Book Review: The Ghoul Next Door

Title: The Ghoul Next Door.
Author: Lisi Harrison.
Series: Yes, #2.
Pages: 241.
Source: Gifted.
Publisher: Poppy.
Published Date: 4/5/11.
Links:
Goodreads.
Barnes and Noble.

Summary:

"Cleo was the queen bee of the RADs, the normies, and everyone in between at Merston High. But now it's "Frankie this" and "Melody that" . . . these new girls sure know how to get her lashes in a tangle. When Cleo lands a golden Teen Vogue photo op for her friends, everything seems to be back on track . . . until they bail to be in some film . . . Frankie and Melody's film! Can't a royal get some loyal?

Frankie Stein

Frankie lost her head over Brett once and vows never to do it again. Not that she has a choice: Bekka is clinging to her guy like plastic wrap. But when Brett comes up with a plan that could help the RADs live free, sparks fly, and Bekka will stop at nothing to put out the flames . . . even if it means destroying the entire monster community.

Melody Carver

The clock is tick-tick-ticking. Melody has a serious deadline to save her boyfriend, Jackson, from being exposed by the vengeance-seeking Bekka. But Cleo is making it royally difficult for the normie while threatening her acceptance into the RADs' exclusive group . . . a group that Melody suspects she has more in common with than she ever thought.

Fitting in is out."

Cover:

LOVE the cover! I think my favorite part would have to be the snake print background; it goes very well with the theme, and Cleo.

My Thoughts:

The Ghoul Next Door is the second installment in the Monster High series, and it's been sitting on my shelf for quite a while, which is why I read it during my End of Summer Read-A-Thon! This series has gotten so much love, and attention, and I couldn't wait to get back to it, and see how the story continues.

In The Ghoul Next Door a lot of things are going on, and chapters are told in three different points of view; Frankie, Melody and Cleo. I was a little confused by the different points of view, but after just a few chapters I got the hang of things and found this to be really enjoyable. The only way I could describe the way this book is laid out is like, people who arguing, and you get to hear each side of the story, and see how they feel and what they are thinking, instead of just seeing one side of the discussion.

The second installment in the Monster High series, begins with Frankie Stein losing her head (literally) at the Merston High monster themed dance. The bad thing, not that losing a head isn't bad, is that the entire thing was caught on tape and now all of Salem Oregon is on a monster hunt, looking for the girl in the video!

Not wanting the exposure and with no other options, the RADs aren't allowing their kids to leave the house, except for school. Tired of sitting inside of her room all day, Frankie strategies a plan for normies to accept RADs for who they are; this way RADs won't have to hide their identity, with make up and clothes.

Melody Carver (who I came to love in the first book) is ready and willing to help the RADs in anyway, for two reasons, she knows what it feels like to be criticized for being herself, and her boyfriend is a RAD.

But Bekka (the mean girl) has different plans, and doesn't mind exposing the RADs and who they are. Why? Because she isn't going to allow someone to take her boyfriend and just get away with it. Many RADs are suspicious that Melody is just trying to get on their good side, but might actually be working with Bekka.

On the other hand Cleo is busy with her fashion, and photo shoots!

The Ghoul Next Door ends differently than I assumed it would, but on happy terms, that I won't be giving away, so you'll just have to read the book yourself to see what I'm talking about! Overall I found the characters to be fun and interesting, and the story to be the same! I loved that Cleo brought fashion into the story, I liked the Frankie was so weird, and wanted nothing but to be accepted by normies and I thought it was very nice that Melody wanted to help her friends, and be a part of this thing.

I had a great time reading The Ghoul Next Door and I'm excited to get started on the third book!

Heavenly Hell Promo

Title: Heavenly Hell.

Author: Aria Williams.

Release Date: 4/24/13.

Summary:

"You'd think being stuck in the body of a beautiful seventeen year old girl forever would be a gift. But when you are fallen, it is more like a curse.

Indiana was a beautiful angel, enjoying the perks of Heaven, until she was tricked by a demon to fall in love with him. She was forced to fall from Heaven and remain in her seventeen year old form, banished to Earth, for all of eternity. 

Now, unable to cope with her banishment, she is a seemingly normal seventeen year old girl by day, while she spends her nights punishing men for the wrongs they have committed against women. 

