Category Archives: Something a Little Different

These are the books with supernatural, paranormal, and fantastical twists.

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Masque of the Red Death by Bethany Griffin

I’m having a difficult time with this review. Not because the book was bad or problematic, but rather because it was good. I wasn’t all that excited about reading this book. It hadn’t really been on my radar and it just didn’t seem like the kind of book I’d fall into and love. I bought it because it was on sale, and I read it because I was waiting for other things to be published.

Why am I telling you how reluctant I was to read Masque of the Red Death? So that you don’t make the same mistake I did. You need to get this book, sit down, and just read. You’ll thank me for it later.

Araby is living a guilty life. Alive, but not really living. At first, I was confused as to why she was the one that got involved with everything happening in the book. She isn’t the bravest or the strongest or the smartest character I’ve ever read. She didn’t have that special something. But then I realized that was why she was involved. Because she was normal. She was in the right place at the right time and had something necessary. Her importance isn’t apparent at first. But as you read, you’ll discover that despite all her faults, there’s a reason people need her like they do.

The love triangle. One of the things I dread the most on Young Adult novels. They usually annoy me because they become more important than everything else in the novel, instead of acting as a tool to help build the strength of the story. Not in Masque of the Red Death. Yes it’s there, but it doesn’t take over the story. Neither guy is completely perfect and I question both their motives. I’m not sure I trust either one, but I like that. It adds more mystery to the novel and more confusion.

Masque of the Red Death is a dark, edgy book that draws you in and won’t let go. It wraps around your mind until you can’t resist and then it seeps into your blood, making sure to bring you right into the story. It’s a fantastic read and I can’t wait for the next book.

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Defiance by C.J. Redwine

I try to go into books with no expectations, that way I’m not disappointed when they don’t live up to what I wanted. I tried to do the same for Defiance, but for some reason, there was this voice in the back of my mind telling me it was going to be a good book.

It was.

The characters are real. They have flaws, but they work with them and find ways to work situations to their advantage. They grow as characters in real ways. They don’t suddenly come to life-altering conclusions that make your head spin. Every time they realize something, it fits. It makes sense.

There’s wasn’t insta-love like so many Young Adult books like to have. Yes, there was attraction right from the beginning. But it wasn’t disguised as love. It took a while to get to the love and when it happened, it was perfect.

The story itself is pretty unique, with plenty of twists to keep you guessing. There’s plenty of action to keep the pace moving, but when there is a moment to rest and relax, it’s not filled with dribble. Every word has a purpose and I loved that.

There was enough world-building to make it work, while still leaving enough questions to have me eagerly awaiting the next book. There was enough of a resolution to leave a content feeling, but enough of a cliffhanger to have me counting down the days until the next book is released.

Defiance is a fantastic novel, kicking off what is sure to be a huge series. It has enough of everything a great novel needs without being completely heavy. It’s definitely a book people need to pick up and read.

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Cold Kiss by Amy Garvey

This isn’t an action-packed, paranormal, good guy-bad guy book. It doesn’t have good sides and bad sides or huge battles, but it still reaches in and touches your heart with all the emotions you feel.

Wren fell in love with Danny and Danny fell in love with her. He was taken too soon, and Wren wasn’t able to handle losing another person in her life. She had lost her father, her grandmother, her aunt, her mother was closed off…she wasn’t able to let go of anymore.

Cold Kiss deals with the consequences Wren faces after bringing Danny back from the dead. He’s not a whole person; he’s not what Wren remembers. Even in bringing his body back to life, she still wasn’t able to bring back what she had lost. It’s heartbreaking to see her deal with losing him, even though he’s still right in front of her.

Gabriel is a little too perfectly placed for me to completely love this book, but I still enjoyed his character. His abilities seem just a little too convenient, and his arrival too perfect, but he’s still a good guy. He just wants to help Wren with Danny, but realizes there are some things he just can’t do. I liked how he gave her just enough space, but was always there when she needed him.

Cold Kiss is a touching book about love and letting go. It’s about finding the power to continue even when you feel like you can’t. It’s a wonderful book and I’ll definitely be reading Glass Heart.

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Covet by Melissa Darnell

I really liked Crave. I wasn’t sure Covet could top it. I was totally, completely, 100% wrong. As much as I liked Crave, Covet was so much better.

Savannah is trying to deal with her changing body, mind, and life. She had to promise the vampire counsel she’d break up with Tristan, and she has to start learning to deal with her emerging vampire self. On top of that, she has to deal with the Clann members’ prejudices and being a teen in high school. She doesn’t have it easy in this book. And yet, she faces it all with bravery and keeps her strength through the entire book.

