Jessica Rules the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey

Jessica Rules the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When Jessica Packwood found out she was a Romanian vampire princess, she had the shock of her teenage life. Turns out that was the easy part. Now, married to Prince Lucius Vladescu, she has to claim her throne and convince a vampire nation she’s fit to be their queen. But Jess can’t even order a decent meal from her castle’s Romanian staff, let alone deal with devious undead subjects who would love to see her fail.

And when Lucius is accused of murdering a vampire Elder and imprisoned without the blood he needs, Jessica finds herself alone, fighting for both their survivals. Desperate to clear her husband’s name and win his release, Jess enlists the help of her best friend Mindy Stankowicz and Lucius’s mysterious Italian cousin, Raniero Lovatu. But both of them are keeping some dark secrets. Can Jess figure out who to trust – and how to rise to power – before she loses everything, including the vampire she loves?

Full of romance, mystery, and danger, the highly anticipated sequel to Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side shows that sometimes a princess has to earn her “happily ever after” – with a sharpened stake in hand.

I LOVED this book! Beth Fantasky does an excellent job of developing her characters, and she is a master at keeping her readers interested. Her work continues to draw me in, and I can not wait for her next book!

*Warning: Spoilers for Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side are in this review*

First, if you have not yet read the story of Anatanasia "Jessica" and Lucius, you should do so at Beth Fantaskey's website, http://www.bethfantaskey.com/ as Jessica Rules the Dark Side does not include their wedding, though does reference it. Now that that's said, I can move into the spoiler free summary:

Antanasia Dragomir Vladescu (aka "Jessica Packwood Vladescu") was not ready to become queen of the clashing Dragomir and Vladescu clans (with the Vladescus being more powerful). But a princess has many enemies, and her new husband, Lucius, wishes for them to quickly ascend to King and Queen so that Jessica will be protected under the full royal guard. In the meantime, Jessica is trying to adapt to her new, violent vampire culture. To help her, she enlists the help of her best friend, Mindy, and Lucius's cousin Raniero (the vampire who had danced with Mindy at Lucius and Jessica's wedding) comes to the castle shortly after, with the intent of helping Lucius and looking out for "Mindy Sue". To make things even more complicated, Lucius is accused of destroying an Elder and faces the punishment of destruction himself if he is found guilty. Jessica must now try to find evidence that her husband is innocent, and determine who really killed the Elder before time runs out.

I must admit, I love how strong Jessica is. This novel is primarily about Jessica growing as a person and learning to stick up for herself (but there is still plenty of romance, mystery and adventure in there, too). I really love the fact that unlike a lot of young adult romance novels out right now, our main character doesn't need her prince to do everything for her. She is an independent young woman who is learning to hold her own and stand up for what she believes in. This novel is a perfect example of how an amazing romance story can still hold equally strong partners.

I also loved the side story that develops circling around Mindy and Raniero. I won't say too much regarding that in fear that I will spoil it, but trust me when I say that their story will make so much more sense if you read the wedding story.

All in all I would absolutely recommend this to any YA Paranormal Romance lover! (But do read Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side and the wedding story first!)

Beth Fantaskey's Website: http://www.bethfantaskey.com/

Intertwined by Gena Showalter

Intertwined by Gena Showalter

My rating: 4 of 5 stars





Jacket Description:

There's something about the new guy at Crossroads High...

Most sixteen-year-olds have friends. Aden Stone has four human souls living inside him.

One can time-travel.
One can raise the dead.
One can tell the future.
And one can possess another human.

With no other family and a life spent in and out of institutions, Aden and the souls have become friends. But now they're causing him all kinds of trouble. Like, he'll blink and suddenly he's a younger Aden, reliving the past. One wrong move, and he'll change the future. Or he'll walk past a total stranger and know how and when she's going to die.

He's so over it. All he wants is peace.

