Welcome to my review of Misfit!

Misfit follows the story of Jael and her journey of finding out about herself and the truth about her mother. Jael’s childhood memories don’t include her mother, but instead include a lot of packing and moving, and things changing. Now that Jael is older, she’s finally wants her dad to explain everything that happened; explain who she is.

But as most dads, Jael’s father doesn’t feel like she’s old enough to understand. He keeps avoiding the subject with the same excuses until Jael corners him and can’t do anything but tell her.

When Jael was just a baby, her demon mother sacrificed herself to Belial, another very strong demon, to save Jael. Being half demon and half human doesn’t Jael less powerful, instead it makes her the opposite. Not very many half breeds exist, so no one really knows how powerful they can become. Because of that, almost all of Hell is after Jael, wanting to get rid of her.

Even with her dad, uncle, and friends on her side, Jael needs to find the strength in herself to defeat her mother’s killer.

Besides the beautiful cover, the decorative chapters and pages, Misfit as an amazing story line, characters and ending! I loved Jael, and her relationship with her cute/smart skater boyfriend, was definately something new! I love paranormal books, so there was no way I wouldn’t enjoy this one, especially with it’s unbelievable ending! Misfit should be on your TBR!

By the end of book 3 of the House of Comarré series, Bad Blood, I was feeling a little concerned with how much more awesomeness could be written about the characters in this universe. There has to be a limit, and stupidly, I thought that limit had been reached.

Then I was handed Out for Blood, which is book 4, and I have now learned my lesson. Do Not Underestimate Kristen Painter and her wealth of plotty goodness. It even warns you on the front with a quote from Patricia Briggs… ‘It’s un-put-downable.‘

I have raved in past reviews of the beautiful cover art which is designed by Lauren Panepinto and the incredible illustrations are by Nekro. To round out this series with matching covers will be beyond cool. This time around Chrysabelle is wielding a pair of extremely dangerous looking daggers that practically glow with the brightness of the orange used to accent them. We still have the black, white, red and gold theme the books are known for, and it displays equal artistry with the others.

My life has been in a little crazy lately so I was forced to take my time to read Out for Blood, rather than blazing through it and being left breathless by the mix of drama, action and romance. I had to snatch any chance I had, and it didn’t diminish the depths to which you were immersed, even in 20 minute busts.

Mal is put into an awful position where he has to face his fears, Chrysabelle discovers the repercussions of the plot line from book 3 and so does Doc. I still want to hit Tatiana in the worst way and there are surprises along the way I don’t want to spoil for you.

Now I am going to be in agony waiting until some time next year when book 5, the final House of Comarré book, aptly entitled, Last Blood, is published. Judging by the picture on goodreads, we have some more glorious cover art and I am itching to find out how Painter plans to tie up everything, and if there really will be a happy ending.

http://kristenpainter.com/

http://www.houseofcomarre.com/

Mass Market Paperback, 480 pages

Published October 30th 2012 by Orbit

ISBN 0316200174 (ISBN13: 9780316200172

Let me set the record straight. My name is Charlotte Silver and I’m not one of those paranormal-obsessed freaks you see on TV…no, those would be my parents, who have their own ghost-hunting reality show. And while I’m usually roped into the behind-the-scenes work, it turns out that I haven’t gone unnoticed. Something happened on my parents’ research trip in Charleston—and now I’m being stalked by some truly frightening other beings. Trying to fit into a new school and keeping my parents’ creepy occupation a secret from my friends—and potential boyfriends—is hard enough without having angry spirits whispering in my ear.

All I ever wanted was to be normal, but with ghosts of my past and present colliding, now I just want to make it out of high school alive….

Paperback, 216 pages  Published September 1st 2010 by Harlequin Teen (first published August 15th 2010) ISBN  0373210205 (ISBN13: 9780373210206)

Charlotte is definitely not your normal teen. Her parents travel the world filming documentaries trying to prove that ghosts don’t really exist. But perhaps their show does exactly the opposite. This makes it really hard for Charlotte to make and keep friends. She begs her parents to settle down for just one year of school in a brand new house and let her just experience being a teen for a while.

