Things To Do In Denver When You’re Un-Dead by Mark Everett Stone

Genre: Urban Fantasy; Vampires, Ghouls, Zombies, Demons, Mythical Creatures, Magic, Magicians, Ghosts
Sub Genre: Fantasy; Paranormal, Horror
Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Back Cover: For ten years Kal Hakala has been the Bureau of Supernatural Investigation’s top man, the longest surviving agent in its blood-soaked history. The World At Large has no idea that The World Under exists. And its vampires, demons, zombies, and mythic monsters are growing increasingly restless. In all Kal’s time with the Bureau, there has been no case he couldn’t crack, no monster he couldn’t kill. Then a plague of zombies comes to Denver, along with a vicious serial killer dubbed The Organ Donor. A childhood encounter with a legendary monster has left Kal with an endless supply of rage and hatred for all things Supernatural. But now the target is on his forehead, and the Un-Dead don’t die easy. The Bureau has a few aces of its own—a few magicians, a cyber-ghost. Unfortunately Kal is a perennial loner ... And the World Under is wise to His tricks.

This is the first book from the Files of the BSI. It follows Kal while he is on a mission in Denver with flashbacks from when he started with the Bureau and other parts of his past. When I started to read this book it had me from page one. The way that it is written sucks you right in almost as if you are standing there. The story is engaging and though it jumps from present to past it flows so well. That to me is great storytelling. I really enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading the next in the series, What Happens in Vegas Dies in Vegas.

Publisher: Camel Press
ISBN: 978-1603818599
Pages: 318
Series: From the Files of the BSI
Volume: 1

Radiance by Alyson Noel

Genre: Young Adult

Sub Genre: Paranormal; The Immortals, Ghosts, Afterlife

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Back Cover: From the #1 New York Times bestselling author of the Immortals comes a new middle-grade series featuring Ever’s younger sister, Riley. Riley Bloom has left her sister and crossed the bridge into the afterlife – a place called Here, where time is always Now. She has picked up where she left off when she was alive, living with her parents and dog in a nice house in a nice neighborhood. When she’s summoned before The Council, she learns that the afterlife isn’t just an eternity of leisure. She’s been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a possibly cute, seemingly nerdy boy who’s definitely hiding something. They return to earth together for Riley’s first assignment, a Radiant Boy who’s been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him to cross the bridge and failed. But all of that was before he met Riley…

This book is a spin off of Alyson Noel’s Immortals series. It fallows Riley after she has left Ever. She is now with her parents and her dog Buttercup. Riley learns that there is more to Here and Now. She actually has a job. Now she is connected to Bodhi who she feels is a dork by the way he dresses. The story is written for middle-grade. I like that we get to see what happens to Riley and how things are a bit different from her perspective. I really enjoyed reading this book and look forward to reading the next adventure in the series, Shimmer.

Publisher: Square Fish

ISBN: 0312629176

Pages: 192

Series: Riley Bloom

Volume: 1

The Named by Marianne Curley

Genre: Young Adult

Sub Genre: Paranormal; People with Abilities, Time Travel, Magic, The Guardians of Time

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Back Cover: Ethan is a member of the Named, sworn to fight the Order of Chaos, an evil group determined to permanently change the course of history. But he is also a normal high school student trying desperately to keep up with his homework and fit in. When he is assigned to mentor Isabel, a cute classmate and future member of the Named, the line between his two lives begins to blur. So begins an epic quest as Ethan, Isabel, and others travel through time to battle dark forces and protect the future.

This is the first book in the Guardians of Time trilogy. Ethan has being training to fight against the Order of Chaos since the death of his sister. Now he is getting an apprentice his old best friend’s little sister Isabel. As the two work together and learn that there is more to what is going on, including a prophecy. This is a great tale that takes you along for the ride. As the characters learn more about one another it only adds more to the tale. I really loved this book and can’t wait to read the next one, The Dark.

Publisher: Bloomsbury

ISBN: 1599905434

Pages: 352

Series: Guardians of Time Trilogy

Volume: 1

How to be a Vampire by Amy Gray

Genre: Young Adult

Sub Genre: Paranormal; Vampires, Magic, Shifters

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Back Cover: A fangs-on guide for the newly undead. Here the secrets of the undead are revealed, from how to be turned to how to fill eternity once you’ve been bitten, including: Telling your family that you’re a child of the night. Dressing like the mysterious creature you are. Dos and don’ts of dating a mortal. Escape mortality. Embrace the darkness. Become a vampire.

