The Body Finder, by Kimberly Derting

Since she was little, Violet has been able to detect the corpses of murdered people and animals and connect them to their killers. This strange and disturbing talent goes much ignored for many years, until Violet finds a dead girl's body swimming with the fishes while Violet is at a beach party. Soon after, other girls start going missing, and while Violet is on the hunt for the serial killer with her police chief uncle, she knows that she herself can become a target as well. And of course, there's some romance going on between Violet and her best friend, Jay, but it's very corny and I'll get to that soon.

Even though I don't like mysteries, I did like the supernatural twist and I thought the plot was interesting. However, I also felt that the prose was a little too juvenile for me. I wasn't too impressed by the prose in The Pledge, but that book had so much plot that I wasn't disappointed by the immature prose. The sense of immaturity was only furthered by the simplicity of the romance. Violet suddenly has a crush on her best friend when he turns all hot, and when they get together (not a spoiler because totally inevitable) it happens in a snap with only a few pages of discomfort. Life doesn't happen that way, and the assumption that it does did not mesh well with the maturity of the serial killer plot.

I have no plans of reading the sequels to this book, but I will say that it is not a horrible book and I would recommend it to any young teenagers who love mysteries.

3.3 stars.

Violet Ambrose is grappling with two major issues: Jay Heaton and her morbid secret ability. While the sixteen-year-old is confused by her new feelings for her best friend since childhood, she is more disturbed by her "power" to sense dead bodies—or at least those that have been murdered. Since she was a little girl, she has felt the echoes that the dead leave behind in the world... and the imprints that attach to their killers.

Violet has never considered her strange talent to be a gift; it mostly just led her to find the dead birds her cat had tired of playing with. But now that a serial killer has begun terrorizing her small town, and the echoes of the local girls he's claimed haunt her daily, she realizes she might be the only person who can stop him.

Despite his fierce protectiveness over her, Jay reluctantly agrees to help Violet on her quest to find the murderer—and Violet is unnerved to find herself hoping that Jay's intentions are much more than friendly. But even as she's falling intensely in love, Violet is getting closer and closer to discovering a killer... and becoming his prey herself.

Foretold: 14 Tales of Prophecy and Prediction, edited by Carrie Ryan

The ideas connecting all the stories in this book was fascinating. Each author took the topic of prophecy and prediction and interpreted it completely differently. It was cool to read all the different takes and twists on this one topic, especially because none of them were as generic as I expected.

Gentlemen Send Phantoms, by Laini Taylor: I loved this story so much that it inspired me to read Laini Taylor's novels. It was light and sweet with hints of fantasy but with the uncertainty if whether what you're reading is fantasy at all.

Burned Bright, by Diana Peterfreund: Diana Peterfreund is one of my favorite authors and I found out about her when I read her short story in "Zombies and Unicorns". This story was absolutely fascinating. The twist at the end reminded me of the O'Henry stories I had to read in 8th grade, the ones with the shocking endings. After reading the last line of this story my jaw dropped and it took about five minutes for me to get it shut. It was totally unlike the killer unicorn or the Secret Society Girl books, which was quite unexpected and shows great talent on the author's part that she could write in such different styles.

The Angriest Man, by Lisa McMann: This story kind of scared me. I'm not sure how literally I was supposed to take it but I'm not much of a fan of symbolism so if there was any, I didn't get it. This take on prediction was one of self-fulfilled prophecy and for some reason I just thought of the movie "Megamind" in that everyone expects the main character to be bad. Don't be mistaken though-this story is NOTHING like Megamind.

Out of the Blue, by Meg Cabot: Cute, but typical Meg Cabot. One of my favorite stories in the book.

One True Love, by Malinda Lo: The only way I can describe this story is lesbian Oedipus Rex. But I think that was the point of the story.

This is a Mortal Wound, by Michael Grant: Very very interesting but I couldn't figure out how this story connected with prophecy and prediction.

Misery, by Heather Brewer: Fascinating and introspective. I didn't particularly enjoy it, but I did appreciate it.

The Mind is a Powerful Thing, by Matt de la Pena: Another story of self-fulfilled prophecy, just this time with a paranoid girl who thinks the world is out to get her.

The Chosen One, by Saundra Mitchell: Sweet and strong. A more classic take on the whole prophecy idea, but the main character was full of spunk.

Improbable Futures, by Kami Garcia: Not a particularly unique story, but definitely good. I wasn't a huge fan of Beautiful Creatures so I wasn't looking forward to reading this story or the next one, but this story was a lot darker than I realized. This story is about a fake fortune teller who realizes that everything she is predicting starts coming true.