At her new school, Charlotte makes friends easily this time around. Becoming very close with Avery, a cheerleader and her physical complete opposite. But they become close and it really is a friendship that the reader can see lasting a very long time. Avery has problems of her own, she like Charlotte is a very introverted character. Her boyfriend died and she partially blames herself. The boy who is accused of causing his murder approaches Charlotte and asks for her help to contact him. But Charlotte is already being followed around by ghosts asking for help. With so many things happening in the paranormal world, how can Charlotte’s new life be normal?

I jumped into the story really hoping for a great paranormal ghost story. Maybe get the pants scared off me. But this one was a lot more cute and light-hearted than scary. Charlotte’s connection with her sister and her new found friends is really nice. Charlotte’s life may be complicated in the ghostly matters, but her real life is shaping up with long time friendships. There is great family dynamics in this book, and I always love to see that. The mystery of the ghosts following Charlotte begins unravelling from the first chapter, interspersed with new mysteries that open up along the way.

It’s a really fast read, cute and fun that younger tweens and teens will be able to enjoy as well as the rest of us.

Bel:

Cover

I have the UK paperback edition so there’s an orange doorway with a hand print to the right of the opened door and a disheveled book laying on the ground. It doesn’t really make me sit up and take notice like some of the other editions do, but after reading the book it makes more sense. I don’t love it or hate it. It just is.

Characters

This book made me question the perception of good and evil characters, which was a really nice surprise. There were large areas of grey when it came to how much I liked each one.

Favourite

That would have to be Brimstone, without doubt. A character, who in any other story, would be portrayed as evil, and amoral. Hidden depths make me really like them so much more.

Least Favourite

This is a difficult one, because in each character’s mind they are only ever doing what they see and ‘the right thing to do’, but for the sake of picking one I have to choose Chiro.

Beginning

Life for Karou is all about doors, where they lead and what she’ll find on the other side.

Storyline

Karou meets an angel, Akiva, and I can’t tell you any more in case you’ve not read the book. I do not want to spoil it.

Ending

The crap hits the fan and book 2 is going to be EPIC!

Thoughts

I was taken aback as to how much this book made me think outside the box. You and I both know there are no winners in a war, but to see something from both sides of the coin, really was a change of pace for your good versus evil tale of woe.

Quote

“I don’t have many rules to live by,” he said. “But here’s one. It’s simple. Don’t put anything unnecessary into yourself. No poisons or chemicals, no fumes or smoke or alcohol, no sharp objects no inessential needles – drug or tattoo – and… no inessential penises, either.” ~ Brimstone

Krista:

BBC Daughter of Smoke and Bone –Below are  Krista’s thoughts aka I listened to the audiobook and loved it!

Cover

The US hardback edition has the face with the blue mask. I was unsure of how it represented the book until the end, and it really does hold true to the best part of the story. Also the blue mask, I think, represents the main character’s hair colour.

Characters

It was nice for a change to read a fantasy novel in which the characters are not meant to be relate-able to the reader specifically but meant to take you to another world. These characters are not the norm, they are fantastical and there were traits that I liked about each and didn’t like. It was a very back and forth read leaving me unsure exactly who I wanted to root for in the end.

Favourite

I agree 100% with Belinda on this one, Brimstone is one of those characters that was hard to nail ie do I like him or hate him. The enemy or the protective father figure? The relationship he held with Karou is what won me over.

Least Favourite

At this moment I am going to pick Kaz, Karou’s ex-boyfriend, who is pretty obnoxious and cocky. I mostly get this because of Karou’s emotions, as she currently hates him as well. He never did grow on me, but I do have a feeling we will see more of him in the series, and my feelings may change.

Beginning

The first part of the novel did take awhile to get into. The world was very fantastical and every time she’d travel through a door it took awhile to get readjusted mentally of the setting.

