Book Review: The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett

Goodreads Summary: Sixteen-year-old Dusty Everhart breaks into houses late at night, but not because she’s a criminal. No, she’s a Nightmare.
Literally.
Being the only Nightmare at Arkwell Academy, a boarding school for magickind, and living in the shadow of her mother’s infamy, is hard enough. But when Dusty sneaks into Eli Booker’s house, things get a whole lot more complicated. He’s hot, which means sitting on his chest and invading his dreams couldn’t get much more embarrassing. But it does. Eli is dreaming of a murder.
Then Eli’s dream comes true.
Now Dusty has to follow the clues—both within Eli’s dreams and out of them—to stop the killer before more people turn up dead. And before the killer learns what she’s up to and marks her as the next target.

Title: The Nightmare Affair
Series: The Arkwell Academy #1
Author: Mindee Arnett
Publisher: Tor Teen
Release Date: 5th March 2013
Genre: Young Adult Paranormal Fantasy
Format: eGalley
Source: via publisher on NetGalley

The Nightmare Affair was a great read and a fantastic beginning to the series. I really enjoyed the writing style and characters created by Mindee Arnett and can’t wait for book 2 in the series, The Nightmare Dilemma, due for release next year (2014). This reminded me a little of the Mythos Academy series by Jennifer Estep and even Phoebe Pope and the Year of Four by Nya Jade. These both have academy settings and mysteries to be solved. I am really enjoying academy setting books at the moment, as you can see. :)

Destiny (Dusty) Everhart is a 16 year old and has a Nightmare Mother, Moira. Dusty lived with her Father up until her magical abilities turned up not long ago. Since they arrived, she had to attend a new school, Arkwell Academy. Arkwell is a school for magickind, where they learn to use their abilities. But life at school isn’t easy for Dusty with the history her Mother left behind.

A Nightmare is a darkkind, which means they have to get their power from living people. Dusty has to feed off dreams from humans and this one particular night, Dusty went dreamwalking and picked Eli Booker. Eli was the quarterback at high school where Dusty used to go and she wasn't really excited to see his dreams, but did anyway. This dream was very different for Dusty, very vivid and was of a dead girl from Arkwell. It was all very strange really and Eli somehow found Dusty in the dream and grabbed her arm. When the dreamer and the Nightmare touch in the dream, it automatically kicks the Nightmare out. The funny thing is, when Nightmares jump into dreams, they have to position themselves on the chests of their victims. So when Eli and Dusty were out of the dream, she fell off Eli and started shooting spells at him, but for some reason the spells bounced back off. What is going on?

Dusty is captured by the Werewolve Police and taken back to school where she finds the crime scene she just witnessed in the dream. Now she is really confused.

Dusty and Eli is a dream-seer pair, which is rare and exciting. Dusty and Eli have been tasked with finding the killer and preventing any further people from dying. In their dreams they could find clues to what is going on and try to prevent it from happening.

Since their bond has started, they find themselves becoming allies and with the help of Dusty’s roommate, Selena, they all embark on an adventure to find the culprit and discover the secret behind the Keepers.

Can Dusty and Eli interpret the dreams to find clues to the killer? Will they accept they have a connection that goes beyond the dream-seer dreams? Can Dusty forgive her Mother from running out on her when she was little?

I found this book very intriguing and a fun read. Having betrayal, action, mystery, romance, paranormal creatures and teen angst, I really enjoyed the world Ms Arnett created and the fun quirky characters.

4 GREAT FUN BOOKS

About the Author

Mindee Arnett lives on a horse farm in Ohio with her husband, two kids, a couple of dogs, and an inappropriate number of cats. She’s addicted to jumping horses and telling tales of magic, the macabre, and outer space. She has far more dreams than nightmares.

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Book Review: The Water Witch by Juliet Dark

Goodreads Summary: "You have only to call my name to bring me back," he whispered, his breath hot in my ear. "You have only to love me to make me human."

