Elixir

Author: Hilary Duff
Series: Elixir, #1
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's
Release Date: July 1, 2011

Clea Raymond is a talented photojournalist and the daughter of high-profile parents. Usually she's in total control of her camera, but after Clea's father disappears while on a humanitarian mission, eerie, shadowy images of a strange and handsome young man begin to appear in Clea's photos—a man she has never seen in her life. When Clea suddenly encounters this man in person she is stunned—and feels an immediate and powerful connection. As they grow closer, they are drawn deep into the mystery behind her father's disappearance and discover the centuries-old truth behind their intense bond. Torn by a dangerous love triangle and haunted by a powerful secret that holds their fate, together they race against time to unravel their past in order to save their future—and their lives.

Hate spoilers or rant-y reviews? Feel free to stop reading!

Never ever, ever, ever, ever will I read a book written by a celebrity again. Ever. Not even if it has a cheesy but cute cover. Not even if I feel sympathy for the celebrity writers that have been getting bad reception. Not even if it's written by a childhood favorite actress. I learned my lesson, dammit!

So Ever Lucy Lily I'm sorry, Clea is an outsider who is "different" from the usual teenage crowd. All that money and wealth, plus having uber-popular, rich, influential, and loving parents and friends who support her dreams isn't enough to keep her happy. Her assessment is reassured when something dastardly happens and leads her to meet a mysterious man. It's love at first sight, people, and she can't take her mind off the man who sparked warm feelings she never felt before. Turns out that he's actually much more than he seems, and their encounter starts a chain of events that change their lives forever.

Gasp! Shock! I'll spoil the surprise right here: Clea is actually a reincarnated soul and, lucky her, mysterious dude is her soulmate! He really, really wants to finally be with her forever this time. Unfortunately their last encounters have always ended on a bad note—Clea lying dead. Totally original, amirite?

Although they have very similar plots, Clea from Elixer beats Ever from Evermore. While Ever has only made idiotic decisions in every single book of the Immortals series, Clea has no sense of self-preservation, can barely put together a puzzle with only two pieces, and has the memory of a goldfish (the three second memory has been disproved but that's beside the point). She is suffering from a serious condition of being Too Stupid To Live. Not to mention that she has some messed up priorities that need to be straightened out! What happened to her missing-and-possibly-dead dad? The all-important Elixir?

All attempts that Hilary Duff tried to make the only love interest (there is no love triangle, as the summary claims) Sage romantic failed. Instead, I am very much afraid and creeped out by him. Really, he brought a condom and expected to give Clea her first time when they only met a few days ago. Clea actually agrees to do this in her best friend's car, right after seeing his various paintings of her dead body and suspecting that he is a serial killer.

Who would name their son Sage during the time of the Ancient Greeks? Who would think about their entire life so far while pushing through a crowd inside a bar? Why would Clea's soul have an entirely new talent that always gets her into stardom in every lifetime? How did Clea understand her visions of her past lives when they spoke in different languages? We will never know.

The Ghost Bride

Author: Yangsze Choo
Series: None
Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks
Release Date: August 5, 2014

"One evening, my father asked me if I would like to become a ghost bride..."

Though ruled by British overlords, the Chinese of colonial Malaya still cling to ancient customs. And in the sleepy port town of Malacca, ghosts and superstitions abound.

Li Lan, the daughter of a genteel but bankrupt family, has few prospects. But fate intervenes when she receives an unusual proposal from the wealthy and powerful Lim family. They want her to become a ghost bride for the family's only son, who recently died under mysterious circumstances. Rarely practiced, a traditional ghost marriage is used to placate a restless spirit. Such a union would guarantee Li Lan a home for the rest of her days, but at a terrible price.

After an ominous visit to the opulent Lim mansion, Li Lan finds herself haunted not only by her ghostly would-be suitor, but also by her desire for the Lim's handsome new heir, Tian Bai. Night after night, she is drawn into the shadowy parallel world of the Chinese afterlife, with its ghost cities, paper funeral offerings, vengeful spirits and monstrous bureaucracy—including the mysterious Er Lang, a charming but unpredictable guardian spirit. Li Lan must uncover the Lim family's darkest secrets—and the truth about her own family—before she is trapped in this ghostly world forever.

It's been said before, but "The Ghost Bride" is basically "Spirited Away" if it were a novel and set in colonial Malaysia. Which is not a bad thing. It's been a while since I've done a review, so forgive my rustiness and the major spoilers ahead.

First, the bad. I found myself getting irritated with our main character Li Lan a lot. Whenever it's the right time, she always does the wrong thing, but whenever she does the right thing, it's always at the wrong time. For example, when she has a problem, she generally refrains from telling the people she loves but later on, she readily hands out information to people she knows she shouldn't trust.

