Neurotic Thoughts on Mark of the Seer

Author: Jenna Kay
Release Date: March 16, 2012
Genre: YA Paranormal Romance
Published by: Crushing Heart and Black Butterfly
Source: Bewitching Book Tours
Summary from Goodreads:


CLARITY MILLER always thought of her life as semi-normal. She had friends that would do anything for her, a boyfriend that was madly in love with her, and a roof over her head that she shared with her aunt.
Everything seemed to be falling into place. That is, until the day she met Sam.
When Sam informs her that he’s her guardian angel and that she has been given the gifts of a Seer, her life starts spiraling out of control. She wants nothing to do with the spiritual realm.
All she wants is to have a normal life as a teenager, but when a tragedy occurs that causes the whole town of Garlandton to fall to its knees she realizes that she has a very important decision to make.


Should she embrace the life of a Seer?
Only time will tell . . .

I think this may be one of my favorite angel books ever! I loved the fact that Clarity already had a love interest and that her romance wasn't with her guardian angel. Forbidden love is great and all but well, let's just say been there done that. This book is set in the south and I love that the author wrote the characters with a noticeable southern accent. The voices of these teens actually sounded like teens without being over the top dramatic. I also enjoyed the fact that Clarity wasn't even sure she believed in angels. She has been so mad at God for so long for the death of her parents that she doesn't even know if she believes in Him. While she struggles with her own faith she is thrown into a war between the angels and the demons and she has to decide quickly what her role in the war will be. (All of this happens without being preachy in any way.)

The characters in Mark of the Seer are great. They are gritty and definitely not perfect. They make lots of mistakes and act like real people, not perfect imaginary book characters. Clarity is loyal, witty, and a bit wild. Not quite as wild as her best friend Kora whom I loved. Kora has not had the easiest childhood and has had to take care of not only herself but also her alcoholic mother. The story doesn't go into Kora's past overly, the author gives you just enough information to understand why she is the way she is.

Boyfriend, Brenton is not only dreamy but also one of the sweetest book boyfriends ever. I love that the two of them have been friends forever before becoming "involved" and that they know each other so well. I also liked that there is no stress between them in the romance department. They love each other and they know it.

Sam the angel is also another wonderful character. He is supportive of Clarity even when she tries to deny his existence. He is loving in the way that you would expect a guardian angel to be. There is no romantic tension he is strictly doing his job as guardian angel.

The plot line is engaging and dramatic in all the right places. A story that holds your attention and keeps you turning the pages even when you know your favorite shows are on the dvr. A definite recommend for anyone who enjoys reading about angels versus demons. The fact that the Demons coerce humans to do the their bidding seemed more natural than Demons just running amuck and causing problems. As you can tell there wasn't much I didn't like about this book!  Over all a fantastic read!


Just so you know: There is some "language", and mentions of teen drinking and "hooking up" 

Waiting on Wednesday (2/8/2012) Red World

Author: Clover Donovon
Expected Release Date: 2013 (I know this one is really far but it looks so good I couldn't wait!)
Summary from Goodreads:


"Blood Red Road" smacked by "Zombieland" with a kick of "Constantine" In this gory, action packed YA novel from Clover Donovon. 

Elena Carmel is an eighteen year old survivor of the underworld crossover and with the help of a thirteen year old boy and a ghost named Bronze, she fights Demons, Zombies, and blood thirsty ghosts to stay alive in her hometown. But when an army of Red Souls invade her city, she must switch on her hunter/survival mode and rid the city of the undead. (PART 1 in the RED WORLD duology.)

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we (bloggers) are anxiously awaiting. So what book are you excited about right now?

Neurotic Thoughts on Caged in Darkness by J.D. Stroube

Caged in Darkness (Caged #1)
Author: J.D. Stroube
Released: July 29, 2011
Genre: YA Paranormal
Published by: J.D. Stroube
Source: Received from the author
"I received this book free of charge in exchange for an 
honest review"
Pages: 178
ISBN: 1466362367
Summary from Goodreads:
A witch raised in a cage of darkness...

Savannah Cross was born into a life of isolation and abuse.
As a child, she witnessed her parents perform acts of malevolent evil, and now feels permanently tainted by their dark deeds.

When a coven discovers a tear stricken child,
wounded on their elders lawn, they offer her a sanctuary she has never known. Savannah spends the next several years shattered, continuously looking over her shoulder, waiting for the darkness to claim her.

On her 16th birthday,
Savannah’s life takes a drastic turn. She is consumed by overwhelming power that forever alters her emotionally and physically.

She must choose between two loves; the one who taught her to smile or the darkly seductive stranger who tempts her towards another path.

Savannah must decide between the coven that was her haven
and another one vying for her initiation. Just as Savannah begins to grasp what fate has in store for her, an evil looms over her loved ones; coming to claim an unbreakable debt.

How will she survive the greatest evil she has ever witnessed… long enough to have a choice to make?

Love Notes:

• I love how strong Savannah is! Not to be confused with emotionally available, that she is not. 
• Maye, Savannah's foster "aunt" she seemed more like an aunt to me than a mom, was awesome. She wasn't a missing in action "parent" but she wasn't up in the teens business all the time either. 
• Ash - there are things I loved about Ash, and things that really irked me about him. On one hand he can be really sweet, and takes care of Savannah the way a good "brother" or "boyfriend" would. (I'll get to the other hand of him in just a minute.)
• Savannah's friends, Izzy and Willow! True friends each with their own personalities that I couldn't help but love. 
•  Having characters that were easy to hate or at the very least extremely dislike really added to the story. (More on this in the grievances) 
• I loved how original  this book felt, I can honestly say I haven't read another story that reminded me of this one. 
• The twists and turns at the end of the book were fabulous. 
• I really enjoyed how the author uses Savannah's memories of her parents to convey their downward spiral into the darkness.
• The romance and how it was handled in the end was a complete surprise, and one that I felt really worked wonderfully in this story. 
• That cover! It truly is GORGEOUS!  

Airing of the Grievances: 

(let it be known that my grievances aren't problems with the writing of the story, more like things that made me growl and groan during the reading of the book. these can actually be things that made the story better.)

• Back to Ash - what was up with the way he let his friends treat Savannah?  I had a really hard time loving him because of this. In fact this is probably the biggest grievance I have with this entire book.
• Isis and Griffin are jerks! I can't figure out why Ash is friends with them. He actually admits to not liking Isis, but continues to hang out with her because of Griffin. 
• Let's just say Griffin wouldn't be my best friend. 
• Liam - he's as spineless as he is pretty. Enough said! 

To Sum it All Up:

Caged in Darkness was a great read that kept me emotionally involved throughout. Whether I was freaking out about what a jerk someone was, or loving how amazing someone else was, I was constantly feeling. This book was easy to read because it never felt overly descriptive or character driven, it was the perfect balance between the two. I appreciated that the book had an ending even though there is another book in the series. I will most definitely being reading Caged by Damnation, book 2 of the Caged series.