Seduced by a powerful incubus demon, Callie has succeeded in banishing him to the Borderlands but Liam still haunts her dreams, tempting her with the knowledge of how to bring him back.

But loving an incubus usually ends in death for a human. For her own sake, Callie must learn to control her desires and ensure Liam remains trapped for all eternity in his watery prison.

Only there is a more dangerous creature than Liam in the Borderlands. The Water Witch is looking for a way back.

Title: The Water Witch
Series: Fairwick Chronicles #2
Author: Juliet Dark (Carol Goodman)
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: 12th February 2013
Genre: Adult Paranormal Fantasy Romance
Format: eGalley
Source: publisher via NetGalley

I really loved The Demon Lover and really love the writing style of Juliet Dark. The Water Witch was no exception and was another addictive and fast paced read. I love Callie and love watching her grow with each book and the wonderful friendships she has made since moving into the town.

After banishing Liam into the Borderlands, Callie is still trying to piece back together her broken heart. Still not able to truly love him and turn him human, Liam is now stuck for eternity in the Borderlands. Callie must be careful not to desire him too much or he could escape again. Callie is still having hot and sweaty dreams about Liam and doesn’t know if they are real or just fantasies.

Callie is going to help her friends show a batch of undines the doorway to Faerie before they die. As Callie is the doorkeeper, she is the only one able to help guide them through. But Callie gets more than she has bargained for. One of the undines grabs a hold of Callie and pulls her into the water; the only way she is able to escape is to show the undines their way through the passage into Faerie. Travelling the passage is dangerous and finally making it through the other side, Callie is beside herself.

Callie is now in Faerie and watches as the undines turn into beautiful women, with legs and watch as they join their relatives. Callie has an argument with Lorelei, she is extremely angry and wants Callie to open the door for her to return to the human world, where she can breed. Callie doesn’t want to allow this angry, crazy undine back in and Lorelei is hell bent on taking revenge on her.

After returning back home and having a dangerous storm follow her through the doorway, Callie finds trouble and her house is torn apart. Looking for a new handyman, Bill turns up and Callie has an instant liking to him.

The witches in town have found Duncan, a renowned specialist and help to train new witches. Callie can’t but help be attracted to Duncan and with the hopes that he will be able to show her her full strength and witch abilities; Duncan has become her new friend.

With the threat of the doorway to Faerie being closed forever and Aelvesgold being taken away, the witch world will have no more magic. Callie is on a tight schedule to find a way to be able to keep the door open.

Who/what is the handyman Bill? Who/what is Duncan? Will Callie be able to get over Liam finally OR truly accept that she loves him? Who is the Water Witch? Can the door be kept open?

This was a great sequel to The Demon Lover and a fantastic continuation. I really love this series and the unique world that Ms Dark has created. There were a lot of surprises throughout this book and I was amazed and awed by the ending. I cannot wait to read book 3, The Angel Stone, due for release early September 2013.

4 GREAT FANTASY BOOKS

About the Author

Carol Goodman (Juliet Dark is a pseudonym) is the author of The Lake of Dead Languages. Her work has appeared in such journals as The Greensboro Review, Literal Latt, The Midwest Quarterly, and Other Voices. After graduation from Vassar College, where she majored in Latin, she taught Latin for several years in Austin, Texas. She then received an M.F.A. in fiction from the New School University. Goodman currently teaches writing and works as a writer-in-residence for Teachers & Writers. She lives on Long Island. (from the publisher's website)"

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Book Review: Moonset by Scott Tracey

Goodreads Summary: Justin Daggett, his trouble-making sister, and their three orphan-witch friends have gotten themselves kicked out of high school. Again. Now they've ended up in Carrow Mills, New York, the town where their parents—members of the terrorist witch organization known as Moonset—began their evil experiments with the dark arts one generation ago.

When the siblings are accused of unleashing black magic on the town, Justin fights to prove their innocence. But tracking down the true culprit leads him to a terrifying discovery about Moonset’s past . . . and its deadly future.

Title: Moonset
Series: Legacy of Moonset #1
Author: Scott Tracey
Publisher: Flux
Release Date: 8th April 2013
Format: egalley
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

I haven’t read anything written by Scott Tracey previous to Moonset, but I definitely will be reading Witch Eyes as soon as I can. Mr Tracey has an amazing writing style that is so easy to read with such a great flow that you don’t realise how fast the pages are turning. The characters of this book are amazing and so vast that you can’t help but relate to some of their attitude quirks and urge them to become more mature and fight for their own life.

Moonset is a coven of witches and this particular coven has only teenagers as its members. Years ago there was a conflict between the covens and Moonset lost. They were classed as terrorists and it was believed they wanted to open the door to the darkness and the demons. As a side effect of this conflict, the only surviving members were the children. Malcolm (eldest), Jenna and Justin (twins, but to different Mothers), Cole and Bailey (she is the youngest).

These 5 siblings, not by blood, but still family all the same, have been together and moved together ever since their parents died. Every time they start a new school, Jenna or Cole cause trouble and they get moved again. Jenna caused mayhem and confusion at this school and Cole helped, their guardians come and take them out of school when a wraith comes to capture the siblings.

Justin is almost caught, but since the children are cursed, he couldn't be harmed and the wraith was eventually destroyed. This is just the beginning of the trouble that seems to follow the Moonset kids around.

Their next move is to Carrow Hill, the beginning and the end of the Moonset Legacy. It seems this was where their parents came from and where trouble comes to a climax. Starting a new school, Justin decides it is time to meet a girl. Ash is strong willed and bold, she tells Justin what and when, he is attracted to her straight away.

There seems to be a conspiracy and the Moonset kids are the bait. There is a warlock in town and the only way to find out who he is, is to use the kids and blame them for the trouble. Can Justin work out who is behind all the trouble in town? Can he work out who can be trusted and what the mysterious symbol means? Can the siblings still trust one another? Who or what is Ash? Who are all these people?

From the first pages I was hooked, this story about witches and magic was so very intriguing and mysterious. I was kept guessing the whole time and still there are answers that I need. I cannot wait for book 2 and loved that this was another awesome read from a male’s point of view. Full to the brim with intrigue, betrayal, secrets, mystery and romance, Mr Tracey has thought of everything. I highly recommend this to all young adult readers, such a fun action packed read.

5 FANTASTIC FANTASY BOOKS

Favourite part:

“Am I supposed to be scared of you? Cole laughed – laughed! At the wraith. “You should see Jenna without makeup. That’s scary.”

“You look like Betty White’s grandmother,” Cole called. “And you smell like a Kardashian.”
~ loc 285 8%

About the Author

Courtesy of Scott's website

Scott Tracey is a YA author who lived on a Greyhound for a month, wrote his illustrated autobiography at the age of six, and barely survived Catholic school (and definitely not for the reasons you might think).

He is the author of WITCH EYES, chosen as one of Amazon’s Best LGBT Books of 2011, as well as an ALA Popular Paperback in the Forbidden Romance category. The final book in the WITCH EYES trilogy, PHANTOM EYES, will be released in the fall of 2013.

He is also the author of MOONSET, a new series which will be released April 8, 2013, as well as a contributor to the SHADOWHUNTERS & DOWNWORLDERS anthology, edited by Cassandra Clare.

His career highlights include: accidentally tripping a panic alarm which led to nearly being shot by the police; attacked in a drive-thru window by a woman wielding a baked potato, and once moving cross country for a job only to quit on the second day.

His gifts can be used for good or evil, but rather than picking a side, he strives for BOTH (in alternating capacity) for his own amusement.

