BOOK REVIEW: THE GIRL UNLEASHED BY JUDITH BERENS

Title: The Girl Unleashed

Author: Judith Berens

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Published on: August 3, 2019 by LMBPN Publishing

No matter the century, being a teenage vampire is hard when there’s no one around to teach you how to be cool, date and lift a car out of the way without getting caught.

 

Vickie has grown into a rockstar vampire with her powers, but she can still cause harm. Not a good way to stay hidden when everyone has the number to TMZ and a camera in their pocket. Selfie with the teenage vampire anyone?

Social media can bite worse than a vampire’s fangs.

That’s not her only problem. The Circle may be gone, but a government agency is looking into supernatural activity and everything points at Vickie. Big brother is not happy.

To make matters worse, Alexis and Vickie clash over misunderstandings and Vickie’s desire for more independence. Can the girls get past their disagreements and work together as a family?

Vicki’s danger meter is going off and she can sense a threat to her new family.

Can Vicki right some wrongs and make up with Alexis before she finds herself in an even worse situation?

Find out in The Girl Unleashed.

Book five in the Last Vampire series marks a turning point. Protagonist Vickie Hewitt managed to take out a threat that loomed over her throughout four books. As a vampire, there was a group of people bent on killing her. That she is just fourteen and harmless did not stop them. The group, known as the Slayer Circle, caught up to Vickie at last. With the help of a surprising ally, Vickie managed to kill the Circle members. It was a thrilling fight, though it felt a little underwhelming to me. With how menacing the Circle sounded, their defeat felt a little too easy. 

Now that the Circle is gone, Vickie can go back to leading as normal a life as she can. As the last vampire, she’s alone in the world. Luckily, Craig Watson and his daughter Alexis have been there for her since she woke up. Vickie has adjusted well to living as a high school student. She’s a star athlete now (competing in cross country) and has a boyfriend, Eric. He’s one of Alexis’s longtime friends who developed a crush on Vickie soon after they first met. Their relationship is going really well. Vickie’s clueless about dating in the twenty-first century, though. She comes from a time where parents married their children off at fourteen. I kid you not!

BOOK REVIEW: CHRYSALIS BY BRENDAN REICHS

Title: Chrysalis

Author: Brendan Reichs

Genre: Science Fiction

Published on: March 5, 2019 by G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers

The stunning finale of the Project Nemesis trilogy from New York Times bestselling author Brendan Reichs.

 

The 64 members of Fire Lake’s sophomore class have managed to survive the first two phases of the Program—and each other. Now, they alone have emerged into the dawn of a new era on Earth, into a Fire Lake valley that’s full of otherworldly dangers and challenges. Although staying alive in this broken world should force Min, Noah, Tack, and the others to form new alliances, old feuds die hard, and the brutality of the earlier Program phases cannot be forgotten. But being a team isn’t easy for the sophomores, and when they discover that they may not be alone on the planet after all, they’ll have to decide if they’re going to work together…or die together.

The quest to save humanity continues in this final entry of the Project Nemesis series. With the way Genesis ended, the author could have satisfactorily wrapped it up as a duology. Min Wilder, the main protagonist, managed to save all 64 members of her sophomore class. They went through Phase Two of Project Nemesis for millions of years while Earth healed from an apocalyptic event. Thanks to living as data inside a supercomputer, the students experienced all that eternity in a few months. Now they’re back in physical bodies in the real world.

It’s been a few months since Min and her classmates emerged from the supercomputer. They returned to a vastly different Fire Lake than they remember. Along with Noah, her boyfriend, Min’s built a fledgling community. Project Nemesis left them with every supply humanity could need, stored in a decommissioned missile silo. For the moment, their world is small. The student’s former town of Fire Lake is now an island surrounded by a vast ocean. There’s nothing around, except for an island a day’s sail away.

BOOK REVIEW: THE THOUGHT PUSHERS BY DIMA ZALES

Title: The Thought Pushers (Les Pousseurs de pensée)

Author: Dima Zales

Genre: Science Fiction

Published on: October 29, 2015, self-published

La suite tres attendue du livre Les Lecteurs de pensée par un auteur de bestsellers au classement du New York Times et de USA Today.

Que suis-je ?

Qui a tué ma famille ?

Pourquoi ?

Il me faut des réponses avant de me faire tuer par la mafia russe.

Si mes amis ne me règlent pas mon compte avant.

This second entry in the Mind Dimensions series picks up shortly after the ending of the previous one. Les Pousseurs de Pensée (I read the French editions of this series) continues the story of Darren Goldberg. He’s a seemingly average man in his mid-twenties who works as a hedge-fund analyst in New York. The story takes place in our contemporary time. What’s different is that there are two groups of people with special mind abilities. Darren is a Thought Reader, which is self-explanatory. And as he discovered recently, he’s also a Thought Pusher: someone who can control the minds of regular people. Darren found out by accident while trying to save his new friend Mira Tsiolkovsky’s life. It seemed like they might be attracted to each other, but Mira is now furious with Darren and won’t talk to him.

