Blackwatch - Jenna Burtenshaw

4/5 Stars

Albion's Skilled community have long feared the dark practices detailed in the book of Wintercraft. Only one girl is powerful enough to manipulate its secrets and now the book is in her possession

Kate Winters is on trial, falsely accused of murdering the Skilled leader. Shunned by her own kind, Kate can see no escape and worse, a sinister threat is arraying outside the underground caverns where she's being kept: the Continent's elite assassins known only as Blackwatch.

Silas Dane is also hunted by Blackwatch. In the war against Albion, the Continent is keen to explore Kate's power and they know that Kate and Silas are inextricably linked....

Time is running out. Can Kate and Silas halt the dark forces at work or will the web of deceit surrounding Wintercraft ensure them?

Kate has escaped the clutches of the High Council and Silas has left Albion for the continent. But their lives are forever linked and as the veil weakens, causing Albion's skilled to fear for everyone's safety, Silas and Kate find themselves drawn together by the mysterious and corrupt Dalliah Grey.

After two months of searching I managed to get a copy of Blackwatch thanks to Jenna :D. But Blackwatch was well worth the wait.

Even though Wintercraft didn't end on a huge cliffhanger I still had to grab myself a copy of Blackwatch and I am so glad I managed to get it.

I loved how Silas and Kate aren't really together at the start, but end up together, but then get torn apart.

The book starts with a chapter about Silas and then Kate and is like this most the way through the book until Kate and Silas are together again.

Kate and Silas are both on the run from the Skilled of Albion because of what happened on the Night of Souls in Wintercraft.

Kate is on the run with Edgar after the High Council find her guilty of murder of their leader.

Edgar helps to keep Kate Grounded when she enters the veil which's pull is stronger than ever before.

Silas is on the run and flees across the sea to the Continent. Silas goes to the Continent in search of Dalliah Gray for help, but she has other plans for him. Silas lands right into the hands of the Blackwatch who are working for Dalliah.

I found myself beginning to like Silas and hating everything that he was put through. Which is completely different to how I felt about him in Wintercraft. Silas continues to develop into a great character. In Wintercraft he was a bad guy but he comes much more than that, and learn that deep down he's a nice guy. I hope Jenna doesn't make Silas become a bad guy again in book three.

We get to read much more about Edgar in Blackwatch and he is just as brave as Silas, and it is made aware that he is very important to Kate. Even Silas cared for Edgar towards the end.

Jenna ended Blackwatch with a massive cliff hanger and I am eagerly awaiting book three.

I have no idea if Jenna has a happy or sad future for Kate, Silas and Edgar in the last book, but for the moment at least a happy future not found :(.

Currently Reading: Heat Wave - Richard Castle

Books Read in 2011: 4/20

Radiance - Alyson Noel

4/5 Stars

Riley has crossed the bridge into the afterlife - a place called Here, where time is always Now. She has picked up her life where she left off when she was alive, living with her parents and dog in a nice house in a nice neighbourhood. When she's summoned before The Council, she learns that the after life isn't just an eternity of leisure. She's been assigned a job, Soul Catcher, and a teacher, Bodhi, a possibly cute, seemingly nerdy boy who's definitely hiding something. They return to earth together for Riley's first assignment, a Radiant Boy who's been haunting a castle in England for centuries. Many Soul Catchers have tried to get him o cross the bridge and failed. But all of that was before he net Riley .....

Radiance is a spin-off to Alyson Noels Immortal Series

Another fantastic book by Alyson Noel

At first I wasn't to sure about reading Radiance as I loved the Immortal Series so much I thought it might be a disappointment compared to them but I was surprised and loved it just as much as the Immortal books.

Riley Bloom Crossed over the bridge with her family. She's annoyed because she won't get to have her thirteenth birthday that she has looked forward to for a long time.

Riley doesn't adjust to the Here and Now, more than anything Riley wishes she hadn't lingered and had followed her sister back to the earth plane.

When Riley goes for her first day at "school" in the Here and Now she's faced with the council. They will decide what she must do in the after life.

Riley is handed her first assignment of Soul Catcher she'll begin a journey that will change everything.

Riley is assigned a teacher, Bodhi. He teaches her all the tricks of the afterlife, while accompanying her on her first mission on earth.

The Soul Catchers job is to help trapped spirits find their way to the right place. While Riley is on her first assignment Bodhi bets with Riley that if she completes her assignment he will teacher her how to fly.

