56. The Diamond Bearer's Destiny by Lorena Angell

#4 Unaltered

read on Kindle

2013

286 pgs.
YA Paranormal Fantasy
Finished 5/25/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.15 - 207 ratings
My rating: 3.5

First line/s: "I don't know if I want to be a Diamond Bearer anymore."

My comments: This installment wraps up many of the problems seen in the first three books.  A lot of time is spent revealing Chris's past and his relationship with his father to Calli.  Calli takes on new responsibilities as she switches places with Meitha, adding invisibility and light control to her powers.  Chris defeats his father, and that ends the government's interference with the powers under control of General Harding.  A new generation of diamond bearers is born.  The series could definitely end right here, there don't seem to be any unanswered questions, only possibilities and directions where things might possibly go.

Goodreads synopsis:  The Diamond Bearers' Destiny, book four of The Unaltered. Calli learns about Chris's motives and tries to understand his dilemmas. Given no choice, the two of them travel with a mysterious companion back to General Harding's facility in an effort to dismantle the programs that are exterminating people with powers and wiping Diamond Bearers from the face of the earth.

          General Harding figures out what lies at the heart of Agent Alpha's research project. Harding is determined to complete the studies and become an all-powerful Diamond Bearer--once Chris deceives Calli and delivers her to him so he can destroy her and take the diamond from her heart.
          What General Harding fails to understand is this: Calli's diamond will not make him the most powerful individual on the face of the earth. Most powerful of all are the agents of nature who work for Crimson--the creator of the Sanguine Diamond. Upsetting the balance of nature is the last thing General Harding should do.
          Follow Calli, Chris, Brand, and Crimson as they battle Deus Ex, undead Healers, and the notorious General Harding, in an effort to balance nature and save lives.

55. The Diamond of Freedom by Lorena Angell

#3 Unaltered

Read on Kindle

2013

264 pgs.
YA Paranormal Fantasy
Finished 5/24/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.08 - 554 ratings
My rating: 3.5/4

First line/s: "He stands by the river, his black leather duster setting him apart."

My comments: Lots happens in this one, and although it's left at a cliffhanger, it's a different kind of cliffhanger than in book two.  In that one, Chris and Calli are off to Miami and we know it.  In this book, there is a definite ending with uncertainty of what will happen next.  Is Chris a traitor?  What's going on between him and Deus Ex?  You had to think harder to follow everything  that happened in this book, what the obsidian was doing and how it changed the powers.  Also, following the "repeating" and trying to understand how it worked was a bit confusing.  It's fascinating to consider how minds can think up this stuff.  So here's the ultimate spoiler:  the books ends with Calli in Maine with her parents, Chris has taken of with Deus Ex as her supposed hostage, Jonas and Cali have joined the ranks of the diamond bearers although Calli still has a fragment of Jonas's diamond in her own heart.  Crazy

Goodreads synopsis:  The Diamond of Freedom, book three in The Unaltered, melds together history, geology, metaphysics, science, and fantasy in this non-stop nail biter. Calli and Chris race against the clock to identify the power-neutralizing stone that prevents Calli from healing her life-threatening injuries. She must also learn how to counter its effects before she can fight against the rogue Diamond Bearer named Freedom to save the boy she loves and the world of her friends.

          In the epic battle between extreme cosmic-power holders, weaknesses are exploited and lifetime relationships shattered to gain the upper-hand. Sometimes having no special abilities is what makes someone the most powerful. General Harding, Chris's father, has made it his life's mission to eradicate all people with powers. Believing the lies fed to him, and misusing his status with the U.S. government, General Harding nears completion of a weapon designed to destroy cosmic-energy individuals.
          Calli meets Brand Safferson's half-sister, self-named Deus Ex, and proclaimed mercenary. Her repeating abilities are necessary to rescue Brand from General Harding's compound, but the risks of recruiting her to abandon Freedom's side and join Maetha's may be deadly.
          Maetha provides proof that she's figured out how to heal the DNA of an altered human, creating an Unaltered individual.

54. A Diamond in My Heart by Lorena Angell

#2 Unaltered

2012

277pgs.
YA Paranormal Fantasy
Finished 5/23/2021
Goodreads rating: 4.08 - 553 ratings
My rating: 3.5

First line/s: "I used to scoff at magical powers and abilities, used to have this amazing focused direction in life and didn't allow my time to be wasted on silly conspiracy theories or gossip."

