Crushed

Crushed
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: ARC Courtesy of NetGalley
Check out my review for Cracked the first in the series!

When I saw Crushed pop up on NetGalley I was majorly excited, I'd stumbled upon Cracked and I immediately loved it, it was unique what with the whole Beacons thing among others, then there's the whole bit where you get the story from Meda's point of view, aka a demon and gleeful killer, but not unlike everyones favourite serial killer Dexter, she only goes for the baddies! When I finished Cracked I was itching for the next book, I needed more Meda in my life and her entertaining narrative, and luckily for me, NetGalley delivered....after an agonizing few months wait of course!

In round two Meda is at the new location for the Crusaders, who are currently building a new school, but until then they live in a place that could...well...let's just say it could do with a pick me up. She is a Crusader in training...or she would be if the Crusaders would actually train her properly, including in the use of magic. Meda is firmly on team "goody goody", determined to help the Crusaders and be a hero....or at least be good. Partly because she wants to, partly because she wants to do it for BFF Jo....it's nothing all to do with the fact that the Crusaders are the only thing stopping every demon in the vicinity killing her. Nothing at all. Much.

Looks like everything's going all fine and dandy for our reformed demon right? Wrong. You see the Crusaders still don't trust her, in fact they're well on their way in to making her their enemy. Forced posession...lock on her door....feeding only when they say and practically starving her, not to mention the constant bullying. Meda gives and gives, but it's never good enough for the Crusaders, and as they start to push her more...well...Meda see's no reason to remain on their side, particularly when they start trying to kill her.

Lucky for her Armand pops up. Remember him from the last book? Hot but incredibly shady? Yeah him. He decides he's bored and needs a vacay from the fiery pits of hell, and who better to hang out with than Meda? As their friendship forms, Meda can't say no when he offers her an escape from the people fast becoming her jailers and would be murderers. But can you really trust a demon? Especially when the Beacon Map and a Soul are prizes to be won....

"For a homicidal group, they're appallingly restrictive.
No, Meda, you can't leave campus.
No, Meda, you know you have a curfew.
No, Meda, you can't eat that guy."

First of all I should probably warn you all that there's scenes of intense murder and mayhem, Meda is after all a half Demon who does need to eat, and does so enjoy eating. There's some very intense Dexter Vibes with the whole "well....I'm gonna kill you because I need sustenance, but you kinda deserve it because you are a whack job serial killer soooo...."

"Karma, not unlike myself, is a bitch"

This time round I wasn't sure what the hell to expect...maybe some more friends for Meda.....or some romance or something, but I should have known I would be woefully wrong. C'mon Eliza, give the girl a break!

Crushed continues to be just as unique as Cracked, we see less of the magic and we don't get any new shreds of history regarding the Crusaders, we do get a glimpse more of the hierarchy and some of the higher ups, as it where. Crewe's take on demons and their hunters continues to be unique and a breath of fresh air, keeping your interest piqued, particularly with that little nugget at the end of the book!

"As they say, if you're gonna do the time, you might as well enjoy the crime."

That quote right there? Totally my new life motto, I mean c'mon, how could it not be?! As you can tell from the quotes I've skillfully nudged in to this review so far, Meda's snark game is still strong. In the first book I loved her wit, snark and dark humour, and I continued to love it in Crushed. Meda's narrative, while intriguing, does make you laugh a hell of a lot, whether it's appropriate or not!

Meda's narrative continued to be engaging, I still love that we get the story from the point of view of Meda, watching her struggle with what to do regarding the Crusaders and the Demons, you could really see how far her character has come since the first book, she tries so hard to be good, and to be honest seeing the killing bad guys thing from her perspective is always entertaining!

Meda is written so well, and with such depth that when you're reading, you feel whatever she feels. I mean I felt some intense outrage, frustration and irritation towards the Crusaders in this book and how they treated Meda but expected so much of her still. You are 100% on Meda's side throughout the whole book, following her thought process, rooting for her and so on.

