Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent review

By blood, by word, by magic…

Most can't touch the power. But Liv Warren is special— a paranormal tracker who follows the scent of blood.

Liv makes her own rules, and the most important one is trust no one.

But when her friend's daughter goes missing, Liv has no choice but to find the girl. Thanks to a childhood oath, Liv can't rest until the child is home safe. But that means trusting Cam Caballero, the former lover forbidden to her.

Bound by oath and lost in desire for a man she cannot have, Liv is racing to save the child from a dark criminal underworld where secrets, lies, trauma and danger lurk around every corner…every touch…every kiss.

And more blood will be spilled before it's over…

From Goodreads

Liv Warren likes living by her own rules. Unfortunately the rest of the world doesn't like to play by her rules. That's how this blood tracker ended up using her powers for monetary gain. In a world where those with "special abilities" (like walking into shadows, name tracking & even blood tracking) aren't formally recognized by any government, but used by all, Liv finds herself in a pretty tight spot.

An accidental binding from childhood is coming calling in the form of one of her best friends trying to protect her daughter from the child's father's assassin. Sound complicated? It gets worse. This friend also happens to pull in the only other person on the planet that Liv can't stand to be around. Her former lover Cam Caballero is still just as smoldering as he was when Liv left him six years prior, to save both their lives. No time like the present to jump headlong into the fray with danger lurking around every corner from the local criminal families. Is there enough time to save the girl or will Liv just ending failing to keep every promise she's ever made?

Rachel Vincent is seriously my freaking hero! This woman is so diverse I can barely contain my excitement. Between the bean sidhe lore of the Soul Screamers series & the werecat drama of the Shifters series, I honestly wasn't sure how well she'd be able to pull off a whole new series. Let me assure you, Rachel is a remarkable craftswoman never to be doubted.

Blood Bound takes the meanings of "signed in blood" & "my word is my bond" to a whole new level & explores the murky waters of contractual bindings. It truly was fascinating reading about all the different types of bindings, means of tracking a person & situations that arise from such predicaments. Things can really start to get tricky when you're contractually obligated to more than one person & they're on opposing sides of a war in which you're an unwilling recruit.

Liz is a headstrong, complex character (Rachel seems to prefer these and I've got no complaints!) who is trying to do what she thinks is best in a bad situation. After running away from longtime boyfriend Cam (in order to save their lives) she finds herself the unwilling recipient of his assistance in her newest endeavor. Tension & sparks fly because while nothing about these two together has changed, more than enough has changed about them.

A promising start to a new series, Blood Bound is sure to delight. Keep a weather eye on the horizon for book 2 Shadow Bound, due May 22.

Blood Bound by Rachel Vincent review

Testify by Valerie Sherrard review

In some cases, you really don't want to be stabbed in the front. Shana is a loyal & best friend to Carrie. While the girls have a larger group of about 6 girls who are all friends, Carrie & Shana are the closest to one another. They do typical goofy girl stuff & push the boundaries on rules just enough to test their limits. Carrie is always the instigator, but Shana rarely has a problem going along with Carrie's plans. They do anything for each other out of loyalty, friendship & support. It wouldn't be that big a deal for Carrie to ask Shana to testify that her step father molested her. Only, it didn't happen & Shana knows it. Thinking she's doing the right thing, Shana agrees. She testifies that she saw Carrie's step father grope Carrie & he goes to prison, but it's only the beginning.

With the trial over, all the girls just want to get back to how things used to be before the whole mess; only something's off about their patterns & behavior. When drama unfolds that threatens to tear the group apart, it's up to Shana to get to the bottom of everything. When she gets there, she's so stunned & scared by what she finds. No one is safe as long as there are secrets to cover up & Shana must figure out a way to protect those she cares for and herself.

This was an absolute roller coaster of a book. There are sharp turns that you don't see coming combined with stomach-dropping surprises that will leave you gaping in astonishment. For a 144 page book, Testify packs a serious wallop. Shana is such a caring & trusting character that you can't help but empathize with her situation. She really does think that she is doing the right thing, something that is often over-stressed to young adults, by helping to "put away the bad guy"when in reality she has been duped.