There’s a good reason why Mira is acting that way now. She and her brother, Eugene, had already told Darren that Thought Readers and Thought Pushers hate each other. They have been warring for centuries. As if that wasn’t enough, one of them murdered Mira and Eugene’s parents. Whoever this Pusher is, he or she is still around and gunning for the siblings. Now this person seems to have Darren on their sights. He only narrowly escapes a murder attempt thanks to his newfound Pusher ability.

BOOK REVIEW: THE CHASE BY ELLE KENNEDY

Title: The Chase

Author: Elle Kennedy

Genre: Romance, New Adult

Published on: August 6, 2018, self-published

Everyone says opposites attract. And they must be right, because there's no logical reason why I'm so drawn to Colin Fitzgerald. I don't usually go for tattoo-covered, video-gaming, hockey-playing nerd-jocks who think I'm flighty and superficial. His narrow view of me is the first strike against him. It doesn't help that he's buddy-buddy with my brother.

And that his best friend has a crush on me.
And that I just moved in with them.

Oh, did I not mention we're roommates?

I suppose it doesn't matter. Fitzy has made it clear he's not interested in me, even though the sparks between us are liable to burn our house down. I'm not the kind of girl who chases after a man, though, and I'm not about to start. I've got my hands full dealing with a new school, a sleazy professor, and an uncertain future. So if my sexy brooding roomie wises up and realizes what he's missing?

He knows where to find me.

Forbidden love stories are among my favorite in the romance genre. If it's also a New Adult novel that doesn't have a shirtless dude in the cover, I'm picking it up. The Chase is the first in a New Adult romance series. The books are named after the setting, Briar University. The protagonist/love interest in The Chase is Summer Heyward-Di Laurentis. That mouthful of a name is a hint at her status. Summer is a well-to-do student, though it's refreshing that she's not your usual trust fund kid. Summer's father is a prosecutor, which I found interesting (even though he's never physically in any of the scenes).

The book starts on New Year's Eve. Summer is at a bar, where she meets the love interest, Colin Fitzgerald. She already knew him, but this is the first time Summer tries to get him to date her. Colin finds Summer pretty much irresistible, but there's a big obstacle. Summer is his best friend David's little sister. Colin and David know each other from playing hockey for Briar. David's not on the team anymore, but Colin still feels loyal to him. In an attempt to persuade himself not to give in to Summer, Colin talks about her (imagined) flaws to one of his acquaintances. Of course Summer overhears this, and is seriously offended. She assumes that Colin sees Summer as little more than fluff.

BOOK REVIEW: LEFT FOR DEAD BY CAROLINE MITCHELL

Title: Left for Dead

Author: Caroline Mitchell

Genre: Thriller, mystery

Published on: July 8, 2020 by Thomas & Mercer

A victim on display. A detective on the rails.

Shopping with her sister, DI Amy Winter is admiring a Valentine's Day window display of a perfect bride encrusted in diamonds and resplendent in lace--until she notices blood oozing from the mannequin's mouth.

This is no stunt. A post-mortem reveals the victim was left to die on her macabre throne for all to see. When a second victim is found, it emerges that both women were 'Sugar Babes' arranging dates with older men online--and Amy finds herself hunting an accomplished psychopath.

As she tracks down the killer, Amy's instincts go into overdrive when the charismatic head of the agency behind the display makes no attempt to hide his fascination with her serial-killer parents. What exactly does he want from Amy? With her own world in freefall as her biological mother, Lillian Grimes, appeals her conviction, Amy pushes the boundaries of police procedure when a third 'Sugar Babe' disappears...Is she as much at risk as the killer's victims?

 

DI Amy Winter is back to handle another major case. It’s not specified, but it appears not a long time has passed since the previous book ended. This series takes place in modern-day England. Amy is part of the Notting Hill station, where she leads a team. There’s going to be a change in the status-quo, though. DCI Pike, Amy’s old boss, took an early retirement. Her replacement is DI Donovan, an officer Amy is already acquainted with. They worked together during the case where Amy’s mother, convicted serial killer Lillian Grimes, revealed the locations of her victims. Yeah, Amy is the daughter of serial killers. This is one of the most important plot points in these books. Amy struggles with her origins despite having been adopted by a loving family.

The case in Left for Dead begins in an unusual fashion. Amy is off duty, walking with her sister Sally-Ann, when she spots a chilling display in a store. It’s something most people (even cops) could easily miss: what is supposed to be a mannequin is in fact a real woman. Noticing she’s bleeding, Amy springs into action. It doesn’t take long before investigators descend upon the scene. Amy herself gets into the display in hopes of saving the woman. Despite her efforts, it is sadly too late.

BOOK REVIEW: FOLLOW ME BY TIFFANY SNOW

Title: Follow Me

Author: Tiffany Snow

Genre: Romance

Published on: October 4, 2016 by Montlake Romance

Brilliant, quirky twenty-three-year-old China Mack is totally satisfied with her carefully ordered, data-driven life. A computer prodigy who landed a coveted programming job at the cutting-edge tech company Cysnet before even graduating from MIT, China is happiest when following her routine: shower before coffee, pizza only on Mondays, bedtime at ten thirty sharp.

But then things start to get a little…unpredictable.

