Tara Hudson Author Page

The Story: I saw Hereafter around in the bookish places that I frequent, it looked really fantastic, and it was a YA book in what I consider the start of the explosion of YA, so yeah, I just had to read it! And since then, I've enjoyed all of Tara Hudson's books, and I really want to read more!

Website

Series: Hereafter.

Hereafter: Hereafter and her site, my review, Arise and her site, my review, Elegy and her site, my review.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #107, June 24th

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 #106
Teaser Tuesday #114
WWW Wednesday #114
WOW #111
Will the Time Come #107
Third Sentence Thursday #97
Random Reads #82
First Lines Friday #102
The Reward Challenge Round 76 Part 3
Follow Friday #85
In My Mailbox #107

Week 25 Reviews:
The Darkest Lie
Seize the Night
Sins of the Night
Unleash the Night
The Tenth Power
Taste of Lightning
Midnight Frost
Consume
Sea Glass
Blood-Kissed Sky
Project Princess
Princess in Pink
Beta
Tidal
Mystic
Elegy
Dark Dreamers

Dark Legend

Tour:
The Warlord's Concubine: Promo
Matt Archer: Legend by Kendra C. Highley: Book Blast Giveaway  

OK, so I got 26 posts in 7 days, and yeah, lots of great books, and upcoming books! Must read them, because they're so freaking good!

So this week I want to read Dark Guardian, Dark Side of the Moon, Princess in Training, The Collector, The Darkest Secret, Acid, Chantress, Touch, The Dead and Buried, Taking Eve, Spellcaster, Kindred in Death, One for the Money, Shutdown, Phantom Eyes, My Life Next Door, The Marked Son, The Fallen Prince, Spy Glass, Storm, The Almost Truth, Cast in Shadow, Stolen, The Beautiful and the Cursed, The Torn Wing, Reboot, Confessions of an Almost-Girlfriend, Charmed Vengeance, The Rules, and Rise.

They were masters of the darkness, searching through eternity for a mistress of the light....

He ran with the wolves...materialized from the mists...hijacked the very heavens to his whims.

He was the dark guardian of his people. So how, after centuries of a bleak, soulless existence had he, Lucian Daratrazanoff, suddenly come to crave petite, curvy, colorful lady cop Jaxon Montgomery, who foolishly made it her life's work to protect others from harm?

Fiercely daring, Jaxx would sacrifice anything to shield others-- particularly since a deadly menace dogged her every footstep, threatening all who got close to her. And strangely seductive, piercingly erotic Lucian was no exception. Lucian was powerfully, perilously mesmerizing--oddly gentle yet clearly a born predator. He had vowed to possess her, to guard her for all time. Yet with his every thirsty kiss, was he drawing Jaxon more deeply into danger . . . and his dark, mysterious desires?

Half animal, half man, wholly dangerous.
Locked in eternal battle, a Were-Hunter knows everything about peril and pain. But the greatest threat is yet to come...

Susan Michaels was once the hottest reporter on the Beltway Beat until she walked into a setup that ruined her reputation. Now she's working for a small Seattle paper, penning stories about killer moths and alien babies, convinced that her life couldn't get any worse...

That was before an idea for a breaking news piece brings her to a local animal shelter where she ends up listening to her source rant about vampires and gets coerced into adopting a cat despite her allergies. But when her new pet suddenly reveals himself to be a gorgeous - and lethal - shapeshifter, Susan realizes that there's far more at stake than a career-saving by-line.

Born into a world of predators, Were-Hunter Ravyn Kontis was betrayed by those he loved best. Soulless, pitiless, he has spent three hundred years battling the Diamons who seek to subjugate humankind. Against all odds, Susan evokes in Ravyn feelings of tenderness. Desire. Love. And with the ultimate battle about to begin, this one very human woman holds the power to shatter both their worlds...

In this sexy new installment of Showalter's bestselling Lords of the Underworld series, the haunted Amun meets a woman who tempts him like no other...

Keeper of the demon of Secrets, Amun can manipulate the darkest thoughts of anyone nearby. But when the immortal warrior is chained and isolated to protect those he loves, death is his only hope of release—until he meets Haidee, a fellow prisoner whose beauty and hidden vulnerability draw him into a reckless test of his loyalty.

