Review: Collide (Collide, #1) by Shelly Crane

Sherry has always known there was something out there. She's eighteen, works for a tabloid newspaper in Chicago and has a brother, Danny who is a lazy mooch. They live a pretty normal dull life with hippie parents and a normal existence. Then the moon dissapears and people start to go missing only to reappear later, but different. Sherry has an abusive ex-boyfriend who shows up and claims to be one of these beings that have been showing up around the world. He's no longer the same person in that body. He tells her he has come to protect her and her brother and takes her underground, against her will to save her, where they meet others like them. She begins to unravel the truth about Merrick, about what he's really doing here, about the way he looks at her, about the crazy dangerous world they live in. Can he convince her that he's here to help? Will she like what she finds when she opens up to the truth? Will he be the one to love her when everyone else has failed her? Will he be able to protect her?

What can I say?  After getting a taste for Crane's Significance series, I couldn't resist seeing if I'd come to love any of her other books as much as I did the others.  And I can now safely say that she is no one hit wonder. While I love her other series, this one has great potential too.  I know I'm late to party with these books, but I guess it's better late than never right?  I'll admit that in the beginning of this series opener I was wary of the story line   I won't say I'm against science fiction material, but this whole "aliens" like scenario was one that I worried would trip me up and leave me wishing it was different or had more of something I was more familiar with.  But I honestly think Crane has the secret  equation for her readers.  And a very large portion of that equation is her central characters and sometimes the romance they share.

I couldn't get enough of Sherry and Merrick and I can't wait to see what happens next.  No surprise there.  It's tough to go too far with this review without giving away any spoilers, and that's the last thing I'd want to do for any readers out there who want to check this read out.  All I can say is that it's definitely worth your time and will make a great addition to just about anyone's bookshelves.  I'm only sorry I didn't pick up the other installments in the series at the same time so that I could have just kept right on reading.  But I plan to rectify that situation really soon and find out what's in store for Crane's new set of characters next!  I can't wait!

I gave Collide (Collide, #1) 3 shamrocks!!!

Review: Blood Fever (The Watchers, #3) by Veronica Wolff

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME—EVEN IF HOME IS WHERE THE DEAD LIVE...

It’s the start of the fall semester, and a new crop of Acari and Trainees have descended on the Isle of Night. Watcher training has intensified, and Drew has a new roommate named Mei-Ling. But Mei-Ling harbors a dangerous secret that drove the vampires to abduct her against her will. Drew knows she shouldn’t get involved, but she can’t seem to leave her roommate to fend for herself.

Luckily, Drew has other things on her mind—like vampire Carden. A blood bond to a brawny, eighteenth-century Scottish bad boy tends to preoccupy a girl. And though she’s still figuring out what this bond means, one thing has become clear: She craves him in a major way.

But then bodies start turning up on the island. All the evidence points to the existence of a rogue vampire, and the sinister vampire Alcántara is gunning for Carden, even though Drew has proof that Carden had nothing to do with the murders. Now she has to find the true killer—without endangering Carden, Mei-Ling, or herself…

Wolff did it again!  I was so anxious to dive right into this one after the way the second installment ended that I could barely contain my excitement and anticipation....somehow I managed to take a few deep breaths and slowly open up to the first page.  From there I flew through the pages and forgot about everything else going on around me.  All that mattered was finding out what would happen next.  And for me, that's one of the easiest ways to realize that a book or series or author is going to rank high on your list of favorites.  If a book can get me to want to block out the outside world, or have me sad when I have to close the cover because it's too late and I can't possibly function the following day if I don't get to sleep pronto, well that sums it all up for me.

Drew is once again the low man on the totem pole in so many ways and there is so much going on in this installment that I couldn't believe she was able to keep up.  She gets herself a new roommate that had a somewhat different experience when coming to the island.  She's got herself bound to a vampire, and nice or not that's a serious issue that she's forced to come to terms with.  And the vampire who at one point (while still scary) was on her side and looking out for her, may have changed his tune.  And did I mention the bodies that were piling up while all of this was going on?  As if that wouldn't be enough on it's own right?  Wolff had me anxious, tense, swooning, anxious again, and at some points very sad.  All in all, while it was a crazy roller coaster I'm yet again hoping I don't have to wait oh so very long for the next installment in the Watchers series.

I gave Blood Fever (The Watchers, #3) 4 shamrocks!!!!