First Jackson Cooper—Cysnet’s rich, gorgeous, genius CEO—assigns China to a dangerous and highly classified project for a government defense contractor. Her sixteen-year-old runaway niece suddenly arrives in town, begging to move in with China. And then there’s her sexy but oddly unsettling new neighbor, Clark…

Quickly the Cysnet assignment becomes disconcerting—and then downright scary—as key staffers turn up dead. China suspects she’s being followed and isn’t sure whom she can trust. For the first time ever, she’ll have to follow her instincts, rather than logic, if she’s going to survive.

This book caught my interest because I’m a fan of the author’s Kathleen Turner series. The synopsis sounded compelling, so I bought a copy. Follow Me is the first book of the Corrupted Hearts series. The protagonist is China Mack, an extremely gifted programmer in her early twenties. She works for Cysnet, a tech company that apparently–according to China–runs circles around Apple. They hired China straight out of school because of how smart and talented she is. By now, she’s established a comfortable routine. And yes, China lives alone–for now.

China’s life changes when Jackson Cooper, Cysnet’s CEO himself, gives her an important assignment. The job’s a government contract, highly classified…and potentially dangerous. Jackson selected China because she’s the only employee at Cysnet with a particular skill. China, being shy and modest, downplays it as if it were as common as knowing HTML. Jackson seems to take it in stride, thinking nothing of China’s awkwardness. I think he might even find her endearing. China struggles to make a good impression, even though she might not need to try too hard. The thing that Jackson values most in China is her intelligence.

BOOK REVIEW: THE GIRL IN PLAIN SIGHT BY JUDITH BERENS

Title: The Girl in Plain Sight

Author: Judith Berens

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Published on: July 15, 2019

New semester. New classes. New challenges. Can a 400-year-old teenage vampire learn to control her powers enough to manage the halls of public school? And not bite anyone of course…

Vickie is making friends with a new girl, someone Alexis doesn’t trust. Alexis is starting a romance with Will, and Vickie smells trouble. Are the girls worried about the wrong things or can they help each other out?

But new world, new problems. The girls end up on social media, and Vickie has been warned not to talk about vampires, but will she listen? Let’s hope she doesn’t overshare with her new friend trying to impress her with a few vampire tricks.

But Dad has a way to get the girls to focus. Vickie and Alexis have to get jobs if they want money to spend on hanging out with friends.

It’s all so normal until… it isn’t…

The family’s attention is divided until the Circle shows up at the house. It’s going to take a team effort to survive. Has Vicki made enough allies to stand next to her and fight? One wrong move and the Circle will finally kill the Last Vampire.

Join the battle in the halls of high school and the deadly streets with The Girl in Plain Sight.

 

It’s the start of Vickie Hewitt’s second semester at Clear Lake High. She’s a fourteen-year-old vampire who woke up after four hundred years asleep. Craig Watson and his daughter Alexis found Vickie during their trip to Austria. Months later, Vickie has assimilated to the modern world really well. Thanks to Alexis’s guidance, Vickie has managed to blend in among society. She likes her new life, even if her parents aren’t there for her anymore. They (along with all other vampires) were killed by a group called the Slayer Circle.

On the subject of the Circle, they are still around. Yes, it’s been four centuries and the group continues to operate. They believed they’d eliminated all vampires from the world. Only, they found out there’s a vampire living in Milwaukee. After a bit of investigation, the Circle has discovered Vickie. They’ve been keeping an eye to see how much of a danger she is. But Vickie’s living as a regular teenage girl. She hasn’t hurt anyone…at least not out of malice. All Vickie wants is to live her life and be left alone. Unfortunately, the Circle have other ideas.

BOOK REVIEW: THE STAR THIEF BY JAMIE GRAY

Title: The Star Thief

Author: Jamie Grey

Genre: Science Fiction, romance

Published on: December 29, 2013

Experience the romance and adventure of the best selling futuristic romance.

Stealing another galactic secret will get her arrested, but playing by the rules might just get her killed.

At twenty-three, Renna Carrizal is the most notorious thief in the galaxy. There's just one problem - all she wants is to get out of the business.

But after Renna rescues an injured boy on her final job, she finds herself on the run from the mob instead of enjoying retirement. She unwittingly becomes ensnared by MYTH, the empire's top-secret galactic protection agency, who offer her a choice - either help them on their latest mission, or spend the rest of her life on a prison ship.

Forced to work under the watchful eye of handsome but arrogant Captain Finn, Renna learns the former mercenary-turned-space marine has a few dirty secrets himself. As Renna works to discover the truth about Finn's past and keep the tantalizing man at arm's length, she unearths a plot to create an unstoppable army. The target? The human star fleet.

Now Renna must pull off the biggest job of her career - saving the galaxy. And maybe even herself.

I haven’t read many space opera novels. They’re a fascinating sci-fi subgenre for me, especially when done right like Skyward by Brandon Sanderson. After I came across The Star Thief, I thought it sounded cool. The protagonist is 23-year-old Renna Carrizal, and she’s perhaps the best thief in the galaxy. The novel doesn’t specify how far into the future the story is set, only that it’s several centuries after our time. Renna is introduced while she’s in the middle of an assignment. Someone hired her to steal some tech prototype. Renna is able to find it, of course. When she’s about to leave, Renna gets into a snag. She is forced to outrun the building’s guards with extra cargo that she hadn’t anticipated.

