BOOK REVIEW: CHAMELEON BY CIDNEY SWANSON

Title: Chameleon
Author: Cidney Swanson
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Published on: September 6, 2011 by Williams Press

Sixteen-year-old Samantha Ruiz has a lot on her mind. The crush who kissed her but changed his mind. The BFF who thinks Sam is in an abusive relationship. The geneticist who wanted Sam dead but now wants her ALIVE. And of course, Sam’s still dealing with a tendency to disappear into thin air.

When Sam learns of her nemesis Helmann’s Nazi-like plan to establish a Thousand-Year Reign, she’s determined to fight him. Along with Will and Mickie, Sam flees to France to meet Sir Walter—their best hope for stopping Helmann’s brave new world.

But Sam isn’t any safer in France. Someone is following her. Someone invisible. Sam will have to figure out how to hide from an enemy she can’t even see.

This is the second entry in the Rippler trilogy. The main character is Samantha Ruiz, a teenager with a special power. Sam is a rippler, someone who can turn invisible. This series's version of invisibility is rather different, though. Ripplers don't just vanish from view; they become totally incorporeal. This means they can walk through solid objects, among other things. The second protagonist is Will, another young rippler. He takes Sam under his wing after discovering she's like him.

Despite having powers, ripplers are compelled to stay secret. Mickie, Will's sister, explained the situation to Sam already. There's a man known as Dr. Helmann who's targeting ripplers. He wants to control them all, otherwise they have to die. Mickie and Will have stayed hidden for years. It was a bit of a fluke that Will found Samantha. Unlike him, she cannot control her power. Samantha ripples when she gets into a state of calmness, usually when she's near bodies of water. Samantha's learned a bit about rippling from Will now. She still can't vanish at will, though.

BOOK REVIEW: SHE CAN RUN BY MELINDA LEIGH

Title: She Can Run
Author: Melinda Leigh
Genre: Romantic suspense, mystery

Published on: November 28, 2011 by Montlake Romance

Elizabeth was a young widow with two small children when she met Congressman Richard Baker. Handsome and wealthy, with a sparkling public image, Richard seemed like the perfect man to provide the security that Beth and her kids were craving. But when she uncovers a dangerous secret about her new husband, Beth realizes he will go to any lengths—even murder—to keep it. After barely escaping with her life, she and her children flee. They eventually make their way to a secluded estate in the Pennsylvania countryside, where Beth dares to hope she has found a safe place at last…

Forced into retirement by an unexpected injury, Philadelphia homicide detective Jack O’Malley is mourning the loss of his career when his uncle abruptly dies, leaving Jack to dispose of his crumbling country house. Unbeknownst to him, his uncle engaged a caretaker just before his death, a mysterious woman with two children and a beautiful face that haunts his dreams. Determined to know her, Jack begins an investigation into Beth’s past. When he uncovers the shocking truth, and a local woman is viciously murdered, Jack puts his own life on the line to keep Beth and her children safe.

She Can Run is a sexy, satisfying debut from award-winning author Melinda Leigh, packed with enough suspense and romance to get even the tamest heart racing!

This is the first Melinda Leigh novel I’ve read. It’s a romantic suspense about a woman on the run with her children. She’s Elizabeth “Beth” Markham, the main protagonist. Beth was forced to flee from her house for reasons not revealed at the start. You meet Beth and her children (Ben and Katie) as they arrive to their potential new home. It’s a secluded estate in a small Pennsylvania town. An old man named Danny O’Malley, longtime friend of someone who’s protecting Beth, owns the place. He agreed to hire Beth as the new caretaker.

Beth runs into an issue right away. Three men are in the house, but none of them are Danny. Instead, one of them is Jack, Danny’s nephew. He’s an ex-police officer who was forced to end his career after an accident. It’s apparent right away that Jack’s a good man. He lets Beth and the kids stay while they figure things out. This doesn’t last long; Jack honors his uncle’s decision and agrees to keep Beth as caretaker. For some reason, she asks for a two-week probation period. Beth no longer feels safe, so she thinks she may have to leave.

