Light Mage (The Black Witch Chronicles Novella) by Laurie Forest

Light Mage
(The Black Witch Chronicles Novella)
by Laurie Forest

4.5/5

304 pages

Journey to the magical world of Erthia in this exciting prequel to The Black Witch by critically acclaimed author Laurie Forest.

Before Elloren Gardner came to possess the White Wand of myth, the Wand was drawn to another bearer: Sagellyn Gaffney.

Sage’s affinity for light magery, a rare skill among Gardnerians, makes her the perfect protector for the one tool that can combat the shadows spreading across Erthia. But in order to keep the Wand safe from the dark forces hunting for it, Sage must abandon everything she once knew and forge a new path for herself…a dangerous course that could lead to either triumph or utter ruin.

I am quickly falling in love with this author.  So much so, that I'm actually postponing reading the actual series because I know I will be unable to do anything but read the series....

Sheets by Brenna Thummler

Sheets
by Brenna Thummler

239 pages

3/5

Marjorie Glatt feels like a ghost. A practical thirteen year old in charge of the family laundry business, her daily routine features unforgiving customers, unbearable P.E. classes, and the fastidious Mr. Saubertuck who is committed to destroying everything she’s worked for.

Wendell is a ghost. A boy who lost his life much too young, his daily routine features ineffective death therapy, a sheet-dependent identity, and a dangerous need to seek purpose in the forbidden human world.

When their worlds collide, Marjorie is confronted by unexplainable disasters as Wendell transforms Glatt’s Laundry into his midnight playground, appearing as a mere sheet during the day. While Wendell attempts to create a new afterlife for himself, he unknowingly sabotages the life that Marjorie is struggling to maintain.

The beginning of the book rocks.  It's utterly poignant and really touched my heart.  The middle to end of this book is 'meh' - at best.  I was so disappointed!  I needed more of the deep and less of the campy side characters.  I'm glad I read it, as it reminded me how much I like graphic novels, but I won't be recommending it anytime soon.  I may keep an eye on this author, though.  There is massive potential there; I saw it.  It just wasn't sustained.

War of the Sons (Supernatural #6) by Rebecca Dessertine & David Reed

War of the Sons (Supernatural #6)
by Rebecca Dessertine & David Reed

4/5  |  320 pages

Twenty-seven years ago, Sam and Dean Winchester lost their mother to a mysterious and demonic supernatural force. In the years after, their father, John, taught them about the paranormal evil that lives in the dark corners and on the back roads of America... and he taught them how to kill it.


On the hunt for Lucifer, the boys find themselves in a small town in South Dakota where they meet Don - an angel with a proposition... Don sends them a very long way from home, on a mission to uncover the secret Satan never wanted them to find out.

I enjoyed this one.  It can be hard to capture TV characters, but I think this novel does a pretty good job.  I am going to start at the beginning of these novels and work through them as I re-watch the show in preparation for Season 15.  I will so miss this show.

Beautiful Darkness (Beautiful Creatures #2) by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Darkness
(Beautiful Creatures #2)
by Kami Garcia & Margaret Stohl

Ethan Wate used to think of Gatlin, the small Southern town he had always called home, as a place where nothing ever changed. Then he met mysterious newcomer Lena Duchannes, who revealed a secret world that had been hidden in plain sight all along. A Gatlin that harbored ancient secrets beneath its moss-covered oaks and cracked sidewalks. A Gatlin where a curse has marked Lena's family of powerful Supernaturals for generations. A Gatlin where impossible, magical, life-altering events happen.

Sometimes life-ending.


Together they can face anything Gatlin throws at them, but after suffering a tragic loss, Lena starts to pull away, keeping secrets that test their relationship. And now that Ethan's eyes have been opened to the darker side of Gatlin, there's no going back. Haunted by strange visions only he can see, Ethan is pulled deeper into his town's tangled history and finds himself caught up in the dangerous network of underground passageways endlessly crisscrossing the South, where nothing is as it seems.

2/5

503 pages

This series is just not for me.  I did finish this one, but I have no desire to read the remaining books.  It's just SO DRAMATIC.  Drama-relishing-teens will love this; me - not so much.

