Justice(Deck of Lies #1) by Jade Varden

Description: A House of Cards...

When you build an entire life on a foundation of lies, it only takes one truth for the whole thing to come crashing down. I never invited the truth in. I never went searching for it. I never had any reason to suspect that the two people I loved most were dishonest with me every second of every day.

I made one bad decision, and in a single day my entire world changed. If I'm ever going to discover the truth about myself and my parents, I have to trace all the lies back to their source. I have to try to find the truth that they're hiding.

The more I discover about myself, and my past, the more I realize that lies really are better than the truth. But now that I know the lies are all around me, I can't stop until I've discovered them all. I'll pull each lie away, one by one, and examine it to see what's underneath…until this house of cards crumbles into dust at my feet.

I just hope I can survive the crash.                                                                                       ~From Goodreads.com

Review: I have been asked to write a review on this book by the author, Jade Varden, but my review will still be truly honest about my thoughts on the book.
      To start off, I fell in love with this book. It pulled me in very quickly, and I did not want to put it down. I had finished it in less than a day. I like how the title is introduced in the first chapter, but it's still carried throughout the book(although not as obviously). There definitely is quite a bit of foreshadowing in this book, yet it is still vague, which I greatly enjoy; it kept me wondering about what it all meant.
     There are many unexpected twists that kept it very interesting, but still realistic.
      It is easy to identify with the main character, Rain Ramey; she has depth and is not two-dimensional as some authors portray their characters as. The "mean girl" who opposes Rain is evident early on, and it is not hard to despise her right away. Each character is developed so nicely, I could picture them in my head, even the way I thought their voices might sound as they speak.
     Another thing I loved about this book was that there were many philosophical ideas sewn into the plot. For example, the theories about "Nature vs. Nurture" are questioned(although not by that title). I do not want to say much more about it because I do not want to spoil the twists in the plot.
     The ending of this book is very gripping, and left me wanting more. I most certainly want to read the second and third books in the Deck of Lies series, as soon as I can. The only problem I had with this book were a few editing errors, but the book itself was so great that I looked past it(which is hard for me to do, as I am going to school to become a copy editor, so this truly shows how much I enjoyed it!). Varden's writing style is unique from other YA authors I have read, which is a good thing. Yes, there are many great YA authors out there, but Varden's style stands out to me in a good way.
     I would like to thank Jade Varden greatly for asking me to read and review her book, and for sending me an e-copy. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I would love for this author's work to be much more well-known! You can purchase the book here: http://www.amazon.com/Justice-Deck-Lies-1-ebook/dp/B006PW51F6. I recommend this book to anyone who loves a well-written, fast-paced YA read.

Tempest Rising by Tracy Deebs

Description: Tempest Maguire wants nothing more than to surf the killer waves near her California home; continue her steady relationship with her boyfriend, Mark; and take care of her brothers and surfer dad. But Tempest is half mermaid, and as her seventeenth birthday approaches, she will have to decide whether to remain on land or give herself to the ocean like her mother. The pull of the water becomes as insistent as her attraction to Kai, a gorgeous surfer whose uncanny abilities hint at an otherworldly identity as well. And when Tempest does finally give in to the water's temptation and enters a fantastical underwater world, she finds that a larger destiny awaits her-and that the entire ocean's future hangs in the balance.
                                                                                                  ~From Goodreads.com

Review: If you are looking for a good summer read that involves mermaids and fantasy, definitely read this book. As with some good books, the beginning is a bit slow, mostly because the author establishes a lot of the description. Once that part is through though, you will not be able to put this book down. I bought this book at Barnes & Noble at the beginning of the summer because I wanted a new mermaid book to read, and the cover art captured my eye. The saying is "Don't judge a book by its cover," but so many people do. I'll read a book even if the cover does not appeal to me(and sometimes even if the cover is amazing, the book may not be), but this one fit my expectations. I liked that I could immediately tell it was about mermaids, and the description on the back made me decide to purchase this book.
     The use of dialogue in this book is good, and when they are underwater, they speak telepathically to each other. One problem I did have with the writing is that there is a lot of colloquialism, and there are a few slang words used that I did not understand(as they are surfers, and I definitely am not). A lor of the characters have odd or unique names, which makes it interesting, but sometimes hard to remember which is which. I do like how the evil creatures' names are meaningful(in mythology), and how the main characters' names relate to the characters themselves.
     Sometimes I did get frustrated with Tempest, the main character. She is just turning seventeen, and still trying to figure out the mermaid conflict, but she does not confide in her best friend or boyfriend, which makes for a lot of lies to be told. This is frustrating to the reader because it makes Tempest seem immature; if they really loved her and cared for her, they would definitely believe her and understand. One thing I don't really care for about most YA novels is that usually the girl has to choose between two guys, one she's loved for a long time and one she's just met. This annoys me because 1) when does it ever happen in real life?(this will frustrate younger girls who are just starting to date, or even like boys) and 2) since it doesn't often happen in real life, not many people will be able to understand her situation as well. I got frustrated with Tempest quite a bit because her feelings would bounce back and forth between the two guys, and I feel that if she was meant to be with the first one, she would not have fallen for the second.
     Overall, I really loved this book. It did not take long to read because I simply did not want to put it down and stop reading. The ending is somewhat satisfactory, but I had hoped there would have been more conflict with the evil sea characters. There is a sequel, titled Tempest Unleashed, and I do plan to read it when I can get it either at the library or bookstore.