"Like the last time I saw him, he is dressed entirely in black. As he's a half-demon and agent of evil, I can only assume it's his standard uniform."

Armand. Oh Armand. Dammit all to hell. I really liked him, I mean at first, like Meda, I was wary of him, he had shady written all over him, but I ended up really liking him. I was rooting for Meda to finally get someone who understands her 100% and who's there for her, who would stand up for her and everything, and I really thought it was gonna be him and I was rooting for Meda to get some love finally but nooooo. I think I spent the end of the book ignoring the obvious outcome because I really wanted to believe he was looking out for Meda. I mean he was.....sort of? But still. I don't think we've seen the last of him though. *Ominous music* Armand is every bit as complex a character as Meda is, he's not as human as her, but he has his reasons for his actions that are intriguing.

Jo and Chi continue to be fantastically written and I love Jo and how she's Meda's personal cheerleader at times, with the whole be good thing and how she's always looking out for her. In full "Mind meld with Meda" mode, I spent most of the book thinking, wow Jo became SUCH a bitch, like how could you do that, and then at the big reveal I was like "wow I'm stupid.....and I feel bad now" I just love their friendship to be honest. It's fantastically written, and Chi's well.....Chi.

The plot was intriguing, watching Meda make her choice and seeing where the story was going to go...over to the dark side or staying on the good side. It's also set up what appears to be a promising third book. As I said we've not seen the last of Armand and there was a nice little bomb drop right at the end which has opened up so many possibilities. Not to mention needing to know what happens next. While there is a plot, to me, a lot of the book was Meda being tested, testing herself even, to see if she can really remain this good person that she wants to be, and proving herself to the Crusaders. But the plot was well devised all in all.

Crushed is a fantastic sequel that surpasses Cracked, in my opinion. Fast paced, concise and with plenty going on to keep you interested...although Meda's inner commentary is enough to amuse you and keep you highly entertained if not! I'm excited to see where the series is going to go!

The Visitors

The Visitors
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of Bookbridgr

The Visitors is Rebecca Mascull's debut book, and what a debut it is. Intrigued as I was by the synopsis, I wasn't entirely sure what to expect from The Visitors. On the one hand, it was sure to be an interesting look at the deafblind in Victorian England, a subject not much, at least to me, is known about, and I'm quite the history geek. There was also the promise of a friendship, love, adventure and a dash of war. The ghosts, however, are what threw me. Like I said, I didn't know what to expect, I wasn't sure if it was going to be full out creepy or just sort of Mediatory/Meg Cabot-y.

Mascull takes us to late Victorian Kent and it's hop-fields, and blazing South Africa, the backdrop for the Boer War (something I feel this book educated me on). Our narrator is Liza. When we first meet her, we come to understand, heartrendingly, that as she is deafblind, she cannot communicate with her family living in a world of darkness but for the voices of The Visitors she hears in her head, obsessed with the last day they died. In a lucky case of right time, right place, Liza meets Lottie, whose sister was like Liza. Lottie offers Liza a way to express herself to her family, and to at long last communicate with them.

Liza's intelligence means she fast picks up finger writing, along with her father, and eventually, her mother, but it also means she soon becomes able to write, read braille and make sentences with cut out letters. Finally able to communicate with her loved ones, a whole new world is opened up to Liza as she learns about the world. Even more so when she is finally able to see again thanks to a kindly doctor. With this sight, she can finally see her Visitors. When the Boer war emerges, Liza will lose her love, but she'll discover more than she ever knew about her Visitors, and how to help them, as well as saving a life.

I cannot begin to explain to you how truly astounding it is to read a book from the point of view of a little girl who is deafblind. Things we do, without even thinking about it, that are such a challenge. How Liza can recognise people by their handshakes, know things by smell and so on, pick things up from facial expressions, it was fascinating. It was also fascinating to learn about how the deafblind where treated at the time, what was available to them, what could be done surgery wise for them. It was inspirational watching Liza learn different ways to communicate, including signing, which I had no idea went that far back!