Just when Renna thinks she’s made it away, an unknown group shows up. They’re not the goons Renna just stole from. These newcomers seem to be some sort of paramilitary unit. Renna can’t help but think of them as ninjas, especially as they use swords. She tells the reader that swords went out of fashion eons ago. They’re highly effective in the hands of these guys, though. The squad make short work of the goons and take Renna hostage. Of course, Renna tries to escape and almost manages it...until she sees who sent the ninja soldiers after her.

BOOK REVIEW: THE THOUGHT READERS BY DIMA ZALES

Title: The Thought Readers (Les Lecteurs de Pensée)

Author: Dima Zales

Genre: Science Fiction

Published on: July 27, 2015

Une nouvelle série sur les mediums par un auteur de best-sellers (classements du New York Times et de USA Today) 
Tout le monde pense que je suis un génie.

Tout le monde a tort. 

Oui, je suis sorti de Harvard à dix-huit ans et je me remplis les poches dans un fonds spéculatif. Mais ce n’est pas parce que je suis extraordinairement intelligent ou travailleur. 

C’est parce que je triche.

J’ai un talent unique, voyez-vous. Je peux sortir du temps pour entrer dans ma version personnelle de la réalité — un endroit que je nomme ‘le Calme’ — où je peux explorer mon environnement pendant que le reste du monde est immobile. 

Je pensais être le seul à pouvoir le faire — jusqu’à ce que je la rencontre.

Je m’appelle Darren et voici comment j’ai appris que j’étais un Lecteur.

 

After teaching myself French, I searched for novels in that language in the Kindle store. It ended up being harder than I expected, as there aren’t that many. Les Lecteurs de Pensée is one of the first I came across. It’s part of a series centering on the character of Darren Goldberg. He’s a guy in his early twenties who has an unusual ability. Darren first discovered it when he was a kid. He can stop time, in a way: Darren can phase out of his body, a la Doctor Strange, and the world around him freezes. He calls this “drifting into the Calm”. Darren has used this power to his advantage a myriad times once he learned how to control it. For instance, freezing time allows Darren to cheat at casinos without being caught. The book introduces him during a game of poker.

Unbeknownst to Darren, his life is about to change irrevocably. A new challenger comes to the table to play. All of a sudden, the world freezes around Darren. Only this time, Darren didn’t willingly drift into the Calm. Then he sees the challenger, a woman around his age, who has phased out of her body and inadvertently brought Darren with her. This is significant because his whole life, Darren has believed he was the only person who could “freeze time”. He goes to regular therapy sessions because of this. Before Darren can question the woman, though, she bolts out of the place and vanishes.

BOOK REVIEW: THE THINNEST AIR BY MINKA KENT

Title: The Thinnest Air

Author: Minka Kent

Genre: Thriller, mystery

Published on: July 1, 2018 by Thomas & Mercer

A woman’s disappearance exposes a life of secrets in a twisting novel of psychological suspense from the author of The Memory Watcher.

Meredith Price is the luckiest woman alive. Her husband, Andrew, is a charming and successful financial broker. She has two lovely stepchildren and is living in affluence in a mountain resort town. After three years of marriage, Meredith’s life has become predictable. Until the day she disappears.

Her car has been discovered in a grocery store parking lot—purse and phone undisturbed on the passenger seat, keys in the ignition, no sign of struggle, and no evidence of foul play. It’s as if she vanished into thin air.

It’s not like Meredith to simply abandon her loved ones. And no one in this town would have reason to harm her. When her desperate sister, Greer, arrives, she must face a disturbing question: What if no one really knows Meredith at all? For Greer, finding her sister isn’t going to be easy—because where she’s looking is going to get very, very dark.

 

Despite the intriguing synopsis, I started reading The Thinnest Air with moderate expectations. This is a thriller novel set in a small ski town in Utah. The protagonist is Meredith Price, one of the town’s newest residents. Though she’s in her early twenties, Meredith is already married. Her husband is Andrew Price, the extremely rich son of a beloved police officer. Andrew’s decision to go into finance instead of law enforcement clearly paid off. Meredith’s friends weren’t too warm about the idea of her marrying Andrew, though. They tied the knot after less than a year of knowing each other. Meredith claims not to have married Andrew for his money. She honestly fell head over heels for him.

During the story’s present time, it’s been three years since Meredith and Andrew got married. Their bond seems to be as strong as it was at the start. One day, Meredith goes missing without warning. Her older sister, Greer, flies to Utah right away to find out what happened. Greer lives in Manhattan, managing a small chain of cafes with her best friend/romantic interest, Harris. That she dropped everything and traveled halfway across the country tells you how close the sisters are. Greer is prepared to move heaven and earth to find Meredith.

BOOK REVIEW: THE GIRL WITH A SECRET BY JUDITH BERENS

Title: The Girl With A Secret

Author: Judith Berens

Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Published on: June 26, 2019 by LMBPN Publishing

Vickie’s a 400-year-old teenage vampire in a suburban public school. Combine that with vampire strength and speed, mix in typical teenage impulse control and trouble follows.

Her new dad, Craig and adopted sister, Alexis are having trouble helping Vickie keep her identity under wraps – especially as classmates realize there’s something different about her.