My comments: This one did not end in the happy, upbeat way that number one ended.  It ends on a cliffhanger.  Calli and Chris are reunited, but it's sort of a bland reuniting.  The vain quarterback, Brand, has become a major character, a very likable one, and a great addition to the cast of characters.  Definitely bad guys versus good guys.  Not as good as book one in the series, but good enough to go for number three.

Goodreads synopsis:  A fantasy, paranormal, mystery thrill-ride. At age sixteen, Calli Courtnae learned that superhuman abilities and powers existed in her ordinary world, yet had remained hidden for thousands of years. She became one of them through the course of events controlled by Maetha the Immortal and is now faced with trying to live in her ordinary world while secretly possessing extraordinary powers. Her task is complicated by the emergence of an unknown power in one of Calli’s classmates which requires her to befriend the boy in an effort to help him use his powers for good and not just for his own self-gratification.

          Calli is able to read minds, view the future, heal, and locate other Diamond Bearers she didn't know existed and in doing so she'll learn of traitors who've sided with the US government and who threaten her new world and the lives of those she loves. She'll question her own loyalties and friendships, and ultimately be faced with the inevitable—the reuniting of the diamond shards.

53. A Diamond in My Pocket by Lorena Angell

#1 Unaltered

read on Kindle
2011
286 pgs.
YA Paranormal Fantasy
Finished 5/22/2021
Goodreads rating: 3.84 - 1783 ratings
My rating: 4
Setting: contemporary northern Ohio/Montana/and elsewhere...

First line/s: "I don't understand what's happening to me.  Something strange and inexplicable is going on inside my body, and there isn't anyone I can tell about it.  I wouldn't know where to start."

My comments: A story that flew right by in memorable pleasure.  First realistic, then somewhat dystopian, then into full-fledge fantasy mode, it was fun to accompany Calli on her adventure.  A fairly sensible girl, she went with the flow without thinking about things to deeply - and that's what made this book fun.  There was the "perfect" hot guy, the absolute horrible jerk, and the mean girls/s.  Nothing disappointed, and the end came together quite satisfactorily so that if you decide not to go on to  book two it would be a perfectly satisfying ending  However, I can't wait to go on....

Goodreads synopsis:  J.K. Rowling meets Stephen King in this fresh, thrilling take on superpowers.                 Currently being optioned for film.

          After breaking the 100m world record, sixteen-year-old Calli is whisked away to a secret facility where she's placed with other teens who possess superhuman speed. She soon finds herself in a deadly situation involving other superpowers, a mystical diamond, and a centuries-old clan vying for world domination. Calli will have to rely on her quick wit and gut instinct to navigate her new world which includes secretly carrying a power-infusing diamond, all the while steering clear of the young man who mistakenly believes she's his soulmate.
          Book one of The Unaltered series introduces a secret universe existing within our own. In this world, cosmic energy grants superhuman abilities, and people of like ability band together in clans for both safety and community. Flesh-ripping demons prowl at night, drawn to the cosmic energy. Governments spy on clans, clans spy on governments, and trusting the wrong person may carry a terrible price.

3. City of Ashes - Cassandra Clare

The Mortal Instruments #2

read on my phone through Kindle

2008, Margaret K. McElderry

453 pages (which includes the beginning of the next book)

Finished Sunday, 1/13/2014 (Have been reading this for awhile)

YA Dystopia/Paranormal

Goodreads Rating:  4.26 (270,000+ ratings!)

My Rating: 3/Liked it

Setting: NYC

1^st sentence/s: "The formidable glass-and-steel structure rose from its position on Front Street like a glittering needle threading the sky."

My comments:  Lots of battling, descriptions of demons and bad guys, people not telling each other the whole truth, which puts everyone in precarious positions...and quite a few hints of possibilities to come.  It kept me reading, and will continue to, I imagine, for the rest of the series....

Goodreads Review:  Clary Fray just wishes that her life would go back to normal. But what's normal when you're a demon-slaying Shadowhunter, your mother is in a magically induced coma, and you can suddenly see Downworlders like werewolves, vampires, and faeries? If Clary left the world of the Shadowhunters behind, it would mean more time with her best friend, Simon, who's becoming more than a friend. But the Shadowhunting world isn't ready to let her go — especially her handsome, infuriating, newfound brother, Jace. And Clary's only chance to help her mother is to track down rogue Shadowhunter Valentine, who is probably insane, certainly evil — and also her father.

     To complicate matters, someone in New York City is murdering Downworlder children. Is Valentine behind the killings — and if he is, what is he trying to do? When the second of the Mortal Instruments, the Soul-Sword, is stolen, the terrifying Inquisitor arrives to investigate and zooms right in on Jace. How can Clary stop Valentine if Jace is willing to betray everything he believes in to help their father?
     In this breathtaking sequel to City of Bones, Cassandra Clare lures her readers back into the dark grip of New York City's Downworld, where love is never safe and power becomes the deadliest temptation.