I mean the book was beautifully written, particularly the descriptions of things from Liza, especially after she can see again, I mean I see some of the things mentioned and I'm like "meh, see it every day, it's not that special" but everything is so precious and new to Liza and described magically and with so much wonder. It makes you want to sit outside and just look at the world around you, really study it, and see the beauty in things the way Liza saw beauty and wonder in everything.

The beginning of the book, when she's frustrated and unable to communicate with her family is so heartbreaking, but as you watch her learn and discover the world, it's truly beautiful to read. I've got to say, Liza is such a strong character, willing to learn, incredibly intelligent, and so kind hearted to others. I loved her friendship with Lottie, it was written so perfectly, and you got to watch their bond grow, and Lottie really did change Liza's life, and watching how Lottie's family acted as if she was an honorary family member was touching in more than once place.

When the Boer war started, and Caleb, Lottie's brother and Liza's one time lover, enlists and is shipped off, Mascull gives a surprisingly in depth look at the war, considering that obviously, Liza is not there. I thought it was very well done and slotted in with the narrative, it kept the book fresh. We get a few letters from Caleb, not only describing events leading up to a plot point, but describing what the war was like, and what soldiers thought of the war.

I knew nothing about the war in detail, which is kind of shameful, I knew of it obviously, but I was fuzzy on the details. When we find out Caleb has gone, the author slots in a little chunk telling us what the war is roughly about, which was concise and didn't break the flow of the narrative, but still managed to be very informative. Caleb's letters built on this knowledge in an interesting way that didn't bore you with reams of information, you got to see the war from his perspective, and how the newspapers at the time portrayed it differently, as they tend to do when this sort of thing happens, I mean look at WW1 and WW2.

It's clear the book has been well researched and that Mascull is adept at filtering out the most important and relevant chunks of information, rather than trying to chuck it all in and bore us to death like some. The book was very fast paced and easy to read to be quite honest!

The Visitors where intriguing and portrayed in a unique way I haven't come across in any other book. As i'm sure you've guessed, they're ghosts of the dead, I was expecting fully creepy from the way the synopsis was written, but they weren't really? I liked how the author had lore for them and rules, like suicides don't have ghosts, and how they would be obsessed with talking about the day of their death or the hours before. The whole hearing voices of their loved ones to calm them so she could then ask them if they wanted to move on was mildly heart breaking, but not as much as the scene with her father. Man I was not expecting this much emotion!

The Visitors is an emotional and inspiring read of a deafblind girl and her determination to be able to communicate with those she loves. A beautiful friendship, a brutal war, and beautifully written, The Visitors may or may not cause the odd tear or sniffle! You live with Liza as you see her grow up, learn, love, lose and live.

Smiler's Fair

Smiler's Fair
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of Bookbridgr
Cover: Pretty, stands out.
For Fans Of: Game Of Thrones

When making the choice to read Smiler's Fair I had no idea what I was getting myself in to. Not fully. But I fear I have lost myself to another epic series! When reading the blurb, I was intrigued. Gods, magic, a moving carnival, and five people all separate but linked by one place, the Smiler's Fair. I was working off the assumption that these five would band together to help out Yron/Krish, and they'd be like a little group of people starting a revolution or something. I was very very wrong. But very very pleased I was wrong.

The prologue adequately sets the scene. A Queen about to give birth any moment, a prophecy of her son killing his father means death for the baby when it's born. But before it can be truly born, Queen and maid cut it out and he's spirited away in the night. The next chapter we see Smiler's Fair for the first time, a whirling glimpse of wonder, as well as being introduced, sort of, to our characters.

