The Hidden Diary of Marie Antoinette by Carolly Erickson

Author:  Carolly Erickson
Publish Date: August 8, 2006 Website: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6597.Carolly_Erickson
ISBN: 9780312361501
List Price: $13.95
My Rating: 5 out of 5

Jacket Synopsis:
Imagine that, on the night before she is to die under the blade of the guillotine, Marie Antoinette leaves behind in her prison cell a diary telling the story of her life—from her privileged childhood as Austrian Archduchess to her years as glamorous mistress of Versailles to the heartbreak of imprisonment and humiliation during the French Revolution.

Carolly Erickson takes the reader deep into the psyche of France’s doomed queen: her love affair with handsome Swedish diplomat Count Axel Fersen, who risked his life to save her; her fears on the terrifying night the Parisian mob broke into her palace bedroom intent on murdering her and her family; her harrowing attempted flight from France in disguise; her recapture and the grim months of harsh captivity; her agony when her beloved husband was guillotined and her young son was torn from her arms, never to be seen again.

Erickson brilliantly captures the queen’s voice, her hopes, her dreads, and her suffering. We follow, mesmerized, as she reveals every detail of her remarkable, eventful life—from her teenage years when she began keeping a diary to her final days when she awaited her own bloody appointment with the guillotine.

My Comments:
I love historical fiction! This is the fictional story and embellished "replica" of Marie Antoinette's diary. It details her experience from childhood to the chopping block. Her lover, her children, the love for her husband, Louis, were all captured in this entertaining story. It is interesting to watch her character delicately balance fear, hate, love, and companionship right up until her death. I cried! Love it, would read it again. With this book, I have picked up several other of Carolly Erickson's books. Her writing is great and so vivid!

The Twilight Saga: The Official Illustrated Guide by Stephenie Meyer

Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publish Date: April 12, 2011
Website: www.stepheniemeyer.com
ISBN: 9780316043120
List Price: $24.99
My Rating: 5 of 5

Jacket Synopsis:
This must-have hardcover edition--the only official guide--is the definitive encyclopedic reference to the Twilight Saga and provides readers with everything they need to further explore the unforgettable world Stephenie Meyer created in Twilight, New Moon, Eclipse, and Breaking Dawn. With exclusive new material, character profiles, genealogical charts, maps, extensive cross-references, and much more, this comprehensive handbook is essential for every Twilight Saga fan.

My Comments:
This is a great fun, fact filled guide to the characters of the Twilight Saga series. The first section is an open interview with Stephenie Meyer about the origins of this story starting in a dream, her writing style, character development, and personal experience of it all. The the book walks you through short background stories of each character. It also includes family trees and time lines. It's a fun read to better understand that personality of characters, how they came to be, and added view points to the saga series. The sections about the Cullen cars and fan art are really fun too!

The Host by Stephenie Meyer

Author: Stephenie Meyer
Publish Date: May, 6, 2008
Website: http://stepheniemeyer.com/
ISBN: 9780316068048
List Price: $16.99
My Rating: 5 out of 5

Jacket Synopsis:
Melanie Stryder refuses to fade away. Our world has been invaded by an unseen enemy. Humans become hosts for these invaders, their minds taken over while their bodies remain intact and continue their lives apparently unchanged. Most of humanity has succumbed.
When Melanie, one of the few remaining "wild" humans, is captured, she is certain it is her end. Wanderer, the invading "soul" who has been given Melanie's body, was warned about the challenges of living inside a human: the overwhelming emotions, the glut of senses, 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.
Wanderer probes Melanie's thoughts, hoping to discover the whereabouts of the remaining human resistance. Instead, Melanie fills Wanderer's mind 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 begins to yearn for a man she has been tasked with exposing. When outside forces make Wanderer and Melanie unwilling allies, they set off on a dangerous and uncertain search for the man they both love.

My Comments:
This book was a bit hard to start and get into, but I thought that it was such an interesting story line. I had to just sit and focus... once I was about 1/4 of the way into it I could NOT put this book down. I read every minute of the day and night to finish and I cannot wait for the Host 2 (The Seeker - 2012) to arrive. There is even a book three supposedly in the works. An interesting take on alien life forms that settle on different planets and take over the bodies of the beings on that planet. They experience the life of the host beings for ever how long they wish moving from host to host as the hosts age. They have the opportunity to go to other planets to experience different life forms through out their own life. The story between Melanie and Wanderer is intriguing, dynamic, and loving... I really cannot wait to see how Melanie (the host) and Wanderer (Wanda) experience the world together in book 2. The loving bond that develops between them is unique and beautiful.

