Blood on the Moon by Jennifer Knight

Release Date: August 30th 2011

Publisher: Perseus Books

Page Count: Paperback, 416 pages

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Romance

Author: Website, Good Reads, Twitter, Facebook

Buy This Book: Amazon, Book Depository

Source: Copy provided by Running Press Book Publishers

Boys, romance, classes, and annoying roommates are all within the realm of the expected for a college frosh. Trying to solve the mysterious murders of young college coeds near campus is not. Darkness seems to be creeping into every corner of Faith's life, no matter the hour. And when she seeks the truth, danger seems to be the only thing that finds her. Faith is well aware of the strange currents in the air, particularly when she sets off static sparks with everything she touches. Before long, she finds herself entrenched in the deep-seeded battle between werewolves and vampires. The war has reached the tipping point, and Faith has the power to determine where the scales fall. But the most important question may be with whom does her loyalty lie?As Faith Reynolds enters her freshman year of college, she is a complete and utter nervous wreck. With her best friend Derek suddenly pulling out the romance card and her dark, mysterious classmate staring her down at every turn, Faith somehow feels stuck in the middle without dating either one. And fortune may or may not be with her when a devilshly sexy stranger offers her a welcome escape.Deliciously suspenseful and immediately addictive, Blood on the Moon features a headstrong heroine and all of the thrills, chills, and otherworldly boys with deadly charm that a human could ask for. - Good Reads

Faith has a terrible time trusting because she's been burned in the past by two people she never would have thought she wouldn't have been able to trust. One of those is her stepfather, who is now in prison and the other is her best friend Derek. Faith and Derek have had their fair share of relationship woes, particularly because Derek made a mistake that cost their relationship and Faith's trust in him romantically. So they're back to being just friends. All the while she is trying to settle into a new university far from home with her best friend slash ex boyfriend trying to re-kindle their fire, which has long been extinguished and worrying about being majorless and having a jerk who acts as if she's the bane of his existence for a project partner. And things steadily get worse and a little more lively as she's introduced to a world she never thought existed full of vampires and werewolves.

Faith is a truly stubborn girl. She's the type who doesn't get to "fool me twice, shame on me". You cross her once and she's done. I liked that about her and see it as a definite possibility for growth and she does manage to plow through some of her trust issues throughout the book, but she still has a hard time truly forgiving and forgetting those who have done her wrong. I think what I liked most about her is that despite being a little jaded and unforgiving: it doesn't turn her into a total b word. She's still a caring person who is genuinely kindhearted.

The general story was a little typical. Girls meets mysterious boy, he's a mythical creature and they fall in love after a little struggle. So it's nothing totally new and different, but I still devoured it. I didn't want to put it down and to me that's what counts. I was fascinated by Lucas and yearned to know more about him after I got over the initial 'what a jerk!' stage. He really isn't a jerk at all. And there's so much more to him than meets the eye. Werewolves are also a huge part of this story and while I've always thought of them as something I can't get into, I was proved wrong again - I really liked it.

I'm smitten with this cover. I think it perfectly fits the main character Faith. Isn't it pretty? After I opened my package I think I admired it for a good minute before I opened it up to read!

Overall, I'd definitely recommend this book to paranormal lovers and especially to those who love werewolves. Faith is a freshman in university, but I'd still consider this book appropriate for most young adults. There isn't any swearing, there is no sex and little mention of it and the kissing scenes are what I would consider tame.

The ending was a total cliffhanger, so I'm assuming that there is to be a second book, though Good Reads doesn't list it as a series. THERE BETTER BE ANOTHER BOOK! Because I'm dying to know what happens! And I can't wait to see more novels in the future from Jennifer Knight!

4 out of 5 Hello Kitties

Across the Universe (Across the Universe #1) by Beth Revis

Across the Universe (Across the Universe #1) by Beth Revis

Published: January 11th 2011
Publisher: Razorbill
Page Count: Hardcover, 398 pages
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction
Find the Author: Website, Good Reads, Twitter, Blog
Buy This Book: Amazon, Book Depository

Seventeen-year-old Amy joins her parents as frozen cargo aboard the vast spaceship Godspeed and expects to awaken on a new planet, three hundred years in the future. Never could she have known that her frozen slumber would come to an end fifty years too soon and that she would be thrust into the brave new world of a spaceship that lives by its own rules. Amy quickly realizes that her awakening was no mere computer malfunction. Someone - one of the few thousand inhabitants of the spaceship - tried to kill her. And if Amy doesn't do something soon, her parents will be next. Now, Amy must race to unlock Godspeed's hidden secrets. But out of her list of murder suspects, there's only one who matters: Elder, the future leader of the ship and the love she could never have seen coming. - Good Reads

Across the Universe has been on my list since I first saw the cover. The cover is hands down of my favourites of all time. It's just pretty. The cover is a little deceiving though, because there wasn't really a big romance in this book. There was more of a foreshadowing slash blossom of one. An instant attraction, but nothing hot and heavy. Another reason why I knew I had to read this book is because it's sci-fi. Finding a sci-fi romance novel in the Young Adult section is almost impossible. Or is? I've never seen one before!

This book is a great mix between sci-fi, mystery and dystopian. But the great thing about it is that it's a great medium for those that don't normally like sci-fi. I think one of the biggest complaints about the sci-fi genre that I've heard is that they're sometimes too hard to relate to and become confusing. This book was written very clearly and everything is very easy to picture.

The book alternates between Amy and Elder and I liked that especially because you get to see the ship through Amy's eyes, which makes it easier to relate to and make everything more relatable and Elder, so you can see the life on Godspeed through his viewpoint, the viewpoint of a native and accustomed to the life on board, even if he is much different than the others.

There is an attempted rape scene in this book as well as a lot of sexual going ons in the background. The sexual going ons are due to the mating season of ship and the citizens of Godspeed have no qualms about doing the dirty out in the open much to Amy's horror (well, and my horror). It didn't put me off the book by any means, but that may put other readers off, so just a heads up.

Overall, I really enjoyed this book. It had a fascinating world, a good mystery and the kindling for a future romance. I definitely see this series becoming a favourite of mine!