Dead & the Buried ~ Kim Harrington

Title: The Dead and the Buried
Author: Kim Harrington
Pub Date: January 2013
Publisher: Scholastic Point
Pages: 295

From GoodReads:
A haunted house, a buried mystery, and a very angry ghost make this one unforgettable thriller.

Jade loves the house she's just moved into with her family. She doesn't even mind being the new girl at the high school: It's a fresh start, and there's that one guy with the dreamy blue eyes. . . . But then things begin happening. Strange, otherworldly things. Jade's little brother claims to see a glimmering girl in his room. Jade's jewelry gets moved around, as if by an invisible hand. Kids at school whisper behind her back like they know something she doesn't.

Soon, Jade must face an impossible fact: that her perfect house is haunted. Haunted by a ghost who's seeking not just vengeance, but the truth. The ghost of a girl who ruled Jade's school — until her untimely death last year. It's up to Jade to put the pieces together before her own life is at stake. As Jade investigates the mystery, she discovers that her new friends in town have more than a few deep, dark secrets. But is one of them a murderer?

 THE BOOK

While still paranormal-ish, D&B was a little different from the world of Clarity Fern. In this world, Jade is dealing with a ghost that she cannot see. A ghost who is, well, I'll just say it-a bitch. She was the popular girl at school and now she is the popular girl in her death. Jade has to figure out who killed her before Jade's little brother dies as a result. 

MY THOUGHTS

I mentioned in my previous post, but I will say it again: I am addicted to Kim Harrington's writing! Something happens to me when I start reading and I cannot put the book down! So of course The Dead and the Buried was no different. 

I enjoyed the characters in this book, especially Jade. She was just a normal girl trying to fit in. Well as normal as you can be while being the new girl who lives in a haunted house. One of my favorite aspects to Jade was that she was in to stones. Once upon a time I used to know all the special properties of gemstones. Okay I still remember a few, amethyst being my absolute favorite. This was just unique that it helped me connect to Jade on so many more levels.

And what is a teen book without a love interest? Definitely had that in here. And it worked; it wasn't far-fetched or ridiculous or anything.

Kayla. What to say about Kayla? Well, she is dead. We learn and discover Kayla through passages of her diary that are interspersed throughout the book. And from reading the diary passages, it is obvious who the killer is. I was a bit let down of how predictable it was, oh well though I still enjoyed it! And even in death, Kayla was still a bitch! I loved it!

Okay so that is that. Hope you enjoy it!

Anna Dressed in Blood ~ Kendare Blake

I actually read this book last year when it debuted. And LOVED it! Recently, I listened to the audio, and I found that even though I knew what was going to happen, I was still surprised, I still got lost in the story, etc. And I still LOVE the story!

So for grins and giggles, I thought I would share my GoodReads review, and status updates for the book from October 2011.

 10/28/2011 "Just in time for Halloween..."
 10/29/2011  "Okay, totally loving this one so far! The first Anna encounter and my jaw drops. YES!"

 So I finished this one around 12:30 am Halloween Day (yay for perfect timing) and towards the end, as it was all dark and dim in my room, I got a little creeped out. The red ink used in the book felt as if the book was dressed in blood.




The story was fabulous and haunting. The gruesome bits were gruesome and shocking! Very enjoyable. 

Anna'a audio was provided by Sync. So yay them! While I downloaded a couple others in previous weeks, Anna is the first audio that I have finished.

The narrator, August Ross, did a great job giving voice to Cas and Anna. (I was not too fond of some of the jock type voices, but meh.) I am still amazed that even though I knew what was coming, I was still icked out by some of the scenes. For example, the first encounter with Anna...it was gruesome. And knowing it was coming, and HEARING it was a little different. But very cool.

Have you listened to Anna Dressed in Blood? Read it?
And are you excited for Girl of Nightmares? Let's look at the gorgeous cover...

Is this Anna, beckoning to Cas to save her? GAH! I cannot wait till it comes out next month! And I know I have mentioned the cover artist in the past, but I just have to send you to his website again. He is amazing!  
Nekro www.nekro.es

The Catastrophic History of You and Me ~ Jess Rothenberg

Title: The Catastrophic History of You and Me
Author: Jess Rothenberg
Publisher: Penguin Young Readers
Publication Date: February 2012
Pages: 375
www.jessrothenberg.com

Rating: 5 out of 5!



Is it possible to die of a broken heart? For Brie it happened. At dinner when her boyfriend told her that he didn't love her.

Now Brie is one of the Dead and Gone trying to work her way through the five stages of grief. Along the way, she has a resident Lost Soul who is helping her with her afterlife- Patrick is trying to help Brie move on. Unfortunately, with her heart in pieces, moving on isn't exactly what Brie wants to do...but revenge sounds tasty!

Each chapter is given a title from song lyrics or titles. The songs range from the 80's up through present. The lyrics gave the book such a fun quality, and fear not, Rothenberg lists each song, artist, year, etc in the back of the book. To make lyrics even more awesome, they matched the chapter's insides.


 Confession time: I came across one title and began belting it out, to which my husband was amused. Not by my singing, but by the fact that Bon Jovi was included! Not just one, but two songs: Shot Through the Heart and You're to Blame, and Living on a Prayer. You can guess which one it was I was belting out.

Shift ~ Jeri Smith-Ready

Shift is book two in the Shade Trilogy by Jeri Smith-Ready. Typically, I find that book two in a series is not all that great, luckily, I have been proved wrong with Shift (and another book I finished today).

Aura is trying to move on after the loss and re-loss of her boyfriend Logan. Now he is back from Shading. Aura is torn between her past with Logan, and her future with Zachary.

As more secrets about Aura and Zachary come to light, they are in more danger from the authorities. Meanwhile, Aura must help Logan pass on. Can Aura protect her heart and do what needs to be done, or will she fall into safety?

Again, fantastic book. I love this series and can't wait for Shine. For once this is a love triangle I can deal with. It makes sense. And my favorite part of Shift is the ending. Don't worry, I'm not going to spoil it, but damn. What a wonderful way to end a book, and it isn't even the last!