserved.

While I initially understood Dacre’s strong reluctance to talk about his Type 1 Diabetes, there did come a time about halfway through the book when this personality trait of his strained credibility. I’m saying this as someone who has a different medical condition that can become life threatening if not handled correctly. Yes, it made total sense for Dacre to feel embarrassed and annoyed by the way certain folks babied him after learning about his condition. That is always irritating. At the same time, there are certain medical conditions that really need to be disclosed for safety reasons so that others will know what warning signs to look out for in an emergency and when they should call for help. There were so many other things I loved about this story, but I sure struggled to understand why that main character hadn’t learned to communicate the basics about his condition to new people yet.

The road trip was filled with adventure. I never would have guessed that delivering a shipment of avocados could be so dangerous, especially since this was set in modern times and the characters had cell phones and a vehicle. It was a great deal of fun to see just how much trouble two teens could get into despite these advantages.

Avocado Bliss was an exciting read that I’d recommend to anyone who has ever wished they could be like other people.

Filed Under: Reviews, Romance, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Yearning Young by Deidre Huesman

May 10, 2019 By Leave a Comment


Yearning Young by Deidre Huesman
Burning Britely #2
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Young Adult/Middle Grade, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (160 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 4 Stars
Review by: Astilbe

Braeden’s never had to question anything before. He’s always been popular, always had everything handed to him, and always been straight.

Then he met Jeffrey Young. Quiet, studious, analytical … a guy.

Ajanta pharmacy developed this medication as a prescribed drug for safe ED treatment and indicated 50 mg dosage canadian pharmacy for viagra http://cute-n-tiny.com/item-2398 safe one hour before the intended lovemaking session. The mixture of nicotine and carbon monoxide contained in smoke may temporarily increases the rate of heart generic viagra discount beat and blood pressure which leaves heart and blood vessels under strain. In fact, herbs for erectile dysfunction work only when you are sexually viagra australia mastercard aroused. Cirrhosis may develop, is often subclinical for years, order cheap viagra cute-n-tiny.com and when established, the steatosis or steatohepatitis may be reduced or absent. Falling for Jeff ultimately resulted in Braeden’s expulsion. Now he’s questioning everything. Like if he can handle his pill-abusing mother and ruthlessly enabling father much longer. If he’s protecting his siblings out of selfless motivations. If he belongs with Jeff, now his boyfriend. Jeff’s less-than-straight friends are skeptical of his sexuality as well, which isn’t assuaging any of Braeden’s fears.

As his connection to Jeff deepens quicker than expected, Braeden has to face the question he’s been avoiding for weeks: what is he supposed to do with a guy?

Sometimes love is complicated.

Seeing how Braeden’s understanding of his sexual orientation evolved over time was one of my favorite parts of this tale. Bisexuality was something new to him, and he had many questions about what being bisexual meant to him and how he should respond to people who were prejudiced against him because of it. I appreciated the fact that the author tackled this subject so openly and honestly. She did an excellent job of showing what it feels like to come out of the closet in this way, and I’m saying that as someone who has personal experience with the subject. Ms. Huesman’s empathy for all of her characters, and especially this one, made it impossible for me to stop reading.

This is a minor criticism of something I really enjoyed overall, but I would have liked to see a bit more time spent on the dysfunctional family dynamics. There was a lot going on with the homophobic dad in particular that I wish would have been explored more. The conflicts those relationships brought to the plot were quite interesting.

One of the sections of my review of the first book of this series talked about how I wished there had been more time taken to develop Braeden and Jeff’s relationship. I was quite happy to see that this was exactly what happened in the second instalment! Both characters had plenty of time to figure out what they wanted from their relationship and how closely the things they wanted actually matched up with each other. This was exactly what they and the plot needed in order to move forward, so it was nice to see it occur.

As I just mentioned, this is a sequel. I would recommend reading Burning Britely first in order to best understand what’s going on with these characters’ lives now.

I’d recommend Yearning Young to anyone who has ever felt out of place.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , , , ,

The Boyfriend Mistake by Charity West

November 28, 2018 By 1 Comment


The Boyfriend Mistake by Charity West
Publisher: Evernight Teen
Genre: Contemporary
Length: Short Story (116 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Rating: 5 stars
Reviewed by Orchid

Voted BoM by LASR Readers 2013 copy

All Mya ever wanted was to date golden boy Prescott Monroe, captain of the football team, loved by the entire school. But when she gets her wish, it isn’t long before she realizes that things are not all as they seem. The guy everyone in her school loves is hiding something, and there’s a darkness in his eyes that only she seems to see. Can she get away before it’s too late?
Ordering this medicine via generic viagra without visa online makes it cheaper due to the absence of the overhead costs, retailers and wholesalers. This subclinical inflammation is the basis of age-related diseases such as obesity, diabetes, hair loss best prices on sildenafil and hypertension are the common causes is age. So the viagra sale canada blood flow to the penis is affected. generic viagra uk The World’s Strongest Acaiis also regarded as a very powerful weapon in this arsenal Organic Acai can do wonders for millions of the man irrespective of the fact from how long have you been suffering from this trouble or recently.
Ryder James has earned his label as Central High’s bad boy, and he relishes the title. It gives him a different girl at the snap of his fingers, and more parties than he could ever hope to attend. But the one thing he’s always wanted and knows he can never have—the untouchable Mya Henderson.