What's truly astonishing about this book are the implications it makes. Who knows how many innocent people have been convicted because of sympathy witnesses & who knows how many teenagers are constantly (both knowingly & unknowingly) being controlled by someone they care about so much. The behavior patterns of these malevolent individuals are obvious if you're looking for them, but seem innocuous to those unaware.

For such a short book, Testify really gives you a lot to think about & I think it gives a startling glimpse at how "good kids go bad." The twist at the end is along the same lines of some of Ellen Hopkins' books. If you've gotten a chance to read this one, what did you think? If you haven't gotten a chance, I highly recommend at least giving it a look. I bet you could read it in the bookstore, it's that engrossing.

Testify by Valerie Sherrard review

Uncommon Criminals (Heist Society #2) by Ally Carter review

WARNING: Spoilers for Heist Society may follow this banner. Read at your own risk. Thanks! :)

Kat only thought she could leave her life of crime behind her. After having lead the crew who robbed the Henley, Kat has been on a thieving spree. She has traveled all over the world to reclaim items, long since stolen, to their rightful owners. Now she's being asked to step it up a notch. She's supposed to steal the cursed Cleopatra Emerald, one of the 2 largest emeralds known to man, for the woman whose family actually discovered it.

There are only a few problems with the task. The emerald is cursed, no one has seen it in over 30 years, it's cursed, the "victim" isn't the most trustworthy client, oh and did I mention the emerald is cursed?! Kat & her team of wonder bandits, yes that does include the dashing Hale, are on the hunt & pulling out every trick in the book they know to set the record straight.

But they are just pawns in the biggest con of all...

Three words describe how I feel about this book: NO FREAKING WAY!!! Ally Carter outdoes herself in this roller coaster sequel to the fabulous Heist Society. Every single thing that I enjoyed about the first book is replicated with precision in this next book. The quips & barbs between characters are spot on & enjoyable in a way that I don't think will ever get old. Most marvelous of all the experiences in this book are the cons themselves. Not only are the names amusing & quite telling, but the descriptions of who would do what (and why it won't work) are what make them truly memorable.

We pick back up with Kat after a whirlwind stealing tour of some of the most pricey cities in the world & see her struggling with her emotions. She not too sure how she feels about herself & her role in this plan, but she does know that she's good at what she does. As long as she is on the move she can ignore everything else & lose herself in the work. The one thing she can't ever seem to ignore though is Hale.

And Hale doesn't really know how to reach Kat. He's only mostly one of the team (being that he was originally a mark to be stolen from) and doesn't always know the ins and outs of the business. There are rules & protocols that he wasn't raised with, but he's a quick learner & when he sets his sights on something, he is very driven.

The settings as always were magnificent & full of splendid details that really bring the story to life. Because naturally expensive things tend to live in resplendent locations. If you've enjoyed Heist Society or even Carter's Gallagher Girls series, then Uncommon Criminals is just the next natural step on the road of awesome! Who's with me?!

Book graciously provided by Disney Hyperion.

Uncommon Criminals (Heist Society #2) by Ally Carter review

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

Gwyneth Sheperd's life has been quite ordinary & she's very thankful for that fact. In a family that passes a time-traveling gene through the women, Gwyneth has counted herself very fortunate to have been skipped & only have the misfortune of seeing ghosts & spirits. Her cousin Charlotte, the one whose birthday Sir Issac Newton himself predicted, has been the one preparing for her first time travel experience. She has taken fencing lessons, riding lessons, learned several languages & spent a great deal of time studying history so as to be prepared for any situation in which she might find herself. But it appears that even the great Sir Newton can be faulted.

It turns out that Gwyneth actually does have the gene & she is therefore extremely ill-prepared when she sudden finds herself in another time period. Now Gwyneth must accept her position in a very secretive society, known as the Guardians, where no one can be trusted & secrets lie around every corner. With a stead-fast side kick doing research on the side & a stunning male companion to help her through her elapses (when she actually does go back in time), Gwyneth is sure to sort things out. At least... she hopes.

Ruby Red was a different kind of time-travel tale. I really enjoyed the historical tidbits spread throughout the book including times, places & people that we rarely think about. Gwyneth is the perfect person for a narrator in this story because as she learns more, we learn more. You can actually put the puzzle together as the story moves forward. There are so many details that one can easily become lost in them, but the beauty is that not every single little thing is important. We experience the thrill of determining if a factoid is important or not with Gwyneth.