Although Indiana has lived on Earth for thousands of years, she recently settled into a small town, where she has finally been able to make some lasting friendships. When a handsome, mysterious boy comes to town, Indiana knows something is not right. He might end up her ally, or she might end up in the fight of her life."

Excerpt:

"Heaven knew exactly what they were doing when they created me, or should I say, punished me. I had fallen from Heaven, but I prefer to say I was banished, over a thousand years ago. In all that time, I haven’t aged past seventeen years old. It must have been funny to suspend me in a teenager’s body forever; yeah, I’m hot as hell, but even that has it downsides and limitations. I feel that being beautiful is a curse, and it does attract a lot of the horrible men who are ruled by desire—men who take rejection one step more and belittle women. And then there are men who are simply pigs; men like Simon, or as we know him, Mr. Hopwood, our teacher. 

With this man and other men like him, I turn their actions around and try to re-educate them in ways I’m not too proud of, but they work. Many men are changed forever—becoming wonderful devoted husbands and protective fathers to their precious daughters. The males like Mr. Hopwood occasionally, okay more than occasionally, regularly, need a good arse kicking to rid them of their chauvinistic behaviour. I’m sure this wasn’t the first time he’s taken advantage of his students, but it will be the last. I’ll make sure of that."

WWW Wednesday

Welcome to Turning Pages!

What am I currently reading?

Right now I'm finishing up Shadows by Paula Weston. It's September's Burn Bright Book Club choice, and I can't wait to share with you all my thoughts on the book; I think I'll have quite a bit to say! With only fifty or so pages left, I can't wait to see how the book ends (hopefully no cliffhangers!).

What did I just finish reading?

The last book I completed was two or three days ago, and that book was Project Cain by Geoffrey Girard. With the book having been released on September third, I went ahead and put up my review early! This book had a few mixed reviews floating around in the book blogging world, so if you're interesting in seeing which side I'm on, stop by here.

What do I plan on reading next?

As you might already know, I make a monthly TBR list at the beginning of each month and I'll be reading a title off of there. I usually don't decide until I'm actually picking up a book, because the book I pick, depends on the mood I'm in. If you want to check out September's TBR click here! I'm starting to lean towards Starcrossed, due to peer pressure and reading many amazing reviews!

Waiting On Wednesday

Title: The Chaos of Stars.
Author: Kiersten White.
Summary:

"Isadora's family is seriously screwed up—which comes with the territory when you're the human daughter of the ancient Egyptian gods Isis and Osiris. Isadora is tired of living with crazy relatives who think she's only worthy of a passing glance—so when she gets the chance to move to California with her brother, she jumps on it. But her new life comes with plenty of its own dramatic—and dangerous—complications . . . and Isadora quickly learns there's no such thing as a clean break from family.

Blending Ally Carter's humor and the romance of Cynthia Hand's Unearthly, The Chaos of Stars takes readers on an unforgettable journey halfway across the world and back, and proves there's no place like home."

Release Date: 9/20/13.

Book Review: Project Cain.

Title: Project Cain.
Author: Geoffrey Girard.
Series: No.
Pages: 368.
Source: Author, Review Copy.
Publisher: Simon and Schuster.
Published Date: 9/3/2013.
Links:
Goodreads.
Barnes and Noble.

Summary:

"Fifteen-year-old Jeff Jacobson had never heard of Jeffrey Dahmer, the infamous serial killer who brutally murdered seventeen people more than twenty years ago. But Jeff’s life changes forever when the man he’d thought was his father hands him a government file telling him he was constructed in a laboratory only seven years ago, part of a top-secret government cloning experiment called ‘Project CAIN’.

There, he was created entirely from Jeffrey Dahmer’s DNA. There are others like Jeff—those genetically engineered directly from the most notorious murderers of all time: The Son of Sam, The Boston Strangler, Ted Bundy . . . even other Jeffrey Dahmer clones. Some raised, like Jeff, in caring family environments; others within homes that mimicked the horrific early lives of the men they were created from.

When the most dangerous boys are set free by the geneticist who created them, the summer of killing begins. Worse, these same teens now hold a secret weapon even more dangerous than the terrible evil they carry within. Only Jeff can help track the clones down before it’s too late. But will he catch the ‘monsters’ before becoming one himself?"