BOOK REVIEW: BLACK BLOOD BY MELISSA PEARL

Title: Black Blood
Author: Melissa Pearl
Genre: Fantasy

Published on: December 14, 2011, self-published

Gemma's parents have put enough rules around her relationship with Harrison that she feels like she's living on parole. But she wins one battle—a summer job working for Harrison's step-father. It is the perfect chance to spend the steamy, hot Florida days with her boyfriend. It's also a great distraction from the cellphone hiding in her underwear drawer—her only contact with Gabe, the mystery man who's stalking her.

When she confronts Gabe, he tells her that her parents are not who she thinks they are, and Harrison has the gall to believe him. Surrounded by conflict, Gemma doesn't know what to believe, and it takes a trip back in time for her to glimpse the sickening truth.

Thanks to her parents, she returns to the present to find the love of her life no longer exists. His family line was broken and now, so is she.

This betrayal forces her to seek out Gabe. Setting aside her fear of the truth, she must trust this man and learn what he can teach her... otherwise, she'll never get her boyfriend back.

After reading Golden Blood, I bought the next two books right away. It was a quick but riveting novel. This sequel picks up shortly after Golden Blood ends. The book’s main heroine is Gemma Hart, a time spirit (a human who can time travel). She’s dating Harrison Granger, a normal human she’s had a big crush on for a small while. The two fell in love rather quickly, but I found nothing wrong with that. Some people are just made for each other.

Gemma’s family are also time spirits. Alistair and his wife Penelope use their time travel power to improve the world. They’re very traditional and strict, though, bordering on archaic. Gemma's parents forbid her from dating anyone who’s not a time spirit. They found out about Harrison by accident and didn’t take it well. Alistair in particular is furious about it. Gemma had to coerce them to let her have her happiness. They ended up agreeing, as long as Gemma and Harrison break up after their high school graduation.

BOOK REVIEW: GOLDEN BLOOD BY MELISSA PEARL

Title: Golden Blood
Author: Melissa Pearl
Genre: Fantasy

Published on: November 4, 2011, self-published

Gemma Hart never knows when her father is going to whisk her back in time. Her toes start tingling and she has a few minutes to find a secret haven where she can disintegrate and appear in another time and place. While “across the line,” her training and skills are put to the test as she completes a mission that will change history for the lucky few her father has selected.

Gemma's parents are adamant that secrecy is paramount to her family’s safety. If people knew what they were capable of, they could be "used and abused", as her mother always says. Afraid she might accidentally utter the truth and break the ancient oath of her people, Gemma spends her school days as a loner. Only one thing can throw her sheltered life askew... Harrison Granger.

Harrison never expected to talk to the strange Hart girl, but after a brief encounter he can't stop thinking about her. He begins a campaign to chisel away her icy veneer and is met with unexpected consequences. As he slowly wins this girl over, he enters a surreal world that has him fighting to keep his newfound love and his life.

I found this book while browsing the fantasy and sci-fi section of the Kindle store. The synopsis caught my interest. Golden Blood is the first entry of the Time Spirit trilogy. The main character, Gemma Hart, is a high school student with a supernatural ability. The reader doesn’t learn about this right away, though. Most of the first part of the book introduces Gemma, her family, and her friends. You learn about their normal lives and the status quo before anything supernatural is revealed.

The love interest, Harrison Granger, shows up early in the book. He and Gemma have a crush on each other. They’re a bit too intimidated to make the first move, though. Gemma has a curious reputation at school. Students see her as a weird girl. Some of them go as far as calling her a “freak”. Even Harrison himself wonders if Gemma is a witch or an alien. Gemma earned this reputation for a reason. She and her family have a big secret. Because of it, Gemma’s parents compel her not to get too close to anyone. They only allow casual friendships. Gemma’s ended up a sort of outcast because of this.

BOOK REVIEW: DEADLY COOL BY GEMMA HALLIDAY

Title: Deadly Cool

Author: Gemma Halliday

Genre: Young Adult, mystery

Published on: October 11, 2011 by HarperTeen

Hartley Grace Featherstone is having a very bad day. First she finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her with the president of the Herbert Hoover High School Chastity Club. Then he’s pegged as the #1 suspect in a murder. And if that weren’t enough, now he’s depending on Hartley to clear his name.