One little thing I absolutely loved was that after Savannah and Tristan broke up, they weren’t together again two pages later. Savannah stuck to her decision, knowing that at the time, it was what was best in the long run for every single person involved. As much as she wanted to give in and be with Tristan, she knew too many people would be at risk, Tristan especially. Even though it broke her heart, she knew not being able to be with Tristan, but keeping him alive, was better than giving him and possibly draining him. Her strength when it came to this was amazing.

Savannah’s best friend Anne really steps it up, too, which I didn’t see coming. But I am so, so happy she did. It was one of those things I didn’t realize I wanted until I read it. She doesn’t sit back and play the quiet best friend. She makes herself powerful in her own right.

The Clann series is not about vampires and witches. Those are only the backdrop for a fantastic series filled with tension, growing up and making tough decisions, looking beyond yourself to see what needs to be done, and finding the strength inside yourself to be the person you need to be versus the person you want to be.

Covet was a fantastic follow up novel to Crave. I couldn’t put it down. It’s definitely a must read.

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The Mephisto Kiss by Trinity Faegen

The thing I like most about book series like The Mephisto Covenant is that one story does not entirely depend on the other. Unlike trilogies, where if you don’t read book 1, books 2 and 3 don’t make sense, it helps if you read book 1, but it is its own story. It’s part of a whole, but separate as well.

The Mephisto Covenant was a fantastic book. The Mephisto Kiss was even better. Kyron, Key gets his turn at finding redemption in the Anabo Jordan. However, as much as she can get past his being a son of Hell, there are certain other things that she doesn’t know if she can forgive and accept as a part of him. That’s the major influence of this book; finding that understanding and being able to love all of a person, including those parts that are the toughest.

I liked Jordan. She wasn’t princess like at all, even though she could have easily been taken that way. She wanted to fight for herself right away and refused to let anything hold her back. She was going to work to be what she needed to be, and she was even able to sacrifice part of herself to help people she just met.

Key is broken in a unique way. He keeps himself closed off from his brothers, being the leader instead of having a relationship with them like they have with one another. He doesn’t show emotion and keeps everything under the skin, away from where people can see it. Jordan can see right through him and makes him confront the parts of him he’d rather hide. Their relationship felt like a slow build, even though it didn’t take much time at all. It still felt completely right and wonderful.

The ending nearly broke my heart. I definitely wasn’t prepared for that, but after finishing it, there was no other way for this book to end. I can’t wait for the next book to come out and I get the chance to see who the next brother to be featured is. Faegen has created a world and a family I’m 100% invested in and I love her for it.

The Mephisto Kiss is definitely a book to read, even if The Mephisto Covenant wasn’t your favorite book. The Mephisto Kiss will grab your heart and not let go, but in the best way possible.

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The Mephisto Covenant: The Redemption of Ajax by Trinity Faegen

I put off reading The Mephisto Covenant because I had read some not so good reviews and I wasn’t really in the mood to read a book that might let me down. And I kept putting it off until I finally decided I was being weird and just needed to read it for myself. My only regret is that I did not read it sooner.

This isn’t a huge thought-provoking read. It’s not going to turn you on your side and twist you around before leaving you a little dazed and confused. There’s a ton of clichés, some inconsistencies, a few too many convenient coincidences, and quite a bit of info dumping in the first few chapters. And yet, I really enjoyed it. Somehow, the new twist on the mythology was able to make up for everything else in the novel that would usually annoy me.

Sasha’s life is upended in the span of just a couple days. She escapes death at the hands of some of her classmates, her mother is sent to Russia, she moves in with an uncle she didn’t know she had with an aunt that hates her, and she learns she is an Anabo, a daughter of Aurora (the daughter of Adam and Eve). Despite all of this, she doesn’t give up on her life and makes the best of what she has been dealt. Yes, she is a bit of a damsel in distress at times, but she can also take care of herself.

Jax is the son of Mephistopheles, a son of Hell. He can only find redemption in the love of an Anabo. He comes across Sasha one evening while on a raid of Eryx’s Ravens, lost souls, and he knows that there is a reason he has found her.

These two don’t fall in love immediately, like so many young adult novels have their characters do. Instead, there’s lust at first sight, but both characters try to act the way they think they should, and don’t act upon that lust (much). Only after spending time with each other, which admittedly is still not much time, do they start to fall for one another.

There was enough action to keep me turning from page to page, not wanting to take a break. There was enough romance to make me smile and swoon. The story was unique and not the typical angel story. The Mephisto Covenant is a fantastic book that despite a shaky start, and having more of the typical Young Adult pitfalls than I can usually read, managed to pull me in and make me enjoy it. This is definitely a book for anyone who likes a bit of angel mythology wrapped up in the action and romance.

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Blink Once by Cylin Busby

This book was both predictable and completely unpredictable. I knew what was coming before I even started reading, and yet I was completely shocked by how much I love this story anyway.

West wakes up, unable to talk, to move, to breathe on his own. He knows he’s in the hospital, but he doesn’t know why or how he got there. And then he meets Olivia.