When she discovered major revelations about certain characters, they felt very predictable, and I could easily spot them from a mile away. I couldn't help but shake my head at Li Lan for not realizing them any sooner herself. There were so many hints, girl. Should you really be surprised?

I did not appreciate how critical Li Lan was of appearances. If it was Tian Ban that haunted her dreams and not pudgy Liam Tim Ching, I swear Li Lan wouldn't mind. I am not justifying what the latter did—he was entirely spoiled and self-entitled—but really, the way Li Lan saw the whole situation...

Ahh, Er Lang. Er Lang! My darling, my love. The smooth dragon bastard that had me cracking up at every page. I did not expect for there to be a love triangle until Li Lan started ogling him way into the novel. Even then, I thought the romance between them wouldn't actually be serious. As much as I believed her love for Tian Bai was nothing more than a school girl crush, no matter how much she thought otherwise, I really thought Er Lang would amount to nothing more than a side character, forever mooning our heroine from the sidelines.

I loved Old Wong, Chendana, and even the Dutchman, Willem Ganesvoort. I enjoyed the richness of the setting, which has inspired me to do better in my own works. However, I wish we were able to explore more of the spirit world.

The ending, although for the most part, satisfying, was a tad disappointing. It was almost as if the author wanted to breeze through the last chapters and be done with it. I felt the whole plot with corruption in the underworld was wrapped up too neatly, and there were still questions that were left to be answered.

Why was the Second Wife sneaking around? If Li Lan would disappear without notice, wouldn't her father smoke himself into an opium haze while her Amah worried herself to death? I actually wanted Li Lan to spend a lifetime with Tian Bai before moving on to Er Lang, so that her family wouldn't have to experience having a missing daughter.

Switched

Author: Amanda Hocking
Series: Trylle Trilogy, #1
Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin
Release Date: January 3, 2012

When Wendy Everly was six-years-old, her mother was convinced she was a monster and tried to kill her. Eleven years later, Wendy discovers her mother might have been right. She's not the person she's always believed herself to be, and her whole life begins to unravel—all because of Finn Holmes.

Finn is a mysterious guy who always seems to be watching her. Every encounter leaves her deeply shaken, though it has more to do with her fierce attraction to him than she'd ever admit. But it isn't long before he reveals the truth: Wendy is a changeling who was switched at birth—and he's come to take her home.

Now Wendy's about to journey to a magical world she never knew existed, one that's both beautiful and frightening. And where she must leave her old life behind to discover who she's meant to become...,

Don't be fooled. Behind this beautiful cover is yet another typical young adult, half-baked novel. I should have put this back on the shelf the moment I read "mysterious guy who always seems to be watching her." To be honest, Switched had so much wonderful potential, but that potential comes crashing down after the one-third mark.

A couple things made that day stand out more than any other: it was my sixth birthday, and my mother was wielding a knife.

It starts out the same way almost every magic-themed Disney Channel movie does, with a mysterious event that occurs in the protagonist's childhood leading to them going to a new school in the present day. Wendy sits on the lowest of the popularity chain.

Everywhere I went, kids never seemed to like me. Even before I said or did anything. I felt like I had something wrong with me and everyone knew it. I tried getting along with the other kids, but I'd only take getting pushed for so long before I pushed back. Principals and deans were quick to expel me, probably sensing the same things the kids did.

I just didn't belong.

Her parents are dead. The only reason she cares about graduating at all is because of her loving and overly protective brother Matt and aunt Maggie. To top it off, the other new kid is her own personal stalker, with handsome looks and mysterious airs to go with.

I was about to lose hope, until Wendy actually starts to interact with Finn and doesn't fall for him right off the bat. Had the author intended to subvert the nauseating, unrealistic tropes that run rampant in urban fantasy?

The idea of Finn being a romantic prospect hadn't crossed Matt's mind before, and he suddenly tensed up, looking at me with a new scrutiny. Fortunately for him, that idea hadn't crossed my mind either.

She confronts Finn for acting like a stalker.

"You're always staring at me," I persisted. "It's weird. You're weird."

When he continues with his behavior and begins to spout some silly troll nonsense, she tells him to high-tail it out of here.

"...after what I went through with my mother, I'm not read to let another crazy person into my life. So you have to go."

She feels reasonably scared, refusing to let any attraction between them blind her. Finally!

"You have lost your mind," I trembled in shock and fear, not knowing what to think. I should have thrown him out of my room, but then again, I never should've let him in.

Alright!

"I look at you because I can't look away," Finn answered finally.

"That's kind of creepy," I said at last, but my words came out weak instead of accusatory.

Yes—Wait, what.

I couldn't get a read on the way I felt about Finn. Most of the time he seemed weird and bordering on creepy. But then we had that glorious moment when we danced together, before he completely shattered it.

