Touch of Death by Kelly Hashway

Title: Touch of Death
Author: Kelly Hashway
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Released: January 15th 2013
Pages: 229 (Paperback)
Buy: Amazon UK / Amazon US
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Jodi Marshall isn’t sure how she went from normal teenager to walking disaster. One minute she’s in her junior year of high school, spending time with her amazing boyfriend and her best friend. The next she’s being stalked by some guy no one seems to know.

After the stranger, Alex, reveals himself, Jodi learns he’s not a normal teenager and neither is she. With a kiss that kills and a touch that brings the dead back to life, Jodi discovers she’s part of a branch of necromancers born under the 13th sign of the zodiac, Ophiuchus. A branch of necromancers that are descendents of Medusa. A branch of necromancers with poisoned blood writhing in their veins.

Jodi’s deadly to the living and even more deadly to the deceased. She has to leave her old, normal life behind before she hurts the people she loves. As if that isn’t difficult enough, Jodi discovers she’s the chosen one who has to save the rest of her kind from perishing at the hands of Hades. If she can’t figure out how to control her power, history will repeat itself, and her race will become extinct.

I hate it when all your friends love a book but you just don't. The first person who told me about this book was Tyler, who absolutely loved it. After checking out the blurb, I was 96.4% sure I'd love it too. Turns out my judgement was way way off.

The Dollhouse Asylum by Mary Gray

Title: The Dollhouse Asylum
Author: Mary Gray
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Release: October 22nd 2013
Pages: 296 (Paperback)
Pre-Order: Amazon UK / Amazon US
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A virus that had once been contained has returned, and soon no place will be left untouched by its destruction. But when Cheyenne wakes up in Elysian Fields--a subdivision cut off from the world and its monster-creating virus--she is thrilled to have a chance at survival.

At first, Elysian Fields,with its beautiful houses and manicured lawns, is perfect. Teo Richardson, the older man who stole Cheyenne's heart, built it so they could be together. But when Teo tells Cheyenne there are tests that she and seven other couples must pass to be worthy of salvation, Cheyenne begins to question the perfection of his world.

The people they were before are gone. Cheyenne is now "Persephone," and each couple has been re-named to reflect the most tragic romances ever told. Everyone is fighting to pass the test, to remain in Elysian Fields. Teo dresses them up, tells them when to move and how to act, and in order to pass the test, they must play along.

If they play it right, then they'll be safe.

But if they play it wrong, they'll die.

I feel like I have been waiting for this since forever! (Alright, it was only since April - but my point still stands!) So when I got it in the post, I literally shrieked with excitement - and I mean full-on, wave-your-hands-in-the-air excitement. Dystopian fiction has been my favourite genre for well over two years now, but despite my love for it, the same initial idea has been done over and over again, so much so that I'm getting kind of sick of it. The best thing about The Dollhouse Asylum is that Gray's idea is completely fresh - I haven't come across another book quite like it.

Ink by Amanda Sun

Title: Ink
Author: Amanda Sun
Publisher: Mira Ink
Release: June 25th 2013
Pages: 384 (Paperback)
Pre-Order: Amazon UK / Amazon US
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Katie Greene is lost in the wake of her mum's death. Sent to Japan, she meets gorgeous but aloof artist Tomohiro, whose tough attitude intrigues and scares her. Then things get really strange. When they're near each other, Tomohiro's drawings start to come to life…

Soon the wrong people begin to ask questions, and Katie and Tomohiro must risk everything to protect the truth.

I think I screamed when I got approved for an ARC of this. As soon as Ink came onto my radar, I knew I had to read it - not only was it a unique concept, but I love Japan, and a young adult book surrounding it and it's culture with a mythological twist? Well, how could I say no?

Goddess by Josephine Angelini

Title: Goddess
Author: Josephine Angelini
Publisher:  PanMacmillan
Release: May 28th 2013
Pages: 480 (Paperback)
Pre-Order: Amazon UK / Amazon US
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After accidentally unleashing the gods from their captivity on Olympus, Helen must find a way to re-imprison them without starting a devastating war. But the gods are angry, and their thirst for blood already has a body count.

To make matters worse, the Oracle reveals that a diabolical Tyrant is lurking among them, which drives a wedge between the once-solid group of friends. As the gods use the Scions against one another, Lucas’s life hangs in the balance. Still unsure whether she loves him or Orion, Helen is forced to make a terrifying decision, for war is coming to her shores.

In Josephine Angelini’s compelling conclusion to the masterfully woven Starcrossed trilogy, a goddess must rise above it all to change a destiny that’s been written in the stars. With worlds built just as fast as they crumble, love and war collide in an all-out battle that will leave no question unanswered and no heart untouched.

