Rising Shadow by Jaquelyn Wheeler

Rising Shadow by Jacquelyn Wheeler
(Author Page)

From Around the World Tours
Already released with book two Merger already out.

Ashlyn  Woods just transferred to one of the most beautiful campuses on the  west coast, where she can't wait to start her life over as a normal  college student. But her plans take an unexpected turn when she  discovers that she is a Soterian: a person who develops amazing powers  when the balance of good and evil shifts too far in evil's favor.

Soon she and the other Soterians are studying martial arts and learning  to use their powers to prevent California from being plunged into chaos.  But they quickly discover that they're up against a much more dangerous  enemy than they anticipated.

And when Ashlyn meets Kai, a devastatingly gorgeous guitar player, she realizes she must sacrifice more than she ever imagined.

To be honest when I started reading this book I rolled my eyes a little. Superheros that loose their powers, but gain them back? Eh. A girl that falls in love with a gorgeous guitar player? Done. The writing was good, and the characters were intriguing enough to get interested in and pull me through the book. Sadly, I was disappointed by this novel in that the good writing was all I could say about it. Yes, the main character, Ashlyn, was fun to read, and kept me interested. Her snarky humor was fun, and just the kind of humor that makes me laugh more often then not. Her low sense of self is, again, normal in these kinds of books, and getting to the point of cliche.

The introduction confused me a bit when it starts four months in the future, in one of the most mundane of moments...traffic, and then moves back to before Ashlyn learns about her superpowers. I kept wondering between Ashlyn's loser boyfriend and going to a new college how the hell her superpowers played into the story. The story wasn't boring and it wasn't slow to read.Somehow a book about superheros just didn't work out for me, and I'm not sure why. The book was well written, it moved at a moderate pace, and the main character and her love interest weren't bad characters. The book just didn't work for me.

Like always check out the book for yourself. This is one of those reviews were I can't say I hated it and I can't say I loved it.

Kiss It by Erin Downing

Kiss It by Erin Downing

(Book Page) (Author Page)

Chastity Bryan has never been shy about going after what she wants. And when sexy, mysterious, so-not-from-this-town Sebastian walks into Chaz’s life, she knows in an instant that what she wants next is him. Chaz has no intention of playing for keeps—but she most definitely has intentions. Who needs true love when you’ve got true lust? Sebastian has no idea what he’s in for—but maybe neither does Chaz...

Chastity, known better as Chaz, is looking for lust. Not love, not even like. She wants to have sex, but knows that the prospects in her small town of Milton, Minnesota isn't much. She makes due having already tasted carnal pleasure--if you can really call it that since it only lasted for less then a minute--by looking for her next fix. Trouble is that she has no idea where it will come from since all the teenage boys in her town are not what she would see as long term, no strings attached, fuck buddies.

Then a new guy walks into her life. Sebastian is in Milton to visit his father on a court mandated Christmas break. Immediately Chaz sees the potential in him. He's cute, not from Milton, and in a mere vacation he will be gone from her life quickly. Chaz pursues Sebastian, and most of the time she's confused with what he really wants from her. (Twisty Note: This doesn't really get easier with age, ladies.) Between Chaz wanting Sebastian, her best friend feeling major guilt over her own sexual relationship with her long-term boyfriend, and one other very sad, very life changing event this book really touches on a whole lot more then just sex.

Lets face it, if Candace Bushnell wrote a book on Samantha Jones as a teenager this would of probably hit pretty close to home. (And I might actually read it. In all honestly Sex and the City the book is nowhere near as fabulous as Sex and the City the series and movies. Also, I'm just so not a fan of hers, and any book I've read by her.) Chaz is so single-minded and focused on sex that Samantha Jones is what popped into my mind almost instantly. Despite what people might think that teenagers can handle this book was hilarious, honest, and I loved that the main character was ironically named Chastity. This book I would offer to lovers of comedy, and slice-of-life books. I could totally see me loving this book as a teenager, and many of my friends from then fitting so well into Chaz's sense of self.

On top of that abortion, teen pregnancy, safe sex, cancer, and so many more topics that are touched on in this book I loved it, and it's definitely being added to the highly recommended list.

Picture the Dead by Adele Griffin

Picture the Dead by Adele Griffin
Illustrations by Lisa Brown

Jennie’s connection with her twin brother, Toby, grew stronger after he died in 1864. Now Jennie must rely on her ability to communicate with the dead to find out what has happened to her beloved fiance, Will, while he was off at war. The army says he died honorably in battle. His brother confides that he became a violent criminal and died in a prison camp. Jennie begins to doubt that anyone is telling her the truth. This intriguing combination of historical romance, paranormal thriller, and clever mystery is illustrated by bestselling artist Lisa Brown. The unique visuals originated from real Civil War daguerreotypes that were transformed into eerie mementos for Jennie’s scrapbook. With the help of a spiritualist photographer, the spirit of her dead fiance, and the clues she discovers and keeps in her scrapbook, Jennie must put together the pieces of this mystery before she loses her home, her fortune, and possibly her life.

Jennie is 16 years old, and has suffered crushing losses over and over again. After finding out her fiance died in battle Jennie knows that her time spent in his family's house is borrowed. All this, and loosing her twin brother, Toby, who refuses to leave her side makes Jennie's life anything but ordinary. One of the things I really like about a historically set novel is the formality of the narrator. I don't know why but it's always so novel for me, and Jennie doesn't disappoint in this aspect. She rather spot on. Picture the Dead is set during the American Civil War, and the attention to historical details was another aspect of this book that I really liked. Jennie didn't drag on and on being overly descriptive; which a lot of historical novels tend to do. She got to the point, said what she had to say, and moved on.

Now here is where I have to say the things I didn't like. Read that summary? Great. Think it was a ghost story about a girl who speaks to the dead? Me too. Lemme tell you this book has paranormal-ish aspects, but it's not a paranormal. It's a book about a girl who lost her whole family, her fiance and twin brother to the war. Her twin brother stands in the background, and ever so often Jennie feels him there and remembers him. Tragic, yes, but not paranormal in the sense that I thought it would be. I thought she would communicate with the dead or but Jennie doesn't actually communicate with anyone dead. She mentions feeling her brother's presence but he never talks to her. Neither does her fiance. I went into this book thinking it was one thing, and I found out it was more a mystery set during the Civil War. The real story lies in wondering what Jennie will do now seeing as she's a women without a father, brother, or husband to take care of her, and in learning how Will, her fiance, really died. 

In all honesty I truly enjoyed this book, but it wasn't what I thought it was going to be about. It was intriguing and had me turning the pages, but definitely not a paranormal. I liked how it ended, I liked how it was written, and I look forward to reading my next Adele Griffin book. She's a writer I really think I could keep picking up.