Death for the Deathless, by Margaret Stohl: This story was the first that had a prediction loop which makes you question what comes first. I liked a few of the other stories, but this one was definitely my number one favorite. I was shocked when I looked at the author's name and realized that I thought her other books were stupid.

Fate, by Simone Elkeles: This story had no fantasy involved but was just a short contemporary romance. Another goodie.

The Killing Garden, by Carrie Ryan: This story was nasty. The concept was messed up and made me cringe multiple times. I felt bad for the main character for not realizing the truth behind her father's words until the end, but the end of the story was okay.

Homecoming, by Richelle Mead: To anyone who hasn't read the Vampire Academy books, this story will seem out of place and won't be fully understood. To anyone who has, it's nice to read about Dimitri's reunion with his family.

3.6 stars.

 Have you ever been tempted to look into the future? To challenge predictions? To question fate? It's human nature to wonder about life's twists and turns. But is the future already written—or do you have the power to alter it?

From fantastical prophecies to predictions of how the future will transpire, Foretold is a collection of stories about our universal fascination with life's unknowns and of what is yet to come as interpreted by 14 of young adult fiction's brightest stars.

Midnight in Austenland, by Shannon Hale

Charlotte is in desperate need for a vacation. After her husband leaves her for a younger woman, taking some of Charlotte's self-made fortune with him, Charlotte decides she needs to leave her life for a few days. The search for the perfect getaway leads her to Austenland, a place where time is turned back a few centuries and the guests experience life Jane Austen-style. However, life in Pembrook Park is not as simple as Charlotte expected it to be. After finding a dead body in the attic Charlotte is determined to find the murderer, which is very hard to do in a place where the line between reality and make-believe is so blurred. In order to solve the mystery Charlotte must sift through the 18th century facade and find remnants of today's truths. (That last phrase doesn't quite make sense but I like it so I'm leaving it.)

I am not a fan of mysteries. I can handle many genres of fiction, but mysteries seem kind of pointless to me. What's the point of reading through an entire novel of suspense is you can just turn to the last page to find out who did it? It is this attitude that led to my disinterest in Midnight in Austenland. I was severely tempted to close the book permanently many times and I only persevered because I enjoyed Shannon Hale's young adult novels (Goose Girl, Princess Academy, and their sequels). However, after completing Midnight, I have come to the conclusion that I do not like Shannon Hale's adult books. I didn't like Austenland and I didn't like Midnight in Austenland, so from now on I am going to stick to Hale's YA novels.

Midnight started out extremely slow, and not only because of my lack of interest. I tried very hard not to skim and was somewhat successful. In my defense, I skimmed the boring parts and then skipped to the end. When I decided I liked the epilogue, I went back to where I left off and continued reading.

I liked the scenes where Charlotte showed her mom side, but what I didn't like was the impression that her kids didn't love her. She was so insecure about her children's love and that they would love their new stepmom more than they love her that it became a reality in my mind. It wasn't until the end that I saw something resembling a real relationship between her and her kids. Her insecurities were valid, but she took them a little too far.

I would recommend Midnight in Austenland to anyone who has ever wished they could stick themselves in the 18th century for a few days or someone who enjoys mysteries with a twist.

3.1 stars.

When Charlotte Kinder treats herself to a two-week vacation at Austenland, she happily leaves behind her ex-husband and his delightful new wife, her ever-grateful children, and all the rest of her real life in America. She dons a bonnet and stays at a country manor house that provides an immersive Austen experience, complete with gentleman actors who cater to the guests' Austen fantasies.

Everyone at Pembrook Park is playing a role, but increasingly, Charlotte isn't sure where roles end and reality begins. And as the parlor games turn a little bit menacing, she finds she needs more than a good corset to keep herself safe. Is the brooding Mr. Mallery as sinister as he seems? What is Miss Gardenside's mysterious ailment? Was that an actual dead body in the secret attic room? And-perhaps of the most lasting importance-could the stirrings in Charlotte's heart be a sign of real-life love?

The follow-up to reader favorite Austenland provides the same perfectly plotted pleasures, with a feisty new heroine, plenty of fresh and frightening twists, and the possibility of a romance that might just go beyond the proper bounds of Austen's world. How could it not turn out right in the end?

