New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

Pages (Hardcover): 608 pages

Publisher: Little, Brown Books

Released: May 31, 2008

Description: Legions of readers entranced by Twilight are hungry for more and they won't be disappointed. In New Moon, Stephenie Meyer delivers another irresistible combination of romance and suspense with a supernatural twist. The "star-crossed" lovers theme continues as Bella and Edward find themselves facing new obstacles, including a devastating separation, the mysterious appearance of dangerous wolves roaming the forest in Forks, a terrifying threat of revenge from a female vampire and a deliciously sinister encounter with Italy's reigning royal family of vampires, the Volturi. Passionate, riveting, and full of surprising twists and turns, this vampire love saga is well on its way to literary immortality.

Review: I'm incredibly disappointed by New Moon. I liked Twilight and even though I thought Bella was a horrible friend, it was a good book for the most part. In New Moon, Bella continues to be a horrible friend. Horrible! For some reason it seems like if you are human, Bella won't give you the time of day and it's frustrating to read.

Grade: 4 lines out of 10

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

-

My teaser is from Uglies by Scott Westerfeld

He’d said they’d be best friends again, once she was pretty. But the way he’d looked at her face . . . maybe that was why they separated uglies from pretties.

~ Taken from page 25 of Uglies

So what is your teaser this week?

Extraordinary by Nancy Werlin

Pages (Hardcover): 400 pages

Publisher: Dial Books

Released: September 7, 2010

Description: Phoebe finds herself drawn to Mallory, the strange and secretive new kid in school, and the two girls become as close as sisters . . . until Mallory's magnetic older brother, Ryland, shows up during their junior year. Ryland has an immediate, exciting hold on Phoebe but a dangerous hold, for she begins to question her feelings about her best friend and, worse, about herself.

Soon she'll discover the shocking truth about Ryland and Mallory: that these two are visitors from the faerie realm who have come to collect on an age-old debt. Generations ago, the faerie queen promised Phoebe's ancestor five extraordinary sons in exchange for the sacrifice of one ordinary female heir. But in hundreds of years there hasn't been a single ordinary girl in the family, and now the faeries are dying. Could Phoebe be the first ordinary one? Could she save the faeries, or is she special enough to save herself?

Review: I'm torn. On one hand, I enjoyed my time reading this. I thought Mallory was an excellent character, she's sympathetic, relateable, and you want to root for her, but don't at the same time. The relationship between Phoebe and Ryland, while it reminded me of an abusive relationship, was interesting as well. AND! Nantucket is in this book. On the other hand, Phoebe, the main character, is...

Grade: 7.5 lines out of 10

Thank you to Penguin Canada for providing this book for review.

Uzumaki by Ito Junji

Pages (Paperback): 208 pages

Publisher: VIZ Media LLC; 2 edition

Released: October 16, 2007

Note: I'll be reviewing the entire series, which span between 3 books, but I'll be only posting the first book here.

Description: Koruzo-Cho, a small fogbound town on the coast of Japan, is cursed. According to Shuichi Saito, the withdrawn boyfriend of teenager Kirie Goshima, their town is haunted not by a person or being but by a pattern: uzumaki, the spiral, the hypnotic secret shape of the world. It manifests itself in small ways: seashells, ferns, whirlpools in water, whirlwinds in air. And in large ways: the spiral marks on people's bodies, the insane obsessions of Shuichi's father, the voice from the cochlea in your inner ear. As the madness spreads, the inhabitants of Koruzo-Cho are pulled ever deeper, as if into a whirlpool from which there is no return...

Review: This is the third or fourth story I've read by Ito-san and what I love about his work is that he takes such a simple concept and makes it into something strange and horrifying. The artwork is detailed and crisp, and I loved seeing how different people were effected by the spirals. I don't think I'll ever look at spirals in the same way again.Great story and a great manga writer/artist. Read this!

Grade: 10 lines out of 10

A Room Swept White by Sophie Hannah

Pages (Paperback): 448 pages

Publisher: Penguin Canada

Released: August 24, 2010

Description: International bestselling author Sophie Hannah creates a brilliantly sinister atmosphere in this psychologically and socially acute novel that explores the bond between mothers and their babies, the tragedies of crib death and infanticide, and the effect of incompetent pathologists.

