Title: Betrayed (The Guardian Legacy, #2)
Author: Ednah Walters
Publisher: Self-Published, (August 1st 2011)
From: the Author, Thank You!
Check out my Review: Awakened (The Guardian Legacy, #1)

Synopsis: Lil has come to terms with her life as a Guardian/demon hunter and the wielder of the Nephilim most powerful weapon. She trains everyday to master her growing powers, gets along with her Guardian trainee friends (most of the time) and cherishes her moments with her human friends.

Just when she feels she belongs, her nature-bender father contacts her and warns her about a betrayal by someone close to her. Then Bran, the guy she loves, starts to act strange and one of her human friends acquires a supernatural ability. While Lil struggles find a connection between these three things, she begins to realize that someone is manipulating her and Bran, and will stop at nothing (including hurting those she loves) to lure them to the dark side.

Review: 4 Stars - Betrayed is the exciting second book in the Guardian Legacy series by Ednah Walters. Filled with twists and turns, this thrilling continuation reminded me just why I thoroughly enjoyed the first book and this second only further solidified being a HUGE fan of these characters, this series and the author.

Lil has finally started to get used to things as a Guardian, yet she is still trying to achieve better control over all her powers. She has a loving relationship with Bran, great friends and feels like she’s finally found a place to belong. She’s a pretty amazing female lead who continues to fight for her family and friends and what she feels is right. She has a lot on her plate in this book, dealing with a number of things while trying to master her powers. Throughout it all she’s attending High School and being sent out on missions with her Guardian friends, and she seems to do it all pretty well. That is until things go a little wrong.

Their relationship – Lil and Bran’s – is great; he’s still one of those male characters that I thoroughly love. Their relationship has always had its up’s and down’s and this time they are going to be faced with a HUGE roadblock. Bran’s dealing with his own set of huge messy issues surrounding not only himself, but also with his siblings - I didn’t know what was happening, what was going on or what might be right around the corner for Walters and her characters. I felt for both Lil and Bran, with all they were facing and when everything came to light on what was really going on, I think my heart broke a tiny bit.

Walters has taken this second book and kicked it up a notch. Sometimes when it comes to a second book in a series there’s a lull or it can be a bit on the slow side, setting up for the next book(s) to come and I was extremely elated and can say that this isn’t the case with this one. Its action packed, has many twists and more of these amazing great characters that we were introduced to in the first book – Awakened.

All in all, I’m a huge fan of Walters and her thrilling self published YA series. With characters I love and a thrilling story, I’m eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. I highly recommend this series to all, especially fans of supernatural tales within the YA genre. So, what are you waiting for?

FTC Disclaimer: I did NOT pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this HONEST review.

"Waiting On" Wednesday is an event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine. The purpose of this weekly event is to spotlight a soon-to-be-released book that you are very much anticipating. "Waiting On" Wednesday will also give bloggers an opportunity to share ideas for our TBR lists.

Title: Deadly Cool
Author: Gemma Halliday
Publisher: HarperTeen, 272 Pages (October 11th 2011)
Preorder here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis: Hartley Grace Featherstone is having a very bad day. First she finds out that her boyfriend is cheating on her with the president of the Herbert Hoover High School Chastity Club. Then he's pegged as the #1 suspect in a murder. And if that weren't enough, now he's depending on Hartley to clear his name. Seriously? Not cool. But as much as Hartley wouldn't mind seeing him squirm, she knows he's innocent, and she's the only one who can help him. Along with her best friend, Sam, and the school's resident Bad Boy, Chase, Hartley starts investigating on her own. But as the dead bodies begin to pile up, the mystery deepens, the suspects multiply, and Hartley begins to fear that she may be the killer's next victim.

Title: Hades (Halo, #2)
Author: Alexandra Adornetto
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends, 422 Pages (August 30th 2011)
Preorder here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis: Even the love of her boyfriend, Xavier Woods, and her archangel siblings, Gabriel and Ivy, can’t keep the angel Bethany Church from being tricked into a motorcycle ride that ends up in Hell. There, Jake Thorn bargains for Beth’s release back to Earth. But what he asks of her will destroy her, and quite possibly her loved ones as well. Can he be trusted in this wager? And what does Jake have Xavier believing about Beth’s fate that may result in an act of betrayal that will leave Bethany – and readers – wondering if Xavier is so good after all?

Title: A Beautiful Dark
Author: Jocelyn Davies
Publisher: HarperTeen, 320 Pages (September 27th 2011)
Preorder here: Amazon, Barnes and Noble, The Book Depository

Synopsis: On the night of Skye's seventeenth birthday, she meets two enigmatic strangers. Complete opposites--like fire and ice--Asher is dark and wild, while Devin is fair and aloof. Their sudden appearance sends Skye's life into a tailspin. She has no idea what they want, or why they seem to follow her every move--only that their presence coincides with a flurry of strange events. Soon she begins to doubt not just the identity of the two boys, but also the truth about her own past.