Greatest Mysteries of the Unexplained by Lucy Doncaster and Andrew Holland

Description: A compelling compendium of some the world’s most mystifying conundrums, from strange quirks of nature to supernatural phenomena, this collection of scintillating investigations presents the theories surrounding a diverse range of topics that defy straightforward explanation. Tales are recounted in vivid detail and incorporate all the latest scientific research and conclusions.     
     Where possible, specially chosen images accompany the stories to help explain a particular riddle or provide a deeper insight into the nature of the unknown generally. Including investigations into prophecy and the paranormal and religious and medical marvels, this book attempts to discover the truth behind the greatest enigmas of the universe. It is sure to both bewilder and intrigue.
                                                                                          -From Goodreads.com

Review: I definitely enjoyed and liked this book. Was it the best supernatural book out there? Nope. But it was a fun read. As the description says, there are pictures, although they are in black and white. Even though the description says "where possible," there are more pictures than someone may expect. Nearly every other page has a picture.
     The chapters are organized well, except for Chapters 4 and 5. Chapter 4 is "Paranormal Powers" and Chapter 5 is "Seers and Oracles." Most of the parts in both chapters were about the same type of thing: people who can "see" the future.
     In the "Mysteries of the Cosmos" chapter(the last one), the views and theories are complete and utter crap, to put it simply. Even though any sensible person would know that none of these theories could possibly be true, the authors write about them as if they could be 100 percent true. This bugs me because it's theories like that that make people with an interest in the unexplained look crazy to the rest of society. One of the theories is that humans had lived on the moon or Mars before migrating to Earth, completely ignoring the fact that the atmosphere of both are not able to support humans.
     A few things I really liked about this book were that it had a lot of big ideas, and it really gets the reader to ponder about life and our world. Also, it provides good insights, and the themes are interesting to discuss with other people. I definitely learned quite a few things from this book.
     Overall, this was a good, informative read. Sometimes it gave too many details that didn't seem relevant to the main subject, and it was confusing in some parts because of that. I would recommend this book to people who are interested in paranormal and supernatural things, or if you just want a good summer read.
                                                              Overall Grade: B   
  

Of Mice and Men by John Steinbeck

     Of Mice and Men is a classic novel by John Steinbeck, the author of The Grapes of Wrath and East of Eden. The plot revolves around the two main characters, George Milton and Lennie Small. Lennie is a big guy, but he isn't all there. He forgets things that have happened in the past, but does remember certain conversations he has with George. George is a smaller man, and he is quite smart. He takes care of Lennie, also, even when Lennie gets in trouble.
     George and Lennie do farm jobs, laboring most of the day. They travel to California to work at a ranch, since they had to run away from their current one, in Weeds, because of an incident that Lennie had there.
     I don't want to give away too much of the story, so you're just going to have to read it! My thoughts on the book...I really liked it. I like the character of Lennie, even though most of my classmates did not. I really like Steinbeck's writing style, and it was easy to get into the book. I had loved East of Eden by him, so I had a feeling I would like this one too. The ending is kind of shocking, and it almost doesn't seem like an ending(the last sentence doesn't seem like it would be the ending). Anyways, it's a really good read, I definitely recommend it!

Unhallowed Ground by Heather Graham

     Unhallowed Ground is the seventh book in Heather Graham's Harrison Investigation series, and it is amazing, to say the least. Sarah McKinley is a historian who moves into her childhood dream home, a large, historic house in St. Augustine, Florida. While renovating the home, tons of human skeletons are discovered in the walls, all of them many years old.
     Caleb Anderson is a private investigator with Harrison Investigations who is in town to investigate the disappearance of a young girl who vanished a year ago. Another girl has also gone missing, and Caleb believes that the disappearances are connected.
     Sarah and Caleb team up to try to solve the mystery of the disappearances and find out what happened in Sarah's house years ago. They uncover stories of withcraft and murder, and try to stay safe in the process.
     I loved this book. The ending took me by suprise, it was a big twist, but I liked it. I have fallen for Heather Graham's writing. This is only the second book by her that I have read, but I love her style and how she develops her characters. It was never boring, and it didn't take me long to read because I never wanted to put it down! I definitely recommend this book to anyone who likes supernatural, kind of romance, mystery books; it was a great book.