Haidee is a demon-assassin, raised to despise Amun's kind. Yet how can she hate the man whose touch sets her aflame? But to save him, she must give herself body and soul...and face the wrath of a powerful adversary sworn to destroy her.

When a strange boy tumbles down a river embankment and lands at her feet, seventeen-year-old adrenaline junkie Deznee Cross snatches the opportunity to piss off her father by bringing the mysterious hottie with ice blue eyes home.

Except there’s something off with Kale. He wears her shoes in the shower, is overly fascinated with things like DVDs and vases, and acts like she’ll turn to dust if he touches her. It’s not until Dez’s father shows up, wielding a gun and knowing more about Kale than he should, that Dez realizes there’s more to this boy—and her father’s “law firm”—than she realized.

Kale has been a prisoner of Denazen Corporation—an organization devoted to collecting “special” kids known as Sixes and using them as weapons—his entire life. And, oh yeah, his touch? It kills. The two team up with a group of rogue Sixes hellbent on taking down Denazen before they’re caught and her father discovers the biggest secret of all. A secret Dez has spent her life keeping safe.

A secret Kale will kill to protect.

When Nadia’s family moves to Captive’s Sound, she instantly realizes there’s more to it than meets the eye. Descended from witches, Nadia senses a dark and powerful magic at work in her new town. Mateo has lived in Captive’s Sound his entire life, trying to dodge the local legend that his family is cursed - and that curse will cause him to believe he’s seeing the future … until it drives him mad. When the strange dreams Mateo has been having of rescuing a beautiful girl—Nadia—from a car accident come true, he knows he’s doomed. 

Despite the forces pulling them apart, Nadia and Mateo must work together to break the chains of his family’s terrible curse, and to prevent a disaster that threatens the lives of everyone around them. 

When the newly promoted captain of the NYPSD and his wife return a day early from their vacation, they were looking forward to spending time with their bright and vivacious sixteen-year-old daughter who had stayed behind.

Not even their worst nightmares could have prepared them for the crime scene that awaited them instead. Brutally murdered in her bedroom, Deena?s body showed signs of trauma that horrified even the toughest of cops; including our own Lieutenant Eve Dallas, who was specifically requested by the captain to investigate.

When the evidence starts to pile up, Dallas and her team think they are about to arrest their perpetrator; little do they know yet that someone has gone to great lengths to tease and taunt them by using a variety of identities. Overconfidence can lead to careless mistakes. But for Dallas, one mistake might be all she needs to bring justice.

The battle is all but over, and hope seems to be lost. Zoe and her fellow Resistance fighters are on the run, having lost their home, their protection, and their leader. They are outnumbered and outmatched by the powerful corporation that controls the world, and the cruel Chancellor is inches away from completing a scheme that would kill most of humanity. Zoe's only remaining option is to chase the impossible dream of upending the Link system, freeing the world from the hardware that controls their thoughts and emotions, and hope it will trigger a revolution.

The plot requires a nearly impossible mission to infiltrate the dangerous Community, and it is a task that Zoe must unfortunately complete alone. With challenges and surprises at every turn, nothing goes according to plan. Adrien's visions of the future now show two possible outcomes: one in which they succeed, and one in which humanity falls. It all lies in Zoe's hands.

Every child in Belle Dam is taught about the feud from an early age. There are ‘our’ people and ‘their’ people. Friends and enemies. Associates and strangers. It’s the kind of town where eyes are always watching, and you don’t need a reason to sell out your neighbors.

But the feud is a lie. As a new wave of fury sweeps through the town, creating a third front to an already overtaxed war, Braden has been broken worse than ever. His innocence? Shattered. His heart? Crushed. His magic? Gone. His new life? Ruined. And this is only the beginning.

Beneath the city lay deep wellsprings of power. The one who controls them is the one who will win the feud. In a city filled with puppet masters, Braden must elude their strings and end the feud once and for all. But first, he must outsmart his father, evade Catherine’s dark magic, regain what was stolen from him, trick a phantom who refuses to die, and foil a demon’s master plan.

Even then, he may not survive. Because power is a problem, and victory comes with a cost…

Seventeen-year-old Dylan Kennedy always knew something was different about him, but until his mother abandoned him in the middle of Oregon with grandparents he’s never met, he had no idea what.

When Dylan sees a girl in white in the woods behind his grandparents’ farm, he knows he’s seen her before... in his dreams. He’s felt her fear. Heard her insistence that only he can save her world from an evil lord who uses magic and fear to feed his greed for power.