In the dead of a bitingly cold Colorado winter, Skye finds herself coming to terms with the impossible secret that threatens to shatter her world. Torn between Asher, who she can't help falling for, and Devin, who she can't stay away from, the consequences of Skye's choice will reach further than the three of them could ever imagine.

First off, I love the covers for all three. As for Deadly Cool, I've read it's a bit on the Veronica Mars side of things and since that's one of my all time favorite shows, yeah, it's a MUST READ! As for Hades and A Beautiful Dark, I've read both recently, so keep an eye out for those reviews in the near future. So, what are your thoughts on these titles?

*covers are always subject to change.
*I am not compensated at all for any of the links within this post.

Title: Starcrossed (Starcrossed, #1)
Author: Josephine Angelini
Publisher: HarperTeen, 496 Pages (May 31st 2011)
From: the Publisher/Net Galley - Thank You! (eBook)

Synopsis: How do you defy destiny?

Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.

As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart.

Review: 5 Stars - Josephine Angelini, author of Starcrossed has written a thrilling story filled with mythology, romance and characters I loved; with twists that’ll leave you shocked. The absorbing first book in the series was action packed to say the very least and will leave you thinking about more than just the ending and what will happen next.

Helen might feel she’s a bit different then everyone else, going out of her way to lay low, which can be hard to do when living on a small island. She does a good job of it… most of the time that is until Lucas and his family move to the island and then all that trying to lay low goes right out the window! Without understand what’s going on or why she has some seriously strong and very ugly feelings to this new guy and his family, Helen has some very troubling outbursts. And boy, her reaction was huge, shocking to say the least.

The two, at first are like magnets, when fighting against each other. Helen doesn’t understand her pure hatred to the Delos family, nor does she understand the startling dreams she’s having or the scary women who seem to be following her around. It’s up to the Delos family to step in, when things start to get out of hand to help Helen understand exactly what’s going on.

I have to say that Helen and Lucas are two great characters. I loved Starcrossed from beginning to end and it’s these two characters, the Delos family as a whole and the mythology that made this book everything. With Helen’s struggles to come to terms with why she’s different and who she really is, she’s still that insecure teenage girl through and through. It’s personalities like this when you’re dealing with a character with budding supernatural powers that makes them true and real. The introduction to Lucas and his family to Helen’s life was bound to give her many of the answers she was seeking, yet leave many questions still to be answered. And this is where book one ends, setting us up for book two and then future books to follow.

As for Lucas, talk about swoon! He might have been strength for Helen and such an amazing guy, but his family as a whole were a huge highlight for me as well. Lucas has such strength; I don’t know how he manages to survive those first few encounters with Helen. I found myself thinking what he might have been fighting too once we found out the root of what was really going on during that time early on in the book. And while he’s there to teach Helen things, to answer many of her questions he’s the lucky one to have such an amazing family to back him up. It’s not to say that Helen’s dad is a bad guy or parent, he’s not. It’s just that with Lucas, he’s was born into this, always knowing who he is that gives him that strength to help Helen with her new reality.

I did have to say that I gasped and cringed a bit at the end of the book. I was shocked at what some people will do to hurt others when trying to gain something for themselves. However, I have faith that Angelini will address things in the next book and I can’t wait to see what happens next within the whole series.

All in all, this is a new favorite of mine; it’s one of the best books I’ve read in 2011. I highly recommend this to anyone who loves a story with character you will root for and love, filled with mythology and a destiny that only fate knows the outcome. Angelini has me hooked, so common and let’s get you hooked too. Enjoy!

FTC Disclaimer: I did NOT pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this HONEST review.

"Just Picked" is a feature here at A Life Bound By Books. This is a place where I'll be spotlighting new (and old) childrens book or picture books for parents and new readers. It's a place to talk about books for a younger group and to try to help create a new generation of readers.

Title: Monsters Eat Whiny Children
Author: Bruce Eric Kaplan
Illustrator: Bruce Eric Kaplan
Publisher: Simon & Schuster Children's, 40 Pages (August 31st 2010)
Age Range: 4 & Up
From: the Publisher, Thank You!

Synopsis: When Henry and Eve whine too much it only means one thing - the monsters will come to eat them.

Review: 4 Stars - Monster Eat Whiny Children by Bruce Eric Kaplan is a great book that I’d love to share with my nieces and nephews. I mean who wouldn’t want a way to get kids to stop whining. BUT maybe this is one for when they are a bit older and can laugh along with me while reading.

When Henry and Eve give their father a hard time and whine about everything, he gives them fair warning that if they keep it up the monsters will come and take them away and yep, that’s just what happened to these two kids.

While the monsters come together to try to figure out how to eat the kids, the kids have to come together and figure out a way to escape back home again.

