Category Archives: 3 Flames

THE DEVOURING
Author: Simon Holt

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers (September 1, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0316035734
• ISBN-13: 978-0316035736

SUMMARY:

When Reggie finds an old journal and reads about the Vours, supernatural creatures who feast on fear and attack on the eve of the winter solstice, she assumes they are just the musings of some lunatic author. But soon, they become a terrifying reality when she begins to suspect that her timid younger brother might be one of their victims.

Bone-chilling, terrifying, thrilling…what are you waiting for?

MY THOUGHTS:

When Reggie finds a journal at the book store she works at, she brings it home and starts a bone-chilling and true to life story that you would expect to see in movies.  She reads about Vours who devour your fears and bring them to life on Sorry Night.  She is into scary movies and her best friend Aaron is quite the movie buff as well.  Reggie’s mother left her, her brother Henry, and her father a few years ago.  The hurt of her leaving never faded with Henry, even though Reggie has tried to fill in as a mother to him instead of a sister.  When Sorry Night approaches, Reggie makes the mistake of reading part of the tale to Henry as a bed time story.  Little did they know, the Vours were more than just a story.

Reggie figures out that the Vours have come and taken Henry to Fearscape.  What she doesn’t know is how to get Henry back.  With Aaron helping and her boss Eben holding mysterious secrets, Reggie tries to confront the Vours and bring Henry back to the real world. 

This was a perfect read for this time of year. With Halloween approaching, I loved sitting down with this fear gripping read.  I admit that at times it felt like a B-Rated horror flick, but the idea of Vour’s alone were chilling and heart racing.  The book was full of action, even if it stumbled at times, and the devotion that Reggie has for saving her brother was strong. 

The ending left a bunch of open story, but this is only the first book in the series.  It left us still wondering about how Eben knew things at times, and also what he wasn’t sharing was left a mystery.  Since the book didn’t have closure at the end, I wouldn’t recommend getting your hopes up for a happily ever after.  Still, it makes me want to read the next book in the series as soon as I can to find out what did happen and see what other secrets will unfold!

MY RATING:

IMMORTAL
Author: Gillian Shields

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books; 1 edition (August 4, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0061375802
• ISBN-13: 978-0061375804

SUMMARY:

Wyldcliffe Abbey School for Young Ladies, housed in a Gothic mansion on the bleak northern moors, is elite, expensive, and unwelcoming. When Evie Johnson is torn away from her home by the sea to become the newest scholarship student, she is more isolated than she could have dreamed. Strict teachers, snobbish students, and the oppressive atmosphere of Wyldcliffe leave Evie drowning in loneliness. 

Evie’s only lifeline is Sebastian, a rebellious, mocking, dangerously attractive young man she meets by chance. As Evie’s feelings for Sebastian grow with each secret meeting, she starts to fear that he is hiding something about his past. And she is haunted by glimpses of a strange, ghostly girl—a girl who is so eerily like Evie, she could be a sister. Evie is slowly drawn into a tangled web of past and present that she cannot control. And as the extraordinary, elemental forces of Wyldcliffe rise up like the mighty sea, Evie is faced with an astounding truth about Sebastian, and her own incredible fate. 

MY THOUGHTS:

Evie has been shipped off to the elite and mysterious Wyldcliffe boarding school after her Grandmother, who has raised her since her Mother’s death, falls ill.  Her Father is being deployed and signs her up at the Gothic style boarding school.  Upon arrival to the town where the school is located, she comes face to face with Sebastian.  They form a secret relationship and meet at night.  She thinks she has found the perfect romance to take her mind off of the bullies and strict rules of the school.  As you read further into the book, you start to realize that Sebastian is hiding many secrets, ones he is not proud of, and the book explodes with suspense, mystery and supernatural experiences.

At first, I was a little confused with the book.  It kept switching from present time to a past life of the owners of the Wyldcliffe Mansion.  It was a bit predictable, yet it captured my interest.  As I kept reading, more of the mystery started to unravel and make sense.  It’s a bit of a stretch of a story, but the author does well weaving it together into a whole. Even though the ending felt abrupt and left much to be desired, the characters give you the chill factor of creepy and mysterious.  Not too bad if you are looking for a quick and spooky read around this time of year.

MY RATING:

ONCE IN A FULL MOON
Author: Ellen Schreiber
Source: Around The World Tours

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 304 pages
• Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (December 28, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 006198650X
• ISBN-13: 978-0061986505

SUMMARY:

Celeste Parker is used to hearing scary stories about werewolves—Legend’s Run is famous for them. But when, after an unnerving visit with a psychic, she encounters a pack of wolves and gorgeous, enigmatic Brandon, she must discover whether his transformation is more than legend or just a trick of the shadows in the moonlight. Brandon may be Celeste’s hero, or he may be the most dangerous creature she could encounter in the woods of Legend’s Run. 

MY THOUGHTS:

This is one of those books that you get so excited about to read, not only because the cover is awesome, but is written from a well known and liked author.  When this book was offered as an ARC tour, I jumped on the chance to sign up for it.  While there were parts I really enjoyed, there were also parts that just didn’t do it for me.


In the town were Celeste and her friends live, it is divided in two sections of Westside and Eastside. When Celeste is rescued from a wolf attack by a new boy from school, she finds herself drawn to him.  Brandon is everything she is wanting in a boyfriend.  He is caring, loving and sweet.  She has just broken up with Nash, who is the high school jock, and never really felt like Nash was a great boyfriend. Brandon and Celeste start seeing each other in secret since they are from opposite sides of town.  Ever since Brandon rescued Celeste from the wolf attack, and being injured in the process, he finds himself turning into a werewolf on the nights of a full moon.  


