Almost Demon by AJ Salem

Almost Demon is the debut novel by AJ Salem.  It's about Gemma Pope who is the lone survivor of a car crash that killed her twin brother, Brian, and their two friends. Gemma is dealing with anxiety and survivors guilt. This causes her to exclude herself from her normal activities she did before the accident.  While dealing with the emotions of the accident, Gemma begins seeing dark, shapeless entities.  She begins to wore that she is going crazy when she sees them all over town.  Her fears subside when two new arrivals in town, Mr. Thom Flynn, her English, and Ian, her new crush, confirm that what she is seeing is real. As she develops relationships with them, Gemma discovers that her world is full of demons and angels and she is somehow caught in the middle of all of it.

At first I had a very hard time finding Gemma's voice at the beginning of the novel.  There is a lot of information and events happening with very little chance to really understand who Gemma is.  That changes quickly after the first fifty pages.  Gemma is a fatally flawed character which made me really like her.  She makes a majority of her decisions based on her emotions instead to taking the advice of those around her.   There were plenty of time I wanted to shake her or yell at her to not trust certain people.  I feel that she hasn't completely grown as a character by the end of this book.  Since this is the first of a series I'm hoping that some of her teen angst will fade as she becomes more confident in who she is.  

The biggest flaw I had was that I didn't really understand some of the ending.  I don't want to give away any spoilers, so I'm going to try my best to explain.  Throughout the book Gemma is learning how to summon demons and angels in order to learn how to stop all the shadows called Dybbuk from taking over the town and possessing people.  Her teacher Thom is training her how to do this, but as she learns more about him, there are too many questions about who exactly he is.  She begins to not trust him and turns more to Ian.  However Ian also may not be who he seems.  There are several plot twist at the end that leave a lot more questions than answers.  I wanted to see a few key points of the plot answered like why were the the Dybbuk sent to Gemma's town?  What exactly was her role in all of it?  Considering how exciting the book is and the need to set up the next book it is a minor flaw in an otherwise very enjoyable   story.  I'm sure that as the series progresses all my questions will be answered, so I will just have to be patient.

Overall this is an exciting read with lots of adventure and plenty of leave the seat of your pants moments.  I'm definately going to have to read the next book just so I can find out what happens to Gemma, Thom, Ian, and all her friends.  I would recommend reading this and then comment below!  I would LOVE to chat about the book because there were lots of OMG moments.  I'm giving it 4 out of 5 stars and a couple of thumbs up.

Top Ten Favorite Secondary Characters

You know you love them.  Those amazing characters that the main one leans on for support.  Some are so awesome they can steal the show from the protagonist. Then there are some that are so terrible that you just have to know what's going on inside their head. So here's my top ten list of the fabulous amazing secondary characters.



10.  Alice Cullen from Twilight: There wasn't a lot about the Twilight series that I loved.  In fact I couldn't stand Bella.  She was too emotional and whinny, however Alice wasn't.  There wasn't a lot said about her past leaving a lot about her a mystery.  I know she spent some of her living years in an asylum, but there wasn't too much more said about it.  Considering how up beat and positive she is about everything, it would interesting to see how she got to that point in her life.  I would love to see how she met Jasper and the Cullens, how she learned to use her abilities, and what it was like for her to transition from "insane" human to vampire.  She was definitely a much more interesting character than Bella.
 

 9.  Gale Hawthrone from The Hunger Games: Team Gale or Team Peeta...love him or hate him.  If you read the series, you probably have a strong opinion about him.  He drove me crazy in the series.  I wanted to dig into his head just to find out what the hell he was think.  Some of his decisions made me want to punch him in the face, but he also had a charming side that was so endearing.  If there was ever an entire book about him it would have to be all about why he decided to be a power hunger jerk towards the end.

  8.  Caleb Prior from Divergent:  I would love to see the whole series from his POV.  What the hell was going through his little pea-sized brain.  Of all the plot twists and turns,  I really didn't expect him.  I still don't understand WHY?  I have never wanted a character destroyed more than him.  Maybe just maybe if I understood what was going on inside his head I might be able to forgive him.  Nah I wouldn't.             

 7. Jace Wayland from The Immortal Instruments Series:   Most of the time I really love Jace.  He's quick on his feet, self sacrificing (when it comes to Clary), clever, sarcastic, and of course adorable.  But there are times that I really can't understand why he does the things he does.  Like in City of Bones, his "father" shows up after a long abstinence, tells him hey by the way your girlfriend is your sister, and that Jace need to join him in taking over the world.  Jace acts like he really believes him and might consider this diabolical plan.  Jace what the hell are you thinking!!  Please let me into that head of yours! This is just one of many times I would love to dig into his thoughts. 

