Immortal: Love Stories With Bite by P.C. Cast and Others

Short stories about vampires and mystical beings in love.

Some of the stories were great and entertaining. I loved the story of Evernight, having recently read that book. It was a great backstory on how Evernight came to be. Some of the other stories were a little out there (the Siren?) and it was hard to get through some of them.

Vesper by Jeff Sampson

Emily Webb has always felt left out. The other Emily at school is popular and pretty. Until one night she's found murdered. No one knows who did it, just that there's a killer on the loose. Emily Webb goes through changes at night. She can't explain it, doesn't know what it's from. But as her "nighttime" Emily, she has confidence, speed, and power. Something that the daytime Emily does not. As she goes through her changes, she realizes the killer is targeting her kind.

This was a really odd book. Can't say that I loved it but I made it through. It didn't flow very well so I had a hard time reading it and getting through it. Didn't find out until the middle of the book that Emily actually is changing into a werewolf, which was a surprise to me. During this story, Emily is battling with having a somehwhat split personality. Her regular self is not what she would like it to be, she's invisible. Her nighttime self is anything but. Then add to the mix a killer who's trying to eradicate her kind because they are experiements gone wrong.

Local Girls by Alice Hoffman

Read this one for book club. This is a story of a mom who gets divorced and tries to move on with her life. She gets cancer while her daughter is growing up and trying to figure out life.

This was one of those easy reads but to me, forgettable.

Shadow of the Moon (#4) by Rachel Hawthorne

Hayden has lived among humans, coming back during the summers to be with her own kind. She can sense the emotions of other shifters which is why she hides out. The harvester has been attacking shifters during their first full moon and now it's after her. Daniel is determined to help her, destroy the harvester and be her mate if she'll accept him.

This was a series I stumbled upon by accident but really enjoyed. This fourth book didn't disappoint. The characters are intense but something just grabs your attention. Maybe it's the fantasy element or the fact that the relationships in the book are different than real life. So sad that this was the last in the series.

Almost Perfect by Susan Mallery

Liz is back in town to help her nieces who she never knew existed. Their dad is in jail and their stepmom ran off, leaving them to fend for themselves. Liz comes back to Fool's Gold, along with her son Tyler, who's dad happens to live there, but he just doesn't know it. Ethan can no longer race but now runs the family business. He is shocked when Liz comes back to town and even more suprised to learn he has an eleven year old son.

Continuation of the series. I love the Fool's Gold characters and the quaint little town. Great book!

Evernight by Claudia Gray

Evernight Academy is strict and unwelcoming. Bianca feels like an outsider, but is instantly drawn to Lucas, after he tries to "save" her in the woods. She and Lucas have a strong bond after he is bitten by a vampire. Of course, to add to the drama, there is a vampire hunter who has infiltrated Evernight to figure out Mrs. Bethany's secret agenda.

I enjoyed this book. It wasn't a quick read but up until the middle of the story I thought Biance was a regular girl, stuck in a boarding school. So by the middle of the book when Bianca's true nature was revealed, I was extremely surprised (in a good way). What I found interesting about this vampire story is that there is another element that I've never heard of. In this story, a vampire can be born, but this is a rare occurance. I'm used to the normal vampires bite you, you turn, etc. So this was  neat change.

Chasing Perfect by Susan Mallery

Charity Jones has come to Fool's Gold as the new city planner. All she's ever wanted in life is stability and place that she can call her own. Josh Golden, bike racer, is struggling to get back to what he loves. After witnessing a friend die during a race, he has a fear of racing in a pack. When Charity comes to Fool's Gold she falls for Josh and finds a long lost relative she didn't know existed.

As usual, love my romance books! Haven't read them in a while. I loved everything about this book. Loved that it always has a happy ending!

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

Jacinda comes from a a long line of draki, or dragons. She lives with her pride who finds her important because she is a fire breather. The only fire breather to be born in centuries. After a reckless mistake, her mother moves Jacinda and her sister (who is not a draki) to the desert, hoping to kill the part of her that is a dragon.

I enjoyed the premise of dragons who can turn into people. I hated the mom and twin sister. They were exceptionally cruel, constantly saying how they wanted Jacinda's dragon side to die, essentially killing the part of Jacinda she loves the most.

Nothing But Trouble by Rachel Gibson

Hockey player Marc Bressler is recoving from a horrific car accident that left him in a coma for six months. Chelsea Ross, desperate to save enough money for plastic surgery of the good kind, accepts a job as Marc's personal assistant, knowing there's a huge bonus if she sticks it out three months. Marc is desperate to get rid of her and Chelsea is desperate to stay.

Loved this romance! Cute story, great characters and action. Main guy actually has a major hurdle to get through, rather than it being the woman in distress.

Burned by P.C. Cast (House of Night, book 7)

Zoey's soul has shattered over the loss of Heath. She can't pull herself together and doesn't want to lose Heath ever. Stark feels guilt over not being able to save Zoey when she needed him most. He feels like a failure. Stevie Rae is harboring a dark secret. She has some sort of strange relationship with the Raven Mocker she has saved. Aphrodite is trying to help save Zoey through her visions.

I think this is my favorite House of Night book to date. There wasn't anything I disliked. Zoey has been shattered. Stark is willing to do anything to save her. Even become a guardian knowing she may not love him the way she loves Heath. It was sad to lose him as a character but he's human and eventually would have to leave Zoey's vampire world. As usual, Aphrodite continues to amuse with her witty and not so nice comments to everyone around her. The ending was by far my favorite part. But I won't spoil that for those who haven't read it yet. :-)

The Lost Gate by Orson Scott Card

Danny is not appreciated in his family. His whole family are mages. They all have some sort of power. Danny has none until he realizes he is a gatemage. Gatemages are instantly killed for fear of what they can do and bring upon society.

Orson Scott Card is one of my favorite authors of Science Fiction. I loved the whole Ender's series and loved how futuristic and fantastical it was. The Lost Gate has all of that but for me, much more confusing. The idea of gates is cool but there were many times that I was totally lost, not understanding the story. Couldn't grasp whether it was set in the present, future or what.