NOVEL REVEAL: My Heart Be Damned

My Heart be Damned is the first novel by the author Chanelle Gray, and the first novel in the Damned series. It has just been released on goodreads where I picked up this snazzy cover reveal and discription:
If you're a Hunter, there are only three things you must know about the Damned. The Damned can't lie, can't live without a body, and can't leave you alone.
"Amerie Carter has the blood of a Hunter, unfortunately. She is one of a rare line of women who, upon her sixteenth birthday, will come into extraordinary powers used to hunt the Damned; escaped souls from Hell who take up residence in human bodies. It's supposed to be her sweet sixteen, but Amerie has never dreaded a day more, and her worst fears are confirmed as the celebration turns tragic when her mother is killed.

Grief-stricken, Amerie vows to never hunt a day in her life. She's determined to hide behind normalcy, attending school, hanging out with her friends and working an after-school job at The Hut. All Amerie wants is to be left alone. But try telling the Damned that. The harder Amerie tries to ignore her powers, the more the Damned come looking for her.
When an attack leaves one of Amerie's friends in the hospital, and endangers the lives of her fellow students, she knows she has no choice: Hunt or Be Hunted. Thankfully, the gorgeous, secretive, and so-off-limits Marshall offers to train Amerie to take out her supernatural enemies. But training with Marshall means leading lying to her friends, her family, and confronting the mysterious circumstances surrounding her mother’s death.
Amerie soon discovers she’s not the only one with something to hide, Marshall's secrets might kill her before the Damned get the chance."

oh god....is it safe to say that we should all be adding this to our "most antisipated 2012 release" list? I THINK SO!
In the ever-growing YA world, originality seems to be declining, unfortunatly. it seems that authors have taken up the skill of "borrowing" ideas from other authors, change a couple character names and a  couple scenes ...then TADA a new novel. unfortunatly, us readers get tired of re-living the same tale over & over again. I mean, isn't that what re-reading is for? no need to go out and buy a new novel for the same story.
then enter Chanelle Gray with "My Heart Be Damned".
this novel screams originialty, which is something none of us can get enough of i'm sure.
Then enter release-date: September 15, 2012.
Something's Damned alright. doesn't waiting suck? I guess were all going to have to suck it up and wait patiently for the release date.
But don't forget to keep up with the author, you never know... she might do some ARC giveaways or something that might give you the chance to read this original novel before the extremely far release date!
You can keep up with Chanelle here:
http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5191012.Chanelle_Gray

Happy readings everyone!
-xo'rola

ANNA DRESSED IN BLOOD REVIEW

Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.
And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.


                         
                                        5 Smokin' Kisses !

Oh my. it is hard for me to describe how much I love this novel.
WHY?
because I have simply never read anything like it before.
first off, we are introduced to Cas, a boy who kills the dead. this novel has great depth in it. the author shows us Cas' past and reveals to us the reason he does what he does. Its interesting because he doesnt actually start off with anything to do with anna. THEN, when they get to her.. the story just flows perfectly.
the author doesnt just jump into her story with Cas , the novel slowly works up to it, building a good chunk of the emotions and the surroundings with the new town & the minor characters and such. which is good! we get some detail good detail.
then enter anna.
I absoloutly loved her.
she isnt your ordinary ghost thats for sure!
she has emotions and a certain presence that allows the reader to connect with her before we actually get to know her.
but when we finally do get a glimpse into her life, it's effin shocking ! I mean, the one thing i LOVED about this novel is the originiality. and Anna's story defenitly takes the cake for that. its vicious, emotional and shocking & just the kind of twist on a novel i was looking for!
once the romance between Cas & Anna begins to develop, it's sweet & not rushed like other YA romances. It's small; but you can actually FEEL it between them. the chemistry and the emotions are visible and they build throughout the novel, so we get nice little touches of their romance that leaves the reader craving for more.
the ending is defenitly HORRIBLE because its a stupid cliff hanger. & cliff hangers mean i stay up thinking about it all night. and me staying up all night means I crave the second novel in the series. & me craving the second novel means i get depressed because it's not out yet ! NOOO :(
I cant wait to read it though. I'll be waiting for you Girl Of Nightmares.......


Happy readings!

Blood Red Road Review

Saba has spent her whole life in Silverlake, a dried-up wasteland ravaged by constant sandstorms. The Wrecker civilization has long been destroyed, leaving only landfills for Saba and her family to scavenge from. That's fine by her, as long as her beloved twin brother Lugh is around. But when a monster sandstorm arrives, along with four cloaked horsemen, Saba's world is shattered. Lugh is captured, and Saba embarks on an epic quest to get him back.
Suddenly thrown into the lawless, ugly reality of the world outside of desolate Silverlake, Saba is lost without Lugh to guide her. So perhaps the most surprising thing of all is what Saba learns about herself: she's a fierce fighter, an unbeatable survivor, and a cunning opponent. And she has the power to take down a corrupt society from the inside. Teamed up with a handsome daredevil named Jack and a gang of girl revolutionaries called the Free Hawks, Saba stages a showdown that will change the course of her own civilization.
Blood Red Road has a searing pace, a poetically minimal writing style, violent action, and an epic love story. Moira Young is one of the most promising and startling new voices in teen fiction.