Review: Defiance (Significance, #3) by Shelly Crane

In the third installment of the Significance series, we begin with Maggie and Caleb in the clutches of a new enemy; the Virtuoso council. Not only do they have to deal with the consequences of taking the lives of the Watsons and the council attempting to take Maggie away to keep their precious Visionary safe, but they must deal with Marla as well. All are determined to undermine, control and use Caleb and Maggie's rare gifts for their own uses, some wish to destroy them entirely. Then Maggie's father and Bish are threatened but the council forbids the presence of humans. Peter and the family fight and stand beside them every step of the way to save Maggie's father, to keep Caleb and Maggie together when the corrupted council is so set on keeping them apart and to stop Marla and whatever she has up her sleeve. Then Maggie has the shock of her life when she discovers something about her real father. It may change everything for everyone. Stay tuned as the story continues.

Well if this is meant to be the final installment in the Significance series, than Crane really went out with a whopper of a finale.  I truly enjoyed each of this series' installments, and while I was somewhat sad throughout this last book because I knew I'd have to say goodbye to these great characters and this fantastic world that Crane has created for her readers, I was also content that she would make sure things worked out the way they should.

Maggie and Caleb once again just can't seem to get a break, and if I thought they had to jump through hoops prior to this book I had no idea what would be in store for them this time around.  Crane will keep her readers on the edges of their seats without a doubt.  There's tension galore, a good amount of romance, enough family camaraderie to leave all the readers cheering and falling in love with Caleb and Maggie's families.  And I think every reader will be on the same page regarding how much you will end up loathing the bad guys this time around.  It's crazy how much I disliked them in this book, which shows how great Crane's writing style is because man oh man did these characters get me heated whenever they threw another wrench in my favorite couple's way.

So if you're looking for a series that's great from start to finish and throughout every installment, this is the one for you!

I gave Defiance (Significance, #3) 4 shamrocks!!!!

In My Mailbox (69)

This is a meme that I first heard about from Kristi over at The Story Siren and immediately wanted to jump on board. I'm always picking up new books, because I
never tire of reading, but the other thing I like about this meme is that it gives everyone an opportunity to check out what other book fanatics, bloggers, etc... got for themselves. I've gotten great recommendations from this meme and hope that keeps up in the future.

Here's what I got, what did you guys get this week? 

 

For Review:

Collide (Collide, #1) by Shelly Crane

Sherry has always known there was something out there. She's eighteen, works for a tabloid newspaper in Chicago and has a brother, Danny who is a lazy mooch. They live a pretty normal dull life with hippie parents and a normal existence. Then the moon disappears and people start to go missing only to reappear later, but different. Sherry has an abusive ex-boyfriend who shows up and claims to be one of these beings that have been showing up around the world. He's no longer the same person in that body. He tells her he has come to protect her and her brother and takes her underground, against her will to save her, where they meet others like them. She begins to unravel the truth about Merrick, about what he's really doing here, about the way he looks at her, about the crazy dangerous world they live in. Can he convince her that he's here to help? Will she like what she finds when she opens up to the truth? Will he be the one to love her when everyone else has failed her? Will he be able to protect her?

Review: Accordance (Significance, #2) by Shelly Crane

In the sequel, Maggie learns much more about all the strange things that happened to her, and has to face new ones. She rebels against it, but ultimately, must face it for her new families sake and maybe even her life. Bish went from being her biggest supporter to her biggest pain in the butt and Kyle's intentions to attract her interest may not be so innocent. Caleb and Maggie face many new obstacles together and fight to work through them but will one that should be a good thing be too much for Maggie to handle?

Like I said...I couldn't wait to pick this sequel up and dive right in, and dive right in I did.  Picking up where the series opener left off, Maggie and Caleb still have not gotten their happily ever after, but are still hard at work and just as determined as ever to make it work out.  Who wouldn't want to route for a couple like that right?  While they had to face off with a rival family in the first go around, they've got more added to their plate in this follow up installment.

Maggie's brother Bish steps up his protective side and makes it very clear that he knows something isn't right and that everyone around him seems to be keeping things from him.  I couldn't blame the guy for wanting to look out for his sister and protect her from any harm, but since I'm loving Maggie and Caleb, I couldn't help but want to ring Bish's neck every once in a while when he took out his aggression on Caleb more than I thought was justified.  And please don't get me started on Kyle.  I get that the guy has been nursing far more than a crush on Maggie for way too long and that it's sad that things didn't go his way but let's face it...sometimes we all have had to just suck it up and accept that not everything is meant to be.

The book's description teases readers of new obstacles that stand in Maggie and Caleb's way and they weren't kidding around.  Crane had no intentions of giving her characters the easy way out in this series and she makes it a point to prove just how far she'll make the couple go before they think they'll get their happily ever after ending.  So once again Crane left her readers wondering what will happen next, and lucky for me, the third installment in the Significance series was already out on the shelves and I picked myself up a copy so I could read on and see what will happen next.