51. City of Bones - Cassandra Clare

#1 The Mortal Instruments series

2007 Margaret K. McElderry Books

485 pgs.(plus a couple of book beginnings)

YA Fantasy/Paranormal

Finished 11/13/13

Goodreads Rating: 4.13

My Rating: (4.5) Loved it, I've got to admit.....

THA Library

NYC

1^st sentence/s: " 'You've got to be kidding me,' the bouncer said, folding his arms across his massive chest. He stared down at the boy in the red zip-up jacket and shook his shaved head.  'You can't bring that thing in here.' "

My comments:  I read this book after seeing the movie, and greatly enjoyed it. I loved comparing movie to book and finding a lot of differences.  It's interesting to see the direction that Clare decided to take with the main characters, and I'm looking forward to seeing what's going to happen in the next segment in the series.

Goodreads Review:  When fifteen-year-old Clary Fray heads out to the Pandemonium Club in New York City, she hardly expects to witness a murder -- much less a murder committed by three teenagers covered with strange tattoos and brandishing bizarre weapons. Then the body disappears into thin air. It's hard to call the police when the murderers are invisible to everyone else and when there is nothing―not even a smear of blood―to show that a boy has died. Or was he a boy?

This is Clary's first meeting with the Shadowhunters, warriors dedicated to ridding the earth of demons. It's also her first encounter with Jace, a Shadowhunter who looks a little like an angel and acts a lot like a jerk. Within twenty-four hours Clary is pulled into Jace's world with a vengeance, when her mother disappears and Clary herself is attacked by a demon. But why would demons be interested in ordinary mundanes like Clary and her mother? And how did Clary suddenly get the Sight? The Shadowhunters would like to know... 

Exotic and gritty, exhilarating and utterly gripping, Cassandra Clare's ferociously entertaining fantasy takes readers on a wild ride that they will never want to end

15. Unraveling Isobel - Eileen Cook

2012, Simon Pulse (Simon & Schuster)
TPPL Teen
290 pgs.
Rating:  2.5/It was okay

Setting:  An island off the coast of Washington state, big enough for its own high school.
OSS:  When Isobel's mother marries a guy with a "hot" son her own age, she has to move to a strange high school during her senior year and deal with weird, ghostly things that happen in the huge old mansion she must now inhabit.
1st sentence/s:  "When the minister asked if anyone knew any reason why these two shouldn't be married, I should have said something.

Isobel's mother is a self-centered woman who has never been a particularly good mother, and this sort of things irritates me (of course).  It's a real happenstance, and I like that it was written that way.  The new stepfather, Dick, has only been widowed for seven months, so that's cause for head scratching and great and immediate questioning about his   The developing relationship between Isobel and her stepbrother Nathaniel is.....interesting.  And then there's the weird happenings in Isobel's bedroom - the room that used to house Nathaniel's drowned sister.
A fast read, perfect for reluctant teen readers. I found it predictable, but I've read many similar books. It went fast and was interesting, but isn't a standout for me. There were also a number of misspellings that hadn't been caught or edited, and this bothered me (although it shouldn't have!)

12. After Obsession - Carrie Jones & Steven E. Wedel

Bloomsbury, 2011
HC $17.99
308 pgs.
for young adults
Liked it a lot (4)

Setting:  a small community on the Union River, near Ellsworth, Maine
OSS:  Two voices alternate as this story unfolds - Aimee and Alan - who know that an evil force (the River Man) is trying to possess a friend, the same evil force that took the life of Aimee's mother and countless others through the past centuries.
1st sentence/s:  You are mine.  You are all mine.  These are the words I hear every single freaking morning since my friend Courtney's dad died. They slither around inside my brain all day until I think I'm going crazy, and today is no exception.

I enjoy reading Carrie Jones' novels....the setting is where I lived for so many year.  This time, in her acknowledgements, she mentions Amilie Bacon, one of my past students at MDES.  That was pretty exciting.

1. Daughter of Smoke and Bone - Lani Taylor

#1 in a new trilogy
read on my phone through Kindle
2011, Little Brown & Co.
432 pages
Written for YA
Awesome (5)

Setting:  Contemporary Prague as well as an otherworld called Eretz.
OSS:  Karou, a human college student raised by chimaera (mixture of different animals), meets Akira, the hated enemy of the chimaera because he is a seraphim.
The title:  As is discovered in the later part of the novel, smoke is a major part of the survival of the chimaera.  And a wishbone, worn by Brimstone, is a huge link to the present and the past...and the truth for Karou.
1st line/s:  "Walking to school over the snow-muffled cobbles, Karou had no sinister premonitions about the day."