Cover:

I don't have a final print of the book, I only received an ARC for review, so I'm not positive that the cover of the ARC is the same cover printed on the books hitting the shelves tomorrow! But I actually really like it. At first I didn't even realize that the reflection in the water isn't the same, until my mom pointed it out.

The cover does an amazing job of translating the story from words to pictures. The words are dark, mysterious and creepy, like the picture displayed on the front of the book.

My Thoughts:

I had no clue that this book was coming in the mail, until...well it came in the mail...

But it was really coincidental that the day before, I (very randomly) watched a documentary on Netflix about Jeffrey Dahmer's life before, during, and after the murders and his arrest! I found the entire thing scary and interesting, but it was definitely weird when I checked my mail the next day, and received an entire book that involved him and what he did.

Project Cain follows sixteen year old Jeff Jacobson and his discovery that his life is nothing what it seems to be. His dad is a scientist for the government, working under a company called DSTI, which specializes in cloning humans; including Jeff himself.

Jeff has lived, what seemed to be, a normal life; he enjoyed reading, he was home schooled, he took many trips with his dad, and loved talking to him about science. But back then, before everything came out, Jeff didn't realize the small inconspicuous things, he didn't know about the dead body in his dad's office, he didn't see the similarities between himself and Jeffrey Dahmer, and he didn't think too much of his memory loss from childhood.

Life for Jeff Jacobson seemed to be going pretty well, until his dad comes into his room one night, and confesses everything to him. He leaves Jeff alone in the house that used to be their home, with another cell phone number (besides the cell number he already had, and his work number) as well as a white envelope with a thousand dollars.

Unsure of what to do with himself, or where else he could go, Jeff starts searching the house for clues, for anything about him and the past. The first place he looked was the secret room, his dad used as an office. While doing some searching and finding things that will never allow Jeff to think of his father the same way again (I don't want to give away what those things are), he hears a noise coming from downstairs.

Within minutes the man causing the noise downstairs, finds Jeff hiding in his closet. The man's name is Castillo, and Jeff isn't really sure if Castillo is taking him for hostage, or is taking him with him, to find the other clones.

Castillo tells Jeff that last night twelve people were murdered and six students, as well as his father, were caught on surveillance cameras; the reason why Castillo was searching Jeff's house. Now the two of them are on the search for his dad and the six clones all over America! The pair follow leads from one state to the next, and while Jeff doesn't feel like he is much help, he might be the only one who can solve this and find them.

One of the many things that I really enjoyed was the cast of characters. I found them to be interesting and have substance. Each one of the boys mentioned, including Jeff, are clones created from the cells of America's most infamous serial killers. Not only did the reader get to learn a lot about those REAL serial killers, but in turn the characters as well.

Jeff is what seems to be a normal teenage guy, until he finds this out about himself. Before he never once considered the evil things that are running through his head. I found the struggle within himself interesting, he knew what he was and who he was, and that constantly reminded him, and caused him to have fear of murder.

Project Cain isn't like any average YA mystery thriller, and I learned that early on! The book discusses the topic of Nature vs. Nurture right from the beginning, and throughout the entire book. Overall I really enjoyed Project Cain and learned a lot. I can see where some people who claim "information dumping" to occur are coming from, but I didn't know much about serial killers, and liked learning about it.

There were two small things that did slow the story down a bit for me, and those were the constant driving and sitting in hotel rooms that Jeff and Castillo did during their search. I understand that there's a process, but I felt that the reader didn't need to go through the entire thing, but instead just a glimpse. The second thing, is that Jeff feels that he is useless when helping Castillo with the search! If Jeff is anything, he is the most important, he knows his dad, and he is the one who can most likely understand the clues that he left behind.

But overall Project Cain was suspenseful, mysterious, and a good read! I liked it!

It's Monday, What Am I Reading?

Title: Shadows.
Author: Paula Weston.
Summary:

"It’s almost a year since Gaby Winters was in the car crash that killed her twin brother, Jude. Her body has healed in the sunshine of Pandanus Beach, but her grief is raw and constant. It doesn’t help that every night in her dreams she kills demons and other hell-spawn.

And then Rafa comes to town. Not only does he look exactly like the guy who’s been appearing in Gaby’s dreams—he claims a history with her brother that makes no sense. Gaby is forced to accept that what she thought she knew about herself and her life is only a shadow of the truth—and that the truth is more likely to be found in the shadows of her nightmares.

Who is Rafa? Who are the Rephaim? And most importantly, who can she trust?

