Book Review: Feast of Fools

Title: Feast of Fools
Series: Morganville Vampires (Book 4)
Author: Rachel Caine
Published: 2008

Summary: In Rachel Caine's fourth Morganville Vampires novel, the arrival of Bishop, an old-school vampire, to Claire Danvers's college town threatens the relative harmony that exists between the living and the dead.

My Thoughts: For being a genius, Claire Danvers is sometimes really stupid. After all hints she got, you think she would have figured out earlier that going to Bishop's welcome party wasn't a good idea...

Feast of Fools starts up just where Midnight Alley left off. That's one thing I love about the Morganville series, there's action right away! For this to work, each book has to end with a cliffhanger - which Feast of Fools certainly does! But between the action-filled beginning and ending, there isn't much action in Feast of Fools, it's just a long take-off run until we reach the welcome feast.

As always, I have to admire Caine's talent for making great characters, either good or bad, vampire or human, they all have their own striking personalities.

Lastly, I can't wait to read Lord of Misrule. I have a feeling that it will be filled with action!

Rating: 3.5 of 5

In My Mailbox (week 38)

From the library:
















Feast of Fools - Rachel Caine
Lord of Misrule - Rachel Caine
Carpe Corpus - Rachel Caine
Fade Out - Rachel Caine





















Love, Lies and Lizzie - Rosie Rushton
Wings- Aprilynne Pike

Waiting on Wednesday (9/22)

Title: Crescendo
Series: Hush Hush (Book 2)
Author: Becca Fitzpatrick
Release Date: October 19


Nora should have know her life was far from perfect. Despite starting a relationship with her guardian angel, Patch (who, title aside, can be described anything but angelic), and surviving an attempt on her life, things are not looking up. Patch is starting to pull away and Nora can't figure out if it's for her best interest or if his interest has shifted to her arch-enemy Marcie Millar. Not to mention that Nora is haunted by images of her father and she becomes obsessed with finding out what really happened to him that night he left for Portland and never came home.

The farther Nora delves into the mystery of her father's death, the more she comes to question if her Nephilim blood line has something to do with it as well as why she seems to be in danger more than the average girl. Since Patch isn't answering her questions and seems to be standing in her way, she has to start finding the answers on her own. Relying too heavily on the fact that she has a guardian angel puts Nora at risk again and again. But can she really count on Patch or is he hiding secrets darker than she can even imagine?

While Hush, Hush was a good book, I think Crescendo is going to be even better!

In My Mailbox: Week 37

Finally some new books to read! And finally some time to read (and hopefully blog)!
Here's what I got in my mailbox this week:

Bought:


Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.
By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

Thanks everyone who helped me decide which book to buy!


From the library:

Split By a Kiss by Luisa Plaja

Jo has just moved to America with her mum. On her first day in her new school, she seems to be adopted by the It girls, and is invited to one of their parties. There, she meets Jake Matthews, officially the hottest boy in school, and when Jake wants to kiss her, she can't believe her luck. But the reality of being kissed by Jake is not quite as great as the fantasy... and Jo has a choice to make: should she carry on, kiss Jake and secure her position in the It crowd - or should she tell him where to get off and risk relegation back to the land of the ordinary...?

At this moment - Jo splits. She's Josie the Cool - girlfriend of Jake, member of the It crowd. She's also Jo the Nerd - rejected by the It crowd, single... Will her two halves ever come back together again?



Bitten by Kelley Armstrong

Ever since her parents were killed in a car accident when she was five, Elena Michaels has longed for a normal family life. Smart, beautiful, and engaged to be married, Elena hopes to fulfill that dream when disaster strikes. Not only has her fiancé lied about his secret life as a werewolf, but he's made her one, too. She has no choice but to join him at Stonehaven, the upstate New York home of an elite pack of werewolves.

In an attempt to break away, she moves to Toronto to lead a normal life. Working as a journalist, Elena now lives with her new architect boyfriend, works out in the basement gym of their high-rise apartment, lunches with girlfriends from the office, and —once a week, at four in the morning —runs naked and furred through a downtown Toronto ravine, ripping out the throats of her animal prey. But when a band of outlaw werewolves threatens the Stonehaven pack, Elena's feral instincts drive her back there to join the defense. What follows is a war for territory, for pride, and ultimately for Elena herself.

