The Vanishing by Wendy Webb

Publication: January 21, 2014

Publisher: Hyperion

Recently widowed and rendered penniless by her Ponzi-scheming husband, Julia Bishop is eager to start anew. So when a stranger appears on her doorstep with a job offer, she finds herself accepting the mysterious yet unique position: caretaker to his mother, Amaris Sinclair, the famous and rather eccentric horror novelist whom Julia has always admired…and who the world believes is dead. When she arrives at the Sinclairs' enormous estate on Lake Superior, Julia begins to suspect that there may be sinister undercurrents to her "too-good-to-be-true" position. As Julia delves into the reasons of why Amaris chose to abandon her successful writing career and withdraw from the public eye, her search leads to unsettling connections to her own family tree, making her wonder why she really was invited to Havenwood in the first place, and what monstrous secrets are still held prisoner within its walls.

Normally I am not one for horror movies, or scary books that much. That being said, there was something about this book, that drew my interest and I thought why not? Sometimes it nice to read a book from a genre that you don’t normally flock to. I’m glad I did.

The story begins with a bang...something very bad happening at Havenwood during a séance hundreds of years ago in 1875. Then it flashes forward to the present where Julia Bishop’s life appears to be in shambles at the moment. Her husband dead, friends long gone, she feels very alone. An opportunity of a lifetime is presented to her when Adrian Sinclair offers her a job seemingly out of nowhere. This gives her fresh start...a new lease on life.

I don’t want to say too much and spoil the story for those who have yet to read it. When reading a story like this, I think the less you know going into it, the better.

“Havenwood was indeed a den of secrets, I thought as I sipped my drink. I wondered what else was lurking just out of sight.”

The atmosphere is creepy and suspenseful. I love that the backdrop of the story was a house hundreds of years old, almost in the middle of nowhere near the wilderness. It made for a fun and scary setting. I think that Wendy Webb did a good job with the storytelling. The characters were lively and interesting. The questions and suspense slowly grew the further I got into the story.

I will admit that the ending was a little disappointing to me. I think I was expecting something more sinister then there actually was. It wasn’t what I expected, but I still enjoyed the story just the same.

The Vanishing entertained me, kept me on the edge of my seat and sucked me into Julia’s world before I even knew it. Which I think was the author’s purpose.

RATING: 3½ out of 5.

**I received this book on behalf of the Publisher in exchange for nothing but my honest opinion. Thank you**

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Shadowlands by Kate Brian

 

 

Publication: January 8, 2013

Publisher: Hyperion

Rory Miller had one chance to fight back and she took it. Rory survived and the serial killer who attacked her escaped. Now that the infamous Steven Nell is on the loose, Rory must enter the witness protection program. Entering the program alongside her, is her father and sister Darcy. The trio starts a new life and a new beginning leaving their friends and family behind without a goodbye. Starting over in a new town with only each other is unimaginable for Rory and Darcy. They were inseparable as children but now they can barely stand each other. As the sisters settle in to Juniper Landing, a picturesque vacation island, it seems like their new home may be just the fresh start they need. They fall in with a group of beautiful, carefree teens and spend their days surfing, partying on the beach, and hiking into endless sunsets. Just as they’re starting to feel safe again, one of their new friends goes missing. Is it a coincidence? Or is the nightmare beginning all over again?

I love a good mystery/thriller. The cover of Shadowlands is simply gorgeous. That combined with the synopsis and I was sold. I haven’t read many young adult titles involving serial killers and the Witness Protection Program. So naturally I was read to dive into this bad boy…I think my expectations were set a little too high for this one.

These were some of my issues with Shadowlands:

A.    If the FBI knows right off the bat, the criminal they are dealing with is highly skilled, always manages to evade capture, and always catches his prey, then why would you have the victims’ house crawling with cops in uniform. Knowing that he would try and strike again. And how can anyone explain the fact that even though the house and neighborhood were crawling with those said cops, how the bad guy was able to break into Rory’s house undetected to leave her a note. Seriously?

B.     Because of the danger that Rory and her family are in, they have to go into witness protection. That I can completely understand. But what I don’t quite get is, why after giving them their fake names, and the place they will be going, the FBI just sends them on their way, With GPS instructions. How strange is that? What is to stop the guy from just following them? They didn’t even get a police escort or anything. I don’t know, maybe it’s just me nitpicking, but I thought it was odd.

 

Once I was able to get past those issues, I began to get into the story.  Rory was a pretty good character. Her sister Darcy however was not that much. Her father was so-so to me. Neither one of them seemed to care too much about what Rory was going through.

Being able to see the point of view of the serial killer was a neat concept. It added more to the story and it grabbed my interest at the beginning of the book. The mystery and weird occurrences throughout the story kept me reading. I wanted to see how it would end.

Even though this book wasn’t exactly how I hoped it would be, it does have promise. The ending left me more questions than answers, so I’m interested in checking out the next book, Hereafter to see how everything plays out. Hopefully I will enjoy it a little more than I did this one. 

RATING: 2½ -3 out of 5.