Is time running out? Reports of a Last Vampire are getting back to the centuries old Circle. Dedicated to hunting down vampires, they are getting closer to tracking her down.

Her vampire senses are on high alert and she senses the impending danger to her family, if she doesn’t get distracted...

Can Vickie handle dating, homework, boys, and hanging out like an average teen, and protect her new family?

Will she be able to deal with the threat by herself or will it take a family effort? Will everyone survive… this time?

 

The books in this series are rather short, so I’m going through them quickly. This is the third entry in the Last Vampire series. The main character is Victoria “Vickie” Hewitt. She’s a fourteen-year-old vampire from Austria. Craig and Alexis, a small American family, found Vickie there and decided to bring her with them. She had no one else left in the world after sleeping for centuries. Vickie and Alexis are now almost as close as sisters. They attend the same private school, Clear Lake. It’s been a few weeks since Vickie enrolled. She’s made a few new friends so far.

Despite being at Clear Lake for a short time, Vickie’s already made an impression. She has her first-ever crush on a boy, Eric. Vickie has no experience dating, but she wants to see where things could go between her and Eric. He’s a cross country runner, so Vickie decides to join the girls’ team. She figures it’ll allow them to spend more time together. Vickie will have to control her powers, though. She’s much faster than anyone. Given Vickie’s struggle to rein in her nature, I was surprised Craig and Alexis let her join cross country. At least Alexis is there for most of the meets to keep an eye on Vickie.

BOOK REVIEW: EMPIRE RISING BY CHEYANNE YOUNG

Title: Empire Rising

Author: Cheyanne Young

Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult

Published on: January 1, 2016 (first edition); February 8, 2022 by Quinova Press (latest edition)

Eighteen years ago, Maci Knight’s family was destroyed when Aurora Falcon killed her mother. Now Aurora’s partner, Felix, has kidnapped Maci’s brother. For five long months, there’s been no sign of Max. His Codex is offline and she can’t feel even the slightest trace of his power. Maci refuses to give up hope, but when a new threat on King City emerges, Maci is ordered to abandon her search.

Somehow Felix has managed to do the unthinkable: repower all the villains that Central has depowered over the years. Now they’ve banded together to get revenge on the Supers who wronged them. What feels like an arduous mission becomes an opportunity when Maci realizes that if she can stop the villains, she can get them to lead her to Felix—and her brother.

In the action-packed conclusion of the City of Legends trilogy, Maci vows to save her city and bring her family back together—no matter the cost.

Previously published by Amazon Publishing and Alloy Entertainment, LLC

 

Five months have passed in-story since the ending of The Valiant. This final entry in the trilogy sees protagonist Maci Knight handling her most important mission yet. The previous book ended with main antagonist Felix running away with Max (Maci's older brother) in tow. The entire Hero Brigade has been searching for him this whole time. They're starting to give up, though, which disappoints Maci. She feels that the Elders may even think Max dead, considering how long he's been missing. At least Maci has support in the form of her twin sister, Nova. The latter recently gained the trust of the Super community after she helped save a bunch of them from Felix.

Nova starts the book as a newly-minted member of the Hero Brigade. This means she can go on official missions and have her own Codex (a bracelet gadget only Heroes get that's kind of a glorified smartphone). Nova has a supersuit now as well. It's identical to Maci's but with reversed colors: white instead of black. I thought this was fitting, and not only because they’re twins. Black suits Maci because, whether she had the potential to turn villain or not, she still has a short temper and a fierce protective instinct for her loved ones. Nova’s white suit is likely a sign her loyalties have completely shifted to the Hero Brigade, as she was raised by villains.

BOOK REVIEW: MORE THAN THIS BY JAY MCLEAN

Title: More than This

Author: Jay McLean

Genre: Romance, Young Adult

Published on: July 21, 2014 by Skyscape

When Mikayla imagined her prom night, she envisioned a fairy-tale evening full of romance. So when betrayal and tragedy come in quick succession, Mikayla is completely destroyed. Suddenly, everything she loved and everyone she relied on are tragically, irrevocably gone.

Jake, a handsome boy she just met, happens to witness her loss. With no one to turn to, Mikayla is forced to depend on this near stranger and his family, and he in turn is determined to take care of her. But Mikayla-thrust into adulthood with no one to guide her-is desperate to contain her grief and hide what she considers to be her weakness. Mikayla and Jake both want more, but despite their growing closeness and intense chemistry, she tries to keep her distance and protect her heart. As he does everything in his power to win her trust, Mikayla must choose between remaining alone and safe or letting love in.

Revised edition: This edition of More than This includes editorial revisions.

I’m a big fan of romance novels (young adult or New Adult) where the main couple are totally devoted to each other. That’s the case in More Than This. It’s the first novel in a romance series by Jay McLean. The protagonist is Mikayla “Micky” Jones, a high school senior. We meet her on the day of her prom. Micky is supposed to attend the event with her boyfriend, James, and her best friend, Megan. Before the three can enjoy their prom, though, something happens that destroys that plan…as well as something else. I’ll just say it’s a gross betrayal.

