With All My Soul by Rachel Vincent

Kaylee Cavanaugh's taking her final stand!

After spending the last year undead, Kaylee has had enough of the paranormal creatures who have plagued her ever since she came into her banshee powers. Now she's ready to take her school back from the evil hellions, once and forever.

To protect her friends, Kaylee will need to find a way to turn her living incarnations of Avarice, Envy and Vanity against one another.

Yet when one more person close to her is taken, Kaylee realises she can't save everyone she loves without making some powerful sacrifices ...

Kaylee is sick of the constant death threats (and deaths) in her circle of friends and family. She decides it's time to end it all and comes up with a plan to finish the war with the hellions (well, mostly one in particular) once and for all. But then it gets taken out of her control when Avari decides to up the stakes.

Yet another one of my favourite series has ended. This saddens me so much - I like Tod and Sabine, and to a slightly lesser extent Kaylee, Sophie & Emma/(Emily). This book really finishes the series off with a bang.

There's happiness, there's tears, there's heartbreak, there's trauma. But most importantly, there's a kick ass story with some awesome characters that I will truly miss. I like the revelation about Kaylee & Tod's relationship (no spoilers from me but it's a good'un) and also seeing how Nash & Sabine's relationship is growing and changing - even though Nash is still a bit of a knob about Kaylee & Tod. And even though the ending of the book means the ending of the series, I really enjoyed it.


Book Depository: With All My Soul
Amazon UK: With All My Soul

The Goddess Inheritance by Aimée Carter

Love or life.
Henry or their child.
The end of her family or the end of the world.
Kate must choose.

During nine months of captivity, Kate Winters has survived a jealous goddess, a vengeful Titan and a pregnancy she never asked for. Now the Queen of the Gods wants her unborn child, and Kate can't stop her - until Cronus offers a deal.

In exchange for her loyalty and devotion, the King of the Titans will spare humanity and let Kate keep her child. Yet even if Kate agrees, he'll destroy Henry, her mother and the rest of the council. And if she refuses, Cronus will tear the world apart until every last god and mortal is dead.

With the fate of everyone she loves resting on her shoulders, Kate must do the impossible: find a way to defeat the most powerful being in existence, even if it costs her everything.

Even if it costs her eternity.

Release Date 26th February 2013

After the cliffhanger ending of Calliope knocking Kate out at the end of Goddess Interrupted, we find that it's 9 months later and Kate has been held hostage the whole time because Calliope want her baby and wants her dead. Henry and the rest of the council don't know she's missing - or do they? - and they also don't know she's preggers. Ava tells Henry just as Kate has her baby and Henry comes to her rescue but ends up getting seriously injured and, since he's unaware of the baby's existence, the baby (Milo) gets left behind. Kate is determined to get Milo back but Cronos forces her to agree to be his Queen, which she then backs down on and Cronos starts destroying cities. Kate's only chance to save Henry and Milo and the rest of the council is to actually be with Cronos - but can she actually go ahead with it?

As I mentioned in my last review of Wilde's Meadow, so many of my favourite series are ending - this one included. Although I've still to read The Goddess Legacy (book 2.5) which is several shorts from several POVs, sadly it's not available in Kindle in the UK yet (I keep hitting that "tell the publishers" link!).

I have loved this series so much - as I said in my review for The Goddess Test, the whole Greek god/goddess thing is different from what else is out there (although more god/goddess series have emerged since I read The Goddess Test). I really like Henry and Kate as well as the rest of the council (I even like Calliope to an extent - and she's a bitch!).

If you like YA with a twist then I definitely recommend picking this series up, if you haven't already. It's very well written, with great characters and well paced so you don't lose interest or get bored of action.


Book Depository: The Goddess Inheritance
Amazon UK: The Goddess Inheritance

Foretold: The Demon Trappers by Jana Oliver

The end is most definitely nigh ...

Riley Blackthorne has always known that fellow Demon Trapper Denver Beck had a chequered history, but she's not prepared for what it means to be in love with a guy with this many dark secrets. Now that he's finally admitted to himself that he's in love with her too, there's no more hiding the truth about his past. And as it turns out, fending off a demon apocalypse is nothing compared with what's to come ...

Riley still doesn't know what happened to make Beck so cold toward her but she's about to find out because Stewart sends the 2 of them off to Beck's hometown - where Beck's darkest secret resides. Turns out everyone in Beck's town blame him for the death of 2 boys and after Riley convinces him to get the case reopened, Beck gets kidnapped by the real killer and Riley has to find him. After finding him, she finally admits her feelings to him and leaves him to deal with his own feelings for her - FINALLY!!! Of course on the tails of them finally getting together, there's a big showdown between the big bad and the slightly smaller bad that wants to replace him - and Riley is a key player in the fight.

This is the final book - the bloody FINAL book - in the Demon Trappers series and I usually know that before I read a book and gear myself up to it, especially with one of my favourite series so the revelation that this is the end was a HUGE shocker to me. I really don't get how I missed that this was the final book.

Well at least everything was all tied off nicely - Riley and Beck are finally together, things with Riley and Ori are sorted out as well as things with Lucifer. Again I feel I'm at a stand still with the review because I don't want to give too much away for the book but there's not a lot to say without revealing my favourite parts.

I will say this though: anyone who hasn't read this series - get it done. Seriously this is one of my favourite YA series out there, the lead is a strong woman who deal with sexism and all the problems that come with demon trapping - what more could a reader ask for.

Start with Forsaken, then Forbidden and Forgiven before ending this fab series with Foretold.


Book Depository: Foretold
Amazon UK: Foretold

13 by Kelley Armstrong

War is coming to the Otherworld. A sinister cult known as The Supernatural Liberation Movement is hell-bent on exposing the truth about supernaturals to the rest of the world. Their violent, ruthless plan has put everyone at risk: from werewolves to vampires, from witches to half-demons.

Savannah Levine - fiery and unpredictable - stands at the heart of the maelstrom. There is a new, dark magic inside her, granting her the power to summon spells of terrifying strength. But whether this magic is a gift or a curse, no one knows.

On the eve of battle, all the major players must come together in a last, desperate fight for survival - Elena and Clay; Adam and Savannah; Paige and Lucas; Jeremy and Jaime; Hope, Eve and more ... They are fighting for their lives. They are fighting for their loved ones.

They are fighting for the Otherworld.

13 takes off exactly where Spellbound ended, Waking the Witch, Spellbound and 13 are actually the only books from the Otherworld series that don't have a big time gap in between them. Savannah and Jaime get "arrested" while trying to get away from the lab explosion, they get taken to a police station but don't get booked or anything so conclude that it's a trap. After fighting off a crazed werewolf and and escaped hellhound, they manage to get away from the station with Eve. Eve and Savannah find out that there's an anti-SLM group as well. They plan to infiltrate the SLM to take it down from the inside but the plan fails when the Nast cabal get involved and take Eve and Savannah into custody. After getting away from the Nast cabal, they team up with the rest of the Otherworld crew minus Antonio & Nick (*sad face*) and through some helpful demon Lords in the shape of Eve and Adam's fathers, they manage to find out exactly what's going on and stop it - with a lot of magic and action.

So yeah that was a very small recap because so much happens in this book that I'd end up just writing the whole damn story here. Anyone who reads my reviews or knows me personally knows how much I LOVE Kelley's books - it's impossible to not love her writing. For me - and any long time Otherworld fan - this book was a bittersweet read, as much as I couldn't wait to read it I also didn't want to read it 'cos as soon as I did then the series would be over.

So some of my favourite bits or my gasp out loud moments ........ (will be hidden due to major spoilers so highlight to read) ....... Malcolm - yes, Malcolm! He's alive and he's in Nast custody. Karl gets shot - I thought he was dead, luckily he survives - I didn't like that I thought he was dead for a short period. Elena gets in a fight with Malcolm and gets the better of him, she wants to kill him before Jeremy and Clay know he's actually alive but Clay walks in on them and then he fights him, almost kills him too but the Nast cabal intervene. Jeremy reveals he's going to make Elena alpha immediately - OK not that big a shock since it's the last book but still a tingle went through me (yes, I was that happy). Savannah and Adam finally get together properly but agree not to tell Paige and Lucas. Paige and Lucas find out anyway, Paige is fine with it, she's seen it coming for ages apparently, Lucas is most definitely not, he doesn't want Savannah getting hurt.