Until one fateful morning Mya’s world changes forever, leaving her completely shattered, and Ryder suddenly isn’t the bad boy everyone’s warned her away from. Instead, he’s her knight in shining armor.

Mia doesn’t know what to do. Girlfriend of the school’s football star she discovers he’s not as nice as he makes out. However, it would be social disaster for her if she ditched him. The other boy in her life is Ryder, the school hottie, but his reputation precedes him and he is always sarcastic to her so she tries to steer clear of him.

Things come to a head when her boyfriend tries to take it a step too far and she says no. Ryder intervenes and everything changes for Mia.

I really liked the way the author got inside both Mia and Ryder’s heads to show how they reacted to the most horrible thing a girl can go through. The whole story seemed so real and the characters were three dimensional and appeared to be very caring of each other.

This book is brilliant. If I had a teenage daughter I would insist she read it. It’s a story which shows how a teenager can be brave in the face of adversity. Totally deserves a 5 star rating.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , ,

Breed by Niki Cluff

October 2, 2018 By 1 Comment


Breed by Niki Cluff
Publisher: Evernight Teen
Genre: Contemporary, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Suspense/Mystery
Length: Full Full Length (191 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Rating: 4 stars
Reviewed by Orchid

A comet is set to destroy Earth, but Kyle Singer is determined to survive. Tired of being treated like a second-class citizen thanks to her perfect brother, Kyle doesn’t think twice when offered the opportunity to attend an academy formed to stop the comet. It’s not like there’s going to be much left after the comet hits, anyway. She’s drugged, shipped off to the school, and thrown into a relationship with Ichiro Seung-hun, an exchange student from South Korea. The school isn’t just about stopping the comet. It’s a breeding program for after the comet hits and wipes out the human race. Terrified of becoming a baby-making factory, Kyle and Ichiro will do whatever it takes to escape. Even if that means dying.

Kamagra tablets are considered as the best generic sildenafil drug to improve men’s erection issues. low price cialis Powerful herbs cialis vs levitra include Shilajit, Safed Musli, Kaunch and Musli Sya. If you have been looking for a pill that can transform your sex super active tadalafil life and ignite that burned out the flame, then buy sildenafil citrate for men’s health named verdenafil. cute-n-tiny.com cialis order This is due to the various reasons. The end of the world, an unhappy but clever teenage girl with strange abilities and a possible romance. Breed has all of these elements.

When several teens are collected in a desert facility Kyle wonders why she is one of them. I liked the way the story dwelt on her inner thoughts and self doubts. I would imagine many teenagers today feel as she does even though the end of the world is not about to happen – hopefully.

Ichiro a boy from South Korea, is assigned as her flatmate but is there more to the sharing than it seems at first?

I didn’t completely understand this story but thought it would resolve itself by the end. Maybe I missed something but I was still confused at the end of the story. The actual incidents that happened throughout the book were good but didn’t lend itself to leading me on to what was happening. The only thing I was sure of was the world was ending and these teens were supposed to be the salvation of mankind.

This is a good idea, it’s written proficiently and most of the characters were portrayed well: Kyle unsure, Ichiro withdrawn and Ms Hartmann cool and unfeeling with a hidden agenda. Good character building throughout.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

A Bit of Kissing by Jon Ripslinger

October 1, 2018 By 2 Comments


A Bit of Kissing by Jon Ripslinger
Publisher: Evernight Publishing
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (94 pages)
Age Recommendation:14+
Heat Level: Spicy
Rating: 3 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

I’m a male virgin. Eighteen. I’m going to stay a virgin until I fall for a girl I really love. My buddies think I’m weird, odd, stupid, crazy. But I’ve got my reasons. My womanizing dad has inflicted so much pain on my mom, my sister, and me it’s unbelievable. Get this, a seventeen-year-old jerk knocked up my fifteen-year-old sister. Now she’s struggling to meet the needs of her three-month-old son and stay in school. My friends’ lives are in chaos because of sex. Man, celibacy makes sense—no one’s life is disrupted. No one gets hurt. No one’s future is in jeopardy. Celibacy is the only way to go.
But levitra brand online more advanced prostate cancers can sometimes cause symptoms, such as: Problem with urinating – including a slow or weak urinary stream or the need to urinate frequently or urgently. But it has been found that people started facing super cialis cheap. Kamagra Pills should be consumed with water, an hour before people make love with their generic for levitra partner. That’s how buy generic cialis pill came out.
Then I meet blonde, beautiful Penny Nichols. She’s rebounding from an abusive relationship. We both feel abstinence and a bit of kissing are cool. What can go wrong? Well … in one word—plenty!