This is where the second main character is introduced. He’s Jake, another high school senior. He doesn’t go to the same school as Micky and her group, though. Jake’s there just when Micky needs someone to save her prom night. The two take off to meet his friends, whom I found really great. They’re the kind of friends anyone would love to have. Micky enjoys her time with them. But the night can still get worse. When Jake takes Micky home, a horrible tragedy awaits them. This part of More Than This is utterly sad. Micky has lost pretty much everything. Fortunately, Jake doesn’t think twice about taking care of her. Even though they just met, Jake is adamant about being there for Micky. She’s so lucky to have found him.

BOOK REVIEW: THE GIRL IN THE BACK ROW BY JUDITH BERENS

Title: The Girl In the Back Row
Author: Judith Berens
Genre: Fantasy, Young Adult

Published on: June 4, 2019 by LMBPN Publishing

High school means classes, making friends, hanging out, cutting classes… and keeping your fangs to yourself. Watch out world, this teen’s bite is worse than her bark.

Welcome to public school Vampire teen. Keep an eye out for the ones who would rather put you back in a box, but this time forever.

Vicki is getting a crash course in teenage life, if she can just keep her true nature hidden.

Her new dad is still dealing with the loss of his wife and finding a new job. Now he’s got a 400-year-old teenager who can push over a car. Good luck setting a curfew.

Fortunately, she wants to make new friends more than mayhem. Too bad others aren’t going to make that so easy.

There’s a dark force looking for the last vampire, and all those paranormal powers are going to come in handy to keep herself and her new little family safe.

But how do you master your inner vampire when there’s no one left to teach you and suburbia just isn’t ready to find out, not everybody who gets put in a box stays there?

Can Vicki blend in and be a typical teenage girl? Will she be able fight the urge to use her smarts and speed?

Join Craig, Alexis and Vicki on the next part of their adventure, as they adjust to living with each other and keeping Vicki’s true nature a secret.

After reading The Girl Behind the Wall, I thought it was good enough to continue the series. It was a bit of a short read, but that doesn’t mean it wasn’t entertaining. This sequel continues the story of Victoria Brommer. She’s a fourteen-year-old vampire who was in a deep sleep for 400 years. Victoria’s parents hid her in their castle in Austria to protect her from an evil group. Four centuries later, Craig and his daughter Alexis stumbled upon Victoria. They realized what she was right away. It took a few weeks for Craig and Alexis to warm up to Victoria. The two bring her back to the United States with them.

For safety reasons, Victoria now goes by Vickie Hewitt. Craig managed to enroll her at Clear Lake, the same private high school Alexis goes to. It wasn’t hard for Vickie to pass the entrance tests. Vampires in this series can learn stuff extremely fast. Vickie also doesn’t drink blood; her diet is just like a human’s. There does exist a vampire race that sucks blood, called Sanguinaries. It appears there are none left, though. Vickie is perhaps the only survivor of a crusade that claimed her parents’ lives. The evil group, known as the Slayer Circle, sought to eradicate all vampires. They are confident their mission was accomplished…for now.

BOOK REVIEW: THE VALIANT BY CHEYANNE YOUNG

Title: The Valiant

Author: Cheyanne Young

Genre: Science Fiction, Young Adult

Published on: August 1, 2014 (first edition); February 8, 2022 by Quinnova Press (latest edition)

After the most vicious villain attack in centuries, Maci Knight is struggling to put the shattered pieces of her life back together. She survived, but barely, and her family will never be the same. The only good thing to come out of the attack is that the Elders have granted her probationary Hero status. Now she’s desperate to prove that she has what it takes to shine in the field.

Maci gets her first chance when she’s called in to stop an illegal fighting ring where humans are battling to the death. But when she goes toe-to-toe with the fighters, she’s shocked to discover that even she can’t contain them. The humans are strong—supernaturally so. Maci knows that this is the work of the villain underground and is determined to put an end to it. But how do you fight an enemy who won’t show their face?

In the second installment of the City of Legends trilogy, Maci Knight will find out what she’s truly made of.

 

Even though I really liked City of Legends when I first read it in 2015, I didn’t continue with the series. I’m not sure why, but one element I was a bit “meh” about was the mechanics of the characters’ superpowers. In this series, the main characters are Supers. But instead of having different powers, they all have the same: super strength, speed, healing, and enhanced senses. All that sets them apart is that not all Supers have the same power levels. What gives them these abilities is an extra set of silver “power veins”. The power that flows through them seems to be metallic, because Supers are vulnerable to certain kinds of magnetic attacks and weapons.

The main protagonist of this story is Maci Knight, an 18-year-old Super. She’s also the daughter of the Super community’s President. Maci recently became a probationary member of the Hero Brigade, something she’s desired all her life. The Elders granted her this status after she helped defeat a villain. In the process, though, Maci lost the power in her right arm. She tried to save her father from the depowering machine, but almost got sucked in herself. Maci’s twin Nova, whom she believed dead, saved her. President Knight wasn’t so lucky. The depowering process is excruciating, so it’s almost lucky that he’s alive.

BOOK REVIEW: TWISTED BOND BY EMMA HART

Title: Twisted Bond
Author: Emma Hart
Genre: Romance, mystery
Published on: June 11, 2015, self-published

I’m an Italian-Texan woman in a family full of cops. I’m passionate and shoot before I think. You only f*ck with me if you’re stupid.

