Walking Through a Literal Valley with Death Himself

~The Company of Death~
The Immortal Journey
Book 1
By Elisa Hansen
Amazon ~ Powell's

The zombie apocalypse was just the beginning of vampire hunter Emily’s problems. Now she must team up with Death himself in this thrilling apocalyptic adventure series!

It’s been two years since the zombie uprising devoured 99% of the world’s population—and the vampires have come out of the shadows to claim the spoils. It’s Emily Campbell’s job to destroy vampire communes and rescue their human herds, but when a mission goes wrong, and she faces certain undeath, she would rather die than ever let them transform her. The problem is that when she makes a desperate suicide attempt, not only does the Grim Reaper fail to take her life—he also somehow loses all his powers in the process.

Now neither alive nor dead, Emily is stranded in the California desert with Death himself. She has heard the remnants of human civilization are developing a cure that could make her alive again in New York—all the way on the other side of the vampire- and zombie-swarmed continent. Only with Death’s help does she have a chance to complete the journey.

But without his powers, Death is mired in a crisis of his own. And he is not used to having company.


Having been a member of her Vampire Book Club for most of the year, you'd think I'd have already read her book, right? Well, now that I have a Kindle Unlimited trial, I'm jumping on one of the (many) books I've been meaning to read. Besides, I've already covered the other big Halloween themes this month: Demons, Superheroes, Vampires, and Werewolves. So a book about zombies (and more vampires) and Death incarnate sounded like a great way to finish off my month's proverbial bingo card.

Sing For Me, and Make It a Glorious Song

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous books, The Immortal Rules and The Eternity Cure, or don't mind knowing some major spoilers for them. The Forever Song, however, will remain spoiler-free.
SPOILER ALERT

~The Forever Song~
Blood of Eden
Book 3
By Julie Kagawa
Amazon ~ Powell's
Allison Sekemoto once struggled with the question: human or monster?
With the death of her love, Zeke, she has her answer.

MONSTER

Allie will embrace her cold vampire side to hunt down and end Sarren, the psychopathic vampire who murdered Zeke. But the trail is bloody and long, and Sarren has left many surprises for Allie and her companions—her creator, Kanin, and her blood brother, Jackal. The trail is leading straight to the one place they must protect at any cost—the last vampire-free zone on Earth, Eden. And Sarren has one final, brutal shock in store for Allie.

In a ruined world where no life is sacred and former allies can turn on you in one heartbeat, Allie will face her darkest days. And if she succeeds, triumph is short-lived in the face of surviving forever alone.


It's all come down to this. I loved the last book, but hated the first book. Would Allie's final quest be enough to win me over, or would I return to the disinterest I felt in the beginning? Only time and 416 electronic pages would tell.

What Does It Take To Unwind The Unwanted?

~Unwind~
Unwind Dystology
Book 1
By Neal Shusterman
Amazon ~ Powell's

Connor, Risa, and Lev are running for their lives.

The Second Civil War was fought over reproductive rights. The chilling resolution: Life is inviolable from the moment of conception until age thirteen. Between the ages of thirteen and eighteen, however, parents can have their child "unwound," whereby all of the child's organs are transplanted into different donors, so life doesn't technically end. Connor is too difficult for his parents to control. Risa, a ward of the state is not enough to be kept alive. And Lev is a tithe, a child conceived and raised to be unwound. Together, they may have a chance to escape—and to survive.


I have no idea how I'd never heard of this book before. In the same vein as Ender's Game, this is a provocative and complex look at our society through the lens of a possible/probable future. And just like Ender's Game, I don't want to spoil too much of Unwind. It may have come out four years ago, but it is just as relevant and engaging now as it was then, and I truly think reading it is an experience that shouldn't be missed.

In the not-too-distant future, technology has enabled transplant surgery to have absolutely no failures. No rejection of foreign parts, no tissue decay, no problems. This means that nearly every medical malady, augmentation surgery, and accident-caused emergency can be solved by cutting out and replacing organs, limbs, and even parts of brains. But where do the replacements come from?

Why, unwanted children, of course.

