**QWERTY**

Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

It's been months since the ghost of Anna Korlov opened a door to Hell in her basement and disappeared into it, but ghost-hunter Cas Lowood can't move on.
His friends remind him that Anna sacrificed herself so that Cas could live—not walk around half dead. He knows they're right, but in Cas's eyes, no living girl he meets can compare to the dead girl he fell in love with.

Now he's seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he's asleep and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong...these aren't just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.

Cas doesn't know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn't deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it's time for him to return the favor.

PARTY.



How often do you find a book which terrified the shit out of you and made you cry, really cry, like really ugly cry? If you know other books with these criteria, puh-lease recommend them to me! Because man, my heart is ready to beat a hundred times faster and gets broken again for a book as amazing as this!

In Girl of Nightmares, following the departure of Anna to Hell (because she needs to drag Obeahman's butt away before he murders Cas and his sidekicks), Cas is having trouble coping with the loss of Anna. Worse, he starts seeing gruesome image of Anna being tortured and mutilated regardless if he is awake or asleep. Kendare Blake dedicated about a quarter of this book just for the part where Anna is haunting Cas. Although we already know this from the blurb and usually I detest this because why would you spent about a hundred of pages for something we already know from the blurb, in Girl of Nightmares' case, it works. We get to know a different facade to Cas, I feel for Cas, I feel his loss, his desperation and his longing for Anna. And remember Cas is this butt-kicking ghost hunter! In wrong hands, I believe Cas would sound like Richard Gere, but hell yeah, Blake truly knows how to handle this intricate characterization because he is still the badass Cas I always knew.

Once Cas has some ideas as to how to find Anna, the story stalls a bit but that didn't make me stop reading. During this short time-out, we also get a valuable insights into Carmel and Thomas relationship which was cute. I also liked how Blake dropped a few hints and made me wonder if a couple of characters are the antagonists.

The biggest highlight of the book is definitely the Suicide Forest part. It was scary as hell and I IMMEDIATELY regretted my decision to read this book at night. Shit, I wish I can erase my memory of this scene. I'm not sure if I'm able to walk into ANY forest ever again.

THE ENDING! I won't lie, I was hoping for this kind of ending for Hereafter (yes, I wish this was a standalone). The rougher and more brutal tone of Anna Dressed in Blood didn't convinced me if Girl of Nightmares is deserving of such ending.

*Chuckles*

I surrender to your wicked writing skills, Kendare Blake. This series deserves such ending and more. Much more. I had to repeatedly read the same two pages in denial, and when I came to my senses, as you already know...


As always, I'm really suck at writing a positive review. But trust me, Girl of Nightmares is much better than Anna Dressed in Blood.
Somehow.
I'm not sure how my body was able to absorb this much awesomeness.

Sweet baby penguins! A 5-star!

View all my reviews

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...
Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.
So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.
When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.
And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.

I love almost everything about this book. The title, the characters' names, the cover (from the tendrils of hairs to the haunted house to the blood-dripping dress, they are all accurate representation of the actual story).

I like how both of the male and female protagonists are supernatural in their own way because I'm so tired of this story of how an average Joe/Jane meets this feet-sweeping mysterious guy or girl.

Kendare Blake had undertaken a risky move by narrating the story from Cas, the male protagonist point of view. And armed with some killer moves and swear words (no kidding!), he is the new swoon-worthy bad boy from the block.

U JELLY, EDWARD?


But no! You wouldn't be jealous of Anna because she and Cas are totally made for each other. Anna is downright scary at first. She is, as quoted by Cas, the goddess of death. But yeah, you would expect that her death was a tragic one but just a friendly reminder, her tough exterior is for real as she is not the slightest bit weak emotionally.

There isn't much focus put on the other characters. Mike, Chase and Will were plain dumb. Thomas? Bo-ring! But I'm impressed with the characterization of Carmel. She is of course, the popular, prom queen (every young adult book set in high school must have one anyway) but she ain't stupid! (Thank God) She is indeed useful from time to time.

***Spoilers ahead***

The true villain, Obeahman is portrayed as one absurdly mean ghost (he ate human flesh for God sake!) He was like the love child of Coraline's other mother and The Shadow Man from The Princess and the Frog movie. I silently hoped that his motive is much more personal than for power in general. I also hoped that the readers were being told of what fate had in store for Anna's cruel parents.

The cat! Urghh!! THE CAT! NO ONE, AND I MEAN NO ONE SHOULD WRITE ABOUT HOW A CAT DIED IN ANY BOOK! Especially when it died because a psychotic ghost with no gut ate it! Urghhh!!! I was so furious, I could buried that freaking ghost 'alive'.