From there the story goes. We follow Nethmi to her new husbands lands, where she meets Jinn who brings her to his cause...to find the lost Prince, who is Yron reborn. A murder means she must flee and not go back, and where else to flee but the Smiler's Fair? Dae Hyo. Permanently drunk and out for vengeance for what happened to his people, but when he meets Krish, he finally finds a brother willing to stand with him. Marvan, the shady bloke who enjoys killing in a psychotic, "you walked out of an episode of Criminal Minds" way. Eric, the whore who finds love, only to have it cruelly snatched away and sold in to slavery. Except this slavery is to the Sun Goddess, and he has a much bigger role to play in the battle between the Sun and the Moon. Krish himself, a simple goatherd, driven to murder, thus bringing his destiny to him. Forced to flee his father's men hunting him, finding a brother along the way and eventually starting out on his quest to take his rightful place.

I'd give you more information, I really would but I don't want to give too much away, and it's 404 pages of awesome that kind of makes you feel like you've been reading for weeks and have been on this immense and long journey with them, so I'm sure i'd have forgotten things!

If you're looking at the authors name and "hmmmm"ing, thinking to yourself "oh she sounds familiar", well, if you're a Doctor Who fan, then she is. When I discovered that Levene had written Doctor Who episodes, my interest was piqued even more and I couldn't wait to dive in, I had high expectations, although the way I thought the story was going to go was waaaayy wrong!

Smiler's Fair is truly an incredible read. It's an epic journey taking you across the world that has been painstakingly created with plenty of thought and detail. It's astonishing. I think sweeping tale, would be another way to describe it. We see many different parts of the world, but not all, there's plenty left unexplored, which to me, promises more books!

Smiler's Fair is kind of Game of Thrones-y, but easier to read, it's not such a slog to get through. I mean GOT is like hundreds of pages of text with lots of very small words that takes a while to read cos you kind of have to give yourself a break, then carry on. It's just how it's written, requiring all your concentration and being a bit of a challenge to tackle.  Smiler's Fair, however, while being 404 pages, at this point, was easy to keep reading in one go because the chapters where smaller, the text was bigger and it was generally easier to read, especially as there weren't thousands of characters that you keep forgetting who they are!

Smiler's Fair also has more magic than Game of Thrones, and has Gods which are way cool, but it also has waaayy more awesome creatures. So like I said, Game of Thrones-y but easier to read and with tonnes more magic and creatures.

The world building was astounding, there was so much detail and care taken to weave a world that you can live in the entire time you're reading. Everything is pictured clearly, and the map included helps you figure out where everything belongs. We have different types of people, and tribes, each distinguishable and with their own Gods and customs. A lot of work has gone in to creating this world and it has really paid off. It's a sweeping world with the epicness of Lord of the Rings.

The characters where a mixed bag of surprises. As I said, I'd figured our five would become a group and set out to take the throne. Way wrong. Each of the characters where very well written with depth, care and dimensions that had them springing to life and becoming real to you. We really did have a cast of strong characters, with different lives, different things that had shaped them and made them who they are, and each dealt with a pain of their own.

As I said, they where surprising, I mean I figured Marvan was going to be an odd one, but he really did escape from a Criminal Minds episode. He was freaky. I'm also sure he'll be back again to cause more mayhem. Nethmi was the biggest surprise for me, I mean I don't know maybe I've been reviewing too much YA with the romance lately, I kinda assumed she'd be getting it on with Krish. I actually felt sorry for her when she killed Thilak and was all "oh poor girl, she didn't really have a choice though". Man I'm a poor judge of character, even fictional ones apparently! I really did not expect her to take the path she did, I was actually quite pleased she got what was coming to her! Eric, I love Eric, I feel for him so badly and I just want to hug him, he made me chuckle once or twice and I'm really intrigued to see where his story is going to go with his son!

Dae Hyo I was not expecting to like, but I felt so much empathy for him and when he finally got Krish as a brother, I may have sniffled once or twice because it was so heartrending to read that scene. But that just might be me. He's had a crappy life, and been treated like crap, but he lets Krish follow him and even helps him learn to fight, and is so loyal. Krish I also loved, I wasn't too sure about him at first but you can support his character and what he's setting out to do.