Even more fun than exploring these details with Gwyneth, is the descriptive language. I was enamored with the lavish descriptions Gier used for the different time periods, outfits & mannerisms. There are some historical actions/attitudes that cannot be adequately described with modern language. Gier does a wonderful job of choosing just the right verbs or phrases to convey whatever point she wants to get across to the reader.

I must admit that the book took a little while to get going for me & it seems to stop just as the action is picking up, but I think that may be due in part to the translation. There is a lot of backstory to be filled in & characters to be introduced, so the beginning felt a little sluggish, but it was worth it in the end. This book seems to suffer from "stick shift learner," there's some coughing & sputtering when you first start off, but by the end it's smooth sailing.

If you're in the mood for a newer take on a classic storyline, be sure to check out Ruby Red. Anyone else feel this was an awesome time-travel/adventure story?

ARC supplied by Henry Holt & Co. via Shelf Awareness

Ruby Red by Kerstin Gier

Solid by Shelley Workinger

Secret military testing is nothing new to this era. Secret military chromosomal testing on pregnant women is new. When a military doctor is murdered, a web of lies & experiments unfolds that leads his commanders to understand that the decedent gave experimental drugs to pregnant women on military bases. His goal was to create special abilities in the offspring. Unfortunately, as his research was of his own design & management, the military is unaware of the drugs' components. That's where the kids come in to play.

Although it took them eighteen years to round them all up, Clio, Bliss, Miranda, Garrett, Jack & dozens of other military brats find themselves at an altogether different kind of summer camp. For the next several weeks they will be living a very comfortable life of ease with plenty of free Starbucks, recreational activities, oh and some simple testing of their "talents."

None of the gang is too impressed or terrified of this situation because, other than them being essentially on military lock down & having to attend "sessions" to study their abilities during the day, they are given extensive leeway to do as they please. It's all pretty mesmerizing, until the gang uncovers some seriously sinister information about how long this project has really been investigated & who is behind it. It's up to this mock "Scooby gang" to solve the mystery before things get even stranger.

I must admit that Solid was a very unique story. The thought of secret government testing has always been a "conspiracy theory" of mine. I mean honestly, do we know everything they do? Is this so far fetched? Anyway, I digress.

Solid was, at it's basis, a feel good mystery. There wasn't anything too nefarious & while there were some dastardly deeds committed, there was minimal peril to the main characters. I enjoyed watching the characters come together & work off each others' strengths & weakness to make the best of the situation they found themselves in. What I didn't care for was the instant romance between two of the characters & the compressed time frame. The whole book takes place within about a week and a half. While there are many illusions to previous events only relevant to mystery solving, there just didn't seem to be enough time for everything that happened to happen. Maybe a month would have been a better time frame for this novel.

I must admit though, I really enjoyed the writing style, the characters & the details. It is obvious that Shelley Workinger put a lot of thought into how this would all play out & be perceived. A very straightforward read, Solid is one that I would recommend for readers looking for a light mystery with humor & a minor steamy romance. A job well done!

Be sure to keep an eye out for the next novel in the Solid series, Settling that is set to come out later this year!

Solid by Shelley Workinger

Nostalgic Friday: Holes

Welcome back to Nostalgic Friday! Since I love all things historical (culturally, physically, and personally) I do a post on Fridays honoring some awesome book that is a bit older. Many of them are books I enjoyed in my teens and others are books that I discovered as an adult that I think are relevant to YA readers.

This week I am happy to be featuring Holes by Louis Sachar. I remember being 17 and hearing about this movie plot about a boy sent to a work camp to build character, immediately I thought of this book & it turned out I was right! This was a great book to begin with & Louis Sachar is a phenomenal writer. He just really gets teens & knows how to write for them. In my opinion, this book has been his greatest hit... so far.

Stanley Yelnats isn't really a trouble-maker. Sure he gets caught doing something he shouldn't be doing every once in a while, but the court was just wrong to sentence him to either jail or Camp Green Lake. No really, mistaken identity is to blame for the theft Stanley is convicted of. Unfortunately no one else sees it that way so, mal-contentedly, Stanley chooses Camp Green Lake & begins the daily grind of rising before dawn to dig holes in the hot sun to build character.

Unfortunately that's not all they're digging. The venomous warden is as evil as they come and she has something else in mind for those holes. The truth is rarely as nice as the reality.

