Strange Angels (Strange Angels #1) by Lilith Saintcrow, Lili St. Crow

Strange Angels by Lilith Saintcrow

My rating: 5 of 5 stars


Dru Anderson has what her grandmother called “the touch.” (Comes in handy when you’re traveling from town to town with your dad, hunting ghosts, suckers, wulfen, and the occasional zombie.)

Then her dad turns up dead—but still walking—and Dru knows she’s next. Even worse, she’s got two guys hungry for her affections, and they’re not about to let the fiercely independent Dru go it alone. Will Dru discover just how special she really is before coming face-to-fang with whatever—or whoever— is hunting her?
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Absolutely loved this book. Wonderful new series by an author that I have not read before. I do have her adult series and if this book is any indication I am going to enjoy it as well. I can not wait to get my hands on the next book in this series to see where Dru and Graves adventure leads to next.



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Sang Spell by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

Sang Spell by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor

My rating: 3 of 5 stars


Phyllis Reynolds Naylor earned countless fans with the touching morality of Newbery Award-winning Shiloh and the laugh-out-loud realism of Achingly Alice. But aficionados may be surprised to find that Naylor's Sang Spell reads more like a haunting mystery. Grieving over the sudden death of his mother, Josh Vardy is reluctantly hitchhiking to Dallas (to begin a new life with his aunt), when he is mugged and left beside a remote mountain road. A woman driving a horse and cart takes him to a strange, fog-bound, primitive village, where there are no cars or telephones or electricity. The homespun villagers turn out to be a long-lost people of mixed ethnicity, called Melungeons. They accept Josh into their community, but will only answer his questions with evasiveness and enigmas. Mavis, a broad-shouldered young woman his own age, befriends Josh when he is put to work with the others gathering ginseng, a valuable root they refer to as "'sang" and trade once a year to Chinese merchants. Over and over again Josh tries to escape--by road and by river--but finds that somehow all routes lead back to this village that time has forgotten. When Josh finally joins in the villagers' rituals and celebrations, his feelings of despair about his own future begin to transform and heal. And after his loyalty to the Melungeons is tested, Josh finds that he is free at last to make the decision to leave.

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Quick enjoyable read, but unfortunately the ending was a disappointment for me. I did enjoy the book but wish that the ending had not fallen so flat.



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The Fall (The Strain #2) by Guillermo Del Toro, Chuck Hogan

The Fall by Guillermo Del Toro

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


From the authors of the instant New York Times bestseller The Strain comes the next volume in one of the most imaginative and frightening thriller series in many, many years Last week they invaded Manhattan. This week they will destroy the world.

The vampiric virus unleashed in The Strain has taken over New York City. It is spreading and soon will envelop the globe. Amid the chaos, Eph Goodweather—head of the Centers for Disease Control's team—leads a band out to stop these bloodthirsty monsters. But it may be too late.

Ignited by the Master's horrific plan, a war erupts between Old and New World vampires, each vying for control. At the center of the conflict lies a book, an ancient text that contains the vampires' entire history . . . and their darkest secrets. Whoever finds the book can control the outcome of the war and, ultimately, the fate of us all. And it is between these warring forces that humans—powerless and vulnerable—find themselves no longer the consumers but the consumed. Though Eph understands the vampiric plague better than anyone, even he cannot protect those he loves. His ex-wife, Kelly, has been transformed into a bloodcrazed creature of the night, and now she stalks the city looking for her chance to reclaim her Dear One: Zack, Eph's young son.

With the future of humankind in the balance, Eph and his team, guided by the brilliant former professor and Holocaust survivor Abraham Setrakian and exterminator Vasiliy Fet and joined by a crew of ragtag gangsters, must combat a terror whose ultimate plan is more terrible than anyone has imagined—a fate worse than annihilation.


Another excellent read in this fantastic trilogy. Don't know if I can wait for the final book to come out. Great new look into vampirism and the end of the world as we know it.



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The Strain (The Strain #1) by Guillermo Del Toro, Chuck Hogan

The Strain by Guillermo Del Toro

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The visionary creator of the Academy Award-winning Pan's Labyrinth and a Hammett Award-winning author bring their imaginations to this bold, epic novel about a horrifying battle between man and vampire that threatens all humanity. It is the first installment in a thrilling trilogy and an extraordinary international publishing event.

The Strain They have always been here. Vampires. In secret and in darkness. Waiting. Now their time has come. In one week, Manhattan will be gone. In one month, the country. In two months—the world.

A Boeing 777 arrives at JFK and is on its way across the tarmac, when it suddenly stops dead. All window shades are pulled down. All lights are out. All communication channels have gone quiet. Crews on the ground are lost for answers, but an alert goes out to the CDC. Dr. Eph Goodweather, head of their Canary project, a rapid-response team that investigates biological threats, gets the call and boards the plane. What he finds makes his blood run cold.

In a pawnshop in Spanish Harlem, a former professor and survivor of the Holocaust named Abraham Setrakian knows something is happening. And he knows the time has come, that a war is brewing . . .

So begins a battle of mammoth proportions as the vampiric virus that has infected New York begins to spill out into the streets. Eph, who is joined by Setrakian and a motley crew of fighters, must now find a way to stop the contagion and save his city—a city that includes his wife and son—before it is too late.