This was a fascinating story.  There were surprises along the way, and if you've not read the book, go no further, because I'm going to review this book with possible spoilers.  Why?  Because I can't wait to read the 2nd installment, which won't come out until September and I'll be foggy about the storyline. So here goes.

Karou speaks many languages and is an art student in Prague.  She was raised by four chimaera, reptile heads, snake bodies, different animal body parts in different places, with the head-of-house a powerful being called Brimstone.  Brimstone collects teeth.  Thousands of teeth, teeth from any animal or human.  Karou helps him out by traveling through portals to pick them up and messenger them back.  Although she now lives on her own in an apartment in Prague, she fondly recalls her life with her "family," even though this life still leaves her with countless unanswered questions.

Then Karou "meets' Akira.  Their immediate attraction to each other is marred by violence and antagonism, which quickly disappears.  Karou doesn't understand this pull she has toward Akira.  She soon discovers that he is a seraphim, that angels are the archest enemies of the chimaera...and that there's a terrifying war being fought in anotherworld, one that Brimstone has never let her enter.

That's all the first half of the book.  In the second part, we meet Madrigal, the chimaera who was the absolutely forbidden love of Akira.  Madrigal who was put to death because of their love, which was considered a betrayal by her kind.  So the reader starts to wonder....how are Karou and Madrigal related?  There has to be a relation.....

The secret to everything is behind the reason for Brimstone's obsessive collection and trafficking in teeth.  Those teeth were used to create new "vessels" (bodies) for the souls of killed chimaera.  Souls that were collected from the previous body by a stream of incensed smoke.....

Well, I don't know if this is enough to help me remember what went on in the book.  Let's hope!  Clever, different story.  I look forward to the next in the series.

54. Darkness Becomes Her - Kelly Keaton

Simon Pulse, 2011
HC $16.99
274 pgs.
for:  Young Adults
Rating:  4.5

First Line/s: Under the cafeteria table, my right knee bounced like a jackhammer possessed.  Adrenaline snaked through my limbs, urging me to bolt, to hightail it out of Rocquemor House and never look back.

Setting:  Over a decade after the 2009 hurricanes ruined New Orleans, now called New 2.  It's no longer part of the USA, and it's home to people that are.....different.

One sentence summary:  Ari, a 17 year-old searching for her mother and her roots, discovers the horrifying legacy that has been passed down to her through centuries of tormented women.

Yes, this one held my attention completely.  I guess I enjoy these dystopian adventures.  This one, of course, includes the smolderingly handsome love interest. Sebastian is the interestingly different part vampire whose family is one of the Novem, the ruling elite of the new New Orleans.  However, Ari holds a power that she doesn't understand at all - many people that she encounters, the ones that know of her mother, show that they are ... afraid ... of her.

I slowly figured out the mystery before it was revealed, but it was fun doing so.  Someone with more of an interest/background in Greek mythology would probably figure it out long before I did.  But I'll read the sequel when it comes out, A Beautiful Evil, coming in February, 2012.  It will continue the adventure, I'm sure.

If I knew New Orleans, the layout and the history, it would be even more enjoyable, because the description is excellent.

43. Ruby Red - Kerstin Gier

Translated from German by Anthea Bell
1st in a Trilogy
Henry Holt & Co., 2011 (2009 in Germany)
HC $16.99
330 pgs.
Rating:  4

Another vampire-less story in the genre of paranormal fiction for young adults.  Alchemy and science seem to be the basis of a gene that only passes through the years to twelve people, and although Gwyneth's snobby cousin, Charlotte, has been trained for the time traveling ability that the gene produces, it's the unsuspecting Gwyneth that got it.

An average teenager in upper class contemporary London, after the first unexpected time-traveling episode Gwen's life will never be the same.  Although it's all supposed to be top-top secret, she's share the secret with her best friend, who loves the mystery of it all, and researches every kind of clue that Gwen can give her on the internet.  This adds a really fun element - and there's quite a bit of subtle humor throughout.  And, OF COURSE, there's the irresistibly handsome young man that is her time-traveling sidekick/companion.  Gideon deVilliers is two years older than Gwyneth, and, unlike her, has been trained in manners, habits, and skills of the centuries they will be visiting.