***Spoilers finished***
[Urghh!! THE CAT! NO ONE, AND I MEAN NO ONE SHOULD WRITE  ABOUT HOW A CAT DIED IN ANY BOOK! Especially when it died because a psychotic ghost with no gut ate it! Urghhh!!! I was so furious, I could buried that freaking ghost 'alive'. (hide spoiler)]

Anyhow, it was surely a good read. The first hundred pages or so started quite slowly. Indeed, there were a lot of swearing and gore, so if you are easily offended, stay away from this book. :)

Me gusta!

View all my reviews

Ever by Jessa Russo
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

BOOK ONE in The EVER Trilogy
Seventeen-year-old Ever’s love life has been on hold for the past two years. She’s secretly in love with her best friend Frankie, and he’s completely oblivious.
Of course, it doesn't help that he’s dead, and waking up to his ghost every day has made moving on nearly impossible.
Frustrated and desperate for something real, Ever finds herself falling for her hot new neighbor Toby. His relaxed confidence is irresistible, and not just Ever knows it. But falling for Toby comes with a price that throws Ever’s life into a whirlwind of chaos and drama. More than hearts are on the line, and more than Ever will suffer.
Some girls lose their hearts to love.
Some girls lose their minds.
Ever Van Ruysdael could lose her soul.

Actual rating: 0 star

What the .... did I just read.

It's been more than 48 hours since I finished with Ever, but I'm still contemplating what is the best way to write the review. One thing for sure, this is definitely the worst book I've ever read (worse than Fallen, who would've thought so!).

Urghhh...although I can write a very 'colourful' negative review, it doesn't mean that I like to write such review. More so now, when I myself directly involved in the creative process of publishing books as a beta reader. I hate it even more to write a negative review for a debut novel. But this, this is just intolerable.

Dear Curiosity Quill Press, I had a 'pleasure' of reading Wilde's Fire halfway and a pleasure of reading and occasionally skimming Fade and Ever. While I'm very grateful for your generosity for offering me to review those ARCs, here are a few things that I want you to take note because I do notice some 'unhealthy' patterns emerging in your books;

1. I think we had enough with Mary Sue heroines. It doesn't hurt to feature strong, independent female protagonists with more brain cells.

2. Stupid, and I mean stupid love triangle. Love triangle doesn't equal to 'it's okay for the girl to date/flirt/make out with two boys in such a short time frame.

3. Mysterious males with 'paranormal, mythical' true identity as the love interest.

4. Insta love/obsession/soul mate or whatever you feel like naming it.

5. Gross make out scenes EVERYWHERE in the book. I feel like stepping on land mines the whole time. I was just trying to get into the story and here we go again 'His lips covered mine' bullshit. Trust me, readers are not that stupid anymore to buy a book just to read the steamy, hot make out scenes because hey, there are a lot of post-Fifty Shades erotica books in the market! And trust me, the make out scenes in Fade and Ever are gross because the characters hardly know each other/they were best friends before! Real relationship needs development, people!

6. You are in dire need for unique, attractive book title. How do you know if that book title is not a good idea? Search that title on Goodreads and your book isn't among the top five hits.



7. On the plus side (hey, finally!) the cover for your books are quite decent. Keep up!

Okay, back to Ever. This is my pre-morning book (I like to wake up around 3-4 am to read. Pre-morning inspired by Sheldon Cooper's pre-evening definition because when I say early morning, people imagine 7-8 am), not my plane book, or my between classes book, or my 'I can't sleep so I'm reading' book. Which meant to say that this book had my full attention. I even read this during my stay in Port Agusta (such a lovely place!) which meant to say that I was in peaceful mood without any assignments plaguing my mind. And what did I get? An awful, awful experience. I even decided to get back to sleep because of the horror! And ended up having nightmares. And I had to try so hard not to let it ruin my mood the whole day for the sake of my travel buddies. True story bro.

Usually I do agree that reviews/ratings are subjective and whenever I hate a book, I would still recommend my other Goodreads friends to read that particular book just to know other people's point of view. But I don't dare to do that for Ever case because I don't want anyone else to undergo the emotional trauma that I had.

Okay, just to prove that I'm not exaggerating, I beg the author/the readers to read my summary of Ever. Granted, summarizing can take things out of context but I just don't care anymore at this point.