Blue Moon by Alyson Noel

Author: Alyson Noel
Publish Date: July 7, 2009
Website: http://www.alysonnoel.com
ISBN: 9780312532765
List Price: $9.99
My Rating: 4 of 5
Jacket Synopsis:  Eager to learn everything she can about her new abilities as an Immortal, Ever turns to her beloved Damen to show her the way. But just as her powers are increasing, Damen’s are waning.  In an attempt to save him, Ever travels to the magical dimension of Summerland, where she learns the secrets of Damen’s tortured past; a past which he has always kept hidden from her. But in her quest to cure Damen, Ever discovers an ancient text that details the workings of time. Now Ever must chose between turning back the past and saving her family from the accident that claimed their lives—or staying in the present and saving Damen, who grows sicker every day...

My Comments:
In this continuation, Ever struggles with the desire to return to her life before that accident that claimed her family while trying to find a cure to save Damen. She believes her life would be more fulfilled if she were to go back to a moment before the accident and prevent it. However, she knows that her eventual meeting of Damen would not happen in that alternate life path.  Ever has to use Summerland and the knowledge library to seek the information she needs all the while encountering the not-so-trustful twin souls that appear to want to guide her to the right path. She still wishes that she had her ghostly sister, Riley, around, but she is not able to locate her or determine if she made it to the "other side" safely.

Ever spends most of her time trying to figure out Damen's long lost friend Roman and what he wants. Once he transfers to their school, the whole social structure of the school changes and that is when Damen becomes ill. Ever is convinced Roman has something to do with it, but how & why?

The author, Alyson Noel, has a fantastic writing style. She has developed great characters that will cause each reader to seek the next book in this series without a doubt! Shadowland is already here! The mystery that she builds around Damen and the constant page turning to find out what he is and how Ever can now exist in the immortal world. Ever struggles with changing the past and whether it would be the right thing to do. This is a great YA read!!

Evermore by Alyson Noel

Author: Alyson Noel
Publish Date: February 3, 2009
Website: http://www.alysonnoel.com
ISBN: 9780312532758
List Price: $9.95
My Rating: 4 out of 5

Jacket Synopsis: 
Since a horrible accident claimed the lives of her family, sixteen-year-old Ever can see auras, hear people’s thoughts, and know a person’s life story by touch.   Going out of her way to shield herself from human contact to suppress her abilities has branded her as a freak at her new high school—but everything changes when she meets Damen Auguste…

Ever sees Damen and feels an instant recognition.  He is gorgeous, exotic and wealthy, and he holds many secrets.  Damen is able to make things appear and disappear, he always seems to know what she’s thinking—and he’s the only one who can silence the noise and the random energy in her head.  She doesn’t know who he really is—or what he is.  Damen equal parts light and darkness, and he belongs to an enchanted new world where no one ever dies.

My Comments:
I had heard so much about this series. I read Radiance first which is an offshoot of this earlier story and after reading about Riley I could not wait to start Evermore. This first book in the Immortals series is an entertaining and thrilling adventure of Ever and her abilities. Ever can see auras, read minds, see the dead, and generally feel afflicted by these powers. She doesn't understand why she lost her entire family in a car accident that she alone survived. She is visited by her dead sister which in a way is the only comforting presence Ever has at the moment.

Ever struggles to push through daily life even though she hears everyone's thoughts and is overwhelmed by the spiritual world around her until... One day a new student appears and she finds that she is comforted and finds solace in the presence of Damen. Damen is mysterious and Ever cannot seem to figure out why she "knows" Damen. How does he make her painful abilities melt away and make her feel normal again?

The author, Alyson Noel, has a fantastic writing style. She has developed great characters that will cause each reader to seek the next book in this series without a doubt! The mystery that she builds around Damen and the constant page turning to find out what he is. Is he a vampire, a ghost, and immortal of some sort? Ever has to know why Damen comforts her so much and where this long entwining bond between them comes from.  This is a great YA read!!

I am off to read Blue Moon.

Radiance by Alyson Noel

Author: Alyson Noel
Publish Date: August 31, 2010
Website: http://www.alysonnoel.com
ISBN: 9780312629175
List Price: $7.99
My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Jacket Synopsis: 
 Riley Bloom left her sister, Ever, in the world of the living and crossed the bridge into the afterlife—a place called Here, where time is always Now. Riley and her dog, Buttercup, have been reunited with her parents and are just settling into a nice, relaxing death when she's summoned before The Council. They let her in on a secret—the afterlife isn't just an eternity of leisure; Riley has to work. She's been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a curious boy she can't quite figure out.

