A Bite's Tale: A Furry Fable by Veronica Blade

Summary

A Cinderella who spends her nights as a wolf. A prince with a taste for blood.

Seventeen year old Cydney struggles against her werewolf nature, trying to keep everyone around her safe. No way will she risk exposing the beast at the prince’s ball, no matter how her two cousins try to persuade her. As she attempts to carve out some semblance of a life, Cydney can’t forget the boy she loved three summers ago — or what she did to him after losing control.

Turned into a vampire to save his life, the prince refuses to live up to his royal duties. He just wants to find the girl he loved and lost...the werewolf girl who bit him. But his father, the king, commands him to attend a ball where he must choose a wife. Can he find his Cinderella before he's forced to marry another? He doesn’t even have her real name, much less a glass slipper.

• Number of pages: 165

Review

It’s short stories like this one right here that just makes me wish that it were longer. I was saddened by how fast I polished off this quick read because of how much I enjoyed reading about Cydney and Remy. They were just too cute.

I think short stories are far more difficult to write than the average length books because there is only some much time for the author to squeeze in the introduction of the characters, set up the plot line, and wrap up all the loose ends. Now, if the book is a bit lengthier then the author has enough leisure the do it with enough time. Short stories are to the point, and they can’t lose you attention for a minute. Personally, I think that this particular short story was very well proportioned. Proportion in the way that the intro didn’t take too much time or the climax was too short. It all fit. The plot itself was unique, I thought. The country that they live in is the only one to harbor and protect the super naturals. I loved how it seemed like that average thing, no big deal. Remy and Cydney were the perfect combo of attitude and love and sarcasm and all the rest befitted as roles of main characters. I thought it was great altogether. From 1-10? It’s a definite 8. 

Fateful by Claudia Gray

Summary

Eighteen-year-old Tess Davies is determined to escape the wealthy troubled family she serves. It’s 1912, and Tess has been trapped in the employ of the Lisles for years, amid painful memories and twisted secrets. But now the Lisle family is headed to America, with Tess in tow. Once the ship they’re sailing on—the RMS Titanic—reaches its destination, Tess plans to strike out and create a new life for herself.

Her single-minded focus shatters when she meets Alec, a handsome first-class passenger who captivates her instantly. By Alec has secrets of his own. He’s in a hurry to leave Europe, and whispers aboard the ship say it’s because of the tragic end of his last affair with the French actress who died so gruesomely and so mysteriously . . .

Soon Tess will learn just how dark Alec’s past truly is. The danger they face is no ordinary enemy: werewolves exist and are stalking him—and now her, too. Her growing love for Alec will put Tess in mortal peril, and fate will do the same before their journey on the Titanic is over.

• Number of pages: 325

Review

The story of the Titanic is one of the saddest and most interesting tales I’ve ever heard. It’s just one of those things that have always interested me (like the last Grand Duchess Anastasia or the Victorian Era). If you didn’t notice from the synopsis, this story is a little different from your average historic tale about the almighty Titanic. Or did you not get that from the werewolf part? In that case I tell you now, this isn’t your average historical fiction. I’d have to say it’s like 60% paranormal, 25% historical fiction, and 15% mystery. That sounds like an interesting combination doesn’t it? Well, it is. I thought that this book was not only interesting, but also easy to read. There weren’t any part where it felt tedious to keep going, or any parts when I want to skip ahead. I was in the mood for an easy read like this that kept me hooked till the end.

The one thing I was fooled at was the actual historical part of the story of Titanic. I thought that a good chunk of the book was going to happen during that horrific event. Turns out that it’s actually just a little part of it, maybe 1 or two chapters I think it was. That’s all I’m going to say on that. It was great to learn little things about the boat that I never knew about, like the 3^rd class living conditions or the events that happened during their week stay on the most magnificent vessel up until the iceberg. It’s funny how I kept picturing Rose and Jack to come up around the corner, or thinking to myself, “While all this was happening, Rose and Jack must have been doing this.” I guess that’s just one of those things that I always associate with Titanic.

Tess was a great, easy protagonist to follow. She had her goals set, and she was practical till the end. That’s sometimes fun to read in a character, especially when things start to turn out a little differently than what she planned . . . kind of like werewolves appearing out of no where and her ship sinking. That kind of stuff can mess up anyone’s agenda. The other characters were good to read as well, for instance, the lady she Tess worked for was a pompous woman about to lose all her money with a messed up son and a daughter that only defends herself when things are already too late. Alec was ok to read, he was pretty temperamental most of the story, but then again with his situation it is to be expected. It wasn’t that bad anyway. All around the story was pretty good, and I thought that the ending—though pretty incredible—was also something that summed up all the lose threads pretty well. So from 1-10? I think a 6 is in order. 

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Summary

How do you defy DESTINY?

Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small as sheltered as Nantucket. And it’s getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she’s haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they’re destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history. As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realized that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might no to be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.

• Number of pages: 487

Review

Take this amazing book cover as an indication of how this book is going to be . . . AH-mazing! I was absolutely captivated by this story, I mean, who doesn’t love a good ol’ curse dating back from the time of the Greek gods to set the mood for this epic book. And who can resist a good demigod story? Out of all the paranormal/fictional characters out there I have to say demigods and angels are my favorite to read about. I do give warnings to you all out there when there is something I think you should know before reading books, and my warning for this book is though I did love it the beginning was . . . scary intense. Like there is this part where these creepy sisters that represent the Fates show up and they are um, well, creep. I can’t even describe it any other way, it kinda freaked me out. Props to the author though for making it seem so real. But other than that and some other freaky stuff in the beginning I have to say the rest of the book was very good. Great even! Of course what would a book called “starcrossed” be without a very dramatic love story? Helen and Lucas are so desperately in love, but alas that is not meant to be . . . or is it? I was kept on my toes (or in this case the edge of my bed) from beginning to end and even afterwards when it was over. Now HERE is when I almost had a heart attack, when I found out that the second book come out . . . MAY 2012!!!! NOOOOOO!!! It can’t be, right? Wrong -.- I have to wait so many months to continue on to the next book Dreamless. I think it’s just cruel how sometimes these books don’t come until months later, but what can you do? Any way I’m getting off track. The only thing I can really do at this point is gush over how I loved this book and if from experience you also love hopeless love stories with danger, secrets, and drama then I guarantee Starcrossed as the next book that should be given a spot on your bookshelf. So from 1-10? Starcrossed is given a close 8.5!

Dark Visions by L.J. Smith

Summary

Kaitlyn Fairchild has always felt like an outsider in her small hometown. Her haunting eyes and prophetic drawings have earned her a reputation as a witch. But Kait’s not a witch: She’s a psychic. Tired of being shunned, Kait accepts an initiation to attend the Zetes Institute, where she can have a fresh start and study with other psychic teens. Learning to hone her abilities with four other gifted students, Kait discovers the intensity of her power—and the joy of having true friends. But those friendships quickly become complicated when Kait finds herself torn between two irresistible guys. Rob is kind and athletic, and heals people with his good energy. Gabriel is aggressive and mysterious, a telepath concealing his true nature as a psychic vampire, feeding off of other’s life energy. Together, Rob and Gabriel’s opposing forces threaten the group’s stability. Then one of the experiments traps the five teens in a psychic link. A link that threatens their sanity and their lives. And Kaitlyn must decide whom to trust . . . and whom to love.

• Number of pages: book one: 1-252

: book two: 253-488

: book three: 489-732

My name is Camila, and I freely admit to being a huge L.J. Smith fan. This woman is an incredible writer! I’ve been reading her series for quite some time now and each one is completely unique and amazing. This is actually the second time I’ve read Dark Visions.

Lately I’ve realized how all paranormal books have been getting very clichéd and similar to one another. Boy meets girl. Girl falls in love. Boy turns out to be something freaky. That’s the usual quota for these books, but L.J. Smith always seems to bring out something unique in her books. I don’t know how she does it, but she does! And its not just in Dark Visions, her Night World Series was one of my favorite series.

So Kait is a psychic who can see into the future whenever she starts drawing something. She is sent to the Institute to meet with other psychics and test her abilities to learn how to control them. There she meets her new friends. I am in love with the entire cast of characters. They were all so different from one another and each one was special to me. Anna is the calm, quiet girl that doesn’t miss a thing. Oh, yeah, she can also communicate with animals. Lewis is the quirky guy with telekinesis power. Then comes Rob and Gabriel. More polar opposites they can’t be. Rob is golden boy from the south with the power to heal. Gabriel is all dark shadows and he is a dangerous telepathic. These two guys hate each other with their entire being. And they are both in love with Kait. Typical, right? Well it’s not. This love triangle was very interesting from the beginning. (I was secretly rooting for Gabriel from the beginning.) All the characters in their own right were witty. Their adventure was exciting but there was a sort of lagging on their trip that kind of slowed down the story. The love stories were cute too. Really there isn’t much else to say because it was so good that there’s nothing that I would really change.

One thing that did really bother me was the cover. I HATED the cover because it has nothing at ALL to do with the book. The girl on the cover is the farthest thing that Kait looks like and the only other girl in the book was Anna and she has black hair and dark skin, and isn’t the main character. The cover is blonde and Kait is red headed. It always bothers me when the cover on the book has a person because it leaves little for the imagination to do. So when they put a person that doesn’t look or have anything to do with the characters or the story, it bothers me a lot. But don’t worry, the cover doesn’t affect the book in any way. So from 1-10? I give Dark Visions a 9.