Documentary producer Fliss Benson receives an anonymous card at work. The card has 16 numbers on it, arranged in four rows of four--numbers that mean nothing to her. On the same day, Fliss finds out she's going to be working on a documentary about miscarriages of justice involving crib-death mothers wrongly accused of murder. The documentary will focus on three women: Helen Yardley, Sarah Jaggard, and Rachel Hind.

All three women are now free, and the doctor who did her best to send them to prison for life, child protection zealot Dr Judith Duffy, is under investigation for misconduct. For reasons she has shared with nobody, Fliss has decided that this is her last project.

And then Helen Yardley is found dead at her home, and in her pocket is a card with 16 numbers on it, arranged in four rows of four...

Review: A story about infanticide and women who were wrongly accused of killing their children is a fascinating thing to read about and for the most part it is. The news articles, interviews, book excerpts really added to the seriousness of the situation and I loved reading them. My only complaint is Fliss, and how her sections were written in first person, when almost everything else was in third.

Grade: 8 lines out of 10

Thank you to Penguin Canada for providing this book for review.

Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino

Pages (Paperback): 544 pages

Publisher: Vintage

Released: February 12, 2008

Description: Life at the prestigious Q High School for Girls in Tokyo exists on a precise social axis: a world of insiders and outsiders, of haves and have-nots. Beautiful Yuriko and her unpopular, unnamed sister exist in different spheres; the hopelessly awkward Kazue Sato floats around among them, trying to fit in. Years later, Yuriko and Kazue are dead — both have become prostitutes and both have been brutally murdered.

Natsuo Kirino, celebrated author of Out, seamlessly weaves together the stories of these women’s struggles within the conventions and restrictions of Japanese society. At once a psychological investigation of the pressures facing Japanese women and a classic work of noir fiction, Grotesque is a brilliantly twisted novel of ambition, desire, beauty, cruelty, and identity by one of our most electrifying writers.

Review: Let me start by saying that this book is not for everyone. The plot, while interesting, is filled with really horrible characters that you will hate. There is one character that seems likeable at first, but once you hear their story you'll hate them the most. The book is filled with such horrible, pathetic, disgusting characters, and yet I loved the book for this reason. This is a fantastic book!

Grade: 9 lines out of 10

My Little Red Book by Rachel Kauder Nalebuff

Pages (Hardcover): 240 pages

Publisher: Twelve

Released: February 26, 2009

Description: MY LITTLE RED BOOK is an anthology of stories about first periods, collected from women of all ages from around the world. The accounts range from light-hearted (the editor got hers while water skiing in a yellow bathing suit) to heart-stopping (a first period discovered just as one girl was about to be strip-searched by the Nazis). The contributors include well-known women writers (Meg Cabot, Erica Jong, Gloria Steinem, Cecily von Ziegesar), alongside today's teens. And while the authors differ in race, faith, or cultural background, their stories share a common bond: they are all accessible, deeply honest, and highly informative. Whatever a girl experiences or expects, she'll find stories that speak to her thoughts and feelings.

Ultimately, MY LITTLE READ BOOK is more than a collection of stories. It is a call for a change in attitude, for a new way of seeing periods. In a time when the taboo around menstruation seems to be one of the few left standing, it makes a difficult subject easier to talk about, and helps girls feel proud instead of embarrassed or ashamed. By revealing what it feels like to undergo this experience first hand, and giving women the chance to explain their feelings in their own words, it aims to provide support, entertainment, and a starting point for discussion for mothers and daughters everywhere. It is a book every girl should have. Period.

Review: Whether you wanted it, or not (I didn't) almost every girl remembers her first period. First periods are fun, so It's interesting to see how normal people dealt with it, seeing as how I denied mined. My main problem is that I couldn't read this book all in one go. I have to read some here, put it down, then come back to it later. Reading too much was a little to heavy for me. (pun very much intended)

Grade: 8.5 lines out of 10

Teaser Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

-

So my teaser this week is from the book, Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro. It's been on my bookshelf for awhile now, but I never picked it up. So I'm reading it now.

A part of me wanted badly to tell him what was going on, and I suppose I knew that to do anything else would be to betray the trust we'd built up since the moment I'd reminded him about his polo shirt. And for me to strap up his arm in a splint would have meant my becoming one of the main perpetrators of the joke.