Unable to shake the unearthly pull to Kera, Dylan takes her hand. Either he’s completely insane or he’s about to have the adventure of his life, because where they’re going is full of creatures he’s only read about in horror stories. Worse, the human blood in his veins has Dylan marked for death...

There is a magical realm that exists alongside the human realm, but it wasn’t always so. The firsts are beings who were created to nurture the land. The world was split into two realms, and the firsts were allowed to redeem themselves. Sadly, the majority continued with their self-indulgent behavior to the point where one of their own, a king, became so obsessed with power, he was secretly banished by the court in hopes his absence would calm the masses. But a spark of madness was ignited and not even the lost king's absence could curtail what he set in motion.

London 1872 -

A bloody escape, a deadly threat, a shocking revelation...

As an orphan who stole the Queen's ring - only to find the ring was a reservoir that held a truce between the world of Faerie and the British Court - Tiki’s greatest fear suddenly becomes all too real: the fey have returned to London seeking revenge. As war escalates in the Otherworld, Queen Victoria’s youngest son, Prince Leopold, is attacked. In order to protect her family and those she loves, Tiki needs to know the meaning of an fáinne sí, the birthmark that winds around her wrist. But will she be brave enough to face the truth?

Five years ago, Wren Connolly was shot three times in the chest. After 178 minutes she came back as a Reboot: stronger, faster, able to heal, and less emotional. The longer Reboots are dead, the less human they are when they return. Wren 178 is the deadliest Reboot in the Republic of Texas. Now seventeen years old, she serves as a soldier for HARC (Human Advancement and Repopulation Corporation).

Wren’s favorite part of the job is training new Reboots, but her latest newbie is the worst she’s ever seen. As a 22, Callum Reyes is practically human. His reflexes are too slow, he’s always asking questions, and his ever-present smile is freaking her out. Yet there’s something about him she can’t ignore. When Callum refuses to follow an order, Wren is given one last chance to get him in line—or she’ll have to eliminate him. Wren has never disobeyed before and knows if she does, she’ll be eliminated, too. But she has also never felt as alive as she does around Callum.

The perfect soldier is done taking orders.

Rose Zarelli has big plans for sophomore year—everything is going to be different. This year, she’s going to be the talented singer with the killer voice, the fabulous girl with the fashionista best friend, the brainiac who refuses to let Jamie Forta jerk her around...

...but if she’s not careful, she’s also going to be the sister who misses the signals, the daughter who can only think about her own pain, the “good girl” who finds herself in mid-scandal again (because no good deed goes unpunished) and possibly worst of all...the almost-girlfriend.

When all else fails, stop looking for love and go find yourself.

In the Faerie realm, Noli Braddock's relationship with her best friend V has grown into something more. But V's mother, Faerie Queen Tiana, has ruled that they are forbidden to see each other. Returning to the mortal realm, Noli joins the crew of her brother's air-pirate ship, the Vixen's Revenge. There she discovers that her brother has hired the scallywag Faerie huntsman, Kevighn Silver. While serving as shipmates, Kevighn and Noli learn that the Earth Court King plans to find a forbidden artifact--one that will bring destruction to everyone Noli loves.

1. Never trust anyone.

2. Remember they are always searching.

3. Don’t get involved.

4. Keep your head down.

5. Don’t fall in love.

Five simple rules. Ariane Tucker has followed them since the night she escaped from the genetics lab where she was created, the result of combining human and extraterrestrial DNA. Ariane’s survival—and that of her adoptive father—depends on her ability to blend in among the full-blooded humans in a small Wisconsin town, to hide in plain sight at her high school from those who seek to recover their lost (and expensive) “project.”

But when a cruel prank at school goes awry, it puts her in the path of Zane Bradshaw, the police chief’s son and someone who sees too much. Someone who really sees her. After years of trying to be invisible, Ariane finds the attention frightening—and utterly intoxicating. Suddenly, nothing is simple anymore, especially not the rules…

Everything Conatus stands for is at risk. Hoping to gather enough resistance to save their order, Ember and Barrow attempt a desperate escape. But fate offers little mercy. When their mission is exposed, the  couple face relentless pursuit by the supernatural horrors that act on the commands of Eira’s ally: the mysterious Bosque Mar. A shocking revelation forces Ember out of hiding, sending her back into the heart of dark magic at Tearmunn keep, where she must convince her old friend Alistair of her love or face dire consequences. Ember’s deception offers the only chance for the resistance to succeed, but what she discovers in the shadows beneath the keep will shatter her world and bring about the Witches’ War.