Waiting on Wednesday (9/15)

Title: Personal Demons
Author: Lisa Desrochers
Release Date: September 14, 2010

Frannie Cavanaugh is a good Catholic girl with a bit of a wicked streak. She's spent years keeping everyone at a distance—even her closest friends—and it seems her senior year will be more of the same...until Luc Cain enrolls in her class. No one knows where he came from, but Frannie can't seem to stay away from him. What she doesn't know is that Luc works in Acquisitions—for Hell—and she possesses a unique skill set that has the King of Hell tingling with anticipation. All Luc has to do is get her to sin, and he’s as tempting as they come. Frannie doesn’t stand a chance.

Unfortunately for Luc, Heaven has other plans, and the angel, Gabe, is going to do whatever it takes to make sure that Luc doesn’t get what he came for. And it isn't long before they find themselves fighting for more than just her soul.

But if Luc fails, there will be Hell to pay…for all of them.

Sounds interesting! And isn't the girl on the cover very retro-Nancy Drew looking?

Cover Combat

In Cover Combat I compare Swedish covers to the US and/or UK covers of the same books. Today, I'm comparing the covers of Split By a Kiss by Luisa Plaja.

US/UK cover:


















Swedish cover:


















Both covers are fun and cute in my opinion, but I pick the Swedish cover based on its colors!
Which cover do you like the best?

Waiting on Wednesday (9/8)

Title: The Duff

Author: Kody Keplinger

Release Date: September 7

Seventeen-year-old Bianca Piper is cynical and loyal, and she doesn't think she's the prettiest of her friends by a long shot. She's also way too smart to fall for the charms of man-slut and slimy school hottie Wesley Rush. In fact, Bianca hates him. And when he nicknames her "Duffy," she throws her Coke in his face.

But things aren't so great at home right now. Desperate for a distraction, Bianca ends up kissing Wesley. And likes it. Eager for escape, she throws herself into a closeted enemies-with-benefits relationship with Wesley.

Until it all goes horribly awry. It turns out that Wesley isn't such a bad listener, and his life is pretty screwed up, too. Suddenly Bianca realizes with absolute horror that she's falling for the guy she thought she hated more than anyone.

I have read soo many great reviews for this book! Can't wait to read it, and the cover is way cool!

Mini Reviews (X)

Mini reviews of non-vampire books I have read lately!

Last Chance - Sarah Dessen
Never in one place long enough to make friends or put down roots, Colie doesn't expect her trip to the North Carolina coast to change a thing. Always the outcast, she's resigned to a holiday with only her eccentric aunt Mira for company. But when she finds a job waitressing at the Last Chance cafe, she also finds acceptance, new friends, and the beginnings of romance...

Last Chance is, like all of Sarah Dessen's novels, the story about a young girl with a few problems, who makes new friends, grows as a person and gets better self esteem when she at least expects it.

In this book, the girl was Colie. She used to be very fat, but is now thin. Her self esteem however, is as bad as ever. She also used to move around a lot, and therefor saw no reason to get to know people and make new friends. But when she is sent to spend the summer with her aunt Mira, everything changes...

Last Chance was a sweet and easy read. Even if I have read dozens of books like this one before, I still enjoyed Colie's story. Last Chance is a good read, but not my favourite Dessen book!

Rating: 4 of 5

Shadowed Summer - Saundra Mitchell
Iris is ready for another hot, routine summer in her small Louisiana town, hanging around the Red Stripe grocery with her best friend, Collette, and traipsing through the cemetery telling each other spooky stories and pretending to cast spells. Except this summer, Iris doesn’t have to make up a story. This summer, one falls right in her lap.

Years ago, before Iris was born, a local boy named Elijah Landry disappeared. All that remained of him were whispers and hushed gossip in the church pews. Until this summer. A ghost begins to haunt Iris, and she’s certain it’s the ghost of Elijah. What really happened to him? And why, of all people, has he chosen Iris to come back to?

