Review: The Book of Lost Soulsby Michelle Muto

Genre: YA Paranormal
Release Date: March 2011, Dreamscapes Ink
Format: eBook (Kindle)
Source: Purchased from Amazon.com

When teen witch Ivy MacTavish changes a lizard into her date for a Halloween dance, everything turns to chaos. And when no one is powerful enough to transform him back except Ivy, it sparks the rumor: Like father, like daughter. Ivy has heard it all before - that her father, who left when she was seven - was involved with the darkest of magic.

Making the rumors worse, someone uses an evil spell book to bring back two of history's most nefarious killers. Ivy's got a simple plan to set things right: find the real dark spell caster, steal the book, and reverse the spell. No problem! But she'll have to deal with something more dangerous than murderous spirits that want her and her friends dead: the school's resident bad boy and hotter-than-brimstone demon, Nick Marcelli. Nick's offering Ivy more than his help with recovering the missing book - he's offering her a way to ditch her scaly reputation as a lizard-lover. Demons are about as hard to handle as black magic, and as Ivy soon discovers, it's going to take more than a lot of luck and a little charm if she wants to survive long enough to clear her status as a dark witch, get a warm-blooded boyfriend, and have her former date back to eating meal worms before the week's end. 

MY THOUGHTS

I was not familiar with Michelle Muto or The Book of Lost Souls until I heard about an Independent author event that is coming up in a town right near where I live. I had only read books by one of the authors who will be there (Nichole Chase), but I wanted to familiarize myself with the other authors who would be attending and hoped that in doing so, I'd find some new favorites!

Well, I can safely say that Michelle Muto is definitely one of the new favorites! I really enjoyed The Book of Lost Souls. Rather than writing strictly a dark paranormal book, Muto skillfully interjects humor into scenes that makes this story more reminiscent of Buffy The Vampire Slayer and some of L. J. Smith's earlier works (which I loved). One aspect even made me think of Harry Potter (you'd probably understand why if you've read it). Though mildly predictable (I'd be surprised if anyone reading this book didn't figure out who the "mystery man" was) and not without typos and phrasing issues that could be fixed with another round of editing, The Book of Lost Souls is overall a very imaginative, entertaining read with an intriguing premise and likeable characters. Not to mention, we get a little bit of everything when it comes to supernatural characters... witches, vampires, werewolves, and demons!

My hope is that in future books (this is the first in the series), the characters will be fleshed out a little more thoroughly, but for an independently published debut book, this is definitely one of my favorites! By the way, it's a steal of a deal on Amazon if you've got a Kindle or the Kindle App, so I encourage you to give The Book of Lost Souls a try if you enjoy YA Paranormals!


Read this book...
- if you liked L.J. Smith's books written in the 1990's and re-released in recent years (particularly the Night World series and NOT the newer titles, ie. continuing The Vampire Diaries (even before the ghostwriting started) -- they simply aren't the same)
- Nichole Chase's The Dark Betrayal series

Teaser Tuesdays: The Book of Lost Souls

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

• Grab your current read
• Open to a random page
• Share two (2) “teaser” sentences from somewhere on that page
• BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away! You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
• Share the title & author, too, so that other TT participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teasers!

I'm trying to be proactive and schedule a few posts this week, so it is highly possible I will have finished this book by the time this post is up and will have already moved on to something else, but what can you do? :-)

The wooden casket in the grave had deteriorated. The top had caved in some time ago, allowing dirt inside. The skeleton inside was void of hair and only scraps of tattered grey clothing clung to the remains. He or she was also missing a leg bone.

"Well, on the bright side, it has been almost a month since Uncle Lucas dug up the last one," Bane said.

~ page 35 of 288 (Kindle Edition) of The Book of Lost Souls by Michelle Muto

Review: The Shadowy Horses

The Shadowy Horses by Susanna Kearsley
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



I first stumbled across Susanna Kearsley last year, when I read The Winter Sea, quite some time after Sourcebooks re-released it. And I will freely admit it, I was totally drawn to that book by its cover and once I read it, I found myself saying "must read ALL the books by Susanna Kearsley!!!" But much to my shame, this is the first time I am actually writing a review of one of Kearsley's books and it is long overdue!

