*Last To Die*
Tess Gerritsen’s Last To Die
Claire is twice orphanefgvvd. Will is twice orphaned. Teddy is twice orphaned. But why these three children and what connects them to their misfortune of losing their families to death and devistation? Eventually they all find themselves relocated at Evensong. A place where all the other kids have similar life situations. They have around the clock therapy sessions and specially trained teachers who also know their devistation; by experience.
Good thing Maura and Jane are on the watch because all this seems to coincidental to them…
Then…one of the teachers jumps off the roof. Now… we’re on to something!
When putting the pieces together to solve the mystery of these three children and filing through the mess of past lives, this whole web of plot is hard to distance yourself from for very long. Very, very great read!
Exerpts:
Pg. 31-’ ..she breathed in deeply, as though to wash the scent of death from her lungs.’
Pg. 37-’His eyes were such a pale blue, they seemed unearthly. His light brown hair looked as wispy as corn silk… ’
Pg. 48-’All of them smiling and safe within the bubble of their sheltering family.’
Pg. 50-’…children were a mystery to us. They were like little aliens, unformed creatures who could be ignored.’
Pg. 103-’When adrenaline is flooding your veins, when you’re about to face your own death, a mere sixty seconds can seem like a lifetime.’
*Living Dead: Deliverance*
Kent Reaper’s Living Dead: Deliverance
Kenneth Cook was going strong in his internship at the hospital until a tragic accident…that turned out to be the least of his worries…because one day some strange patients started coming into the hospital who were exerting some bizarre behavior. All hell was breaking lose on the news until the new crew started getting attacked and eaten by the new commers: zombies!
All Kenneth wanted was to get up the courage to talk to Jenny with hopes of spending time getting to know her. Then! this happened…
Kenneth found himself in the position of a hero when he found himself a gun…which he took off a dead, zombie-eaten officer. If it wasn’t enough that he was looking for Jenny (who magically disappeared) and saving innocent un-bitten patients…he was pulled into a hospital room and expected to help deliver a baby!
Will Kenneth help the mom-to-be or abandon her and her desperate husband or leave them to fend for themselves to follow his heart and his crush, Jenny? ? ?
This was a pretty good zombie short…with the possibility of resolution only if the author gets enough feedback and reviews 
Excerpts:
Pg. 19-’She was already rushing down the end of the table and out of the cafeteria, her white lab coat trailing behind her like a superhero’s cape of healing.’
Pg. 40-’Some reached for their gadgets, devouring any shred of news they could get their hands on.’
Pg. 153-’This theatre that was to be his path to freedo suddenly transformed into his tomb.’
* Iced *
Karen Marie Moning’s Iced
Dani (Dani Mega O’Malley) is your do- it- all superhero in a post apopaliptic world. The usual; superhearing, supervision, freezeframeing abilites and all at the age of fourteen! The only set backs are her size and being caged like an animal by an Unseelie Prince. Ryoden. Ro knows Dani is his ace in his backpocket.
While Dani is constanly being watched over and drooled over by three guys (Christian, Ryoden and a little bit by Dancer) she still manages to think straight and get as much freedom as possible. Things prove to get complicated when her whole world around her is being iced by the Hoar Frost King. On top of all the ice…then comes in the Crimson Hag, who has the deadliest knitting needles you’ve ever seen and who will stop at nothing to kill and use the casualty guts to add to her dress.
What a crazy world lil Miss O’Malley has to live in! But isn’t it always the little ones with the fresh, out-of-the-box ideas that save the day?!
KMM’s Iced was super duper chill! I only had to put it down to crank up the heat because her book was so icy and the temps outside were single digits. Bravo!
‘I’ve never seen any reason to cry when omeone is cleaning poop off you.’
‘I used to have what women called a killer smile. Now i have a killer’s smile.’
Procrastinating…You still end up exactly where you didn’t want to be and to do with the only difference being that you lose all that time between, during which you could have been doing something fun.’
‘His (Dancer) eyes aren’t green or blue, they’re Faebrushed.’
‘The cold knifes into me, flays me, slays me, glacierizes me.’
”We (sean&kate) fit together perfectly. Like we were carved from the same piece of wood, from the same tree.’
‘Everything inside me is going gooey like rich, warm, velvetey chocolate fondue that’s so thick and sweet and scrumptious that I want to swim in it, let it cover my head, take me down deep…’
‘It’s like having both arms amputated and thinking you’ll have to learn to live without them, then getting them put back on completely fine again. I love my sword.’
‘It’s night jasmine and fresh-baked bread, homemade fish and chips and salt air, it’s the smell of my mom’s neck, fresh-washed pjss, and sunshine on Dancer’s skin.’
