Book Review: The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin

• Paperback: 464 pages
• Publisher: Simon & Schuster Childrens Books (1 Mar 2012)
• Language English
• ISBN-10: 085707363X
• ISBN-13: 978-0857073631

Mara Dyer doesn't think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.It can.She believes there must be more to the accident she can't remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.There is.She doesn't believe that after everything she's been through, she can fall in love.She's wrong. 

Mara awakes in a hospital to her parent’s concerned faces, and asking what she can remember about the accident. But Mara can remember nothing. Can’t remember going to an abandoned building in the middle of the night with her friends. Can’t remember what happened to Claire or Jude. But worst, can’t remember what happened to Rachel. The only person who is alive to tell the tale of what happened that night is Mara. And her mind won’t release the memory.

When Mara starts having blackouts and out of control PTSD, her parents talk about institutionalisation…the last thing Mara wants. And so she convinces them that a change of scenery would do her the world of good. She says goodbye to the home she has known all her life to relocate to Florida.

Mara doesn’t get off to a smooth start at her new school. Somehow without even meaning to, she put herself on the radar of the queen bee…and Noah Shaw. The most beautiful boy Mara has ever seen.

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer was written in dreamy prose. It is one of those rare books that it feels like your best friend is sat beside you, telling you all about this thing that happened to her. You weren’t reading a book. You were being told a story. Mara’s voice was realistic and sympathetic and I couldn’t get it out of my head for a long time after finishing it.

The story was very original, the romance…swoooon…It has been a long time since I read a romance so realistic and believable. And while it was a very fall-hard-and-fall-fast type romance, it was one that didn’t feel at all fake or rushed. It felt like diving off the high board. Free and exhilarating.

The support and concern Mara receives from her family was extremely well written. The overbearing mother, only worried about her daughter, the absent and overworked father, the overprotective big brother. All the parts of her family came together and while it might have been dysfunctional, you couldn’t deny how much they cared about her.

I loved this book. I felt like I was falling in love and going insane all at the same time. It was…beautiful. 

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Book Review: Spellcaster by Cara Lynn Shultz

• Format: Kindle Edition
• File Size: 562 KB
• Publisher: MIRA Ink (6 April 2012)
• Sold by: Amazon Media EU S.à r.l.
• Language English
• ASIN: B007D61X14
• Finding your eternal soulmate - easy. 
  
  
  Stopping a true-love-hungry evil - not so much… 
  
  
  After breaking a centuries-old romantic curse, Emma Connor is (almost) glad to get back to normal problems. Although...it's not easy dealing with the jealous cliques and gossip that rule her exclusive Upper East Side prep, even for a sixteen-year-old newbie witch. Having the most-wanted boy in school as her eternal soul mate sure helps ease the pain-especially since wealthy, rocker-hot Brendan Salinger is very good at staying irresistibly close.... 
  
  
  But something dark and hungry is using Emma and Brendan's deepest fears to reveal damaging secrets and destroy their trust in each other. And Emma's crash course in über-spells may not be enough to keep them safe…or to stop an inhuman force bent on making their unsuspected power its own. 

Spellcaster picks up shortly after Spellbound, reintroducing the lovers Emma and Brendan, and how they are after breaking the centuries old curse. Brendan and Emma’s feelings for each other was well written, tender and sweet.

In Spellcaster, the pair face a whole new set of trouble as the jealousy rises when it is clear Emma and Brendan are forever, not a passing fling. Plenty of girls want to get their hooks into him and don’t like Emma being in their way.

We get split POVs from Emma and the occasional word from Angelique when Emma is unable to tell us what is going on. Some people may enjoy this different view, but for me it felt like a cop out, the easy road rather than figure out an alternative way around.

While the love between Brendan and Emma felt real enough, it had just a touch of ‘we had no choice in this’ to make me feel uncomfortable, and if I’m being honest, the romance a little bit fake.

There are plenty of good points that will make fans of the first book appreciate this one, and pleased to see Emma and Brendan’s story continue.  

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Book Review: Kiss of the Vampire by Cynthia Garner

• Mass Market Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Forever; 1 Original edition (1 Mar 2012)
• Language English
• ISBN-10: 0446585114
• ISBN-13: 978-0446585118
• Warriors of the Rift
  
  
  Once a generation, the rift between the paranormal world and the human world opens, allowing supernatural entities to cross. Vampire, demon, or shapeshifter, they can save the world-or send it spiraling into chaos.
  
  
  Half-demon, half-human, Nix de la Fuente is accepted by neither and mistrusted by both. Determined to prove she's more human than not, she devotes herself to solving crimes between the world's mortals and its most unsavory undead. But her latest case brings her face to face with the one vampire she could never resist . . . 
  
  
  Called in to investigate a string of violent murders, special agent Tobias Caine isn't interested in rekindling his relationship with Nix. Yet one look and the vampire knows his need for her is as strong as ever. Once, their all-consuming passion nearly cost Nix her fragile hold on her humanity. Now, as their hunger for one another intensifies, exposing them to an unimaginable danger, it could cost them both their lives. 

Nix was a feisty character, with a sharp tongue and scrappy nature. She has a tender hold on her humanity as she struggles daily not to let her demon half overcome her. But when Tobias re-enters her life, she must work harder than ever. I liked Nix’s inner battle, it gave her character a sense of integrity and strength.

The tension between Nix and Tobias was thick and intoxicating. The old lovers banter back and forth, tease and push the other till breaking point. But amid the flirtation, there is the dangerous matter of solving the recent spree of murders. Nix and Tobias find themselves in much deeper water than they initially anticipated, and the added complexity gave weight to the story.

I did find myself more drawn to the romance, and wish the whole thing could have been just a little more. As it went on, my interest in the problem-solving grew less and less. Really, it could have been a fair bit shorter than it actually was and the story wouldn’t have suffered at all.

Great for any fantasy/paranormal fans. 

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