The Custard Protocol Series by Gail Carriger

Prudence (Book One)

3.5/5  |  357 pages

Imprudence (Book Two)

4/5  |  355 pages

Competence (Book Three)

4.5/5  |  309 pages

Reticence (Book Four)

5/5  |  339 pages


I love this writer.  I love this world.  If you're interested in reading any of Gail Carriger's work (and I recommend that you do), start with Soulless or Etiquette & Espionage, depending on if you want adult characters or teen characters, respectively.  I only have Carriger's novelettes and short stories left, but you better believe I'll be reading them!

 

Mascot by Antony John

Mascot

by Antony John

4/5

336 pages

Noah Savino has been stuck in a wheelchair for months. He hates the way people treat him like he’s helpless now. He’s sick of going to physical therapy, where he isn’t making any progress. He’s tired of not having control over his own body. And he misses playing baseball—but not as much as he misses his dad, who died in the car accident that paralyzed Noah.

Noah is scared he’ll never feel like his old self again. He doesn’t want people to think of him as different for the rest of his life. With the help of family and friends, he’ll have to throw off the mask he’s been hiding behind and face the fears that have kept him on the sidelines if he ever wants to move forward.

Beautiful Creatures (Beautiful Creatures #1) by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Beautiful Creatures (Beautiful Creatures #1)
by Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

3/5

563 pages

Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small Southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything.

This was a reread for me, and I still feel very 'meh' about it.  It was easy to listen to without having to constantly pay attention, and I think the narrator definitely added to the book.  I don't remember ever finishing this series, so I might give book two a go - especially as it has the same narrator - but I'm not holding my breath. 

Wandfasted (The Black Witch Chronicles 0.5) by Laurie Forest

Wandfasted (The Black Witch Chronicles 0.5)
by Laurie Forest

5/5

235 pages

When they painted "Heretics" on our barn and set fire to it, I thought that was the worst it could get.

Until they sent the dragons.

But they didn't count on us having dragons of our own. And they certainly didn't count on Her. Our Great Mage. The Bringer of Fire. The Storm of Death. The Crow Sorceress. Our Deliverance.

The Black Witch.

This story, y'all.  I am SO glad I forgot my headphones and had to resort to whatever ebook was downloaded to my phone.  The story is pretty standard; it has a whole Pride & Prejudice thing going on.  So why 5 stars?  The characters.  I really felt them.  As in, there were some goofy smiles, tears, scowls, and other involuntary reactions.  I'll definitely be reading this series, but I'm not ready to meet the new characters (Wandfasted is a prequel).  So, I'll give it a couple of days to recover from my book hangover, and then I'll move on to book one.

The Gollywhopper Games by Jody Feldman

The Gollywhopper Games
by Jody Feldman

308 pages

Gil Goodson's future happiness depends on winning the Golly Toy & Game Company's ultimate competition. If Gil wins, his dad has promised that the family can move away from all the gossip, false friends, and bad press that have plagued them ever since "The Incident". Inside the toy company's fantastic headquarters, Gil will have to master trivia, solve puzzles, and complete physical stunts—and he'll have to do better than all of the other kids competing.

Oh, and did we mention that Gil's every step—and every mistake—will be broadcast on national television? Hold on tight, because the ride of his life is about to begin!

Night Terror (Supernatural #9) by John Passarella

Night Terror (Supernatural #9)
by John Passarella 

3.5/5

381 pages

Alerted to strange happenings in Clayton Falls, Colorado, Bobby sends the boys to check it out. A speeding car with no driver, a homeless man pursued by a massive Gila monster, a little boy chased by uprooted trees — it all sounds like the stuff of nightmares. The boys fight to survive a series of terrifying nighttimes, realizing that sometimes the nightmares don’t go away — even when you’re awake...

Overall, not bad.  I'm always wary of tie-in novels, especially the ones for Supernatural.  It's hard enough to write good horror fiction, but add in the pressure of using a well-loved, well-established world, and well - it's usually crappy.  This one was better than the others I've tried.  The horror element was strong and the story held my attention.  My main complaint is the extreme gore (I had to skip ahead a couple of times) and the amount of time it took S&D to figure out the problem - longer than is true to their characters. 

