Review: Lies Beneath by Anne Greenwood Brown

Lies Beneath
(Lies Beneath #1)

Author: Anne Greenwood Brown

Publication Date: June 12th, 2012

Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Genre: Paranormal

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Synopsis:

Calder White lives in the cold, clear waters of Lake Superior, the only brother in a family of murderous mermaids. To survive, Calder and his sisters prey on humans and absorb their positive energy. Usually, they select their victims at random, but this time around, the underwater clan chooses its target for a reason: revenge. They want to kill Jason Hancock, the man they blame for their mother's death.

It's going to take a concerted effort to lure the aquaphobic Hancock onto the water. Calder's job is to gain Hancock's trust by getting close to his family. Relying on his irresistible good looks and charm, Calder sets out to seduce Hancock's daughter Lily. Easy enough, but Calder screws everything up by falling in love--just as Lily starts to suspect there's more to the monster-in-the-lake legends than she ever imagined, and just as the mermaids threaten to take matters into their own hands, forcing Calder to choose between them and the girl he loves.

One thing's for sure: whatever Calder decides, the outcome won't be pretty.!

My Thoughts: This was my first experience with a mermaid book. I'm happy to say that I really enjoyed it! Murderous mermaids bent on revenge? What's not to like? If this is Anne Greenwood Brown's debut into YA, I can see her going  far with this genre! 

The story was well written and it flowed fairly quickly. I didn't find that there were any boring parts. It follows Calder White, a merman, as he tries to seduce Lily Hancock so he is able to lure her father, Jason Hancock, out into the lake for his sisters to kill. Little does Calder know, he gains feelings for Lily. How can he hurt her by helping to kill her father? His sisters won't stop until they get their revenge, but he just doesn't know if he can do it anymore. 

The mermaids in this story kill for emotions. They are unable to create their own positive emotions, so they just steal and murder humans for theirs. Calder has a "game" where he sees how long he can go without killing. I guess this is a good thing, since it means he kills less. Unfortunately for Calder, Lily is pretty much always in  a good mood, and she smells great to him, making it harder for himto control himself and not just haul her underwater and murder her. I suppose you're wondering how Lily isn't noticing his giant fish tail, well the merpeople have evolved the ability to transform their fins into legs.

One of the things I especially liked about this story is that Lily doesn't immediately fall for Calder, in fact, she is creeped out by him and his stalker ways. This essentially makes Calder's job a lot harder than he was expecting, he actually has to get to know Lily more to gain her trust. How "normal" for a paranormal being. It completely frustrates him because he is too used to girls lining up for his affections.

Lily is quite the individual, she doesn't like to conform to society. She loves Victorian poetry and dresses like she is one, which is kind of weird but to each their own. She has red hair *yay* and lots of suspicions about the "monsters" in the lake that her grandfather was always talking about. Which leads her to asks Calder a lot of questions that he's not at all comfortable answering.

Overall, it was an enjoyable read for me. I would recommend this to those who enjoy paranormal romances and mermaids. It was a fresh look at a new paranormal creature for me and I will most likely be reading the second novel, Deep Betrayal, when it's released.

Thank you to Random House Children's Books for allowing me to review this.

Review: Hush, Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick

Hush, Hush
(Hush, Hush #1)

Author: Becca Fitzpatrick

Publication Date: October 13th, 2009

Publisher: Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers

Genre: Paranormal / Romance

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Synopsis:

A SACRED OATH A FALLEN ANGEL A FORBIDDEN LOVE

Romance was not part of Nora Grey's plan. She's never been particularly attracted to the boys at her school, no matter how hard her best friend, Vee, pushes them at her. Not until Patch comes along. With his easy smile and eyes that seem to see inside her, Patch draws Nora to him against her better judgment.

But after a series of terrifying encounters, Nora's not sure whom to trust. Patch seems to be everywhere she is and seems to know more about her than her closest friends. She can't decide whether she should fall into his arms or run and hide. And when she tries to seek some answers, she finds herself near a truth that is way more unsettling than anything Patch makes her feel.