The writing is one of the things that reminded me of GOT but the magical elements and the Gods and the lore and everything made it that bit more interesting/engaging/easier to read. When I say it reminded me, it reminded me in the sense that it's very full on, there's no glossing over deaths, you get all the gory details, sometimes you kinda wish you didn't but it's all there. Nothings held back or prettied up for us.

The book was fast paced, with smooth flow and slick prose. There was no dragging bits. The narrative switched from our five characters, and then at one point to another character, and each switch in narration was smooth and carried on cleanly. You got to see what was going on in multiple locations, and some of our characters even crossed paths. I'm still trying to decide if Levene is going to be the "I will kill every character whether you love them or hate them muahaha" writer or not, but so far I can't argue with any of the character deaths!

The premise was so utterly unique. I loved the Smiler's Fair, the moving carnival that's different every time it pitches somewhere else and how it was like a little city. It was a great backdrop for a chunk of the action, although it was a shame about the ending! The aspect of the two Gods was intriguing, and I'm intrigued to see where it's going to go in the next book now that Krish is on his way to start his battle. It was interesting to watch this different characters, that you thought where one thing, make a total 180 and become someone else entirely throughout the course of the story, there was a lot of character development squeezed in!

The mythology and lore woven throughout the very complex plot was rich and so detailed, it's the kind I love and get over excited about! The main tale of the Sun and Moon Gods was well thought out and conveyed, and as I said I loved how each people had their own Lore. It was scattered throughout and added a certain something to the story to make it that bit more enchanting, and you find yourself wanting to know more about it all! While the plot is complex, it doesn't get confusing, there's never too much going on, and you can keep everything straight in your head while you follow the twists and turns of the story. None of which you could guess by the way! I was fully just along for the ride!

The main thing I loved was all the magic scattered throughout the books. The mages. The runes that only just started working. The "worm" men, who they are and such, their counterparts and what they're up to. Then there's Adofo. Not gonna like, I'd quite like my own Adofo. I loved the little touch about how he kind of grew with Krish and matured if you like. There's all these unknown creatures in the woods that are just itching to be fleshed out and examined in more detail in the next book! Not to mention the mysterious Hunter, who we caught a glimpse of.

By far my favourite of the creatures, is Rii. From what I'm picturing, she's a giant bat. I love how she is given a backstory, and I really feel for her too! I just enjoyed reading about her interactions with Eric and how she kind of starts to gruffly take care of him at the end. I need more Rii! I just loved her!

Smiler's Fair is a thrilling adventure, a web of rich mythology, action, battle, magic and mystery that's fast pace let's you speed through it, despairing when it ends! I would pitch it as being kind of Game of Thrones-y, but easier to read, with magic, less squabbling over a throne, and more imaginative creatures, with all the swooping/epic storytelling of Lord of The Rings. Smiler's Fair will enchant you and keep you engaged to the end, if not with the magic and adventure, then with the beautiful storytelling and attention to detail!

Bring on book two please Rebecca!

The Graveyard Book Volume One

The Graveyard Book Volume One
Rating: 4/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: Copy courtesy of Bloomsbury

As a huge Neil Gaiman fan, I leapt at the chance to get my hands on this particular book to review!
We join Bod from the first threat on his life through to the Macabray Dance, where this volume ends.

I am really pleased I can put all fans fears to rest and say, don't worry guys, the graphic novel adaption keeps the feel of the novel and the original text! Plenty of creepiness abounds, but I mean...it's a good creepy?

The different illustrators sections blended together well and makes for smooth reading, with no jarring differences throwing you off.

The story is just as engaging in this format as it is in the actual book, I think there's lots of scenes you imagined when you where reading the book, and looking at them in the graphic novel it's more or less how you pictured it!

This is a truly beautiful novel, and one that will need to be in any fans collection, I myself can't wait for volume 2!

Oceanborn

Oceanborn
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: Buy
Source: ARC Courtesy of NetGalley

Check out my review of Waterfell, the first book in the series!

