Review: Slayed

Author: Amanda Marrone
Pages: 272
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Source: Library
Synopsis: The Van Helsing family has been hunting vampires for over one hundred years, but sixteen-year-old Daphne wishes her parents would take up an occupation that doesn’t involve decapitating vamps for cash. All Daphne wants is to settle down in one place, attend an actual school, and finally find a BFF to go to the mall with. Instead, Daphne has resigned herself to a life of fast food, cheap motels and buying garlic in bulk.

But when the Van Helsings are called to a coastal town in Maine, Daphne’s world is turned upside down. Not only do the Van Helsings find themselves hunting a terrifying new kind of vampire (one without fangs but with a taste for kindergarten cuisine), Daphne meets her first potential BF! The hitch? Her new crush is none other than Tyler Harker, AKA, the son of the rival slayer family.

What's a teen vampire slayer to do?

My first reaction to Slayed was that I really hoped it was like Buffy the Vampire Slayer and in a way, it was. Slayed could have been an episode of Buffy, except it was about a girl named Daphne without superhuman powers.

The characters were instantly relatable. Daphne always felt alone, and with her parents, who wouldn't? Kiki was funky and awesome. I would love to meet her in real life and hang out. She was a lot of fun and had issues but wasn't bitter. The parents were annoying characters. They didn't look after their kids well and many times I was shocked by their behaviours.

The story was quick and fun. Daphne and her family were doing another vampire gig but ended up having to share the gig with a rival family who they had bad history with. There was a fair bit of mythology- angels, demons, vampires, etc. but it was quickly done without much detail. It was an interesting premise so I wouldn't mind a sequel but I don't think one is needed. This is a good example of a standalone.

The one thing I don't like in the story is the simplicity of the plot. This feels like a tv episode which make me wonder about the next episode. So many things could have been explained. Much more could have happened. The story takes place in 3 days without many big events. Slayed is a short story very different from all the series we have now.

Overall, Slayed is a fun, fast light read. Easy to read with likable characters, I'm giving this 3.5 stars,

*** & 1/2 *

Book Trailer: Divergent

I love visiting blogs and seeing cool trailers for books I want to read. This is why I'll be posting a random trailer for any given book once a week. The trailer/book may be new or old, it's completely based on my whims and I'll maybe try different publishing companies. This week I decided to showcase Divergent by Veronica Roth (HarperCollins) since I can't wait to read this book! Enjoy!

OMG MUST READ!

Hehe, I never seem to be able to post what book I can't wait for on Wednesday so instead I'll just do 3 I can't wait for today.

First is The Faerie Ring by Kiki Hamilton being released on September 27 2011

Debut novelist Kiki Hamilton takes readers from the gritty slums and glittering ballrooms of Victorian London to the beguiling but menacing Otherworld of the Fey in this spellbinding tale of romance, suspense, and danger. 

The year is 1871, and Tiki has been making a home for herself and her family of orphans in a deserted hideaway adjoining Charing Cross Station in central London. Their only means of survival is by picking pockets. One December night, Tiki steals a ring, and sets off a chain of events that could lead to all-out war with the Fey. For the ring belongs to Queen Victoria, and it binds the rulers of England and the realm of Faerie to peace. With the ring missing, a rebel group of faeries hopes to break the treaty with dark magic and blood—Tiki’s blood.

Unbeknownst to Tiki, she is being watched—and protected—by Rieker, a fellow thief who suspects she is involved in the disappearance of the ring. Rieker has secrets of his own, and Tiki is not all that she appears to be. Her very existence haunts Prince Leopold, the Queen’s son, who is driven to know more about the mysterious mark that encircles her wrist.

Prince, pauper, and thief—all must work together to secure the treaty…

Next book I can't wait for is Uncommon Criminals (A Heist Society Novel) by Ally Carter being released on June 21st 2011.

Katarina Bishop has worn a lot of labels in her short life. Friend. Niece. Daughter. Thief. But for the last two months she’s simply been known as the girl who ran the crew that robbed the greatest museum in the world. That’s why Kat isn’t surprised when she’s asked to steal the infamous Cleopatra Emerald so it can be returned to its rightful owners.

There are only three problems. First, the gem hasn’t been seen in public in thirty years. Second, since the fall of the Egyptian empire and the suicide of Cleopatra, no one who holds the emerald keeps it for long, and in Kat’s world, history almost always repeats itself. But it’s the third problem that makes Kat’s crew the most nervous and that is simply… the emerald is cursed.

Kat might be in way over her head, but she’s not going down without a fight. After all she has her best friend—the gorgeous Hale—and the rest of her crew with her as they chase the Cleopatra around the globe, dodging curses, realizing that the same tricks and cons her family has used for centuries are useless this time.

Which means, this time, Katarina Bishop is making up her own rules.

Last but not least...Half-Blood (A Covenant Novel) by Jennifer L. Armentrout is being released on September 15 2011. Wow, September is the month for new books!

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi pure-bloods have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures.

Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:

Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden.

Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

Cover Reveal: Silence by Becca Fitzpatrick

Who's read Hush Hush and has fallen in love with the delicious Patch? I have! Crescendo is the next in the series of beautiful covers. Recently the last book in the series, Silence's cover was released.