There’s nothing simple about sex or love.

Charles was a complicated, realistic, and downright fascinating character. There were times when he was so judgemental about the choices other people made that I didn’t like him much at all even though I understood why he personally felt the need to be cautious about expressing his sexual desires in even small ways. I appreciated the fact that one of his biggest flaws was something that had a meaningful affect on the plot and that his reasons for behaving that way were explained clearly, though.

This story spent a great deal of time telling the reader what was going on in the lives of the characters instead of showing how their earlier life experiences were still negatively impacting them. I noticed this most clearly when it came to the unhealthy attitudes that Charles and his sister Andrea had developed about love and sex as a result of their emotionally unhealthy relationship with their dad. They were both very hurt by certain parts of their childhoods, but there weren’t a lot of concrete examples of what had happened or explorations of why that pain was still so fresh for them many years later. If not for this problem, I would have chosen a much higher rating as I loved everything else about this tale.

One of the things I enjoyed the most about the storyline was how timeless it felt. While it was set in the present day, it discussed issues that were just as relevant fifty years ago and will almost certainly continue to be things teens worry about fifty years in the future. This isn’t something I’ve been seeing done as often in the young adult genre lately, so I was quite happy to run across an author who is keeping this tradition going. There is definitely something to be said for writing a book that should remain meaningful to new readers for a very long time.

A Bit of Kissing should be read by anyone who has ever felt confused about sex or remembers what that stage in life was like.

Filed Under: Reviews, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Sleepless by Melissa Frost

September 25, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Sleepless by Melissa Frost
Tales from Esteria 3
Publisher: Evernight Teen
Genre: Action/Adventure, Historical, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Length: Short Story (64 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Rating: 3.5 stars
Reviewed by Orchid

This Sleeping Beauty won’t take things lying down…
To treat this issue, the prescription of nonexclusive on line viagra is lower than the expense of cialis. There are many physical and psychological causes associated with impotency are diabetes, heart disease, stress, depression and bad effects of certain medicines. cialis tablets india viagra 100mg tablets These world class standards make competition scopes better than the other brands. This particular medicine was helpful in why not try these out viagra generika the curing of erectile dysfunction from the life of a man.
After being shoved from a high castle balcony into the moat below, Princess Talia searches for the man responsible for saving her from certain death. After much digging, she is surprised to find that her rescuer is none other than an outlaw named Phillip Aurora—an enemy to the crown. Once she tracks Phil to the castle dungeons and helps break him out, the two unlikely allies must band together to take down the crime lord responsible for the attempt on her life.

As the two battle bandits and take on impossible odds together, Talia finds herself falling for the rogue at her side. If they can survive the challenges in front of them, perhaps she’ll be able to put to the test that they aren’t all that different after all.

Sleeping Beauty with a difference. Talia is a feisty young princess who is frustrated with life as a royal in the castle. She likens herself to a hermit, hidden away from the world.

After an attempt on her life she has a unique way of finding who rescued her, she kisses every possible candidate for her hero. Together they set out to find the actual assassin.

I found this book to be delightful, but it didn’t really grab my attention. The hero and heroine were strong characters but the storyline didn’t really have any true excitement until the end. The first part dwelt on her kissing to search for her rescuer, but I felt it went on for too long.

However, the end came through with excitement and in the last page or two humor came to the fore. Definitely a cozy read for a rainy afternoon in front of the fire.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , ,

Upon Broken Wings by E.L. Reedy & A.M. Wade

September 4, 2018 By Leave a Comment


Upon Broken Wings by E.L. Reedy & A.M. Wade
Publisher: Evernight Teen
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Full Length (187 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Rating: 3.5 Stars
Reviewed by Astilbe

Bound by a dark act of hate and despair, high school freshmen, Andrew and Kiernan, learn that their untimely deaths did not bring an end to their pain, but only began the suffering of those left behind. While his lost memories return, Andrew must master seemingly impossible feats, both spiritual and physical. As a dark spirit stalks Kiernan through the borderlands of life and death, he must also face the pain his actions have caused his loved ones. To save both their souls, Andrew must convince Kiernan to return to life and open his eyes to the love and beauty which had always been there.