Photograph cheating spouses. Hand over the evidence. Cash my check.

That was my plan when I returned home to Holly Woods, Texas, and became a private investigator.

Finding the dead body in my dumpster? Yeah… Given the choice, I think I would have opted out of that little discovery, especially since all three of my brothers are cops. And my Italian grandmother is sure the reason I’m single is because of my job.

Of course, my connection to the victim is entirely coincidental. Until I’m hired by her husband to investigate her murder and shoved bang-smack into the path of Detective Drake Nash. My nemesis, a persistent pain in my ass, and one hell of a sexy son of a bitch.

Shame he still holds a grudge from that time I shot him in the foot twelve years ago, or we could have something. In another life.

So now all I have to do is avoid my nonna’s blind dates, try not to blackmail my brothers into giving me confidential police files, and absolutely do not point my gun at Drake Nash. Or kiss him. Or jump his bones.

All while I hunt down the killer.

Sounds totally simple—until a second body proves that sometimes things that start as coincidences don’t always end up that way…

I’m familiar with Emma Hart. She is one of the first self-published authors I discovered. Hart mostly writes romances aimed at women…the kind I don’t read. So I’ve only picked up a small fraction of her works, the few ones I wouldn’t mind others knowing I own. Twisted Bond caught my eye because of its genre. I was intrigued when I found out Hart branched into mystery. It’s one of my favorite genres. I had to see whether the author pulled it off.

Twisted Bond takes place in the fictional town of Holly Woods, Texas. I would know because, well, I’m a Texan. The main character is Noelle Bond, a 30-year-old hotheaded private investigator. She’s the owner of Bond P.I., an agency that mostly handles infidelity cases. Noelle is also part Italian, and it’s a huge part of her character. She has a grandmother (whom she calls ‘Nonna’) who is bent on finding Noelle a husband. And he has to be part Italian, like them. Noelle is too independent and self-assured to  care about having a man in her life.

BOOK REVIEW: TRUTH AND LIES BY CAROLINE MITCHELL

Title: Truth and Lies

Author: Caroline Mitchell

Genre: Thriller, police procedural

Published on: August 30, 2018 by Thomas & Mercer

Meet Amy Winter: Detective Inspector, daughter of a serial killer.

DI Amy Winter is hoping to follow in the footsteps of her highly respected police officer father. But when a letter arrives from the prison cell of Lillian Grimes, one half of a notorious husband-and-wife serial-killer team, it contains a revelation that will tear her life apart.

Responsible for a string of heinous killings decades ago, Lillian is pure evil. A psychopathic murderer. And Amy’s biological mother. Now, she is ready to reveal the location of three of her victims—but only if Amy plays along with her twisted game.

While her fellow detectives frantically search for a young girl taken from her mother’s doorstep, Amy must confront her own dark past. Haunted by blurred memories of a sister who sacrificed herself to save her, Amy faces a race against time to uncover the missing bodies.

But what if, from behind bars, Grimes has been pulling the strings even tighter than Amy thought? And can she overcome her demons to prevent another murder?

 

While searching for good mystery/police procedural books, I came across Truth and Lies. The cover art (and the blurb) seemed intriguing. Another thing sets this book apart from others in the genre that I’ve read. Truth and Lies takes place in London, where the police force structure and MO are not like in the U.S. The main character is Amy Winter, a Detective Inspector. There are different ranks in the U.K. police, which I wasn’t familiar with before. A DI is among the top posts, but is not the highest rank.

Truth and Lies starts with a funeral. Amy’s father Robert, the former Detective Chief Inspector of the Essex Police, has passed away. Unlike most of the mourners, Amy isn’t crying. This does not mean she didn’t care for Robert. Amy loved her father; he was her hero and one of the reasons she became a police officer. Amy is just…different. She’s not on the spectrum and she’s not a psychopath, though. Amy simply isn’t one to show her feelings openly. She also has a certain darkness in her, which makes Amy a formidably effective investigator.

BOOK REVIEW: A COURT OF THORNS AND ROSES BY SARAH J. MAAS

Title: A Court of Thorns and Roses

Author: Sarah J. Maas

Genre: Fantasy, romance

Published on: May 5, 2015 by Bloomsbury USA Childrens

Feyre's survival rests upon her ability to hunt and kill – the forest where she lives is a cold, bleak place in the long winter months. So when she spots a deer in the forest being pursued by a wolf, she cannot resist fighting it for the flesh. But to do so, she must kill the predator and killing something so precious comes at a price ...

Dragged to a magical kingdom for the murder of a faerie, Feyre discovers that her captor, his face obscured by a jewelled mask, is hiding far more than his piercing green eyes would suggest. Feyre's presence at the court is closely guarded, and as she begins to learn why, her feelings for him turn from hostility to passion and the faerie lands become an even more dangerous place. Feyre must fight to break an ancient curse, or she will lose him forever.

 

Before I started reading this book, I had a few doubts about it. I’d read some reviews (as I do with some of the books I get) and they were divisive. I’m not completely swayed by critiques, though. That lots of people didn’t like a particular novel doesn’t mean I won’t like it. So I decided to read A Court of Thorns and Roses, looking forward to seeing who I’d agree with. The main character is Feyre. She’s nineteen and lives in a cottage with her father and two sisters. They are desperately poor, so Feyre must hunt to provide for them all. This has made her skilled with a bow. Feyre is also kind of an old-soul, and the most resilient of her sisters.

