The Dark Divine Review

26 Dec, 2009 by in paranormal, YA fiction 1 comment

Trailer by Sprtygal/ cranberryfries

From debut author Bree Despain’s website:

A prodigal son

A dangerous love

A deadly secret . . .

Grace Divine, daughter of the local pastor, always knew something terrible happened the night Daniel Kalbi disappeared—the night she found her brother Jude collapsed on the porch, covered in blood. But she has no idea what a truly monstrous secret that night really held. And when Daniel returns three years later, Grace can no longer deny her attraction to him, despite promising Jude shell stay away.

As Grace gets closer to Daniel, her actions stir the ancient evil Daniel unleashed that horrific night. Grace must discover the truth behind Jude and Daniel’s dark secret . . . and the cure that can save the ones she loves. But she may have to lay down the ultimate sacrifice to do it—her soul.

http://www.blogger.com/www.thedarkdivine.com
http://breedespain.com/

WOW! I bought Bree’s debut book the day it came out and could not stop reading until I was done. I admit it took me a little while to fall in love with Daniel because of all I knew he had done in the past, but he what a man.

This book takes the parable of the Prodigal Son and brings it into the 21st century while adding a paranormal twist full of myth and legend.

Every girl wants to fall in love with their childhood friend and I found myself pulling for Grace and Daniel as their chemistry became undeniable. It was clear their love would endure the pressures of the outside trying to pull them apart. Grace is the perfect heroine…down to earth, forgiving and an example of what she has been taught. Daniel is someone I have seen in so many others as I get older, someone fighting against what seems an inescapable past. He works hard to better his life and right what he has done wrong. Jude. Well, he is the boy next door who serves everyone and you can’t help but to love him. Each one involved in the story has depth that helps you see their point of view.

The characters jumped off of the pages for me. I enjoyed the history woven through the ending chapters as the full plot and all of the secrets unfold. The last chapter were easy to read and not jumbled or pulled together too quickly. The suspense keeps the pages turning form beginning to end. This is a must read! Warning though, once you pick it up you will not be able to put it down. Five out of five stars.

Watch for my TDD inspired jewelry coming out this week 🙂

Waiting on Wednesday "Linger"

23 Dec, 2009 by in maggie stiefvater, shiver, wolf, YA fiction 1 comment


In Maggie Stiefvater’s Shiver, Grace and Sam found each other. Now, in Linger, they must fight to be together. For Grace, this means defying her parents and keeping a very dangerous secret about her own well-being. For Sam, this means grappling with his werewolf past . . . and figuring out a way to survive into the future. Add into the mix a new wolf named Cole, whose own past has the potential to destroy the whole pack. And Isabelle, who already lost her brother to the wolves . . . and is nonetheless drawn to Cole.

At turns harrowing and euphoric, Linger is a spellbinding love story that explores both sides of love — the light and the dark, the warm and the cold — in a way you will never forget.

Pre-order on Amazon here

Maggie is my very favorite Young Adult author and I fell in love with her first three books: Lament, Ballad and Shiver. While waiting for Linger to debut enjoy her Shiver trailers…

Learn more about Maggie at her blog site http://m-stiefvater.livejournal.com/ you will love her taste in music!

See our Stiefvater inspired jewelry on Etsy

The Winter Star

21 Dec, 2009 by in winter star Leave a comment

“Rachel was right. The figure she had seen outside her window had been Joey. But when everyone drove up, his courage failed . . . again. He just couldn’t force himself to ruin their Christmas Eve celebration. It wasn’t that he didn’t want to be a part of them again. It was plain and simple fear that kept him away, fear of rejection and hate and the unknown.”

Some families wish upon a star, others search constellations, but some use starlight . . . to find their way home.

When a new star appears just above the horizon, the Keller family is guided to someone very special they believed they had lost forever. A story of reflection and hope, Winter Star will remind you that by looking to Christmases past, you can discover the magic of this holiday season.”

