The Banesville Trilogy by Dorothy Dawson

Banesville: The Love of Lydia Monroe (Book One)

   Lydia Monroe has moved around her entire life.  Her dad is in the military and they move like every six months.  She is used to new schools and new friends every so often.  At this point, she just takes life as it comes.  There's no point in it being any other way to her.  When her family moves to Banesville though, things are different.  A new guy starts at school the same time she does.  His name is Carter and he looks kind of like a guy she keeps dreaming about, but she can't be sure.  Turns out he's her dad's guardian angel and has been in love with her for pretty much forever.  They had been together several lifetimes, but things always ended badly.  And when I mean badly I mean he would get shot or they would both die in a plane crash.  He only has a short time to be with her (and he was just basically on leave from his angel duties) before he "dies" and leaves her somewhat heartbroken.  Lydia knows that what he says about their past lives are true.  However, a new guy moves in next door to her.  Abner is the polar opposite of what Carter was.  She and Carter basically couldn't be together and her life was supposedly going to be short this cycle.  But how short was just a guess.  Lydia just can't stay away from the motorcycle-riding, home-improvement-making, thrilling Abner.  Meanwhile, Carter makes it difficult for her with his showing up at random times to grill her about him while her teacher turns out to be Father Time, and he's in charge of how much time she has left.  The only thing is that Father Time is biased in his opinion of her life.  Things get more complicated with the revealing of what Abner is.  He isn't exactly normal either.  But then again, what is in Lydia's life?
   Lydia Monroe is one easy-going teen.  I only wish I had been that way as a teenager.  She takes on life's hurtles one at a time and doesn't let stuff bother her too much.  Well, that is until she finds out about all of the weird supernatural stuff in her life.  I would be more than weirded out about it.  Lydia takes it rather well.  I think that Lydia Monroe is a strong and pretty great heroine in this book that has some very normal teenage issues.
"It was so funny to me how even though I had become aware of an entire immortal world, I had also let myself become a teenage cliche'.  Not knowing which boyfriend to pick, lying to my best friend about said boyfriend, and hiding things from my parents were all now part of my angsty resume."

Lydia Monroe: living life fearlessly

Banesville: Initiation on Briar Reeves (Book Two)

   Briar Reeves is currently mourning her good friend, Lydia, who died in a tragic accident recently.  During her mourning, a long lost friend of hers shows up and it's apparent that Briar's boyfriend, Warren, has a real problem with it.  She doesn't know what's up between the two of them, but they obviously know each other.  Naturally she thinks that maybe they had been in a relationship before or something of that sort, but they are definitely hiding something from her.  When she can't take anymore of the secrets, they tell her the truth.  Warren is a reaper and her friend, Tatum, is a harbinger.  She is a sign of something to come basically.  Kind of like an early warning system.  Tatum's presence isn't usually a good sign.  What's more important is that Briar is a hunter.  Someday soon she will be one of the ones to hunt down evil in the world and keep the balance.  It's really quite a bit for her to take in.  Briar isn't like Lydia was.  Lydia just took it as is and went on with things.  After a few emotional breakdowns, she starts her training because a strange new supernatural is in the area causing some problems that no one knows how to stop.  It could be that they are way in over their heads.  A local werewolf gets kidnapped, a store is blown up, and things just keep happening.  Not to mention, Briar and Warren's relationship has taken a nose dive and Briar is making googly eyes at the wolf pack's leader, Nelson.

   Briar has really grown up in this book compared to the last one.  Grief and loss has hit her and when she finds out about who she is, things change for her.  She has a big responsibility as a hunter and her thoughts are with Lydia so much.  Knowing that she and Abner got their happy ending makes her feel better though.  This supernatural entity they are all facing is very dangerous.  It can do things that none are supposed to, but there is more to this creature than meets the eye and Briar is the key to everything, she just doesn't know it for a while.  This book has evolved some from the teenage drama of the last one to a book about a girl who has to grow up and face life head on.