Even now, after the way he'd treated me, I couldn't shake how wonderful it had felt being in his arms like that. 

No, stop.

A very small part of me felt excited about the prospect of going to his room with him. That sounded like the start of a fantasy I might have. But the way he was looking at me now, I was afraid he might kill me once we were in private.

*sigh*

In the two meetings between himself and Wendy, Finn had done nothing but insult her. For the rest, he continued to act condescending toward her, showing disapproval over any action she makes, Sometimes he struck me as more of a father than a love interest, just like my feelings for a certain YA character *cough*Dimitri*cough*. When he genuinely returned Wendy's feelings, that was probably one of the biggest shocks of my life. When, where and how did this happen?

There is certainly no appeal in Wendy herself. Like I said, she was awesome in the beginning, but then insta-love happened, and she was taken to the Troll sanctuary. She had morphed soon into a whiny stereotypical princess that needed rescuing. Everyone kept raving all about her great abilities, but we only see a small, weak glimpse of it in the first couple of chapters. I doubted that she was as powerful as everyone thought she was. And to me, while it might be realistic for any teenage girl in her situation, what she did in the end was too cowardly for me to stomach. I lost all respect for Wendy right there and then.

I did love the complexity of the side-characters, such as Tove and both of Wendy's mothers. Loki, a new character featured in the short story The Vitra Attacks, promises to be a lovely addition. Sorry, guys. I have a thing for fictional bad boys with a way with words.

But it wasn't enough. Just as I feared, Switched had ended up to be too clichéd and uneventful for me to enjoy, with nothing to make it stand out from others from its kind. Girl goes to new school, has a hard time making friends, falls in love with mysterious guy, gets stalked by mysterious guy, and discovers that he is more than meets the eye. Even discovers that she is different too. Together, they must fight against lame, non-threatening villains and their love being torn apart by a triangle. Lather, rinse, repeat. Yawn.

Hunting Monsters

Author: S.L. Huang
Series: None
Publisher: Book Smugglers Publishing
Release Date: October 7, 2014

"Happy birthday, child. Careful not to shoot any grundwirgen."

Ever since she was a small girl, she has learned to be careful on the hunt, to recognize the signs that separate regular animals from human-cursed grundwirgen. To harm a grundwirgen is a crime punishable by death by the King’s decree—a fatal mistake that her Auntie Rosa and mother have carefully prepared her to avoid.

On her fifteenth birthday, when her mother is arrested and made to stand trial for grundwirgen murder, everything she thought she knew about her family and her past comes crashing down.

Auntie Rosa has always warned her about monsters. Now, she must find and confront them to save her mother, no matter the cost.

Friggin' gorgeous. Just friggin' gorgeous. How dare you do this to me, S.L. Huang? How dare you?

In this retelling of Beauty and the Beast and Little Red Riding Hood. Xiao Hong is a young girl that comes from a family of hunters. She's raised by her mother Mei and her partner Rosa, who have given her everything she needs and everything she needs to know. Although her mother is distant and Xiao Hong spends more time with Auntie Rosa, she loves them both more than anything in the world. So when the King's Men break down the door and take her mother to court, tearing her family apart and accusing her of a terrible crime, Xia Hong does everything to prove them wrong. But the people seemed to have made up their mind, and there's little she could do without a hint of proof leading to her mother's innocence.

We all knew trials in this kingdom were swift and executions swifter.

How perfect can this be? People of Color represented in a medieval setting! A protagonist living in an unconventional household and raised by a same sex couple, one of whom is bisexual! Non-negative reinforcement of these elements! Calling out of abusive relationships! Likeable, human characters! Confrontations with moral questions! Beautiful, evenly-paced writing that hooks you in! People of Color! If I should have any complaints, it's that there should be a follow-up, spin-off novel after. I'd like to write a longer, coherent review, but I can't stop raving about how good it is, and anything I'll say will have me spoiling too much. You'll simply have to trust me when I say that Hunting Monsters is one of the most perfect, awesomesauce short stories I and almost every other reader have and will ever come across.

Crushed

Author: Eliza Crewe
Series: Soul Eaters, #2
Publisher: Self-Published
Release Date: September 22, 2014

Meda Melange has officially hung up her monstrous mantle and planted her feet firmly on the holy and righteous path of a Crusader-in-training. Or, at least, she’s willing to give it a shot. It helps that the Crusaders are the only thing standing between her and the demon hordes who want her dead.

The problem is, the only people less convinced than Meda of her new-found role as Good Girl are the very Crusaders she's trying to join. So when a devilishly handsome half-demon boy offers escape, how’s a girl supposed to say "no?"

After all, everyone knows a good girl's greatest weakness is a bad boy.

