Angelfire by Courtney Allison Moulton

This debut novel was wonderfully written and impossible to put down. Courtney Moulton created a fascinating world and a unique take on angels and demons that I really enjoyed.

Ellie Monroe was a normal girl. She had close friends, loved to go to parties, and dreamed of going to college. Sure she had intense nightmares of battling reapers every night, but those were just dreams, right?

The day before her seventeenth birthday Ellie ran into Will, a boy that looked to be no older than twenty and was someone that she seemed to have a connection with. It wasn't until the night of her birthday that she realized just how much of a connection there really was.

He was her guardian, her protector, and she... she was the Preliator. It was her job to battle reapers and protect the lives of humans from being stolen and sent to Hell.

Quite a story, huh? Well it's just as difficult for Ellie to believe and takes even more for her to fully accept what Will tells her. They've traveled together for centuries, their bond only growing stronger over time, but things are different this time.

One of the things I really appreciate about this story was that it jumped right into the action instead of slowly building up to it for a few chapters. Ellie is a strong character, sarcastic and beautiful, and she's a typical seventeen year old girl, just wanting to hang out with her friends and be normal. With Will by her side she can do anything.

With each new chapter I found it difficult to put the book down so that I could get some sleep. I loved the relationship between Ellie and Will and wanted to learn more about their past and adventures that they had been through. Courtney Allison Moulton's use of dark imagery with the reapers and fights, mixed with the light banter of Ellie's relationship with Will was perfectly done. The story was dark and scary, but Will added a sense of hope from the doom.

I definitely can't wait for the next two books in the series and recommend you check them out. To learn more about Courtney and the Angelfire series, you can't check out her website here: http://www.courtneyallisonmoulton.com or follow her on twitter here: http://twitter.com/CAMoulton.

Blood Promise and Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead

If you haven't read any of the books in The Vampire Academy Series then this review will contain some spoilers for you. Please read carefully.

 Richelle Mead has created such a fabulous world with the Vampire Academy Series. A little background in case you haven't read the other's in this series. They are all of Russian descent, and there are vampires called Moroi and half-vampires called dhampir's. They are all mortal, but have slightly longer lives than humans. The only vampire's in this world that are immortal are Strigoi who are the most dangerous.

The main character, Rose Hathaway, is a dhampir and is training to be a guardian for her best friend, Lissa Dragomir, who is one of the Moroi royals. Dhampir's are protectors for the Moroi and fight the Strigoi to keep them safe. Rose's mentor, Dimitri, helped her train when she and Lissa returned to their school after running away. But, in the end, their relationship formed into something more.

In Blood Promise, Rose leaves her school of St. Vladimir's and Lissa behind in search of Dimitri. Watching him being bitten by the Strigoi had been devastating for her, especially now that everyone thinks he is dead. Rose knows better, and wants to journey to his home country of Siberia to help set him free.

Along the way Rose comes into contact with an Alchemist, Dimitri family, and Abe Mazur, a man who ends up being a thorn in her side no matter what she does. Before Rose takes the final steps to search Dimitri out, she also meets another shadow-kissed pair that teach her more about the bond and connection she shares with Lissa.

This book was heart breaking and beautiful. At times it was difficult for me, but I wanted to know what happened next. The world that Richelle Mead has created is unique and refreshing, a wonderful take on the life of vampire's. Instead of this tale being told from the perspective of a Moroi, as you would expect, we get to read it from Rose, a guardian who can be right in the thick of the action.

I found myself fighting back tears through the majority of this book, wondering just how much more she could possibly take. Just when you think you know what's going to happen, Richelle pulls the rug out from under you to reveal there's so much more to the story.

And then came Spirit Bound, the fifth book in this amazing series. It's graduation time for the students at St. Vladimir's. The dhampir's are eager for their guardian assignments and the Moroi are anxious for their places among their peers.

Rose is concerned about not getting assigned to Lissa and is attempting a dangerous mission to find out if Strigoi can be healed. Not only does she endanger herself, Lissa, fellow guardian Eddie, and Rose's boyfriend Adrian, but she also lets a dangerous Moroi criminal loose.

This next installment in the Vampire Academy series was just as difficult to read as Blood Promise, leaving just as many questions unanswered.

With Dimitri back and new age laws coming into effect for dhampir's training to be guardians, things are really beginning to heat up in the vampire world. Richelle does an amazing job of showing the emotional turmoil that Rose and her friends are going through, ripping your heart out along with them. So much happens in this next installment, and I don't want to give it away. Just prepare yourself for an incredible journey.

I can hardly wait for Last Sacrifice, the final book in this series, to be released and there isn't that much longer for that. For more information on Richelle Mead and the other books she's written, you can check it out here: http://www.richellemead.com or you can follow her on Twitter at: http://twitter.com/richellemead.

Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

In Kimberly Derting's The Body Finder, we learn all about how Violet Ambrose's talent works, the intensity of the call, and about her relationship with Jay Heaton. Well, in this fabulous sequel, we're taken on a whole new journey with Violet that will take her on a path that she's not really ready for.

Desires of the Dead picks up a couple of months after the ending of The Body Finder. And just as I had fallen in love with the cuteness that was Violet and Jay's relationship before, we get even more of it in the sequel. But, as they grow closer, new feelings arise: including jealousy and lust.

And when Violet unexpectedly comes across the body of a small boy that she's incapable of reaching, she calls the police in hopes of keeping her good deed quiet. Once an FBI agent begins calling her, requesting to meet up, Violet realizes that she wasn't as careful as she thought.

New problems also arise as Violet discovers someone is stalking her, warning her to tread carefully. A dead cat left at near her car, a scary note, and tons of unanswered phone calls are just the beginning as Violet tries to figure out who is after her. But the more she searches, the further behind she leaves everyone else, keeping these important moments to herself. I found it interesting and very in character that Violet kept her family and friends in the dark, as best she could, about what she was dealing with. After everything that had happened in The Body Finder, she didn't want them to worry needlessly and tried to handle everything on her own, keeping secrets from those she loved the most.

Kim Derting did an amazing job in bringing a new level to Violet and her special talent. Not only did she have to learn how to balance her relationships and fears, but she also had decide when and who to open to about what she could do. This story is intriguing and gut wrenching, reminding of how wonderful and awful it was to be a teenager.

If you're looking for a story that has mystery and intrigue, love and loss, forgiveness and answers, then I highly recommend Desires of the Dead. The call of the dead is just to strong for Violet Ambrose to ignore, but what about the rest of her life?