Blog Tour and Giveaway: Awaken by Kristen Day

At the end of September, I read the first novel in this amazing trilogy, Forsaken, and took part in the blog tour. So when I got the opportunity to take part in the sequel's tour - well, I just couldn't resist! And lucky for you guys, there is also another amazing giveaway. Click below for more information.


About The Author


Kristen Day is a southern belle at heart with a crazy streak that desperately tries to escape at every opportunity.  She loves all things nostalgic, rustic, and quirky.  She’s been told she sees the world through rose-colored glasses, but she prefers to think of them as kaleidoscope glasses - swirling and morphing reality into something she can digest (who hasn't pretended those pasty lima beans were really kiwi strawberry jelly beans?).

She is the author of the Daughters of the Sea trilogy, which includes Forsaken, Awaken (October 2012), and Chosen (Winter 2012).  She loves all books, but really enjoys writing young adult, paranormal romances.  She’s loved to write for as long as she can remember.  Her first published work was her poem RED in second grade (you guessed it - it was a poem about the color red - life altering, right?) that won her 5 gold stars and a spot in her elementary school's poetry book. That's when her addiction to the written word officially began.  She was the only kid in fifth grade that actually enjoyed diagramming sentences. Go ahead and laugh - its okay.

When she’s not writing she’s making jewelry, painting, feeding her addiction to sweet tea, watching the Discovery Channel, or going on random adventures in the mountains of North Carolina with her amazing husband. She was born in Boone, NC and graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in Marketing in 2001.

Blog Tour and Giveaway: Forsaken by Kristen Day

And the day has finally arrived! What day? The day of Project Read and Review's first ever blog tour! And what an amazing tour to be part of. In this post you'll find out a little bit about the author (Kristen Day), my thoughts on this captivating read, and an exciting giveaway of 7 eBook copies!

About The Author


Kristen Day is a southern belle at heart with a crazy streak that desperately tries to escape at every opportunity.  She loves all things nostalgic, rustic, and quirky.  She’s been told she sees the world through rose-colored glasses, but she prefers to think of them as kaleidoscope glasses - swirling and morphing reality into something she can digest (who hasn't pretended those pasty lima beans were really kiwi strawberry jelly beans?).

She is the author of the Daughters of the Sea trilogy, which includes Forsaken, Awaken (October 2012), and Chosen (Winter 2012).  She loves all books, but really enjoys writing young adult, paranormal romances.  She’s loved to write for as long as she can remember.  Her first published work was her poem RED in second grade (you guessed it - it was a poem about the color red - life altering, right?) that won her 5 gold stars and a spot in her elementary school's poetry book. That's when her addiction to the written word officially began.  She was the only kid in fifth grade that actually enjoyed diagramming sentences. Go ahead and laugh - its okay.

When she’s not writing she’s making jewelry, painting, feeding her addiction to sweet tea, watching the Discovery Channel, or going on random adventures in the mountains of North Carolina with her amazing husband. She was born in Boone, NC and graduated from Appalachian State University with a degree in Marketing in 2001.

Dreamless by Josephine Angelini

Can true love be forgotten?
As the only Scion who can descend into the Underworld, Helen Hamilton has been given a nearly impossible task. By night she wanders through Hades, trying to stop the endless cycle of revenge that has cursed her family. By day she struggles to overcome the fatigue that is rapidly eroding her sanity. Without Lucas by her side, Helen is not sure she has the strength to go on.
Just as Helen is pushed to her breaking point, a mysterious new Scion comes to her rescue. Funny and brave, Orion shields her from the dangers of the Underworld. But time is running out—a ruthless foe plots against them, and the Furies’ cry for blood is growing louder.
As the ancient Greek world collides with the mortal one, Helen’s sheltered life on Nantucket descends into chaos. But the hardest task of all will be forgetting Lucas Delos.

 Can I just say that I am in love with Orion? Why does Angelini make so many hot characters? It just makes my expectations of men ridiculously high. I didn't think that anything could beat Starcrossed, considering that most sequels don't live up to the original novel. But oh my demigod, Dreamless was amazing! I was hooked from the start. I think this is possibly one of the best releases this year.

For starts, the beginning of this novel is so smooth it may as well be just another part of the Starcrossed book - but it still gently reminds the reader of what happened previously, in case they have forgotten, which was nice but not annoyingly repetative. I already thought the plot was strong, but after finishing this, I never realised how huge it was going to be. I never saw most of it coming, which I thought  was great because it's always a surpise - but when I did guess, the suspense was so thick that I couldn't put it down, since I wanted to know whether my guess was right or not. And usually it wasn't - but the real plot was so much better!

