Reading Right Now! Angel Fire by L.A. Weatherly

Title: Angel Fire (Angel #2)

Author: L.A. Weatherly

So what I'm Reading Right Now! is Angel Fire by L.A. Weatherly. It's the sequel to a book I read maybe last year called Angel Burn. This series offers a really interesting concept on Angels, where instead of being heavenly, benevolent beings, they feed off of humans by sucking up their life force. This sequel continues where the first one left off, rejoining Willow and Alex after their failed attempt to exterminate the angels and stop the second wave. Willow gets another vision, which sends them to Mexico City and offers another chance to kill the angels and save humanity (Yayy!).

I really do enjoy this series, but this book has really taken off on kind of a slow start. Not a whole lotta stuff is happening in the beginning and this book is freakin' huge! 638 pages is almost overwhelmingly massive! The story presented so far doesn't seem to really deserve that huge page count.

I do know that this second installment introduces a love triangle into the mix. A half-angel hunk named Seb will at some point meet up with Willow and the gang and maybe give Alex a little bit of a challenge. I'm not sure how that's going to play out with how lovey dovey Alex and Willow have been acting in the beginning pages. Also, I'm currently on page 201, about 32% through and this Seb still hasn't managed to meet up with them.

So, I'll stop rambling and say that while I'm enjoying this book, I'm not loving it as much as I loved the first one. It's just going very slowly for me and there's not a lot of action yet. I'm also unsure of how I'm going to like this love triangle. It's definitely an enjoyable series with a cool concept, so I do recommend it to all readers out there. Also, that cover is pretty awesome!

So that's what I'm Reading Right Now! Tell me what you're reading in the comments below. I'd love to know.

Review of: Lies by Michael Grant

Title: Lies (Gone #3)

Author: Michael Grant

Published by: Katherine Tegen Books

Released: 2010

Summary: The kids of Perdido Beach have survived their parents disappearing and have managed to kinda sorta solve their hunger problem. It would be nice to have a couple months of quiet and calm, but the kids aren't that lucky and the Darkness never takes a break. Now the question of who and what to believe is at stake. Orsay has had a prophecy of an escape from the FAYZ, but is it really a way out? Brittney has come back from the dead, the how and why remain a mystery. The Human Crew is wreaking havoc in Perdido Beach and Sam's will has been broken. Just another intense day in the FAYZ and another fantastic edition to the Gone Series.

My Thoughts: Another great, awesome, fantastic edition to the Gone Series. This book pulled me in from the start and didn't let go until the last page. The action and situations were intense. I feared for the characters that have earned a place in my heart, Sam, Astrid (occasionally), and Edilio!

This whole series is such an intense ride and I haven't been disappointed or let down by the action yet. I highly recommend this series to anyone who loves a good post apocalyptic thrill ride filled with intense situations and super powers. Just a great, great book and a fantastic series.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 5/5

Lies is such an apt title, I don't know what to believe anymore!

Reading Right Now! Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Title: Texas Gothic

Author: Rosemary Clement-Moore

What I'm Reading Right Now! is Texas Gothic by Rosemary Clement-Moore. I love the cover. It's beautiful and at the same time gives off a sort of creepy vibe. This story is about the Goodnight family, who are a family of witches. Two sisters, Amy and Phin are staying on their aunt's farm and taking care of it when suddenly they become haunted by a ghost. Amy is used to magic and ghosts, but this one feels like a more malevolent spirit. Phin, Amy, and maybe Travis McCullouch, the boy from the neighboring ranch, might team up together to solve the mystery and put the ghost to rest.

I've pretty much just started this book. I'm on page 64 of some 400 pages. Goodreads puts me as being 15% done. I'm enjoying it so far. I love witches and ghost stories. This one hasn't become super creepy yet, but it could happen. There was a pretty funny bit involving cows, goats, and underwear at the beginning. I think I'm gonna like this one.

So that's what I'm Reading Right Now! Tell me what you're reading in the comments below and if you're liking it or not.

Review of: The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting

Title: The Body Finder (#1)

Author: Kimberly Derting

Published by: HarperCollins Children's Books

Released: 2010

Summary: Violet was born with a special ability. She is able to hear echoes of the dead. All the echoes she hears, sees, or feels belong to those who have been taken from life too soon, people who have been murdered. Violet is drawn to the echoes when she senses them. It becomes her purpose to uncover the source of them. Violet found her first murder victim when she was 8, and now at 16 she finds another. A serial killer is terrorizing the town. He kidnaps young girls and then discards their bodies. Violet's gift also works another way, along with sensing the echo of the victim, that echo also attaches itself to the one who took the life. With the help of her family, her best friend turned boyfriend Jay, and the echoes, Violet must catch the killer before it's too late.

My Thoughts: I was excited to get my hands on this book and start this series. I loved the concept, the cover, and the idea of Violet's gift. Sadly, this book was just a mediocre YA story for me. I think the character of Violet has a lot of maturing left to do. I also didn't really enjoy the major role the relationship between her and Jay seemed to play. I think that aspect of the book was too prominent, too cheesy/mushy, and too annoying.

I did really enjoy the murder/suspense aspect to the book and getting into the creepy killer's head and thoughts. I wish the attention of the story had focused more on the suspense and murder than on the relationship.

I really liked the idea of Violet's echoes, but I wish the idea of it had been left more broad. Having an echo that manifests itself as a taste of strong garlic was just a little too weird. I think having an echo more as just a general feeling or strong pull would have worked better.

Overall, I thought this book was good. There were some things I liked and some things I didn't like. I do plan on continuing with this series.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 3.5/5

More Action and Less Mush Please.