First of all, when I think of a werewolf, I think of big and hairy wolves! In the book, the only thing that really physically changes in Brandon is a new goatee and hair on his hands. He isn’t described as scary at all. In fact, he is described as even more handsome in Celeste’s eyes. Nash was a typical jock jerk, that couldn’t handle being dumped by his girlfriend, even though Celeste has found him with another girl from school sitting on his lap at a party. Ivy and Abbey, Celeste’s friends, were stuck up and snobby.  I couldn’t stand the parts of them in the book. 


The book had parts that just left me shaking my head because it didn’t make sense.  Celeste was naive so many times in the story that their were times I wondered if she even had a brain! Brandon was the saving grace of this book.  I feel the book is more geared for pre-teens than for teens and adults.  The ending is also left open for another story that hopefully will answer some of the unfinished parts of the story that needed to be finished up.


MY RATING:

 
Okay book, but it left me wanting more! 3 STARS

OUT FOR BLOOD
Drake Chronicles #3
Author: Alyxandra Harvey
Source: Publisher
*I received this book free
of charge in exchange for
an honest review*

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Paperback: 304 pages
• Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers (December 21, 2010)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0802721680
• ISBN-13: 978-0802721686

SUMMARY:

Hunter Wild is the youngest in a long line of elite vampire hunters, a legacy that is both a blessing and a curse at the secret Helios-Ra Academy, where she excels at just about everything. Thanks to her friendship with Kieran Black, Hunter receives a special invitation to attend the coronation of Helena Drake, and for the first time, she sees the difference between vampires that must be hunted and vampires that can become friends—or even more.

 When students at the academy fall victim to a mysterious illness, Hunter suspects they are under attack from within. She will need someone she can trust to help her save the future of Helios-Ra . . . help that shockingly comes in the form of Quinn Drake, a drop-dead gorgeous vampire. Who said senior year would be easy?

MY THOUGHTS:

I have been waiting for a book about Quinn.  I was curious to see how the author was going to take Quinn off the dating market since he is basically the player of the family.  When the author introduced us to Hunter Wild at the end of the second book, Blood Feud, I knew this was going to be a great match.

I loved the story that the author brought to us this time.  We finally get to see the Vampire Coronation and so does Hunter. She is thrilled to witness the event even though she is technically a Helios-Ra Academy student.  She has been trained by her Grandfather that you kill all vampires.  If you have read the previous books in the series though, you know that not all vampires are evil and deserve to be killed.  The book literally picks up shortly after the previous book ended.  I loved Quinn, yet I wish the author would have had him more of the focus in this book than Hunter.  I didn’t like reading all about the academy as much as I wanted to see Hunter and Quinn interact more.  I wanted a slow progression of a love story, with the suspense and action we had from the first two books, instead of rushing their relationship.

While I really enjoyed the book, to me it was more of a filler book.  A book to set the pace and arc for the next installment.  The book could be read as a stand alone, but I don’t recommend it if you want the full effect of the personalities of each character involved.  I still can’t wait for the next book in the series though to see what happens next.  It is my understanding that the next book is suppose to focus on Conner, who just so happens to be Quinn’s twin brother.

What appealed to me the most about this series is not only the romance and action, but the witty dialogue, strong and determined females, and heart racing vampire Drake men! 

MY RATING:

JUMPING OFF SWINGS
Author: Jo Knowles

• Reading level: Young Adult
• Hardcover: 240 pages
• Publisher: Candlewick (August 11, 2009)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0763639494
• ISBN-13: 978-0763639495

SUMMARY:


One pregnancy. Four friends. It all adds up to a profound time of change in this poignant, sensitively written YA novel.

Ellie remembers how the boys kissed her. Touched her. How they
begged for more. And when she gave it to them, she felt loved. For a
while anyway. So when Josh, an eager virgin with a troubled home life, leads her from a party to the backseat of his van, Ellie follows. But their “one-time thing” is far from perfect: Ellie gets pregnant. Josh reacts with shame and heartbreak, while their confidantes, Caleb and Corinne, deal with their own complex swirl of emotions. No matter what Ellie chooses, all four teenagers will be forced to grow up a little faster as a result. Told alternately from each character’s point of view, this deeply insightful novel explores the aftershocks of the biggest decision of one fragile girl’s life — and the realities of leaving innocence behind. 

MY THOUGHTS:

This book is told from 4 different points of views.  While it was nice to get a glimpse of the story from each person involved, I think it was a little too much for this book.  The book is not that very long, so putting 4 different points of views made it a little jumbled at times.

The main focus is on Ellie.  She is the teenager who is looking to be loved, but as soon as she sleeps with the boy, they leave her.  Basically, the school thinks she is the Slut of the school.  Corrine is Ellie’s best friend.  She is with her through every step of the book.  I found their friendship to be sweet and believable.  Josh is the last boy that Ellie is with.  He loses his virginity to Ellie because he is tired of being harassed by the other boys at school.  He feels bad for using Ellie, but he doesn’t mention it to her.  Caleb is friends with all three of them.  He hates being in the middle because he has always loved Ellie.  The one night between Josh and Ellie causes major problems for all the teens involved.  Ellie finds herself a pregnant teen and has to make a decision on whether she should keep the baby, give it up for adoption, or have an abortion.  She finds strength from her close friends and some unexpected people as well.

While I wasn’t a fan of the 4 point of views, the story was good.  I know a lot of schools have teenager’s who are dealing with teen pregnancy.  I know teens would feel lost and scared without knowing who to turn to.  This would be a wonderful read for a teenager, whether boy or girl, and touches on a sensitive topic that teens are reluctant to talk about.

MY RATING: