Jessica Verday Author Page

The Story: Lots of people were talking about the Hollow series, and when I had a chance, I got the first two from the library, and they were just so good, I kept going! I need to read more of her books, they are creepy and awesome!

Website

Series: The Hollow, Of Monsters and Madness.

The Hollow: The Hollow and her site, my review, The Haunted and her site, my review, The Hidden and her site, my review.

Of Monsters and Madness: Of Monsters and Madness and her site, my review, Of Phantoms and Fury.

Stand Alone's: The Beautiful and the Damned and her site, my review.

Anthologies: Enthralled and her site, my review, The First Time and her site, my review, Flesh Which is Not Flesh and her site, my review.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #153, May 12th

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week...and anything in between! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well...you never know where that next "must read" book will come from!

What happened in the past week:

Weekly Memes:
It's Monday! What Are You Reading #152
Teaser Tuesday #160
WWW Wednesday #160
WOW #157
Will the Time Come #153
Third Sentence Thursday #143
Random Reads #128
First Lines Friday #148
The Reward Challenge Round 96 Part 3
Follow Friday #131

Week 19 Reviews:
The Hunt
Champion
The Shadow Prince
Of Monsters and Madness
Street Game
Where Silence Gathers
Homecoming
Witch Eyes
Demon Eyes
Phantom Eyes

Tours:
Trusting an Angel: Review
Community Service: Review
The Echoes of Love: Guest Post, Review and Giveaway

Emergency Read-a-Thon Part 2:
Update 2
Update 3 
Update 4 
Update 5
Update 6
Update 7
Update 8
Update 9 
Update 10
Update 11
Update 12
Update 13
Update 14
Update 15
Update 16
Update 17
Update 18
Update 19
Update 20
Update 21 
Update 22
Update 23
Update 24
Update 25
Update 26
Update 27 
Update 28 
Update 29
Update 30
Update 31
Update 32
Update 33
Update 34
Update 35
Update 36
Update 37
Update 38
Update 39
Update 40
Update 41
Update 42
Update 43
Update 44
Update 45
Update 46
Update 47
Update 48
Update 49
Update 50 
Update 51
Update 52
Update 53 and Wrap Up

Clean Sweep ARC Challenge:
Update 3
Update 4
Update 5

 Random:
Books to Reread and to Actually Get Around to Reading
We Have the Cover of Thorn of Glass #3!!!!
Bout of Books 10.0 Goals
Bout of Books Mini Challenge 1

OK, so I got 79 posts in 7 days, um, little tired! What about you guys? Happy reading!

So this week I want to read The Immortal Rules, Killing Ruby Rose, Days of Blood & Starlight, Night of Cake & Puppets, Dreams of Gods & Monsters, The Secret Diamond Sisters, The Testing, Angel Fever, Unchosen, The Body in the Woods, Far From You, Ruthless Game, This Side of Salvation, Precious Blood, The Demoness of Waking Dream, Sunrise, At Any Turn, The Liberator, Silent Truth, Fuse, The Dare, V is for Villain, Sweet Evil, Article 5, A Dawn Most Wicked, Something Strange and Deadly, and In Seconds.

In sunny Southern California, seventeen-year-old Ruby Rose is known for her killer looks and her killer SAT scores. But ever since her dad, an LAPD SWAT sergeant, died, she's also got a few killer secrets.

To cope, Ruby has been trying to stay focused on school (the top spot in her class is on the line) and spending time with friends (her Jimmy Choos and Manolo Blahniks are nothing if not loyal). But after six months of therapy and pathetic parenting by her mom, the District Attorney, Ruby decides to pick up where her dad left off and starts going after the bad guys herself.

When Ruby ends up killing a murderer to save his intended victim, she discovers that she's gone from being the huntress to the hunted. There's a sick mastermind at play, and he has Ruby in his sights. Ruby must discover who's using her to implement twisted justice before she ends up swapping Valentino red for prison orange.

With a gun named Smith, a talent for martial arts, and a boyfriend with eyes to die for, Ruby is ready to face the worst. And if a girl's forced to kill, won't the guilt sit more easily in a pair of Prada peep-toe pumps?

In Night of Cake & Puppets, Taylor brings to life a night only hinted at in the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy—the magical first date of fan-favorites Zuzana and Mik. Told in alternating perspectives, it’s the perfect love story for fans of the series and new readers alike. Petite though she may be, Zuzana is not known for timidity. Her best friend, Karou, calls her “rabid fairy,” her “voodoo eyes” are said to freeze blood, and even her older brother fears her wrath. But when it comes to the simple matter of talking to Mik, or “Violin Boy,” her courage deserts her. Now, enough is enough. Zuzana is determined to meet him, and she has a fistful of magic and a plan. It’s a wonderfully elaborate treasure hunt of a plan that will take Mik all over Prague on a cold winter’s night before finally leading him to the treasure: herself! Violin Boy’s not going to know what hit him.

By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz.

Common enemy, common cause.

When Jael's brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people.

And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.

But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz ... something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.

What power can bruise the sky?

From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy.

At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter?

GhostWalker Kane Cannon's mission plunges him into a hot zone more personal than he anticipated: the hiding place of Rose Patterson-hunted fugitive, ex-lover, and a fellow GhostWalker desperate to save the life of her unborn child. Kane's Child.

Week 19 Review: Of Monsters and Madness

From Goodreads:
A romantic, historical retelling of classic Gothic horror featuring Edgar Allan Poe and his character Annabel Lee, from a New York Times best-selling author.

Summoned to her father's home in 1820's Philadelphia, a girl finds herself in the midst of a rash of gruesome murders in which he might be implicated. She is torn romantically between her father's assistants-one kind and proper, one mysterious and brooding-who share a dark secret and may have more to do with the violent events than they're letting on.

My Review:
Oh, I was so excited to get this book! I enjoyed Jessica Verday's series, and this was just as, if not more, haunting, eerie, and so readable! I mean, it's got Annabel Lee, and the basis of this book is Edgar Allen Poe. I read some of the reviews of this book who basically said that it was boring, and especially that Poe Purists wouldn't like it, because yeah, Poe is a character in this book, Allen Poe, and Allan's cousin, Edgar. But if you aren't a Poe Purist, this was a pretty good book!

This was the kind of book that the main conflict is in the reader's head-there isn't any big flashy battle, and it's more sinister and creepy then outright threatening. Because Annabel has a interest in medicine, even if her dad forbids it, so she's not scared of a bit of blood. But yeah, there's some creepiness.

I hated the way that her dad treated her, and that she feels pretty deserving of his disappointment, when it's his attitude that's the problem. To the point, where her Grandpere was the only real family that she had (to me, I basically gave up on her dad, because frankly, even if that was how people treated other people then, that doesn't mean that it's acceptable!)

And yeah, I just read on NetGalley, in the notes, that the second books is scheduled for Fall 2015!!! So yeah, there's that, because the ending? It was pretty weird, the exposing of the bad guy, to a hurried meeting at the insane asylum? Yeah.

I really enjoyed this book, can't wait for the second one, and yeah, it was a pretty darned good book!

Author: Jessica Verday
Read: May 5th, 2014
Source: NetGalley
Reason Why: Sounded good, and it's a SAC 2014 Book and a Historical Fiction 2014 Book!
Publisher: Egmont USA
Expected Publication: September 9th 2014

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

4.5/5 Stars

Emergency Review-a-Thon Part 2 Update 16

So I've written the review for Of Monsters and Madness and next I want to review Community Service.  Just that left, and the reviews are sent on NetGalley, so yeah, feeling accomplished, because now my ratio is going to go up, even just a little bit, because right now, it's in the single digits!

Reviewed Part 2: The French Executioner, Inheritance, Bonnie, The Thirteen Hollows, Beauty Queens, Awaken, Tithe, Mercy and Exile, The Power of Six, Beautiful Chaos, Speak No Evil, The Hunt, Trusting an Angel, Champion, The Shadow Prince, Of Monsters and Madness.

Week 19 Reviews: The Hunt, Champion, The Shadow Prince, Of Monsters and Madness.

Reviewed All: Rebel Spring, Sacrifice, Cast in Shadow, Cast in Courtlight, Cast in Secret and Cast in Fury, Cast in Silence, Cast in Chaos, Cast in Ruin, Cast in Peril and Cast in Sorrow, Up From the Grave, Magic Graves, This Side of the Grave, One Grave at a Time, Home for the Holidays, Once Burned and Twice Tempted, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, Phantom of the Night, Size 12 is Not Fat, Size 14 Is Not Fat Either, Big Boned, The French Executioner, Inheritance, Bonnie, The Thirteen Hollows, Beauty Queens, Awaken, Tithe, Mercy and Exile, The Power of Six, Beautiful Chaos, Speak No Evil, The Hunt, Trusting an Angel, Champion, The Shadow Prince, Of Monsters and Madness.

Emergency Review-a-Thon Part 2 Update 15

So I've written the review for The Shadow Prince and next I want to review Of Monsters and Madness. Yeah! Only 1 more Week 19 review, and then a tour review that is to be posted tomorrow, then I can go back to reviews that have been posted for at least a month to 3 years!

Reviewed Part 2: The French Executioner, Inheritance, Bonnie, The Thirteen Hollows, Beauty Queens, Awaken, Tithe, Mercy and Exile, The Power of Six, Beautiful Chaos, Speak No Evil, The Hunt, Trusting an Angel, Champion, The Shadow Prince.

Week 19 Reviews: The Hunt, Champion, The Shadow Prince.

Reviewed All: Rebel Spring, Sacrifice, Cast in Shadow, Cast in Courtlight, Cast in Secret and Cast in Fury, Cast in Silence, Cast in Chaos, Cast in Ruin, Cast in Peril and Cast in Sorrow, Up From the Grave, Magic Graves, This Side of the Grave, One Grave at a Time, Home for the Holidays, Once Burned and Twice Tempted, The Coldest Girl in Coldtown, Phantom of the Night, Size 12 is Not Fat, Size 14 Is Not Fat Either, Big Boned, The French Executioner, Inheritance, Bonnie, The Thirteen Hollows, Beauty Queens, Awaken, Tithe, Mercy and Exile, The Power of Six, Beautiful Chaos, Speak No Evil, The Hunt, Trusting an Angel, Champion, The Shadow Prince.

Clean Sweep ARC Challenge Update 3

Ok, so I read Of Monsters and Madness, and yeah, it was pretty freaking good! Now to read Where Silence Gathers!

Reading Journey:

The Hunt by Stacey Kade

Started On: May 3rd

Finished On: May 3rd, 9:56 PM

Pages Read: 370

The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain

Started On: May 4th

Finished On: May 4th, 10:28 PM

Pages Read: 380

Of Monsters and Madness by Jessica Verday

Started On: May 5th

Finished On: May 5th, 8:43 PM

Pages Read: 304

Where Silence Gathers by Kelsey Sutton

Start On: May 6th

Pages Read: 0 of 351

Books Read: 3

Goal: 25 Books

Pages Read: 1054

Reading Next: Phantom Eyes, The Secret Diamond Sisters, Unchosen

Will the Time Come #122, October 3rd

Every Thursday I am going to list a book which I really want to read/keep meaning to get to. These are mostly books which have been on my shelf for awhile now but don't have to be, maybe you got it two weeks ago and really want to read it! Thanks to Jodie from Books for Company for this meme!

Want to Join?

-Pick a book you have been meaning to read

-Do a post telling us about the book    

-Link the post up in the linky  

-Visit the other blogs

From Goodreads:

Cyn’s blackouts have deadly consequences in this sexy, suspenseful spinoff to the New York Times bestselling Hollow series.Cyn and Avian are far from a perfect match. She’s a witch who casts spells on men so she can steal their cars. He spends his time being judge, jury, and executioner to the truly evil in the supernatural realm.

When the blackouts Cyn’s been having ever since her time in Sleepy Hollow start escalating, she finds herself unable to remember where she’s been or what she’s been doing. Frightened, she seeks guidance at a local church, and it’s there she meets Avian.

The unlikely pair soon discovers that her blackouts are a side effect of what she truly is—an Echo—a conduit for souls of the dead. The only way to prevent Cyn from losing complete control is to return to Sleepy Hollow and vanquish the source of her power—but she may not survive the process. And if she does? She won’t ever be the same...

Why the time hasn't come yet...
This book just came out, and I just really, really want to read it! What about you guys? Happy reading! 

Week 45 Review: Enthralled

From Goodreads:
A journey may take hundreds of miles, or it may cover the distance between duty and desire.

Sixteen of today’s hottest writers of paranormal tales weave stories on a common theme of journeying. Authors such as Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Caine, and Melissa Marr return to the beloved worlds of their bestselling series, while others, like Claudia Gray, Kami Garcia, and Margaret Stohl, create new land-scapes and characters. But whether they’re writing about vampires, faeries, angels, or other magical beings, each author explores the strength and resilience of the human heart.

Suspenseful, funny, or romantic, the stories in Enthralled will leave you moved.


My Review:
I am so glad that I read this anthology! I loved all these stories, so much, I mean, all of these authors, are authors whose books that I've enjoyed! And some of these stories were part of series that I'd read before, and others were stand alones, but I'd love for them to be series!

The three main stories from series that I've read, are Niederwald by Rachel Vincent, A Mortal Winter King by Melissa Marr, and Facing Facts by Kelley Armstrong, from their respective series. It was so great for these looks from a bit outside the bounds of the series!

And the majority of them, they were, as far as I could tell, stand alones, and honestly, I would really enjoy having them get full length series, or at least more short stories (like the Sarah Rees Brennan one) so that we got more time with them!

These stories were just diverse, a great selection of YA, and again, illustrates why I love YA, because you can have so much, or so little, but it can be so good, either way, if written well! And all of these authors are spectacular at their jobs!

It was a pleasure to read this anthology, and I need to read more of these authors books!

Authors:  Melissa Marr, Kelley Armstrong, Rachel Vincent, Sarah Rees Brennan, Jeri Smith-Ready, Mary E. Pearson, Jennifer Lynn Barnes, Jessica Verday, Claudia Gray, Jackson Pearce, Carrie Ryan, Rachel Caine, Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl, Kimberly Derting, Ally Condie
Read: November 9th, 2012
Source: Library
Reason Why: Has stories by authors like Kelley Armstrong, Melissa Marr, Rachel Vincent, to name a few!
Publisher: Harper Collins
September 1st 2011

5/5 Hearts

4/5 Books

3.5/5 Stars

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #28, December 19th

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week...and anything in between! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well...you never know where that next "must read" book will come from!

What happened in the past week:

Weekly Memes:
It's Monday! What Are You Reading #27
Teaser Tuesday #36
WWW Wednesday #36
WOW #32
Will the Time Come #28
Third Sentence Thursday #19
Random Reads #3
First Lines Friday #24
A-Z Reading Challenge Update #24
Follow that Blurb Reading Challenge Update #25
The Reward Challenge Round 16
Follow Friday #6
In My Mailbox #28
I Have An Update #26

Week 50 Reviews:
Silence
Goliath
Red Glove
Tempest Rising
The Hidden
Sapphique
Beautiful Darkness
Eon
Eona

Tour:
Air: Review
Our Mother's Recipes: Guest Post

Random:
Opening Night!
We're Done!!!!!

So I got 26 posts in 7 days, so that's pretty good. Had a good, but busy week, what with play and all. I hope to get a few more posts, and yeah. Just need to add reviews to the reviews! But now that I have more time, I'll be able to do that! Whoo!

So this week, I want to read Darkness Becomes Her, Invasion, The Iron Thorn, Quinn, Deep Down, Possession, Size 12 Is Not Fat, Size 14 Is Not Fat Either, Big Boned, The French Executioner, and Inheritance.

Currently Listening To: Fireflies by Owl City
Currently Reading: Quinn
Currently Watching: True Blood

A dark and lush paranormal romance set in a richly reimagined New Orleans—now in paperback!Ari can’t help feeling lost and alone. With teal eyes and freakish silver hair that can’t be changed or destroyed, Ari has always stood out. And after growing up in foster care, she longs for some understanding of where she came from and who she is.

Her search for answers uncovers a message from her long dead mother: Run. Ari can sense that someone, or something, is getting closer than they should. But it’s impossible to protect herself when she doesn’t know what she’s running from or why she is being pursued.

She knows only one thing: she must return to her birthplace of New 2, the lush rebuilt city of New Orleans. Upon arriving, she discovers that New 2 is very...different. Here, Ari is seemingly normal. But every creature she encounters, no matter how deadly or horrifying, is afraid of her.

Ari won’t stop until she knows why. But some truths are too haunting, too terrifying, to ever be revealed.

He didn't ask for the job, but now all that stands between us and chaos... is Colt 

Colt McAlister was having the summer of his life. He spent his days surfing and his nights playing guitar on the beach with friends. He even met a girl and got his first car. But everything changes when his parents are killed in a freak accident. 

He's forced to leave his old life behind and move to Arizona with his grandfather. The only person he knows at the new high school is a childhood friend named Dani. And Oz, a guy he's sure he's never met but who is strangely familiar. 

But what if his parents' death wasn't an accident? His mother, an investigative reporter, was going to expose a secret mind-control program run by one of the world's largest companies. Before she could release the story, what if agents from Trident Biotech made sure she couldn't go public? 

Vowing to uncover the truth, Colt gets drawn into a secret world of aliens, shapeshifters, flying motorcycles, and invisible gateways. 

The Invasion has begun. 

In the city of Lovecraft, the Proctors rule and a great Engine turns below the streets, grinding any resistance to their order to dust. The necrovirus is blamed for Lovecraft's epidemic of madness, for the strange and eldritch creatures that roam the streets after dark, and for everything that the city leaders deem Heretical—born of the belief in magic and witchcraft. And for Aoife Grayson, her time is growing shorter by the day.

Aoife Grayson's family is unique, in the worst way—every one of them, including her mother and her elder brother Conrad, has gone mad on their 16th birthday. And now, a ward of the state, and one of the only female students at the School of Engines, she is trying to pretend that her fate can be different.

As a former Navy SEAL turned cop, Joe Quinn has seen the face of evil and knows just how deadly it can be. When he first met Eve Duncan, he never expected to fall in love with a woman whose life would be defined by her dual desires to bring home her missing daughter and discover the truth behind her disappearance---no matter how devastating. With the help of CIA agent Catherine Ling, they make a shocking discovery that sheds new light on young Bonnie’s abduction and puts Quinn squarely in the crosshairs of danger. Eve’s first love, John Gallo, a soldier supposedly killed in the line of duty, is very much alive---and very much a threat. 

Emotionally charged, with one shock after another, Quinn reveals the electricity of Joe and Eve’s first connection, and how they fell in love in the midst of haunting tragedy. As their search takes them deeper and deeper into a web of murder and madness, Joe and Eve must confront their most primal fears . . . and test their resolve to uncover the ultimate bone-chilling truth.

As a child, Jessie Lockwood spent many hours helping her mother, Mariah, count the endangered ginseng plants hidden in the local woods of Deep Down, Kentucky. There she learned to appreciate the tiny Appalachian town—and ginseng's healing powers. Now a PhD, she's made her home in Lexington, even though that meant leaving Deep Down and her beloved mother—and Sheriff Drew Webb, the man she secretly loved.

When Jessie is notified that her mother never returned from her last walk in the woods, she comes home to Deep Down—and to Drew. As Jessie and Drew race to find her mother, several suspects emerge: an agent for those who market the herb for its life-giving properties; Mariah's disgruntled suitor; and an old Cherokee desperate to protect the sacred tribal herb.

In the mist of legend and fear, only two things make sense to Jessie. At any cost, she is desperate to find her mother. And she can't help falling desperately in love with Drew all over again.

Vi knows the Rule: Girls don't walk with boys, and they never even think about kissing them. But no one makes Vi want to break the Rules more than Zenn...and since the Thinkers have chosen him as Vi's future match, how much trouble can one kiss cause? The Thinkers may have brainwashed the rest of the population, but Vi is determined to think for herself. 

But the Thinkers are unusually persuasive, and they're set on convincing Vi to become one of them...starting by brainwashing Zenn. Vi can't leave Zenn in the Thinkers' hands, but she's wary of joining the rebellion, especially since that means teaming up with Jag. Jag is egotistical, charismatic, and dangerous--everything Zenn's not. Vi can't quite trust Jag and can't quite resist him, but she also can't give up on Zenn. 

This is a game of control or be controlled. And Vi has no choice but to play.

Heather Wells Rocks! 

Or, at least, she did. That was before she left the pop-idol life behind after she gained a dress size or two — and lost a boyfriend, a recording contract, and her life savings (when Mom took the money and ran off to Argentina). Now that the glamour and glory days of endless mall appearances are in the past, Heather's perfectly happy with her new size 12 shape (the average for the American woman!) and her new job as an assistant dorm director at one of New York's top colleges. That is, until the dead body of a female student from Heather's residence hall is discovered at the bottom of an elevator shaft. 

The cops and the college president are ready to chalk the death off as an accident, the result of reckless youthful mischief. But Heather knowsteenage girls . . . and girls do not elevator surf. Yet no one wants to listen — not the police, her colleagues, or the P.I. who owns the brownstone where she lives — even when more students start turning up dead in equally ordinary and subtly sinister ways. So Heather makes the decision to take on yet another new career: as spunky girl detective! 

But her new job comes with few benefits, no cheering crowds, and lots of liabilities, some of them potentially fatal. And nothing ticks off a killer more than a portly ex-pop star who's sticking her nose where it doesn't belong . . .

Former pop star Heather Wells has settled nicely into her new life as assistant dorm director at New York College—a career that does notrequire her to drape her size 12 body in embarrassingly skimpy outfits. She can even cope (sort of) with her rocker ex-boyfriend's upcoming nuptials, which the press has dubbed The Celebrity Wedding of the Decade. But she's definitely having a hard time dealing with the situation in the dormitory kitchen—where a cheerleader has lost her head on the first day of the semester. (Actually, her head is accounted for—it's her torso that's AWOL.)

Surrounded by hysterical students—with her ex-con father on her doorstep and her ex-love bombarding her with unwanted phone calls—Heather welcomes the opportunity to play detective . . . again. If it gets her mind off her personal problems—and teams her up again with the gorgeous P.I. who owns the brownstone where she lives—it's all good. But the murder trail is leading the average-sized amateur investigator into a shadowy world. And if she doesn't watch her step, Heather will soon be singing her swan song!

Life is reasonably rosy for plus-size ex-pop star turned Assistant Dormitory Director and sometime sleuth Heather Wells. Her freeloading ex-con dad is finally moving out. She still yearns for her hot landlord, Cooper Cartwright, but her relationship with "rebound beau," vigorous vegan math professor Tad Tocco, is more than satisfactory. Best of all, nobody has died lately in "Death Dorm," the aptly nicknamed student residence that Heather assistant-directs. Of course every silver lining ultimately has some black cloud attached. And when the latest murdered corpse to clutter up her jurisdiction turns out to be her exceedingly unlovable boss, Heather finds herself on the shortlist of prime suspects—along with the rabble-rousing boyfriend of her high-strung student assistant and an indecently handsome young campus minister who's been accused of taking liberties with certain girls' choir members.

With fame beckoning her back into show business (as the star of a new kids' show!) it's a really bad time to get wrapped up in another homicide. Plus Tad's been working himself up to ask her a Big Question, which Heather's not sure she has an answer for . . .

In an age when human relics exercised great power over the minds of men, Jean Rombaud, Anne Boleyn's executioner, gains the most prized relic of all--Anne's six-fingered hand. With it comes a vow to the dead queen that he spends terrible effort trying to fulfill. A high-energy, highly theatrical tale, C.C. Humphrey's The French Executioner spans 16th-century Europe from England to Italy, Germany, and France. Jean, with the staunch heart of an old-fashioned superhero and a dangerous square-edged sword, receives loyal assistance from a cast of heroic characters: Haakon, an axe-wielding Norseman; the Fugger, a reformed midden-keeper; Januc, a Croatian mercenary; and, most importantly, Beck, a mysterious, dangerous Jew. Evil comes in the thoroughly treacherous form of the Archbishop of Siena, who has need of the famous hand for his nefarious experiments in alchemy. Scenes of Siena's Palio horse race are a highlight. This swashbuckling adventure tale has all the dubious coincidence typical of the genre as well as numerous fight scenes described in astonishing detail--what else would you expect from an author described as "a schoolboy fencing champion and fight choreographer"?

Not so very long ago, Eragon—Shadeslayer, Dragon Rider—was nothing more than a poor farm boy, and his dragon, Saphira, only a blue stone in the forest. Now the fate of an entire civilization rests on their shoulders.