So any of my readers know they aren't going to get an unbiased review from me about a Kelley book - there's no such thing when it comes to Kelley. I freaking loved this book - sad to see the series end but Kelley did it justice. We got to see all of our favourite characters again and she tied off some open storylines while still leaving enough open to warrant novellas at a later date - which Kelley has said will happen.



FROM RUSSIA WITH LOVE
Is a very short story purely there for the Alpha hand-off storyline. While 13 was happening, the twins and the rest of the pack were in Russia with the Russian pack so when Elena, Clay, Jeremy and Jaime join them, Jeremy officially hands the pack over to Elena.

I love the way he did it. Traditionally it would be a challenge so Jeremy challenged Elena to a game of chess. Which was already set up so that Elena would win since it was only a formality, everyone but Elena knew what was happening. Then there's a cool little scene with all the pack playing touch football as Elena watches them - and Jeremy is playing - realising they are her pack. As I said, a tiny short but it was only to serve one purpose. Oh and also let us see Xavier one last time.


Book Depository: 13
Amazon UK: 13

Blue Blooded Vamp by Jaye Wells

Sabina Kane is on the hunt. Her prey: Cain, the father of the vampire race and the one who murdered her family and her friends. Unfortunately, Cain is hunting Sabina, too.

The one man who holds the key to defeating Cain is, of course, Abel. A mage with secrets to spare and, hopefully, the power to match it. Unfortunately, for Sabina, he's in Rome and may not want to be found.

Sabina sets out for Italy with her friends, Giguhl and Adam Lazarus, to track down the only man who can get her the revenge she hungers for. But will he help her or oppose her? And just who is Abel, really? Worst of all, when Sabina figures out the goddess Lilith has a plan for her - she realises this trip is getting deadlier by the minute. As they say: when in Rome - SURVIVE.

Release Date 1st June 2012

Heads up here but this review WILL contain spoilers. This is the last book in this brilliant series and I am not holding back! So if you haven't read it, here's a quick review for you : GO READ IT! IT'S AMAZING! OK, so you can go buy it now, right? And I'll carry on with my spoiler-y review? Good, good. Don't scroll down from here unless you want the spoilers.






























And just in case you didn't heed my warning, I've hidden the spoiler-y bit.  Highlight if you want to read it.

So this is indeed an EPIC conclusion to the Sabina Kane series. After Cain killed Maisie in Silver Tongued Devil, Sabina wants revenge. Trouble is no-one can kill Cain without repercussions except for the Chosen, Maisie has seen Sabina as the Chosen but Sabina has always fought with it, now it's time for her to live up to that vision.
Sabina, Adam and Giguhl head off to Rome to find Abel as he's the only person that can help them. Trouble is, Asclepius has asked for payment and he wants Sabina to kill a vampire called Nyx since he's heard she's in Italy as well. So off they head to Italy, with Erron Zorn since he's the contact for Abel. Big shocker when they finally meet Abel and he's (are you ready to read this?) Sabina's father. But she has to deal with that to kill Cain, trouble is he doesn't believe she is the Chosen, he thinks it was Maisie and that with her death, all is lost. So they have some tests to see if she has what it takes to be the Chosen, oh and Sabina finds out that the vamp she's supposed to kill is part of her dad's team so she can't kill her but this pisses Asclepius off. The group must travel to Irkalla to find Lilith and Asclepius sets Cain on their tail. Tests await and Sabina loses her mage powers, her immortality and her vamp-ness only to find out she's not the Chosen after all, the Chosen is her and Maisie together. So they join up and kick his ass and then Sabina has to lead the Dark Races on earth while Maisie leads them in Irkalla so Lilith can have some time off. Oh yeah, and Giguhl gets married!

So that's my retelling (in a crap way) of the story. I loved loved loved this book, even though it brings one of my favourite series to an end *sad face*, it does it in a spectacular way.

