Review: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Title: Hush, Hush
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's Publishing
Published: 13th October 2009
Series: Hush, Hush #1
Source: Own Kindle Copy

For Nora Grey, romance was not part of the plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how much her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her...until Patch comes along.
With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Nora is drawn to him against her better judgment, but after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is, and to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is far more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.
For Nora is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost her life. - From Goodreads

There seems to have been a rash of books revolving around angels released lately. This combined with reading Hush, Hush a few months ago, and reading other angel books after it, meant that when I sat down to type my thoughts I had no idea what had happened in this book. As luck would have it I had a couple of Audible credit's in my account so decided that this would be a great purchase and would not impact on my reading time as I could listen to it while driving, walking to work... Oh am I glad I did this, and how could I have forgotten? It all came flooding back to me.

Nora lives a fairly quiet life with her best friend and her biggest decision will be to decide between the ivy league schools she is set to be accepted to. Then one day in class all the seats get moved around sitting Nora beside Patch. Dark and mysterious, Patch seems to know everything about Nora, but she knows nothing about him except that she can't stop thinking about him.This story was full of suspense, romance, danger and fallen angels.

I liked Nora. I could relate to her and unlike other female characters Nora tends to over think situations instead of under thinking them! This tends to mean she does not jump to ridiculous conclusions (or sometimes any conclusions). And then can we talk about Patch? At the start I think he seems like, as we say in the UK, a total Dick! It took me a while to warm to patch, but as soon as I did I think I fell in love!! Patch can save me from danger any day of the week! I'm not completely blind to Patch being a tad over protective, but I'm willing to overlook that.

There were a couple of points to this story which I felt were cleverly tidied up at the end with a, without giving away to much, "all of those reasons was because..." which perhaps felt a little contrived. Another point that stuck in my mind was that at the start of the book Nora talks about how they are best friends who are an extension of each other. Even as an outsider I thought some of V's behaviour was a bit off, why did Nora not notice? Does V usually act shady?

In a way I am happy that it has taken me so long to get round to doing this review as I can now swiftly move on to Crescendo and the Silence, and by the time I have finished those two books and reviewing them the final chapter of this story will probably be close to publication!! I can't wait to read the next books.

Review: Hunting Lila by Sarah Alderson

Title: Hunting Lila
Author: Sarah Alderson
Published: 4th August 2011
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Childrens Books
Series: Hunting Lila #1
Source: Own Copy

17-year-old Lila has two secrets she's prepared to take to the grave. The first is that she can move things just by looking at them. The second is that she's been in love with her brother's best friend, Alex, since forever. Or thereabouts.After a mugging on the streets of South London goes horribly wrong and exposes her unique ability, Lila decides to run to the only people she can trust - her brother and Alex. They live in Southern California where they work for a secret organisation called The Unit, and Lila discovers that the two of them are hunting down the men who murdered her mother five years before. And that they've found them. Trying to uncover the truth of why her mother was killed, and the real remit of The Unit, Lila becomes a pawn in a dangerous game. Struggling to keep her secrets in a world where nothing and no one is quite as they seem, Lila quickly realises that she is not alone - there are others out there just like her - people with special powers -and her mother's killer is one of them... - From Goodreads

I had been so excited to read this book ever since I saw it. The cover is stunning and the synopsis on the back of the book sucked me in. In comparison to some other books I have read recently I think the cover to Hunting Lila sets the tone for this books from the get go. This book is a fun action packed read with a lead character that I can relate to and found to be really fun and quirky!

Super powers? Check! Sweet protective brother? Check! Super hot guy? Check. Action and mystery? Check. This book had everything I wanted. I liked that Lila had this awesome super power to be able to move things with her mind, but she didn't flaunt it and when she uses it in public she freaks out and puts herself on a power ban. For me Lila was the 17 year old I was. She can be quite on the ball and clever at times, but is also a bit lazy when it comes to personal safety and gets distracted thinking about hot boys (or one specific hot boy) every 5 minutes; this is the main reason I didn't get round to finishing much as a teenager!!

The hot boy that Lila is obsessing over is the one she thinks she can never have... the brother's best friend! For me Alex is so worth daydreaming over, and in the story it actually go to the point that I just found it funny. Lila would be in some life threatening situation and would be worrying about dying, until she catches Alex's eye, then it's all about the precise shade and getting lost in them. All this time you are thinking "come on move you are going to die!!" Don't get me wrong I absolutely get it. Alex is described perfectly in a way that makes you swoon and wish he was real. I say day dream away Lila.

The characters in this were just right with the protective brother, the hesitant-because-he-is-older love interest and the super-sweet potential sister-in-law. Not to mention a whole cast of characters introduced towards the end of the book who were fascinating. They all added to the story to make it rich and exciting.