Way to pull on my heartstrings, Ms. Crewe. I hope you're happy, perhaps smirking behind a computer screen out there, while somewhere, one of your readers is—er, was doing everything from shouting profanities to making soundless expressions at an open book in the middle of a lecture hall.

Which is a good thing, I guess.

If the message wasn't clear when I wrote my review of Cracked, you, dear reader, need to pick up the Soul Eater series right now. Almost everything I loved about the first book carried on to Crushed—engaging writing, complex relationships, exceptional character development, characters diverse in race and disability, and fast-paced, action-packed plot. And it's just so nice to indulge in narrative that isn't so serious all the time. How do authors manage to do this so effortlessly?

No, Meda, you can't eat that guy.

Meda is back, bitches. She may have saddled herself with the Crusaders—with good intentions and as a true Beacon, this time—but she's not about to let herself be held on a tight leash. And she'll be damned before she becomes a pet for these goody-two shoes humans, ready to bark and roll over at their beck and call.

I am what I am and I am not ashamed.

But if the Crusaders are going to trust her, she'll have to keep her head bowed or lose the only protection she has against the army of pissed-off hell spawns who want her and their revenge. Or she could run away with a hot demon halfling for a weekend of superhero antics. Which sounds pretty good too. If a war's coming, might as well cherish these moments while it lasts, eh?

Meda's been through her share of growth, but that journey of hers is far from over. The demon and human halves of her personality still struggle to fit together. She feels guilty for causing her friends trouble, but she can't quite resist the temptation of being bad, which she doesn't feel sorry for and doesn't need to. If her friends are in a pinch, she'll stay good and true, being loyal to a fault.

No one else will know I snuck out, but [Jo's] stellar bullshit-o-meter always knows when I'm up to no good.

I can't ever get enough of Meda and Jo, one of the best friendships I've ever read about in literature. Their friendship, thankfully, wasn't torn apart over trivial matters. Jo still calls her out for her bullshit and Meda for hers. Honestly, I liked that these characters were so multi-layered. You can't really hate anyone for anything, even the villains.

"Well, if it isn't the delectable Meda Melange." [...] His name isn't nearly as memorable as his face, so I just gasp "You!" Rude, maybe, but I figure "half-demon-boy-from-the-demon-dungeon" would really give my ignorance away.

Smooth-talking Armand makes a comeback! Totally called it. But whenever he came into the picture, though no fault of the author's, I kept on thinking about this motherfucker. Not the same name, but similar enough. It was hard to imagine Armand being seductive and charming when I keep hearing Takahata101's voice from TeamFourStar's Attack on Titan Abridged. Still, the flirtation between Meda and Armand had me struggling to hold back a smile.

He grins at me and I grin at him, two Cheshire smiles brilliant in the dim and dingy living room...

I wish Armand and Meda had been given more scenes together to drive home their feelings for each other. I believed in it, but I felt like something was lacking.

Can we talk about that ending? Armand's betrayal and Meda's resolve hurt so much, but I'm a true masochist that eats these kinds of things up and I wouldn't have liked it more any other way. But I would totally take Armand back as a love interest. In the realm of fiction, of course. Anyone who does what he did in real life should be punished, no question. I may be sick, but I do have standards. Somewhere.

"How exactly do you see this..." I wave between the two of us, unable to come up with a descriptor.

"Beautiful friendship?" he supplies with a devilish grin.

"...going?" I finish, ignoring him. "Us being mortal enemies and all."

"I prefer the term 'star-crossed lovers'."

I snort. "Regardless, it can't end well."

"The best romances don't."

Unspoken

Author: Sarah Rees Brennan
Series: The Lynburn Legacy, #1
Publisher: Random House
Release Date: September 11, 2012

Kami Glass loves someone she's never met... a boy she's talked to in her head ever since she was born. She wasn't silent about her imaginary friend during her childhood, and is thus a bit of an outsider in her sleepy English town of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Still, Kami hasn't suffered too much from not fitting in. She has a best friend, runs the school newspaper, and is only occasionally caught talking to herself. Her life is in order, just the way she likes it, despite the voice in her head.

But all that changes when the Lynburns return.

The Lynburn family has owned the spectacular and sinister manor that overlooks Sorry-in-the-Vale for centuries. The mysterious twin sisters who abandoned their ancestral home a generation ago are back, along with their teenage sons, Jared and Ash, one of whom is eerily familiar to Kami. Kami is not one to shy away from the unknown—in fact, she's determined to find answers for all the questions Sorry-in-the-Vale is suddenly posing. Who is responsible for the bloody deeds in the depths of the woods? What is her own mother hiding? And now that her imaginary friend has become a real boy, does she still love him? Does she hate him? Can she trust him?

