The Graveyard Kept Its Secrets

~The Graveyard Book~
By Neil Gaiman
Amazon ~ Powell's

Bod is an unusual boy who inhabits an unusual place—he's the only living resident of a graveyard. Raised from infancy by the ghosts, werewolves, and other cemetery denizens, Bod has learned the antiquated customs of his guardians' time as well as their ghostly teachings—such as the ability to Fade so mere mortals cannot see him.

Can a boy raised by ghosts face the wonders and terrors of the worlds of both the living and the dead? And then there are beings such as ghouls that aren't really one thing or the other.


My second book of Gaiman's (following Stardust), I grabbed this mostly due to the enthusiasm I'd heard online. I think the best word I have for it would be "quaint".

Her Hazardous Tears

~Tears of No Return~
By David Bernstein
Amazon

When infected by the brain of an extraterrestrial, Karen discovers, among other bizarre powers, the ability to read minds. As she tries to grasp her situation, a secret branch of the military, devoted to paranormal and supernatural phenomenon, starts their dogged pursuit. They will stop at nothing to catch her, dead or alive, because Karen is contagious with a virus they hope to control. A virus that, if spread, would end the world as we know it.

On the run, Karen meets Morgan, an ex-agent of the team that's on her tail, a vampire-turned-vampire hunter. Together, they struggle to stop the government from seizing the virus, a fate worse than contagion. A future of chaos, from which there is no return.


Not my cup of tea.

This book was adequately written, but not nearly as character driven as I'd prefer.

As Good As Dead

~Dead of Winter~
The Arcana Chronicles
Book 3
By Kresley Cole
Amazon ~ Powell's

Can Evie convince her rival loves to work together? Their survival depends on it in this third book of #1 New York Times bestselling author Kresley Cole’s Arcana Chronicles, a nonstop action tale of rescue, redemption, and a revenge most wicked.

Heartbreaking decisions
Evie was almost seduced by the life of comfort that Death offered her—until Jack was threatened by two of the most horrific Arcana, the Lovers. She will do anything to save him, even escape Death’s uncanny prison, full of beautiful objects, material comforts…and stolen glances from a former love.

Uncertain victory
Despite leaving a part of her heart behind with Death, Evie sets out into a perilous post-apocalyptic wasteland to meet up with her allies and launch an attack on the Lovers. Such formidable enemies require a battle plan, and the only way to kill them may mean Evie, Jack, and Death allying. Evie doesn’t know what will prove more impossible: surviving slavers, plague, Bagmen and other Arcana—or convincing Jack and Death to work together.

Two heroes returned
There’s a thin line between love and hate, and Evie just doesn’t know where she stands with either Jack or Death. Will this unlikely trio be able to defeat The Lovers without killing one another first...?

The romance was the same as before, with both choices being overly controlling assholes. Jack has trust issues and won't reveal 'all his secrets' which is kinda understandable, except you're in the freaking apocalypse so does it really matter anymore? Death, on the other hand, got better in that he apologized for his kidnapping, torture, and coercion committed in the last book, making an actual effort to improve himself for Evie. Definitely on Team Death for now.

All Roads Lead to Chrysalis

~Chrysaliss~
Project Nemesis
Book 3
By Brendan Reichs
Amazon ~ Powell's

The 64 members of Fire Lake's sophomore class have managed to survive the first two phases of the Program--and each other. Now, they alone have emerged into the dawn of a new era on Earth, into a Fire Lake valley that's full of otherworldly dangers and challenges.

Although staying alive in this broken world should force Min, Noah, Tack, and the others to form new alliances, old feuds die hard, and the brutality of the earlier Program phases cannot be forgotten. But being a team isn't easy for the sophomores, and when they discover that they may not be alone on the planet after all, they'll have to decide if they're going to work together . . . or die together.


This book has so many twists and turns that it's very, VERY hard not to spoil anything. But I'll do my best...

Phase Two Has Begun

~Genesis~
Project Nemesis
Book 2
By Brendan Reichs
Amazon ~ Powell's

Noah Livingston knows he is destined to survive.

The 64 members of Fire Lake's sophomore class are trapped in a place where morals have no meaning, and zero rules apply. But Noah's deaths have trained him--hardened him--to lead the strongest into the future . . . whatever that may be. And at any cost.

Min Wilder knows that survival alone isn't enough.

Trapped in a violent world where brute force passes for leadership, it's tempting to lay back and let everyone else fight it out. But Min's instincts rebel against allowing others to decide who lives and who dies. She's ready to fight for what she believes in. And against whomever might stand in her way.


I'm still not completely on board with these books, for reasons I addressed in the last review. I'm just not one for war for war's sake, or kids being dicks to each other for the hey of it. Nevertheless, I felt compelled to continue, if only to see if there WAS an endgame or if it was just supposed to be one big video game.

You're My Nemesis

~Nemesis~
Project Nemesis
Book 1
By Brendan Reichs
Amazon ~ Powell's

Orphan Black meets Lord of the Flies in this riveting new thriller from the co-author of the Virals series.

It's been happening since Min was eight. Every two years, on her birthday, a strange man finds her and murders her in cold blood. But hours later, she wakes up in a clearing just outside her tiny Idaho hometown—alone, unhurt, and with all evidence of the horrifying crime erased.

Across the valley, Noah just wants to be like everyone else. But he’s not. Nightmares of murder and death plague him, though he does his best to hide the signs. But when the world around him begins to spiral toward panic and destruction, Noah discovers that people have been lying to him his whole life. Everything changes in an eye blink.

For the planet has a bigger problem. The Anvil, an enormous asteroid threatening all life on Earth, leaves little room for two troubled teens. Yet on her sixteenth birthday, as she cowers in her bedroom, hoping not to die for the fifth time, Min has had enough. She vows to discover what is happening in Fire Lake and uncovers a lifetime of lies: a vast conspiracy involving the sixty-four students of her sophomore class, one that may be even more sinister than the murders.


There's a reason I didn't enjoy reading Lord of the Flies way back in high school. I didn't need a book to tell me kids could be dicks.