Description: A year ago, Cal Thompson was brand new to New York City and more interested in meeting girls than attending freshman biology. Then he spent the night with a mysterious woman named Morgan. Now, biology has become, literally, Cal's life.
Cal was infected by a parasite that has a horrifying effect on its host. When you're a parasite positive, a "peep," you start to hate sunlight. You develop superhuman strength and superhuman senses. You form a strange bond with rats. You crave blood - human blood.
Cal is not a full-blown peep, but a carrier, infected but still sane, still able to control his urges. His tragedy: He can never be with a girl again. Even one kiss could turn her into a peep. Instead, he spends his time and energy working for an underground organization that tracks down peeps in the dark places of the city. But when an investigation throws him together with a beautiful girl named Lace, Cal's resolve to live his life alone is put to the test.
Note: Description from the book jacket.
Review: "Peeps" is an intriguing new take on the vampire myth, turning it from mystic horror story to hard science fiction. Readers will be engrossed - and grossed out, as every other chapter is a look into the life of a different icky virus. The unique premise (hard to find when it comes to vampires) works well; the idea of an underground bureaucracy designed to monitor peeps is almost disturbingly believable. Cal is vampirey enough to be an exciting character, but human enough to be a relatable one, and Lace is a strong character who matches, if not surpasses, Cal in personality. Most of the plot moves at a good pace, but near the end the revelations come a bit too quickly for the reader to get a good grasp on one before the next is there to supercede it. Overall, however, the book is worth the read for the fresh take on the sometimes tired idea. Vampire afficionados and biology nerds alike will love "Peeps."
Description: Bella has always shared her mother's hatred of the small Washington town of Forks where her father lives, but now she's voluntarily choosing to move there to live with her dad while her mother pursues a more mobile lifestyle with her new husband. At the high school in Forks, Bella is an immediate success, befriended by one of the most popular girls in school and pursued by one of the most popular boys. Everyone loves Bella. Everyone except the movie-star perfect Edward, who seems to loathe Bella on sight. But when Edward saves Bella from being hit by a car despite having been on the other side of the parking lot mere seconds before, it seems that Edward must not hate her so much after all. Bella's quest to discover who (and what) Edward really is eventually leads to the realization that he is a vampire...and he craves Bella's blood more than any he's ever encountered before. While Edward and Bella endeavor to work out their relationship, another vampire scents a challenge, and soon Bella's life is at risk from more than just Edward's blood lust.
Review: "Twilight" is the best YA vampire novel I have ever read. Readers will be able to relate to clumsy but certainly not helpless Bella and will fall in love with the dark and mysterious, but cutely geeky Edward. Their relationship is very believable; Meyer explores difficulties of a vampire/human relationship that aren't usually addressed in vampire stories. Bella's quest to discover Edward's true identity and their subsequent tentative romance is a decent plot in itself, and the homocidal vampire plot near the end of the novel only adds to the excitement factor. The almost mundane events of life as a high school student serve to anchor the story in reality, making the paranormal aspects that much more believable. No one should miss out on this amazing piece of young adult literature.
Rating: 4
Description: Thaniel, just seventeen, is a wych-hunter. Together, he and Cathaline - his friend and mentor - track down the fearful creatures that lurk in the Old Quarter of London. It is on one of these hunts that he first encounters Alaizabel Cray. Alaizabel is half-crazed, lovely, and possessed. Whatever dreadful entity has entered her soul has turned her into a strange and unearthly magnet - attracting evil and drawing horrors from ever dark corneer. Cathaline and Thaniel must discover its cause - and defend humanity at all costs.
Note: Description yanked from amazon.com
Review: Chris Wooding has created an intricate world full of believable mosters (both wych-kin and human) that will appeal to readers of fantasy and horror alike. The characters can fall a little flat, and Alaizabel, the so-called heroine of the book, seems incredibly wimpy and helpless to me (despite being described as strong and courageous within the book), but the unique setting and interesting plot more than make up for any character shortcomings. The plot moves along at a very nice pace - fast enough to keep the reader interested, but slow enough that we can pause to take in the intricacies of the alternate history-type world as well. The ending climactic sequence especially is a page-turner that will keep readers up way past bedtime. "The Haunting of Alaizabel Cray" is definitely worth checking out.