Sarah Rees Brennan brings Gothic romance kicking and screaming into the twenty-first century with a heroine who can take care of herself, a boy who needs to be saved, and the magical forces that bring them together and tear them apart.

Witty, insightful, and definitely not one to mess with—these words can describe our main characters here perfectly. From Angela, Kami's best friend who hates everyone, to Jared's aunt Lillian, who thinks she's the queen of every blade of grass in Sorry-in-the-Vale, each are entirely likeable characters with kickass attitudes. I just want to applaud Unspoken for its excellent cast, complete with caring, non-absentee family and friends. Bonus points given for having a non-offensive portrayal of Asians and LGBT characters, with main roles to top it off!

"In love. That's how it sounds, doesn't it? His heart is my heart, nobody can ever take him away from me, I keep him in here!" [Kami] thumped her breastbone, so hard it hurt. "People say stuff like that but they don't mean it: they mean they're in love. All except me. I mean it." 

Kami and Jared have no secrets. Their minds have been latched together since the day they were born. For Kami, Jared was her imaginary friend, one she cherished and refused to let go. For Jared, in a household where he was hated and abused, Kami was something more. When he would get sick every fall and be confined to the space of his bed, she was there. When his father would beat him and his mother after drowning himself in bottles of alcohol, she was there. When he ran away from home and was forced to live on the streets because he had nowhere else to go, she was there. When his mother wrongly sent him to jail for killing his father after he decided to come back, she was there. Kami was his steady beacon of light that kept him sane in the darkest of times.

But given their unique and impossible circumstances beyond their control, how can you tell if they are more than friends and actually in love? Despite having learned to "build walls" between each other, it's a constant struggle to keep all their thoughts and emotions from slipping past it. Which ones are hers and which ones are his? What if it's none of theirs at all and just an unfortunate downside to their connection? Without their mental link, would they have been something special? Only time apart can tell.

If they could only bring themselves to sever the connection.

Or more importantly, survive long enough to stop a certain murderous sorcerer in town.

Ms. Brennan deliberately uses almost every trope expected of the young adult genre, and turns each and every one of them on its head. The characters may be shaped from cookie-cutters, but I love it when an author is able to make them grow beyond theirs. Unspoken isn't afraid to show the dark side of Sorry-in-the-Vale, its residents, and the secrets they keep. It isn't afraid to poke fun at the absurdness of some personas and situations as well.

"A leather jacket," Kami said as he shrugged into it. "Aren't you trying a little too hard to play into certain bad boy cliches?"

"Nah," said Jared. "You're thinking about black leather. Black leather's for bad boys. It's all in the color. You wouldn't think I was a bad boy if I was wearing a pink leather jacket."

"That's true," Kami said. "What I would think of you, I do not know. So what does brown leather mean, then?"

"I'm going for manly," Jared said. "Maybe a little rugged."

"It's bits of dead cow; don't ask it to perform miracles."

However, its brand of humor was sometimes a problem for me. My biggest complaint is that I wished the characters were more serious in situations that, well, demanded it. The first part of the novel is filled with many silly, one-liner jokes that are more often out-of-place than humorous. I can't help but feel they even go too well. Take a look at this particular quip from Kami's father. Note that this is the first thing he says while visiting Kami in the hospital after she was attacked and nearly killed by an unknown assailant.

"Kami, I know all the other kids are throwing themselves down wells now, but your mother and I have a firm policy of no danger sports until you're eighteen."

Although I haven't liked Unspoken as much as I'd wanted, being just before the line of love, I've gotta admit Ms. Brennan has a talent for weaving together her mysterious, hilarious, frightening, adorable, and heart-breaking scenes. She also has a talent to keep me not guessing at all. I had absolutely no idea who was causing the murders of Sorry-in-the-Vale. Rare, since I'd like to think I'm an excellent arm-chair detective since I have at least one suspect in mind, which is almost always the culprit. The romance takes a backseat in this murder mystery. All-in-all, I would definitely Unspoken for anyone's shelves.

Bloodlines

Author: Richelle Mead
Series: Bloodlines, #1
Publisher: Razorbill
Release Date: August 23, 2011

I wasn't free of my past, not yet.

Sydney's blood is special. That's because she's an alchemist—one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets—and human lives. But the last encounter Sydney had with vampires got her in deep trouble with the other alchemists. And now wither her allegiances in question, her future is on the line.

When Sydney is torn from her bed in the middle of the night, at first she still thinks she's being punished by her complicated alliance with dhampir Rose Hathaway. But what unfolds is far worse. Jill Dragomir—the sister of Moroi Queen Lissa Dragomir—is in mortal danger, and the Moroi must send her into hiding. To avoid a civil war, Sydney is called upon to act as Jill's guardian and protector, posing as her roommate in the unlikeliest places: a human boarding school in Palm Springs, California. The last thing Sydney wants is to be accused of sympathizing with vampires. And now she has to live with one.

