Book Review - Cursed

Cursed
Author: Lizzy Ford
Series: Voodoo Nights #1
Genres: Paranormal, Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 6th March 2014
Publishers: Evatopia Press
No. Pages: 246
Source: Review Copy - Evatopia Press
Rating: 
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The Red Man is coming...

Five years after her sister disappeared, seventeen-year-old Adrienne finds the strength to return to her father’s home in New Orleans. But soon after she arrives, the mark of a curse appears on her, leaving her worried. Will she be the next victim of a four-hundred-year old family curse - the next to be claimed by a serial killer roaming the back alleys of the city?

The day before his senior year begins, Jayden is given a skeleton key passed down through his family for generations - a gruesome reminder of how his ancestors betrayed their own people and sold them into slavery. He doesn't believe in the curse the key allegedly bears and puts it away with the intention of forgetting about its message. Until he meets Adrienne, a girl he’s compelled to for more reasons than her beauty.

He’s not the only one who notices her. A man in a skeleton mask and a voodoo gang member are also drawn to Adrienne. One is determined to protect her. The other intends to mislead her. Haunted by the mythical Red Man, all are connected to the ancient curse.

Can they overcome their misgivings about one another and prevent the dark prophecy looming over them? Or will they be lured away from each other by evil’s siren song?

Book Review - Let It Snow

Let It Snow
Author: Maureen Johnson, John Green, Lauren Myracle
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: 6th October 2010
Publishers: Speak
No. Pages: 352
Source: Gifted
Rating: 
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An ill-timed storm on Christmas Eve buries the residents of Gracetown under multiple feet of snow and causes quite a bit of chaos. One brave soul ventures out into the storm from her stranded train and sets off a chain of events that will change quite a few lives.

Over the next three days one girl takes a risky shortcut with an adorable stranger, three friends set out to win a race to the Waffle House ( and the hash brown spoils), and the fate of a teacup pig falls into the hands of a lovesick barista.

Book Review - Anna Dressed in Blood

Anna Dressed in Blood
Author: Kendare Blake
Series: Anna #1
Genres: Paranormal, Horror | Young Adult
Release Date: 5th July 2012
Publishers: Orchard Books
No. Pages: 373
Source: Purchased
Rating: 
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Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until he was gruesomely murdered by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father's mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. They follow legends and local lore, destroy the murderous dead, and keep pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

Searching for a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas expects the usual: track, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he's never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, now stained red and dripping with blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

Yet she spares Cas's life.

Book Review - Dash and Lily's Book of Dares

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares
Author: David Levithan, Rachel Cohn
Standalone
Genres: Contemporary | Young Adult
Release Date: 26th October 2010
Publishers: Knopf Books
No. Pages: 280
Source: Gifted
Rating: 
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"I've left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please."

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the bestselling authors of Nick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Book Review - City of Glass

City of Bones
Author: Cassandra Clare
Series: The Mortal Instruments #3
Genres: Paranormal, Urban Fantasy | Young Adult
Release Date: 24th March 2009
Publishers: Walker Children's
No. Pages: 541
Source: Gifted
Rating: 
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To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters - never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.

As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City - whatever the cost?