Rating: 3.5
Description: For years real witches have hidden their powers, afraid of being persecuted. They have integrated so well into the community, you could have a witch living right next door and never know about it. Take Paige, for instance, whom we first met in Kelley Armstrong's novel "Stolen". Just an ordinary twenty-something who runs her own website design company, worries about her weight and wonders if she'll ever find a boyfriend. Okay, so she's leader of the American Coven and guardian of Savannah, the teenage daughter of a black witch. Really, life is ordinary. But then a telekinetic half-demon, Leah O'Donnell, shows up to fight for custody of Savannah. And although Paige is ready for her, she's not quite so prepared for the team of supernaturals that Leah brings with her, including a powerful sorcerer who claims to be Savannah's father.
When all hell breaks loose -- literally -- and Paige is accused of witchcraft, Satanism and murder, the Coven, fearing exposure, abandons her. Cut off from her friends, Paige is forced against her better judgment to accept the help of a young sorcerer lawyer. And she quickly comes to realize that keeping Savannah could mean losing everything else.
Note: This summary was stolen from bn.com because I am lazy
Review: After reading "Bitten" and "Stolen", which are told from a werewolf's point of view, I was a little leery about reading a book about sassy-but-innocent witch Paige, whom I hadn't particularly liked in "Stolen." However, once I got past the drastically different writing style (less doom-and-gloom, more chick lit), I became engrossed in the story and almost managed to forget that I didn't like Paige. Armstrong's supernatural world is surprisingly believable, especially the Coven, inbued with so much fear that they aren't even really witches anymore, and the plot is involved and has enough new elements added to keep the reader interested, without overwhelming with too much stuff going on. Savannah is, unfortunately, an all-too-believable teenager, and Paige's adventures in parenting are definitely realistic. I loved the addition of Lucas, the do-gooder sorceror, as Paige's love interest, and I like Paige a lot more post-Lucas than I did before his entrance into the story. This book should probably get a 4 rating, but I just couldn't shake my dislike of Paige - she is argumentative and stubborn up to and beyond the point of stupidity. She needs to loosen up. Armstrong's third book in the Women of the Otherworld series, "Dime Store Magic" manages to shake things up while still retaining the intriguing and believable horror element that was introduced in the first two books.
Rating: 1.5
Description: When John Shaw is injured in World War I, he spends weeks in a hospital having hallucinations about what occurred on the front, most about the brutality of his commanding officer, Quincey Harker. But how much of what he dreams is fevered imagination, and how much is real? When nurse Mary Seward reads John's journal, she is horrified at the haunting images recorded there, and when Quincey Harker returns to stay at John's house with his sister, Lily, she is concerned for the girl's wellfare. Lily is charmed by the dashing captain, and before too long, she is in love with him. But what are Harker's true intentions? When Lily elopes with Quincey, John and Mary uncover information about a long-dead enemy of their parents, one whose bloodline continues in Quincey Harker. The knowledge leads them to an eerie castle in Transylvania, where an ancient evil reigns, and love may not be enough to save them all from a fate worse than death.
Review: I was interested to read a vampire story taking place in the past, but World War I was a very strange place to introduce the hero and villain, and I felt that neither the war element nor the vampire element were developed enough to make the whole first section of the book worthwhile. The second part of the book, which introduces Mary, was a bit more interesting. However, the relationships between both couples were forced and unrealistic, occurring within too short a span of time and entirely lacking any sort of romantic spark. The characters leave much to be desired. None of them, with the exception of Quincey Harker, have any real personality. Lily is a stupid chit and Mary has no distinguishing characteristics whatsoever. The first part of the book makes John out to be a sort of noble hero type, but in the end he crumbles under pressure so fast I almost threw down the book in disgust. The plot would've been decent if I cared about the characters, but none of them gave me anything to work with, and I was disgusted with them all by the end, except maybe Mary, who at least developed a bit of backbone. "Bloodline" is unquestionably the worst horror novel I have ever had the displeasure of reading. Read at your own risk.