If you think Eighth Grade Bites and Ninth Grade Slays, just wait until Tenth Grade Bleeds, the third and by far most blood boiling installment in Heather Brewer’s The Chronicles of Vladimir Tod series. Life at Bathory High School for a half-human, half-vampire sucks even more in tenth grade than in years past. In fact, Vlad’s battles with the stuck-up kids at school, the constant threat of evil vamp D’ablo, and even his problems with best pal and drudge Henry aren’t likely to let up any time soon.  Sprinkle on the disappearance of his Uncle Otis, the terrible nightmares, and an overwhelming urge to snack on girlfriend, Meredith, and you have the perfect ingredients for the action-packed, heart-wrenching, and hilarious misadventures of a teen who wants to fit in, even though he is born to stand out. …» more

It’s been nearly two months since I decided to rewrite my novel, The Seers: Dark Inheritance, and I have to say it’s been an eye-opening experience. In fact, now that I’m almost finished with the new version, I look back on the original and completely understand where I went wrong. The story was too long, and while the characters were well-developed, the hook lacked much to be desired, and the action lulled and dragged on far too often. In other words, I was as long-winded as a southern Baptist preacher.

You see, East Tennessee is not exactly the Mecca of the literary or publishing world, and while no one really cares to hear excuses, I really must plead complete ignorance. Basically, living in a rural area, I am isolated from a lot of resources that many writers have at their fingertips. In fact, the closest large cities are Johnson City and Knoxville, and they aren’t exactly known for their many agents, writing workshops, or publishing companies. So from the start, I’ve been on my own, relying only on what I learned in college and what I had read on the Internet. So I kept sending query after query, and even though I had some interest, I continued to get rejection after rejection. …» more

I had never read a novel by  Alyson Noel until a couple of months ago when I read Evermore, and I was definitely stricken by the conversational flow of language, the beautifully written dialogue, and realistic portrayal of high school students. Then, I was fortunate enough to snag an advanced copy of Blue Moon, which is even better than Evermore. But I was aware she had written books other than those in the  best-selling Immortals series. So I got to exploring, and I’ve found I love Noel’s other novels just as much.

Saving Zoe, published in 2007, is the story of Echo, a freshman in high school who is still living in the shadow of her popular, beautiful, and fun-loving sister, Zoe, even a year after her brutal murder. Now attending the high school where only months ago, Zoe stole the spotlight, Echo is confronted by old ghosts, old memories, unwanted sympathy–and Zoe’s boyfriend Marc, who Echo’s parents blame for their daughter’s murder. …» more

Royal Blood, the sixth installment in Ellen Schreiber’s Vampire Kisses series, is everything I have come to expect in the lighthearted, hilarious tale of Raven Madison and the fanged man of her dreams, Alexander Sterling.  After overcoming discrimination from the closed-minded townsfolk, surviving a short separation, and fighting off Jagger and his two siblings, Raven and Alexander face their biggest challenge yet–his parents’ return from Romania.

While Raven spends much time worrying she won’t fit in–a mere mortal among vampires–she never dreams she will find a kindred goth-spirit in Alexander’s mother.  Mrs. Sterling may love Raven, as well as her son, but it won’t keep her and Mr. Sterling from taking Alexander back to their homeland in Romania. When faced with moving a world away, what will  Alexander be willing to do to keep his true love with Raven? And what will Raven risk herself? …» more

 Bishop may have control of Morganville, but his days are numbered in Carpe Corpus, the sixth installment in Rachel Caine’s The Morganville Vampires series. All seems lost at the beginning of the novel, as Claire and Michael are under Bishop’s control, Shane and his father are in jail, Myrnin has buddied up to the dark side, and Amelie is nowhere to be found.

However, not everything is as it seems in Morganville these days, especially when it comes to loyalty. As turns out, Myrnin and Michael are merely talented actors secretly working for Amelie in an effort to overthrow Bishop. Unfortunately, Bishop’s temper tends to flare when he suspects betrayal, leaving Claire, Shane, Michael, and Eve to rely on each other in order to fight, win, and survive.

The most significant aspect of this novel, I think, is the monumental change in Claire. Since the first novel, Claire has gradually developed a thicker skin, but in Carpe Corpus, she is downright tough and fearless when it comes to protecting her family and friends. She is no longer the scared runt of a girl that showed up at the Glass house covered in blood and bruises, having morphed into a brave young woman willing to stake a vampire or two in order to save the people she loves. …» more

 In Rachel Caine’s Lord of Misrule, the fifth installment in the Morganville Vampires series, war has erupted between followers of Amelie and her more sadistic father, Bishop. It is up to the humans decide which side of the battle they wish to be on, and Claire, Shane, and Eve find themselves as human pawns in Amelie’s fight to take back Morganville.  But unfortunately, Amelie sees fit to separate them all, sending Claire, Eve, Michael, and Shane each on separate missions.

As Claire attends Amelie in the search to find Myrnin, Shane is the bait to lure Bishop into Amelie’s clutches. She has given him the responsibility of protecting the founders book, wherein lies the secret to creating new vampires–a secret only Amelie knows. And when Amelie mysteriously disappears in a surprise attack from Bishops followers, Claire is left to escape, helping those she can, as she fights her way back to Shane.  However, when a terrible storm rages, leaving more destruction and chaos in its wake, Claire finds herself in the worst predicament yet. …» more

Though Claire would have thought it impossible, life takes a turn for the worst in Morganville with the arrival of Mr. Bishop, Amelie’s power-hungry father, in Rachel Caine’s Feast of Fools. In this fourth installment in the Morganville Vampires series, Claire, along with Shane, Eve, and Michael, find themselves in the middle of a brutal power struggle and must choose between two vampires–Bishop or Amelie.

The choice is simple for Claire. For with Bishop comes his two sidekicks, Francois and Yasandre (who just happens to have an animalistic attraction to Shane). So not only is Amelie’s relatively peaceful method of ruling Morganville threatened in Feast of Fools, but Shane’s free will and love for Claire could be jeopardized by Ysandre’s relentless pursuit. Claire, of course, will stay true to Amelie while racing against the clock to save Shane, Eve, her parents, and the rest of Morganville from swearing their loyalty to Bishop at an invitation-only feast that will change the town forever. …» more