Voices of Angels by Hannah M. Davis

I have just finished Voices of Angels by Hannah .M. Davis which is a young adult book with a slight magical feel to it, not my usual genre choice but I love to have a change every now and again.


When Lizzie Fisher sees a black mark above her teachers head, she has no idea how much it will change her life. Seven days later the teacher is dead and Lizzie must come to terms with a frightening new ability: she sees when people are about to die.

Sent to Andalucia to live with a grandmother she has never met, Lizzie falls in love with gifted musician, Rafa. All seems well until one day the black mark appears above her grandmother's head. Horrified, Lizzie finds herself in a race against time to find out what the gift really means. 

Will Rafa help her? And can she save her grandmother's life before it's too late?

This was a quick read at only 257 pages which meant that something was happening on every page this made for a gripping read. At times there was a dark feel to the book as would be expected with a storyline surrounding death and mysterious dark marks but we also see a brighter side to the authors writing when she is setting the scene in Spain I felt it brought a lighter tone to the book and the authors descriptive writing shone through at these points.

Although the storyline is pure fiction the characters and some of their actions are very realistic. The way the class react to Lizzie’s “gift” is a typical reaction from teenagers when someone is a little different. I felt as though the author was trying to get a message across to the reader to find your true self and love and believe in yourself otherwise you can’t expect others to love and believe in you. I think this is a great message to give to the younger readers.

I was expecting this book to be a chilling read but I thought it was a more inspiring read and definitely one I would recommend to the younger generation to pick up. One of my clients brought their daughter along to an appointment the other day she is 14 and I recommended it to her, she downloaded it on her kindle (I read the paperback) she finished it in 2 hours was the text I received from her mum so I think that speaks for itself!

Paperback               Kindle

Dash and Lily's Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn and David Levithan

I have been experimenting with different genres recently and have come across some surprising good reads and some reads that really are not my cup of tea, we all seem to have our comfortable genre and I think it keeps reading fresh to experience different genres. I went back to my youth and decided to try a YA book as when I was growing up reading was not a hobby of mine so I feel as though I missed out a little so I have just finished Dash& Lily’s Book Of Dares.

Plot
I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.

Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favourite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions? 

This is the first book I have read written by two authors, I have always avoided these kind of books as I always had a feeling that the storyline wasn’t going to flow very well but I was proven wrong in this book. The book has so many positive things to mention and I don’t seem to be able to find a negative to go along side which surely has to be a good thing!

I love books which are set around Christmas time so already I was hooked! The book opens in the Strand, New York, which is an idyllic setting and introduces us to a great storyline beginning with a book trail between our two main characters Dash and Lily and what a great idea this was. After reading this book you can't help looking for a red notebook as you peruse the bookshelves longing for your own romantic trail!

We get to know both Dash and Lily in great detail as the book alternates between the two characters points of views, we see the two characters growing up through the book and starting to find themselves and Lily in particular trying out things teenagers go through only to realise you don’t need to follow sheep you need to be your own person.

Dash felt like the cool kid out of the two and he had a very dashing way about him, he was very intelligent but very slick with it which made for a great character. I definitely feel that by having both a male and a female author gave the characters and edge as both characters were fully developed and too an equal role in the book compared to many books where the one sex character takes the lead as the author can relate to the character more.

There were funny moments in this book when they were placing the notebook in various places that they knew each other may not be comfortable with. I would definitely recommend this book to any YA fans or for anyone who fancies putting their hand to a new genre. This gets a thumbs up from me an enjoyable read one I couldn’t put down.

Paperback                  Kindle

Here by Denise Grover Swank

This year I have now read three books by author Denise Grover Swank and yet if I am completely honest if these hadn’t been sent to me to review I probably wouldn’t have picked them to read as they are not my usual genre choice when it comes to books but I have thoroughly enjoyed reading each of her books and I find myself eager to read another of her books as she really knows how to leave you in suspense on that cliff hanger! Here by Denise Grover Swank is the book I have just finished and this book was just as good as the other books.


