THE DEMON TRAPPER'S DAUGHTER - Jana Oliver

From the back of the book: Riley Blackthorne just needs a chance to prove herself – and that’s exactly what the demons are counting on…
Seventeen-year-old Riley, the only daughter of legendary Demon Trapper, Paul Blackthorne, has always dreamed of following in her father's footsteps. The good news is, with human society seriously disrupted by economic upheaval and Lucifer increasing the number of demons in all major cities, Atlanta’s local Trappers’ Guild needs all the help they can get – even from a girl. When she’s not keeping up with her homework or trying to manage her growing crush on fellow apprentice, Simon, Riley’s out saving distressed citizens from foul-mouthed little devils – Grade One Hellspawn only, of course, per the strict rules of the Guild. Life’s about as normal as can be for the average demon-trapping teen.
But then a Grade Five Geo-Fiend crashes Riley’s routine assignment at a library, jeopardizing her life and her chosen livelihood. And, as if that wasn’t bad enough, sudden tragedy strikes the Trappers’ Guild, spinning Riley down a more dangerous path than she ever could have imagined. As her whole world crashes down around her, who can Riley trust with her heart – and her life?

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YA paranormal can walk a fine line with story content and characters. It can go over the top or sound preachy or condescending. Or it can be one of the well-written versions and hit all cylinders.

DEMON TRAPPER'S DAUGHTER is one of those that has the coolest premise and hits all power cylinders.

Riley lives in the open world of paranormal creatures. Everyone knows about them. Necromancers raise the dead to work for the living and Riley's dad's grave has to be guarded after his death at the hands of demons. Demons who are working together, something that no one has ever seen before and no one believes has happened. But Riley saw it and needs to prove it.

She also has to keep her apprenticeship for the Demon Hunters Guild and that is in jeopardy now that her father is dead.

She guards her father's grave by night and hunts demons in the day as well as go to school as often as she can even though school is now held wherever it can in old Starbucks stores or grocery shops.

I loved this book and cannot wait to read the follow on in the series, SOUL THIEF.

Five can't wait to read the next one beans.....

JUGGLER IN THE WIND: The Wand Bearer Trilogy Part One - Wim Coleman and Pat Perrin

From the back of the book: "Now here I was, holding the wand in my own hand, an object of uncanny power. And I felt that power beginning to seep through me, charging me with an energy I had never experienced before, healing all my wounds with each passing second....it dawned on me that I was being tested, called upon to prove something about myself."

When a ragtag circus shows up in the town of Buchanan, Kansas, fourteen-year-old Randy Carmichael faces a deep mystery. Why is his alcoholic mother so troubled by the troupe's arrival? What does Circus Olympus mean to her past--and to Randy's future? Voices summon him , a godlike figure appears in his deams, and supernatural adversaries lie in wait for him as he embarks on a dangerous quest that will take him beyond mortal reality.
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I received this from LibraryThing's drawing last month. It's my first YA from them and I hope it won't be my last. I like to read a well written book that intrigues me with premise, characters and story. This one is a little rough around the edges, but it hit all the requisite cylinders for me to enjoy the ride.
I like the direction the start of this trilogy is going. There is mythology and possible deities in the mix. The mystery of who Randy is remembering himself to be, who the Circus Olympus might be and where the journey is going.
I do look forward to the rest of this trilogy and I will be looking for more of the authors' books.

Four mythical journey beans......

THE SUMMONING: Darkest Power Book One - Kelley Armstrong, narr Cassandra Morris

From the back of the BOCD: Chloe Saunders isn't so different from most other 15-year-old girls. She wants to hang out with friends, flirt with boys, and fit in at school. Unlike her peers, however, Chloe has a hidden paranormal ability---and on the same day she belatedly enters womanhood, she sees a ghost.

Soon Chloe is seeing dead people lurking about everywhere. The terror and bewilderment of their haunting presence--and everyone's refusal to believe her--cause Chloe to have a mental breakdown. So she's committed to Lyle House, a home for troubled teens. But that may not be what the place is really for at all, because Chloe isn't the only resident possessing a strange "gift". Take Derek, for instance--the toothsome patient who sometimes howls at night.

Kelley Armstrong, the author of many New York Times best-selling suprnatural thrillers, bursts onto the YA scene with THE SUMMONING--a novel sure to resonate with fans of the Twilight series. Cassandra Morris grips listeners with an entrancing narration.

