Book Review 25. Miramont's Ghost

Book: Miramont's Ghost
Author: Elizabeth Hall
Genre: Paranormal Fiction
Pages: 336
Published: February 1st, 2015

Synopsis: Miramont Castle, built in 1897 and mysteriously abandoned three years later, is home to many secrets. Only one person knows the truth: Adrienne Beauvier, granddaughter of the Comte de Challembelles and cousin to the man who built the castle.
Clairvoyant from the time she could talk, Adrienne’s visions show her the secrets of those around her. When her visions begin to reveal dark mysteries of her own aristocratic French family, Adrienne is confronted by her formidable Aunt Marie, who is determined to keep the young woman silent at any cost. Marie wrenches Adrienne from her home in France and takes her to America, to Miramont Castle, where she keeps the girl isolated and imprisoned. Surrounded by eerie premonitions, Adrienne is locked in a life-or-death struggle to learn the truth and escape her torment.
Reminiscent of Daphne du Maurier’s Rebecca, this hauntingly atmospheric tale is inspired by historical research into the real-life Miramont Castle in Manitou Springs, Colorado.

WARNING: This book and it's review may contain triggers.

★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

"Having family does not ensure that one won't be lonely."

Wishlist Wednesday. The One

Hosted by Pen to Paper

We haven't done any of our weekly events in so long (I'm so sorry), but I hope this will make up for it a little.

Book Review 24. These Broken Stars

Book: These Broken Stars
Series: Starbound (#1)
Author: Amie Kaufman and Meagan Spooner
Genre: Young Adult Science Fiction
Pages: 374
Published: December 10th, 2013

Synopsis: Luxury spaceliner Icarus suddenly plummets from hyperspace into the nearest planet. Lilac LaRoux and Tarver Merendsen survive -- alone. Lilac is the daughter of the richest man in the universe. Tarver comes from nothing, a cynical war hero. Both journey across the eerie deserted terrain for help. Everything changes when they uncover the truth.
The Starbound Trilogy: Three worlds. Three love stories. One enemy.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★

“But who names a starship the Icarus? What kind of man possess that much hubris, that he dares it to fall?” 

Book Review 23. The Vanishing Girl

Book: The Vanishing Girl
Series: The Vanishing Girl (#1)
Author: Laura Thalassa
Genre: New Adult Science Fiction
Pages: 338
Published: March 15th, 2014

This ebook was given to me by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Synopsis: Every night after Ember Pierce falls asleep, she disappears. She can teleport anywhere in the world—London, Paris, her crush’s bedroom—wherever her dreams lead her. Ten minutes is all she gets, and once time’s up, she returns to her bed. It's a secret she’s successfully kept for the last five years. But now someone knows.
A week after her eighteenth birthday, when frustratingly handsome Caden Hawthorne captures her, delivers her to the government, and then disappears before her eyes, Ember realizes two things: One, she is not alone. And two, people like her—teleporters—are being used as weapons.
Dragged off to a remote facility where others like her live, Ember’s forced to pair up with her former captor, Caden, to learn how to survive inside until she can escape. Only Caden’s making escape seem less and less appealing.
But even as Ember falls for the boy who got her into this mess, she knows that she is running out of time. Because the government has plans for those like her, and those plans might just cost Ember her life.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

“Because you are just a pawn. And a pawn can’t help but get played.” 

Book Review 22. The Pigman

Book: The Pigman
Series: The Pigman (#1)
Author: Paul Zindel
Genre: Young-Adult Fiction
Pages: 166
Published: October 9th, 1968

Synopsis: When sophomores John and Lorraine played a practical joke a few months ago on a stranger named Angelo Pignati, they had no idea what they were starting. Virtually overnight, almost against their will, the two befriended the lonely old man; it wasn't long before they were more comfortable in his house than their own. But now Mr. Pignati is dead. And for John and Lorraine, the only way to find peace is to write down their friend's story - the story of the Pigman.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

“Be yourself! Be individualistic!' he called out after me. 'But for God's sake get your hair cut. You look like an oddball."

