P.A.W.S by Debbie Manber Kupfer

Amazon       

Rating: 5 STARS

This was a wonderful YA Paranormal story that sucked me in from the very beginning. Normally, due to the age difference between myself and YA stories (its not that big of a difference I swear) I find a variety of little things that bug me. With this story that did not happen, I love that she explains the history surrounding the supernatural in her story. The characters and the story were very well developed. I would recommend this to any young adult or adult who can appreciate a good story.

The story is about Miri, a young girl who, after being dropped off to her grandmother when she was born realizes that there is more to her life and family than she ever thought possible. They are shapeshifters, one of the original families. When Miri loses her grandmother and is sent to boarding school by her absentee Uncle and Aunt, she discovers that she's not alone and embarks on a journey with her fellow Animagi and paranormal friends. Together, they set off to save each other from dark forces that are at work. Dark forces that are closer to Miri than she ever imagined.

Caitlin

(ARC provided in exchange for an honest review.)


*** Review for book 2 is also available.

The Spark by Lisa Messier

Amazon CA          Kobo

Rating: 3.5 STARS

We start the story off  in a cave with a group of archaeologists who happen to be excavating what they call a live cave. We meet Seamus, who plays an extremely important role in this story. One of the members of his team, Jack, discovers  a beautiful, very pregnant woman entombed in a crystal tomb. Seamus immediately feels like he must do whatever he can to protect this angel from any harm that may come her way. Unfortunately while they are trying to clean up around the tomb one of the members of his team cracks the crystal tomb releasing the beautiful angel inside Deirdre, who immediately gives birth to our main character; Kateraina, Unfortunately, Deirdre dies soon after the birth but not before imparting knowledge about a book and a prophecy that Kateraina is meant to fulfill and the ones who are coming that will stop at nothing to get the babe. So Seamus vows that no harm will come to the girl as long as he can help it and keeps this promise but at the cost of his team, who die valiantly trying to save the baby.

It doesn't take long for Seamus to see that Kateraina isn't a normal baby, but instead one who can control fire at will. He does his best trying to raise her on the run from the ones who are after her and on her 19th birthday he decides to fill her in on everything that happened when she was born. Fast Forward a few years and we meet Dinan, a Nightwalker who is extremely angry he's been assigned to babysitting duty in the lower dungeons. Dinan sees something isn't right when one night he walks into Raina's dream and sees her standing tortured over an empty world she destroyed. Wondering what the nightmare means and drawn to Raina in a way he doesn't fully understand they set off on the journey and discover things Raina never would have thought possible. Now I don't want to tell you much more of the plot because I don't want to give the whole story away.

I don't know how to tell you how I felt about this book. The storyline was incredible I absolutely LOVED the premise. The way the story was told however, kind of got to me. I think it was more the development than anything. It just seemed like it had kind of a slow, gradual build up and then BAM we hit the action and it doesn't last very long and its over and leaves me feeling a little unfulfilled. It also had a cliffhanger which always leaves me feeling a little unbalanced. Despite those issues, I would recommend this book to anyone who was looking for a New Adult book and I look forward to reading the rest of this series.

Caitlin

(ARC provided for honest review.)


*** You can find our review of "The Ember" book two in this series here.

The Last Glass by T.M. Lazar

Amazon US   Kobo

3.5 STARS

This is a paranormal, young adult book. That for starters, is usually a little out of my depth, but I enjoyed the story line for the most part. The only thing that took away from the plot was how the characters come across. It all unfolds in multiple points of view, which allows you to get a feel for each of the characters and their mindset as a result, but also made it hard to keep track of who you were following. Introducing the characters, we have Tori (female lead), Crispin (male lead); their respectable best friends Sophie and Justin and the antagonist Natalia. 

Tori is moved to the town of Grimmsburg, NY from LA with her Mom, and quickly becomes best friends with Sophie, and falls for Crispin, while Sophie and Justin become enamored with each other. Tori is introduced into this whole other world of paranormality by her new friends and boyfriend, and overnight she became a know all of witchcraft, which frankly, annoyed me. It didn't feel real. There was many parts where it felt like I was being told what was happening, but I didn't get to FEEL what was happening with the characters, and then in other parts, the dialogue felt awkward and rushed, or overflowing with too much emotion. 

As I read this over, I feel like I didn't have much good to say about the book, but I truly did enjoy the plot line, the purpose of the book. I just feel like the telling of the story could have been written differently, to be more captivating. It is a good book. I would definitely recommend it to a YA reader in the future, and would likely read the rest of the books in this series to see how it all comes together.

Keri

(ARC provided for honest review)