The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall by Katie Alender

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deadgirlshysteriahall

 

In this asylum, your mind plays tricks on you all the time…

Delia’s new house isn’t just a house. Long ago, it was the Piven Institute for the Care and Correction of Troubled Females—an insane asylum nicknamed “Hysteria Hall.” However, many of the inmates were not insane, just defiant and strong willed. Kind of like Delia herself.

But the house still wants to keep “troubled” girls locked away. So, in the most horrifying way, Delia gets trapped.

And that’s when she learns that the house is also haunted.

Ghost girls wander the halls in their old-fashioned nightgowns. A handsome ghost boy named Theo roams the grounds. Delia finds that all the spirits are unsettled and full of dark secrets. The house, as well, harbors shocking truths within its walls—truths that only Delia can uncover, and that may set her free.

But she’ll need to act quickly, before the house’s power overtakes everything she loves.

From master of suspense Katie Alender comes a riveting tale of twisted memories and betrayals, and the meaning of madness.

I have always set a rule in my reading that I would try and read one spooky themed book in October.  I set the romance books aside and enjoy at least one book to go with the Halloween themed thrills and mystery.  This time I chose The Dead Girls of Hysteria Hall by Katie Alender. The cover is spooky and the glimpse of a scene we get on the back cover drew me into the story.

Not only do we have a house full of creepy and insane ghosts, but we have a house hell bent on keeping out of control teen ghosts from leaving the place. Delia inherits this mansion/asylum from her relatives and ultimately ends up being a part of the ghost world more than she would like to be.

The story was suspenseful and the author did wonderfully at describing things with giving the reader the chills.  You learn to never trust anyone until they prove that they are worthy of that trust — sometimes being the people you would least expects. Secrets are revealed as Delia learns more about the previous patients and family heritage.

While this book is aimed for the teenage audience, adults will enjoy it as well I believe.  It adds just amount of spooky for the month of October reading.

[sc:rate5 ]

GOODREADS / AMAZON

Raine by J.C. Valentine

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Raine

 

RAINE
by J.C. Valentine

Warning: RAINE contains adult situations some readers may find offensive. This is a deeply emotional story that contains violence, explicit sex, strong language, and is not considered suitable for readers under 18.

Shy.
Intelligent.
Naive.
Statistic.

Raine Forester was an average girl leading an average life. She slipped beneath everyone’s radar, until Camron Moss, the most popular guy in school, took interest in her and changed everything.

Some acts are unforgivable.

Raine thought she’d been accepted. She thought she was one of them. She thought she was in love… until one moment made her realize she’d trusted the wrong person. Lies are told, hearts get broken, secrets are revealed, and sometimes, true love is found in the least likely places.

Have you ever started reading a book and thinking to yourself that you aren’t sure if this is going to be a book that keeps your interest?  I admit that after the first few chapters, I was wavering between putting the book down or going for the whole she-bang.  It does touch on some sensitive subject including rape.

I wasn’t a fan of a few characters in the book. The boys’ parents were horrible.  I hated the fact that they had no substance to their roles except to be the money holders that are cliche.  I also took a bit to warm up to Raine. She is suppose to be some ordinary girl dating this wonderful and popular boy, but within a chapter he turns into this completely different character at the other end of the spectrum.

Then we have Jarret, who is Camrons little brother.  He is older and the black sheep of the family. He swoops in to save the day and the woman in distress.  While I did like his character and was rooting for him to succeed in being the man his brother could not be, I would have preferred him to have stood up a little sooner to his family.

Overall the story was a pretty decent read for a new to me author.  I could see myself reading more books by author J.C. Valentine in the future.

[sc:rate3 ]

AMAZON / AUTHOR WEBSITE / GOODREADS

 

Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

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Hopeless by Colleen Hoover

 

Sometimes discovering the truth can leave you more hopeless than believing the lies…

That’s what seventeen-year-old Sky realizes after she meets Dean Holder. A guy with a reputation that rivals her own and an uncanny ability to invoke feelings in her she’s never had before. He terrifies her and captivates her all in the span of just one encounter, and something about the way he makes her feel sparks buried memories from a past that she wishes could just stay buried.

Sky struggles to keep him at a distance knowing he’s nothing but trouble, but Holder insists on learning everything about her. After finally caving to his unwavering pursuit, Sky soon finds that Holder isn’t at all who he’s been claiming to be. When the secrets he’s been keeping are finally revealed, every single facet of Sky’s life will change forever.

MY REVIEW

Wow. Just wow.

Have you ever read a book and just have no words to really express what you are feeling?  That is how I feel after reading Hopeless by Colleen Hoover. I have had this book sitting on my Kindle for quite some time now.  I had purchased it back when everyone was raving about it, but somehow it just got buried in my list on my Kindle.  While trying to find something to read one day, I came across it again and decided to give it a try. I am still berating myself in my head for waiting to read this.

First of all, this book does touch on sensitive subject material.  If you can handle reading about sensitive subjects, then I urge you to read the book.  I loved the character of Dean Holder.  I loved his strength and his determination.  Not only has he suffered loss and pain in his life, but he has also held onto ‘Hope’.  He never really gave up.  While we slowly learn about his past growing up, we learn pieces of information that help us figure out the mystery involving Sky.  Sky has so much more back story than what we first believe and it slowly grows and evolves into a bigger puzzle involving many more key characters in the book.