I gave Accordance (Significance, #2) 4 shamrocks!!!!

Review: Significance (Significance, #1) by Shelly Crane

Maggie is a seventeen year old girl who's had a bad year. She was smart and on track, but then her mom left, her dad is depressed, she's graduating - barely - and her boyfriend of almost three years dumped her for a college football scholarship. Lately she thinks life is all about hanging on by a thread and is gripping tight with everything she has.

Then she saves the life of Caleb and instantly knows there's something about him that's intriguing. But things change when they touch, sparks ignite. Literally.

They imprint with each other and she sees their future life together flash before her eyes. She learns that not only is she his soul mate, and can feel his heartbeat in her chest, but there is a whole other world of people with gifts and abilities that she never knew existed. She herself is experiencing supernatural changes unlike anything she's ever felt before and she needs the touch of his skin to survive.

Now, not only has her dad come out of his depression to be a father again, and a pain as well, but Caleb's enemies know he's imprinted and are after Maggie to stop them both from gaining their abilities and take her from him.

Can Caleb save her or will they be forced to live without each other after just finding one another?

I took a shot in the dark with this one.  I'm not even sure how I came across the title, and I had not read anything by Crane before cracking open this cover, but there was just something about this book's description that had me wanting to check it out for myself.  And once again I got lucky and I'm very glad that I found yet another title to add to my shelves that I can't wait to recommend to friends and book lovers alike.

While it has what I'd consider a crazy premise, the action was great, and Crane's writing was effortless.  Her characters had you instantly engaged and invested before breaking out of the first quarter of the book.  Maggie and Caleb were impossible to resist.  Readers will instantly find themselves on their "side" and want nothing more than for things to work out for them in the end.  Their families were a fun extra dynamic that Crane threw into the story and I enjoyed getting to know each and every one of them.

While it would have been nice to see Maggie and Caleb able to just enjoy the miracle that was given to them when they found each other, unfortunately Crane decided to put them through the ringer from the very start.  Not only was there trouble and plenty of obstacles thrown their way from outside forces and rival families, Maggie and Caleb had to deal with the turmoil brewing with some of their own family members as well.  It was packed with drama (the good kind) and action and suspense that had me on the edge of my seat and racing through the pages so that I could find out what would happen by the book's end.

I couldn't resist picking up the next installment in the Significance series immediately and can't wait to dive right in.

I gave Significance (Significance, #1) 4 shamrocks!!!!

In My Mailbox (68)

This is a meme that I first heard about from Kristi over at The Story Siren and immediately wanted to jump on board. I'm always picking up new books, because I
never tire of reading, but the other thing I like about this meme is that it gives everyone an opportunity to check out what other book fanatics, bloggers, etc... got for themselves. I've gotten great recommendations from this meme and hope that keeps up in the future.

Here's what I got, what did you guys get this week? 

 

For Review:

Blood Fever (The Watchers, #3) by Veronica Wolff

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME—EVEN IF HOME IS WHERE THE DEAD LIVE...

It’s the start of the fall semester, and a new crop of Acari and Trainees have descended on the Isle of Night. Watcher training has intensified, and Drew has a new roommate named Mei-Ling. But Mei-Ling harbors a dangerous secret that drove the vampires to abduct her against her will. Drew knows she shouldn’t get involved, but she can’t seem to leave her roommate to fend for herself.

Luckily, Drew has other things on her mind—like vampire Carden. A blood bond to a brawny, eighteenth-century Scottish bad boy tends to preoccupy a girl. And though she’s still figuring out what this bond means, one thing has become clear: She craves him in a major way.

But then bodies start turning up on the island. All the evidence points to the existence of a rogue vampire, and the sinister vampire Alcántara is gunning for Carden, even though Drew has proof that Carden had nothing to do with the murders. Now she has to find the true killer—without endangering Carden, Mei-Ling, or herself…

Airel (The Airel Saga, #1) by Aaron Patterson and Chris White

All Airel ever wanted was to be normal, to disappear into the crowd. But bloodlines can produce surprises, like an incredible ability to heal. Then there’s Michael Alexander, the new guy in school, who is impossibly gorgeous…and captivated by her. Somewhere in the back of her mind, she can hear the sound of pages turning, and another, older story being written. It is the story of an ancient family, of great warriors, of the Sword of Light, and the struggle against an evil so terrible, so far-reaching, that it threatens everything. Airel knew change would be an inevitable part of life. But can she hold on when murder and darkness begin to close in and take away everything she loves? Will she have what it takes when the truth is finally revealed?