Reading this book was both awesome and bittersweet at the same time. Awesome because it's Jaye Wells and she's such a great author, awesome because it finally sees Adam and Sabina define their relationship, awesome because it has such a poignant scene with Giguhl and Sabina, awesome because we get to see Sabina realise her potential. Bittersweet because it's the end of a great series, bittersweet because we won't get to see Giguhl's babies growing up and causing havoc, bittersweet because we don't get to see any more of Adam and Sabina.

But that's more awesomes than bittersweets so I'm happy to leave it at that. This book is a definite must read for anyone who has started this series. If you haven't read this series then go start with Red-Headed Stepchild and work your way through, you won't be sorry.


Book Depository: Blue-Blooded Vamp
Amazon UK: Blue-Blooded Vamp

Last Sacrifice by Richelle Mead

It all comes down to now.
The queen is dead and the moroi world will never be the same.
Rose Hathaway is awaiting wrongful execution and there exists only one man who can stall this terrible fate. Rose must look to both Dimitri and Adrian, the two great loves of her life, to find him.
With her best friend, Lissa, in a deadly struggle for the royal throne, the girls find themselves forced to rely upon enemies and questioning those they thought they could trust ...
But what if true freedom means sacrificing the most important thing of all?
Each other.

The latest and final installment in the Vampire Academy series. The series, in reading order is: Vampire Academy, Frostbite, Shadow Kiss, Blood Promise, Spirit Bound and then Last Sacrifice. The series has followed Rose and Lissa as they grow up and graduate and deal with multiple problems. Rose's are normally Guardian related while Lissa's are royalty or Spirit related. If you haven't read the rest of the series, I suggest you stop reading this (there will be spoilers to previous books) and go read them.

So Rose is the main character but since she's spirit bound to Lissa, she's normally in the books a fair bit too. This book focuses on Lissa trying to prove Rose is innocent and also deal with the new queen or king getting voted for. Problems are raised with Lissa being the last Dragomir (as far as anyone is concerned) and Lissa and friends decide to try and stall the new royal vote to buy Rose more time.

Meanwhile Rose still has a letter from Queen Tatiana revealing that Lissa is not in fact the last Dragomir, she has a sibling out there somewhere. Rose needs to find this sibling so that Lissa can take her rightful place on the royal council and help change the Moroi and Dhampir world for the better. This isn't as easy as it sounds as any records of said child have been erased and no-one seems to know anything. It's a race against time for both of them.

I liked this book, but it definitely wasn't my favourite. I like the characters in this series and always have, Rose is brilliant but stubborn and can sometimes be a pain in the ass. The same can also be said about Lissa though, she always seems a bit ditzy but she's not. I never understood why she was written this way. I also haven't entirely made up my mind yet about whether I liked the ending or not, I think a re-erad of all the books back-to-back is in order.

My main problem with this book has absolutely nothing to with the actual story, characters or author. In my copy of Last Sacrifice there are a hell of a lot of mistakes, simple mistakes that should have been caught in the editing process. One or two annoys me enough as it is but there were a lot more than one or two and it really started to get on my nerves.

Even though Vampire Academy is now finished, Richelle Mead has started on a spin off called Bloodlines. This features different characters from the original series as main characters and she has stated that it's a new storyline and not just a rehashing of an old story. It should be released in August and I'm looking forward to reading it.


Book Depository: Last Sacrifice
Amazon UK: Last Sacrifice

Grave Secret by Charlaine Harris

When she was 15, Harper Connelly was struck by lightning. She's left with headaches and episodes of muscle weakness. Sometimes her right hand shakes.

And she can find dead people.

It's taken a few years, but Harper's made a success of her life. She's making a living, using her talent to help people, and she's got a boyfriend - her stepbrother Tolliver. Then Tolliver's father arrives, seeking forgiveness, and the police get information that Harper's sister Cameron, missing for so many years, has been spotted. So Harper's life is becoming a little complicated, but she doesn't expect these complications to include Tolliver getting shot, or seeing a policeman die taking a bullet for her.

Harper can find dead people - but now it's clear someone wants her dead ...

The fourth Harper Connelly book sees Harper and Tolliver deal with the fallout of An Ice Cold Grave's events and also coming out officially as a couple to friends and family. They're still trying to see more of their sisters and are still hoping to set up a home nearby so they can be more involved in their lives.