The setting of ACOTAR is a fantastical land where fairies exist. Long ago, there was a war between them and humans. After it ended, the fairies isolated themselves, claiming a huge chunk of the territory. Humans settled for a small portion of the south. The land is a country-sized island, and the fairy section is known as Prythian. This surprised me a little bit. I’d thought the fairies would live in a separate realm/dimension. Instead they live in the same physical world as humans.

BOOK REVIEW: LAW OF ATTRACTION BY ALLISON LEOTTA

Title: Law of Attraction

Author: Allison Leotta

Genre: Thriller, mystery

Published on: October 12, 2010

As a newly minted Assistant U.S. Attorney in Washington, D.C., Anna Curtis has already developed thick skin to deal with the brutality she encounters with her daily stack of domestic violence cases. Yet when Laprea Johnson walks into Anna’s life—battered by her boyfriend on the morning after Valentine’s Day—there’s something about this particular case that Anna can’t quite shake, something that reminds the prosecutor of her own troubled past.

At the trial, Laprea makes a last-minute reversal, lying on the witness stand to free her boy-friend. Shortly after he is freed, Anna is horrified to hear that Laprea’s body has been found in a trash heap. Hastily assigned to prosecute the murder case alongside intimidating chief homicide prosecutor Jack Bailey, Anna’s heart sinks when she learns that her own boyfriend, public defender Nick Wagner, is representing the accused.

Torn between bringing the killer to justice and saving her personal life, Anna makes a series of choices that jeopardizes her career, her relationships, and her very life as she uncovers the shocking truth behind the murder.

Weaving expert knowledge with deft storytelling, federal sex-crimes prosecutor and Harvard Law School graduate Allison Leotta takes readers on a thrilling ride through D.C.’s criminal justice system. From the back rooms of the U.S. Attorney’s Office and the flirtations and machinations of Washington’s Ivy League lawyers to the struggles of its poorest citizens on the gritty streets of Anacostia, Law of Attraction is a gripping debut from an exciting new talent.

 

As a big fan of procedural/mystery novels, Law of Attraction caught my eye while browsing the Kindle Store. This is the first entry in a series focusing on Anna Curtis. She's a relatively new Assistant U.S. Attorney working in D.C. As a prosecutor, Anna mostly handles domestic violence cases. She's a big believer in justice, but wouldn't color outside the lines to get the outcome she wants. The other main characters in Law of Attraction are Nicholas "Nick" Wagner and Jack Bailey. Nick is a public defender who went to law school with Anna. Jack is the chief Homicide prosecutor where Anna works.

Anna's latest case involves D'Marco Davis, a man who keeps beating up his girlfriend, Laprea Johnson. Despite that, he claims to absolutely love her. After the latest beating results in a lawsuit, Anna resolves to put a stop to this cycle of violence. To her surprise, Nick is representing D'Marco in the trial. The latter has been Nick's client for years. Anna can't believe how Nick could defend a man as wicked as she believes D'Marco to be. Nick counters that everyone deserves a defense attorney.

BOOK REVIEW: CITY OF LEGENDS BY CHEYANNE YOUNG

Title: City of Legends

Author: Cheyanne Young

Genre: Science fiction, Young Adult

Published on: September 7, 2013

Maci Knight has grown up in the shadow of legends. Her father and her brother, Max, are Heroes, worshiped by humans and Supers alike for their strength and valor. All she’s ever wanted is to follow in their footsteps, to fight villains and protect humankind. But Maci has a secret—one that could change everything.

Maci had a twin sister who died the same day they were born. In their world, one twin is always good, while the other always eventually turns evil. There’s no way to tell which twin will go rogue . . . which means no one knows if Maci will suddenly become a villain.

The closer she gets to her eighteenth birthday, the more she has feelings she can’t control: Violence. Rage. Revenge. Maci wants to be a Hero. But she may not have a choice . . .

The first in a trilogy, City of Legends introduces a new superhero mythology and an unstoppable heroine.

Previously published by Amazon Publishing and Alloy Entertainment, LLC

 

This is a book I came across when searching for superhero-genre novels. In particular, I wanted to read something that wasn’t Marvel or DC. City of Legends sounded right up my alley. The main character is Maci Knight, a Super. In this world, Supers evolved from humans not long after the dawn of mankind. The reason given is that they were exposed to a special fictional element found in caves. This gave Supers an extra set of silver power veins that grant them strength, speed, enhanced senses, and an increased healing factor. In the present time, most Supers live in King City, a secured city in Utah.

Max grew up in King City with her older brother, Max. Their father is the President of the Super community. His name is not mentioned in the book, though. Max and the President are both in the Hero Brigade. This inspired Maci to follow the same path. She’s been training to become a Hero ever since she was a kid. Now that Maci is about to turn eighteen, she’s going to take a test that will decide whether she gets into the Brigade. Fate may have other plans for Maci, though. She discovers a family secret that rocks her world. It causes Maci’s already short temper to be more on edge.