HADES
Halo #2
Author: Alexandra Adornetto
Source: Amazon Vine
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends (August 30, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0312656270
ISBN-13: 978-0312656270

Heaven Help Her.

Bethany Church is an angel sent to Earth to keep dark forces at bay. Falling in love was never part of her mission, but the bond between Beth and her mortal boyfriend, Xavier Woods, is undeniably strong. But even Xavier’s love, and the care of her archangel siblings, Gabriel and Ivy, can’t keep Beth from being tricked into a motorcycle ride that ends up in Hell. There, the demon Jake Thorn bargains for Beth’s release back to Earth. But what he asks of her will destroy her, and quite possibly, her loved ones, as well. 
 

After reading Halo, I was a little hesitant on reading the sequel since I wasn’t impressed.  For some reason, Halo didn’t click with me in spite of being a favorite among other readers.

In Hades, again the story is slow moving for me.  While the first few chapters do seem to be at a better pace than the previous book, I still had a hard time getting through the book.  At times it even seemed to stall out with no story arc or drama to keep the reader entertained.  Also, when you think of Hell, don’t you think of pure evil and fire with demons?  In Hades, Hell is just basically a small town with a bunch of void around it.  To me, Hell didn’t seem to scary, just like a run down area of a town in need of TLC.  I couldn’t enjoy the characters in this installment either.  Some were too naive, and others didn’t fit the role they were suppose to be playing in the book.

While some parts of the book were okay,  the rest of the book again fell flat for me.  While the cover is gorgeous again as well, the story isn’t as nice.  I wanted so much more and this series has so much potential if only it could be cut and restructured.  If you were a fan of Halo, then I am sure that Hades will meet your expectations.  If you weren’t a fan of Halo, there wasn’t much of an improvement from the first in my opinion.

 
  If the library doesn’t have it, don’t worry about reading it! 2 STARS

THE BEGINNING OF AFTER
Author: Jennifer Castle
Source: Amazon Vine
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Reading level: Young Adult
Hardcover: 432 pages
Publisher: HarperTeen (September 6, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 0061985791
ISBN-13: 978-0061985799

Anyone who’s had something truly crappy happen to them will tell you: It’s all about Before and After. What I’m talking about here is the ka-pow, shake-you-to-your-core-and-turn-your-bones-to-plastic kind of crappy. 

Sixteen-year-old Laurel’s world changes instantly when her parents and brother are killed in a terrible car accident. Behind the wheel is the father of her bad-boy neighbor, David Kaufman, whose mother is also killed. In the aftermath of the tragedy, Laurel navigates a new reality in which she and her best friend grow apart, boys may or may not be approaching her out of pity, overpowering memories lurk everywhere, and Mr. Kaufman is comatose but still very much alive. Through it all there is David, who swoops in and out of Laurel’s life and to whom she finds herself attracted against her better judgment. She will forever be connected to him by their mutual loss—a connection that will change them both in unexpected ways.

After all of the hype involved with this book that I have seen around the world wide web, I was a little hesitant on reading and reviewing this book.  I wanted it to be as great as what I have heard and didn’t want to be disappointed.  How can you go wrong with tortured teen angst involving death, forbidden love and life changing events that will shape a teen into a young adult?

The first part of the book was slow in pace for me.  I kept wanting it to pick up and move on already.  I started to lose interest in Laurel almost halfway through the book because of the constant reminders that her life is lonely without her family.  I can understand the devastation that can be involved when you lose your entire family at once due to some horrible accident, but I was getting a little tired of reading her sob story every few pages.  I wanted to shake her and tell her to get a grip and move on!  There is still life out there that she needed to be living.

I also wanted to read more about David but the author kept writing him out of the story over and over again.  Maybe having David travel was in the best interest of the character, but it wasn’t in the best interest to keep the reader interested in the story.  I needed more interaction between Laurel and David to keep me interested and would have loved to have seen them work through this crisis together.  Instead, both characters had to work through it alone with the exception of Laurel’s Grandmother.

Overall it was just an okay book that might appeal to readers of slowly paced angst.  I prefer a little more action and dialogue between the two main characters to keep me interested for a long story.

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

NOCTURNE
Author: Syrie James
Source: FSB Associates
*I received this book free of charge in exchange for an honest review*

Mass Market Paperback: 320 pages
Publisher: Vanguard Press; Mass Market Edition edition (August 2, 2011)
Language: English
ISBN-10: 159315674X
ISBN-13: 978-1593156749

When Nicole Whitcomb’s car runs off a Colorado mountain road during a blinding snowstorm, she is saved from death by a handsome, fascinating, and enigmatic stranger.

As the sexual tension between them builds, however, the clues mount up. When Nicole learns her host’s terrifying secret, there is nowhere for her to run but into the blizzard raging outside, and Michael may be the only one who can save her life.

I was really excited to get the chance to read this book by an author that I had not discovered yet.  While the first few pages started out strong, by the end of the book I was not as thrilled as others might have been.

I liked Michael and thought the tortured vampire would be able to be enough to keep my interest moving along at a great pace throughout the book.  Unfortunately, adding Nicole into the mix made it seem childish and naive with no sparks between the two for a romance.  I also couldn’t help but notice it was eerily parallel to another vampire book that is out in the market today.  I rolled my eyes at the point in the book when Michael told Nicole the truth of what he is.

With apparent difficulty, she opened her eyes again and whispered groggily:
“Say it.”
“Say what?” he asked gently.
“Say that you’re a vampire.”
–page 125

I just couldn’t get over all of the cliched dialogue and overdone speeches.  The ending was bittersweet and not one I was a fan of especially since it could be left open for further books that are at the moment, not on the author’s agenda.  I like happily ever afters in my romance books and at least hopes of future happiness.  I was disappointed that the author felt the need to torture the reader with the ending given to us after investing so much time in reading the book.  Not one I would read again.