EEEEEEEEEE It's finally here! I was majorly excited to get to review Oceanborn, and the excitement is still lingering long after I've finished reading, I've got to say! I LOVED Waterfell, it pleasantly surprised me and I couldn't get enough, I've been waiting for Oceanborn for what seems like years! I believe I coined the term "mermaliens" when reviewing Waterfell, and as I said, Waterfell was incredibly unique, and Oceanborn has continued this on. In fact Oceanborn has topped Waterfell I think!

As we enter in to Oceanborn, picking up where Waterfell left off, the stakes are way higher, the romance is continuing and getting more serious and the characters have not only developed more, but they've kinda made you love them more too!

Nerissa was a bit of a toss up fro me in Waterfell. At times I thought she was selfish and I kinda didn't like her all too much BUT she redeemed herself and I felt became a better person, and as I said in my review of Waterfell, while I did dislike her slightly, having a flawed protagonist made her more realistic and it was a nice change from all the perfect people. In Oceanborn, I finally managed to fully love her instead of the whole "I like you.....no I don't..." thing. I 100% loved her this time round.

In Oceanborn we see Nerissa being a fantastic Queen, a Queen that is truly worthy of the word. You can really look up to her and admire her and how she's acting and what she's doing. She does what is best for her people, no matter what they are, who they are or what it costs her. She's more selfless than selfish this time round, and I love it!

Lo. Lo and his memory loss. DAMMIT AMALIE HOW COULD YOU?! Nerissa sends Lo off to keep him safe and look what the hell happens! Lo was still a sweetheart though, and he is fast approaching joining my list of fictional characters I'm a little bit in love with. Oh dear. He's a tad different, but as I said, still sweet. The whole memory loss and people moving in on him was a great cause of outrage when reading though!

"BUT THE ROMANCE" I hear you shriek in agony. Never fear. While Lo has no memory, he and Nerissa have a bond that pretty much doesn't give a crap about any memory loss and is determined to keep things going. It continued to be as sweet, cute and balanced as it was in Waterfell, and I love the fact they're loyal to each other and have each other's backs, it's the kind of romance that feels believable and is really great to read.

I didn't say much about Speio in my review for Waterfell, mostly cause he really needed to be punched in the face and I kinda hated him. HOWEVER, in this book he's back to being friend of the year or whatever. He cares about Nerissa's safety and wants to be loyal buuuuuttt his character flaw, aka his naivety, well, let's just say things don't always go how we want shall we?

I continue to love Jenna and her relationship with Nerissa. I seriously love this friendship, it's one of my favourites! She continues to make me laugh to the ugly snort laughing stage of laughter! I also love how the frienship between the two continues to be important, in Waterfell the frienship was just as important as the romance and I enjoyed seeing it continue, and Jenna taking her BFF duties seriously. Cara.  Well. Her character development was intriguing. That is all.

In short, all the characters, including secondary characters, continue to be written with depth and multiple dimensions, and they continue to develop in to even more awesome and loveable characters!

The narrative was just as engaging as it was in Waterfell. The writing continued to be absolutely beautiful, and continued to weave a fantastically unique story and astounding world.  The descriptions and world building continues to be as vivid as it is in Waterfell, everything can so easily be pictured, and has been effortlessly created with lots of detail, without clogging up the narrative with pages of description. You really do feel like you're there sometimes!
Much like with Waterfell, I was hooked from the first page and I couldn't book the book down until I was done. Like, I was walking around the house and going up and downstairs with my eyes glued to the Kindle, and I had a near miss with a door! It's so fast paced with a fantastic flow, you pretty much zip through it unless, unlike me, you can exercise some self control and force yourself to read slower!

Waterfell for me had plenty of twists and turns but I guessed the huge reveal, this time..not so much. There's so many twists and turns and I never saw any of them coming, I never guessed where the book was going nor was I expecting it and I really enjoyed how Amalie kept you guessing and kept the mystery this time round!