The Splendor Falls, by Rosemary Clement-Moore

Sylvie is yet another misunderstood girl with parental issues who is shipped off to a random relative after an one-time-only act of rebellion. After breaking her leg while on stage, Sylvie must quit her promising career as a ballerina and after taking Vicadin with alcohol at her mom's wedding, she is sent down south to her late dad's cousin who is taking care of the family estate. Upon arriving in Alabama (I think), Sylvie discovers that she is something like royalty in the tiny town her aunt lives in. And of course, this story would not be complete without a prince charming and a prince not-as-charming vying for her heart. Her two pursuers are Rhys, the dark and mysterious foreigner who knows way more than he is letting on, and Shaun, the town's golden boy who can do no wrong in anybody's (except Rhys') eyes. As if a new home and two guys aren't enough, Sylvie starts getting the feeling there is something more going on on her family's estate, something with roots deep in her family's history.

Despite the previous paragraph, it should be known that although this book does follow many cliches, it also manages to separate itself from them. I don't know how and I can only pinpoint one or two reasons why that is, but while reading The Splendor Falls I didn't feel any deja vu which means it wasn't too typical. However, I could not give this book a perfect rating because of how long it was. In a book 500 pages long you expect something to happen every couple of pages, but those somethings were so boring that I felt like I was reading what her day to day life was and although it was written well, it was still not very interesting. There were little parts that kept me going, but there were many many times I was ready to give up. I was thankful when I finished the book because that meant that I could finally stop reading it and I would no longer have to convince myself to hold on.

For once there was a main character with a sharp tongue. I loved how Sylvie would react to Addie's insults-she was hurt but she hit Addie with an even sharper comeback. It was incredibly refreshing to have a heroine with both a backbone and a heart. It was also nice how she didn't complain through the whole book and only mentioned her hurt leg when relevant. Sylvie lost everything she ever wanted for herself when she fell and I was nervous that this would be an entire novel full of complaints but thankfully it wasn't.

The supernatural elements of this book were extremely vague for most of it, which almost made me believe at times that Sylvie was actually nuts. Then I remembered that is this is a YA fantasy novel and not a YA dark and twisty and suicidal novel.

One more clarification before I go: the love triangle in this book was perfect, mainly because it wasn't really a love triangle. (In case you couldn't tell, I don't really like love triangles.) Sylvie knows who she wants and makes it very clear who she is interested in so mentioning it in the summary is kind of misleading. And if you were wondering about the title, it's a reference to one line in the book which I forgot already. As for the purple rose, your guess is as good as mine.

4.3 stars.

Can love last beyond the grave?

Sylvie Davis is a ballerina who can’t dance. A broken leg ended her career, but Sylvie’s pain runs deeper. What broke her heart was her father’s death, and what’s breaking her spirit is her mother’s remarriage—a union that’s only driven an even deeper wedge into their already tenuous relationship.

Uprooting her from her Manhattan apartment and shipping her to Alabama is her mother’s solution for Sylvie’s unhappiness. Her father’s cousin is restoring a family home in a town rich with her family’s history. And that’s where things start to get shady. As it turns out, her family has a lot more history than Sylvie ever knew. More unnerving, though, are the two guys that she can’t stop thinking about. Shawn Maddox, the resident golden boy, seems to be perfect in every way. But Rhys—a handsome, mysterious foreign guest of her cousin’s—has a hold on her that she doesn’t quite understand.

Then she starts seeing things. Sylvie’s lost nearly everything—is she starting to lose her mind as well?

The Betrayal of the Blood Lily, by Lauren Willig (Pink Carnation #6)

Here are links to my reviews of some of the previous books in the Pink Carnation series:
The Secret History of the Pink Carnation (book #1)
The Seduction of the Crimson Rose (book #4)
The Temptation of the Night Jasmine (book #5)

The Betrayal of the Blood Lily is another in the Pink Carnation series, which combines modern romance with historical fiction, 18th century espionage, and good old-fashioned romance. In Blood Lily we are reunited with the impulsive and impossible Penelope who has just arrived in India with her new husband, Lord Frederick Staines. Freddie was sent to investigate a British officer in India, and the new couple undergoes numerous adventures on the way. Traveling as their guide in India is Captain Alex Reid, who is more than surprised to discover Penelope isn't the woman he expected her to be.

Overall Review:
This was the most satisfying of all the Pink Carnation novels. The modern story was good because the slow pace was actually okay for once. Eloise and Colin are finally together so the fact that their story would have lost a race against a snail didn't bother me. It was sweet to see their day to day lives as a couple. The historical romance in Blood Lily was satisfying and a lot edgier than the previous books, which made me enjoy it all the more. The other books were all pretty similar, but this one was jarringly different in a wonderful way.

