Reign Check by Michelle Rowen

Title: Reign Check

Autor: Michelle Rowen

Publisher: Walker Childrens (May 25, 2010)

Length: 304 pages

Series: Demon Princess bk. 2

Source: Amazon.com

Edition: paperback

Description from Amazon.com:

Fresh from finding out she is a demon princess and meeting her father for the first time, Nikki Donovan is looking forward to getting back to her regular high school life. But then Rhys, the handsome teenage king of the faery realm, enrolls at her school as a "foreign exchange student." Her conflicted feelings for Rhys and her boyfriend are getting in the way of her new relationship with the Shadow-creature Michael. But this love triangle from hell isn't even Nikki's biggest problem: There's a new prophecy that claims she will destroy all the demon and human worlds. Her best friend Melinda just might be a demon-slayer-in-training. Throw in a field trip to none other than the Underworld itself . . . and Nikki's going to be hoping for a rain check on more than just her homework!

Link to description Amazon.com

My Thoughts:

Reign Check is the sequel to Reign or Shine by Michelle Rowen in the Demon Princess series and after the first one...I was a little leery going into this one. I wasn't really too sure how much I would like it since the first one was just OK for me. That said, I liked Reign Check soooo much better! What was better this time around? Everything was. The plot, the characters, and the love story were all more developed and not as predictable.

     Nikki, Michael, Rhys, Melinda, and literally all of the other characters were just more enjoyable. I'm a sucker when it comes to cute teen series and this edition really stepped it up. The romance in this one got a lot more interesting. I must admit that I wasn't a fan of Michael at all in the first book, but he progressed to OK in this one. I like someone else :) The introduction of several more supernatural characters answers some questions I had from the first book, adds much needed twists, and sets the third book up to be pure awesomeness! This is a light, fun, and cute supernatural series that hits the spot. I give this book a 4 STAR rating.

*** Michelle Rowen released the third Demon Princess book on January 1, 2012 as a self-pulished novel! Please support her and this series! Here is a link to buy it off of Amazon. (I don't get anything Amazon is just cheap and I love cheap books!)

Soul Thief by Jana Oliver (Demon Trapper Bk. 2)

Soul Thief by Jana Oliver

From the Back of the Book:

Seventeen-year-old Riley has about had it up to here. After the devastating battle at the Tabernacle, trappers are dead and injured, her boyfriend Simon is gravely injured, and now her beloved late father’s been illegally poached from his grave by a very powerful necromancer. As if that’s not enough, there's Ori, one sizzling hot freelance demon hunter who’s made himself Riley’s unofficial body guard, and Beck, a super over-protective “friend” who acts more like a grouchy granddad. With all the hassles, Riley’s almost ready to leave Atlanta altogether.

But as Atlanta’s demon count increases, the Vatican finally sends its own Demon Hunters to take care of the city’s “little” problem, and pandemonium breaks loose. Only Riley knows that she might be the center of Hell’s attention: an extremely powerful Grade 5 demon is stalking her, and her luck can't last forever…

My Thoughts:

Ms. Oliver has done it again. Very few books about demon and the struggle between Heaven and Hell rival Soul Thief and The Demon Trapper’s Daughter. Soul Thief continues the journey of Riley Blackthorne in her quest to find out what happened to her father and why demons are calling her by name. In the same manner as the previous book, Soul Thief does not do light and fluffy. It is gritty, harsh, and mesmerizing to the very end. Riley struggles even more in this book and so does Beck right along with her. Their relationship is brought out a little more in this installment, but not by much. This would probably be my one complaint. This really shouldn’t be taken to heart though. I’m sure Ms. Oliver knows where she is going with the story line and I put my full faith in her. The main thing that you take away from this story is that there isn’t always a happy ending in real life. I even think that it says this somewhere in the book. In this light you have to admire Jana Oliver standing out from the crowd.  Many times in YA paranormal books authors seem to have a hard time not ending with a happily ever after ending each time. Soul Thief as did The Demon Trapper’s Daughter had violence, language, and sexuality in it. This wasn’t just a titillating ploy by the author, but what I believe is an integral part to who the characters are and the overall plot. I enjoyed Soul Thief immensely and am eagerly awaiting the next installment in The Demon Trapper’s Daughter series. I give this book a 4 ½ STAR rating.

***Soul Thief Extras***

Soul Thief by Jana Oliver has approximately 320 pages and was published by St. Martin's Griffin(August 30, 2011). This is the second book in The Demon Trappers series. The first book is The Demon Trapper's Daughter. The third book, Forgiven, will be released on March 27, 2012.

It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han

It's Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han

It’s Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han picks up at Belly’s next summer. Since the events of last summer Belly has been on one wild emotional ride. She thinks she has her summer plans all figured out, but when you involve the Fisher boys nothing is set in stone. ***The Next Paragraph Might Contain What You Consider SPOILERS but I promise I don’t tell you anything that would ruin the book so skip the next paragraph if you wantJ ************

Since the death of Susannah nothing has been the same. Not her, her mother, not Jeremiah, and certainly not Conrad. Dealing with the grief from their loss has been difficult for Belly. Conrad keeps sending her mixed messages, her mother is distant, Jeremiah isn’t there, and Taylor just doesn’t understand. Planning for her first summer away from Cousins Beach doesn’t exactly have Belly jumping for joy, because that’s where she wants to be the most. Then out of the blue Jeremiah calls her with the news that Conrad is missing. It’s off to Cousins Beach once again. This summer will be the one to change Belly’s life forever.

I just can’t get enough of this series. Jenny Han has me reading them over and over. Every time I read them it sends me on a girly, emotional, crying, and heartbreaking ride. I liked this this installment, it follows the flashback format of the previous book, but still stays unique by showing insights into Jeremiah’s point of view. I have to admit I found myself crying in this one too. At the end of this book I found myself heartbroken and hopeful all at the same time. I give this book a 4 STAR rating.

***It’s Not Summer Without You Extras***

It’s Not Summer Without You by Jenny Han is the second book in the Summer series. This book contains 288 pages and was published on April 27, 2010 by Simon & Schuster Books For Young Readers. The third and final book in the series is We’ll Always Have Summer and is available in hardcover now.