Riley, Bodhi, and Buttercup return to earth for her first assignment, a Radiant Boy who's been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But he's never met Riley... 

My Comments:
This is my first Alyson Noel book. I have had Evermore on my shelf for a while, but other series books have gotten in the way. I thought I would pick up Radiance because it was a short novella by Alyson Noel. This was a fantastic read. Alyson's writing style is smooth, energetic, and constantly entertaining. I love the character Riley that she has created. She is a spunky, independent twelve year old who can certainly hold her own. When she is called up to take on the job of Soul Catcher she doesn't dissappoint.

Riley loves her heaven because she has learned she can manifest whatever she desires; however, Riley and her family have manifested portion of their earth life to make the transition easier. Soon enough Riley is told she has to return to school which she not all to thrilled about. On her first day, she feels out of place and then is shoved into a big empty room with The Council where she has to "explain her life." You will have to read the book to see how that panel discussion goes!! To say the least Riley pretty much says ... I have to explain ALL twelve years! Boy, was I gipped. (my own words)

After The Council session Riley is assigned a job as Soul Catcher. Riley and her best friend in the world Buttercup, her yellow lab, set off with her newly assigned teacher, Bohdi, to test Riley on her first soul catching mission. She is assigned the Radiant Boy who has haunted his castle for decades. Many have tried to convince the Radiant Boy to move on, but he is stubborn.

The second installment to Riley's adventure is due March 15, 2011 and titled Shimmer.

I am moving on to Alyson's Evermore series now, as I thoroughly enjoyed her writing style and creative story telling. I look forward to more great stories and have high expectations for Evermore!

Torment by Lauren Kate

Title: Torment
Author: Lauren Kate
Publish Date: September 28, 2010
Website: http://laurenkatebooks.net/
ISBN: 9780385739146
List Price: $17.99
Rating: 5 out of 5

Jacket Synopsis:
How many lives do you need to live before you find someone worth dying for? In the aftermath of what happened at Sword and Cross, Luce has been hidden away by her cursed angelic boyfriend, Daniel, in a new school filled with Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans. Daniel promises she will be safe here, protected from those who would kill her. At the school Luce discovers what the Shadows that have followed her all her life mean - and how to manipulate them to see into her other lives. Yet the more Luce learns about herself, the more she realizes that the past is her only key to unlocking her future...and that Daniel hasn't told her everything. What if his version of the past isn't actually the way things happened...what if Luce was really meant to be with someone else?

Review:
The second installment in the Fallen Series did not disappoint. I was on the edge of my seat reading this book. Luce is an amazing character and the whole angelic plot around her is so intriguing. She knows very little about the war of the Fallen (Angels) and all the sides that were taken. She doesn't realize till now that she was a pivotal reason for the war and only she can end it. These depend on her choices in this life.

Luce has lived a thousand lives and only now has learned that she has been stuck in this love spiral. Fighting immortals was never what Luce anticipated in this life, but her love for Daniel, an Archangel, gives her the desire and strength to learn more about the past, her past lives, and what she can do to save their love, but some interesting events happen in this second installment that make Luce question was she really meant to be with Daniel. However, when she sees Daniel she believes that he is her world and that there is no one else, but when she is alone with another she can't help but feel that she needs to understand more about her past lives to know what decisions to make in this one. Luce does not want anymore of her friends or family to die in this life, like past lives, so she decides to find a way to understand her past.

Luce experiences past lives through her new found control of the Shadows, or Announcers, and she sees this as a way to end the Angel war. This is how Luce views her past lives and travels to find her answers...

Lauren Kate, the author, writes such vivid characters that you cannot help but be enveloped into the story. Passion, the third installment, will be out June 14, 2011. Do I hear "Pre-order"? Yes, I do!!!

