Siren Song by Cat Adams

Arthor: Cat Adams
Release Date: September 28th 2010 by Tor Books
Pages: 384
Genre: Adult Fantasy Fiction
Personal Rating: 4 Stars/ Crave and Covet
Similar Books:
Blood Song by Cat Adams
Demon Underground Series by Parker Blue








Nothing if not resilient, Celia Graves is slowly adjusting to being a half-human, half-vampire Abomination. But her troubles are far from over. Her best friend’s murder is still unsolved, the cops are convinced she should be in jail, and her old lover, the magician Bruno DeLuca, has resurfaced in her life, saying he has something important to tell her.

The vampire attack that transformed Celia kicked her latent Siren abilities into high gear, and now she’s been summoned to the Sirens’ island to justify her existence—and possibly fight for her life—in front of the Siren Queen. Celia isn’t sure she’ll survive to make the trip. The demon she defeated in Blood Song hasn’t exactly gone quietly—he’s left Celia suffering from a powerful curse.

I may have liked the first book in the series; but, I loved the second. I am giving it 9 Stars. Celia as a character felt much more developed. Also the other characters were given more time in the limelight allowing you to get to know them better as well. Understanding more about Celia's past helped me to connect with her much better. I can now say that I like her very much. Her personality is awesome and I like how driven she is and yet has her own moral code. The only thing I don't like is her taste in guys. Bruno... seriously, I have never liked the guy and in my opinion this book just proves me right. Creede on the other hand...may visit my dreams tonight. Even the unknown character of Gaetano would be a step up in my opinion.
The story progression had a much smother progression and unlike the first book didn't feel nearly as abrupt. I liked the inclusion of politics and learning more about the sirens in Cat Adams world. Overall I find that I loved this book and will be re-reading it when the fifth book comes out next January.


Scene I will not forget anytime soon:
He ate a few nuts with a chaser of beer. I sipped my soda.
“I called Mona, told her what happened.”
Oh, shit. Mona was gonna kill me. “Maybe it’s a good thing I’ve got those secret service types.”
He choked again and this time he wound up coughing. I patted him on the back. A useless gesture, but I was pretty sure he didn’t need the Heimlich.
Tears were flowing from his eyes. “Oh, God, Graves, don’t do that to me.”
“Sorry,” I apologized meekly.
He shook his head. “I told her about the imp. How you stood toe-to-toe with it, damn near bare-ass naked, and fired a One Shot of holy water down its gullet.”
He sounded awed and it made me blush. It sounded a lot more impressive than it was. Honest truth, I hadn’t had a lot of choice. I mean, it was a frickin’ boat. It wasn’t like I’d had anywhere to go.
“You know what the wife said?” He was chortling now, his big body shaking with mirth.
“What?”
He imitated his wife’s voice as best he could: “ ‘Very impressive. But tell me something, Bubba. Why was Celia running around your boat naked?’ ”
“Oh dear.”

Blood Song by Cat Adams

Author: Cat Adams
Release Date: June 8th 2010 by Tor Books
Pages: 364
Genre: Adult Fantasy Fiction
Personal Rating:
Similar Books: 4 Stars/ Crave and Covet
 
Demon Underground Series by Parker Blue










Bodyguard Celia Graves has definitely accepted her share of weird assignments, both human and supernatural. But her newest job takes the cake. Guarding a Prince from terrorists and religious fundamentalists is hard enough, but it seems like the entire supernatural world is after this guy too. When she is betrayed by those she is employed to help, and everything goes horribly wrong, Celia wakes to find herself transformed.

Neither human nor vampire, Celia has become an Abomination—something that should not exist—and now both human and supernatural alike want her dead. With the help of a few loyal friends—a sexy mage, a powerful werewolf, and a psychic cop—Celia does her best to stay alive. On the run from her enemies, Celia must try to discover who is behind her transformation…before it’s too late.

I gave this book  6 Stars. Why? Because I love strong chicks who hold they're own after they have been through hell. Why only 6 stars? Celia is a little hard to connect with at first; however I was so interested in what else was happening that it didn't really matter. However if the lore and supernatural happenings hadn't been so interesting I might have put it down for good. There isn't really any romance that is going on in this book. Which is okay I can live with that especially since I never got really attached to any of the male characters. Bruno is definitely not a guy character that ever left the pages for me. 
However I am glad that I kept reading because the more I read the more I grew attached to Celia and really loved the supernatural world that Cat Adams created. Did I grow to love Bruno...no, not at all. But I loved the creatures and the way that Celia takes care of her business and I don't regret reading this book at all; because while this book may have been slightly "meh" for me the rest of the series is worth it.

Live Through This By Mindi Scott

Author: Mindi Scott
Release Date: October 2nd 2012
Pages: 304
Genre: Teen Contemporary Fiction 
Personal Rating: 3 Stars/ Buy
 
Similar Books:
Just Listen by Sarah Dessen
Speak by Laurie Halse Anderson








 
 From the outside, Coley Sterling’s life seems pretty normal . . .  whatever that means. It’s not perfect—her best friend is seriously mad at her and her dance team  captains keep giving her a hard time—but Coley’s adorable, sweet crush Reece helps distract her.  Plus, she has a great family to fall back on—with a mom and stepdad who would stop at nothing to  keep her siblings and her happy.
But Coley has a lot of secrets. She won’t admit—not even to herself—that her almost-perfect life is her own carefully-crafted façade. That for years she’s been burying the shame and guilt over a  relationship that crossed the line. Now that Coley has the chance at her first real boyfriend, a decade’s worth of lies are on the verge of unraveling. 

I give this book 8 stars Coley is a great character and way portrayed very well. Also despite the fact that she is obviously somewhat popular you really get the feeling that she has somewhat of a introverted personality. The story is a good one however truthfully I thought it would be predictable and I was proven wrong. I made it through half of the book thinking I knew what the deal was and then I realized I was very mistaken. not often does a book manage to shake up my misconceptions and I must give kudos to Mindy Scott for that. Other than that I loved the characters especially Noah. I want a friend like Noah! I only wish I had gotten to know them a little better. Also while I accept the ending it was too abrupt for me and it left me with the stinging question of what happens now. It made me feel like the title was inappropriate because the question "how can she Live Through This" isn't answered.