But as much as Hartley wouldn’t mind seeing him squirm, she knows he’s innocent, and she’s the only one who can help him. Along with her best friend, Sam, and the school’s resident Bad Boy, Chase, Hartley starts investigating on her own. But as the dead bodies begin to pile up, the mystery deepens, the suspects multiply, and Hartley begins to fear that she may be the killer’s next victim.

I usually research a book before I buy it, but this one drew me because of the cover. Admit it, the girl on the cover has got pretty mesmerizing eyes. Call me cliché, but baby blues have got such a beauty. I didn’t really start reading without prior info, though. The book description finished the job, and I was sold. I like mysteries, especially if they have some romance. The main character seemed compelling as well.

Deadly Cool has Hartley Grace Featherstone as its protagonist and narrator. We meet her just after she’s broken up with her boyfriend, Josh DuPont. He’s cheated on Hartley with another girl. Infuriated, Hartley sets out to confront them both. She is accompanied by her best friend, Samantha. The pair are in for a surprise when they get to Josh’s house. His new girlfriend, a color guard named Courtney, is found murdered in Josh’s closet. And he’s nowhere to be found. Hartley and Sam leave the house in a panic, after which the cops show up. The evidence they find seems to incriminate Josh.

BOOK REVIEW: CASSIDY JONES AND VULCAN'S GIFT BY ELISE STOKES

Title: Cassidy Jones and Vulcan's Gift

Author: Elise Stokes

Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult

Published on: December 4, 2011 by JACE Publishing LLC

An Ancient Secret Has Risen. A World In Peril. Can This Evil Menace Be Stopped?

Two months after being infected with a strange retrovirus, Cassidy Jones continues to live a double life as she struggles to master her astonishing superpowers. School has become the only normal thing left in her life—except for tall, dark, and handsome Emery Phillips, who shadows her every move, ensuring her secret is safe. But when a sleepover at Catamount Mountain Zoo takes a menacing turn, the world hovers on the edge of disaster as Cassidy is drawn into another riveting and perilous mystery that threatens the planet.

Fourteen-year-old superhero Cassidy Jones returns in book two of her series. If you recall, she gained superpowers after a lab accident. The only person Cassidy told about it is a boy named Emery Phillips. He’s the genius son of the scientist who created Formula 10X. With Emery’s help, Cassidy saved Dr. Serena Phillips from a rich megalomaniac. She and her family now live next door to the Joneses. This works well, as it gives Emery a way to keep an eye on Cassidy. He and Serena are still unsure how Cassidy’s powers will keep developing.

Serena is now working on a way to make Cassidy normal again. The latter isn’t sure she wants to be a super-powered mutant for long. During the showdown with the lunatic, Cassidy inexplicably stood back up after his cronies killed her. Cassidy fears the idea of having immortality now. If she really has it, that means her loved ones will eventually die and leave her alone. And this is not the only side effect Cassidy is worrying about. Formula 10X also gave her a prey drive. Early in the book, Cassidy almost chased down a crook who was picking on a homeless man. Fortunately, the man (named Joe) was able to snap Cassidy back to her senses.

BOOK REVIEW: GUILT BY ASSOCIATION BY MARCIA CLARK

Title: Guilt by Association

Author: Marcia Clark

Genre: Mystery, legal thriller

Published on: April 20, 2011 by Mulholland Books

Los Angeles D.A. Rachel Knight is a tenacious, wise-cracking, and fiercely intelligent prosecutor in the city's most elite division. When her colleague, Jake, is found dead at a grisly crime scene, Rachel is shaken to the core. She must take over his toughest case: the assault of a young woman from a prominent family.

But she can't stop herself from digging deeper into Jake's death, a decision that exposes a world of power and violence and will have her risking her reputation--and her life--to find the truth.

With her tremendous expertise in the nuances of L.A. courts and crime, and with a vibrant ensemble cast of characters, Marcia Clark combines intimate detail, riotous humor, and visceral action in a debut thriller that marks the launch of a major new figure on the crime-writing scene.