* Bitten *
Merill Gemus’ Bitten: part 1
Ally is a newly single woman out on the night with her closest buddets to a Halloween party…this just happens to be the memorable place where she sets eyes on her destiny. Benedict was his name…a mysterious, dark, fanged stranger. She was drawn to him like a fly to honey…and desparately tried to meet this illusive guy.
Turns out his ‘costume’ wasn’t really a getup afterall…since his identity is that of a vampire. And one who is seeking a soulmate. But just when things are beginning for these two…a jealous arranged marriage type of fiance shows up…
to be continued…
Excerpts:
Pg. 36-’Ally was sure she was experiencing lust at first sight.’
Pg. 75-’Certainly, she had died and gone to heaven, or was it hell.’
Pg. 80-’Ally had no idea what he was saying, but it sounded beautiful, like a lullaby.’
Pg. 107-’While she was in deep thought, Ally didn’t take notice of the small bat perched on the balcony’s railing…’
Pg.
* Heartbroken *
Lisa Unger’s Heartbroken
Heart Island. An island all alone, across the rough waters, in a land of solitude, secrets, ghosts and mystery. Heart Island is full of the ‘treasure’ of butterflies and beautiful sunsets, golden memories and wildflowers. However, others rumor the island to be full money and jewelry. This island is something different to each person who resides on it or escapes to it. Birdie is one of those people. The island has been in her family for three generations and she is unwilling to leave it. As well, the intrigue of mystery alludes her every thought and wonderment. Her daughter, Kate, is singled out to pay her mother a visit, much to her unwillingness. She gets stuck with the responsibility and guilt to make the trip to Heart Island. However, this may be her chance to finally prove herself credible to her mother once and for all.
At the Blue Hen, Emily is trying to figure her life out. Her boyfriend, Dean, is the only thing holding her back. Spending her tuition money, draining them of their rent, and tearing her spirit down. Someway, somehow, she is set on giving him second and third chances to redeem himself. One too many chances later, she soon realizes there’s no helping him and no hope, but she doesn’t see the light in time to save herself and sentence herself to regret and question.
Both worlds collide in an explosion of resolution, answers, and honesty. Unger holds you at bay through the whole story, just giving enough information that leaves a few pieces behind for you to wonder about. A+ read!
Excerpts:
Pg. 39-’He was a junkyard dog; you didn’t dare let him smell your fear or sadness or anything soft inside you.’
Pg. 47-’She wondered if it was like fairy dust, all that love. Maybe some of it would rub off on her.’
Pg. 114-’In this place, she felt as though she could release a breath she’d been holding all day.’
Pg. 123-’A straight man in love with design-it was cute.’
Pg. 179-’Like everything else…it was too far away for her to ever touch.’
Pg. 224-’She floated above herself to see the three of them standing, a sick triangle of bad intentions and ugly mistakes.’
‘Dawn was God’s little reminder that no matter how dark the night, the sun always rises.’
Pg. 3-’ .’
* Criminal *
Karin Slaughter’s Criminal
Amanda and Evelyne (forty years ago) are a detective duo in a time when women are anything but respected or accepted as po-lice… Quite different from present day, the old Amanda only has respect and causes people to bend at her will due to her dad’s status and sway in the community.They try to solve a crime of a group of girls who no one would ever give a second thought; prostitutes. Ev and Mandy long to expose the girls’ killer. While currenlty, in the present, the killing is still happening…Turns out Trent has that same killer blood running through his veins which makes him more than determined to dig deep for answers. Turns out the killer is keen at laying low under the radar and strikes when everyone is cooling on their heels.
So many ends are tied up, providing so many satisfying answers and heart-warming memories. Slaughter has really outdone herself and weaves a thick web of plot.
Excerpts:
Pg. 11-’Maybe she was trash. Maybe she deserved to be abandoned.’
Pg. 27-’There was Sara. There was hte way she breathed in his ear. There was hte way she traced her finger down his spine. There was her taste; her smell.’
Pg. 42-’The hornets n his gut had worked their way into his chest, trapping his breath.’
Pg. 113-’She felt a lessoning of ressure not just from the sond, but from the selease of air that had been trapped in her lungs like poison.’
Pg. 248-’If thinking about Will was a futile endeavor, thinking about his wife was a lesson in self-hatred.’
Pg. 319-’She was so beautiful that it was almost painful.’
Pg. 407-She felt an ache in her heart, as if he was pulling on an invisible string between them.’
