Category Archives: 4 Flames

SWEET VENOM
Author: Tera Lynn Childs
Source: Publisher
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Ages 13 and up
Hardcover: 352 pages
Publisher: Katherine Tegen Books (September 6, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0062001817
ISBN-13: 978-0062001818

Grace just moved to San Francisco and is excited to start over at a new school. The change is full of fresh possibilities, but it’s also a tiny bit scary. It gets scarier when a minotaur walks in the door. And even more shocking when a girl who looks just like her shows up to fight the monster.

Gretchen is tired of monsters pulling her out into the wee hours, especially on a school night, but what can she do? Sending the minotaur back to his bleak home is just another notch on her combat belt. She never expected to run into this girl who could be her double, though.

Greer has her life pretty well put together, thank you very much. But that all tilts sideways when two girls who look eerily like her appear on her doorstep and claim they’re triplets, supernatural descendants of some hideous creature from Greek myth, destined to spend their lives hunting monsters.

These three teenage descendants of Medusa, the once-beautiful gorgon maligned by myth, must reunite and embrace their fates in this unique paranormal world where monsters lurk in plain sight.

Sweet Venom is the first book in a new series by author Tera Lynn Childs.  After reading the author’s Mermaid series, I was anxious to find out how her new series would incorporate children of Greek Mythology.  As many of you know, I wasn’t a good student who stayed awake during school.  So I missed out on the legends and myths of Greek mythology in school.  Thank goodness authors are starting to introduce it into their stories more! 


With Sweet Venom, we get to read from alternating points of views between Grace, Gretchen and Greer who also happen to be descendents of the famous Medusa.  While the three never knew about the others existence until now, they all agree that something weird is going on in the world and mainly San Francisco.  Together they need to figure out what is going on and try to find Gretchen’s mentor Ursala, so they can stop the evil monsters from entering our world. 


Each character had their own personality that brought something great to the story.  Gretchen was the black clothed combat girl who has been training with Ursala for a while now.  She knows about the mythological monsters that are terrorizing our world.  She fights them on a daily basis and has given up relationships and friends to make it a better place to live.  Grace bumps into Gretchen and can’t believe she has a sister.  She has recently started seeing the monsters and thinks she might be losing her mind.  When Gretchen explains things to her she definitely wants to learn how to protect herself and become closer to her sister.  Grace was the peacemaker of the bunch and always optimistic in having a sisterly relationship.  She is learning to stand up for herself more now and she looks to Gretchen as a mentor for herself.  Greer was introduced later in the book and I found myself not liking her that much.  She is the typical spoiled teen girl who always gets her way.  She has no desire to have sisters and doesn’t want anything to do with them.  She wants her perfect life with no interruptions.  I loved how Grace had to play the go between with Greer and Gretchen.  They both butted heads and Grace was constantly trying to keep the peace. 


While the girls struggle to find their footing in a new destiny, they each discover that each is what the other needs.  Together they need to find and rescue Ursala while fighting evil and trying to have some sort of normal life as well.  While this is a great start to a new trilogy, I was a little disappointed in the ending.  It ended with some questions unanswered, but since this is a trilogy I assume that secrets will be revealed as we go.  Be prepared to be left hanging at the end of the story and you will be anxious to get your hands on the next installment in the series!

ANIMAL ATTRACTION
Animal #2
Author: Jill Shalvis
Source: Author
*I received this ARC free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Paperback: 304 pages
Publisher: Berkley (October 4, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0425244008
ISBN-13: 978-0425244005

She’s tempting his basic instincts…

Sunshine, Idaho, is a quiet ranching town, a perfect place to give injured animals a refuge…or to find one. And veterinarian Dell Connelly suspects there’s a reason his clinic’s uber-efficient receptionist has taken shelter here.

Jade Bennett couldn’t be happier to escape her well-meaning but smothering family and their expectations, not to mention the big-city jungle. There’s nothing like working with injured animals, having a forlorn, grumpy stray kitten make its home under her desk…or enjoying the gorgeous views of her ruggedly sexy boss.