~ Taken from page 78 of Never Let Me Go by Kazuo Ishiguro

So what is your teaser this week?

Parasyte by Hitoshi Iwaaki

Pages (Paperback): 288 pages

Publisher: Del Rey

Released: May 1, 2007

Description: They arrive in silence and darkness. They descend from the skies. They have a hunger for human flesh. They are everywhere. They are parasites, alien creatures who must invade–and take control of–a human host to survive. And once they have infected their victims, they can assume any deadly form they choose: monsters with giant teeth, winged demons, creatures with blades for hands. But most have chosen to conceal their lethal purpose behind ordinary human faces. So no one knows their secret–except an ordinary high school student. Shin is battling for control of his own body against an alien parasite, but can he find a way to warn humanity of the horrors to come?

Review: When I first heard about this manga, I wasn't sure what to think. As I continued reading, it blew my mind. The story, characters, and message, are beautifully done. This manga is gory, so if you are not a fan of gore or you are young, I wouldn't recommend this to you. However, if you do pick this up, you'll not regret it. It's not only enjoyable, but thought-provoking as well. It's a great manga!

Grade: 9.5 lines out of 10

Friday Finds

Friday Finds is a weekly meme where you post the latest books you've recently discovered. This meme is hosted by Should Be Reading.

I've found quite a lot of books this week, but I'll only post six. ^_^

Sister's Red by Jackson Pearce:

Scarlett March lives to hunt the Fenris--the werewolves that took her eye when she was defending her sister Rosie from a brutal attack. Armed with a razor-sharp hatchet and blood-red cloak, Scarlett is an expert at luring and slaying the wolves. She's determined to protect other young girls from a grisly death, and her raging heart will not rest until every single wolf is dead.

Rosie March once felt her bond with her sister was unbreakable. Owing Scarlett her life, Rosie hunts ferociously alongside her. But even as more girls' bodies pile up in the city and the Fenris seem to be gaining power, Rosie dreams of a life beyond the wolves. She finds herself drawn to Silas, a young woodsman who is deadly with an ax and Scarlett's only friend--but does loving him mean betraying her sister and all that they've worked for?

---

Clarity by Kim Harrington

When you can see things others can't, where do you look for the truth?

This paranormal murder mystery will have teens reading on the edge of their seats.

Clarity "Clare" Fern sees things. Things no one else can see. Things like stolen kisses and long-buried secrets. All she has to do is touch a certain object, and the visions come to her. It's a gift.

And a curse.

When a teenage girl is found murdered, Clare's ex-boyfriend wants her to help solve the case--but Clare is still furious at the cheating jerk. Then Clare's brother--who has supernatural gifts of his own--becomes the prime suspect, and Clare can no longer look away. Teaming up with Gabriel, the smoldering son of the new detective, Clare must venture into the depths of fear, revenge, and lust in order to track the killer. But will her sight fail her just when she needs it most?

---

Entwined by Heather Dixon

Azalea and her younger sisters dance in the mysterious silver forest every night, escaping from the sadness of the palace and their father’s grief. What they don’t understand—although as time passes they begin to get an inkling of the danger they are in—is that the mysterious and dashing Keeper is tightening his snare with deadly purpose. Luckily, Azalea is brave and steadfast. Luckily, a handsome young army captain also has his eye on Azalea. . . .

---

The Wrong Mother by Sophie Hannah

Sally Thorning is watching the news with her husband when she hears an unexpected name-Mark Bretherick. It's a name she shouldn't know, but last year Sally treated herself to a secret vacation-away from her hectic family life-and met a man. After their brief affair, the two planned to never meet again. But now, Mark's wife and daughter are dead-and the safety of Sally's own family is in doubt.

---

Dead Detective by William Heffernan

Harry Doyle was murdered as a ten-year-old child and brought back to life by two Tampa cops. Twenty years later he has dedicated his life to putting killers behind bars as a homicide detective who has the unwanted ability to hear the postmortem whispers of murder victims. Dubbed "The Dead Detective" by his fellow cops, Doyle now faces his most difficult case - a beautiful murder victim who was a notorious child molester. It is a case that will shake Harry to his very core.