This is a beautiful book. The print quality alone is worth the buy. It is the book that any goth or person interested in becoming a vampire should read. It has a lot of the lore about vampires from all over the world within it. It as well as has a few quizzes for you to take. I found this book to be quite entertaining to read. I loved the look of the whole book as well. And recommend it to anyone who loves vampires.

Publisher: Candlewick Press

ISBN: 0763649155

Pages: 144

Series:

Volume:

Undeadly by Michele Vail

Genre: Young Adult

Sub Genre: Paranormal; Egyptian Mythology, Reapers, Magic

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Back Cover: The day I turned 16, my boyfriend-to-be died. I brought him back to life. Then things got a little weird… Molly Bartolucci wants to blend in, date hottie Rick and keep her zombie-raising abilities on the down-low. Then the god Anubis chooses her to become a reaper—and she accidentally undoes the work of another reaper, Rath. Within days, she's shipped off to the Nekyia Academy, an elite boarding school that trains the best necromancers in the world. And her personal reaping tutor? Rath. Life at Nekyia has its pluses. Molly has her own personal ghoul, for one. Rick follows her there out of the blue, for another…except, there's something a little off about him. When students at the academy start to die and Rath disappears, Molly starts to wonder if anything is as it seems. Only one thing is certain—Molly's got an undeadly knack for finding trouble….

Molly turns 16 and her whole life changes. First she as a dream of Anubis and she excepts to be his. But she doesn't quite know what that means. At her birthday party the boy that she cares for dies and she brings him back using her powers. She then learns about family she didn't even know that she had and gets sent to Nekyia Academy. And then things really begin to change. This is a great interpretation of Egyptian mythology. The world is filled with people who can be necromancers and magic. I found this book to be inventive and well written. I look forward to reading the next book in the series, Unchosen.

Publisher: Harlequin Teen

ISBN: 978-0-373-21046-6

Pages: 272

Series: The Reaper Diaries

Volume: 1

Unbound by Kim Harrison, Melissa Marr, Jeaniene Frost, Vicki Pettersson, Jocelynn Drake

Genre: Urban Fantasy; Super Heroes, Pixies, Nymphs, Magic, Vampires, Glaistigs

Sub Genre: Paranormal

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Back Cover: Five master of dark fantasy cross the borders between our world and others. Not all hunters are bound by human laws… Revisiting the paranormal realms they’ve made famous in their wildly popular fiction. New York Times bestselling authors Kim Harrison, Jeaniene Frost, Vicki Pettersson, and Jocelynn Drake – plus New York Times bestselling YA Melissa Marr with her first adult supernatural thriller – unleash their full arsenal of dark talents, plunging us into the shadows where the supernatural stalk the unsuspecting… and every soul is a target. Get ready for the ride of your life – because the widest magic has just been unleashed… and evil is about to have its day.

This is an anthology of some of the bestselling authors in Urban Fantasy. We get to have a short story for Jenks, Bones, J.J., and Mira. I’m not going into them only as they are short stories and I don’t want to give anything away. These stories also fall under other series like the first in the Night Huntress - Complete World by Jeaniene Frost, 7.5 for the Hollows by Kim Harrison, 4.5 Signs of the Zodiac by Vicki Pettersson,  0.7 Dark Days by Jocelynn Drake. One of the things that I really liked was that there are some that are connected to the series that the writers have already begun. I really love this book and hope they do another one.

