Transcendent: Tales of the Paranormal

by Lani Woodland (Goodreads Author), Melonie Piper (Goodreads Author), Rita Webb (Goodreads Author), Wendy Swore (Goodreads Author), Melanie Marks (Goodreads Author), Heather McCubbin (Goodreads Author), Evan Joseph (Goodreads Author)

Goodread:

Discover the secrets of a siren, fly with a hawk girl over the mountains of Montana, and flee supernatural party-crashers as the décor comes to life in this magical journey through paranormal stories.

Along the way, watch for ghosts in a haunted house, or ride through the moonlight with a stranger. Save a comatose boy who has lost his soul, and don’t forget to bring your garlic and wolfsbane—you never know when the shadows will snag you.

Transcendent includes eight stories of magic, love, death, and choice by some of the newest names in young adult fiction.

My Thoughts:

This is my first time reading an anthology. I know sounds pathetic, but I really love long stories. But I enjoyed this collection. It was fun to read something small every now and then. My favorite has to be the heartwarming story Kiss of Death. It was so touching and sweet.  Several of the other short stores left me wanting them longer. I enjoyed the one about the hawk, and was chuckling over the story about the headless huntsman. Also, the siren story was cool as it addressed the difference between true love and lust. Very fun!

Note: PG-13, very clean. Four Stars.

Hallowed by Cynthia Hand

Hallowed (Unearthly #2)

by Cynthia Hand (Goodreads Author)

Goodreads:
For months Clara Gardner trained to face the fire from her visions, but she wasn't prepared for the choice she had to make that day. And in the aftermath, she discovered that nothing about being part angel is as straightforward as she thought.
Now, torn between her love for Tucker and her complicated feelings about the roles she and Christian seem destined to play in a world that is both dangerous and beautiful, Clara struggles with a shocking revelation: Someone she loves will die in a matter of months. With her future uncertain, the only thing Clara knows for sure is that the fire was just the beginning.
In this compelling sequel to "Unearthly," Cynthia Hand captures the joy of first love, the anguish of loss, and the confusion of becoming who you are.

My Thoughts:
Clara has a lot of hard choices to make this book. I found that Cynthia did a great job with all the emotions. It must have been hard to write. I was in awe of her handle on all the tug-a-war emotions. Lol. I am giving away one of my weakness as a writer *grin* I have to work so hard at this. I devoured the first book in this series, but had a hard time with this one. It was slow.


***Spoiler***
My heart was sad, and by the middle I was like please just let Tucker go already. She obviously belonged with Christian, but first loves are hard to overcome and it being a great guy like Tucker made it even harder. I even felt for the dark wing.
It was a great story of coming of age and having to deal with the pains of leaving first loves and growing up. I enjoyed it, even if it was slow in many spots.

Note: PG-13, four stars. 

Firelight by Sophie Jordan

Firelight (Firelight #1)

by Sophie Jordan (Goodreads Author)

Goodreads:

A hidden truth.
Mortal enemies.
Doomed love.

Marked as special at an early age, Jacinda knows her every move is watched. But she longs for freedom to make her own choices. When she breaks the most sacred tenet among her kind, she nearly pays with her life. Until a beautiful stranger saves her. A stranger who was sent to hunt those like her. For Jacinda is a draki—a descendant of dragons whose greatest defense is her secret ability to shift into human form.

Forced to flee into the mortal world with her family, Jacinda struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. The only bright light is Will. Gorgeous, elusive Will who stirs her inner draki to life. Although she is irresistibly drawn to him, Jacinda knows Will's dark secret: He and his family are hunters. She should avoid him at all costs. But her inner draki is slowly slipping away—if it dies she will be left as a human forever. She'll do anything to prevent that. Even if it means getting closer to her most dangerous enemy.

Mythical powers and breathtaking romance ignite in this story of a girl who defies all expectations and whose love crosses an ancient divide.

My Thoughts:

First off love the cover! That is the first reason why I picked this off the shelf. I have to say I haven’t read very many dragon stories and so found this very refreshing and fun. The turmoil in Jacinda was very believable. And I loved Will. Plus, I’m always a sucker for a good love story, and I’m really enjoying this one. I am so curious as to how they are going to solve all their problems. Makes for a great series!

Note: rate this PG-13, a sweet romance that was clean. Four stars.

Half-Blood by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Half-Blood (Covenant #1)

by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Goodreads Author)

Goodreads:

The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi-pure-bloods-have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals-well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures. Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden. Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem--staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck.

My Thoughts:

I loved the opening scene with Alex fighting for her life. Of course, Aiden is a heart-throb and love his fighting skills. Armentrout brings in Gods and the Greek legends into this story—interesting. Also, the stuff with her mother was very interesting. I enjoyed this book; however, the one complaint I have is that it was a skeleton structure of Vampire Academy Series. That made it distracting, but I have hopes for book 2. Some of my friends say that the second book is completely different from Richelle Mead series. I hope so.

Note: Rating16+, for an almost sex scene, violence, and swearing, four stars.