 6.  Grover from Percy Jackson (The Olympians):  Grover was an amazing friend to Percy.  He was the perfect comic relief to Percy's serious side.  I think giving him his own series on his adventures trying the bring demigods to Camp Half Blood could be a very interesting read or really depressing.  Well maybe a more interesting read would be about his time missing.  I'm sure it would be funny to see him getting into the messy situations he's known to do.

 5.  Chubs from The Darkest Minds Series:  He's smart, sarcastic, loyal, and has a real kick ass ability.  Chubs is just plan awesome!  He went from being a book nerd who was very closed off to a bad ass genius.  Watching the transition from Ruby's eyes wasn't enough for me.  The risks he took through out the series to find his friends or family were so briefly touched on. I would buy any book that stars Chubs because he going to tell you straight how it is.  Plus he's usually right!

 4. Julie from Warm Bodies:  I know what makes the story amazing is that it is told from the zombie R's POV, but I would love to see just a few of the scenes from Julie's POV.  She is so brave and stupid.  I'm about a hundred percent sure that if a zombie took me home because I looked cute I would shit myself.  That would ruin the attraction and then I would end up as brain food.  I just really want to know how she goes from "omg you killed my ex-boyfriend and zombienapped me" to "your hot and I think I want to have your babies."  Please explain it to me Julie!

 3. Tom Imura from Rot and Ruin: First of all I would seriously consider marrying Tom.  He is a zombie-fighting samurai who believes that zombies have more humanity in them then humans.  Fifteen years of adventures hunting zombies and trying to maintain a law in an apocalyptic land plus raising Benny, it would be a really amazing book.  Benny spends so much time hating Tom in the first book that I feel that as a reader I really didn't get a fair amount of bad ass Tom time.  More Tom please.

2. Neville Longbottom from Harry Potter Series:  Now I really just want to read about him from the his seventh year during Harry's  search for the Deathly Hallows/Horocruxes.  Neville was fighting his own battles at the school, rebels against death eaters by leading Dumledore's Army, and kills Nagini.  He some how does all this while turning into an extremely hot hero.  We all need to take some lessons from him.  

1. Jem Carstairs from The Infernal Devices Series:  There could be an entire volume of books written about Jem, and they could be just about his life with the Silent Brothers.  There could be books about his life with Tessa after the Silent Brothers.  They could be all about his adventures with Will before Tessa.  I don't care because I love Jem.  He is probably one of my all time favorite characters.  I wish I could be as zen about everything in my life like he is.


I'm sure this list will grow with time as I find more characters that I love.  Please comment below about any secondary characters that stole the show for you!  Until next time may your days be full of happy reading!

Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken

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This is the second book in The Darkest Minds trilogy by Alexandra Bracken. If you have not read the first book, The Darkest Minds, it's about a girl named Ruby who is living in a rehabilitation camp.  She is being "reconditioned" by the government for having a psychic ability that was caused by surviving the disease IAAN.  When she is able to escape the camp, she joins a group of misfits that are on their way to East River, a haven for children with the psychic abilities.  Ruby must try to keep her powers a secret from the others while they try to avoid the many dangers on the road.  Now go read it, then read this one, and then come back. 

Bracken has done it again and completely blown my mind.  Never Fade starts six months off of where we left Ruby.  She has now been trained by the Children's League and is the Leader for Cate.  She leads Vida, a hot tempered blue, Jude, an observant yellow who reminds me a little bit of Zu if she could talk, and Nico, a quiet green who so not who he seems.  Ruby and Vida are on an Op that almost kills them, but they were able to rescue their target who happens to be Liam's brother Cole.  At the same time Jude and Nico over hear a plot by Rob and Jarvin to take control of the League and get rid of all the kids.  Ruby joins forces with Cole to find a memory card that will help them free all the children in the camps.  Only problem is that Liam is the only one who knows where the chip is, and Ruby doesn't know where Liam is. There are so many twists and turns along the way.  I really don't want to give too much away if you haven't read this yet.

This is a completely different Ruby then in the first book.  She is not afraid to use her powers anymore.  She has embraced them and not always in a good way. She's so much more reckless. She's not afraid of a gun, a fight, almost anything unless you try to hurt her friends. The monster that she is so scared of becoming, she is close to being especially the scene in the car with Rob.  I spent a good part of this book yelling at her to stop being self destructive.  First with what she did to Liam, then with herself.  Bracken did a fantastic job of weaving the old timid Ruby into this new stronger Ruby.  Watching her walls that she builds up come down for Vida and Jude was reminiscent of the old Ruby and a perfect touch to the story.