Olivia understands what he’s thinking, and becomes West’s best friend. Eventually, they start to fall in love with each other. But then things get difficult between the two and where there hadn’t been a wall before, now they can’t get around it to see each other.

Blink Once follows the plot you think it will follow. But what you won’t realize when you start is how much it will pull you in and make you feel as you read it. Sure, I wasn’t flipping through pages anxiously, trying to figure out what the next plot twist was going to be, but that was okay. Not having to know what’s next left the door wide open for me to fall in love with this story, the characters, and their relationship.

If you are looking for a book that knows how to mix a complex enough plot, a love story, some mystery, and just a touch and heartache, then this is a book you need to read. It will grab you by the heart and not let go until the final word.

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Beyond: A Ghost Story by Graham McNamee

Beyond is not your typical ghost story. Instead of a ghost haunting a thing or location, this time the ghost is haunting a girl. And trying to end her life in the process.

It took me a little while to get into the story. The beginning felt like a lot of explanation and not much of the creepiness a ghost story usually has. However, once the ball got rolling and the book started to deal with the ghost, why Jane was being haunted, and what caused the boy haunting her to die, I was hooked. The stories of Jane and her ghost are weaved together wonderfully, telling a little bit of the ghost’s story, but not enough to figure it out.

There’s a nice mix of suspense, romance, and action. There wasn’t a dull moment, and with every page I was wondering what was going to happen next. The fact that Jane doesn’t always trust herself with what she’s seeing or feeling makes you wonder if what she sees is true, or if it’s her head playing tricks on her. It only made the suspense better.

Overall, Beyond is a good ghost story that won’t have you feeling absolutely freaked out, but you’ll jump when you hear any unexplained noises.

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Inbetween by Tara A. Fuller

Inbetween is a cute, lighthearted read that I would have enjoyed a little more if there had been some mystery or suspense to keep me hanging on. As it stands, I didn’t really feel like I had to keep reading or else I wouldn’t be able to sleep, not knowing what was about to happen.

Emma was a likable character, but she felt a little flat. She never had that huge, brave, self-sacrificing moment where she becomes something more than just a girl. She wasn’t a deplorable girl, she just wasn’t exciting. I would have liked to see a little bit more from her; taking a stand, having a way to fight for herself.

Finn is a sweet guy, but he fell into the same trap Emma did. He did fight for what he wanted a little bit more, but he still wasn’t overly exciting or heroic. He doesn’t find a way to fight for what he wants, and even though he gets what he wants in the end, it felt a little anticlimactic to me.

The secondary characters are what made this novel for me, despite my wishy-washy feeling about the main characters. Easton, Anaya, and Cash could all make for extremely interesting stories and people. They have potential to become really great characters and stories in the upcoming novel.

The plot never lags, but it’s not overly exciting, either. It’s a simple read without being easy, if that makes sense. I had to pay attention as I read, but didn’t mind if a distraction came up. I could easily just right back into the novel wherever I left off.

Overall, Inbetween is a sweet, simple read for someone looking for a book to simply enjoy. You don’t have to think and try and be one step ahead of the action. It’s a good way to get lost for a couple hours in a sweet teen romance.

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The Girl of Fire and Thorns by Rae Carson

I was a little worried when I started this book because I had high hopes for it and I was worried it wouldn’t live up to them. The religious aspect of this book had me a little worried, too. All of my concerns were unfounded, though, and I loved this book.

Some people might be a little bothered by Elisa’s personality and I can see why. However, she was born a princess. She never really had to do things for herself; people were always there to do them for her. She didn’t know how to be brave because she never had a reason to be brave. As the novel goes along, she gains confidence in herself and finds the courage to do what must be done, even in the face of danger. She starts thinking and planning and behaving less like a princess and more like a warrior. I’m incredibly excited to see how Carson continues this in the next book.

In regards to the religious aspect of the book, I felt it was handled amazingly. Elisa was chosen by God to do some service for the world. She doesn’t know anything about what she might have to do, or why she was chosen. She considers it more a burden than a gift, simply because it puts so much pressure on her and she doesn’t have a clue what to do about it. Even as she learns more about what being chosen means, she still feels this pressure. People expect her to do something, but no one knows what or when or how, and yet she’s expected to do this miraculous thing.

Each country thinks they are doing the right thing, the thing God wants, and yet none realize that it says in their books that they do not know God’s real will. They are all doing things in the name of God, interpreting the written word in a way that benefits them. This was done in a way that was subtle and not preachy, and it really gets a lesson across. This may have been my favorite thing about how Carson wrote this novel.

The Girl of Fire and Thorns was a fantastic novel that drew me in right away. It’s fast paced, and has enough romance and action to keep everyone intrigued. It’s definitely worth a read and I can’t wait to get my hands on the next part of this series.