Week 25 Review: Elegy

From Goodreads:
A stalker ghost, misguided Seers, and spellbinding wraiths—Amelia Ashley has faced them all. Now her greatest hope is to spend the rest of her afterlife with her living boyfriend, Joshua. But the demonic forces return to give her an ultimatum: turn herself over to the darkness or watch them murder one living person per week until she does.

Amelia fears she might really be doomed, until the forces of light give her another option. She can join them in their quest to gather souls, with a catch: Once she joins them, she can never see Joshua again.

Faced with impossible choices, Amelia decides to take her afterlife into her own hands—and fight back.

My Review:
Oh, such a great, awesome, amazing book! I enjoyed it so much, and it was really the perfect ending to this series! A bit bittersweet, more then the usual saying goodbye to characters at the end of the series, but the actual ending, but yeah.

So after Arise, well, things are different, and things just keep happening from there! And this is the book where the big guns come out, where it's pretty much an epic battle between good and evil. With Amelia-and Joshua-caught in the middle.

Amelia was really smart in this book. Which really was shown in the ending, with the plan that she came up with, it was really quite extensive, and yeah, just really smart! There were a lot of balls in the air, but it worked out pretty darn well!

Oh, that ending, that just kinda hurt! But it was fitting. So I hope that Joshua has that happy life that Amelia wanted for him! Though I wish that we could've had more time with her dad, because yeah, it's her dad!

I just really loved this book, it was a really great ending to a great series, can't wait to read what Tara Hudson writes next!

Author: Tara Hudson
Series: Hereafter #3
Read: June 21st, 2013
Source: Bought
Reason Why: Because I love this series, and it's a Sequel Challenge 2013 Book and a End of Series Reading Challenge 2013 Book!
Publisher: Harper Teen
Published: June 4th 2013

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

4.5/5 Stars

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #60 July 30th

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 #59
Teaser Tuesday #68
WWW Wednesday #68
WOW #64
Will the Time Come #60
Third Sentence Thursday #51
Random Reads #35
First Lines Friday #56
Follow that Blurb Reading Challenge Update 57
A-Z Book Challenge Update 30
The Reward Challenge Round 50
Follow Friday #38
Last Letter First Letter Reading Challenge Update 18
Wrote that Review Update 11
2012 Dystopian Reading Challenge Update 27
In My Mailbox #59
I Have An Update #58

Week 30 Reviews:
Third Grave on the Right
Rapture
Until I Die
Epic Fail
Forgiven
Illuminated
Variant
Arise
Dreaming Awake
Angelfire
Personal Demons
The Ghost and the Goth
A Beautiful Evil
Havoc

Tours:
The Fallen Queen: Interview and Giveaway
Hot Coco: Guest Post and Review
Vestige: Review and Giveaway
The Doorknob Society: Review and Excerpt

Olympic Read-a-Thon:
Start Up
Update 1
Update 2
Update 3
Update 4
Update 5
Update 6
Update 7
Update 8
Update 9
Update 10

OK, so I got 46 posts in 7 days, with lots of great books read, and I got to buy a few good books, Samurai Game, and Awaken Me Darkly! So yeah, pretty darn good week if I do say so myself, and the books below to read look really amazing! Happy reading!

So this week I want to read The Best Girl, Midsummer's Knight, Bargains and Betrayals, Vestige, Born at Midnight, Princess For Hire, Ashes, Ashes, A Touch Morbid, The Doorknob Society, Size 12 And Ready to Rock, Samurai Game, Don't Judge a Girl by Her Cover, Queen of the Dead, Original Sin, It's Not Summer Without You, Treachery in Death, Fins Are Forever, The Immortality Virus, Cloaked, The Poison Diaries, Zombies Vs. Unicorns Anthology, Wings of the Wicked, Criminal, and Bloodline

Currently Listening To: Acting Out by Ashley Tisdale
Currently Reading: Size 12 and Ready to Rock by Meg Cabot
Currently Watching: True Blood/Teen Wolf/Alpha's Weekly Episodes

All Jane has to do over winter break is be the best man at her brothers wedding, but its not that simple. The bride is a famous heiress, the wedding is to take place at a posh ski resort, and the bellhop is the guy Jane has been crushing on all semester.