I loved that Iris the 14-year-old main character in Shadowed Summer was allowed to act like a child! Often in literature, young girls are obsessing about boys and make-up, but not Iris, she played make-believe with her friend, came up with home-made spells etc.

Shadowed Summer had just the right amount of spookiness and chilling mystery, mixed with a story about relationships and growing up.

Rating: 3 of 5


You - Charles Benoit
This wasn't the way it was supposed to go.
You're just a typical fifteen-year-old sophomore, an average guy named Kyle Chase. This can't be happening to you. But then, how do you explain all the blood? How do you explain how you got here in the first place?
There had to have been signs, had to have been some clues it was coming. Did you miss them, or ignore them?
Maybe if you can figure out where it all went wrong, you can still make it right. Or is it already too late?
Think fast, Kyle. Time's running out. How did this happen?

You isn't your normal YA novel. You is raw, realistic and shocking. You is written in second person (thereof the title), and while you're reading you almost feel like you walk around in Kyle's shoes. Or I would have felt that - if I hadn't been so much unlike Kyle! Kyle isn't popular, he isn't smart and - he doesn't care. He's a loner, he gets into trouble and he makes trouble. He is far from your typical YA character! That what's makes this story so interesting, to see high school, and life, from a completely different point of view! But, I think I would have liked this book more if I could have related better to Kyle's actions and thoughts...

The ending was confusing to me, I think I have a clue about what happened to Kyle, but I'm not sure... so if anyone else have read this book, please e-mail me and explain the ending! haha

Rating: 3 of 5

Vacation Pictures: Part 1: Spain

As you might remember, I spent part of August on vacation in Spain! I had a great time, and the weather was great :) I promised to share some of my vacation pictures with you, so here you go;

Vacation Pictures: Part 1:

La Linea - where I stayed

Beautiful house in La Linea

The Beach

La Linea

Tarifa

Tarifa

Alcaidesa

Alcaidesa


So there you go, the cities I visited in Spain! Come back in a few days for part 2 of my vacation pictures, in which I take you to an entire different country!

New LooK!

YA Vampire Books have a new look!

I want to thank Leilani at Leilani Loves Books for hosting a contest for a header & button (which I won), and Andrea at Loud Words & Sounds for creating not only a header & a button, but a complete blog design!! Thank you so much girls!! I love my new blog :)

What do you think about the new design? Love/Hate? Let me know in the comments!!

Oh, and also, feel free to grab my blog button on the right sidebar :)

Waiting on Wednesday (9/1)

Not only one, but two anticipated books were released ýesterday! Yes, I'm talking about The Clockwork Angel and Paranormalcy!

Title: Paranormalcy
Author: Kiersten White
Release Date: August 31

Wierd as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie's always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

Title: The Clockwork Angel
Author: Cassandra Clare
Release Date: August 31


Magic is dangerous—but love is more dangerous still.
When sixteen-year-old Tessa Gray crosses the ocean to find her brother, her destination is England, the time is the reign of Queen Victoria, and something terrifying is waiting for her in London's Downworld, where vampires, warlocks and other supernatural folk stalk the gaslit streets. Only the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the world of demons, keep order amidst the chaos.
Kidnapped by the mysterious Dark Sisters, members of a secret organization called The Pandemonium Club, Tessa soon learns that she herself is a Downworlder with a rare ability: the power to transform, at will, into another person. What's more, the Magister, the shadowy figure who runs the Club, will stop at nothing to claim Tessa's power for his own.
Friendless and hunted, Tessa takes refuge with the Shadowhunters of the London Institute, who swear to find her brother if she will use her power to help them. She soon finds herself fascinated by—and torn between—two best friends: Jem, whose fragile beauty hides a deadly secret, and blue-eyed Will, whose caustic wit and volatile moods keep everyone in his life at arm's length...everyone, that is, but Tessa.
As their search draws them deep into the heart of an arcane plot that threatens to destroy the Shadowhunters, Tessa realizes that she may need to choose between saving her brother and helping her new friends save the world...and that love may be the most dangerous magic of all.

gaah I want to read both this books right now!