I don’t want to give to much away, because the story from start to finish is a whole.  Each chapter helps us reach the ending that the reader explores in the first chapter teaser.  I can definitely say this book is on my Top Ten for the coming year even if it was published awhile back. Again, why did I wait so long to read this?!

“Not everyone gets a happily every after. Life is real and sometimes it’s ugly and you just have to learn how to cope.”

MY RATING

[sc:rate5 ]

GOODREADS / AMAZON

Review : Fall of Night by Rachel Caine

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Fall of Night
Series: Morganville Vampires #14
Author: Rachel Caine
Young Adult Paranormal

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Thanks to its unique combination of human and vampire residents, Morganville, Texas, is a small college town with big-time problems. When student Claire Danvers gets the chance to experience life on the outside, she takes it. But Morganville isn’t the only town with vampire trouble…

Claire never thought she’d leave Morganville, but when she gets accepted into the graduate program at MIT, she can’t pass up the opportunity. Saying good-bye to her friends is bittersweet, especially since things are still raw and unsettled between Claire and her boyfriend, Shane. 

Her new life at MIT is scary and exciting, but Morganville is never really far from Claire’s mind. Enrolled in a special advanced study program with Professor Irene Anderson, a former Morganville native, Claire is able to work on her machine, which is designed to cancel the mental abilities of vampires. 

But when she begins testing her machine on live subjects, things quickly spiral out of control, and Claire starts to wonder whether leaving Morganville was the last mistake she’ll ever make…

MY THOUGHTS

Fall of Night is the 14th book in the Morganville Vampire series by author Rachel Caine.

I am a huge fan of this series.  I feel connected to Shane, Claire, Eve, Michael and yes Myrnin. There town is complicated and full of suspense and not much down time to just relax.  But that is what makes them the best characters when they have to deal with problems in a vamp run town.

In Fall of Night, Claire travels away to MIT.  She needs to find her way on her own and see what life is like outside of Morganville.  What she finds though is another game of chess being played between scientists, vampires, and undercover organizations.  They are all deadly and they want one thing.  They want the Vampire Gun also know as VLAD that Claire created.  They want it to start the war between humans and vampires and could care less for the reasons and rules that Claire had it built for.  This group of people are wanting to disable the vampires permanently.  The results in the final mock-up of the gun can have serious side effects though for the vampires.

I really enjoyed this installment in the series.  This book is shown with alternating chapters from Shane and Claire.  We get to enjoy Myrnin arriving to rescue them all.  Oliver finds his way into the group as well to help lead the group.  Also Jesse and Pete help the gang out and Jesse does have a deeper role than what we think.  While there is action and suspense with a little bit of sexy times thrown in when needed, it does leave the book left with unanswered questions.  With the way the book ends, you can’t help but wonder how they gang is going to make it to the next book.  Is it the Daylight Foundation taking over?  Where is Amelie now when Morganville is having a major war between humans and vamps with the humans being the ones with the upper hand.

I can’t wait for the next book and I do hope we will get to read more about Myrnin and how crazy that contraption actually made him.  Is he really going crazy again, or is it all a defense to keep  the humans on their toes?

MY RATING

Very Good! I would recommend this book!

Review: Speechless by Hannah Harrington

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Speechless
Author: Hannah Harrington

SUMMARY
(From Goodreads)

Everyone knows that Chelsea Knot can’t keep a secret

Until now. Because the last secret she shared turned her into a social outcast—and nearly got someone killed.

Now Chelsea has taken a vow of silence—to learn to keep her mouth shut, and to stop hurting anyone else. And if she thinks keeping secrets is hard, not speaking up when she’s ignored, ridiculed and even attacked is worse.

But there’s strength in silence, and in the new friends who are, shockingly, coming her way—people she never noticed before; a boy she might even fall for. If only her new friends can forgive what she’s done. If only she can forgive herself.

MY THOUGHTS

Can we talk about this cover first to get it out of the way?  I find it hard to believe that the cover department couldn’t come up with something other than the boring cover of white that we got.  If I were to see this on a bookshelf at a store, I would pass it over without thinking twice.  Thank goodness I read the summary of this book beforehand and decided to give it a chance.  Truly a good example of not judging a book by its cover.

Moving on from the cover fiasco.  I was actually surprised by this read.  I thought this was going to be a plot that would be juvenile and not my cup of tea.  What we get though is something so good and the writing that actually kept me interested and curious to know more.  The author does a wonderful job at scene set up.  While I admit that the first part of this book was slow and something I had to force myself to get through, by the middle of the book it started to take off.  I ended up enjoying the characters and the plot of the book. Yes there is some angst.  Yes there is a boy involved. Yes there is teen drama and gossip.  The end result though was self discovery, consequences to actions, and characters that fit the story.

I really ended up enjoying this book and I can say that it was much better than expected.  Would I read the story again in the future? Maybe.  It won’t be one I will be dying to reread again anytime soon, but it is one I would recommend to read a first time.

MY RATING

Okay book, but it left me wanting more!