Storyline

Strange hand prints are starting to pop up on doorways and strange tells of how they got there. The errands that she runs for Brimstone are starting to over-run her life and she is noticing that strange things are happening. Enter Akiva, an Angel that she falls for or who’s really out to destroy her.

Ending

A little more than halfway through, all the stories begin to intertwine. The plot becomes more complex and it’s a roller coaster ride? The ending was amazing, it answers a lot of questions, yet leaves so much more to happen next.

Thoughts

Again, I agree with Belinda here. The story takes you to a new place that gets you to question what you normally thing of heaven vs hell and good vs bad. My favourite part was that there were just a few characters which the author has taken great detail to round out and I found myself really getting attached to each in their own way. I wanted to add that I actually listened to the audio-book for this one and really enjoyed it. I think the narrator did a great job with the accents of the characters.

Quotes:

“Have you ever asked yourself, do monsters make war, or does war make monsters?”

“Love is a luxury.”

“No. Love in an element.”
An element. Like air to breathe, earth to stand on.”

Lisa:

Cover:

May I say this is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever seen?

Characters:

I was a bit confused at first with who was who (when am I not?) but once I got into the groove and started learning names (which by the way are all very unique) I started really enjoying the characters, their personalities and the roles they played throughout the story.

Favorite:

My favourite would have to be Karou, the main character! Again she’s really unique, just like the rest of the characters. She’s an art student,with blue hair, and doesn’t know where she’s from, who she is, or who her parents are. Karou’s childhood wasn’t normal. Instead of growing up in a foster or group home, she grew up with Brimstone; the definition of Evil. If I didn’t pick Karou as my favorite character, I would have pick Brimstone, simply because he isn’t who people assume he is.

Least Favorite:

I don’t think I disliked anybody, which is surprising! All characters had depth, personality, and play an interesting role in The Daughter of Smoke and Bone.

Beginning:

We get to quickly learn about a blue haired art student, who isn’t who she seems. Karou lives a second life outside of school, and drawing, she runs errands for an Evil lord!

Story line:

The Daughter of Smoke and Bone follows the story of Karou, her running of Brimstone’s errands (such as collecting teeth), and discovering who she really is and where she is from.

Ending:

*I’m still in shock from the ending, and can’t find the words to explain it*, but one thing I can say, is I would have never guessed the ending!

Overall Thoughts:

It’s about time I finally read this book. When it first came out, there was tons of hype throughout the blogging world, and really, I’m not one to jump on the bandwagon right away. But now I see why everyone did! If you haven’t read The Daughter of Smoke and Bone yet, you really should! (The second book just came out at the beginning of November, and I can’t wait to read it!)

http://www.lainitaylor.com/

Mass Market Paperback, UK, 418 pages

Published June 7th 2012 by Hodder Paperback (first published September 27th 2011)

ISBN 1444722662 (ISBN13: 9781444722666)

Welcome to Life with Lisa!

This past few weeks have been absolutely crazy, busy and fun! My birthday was the end of October and was amazing; even though I did have school.

Waking up on your birthday at six in the morning, to a chocolate peanut butter ice cream cake, and your favourite coffee is the best thing I could even ask for.

With my mom not feeling well on my actually birthday, I didn’t do too much. She did have breakfast with me, and stayed on the phone when my dad called to wish me a happy birthday. Instead, I spent the day with my close friends, and Joshua, with his family. I had a delicious dinner (stuffed peppers, yum!) and fun day!

The next day, my mom was feeling a bit better, so we decided to make it a girl day, and go out to shop. When I’m not reading, or doing homework, I’m
usually shopping, or thinking about shopping; so yes, I was excited to go! Afterwards we headed to one of my favourite Italian restaurants and had an amazing dinner!

In the end of the day, I had the best birthday, and wouldn’t change a thing if I could! I spent it doing some of my favourite things with some of my favourite people. I love them all, and thank you if you wished me a happy birthday, it means the world to me! 🙂