                             
                                               5 Smokin' Kisses!
My journey with this novel first began when I read SO many phenomenal reviews.....I just couldn't resist.
so I ended up at the nearest book store, in the YA section picking up Blood Red Road.
And i'm damn glad I did!

I must say though, when i first started this novel I DID NOT like it. If you're not familiar about the writting style in this book, ;for' becomes 'fer' and ' god forsaken' becomes 'gawdfersakin'. Being the total perfectionist that I am, I couldn't tolerate that writting style past page 20.
so I ended up putting it down and reading 3 other novels in between.
Then, one lonely night the Red cover began taunting me from my study desk.
and since my night couldn't get any more lame, i decided to pick it up again.
So.glad.I.did.
Seriously, once you get past the writting style and get used to it, this novel is pure KICK-ASS. it took me about 80 pages, but that changes for every person.

The main character, Saba, is totally bad-ass and she's the female heroin that I wish every other female protagonists was.
the story has a certain depth in it that stands out.
since this novel is dystopian, you are first introduced to the setting: and the detail is amazing. the way the red sand storms were discribed and the dry lands was perfect; i was able to picture the setting the whole way through.
now the characters:
THEY WERE AMAZING.
femanists will especially love this novel, because all the girls kick some serious ass. who said we're weak? HA.
Saba, like i said before, didn't disappoint. she was tough and the one thing i especially loved about her was that she wasn't a push-over. I mean, it pretty much took her the whole novel to figure out her feelings towards Jack. WHICH IS GOOD. she didn't fufill the typical "love at first sight" stereotype that most YA heroins seem to follow.
The Free Hawks were an interesting part of the novel, and i particualarly liked them. they did us femanists well.
EVEN EMMI SAW SOME ACTION! seriously, last time i checked, when a 9 year old can stand being back handed daily and travel on an empty stomach and a couple drops of water in the desert on horse back... that's defenitly a character I wanna read about!
however....the male characters dont exactly step back and let the girls take over; theyre pretty kick-ass themselves.
Jake is absoloutly amazing. I imagined him gorgeous, AND IM SURE HE IS. if they make this into a movie, im gonna be SOOO picky about who they pick to play him: he MUST be perfect!!
Lugh was your average character; i didnt particularly think much of him, but im sure he will appear more in the second novel Rebel Heart.
ahhh Rebel Heart. I . CANNOT. WAIT.
Hopefully the author will be releasing some information on that as soon as possible... now all we can do is wait!

Dont forget to keep up with Moira Young Here: Goodreads:Moira Young

INSURGENT review

One choice can transform you--or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves--and herself--while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable--and even more powerful. Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

"New York Times" bestselling author Veronica Roth's much-anticipated second book of the dystopian "Divergent" series is another intoxicating thrill ride of a story, rich with hallmark twists, heartbreaks, romance, and powerful insights about human nature


                                .5
                                          4.5 Smokin' Kisses!
               
ahhh finally, I fufilled my desire to read this book... but.... but... WHAT THE HELL WAS UP WITH THE ENDING? Cliff hangers. Someone kill me now.
Not wanting to give anything away, I'll stick with the basics.....

I' m going to give Insurgent 4.5 shiny stars. why did I knock off .5 ?

First off, I found Divergent much better. the audience was still being introduced to Beatrice & her family, and the way society works in that period of time. Everything is new and shocking and the events that take place are PERFECTLY timed. Divergent was never boring.
However, Insurgent wasn't that. dont get me wrong, I wouldn't call it "lacking", but rather, not as suspensful. I still flipped through the novel like a maniac, yet it didnt have the same effect that Divergent had on me. Still, it was never boring, since i didn't go to bed till I finished the novel.It was gripping & exciting, but didn't pack that kick in the face that Divergent did.

now enough with the negetives...

Insurgent was pure perfection. really. aside from the negetives I listed, Insurgent was amazing. the author really knows how to deliver information without creating a boring atmosphere in the novel. she can deliver information that is critical to the novels progression WITHOUT making me feel like I want to throw the book into my non-existant fireplace. good sign, right? I know i said enough with the negetives, but another reason i had to take that .5 of a star out was due to the fact that Tris was almost.... weak in the novel *twitch, twitch*.. TRIS? WEAK? HELL NAWH! I found myself frowning when there were signs of this ... but then again, we got to see more of Four & how he helped Tris climb her way back to the strong kick-ass female heroine she was in the first novel. Insurgent allowed us to see a different side of both characters: Tris' weaknesses & Fours... but also their strengths as they try to fix the crumbling world around them. I was SO relieved when Tris was "tough" again; the novel wouldnt be the same without it. seriously, Tris makes me wan't to tat myself up & go kick someones ass...no one even knows ;-)

The writting was amazing. very informative, gripping & not a single page was boring. is that even possible? For Roth it seems to be! I adore the way Tris & Fours love story plays throughout the novel, without having the usual YA cliche kick in ( He's-the-love-of-my-life-so-I-no-longer-need-to-have-friends-or-a-family-or-do-anything-else-besides-love-my-love -... I think you get the picture). The whole story wasn't concentrated on Tris & Four's romance, yet we had a vivid sense of their feelings for one another throughout.Thank goodness !

SO, I believe it is safe to conclude that this novel is AMAZING, but Divergent was better. Tris is a bad-ass & Four is hot. glad that I got that out there ;-).
Happy readings everyone!!