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I liked this way better than TWILIGHT (yes, I read it to see what the fuss was all about...it wasn't all that). Kelley Armstrong writes a grittier, less angst-filled paranormal story of well-drawn characters going through the trials of being a teen, let alone being a teen with supernatural abilities.

Chloe discovers she can talk to ghosts, she's a necromancer. She is slowly discovering the abilities of the fellow housemates at the center and that the staff members aren't exactly as willing to help as they claim to be.

The draw is there for anyone who likes a little horror, a little teen issues, a lot of good paranormal. This is a great beginning to the series. I listened to the second one first...that didn't diminish my enjoyment of this one. I am caught up and got re-introduced to everyone, good guys and evil scientists.

Now on to #3, THE RECKONING...

Five I see dead people beans....

THE LIGHTNING THIEF: Percy Jackson & The Olympians Book One - Rick Riordan, narr Jesse Bernstein

From the back of the BOCD: An Edgar Award-winning author of adult mysteries, Rick Riordan begins a gripping series for young adults. Perseus (Percy) Jackson is the son of Poeseidon and a mortal woman. Labeled just another difficult youth, he has been in six schools in as many years. But trouble is brewing between the gods. Soon Percy, aided by a satyr and a daughter of Athena, sets out to find a missing thunderbolt that started all the roble. Sparkling with references to mythology and spiked with plenty of adventure, this series promises to keep every young listener thoroughly entertained.

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Well, this young listener was enthralled with the book just like I was with the movie when I saw it at the show last month with Lady K. We'll be getting it on DVD when it comes out 22 Jun.

On with the book...which was better than the movie and the movie was really good. Okay, back to the book. I enjoyed my time with this as an audiobook. The narrator, Jesse Bernstein, is perfect for the voice of Percy and definitely perfect for all of the evil monsters and ambiguous gods and goddesses.

I've always enjoyed mythology, Greek and Roman primarily, so this is the perfect series. It refreshed my memory of the tales and is a wonderful portal for teaching the YA audience all about Zeus and Hera and the other peeps up on Mt Olympus.

Percy has been tossed out of many schools as a trouble making child, failure to learn, etc. He has dyslexia and ADHD, but he finds out that it's due to the fact that he is a demi-god, aka son of a god and a human. Percy's dad is Poseidon, god of the oceans deep. Percy's mom has been protecting him from the monsters out there and the gods who would want him gone as Percy is the son of one of the Big Three and that apparently has been deemed a no-no.

Percy finally discovers who he is and goes to Camp Half-Blood, where all good (and not so good) demi-gods go to strengthen their powers. And he is sent on the quest to find the lightning bolt stolen from Zeus. He goes with his buddy and protector, Grover the satyr, and Annabeth, daughter of Athena, on a major league roadtrip to prove his innocence, get the bolt of lightning and save the world.

I liked watching Percy grow into his powers and realize his intelligence. He had to work through plenty of trials and tribulations to get to the endgame and it was a fun ride the whole way through for me to listen to. I look forward to getting more of the series from RecordedBooks.

Five mythology is way cool beans.....

CITY OF BONES: THE MORTAL INSTRUMENTS Book One - Cassandra Clare, narr Ari Granor

From the back of the BOT: Fifteen-year-old Clary Fray is looking forward to having a good time with her friend Simon at the Pandemonium Club in New York City. But what she witnesses through the dazzling lights and pulsing beats will change her life forever.

While dancing, Clary's eyes fix on a beautiful woman in an elegant white dress luring a young man into a private area of the club. Following them, Clary sees two strange, knife-wielding men brutallykill him. And when the victim vanishes into thin air, she is shocked. Intrigued by these mysterious beings, Clary begins a journey that draws her into a word filled with vampires, werewolves and the Shadowhunters--a group of warriors attempting to eradicate the legions of evil demons infesting the world.

CITY OF BONES is the exciting debut novel from Cassandra Clare and the beginning of her epic Mortal Instruments trilogy. Narrator Ari Graynor adds a dramatic tone to this dark tale of supernatural adventure.

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This one grabbed me from the get-go. I love Urban Fantasy anyway and this is a great addition to the UF fam. There are demons out there and half humans like werewolves and vampires....and there are the Shadowhunters tasked to eradicate the world of the bad ones. Except that there are some Shadowhunters who think that all non-full human are bad and are out to clear them all out.

And then there's Clary who is thrown into the Shadowhunter/demon/vampire/werewolf/etc world and is not sure she wants to stay. But she meets a boy.....and her mom disappears...and her world gets turned completely upside down.