Comfortable In Her Own Invisible Skin

~Transparent~
Transparent
Book 1
By Natalie Whipple
Amazon ~ Powell's

Plenty of teenagers feel invisible. Fiona McClean actually is.

An invisible girl is a priceless weapon. Fiona’s own father has been forcing her to do his dirty work for years—everything from spying on people to stealing cars to breaking into bank vaults.

After sixteen years, Fiona’s had enough. She and her mother flee to a small town, and for the first time in her life, Fiona feels like a normal life is within reach. But Fiona’s father isn’t giving up that easily.

Of course, he should know better than anyone: never underestimate an invisible girl.

I picked this up on recommendation from the blog of Kiersten White, one of the author's writing buddies and critique partner, and decided to tackle it the last night before it had to go back to the library. So basically I had a book I knew next to nothing about with only a few hours to experience it. Frankly, I'm a still a little stumped about what to think about it.

Having Contracted A Significant Case of Amor Deliria Nervosa

~Delirium~
Delirium
Book 1
By Lauren Oliver
Amazon ~ Powell's

They say that the cure for Love will make me happy and safe forever.

And I've always believed them.

Until now.

Now everything has changed.

Now, I'd rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second
than live a hundred years smothered by a lie.

Lena looks forward to receiving the government-mandated cure that prevents the delirium of love and leads to a safe, predictable, and happy life, until ninety-five days before her eighteenth birthday and her treatment, when she falls in love.

I don't really know what I thought going into this. I guess I knew it was pretty popular, and it was about a society where love was 'cured' and that the main character was bound to rise up and fight the system, but I didn't really have any other expectations. And I think that perhaps that was best.

One Step Closer To The Larger Cure We All Sought

SPOILER ALERT
This review is for those who have read or are familiar with the previous book, The Immortal Rules, or don't mind knowing some spoilers for it. The Eternity Cure, however, will remain spoiler-free.
SPOILER ALERT

~The Eternity Cure~
Blood of Eden
Book 2
By Julie Kagawa
Amazon ~ Powell's

How do you face the end of eternity?

In Allison Sekemoto's world, there is one rule left: Blood calls to blood

She has done the unthinkable: died so that she might continue to live. Cast out of Eden and separated from the boy she dared to love, Allie will follow the call of blood to save her creator, Kanin, from the psychotic vampire Sarren. But when the trail leads to Allie's birthplace in New Covington, what Allie finds there will change the world forever—and possibly end human and vampire existence.

There's a new plague on the rise, a strain of the Red Lung virus that wiped out most of humanity generations ago—and this strain is deadly to humans and vampires alike. The only hope for a cure lies in the secrets Kanin carries, if Allie can get to him in time.

Allison thought that immortality was forever. But now, with eternity itself hanging in the balance, the lines between human and monster will blur even further, and Allie must face another choice she could never have imagined having to make.

I'm so glad I gave this series another chance. If you'll remember my review of book one, The Immortal Rules, I harped on Allie and her motivation (or lack thereof) pretty hard. Yet I was still captivated by the world and the writing style, and thus expressed my hopes for its sequel(s). So when NetGalley knocked on my door/inbox with the offer of book two, I gladly accepted.

I'll admit starting out that I had some heavy reservations against this book. I considered re-reading book one, as I like to do before moving ahead in a series, but couldn't bring myself to push through the boredom I'd already gone through once. And the beginning of this book presented me with a few cases of missed opportunities that had me worried. But after the story got going, familiar faces appeared, and the action ramped up, I found myself enjoying this more and more.

Picking up almost exactly where The Immortal Rules left off, Allie is now hunting for her sire, Kanin. Very little time has passed, maybe a couple months, but there's no doubt that Allie has changed (for the better, in my opinion). She's been exposed to the highs and lows of both humanity and vampires, and is still seeking her place among them. But her existential quandary is put on hold for the moment as her blood-tie to Kanin shows her that his time is running short, so it's road trip time for our heroine as she chases an obtainable goal.

A Lost Genetic Code That Connects Them To Atlantis

~The Lost Code~
The Atlanteans
Book 1
By Kevin Emerson
Amazon ~ Powell's

What is oldest will be new,
What was lost shall be found.