~ courtesy of Scott Tracey's website

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Book Review: What's a Witch to Do? by Jennifer Harlow

Goodreads Summary: A suspenseful brew with a dash of passion
High Priestess might sound like an ’80s hair band, but its Mona McGregor’s life. She runs the Midnight Magic shop in Goodnight, Virginia, and leads a large coven. She’s also raising two nieces and hasn’t been with a man for fifteen years…until a handsome doctor takes an interest in her. But Mona’s life really heats up when Adam Blue, a sexy werewolf, arrives at her door. Adam informs her that someone wants her dead and he is there to protect her. Hell’s bells! When a demon begins stalking her, Mona has to suspect her coven members, and even her family.
With two handsome men and a determined demon after her, Mona teams up with Adam to find out who really wants her dead . . . and who really wants her.

Title: What's a Witch to Do?
Series: Midnight Magic #1
Author: Jennifer Harlow
Publisher: Midnight Ink
Release Date: 8th March 2013
Format: e-galley
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Challenge: Paranormal Reading Challenge

This sounded like such a fun read when I checked it out on NetGalley and I hadn’t really heard anything about it, so I though OK I’ll give it a go. WELL, it was so fun and funny and romantic. Jennifer Harlow certainly knows how to create characters that say “HEY, I’m here and my story is cool!” The atmosphere and world building that Jennifer has created was fantastic and so much fun to read.

Mona McGregor has always been a witch and since her Grandmother died, she took on the role at High Priestess to the coven in Goodnight. As a 35 year-old single woman, she is too busy to be thinking about relationships and only has time for her coven, her business and her 2 little nieces. Mona’s sister turns up one day and dumps the little girls with her and just leaves; ever since Mona has to provide for them and take care of them, but she loves them to death.

One night Mona awakens with a banging on her front door. Upon opening the door, she finds a werewolf that is beaten within a breath of his life. Adam claims she is in danger and that she must help him. Knowing Adam from when they were teenagers, she knew that she had to help him and find out what on earth is going on.

Adam is touch and go for a while, but when he is recovered, he explains everything to Mona. Apparently Adam was tortured and a Vampire is killed, but only because there is an assassination attempt on Mona. Why on earth would somebody want boring old Mona dead? Well, that is the question and the other piece of news is that it is one of Mona’s coven members.

So, Mona starts her investigation on who, what, when, why and so on. Adam is sticking to her like glue, being a werewolf, his Alpha has allowed him to protect Mona and separate from his pack for a week; after that he must return to his life and his pack. Mona and Adam spending so much time together, stirs up old feelings from their teenage years. Mona has an image of herself that she decides no man could love and tries to put Adam Blue out of her mind (but that’s easier said than done).

Follow the journey of Mona and Adam through their investigation and how they try to work out who the baddie is. Mona has some very strange friends and even stranger paranormal connections. Throughout this book, Mona has to make a decision about her life and her image. She learns to be happy with herself and how to love somebody.

I really enjoyed this book and Jennifer Harlow’s writing style. It was certainly a page turner and I loved Mona. I am glad that this is going to be a series and I can’t wait for the next book. I highly recommend this to paranormal romance readers for some witchy fun!

4 FUN BOOKS - GREAT

About the Author

Courtesy of Jennifer's website

Jennifer Harlow spent her restless childhood fighting with her three brothers and scaring the heck out of herself with horror movies and books. She grew up to earn a degree at the University of Virginia which she put to use as a radio DJ, crisis hotline volunteer, bookseller, lab assistant, wedding coordinator, and government investigator. Currently she calls Northern Virgina home but that restless itch is ever present. In her free time she continues to scare the beejepers out of herself watching scary movies and opening her credit card bills.

~ courtesy of Goodreads

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Book Review: The Demon Lover by Juliet Dark