Fast-paced and gripping, Shadows, the first book in the Rephaim series, is a standout paranormal romance for fans of Richelle Mead and Cassandra Clare."

My Thoughts So Far:

About sixty or so pages and into and I'm really enjoying it! I'm a little confused at the moment, but I'm really interested to see what's going on and what these random guys want from Gaby (the main character). This the Burn Bright Book Club read of the month, so not only will you be seeing my review here at Turning Pages, but also at burnbright.com.au with Krista and Bel.

TBR: September!

Welcome to Turning Pages!

It's officially September, which means it's the last month of my summer break. I know people have been going back to school since the middle of August, and I know a lot of you are going back within the next week! But my university doesn't start until September 25, so I still have almost entire month of break, to do nothing, but read and blog!

Once college starts, who knows how busy I will be and how much reading I'll be able to get done between going to class, doing homework and studying. So September will be filled to the brim with reading, and that's why I have a total of ten books on my reading list for this month!! Ten!

Shadows, by Paula Weston.

"It's almost a year since Gaby Winters watched her twin brother die. In the sunshine of a new town her body has healed, but her grief is raw and constant. It doesn't help that every night in her dreams she fights and kills hell-beasts. And then Rafa comes to town. Not only does he look exactly like the guy who's been appearing in Gaby's dreams, he tells her things about her brother and her life that cannot be true, things that are dangerous. Who is Rafa? Who are the Rephaim? And who is Gaby? The truth lies in the shadows of her nightmares."

Monster High 3: Where There's A Wolf, There's A Way, by Lisi Harrison.

"The frighteningly hip teenage children of the world's most famous monsters have gathered together under one roof...to brave the horrors of high school! 

Always overshadowed by her six brothers and her fab friends, Clawdeen Wolf plans to finally strut her stuff in the spotlight at her upcoming Sweet Sixteen bash. But after The Ghoul Next Door goes viral, it's into the woods for the family Wolf. Clawdeen goes stir crazy lying low at her family's B&B with her annoying brothers until Lala shows up to keep her company. But is the vamp flirting with Claude?! 
Melody wants to help put the smackdown on Bekka's Monster Home Tours, but she's kinda busy trying to find the truth about her past out of her parents, and keep Ms. J from sending Jackson into hiding. Meanwhile Frankie can't believe that Brett betrayed her by exposing all her friends. But unlike some of the RAD parents, Frankie wants to stay in Salem and fight for their rights. Who's with her? ... Hello? Anyone still here?"

City of Glass, by Cassandra Clare.

"To save her mother's life, Clary must travel to the City of Glass, the ancestral home of the Shadowhunters - never mind that entering the city without permission is against the Law, and breaking the Law could mean death. To make things worse, she learns that Jace does not want her there, and Simon has been thrown in prison by the Shadowhunters, who are deeply suspicious of a vampire who can withstand sunlight.

As Clary uncovers more about her family's past, she finds an ally in mysterious Shadowhunter Sebastian. With Valentine mustering the full force of his power to destroy all Shadowhunters forever, their only chance to defeat him is to fight alongside their eternal enemies. But can Downworlders and Shadowhunters put aside their hatred to work together? While Jace realizes exactly how much he's willing to risk for Clary, can she harness her newfound powers to help save the Glass City - whatever the cost?"

Death Cure, by James Dashner.

"Thomas knows that Wicked can't be trusted, but they say the time for lies is over, that they've collected all they can from the Trials and now must rely on the Gladers, with full memories restored, to help them with their ultimate mission. It's up to the Gladers to complete the blueprint for the cure to the Flare with a final voluntary test.

What Wicked doesn't know is that something's happened that no Trial or Variable could have foreseen. Thomas has remembered far more than they think. And he knows that he can't believe a word of what Wicked says.

The time for lies is over. But the truth is more dangerous than Thomas could ever imagine.
Will anyone survive the Death Cure?"

Starcrossed, by Josephine Angelini.

"How do you defy destiny?

Helen Hamilton has spent her entire sixteen years trying to hide how different she is—no easy task on an island as small and sheltered as Nantucket. And it's getting harder. Nightmares of a desperate desert journey have Helen waking parched, only to find her sheets damaged by dirt and dust. At school she's haunted by hallucinations of three women weeping tears of blood . . . and when Helen first crosses paths with Lucas Delos, she has no way of knowing they're destined to play the leading roles in a tragedy the Fates insist on repeating throughout history.