Aaannndd Amalie...that cliffhanger....WHY DO YOU HAVE TO DO THIS TO ME?!  I can't even. You're gonna be left wanting more and with an agonized wait for the next book!

Oceanborn is the sequel fans where all hoping for, it surpasses Waterfell fantastically.
Oceanborn continues a fantastic series that really stands out from the crowd, that continues to be unique, continues to make you laugh and continues to give you one of the best written romances I've come across lately! Not to mention the totally unique premise and mythology that I loved so much about Waterfell! Fast paced and full of plot twists and with a nice little cliffhanger to make you scream, Oceanborn is going to leave you with the mother of all book hangovers! You have been warned!

Reborn

Reborn
Rating: 5/5
Buy or Borrow: BUUUUYY!
Source: Book Depository

Okay. I wasn't going to review this, I bought this book because it's one I've been eagerly awaiting for aaagggeessss and aggggeesss, and I mean...it's just so good I have to gush! As you can probably tell, I'm a huge fan of the Shadow Falls series, I seriously plowed through all of them except the final one, reading one a day, then when the last book came out I bought it on Kindle so I could read it ASAP while I waited for a physical copy of the book to arrive. I've been anticipating Reborn for so long, and I loved the novella that came before it, so when it finally arrived, I was sad to have to put it to the side while I got on with the books I actually have to review. I finally finished this last night and it was so worth the wait!

I love Della, don't hate me, but I think I may love her more than Kylie. I connected with Kylie, don't get me wrong, and I liked her character, but with Della I connected a hell of a lot with her on an incredibly personal level which meant for me, this was an emotional read. Because of how much I can relate to Della and connect with her, as well as how much of a badass she is obviously, she just might be my new favourite. I loved how we got to have a closer look at her, and she what makes her tick, and find out more about her and why she is the way she is.

As usual with Hunter, all characters where written with depth, and they all jumped off the page. They really are a great cast of characters, let's be honest! I just love how they all have different personalites as well as the dynamic between Kylie, Della and Miranda.

Speaking of, we get to see plenty of Kylie and Miranda, and we get to see them through Della's eyes, which is intriguing as we've only had Kylie's perspective before, it was great to see what she thinks and feels about her friends, when we're only used to just getting glimpses of Della. I still love these three and their friendship and it was great to see it continued to the same standard as it was in the other books.

Don't worry Kylie and Lucas fans, we get to see them together being all cute and fuzzy and again, the new perspective is intriguing! We also get to see Miranda and Perry! Derek and Jenny....we watched this start to occur in the last book, and in this book we get to see plenty of Derek and Jenny, and watch their relationship grow and develop! SO MUCH ROMANCE I KNOW BUT IT'S ALL CUTE SO WHATEVER!

Reborn doesn't lack anything, it's written to the same standard as the first 5 books, there's no dropping the ball and not writing something as well, or writing something wrong or whatever. Everything is a perfect continuation, just from a different perspective.

As always the world building is fantastic, I have a very clear layout of Shadow Falls and the town in my head, and when you read any of the books, let alone Reborn, you can picture everything so very clearly, it's so cinematic and atmospheric you can easily picture it on the big screen. And wish a  movie was happening. Please. I'll settle for a TV show?

Reborn sucks you in from the first page, and to be honest, I had to force myself to slow down so I didn't read this in one day! I was glued to the page, and every time I looked up, reality was a disappointment, because quite frankly, I want to go to Shadow Falls!

I loved Steve. I love his relationship with Della. I love how he's so understanding of her, and how he gets her and knows why she's scared of falling for him, I love how he is with her and is protective. I THINK I'm Team Steve. But then....Chase did kinda save her life and go through pain for her, and he isn't a total dickbag, so my stance could change, but for NOW, let's go with Team Steve...then again he did let Jessie kiss him SO, I might just wait to hold my judgement!

Della and Steve's romance is written perfectly, he's kinda perfect. Reading them together just gives you the warm and fuzzies and makes you kinda jealous! Although you don't want to bang their heads together, because Della's all "you're not my boyfriend" and I was like "giiiirrllllll".