There's fierce fighting, jealousy, small bits of happiness, surprise, friendship, love, all that comes with a well told story.

My favorite character was Simon who takes everything with a grain of paranormal salt and rolls with the flow. He absolutely loves Clary and will do anything for her, but he is not a sap.

Five shadowy beans......

MAGYK: Book One SEPTIMUS HEAP - Angie Sage, narr Allan Corduner

From the back of the BOCD: Silas Heap's seventh son, Septimus, has just been born. Silas is in the woods collecting beneficial herbs for his newborn when his wizard ears hear a faint heartbeat--another infant, a girl, has been abandoned in the brush. Silas brings her home only to discover the midwife whisking Septimus away, declaring that he has died.

Soon the Heaps realize what only the ExtraOrdinary Wizard knows: not only is their new daughter really a princess, but their son is alive. Before the Heaps can find Septimus, though, they must keep the princess safe from the assassins who killed her mother and want to prevent her from ascending to the throne.

British author Angie Sage begins an enchanting trilogy with MAGYK. Her incredibly popular novels have been compared to the Harry Potter series. Narrator Allan Corduner's performance of this exciting and quickly paced tale will bewitch listeners.

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I did enjoy this story, but I am going to have to relisten in the car or get the book to read as a handheld. I didn't get as much of the story as I would have liked. And it's a fabulously engrossing tale, intricately woven and deserves better attention. If you like a well told fantasy tale with magic and humor and excellently drawn characters, then this story is for you. I will get this trilogy in audio and for the shelves to read for Lady K.

Four fantasticly MAGYK beans....

TIDE OF TERROR: VAMPIRATES #2 - Justin Somper, narr Daniel Philpott

From the back of the BOCD: Internationally best-selling author of fiction for young adults Justin Somper returns with the exciting sequel to VAMPIRATES:DEMONS OF THE OCEAN. In their second adventure, our bold seafaring heroes continue their swashbuckling
journey across treacherous oceans where the notorious vampirates prowl.

Much to his delight, 14-year-old Connor Tempest is now a full-fledged pirate aboard the sailing ship Diablo. But Connor's twin sister Grace isn't so thrilled about the pirate life, or Connor's new companions. And she's certain that something is terribly wrong on the vampirate ship. Though the evil Sidorio was banned from the ship for his villainous acts, he is surely plotting his menacing return. What can Grace do to remove her brother from the ship and get him into Pirate Academy where he belongs?

This exciting ride through dangerous waters will captivate all listeners. Narrator Daniel Philpott provides a stunning performance.

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Who knew that in the future there would be an academy to train pirates? That's what we have in this second in the Vampirates series. Grace gets rescued from the vampirate ship at the end of DEMONS OF THE OCEAN and is now on the Diablo with her twin brother Connor. And they take a little visit to Pirate Academy to see if this might be the place for them.

The evil vampirate Sidorio is out there working on his new vampirate crew, so there's plenty of story to go around and tons of intrigue. Who can Grace and Connor trust?

This is such the perfect series to listen to. Whoever chose Daniel Philpott to narrate this wonderfully written tale oer the bounding main....chose wisely. He rivals Jim Dale (narrator of the Harry Potter series) in vocal dexterity.

Five arrrrrrrrrrgh beans!!!!

JESSICA'S GUIDE TO DATING ON THE DARK SIDE - Beth Fantaskey, narr Katherine Kellgren & Jeff Woodman

From the back of the BOCD: High school senior Jessica Packwood is a down-to-earth mathlete with a murky future. What she definitely doesn't see coming is foreign exchange student--and vampire-- Lucius Vladescu showing up at her door. According to Lucius, Jessica is actually vampire royalty, and they've been betrothe to one another since infancy.

Yeah, great. That's just what a girl wants to hear. Thankfully, Jessica has a copy of GROWING UP UNDEAD: A TEEN VAMPIRE'S GUIDE TO DATING, HEALTH, AND EMOTIONS to help her cope. And, after all, Lucius may be arrogant, but he's easy to look at. Unfortunately, Jessica's not the only girl in school who's noticed. If she can hold off the evil cheerleaders long enough, she might just find a future with Lucius--and save his sould from eternal damnation.

Author Beth Fantaskey injects a little humor into the vampire romance genre with this critically acclaimed debut, while narrators Katherine Kellgren and Jeff Woodman capture Jessica and Lucius' colorful personalities.