In the year 2086, Camp Eden promises summer “the way things used to be,” back before the oceans rose, the sun became a daily enemy, and modern civilization sank into chaos. Located inside the EdenWest BioDome, the camp is an oasis of pine trees, cool water, and rustic charm.

But all at Camp Eden is not what it seems.

No one will know this better than 15-year-old Owen Parker. A strange underwater vision, even stranger wounds on Owen’s neck, and a cryptic warning from the enchanting lifeguard Lilly hint at a mystery that will take Owen deep beneath Lake Eden and even deeper into the past. What he discovers could give him the chance to save the tattered planet. But first, Owen will have to escape Camp Eden alive…


I've been on a bit of a "girl power" kick lately, so reading a book both written and narrated by guys was a very nice change of pace. Not to generalize at all, but I enjoyed reading a story where life or death didn't hinge on falling in love with the right/wrong guy. But I'll come back to that later.

You're A Traitor, Just Like Your Father

~Traitor's Son~
The Raven Duet
Book 2
By Hilari Bell
Amazon ~ Powell's

"If you're willing to kill me,
I'd really be an idiot to tell you where I am."

When Jason catches the small bag the girl throws to him at the Canadian/Alaskan border during a gunfight, all he can think is that the bag must contain drugs. But if the small brown powder is some sort of illegal substance, it's certainly nothing he's ever seen before.

Jason is half right. He's never seen this stuff before, but it's not drugs. The bag contains magical dust, a substance so powerful it can heal the earth.

So powerful, certain creatures think nothing of killing him to get it.


Firstly, I think I need to present a little background on my experience. I typically like to re-read series before tackling the latest release—it serves as a refresher and helps me zone-in before I start reading the new one. So before picking up Traitor's Son, I revisited and reconnected with Kelsa and Raven in Trickster's Girl. Unfortunately, I think that was a mistake.

We Live By A Different Set Of Rules

~The Immortal Rules~
Blood of Eden
Book 1
By Julie Kagawa
Amazon ~ Powell's

MY VAMPIRE CREATOR TOLD ME THIS:

"Sometime in your life, Allison Sekemoto, you will kill a human being. The question is not if it will happen, but when. Do you understand?"

I didn't then, not really.

I DO NOW.

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die…or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn’t easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

This was another offer NetGalley was kind enough to e-mail me about. I've heard so much about Kagawa's Iron Fey series (though I haven't read them yet) that I was eager for a chance to finally read her work. And it starred vampires, for crying out loud. Why wouldn't I jump at the chance?

Perhaps it was so much hype going in, but this book never clicked for me.

My Name Is Raven - And I Need Your Help

~Trickster's Girl~
The Raven Duet
Book 1
By Hilari Bell
Amazon ~ Powell's

In the later part of the 21st century, it seems humanity has finally taken an active interest in preserving the planet. But with a strange tree plague ravaging South America, their efforts may be too little too late. Scientists are at a loss in explaining why their efforts aren't yielding any results—logically, the forests should have fought it off by now.

Fortunately, there are people who know how to stop it.
Unfortunately, most of them aren't on humanity's side.

The night 15-year-old Kelsa Phillips buries her father, she's approached by a strange boy. Raven, as he calls himself, claims that the world is actually held together by magic. If that wasn't crazy enough, he expects Kelsa to join him in healing the magic that humanity has weakened by traveling from Utah to Alaska. Cause magic is what is keeping the tree plague going. And what's giving so many people cancer. Either this Raven kid is crazy, or he thinks she's stupid enough to believe him.

But if magic isn't real, then how can he unlock things with merely a touch? And how did he just shapeshift? And how is it he's managed to convince her to rob a museum? Well, however he did it, Kelsa is in for the long haul. Cause once she starts something, she always finishes. Well, if she doesn't end up in jail...or worse...


I first received an ARC of this book from Netgalley, but procrastinated long enough for it to be released (yeah, really bad about that) so I figured I might as well get a finished copy from my library. I then managed to procrastinate long enough that I was forced to read it the day/night before it was due back. Good job, me. -_- That being said, I don't think I was in the best state of mind when starting this. Not only did I have the stress of reading it at the last minute, but I was also feeling a bit down and was looking forward to an escape. In that respect, I was definitely let down.