My biggest down with this story was no Zu.  I think the Jude's personality was so similar to Zu that Ruby instantly embraced him.  If Zu could talk, I think that she would be full of questions like Jude.  I'm really hoping that what happened to Jude is not a foreshadowing of what is to become of Zu. 

Let's talk Clancy.  I really hate him.  I would love to see Voldemort and Clancy face off against each other.  I seriously think Voldemort would lose.  He is one evil messed up kid.  I was really hoping the Jude was going to electrocute his ass by the end.  Here's to hoping that Zu will do it.  Considering that he controlled his mother to stop a cure, I would not be surprised if Clancy is calling the shots and his dad's brains have turned to mush.  Plus Clancy is one of the those characters that has to be killed ten times before he officially dies.  He will probably have to be put into a blender and buried 100 feet down into the earth before I will believe he is dead.

The ending blew me away.  So many things happening at once plus throw in a few plot twists it left me reeling and anxious for more.  What I'm hoping to see in the next and final book is not a cure, but maybe an acceptance from everyone that the government caused these abilities in the children and that the people in charge of the experiments punished for it.  I would like to see Clancy punished in some way.  Taking away his powers would be the best punishment ever.  I'm also loving the idea of Vida and Chubs having a happy ever after together just because I love them.  Also in a perfect world no more characters will die.  

What I liked about this sequel was that it was a strong companion to the first.  The plot moved along smoothly.  Character development was spot on.  The title was perfect and I knew that she would never completely fade from Liam's mind.  I am highly recommending everyone to read this book in fact the whole series.  Never Fade deserves five stars, two thumbs up, fireworks, and cookies. 

TBR for November

My first blog!!!!  My TBR list for November is going to not have a single holiday themed book on it.  They are just not for me.  I prefer the scary, dystopian, paranormal type books.  Plus reading anything that involves a crazy aunt, a senile grandpa, and a drug addict brother who hasn't admitted he's gay all sitting around the Thanksgiving turkey is not my idea of an exciting read.

  Never Fade by Alexandra Bracken.  

It's the continuing story of Ruby who lives in a world where the United States has have all their children succumb to a disease called IAAN. The children that survive develop psychic abilities that terrify the government forcing them to place these children in rehabilitation camps. Ruby is able to escape her camp and ends up on the run with three other kids.  The first book The Darkest Minds was amazing, so I have really high acceptation for this story.

Almost Demon by AJ Salem

This is a first reads giveaway I won from the author on Goodreads.com.  It's the first book in the Sigil Cycle series.  Gemma Pope discovers that she is a demon summoner and must save her  hometown from impending doom. As soon as I read this book I will be doing a

 complete review.  This is probably one of the books I look forward to the most!

Asylum by Madeleine Roux

I picked this up because I couldn't resist the cover. Dan Crawford attends a summer program before    college. He finds out that he has to stay in an asylum.  Soon he discovers that his roommates and himself are all some how connected to the asylum.  

 

  Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children by Ransom Riggs

I feel like I might be the last person in the world to read this book.  If you are like me and haven't read this, it's about Jacob who after a family tragedy follows clues to an island off the coast of Wales to an orphanage.  He soon discovers that the children may have been dangerous. The photographs in the book are amazing!

Powers by Deborah Lynn Jacobs

My $1 deal from Amazon.  Those always make me happy.  Gwen and Adrian have a psychic connection, but they can't stand each other. They need each others powers to save lives, but they are set on destroying each other. It's a very short book, so I'm thinking this one will be prefect for a cold rainy November day.

The Ghost of Graylock by Dan Poblocki

I picked this up at a thrift store the week of Halloween for $.95.  Neil Cady has been hearing rumors about the abandon hospital, Graylock.  The hospital once housed children and teenagers with mental disorders.  Neil is determined to find out if the rumors about the hospital being haunted are true.

  The Eternal Ones by Kirsten Miller

Best book deal ever!  Hardcover at Amazon for $2.99.  Haven Moore is having dreams of a past life with a boy named Ethan living in New York.  Various events in her life cause her to leave her life in Tennessee to New York.  While there she meets Iain who is being accused of murdering a rock star. She decides to visit the Ouroboros Society learning how lives are reincarnated through out the millenniums.  I'm eager to find out how all the different characters are connected to each others past lives.