Jade is used to planning everything in her life, but Dell’s understanding has sparked an uncontrollable desire. And though Dell has never had time for love, Jade’s strength and sass is the kind of call no red-blooded male can resist…

Why have I not read this series before? What rock have I been under to have missed such a great story and author?  Since this is the second book in the Animal series, I wasn’t sure if I was going to understand what is going on.  Yet as I started reading it, the book definitely can be read as a stand alone novel.  With that being said though, now I want to pick up the first book in the series to read about the other characters!


Jade ran away from her life in the big city after a tragic event at her previous place of employment.  She ran to Sunshine, Idaho to rediscover and reinvent herself.  She always knew it would be temporary and even told her boss Dell Connelly that the job he gives her would only be temporary.  They have both found each other attractive, but never made any attempt at a relationship since Jade would be leaving.  Of course, now that Jade is getting ready to leave, the two find themselves fighting the attraction even more.  While Dell tries to get Jade to open up about what happened in the past and work through it, the two start to express their feelings towards each other and give up the fight.  Everyone can see that they like each other, but is love enough to keep Jade from leaving?


I loved this story!  Dell was a great vet, friend, brother and romantic lead.  He was charming and loved his work without letting it get to him.  Jade was okay in my opinion.  I wanted her to just explain the situation sooner to Dell than keeping it a secret.  I think if she would have opened up sooner to him, they could have had a better chance at a relationship.  Of course then there would be no drama for the romance novel if it went the way a reader wants it to.  So I trusted the author and went with it.   I also loved the witty banter between the two and had a smile on my face for most of the book.  The writing flowed easily and kept you not only interested in the main characters, but in the side characters as well. 


I am definitely looking forward to reading the next book in the series and have already read a few more by this author! 

LILY DALE: AWAKENING
Lily Dale #1
Author: Wendy Corsi Staub
Source: Personal Purchase

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 256 pages
Publisher: Walker Books for Young Readers (April 29, 2008)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0802796559
ISBN-13: 978-0802796554

Calla thought that her boyfriend breaking up with her in a text message was the worst thing that could ever happen to her. But just two weeks later, her mother died in a freak accident, and life as she knew it was completely over. With her father heading to California for a new job, they decide that Calla should spend a few weeks with the grandmother she barely knows while he gets them set up.   To Calla’s shock, her mother’s hometown of Lily Dale is a town full of psychics—including her grandmother. Suddenly, the fact that her mother never talked about her past takes on more mysterious overtones. The longer she stays in town, the stranger things become, as Calla starts to experience unusual and unsettling events that lead her to wonder whether she has inherited her grandmother’s unique gift. Is it this gift that is making her suspect that her mother’s death was more than an accident, or is it just an overactive imagination? Staying in Lily Dale is the only way to uncover the truth. But will Calla be able to deal with what she learns about her mother’s past and her own future?

When I saw this book at a library sale, I thought the cover was kind of eerie and the summary sounded great.  I haven’t read any books by Wendy Corsi Staub, so this was a new to me author.  I was pleasantly surprised by the book.  The author had a writing style that was easy flowing and kept me interested until the end.


When Calla’s Mother passes away, she starts seeing unusual things.  Ghost are appearing to her, but she refuses to believe in them.  After her Father moves to California for a job offer, Calla decides to stay the summer with her Grandmother Odelia.  Reluctantly, her Father agrees to it for the summer while he finds them a place to settle into in California.  Calla has not spent much time with her ‘Gammy’ and doesn’t even know what Odelia does for a living.  She quickly realizes though, her Gammy is a Medium.  She speaks with the dead.  While Calla adjusts to Odelia’s lifestyle and community of Mediums, she starts to discover she might have inherited it as well.


I loved Calla and Odelia in this book.  Odelia was a riot with the way the author describes her personality and dress attire.  I also loved how Calla found new friends who seemed to genuinely want to be close to her.  I didn’t like the whole ex-boyfriend storyline, but I am assuming it will develop into a planned plot in the future books or maybe just be a hint at why Calla is having a hard time choosing between two other boys in town.  I wasn’t a fan of Blue.  Now my feelings on him might change as I read more of the series, but in this book he seemed a little snobby.  I wanted Calla to explore more of a relationship with Jacy instead.  So for now, I am Team Jacy in the love triangle. 