I love, love, LOVE Kearsley's works, whether they are time slip stories or simply tales that take a look back at a certain time and place in history. While not a true time slip novel, like The Winter Sea and The Rose Garden, The Shadowy Horses almost had an almost magical quality to it. I found myself completely lost in the pages of this book and thanks to Kearsley's beautiful, descriptive writing style, I felt like I was right there, witnessing everything happen.

As is typical with Kearsley's stories, there is a lovely romance that builds throughout the book. And though she does not send a character back in time, instead we meet a centuries-old ghost and a boy who is part of a line of men with the second sight. I think because there is just a hint of the paranormal, it allows you to believe that maybe, just maybe this story could be real. I also loved the Scottish setting!

If you enjoy historical fiction, time slips, or even just fiction with a hint of romance, I think you would greatly enjoy The Shadowy Horses and any other of Kearsley's books.

*Read in January 2013 and originally reviewed at Goodreads. View all my reviews

The Sunday Salon: Review: Heiress

Heiress by Susan May Warren
My rating: 3 of 5 stars



Happy Sunday, fellow Saloners! I really must get back into the habit of writing a true Sunday Salon post, but this week I will test the waters with a simple book review...

I had a very difficult time deciding how to rate Heiress by Susan May Warren. I read it practically within one sitting and was desperate to know how it ended. But in reality, that desperation stemmed from just wanting to get it over with and be able to move on. I liked the story--sort of--but good lord, if not for the scattered references to God and the Bible, you almost wouldn't know Heiress is considered Christian fiction--it reads just like a soap opera and is filled with scandal!

Seriously, I was worn out by the time I finished this book. While certainly captivating, it was rather draining to read and the desire to finish it wasn't due to pure, unadulterated enjoyment on my part. Oh, there were aspects I liked and I did enjoy Esme's character... but I simply needed the drama to be over and really, I wasn't feeling terribly inspired by the end of it, like I do with most Christian/Inspirational Fiction. The fact that Warren had me hooked from the first page of the book is the only reason I feel I can rate this fairly at 3 stars. Certainly, her writing is good, as is her storytelling, but (at least, for me) that just couldn't make up for the way the story actually made me feel by the end of it... a little horrified, exhausted, and even rather down.

I expect that most readers who enjoy Christian fiction that is edgier and not so preachy will probably like this series, but I'm don't think I'm even going to be able to bring myself to read the second book, which I already happen to have because it was a great deal on Amazon for the Kindle. I hate to pass up reading a book I've bought -- it feels a bit like throwing away food that someone else could eat -- but at least I didn't spend a lot on it!

*Review originally posted at Goodreads. View all my reviews

Next week I'll try to write something more about my recent reading habits/trends, in general. Since I'm off to a pretty good start in 2013, having already finished 27 books (I'm pretty shocked by that number, myself, honestly), I ought to be able to come up with a little something! :-) Happy Reading!

Review: Through The Ever Night

Through the Ever Night by Veronica Rossi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Oh, look! It's another dystopian series I have fallen in love with! While I didn't post a review for Under The Never Sky, I can remember for some reason being very hesitant to read that book. I'm not sure if it was the cover or the title that put me off, but for whatever reason I just didn't find myself drawn to this series... until I finally just gave in (looking for something new in the dystopian world) and decided to read the first book last Fall. It's hard to believe that authors can keep the dystopia genre fresh, since it seems to be all the rage these days, but once again we have an original story,this time by Veronica Rossi.

While I definitely enjoyed Under the Never Sky--I rated it 4 stars--I positively adored and devoured Through the Ever Night! I have to say that I basically love everything about these books: the premise, the characters, the story itself, the writing... I could go on and on. As with most dystopian books that I've read, there is a definite sci-fi edge, with a hint of the paranormal/fantasy element, as well. And I have to admit it's nice to have a romance that hasn't been turned into a love triangle with a potentially heartbreaking or shocking choice to be made at the end.

Sure, like all dystopians, this series is a bit post-apocalyptic and there is major conflict between groups/tribes of people, but there is so much about the story and premise that is fresh and original. Unfortunately, I can't really get into it in great detail because I think that would take away from some of the enjoyment if you haven't read the books -- I think it is better to know almost nothing about this series going in.

Read this if you liked The Hunger Games by Susanne Collins, Divergent and Insurgent by Veronica Roth, or the dystopian genre, in general. I don't think you'll be disappointed!

*Read in January 2013 and review originally posted at Goodreads. View all my reviews