Halo by Alexandra Adornetto

Author: Alexandra Adornetto

Publish Date: August 31, 2010

Website: http://www.facebook.com/AlexandraAdornetto

ISBN: 9780312656263

List Price: $16.99

My Rating: 4 out of 5

Jacket Synopsis:

Nothing much happens in the sleepy town of Venus Cove. But everything changes when three angels are sent from heaven to protect the town against the gathering forces of darkness: Gabriel, the warrior; Ivy, the healer; and Bethany, a teenage girl who is the least experienced of the trio. They work hard to conceal their true identity and, most of all, their wings. But the mission is threatened when the youngest angel, Bethany, is sent to high school and falls in love with the handsome school captain, Xavier Woods. Will she defy the laws of Heaven by loving him? Things come to a head when the angels realize they are not the only supernatural power in Venus Cove. There′s a new kid in town and he′s charming, seductive and deadly. Worst of all, he′s after Beth.

My Comments:

I was very excited to read this angel themed YA novel. It did not disappoint. This is the US debut of Alexandra Adornetto and it is a jewel. I think her writing style is smooth and eloquent. I really enjoyed her unique story line to include a certain insight into Angels and Demons. An innocent, yet a reflection of life and how good & bad things happen in life, and an odd twist at how the dark powers and watchers partake in these events. Who knew how powerful love is until it is tested? This is going to be a series with the next novel coming out in 2011 titled Hades. 

The writer is only eighteen years old. I cannot wait to see what her writing career has in store for us. What an amazing debut for this young author. I truly look forward to reading more of her novels and stories to come. 

The Lovely Bones by Alice Sebold

Author: Alice Sebold
Publish Date: September 17, 2007
Website:  http://www.alicesebold.com
ISBN: 9780316001823
List Price: $14.99
My Rating: 3 out of 5

Jacket Synopsis: 
"My name was Salmon, like the fish; first name, Susie. I was fourteen when I was murdered on December 6, 1973."

So begins the story of Susie Salmon, who is adjusting to her new home in heaven, a place that is not at all what she expected, even as she is watching life on earth continue without her - her friends trading rumors about her disappearance, her killer trying to cover his tracks, her grief-stricken family unraveling.

Out of unspeakable tragedy and loss, The Lovely Bones succeeds, miraculously, in building a tale filled with hope, humor, suspense, even joy

My Comments:
I thought that this was an interesting thriller, but the authors writing style was not smooth and I had to re-read many times to follow the story line and character thought processes. I was not too crazy about the rape and murder of children, but this was the base line of the story, so beyond that if you could focus on the family and heaven it was a mediocre read. My main interest of the story was what was heaven like and how different people interpreted their own heavens. It was a loving tale a ...more I thought that this was an interesting thriller, but the authors writing style was not smooth and I had to re-read many times to follow the story line and characters' thought processes. I was not too crazy about the rape and murder of children, but this was the base line of the story, so beyond that if you could focus on the family and heaven it was a mediocre read. My main interest of the story was what was heaven like and how different people interpreted their own heavens. It was a loving tale about the family's trials and how they learn to live with loss, and how the dead learn to live with their loss. I probably will not explore any more writings by this author because I just didn't like her complicated writing style.

Blood to Blood by Elaine Bergstrom

Author: Elaine Bergstrom
Publish Date: October 1, 2000
Website: http://www.elainebergstrom.com
ISBN: 9780441007745
List Price: $5.99
My Rating: 3 out of 5

 Jacket Synopsis:

Dracula's sister-by birth and by blood-resurrects his dark legacy...

Praise for Mina: "A real page-turner."-P. N. Elrod

"Throbbing with...rich sexuality...An erotic ride."-Shadowdance

My Comments:
This is a continuation of the Mina Harker story that began in Mina: The Dracula Story Continues. The story begins where the previous ends with Mina in Paris writing to Jonathan about a reconciliation when she receives news of an inheritance, and a sizable one at that. I find the story an interesting interpretation about a Victorian woman whose independence is pursued in societal times when women were seen and not heard. For Mina to be so bold as to maintain her own household away from her husband and pursue her charitable work is really unheard of.

This book is a side-by-side story of Mina and Jonathan, but also about Joanna, Dracula's sister. We find Dracula's sister searching for her brother's killers only to find that being released from her brother's control that she can pursue her own life. The excitement is found in reading about what she chooses. Does she choose to live among humans and love and care for them just the same? Or become a ruthless killer and evil pursuer like her sister in-law and sometimes her brother, Dracula.

The author folds in true historical characters as Oscar Wilde and Jack The Ripper. The author includes Jack The Ripper to challenge the reader to determine if the murders are really the work of Joanna or The Ripper himself...and who is The Ripper?

I am surprised though by the amount of edit errors in this book. They weren't so severe that I couldn't figure out what the author meant to write, but the author should be paid a bonus for the editors poor work.