Goodreads Summary: I gasped, or tried to. My mouth opened, but I couldn’t draw breath. His lips, pearly wet, parted and he blew into my mouth. My lungs expanded beneath his weight. When I exhaled he sucked my breath in and his weight turned from cold marble into warm living flesh. Since accepting a teaching position at remote Fairwick College in upstate New York, Callie McFay has experienced the same disturbingly erotic dream every night: A mist enters her bedroom, then takes the shape of a virile, seductive stranger who proceeds to ravish her in the most toe-curling, wholly satisfying ways possible. Perhaps these dreams are the result of her having written the bestselling book The Sex Lives of Demon Lovers. Callie’s lifelong passion is the intersection of lurid fairy tales and Gothic literature—which is why she’s found herself at Fairwick’s renowned folklore department, living in a once-stately Victorian house that, at first sight, seemed to call her name. But Callie soon realizes that her dreams are alarmingly real. She has a demon lover—an incubus—and he will seduce her, pleasure her, and eventually suck the very life from her. Then Callie makes another startling discovery: Her incubus is not the only mythical creature in Fairwick. As the tenured witches of the college and the resident fairies in the surrounding woods prepare to cast out the demon, Callie must accomplish something infinitely more difficult—banishing this supernatural lover from her heart.

Title: The Demon Lover
Series:  The Fairwick Chronicles #1
Author: Juliet Dark
Publisher: Ballantine Books
Release Date: 21st July 2011
Format: e-galley
Source: Publisher via NetGalley

This was a fantastic read, something dark, mysterious and romantic. I would suggest this is aimed toward an adult genre with all the lovely detailing of the dreams and storytelling. It was a little longer than the books I have been currently reading, but it was needed to tell the whole story of Callie McFay. The writing style of Juliet Dark was awesome and the story was fast paced.

Callie McFay started having very sexy dreams when she was a teenager; after her parents died she started having these dreams when she needed somebody to watch over her and then they faded as she aged. After finishing college and having a long term, long distance relationship, Callie is offered an interview at a small exclusive college called Fairwick College, in upstate New York. Hoping her boyfriend will soon get a job in New York, they will finally be able to move in together.

Callie goes to Fairwick for her interview and is drawn into the woods and to an old Victorian house hidden away. It appears run down and covered with honeysuckle, but the windows are open and Callie is enchanted. She stays overnight in the local Inn and just has to see the realtor about looking through the house. The next day, it is all set up and Callie falls in love with the house; she must buy it. This changes her plans with her boyfriend, but Callie is drawn to it and the woods surrounding.

Seeing strange things around the house and in the house, Callie isn’t sure if the house is haunted by the previous owner, also an Author and one that Callie has read. The house has old manuscripts and notebooks from the author and all her journals, but the only problem is that they are not to leave the house. So Callie sets up office in a spare room and sorts them through. The funny thing is that the story in the notebooks doesn’t match the printed version and some of the details match the sexy dreams that Callie started having again.

Since moving into the house and taking the position as Folklore Professor at Fairwick College, Callie has started having the same strange sexy dreams from her adolescence, the return of The Demon Lover. She is sure they are dreams, but at times they feel so real that in the morning she is sore and doesn’t know what is a dream and what is real.

There seems to be an outbreak at the college where the students are all extremely tired and anaemic, Callie is not sure if it is the local Vampires or there is an incubus in town.  This is a mystery and Callie is also having the same symptoms, she is determined to find out who the culprit is and banish them. Callie discovers there are other Professors at her College that have special abilities and the town in general isn’t what it seems.

Will Callie be able to ascertain what is real and what is just a dream? Who is The Demon Lover and why is he visiting her again? Who is the creature draining the students and Callie of their soul? What will happen to Callie’s long distance relationship?

I really enjoyed this book, it is so very unusual and dark gothic, something I don’t generally read, but it was fantastic. The romance aspect was very intriguing and I was left guessing the whole way through the book as to what happened to The Demon Lover and if Callie would ever get to be with her boyfriend. The Demon Lover was a great introduction to the series, giving the reader a little insight into the paranormal beings that inhabit Fairwick College. Each book appears to be a stand-alone, but has a common theme, the College. I can’t wait to read The Water Witch, which I have also received from NetGalley.