The show will have its last season this year, so I'm excited these novels are out there. 

Timeless (Parasol Protectorate #5) by Gail Carriger

Timeless (Parasol Protectorate #5)
by Gail Carriger

5/5

407 pages

Alexia Tarabotti, Lady Maccon, has settled into domestic bliss. Of course, being Alexia, such bliss involves integrating werewolves into London High society, living in a vampire's second best closet, and coping with a precocious toddler who is prone to turning supernatural willy-nilly. Even Ivy Tunstell's acting troupe's latest play, disastrous to say the least, cannot put a dampener on Alexia's enjoyment of her new London lifestyle.

Until, that is, she receives a summons from Alexandria that cannot be ignored. With husband, child and Tunstells in tow, Alexia boards a steamer to cross the Mediterranean. But Egypt may hold more mysteries than even the indomitable Lady Maccon can handle. What does the vampire Queen of the Alexandria Hive really want from her? Why is the God-Breaker Plague suddenly expanding? And how has Ivy Tunstell suddenly become the most popular actress in all the British Empire?

What an excellent conclusion to this series.  I'm so sad it's over!  Thankfully, there is a series after this one which features her daughter.  Onward!

Homesick by Kate Klise

Homesick
by Kate Klise

192 pages

Benny's parents are splitting up. His mom leaves home after a fight about a mysterious splinter that is rumored to be part of an important relic. Benny's dad has always liked clutter, but now, he begins hoarding everything from pizza boxes to old motorcycle parts.

As his house grows more cluttered and his father grows more distant, Benny tries to sort out whether he can change anything at all. Meanwhile, a local teacher enters their quiet Missouri town in America's Most Charming Small Town contest, and the pressure is on to clean up the area, especially Benny's ramshackle of a house, before the out-of-town guests arrive.

Heartless (Parasol Protectorate #4) by Gail Carriger

Heartless (Parasol Protectorate #4)
by Gail Carriger

4/5

374 pages

Lady Alexia Maccon, soulless, is at it again, only this time the trouble is not her fault. When a mad ghost threatens the queen, Alexia is on the case, following a trail that leads her deep into her husband's past. Top that off with a sister who has joined the suffragette movement (shocking!), Madame Lefoux's latest mechanical invention, and a plague of zombie porcupines and Alexia barely has time to remember she happens to be eight months pregnant.

Will Alexia manage to determine who is trying to kill Queen Victoria before it is too late? Is it the vampires again or is there a traitor lurking about in wolf's clothing? And what, exactly, has taken up residence in Lord Akeldama's second best closet?

The fun continues!  Thoroughly enjoyed. 

The Story of Arthur Truluv by Elizabeth Berg

The Story of Arthur Truluv
by Elizabeth Berg

240 pages

A moving novel about three people who find their way back from loss and loneliness to a different kind of happiness. Arthur, a widow, meets Maddy, a troubled teenage girl who is avoiding school by hiding out at the cemetery, where Arthur goes every day for lunch to have imaginary conversations with his late wife, and think about the lives of others. The two strike up a friendship that draws them out of isolation. Maddy gives Arthur the name Truluv, for his loving and positive responses to every outrageous thing she says or does. With Arthur’s nosy neighbor Lucille, they create a loving and unconventional family, proving that life’s most precious moments are sweeter when shared.

Changeless (Parasol Protectorate #2) by Gail Carriger

Changeless (Parasol Protectorate #2)
by Gail Carriger

4/5

374 pages

Alexia Maccon, the Lady Woolsey, awakens in the wee hours of the mid-afternoon to find her husband, who should be decently asleep like any normal werewolf, yelling at the top of his lungs. Then he disappears; leaving her to deal with a regiment of supernatural soldiers encamped on her doorstep, a plethora of exorcised ghosts, and an angry Queen Victoria.

But Alexia is armed with her trusty parasol, the latest fashions, and an arsenal of biting civility. So even when her investigations take her to Scotland, the backwater of ugly waistcoats, she is prepared: upending werewolf pack dynamics as only the soulless can. She might even find time to track down her wayward husband, if she feels like it.