I also loved the new characters Angelini created. As I pointed out earlier, Orion is amazing; he's the kind of character you wish was real, so that he could be your best friend or your boyfriend. He is kind and sensative, and pretty much the opposite of the Delos boys, which was quite nice. All the pre-existing characters lived up to their already-created personality, which again made the novel a smooth continuation. I found that the bad guys were definitely frightening and believable, and the gods were just like I'd imagine any god to be like. The only thing that disappointed me, character-wise, was Hector. I really liked him in Starcrossed, and after what happened to him I was in tears. And I know that his seperation from his family was hard for him, and it would change a man, but he was just too...nice? Throughout Starcossed, him and Helen was constantly at each others throats, and from what I recall he wasn't close to any of the girls, not really. But suddenly in Dreamless, as soon as Helen, Claire and Kate saw him, they leapt into his arms - literally. For one thing, I didn't realize he even knew Kate, and I just feel like I was missing something. I know him and Helen are cousins, but that doesn't instantly make you best of friends - Hector and Creon weren't for sure. It just felt like he was completely different - but he was the only one. (oh, and I nearly forgot: The Furies! Angelini's characterisation of them was so good! I loved the twist; you think they're these horrible witches, but really they're just frightened children. I've never seen that done before, so I thought that was brilliant.)

Overall, I loved this book, and I want to know when the next installment is coming out! Whenever it is, I don't think I can wait that long. The cliffhanger on the end of this thing is torturous, so watch out for an emotional ride. I didn't think the Starcrossed series was going to get better, but Angelini blew me away. If you're interested in Greek mythology and you're a boy, go and find the Percy Jackson series. But if you're a girl? Starcrossed is the way to go!
Rating: 5/5

Starcrossed by Josephine Angelini

Set on the island of Nantucket, STARCROSSED tells the tale of Helen Hamilton, a young woman whose destiny is forever altered when she meets Lucas Delos and tries to kill him in front of her entire high school. Which is terribly inconvenient, not only because Lucas is the most beautiful boy on the island, but also because Helen is so achingly shy she suffers physical pain whenever she is given too much attention. 

Making matters worse, Helen is beginning to suspect she’s going crazy. Whenever she’s near Lucas or any member of his family she sees the ghostly apparitions of three women weeping bloody tears, and suffers the burden of an intense and irrational hate. She soon learns that she and Lucas are destined to play the leading roles in a Greek tragedy that the Three Fates insist on repeating over and over again throughout history. Like her namesake, Helen of Troy, she’s destined to start a war by falling in love. But even though Lucas and Helen can see their own star-crossed destiny, they’re still powerfully attracted to each other. Will they give up their personal happiness for the greater good, or risk it all to be together?

So in anticipation for the upcoming release of the next installment of this series, Dreamless, I decided to reread the first one - Starcrossed. And it was as every bit as good as I remembered it, if not more. The plot is basically about the main character, Helen, and how she finds out she is a demigod with some freaking awesome powers. Her realization that she's a demigod instantly sets off a series of chain reactions, with serious consequences. Wow, okay, I sound like I'm writing out another synopsis. On to the review:

I really love the idea of Greek mythology, and I genuinely find it interesting. I think the idea that history is constantly repeating itself and that Scions are forever in a cycle encircled around the Fates and the Furies is fascinating. I mean, imagine having no choice but to follow what they say - because what they say is how it is. One of the biggest story plots I think for the next book is Helen and her friend's trying to get every Scion out of that never-ending cycle, which should be super interesting because it will mean that she has to visit Purgatory (or that's what I take that it is, anyway. They don't specifically say that, but anyway...)

I also love the characterization of Helen, Claire, Lucas and Hector. For me, I find them to be the four main characters in the book, even though it is pretty much just centered around Helen and Lucas. Each one of them has very different personalities, so when you put them all together it leads to hilarious outcomes. I also like the relationship between Helen and Lucas, and throughout the entire book you know there is some underlying secret as to why they can't properly be together that Lucas is keeping from Helen, which does keep you on your toes throughout the novel. But, for me, although I do like it, some aspects of it were a bit unbelievable. I know the novel is based on fantasy and mythology, but I think the aim of novels like this is to inspire the reader to imagine that their best friend could suddenly turn around and go "I'm a vampire/demigod/werewolf/mythical-being-that-isn't-ready-but-it-actually-is-because-I'm-one", so I suppose that from these books I do expect a certain aspects of realism from them. And whilst I did find a lot of it believable, their relationship just didn't work for me. I hate to say this, because the book is so addictive and amazing, but their relationship did remind me of Edward and Bella for Twilight. And everyone knows that I'm not a fan of that. When the pair were apart, they were both lifeless, and days in the books passed when they weren't talking without Angelini writing about them, as if life was suddenly meaningless to them. And whilst I know the story behind Helen of Troy and Paris was that they were so desperately and passionately in love that they couldn't be apart, it's still a bit pathetic, and Helen never came across to me as the pathetic, clingy, needy type, so that did spoil it a bit for me.