---

The Twin's Daughter by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Lucy Sexton is stunned when a disheveled woman appears at the door one day…a woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Lucy's own beautiful mother. It turns out the two women are identical twins, separated at birth, and raised in dramatically different circumstances. Lucy's mother quickly resolves to give her less fortunate sister the kind of life she has never known. And the transformation in Aunt Helen is indeed remarkable. But when Helen begins to imitate her sister in every way, even Lucy isn't sure at times which twin is which. Can Helen really be trusted, or does her sweet face mask a chilling agenda?

---

*phew* That's some of the books I found this week, how about you? What did you find this week?

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Pages (Paperback): 619 pages

Publisher: Little, Brown and Company

Released: May 6, 2008

Description: Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. The earth has been invaded by a species that take over the minds of their human hosts while leaving their bodies intact, and most of humanity has succumbed.

Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, knew about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the too vivid memories. But there was one difficulty Wanderer didn't expect: the former tenant of her body refusing to relinquish possession of her mind.

Melanie fills Wanderer's thoughts with visions of the man Melanie loves-Jared, a human who still lives in hiding. Unable to separate herself from her body's desires, Wanderer yearns for a man she's never met. As outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off to search for the man they both love.

Review: Once upon a time, I read Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. I liked Twilight, didn't like New Moon, thought Eclipse was okay, and Breaking Dawn wasn't too bad (if you ignore the imprinting). Then I read The Host and wow. This is seriously the best book Meyer wrote, I find it a shame that there is only one adult book by her, because this definitely suits her writing style.

Grade: 10 lines out of 10

Prey by Thomas Emson

Pages (Hardcover): 469 pages

Publisher: Snowbooks Ltd.

Released: November 1, 2009

Description: Laura Greenacre's enemies, the Templetons, have scoured the earth for her since the horrific events at Trafalgar Square eight years ago.

And they think they've found her.

Ruth Templeton, now a werewolf herself, leaves a trail of carnage across Europe as she makes her way to New York. Russian cop, Lev Dasaev, is hunting the brutal killer of a Russian pimp. The trail leads him to America. To the lair of a madman called Wheeler Burns.

And when Burns joins forces with Ruth Templeton, Dasaev and Laura face annihilation...

And the ultimate hunter becomes the ultimate prey.

Review: After reading Maneater, Skarlet, and Prey, I have to say that Prey is Emson's best work yet. The writer is cleaner, the plot is better, and Laura is still as bad as ever.Watching the difference between Ruth and Laura was a treat, especially in the manner in which each lady tries to seek revenge. Ruth is heartless, but I love it! This is Emson book yet. Can't wait to read more from him.

Grade: 10 lines out of 10

Dreamland by Sarah Dessen

Pages (Paperback): 256 pages

Publisher: Speak

Released: May 11, 2004

Description: Strange, sleepy Rogerson, with his long brown dreads and brilliant green eyes, had seemed to Caitlin to be an open door. With him she could be anybody, not just the second-rate shadow of her older sister, Cass. But now she is drowning in the vacuum Cass left behind when she turned her back on her family's expectations by running off with a boyfriend. Caitlin wanders in a dream land of drugs and a nightmare of Rogerson's sudden fists, lost in her search for herself.

Review: This was my first Sarah Dessen novel and all I can say is wow! The story is about Caitlin and her abusive boyfriend. I kept wanting to tell her to run and leave her boyfriend, but she didn't. She just fell into a steady rhythm of abuse and drugs, which was depressing to watch. This is a very powerful, brutally honest, and realistic book about teen abuse. Definitely a must read!

Grade: 10 lines out of 10

"Waiting On" Wednesday

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

So a book that I'm anticipating is:

The Twin's Daughter by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

Pages (Hardcover): 400 pages

Publisher: Bloomsbury USA Children's Books

Release Date: August 31, 2010

Summary: Lucy Sexton is stunned when a disheveled woman appears at the door one day…a woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to Lucy's own beautiful mother. It turns out the two women are identical twins, separated at birth, and raised in dramatically different circumstances. Lucy's mother quickly resolves to give her less fortunate sister the kind of life she has never known. And the transformation in Aunt Helen is indeed remarkable. But when Helen begins to imitate her sister in every way, even Lucy isn't sure at times which twin is which. Can Helen really be trusted, or does her sweet face mask a chilling agenda?