Review of: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Title: Anna Dressed in Blood

Author: Kendare Blake

Published by: TOR Teen

Released: 2011

Summary: Cas Lockwood has an unusual occupation, he hunts ghosts just like his father and grandfather before him. When his father died during one of the hunts, the torch and athame passed onto Cas. Cas, his mother, and their cat travel from place to place killing ghosts.

Cas gets a tip about a new ghost in Thunder Bay, Ontario. A ghost named Anna Dressed in Blood. Anna lives/haunts the boarding house where she grew up and where nobody has left alive since. Every person who enters Anna's house dies, everybody that is, except Cas.

My Thoughts: I'm glad I finally got to read Anna Dressed in Blood. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I won't say I was amazed by the story or so scared by it that I couldn't get to sleep. Maybe it was a tad over-hyped, but I did greatly enjoy it.

First off, I loved the subject matter. It reminded me a lot of the television show Supernatural. One thing I really appreciated was the story behind the ghosts. There is a sort of grim fascination with what happened to the person to cause them to spend the rest of their afterlife haunting a place. There were also some well done gory bits. Not anything super frightening or scary, but definitely enough to make one go ick!

I also really liked Cas. He was a pretty cool kid, but maybe not as tough as he thinks he is. Blake made a very believable character who, for all his bravado and ghost-hunting skills, is still a rather lonely boy who could do with some true friends.

The feelings Cas and Anna had for each other didn't seem that far-fetched either. There was a reason Cas was fascinated with her from the start and why he was so reluctant to kill her. The end love story bit was a little rushed and didn't feel genuine. I think the relationship would have felt more natural at the end if they had had more time to nurture it and discover their feelings for one another.

I recommend Anna Dressed in Blood to anybody and everybody that likes a good old ghost story. Very enjoyable reading and can't wait to see what happens next for Cas and Anna.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5

What a pretty dress, too bad it's covered in blood.

Reading Right Now! Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Title: Pushing the Limits

Author: Katie McGarry

What I'm Reading Right Now! is Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry and I am loving it! I'm usually not the biggest fan of contemporary reads because sometimes I don't want to read about real life issues and at other times I feel like there is no real plot or excitement in the story. That's not true for Pushing the Limits with Echo and Noah's story. I love Katie McGarry's writing. I love the alternating POV's between Echo and Noah. I love the mystery of what really happened to Echo on that fateful day and her fight to really remember. I just think that this is a great contemporary story and I'm excited to read on and finish it. I'm definitely going to pick up Dare You To, the companion novel to Pushing the Limits, because I just want to experience more of Katie McGarry's great story telling. I'm currently on page 288 which makes me about 69% of the way through. So glad I succumbed to curiosity and decided to check out this book after hearing so many rave reviews about it.

So that's what I'm Reading Right Now! Tell me what you're reading in the comments below. Have a great day :D

Review of: The Book of Blood and Shadow by Robin Wasserman

Title: The Book of Blood and Shadow

Author: Robin Wasserman

Published by: Knopf

Released: 2012

Summary: Nora Kane has a broken family life. Her life was shattered when her brother and a popular female high school student were killed in a drunk driving accident. Nora's brother was at fault. Nora transfers to a new school where she becomes best friends with Chris and Adriane. Nora is also good at Latin. Chris, his roommate Max, and Nora help a professor translate letters and try to break a code in a centuries old book. Little do they know a group is watching them. 

The professor has an accident and then Chris is brutally murdered. Nora gets caught up in a centuries old mystery, traveling to Prague and trying to uncover the Lumen Die, a machine that can purportedly talk to God. Will she find it before it's too late and who should she trust?

My Thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. Upon reading the synopsis, I was a little iffy. The machine that can talk to God threw me off a little, but, the overall story was really fun and intriguing. I really enjoyed the blend of mystery, history, and suspense. Through the use of Elizabeth Weston's letters, I was drawn into her life and times.

The main character Nora was okay. I didn't love her, but I didn't hate her either. I did question her judgement at times. She seemed too trusting with certain characters and events. I liked the character of Eli, even though you didn't know exactly what his story and intentions were, it was fairly obvious that he was a good guy. He was a guy that was looking out for Nora and the two of them would make a good pair.

One thing that was a little confusing about the book was the way the story was told. Sometimes it was told like everything was happening in the present and at other times, it felt like Nora was talking about the events from a future time. It was just a little weird.

Overall, I really enjoyed the book. Robin Wasserman's writing style was easy to follow and she told a good story. Good for people who like big, historical treasure hunts and scary, secret religious cults.

BOOKCITEMENT LEVEL 4/5

History, Mystery, and Suspense!

Reading Right Now! Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry

Title: Patient Zero (Joe Ledger #1)

Author: Jonathan Maberry

The book I'm reading currently is Patient Zero by Jonathan Maberry. This is Maberry's adult zombie book series and I'm already a big fan of his YA Rot and Ruin series. I'm enjoying this book so far. It has a very different feel from his Rot and Ruin series, which isn't really a bad thing. It looks at zombies in a new way. Instead of being a plague, zombies have been created by terrorists and they are planning to use them as weapons in their future attacks. Thinking about it that way makes the zombies even more terrifying. I'm really enjoying Patient Zero and plan on continuing with the Joe Ledger series. Joe Ledger is a tough guy with a heart of gold, so he's great hero material. I'm about 24% of the way through with this so far.

So that's what I'm Reading Right Now! Tell me what you're Reading Right Now! in the comments below or do whatever you want to do.

HAPPY READING!