I was introduced to Cheryse at Brisbane Supanova in November and was pleased to hear she lives in my home town of Bundaberg. A place normally only famous for Rum and Aviator, Bert Hinkler, thank the heavens it’s gonna be put on the map for something I adore… brilliantly written books.

The first book in Heart Hunters series takes us on a flail-your-arms-worthy trip from Brisbane’s Central Business District to the upper class rooms of the Hilton Hotel in Sydney.

Shahkara and Max aim to save the world, and along the way, discover amazing things about each other. The journey is fast-paced and studded with emotional land mines. When the dust settles, who will be left standing?

I think it’s such a novelty, being able to picture the settings in a book. To actually have them as my stomping grounds makes this book even more special to me. As with most things in and around Brisbane, nothing stays the same for long, so if you read this and things in the book aren’t the way they are in actuality, that’s progress for you. At least the Brisbane stuff I can tell you is about as accurate as you’ll get. Though I wanna see the inspiration for the McCalden’s digs. Must be a seriously large estate!

Shahkara does really well to adapt to a new set of circumstances and Max, though he had a few bad habits in the beginning, is what I’d imagine most 18 year old guys to be like. Kind, cocky and always hungry.

I sincerely believe there has got to be at least a second part to this series and I would love to see how Max would fare in Gorian, Shahkara’s home. Surviving without technology… yep, I wanna see that.

The Blood She Betrayed would make a great gift for anyone who likes a good sci-fi/action/urban fantasy book.

http://cherysedurrant.com/

***For Older Readers 

Paperback, 188 pages

Published July 2013 by Clan Destine Press

ISBN: 9780987553867

How fun is it when you’re handed, not one but two, books in a series for a gift? I had the absolute joy of becoming the proud owner of Slated and Fractured by Teri Terry this November.

I’d been eyeing the books off for quite a while, but as I am an extremely visual person, I didn’t really connect with the cover art. I am pleased to say this is definitely on the ‘don’t judge a book by it’s cover’ list. The journey within both books isn’t given an iota of a clue with the cover.

Could you imagine waking up, unable to walk, talk or remember who you are, or were? Nightmarish right? Now picture the whole reason you can’t remember being because you’ve been wiped clean like a slate, as punishment for criminal activity you can not even remember. But what if you began to remember?

Enter Kyla’s internal nightmare as she learns the crushing truth behind the government’s protocol known as slating, and in book two, Fractured, she discovers the reality of how she got there in the first place.

I ploughed through these two rather large novels in under 4 days. They are completely engrossing and incredibly addictive. Don’t bee too surprised if you find the book leaking into your dreams and has you staring out the window when you’re not reading.

The things I enjoyed the most would have to be the family and friend dynamics, the relationships between the Slated and the non slated, adult to child. We are constantly having to blur the line between what we would consider to be acceptable and what’s beyond not okay.

You’ll have to make up your own mind as to if you think reactions are rational or within believable limits, but I think if I had a consequence like being slated ahead of me I’d become less opinionated pretty damn quick.

Teri Terry has spun an incredible web and her hero has a dangerous sting in her tail.

Book three, Shattered is due in March 2014, and this time I will not hesitate to pick it up.

Slated

Paperback, 448 pages

Published May 3rd 2012 by Orchard Books

ISBN 1408319462 (ISBN13: 9781408319468)

Fractured

Paperback, 432 pages

Published April 4^th 2013 by Orchard Books

ISBN 148319489 (ISBN13: 9781408319482)

I’ve been following Daire’s journey in the Soul Seekers series since the very beginning, when she was shipped off to the sneeze-and-you’ll-miss-it town of Enchantment in New Mexico.

Along the way she’s made friends and deadly enemies, she’s had plenty to laugh about and more than her fair share of hardship and adversity to overcome. To tell you the truth, if it had been me, I wouldn’t have handled even a quarter of what she’s been through, let alone finding things to smile about.

In Horizon everything comes to a head. The loose ends are tied and the magnificence of the tapestry woven by Alyson Noël is displayed in all it’s vibrant living colour. It is no wonder all four books in the Soul Seekers series have been optioned by Cheyenne Enterprises.

Now you may have noticed I didn’t review Mystic, and this is because I didn’t feel it had the same spirit as the two before it, Fated and Echo. I will be going back over Mystic now the series is finished, so I can find out if it was more to do with my misunderstanding of the book than anything else. After all certain books mean more to us at different times of our lives.

This is a beautiful conclusion to a high impact, truly fantastic series. I will miss the characters and look forward to possibly seeing them brought to life on the big screen and not just playing around in my imagination.

http://www.soulseekersseries.com/

http://www.alysonnoel.com

Paperback, 336 pages

Expected publication: November 19th 2013 by St. Martin’s Griffin

ISBN: 1250054354 (ISBN13: 9781250054357)

Maya has worked incredibly hard to get her scholarship to the elite Academy where only the rich and talented are accepted to become Olympic level champions. All is not well when she finds out what it will take to get ahead in the school. How will she find her feet again after her world comes crashing down? Which of the Reed brothers will rise to the occasion, and which one will break her heart?

Unsurprisingly, our protagonist, and antagonist, are both tennis players. I would expect nothing less from the highly decorated Monica Seles. However, tennis takes a back seat for a fair bit of the book and we explore other themes and elements that make up the lives of the elite few.

There are references to sexting and cyber bullying, though I’m not sure it is taken seriously enough for it to ring true. There were mild consequences and I felt like it was laughed off rather than being dealt with as the serious criminal offence that it is.

That being said there was a suitable amount of time given to the inconsistency of discipline handed out to the affluent students compared to the hard working scholarship students. Money may not buy you happiness, but along with popularity, will get you an extension on an overdue assignment!

This will be a good spring read as there aren’t a whole lot of complicated plot lines and the characters are somewhat predictable. It is enjoyable without being taxing.

The next book Love Match is due in February 2014. I’m looking forward to it.

http://www.athletepromotions.com/monica-seles-official-website.php

Paperback, 242 pages

Published June 6th 2013 by Bloomsbury UK

The Burn Bright Book Club reviewed Alice in Zombieland back in May.

I was thrilled to pick up the sequel this past week and it jumped to the top of my TBR pile (only because I was feeling impatient and needed a little jolt).

The stories share similarities with the childhood classic, Alice in Wonderland. White Rabbits anyone? And there’re zombies. Stinking, rotting, crazy zombies.

Ali survives the end of book one, and is chomping at the bit to join the slayers in their quest to rid their town of the rambling dead. The stakes sky-rocket when Ali has an odd reaction to the zombie antidote and suddenly there’s a ticking time bomb in her head. Can the slayers help her overcome this turn of events and what the heck is up with having visions with one of the new slayers?

Gena Showalter has done a brilliant job, yet again, of making teens look rough, tough and romantic in their own twisted way. I again enjoyed the almost caustic banter between Ali and Cole, the constant tumultuous roller coaster of Kat and Frost, and the mysterious person Reed is seeing.

I was so wrapped up in reading that I literally lost a day. Intending to just grab a few chapters and the next thing I knew, I was 400 pages in and the sun was going down. Always a sign of an enthralling book!

As with all series I suggest you start with book 1 and get to know the characters, the plot line and become emotionally attached to the struggles that plague Ali and her team mates.

This is not the make-you-lose-your-lunch type zombie book, which suits me just fine. So if you want gore and stomach curdling horror you may need to look elsewhere. If you’re in it for the lighter side of zombie slaying, you will not be disappointed.

See ya later Ali-gator.

http://members.genashowalter.com/

Paperback, 448 pages

Published October 1st 2013 by Harlequin Teen Australia