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This story is such a fab one to listen to! It's funny, spooky, romantic, it's what I had hoped TWILIGHT would have been and wasn't.

Poor Jessica has enough issues with being odd chickie out what with being a 'mathlete', has vegans for parents and is an adopted child with a foggy foreign past.

I enjoyed watching the progression of the cautious and irritated Jessica dealing with the arrogant and pushy Lucius as he 'courted' Jessica. And then the tables started turning as Jessica realized what she was becoming and how she felt about Lucius and Lucius started courting other girls and enjoying his Americanized life.

The dry humor in the beginning segueing to life as it can be with the issues that plague normal let alone vampire teens was entrancing to watch.

I can't wait for her next book, JEKEL LOVES HYDE and I'll be listening to that one, too.

Four chocolate vampire yumminess.....

HEAD GAMES: A Body of Evidence Thriller - Christopher Golden, narr Julie Dretzin

From the back of the book: Jenna Blake is home from college for the holidays, and this is one vacation she'll never forget. First, the mayor appears to commit suicide by jumping off a building. Then, several childhood friends suddenly erupt in murderous rages.

As a pathology assistant working with the county Medical Examiner, Jenna has more than a passing interest in these events. Together, she and Dr Slikowski uncover evidence suggesting the mayor was dead before he fell from the building. And when authorities blame the teenage violence on video games and movies, Jenna believes something far more sinister is behind the madness.

Christopher Golden is an award-winning , LA Times best-selling author. Other books in his Body of Evidence series includes BODY BAGS (Loved it!) and SKIN DEEP. Through narrator Julie Dretzin's riveting performance, Jenna emerges as a smart and brave young woman.

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I do enjoy this series of YA forensic mystery. Jenna is smart and her character is written enough as an 18 year old learning how to get older and going home isn't easy, but an intelligent 18 year old who knows she will be up for the journey.

Jenna comes home for Christmas and realizes that she isn't sure one can really go home again. She is torn between missing her mom and her friends in her hometown and missing her other home at college with her job working with Slick and Dyson and the friends and boyfriend in her college life. The murders of the families throws a light on the changes in her relationships with her high school friends. She feels compelled to help the police and her friends think she's weird for wanting to do so. The murders are appalling, but they think Jenna is full of herself now. The police think she's too young to be of any help.

There are some amazing co-ink-e-dinks that move the story along at a rather rapid pace, but it's a short book, so it was likely necessary and reasonably understandable.

I look forward to reading/listening to the rest of the series. Christopher Golden is on my WWBL and has been for a while. Highly recommend...

Four don't judge a book by it's young cover beans.....

SHADOW SPINNER - Susan Fletcher

I stayed up last night to finish this book (and to play Easter Bunny for Lady K). I read this one rather quickly even for a bedside book which always go fast due to more reading time available. Marjan is a crippled orphan who comes to the notice of Shahrazad, the teller of stories to the Sultan to maintain living another day and to save the lives of other women in the Sultan's realm. Shahrazad is running low on stories and lives in fear, until the day Marjan comes to the harem with her aunt to sell jewelry. Marjan has always told stories to the children of her neighborhood and, seeing the children of the harem, begins to tell them a story that catches Shahrazad's ear. Marjan is invited to become a part of the harem to refresh Shahrazad's storehouse of tales.
So begins the intrigue of the little orphan crippled girl, Marjan. This is a YA book, but I think anyone who likes a good historical fiction tale would enjoy SHADOW SPINNER.

Four intricate harem beans....

SKIN HUNGER: The Resurrection of Magic, Book 1 - Kathleen Duey

It took me a little while to get into this story. Once I got used to the dual narrative presentation, I settled in a little better. By the time I got to the cliff-hanger ending, I was ready to put the second in the series on my RecordedBooks wishlist.

The book is told from two points of view. One is by Sadima, a girl who was born into a world that only barely recognized magic, in fact is was outlawed. Sadima's mother dies at her birth at the hands of a charlatan magician and her father goes into grief stricken silence, leaving Sadima's brother to raise her. Sadima finds she has the ability to speak with animals. She keeps the talent hidden to appease her family, but tales of her abilities reach the ears of Somiss, a wizard trying to resurrect magic at the possible expense of his life. Somiss sends Franklin, his friend and aide in the pursuit of all things magical, to search out Sadima and bring her to him. She goes, , while helping where she can, cooking, cleaning, copying scripts. She begins falling in love with Franklin, knowing it is an ill-fated relationship.