Long months of training and battle have brought victories and hope, but they have also brought heartbreaking loss. And still, the real battle lies ahead: they must confront Galbatorix. When they do, they will have to be strong enough to defeat him. And if they cannot, no one can. There will be no second chances. 

The Rider and his dragon have come further than anyone dared to hope. But can they topple the evil king and restore justice to Alagaësia? And if so, at what cost?

Week 50 Review: The Hidden

From Goodreads:
A love that knows no bounds. 

Abbey knows that Caspian is her destiny. Theirs is a bond that transcends even death. But as Abbey finally learns the full truth about the dark fate that links her to Caspian and ties them both to the town of Sleepy Hollow, she suddenly has some very hard choices to make. Caspian may be the love of her life, but is that love worth dying for? 

Beautifully spun, emotionally gripping, and irresistibly romantic, The Hidden will leave you breathless.

My Review:
What a ending to this series! In a very big way, it was quite sad what with them being dead and all, but that her friend was alive, and happy, and the last year hadn't really happened the way that it had in the first 2 books. Yep. So it was a bit sad that they were dead, but they were together like Nikolas and Katy, who were going to join the Revenants! Which was a bit  bittersweet, they were together, but they weren't just spending their time just with themselves, they were going around, and helping other couples like Abbey and Caspian, which is really good, but still, they don't have any more time to just be together!

Anyway, to get there, there was a visit to an insane people's hospital, and Abbey slowly working her way to the point where she can join Caspian, because she was supposed to a year ago-she was the one who was supposed to die, not Kristen, and she just has a whole ton load of questions, and she starts wondering if she can let go of her life, and her dreams of the perfume shop. Yeah.

Vincent was being a bad guy, Ben was being sweet, and then there were all sorts of problems, and incidents, and then the book came to its end, but the whole the-whole-past-year-or-so-and-events-of-the-last-2-books-being-replace-with-different-events-seeing-that-Abbey-is-dead thing was unexpected. But it worked with the series. And I kinda liked it, but I was still sad. Yep.

This was a great ending to the series, though, I really enjoyed it, and I hope you guys check the series out!!!

Author: Jessica Verday
Series: The Hollow #3
Read: December 12th-13th, 2011
Source: Library
Reason Why: Loved The Hollow and The Haunted! So good! Wanted more!
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Published: September 6th 2011

5/5 Hearts

4/5 Books

4/5 Stars

Teaser Tuesday #36, December 13th

Teaser Tuesday 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!

Today's teaser comes from The Hidden by Jessica Verday, page 5.

"'Should I feel for a pulse? He's already dead.'" 

Yeah, that would be a big complication! 

And from my own book, Hidden Heart, page 4.

"Thinking hard, I went over my options. What if I…no, I cut off the thought."

What about you guys? Happy reading!

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #17, October 3rd

It's Monday! What Are You Reading is a weekly meme hosted by Book Journey where we share what we read this past week, what we hope to read this week…. and anything in between! This is a great way to plan out your reading week and see what others are currently reading as well… you never know where that next “must read” book will come from!

What happened in the past week:

Weekly Memes:
It's Monday! What Are You Reading #16
Teaser Tuesday #25
WWW Wednesday #25
WOW #21
WIll the Time Come #18
Third Sentence Thursday #8
First Lines Friday #12
A-Z Reading Challenge Update #13
Follow that Blurb Reading Challenge Update #14
The Reward Challenge Round 3
Book Blogger Hope #8
In My Mailbox #17
I Have An Update #15

Week 39 Reviews:
Dead Until Dark
The Hollow
The Haunted
Wicked Lovely
The Betrayal of Maggie Blair
Virals
So Much Closter

Tours:
Black & Orange; Review
Promise; Review and Giveaway

Random:
Netgalley Month Declaration October
The Angel and the Brown-Eyed Boy: Promo

Yeah, got 22 posts in 7 days. So happy with that, but maybe more posts could happen.

Ok, so this week, I want to read Lost Voices, The Blessing Way, Generation Dead, Kiss of Life, By These Ten Bones, The Devouring, and Devil's Kiss, plus my many PDF, netgalley, review, and nano books. Wow, that's a big list! Must get reading!

