Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

(TO READ MY REVIEW OF THE BODY FINDER CLICK HERE)

THE MISSING DEAD CALL TO VIOLET.

THEY WANT TO BE FOUND.

Violet can sense the echoes of those who've been murdered—and the matching imprint that clings to their killers. Only those closest to her know what she is capable of, but when she discovers the body of a young boy she also draws the attention of the FBI, threatening her entire way of life.

As Violet works to keep her morbid ability a secret, she unwittingly becomes

the object of a dangerous obsession. Normally she'd turn to her best friend, Jay, except now that they are officially a couple, the rules of their relationship seem to have changed. And with Jay spending more and more time with his new friend Mike, Violet is left with too much time on her hands as she wonders where things went wrong. But when she fills the void by digging into Mike's tragic family history, she stumbles upon a dark truth that could put everyone in danger.

Review:

I loved loved loved this book! Just as with its predecessor, Desires of the Dead is stunning on all counts. It's romantic, mysterious, suspenseful, funny, and very creative. Kimberly Derting'swriting is so fantastic, and her characters all so three-dimensional with such different and pronounced personalties that they, the plot, and the books themselves are so completely unforgettable.

Violet comes off just as strong as before, and her eerie ability becomes even more eerie in this novel, when it begins to involve characters closer to her and Jay. Violet's choice of working for someone, using her ability purposely to find murdered people and their killers, was easy to sympathize with--could you really tell someone something you'd spent your entire life keeping a secret, if it would benefit others? Even if it was something as dark as Violet's ability?

Jay is so sweet and protective--the ideal boyfriend/best friend--that you just have to love him, and I swear, I'm more in love with him than Violet is. The normal (well, semi-normal; most of us don't have to deal with the prospect of murderers coming and killing us,) issues that him and Violet face help with building the strong romantic focus, make their relationship very realistic and paced just right, unlike quite a few other young adult fiction novels of today.

I have to say, Derting does a fantastic job--even better, I think, than Kiersten White (author of Paranormalcy)--with supporting character development. My favorite character, actually, is Chelsea, Violet's closest girl friend. She's absolutely hilarious, and definitely has the most memorable personality in the two books. She's just so snarky and witty; I completely adore her! Claire is so sweet an innocent, too, that it just makes me laugh.

As with the first book, I really enjoyed the brief chapters in the supposed "killer"'s perspective, because you feel connected with her on a certain level, and sympathize with her emotions and the circumstances in which she lives . . . you can almost understand why she does the things she does. This adds to the book's suspense, because, in some ways, you almost wish that what it's telling you is wrong--she cant really be the killer, can she? This aspect of the book was very unpredictable, because you never really knew--not until the very, very end.

The seeds of doubt the events in the book planted in my mind drove me crazy with suspense and kept me reading until late at night, unable to stop. The romance reels you in from the very start, and the suspense doesn't let you go. I read for hours on end, staying up as late as I could, putting my homework aside, all along not even realizing how fast I sped through it, how quickly I passed each chapter mark. All in all, Desires of the Dead is another masterpiece by Kimberly Derting!

These books would be fantastic for fans of the 1-800-WHERE-R-YOU series by Meg Cabot, Melissa Marr's stunning Wicked Lovely novels, and the Darkest Powers series by Kelley Armstrong.

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In My Mailbox

Okay, so I haven't actually posted one of these in forever. But I am today, so I'll tell you all of the ones that I've gotten recently and I'll give you a list of the ones I'll be posting reviews for soon. IMM was started by Kristi of the Story Siren.

For Review:

Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting: The missing dead call to Violet. They want to be found. When Violet Ambrose's morbid ability to sense the echoes of those who've been murdered leads her to the body of a young boy, she draws the attention of the FBI. She is reluctantly pulled into an investigation that will endanger more than just her secret...but her relationship and possibly her life as well. This book is the sequel to The Body Finder by Kimberly Derting, and is fantastic. I just recieved it yesterday, and am almost done, so you'll see the review up soon! It'll be hitting the shelves March 15th of next year.

Sleepwalk Society by Kendare Blake: I just started this one, and I like it so far. Violet has a very strong, recognizable voice, and I love that.

Wicked Girls by Stephanie Hemphill: Wicked Girls is a fictionalized account of the Salem witch trials based on the real historical characters, told from the perspective of three young women living in Salem in 1692—Mercy Lewis, Margaret Walcott, and Ann Putnam Jr. I really like this one so far, surprising when you consider how much I don't like books in verse.

Love Sucks by Melissa Francis: I haven't started this one yet; I've got to do a library run and pick up the first one, Bite Me.

UPCOMING REVIEWS:

*Desires of the Dead by Kimberly Derting

*The Forbidden Game by L.J. Smith

*The Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

*Nineteen Minutes by Jodi Picoult

*Linger by Maggie Stiefvater

. . . and a ton more!