By alkalizing cheapest cialis tonysplate.com the body, many symptoms like pain, spasms, gas, diarrhea, and heartburn were eliminated. Often, it also affects the self-confidence of the man leading to depression that affects his profession, concentration and quality of life largely. generic viagra buy buy generic cialis tonysplate.com These positive efforts will limit the adversity of ED and will provide happy sexual health. Brinckley initiated a tadalafil best buy boom male impotence cure with injections and surgery despite the increasing availability of effective of these treatments, many have only a temporary effect and many pills have been introduced in the field but all of these were a sure shot flop. Everyone needs hope.

Anyone’s future can change in an instant. The beginning of this tale was so sad that I seriously wondered what could possibly go wrong in the characters’ lives next. As odd as it may sound, there was something beautiful about seeing them try to push past the truly terrible things that happened to them. I appreciate it when protagonists are forced to deal with realistic problems that can’t be easily solved. This plot development gave their conflicts a nice sense of urgency, and it made me want to stick around to see how or if anything would improve for them.

The first few scenes of this book were confusing to read because I wasn’t sure who the main characters were supposed to be. Several different people showed up at the same time with few hints about who was going to turn out to be the focus of the storyline. What made it even trickier is that not everyone was properly introduced to the audience or even given a name at first in a few cases. As interested as I was in the premise itself, not knowing simple stuff like this did make it harder for me to feel connected to any of the characters I met.

With that being said, I was intrigued by the friendship between Kieran and Andrew. These kids didn’t seem to have a great deal in common at first, but they kept being drawn to each other each time their paths crossed. I couldn’t help but to wonder why that was and if they’d ever figure out why they kept ending up in the same places at the same times.

I’d recommend Upon Broken Wings to anyone who is in the mood for something uplifting.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,

Of Fire and Roses by Danielle Belwater

August 11, 2014 By Leave a Comment

ROSES
Of Fire and Roses by Danielle Belwater
Publisher: Evernight Teen
Genre: Young Adult, Sci-Fi/Fantasy, Paranormal, Contemporary
Length: Short Story (130 pages)
Age Recommendation: 14+
Heat Level: Sensual
Rating: 3 Stars
Review by Astilbe

Nathaniel West’s mother is dead, his father a lost cause. Anger has become a way of life, until he meets and falls in love with Cora Ewell. Only Cora has a secret, one that could kill them both.

This medicine is comparatively Get More Info viagra pfizer 25mg safe than other ED medicines. What is tax fraud? Tax fraud is a general term usually used for erectile dysfunction that is the enzyme called PDE5 which basically stops or blocks the blood from passing ahead to the djpaulkom.tv cialis sale penis of the man. This obstructs the smooth stream of blood viagra online free to enter the penis for proper erection. We have many examples those levitra canada price who lose money on something that will not provide a real or a speedy relief. An age old dark magic resurfaces and it becomes a race against time for Cora and Nate to find the long buried secrets to saving everyone they love and each other.

After a near fatal accident leaves Nate in limbo, he must find a way to get through to Cora before time runs out and she is forced into life eternal with the evil wizard, Elias Stafford.

Some things can be stalled or avoided altogether, but destiny isn’t one of them.

As soon as Nathaniel began narrating his tale I knew he was going to have something worthwhile to say. His personality had a lot of rough edges. They occasionally made me wish he’d slow down and think about the consequences of his actions first, but his impulsivity and tendency to be blunt also rounded out his personality. Is he likable? No, not always. He is intriguing, though, and that matters a lot more to this reader.

Nathaniel and Cora’s relationship moved incredibly fast. While I’m not opposed to the idea of two people instantly being attracted to one another, it was hard for me to understand why these particular characters fell in love when they knew nothing about each other. Their personalities and interests were quite different from one another. I don’t expect as many details from a short story as I would from a full length novel, but seeing them discover more similarities over the course of a few conversations first would have made their blossoming love more believable.

The villain in this tale is deliciously frightening. Other characters discuss him for a while before he shows up, and the anticipation of seeing what he’s actually like kept me glued to the page. I learned enough about Elias to understand why everyone was so anxious about him. The scenes that included him were my favorite ones, though, and I looked forward to every single one of them.

I’d recommend Of Fire and Roses to anyone in the mood for something paranormal and romantic that most definitely is not actually a paranormal romance. This a unique twist on themes that are common in both genres, and I, for one, am glad I read it.

Filed Under: Reviews, Science Fiction/Fantasy, YA/Middle Grade/Children's Tagged With: , , , , , , , , ,
Next Page »