Dear Avon Books,

Where are my heroes? Whenever I'm reading a book by one of my favorite authors I find I'm falling for the wrong guy -- not the hero, but the other man -- and what I really want is for him to have his own story.

Like Jake Linley, from Someone to Watch Over Me by Lisa Kleypas… that doctor could sit by my bedside if I ever got sick. And Ned Blydon in Splendid by Julia Quinn...he makes me want to learn to waltz! I never thought living in a drafty castle would be much fun until Simon of Ravenswood in Master of Desire by Kinley MacGregor came along.

Anyway, I just wanted to let you know that these are my men -- when do they get their stories?

Sincerely,
A Romance Fan

EMERGENCY ALERT SYSTEM

Civil Authorities have issued a Civil Danger Notification Until Further Notice.

The following message is being transmitted by the request of The United States Government. An unknown number of citizens have gone missing. Authorities are trying to locate the missing persons. Residents are asked to stay in their homes. If you must go out, do not travel alone and carry proper identification.

Please do not call 911 to report missing persons. Emergency Call Centers and local law enforcement agencies are no longer fully staffed. The United States Military has been dispatched to assist local authorities.

This notification applies to all receiving this broadcast. Please stand by for further instructions.
_________________________________________________
In the Midwestern suburb of LaGrange, something is amiss. Over a twenty-four-hour period, all the children under the age of thirteen along with many adults have disappeared without explanation. It doesn’t take long for those left behind to learn that this tragedy is part of a global event. As people panic, civilization begins to crumble. Luckily, the Secretary of Homeland Security, Daniel Grimshaw, has a plan to restore order. But first, every remaining person must be accounted for and tagged with a mark on their right hand.

Unaware of his responsibilities, seventeen-year-old Micah has been preparing for this day. His mother trained him and provided him with the proper tools, but she neglected to tell Micah about the family legacy, his legacy. Now that his mother is among the missing, will Micah ever discover who he is, or what he needs to do to save what’s left of humanity from the hellfire of perdition?

Chloe Masters’s world changed in a heartbeat - and all she did was touch a doorknob.

When she was young Chloe’s mother vanished. Wracked by feelings of abandonment and anger she lost herself traveling with her father's magic act, where illusions were part of her everyday life. Yet everything changes when they are pursued by a mysterious man in black out to kill her father. Touching a doorknob activates abilities she never knew she had and she finds herself thrust into a world of ancient societies and secrets.

When her father disappears it is a race against time to find answers before she loses what is left of her family. Now Chloe must choose who to trust, the man who will do anything for her or the one she can’t stop thinking about.

Summer break ... and the livin' ain't easy!

Just because the students at New York College have flown the coop doesn't mean assistant residence hall director Heather Wells can relax. Fischer Hall is busier than ever, filled with squealing thirteen- and fourteen-year-old girls attending the first ever Tania Trace Teen Rock Camp, hosted by pop sensation Tania Trace herself—who just happens to be newly married to Heather's ex-boyfriend, heartthrob Jordan Cartwright. But the real headache begins when the producer of a reality TV show starring Tania winds up dead ... and it's clear that the star was the intended victim.

Grant Cartwright, head of Cartwright Records, wants to keep his daughter-in-law (and his highest-earning performer) alive. So he hires his oldest son, black sheep of the family and private investigator Cooper Cartwright—who just happens to be Heather's new fiancé. Heather should leave the detecting to Cooper. But with a dorm full of hysterical mini-divas-in-training, she can't help but get involved. And after Tania shares a really shocking secret with her, this reality suddenly becomes more dangerously real than anyone ever anticipated.

In a world so dark and seductive, expect nothing less than a triple-cross in the explosive all-new Ghostwalker novel by #1 New York Times bestselling author Christine Feehan…

In an underground club, a high-ranking public official spends his secret nights indulging in fantasies as exciting as they are depraved. For a seductive employee of the Dungeon, it’s her job to fulfill them. But she’s playing a far more dangerous game—one of blackmail, politics, and murder that reaches into the shadow world of the Ghostwalkers, and the creation of a spectacular, one-of-a-kind new weapon of defense.