***Spoilers ahead***

Frankie, Ever best friend had passed away for two years but strangely he (or his apparition) still lingers in Ever's house. Neither Ever nor Frankie know why Frankie's soul couldn't move on. Ever claimed Frankie is the first and the only guy she ever love in her lifetime. Ever's choice of best friend is interesting because Jessie changes boyfriend as often as I have to mow my damn lawn and she only wears pink. Not that I have a problem with that but wait until I describe Jessie's behaviour.

Ever (I don't know..complains? rants? mentions?) that she will never have an embarrassing make-out story-let alone sex because apparently she has given Frankie her heart all those years ago.

*snorts*

Enters Toby, the new guy on the block who moves into Frankie's old house. Ever's first thought '"Toby," I whispered. Yes. I liked the way that sounded, almost as much as I liked the way he looked. Wow."

Note that this quote came only a few pages after Ever said Frankie possessed her heart for years. Yawn.

(And I think Elenoar is a nice name. Why Ever thought it's an embarrassing name? Can someone bother to tell me why?)

That night, Ever went for a movie with Jessie. But she couldn't concentrate to the movie. Why you asked me? Because her attention, 'unfortunately' was on the hot guy next door! Even more imaginative than usual, her mind started making up all sorts of different things about him, and Ever found herself creating and playing out scenarios in my head about how the two of us would meet and what would come next.

Unbelievable.

Next page, Ever thought 'I didn't know why, but I found myself really wanting to touch him'



Toby came to approach her, asked her out, but she refused because she said she has a boyfriend.

Ever saw Frankie looked broken after her little conversation with Toby and she wondered why?

That night, Ever had a nightmare and she was calling Frankie's name. Of course, Frankie appeared on her bedroom but then he saw Ever was only in her underwear. "I watched his gaze slowly travel over me. He seemed captivated by my lack of clothing, and took his sweet time before meeting my gaze."

Oh, now the ghost is getting horny too.

The next morning, despite the rejection, Toby gave Ever her favourite flower, anemones. Of course Ever went nuts wondering 'How do he knows my favourite flower' and all that. Then, Ever thought 'only crazy person would allow herself to continue obsessing over someone long after he'd died. Sane people focus on things they actually can attain, like relationships with living people. Like Toby'

Note that this happened only the morning after Ever thought 'Was I imagining the heated look in his (Frankie's eyes because I wanted to see it there so badly?"

Back to Jessie, the first thing she asked regarding Ever's new neighbour was did Toby ask Ever out. Eheh. We could all use a friend like that, do we?

And here's Jessie's word of wisdom '...we are seventeen years old. We are supposed to be dating and having fun. Susan says - in one of the only bits of advice I'll even bother with - that we should be dating multiple guys at a time! Multiple."

Yay, and then we could all have multiple STDs. Hooray!

Seriously.

After numerous useless references to colour pink and legging, Ever encountered Toby again. And she wondered what brand of shampoo he used. Because Jessie with all her intelligence managed to set Ever on a 'date' with Toby in the name of 'showing him around', Ever stuck with Toby that very night. Toby even added that hopefully Ever's 'boyfriend'' won't mind.

A few blushes, tongue-tied moments with several thoughts back to Frankie, the date is over. The next morning, Ever was woken up by Frankie (Believe me, Frankie serves nothing except for Ever's personal alarm clock at this point) and Ever thought she wished she could hold Frankie and Frankie felt the same way too.

Moving on, someone knocked the door and Ever opened it. And it was Toby. What did Ever thought? 'I found myself blushing at the thought of what he might sleep in. Flannel pajama bottoms...boxers...nothing at all.'

Wow, Frankie just got totally friend-zoned by the horny Ever.

And oh, I forgot to mention that Toby came to invite Ever for their second date. At this point, I don't know what happened to the 'fake boyfriend' story anymore. Of course, Ever had her first kiss in only her second date. How romantic.

Next, Ever parents get all worked up by the fact that her seventeen years old daughter is dating a twenty-two years old guy. Hmm..I don't know. I thought this is normal? Except if that 22-years old guy is Ever's teacher?

After throwing a tantrum, Ever went back to her room to reply Jessie's 'OMG, EVER!' e-mail. Frankie appeared and asked where she'd been and she lied to Frankie. And I didn't understand why the lie is needed when Ever thought there's no hope between her and Frankie. Frankie sensed her lie and Ever got so defensive, it chased Frankie away. Of course, Frankie came back to comfort the crying Ever who at this very moment thought 'Frankie is her entire world'.

And I didn't really understand what happened next, between the pink toenails and Jessie's scream 'Toby!!! I won't let some guy ruins my vacation with my best friend!!!" And I thought Jessie was the one who set Ever up with Toby in the first place!