Briar Reeves: a hunter being hunted

Banesville: The Reckoning of Rebecca Thorne (Book Three)

   Rebecca Thorne is a werewolf that recently escaped from Xavier's secret, underground lair.  When she returns though, she brings some interesting news with her.  Briar's mother is still alive and being held prisoner by Xavier.  Also, Xavier is working on some crazy creations that could make life difficult for the other supernaturals and immortals in Banesville.  The group of friends must stop him before he tries to take over Banesville and then the world.  Xavier is a crazed, power-hungry warlock with enough power to be a real problem.  Not to mention he has friends in places that no one ever expected.  The ultimate betrayal to Rebecca's friend, Briar Reeves.  Rebecca must help stop him and because she escaped, she knows more than anyone else about his underground lair.
   Seen through the eyes of Rebecca Thorne, the third book in the series has some very stunning secrets that come to light.  Honestly, I was kind of conking myself on the head for one of them thinking "Duh, that makes so much sense now!"  After reading tons of shifter and vamp books, things that make me this surprised are very welcome and awesome to read!  I had a little difficulty at the beginning of this one deciding who was saying/thinking what at first, but it ironed itself right out and had a fantastic ending to the trilogy!  Too bad we aren't seeing more of Banesville, because I know I would like to!

Rebecca Thorne: shifter out for vengeance

Dragon's Debt (The Dragon and the Scholar: Volume 2) by H.L. Burke

  In the second volume of The Dragon and the Scholar Ewan and Shannon are called back from their traveling to Ewan's brother's(Edmond) side.  Edmond is having woman trouble, you could say.  He has fallen deeply in love with the princess of a neighboring kingdom.  The only problem?  Her father.  King Riley is a harsh king and rules not only his subjects with an iron fist, but his family as well.  He always has an ulterior motive for things and won't hesitate to do what he feels is necessary to keep his children from marrying someone he doesn't want them to.  As if Edmond's troubles weren't enough, there is a strange creature kidnapping girls and bringing them back weeks later with no memories of their past.  Ewan and Shannon come back to help Prince Ryan after his sister and Edmond's love, is kidnapped by the creature.  While they try to find out what is going on, Ewan is increasingly aware of the things he cannot give Shannon.  He couldn't give her children, play cards with her, or even hold her if she needed it.  Being a dragon made this impossible.  Prince Ryan could give her all of these things and seems to be increasingly attached to Shannon.  So Ewan is stuck wondering if he should give her up while Edmond, who is also aware of how unable he is to even protect Brighid, is trying to keep his own country from war with King Riley.


   This book should have been called Battle of the Egos!  It seems that most of the men in this book have rather inflated egos and ideas about how everything should be.  King Riley's ego is only puffed up more because he is king and he does what he wants.  King Edmond has his pride, but being somewhat crippled causes it to get hurt easily when people question whether he can take care of Brighid, and because he is willing to go to any length to prove himself, it puts him in a difficult position.  Prince Ryan's ego seems to be a bit of a front for the pain of his past.  Ryan convinces himself he is better for Shannon and his attentions only make it more obvious what he can give her while Ewan can't.  And Ewan's ego just won't let him explain to Shannon how he really feels.  It causes him to make some decisions that end up hurting Shannon, but only the next book will answer who she will decide to love and be with.


Don't forget to enter the Spring Giveaway to win a signed copy of this book along with some ebooks!  Go to the link below!  There are only a few days left!
http://claricesbooknook.blogspot.com/2014/04/spring-giveaway-win-ebooks-and-print.html

Perception (Perception Trilogy Book 1) by Lee Strauss

 

 Imagine living in a utopian society.  A society where everything seemed absolutely perfect.  Everyone that resided there had blond hair and blue eyes.  They were all "perfect", and they were all GAPs: genetically altered persons.  A genetically altered person had the lifespan of at last two hundred years and had a great immune system.  They never got sick.  The walled cities that they lived in were immaculate and screamed of wealth.  Zoe Vanderveen was a GAP living in Sol City.  She was the typical GAP with the long blond hair and blue eyes.  Her grandfather had been one of two men that had come up with the gene mutations to create the genetically altered person.  And her grandfather was in a position of power.  While everything seems normal, it isn't.  Zoe's brother, Liam, disappears and she will do whatever it takes to find him.  In order to do so, she must go outside to employ the rebel Noah Brody for help.  Noah is also the son of the lady who helps clean Zoe's home.  They are not GAPs and do not look like them with their dark hair and eyes.  Their lifespan is normal and, unlike the GAPs, not all of them have chips inserted into their hands either.  Many people in this world do have chips.  It allows them to pay for things and can be a source of identification instead of carrying around cards that could be stolen.  Identity theft has been pretty much wiped out and few people take regular cash anymore.  Noah Brody is against everything that has to do with Zoe's world and what it represents.  With the social classes being so separated now, it creates tension, especially among the lower classes.  And Noah is the leader of the resistance.  While Noah agrees to help Zoe, he starts falling for her, even though she is who she is.  There are so many reasons why he shouldn't like her.  But he can't seem to help himself and Zoe gradually falls for him too.  But associating with outsiders can be dangerous and the answers to what Zoe seeks are not answers she will like.  It will be the beginning of something to change her world and possibly everyone else's as well.