Overall this was a great book to a new series for me.  I can’t wait to see what unfolds in the next book with the cliffhanger ending this one leaves the reader with.  Mysteries will unravel and I am anxious to know if Calla is finally going to embrace her psychic ability. 

THE CARRIER OF THE MARK
Carrier #1
Author: Leigh Fallon
Source: ATWT Tours

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen (October 4, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0062027875
ISBN-13: 978-0062027870

A move to Ireland is about to introduce Megan to her destiny, her real destiny, can she embrace it and will she survive it?

A tragedy in Megan’s past set her on a predetermined course. A chain of events has been set in motion that brings Megan to Kinsale, a small town in the south of Ireland where her destiny awaits her. Her life starts to fall into place as she makes new friends and settles into her new school. However, the reclusive and distant Adam DeRís calls to her body and soul.

She finds herself increasingly drawn to Adam and his strange family. Adam knows a secret from her past and he and his family hold the key to her future. A future that binds her to Adam and his world, a world of power, mystery and ancient orders. A world that unbeknownst to her, she very much belongs in.

Look at that gorgeous cover! I love the effects that the art department did with it and as you read the book, you will realize the significance in all of it as well.  When I first started hearing about this book, I was excited to read a new author.  If you are being talked about in the book blog world, you know your book is going to be popular.  So when I had the chance to read and review it, I was excited and thrilled to read it early!


If I had to make a comparison for this book, I would have to narrow it down to two books combined.  It had the feel of the House of Night series by P.C Cast and the teen angst of Twilight by Stephenie Meyer.  I loved how the author captivated me with the Irish settings and the mystical supernatural that she created within the pages.  While Adam and Megan are the main characters of the book, the author made sure to include the supporting characters in a way that makes me anxious to read more about them in future books.  My favorite character by far was Adams older brother, Rian. I can’t wait to see his story unfold in a book!


While some of the story was naive and predictable, the story surrounding those parts made up for it.  I liked the progression of the supernatural and the relationships.  At first I thought the romance moved a little too quickly, but the author does explain why it could happen so fast.  


Again, another new author for me to follow and keep on my radar for future books.  I am excited to know about another young adult debut author that has made her mark in the genre!

SPELLBOUND
Author: Cara Lynn Shultz
Source: Publisher
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Paperback: 352 pages
Publisher: Harlequin; Original edition (June 21, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0373210302
ISBN-13: 978-0373210305

What’s a girl to do when meeting The One means she’s cursed to die a horrible death?

Life hasn’t been easy on sixteen-year-old Emma Connor, so a new start in New York may be just the change she needs. But the posh Upper East Side prep school she has to attend? Not so much. Friendly faces are few and far between, except for one that she’s irresistibly drawn to—Brendan Salinger, the guy with the rock-star good looks and the richest kid in school, who might just be her very own white knight.

But even when Brendan inexplicably turns cold, Emma can’t stop staring. Ever since she laid eyes on him, strange things have been happening. Streetlamps go out wherever she walks, and Emma’s been having the oddest dreams: visions of herself in past lives—visions that warn her to stay away from Brendan. Or else.

After Emma moves in with her Aunt Christine, strange things begin to happen in her life. To add to the strange things that keep happening to Emma, she also must contend with starting a new school full of new people.  She finds a few friends she learns to trust, but she also finds a few people who she would rather forget.  When she lays her eyes upon Brendan Salinger though, she is instantly drawn to his attractiveness and to a mysterious connection.  When things start going haywire though, she realizes that she is connected to Brendan in more ways than just teen attraction.

I was absolutely spellbound with this book!  I loved the characters and the setting of Spellbound.  While there were a few people I wanted Emma to beat the crap out of, there was a balance of friends who made it bearable for her and the reader.  I loved the story of Brendan and Emma.  I struggled with the obstacles that they needed to overcome and hoped for the best in the end.

While the book will capture you from the first page, the ending will send you in a tailspin wanting more of Brendan and Emma.  I personally can’t wait for another book to follow this one so we can see what they will handle next!