CHANGELESS is the second book of the Parasol Protectorate series: a comedy of manners set in Victorian London, full of werewolves, vampires, dirigibles, and tea-drinking. 

Gail Carriger's books are some of my guilty pleasures.  I adore the over-the-top victorianness of it all.  It's supernatural, mysterious, and all sorts of proper.  :)

Deacon Locke Went to Prom by Brian Katcher

Deacon Locke Went to Prom
by Brian Katcher

400 pages

Promposals are taking over Deacon Locke’s high school and there is no place left to hide. But even with graduation looming, shy and unusually tall Deacon doesn’t think he can get up the nerve to ask anyone to the dance. Especially given all the theatrics.

It isn’t until Deacon confides in his witty and outgoing best friend Jean that he realizes she could be a great person to take. Only problem is Jean isn’t your typical prom date. She’s older. A lot older. And she’s Deacon’s grandmother.

But when Deacon meets Soraya—a girl unlike any other he’s ever met—he fears he has totally squandered his chances of having a prom he’ll never forget. Deacon couldn’t be more wrong. About everything.

Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting by David Reed

Bobby Singer's Guide to Hunting
by David Reed

4.5/5

272 pages

My name is Bobby Singer. In twenty-four hours I’m gonna lose my memory. So here’s everything you need to know.

Monsters, demons, angels, vampires, the boogeyman under your bed: I’ve seen it, I’ve hunted it, I’ve killed it. I’m not the only hunter out here, but there aren’t as many as there used to be. Not near as many as there need to be. I’ve learned everything I can about every damned critter that walks, crawls, or flies, and I’m not gonna let that all be for nothing. I’m not going down without a fight. I’m not letting everything I’ve learned disappear. So that’s what you’re holding in your hands—everything I know. Anything that’d be useful for Sam, Dean, and the hunters that come after me.

It’s a guide to hunting...it’s a guide to me. My last will and testament. Ya idjits.

This was a fun read and was true to the characters.  I love the show, and Bobby is a favorite, so it was really awesome to go on another adventure and get some back story from him. 

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows
by J.K. Rowling

6/5

784 pages

Harry Potter is leaving Privet Drive for the last time. But as he climbs into the sidecar of Hagrid’s motorbike and they take to the skies, he knows Lord Voldemort and the Death Eaters will not be far behind.

The protective charm that has kept him safe until now is broken. But the Dark Lord is breathing fear into everything he loves. And he knows he can’t keep hiding.

To stop Voldemort, Harry knows he must find the remaining Horcruxes and destroy them.

He will have to face his enemy in one final battle.

I feel these books in my soul and every reading is quality time with a best friend.  I'm sad it's over, but I am looking forward to the next visit. :)

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince 
by J.K. Rowling

5/5

652 pages

The war against Voldemort is not going well; even the Muggles have been affected. Dumbledore is absent from Hogwarts for long stretches of time, and the Order of the Phoenix has already suffered losses. 

And yet . . . as with all wars, life goes on. Sixth-year students learn to Apparate. Teenagers flirt and fight and fall in love. Harry receives some extraordinary help in Potions from the mysterious Half-Blood Prince. And with Dumbledore's guidance, he seeks out the full, complex story of the boy who became Lord Voldemort -- and thus finds what may be his only vulnerability.

This one is my favorite of the lot.  I love Voldemort's backstory, and Professor Slughorn is one of the best characters of the series.  And while I did not like the movie adaptation of this book (it's the worst one), I still laugh out loud at the entire Felix Felicis scene (enjoy gif below).  Haha!

Onward to Deathly Hollows!

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling

Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix
by J.K. Rowling

5/5

896 pages

In his fifth year at Hogwart's, Harry faces challenges at every turn, from the dark threat of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named and the unreliability of the government of the magical world to the rise of Ron Weasley as the keeper of the Gryffindor Quidditch Team. Along the way he learns about the strength of his friends, the fierceness of his enemies, and the meaning of sacrifice.

Luna steals the show.  :)