Unbreakable

I never believed in ghosts. Until one tried to kill me.When Kennedy Waters finds her mother dead, her world begins to unravel. She doesn’t know that paranormal forces in a much darker world are the ones pulling the strings. Not until identical twins Jared and Lukas Lockhart break into Kennedy’s room and destroy a dangerous spirit sent to kill her. The brothers reveal that her mother was part of an ancient secret society responsible for protecting the world from a vengeful demon — a society whose five members were all murdered on the same night.

Now Kennedy has to take her mother’s place in the Legion if she wants to uncover the truth and stay alive. Along with new Legion members Priest and Alara, the teens race to find the only weapon that might be able to destroy the demon — battling the deadly spirits he controls every step of the way.

Suspense, romance, and the paranormal meet in this chilling urban fantasy, the first book in a new series from Kami Garcia, bestselling coauthor of the Beautiful Creatures novels.
from goodreads.com

Beth says 3.5 Stars...
I was excited to see that Kami Garcia had a book of her own and I managed to find it right when I wanted a bit of adventure.  Although it generally doesn't take much to creep me out, this book didn't scare me and I appreciated that.  Yes, there are ghosts and evil spirit type creatures that haunt with varying levels of aggression that might scare some people.  It isn't that bad, so don't worry if you're someone who's easily scared.  The idea behind the book is super cool with secret societies, horror type entities, and complex familial ties.  However, the plot had some issues, especially at the beginning.  I understand the need for time to set up the world of a series, but it took quite a bit of time to finally get to the point where the plot moved forward smoothly.  The background was also rather spotty, but perhaps the information will come in other books.

A strength of the book was the young members of the Legion.  Kennedy had a few issues adjusting to her new life, but eventually works out her place among the group.  She's a perfectly serviceable heroine, but her tendencies to play things close to the chest and constant self-doubt did get annoying at times.  Although Kennedy is obviously the main character, the others received their own time and space to develop.  They all had distinct personalities and strengths that brought the group together.  My favorite has to be Priest, the delightfully quirky inventor extraordinaire.  His presence made my little nerd heart happy.

Overall I think this is a promising start to the series.  There were problems for sure, but the premise is interesting and the set-up solid.  The ending in particular plays directly into the next book which I think will be better.  I'd suggest giving this a try based on its potential.
book from library

Beautiful Darkness

Together Ethan and Lena 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.
from http://www.hachettebookgroup.com/features/somelovesarecursed/book_info.html

Beth says 4.5 Stars...

Finally a sequel does what it's supposed to! This novel built upon everything established in the first book while revealing even more information. The plot moved along nicely and took some unexpected turns. I thought the new spin to the visions kept reasonably withing the established framework, but provided a good change of pace. I had no real idea as to the importance of the visions until the authors decided to reveal it. I also enjoyed how much they elaborated on the Caster lore and filled in some of the gaps. It was fun to see how even more of the characters were brought into the supposedly secret world, which appears to actually not be terribly secret. It also leaves the story at the perfect place for the next book, and, as much as I hate cliffhangers, this one was very well done. Not too much, but more than enough to make me want to come back for more.

Speaking of characters, they remained delightful. I'm still amazed at how well done Ethan's voice is written since both of the authors are women. Lena became more complex as Ethan started to look at her more realistically because of her behavior. At times what she did made no sense to me at the time, but by the end of the novel it fit together seamlessly. The additional characters enhanced the story, but didn't take away from the development of the old ones. I don't want to say that much, because quite a few little things I'd like to mention are rather spoiler-ish.

This is one of the better sequels I've read in a while. It kept the intensity of the first novel without becoming over the top and therefore laughable. The lush and dark world of a rural southern town with some interesting history. This is a great series for lovers of paranormal romance who want some brain and independent characters. If you loved the first book then grab this one!
Book from Library

Beautiful Creatures

We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that's what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn't have been more wrong.
There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

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.
from bn.com

Beth says 4 Stars...

I know that this book has been both loved and hyped, and honestly I understand it. What it does is take the trend (which is really starting to get tired) of the paranormal romance type novel and do it well in a slightly different way. The whole supernatural element of the story (no spoilers here) was not the typical redemptive evil monster deal, which was refreshing. The plot kept me interested, but I thought there were some serious problems with pacing. The movement of the story really slowed at some points and then the authors had to play catch up. I also liked the concept of the flashbacks, but felt that they interrupted the flow of the book, and that there could have been a better way to give readers the necessary information. Stylistically it's very interesting because it was written by two different people and reads like the work of a single author. There's no switch of perspectives, a la Nick and Norah's Infinite Playlist, or even obvious character discrepancies. The background writing is absolutely delightful and helps to create a lush and mysterious setting.

One of my issues was with the dialogue. It was very highly stylized to make the reader feel as though they are in the South, and at times was over the top. I'm sorry, but as a Southern girl myself some people down here do know how use decent grammar. The characters were interesting, and I love small town stories. I guess I can just imagine it more vividly, or perhaps it's just that I find it to be more relatable, but for whatever reason they tend to capture my imagination. Ethan and Lena were so great together and apart, but it was very interesting to see the story from the male perspective. Ethan's voice seemed very authentic to me, but maybe it's because that's how I think that a guy would think, if that makes any sense. I also appreciated the fact that their relationship and feelings for one another were a part of their lives, but not all consuming. The character given to the dog Boo was one of the nice little touches that helped separate this book from the multitudes of others with similar central themes.

Overall this was a fun and slightly (very slightly) different novel. This is for all of you fans of Twilight and all of the other paranormal romance novels that line the shelves. It's a promising debut and I look forward to reading the second book in what promises to be a fun series, if sometimes a little overdramatic.

Book Bought

Waiting on Wednesday

There were no surprises in Gatlin County
We were pretty much the epicenter of the middle of nowhere.
At least, that’s what I thought.
Turns out, I couldn’t have been more wrong.

There was a curse.
There was a girl.
And in the end, there was a grave.

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.

It's more WordNinja fun! We have loved all of the WordNinja books thus far, and we plan to keep loving them with Beautiful Creatures. It looks fantastic and spooky. It's coming out in December (yes, we're excited enough to post about it now). Start buzzing about this one, because it looks earth-shatteringly good.