Filled with shocking twists and turns, THE TWIN'S DAUGHTER is an engrossing gothic novel of betrayal, jealousy, and treacherous secrets that will keep you guessing to the very end.


My thoughts: The more I hear about this book, the more I want it. I kind of have a feeling that Aunt Helen will try to take over, but I think there is something so much more with this book and the cover...the cover is just brilliant!

Skarlet by Thomas Emson

Pages (Paperback): 448 pages

Publisher: Snowbooks Ltd.

Released: December 1, 2009

Description: Fear grips London as dozens of clubbers die after taking a sinister new drug. But that's only the beginning. Forty-eight hours later, the dead clubbers wake up - and it's open season on the living, who are butchered for their blood.

Soon, London gives a name to its terror: Vampires.

Jake Lawton, bitter and betrayed after the Iraq War, finds himself fighting another battle - against the growing army of immortal hunters and their human cohorts. Lawton joins forces with the journalist who brought about his downfall and the dealer tricked into distributing the drug. And together they take on the spineless authorities, the ruthless cohorts, and the hungry dead.

But the vampire plague unleashed in London is nothing to what lurks beneath the streets - waiting to be fed ...waiting to be resurrected ...waiting to reign again over a city of human slaves...

Review: Thomas Emson takes a bite into the vampire genre and creates a new spin that is more horroresque than lovely. Skarlet's vampires are in the same vein as 30 days of Night, so the vampires come in swarms and they want to kill you. Like Maneater, it's not for everyone, but if you like an action packed novel with vampires then definitely pick this up!

Grade: 9 lines out of 10

The Sinful Life of Lucy Burns by Elizabeth Leiknes

Pages (Hardcover): 167 pages

Publisher: Bancroft Press

Released: June 15, 2009

Description: Lucy Burns wants a normal life: friends, love, and a family of her own. And she could have it all if only she could break free from the job she hates.

That job? Facilitator to hell.

And her boss is a real devil.

At the age of eleven, to save her sister's life, Lucy writes a desperate letter to "To Whom It May Concern", but when He writes back, Lucy is bound for life. There are perks: sure she's ageless, she's beautiful, and she can eat as much chocolate as she wants and never get fat, but there are also consequences.

She can never see her family again.

She can never have a boyfriend.

She must spend her life leading sinners to their demise.

After nineteen years of doing the Devil s dirty work, Lucy wants out, but it all seems hopeless until Teddy Nightingale, her easy listening music idol, gives her the answer: a little-known loophole.

If she succeeds, Lucy gets love, happiness, and everything she ever really wanted. But the consequences? They're considerably worse than death. To make it through, Lucy must decide what is evil and what is good, what is right and what is wrong, and if, in the end, there's ever any way to truly know.

Review: The plot is very charming and Lucy is a great lead character. She makes you want to root for her and hope that she can one day be happy. It also shows that material wealth doesn't always make one happy and if you add working for the Devil, it can make anyone want to cry their eyes out. I would have liked to see more of Lucy and her job, but other than that I thought the book was wonderful. Get it!

Grade: 9.5 lines out of 10

"Talk About It" + Teaser Tuesday

I love memes...

"Talk About It" Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted at Thoughts of a Book Junky. You're meant to spotlight new and upcoming authors or books that you're dying to read.

So my pick is The Dead Detective by William Heffernan, which comes out on October 1st, 2010. It sounds like an awesome mystery/thriller with hints of supernatural. It's my kind of book and I can't wait to read it!

Harry Doyle was murdered as a ten-year-old child and brought back to life by two Tampa cops. Twenty years later he has dedicated his life to putting killers behind bars as a homicide detective who has the unwanted ability to hear the postmortem whispers of murder victims. Dubbed "The Dead Detective" by his fellow cops, Doyle now faces his most difficult case - a beautiful murder victim who was a notorious child molester. It is a case that will shake Harry to his very core.

~-.-~

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current read
* Open to a random page
* Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

 I just recently finished the Twilight series and I remembered that I owned The Host. I never had the chance to read it, so I'm doing so now.

That's how we realized you were here, you know, she said, thinking of the sickening news headlines again. When the evening news was nothing but inspiring human-interest stories, when pedophiles and junkies were lining up at the hospitals to turn themselves in, when everything morphed into Mayberry, that's when you tipped your hand.