Great start to a new trilogy that is a different take to the vampire genre of books currently out. Totally enjoyed it and look forward to the rest of the trilogy.



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Kiss of Crimson (Midnight Breed #2)

Kiss of Crimson by Lara Adrian

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


He comes to her more dead than alive, a towering black-clad stranger riddled with bullets and rapidly losing blood. As she struggles to save him, veterinarian Tess Culver is unaware that the man calling himself Dante is no man at all, but one of the Breed, vampire warriors engaged in a desperate battle. In a single erotically charged moment Tess is plunged into his world—a shifting, shadowed place where bands of Rogue vampires stalk the night, cutting a swath of terror.

Haunted by visions of a dark future, Dante lives and fights like there is no tomorrow. Tess is a complication he does not need—but now, with his brethren under attack, he must shield Tess from a growing threat that includes Dante himself. For with one reckless, irresistible kiss, she has become an inextricable part of his underworld realm…and his touch awakens her to hidden gifts, desires, and hungers she never knew she possessed. Bonded by blood, Dante and Tess must work together to thwart deadly enemies, even as they discover a passion that transcends the boundaries of life itself….



Another enjoyable read in the Midnight Breed series.



This book focuses on Dante who we met briefly in book 1. This series still reminds me a lot of Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series.



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Kiss of Midnight (Midnight Breed #1) by Lara Adrian

Kiss of Midnight by Lara Adrian

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


He watches her from across the crowded dance club, a sensual black-haired stranger who stirs Gabrielle Maxwell’s deepest fantasies. But nothing about this night—or this man—is what it seems. For when Gabrielle witnesses a murder outside the club, reality shifts into something dark and deadly. In that shattering instant she is thrust into a realm she never knew existed—a realm where vampires stalk the shadows and a blood war is set to ignite.

Lucan Thorne despises the violence carried out by his lawless brethren. A vampire himself, Lucan is a Breed warrior, sworn to protect his kind—and the unwitting humans existing alongside them—from the mounting threat of the Rogues. Lucan cannot risk binding himself to a mortal woman, but when Gabrielle is targeted by his enemies, he has no choice but to bring her into the dark underworld he commands.

Here, in the arms of the Breed’s formidable leader, Gabrielle will confront an extraordinary destiny of danger, seduction, and the darkest pleasures of all. . . .



This series is very much like Ward's Black Dagger Brotherhood series.

A group of vampire warriors who are trying to save humanity from Rouge vampires who kill indiscriminately. Each book focuses on one particular warrior and how he meets and falls for his 'Breedmate'.



Good enough to keep reading the series but not nearly as involved as Ward's series.



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Philippa Fisher's Fairy Godsister by Liz Kessler

Philippa Fisher's Fairy Godsister by Liz Kessler

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


New from the author of the best-selling Emily Windsnap series! A tale of a girl and her reluctant fairy guardian sparkles with magic and charm.

Philippa Fisher would like nothing more than to summon a fairy. Still, she is taken aback when Daisy, the new girl at school, announces that she is Philippa's fairy godmother — or godsister, since they're both the same age. Though the fairy is none too pleased with her mission, she is obliged to see it through and grant her human charge the customary three wishes. Now, if only Philippa would wish for something that makes her life better, not worse! With warmth and whimsy, the creator of Emily Windsnap whisks a traditional theme into a contemporary setting to tell a story of friendship, luck, and how we decide what we really want.


Bought this at the school bookfair for my 10 year old. She read it, liked it and insisted that I read it. I am glad that I did.



A cute tale of friendship with a couple of life lessons thrown in for good measure.







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The Diary of Pelly D by L.J. Adlington

The Diary of Pelly D by L.J. Adlington

My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Toni V is a teenager working for the City Five demolition crew. While drilling through concrete he unearths a battered water can containing a parcel wrapped in faded brown paper. Though he's supposed to turn over anything he salvages, Toni V smuggles the package back to his room, unwraps it, and finds a notebook.

This is the diary of Pelly D. It's totally secret, so if you're reading it I hate you already.

Toni V figures there's no harm in paging through it since he doesn't even know this Pelly D.

I'm not being arrogant. That's just the way it is at school. . . . I'm Pelly D. It's pretty simple. I RULE!

The more Toni V reads, the more he thinks Pelly D is rich, stupid, and petty. Yet he can't help starting to care for her, especially as her words slowly reveal the chilling state of her world.

I know it doesn't matter what gene tag you have -- Mum's made that clear again & again like a stuck CD. It's just . . . How can I face everyone at school if . . .

What happened to Pelly D? Toni V needs to know. And he has one clue:

Dig -- dig everywhere.



This was a good read recommended to me by my 14 year old daughter. She did a book report on it for school. Yes it reads a lot like The Diary of Anne Frank but it focuses on a new generation.



In the future the human species has ventured out into space and found life on a new planet. They have also recreated humanity in a test tube. We follow the life of a young somewhat spoiled teenage girl from normal everyday life through the tragedy of a holocaust of her type of human in a world originally created to prevent prejudice and racism. It really is a thought provoking peek into human beings.



Glad that dd recommended it to me and glad that I took the time to read it.







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