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The Naturals by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

 

 

 

Publication: November 5, 2013

Publisher: Disney-Hyperion

Seventeen-year-old Cassie is a natural at reading people. Piecing together the tiniest details, she can tell you who you are and what you want. But it’s not a skill that she’s ever taken seriously. That is, until the FBI come knocking: they’ve begun a classified program that uses exceptional teenagers to crack infamous cold cases, and they need Cassie. What Cassie doesn’t realize is that there’s more at risk than a few unsolved homicides— especially when she’s sent to live with a group of teens whose gifts are as unusual as her own. Sarcastic, privileged Michael has a knack for reading emotions, which he uses to get inside Cassie’s head—and under her skin. Brooding Dean shares Cassie’s gift for profiling, but keeps her at arm’s length. Soon, it becomes clear that no one in the Naturals program is what they seem. And when a new killer strikes, danger looms closer than Cassie could ever have imagined. Caught in a lethal game of cat and mouse with a killer, the Naturals are going to have to use all of their gifts just to survive.

The FBI approaches Cassie, wanting her help with some cases. If she decides to help, she just might be able to find out who killed her mom. That’s an opportunity that Cassie doesn’t want to slip pass her. So she accepts.

Once she enters the program, she meets Lia, Sloane, Michael, and Dean. Other teens with different special talents just like herself.

Dean is good with profiling, Sloane’s talent is math and numbers, Michael has the ability to read other peoples emotions in their face and behavior, and Lia can detect if someone is lying and naturally is good at telling a lie. (Her skill sort of reminded me of that guy in the television show Lie to Me).

There is a little bit of romance going on and also a love triangle involving Cassie, Dean, and Michael. For me it was so-so. I could have done without it.

I liked seeing how everyone used their skill in order to piece together a case; especially when it came to profiling.  I would have liked it explained how the teens in the program got their particular talent.

The Naturals reminded me of the young adult version of the television show, Criminal Minds.  It was an interesting and enjoyable YA mystery/thriller. It was a very easy read to get into. Within no time, I found myself flipping page after page to see what would happen next. 

 

RATING: 3½ out of 5.

** I received this book on behalf of the publisher in exchange for only my honest opinion. Thank you. **

 

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Book Review: Uncommon Criminals (Heist Society #2) by Ally Carter



Synopsis:

Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life. Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief. But for the last two months she’s simply been known as the girl who ran the crew that robbed the greatest museum in the world. That’s why Kat isn’t surprised when she’s asked to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald so it can be returned to its rightful owners.

There are only three problems. First, the gem hasn’t been seen in public in thirty years. Second, since the fall of the Egyptian empire and the suicide of Cleopatra, no one who holds the emerald keeps it for long, and in Kat’s world, history almost always repeats itself. But it’s the third problem that makes Kat’s crew the most nervous and that is simply… the emerald is cursed.

Kat might be in way over her head, but she’s not going down without a fight. After all she has her best friend—the gorgeous Hale—and the rest of her crew with her as they chase the Cleopatra around the globe, dodging curses, realizing that the same tricks and cons her family has used for centuries are useless this time.

Which means, this time, Katarina Bishop is making up her own rules.

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After enjoying Heist Society so much, I was eager to begin the second book in the series. Uncommon Criminals is just as much fun as the first book. I was happy to discover that because sometimes the second book is not as good as the first.

This time Kat finds herself as a Robin Hood of sorts. Stealing precious artifacts and returning them to their rightful owners. She is contacted by an older woman named Constance Miller, who requests the assistance of Kat and hew crew in retrieving a supposedly cursed Emerald that several thieves have tried and failed to steal. All the characters are back this time around. Though this time they have a smaller, but just as valuable role in the book.

If you are looking for a fun and light contemporary read then I would recommend Uncommon Criminals. It isn’t completely necessary to read Heist Society first, but you would definitely understand Uncommon Criminals more if you did.  This story had a couple of surprises and twists that made the story more enjoyable. It was easy to get sucked into Kat’s world and I loved every second of it.

Rating: 4½ out of 5.

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Spotlight & Sneak Peek: The Archived by Victoria Schwab

From Goodreads:

Imagine a place where the dead rest on shelves like books.

Each body has a story to tell, a life seen in pictures that only Librarians can read. The dead are called Histories, and the vast realm in which they rest is the Archive.

Da first brought Mackenzie Bishop here four years ago, when she was twelve years old, frightened but determined to prove herself. Now Da is dead, and Mac has grown into what he once was, a ruthless Keeper, tasked with stopping often-violent Histories from waking up and getting out. Because of her job, she lies to the people she loves, and she knows fear for what it is: a useful tool for staying alive.

Being a Keeper isn't just dangerous-it's a constant reminder of those Mac has lost. Da's death was hard enough, but now her little brother is gone too. Mac starts to wonder about the boundary between living and dying, sleeping and waking. In the Archive, the dead must never be disturbed. And yet, someone is deliberately altering Histories, erasing essential chapters. Unless Mac can piece together what remains, the Archive itself might crumble and fall.

In this haunting, richly imagined novel, Victoria Schwab reveals the thin lines between past and present, love and pain, trust and deceit, unbearable loss and hard-won redemption.

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Victoria Schwab creates a dark imaginative world filled with enough intrigue to hold my attention.

After Da, Mackenzie’s grandfather passes away; she is now responsible for the Histories in the Archive. The Archive is the place where the dead are kept, like creepy and unusual books in a library.

Thanks to this sneak peek from Disney Hyperion, I was able to read the first few chapters of this book. I really enjoyed it. I am excited to read the full book. For fans of the Supernatural, Dystopia, Fantasy, The Archived appears to have all of these elements and more.

The Archived releases today in Hardcover. The E-book version releases on Tuesday, January 29, 2013. 

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