Next, Frankie was trying to talk Ever into not going out with Toby for 'a reason he couldn't tell' (of course) and Ever replied 'Get out of my way and stay out of my life. I can see whomever I choose.'

Remember last night when Ever thought Frankie is her entire world?

And I also didn't understand what happened next, between Frankie trying to calm the crying Ever again because Toby hasn't call her but Toby appeared next carrying Ever favorite flower and kissing her senseless.

Of course Toby didn't explain where he'd gone and of course Ever forgive him. A few small talks later, they kissed again. And kissed again. And kissed again.

But brace yourself because the next morning Ever admitted that she was simultaneously feeling that same strong pull toward Toby and Frankie. That Frankie whom she yelled at the day before.

And that very same day, Ever went out with Toby again. Seeing Ever, Toby kissed her again. Toby brought Ever's parents in his ride, quickly earning extra points for himself. Next, Ever and Toby started their real date on a ship. Next, they made out. At home, Frankie got upset because Ever went out with Toby.

Next, on that night, Ever had a nightmare. Her mom had to calm her down by rocking her in that way she always did when she was a little girl.

Okay, that basically what happened for the first 100 pages.

Next 100 pages.

Jessie's drama llama with her mom's boyfriend...Frankie told Ever not to go on a date with Toby again...she didn't listen because she wanted to be happy, she wanted to have a boyfriend (apparently happy and having a boyfriend is interchangeable in Ever's dictionary)...Jessie's family drama llama again...Ever and Jessie talk about Jessie's new boyfriend, Greg...Ever overheard Toby's confrontation with his 'dad'...Ever and Jessie's double date with Toby and Greg...Ever found out that Toby's ex is a psycho...Jessie's PDA with Greg...Ever and Toby kissed again once they got in the car...

Oh finally some plot!

Ever's dad got killed in a car accident!

Cue the tiny violin sound because our Ever is broken and depressed. Cue the heroic sound because of course, Toby came to the rescue. Ever cried and cried and got aroused. Aha! She even thought she didn't want to be responsible, she wanted to go all the way with Toby! She even thought she loves him! Honey, everyone loves their boyfriend when they get horny.

But Ever ruined that moment because she broke down and cried again! Classy. Toby accidentally spoke too much and now Ever demanded some answers. When he couldn't provide those, he dumped Ever! Minutes after they almost went all the way.

Ever punched Toby. He left, and of course, Frankie was there to comfort Ever.

Four miserable weeks, Ever longed for Toby. In the meantime, Ever's mom couldn't function anymore. To cheer Ever up, Jessie invited her to a party and introduced her to Scottie. And they made out too the very same night. Being Ever, of course she thought Toby was a better kisser.

Blegh.

To add to the awesomeness of the plot, Ever caught Toby making out with his ex, Ariadne. But suddenly, Toby got up and spoke for Ever when Scott asking Ever if she's okay. Ariadne introduced herself and of course Ever felt a pang of jealousy.

But oh! Later that night Toby came to apologize and guess what, they made out again! And hey, what do we have here. Ever's mom knocking on her door when they just about to do it.

Thank God.

And then Frankie and Ever fight again. And then Ever realized that she'd always loved Frankie.

lolwut?

The next morning, Ever went to Toby's house and caught him just wearing a towel. And guess what? Of course they made out again. Ever and Ariadne had a fight...Toby and Ever kissed...Jessie threw a surprise party for Ever's birthday...Toby and Ever kissed in Haunted Mansion...Ariadne showed up in Ever's house

...bringing her own surprise gift, Frankie in flesh not in a ghost form.

Finally, we got a plot development.

No, no, don't celebrate yet because what comes next was Ariadne kissed Frankie and Ever fainted at the sight.

When Ever woke up, Toby came clear that he was a soul collector (well, this is apparently the big secret), and Ariadne too. In fact, Ariadne brought Frankie back alive to trade him for Toby. Funny thing was, this meant that Frankie's soul belongs to Ariadne now. Ever got so mad, she threw up, she shooed Toby away.

As you may expect, Frankie came to console her and they relive they long lost love by having intercourse.

Note that this happened a few hours after Ever was Toby's girlfriend.


Well, I couldn't bother summarizing what happened afterwards until the end of the book because I'm very stressed out right now. I feel like puking and I'm losing my appetite. Summarizing Ever is like reliving my nightmare, so that's it. I got to stop now because it has taken toll on me.