Publisher: EOS

ISBN: 0061699934

Pages: 368

Series:

Volume:

Glimmerglass by Jenna Black

Genre: Young Adult

Sub Genre: Paranormal; Faerie, Faeriewalker, Magic, Avalon

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Back Cover: Normal: It’s all she’s ever wanted to be, but it couldn’t be further from her grasp… Dana Hathaway doesn’t know it yet, but she’s in big trouble.  When her alcoholic mom shows up at her voice recital drunk, again, Dana decides she’s had enough and runs away to find her mysterious father in Avalon: the only place on Earth where the regular, everyday world and the captivating, magical world of Faerie intersect. But from the moment Dana sets foot in Avalon, everything goes wrong, for it turns out she isn't just an ordinary teenage girl—she's a Faeriewalker, a rare individual who can travel between both worlds, and the only person who can bring magic into the human world and technology into Faerie.  Soon, Dana finds herself tangled up in a cutthroat game of Fae politics. Someone's trying to kill her, and everyone seems to want something from her, from her newfound friends and family to Ethan, the hot Fae guy Dana figures she’ll never have a chance with… until she does.  Caught between two worlds, Dana isn’t sure where she’ll ever fit in and who can be trusted, not to mention if her world will ever be normal again…

This is the first book in the Faeriewalker series. Dana thought nothing could be worse than living with her mother who is an alcoholic. She runs away from home to go and find her father. But once there she is there, nothing seems to be going right. With an unwelcoming aunt, people trying to kill her and she doesn’t know who to trust. This is a very fast paced book but instead of feeling like your hair is on fire trying to keep up it written brilliantly. I have to say that as much as I liked the main characters it’s the supporting ones that truly make this story shin. This is a book that I absolutely love and can’t wait to read the next book in the series, Shadowspell.

Publisher: St. Martin's Griffin

ISBN: 0312575939

Pages: 304

Series: Faeriewalker

Volume: 1

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins

Genre: Young Adult

Sub Genre: Paranormal; Vampires, Witches, Warlocks, Werewolves, Shifters, Magic, Faeries, Demons

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Back Cover: Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It's gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie's estranged father--an elusive European warlock--only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it's her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters. By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect. As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

This is the first book in the Hex Hall series. Sophie has moved around many times so while she is trying to make friends she does one little spell that turns out to go very wrong. Now she is being sent to Hex Hall. Where she learns more about others like her. But she doesn’t seem to be making very good friends. Sophie is a great character that you really connect with early on. The other characters are just as well written. I really loved this book and can’t wait to see where this series is going. I can't wait to read the next book in this series, Demonglass.

Publisher: Hyperion

ISBN: 1423121392

Pages: 352

Series: Hex Hall

Volume: 1

The Vampire Lestat by Anne Rice

Genre: Fiction; Vampires

Sub Genre: Paranormal

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

From Anne Rice’s Webpage: The Vampire Lestat, whom we first met in Interview With the Vampire , has his own story to tell. Anne Rice's second book in The Vampire Chronicles follows Lestat through the ages as he conducts his own search for his origins and to find meaning in what has happened to him. Unlike the cruel and dark Lestat we saw in Interview, this book reveals a sympathetic figure with his own blend of morality, romanticism, and bravery. Lestat has been asleep for fifty-five years and awakes entranced with the modern world. He becomes a superstar rock musician and millions of fans fall under his spell. Breaking the vampire code of silence, Lestat reveals himself to the world in the hopes that the world's immortals will rise and join together to solve the mystery of their, and his, existence. The novel moves effortlessly back in time to eighteenth century France, the world of Lestat's chilhood artistocracy, as he tells his story. From his childhood struggles against his father through free and easy eighteenth century Paris as an actor, and his making into a vampire. We travel with Lestat as he searches for other vampires, sometimes alone, sometimes with the haunting Gabrielle, sometimes with the devastating Nicolas. Lestat circles Europe searching for his origins, and for clues to the birth of the vampire, but he finds that the seminal answers elude him. Through his travels and searches, Lestat also makes enemies of vampires who are terrified that his wanderings and searchings will disrupt their coexistence with mortals, or that he will attempt to rule them all. And when Lestat finds the very first vampires, he finds his seminal truths, but also unleashes ancient forces and the wrath of his enemies. Lestat, hunter, has become the hunted.

This is the second book in the in the Vampire Chronicles. This goes into where Lestat came from. There is so much that is going on as you start all the way back in Lestat’s past and though his time with Claudia and Louis and on. The book is so well written and will keep you on your toes. When I started reading I couldn’t put it down. This is my favorite book in the vampire chronicles series. I can’t wait to read the next one in the series, Queen of the Damned.