This is a funny, action-packed book that many kids will love. It's great for both boys & girls because of the story's accessibility. We've all been the victim of mistaken identity, but hopefully nothing to this extreme! Stanley is a likable character with just enough gumption & tenacity to get to the bottom of a mystery, but the quirkiness to appeal to the non-mainstream kids.

Holes is a story of layers. There are layers to each character, each situation, and each resolution. Some of them overlap & intertwine creating complex conflicts that anyone can comprehend. The resulting story is one of profoundness with a snarky side. If you like good books then this is one that you definitely can't miss!

Nostalgic Friday: Holes

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

Ellie wanted a huge party for her 17th birthday; too bad all she got were some seriously messed up magical abilities. The ever hunky, and handy, Will shows up practically on her doorstep to inform her that she isn't just Ellie Monroe. She is actually a centuries-old, reaper-slaying warrior, who continues to be reincarnated after each of her deaths. This recent incarnation, Ellie's life, took longer than usual, so her memory isn't coming back to her as quickly as usual.

Unfortunately that doesn't stop all sorts of nasties from trying to stop her reincarnation cycle permanently. Bastian, a very powerful reaper, has come forward to formally challenge her abilities & put her out of her misery, for there is no way she can defeat her enemies without her memories. The only one capable of wielding the angelfire swords, Ellie must make a choice between stepping away from the fight & watching the world end or trusting Will to guide her as she steps back into her old self & lays siege to those who dare to threaten her world.

Angelfire was certainly a different kind of story. As promised, there were definitely elements of mystery, thrilling battle scenes & undeniable attraction. I truly enjoyed this debut author's take on the urban fantasy world. The writing was very accessible & easy flowing. It would be very interesting to see this book written from different points of view because I felt like I really knew Ellie, but that the rest of the cast was kind of blurry. That's not to say that it's a bad thing. I honestly expect them to become clearer in the next book or two since this will be a series.

The mysteriousness of Ellie's history was a very mesmerizing part of the story. There was certainly some amusement to be had since Will (as her protective warrior) knew about her past, but refused to share it. Their interactions were some of the most charismatic I have seen recently. It kind of reminded me of the Buffy & Giles/Angel relationships that bewitched me during the show's 7 season run. Will has elements of both Giles & Angel all wrapped up in one; like a really hot tutor. :)

Anyway, I digress. For those urban fantasy folks, this is right up your alley and for those who enjoy a good action novel, try this too. Good luck!

Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey

Ellie Spencer is a mostly typical teenager. After her mother's cancer battle, her parents have left her in Mansfield Boarding School while they traipse around Europe. Ellie is taller than most girls and carries a little extra weight, making it possible for her to float around unnoticed by most of the human population. With asexual guy friends like Kevin and a keen interest in the Classics, what more could a girl ask for?

Ellie never expected that a chance run-in with her crush, the mysteriously brooding Mark, and working on a play at the local university would change everything as she knows it. There is something dark and foreboding in the mist around the schools and it may have something to do with people turning up dead. What's a girl to do?

Well. That was different. Guardian of the Dead had a lot of potential. Using New Zealand as a setting is completely out of the norm and totally awesome! I really enjoyed catching glimpses of everyday life & there was definitely a large focus on the cultural history & mythology of the Māori people. Ellie, Kevin, & Mark were very fascinating characters with quite a few dimensions. Ellie was an especially fabulous character because she wasn't a traditional female lead. She had self-image issues, but they weren't the entire focus of her being while still maintaining a form of self-confidence. I feel most girls can relate to this balance.

As I stated though, this book had potential. There was just so much going on in this book. Between self-assessment from Ellie, her relationships with the males, the murderer, the Māori history/culture, and more, I found myself struggling to keep up with everything. It seemed like once I got settled into the explanation of something, we were already moving on to the next thing that needed to be explained. A few points, mostly the "romance," felt constrained and unnatural. This book would have really benefited from being broken into two pieces.

As it stands, Guardian of the Dead was alright. For me, it's really something I could take or leave. If there was nothing compelling me to read it, I feel like I would pass it by. The cover and jacket description look & sound great, but I feel like it failed to deliver what was promised.

Graciously provided by Around the World Tours.

Guardian of the Dead by Karen Healey