As Helen unlocks the secrets of her ancestry, she realizes that some myths are more than just legend. But even demigod powers might not be enough to defy the forces that are both drawing her and Lucas together—and trying to tear them apart."

Velveteen, by Daniel Marks.

"Velveteen Monroe is dead. At 16, she was kidnapped and murdered by a madman named Bonesaw. But that’s not the problem.

The problem is she landed in purgatory. And while it’s not a fiery inferno, it’s certainly no heaven. It’s gray, ashen, and crumbling more and more by the day, and everyone has a job to do. Which doesn’t leave Velveteen much time to do anything about what’s really on her mind.

Bonesaw.

Velveteen aches to deliver the bloody punishment her killer deserves. And she’s figured out just how to do it. She’ll haunt him for the rest of his days. 

It’ll be brutal... and awesome.

But crossing the divide between the living and the dead has devastating consequences. Velveteen’s obsessive haunting cracks the foundations of purgatory and jeopardizes her very soul. A risk she’s willing to take—except fate has just given her reason to stick around: an unreasonably hot and completely off-limits coworker.

Velveteen can’t help herself when it comes to breaking rules... or getting revenge. And she just might be angry enough to take everyone down with her."

Zombie Blondes, by Brian James.

"From the moment Hannah Sanders arrived in town, she felt there was something wrong.
     A lot of houses were for sale, and the town seemed infected by an unearthly quiet. And then, on Hannah’s first day of classes, she ran into a group of cheerleaders—the most popular girls in school.
     The odd thing was that they were nearly identical in appearance: blonde, beautiful, and deathly pale.
     But Hannah wants desperately to fit in—regardless of what her friend Lukas is telling her: if she doesn’t watch her back, she’s going to be blonde and popular and dead—just like all the other zombies in this town. . . ."

Fever, by Lauren DeStefano.

"Rhine and Gabriel have escaped the mansion, but danger is never far behind.

Running away brings Rhine and Gabriel right into a trap, in the form of a twisted carnival whose ringmistress keeps watch over a menagerie of girls. Just as Rhine uncovers what plans await her, her fortune turns again. With Gabriel at her side, Rhine travels through an environment as grim as the one she left a year ago - surroundings that mirror her own feelings of fear and hopelessness.

The two are determined to get to Manhattan, to relative safety with Rhine’s twin brother, Rowan. But the road there is long and perilous - and in a world where young women only live to age twenty and young men die at twenty-five, time is precious. Worse still, they can’t seem to elude Rhine’s father-in-law, Vaughn, who is determined to bring Rhine back to the mansion...by any means necessary.

In the sequel to Lauren DeStefano’s harrowing Wither, Rhine must decide if freedom is worth the price - now that she has more to lose than ever."

Under The Never Sky, by Veronica Rossi.

"WORLDS KEPT THEM APART.

DESTINY BROUGHT THEM TOGETHER.

Aria has lived her whole life in the protected dome of Reverie. Her entire world confined to its spaces, she's never thought to dream of what lies beyond its doors. So when her mother goes missing, Aria knows her chances of surviving in the outer wasteland long enough to find her are slim.

Then Aria meets an outsider named Perry. He's searching for someone too. He's also wild - a savage - but might be her best hope at staying alive.

If they can survive, they are each other's best hope for finding answers."

Between The Shades of Gray, by Ruta Sepetys.

"Lina is just like any other fifteen-year-old Lithuanian girl in 1941. She paints, she draws, she gets crushes on boys. Until one night when Soviet officers barge into her home, tearing her family from the comfortable life they've known. Separated from her father, forced onto a crowded and dirty train car, Lina, her mother, and her young brother slowly make their way north, crossing the Arctic Circle, to a work camp in the coldest reaches of Siberia. Here they are forced, under Stalin's orders, to dig for beets and fight for their lives under the cruelest of conditions.

Lina finds solace in her art, meticulously--and at great risk--documenting events by drawing, hoping these messages will make their way to her father's prison camp to let him know they are still alive. It is a long and harrowing journey, spanning years and covering 6,500 miles, but it is through incredible strength, love, and hope that Lina ultimately survives. Between Shades of Gray is a novel that will steal your breath and capture your heart."