The Moroi court believe Jill and Sydney will be safe at Amberwood Prep, but threats, distraction, and forbidden romance lurk both outside—and within—the school grounds. Now that they're in hiding, the drama is only the beginning.

There's nothing like reading a good book to wash the horrid taste of the last.

First, I must say that the series that preceded this, Vampire Academy, was nothing special for me. Every time I finished one book, I always would feel unsatisfied or annoyed by something Rose and the rest of the cast had done. I would skim through pages just to get it over with, stopping only when I spotted the odd interesting scene. When the final book Last Sacrifice was over and done with, the conclusion left a bad taste in my mouth, and I gave away the books, never wanting to see them again. I wouldn't have went on to read the spin-off at all if someone hadn't gifted it to me, and I thought it would have been a waste if I didn't give it a shot. So you can see how surprised I was to find myself loving Bloodlines all the way.

The author offers great, short recaps every so often in Sydney's narrative, but I think for new readers to fully appreciate the baggage these characters' carry and not be spoiled on the previous series's events, I suggest you read through Vampire Academy first.

Sydney has been raised to fear vampires and their half-breeds her entire life. Moroi, Strigori, Dhampirs—it didn't matter whether they were good or evil. They were all unnatural, bloodsucking creatures to be abhorred and hidden away from mankind. Any alchemist that was known to even think of them kindly would be sent to the Re-education Center to be tortured until their lesson was learned. For a while, Sydney was the same in alchemist thinking and had even been the perfect role-model for the profession with her cold, controlled, and responsible personality. Until Rose Hathaway entered the picture.

Little by little, the dhampir earned her trust and later embroiled her in a search to clear her name of murder, which marked Sydney as a traitor when she was caught. Rose had eventually found her evidence, but Sydney would now be looked upon with eyes of suspicion. Bloodlines deals with the aftermath of Last Sacrifice, of all the people Rose in some way hurt.

What makes Sydney different from Team Human's Mel is that Sydney was raised with her prejudice. She was brainwashed, never given time to think for herself or formulate her own opinions about these other species. I know firsthand how it feels to be raised to be intolerant, and it took me a while to realize how wrong I was and that the people I thought I hated for being different didn't deserve to be judged or mocked. And while Sydney has her reservations against vampires, at least she treats them almost as if they were the same and slowly but surely starts to grow to realize that Moroi and Dhampirs aren't the monsters the alchemists claim.

Laurel's words suddenly rang back to me. You know, you can be as scary as hell sometimes. 

I loved that where Rose is brash, impulsive, and insensitive, Sydney actually thinks about the situation and its consequences. She may have an aversion to violence, but this in no way makes her weak. In her own quiet, clever way, she fights back. She cannot verbally or physically rebel against her fellow alchemists without being severely punished or having her sister become a slave to them. Her supervisor, whom she holds a mutual distaste, is a golden boy who could have the higher-ups believe in any twisted version of the truth he says. She already is on thin ice due to the incident with Rose, and one misstep could have her sent to the Re-education Center. I wanted to console her whenever she was feeling frustrated, which was often when having to babysit a teenage princess and her overprotective and sometimes unreasonable entourage.

"Takes a lot of tries before you hit perfection." [Adrian] paused to reconsider that. "Well, except for my parents. They got it on the first try."

Her future love interest, Adrian, is still hung-up over Rose after a month of having broken up with her. There is no Sydrian yet, (which is terrific since that would be highly unrealistic) but the chemistry between them so far is great. I loved that they're just building up trust between each other and in turn, a friendship, which we so rarely see. I loved that they generally bring out the best in each other and help each other grow as a person. I loved knowing that in the next book there will most likely be them battling out forbidden feelings, because I love the desperation of wanting characters to be together than the satisfaction of them actually getting together. While reading Vampire Academy, I did not give a flying fudge bar on whether or not Rose and Dimitri would ever be together. Here, my inner shipper came to fore.

I had no problem with the rest of the characters. I even liked the recurring ones much better here than in the previous books, including Rose. I was immensely satisfied with how the secrets were strung together—I never would have guessed the answer to each one—and how the book was wrapped up. I have to say that Richelle Mead really stepped it up in Bloodlines, and I hope she keeps it up for the rest of the series.

Team Human

Authors: Justine Larbalestier, Sarah Rees Brennan
Series: None
Publisher: HarperTeen
Release Date: July 3, 2012

Just because Mel lives in New Whitby, a city founded by vampires, doesn't mean she knows any of the blood-drinking undead personally. They stay in their part of town; she says in hers. Until the day a vampire shows up at her high school. Worse yet, her best friend, Cathy, seems to be falling in love with him. It's up to Mel to save Cathy from a mistake she might regret for all eternity!