Tada! You like it? I don't like it as much a the other covers, but the ocean is beautiful so maybe it will grow on me. Silence is being released on October 4th 2011. What do you think of it?

Review: Siren

Author: Tricia Rayburn
Pages: 368
Publisher: EgmontUSA
Source: Library
Synopsis: Seventeen-year-old Vanessa Sands is afraid of everything--the dark, heights, the ocean--but her fearless older sister, Justine, has always been there to coach her through every challenge.  That is until Justine goes cliff diving one night near the family's vacation house in Winter Harbor, Maine, and her lifeless body washes up on shore the next day. 

Vanessa's parents want to work through the tragedy by returning to their everyday lives back in Boston, but Vanessa can't help feeling that her sister's death was more than an accident.  After discovering that Justine never applied to colleges, and that she was secretly in a relationship with longtime family friend Caleb Carmichael, Vanessa returns to Winter Harbor to seek some answers.

But when Vanessa learns that Caleb has been missing since Justine's death, she and Caleb's older brother, Simon, join forces to try to find him, and in the process, their childhood friendship blossoms into something more. 

Soon it's not just Vanessa who is afraid.  All of Winter Harbor is abuzz with anxiety when another body washes ashore, and panic sets in when the small town becomes home to a string of fatal, water-related accidents . . . in which all the victims are found grinning from ear to ear. 

As Vanessa and Simon probe further into the connections between Justine's death and the sudden rash of creepy drownings, Vanessa uncovers a secret that threatens her new romance, and that will change her life forever.
There was a question on a blog hop that asked me do I pick books to read based on covers, and I said yes. Siren is an example of that. I've been super excited to read books about Sirens for a while now so two things drew me in. A) the creepy blue cover with the silver eyes and B) the title of the book. Yes, I'm that superficial and I'm not afraid to admit it. I don't buy books so the worst thing that could have happened was me going to the library and deciding I didn't want to check out the book.

Anyway, Siren is about Vanessa, a quiet, scared girl who loves her sister above all. Too bad her sister dies within approximately 30 pages of the book. Seriously, the book started with Justine's death and Vanessa trying to cope.

Siren had amazing potential. Sirens aren't done much in books (or at least in the ones I've read... If you have heard of a book about sirens, let me know about it!) so there were so many possibilities. Sadly, Siren didn't reach it's full potential. I guessed many of the plot twists, I wasn't interested in my main character's romance, and at times the plot wasn't moving fast enough for me.

Guessing what was going on was a huge part of the novel, but once again the title of the book ruined it for me. I would have loved to be wondering what was happening, I wanted to be scared and on the edge of my seat imagining the possibilities until *gasp* I find out the story is about sirens. Naming the title Siren ruined all that. I was anxious for the main character to be on the same page as me and was annoyed when poor Vanessa wasn't.

There were many good things in the story though. Some of the characters were unique and complicated (Justine) and they were fun to read about. Vanessa is nice and sweet and she loves her family. Her family struggles and relations were life like. There was a very interesting backstory and overall this book lead me to believe that the sequel has the possibility to be stunning.

The plot was interesting and the suspense rose with the death toll. I suspected the criminals but how to stop them was another matter. I was stumped but the way Vanessa and her friends concluded the story was good though I have a hard time believing it's real. This is fantasy so that doesn't matter too much. Once again I realized how important the little details in a book are to the absolute story.

All in all, Siren is a suspenseful blend of love, danger, and startling revelations. It's a good read for fans of paranormal books, especially underwater type books but it's not a must read. 3 stars, a nice read,

***

Do you still remember me??

Hello every awesomely amazing person who's following my blog!

You may have heard that my life is getting super busy. I play touch football and we're having two games a week plus three practices, I'm volunteering at track and field, I have band practice, I try to read all books before they're due or read and review review copies on time on top of school, which is hard since exams are coming up in June and summatives are being assigned.

LOL, I don't want to wine- I'm happy to be doing all that! It's fun! But I feel like I'm not doing my duty to my blog, and I love my blog and reviewing. It's something I always strive to improve on so I'm going to try scheduling posts. I'm sorry that I can't post daily. All I can try is to post at lease twice a week until school ends and this summer I'll always have time for my blog. Seriously, if you're an older follower and actively followed my blog enough to see March Break posts... I'll tone it down but I'll be around.

To all my new followers, thank you. If you'd like to introduce yourself because you think I've missed you, I'd love to receive an email or a comment just saying hi.

A new, needed change that I'll be doing is to stop the blog hops regularly They aren't really quality content and I think I've gained all I can from them. I have nothing against blogs that participate in them but I think that I'll pass for them. :)

Cover Wars: Supernaturally vs. Die For Me

It's been another successful cover war! For all of you new to Tantalizing Illusions, Cover Wars is a fun little (peaceful) feature where you get to vote (on the right) for the cover you consider better looking. The winner of the previous week faces a new challenger every week. The covers may be related, and they're usually of pre-publication books. If you have a suggestion for a future battle, leave a comment!

Last week, majority voted for Supernaturally. This week, the war is...

vs

Which is your favourite? Vote now!

P.S. I know I haven't been around much but I've been having some issues with internet access. I am writing reviews and I'll try to post them but for now, I can't be super active. Don't worry, this won't last long.