Review: Ultraviolet by R.J Anderson

Ultraviolet by R.J. Anderson


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


The setting of this book is a mental institution and told from the point of view of Alison, who wakes up institutionalised after the mysterious death of one of her classmates. I loved the style of the narration, because in every word you can really feel Alison's fear, despair, resignation, confusion and her uncertainty. You just feel that she has just given up and now wants to hide away from everyone. She is reluctant to get close to anybody else after being unsure what happened on that day, and will not tell anybody what she experiences through her fear of being disbelieved and being thought of a freak.


Alison has always seen the world differently- for instance, seeing noises as colours, or associating words with emotions or tastes. She remembers becoming overwhelmed by an increase in her senses after an intense argument with popular girl Tori, and seeing Tori just appear to disintegrate in front of her eyes. Tori hasn't been seen or heard from since, and Alison cannot rationally explain to the police or the doctors what happened to her. Amongst the harsh doctors and unstable patients, Alison grows close to new psychologist Doctor Faraday, who not only listens to her and believes her, he provides an explanation for her unusual way of seeing the world, and encourages her. Doctor Faraday is different, he has violet eyes and Alison hears his voice as chocolatey. But he is also kind to her, and listens to her story without judging her.


You get a sense of the monotony of the passing days but without it ever feeling boring or like there is nothing happening. It is just a really compelling read, and I found myself constantly wanting to keep going to find out exactly what happened when Tori disappeared, as you just know that there must be something more to it than what troubled Alison dimly remembers, and something more to Doctor Faraday than first meets the eye. The reveal is shocking and absolutely the very last thing you would expect! The book is split into 3 parts and part three feels like a completely different novel, it's just bizarre! I give five stars to parts one and two and 3-4 stars for part 3 of the book.


What can I say about this book- it's emotional, creepy, heartwarming, mysterious and great!

ARC thanks to Lerner Publishing and Netgalley.com



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Review: My Soul To Keep by Rachel Vincent

My Soul To Keep (Soul Screamers Book 3) by Rachel Vincent


My rating: 4 of 5 stars


Book 3 in the Soul Screamers series




So I finished my next Soul Screamers fix with this book, becoming completely addicted again, and having to keep going until the end of the book. I think this was the best book in the series so far, feeling so much more emotional, and emotionally draining. The storyline flowed better, it was slightly darker than before, and there was more going on.


The characters in this book are more developed as well- we have steadfast Kaylee, who again proves her selfless determination to help her classmates, and even those ones that she can't stand like the arrogant wealthy football players, placing herself in harms way at times to try to protect them from the toxic Netherworld substance "Demons Breath" that they are taking like recreational drugs. Kaylee sets herself on a new mission to find out where they are getting it from and stop the supplier before it goes too far. Kaylee has always been strong and determined, but lacks confidence and has never believed herself quite good enough. I like her moral fibre, and her insecurity makes her very relateable.


Then we have Tod, who is still my favourite character in this series- always trying to protect Kaylee, Emma and even Addison who he has never given up trying to save. Tod clearly cares a lot about Kaylee, and his protectiveness over her is very endearing to read. He drops everything and calls in favours in order to help her, risking his job and his existence. He even punches Nash in the face over the way he treated Kaylee (I cheered), but also frequently intervenes to try to help when he thinks Emma might be in trouble, and unwaveringly always does what he thinks is the right thing to do.


Nash (who for the record I have never really liked, as I've always felt the only reason he wanted to date Kaylee was because they were both bean sidhes) begins to get involved with Demons Breath, and it changes him. Nash shows a secretive conniving side more in this book, telling Kaylee lies, using his power of Influence against her, and ultimately breaking her heart. I hope that Kaylee won't go crawling back to Nash just because he is the popular football player and such a catch(!), but I think that her experiences will make her even more of a kick-ass character.


This book sees Kaylee once again forced to make a trip into the Netherworld, and facing off with the demon hellion Avari (who is so nasty and creepy he makes my skin crawl), to save her friends and save the day. The book ends on an emotional rollercoaster and I really want book four right now!




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In My Mailbox 29th May 2011

In My Mailbox is a weekly event hosted by Kristi at The Story Siren, where book bloggers can talk about the books they've gotten the past week- whether bought, borrowed, swapped or given for review. This feature was started to increase interaction between bloggers and increase our awareness of all the new books coming out.

This week was another good week for me, I got...

Bought:

• Entwined by Heather Dixon. This looks like a really good book, and one that I've wanted for a while. The Book Depository have still got their 10% off offer on so I just couldn't resist! But in June I'm honestly not going to buy any more books- really! (lets see how long that lasts!)
• Wolves, Boys and Other Things That Might Kill Me by Kristen Chandler. I like the look of this book too, about a loner girl who comes out of her shell and starts a romance while volunteering in a project studying the wolf packs in Yellowstone National Park.

Audiobooks:

• Dead Beautiful by Yvonne Woon. I just know that it's YA, romance, and some kind of supernatural. But it looks beautiful and eerie, and it's getting great reviews, and I'm looking forward to reading it. 
• Evercrossed by Elizabeth Chandler. I really loved Kissed By An Angel so I was really pleased when I found out that there was going to be a sequel. I'm looking forward to reading about Ivy, Tristan and Will again.
• The Forest of Hands and Teeth by Carrie Ryan. Horror in the woods- another zombie book :-)  It seems like a lot of people are reading this at the moment, but I love the sound of it.

 

These are from Audible- a company linked to Amazon. 

From the Library:

• Forbidden by Tabitha Suzuma. This is another book that I never would have picked up without encouragement and recommendations from fellow bloggers. This is a story about an incestuous relationship between a brother and sister. I wasn't sure about whether I will like this one but I will give it a go.
• Numbers by Rachel Ward. I hope to start reading this one soon- it's about a girl who can sense numbers in her head whenever she meets anyone new- it's the date when they will die. Out one day she senses that a tragedy is about to happen.
• The Last Dragonslayer by Jasper Fforde. Dragons and magic spells (but don't forget to fill in magic release form B1-7g!) This authors writing is always very witty and funny- I ordered this one all the way back in October, but now it's finally come I don't know if I'll get a chance to read it. Too many books, not enough time!

For Review:

• Gravity by Abbey Boyd. I like the sound of this book about a girl whose best friend goes missing, and after mysterious things start happening to her, she starts to wonder if she is being haunted. For review from the author with thanks.

Those were my books! Anyone read any of these? What did you think of them? What books did you get?

Happy reading!

Winner- Paranormalcy giveaway!

... And the winner is...  

*drumroll*

Mel S at Mel's Random Reviews

Congratulations Mel, an email is on it's way to you now

Thank you to everyone who entered- I'm hoping to hold an international giveaway in the next few months, so watch out for it!

Giveaway- Paranormalcy- Last chance!

Reminder-
Last chance to enter to win Paranormalcy by Kiersten White- contest closes today!!
To enter you must be a follower, and have a UK address that I can post the book to.

Read the full contest rules and enter here

All you have to do is fill in the quick form on the post- Good luck!