View all my reviews

Born at Midnight by C.C. Hunter
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

Don’t miss this spectacular new series that will steal your heart and haunt your dreams, Welcome to Shadow Falls camp, nestled deep in the woods of a town called Fallen…
One night Kylie Galen finds herself at the wrong party, with the wrong people, and it changes her life forever. Her mother ships her off to Shadow Falls—a camp for troubled teens, and within hours of arriving, it becomes painfully clear that her fellow campers aren’t just “troubled.” Here at Shadow Falls, vampires, werewolves, shapshifters, witches and fairies train side by side—learning to harness their powers, control their magic and live in the normal world.
Kylie’s never felt normal, but surely she doesn’t belong here with a bunch of paranormal freaks either. Or does she? They insist Kylie is one of them, and that she was brought here for a reason. As if life wasn’t complicated enough, enter Derek and Lucas. Derek’s a half-fae who’s determined to be her boyfriend, and Lucas is a smokin’ hot werewolf with whom Kylie shares a secret past. Both Derek and Lucas couldn’t be more different, but they both have a powerful hold on her heart.
Even though Kylie feels deeply uncertain about everything, one thing is becoming painfully clear—Shadow Falls is exactly where she belongs…

This one is like one massive parody of all-things paranormal. I might like it if I was fourteen. The plot is very similar to Hex Hall, at least up until the point where I decided that this just doesn't worth my time.

Annoying, self-conscious, whiny heroine who thinks she's funny.

Her life had toilet-bound stamped all over it.

Suddenly, Kylie started feeling people turn and look at her. Or were they looking at all of them?

Stupid, spineless best friend.

The she recalled how Sara had given in to Brad's "needs"-Brad who was the love of Sarah's life-yet, within two weeks of giving in, the love of Sara's life had dumped her. What was so special about that?
Since then, Sara had dated four other guys, and she'd slept with two of them.

To Sara, fitting in was...everything. If blue eye shadow was rave, you can bet Sara would have blue eye shadow before the week was out.

I didn't read far enough to know how the love interest, Derek and Lucas are like.

Just found out there'll be five books in this series.

May God have mercy for all those trees sacrificed in the making of the remaining books.

View all my reviews

Hereafter by Tara Hudson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Can there truly be love after death?

Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.

Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.

Thrilling and evocative, with moments of pure pleasure, Hereafter is a sensation you won't want to miss. 

Actual rating 3.5 stars.

*Sigh* I really hate it when I have to read a book in many sittings. I can't be sure if the book was indeed not that good or the gap between the sittings made me losing my interest. The book started so well, I think the first four chapters were the best starter I've read so far. It was sharp, well-paced and deep with emotions.

After Chapter 4, it was...well...okay for me. Some of the scenes truly entertained me such as the differential equations incident. Some of the other scenes, for instance when Amelia went to Joshua's bedroom was more like a fanservice for me. I bet most of the readers squealing in their sit while reading that part *wink2*

Up until the climax, the author effortlessly offered adequate explanation for Amelia's nature and ability that I can read this with a peace of mind. But when it got to the climax, all hell broke loose. I was like what?


You know when a character is simmering, it's not a good sign! (except Clara from Unearthly...mind my biasness) *cough* Edward *cough*

Amelia was a cute, innocent character, I think. She can be stupid sometimes. But I guess she had the right personality to be a ghost from 1999. Joshua? He could be nosebleeding-inducing guy sometimes. Some of his lines, like

"See? Good vocabulary. 'Patronizing' has four syllables"

"Just because I can't do differential equations, it doesn't mean I'm totally useless"

were very witty. But other that that, he was not that special of a character.

I'm a bit confused with Eli. Probably the author tried to conjure Eli as a complex character, evil but the readers would feel for him as they got to know him further. For me, while the events in this book were influenced heavily by his doing some way or another, I didn't find him as a believable character. The reason behind his evilness was somewhat laughable. He couldn't be THAT immature right? He should be a sicko, you see. A stalker...obsessed for Amelia. But I seriously feel like he was just an outdated rock star who like to prank people! He was really not at all scary.

The whole Amelia-is-a-beautiful-girl was very cheesy as well.

The truth is, I really think this book is better as a stand-alone book. I found the idea of Seer as very messy. It reminds me a lot of Beautiful Creatures series. I don't know...contrary to the plethora of vampire, werewolf, witch and angel, I feel that the relationship between the living and the dead should be the simplest, purest love, where the only way for them to be together is death. I secretly wish Joshua to sacrificed himself in the epilogue so that he can be together with Amelia. Hate me people! I know I'm not the most optimist person in the universe!

View all my reviews