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Paranormalcy by Kiersten White

Weird as it is working for the International Paranormal Containment Agency, Evie's always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths. Not only that, but she may very well be at the center of a dark faerie prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

So much for normal.

Review:

Paranormalcy was absolutely amazing! First of all, Evie was fabulous. I love sarcastic, strong characters. I also love girls who are really girly but kick major butt, because it's just so entertaining. Who doesn't love a girl that has a Taser--and isn't afraid to use it? I'm sure all of us girls wish we could take out some vampires with our bare hands. (Trust me, if I could have any weapon, I'd most certainly want a pink Taser covered in rhinestones.) She has such a great personality, and her voice itself was so strong that she felt very real. When I met Kiersten today, she compared Evie's voice to someone walking up to you and hitting you in the face with a bat--which, truly, hits it right on the dot. The way she views life is, also, so refreshing. She really is the personification of a true three-dimensional character. Evie has definitely become one of my favorite characters--ever.

Lend was absolutely amazing, too. I fell in love with him right alongside Evie. His paranormal power--the ability to change his appearance--was very creative, and made you sort of feel bad for him; I wonder how sick you'd get of nobody ever really seeing the real you. He was so great to Evie, and had a great sense of humor, too. Kiersten did a fantastic job at building their relationship; everything happened at just the right pace.

The physical world of the story was also amazing; Kiersten certainly has a way with words. Evie's offhand way of describing anything--she was, at times, brutally honest--helped set the scene and mood for the entire novel. This also helped getting you grounded in the story; it helped create the perfect fictional dream, and sucked you into the world of Evie and IPCA. Kiersten also was fabulous at making you second guess yourself; you never really knew who you could trust, and that was something I haven't seen in a while in YA fiction books. The cover is, also, gorgeous.

Lish--a mermaid, and Evie's best friend--was also another excellent character. She didn't speak English, so a computer translated everything she said--and replaced every curse word with "bleep", a hilarious habit that Evie picked up as well. I actually really liked majority of the supporting characters in the story, which is surprising for me (Even in Sophie Jordan's fabulous novel, Firelight, I had issues with a few secondary characters--such as Jacinda's irritating twin sister). Even the evil characters, such as the faerie Reth, had strong personalities and were like able in their own ways.

Overall, this book was fantastic--the best paranormal fiction novel I've read in a while, up there with Firelight (Sophie Jordan) for creativity, and way up there for everything else.

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Firelight by Sophie Jordan

A hidden truth.

Mortal enemies.

Doomed love.

Marked as special at an early age, Jacinda knows her every move is watched. But she longs for freedom to make her own choices. When she breaks the most sacred tenet among her kind, she nearly pays with her life. Until a beautiful stranger saves her. A stranger who was sent to hunt those like her. For Jacinda is a draki—a descendant of dragons whose greatest defense is her secret ability to shift into human form.

Forced to flee into the mortal world with her family, Jacinda struggles to adapt to her new surroundings. The only bright light is Will. Gorgeous, elusive Will who stirs her inner draki to life. Although she is irresistibly drawn to him, Jacinda knows Will's dark secret: He and his family are hunters. She should avoid him at all costs. But her inner draki is slowly slipping away—if it dies she will be left as a human forever. She'll do anything to prevent that. Even if it means getting closer to her most dangerous enemy. Mythical powers and breathtaking romance ignite in this story of a girl who defies all expectations and whose love crosses and ancient divide.

Review:

When I first saw this book and read the summary, I was thinking how completely and utterly unique the idea was--I mean, dragons? I was so there, and I'm so glad I was. Firelight turned out to be even better than I'd hoped.

First of all, Jacinda's character is great; there are so many conflicts she has to deal with throughout the book; having to move away from the only place she has ever known, to a desert that is the complete opposite of where her draki can survive, falling in love with a boy who she should hate, just knowing who he is and what his family does, coping with the unveiling of the truth behind the death of her father: All of this makes her more sturdy, makes her three-dimensional. She certainly does not have what I'm beginning to think of as the "Bella-syndrome", meaning her personality falls flat and she is so unlikeable its ridiculous. I'm glad to say that I liked Jacinda from the start; she had the spunk and flare I love to find in a main character, and was an honestly good person, despite her somewhat idiotic--but understandable--decisions at times in the novel. I absolutely loved the instant romance and rocky relationship between her and Will (who is, of course, yet another dreamy male to add to our list of great YA guys), which had the classic Romeo and Juliet feel that makes us all swoon.

Furthermore, the writing itself was fabulous--a score for Sophie Jordan--and the plot was outstanding. The dragon/draki aspect was something entirely new and fresh to read about, and it was carried out perfectly; the idea was so strong and different that it in itself made the book amazing, and took it away from the standard YA shape-shifting stereotypes straight off the bat.

All in all, the book was fantastic, and a major step forward in the imaginativeness of YA authors today. I'd recommend it to fans of Fairest by Gail Carson Levine, Graceling by Kristin Cashore, and the Otherworldies (for a younger audience) by Jennifer Anne Kogler.

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