On top of trying to help Cathy (whether she wants it or not), Mel is investigating a mysterious disappearance for another friend and discovering the attractions of a certain vampire wannabe. Combine all this with a cranky vampire cop, a number of unlikely romantic entanglements, and the occasional zombie, and soon Mel is hip-deep in an adventure that is equal parts hilarious and touching.

Acclaimed authors Justine Larbalestier and Sarah Rees Brennan team up to create a witty and poignant story of cool vampires, warm friendships, and the changes that test the bonds of love.

I never knew I could feel physical pain from giving a low rating to a book, if only a little. Team Human was sold to me as a detective, vampire parody lead by a headstrong, street-smart Chinese teen girl. It isn't often we get Asian protagonists in any novel and being Asian myself, I was more than ready to love this book. What can I say? I'm biased that way. Couple that with Sarah Rees Brennan's dry but witty writing style, I expected a fun, light read that would have me laughing out loud.

I have never been so wrong.

He was also cold. Not ice cold, but cool like water is at room temperature. It was wrong. People should be 98.6 degrees, not 72.

I gave creepy, cold Francis a bright smile, clapped my hands together, and said: "Can you believe summer is over? Hands up, who's going to miss the sunshine?

Mel is the equivalent of a racist. There is no denying that, and no one can convince me otherwise. Whenever she belittled or openly mocked Francis or vampires in general, for that matter, I saw red. Although I enjoy sneering at perfect, romanticized vampires as much as the next girl, it's one thing to make fun of them in fiction; it's entirely different to make fun of one that lives alongside you. If vampires were living, (non-)breathing creatures of our world, I sure as hell wouldn't start cracking jokes at their expense. I don't care if they have ridiculously archaic names. I don't care if they act like they live in the past. I don't care if they become the most disgustingly perfect beings that ever existed. If they led civil lifestyles and didn't hunt humans for food, there is no excuse to be treating them like dirt. Though not exactly people, they are pretty damn close to it and are certainly not animals.

"A true lady would never dream of discussing her health in mixed company," I told him.

"Is everything humorous to you?" Francis inquired with some asperity.
The would be Francis-speak for "snippy."

"Not everything," I said. "But it's really the only way to deal with you."

Francis's lip curled. "I deal with you, as you put it, but remaining courteous despite your ill-judged attempts at humor."

"Everyone else laughs at my jokes," I said. "Oh sorry, I forgot. You can't do that, can you?"

Because of Mel's cruel attitude against vampires, she was extremely hard to sympathise with, and I had to constantly fight the urge to throw the book against the wall for her prejudice. By the end, she does seem to have a change of heart to some extent but as they say, too little, too late.

Aside from the species-ism, I was appalled by a certain snide comment about the stereotypical mean girl, anorexic cheerleaders who threw themselves at Francis, and Mel's harsh judgments about dying patients that would rather live longer as a vampire than accept the embrace of death as a human. At this point, the only thing that potentially made Mel redeemable was her friendship with Cathy.

"Come on, Frankie, she's like a million years younger than you. Where's this going to lead except to breaking her heart?"

After a few days of embarking on her relationship with Francis, Cathy decides to become a vampire as soon as possible. Her friends and even Francis himself are astonished, and each make various attempts to dissuade her from making an incredible life-changing decision so soon. I understand that Cathy is beyond her years and she's given a considerable amount of thought of whether it's worth the risk but like everyone else, I wish she had waited longer. Not just for herself, but for her friends and her family to adjust to the idea. It is her choice, but her choice affects everyone around her.

Another human who looks forward to becoming a vampire is Kit, the boy who was raised by one. He and Mel hold strong attraction towards each other, but she turns him away because of his unwillingness to remain as he is. Their romance, although interesting, invoked little more than a shrug and a "meh" from me, with the exception of the cellphone scene, which I found adorable.

The authors managed to explain their alternate world very well, the humor present in the book was reminiscent of Cassandra Clare, and the detective-sleuthing was pulled off nicely. If not for Mel, Team Human might have been given a solid three.

Cracked

Author: Eliza Crewe
Series: Soul Eaters, #1
Publisher: Strange Chemistry
Release Date: November 5, 2013

Meet Meda. She eats people.

Well, technically, she eats their soul. But she totally promises to only go for people who deserve it. She's special. It’s not her fault she enjoys it. She can't help being a bad guy. Besides, what else can she do? Her mother was killed and it’s not like there are any other "soul-eaters" around to show her how to be different. That is, until the three men in suits show up.

They can do what she can do. They're like her. Meda might finally have a chance to figure out what she is. The problem? They kind of want to kill her. Before they get the chance Meda is rescued by crusaders, members of an elite group dedicated to wiping out Meda’s kind. This is her chance! Play along with the "good guys" and she'll finally figure out what, exactly, her 'kind' is.