Publisher: Ballantine Books

ISBN: 0345419642

Pages: 496

Series: Vampire Chronicles

Volume: 2

Guardian of the Realm by Krystal George

Genre: Young Adult

Sub Genre: Paranormal; Magic, Fairy

Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars

Back Cover: The Darkness - Taken when she was just seven years old, Esmeralda has very little memory of her life before the Realm. Power has always been her constant companion, protection has been her only goal, and acceptance by the magic she guards has always been her only wish. That is until the darkness comes... and with it comes the one person who can give her the greatest power of all... love. The Light - Losing his mother at a young age, Eric has always been the responsible one; the strong one. He'd had to be. His sister Kaitlyn had needed him. Now with Kaitlyn missing he is thrown into a world of secrets and deception. A world that until this moment he knew nothing about... a world that he is more a part of than he could have ever known. With darkness descending and time running out, can he become the man he is destined to be? Or will he fail and lose the girl he has come to love? The Realm - Beyond the doorway is a World of Enchantment and Myth. A world that once entered will grant you any wish your heart may desire... but only if you can get beyond... the Guardian.

The book is one of those great stories that pulls you in from the beginning, filled with magic and mystery. It is told in two different perspectives of Esmeralda and Eric. Flipping back and forth between them, and the way it is written it has a very smooth transition. The description of the way of life of the fey is brilliant. I liked the self discovery of the two main characters. This is a great story and I really enjoyed reading it.

Publisher: Dragonfly Publishing

AISN: B00BKS3KEY

Pages: 172

Series:

Volume:

The Willows by Krystal George

Genre: Young Adult

Sub Genre: Paranormal; Urban Fantasy, Vampires

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Back Cover: Life is easy when you have everything you want; great friends, a boyfriend who loves you, a happy family that supports you, brothers that both protect and annoy you. I had all of that… once. That was before the accident. That was before the murder. That was before… The Willows. Evelyn Magwire now has a choice to make. Does she turn her back on the mysteries that have consumed her life, or does she face the darkness and find the truth? When her brother comes up missing, the choice is made for her. Forced on a path where her friends become her enemies and her enemies become her friends, Evie learns that the changes happening to herself are the scariest of all. She’s not sure she will ever be the same again… Because some changes are forever… and bloodlust… never dies.

After loosing everything Evelyn is told over and over again that she just has to move on. But it's just not that easy. This is one of those books that you just feel like you are a part of the story. Evelyn is such an empty character at the beginning. As she realizes what is happening around her, it ads much more depth to her. I really enjoyed reading this book and hope that there will be a sequel as I would love to see what happens next.

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

ISBN: 978-1475253467

Pages: 304

Series:

Volume: 

Interview with the Vampire by Anne Rice

Genre: Fiction; Vampires

Sub Genre: Paranormal

Rating: 5 out of 5 Stars

Back Cover: The story is ostensibly a simple one: having suffered a tremendous personal loss, an 18th-century Louisiana plantation owner named Louis Pointe du Lac descends into an alcoholic stupor. At his emotional nadir, he is confronted by Lestat, a charismatic and powerful vampire who chooses Louis to be his fledgling. The two prey on innocents, give their "dark gift" to a young girl, and seek out others of their kind (notably the ancient vampire Armand) in Paris. But a summary of this story bypasses the central attractions of the novel. First and foremost, the method Rice chose to tell her tale--with Louis' first-person confession to a skeptical boy--transformed the vampire from a hideous predator into a highly sympathetic, seductive, and all-too-human figure. Second, by entering the experience of an immortal character, one raised with a deep Catholic faith, Rice was able to explore profound philosophical concerns--the nature of evil, the reality of death, and the limits of human perception--in ways not possible from the perspective of a more finite narrator.

This is the first of Anne Rice’s Vampire books. Louis is a vampire that other vampires consider to human. He has lived for 200 years and is going to tell his tale. It is a great book to show the human condition. Yes it’s about vampires but it shows all the emotions that we as humans have to deal with. The travels that he and his various companions go on in search of others is so well written you feel as though you are right there with the characters. I really love this story it is a great beginning to a brilliantly written saga. This was also made into a movie back in 1994. Great cast of Brad Pitt, Tom Cruise, Christian Slater, Antonio Banderas, and Kristen Dunst. It was well done but I still like the book better.

Publisher: Ballantine Books

ISBN: 0345409647

Pages: 352

Series: Vampire Chronicles

Volume: 1