The Deepest Cut - J.A. Templeton

Release Date: October 1st 2011
Number of Pages: 304 Pages

Sixteen-year-old Riley Williams has been able to see ghosts since the car crash that took her mother’s life and shattered her family. Guilt-ridden over the belief that she’s somehow responsible for her mom’s death, Riley is desperate to see her mother’s elusive spirit to gain her forgiveness.

When her father moves the family to Scotland so they can all start over, Riley believes her life couldn’t get worse––that is until the ghost of nineteen-year-old Ian MacKinnon catches her purposely cutting herself. An uneasy truce quickly turns into friendship, and soon Riley’s falling hard for Ian.

Riley believes her gift could help Ian end the curse that has kept him tied to the land for centuries, but that would mean letting him go forever and she’s not sure she is strong enough to do that. As if her life wasn’t complicated enough, the spirit of the woman who killed Ian returns and she’ll stop at nothing to keep Riley from helping Ian find eternal peace.

I HAVE NO WORDS! I mean I even took one day to sort my feelings and thoughts on this book before writing a review, and I still can't describe how good this book was. The book takes place in Scotland, which just gives the story more charm. J.A. Templeton picked the best place for this book, Scotland's old cities fits perfectly with the story. I mean, ghosts and old castles and inns = perfect match.

Riley could be a real person, she was so well-written and genuine. Sometimes I felt like she was coming out of the book, yes she felt really that real. After the car crash, which killed her mother, Riley went through a hard phase. She believes it is her fault that her mother died, so she starts to cut herself to take away the pain inside. Oh and to top it all she can see ghosts after the accident. The worst part is that her mother never comes to visit. Riley then has to move to Scotland with her family so they can have a chance to start over. There she meets the ghost of nineteen-year-old (plus 200 years roaming the earth) and hottie, Ian. After such a long time being alone and having no one to talk to, Riley finds in Ian a good friend. Well until she falls head over heels in love with him, that is. But could this relationship have a future?

In the beginning I kind of hated Riley's brother Shane, but with time he grew on me. Whereas in the beginning he was a pain in the *butt*, in the end he was one of the sweetest guys in the book. He blamed Riley for moving their family to Scotland and treated her badly. But after some events (read the book!) he changes and is really sweet. One of my favorite scenes in the book is when Shane opens up to Riley about his feelings towards the accident and Riley's guilt. So sweet, I wished I had a brother so that he could be that nice to me!

Riley's and Shane's friends were also real and typical characters. You could meet any of those types of people in your school. I loved reading this book and thinking: wow this characters is really like this person I know. I think when a writer writes such genuine characters, you can connect better to the story, and this book is totally the case. You can associate with any of the characters, especially Riley.

Now to the bad girl. Laria is completely crazy! She is a ghost too, but in life she was in love with Ian. Unfortunately for her he was promised to another girl and only saw Laria as a friend and maid. She worked for his family in the castle and knew she didn't have a chance with him, but that didn't stop her. She got involved with the Dark Arts and poisoned Ian because she couldn't get her way. And only poisoning was not enough for her, she cursed him too so that he had to roam the earth forever. Until Riley came to ruin her revenge, which only got her madder. She torments Riley and her family to get Riley to give up helping Ian and prevent them from being together. Oh and she will provide some nightmares !

I have to admit that at first I thought this book would be like The Mediator by Meg Cabot. I don't know if you read this series but the story in Mediator is really similar, but the outcome totally different. And I must say I loved the difference! This book should totally get more attention, since it definitely made my list of best books this year. It's not like other books in which the romance is so obvious and going to end well no matter the obstacles in the way. The Deepest Cut has everything you want in a book: romance, supernatural aspects, genuine characters, great main characters, a hot love interest, amazing plot and good unfolding of events. It will make you deriously addicted to it and you will probably be up all night like me reading it!