But when a dictator makes his own catastrophic moves, the Ghostwalkers have no choice but to bring in two major players—a man and woman both driven by passion and revenge. Both expendable. Both with nothing left to lose.

When Cammie "The Chameleon" Morgan visits her roommate Macey in Boston, she thinks she's in for an exciting end to her summer break. After all, she's there to watch Macey's father accept the nomination for vice president of the United States. But when you go to the world's best school (for spies), "exciting" and "deadly" are never far apart. Cammie and Macey soon find themselves trapped in a kidnappers' plot, with only their espionage skills to save them.

As her junior year begins, Cammie can't shake the memory of what happened in Boston, and even the Gallagher Academy for Exceptional Young Women doesn't feel like the safe haven it once did. Shocking secrets and old flames seem to lurk around every one of the mansion's corners as Cammie and her friends struggle to answer the questions, Who is after Macey? And how can the Gallagher Girls keep her safe?

Soon Cammie is joining Bex and Liz as Macey's private security team on the campaign trail. The girls must use their spy training at every turn as the stakes are raised, and Cammie gets closer and closer to the shocking truth.

After being sent back from the light, Alona Dare - former homecoming queen, current Queen of the Dead - finds herself doing something she never expected: working. Instead of spending days perfecting her tan by the pool (her typical summer routine when she was, you know, alive), Alona must now cater to the needs of other lost spirits. By her side for all of this - ugh - “helping of others” is Will Killian: social outcast, seer of the dead, and someone Alona cares about more than she’d like.

Before Alona can make a final ruling on Will’s “friend” or “more” status, though, she discovers trouble at home. Her mom is tossing out Alona’s most valuable possessions, and her dad is expecting a new daughter with his wicked wife. Is it possible her family is already moving on? Hello! She’s only been dead for two months! Thankfully, Alona knows just the guy who can put a stop to this mess.

Unfortunately for Alona, Will has other stuff on his mind, and Mina, a young (and beautiful) seer, is at the top of the list. She’s the first ghost-talker Will’s ever met—aside from his father—and she may hold answers to Will’s troubled past. But can she be trusted? Alona immediately puts a check mark in the “clearly not” column. But Will is - ahem - willing to find out, even if it means leaving a hurt and angry Alona to her own devices, which is never a good idea.

Luc Cain was born and raised in Hell, but he isn’t feeling as demonic as usual lately—thanks to Frannie Cavanaugh and the unique power she never realized she had. But you can’t desert Hell without consequences, and suddenly Frannie and Luc find themselves targeted by the same demons who used to be Luc’s allies.

Left with few options, Frannie and Luc accept the protection of Heaven and one of its most powerful angels, Gabe. Unfortunately, Luc isn’t the only one affected by Frannie, and it isn’t long before Gabe realizes that being around her is too…tempting. Rather than risk losing his wings, he leaves Frannie and Luc under the protection of her recently-acquired guardian angel.

Which would be fine, but Gabe is barely out the door before an assortment of demons appears—and they’re not leaving without dragging Luc back to Hell with them. Hell won’t give up and Heaven won’t give in. Frannie’s guardian exercises all the power he has to keep them away, but the demons are willing to hurt anyone close to Frannie in order to get what they want. It will take everything she has and then some to stay out of Hell’s grasp.

And not everyone will get out of it alive.

Can summer be truly summer without Cousins Beach?It used to be that Belly counted the days until summer, until she was back at Cousins Beach with Conrad and Jeremiah. But not this year. Not after Susannah got sick again and Conrad stopped caring. Everything that was right and good has fallen apart, leaving Belly wishing summer would never come.

But when Jeremiah calls saying Conrad has disappeared, Belly knows what she must do to make things right again. And it can only happen back at the beach house, the three of them together, the way things used to be. If this summer really and truly is the last summer, it should end the way it started--at Cousins Beach.

On Lily Sanderson’s eighteenth birthday she’ll become just a girl—still a mergirl, true, but signing the renunciation will ink Princess Waterlily of Thalassinia out of existence. That leaves plain old Lily living on land, dating the boy she loves, and trying to master this being-human thing once and for all.

Now that Lily and Quince are together, mer bond or not, she’s almost content to give up her place in the royal succession of Thalassinia. But just when she thinks she has everything figured out, the waves start to get rough. Lily’s father sends a certain whirlpool-stirring cousin to stay with her on land. What did Doe do to get herself exiled from Thalassinia and stuck in terraped form, when everyone knows how much she hates humans? And why why why is she batting her eyelashes at Lily’s former crush, Brody?