Anyway, despite that one flaw (in my eyes, anyway) this book is amazing - this series is amazing! - and I am so excited for Dreamless, I can't even speak about it. Look out for a review coming your way in a week or two!
Rating: 4/5

Fury by Elizabeth Miles

Sometimes sorry isn't enough...
It’s winter break in Ascension, Maine. The snow is falling and everything looks pristine and peaceful. But not all is as it seems...
Between cozy traditions and parties with her friends, Emily loves the holidays. And this year’s even better--the guy she’s been into for months is finally noticing her. But Em knows if she starts things with him, there’s no turning back. Because his girlfriend is Em’s best friend.
On the other side of town, Chase is having problems of his own. The stress of his home life is starting to take its toll, and his social life is unraveling. But that’s nothing compared to what’s really haunting him. Chase has done something cruel...something the perfect guy he pretends to be would never do. And it’s only a matter of time before he’s exposed.
In Ascension, mistakes can be deadly. And three girls—three beautiful, mysterious girls—are here to choose who will pay.
Em and Chase have been chosen.

This novel has been on my shelf for goodness-knows how long, so I thought it was about time to read it. The blurb sold the story to me so well, and I have to say that it didn't disappoint! Although a new author, Miles is excellent, keeping up with just the right amount of detail - not enough to get bored, but not too little that we are thirsty for more.


I've heard about the Furies in a few different stories, but this has to be the first one where they are perhaps the main enemies. And I did find it fascinating. Scary, but fascinating. And although I have a wild imagination, I think it takes an awful lot of skill for an author to make the reader have goosebumps in sync with the character. It did leave me on edge, and now that I have finished it, I am hungry for more!

However, I think this would have been a better novel if there had been some kind of indication at the beginning as to the fact that Ty, Ali and Meg were the Furies. After a while, it does get obvious, but when you first start to read it, it is confusing and hard to keep up with. But once I did get into it, I was hooked, and I especially loved the alternating POV's between Chase and Em. Usually in books, the switching POV's are basically character's that are close to one another, and roughly tell out the same story. And while these two were connected, they had really different storylines, and I thought that made the story seem vaster - which is a good thing, let me tell you. Although I didn't particularly bond with any of the characters apart from JD, they all seemed quite realistic, and I did have a clear picture of who they were and what they looked like in my head from the beginning, which again, is quite a skill to acquire.

Anyway; I am now hooked on this trilogy, and I can't wait until the next installment comes out - and soon, I hope. If you love fantasy novels that revolve around Greek Mythology (like Percy Jackson, or Starcrossed) then I'm sure you'll love this just as much! Fury is a novel that truly makes you remember the importance of friendship, and how mistakes always have their consequences.
Rating:4/5

Abandon by Meg Cabot

Last year, Pierce died - just for a moment. And when she was in the space between life and death, she met John: tall dark and terrifying, it’s his job to usher souls from one realm to the next.

There’s a fierce attraction between them, but Pierce knows that if she allows herself to fall for John she will be doomed to a life of shadows and loneliness in the underworld. But now things are getting dangerous for her, and her only hope is to do exactly what John says...

 So when I was younger, I read the Princess Diaries series - and if I'm being honest, I can remember nothing apart from what happens in the films. I have also read certain others books by her - like Jinx and Tommy Sullivan Is A Freak and Nicola and the Viscount. But I can't remember much of those either - so I was intruiged when I found this lying around in the library, considering it seemed to be so different from her previous books, which are more based on wishful-reality. And I have to say that now I have finished it, I'm rather on the fence, because there were aspects about it which I loved...and then there were some that I didn't. For example, how predictable it all was -I guessed what would happen at the end right from the beginning, and wasn't really shocked by anything. I also disliked the main character, Pierece- she was just that typical storybook girl, who is gorgeous (which she is unaware of) and has the extremely rich father who will pay for anything. She also ends up being the damsel in distress all the time, and is so dim-witted I felt like face-palming myself everytime she opened her mouth. But despite all this, the one thing that really riled me was how Cabot said she had anger issues, but she was never angry. If she really had an anger issue, she would have flipped out way more than she did - and definitely more dramatically. But, for what it's worth, I did like it some- it was an easy read, and Cabot did great background research, because all the little issues raised in the novel were solved, and the puzzle pieces did fit together nicely. I would recommend this book for any fan of books like Twilight - but if you're not fond of the typical clumsy heroine, then this is not the book for you.
Rating:3/5