Shattered Souls - Mary Lindsey

Release Date : 8th December 2011
Number of Pages: 336 Pages


Lenzi hears voices and has visions - gravestones, floods, a boy with steel gray eyes. Her boyfriend, Zak, can't help, and everything keeps getting louder and more intense. Then Lenzi meets Alden, the boy from her dreams, who reveals that she's a reincarnated Speaker - someone who can talk to and help lost souls - and that he has been her Protector for centuries.

Now Lenzi must choose between her life with Zak and the life she is destined to lead with Alden. But time is running out: a malevolent spirit is out to destroy Lenzi, and he will kill her if she doesn't make a decision soon.



At the beginning of the book Lenzi starts to hear voices and see things. Having a dad who was a schizophrenic, she thinks the disease got her, too. And at first it seems that way, but after meeting Alden who says she isn not crazy and gives another explanation to this weird voices, she starts to believe it, too. She is a reincarnated Speaker, someone who can talk with the dead. 

I liked Alden, but I thought he was maybe too nice. He has been her Protector for centuries now, and a Protector never does anything wrong or something to annoy the Speaker. I just had the feeling he could have been better written. I just didn't like him as much as other love interests. Zak, her boyfriend, was an annoyance. I disliked him from the first time he made an appearance. He is jealous and has a temper and downright aggressive. Lenzi was the best character for me. But even she didn't manage to grab me. The only thing that go me going in this book was the plot. I enjoyed the story a lot, it has mystery, drama and romance, the things I like most in a book. 

The romance was well-buit. I liked how fate play a big part in this book. Lenzi was Rose in her part lives but she can't remember anything, which she actually should be able to. Alden loved Rose, but does he love Lenzi if she can't remember being Rose? Lenzi asks herself this question a lot in the book, and I think that is realistic that they don't jump in a relationship so early. I also liked that Lenzi sometimes has some visions about her life as Rose, and that we actually get to know why she has no recollection of her past life.


I would also like to know more about the organization that controls every Speaker and Protector. In Shattered Souls this organization was more in the background and we only get a glimpse of it in the last chapters. Hopefully we will find out more about it in the next book. 


I enjoyed this book, I won't lie that I expected more of it, but it was a good read. I think I would totally read the sequel if it has one, because I think the sequel will be more promising. People who enjoyed reading The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting or even The Mediator by Meg Cabot will enjoy reading this book.

Brightest Kind of Darkness - P.T. Michelle

Release Date: June 27th 2011
Kindle Edition

Summary:
Nara Collins is an average sixteen-year-old, with one exception: every night she dreams the events of the following day. Due to an incident in her past, Nara avoids using her special gift to change fate…until she dreams a future she can’t ignore.

After Nara prevents a bombing at Blue Ridge High, her ability to see the future starts to fade, while people at school are suddenly being injured at an unusually high rate.

Grappling with her diminishing powers and the need to prevent another disaster, Nara meets Ethan Harris, a mysterious loner who seems to understand her better than anyone. Ethan and Nara forge an irresistible connection, but as their relationship heats up, so do her questions about his dark past.

What is Ethan? I am still curious, and I read this book 4 days ago. P.T. Michelle has a way to keep you hanging and guessing long after you've finished this book. I was hooked from the moment I read this summary. I asked myself how I would feel like if I could see my future day every night. And after reading this book I realized it's no picnic. After dreaming something she couldn't ignore, she interferes with the natural order of things. Fate wasn't so happy about it and keeps trying to take Nara out of the picture. Maybe by interfering, she made everything worse, or did she? She meets Ethan, this beautiful but quiet boy. But he is not what he appears to be. By the end of the book, I still have no idea what he is and I can't wait to find out! The story was a bit slow and a bit confusing in the beginning but after a few chapters it picked up the pace and I couldn't stop reading to find out more. It's a perfect mix of romance, paranormal and mystery. I recommend this book for those of you who enjoyed reading The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer, as I found some similarities between both books.
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