Reading and Plot Speed:
This book, like all the others, was an easy and fast read. And once you reach the exciting parts, you are forced to finish it in one sitting.

Characters:
All the reviews I read about Blood Lily before reading it claimed that Penelope is the best of the heroines in the Pink Carnation series. I was inclined to disagree at the time because I thought her annoying and selfish in previous books. I remembered her as that girl who was friends with Hen and Charlotte and would constantly be putting them down while waiting for them to help her out of whatever heap of trouble she had just gotten into. However, once I started Blood Lily I grew to love Penelope more than any of the rest because she was the first one with not only brain or guts, but both. Another thing I liked a lot was how Alex was of a lower station than Penelope. In all the previous books the girls would marry up, but here Penelope is willing to let go of her extravagant lifestyle as Lady Staines and live life with the man she loves. Alex was a perfect match for Penelope because he completely balanced out Penelope's extreme personality.

Random Thoughts:
My biggest problem with the previous books was how they made sometimes fatal espionage seem fun and harmless. Blood Lily was a little darker and edgier than the others so it did add a bit more genuine historical flavor, but was still a little too fluffy.

5 stars.

The heroines of Lauren Willig's bestselling Pink Carnation series have engaged in espionage all over nineteenth-century Europe. In the sixth stand-alone volume, our fair English heroine travels to India, where she finds freedom—and risk—more exciting than she ever imagined.

Everyone warned Miss Penelope Deveraux that her unruly behavior would land her in disgrace someday. She never imagined she's be whisked off to India to give the scandal of her hasty marriage time to die down. As Lady Frederick Staines waits, Penelope plunges into the treacherous waters of the court of the Nizam of Hyderabad, where no one is quite what they seem—even her husband. In a strange country, where elaborate court dress masks even more elaborate intrigues and a dangerous spy called the Marigold leaves venomous cobras as his calling card, there is only one person Penelope can trust...

Captain Alex Reid has better things to do than play nursemaid to a pair of aristocrats. Or so he thinks—until Lady Frederick Staines out-shoots, out-rides, and out-swims every man in the camp. She also has an uncanny ability to draw out the deadly plans of the Marigold and put herself in harm's way. With danger looming from local warlords, treacherous court officials, and French spies, Alex realizes that an alliance with Lady Staines just might be the only thing standing in the way of a plot designed to rock the very foundations of the British Empire...

Size 12 and Ready to Rock

Summer break . . . and the livin' ain't easy

Just because the students at New York College have flown the coop doesn't mean assistant residence hall director Heather Wells can relax. Fischer Hall is busier than ever, filled with squealing thirteen- and fourteen-year-old girls attending the first ever Tania Trace Teen Rock Camp, hosted by pop sensation Tania Trace herself--who just happens to be newly married to Heather's ex-boyfriend, heartthrob Jordan Cartwright. But the real headache begins when the producer of a reality TV show starring Tania winds up dead . . . and it's clear that the star was the intended victim.

Grant Cartwright, head of Cartwright Records, wants to keep his daughter-in-law (and his highest-earning performer) alive. So he hires his oldest son, black sheep of the family and private investigator Cooper Cartwright--who just happens to be Heather's "new" fiancE. Heather should leave the detecting to Cooper. But with a dorm full of hysterical mini-divas-in-training, she can't help but get involved. And after Tania shares a really shocking secret with her, "this" reality suddenly becomes more dangerously real than anyone ever anticipated.

This is going to be a short post because my internet went bust while I was trying to save my review and I don't have the patience to write another one as good. Therefore, beware that what is ahead are random thoughts that pop into my head that I meant to say about this book. Heather Wells is back with her fiance Cooper, his crazy family (which I'll get into later), all the people at her residence hall, and now the cast and crew of Jordan Loves Tania (a reality show following boy-bander Jordan Cartwright and his pop star wife Tania) who are there for Tania Trace Rock Camp. Heather starts noticing that something fishy is going on with Tania and to be honest, I was shocked when her secret was revealed.

The Cartwright clan was featured a lot more in this book because instead of focusing on murders of people Heather had no personal relationship with, it focuses on Tania's domestic troubles. It was nice to see another side of Tania and to find out that her motive behind her disgusting actions was not fame and money, but escape. The Cartwright twins were ridiculous and Nicole's song which is too nasty to mention here made me want to laugh and vomit at the same time. For once we got to see a healthy, normal relationship past the crush that lasted three books and ended with a proposal. If I can think of anything else I meant to say I will add it later.

4.2 stars

To read my review of a previous Heather Wells novel click here.