‘We All Shuffles, Off The Mortal Coil’
* Light Between Oceans *
M.L. Stedman’s Light Between Oceans
Isabel a nineteen year old who was always ready for adventure and sets out everyday to explore life and all it had to offer with open eyes and arms. Tom a war surviver, hard man and mature beyond his years didn’t mind solitude but entertained companionship when it presented itself before him. Wouldn’t you know it, the two of them happened upon eachother. It all started with a letter…
Tom married Isabel and took her off to Janus Rock with him. It was a place of solitude and danger with no one around for miles. They had each other though. Not too long after they married, Isabel became pregnant. Much to their broken hearts, Isabel was not blessed with children until one day when a mysterious ship wrecked, leaving the most perfect blessing wrapped in a camisole with eyes that could melt the hardest of hearts and mend the shattered.
Excerpts:
Pg.64 -’You’re my other half of the sky.’
Pg. 71-’There are times when the ocean is not the ocean-not blue, not even water, but some violent explosion of energy and danger…’
Pg. 86-’No mask or pretence: the baby’s defenselessness was overwhelming.’
Pg. 227-’A lighthouse warns of danger-tells people to keep their distance. She had mistaken it for a place of safety.’
Pg. 267-’She remembered the look on his face the first time he had held his daughter, as though she had presented him with the whole of heaven and earth in that pink blanket.’
‘”You only taste it for a second. But it’s worth it’” 333
* Play Nice *
Gemma Halliday’s Play Nice
Anna Smith is trying to rid her life of her former self, Anya. Former assassin since she was thirteen and trained to follow orders. Now 15 years later she’s living in San Fransicso and is surviving as close to normal as possible as a professional dog washer and working for a dog shelter. Afterall, dogs love you no matter what…
Much to Anna’s dismay, her new life isn’t going as well as she’s hoped. On a day like any other day, shots ring out and the windows are shattered around her which leads to more confusion and disaster than she could ever plan for. Suddenly her ‘friend’ and a daring stranger are messing with her mind and abilities to know who she can trust.
Turns out, you can’t always judge a book by it’s cover and it’s always important to read between the lines of the people around you when you’ve killed people, even if it has been 15 years…
Excerpts:
Pg. 25-’Like a ghost. Because, after all, isn’t that what she was?’
Pg. 97-’ “I’m not your honey” ‘…’ “No, you’re a pain in my ass.” ‘
Pg. 153-’It was one word, but it told Anna all she needed to know.’
Pg. 204-’Desparate…for the chance to be, just for one night, a part of something other than herself.’
* The Cellar *
Richard Laymon’s The Cellar
Donna and Sandy are leaving town to get away from Roy, the revengeful and sadistic husband who was just released from jail. They head North in an attempt to get as far ahead of him as possible before he finds out they’ve left town. To their dismal, they end up crashing off the road, only to be met by a crazed man who is not as innocent as his mental state portrays.
Donna and Sandy end up in the small town of Malcasa Point with a population of 400 and hunker down while their car is being fixed by a local mechanic. As luck would have it, Donna is drawn to a mysterious stranger, Jud, who turns out to be a hitman of sorts. Jud falls for her and finds a soft spot in his heart for her daughter, Sandy, and is bound and determined to keep them against her ex-husband.
The small town they all reside in, also happens to be the home of the Beast House, where rumor has it people who enter it after dark are slaughter and tortured by the Beast who claims the house. While tourists are fascinated and pay for a tour of the gore and yearn to hear the gruesome tales, Jud is hired to kill the Beast to end the monster’s rein once and for all…
Pg. 2-‘He felt his skin shrivel as if spiders were scurrying up his back.’
Pg. 65-‘She looked up at him, through him, past him. Almost as if she were blind.’
Pg. 77-‘As if attracted by the intensity of her gaze, the man looked over his shoulder.’
Pg. 199-‘”I hear voices.” “It’s usually mine saying, I’d better nail this guy before he nails me.”’
Pg. 277-‘Ahead was the entrance hall, it’s stuffed-monkey umbrella holder guarding the front door like a grotesque sentry.’
*Sins Of The Demon*
Diana Rowland’s Sins of the Demon Pt. 4
Over the past year, Kara has been trying to sort out her life as a summoner and a cop with the Beaulac PD. During that year, she’s found out that some of her fellow co-workers are more than meets the eye when it comes to demonic lords, demons and arcane powers…
Just when you think her life couldn’t get anymore complicated, people start dieing in wierd ways. It turns out too that the people dieing are all linked to her by way of her past and all these people have had a hand in causing her past harm. Does she have a motive and/or link in their deaths?
That’s what the mayor believes…and since he has authority over Kara’s sargent, what he says goes…sort of.
What a tangles mess to sort out!
Excerpts:
Pg. 60-’Super. My demon had a cat because my life wasn’t strange enough already.’
Pg. 95-’Living with Eilahn was like a verbal chess match sometimes.’
Pg. 183-’Great, even in my dreams I needed to be in better shape.’