The second is told by a young man, Hahp. He is given to the wizard academy, run by Somiss and Franklin. This part of the story takes place much later in time. I didn't cotton onto this until well into the book.

Magic has been restored, but it is available only to the wealthy and is strictly controlled by wizards within the hermitic academy of magic. Only one of the ten students will graduate -- that student will be the one to survive every test.

This is a YA book for ages 12 and up. I do recommend it for anyone who likes a well-written tale of magic, strength of character, good versus evil, survival of spirit.

Four wizardly beans....

THE MEDIATOR: SHADOWLAND - Meg Cabot

What a banner reading day I had yesterday. I went antelope hunting with DH and Lady K and I knew I wouldn't be doing much of (read NONE OF) the actual hunting, so I finished the very enjoyable BLOOD DRIVE - Jeanne C. Stein and (because I have the bookaholic's foresight) I brought, read, and finished THE MEDIATOR: SHADOWLAND.
Meg Cabot has to be one of the most talented writers of books for such diverse ages and genres. She's written The Princess Diaries series, Heather Wells series, Queen of Babble series, and all sorts of stand alones of YA and paranormal and regular mystery genres. And each and every one of her books I have read have been FAB! This said with the understanding that I haven't read all of the series or many of the stand alones, but to have read the five or six I have read and all to be good? That's a fair decent given that the rest should be as well.
Susannah 'Suze' Simon is not your typical teenager. She is a mediator, which means she sees ghosts and helps them (whether they want the help or not) to get where they need to go and not keep roaming the earthly plane.
She's bummin' because her mother has married and Suze has to move from funky New York to Omigod California! What is she going to in California? AGH! All that sunshine and those beaches! Ohhhh...those beaches..well, thinks Suze, beaches are nice. She now has a stepfather and three stepbrothers and lives in a honkin' hewgah house. A house that happens to be 300 years old, which means ghosts will be hangin' around. One, a particularly hottie named Jesse, is in her room.
And there's a ghost , Heather, at her new school who isn't happy about Suze. Suze has her school locker and it looks like Suze is getting her friends and maybe her boyfriend. Suze isn't doing any of this on purpose, she just wants to go to school and do her job as mediator. Heather just isn't willing to move on to wherever she's supposed to go. She wants her old life back and she thinks Suze is keeping her from it. So Heather is bent on getting her way and will do whatever it takes to get it. Suze is bent on not letting her, especially since it seems that Heather doesn't care who she hurts to get her way.
I really cannot wait to read the rest of this series.
Four ghostly beans!

TUNNELS - Brian Williams and Roderick Gordon, narr Steven Crossley

This is a decent enough story, especially for the YA book that it is. I enjoyed the beginning of it and then slowly became a little annoyed with the story. I did finish it, mostly because of the narrator Steven Crossley. He made the story more interesting with good characterization of voices. I could see the characters in my cranium because his wonderfully talented voice.
Will Burroughs and his father are diggers. They love to dig underground and take joy in all of the treasures they discover. One day they find a tunnel into something quite different. This also brings about the disappearance of Will's father, then Will and his friend Chester. There is a land under the ground, people live there in houses. Rules are different, I guess no natural light will do that for a civilization. Will discovers some surprising information about himself and makes his escape to the 'topsoil' as it's called by the underground dwellers. Life is not what it was and Chester didn't make it out, so Will goes back underground to rescue his friend.
This is obviously setting up for a series or trilogy, not sure yet if I will follow along or not.....
Three questioning beans....

This was a very fun, super fast read! Super fast because it's a YA 120 page book and FUN because it's Gregory Maguire at his finest! It's funny, interesting,funny..wait..I said that. The reader gets the viewpoint of the girls (the Tattletales), boys (the Copycats), their wonderful teacher Miss Earth, nurses, the truck driver, a TV reporter named Meg Snoople, and (best of all) the seven Siberian Snow Spiders found frozen in ice in the Arctic. They escape when the truck they are in crashes. The ice thaws and they make their way to the forest in Vermont where they see the seven girls in the Tattletales and instantly fall in love, one spider per girl.
The problem is that as the spiders get bigger, they get a little cranky and the love turns into revenge as the spider siblings meet their demise, one at a time in various inadvertant silly ways.
This is a fantasy-mystery with outrageously fab elements to exaggerate a tale of spider intrigue.
Four funky arachnid beans...