"I'll never be what you are, Zoe.  What you need...."

Danger and confusion everywhere.  Loved the book!  I couldn't put it down and kept wondering if Noah and Zoe would work out because of their obvious differences.  And the secrets of her own family are the type of skeletons in the closet that, if they come out, can be very dangerous, especially for the one who holds the knowledge.  A suspicious Officer Grant.  A power playing grandfather.  Secret keeping parents.  Illegal activities.  A possessive boyfriend.  And a love that seems it can never be.  It has a little bit of everything!

Check out the next book in the series: Volition

*images via Lee Strauss
*quote via Lee Strauss

Switched (The Trylle Trilogy Book 1) by Amanda Hocking

 

Wendy was never a normal girl.  No matter how much she tried, she could never fit in anywhere she went.  She didn't even fit in with her own family.  She was a picky eater to a fault, she was obstinate and stubborn, and had been expelled from every school she ever went to.  Wendy felt like people naturally didn't like her.  After all, her own mother had tried to murder her on her sixth birthday.  Kim, her mom, was convinced she was a monster and not her child.  Wendy was supposed to be a boy.  Every ultrasound had said so, but when she came into the world, the family got a big surprise.
   After Wendy's sixth birthday, Kim went to a mental institution and Wendy went to stay with her Aunt Maggie and her brother, Matt.  Matt always tried to take care of her no matter what.  He had named her since Kim had refused.
   Everything changed when Finn came into Wendy's life.  He stared at her a lot at school and acted weird.  Finally one night he came to her window and snuck in the house.  He explained to Wendy that she had never fit in anywhere and was like she was because she wasn't human.  She was a troll, a Trylle to be exact.  The Trylle were one of a few clans of trolls that still existed.  They didn't look like the ugly, awful trolls we read about in story books.  They were quite beautiful and wealthy.  Much of their wealth came from the changelings, like Wendy. Trylle babies were brought to the human world and exchanged with human babies when they were born.  Many went to wealthy families so they could bring back money to the Trylle society when they returned.  Trackers like Finn were the ones to bring back the changelings.
   It all made perfect sense to Wendy why Kim had hated her so much.  It wasn't that she was a bad mother.  She had been a very good mother because she knew Wendy was never her child.  And now she was meant to go back to where she really belonged.  But it took the Vittra trying to take her away before she would leave with Finn.  The Vittra were a separate clan of trolls that had been warring with the Trylle for basically forever.
   Once she arrives in Forening, her new home, there are many surprises in store for her.  The biggest one?  Wendy is the princess!  And to top it off, her feelings for Finn (which have evolved into her falling for him) are forbidden.  He is far too beneath her status and if they were caught together they would be banished.  Wendy comes to understand that it's not just because of his status, but also because of his lack of power.  The elite in the society of Trylle had more/stronger powers than everyone else.  And to dilute these powers by being with someone far below one's rank was forbidden.  The powers must be preserved.
   What with all of this new information, trying to get a hold on her feelings for Finn, and the Vittra always making trouble, Wendy has her work cut out fer her.  And she doesn't even know if she wants to be a princess, let alone rule a country one day.  If she doesn't, the Vittra will end up taking over.


   I love this series!  It is a very interesting thing to watch a girl who never fit in anywhere, find where she belonged, and yet, still have a hard time fitting in.  Wendy is more of the modern mindset on many issues, unlike many of the higher ranking officials in Forening.  She doesn't want to be a princess or rule a kingdom one day.  She wants to be normal.  And she wants Finn.  However, Finn's sense of duty far outweighs anything else in his life, including his love for Wendy.  This, in turn, causes only more heartache for her.  And Wendy must choose which path she will take as well.

Don't forget to check out the next new exciting book in the series: Torn!!

*images via Amanda Hocking