I read all 330 pages in one afternoon/evening.  My one complaint is that throughout the first half of the story, the protagonist truly seems like a younger girl, a middle-schooler instead of a high-schooler.  She starts thinking a little older as the story progresses, but I had to change my thinking and attitude toward her,'cause she really did appear to be very young.  And it's not really a Twilight clone!

(HIGHLIGHT THE INVISIBLE FOR SECRETS) The prologue and epilogue totally give away one of the secrets (that the runaway Lucy and Paul are her parents), but that's okay. And you figure out immediately that the Count Saint-Germaine is evil, manipulative, power-hungry.  The book stops abruptly, making you wait for the further adventures of Gwyneth and Gabriel. 

I found it interesting once in awhile to flip back to the male and female lines of descent, which can be found on pages 141 and 203.

42. Evermore - Alyson Noel

#1 in Immortal series
for:  YA
St. Martin's Griffin, 2009
paper, $9.95
306 pgs.
Rating:  3

I'm almost ashamed of myself for reading this book in one gulp, I couldn't put it down.  I spent the whole time comparing it to Twilight, which was a great higher skill on Bloom's Taxonomy for me to use, right?  There are so many similarities, but MINUS THE VAMPIRES, yippee!  Although Immortals seem pretty similar, with an  almost-more-plausible beginning.  There's the super hunky immortal (Damon), the nasty, hurtful immortal (Drina), the innocent young girl (our protagonist, Ever (Ever Bloom, get it???), and the loving but clueless guardian (Sabine).  We also have the two best friends - a goth girl (Haven) and a gay boy (Miles).  Throw in an exotic setting - southern California.  Another YA paranormal fantasy. 

But wait - I liked the protagonist!  She beats Bella by a long shot, at least in this first installment.  She has a head of her own, a will of her own.  She may become a "can't live without him clone" in the second installment, but so far, so good.  One of these days I might even read Blue Moon. (Hmmm...how similar can titles be?????)

62. Chill of Fear - Kay Hooper

#8 Bishop/Special Crime Unit series
Audio read by Dick Hill
Brilliance Audio, 2005
8 unabridged cds
9 hrs.
368 pages
Rating: 2

This is a mystery solved by two psychics - one of them, Quentin Hayes, is an FBI agent. Psychics make up the Special Crime Unit. Apparently every psychic has different abilities, and with Quentin's help, Diana Brisco discovers that she hasn't been crazy her whole life, she is actually a medium that can go into the freezing cold "gray" world and talk to the spirits of the dead.

The setting for this story is at a fancy-schmansy resort in the boonies of Tennessee. Murder after murder has taken place ever since the place had been built, and it's time to solve them. Of course they do, though it takes forever to get to the end, and then it's done.

I won't say I don't believe in the paranormal (actually, I don't think I do), but I guess I really like mysteries of reality, gritty reality. And I wanted more characterization. It certainly passed the time back and forth between school and home, but I can't say this sort of story is my cup of tea. Maybe if Iwere a believer....

75. Need - Carrie Jones

for: YA
Bloomsbury, 2009
$16.99
306 pgs.
Rating: Hmmmm....3.5?? 4??

Within the first few pages Zara, the protagonist, arrives in Bangor and hits Rte 1A for the coast of Maine. Well. If I had a buck for each time I'd done this..... Every bit of the setting of this story is known to me. All the places that Zara's EMT grandmother is called to - Rte. 9, Acadia National Park. This Bedford, Maine has to be Ellsworth. I can see the high school, have walked the halls (and taken summer workshops) there many times. The library - I love the Ellsworth Library - is one of my favorite places. Betty, Zara's grandmother has to live in Lamoine or Trenton, or one of the long, twisting roads that attach the outside world to Ellsworth. And there's a blizzard in October. Major nor'easter. A little early for my liking - but we're talking Maine here. Those long, cold, gray winter days arriving in October are part of the reason I now live in Tucson!

So.....I loved loved loved the setting of the book. The heroine/protagonist Zara is a gutsy, interesting young lady. Liked her a lot. Some of the other characters were harder to get to know. I wanted more about them before startling images and information were given. Oh well. I must admit I couldn't put the book down. No vampires in this one! However, there are pixies (they sound a lot sweeter and nicer than they actually are) and plenty of "were's." Gold glitter. A lot left to the imagination. Not enough details! Specifics - what does "turning" look like? I needed deeper insight into everything that went on.

I feel like I've already given enough spoilers for the story. I don't want to give away the few secrets that you wait for. It's good. It's fun. Maybe the next in the series, out in January (I think) will give me more of that. I will be standing in line for the first Tucson copy....

So, yes, the book is about to have a sequel! To go to the "series" website click here.