For she is right in the middle of an ancient battle between the immortal and those that have fallen - and, when it comes to choosing sides, the wrong choice will cost Nora her life.

My Thoughts: I have heard a lot of raving about this book, maybe it was because of that, but I don't feel like it met my expectations. I had a very hard time getting into Hush, Hush.  Mind you, I did eventually get into it, but not until I was in the last 150ish pages. So the majority of the book was me just hoping that it was going to get better. I'm not really sure what it was that I didn't like other than just me not connecting with the characters. I had really wanted to love the book, but I just didn't. However, I will be reading the next in the series because, as I said, I did eventually get into the story. So while I really enjoyed the ending, there was still a lot of the book that was just "meh" for me. But hopefully, I'll enjoy the rest of the series. I could just be angel books that I don't like, but I've only read two, so I can't really judge the whole genre on just two books.

I'm not really sure what to say about this book because I liked it, I just didn't love it. I wasn't a huge fan of her friend Vee, since she was kind of stupid because she kept trying to push Nora and Elliot together when Nora really wasn't interested at all. But I just it felt like the book was mainly focused on relationships with guys and I'm just not the biggest fan of that. Nora was a good character herself, since she really wasn't just looking to have a boyfriend for the sake of it. As for Patch, he was a bit mysterious, and kind of the bad boy type. Which is always good.

So overall, I liked it because the end somewhat made up for the lackluster beginning (for me). So I will be reading the next in the series hoping that I will like it like the second half of the book. It was a slow climb into the excitement and sometimes that's ok, but I think I was expecting to much. Would I recommend the book? Yes, probably. If you're someone who enjoys anything angels and like to read about relationships.  Then it would probably be a great book for you. I'm just sorry I didn't enjoy the beginning half more because then I could say more about it.

Waiting on Wednesday (16)

'Waiting on Wednesday' is a weekly event hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine that spotlights upcoming releases that we are eagerly awaiting.

Silver

By Rhiannon Held

Expected Publication: June 5th, 2012

Goodreads Synopsis: Andrew Dare is a werewolf. He’s the enforcer for the Roanoke pack, and responsible for capturing or killing any Were intruders in Roanoke’s territory. But the lone Were he’s tracking doesn’t smell or act like anyone he’s ever encountered. And when he catches her, it doesn’t get any better. She’s beautiful, she’s crazy, and someone has tortured her by injecting silver into her veins. She says her name is Silver, and that she’s lost her wild self and can’t shift any more.

The packs in North America have a live-and-let-live attitude, and try not to overlap with each other. But Silver represents a terrible threat to every Were on the continent. 

Andrew and Silver will join forces to track down this menace while discovering their own power and their passion for each other.

I'm a total sucker for paranormal romance! And I love werewolf stories, so this one sounds pretty awesome to me!

What are you 'Waiting On'?

Review: Something Witchy This Way Comes by Veronica Blade

Something Witchy This Way Comes

Author: Veronica Blade

Publication Date: September 3rd, 2011

Genre: Paranormal Romance

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Synopsis:

Brainiac Tessa McClean’s newly discovered magical powers give her hope of an escape from her inadequate life. But the thrill of being a witch fades when she learns of a rival coven and begins to suspect her own coven’s objective. Evidence tells Tessa to trust one side, but instinct drives her toward the other. When Hayden Anders, the most delinquent kid in school — and the toughest — offers self-defense lessons in exchange for tutoring, the timing couldn’t be better. Though the idea of hanging out with a bad-boy that tempting is unnerving, staying alive amidst warring witches takes priority. She vows to hold onto her values and not surrender to the bad-boy she begins to secretly want. Together, Tessa and Hayden uncover the truth about the two factions — a truth that explains why the covens will stop at nothing to lure her to their side. Tessa has only a matter of weeks to form an alliance with one coven or the other, but the wrong decision could cost Tessa the lives of all those she loves — including Hayden.