The Creeping by Alexandra Sirowy

The Creeping by Alexandra Sirowy
Pub: 8/18/2015
Pgs: 400
ARC Received from Edelweiss

"I'm the lucky one; or at least that's what they say.  I'm here to squint up at Independence Day fireworks under an orangehued moon; to fidget in the violet organza of my junior prom dress; to toast under the Midwestern sun while sipping peach fizzies lakeside.  But sometimes the luck is harder to see."

17 year old Stella cannot remember what happened on the day that Jeanie was abducted. Stella was only 5, but it has been the most significant thing that has happened to her, because she was with Jeanie and she was the only one that made it home that day. Since then everything has changed, Stella is a popular girl in her high school, the guys fawn over her, and she has a great group of friends. On the anniversary of Jeanie's disappearance another little girl, with red hair like Jeanie, is found dead and mutilated at the cemetery. Is this a coincidence or a link to Jeanie's disappearance? With the discovery of a new body, people begin to come back to Stella's town, people that were there and were connected to Jeanie and Stella before Jeanie disappeared. And there is a haunting past to Jeanie's town, one that could also explain what happened, because people have been disappearing throughout history in this sleepy town in Minnesota.

Stella decides she needs to find out what happened to Jeanie, she needs to find out what happened or else she will forever be living in this volatile existence of the survivor. With the help of her uber-controlling and uber-popular best friend, and an old and pretty cute best friend Stella goes in search for answers that seem to have been buried for a reason. Will she be able to figure out who took Jeanie? Will the myth of The Creeping be proven to be truth? How far will these teens go to find the answers no one is willing to seek?

I really liked how this book started out with inclinations of the supernatural or some otherness, but in the end monsters are explained much differently. The elements of suspicion and treachery are a big component to what made this novel so enticing. I wanted to tell Stella to stop looking (actually I wanted Stella to stop being a jerk most of the time, but hey people come in all different manners, cannot judge this book on just her character because there are so many redeeming characters within the book), I wanted Sam to stop encouraging the investigation, and I definitely wanted Shane to be told more from the beginning. The ending really did not disappoint and I kind of didn't really think it a possible ending because the supernatural was so prominent and I don't think most people's minds go right to that anyway (I don't want to say too much on what was so shocking in the end.)

4 out of 5 stars. Thanks Edelweiss.

Reawakened by Colleen Houck

Reawakened by Colleen Houck
Pub: 8/11/2015
Pgs: 400
ARC received through Edelweiss

"I need sustenance, Young Lily...Without my jars I must share your life force."

"Share my... Well, see, that's the thing, I'm using mine just now, thank you. Really wish I could help you, I do."

Lilliana Young is a 17 year old, who lives the comfortable life in New York City. On her spring break she decides to go to the Metropolitan Museum of Art and enjoy sometime to herself while sketching. Because Lily is known at the museum and she is part of the 1%, she gets special treatment and asks to go into one of the closed off sections of the library for some privacy. There is a new Egyptian exhibit coming along and hasn't opened yet, this is where Lily's life completely changes from sturdy and predictable to adventurous and h.o.t. As Lily is sketching she hears a noise and after investigating she finds herself face to face with a young and very attractive guy who is wearing a pleated white skirt and pretty much nothing else. This piece of eye candy is Amon, and he is definitely not from NYC or this century.

Amon is an ancient prince from Egypt, who has come back to life to complete a sacred ritual that will protect the world from chaos. He wakes up somewhere he has never woken up before, he doesn't know where his brothers are, and they need to complete the ritual before the next full moon, which is coming up soon. Not only does he have all this going on but it seems that when his coffin was moved to NYC they forgot his life force, or the jars containing his organs. He must convince Lily to help him in more ways than she can fathom, and he must link Lily to him so that he can stay alive without his jars.

Lily would like nothing more than to run away from Amon but soon she realizes they are connected in multiple ways and she's done being Lilliana Young, the perfect daughter. She gathers up her courage and sets off on an adventure of a life time with really hot mummies/princes, crazy cults, unearthing thousand year old secrets, and a flame that has begun to consume her every time she thinks of Amon. Will Lily be able to help Amon and his brothers before time runs out, or will she lose her heart and her life?

I am in love! Colleen Houck introduced readers to exotic settings, love like no other, and crazy curses in her last series; now she has created another enchanting series that could very well rival her last one. The story telling is still really great and attention grabbing, the main character is still kind of annoying (I am sorry! It's so true, it's my only issue every time), and the guys... well the guys are definitely note worthy and just *drool* . I cannot wait to find out what happens next because that prince sure knew what he was doing in the end.

5 stars all the way! Thanks Edelweiss.