I bought this book back when I had a taste for mysteries with female protagonists in law enforcement. Guilt by Association had really good reviews, so I got myself a copy. The main character is Rachel Knight, a prosecutor in the Special Trials division of the Los Angeles District Attorney’s office. When we meet her, Rachel’s been a DA for at least seven years. She recently transferred to Special Trials, her dream job. Rachel describes the position as highly demanding and time-consuming. She claims that’s what she finds attractive about it. 

Rachel has two close friends in Special Trials. One is Jake Pahlmeyer, and the other is Toni. Early in the book, a burning building grabs Rachel’s attention in the evening. When Rachel gets there, she’s horrified to see a paramedic taking Jake away on a stretcher. A police lieutenant escorts Rachel home. There, she keeps Jake’s death to herself, hoping it's only a bad dream. But as one can expect, there’s no such luck. Jake is still dead next morning. This affects Rachel deeply. They were what she describes as office soulmates. Rachel and Jake knew nothing personal about each other, but they were otherwise inseparable. 

BOOK REVIEW: UNBOUND BY CAT MILLER

Title: Unbound

Author: Cat Miller

Genre: Fantasy, romance

Published on: September 25, 2011 (first edition), self-published

Girl gone wild…

College is supposed to be a time of discovery, but Danielle Vaughn never imaged it would be like this: heightened senses, supernatural powers, and a sudden craving for human blood. Dani is a demi-vamp, the daughter of a human psychic and a vampire noble, a living secret kept hidden for twenty-one years.

As Dani’s heritage manifests itself, her thirst for blood is matched only by her hunger for Chase Diedrick. But as the son of the Vampire Council’s most powerful ruling family, Chase is already promised to another. Dani saw Council politics destroy her mother’s life; she won’t let the same thing happen to her. Besides, there’s no shortage of men who are eager to satisfy her every need, including the alluring vampire Kayden.

Unfortunately, Dani also has no shortage of enemies. Her heightened powers of telepathy and telekinesis attract the attention of a rogue vamp who preys on gifted vampires, absorbing their skills along with their lifeblood. Now, Dani must seek the Council’s help to quickly master her new vampire life…or risk losing it.

I found this title after searching for good books to read in the vampire genre. Unbound is a vampire romance with mystery elements and a slight superhero feel to it. The protagonist is Danielle Vaughn. She’s a seemingly ordinary girl, smart and attractive. Dani (as others call her) has no idea about what she is, or about her noble lineage. She lives with her mother in a small town and is about to transfer to a college in New York.

As Dani comes of age, she starts experiencing things that she doesn’t understand. After an intimate moment with her boyfriend,  Lucas, Dani notices a startling change in herself. Feeling a need to get away to sort things out, Dani hastily moves to New York. She doesn't take long to make  friends. One of them is Olivia, her new roommate. She’s a pleasant girl, whom I definitely find best friend material. One night, Olivia and some friends take Dani to a club called Thirst. There, the group receives preferential treatment for some unknown reason. Dani meets Chase Deidrick, the handsome and charming son of the club’s owner. Unbound is told in alternating third-person POV, so you find out that Chase notices something about Dani that she has no idea about.

BOOK REVIEW: OPEN MINDS BY SUSAN KAYE QUINN

Title: Open Minds
Author: Susan Kaye Quinn
Genre: Science Fiction

Published on: October 24, 2011, self-published

When everyone reads minds, a secret is a dangerous thing to keep.

Sixteen-year-old Kira Moore is a zero, someone who can’t read thoughts or be read by others. Zeros are outcasts who can’t be trusted, leaving her no chance with Raf, a regular mindreader and the best friend she secretly loves. When she accidentally controls Raf’s mind and nearly kills him, Kira tries to hide her frightening new ability from her family and an increasingly suspicious Raf. But lies tangle around her, and she’s dragged deep into a hidden world of mindjackers, where having to mind control everyone she loves is just the beginning of the deadly choices before her.

It’s a thrill when I find books that exceed my expectations. I didn’t think I would be blown away after finishing this book. Open Minds was more fabulous than one could garner by the synopsis. Sure, it’s about a girl living in a society where everyone can read minds. Sounds simple, right? Well, there is far more stuff going on than that.