My one issue with this book was that I found it very difficult to put down! The story was exciting and it made me wish that I didn't have to get up for work in the morning, because then I could just keep reading through the night. The ending to this book left me gobsmacked and wishing that I could read the next book right away. I can't wait to get a copy of this one and I will be pre-ordering it as soon as it is available.

Review: The Initiation by LJ Smith

Title: The Initiation
Author: LJ Smith
Publisher: HarperPrism
Published: 15th September 1992
Series: The Secret Circle #1
Source: Own Kindle Copy

The author of the bestselling The Vampire Diaries presents a suspenseful new trilogy. Seduced by the Secret Circle, Cassie is initiated into the mysterious "in-crowd, " a coven of young witches whose power has controlled New Salem for 300 years--and risks falling prey to the dark powers in order to have the coven leader's boyfriend. - From Goodreads

So, I admit it... I read this book because I thought the new TV series on the CW was great. Being the impatient woman I am, I decided that I would just figure out what was going on by reading the book! Well you would have thought I had learned my lesson with The Vampire Diaries, Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game - the book is nothing like the TV show! That's not to say that this book was not entertaining!

Cassie and her mother move back into the family home in New Salem after Cassie has a mysterious encounter with a handsome boy on a beach a few towns away. Being the new girl at school is difficult in New Salem, especially when you stand up to the head mean girl, Faye! Faye who hangs voodoo dolls in lockers, makes your bag look like it is moving and steals your poetry!

There are a lot more witches in their coven also and there seemed to be quite a bit of unrest within the group with us getting the impression that the coven was split into good magic and bad magic! I also have to remind myself while reading books by L. J. Smith, that these books were written pre mobile phones. When ever a character gets in a jam I find myself wondering "why not just phone for help?"

I enjoyed this book, it was filled with forbidden love, magic, a crystal skull, mean girls and a likeable main character, but I felt that it was over just as the story began. I think, like the vampire diaries, instead of being a trilogy it feels more like one book split across three. I will be picking up the other two because they are super fast reads!

Review: Shadow Kiss by Richelle Mead (VA3)

Title: Shadow Kiss
Author: Richelle Mead
Publisher: Razorbill
Published: 13th November 2008
Series: Vampire Academy #3
Source: Own Copy

Warning: Description and Review Contain Some Spoilers!!

Is Rose's fate to kill the person she loves most? It's springtime at St. Vladimir's Academy, and Rose Hathaway is this close to graduation. Since Mason's death, Rose hasn't been feeling quite right. She has dark flashbacks in the middle of practice, can't concentrate in class, and has terrifying dreams about Lissa. But Rose has an even bigger secret .... She's in love with Dimitri. And this time, it's way more than a crush. Then Strigoi target the academy in the deadliest attack in Moroi history, and Dimitri is taken. Rose must protect Lissa at all costs, but keeping her best friend safe could mean losing Dimitri forever... - From Goodread

If I could marry a series of books it would be this one!! I love them so much!! OK, so I will roll back on the loving and the exclamation marks but Richelle Mead is able to keep all of her story lines away from the obvious, but without seeming too crazy or off-the-wall. If that was not enough we have the smoking hot Dimitri, who makes you want to crawl into the book just to touch him... hmmm... Dimitri... OK, sorry I'm back!

We left off at the end of book 2 with the death of Mason after they had spent a good portion of the book in a ski lodge. This death has an impact on everyone involved, but for Rose Mason's death triggers something in her which means she can now see Mason and other ghosts. Now, I can't remember if this was covered, but why was she not seeing ghosts the last time she left protected grounds? Like when her and Lissa ran away, or when they were stuck in the Strigoi house at the end of the last book. I have the feeling the reason is that it was triggered with the trauma of losing Mason, but I'm not sure. I remember she was seeing them on the plane on the way to the ski lodge before mason was killed and they gave her a killer headache, why was this the first time?

Oh, how can I be 2 paragraphs in and not have mentioned Adrian. I am firmly in the camp of Team Dimitri and it is clear that Dimitri and Rose are supposed to be together, but I love an underdog. This means that secretly I am also rooting for Adrian. I mean it is clear that he is a damaged soul who just needs some love. Argh it makes me feel so torn! Also in this novel I think I lost a little bit of love for Lissa. I mean come on woman can't you see your BFF needs you?!?

I liked that this book was based back at the school on familiar turf we already knew about. In this book Rose also has training which puts her as Lissa's Guardian withing school where the trainers will jump out and attack like real Strigoli. What does this mean? It means some awesome fights!! This book takes you from highs to lows to a real attack on the school. One that is so bad, it leaves you shaking the book to try and change the outcome, then moving straight on to book 4 without stopping to even look at another book. Well done Richelle!