5 DARK MYSTERIOUS BOOKS

About the Author

Juliet Dark is a pseudonym for Carol Goodman and is also the author of The Lake of Dead Languages. Her work has appeared in such journals as The Greensboro Review, Literal Latt, The Midwest Quarterly, and Other Voices. After graduation from Vassar College, where she majored in Latin, she taught Latin for several years in Austin, Texas. She then received an M.F.A. in fiction from the New School University. Goodman currently teaches writing and works as a writer-in-residence for Teachers and Writers. She lives on Long Island.

~ via Goodreads

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Book Review: Exiled (The Protector #1) by M.R. Merrick

Goodreads Summary: Chase Williams is a demon hunter in the Circle, or at least he was supposed to be. On his fifteenth birthday, Chase stepped up to the altar to claim his elemental power, but it never came. Elemental magic is passed down to a hunter through the bloodline, but on Chase's birthday, the bloodline stopped. 
Exiled without the Circle's protection, Chase has spent two years trying to survive a world riddled with half-demons and magic. When he has a run in with a frightened and seemingly innocent demon, he learns the Circle's agenda has changed: the Circle plans to unlock a portal and unleash pure-blood demons into the world. Vowing to stop them, and knowing he can't do it alone, Chase forms a reluctant alliance with Rayna — a sexy witch with an attitude and a secret. 
In their attempt to stop them, Chase and Rayna find themselves in the middle of the Circle's plan, leaving one of them to decide what their friendship is worth, and the other's life depending on it.

Title:  Exiled
Series:  The Protector #1
Author:  M.R. Merrick
Publisher:  Self Published
Release Date:  First published June 2011
Source: Author for an honest review - for tour of third book Release

This is a fantastic fantasy covering demons, warlocks, witches and their hunters. It was a fantastic first book in the series, a great introduction into the lives of Chase and Rayna.

Chase is a seventeen year old boy that has only known the life of a hunter. Hunters have special abilities and allow them to heal faster, be quicker and stronger than an ordinary human. Chase is the son of parents that both have hunters blood. Three years ago, Chase was to go through the hunter’s ritual to bring on his elemental powers. The only problem is that Chase didn't get his and his father was so disgusted that he exiled Chase with his mother.

Three years go by and Chase does his bit by killing demons, which is all he knows. But now something has changed and demons are following him everywhere and attacking him. Living with his Mother they are working constantly to make ends meet and to look out for each other. Then one night on his way home from work, Chase is attacked. While trying to get the upper hand somebody comes by and kills the demon before Chase can finish the job. Rayna is part witch, part hunter and has become a hunter like Chase. Marcus has taken her under his wing and together they go hunting. They have asked Chase to join their cause.

Chase doesn't know what to think, Marcus was meant to be dead and why is he working with a half-breed? Demons start to get kidnapped and Marcus, Chase and Rayna are not sure what is going on. They begin investigating the disappearances and find themselves in more trouble.

Who are kidnapping the demons? Why are they kidnapping demons? How much trouble can Chase and Rayna find? Will Chase ever receive his elemental power?

This book is full to the brim of awesomeness. Chase’s character has so much potential to evolve into the man that every reader wants him to become. He realises life isn't just about killing demons and that maybe some of them aren't that bad after all. And maybe, just maybe there may be some loving for him and Rayna (I hope so, I will have to read Shift to find out). This book has inter-dimensional travel, magic beyond your imaginations and demons of all descriptions. The world that Mr Merrick has written is unique with red and green grass, purple water; just amazing.

One of my favourite parts is the fight that Chase has to take against the troll and the old children’s story about crossing the bridge and having to pay a toll, hilarious. I certainly can’t wait to read Shift and I recommend you all read Exiled to begin the journey.

5 STARS - AWESOME

About the Author: M.R. Merrick is a Canadian writer, and author of Exiled, the first instalment in The Protector Series. Having never travelled  he adventures to far off lands through his imagination and in between cups of coffee. As a music lover and proud breakfast enthusiast, he's usually found at the computer, between a pair of headphones and in front of a large bowl of cereal. 

You can find more on M.R. Merrick's books on Amazon, Goodreads, Kobo and Matt himself on Twitter, Facebook and his blog.