The first time Riley meets the Radiant Boy he scares her but she goes back in and sends him on his way into the afterlife, and Bodhi keeps his promise and teaches Riley how to fly.

Riley and Bodhi have a tough relationship at the start and Riley doesn't listed or respect him, but after Bodhi completes his assignment he starts to grow on her. This could have something to do with the fact he teaches her how to fly and then takes her on a trip.

If you are a fan of Alyson's Immortal Series, I do believe that you will enjoy this spin-off, and if your like me and loved Riley in Evermore and wanted to see more of her then you'll want to grab yourself a copy of this book and see what's really going on in Riley's world.

Radiance definitely proves to be a great start to an exciting new series and I am totally looking forward to reading SHIMMER in the coming weeks.

Currently Reading: Heat Wave - Richard Castle

Books Read in 2011: 4/20

A Breath of Fresh Air - Erica James

1/5 Stars

Charlotte is consumed by guilt - after months of agonising she finally asks her workaholic husband for a divorce. The very same day Peter was killed in a tragic accident. Charlotte's only wish is to return home to the idyllic Cheshire village of her childhood.

Ivy Cottage and Hulme Welford are all Charlotte remembered - Lunch in the shade of the fig tree and fork suppers. And her interfering sister Hilary hasn't changed either, organising everything from milk on the doorstep to Alex, the sitting tenant.

Hilary is determined that Charlotte, far too young for a widow's weeds, should find love anew. And what better place to start than with the eligible bachelor next door?

I read this book in June and I honestly didn't like it. It just couldn't keep me interested and it took me months to finally get round to finishing it (I have to finish a book if I start it)

I liked Charlotte but she was to depressing, yeah her husband died, but she didn't love love him anyway so why was she so guilty?

I spent most the time wishing Charlotte would lighten up a bit and tell her interfering sister to do one and wishing that she would hurry up and hook up with Alex.

I might read this book again one day, but right now it can sit with the rest of the books on my shelf of disappointment.

Currently Reading: Heat Wave - Richard Castle

Books Read in 2011: 4/20

Dark Flame - Alyson Noel

4/5 Stars

Dark Flame is the forth of six books in the Immortal Series by Alyson Noel

In Alyson Noel’s most darkly seductive Immortals novel yet, Ever fights for control of her body, her soul—and the timeless true love she’s been chasing for centuries.

Ever is trying to help Haven transition into life as an immortal. But with Haven drunk on her new powers and acting recklessly, she poses the ultimate threat—exposing their secret world to the outside. As Ever struggles to keep the Immortals hidden, it only propels Haven closer to the enemy—Roman and his evil companions

At the same time, Ever delves deeper into dark magick to free Damon from Roman’s power. But when her spell backfires, it binds her to the one guy who’s hell-bent on her destruction. Now there’s a strange, foreign pulse coursing through her, and no matter what she does, she can’t stop thinking about Roman—and longing for his touch. As she struggles to resist the fiery attraction threatening to consume her, Roman is more than willing to take advantage of her weakened state…and Ever edges closer and closer to surrender.

Frantic to break the spell before its too late, Ever turns to Jude for help, risking everything she knows and loves to save herself—and her future with Damen .....

The Immortal Series is one of the best series I have ever read. I read this book back in February 2011 and this series just keeps gets better.

After the way Alyson ended Shadowlands I couldn't wait to get my hands on a copy of Dark Flame.

I spent the entire book hoping thing's would get better for Ever and Damon but sadly I was wrong, and things got much worse.

Ever turns to magick to help her find the poison she needs so she can be with Damon with out the protection of the energy field, but instead of casting the banding spell so Roman is bound to her she ends up binding herself to Roman.

Romy and Rayne try to help Ever undo the curse that Ever casts upon herself, she just makes it even worse and Ever can't seem to keep away from Roman.

I totally love this series. It is full of suspense and had me gripped with every page and never wanting the roller-coaster to end. I love being involved with Ever and Damon's journey and I'm filled with emotion every time things start to go wrong.

The emotional roller-coaster that Alyson puts Ever on is devastating. I love the situations and the main characters. I'm not a fan of Jude because in my opinion Ever belongs with Damon. I used to love Haven until this book, she is totally different now she is Immortal she is now also evil and Roman I've never like him, from when he was first introduced into the series.

This is definitely a series I am going to continue to love even when its over.

If you haven't started reading this series yet, you are missing out on an amazing love story that is tested to the very limit time and time again.

Currently Reading: Heat Wave - Richard Castle

Books Read in 2011: 4/20