The seafoam on the raging surf comes when a merboy from Lily’s past shows up—Tellin asks Lily for something that clouds her view of the horizon. There’s a future with Quince on land, her loyalty to the kingdom in the sea, and Lily tossing on the waves in the middle. Will she find a way to reconcile her love, her duty, and her own dreams?

I’m not your average hero. I actually wasn’t your average anything. Just a poor guy working an after-school job at a South Beach shoe repair shop to help his mom make ends meet. But a little magic changed it all.

It all started with the curse. And the frognapping. And one hot-looking princess, who asked me to lead a rescue mission.

There wasn’t a fairy godmother or any of that. And even though I fell in love along the way, what happened to me is unlike any fairy tale I’ve ever heard. Before I knew it, I was spying with a flock of enchanted swans, talking (yes, talking!) to a fox named Todd, and nearly trampled by giants in the Everglades.

Don’t believe me? I didn’t believe it either. But you’ll see. Because I knew it all was true, the second I got CLOAKED.

A dark, gothic tale of romance... and murder. In the right dose, everything is a poison. Jessamine has spent her whole life in a cottage close to her father's apothecary garden, surrounded by medicinal plants and herbs that could kill her -- although her father has never allowed her into the most dangerous part of the grounds... the poison garden. And so she's never had reason to be afraid -- until now. Because now a newcomer has come to live with the family, a quiet but strangely attractive orphan boy named Weed. Though Weed doesn't say much in words, he has an instant talent for the apothecary's trade, seeming to possess a close bond with the plants of the garden. Soon, he and Jessamine also share a close bond. But little does Jessamine know that passion can be just as poisonous as the deadliest plants in the garden -- for behind Weed's instinctive way in the garden is a terrible secret.

It's a question as old as time itself: which is better, the zombie or the unicorn? In this anthology, edited by Holly Black and Justine Larbalestier (unicorn and zombie, respectively), strong arguments are made for both sides in the form of short stories. Half of the stories portray the strengths--for good and evil--of unicorns and half show the good (and really, really bad-ass) side of zombies. Contributors include many bestselling teen authors, including Cassandra Clare, Libba Bray, Maureen Johnson, Meg Cabot, Scott Westerfeld, and Margo Lanagan. This anthology will have everyone asking: Team Zombie or Team Unicorn?

Life as the Preliator is harder than Ellie ever imagined.
Balancing real life with the responsibility of being Heaven’s warrior is a challenge for Ellie. Her relationship with Will has become all business, though they both long for each other. And now that the secret of who she really is has come out, so have Hell’s strongest reapers. Grown bold and more vicious, the demonic threaten her in the light of day and stalk her in the night.

She’s been warned.
Cadan, a demonic reaper, comes to her with information about Bastian’s new plan to destroy Ellie’s soul and use an ancient relic to wake all the souls of the damned and unleash them upon humanity. As she fights to stay ahead of Bastian’s schemes , the revelations about those closest to her awaken a dark power within Ellie that threatens to destroy everything—including herself.

She’ll be betrayed.
Treachery comes even from those whom she loves, and Ellie is broken by the deaths of those who stood beside her in this Heavenly war. Still, she must find a way to save the world, herself, and her love for Will. If she fails, there will be hell to pay.

Week 30 Review: Arise

From Goodreads:
Amelia—still caught between life and death—must fight for every moment of her relationship with the human boy Joshua. They can hardly even kiss without Amelia accidentally dematerializing. Looking for answers, they go to visit some of Joshua's Seer relatives in New Orleans. 

But even in a city so famously steeped in the supernatural, Amelia ends up with more questions than answers…and becomes increasingly convinced that she and Joshua can never have a future together.

Wandering through the French Quarter, Amelia meets other in-between ghosts, and begins to seriously consider joining them. And then she meets Gabrielle. Somehow, against impossible odds, Gaby has found a way to live a sort of half-life...a half-life for which Amelia would pay any price. Torn between two worlds, Amelia must choose carefully, before the evil spirits of the netherworld choose for her.

My Review:
So I absolutely loved this book! I enjoyed the first book so much, and then there was this book, and it built on the foundation of Hereafter, and was just fantastic! Seeing the characters again, was, just, yeah, really great! I just really enjoyed that!