This year’s Christmas read for me. I am about halfway through the book and loving it. It’s a feel good story about families, fogiveness and faith. Purchase The Winter Star here for only $3.97!

The Dark Divine

21 Dec, 2009 by in YA fiction Leave a comment

Ever since meeting Bree a couple of weeks ago I have been scouring the shelves of local bookstores hoping to catch a sneak peek of her book “The Dark Divine” in the wild. No such luck… However, only two days left until the official debut! In the mean time check out her playlist on our sidebar. It is to die for. Lots of awesome music. And check out her blog here.
Join Bree at her pre-launch chat on Mundie Moms tonight at 7 Pm MST.

The Seven Rays

20 Dec, 2009 by in seven rays, young adult fiction 2 comments

You are more than you think you are.

THAT IS THE ANONYMOUS MESSAGE that Beth Michaels receives right before she starts seeing things. Not just a slept-through my-alarm-clock, late-for-homeroom, haven’t had-my-caffeine-fix kind of seeing things. It all starts with some dots, annoying pink dots that pop up on and over her mom and her best friend’s face. But then things get out of control and Beth is seeing people’s pasts, their fears, their secrets, their desires. The images are coming at Beth in hi-def streaming video and she can’t stop it. Everyone thinks she’s crazy and she’s pretty sure she agrees with them. But crazy doesn’t explain the gold envelopes that have started arriving, containing seeing keys and mysterious tarot cards. To Beth, it all seems too weird to be true. You are more than you think you are? But here’s the thing: What if she is?

The creator of Bring it On, Jessica Bendiner, brings her teen savvy writing to this paranormal romance, The Seven Rays.

I was drawn to this book by its cover and book trailer and I was excited to read it. About ten pages in I got skeptical. The jacket said it is written for 14 years or older. Already within the first chapter we were talking about things that are not at all okay for 14 year olds. I kept reading because the plot was interesting, but it just got worse. By page 200 I had to put the book down and stop reading. It made me, a 34 year old married woman with children feel dirty. In my opinion the book has soft porn designed to stimulate young minds to desire music that pushes sex. The main characters went for 0 to 60 in a couple of minutes. Why?

It is sad to me that some Young Adult fiction can be wrapped up in great appealing characters and push trashy values. The author here threw in a semi-feel good ultimate message. Her premise that jealousy and lies be combated by love was lost for me amongst all of the sexual, alternative undertones. I gave it 2 out of 5 stars.

Top 25 Books Heather Can’t Wait To Read

18 Dec, 2009 by in waiting on, young adult fiction 1 comment

25 Linger (The Wolves of Mercy Falls, #2) Stiefvater, Maggie*

24 Ash Lo, Malinda

23 Going Bovine Bray, Libba

22 The Way He Lived Smith, Emily Wing

21 Sweethearts Zarr, Sara

20 Peeps (Peeps, #1) Westerfeld, Scott

19 To Kill a Mockingbird Lee, Harper

18 Fallen (Fallen, #1) Kate, Lauren

17 Wintergirls Anderson, Laurie Halse*

16 The Demon’s Lexicon (Demons, #1) Brennan, Sarah Rees


15 The Dark Divine Despain, Bree*

14 Misguided Angel (Blue Bloods, #5) Cruz, Melissa de la

13 Bitterblue Cashore, Kristin

11 The Maze Runner (Maze Runner, #1)

10 Confessions of a Shopaholic (Shopaholic, #1)

9 If I Stay Forman, Gayle

8 Spells (Wings, #2) Pike, Aprilynne

7 City of Fallen Angels (Mortal Instruments, #4) Clare, Cassandra

6 As You Wish Pearce, Jackson*

5 The Actor and the Housewife: A Novel Hale, Shannon

4 Need (Need, #1) Jones, Carrie*

3 The Clockwork Angel (The Infernal Devices, #1) Clare, Cassandra

2 Forest Born (The Books of Bayern, #4) Hale, Shannon

1 Before I Fall Oliver, Lauren*