~ Taken from page 108 of The Host by Stephenie Meyer

I wonder what news headline they are talking about, I need to go finish reading this. I'm only on page 44.

The Likeness by Tana French

Pages (Paperback): 512 pages

Publisher: Penguin

Released: May 26, 2009

Description: Six months after the events of In the Woods, Detective Cassie Maddox is still trying to recover. She's transferred out of the murder squad and started a relationship with Detective Sam O'Neill, but she's too badly shaken to make a commitment to him or to her career. Then Sam calls her to the scene of his new case: a young woman found stabbed to death in a small town outside Dublin. The dead girl's ID says her name is Lexie Madison—the identity Cassie used years ago as an undercover detective—and she looks exactly like Cassie.

With no leads, no suspects, and no clue to Lexie's real identity, Cassie's old undercover boss, Frank Mackey, spots the opportunity of a lifetime. They can say that the stab wound wasn't fatal and send Cassie undercover in her place to find out information that the police never would and to tempt the killer out of hiding. At first Cassie thinks the idea is crazy, but she is seduced by the prospect of working on a murder investigation again and by the idea of assuming the victim's identity as a graduate student with a cozy group of friends.

As she is drawn into Lexie's world, Cassie realizes that the girl's secrets run deeper than anyone imagined. Her friends are becoming suspicious, Sam has discovered a generations-old feud involving the old house the students live in, and Frank is starting to suspect that Cassie's growing emotional involvement could put the whole investigation at risk. Another gripping psychological thriller featuring the headstrong protagonist we've come to love, from an author who has proven that she can deliver.

Review:  I miss Rob. I really miss Rob. *sigh* Will we ever see Rob again? The story, while interesting, isn't plausible. You'll have to suspended your disbelief in order to understand it and it has a lot of holes. This isn't a bad book and it still is beautifully written, but it just didn't have the same magic as In the Woods. It also doesn't answer some of the questions from the last book.


Grade: 7 lines out of 10

In the Woods by Tana French

Pages (Paperback): 464 pages

Publisher: Penguin

Released: May 27, 2008

Description: As dusk approaches a small Dublin suburb in the summer of 1984, mothers begin to call their children home. But on this warm evening, three children do not return from the dark and silent woods. When the police arrive, they find only one of the children gripping a tree trunk in terror, wearing blood-filled sneakers, and unable to recall a single detail of the previous hours.

Twenty years later, the found boy, Rob Ryan, is a detective on the Dublin Murder Squad and keeps his past a secret. But when a twelve-year-old girl is found murdered in the same woods, he and Detective Cassie Maddox — his partner and closest friend — find themselves investigating a case chillingly similar to the previous unsolved mystery. Now, with only snippets of long-buried memories to guide him, Ryan has the chance to uncover both the mystery of the case before him and that of his own shadowy past.

Review: In the Woods is a beautifully written mystery that will get you sucked in and wanting more. And when I mean wanting more, I mean wanting more, because the most interesting aspect of the novel never gets solved. It's annoying, frustrating, and it makes you want to scream, but it works. Strange, eh? Lovely novel, it did have some rough spots, but the writing makes up for it.

Grade: 7.5 lines out of 10

Maneater by Thomas Emson

Pages (Paperback): 380 pages

Publisher: Snowbooks

Released: June 2009

Description: She’s not sweet. She’s not nice. She doesn’t fight evil. She doesn’t protect the weak. She doesn’t work in an office by day and have a secret identity by night. She doesn’t have friends and family who know nothing about her, but when they find out they love her anyway. She’s not cool. She’s not clever. She’s not kind to animals. She won’t help children, the elderly, and those less fortunate than herself.

In fact, she doesn’t care. But if you hurt her, she will kill you. Actually, she’ll do worse than that. . .Meet Laura. She’ll eat you alive.

Review: This is a fantastic book and if you are a lover of horror and werewolves, then do yourself a favour and pick this one up. It's action packed, fast paced, and Laura is a great werewolf. She has no bones about killing people and I love that she's in tune with her animal side. My only complaint is that the phrase "eat you alive" is mentioned quite a bit, other than that, it's great. I loved it!

Grade: 9.5 lines out of 10