And then he meets a girl who quiets the voices. Well, as long as he's near her. Why? Mary Ann Gray is his total opposite. He's a loner; she has friends. He doesn't care what anyone thinks; she tries to make everyone happy. And while he attracts the paranormal, she repels it. For her sake, he should stay away. But it's too late...

Somehow, they share an inexplicable bond of friendshipt. A bond about to be tested by a werewolf shape-shifter who wants Mary Ann for his own, and a vampire princess Aden can't resist. Two romances, both forbidden. Still, the four will enter a dark underworld of intrigue and danger- but not everyone will come out alive...

I really enjoyed this book. It started out a little bit slow, for the first couple of chapters, but then really picked up speed. The story circles around four people (or eight if you want to include the people in Aden's head). Those people are a vampire named Victoria, a werewolf named Riley, a guy who has four souls in his head named Aden, and a girl who negates Adens powers when she's around him named Mary Ann.

This novel starts with an introduction to Aden, who has a time-traveling soul (named Eve), a physic soul (named Elijah), a necromancer (someone who raises the dead) soul (named Julian) and a soul who can possess human bodies (named Caleb). Together these characters have been through mental institutions and juvie. But when Aden gets to a new town, he meets Mary Ann who silences the souls in his head, for reasons that neither of them know. The synopsis of this novel makes it out like Aden and Mary Ann are going to be a couple, but Aden is too busy falling in love with Victoria, and Mary Ann is too busy falling in love with Riley. But things get even more complicated from there. Victoria and Riley (Riley is Victoria's personal guard...so yeah, there's some conflict of interest there) are in this town because when Aden and Mary Ann met a physic bond went out and put the supernatural world in a state of torture for a few brief moments.

Now the entire supernatural world wants to know who caused the bond and how to either a.)take control of that power or b.)get revenge on the people who created that bond. The Vampires and their Werewolf guards were no exception. But now Victoria wants no harm to come to Aden and Riley is very protective of Mary Ann. The rest of the supernatural world is still gunning for Aden and Mary Ann (who must stop them from harming the human population in their town and killing them), and so the main plot is born. All in all, I found this to be a very interesting and unique novel. I loved the double romances and action sequences. A must read.

Hearts At Stake by Alyxandra Harvey

Hearts at Stake by Alyxandra Harvey

My rating: 5 of 5 stars




Jacket Description:

A Romance You Can Really Sink Your Teeth Into!

Solange Drake always knew she was destined to become a vampire queen. And as the only female vampire ever born, not made, she is surrounded by danger on all sides- from vampire suitors who want to join her lineage to bounty hunters who are set on destroying her and her family. When she is kidnapped, it's up to her older brother Nicholas and her human best friend, Lucy, to save her. But can Lucy save herself from Nicholas, who tempts her with his every look? And what will be Solange's own fate if she surrenders her heart to the vampire hunter helping her survive the deadly intrigue at the royal court?

Let the Drake family be your guide into a secret vampire society full of epic battles, gothic seduction, undead drama, and wicked humor.

I found Hearts at Stake to be quite an engaging novel. The characters were easy to get attached to. I loved the double romantic stories between Lucy and Nicholas, and Solange and Kieran. I actually found myself extremely attached to the character of Lucy, who, although she is the only human among the Drakes, is an extremely strong and amusing character. In the story we learn that the Drake family, a highly respected, yet exiled, family has the only female vampire ever born among them, Solange. Solange is said to fulfill a prophecy that frightens the current vampire "queen". Because of this, the Drakes then have to deal with the Helios-Ra, a vampire hunter organization. But no one expected Kieran, one of the hunters would become interested in Solange. Also, one of Solange's seven older (and extremely overprotective) brothers, Nicholas, becomes interested in Lucy (Solange's best friend), whom has never gotten along with Nicholas growing up. I loved the characters more than anything in this story! I highly recommend this book to anyone who would like an interesting vampire story.

Alyxandra Harvey's Official Website: www.alyxandraharvey.com
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