Charlaine Harris has a real nice writing style, not all her chapters end on cliff hangers but I can't seem to help myself from page turning (even if I've told myself I'm going to bed after this chapter!). Her characters are normal and relatable which helps to like them and follow their lives.

With Harper and Tolliver being back in Dallas, old friends and family emerge and, of course, thoughts about Cameron. Harper has always been convinced that Cameron is dead and she'd one day find her but an anonymous tip about a sighting in Texarkana still gets her hopes up about the possibility of her being alive.

We get a bit more insight into what happened before, during and after Cameron's disappearance and see some more of what Harper and Tolliver's childhood years were like.

The major letdown with this book, for me, was the ending. It seemed rushed and kind of thrown together. Also it felt very much like the whole story is being wrapped up and I'm wondering if this is, in fact, the last in the series.

Rating
4/5


Book Depository: Grave Secret
Amazon UK: Grave Secret

Alpha by Rachel Vincent

***SPOILERS FOR PREVIOUS SHIFTERS BOOKS***


Everything is about to change for werecat Faythe when her father is ousted from the council that controls their secret world. And a shocking tragedy jeopardises her future as Alpha of her pride.

Now a rebel on the run, Faythe's biggest fight lies ahead. Old allies from the supernatural world are ready to stnad by her side. And weretoms Marc and Jace would give their very souls in the duel for Faythe's heart ...

Yet as their enemies draw near Faythe knows that she - and she alone - can lead the pride into what may be their final battle.

I can say one word to sum up this fantastic finale to the Shifters series and that word is ..... WOW!!!!
I'm so sad to see the series ending but what an ending!!
Faythe has had a lot to deal with and she and her pridemates have still not really avenged Ethan's death so they're still looking for payback for that. As well as all the other crap that's happened to Faythe and her pride throughout the series.

One thing I love about Faythe is she can kick ass with the best of them but Rachel doesn't write her as "my heroine is the best and always comes out on top". She doesn't always come out on top, she does lose on occasion and she can screw up, which I love.

There's not a lot I can say about Alpha without giving too much away and I hate reading spoilers. I read one about Alpha that made me sad but luckily it didn't ruin the book for me, and the particular scene that got spoiled for me was just as heartfelt and meaningful for me evern though I knew it was coming.

All in all, Shifters is a great series by a great author and Alpha is an awesome ending to that series. A must read.

Rating
5/5


Book Depository: Alpha
Amazon UK: Alpha

Moon Sworn by Keri Arthur

WARNING! MAJOR SPOILER FOR BOUND TO SHADOWS IN BLURB!!


Shape-shifting werewolf and vampire Riley Jenson is through with death - causing it, solving it, surviving it. Her soul mate Kye Murphy is dead - and at Riley's own hands. Not even the seductive embrace of her vampire lover Quinn can fully ease her mind, for she has begun questioning everything that makes her Riley - including her job at the Directorate.

But then ritualistically slain bodies of ex-cons start turning up. Reluctantly, Riley takes the case, but something even worse is waiting in the wings. For a vicious enemy from her past is determined to strip Riley of everything that gives her life any meaning: her lover, her twin brother - and even her own identity. Can Riley survive this ultimate assault? All she knows is, she must fight one last time to find answers, before everything goes dark for ever ...

Book 9 (and I believe the last book) in the Riley Jenson Guardian series. Ms Arthur is currently writing a spin off from this series introducing Risa as a main character.
This was a great end to a good series. I had started to lose interest in the series about 3-4 books ago because they seemed to be purely sex focused. I'm glad I hung in there and stuck with it because it picked up and focused on the story more in later books.
The only thing that put me off was all the self-loathing at the beginning and the 'woe is me, I killed my soul mate'. I get that that's a BIG thing in these books but it was kind of off putting and made me want to skip right to the exciting bits, luckily for me, Ms Arthur doesn't keep us waiting too long.

Overall, the book is funny and intriguing. Made me keep reading because I do like Riley as a character and I like reading her life and quips and relationships. Especially her relationship with her brother (who I also love). If you've read the others or even started this series and gave up, I strongly suggest finishing the series the way it was meant to be finished.

Rating 4/5


Book Depository: Moon Sworn
Amazon UK: Moon Sworn