Currently Listening To:
Currently Reading: Generation Dead
Currently Watching: True Blood

When fourteen-year-old Luce is assaulted on the cliffs near an Alaskan village, she expects to die when she tumbles into the icy water below. Instead, she transforms into a mermaid. Luce is thrilled with her new life—until she discovers the catch.

Phoebe Kendall is just your typical Goth girl with a crush. She’s strong and silent…and dead.

All over the country, a strange phenomenon is occurring. Some teenagers who die aren't staying dead. But when they come back to life, they are no longer the same. Feared and misunderstood, they are doing their best to blend into a society that doesn’t want them.

The administration at Oakvale High attempts to be more welcoming of the “differently biotic." But the students don’t want to take classes or eat in the cafeteria next to someone who isn’t breathing. And there are no laws that exist to protect the “living impaired” from the people who want them to disappear—for good.

When Phoebe falls for Tommy Williams, the leader of the dead kids, no one can believe it; not her best friend, Margi, and especially not her neighbor, Adam, the star of the football team. Adam has feelings for Phoebe that run much deeper than just friendship; he would do anything for her. But what if protecting Tommy is the one thing that would make her happy?

The phenomenon that’s been sweeping the country seems to be here to stay. Not only are the teenagers who have come back from their graves still here, but newlydeads are being unearthed all the time. While scientists look for answers and politicians take their stands, the undead population of Oakville have banded together in a group they’re calling the Sons of Romero, hoping to find solidarity in segregation.

Phoebe Kendall may be alive, but she feels just as lost and alone as her dead friends. Just when she reconciled herself to having feelings for a zombie — her Homecoming date Tommy Williams — her friend Adam is murdered taking a bullet that was meant for her. Things get even more confusing when Adam comes back from the grave. Now she has romantic interest in two dead boys; one who saved her life, and one she can't seem to live without.

There's hidden places all over this land-old, old places. Places with a chain for them to chain up the wolf when it's time.

A bone-chilling tale of werewolves and love, set in medieval Scotland

A mysterious young man has come to a small Highland town. His talent for wood carving soon wins the admiration of the weaver's daughter, Maddie. Fascinated by the silent carver, she sets out to gain his trust, only to find herself drawn into a terrifying secret that threatens everything she loves.

There is an evil presence in the carver's life that cannot be controlled, and Maddie watches her town fall under a shadow. One by one, people begin to die. Caught in the middle, Maddie must decide what matters most to her-and what price she is willing to pay to keep it.

"When dark creeps in and eats the light,
Bury your fears on Sorry Night.
For in the winter's blackest hours,
Comes the feasting of the Vours, 
No one can see it, the life they stole,
Your body's here but not your soul..."

THE VOURS: Evil, demonic beings that inhabit human bodies on Sorry Night, the darkest hours of the winter solstice.

When Reggie reads about the Vours in a mysterious old journal, she assumes they are just the musings of an anonymous lunatic. But when her little brother, Henry, begins to act strangely, it's clear that these creatures exist beyond a madwoman's imagination, and Reggie finds out what happens when fears come to life.

To save the people she loves, Reggie must learn to survive in a world of nightmares. Can she devour her own fears before they devour her?

The Devouring is an engrossing tale of terror that will have you wondering: what if your worst fears became your living nightmare?

As the youngest and only female member of the Knights Templar, Bilquis SanGreal grew upknowing she wasn't normal. Instead of hanging out at the mall or going on dates, she spends her time training as a soldier in her order's ancient battle against the Unholy.

Billi's cloistered life is blasted apart when her childhood friend, Kay, returns from Jerusalem, gorgeous and with a dangerous chip on his shoulder. He's ready to reclaim his place in Billi's life, but she's met someone new: amber-eyed Michael, who seems to understand her like no one else, effortlessly claiming a stake in her heart.

But the Templars are called to duty before Billi can enjoy the pleasant new twist to her life. One of the order's ancient enemies has resurfaced, searching for a treasure that the Templars have protected for hundreds of years -- a cursed mirror powerful enough to kill all of London's firstborn. To save her city from catastrophe, Billi will have to put her heart aside and make sacrifices greater than any of the Templars could have imagined...