I think that this is one of those books that adults will get more out of than kids, well unless you want to chance scaring the you know what out of them. I can totally see parents using this book as a way to get their kids to stop the whining as well.

As for the illustrations, I do love the simplicity of them. I think that anything more detailed would have made this story even scarier. I think that the point of it all is the story itself, so the art fit along great.

In the end, Monster Eat Whiny Children was a book I loved that’s always lingering in the back of my mind when I hear a kid whining. I look forward to sharing it with my nieces and nephews when they are a little bit older, when I know it won’t scare them. I do recommend this book to parents and older kids.

FTC Disclaimer: I did NOT pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this HONEST review.

Title: Enclave (Razorland, #1)
Author: Ann Aguirre
Publisher: Feiwel & Friends, 259 Pages (April 12th 2011)
From: the Publisher, Thank You!

Synopsis: WELCOME TO THE APOCALYPSE

In Deuce’s world, people earn the right to a name only if they survive their first fifteen years. By that point, each unnamed ‘brat’ has trained into one of three groups–Breeders, Builders, or Hunters, identifiable by the number of scars they bear on their arms. Deuce has wanted to be a Huntress for as long as she can remember.

As a Huntress, her purpose is clear—to brave the dangerous tunnels outside the enclave and bring back meat to feed the group while evading ferocious monsters known as Freaks. She’s worked toward this goal her whole life, and nothing’s going to stop her, not even a beautiful, brooding Hunter named Fade. When the mysterious boy becomes her partner, Deuce’s troubles are just beginning.

Down below, deviation from the rules is punished swiftly and harshly, and Fade doesn’t like following orders. At first she thinks he’s crazy, but as death stalks their sanctuary, and it becomes clear the elders don’t always know best, Deuce wonders if Fade might be telling the truth. Her partner confuses her; she’s never known a boy like him before, as prone to touching her gently as using his knives with feral grace.

As Deuce’s perception shifts, so does the balance in the constant battle for survival. The mindless Freaks, once considered a threat only due to their sheer numbers, show signs of cunning and strategy… but the elders refuse to heed any warnings. Despite imminent disaster, the enclave puts their faith in strictures and sacrifice instead. No matter how she tries, Deuce cannot stem the dark tide that carries her far from the only world she’s ever known.

Review: 3 Stars - Dystopian title Enclave by Ann Aguirre was interesting on many levels, from the characters to the world underground to the scary truth of topside. It’s was a compelling start to a trilogy giving readers a different take on a popular and ever growing genre.

Living underground is the only option for main character Deuce and the various enclaves trying to make a life, to survive within the tunnels that run under what used to be a bussling city. Sadly, most who live underground don’t know of life above ground, or what life used to be like before they were forced down, deep into the earth. The elders tell the histories and the people live by them and never question anything. Deuce has survived 15 years of being a “brat” without a name and a true purpose. When she finally gets a name, she’s able to put her training to use as Hunter for her people. With scars that tell all what she is, she’s paired up with a partner and sent out into the tunnels for food for the people and protection against the monsters that roam the tunnels – “freaks”.

When Deuce finds herself partnered with Fade, she questions if this pairing is a good thing of a bad thing and why of all people it had to be her. Fade is different from others, he was born away from the enclave and has more knowledge of the tunnels and the world above than anyone knows. He tends to keep to himself and really no one wants to end up working with the strange loner. Deuce is a strong character that has questions she wants and needs answers to but is scared to ask for fear of the ultimate punishment – banishment from her home, but Fade is able to help Deuce more than she would ever know.

Fade made the story for me, which tends to happen somewhat often when a good male character enters into the mix of any good story. He really helped to shed not only light too many of Deuce’s questions, but also continued to further strengthen her as a character, helping her to grow as a person. From their first encounter in the book you could see her changing because of Fade, the questions she had and finding answers she was looking for. They each have their own set of issues that they had to deal with and work through and it’s about to get worse when things go drastically wrong for the two.

This might have been a very different type of dystopian story, but it wasn’t my favorite. I applaud Aguirre for writing something with a different take on the popular genre. It wasn’t bad; but for me it was just a tad lacking. I felt it was slightly flat and maybe that had to do with the drastic difference in the story and characters from underground to topside that kind of threw me. It almost felt like the story peaked a little too quickly however; it’s far from the point where I won’t be interested in reading the next book in the trilogy – Outpost.

All in all, while Enclave fell a little bit flat for me it was still interesting and the action held my interest. With the next book in the trilogy just around the corner, I’m eager to find out more about Deuce, Fade and the rebellion… and what Aguirre has planned for everyone, readers and characters alike next. If you are a fan of dystopian stories and are looking for something new, something far from the norm, then be sure to give this one a try soon.

FTC Disclaimer: I did NOT pay for this book, nor have I been compensated at all in any way or means for reading and writing this HONEST review.