Wednesday, November 18, 2009

Stormy Weather

Rating: 5/5

Review: What a wild ride this was! I absolutely loved this book. Admittedly, it did take me a couple of chapters before I was completely hooked, but once I was...wow! I loved the main character, Joanna, who is a powerful weather warden. She can control storms, water, and wind. There are plenty of other intriguing characters to enjoy too, however, such as the mysterious David. There are some wonderfully intense moments, a couple of very sensual moments, and a twist at the end that completely blew me away. I cannot wait to devour the next book in the series!

Book Description: Joanne Baldwin is a Weather Warden. Usually, all it takes is a wave of her hand to tame the most violent weather. But now, she's trying to outrun another kind of storm: accusations of corruption and murder. So, she's resorting to the very human tactic of running for her life... Her only hope is Lewis, the most powerful warden known. Unfortunately, he's stolen not one but three bottles of Djinn-making him the most wanted man on earth. Still, she's racing hard to find him-before the bad weather closes in fast...

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

Side Effects Suck


Rating: 4.5/5
Review: Another fast-paced novel by McMann, but this one has a little more depth. There are actual paragraphs for one thing. For another, there's more intensity and a lot more character interaction. Janie is getting better at controlling her ability, but there are some nasty side effects that she has to look forward to according to her mentor's journal. She going to go completely blind, which has already started to happen. She's going to lose the use of her hands. She can never drive again, unless she doesn't care about killing innocent people. The only way she can avoid the blindness and crippled hands would be to isolate herself completely. To top things off, she's working on a case with Cabel and Captain that could push her completely over the edge. There's a sexual predator at the high school, and it's Janie's uncomfortable job of fishing him out. She's definitely way in over her head here, and I was actually getting increasingly worried for her. I like Janie, she has a good head on her shoulders, and she's very spunky, but she needs to learn what she can and can't handle. McMann has a great ability to keep her readers hooked and begging for more.
Book Description: Janie and Cabel have a dangerous new assignment. At their high school, rumors are rampant that teachers are using date-rape drugs on students. Called in to investigate, the pair tap into the nightmares of a troubled female classmate. Alarmed by what they discover, they decide to probe deeper, using Janie as bait. This extreme strategy endangers Janie, but as they soon discover, that's only the half of it….

Thursday, November 5, 2009

Dream Trespasser


Rating: 4.5/5
Review: This is a super fast read. I don't recall seeing this style of writing before, either. The author has written out the story in very clipped sentences, and I don't think there is a single paragraph in the whole book. It works very well, though, and has certainly made me crave for more. Janie is a teenager who unwillingly gets sucked into other people's dreams. Most of the time, it's just someone's embarassing fears or fantasies, but sometimes they are very scary nightmares. This story seemed more like a very long introduction or prologue, so I am very curious what will take place in the next book. Will Janie get control of her dream power? Will she develop new powers? Will she and Cabel have a lasting relationship? How will she handle college? What kind crime will she help bring to justice next? I can assure you that I am very anxious to find out.
Book Description:
Not all dreams are sweet.
For seventeen-year-old Janie, getting sucked into other people's dreams is getting old. Especially the falling dreams, the naked-but-nobody-notices dreams, and the sex-crazed dreams. Janie's seen enough fantasy booty to last her a lifetime.
She can't tell anybody about what she does — they'd never believe her, or worse, they'd think she's a freak. So Janie lives on the fringe, cursed with an ability she doesn't want and can't control.
Then she falls into a gruesome nightmare, one that chills her to the bone. For the first time, Janie is more than a witness to someone else's twisted psyche. She is a participant....