Open Minds is a sci-fi novel with a dystopian feel to it. It takes place sometime in the first decade of the 22nd century. The setting is Chicago, then known as Chicago New Metro. The protagonist/narrator is Kira Moore, a seventeen-year-old high school student. She appears to be a normal, average girl. However, by her society’s standards, Kira is an outcast. She is a "zero," someone who hasn’t developed the ability to read minds. This is more of a detriment than it sounds like. In their future teachers impart classes in near-complete silence. How? The teachers think instructions in their heads, which the students—those who can read minds—are able to “hear”. Kira has been struggling to avoid failing her classes.

BOOK REVIEW: FLEE BY J.A. KONRATH & ANN VOSS PETERSON

Title: Flee
Author: J.A. Konrath, Ann Voss Peterson
Genre: Thriller
Published on: February 22, 2011, self-published

CODENAME: CHANDLER

She's an elite spy, working for an agency so secret only three people know it exists. Trained by the best of the best, she has honed her body, her instincts, and her intellect to become the perfect weapon.

FLEE

Then her cover is explosively blown, and she becomes a walking bulls-eye. Stalked by assassins who want the secrets she holds, and those who'd prefer she die before talking.

Now Chandler has twenty-four hours to thwart a kidnapping, stop a psychopath, uncover the mystery of her past, retire five equally-trained contract killers, avoid a tenacious cop named Jack Daniels, and save the world from nuclear annihilation, all while dodging 10,000 bullets.

Buckle up. It's going to be one helluva ride. 

If I had only one thing to say about this book, it would be wow! This was like an action thriller movie in book form. There were so many action scenes and adrenaline that you can barely catch your breath. Flee will definitely keep you on the edge of your seat.

Flee’s protagonist is an elite super-spy known only as Chandler. According to the synopsis, she works for a government agency so secret only three people know it exists. They have trained Chandler to the peak of human endurance and taught her a wide array of stuff. This goes from martial arts to survival to world languages and sharpshooting. We meet Chandler moments before her cover is blown. Things snowball from there, and Chandler is soon unable to even count on her handler. Chandler has never tackled a mission alone.

BOOK REVIEW: ABDUCTED BY T.R. RAGAN

Title: Abducted
Author: T.R. Ragan
Genre: Mystery, thriller
Published on: May 29, 2011, self-published

When Lizzy Gardner was only seventeen, what should have been the perfect night became the perfect nightmare. Kidnapped just blocks from home after a romantic evening with her boyfriend, Jared, she woke up to find herself at the mercy of a depraved serial killer. Imprisoned and tormented for months by the maniac she came to know as Spiderman, Lizzy narrowly escaped, the only one of his victims to survive. But Spiderman escaped too, outwitting police and cursing Lizzy to spend her life looking over her shoulder…

Fourteen years later, Lizzy is a private investigator who teaches self-defense to teenage girls in her free time. She does what she can to help others protect themselves and to forget the horror of her ordeal, yet fears she will always be known as “the one who got away.” Then she receives a phone call from Jared, now a special agent for the FBI, with grim news. The killer has resurfaced, this time with a very specific target—Lizzy. And he’s made it clear that she will not escape him again. So begins a chilling game of cat-and-mouse, a terrifying, heart-pounding hunt that only one will survive.

This book really exceeded my expectations, partly because of the average-looking cover art. You know the old adage about not judging books? Well, that really applies to Abducted. It's among the first novels I've read as an ebook, and it was so good I know I'll be re-reading it again and again in the future.

Abducted is the first novel of the Lizzy Gardner series. It takes place in Sacramento, California. The titular main character is a young private investigator with a painful past. In her teens, Lizzy was kidnapped by a serial killer known as Spiderman. She managed to escape, becoming the psychopath's only survivor. The experience changed Lizzy forever. She became a private investigator to stop people like Spiderman, and teaches self-defense classes to young women. I really felt for Lizzy as I progressed through the novel. No teen girl should have to experience what she did. As paranoid as Lizzy may seem, she's not a damsel in distress, though. Despite the constant protection of her teenage-love-turned-FBI-agent Jared Shayne, Lizzy's perfectly capable of defending herself.