Now. There is so obviously going to be a love triangle in the next book BUT it's going to be an unusual one from an interesting perspective. What I loved about this is that Chase pops up, and you thought the triangle was going to start immediately, but throughout the book Della admits Chase is hot BUT she wants Steve. She only wants Steve, which I enjoyed because it makes a change!

Now the whole "bonding" thing is going to add an interesting dynamic to Steve and Della's relationship in the next book, because as I said, Della wants Steve, but from what we can see the "bonding" has changed Della's feelings for Chase and is going to cause trouble, which will be interesting because Della can't control it, it's technically the bond.

Oh, I nearly forgot, so much cute with Holiday and Burnett and I LOVED Burnett's relationship with Della, and I just see him as the kind of father figure Della has lost right now!
I loved the focus on Della's relationships with her family, and I was so devastated about Chan, and most of the time I just wanted to cry for her because of how she's treated and oh GOD. FEELS.

Another thing I loved about the book was how Della was all "YOU THINK YOU'RE SUPERIOR BECAUSE YOU HAVE A PENIS?!" and took no shit from any blokes, and called them out on their "you need protecting" and was all "girls are just as good as boys". I love how she dealt with sexism, Della is just such a good role model and the message of the book was so current to the time and important.

Which brings me on to the writing. The language used by the characters was current and up to date without being full of ridiculous phrases and stuff. The book was fast paced from the beginning with excellent flow because there was no overload of information bogging it down at any point. The narrative was engaging and entertaining, as well as emotional. You seriously can't put this book down, unless, like me, you force yourself to!

The plot drew you in from the beginning, there was some foreshadowing that you can pick up on that would tell you what's going to happen BUT I was too caught up in the story and "omg what's next" to pick up on it until an event had happened and I was all "oooohhh", that's not to say it was totally unpredictable, there where a few twists that I didn't get, and that where a surprise, but there where also a few that I did guess and did see coming, even if it wasn't until a page before it happened!

The plot gives us a deeper look at the Vampires of the Shadow Falls world, and in to a new aspect which explains alot about Burnett and is going to be fantastic to see explored from Della's view in the next book. We get to hear a bit more about the Vampire Council, and see more of the FRU. It was intriguing the entire way through.

There where kind of two plot threads, if you will. There was the whole murder, and Della trying to prove herself to Burnett and solve it. Which was made doubly interesting by the fact that Della can see ghosts, which is unheard of in Vamps, except for Burnett. That's an interesting aspect, and brings the creepy present in the other books!

THEN there's the whole Della trying to find her Uncle because her Dad's a douche, then the looking for Chan and what's wrong with Della throughout the book, and then you find out she's a rare bloodline and she gets to be turned twice, sort of, and only Chase can save her because he's already been through it but they'll be bonded thing. OH and the huge OH MY GOD moment when you find out Della's dad was a murder suspect.

I still love the whole premise of the series, the whole camp for Supernaturals masquerading as a Camp for troubled teens. I love reading about the environment, the different types of Supernaturals, and the romantic relationships, each different from the others.

Reborn is a fresh look at a well known and loved world, with well loved characters with a unique premise, and from a different perspective.

Reborn blends together the supernatural with murder, mystery, creepy ghostly activities, friendship, family, romance and action! It's fast paced, there's plenty going on for everyone, there's total OMG moments and you'll be left wanting more! I have no idea what I'm supposed to go and do until October now!

Fans of the series won't be disappointed at all, in fact, they're gonna love getting to know Della better and riding this emotional rollercoaster with her! Reborn has perfectly set up the romance, love triangle and mystery for the next book, but not overshadowing the story being told, almost as an afterthought!

Reading Reborn is like talking to an old friend for the first time in ages, you slip back in to this familiar world with familiar people, but gain new perspective!

With that....my rambling is done, and I'm off to try and coax away this book hangover!