POST GRAD by Emily Cassel

POST GRAD

EMILY CASSEL
Women’s Fiction
St. Martin’s Griffin
ISBN# 978-0-312-59626-2
256 Pages
$13.99
Trade--Available Now

Rating: 5 Enchantments

Ryden Malby’s had her whole life planned out, do well in high school, get a great scholarship and graduate, thereby moving into the next phase of her life, a gorgeous place and her dream job at the city’s best publishing house. Graduating from college was one thing, but when her plans for her life are quickly disintegrating she’s forced to do the unthinkable—move back home with her parents, her crazy grandmother and strange little brother till she can find a job and figure out what to do with her life.

POST GRAD is a hilarious, entertaining read. There wasn’t a single chapter where I didn’t either laugh or lament the thought of having to eventually put the book down. I loved Ryden instantly, it’s hard to not like a girl who’s dealing with a family as crazy as hers, and her nemesis in Jessica Barde, the ‘perfect’ girl who seems to always show up when Ryden would least like her to, especially during one truly horrific moment when working at Luggage World. Her best friend Adam who’s hopelessly crushing on her. Ryden’s family is truly one of the best, most outrageous families I’ve ever come across. Her father is beyond hilarious and her grandmother is a scene stealer. It’s so hard to pick a scene to mention in the review, but the first one that pops to mind is when her grandmother takes them shopping for her own casket and the chaos that ensues. Ryden’s already embarrassed enough at times by her family, but to have her grandmother actually trying out the caskets is enough to give the poor girl a meltdown.

If you’re looking for a great read, POST GRAD is one book you should definitely pick up.

Check out the first chapter online at http://us.macmillan.com/postgrad.


Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
July 2009

FADE OUT (Morganville Vampires #7) by Rachel Caine

FADE OUT (Morganville Vampires Book Seven)

RACHEL CAINE
Paranormal YA
NAL
ISBN# 978-0-451-22866-6
237 Pages
$6.99
Paperback—Available Now

Rating: 4.5 Enchantments

With Bishop gone and Eve in the local production of 'A Streetcar Named Desire', things around Glass House are about as normal as they've been in a long time. But normal is short lived in Morganville, especially for Claire. She thinks there's something a little odd about Eve's sudden new BFF Kim and it's not just the fact that she hooked up with Shane in the past either, no there's something there that Claire just can't put her finger on. When Kim suddenly goes missing before a rehearsal of the play, Claire and friends can't believe what they uncover about Eve's supposed new friend.

Ms. Caine does a great job with FADE OUT, the seventh installment in this entertaining paranormal series. With Bishop gone in the last book, I wasn't quite sure what would happen next in Morganville with Amelie seemingly back in charge, but things just keep on escalating. When the truth about Kim is found out, suddenly Claire, Eve, Michael and Shane are forced to save her from the Vamps punishment, even if she may actually deserve what she could get. Even with that going on, Ada is still out for blood—namely Claire's—and she really will do anything to get rid of her, making things between the two reach a climatic and chilling head in FADE OUT, where Myrnin gets caught in the middle of deadly game Ada's playing. I never imagined a character who's usually nothing more than a computer generated image of her former self can be so evil and devious. I love how we see Myrnin evolving from his crazed character in the earlier books in the series, even if he still retains a bit of his dark side, which shows up here and there. What I like best about the Morganville series is what I love best about this book, things just keep getting more complicated and the unexpected keeps popping up around every corner. I can't wait to see what's in store for Claire in the next book!

Rachel Caine is the internationally bestselling author of thirty novels, including the New York Times and USA Today bestselling Morganville Vampires young adult series: Glass Houses, The Dead Girls’ Dance, Midnight Alley, Feast of Fools, Lord of Misrule, Carpe Corpus, and Fade Out, with five more to follow in 2009-2011. Visit her online at www.rachelcaine.com

Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
November 2009

THE SPLENDOR FALLS by Rosemary Clement-Moore

THE SPLENDOR FALLS
ROSEMARY CLEMENT-MOORE
Paranormal YA
Delacorte Books
ISBN# 978-0-385-73690-9
513 Pages
$17.99
Hardcover--Available Now

Rating: 4.5 Enchantments

Sylvie Davis' promising career as a ballet dancer is over before it really even has a chance to begin. Thanks to a fluke, she fell and broke her leg and is unable to dance again. To top things off, her mother just remarried and while her and the step-shrink go off on a honeymoon, Sylvie's been shipped south to visit a cousin of her father's she barely remembers meeting once to stay at a house she's never seen. But once she arrives in Alabama, Sylvie finds herself in what seems like a different world.

Cousin Paula's remodelling the family estate into a bed and breakfast, and the whole town seems to think she's something special just because she's a Davis, something she just doesn't understand at all. Add in the weird vibe she's getting from some of the locals, including Paula's business partner's daughter and the fact there's strange rumours about the house and things people have seen there, things maybe Sylvie's sorta seen for herself and things are way too complicated too quick for her liking.

One of the best things about Ms. Clement-Moore's writing is her characters. No two are ever alike, but they're as real as real can be. Sylvie is no exception to the rule and neither are those around her in Alabama. I especially loved the relationships between Sylvie and both Rhys, the mysterious stranger staying at the unfinished bed and breakfast with his father and Shawn Maddox, the local good boy, who seems to like Sylvie a little too much, too quickly. The house itself quickly becomes a character of its own, unfamiliar and at times slightly menacing, Sylvie isn't sure what to make of it—or Alabama as a whole. Her father never talked about the place, and maybe she can see why. But when she finds away to seek solace and time on her own, recreating what used to be a magical garden, the secrets of the past begin to be unleashed, something that puts her directly in danger.

THE SPLENDOR FALLS is one of my favorite reads of the year. Sylvie's a great character, I loved her voice, her weariness at where she was and what her future holds now that her dream of being a prima ballerina is shattered. Faced with that and what seems like an unpleasant stay in Alabama—Cousin Paula won't even let her take her beloved little dog up to her room, she soon finds herself involved in something more mysterious and supernatural than she'd ever expected. It all seems to start when she sneaks out with the dog to the back of the house and she sees a figure watching from one of the upstairs windows. But it's not Rhys or his father or even Cousin Paula. Who could it be? And what's their connection to the house? There were so many scenes I loved it's hard to pick one to highlight, but when Sylvie runs into Shawn in town and he takes her to the local coffee shop. All the locals are so excited to see the two of them together, Sylvie begins to wonder what exactly is going on.

Rosemary Clement-Moore lives and writes in Arlington, Texas. THE SPLENDOR FALLS is her fourth book for young readers. Visit Rosemary online at www.readrosemary.com

Lisa
Enchanting Reviews
September 2009