Double Take Cover: Balthazar: An Evernight Novel by Claudia Gray

Holy Crap guys, look what I found today!!! Balthazar makes my top five list of literary love interests that didn't get picked by the main character but should have. Can't wait for this! It hits shelves March 6th 2012.

Plot:
For hundreds of years, the vampire Balthazar has been alone—without allies, without love.
When Balthazar agrees to help Skye Tierney, a human girl who once attended Evernight Academy, he has no idea how dangerous it will be. Skye’s newfound psychic powers have caught the attention of Redgrave, the cruel, seductive master vampire responsible for murdering Balthazar and his family four centuries ago. Now Redgrave plans to use Skye’s powers for his own evil purposes.

Balthazar will do whatever it takes to stop Redgrave and exact his long-awaited revenge against his killer. As Skye and Balthazar stand together to fight him, they grow closer—first unwillingly, then undeniably. Balthazar realizes his lonely world could finally be changed by her. . . .

In a story filled with forbidden love and dark suspense, one of the most beloved characters in Claudia Gray’s New York Times bestselling Evernight series will captivate readers with his battle to overcome his past and follow his heart.

Damon Salvatore: Seriously Does It Get Any Better?

So last night I was up watching the last four Vampire Diaries on my DVR and I couldn't help thinking about how great a character Damon Salvatore is. I mean, not only is he hot, but he is so complex. He himself can't figure what his place is in the story. He really wants to be bad, but for Elaina he'd change everything. He'd become a good guy. His love for Elaina drives him so wild he feels the need to constantly distract himself because he knows he can never have her. *Sigh* I just love him. Srsly, look at him. Could they have picked a better guy to play Damon.

Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare --Review

Title: Clockwork Angel
Author: Cassandra Clare
Hardcover, 479 pages

Published August 31st 2010 by Margaret K. McElderry
http://theinfernaldevices.com/index3.htm
SeriesThe Infernal Devices #1
Characters:Tessa Gray, Magnus Bane, Will Herondale, Jem Carstairs, Jessamine Lovelace, Jessamine Lovelace, Henry Branwell, Charlotte Branwell, Nathaniel Gray

Plot:

Magic is dangerous--but love is more dangerous still.




When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.



Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.



Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by--and torn between--two best friends: James, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa. As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

My Thoughts:
 
Okay, okay so you've caught me. I have never read The Immortal Instruments series, but decided to read this one anyway because I say that Ms. Clare said you didn't have to read it before reading CLOCKWORK ANGEL to be able to follow along. With that being said, I can't say if this novel, being a prequel and all, is better or worse that the original series, but I will tell you I loved this novel. It was fast paced and the characters were witty, especially Will. TEAM WILL here all the way! Tessa had her moments when I didn't connect with her, but she somehow found a way to redeem herself and draw me back in.
 
PLUS I love when characters have a quest to go along with learning about their supernatural powers. That always makes for an awesome read.
 
The only thing that keeps this from being a 5 star read for me is it is written in 3rd person. But, that's a personal nitpick I have because I'm a 3rd person snob. Very few books written in 3rd get an "I love this book" from me. This one was pretty dang close, though.
 
Read this if you like supernatural creatures set in a different time period on a great quest!

Infinite Days by Rebecca Maizel --Review

Title: Infinite Days
Author: Rebecca Maizel
Paperback, 310 pages

Published August 3rd 2010 by St. Martin's Griffin
SeriesVampire Queen #1 .

Plot:

Lenah Beaudonte is, in many ways, your average teen: the new girl at Wickham Boarding School, she struggles to fit in enough to survive and stand out enough to catch the eye of the golden-boy lacrosse captain. But Lenah also just happens to be a recovering five-hundred-year-old vampire queen. After centuries of terrorizing Europe, Lenah is able to realize the dream all vampires have -- to be human again. After performing a dangerous ritual to restore her humanity, Lenah entered a century-long hibernation, leaving behind the wicked coven she ruled over and the eternal love who has helped grant her deep-seated wish.




Until, that is, Lenah draws her first natural breath in centuries at Wickham and rediscovers a human life that bears little resemblance to the one she had known. As if suddenly becoming a teenager weren’t stressful enough, each passing hour brings Lenah closer to the moment when her abandoned coven will open the crypt where she should be sleeping and find her gone. As her borrowed days slip by, Lenah resolves to live her newfound life as fully as she can. But, to do so, she must answer ominous questions: Can an ex-vampire survive in an alien time and place? What can Lenah do to protect her new friends from the bloodthirsty menace about to descend upon them? And how is she ever going to pass her biology midterm?

My Thoughts:

I am a paranormal junkie, but even I have gotten a little burnt out on the vampire craze lately. So, when I got INFINITE DAYS as an ARC to review my expectations weren't that high. I am happy to report that I was surprised by this novel. There are some AMAZING flash back scenes that show just how vicious our vampire queen main character was. I would really love a prequel to this novel for more of those scenes!! You would think a 500 year old vampire wouldn't be able to pull off being a teenager in todays world, but Ms. Maizel created Lenah to be a bratty vampire, therefore she never matured during her 500 years of as a vampire. Don't let that statement lead you to believe she wasn't a likable character, though because she totally was.

The only thing I really didn't like is how Lenah's human love interest, Justin dropped his human girlfriend for Lenah. Maybe if he was single before hand, or if his girlfriend was a complete bitch, it might have worked. I just had a little hard getting past that, but it could've been I was just Team Rhode from the beginning...

All in all, a great read. I really enjoyed this one. All you vampire fans give this one a shot.

New YA Vamp Book Alert

As many of you know, I heart anything paranormal or urban fantasy, so I got really excited when I discovered this vampire gem on Amazon today.

Grade 9 Up - To be normal, sixteen-year-old Julia Parker would shed her empathic gift in a second. Life has been difficult since her mother's mysterious disappearance ten years earlier - an event she witnessed, but can't remember. Julia's situation becomes more complicated after a near death experience from a blood thirsty stalker. As high school students go missing it is clear there is a connection to her own experience--past and present. Someone has to stop the madness and a chance encounter with a creepy psychic foretells that only Julia is the key to stopping the madness, but it may require the life of the one she loves.

I had never hear of this one, so I ordered it. When I read it I'll post my review, but I thought I'd share my discovery with you guys! :) Have any of you read this one and can give me the low down??