Be careful what you wish for. Playing capture the flag with her mortal enemies, babysitting a teenage boy with a hero complex, and trying to keep one step ahead of a too-clever girl are bad enough. But the Hunger is gaining on her.

The more she learns, the worse it gets. And when Meda uncovers a shocking secret about her mother, her past, and her destiny... she may finally give into it...

What kind of crap have I been reading?

Never had I been blown away by book as much as Cracked. That was in first person, present tense, no less. If I had, it must have been centuries ago, because I honestly can't remember. Mida's voice was so believable, so wonderfully refreshing, that I questioned if any of the young adult novels I've read and loved in the past actually deserved their place on my favorites shelf. Have I read so many generic books with bland point-of-views that I actually—gasp!—had set myself to low standards all this time and liked whatever managed to get a hint of emotion out of me? Because that is how I felt after setting down this novel. Thank you, Ms. Crewe, for saving me, then.

Mida, as the summary so aptly explains, eats souls. Of course, to get them, she has to kill people. Bad people but people nonetheless. She is not a good person. She doesn't delude herself into thinking she is. The only thing that stops her from not slaughtering every unfortunate human that comes her way is the memory of her dead mother, who tried to raise her to walk the high road, as they say.

When Mida accidentally finds herself swept up in a possibly literal battle between good and evil, she rides along in hopes to find more about her past and ends up having to masquerade as one of the good guys. Being the devil that she is, she has no qualms about manipulating her knights-in-shining-armor or throwing them to the wolves when the need arises.

I consider the many tools at my disposal, eyeing his large blood-splattered frame, and settle on my weapon of choice—one so infrequently used I need to dust it off first.

My eyes fill with tears. "Wha—" I swallow hard "—what were those things?"

"Demons." Thanks, Einstein. I got that part. I let a tear trickle over.

He hurries to reassure me. "Don't cry—I'll protect you."

Humiliating. Absolutely humiliating.

Mida is not my usual brand of heroine, but I found her to be hilarious, smart, and rather sympathetic, despite her selfishness. I giggled (giggled!), cried, and cheered throughout her journey and growth as a person. Sure, there was some cliched self-loathing at what she is, but I didn't mind much and when bigger reasons behind it were revealed, it wiped any eye-roll inducing feeling I had away.

Her friends were absolutely wonderful, as well as the other characters not fortunate enough to make it past the background, and she maintains a great connection with them built on respect, especially concerning her mom and her best friend Jo. Hooray for strong female relationships! The villains, oh, the villains, were excellently depicted and were possibly one of the first to send shivers down my spine. I loved the interactions between each and every character. They didn't feel like props the author put in for this reason or that. They felt real.

"I just get so mad sometimes. I'm never going to be a Crusader, never get married, never do anything. But who do I get to be angry at? The demons? They're constantly trying to destroy mankind and, if at all possible, Heaven too. There's enough reasons to be angry at them–my leg's superfluous. The other students, the Crusaders for how they treat me? They're not trying to be cruel, I am damaged. They're so very kind, so full of pity. I'd rather they hate me than feel sorry for me."

Speaking of relationships, perhaps it is time for me to move on to the romance. Although there is an attempt at seduction on Mida's part at a certain, unavailable "hero", a legitimate love interest for her has yet to be introduced or if my suspicions are correct, yet to be given a bigger role. Even though I am a huge lover of romance and an unreasonable romantic myself, I'm okay with that. I'm actually glad that she wasn't given a relationship yet. Constant kissing and I-love-yous can get very annoying when I have to sift through pages and pages of it, especially if it happens to be in a trilogy and the main character's single status is gone by the first book.

For die-hard fans of amour who disagree, I'm happy to report there is a side romance between Mida's companions Jo and Chi, who were best friends since childhood. That is, until Jo lost her leg. Since then, their relationship has been distant, although they still bicker like an old couple whenever they're together. Jo constantly strives to prove herself of being worthy to fight in a society of do-good warriors but for Chi, she already had a long time ago, handicap or no. For those who don't know me, I'm a sucker for these types of things. Best friends, childhood friends, and a tragic event that put some space and inner angst between the two? I never knew such an amazing package could exist. Best of all, it has none of the insta-love or love triangles that run rampant in young adult literature.

However, Cracked isn't as spotless as I'd like it to be. The usual tropes of paranormal fiction are there, such as the main character being a certain kind of special and having to integrate herself into high school for the first time. But much like Mida's inherently "evil" aspects of her personality, I had little to none complaints. The devices may be recycled, but I commend the author for her exceptional character development, engaging writing, and fast-paced, action-packed plot that made it worth it. I only wish that I had read it sooner.