Book Review 21. Of Mice and Men

Book: Of Mice and Men
Author: John Steinbeck
Genre: Classic Fiction
Pages: 102
Published: 1937

Synopsis: Streetwise George and his big, childlike friend Lennie are drifters, searching for work in the fields and valleys of California. They have nothing except the clothes on their back, and a hope that one day they’ll find a place of their own and live the American dream. But dreams come at a price. Gentle giant Lennie doesn’t know his own strength, and when they find work at a ranch he gets into trouble with the boss’s daughter-in-law. Trouble so bad that even his protector George may not be able to save him…

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

“A guy needs somebody―to be near him. A guy goes nuts if he ain't got nobody. Don't make no difference who the guy is, long's he's with you. I tell ya, I tell ya a guy gets too lonely an' he gets sick.”

Book Review 20. To All the Boys I've Loved Before

Book: To All the Boys I've Loved Before
Series: To All the Boys I've Loved Before (#1)
Author: Jenny Han
Genre: Contemporary Young-Adult Romance
Pages: 355
Published: April 15th, 2014

Summary: Lara Jean keeps her love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her.
They aren't love letters that anyone else wrote for her, these are ones she's written. One for every boy she's ever loved—five in all. When she writes, she can pour out her heart and soul and say all the things she would never say in real life, because her letters are for her eyes only. Until the day her secret letters are mailed, and suddenly Lara Jean's love life goes from imaginary to out of control.

★ ★ ★ ☆ ☆

“I don’t have to be so afraid of good-bye, because good-bye doesn't have to be forever.” 

Claire's October Book Haul

Hello! This month I went to the bookstore, which I rarely do, so I decided to do a haul. Then I realized even with my buys I didn't have so many books to flaunt, so this list will also include my library books, free Kindle downloads, and books for school.

Book Review 19. The Blood of Olympus

Book: The Blood of Olympus
Series: The Heroes of Olympus (#5)
Author: Rick Riordan
Genre: Middle-grade Fantasy
Pages: 502
Published: October 7th, 2014

Summary: Though the Greek and Roman crewmembers of the Argo II have made progress in their many quests, they still seem no closer to defeating the earth mother, Gaea. Her giants have risen—all of them—and they're stronger than ever. They must be stopped before the Feast of Spes, when Gaea plans to have two demigods sacrificed in Athens. She needs their blood—the blood of Olympus—in order to wake.
The demigods are having more frequent visions of a terrible battle at Camp Half-Blood. The Roman legion from Camp Jupiter, led by Octavian, is almost within striking distance. Though it is tempting to take the Athena Parthenos to Athens to use as a secret weapon, the friends know that the huge statue belongs back on Long Island, where it "might" be able to stop a war between the two camps.
The Athena Parthenos will go west; the Argo II will go east. The gods, still suffering from multiple personality disorder, are useless. How can a handful of young demigods hope to persevere against Gaea's army of powerful giants? As dangerous as it is to head to Athens, they have no other option. They have sacrificed too much already. And if Gaea wakes, it is game over.

★ ★ ★ ★ ☆

“You can't choose your parentage. But you can choose your legacy.” 

Book Review 18. Prince of Wolves

Book: Prince of Wolves
Series: The Grey Wolves (#1)
Author: Quinn Loftis
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Pages: 230
Published: June 29th, 2011

Summary: Jacque Pierce was just an ordinary 17-year-old girl getting ready to start her senior year in high school in Coldspring, Texas. When a mysterious foreign exchange student from Romania moves in across the street, Jacque and her two best friends, Sally and Jen, don't realize the last two weeks of their summer are going to get a lot more interesting.
From the moment Jacque sets eyes on Fane she feels an instant connection, a pull like a moth to a flame. Little does she know that the flame she is drawn to is actually a Canis lupis, werewolf, and she just happens to be his mate; the other half of his soul.
The problem is Fane is not the only wolf in Coldspring, Texas.
Just as Fane and Jacque are getting to know each other, another wolf steps out to try and claim Jacque as his mate. Fane will now have to fight for the right to complete the mating bond, something that is his right by birth but is being denied him by a crazed Alpha. Will the love Fane has for Jacque be enough to give him the strength to defeat his enemy, will Jacque accept that she is Fane's mate and complete the bond between them?

★ ☆ ☆ ☆ ☆

“Don't mind her; she's missing that part in her brain that tells her to shut up.”