Gidion's Hunt by Bill Blume

Gidion's Hunt by Bill Blume
Pub: 8/11/2015
Pgs: 296
ARC received through NetGalley


Gidion Keep isn't your average sophomore in high school; not after his grandfather let him on the family secret. The Keeps know something everyone else doesn't know; Vampires are real and the Keeps hunt them down. Gidion now hunts vampires and when the job is done he notifies his grandfather, who owns a funeral home with its own incinerator. The only problem Gidion faces is his father finding out. His father is an ex-cop we works for the dispatching unit now, and once hunted vampires but after a death close to home he stopped and focused on Gidion. Gidion constantly has to come up with plausible stories for his father, and this might not seem like a lot of trouble, but for a son of an ex-cop it's pretty tough. Besides this, Gidion is your average teen looking for some action whether it's fighting vampires or you know... girls. That is, until Gidion saves someone he knows from a vampire, alerting that person to what he does. Not only does this happen once but twice, and soon Gidion realizes the vampires are contracting hits against these two people. Now Gidion must figure out who is involved, where to locate the vampire leader, stop being tongue tied in front of the hot senior girl he saved, and figure out what's going on with his best friend all before it's too late.

I really liked Gidion as a character. First, he's a guy... yay! for a guy MC. Second, the humor was spot on. Most of the interactions between characters were funny and moved the story along quickly. This was a quick read because it kept me engaged one moved along so quickly I couldn't stop if I wanted to. I also really liked the relationship between Gidion, his father, and his grandfather. All three guys are there for each other in many different manners, and each one has their own secret that they are keeping from each other.

4 out of 5 stars. Thanks NetGalley.

What You Left Behind by Jessica Verdi

What You Left Behind By Jessica Verdi
Pub: 8/4/2015
Pgs: 368
ARC Received by Edelweiss

What You Left Behind by Jessica Verdi gave me the feels. I was crying my eyes out, and I do have to say this topic is very sensitive for me at this point. Meg was your average smart girl, who was pretty but never on the radar... at least not Ryden's radar. Ryden was the athletic jock, who all the girls liked... including Meg. After one chance conversation in class Ryden is bewitched and Meg has finally got her knight in shining armor. Being teenagers, things get hot and heavy really quick, and even though there is true feelings behind this.. it's not all truthful.

You see Meg was sick and she never told Ryden, and Ryden really liked Meg but he wasn't ready for forever. Meg gets pregnant and her cancer comes back. She had to decide if she wanted to continue chemo or keep the baby, and Meg fought tooth and nail to keep Hope (the baby girl), even though she knew there was a huge chance she wouldn't live to hold her daughter. Ryden only wanted to keep Meg alive, she was the most important part of the equation, they were too young to have a baby, and sacrificing Meg was not an option.

Unfortunately Ryden realizes something important: you cannot control life or the outcomes of others' decisions. Instead Ryden has to learn to be a single father, deal with his surmounting guilt over the situation, go to school while working and being a parent, and learn to live again. He still feels stuck in the past, and he keeps himself there with a few notebooks Meg left behind documenting their first conversation up until her death. It was such an emotional ride that I felt compelled to finish the book once I started. Ryden is completely relatable and makes numerous mistakes, and that's okay, because he portrays an average person trying to deal with life's ups and downs.

4.5 stars. Thanks Edelweiss.

From Where I Watch You by Shannon Grogan

From Where I Watch You by Shannon Grogan
Pub: 8/4/2015
Pgs: 304
ARC Received by Edelweiss


I loved this story.  At first I think I was just reading it to read it, and soon I was completely enthralled by Kara McKinley's world.  Kara has wanted to disappear since right before 9th grade, the summer that ruined everything, and the summer that Kara decided she was done with her sister Kellen, right until Kellen died in an accident that October.  After Kellen's death, Kara's world is turned upside down again.  Her parents aren't together, her mother gave up being a lawyer to be a devote Christian/coffee house owner who sells blessed pea soup, and she has been receiving some really terrifying notes from an anonymous stalker.

All Kara wants to do now is enter a baking competition that will get her to the school of her dreams and away from the nightmare she has been living, the only problem is that Kara's mother would rather her not leave the vicinity of their zip code.  Finding a way into the competition will not be as hard as facing the demons of her past, trying to figure out her old crush that has come back to town, and figuring out if in fact she is being haunted by her sister or really has a dangerous stalker after her. 

I really liked the turmoil that was placed in Kara's life.  It was realistic and tons of messed up.  Seeing how the characters worked together, or with the plot in mind was great.  The mystery could be guessed quite easily but there is so much deflection going on that it takes at least 75% of the book before the reader starts to see the clear outline of the mystery. 

4 out of 5 stars.  Thanks Edelweiss.