So this book is primarily set in New Orleans, which is a perfect setting for a ghost story! Just gave another feel to the book, because this book was darker, and that wasn't just because of the location, but because the stakes were higher. But New Orleans was really great to read about!

Just loved all the various developments, from Amelia, and the ritual that she goes through, to all the new characters, because they added some variety! Gaby, especially, since she's pretty vital to the plot of this book!

When it all came together, well, yeah, that was just utterly fantastic! There'd been clues here and there, and I was piecing together the complete image, so I got some things, but when it all came together, it was just really great!

I enjoyed this book, and my want for book #3 has raised, to oh, about 8/10!

Author: Tara Hudson
Series: Hereafter #2
Read: July 22nd, 24th, 2012
Source: Library
Reason Why: Loved Hereafter, and it's a WoW book and a Sophomore Reading Challenge book!
Publisher: Harper Collins
Published: June 5th 2012

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

4/5 Stars

Follow that Blurb Reading Challenge Update 55

So I read Blood and Chocolate, and I'm going to be reading Arise very soon!

Here's the start up post with my reading journeys. This is a meme hosted by Reading With Tequila.

Follow that Blurb Reading Challenge Update 54

So I got in Blood and Chocolate, so I'll be reading it next week, so at least that's something. Also, the next book to read is Arise, and the one after that is Rift. Yep.

Here's the start up post with my reading journeys. This is a meme hosted by Reading With Tequila.

It's Monday! What Are You Reading #37, February 20th

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 #36
Teaser Tuesday #45
WWW Wednesday #45
WOW #41
Will the Time Come #37
Third Sentence Thursday #28
Random Reads #12
First Lines Friday #33
Follow that Blurb Reading Challenge Update 34
A-Z Book Challenge Update 7
The Reward Challenge Round 28
Follow Friday #15
2012 Dystopian Reading Challenge Update 7
YA Historical Fiction Reading Challenge Update 5
In My Mailbox #36
I Have An Update #35

Week 7 Reviews:
Heist Society
Cinder
Jake Ransom and the Howling Sphinx
Earth
Hereafter
Jekel Loves Hyde
The Hunger Games
Animal Instincts
In Other Worlds
Wanderlove
Guardian of the Gate
Circle of Fire
 
Tours:
Gods and Fathers: Review
The Bronze and the Brimstone: Review

Random:
Review Copy Cleanup Sign Up
Check Out this Free Excerpt!
Miscellaneous News

OK, so I got posts 32 in 7 days, and there were some really fun ones, and it was sa pretty great week!
 
So this week I want to read, and this is strange, is catch up from what I wanted to read, and didn't. Yep. There's a lot of books in this pile!

Currently Listening To: Cruella De Ville by Selena Gomez
Currently Reading: Unknown
Currently Watching: A Mix of things

Week 7 Review: Hereafter

From Goodreads:
Can there truly be love after death?

Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life--or her actual death--she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but "will" him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.

Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.

My Review:
I loved this book so much! Such a great ghost story, dealing with life and death, and what happens when one partner in the relationship is alive, and the other is not. Because yeah, that is a pretty hard complication to deal with!

I really enjoyed both Amelia and Joshua, because hey, they're in a tough place, and when you add in that his family is trained to fight the dead, or at least, defend, well, yeah, that's a further wrinkle in their relationship!

That ending! That was some really powerful stuff, facing off on the bridge where she died, to keep his sister from dying now, and yeah, it gives me hope, even though this is only the first book, that these 2 are going to end up together, yeah!

This was a really fantastic book, I thoroughly enjoyed it, and I can't wait for the next book!

Author: Tara Hudson
Series: Hereafter #1
Read: February 12th-13th, 2012
Source: Library
Reason Why: Sounded amazing, has a beautiful cover, and it's a WTC book!
Publisher: HarperTeen
Published: June 7th 2011

5/5 Hearts

5/5 Books

5/5 Stars

Will The Time Come #36, February 9th

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 blog

Hereafter by Tara Hudson
From Goodreads:

Can there truly be love after death?

Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.

Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.

Why the time hasn't come yet...
Well, technically, I haven't gotten this book yet. But it's waiting for me to pick it up at the library, so I hope I get it today or tomorrow! Yep. Happy reading!