Plot
Sixteen year old Julia Phillips buries herself in guilt after killing her best friend Monica in a car accident. Julia awoke in the hospital with a broken leg, a new talent for drawing and false memories of the accident, in which she dies and Monica lives. The doctors attribute this to her head injury, but no one can explain how a bracelet engraved with her name ended up at the scene of the accident. A bracelet no one has ever seen before.


Classmate Evan Whittaker paid Julia no attention before the accident, let alone after. Now suddenly he’s volunteering to tutor her and offering to drive her home. She can't ignore that his new obsession started after his two-day disappearance last week and that he wears a pendant she’s been drawing for months. When the police show up one night looking for Evan, he begs Julia to run with him, convincing her that Monica is still alive. Julia agrees to go, never guessing where he’s really from.

My Opinion
I think I have beat my personal best whilst reading this book I finished it in only 4 and a half hours so as you can tell this book was impossible to put down I was even reading it whilst standing making the dinner! I never expected to enjoy a YA book as much as this. The best thing about this book is the suspense factor you never know what is going to happen next and it is impossible to predict the ending.

Each of the characters are developed well and each have an edge of mystery at the beginning of the book which makes you unsure of who to trust, who are the good guys and who are the bad guys. Our main characters Julia, Evan and Reece all form part of a love triangle but this is a love triangle like no other as usually when I read books with love triangles I know who I want to be the one the girl ends up with but this is definitely not the case in this book as both of the boys bring out the best in Julia but both of them have completely different characters with Evan feeling like the romantic settling down safe option and with Reece a more thrilling kind of chemistry.

You do need to really concentrate when reading this book as it did take a while to understand the storyline of the book as it is by no means straight forward making the book quite intense not one of these books you can pick up and put down after a few chapters.

The book has clearly been left open for a sequel and I for one will be looking out for it as soon as it becomes available on Amazon.

Vampire in Denial by Dale Mayer

Well you all know I love my chick lit books but I am a secret Young Adult fiction fan. After reading so many Chick Lit books recently I needed a little change so I decided to try Vampire in Denial by Dale Mayer. This is the first book in the Blood Ties series. When I read up on the author I was surprised at the range of books that she has wrote from Young adult to romance and even Non-fiction.


Plot
Blood doesn't just make her who she is...it also makes her what she is.


Like being a sixteen-year-old vampire isn't hard enough, Tessa's throwback human genes make her an outcast among her relatives. But try as she might, she can't get a handle on the vampire lifestyle and all the...blood.


Turning her back on the vamp world, she embraces the human teenage lifestyle—high school, peer pressure and finding a boyfriend. Jared manages to stir something in her blood. He's smart and fun and oh, so cute. But Tessa's dream of a having the perfect boyfriend turns into a nightmare when vampires attack the movie theatre and kidnap her date.


Once again, Tessa finds herself torn between the human world and the vampire one. Will blood own out? Can she make peace with who she is as well as what?

My Opinion
The main character in this book was Tessa and for a half vampire she is very down to earth and normal. She is still in her teens and she is experiencing what most teenagers experience and that is the feeling of not fitting in but for poor Tessa there is nothing she can do about it as it is part of who she is, she belongs to two different worlds.
I love that the storyline is dark and thrilling but yet Mayer still manages to bring in that little bit of romance to keep us women interested!

The story was easy to follow and made for a quick read ( I have finished this in an afternoon).
The book chops and changes between Tessa, Cody and Jared’s point of views which helps us to get an all around view on what is going on and makes it easier for us to understand what is going on.

I loved this book and found it very hard to put down... oh wait I didn’t put it down! But one thing DALE MAYER!! What are you doing to me!! I was so engrossed in the story, I was all tense and then it ended! I could almost hear the To Be Continued in my mind! I am so glad there is a follow on to this book but I am just not sure how long I can wait to find out what happens next now that the ending has left us with a twist rather than a happy ever after!

I would definitely recommend this to any Young Adult fans and I for one will be reading the sequel to this book.