Stacking the Shelves #44

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 School Spirits (School Spirits, 1) – Rachel Hawkins

Fifteen-year-old Izzy Brannick was trained to fight monsters. For centuries, her family has hunted magical creatures. But when Izzy’s older sister vanishes without a trace while on a job, Izzy’s mom decides they need to take a break.

Izzy and her mom move to a new town, but they soon discover it’s not as normal as it appears. A series of hauntings has been plaguing the local high school, and Izzy is determined to prove her worth and investigate. But assuming the guise of an average teenager is easier said than done. For a tough girl who’s always been on her own, it’s strange to suddenly make friends and maybe even have a crush.

Can Izzy trust her new friends to help find the secret behind the hauntings before more people get hurt? 

 Carniepunk
 
The traveling carnival is a leftover of a bygone era, a curiosity lurking on the outskirts of town. It is a place of contradictions—the bright lights mask the peeling paint; a carnie in greasy overalls slinks away from the direction of the Barker’s seductive call. It is a place of illusion—is that woman’s beard real? How can she live locked in that watery box?

And while many are tricked by sleight of hand, there are hints of something truly magical going on. One must remain alert and learn quickly the unwritten rules of this dark show. To beat the carnival, one had better have either a whole lot of luck or a whole lot of guns—or maybe some magic of one’s own.

Featuring stories grotesque and comical, outrageous and action-packed, Carniepunk is the first anthology to channel the energy and attitude of urban fantasy into the bizarre world of creaking machinery, twisted myths, and vivid new magic.

 The Last Word (The Spellmans, 6) – Lisa Lutz

Isabel Spellman is used to being followed, extorted, and questioned—all occupational hazards of working at her family’s firm, Spellman Investigations. Her little sister, Rae, once tailed Izzy for weeks on end to discover the identity of her boyfriend. Her mother, Olivia, once blackmailed Izzy with photographic evidence of Prom Night 1994. It seemed that the Spellmans would lay off after Izzy was fired for breaching client confidentiality, but then Izzy avenged her dismissal by staging a hostile takeover of the company. She should have known better than to think she could put such shenanigans behind her.

In The Last Word, Izzy’s troubles are just beginning. After her hostile takeover of Spellman Investigations, Izzy’s parents simply go on strike. Her sister, Rae, comes back into the family business with questionable motivations. Her other employees seem to be coping with anxiety disorders, and she has no idea how to pay the bills. However, her worst threat comes from someone who is no relation. Within months of assuming control of the business, Izzy is accused of embezzling from a former client, the ridiculously wealthy Mr. Slayter, who happens to have Alzheimer’s, which Izzy and he are diligently trying to keep under wraps. Not only is Slayter’s business and reputation on the line, but if Izzy gets indicted for embezzlement, she’ll lose everything—her business, her license, and her family’s livelihood. Is this the end of Izzy Spellman, PI? The answer makes The Last Word, hands down, the most thrilling book in this bestselling, award-nominated series. 

 Crave the Darkness (Shaede Assassin, 3) – Amanda Bonilla

Nothing comes easy for Darian. Her heightened powers make her indispensable to the Shaede Nation, but dangerous missions have driven her lover, Tyler, to his breaking point. Darian must salvage their bond, but a new assignment to protect Anya—a fellow Shaede and the first of their kind to become pregnant in centuries—stands in their way.

It doesn’t help that the two Shaedes are longtime rivals and share nothing besides mutual hatred. But when it becomes clear that someone—or something—is bent on destroying the expectant mother and her unborn child, Darian must put her feelings aside and track down Anya’s would-be assassin.

As she probes into Anya’s past, Darian digs up long-buried secrets—and a connection between Tyler and the mission that could destroy everything between them…

 Sea, sex and Sean de Cathy Yardley

Toute Californienne digne de ce nom sait tenir sur une planche de surf. Sauf moi, Allison Robbins ! Le seul truc sur lequel j’ose tester mon équilibre, ce sont mes stilettos. Normal : mon trip c’est plutôt réunions à rallonge et pause café express. Je ne vous raconte pas le stress ! Jusqu’au jour où j’ai eu une crise d’angoisse en plein milieu d’une présentation. Résultat : mon boss m’a mise au repos forcé et mon médecin m’a prescrit des séances de surf. Rien de tel pour se détendre, a-t-il assuré. Se détendre ? Facile à dire quand le moniteur est un grand blond aux yeux verts et au physique de demi-dieu ! Sean ? c’est le prénom du demi-dieu  a beau être ultra zen, il met en surchauffe tous mes capteurs sensoriels. Pas besoin de vous faire un dessin : je suis amoureuse. A votre avis, est-ce que la reine des plannings serrés et des pronostics de résultats, bref une fille comme moi, a des chances d’intéresser un mec aussi cool que Sean ? En tout cas, je tente ma chance ! 

 

Hex Hall by Rachel Hawkins (VO)

Hex Hall, Book 1

Synopsis : Three years ago, Sophie Mercer discovered that she was a witch. It’s gotten her into a few scrapes. Her non-gifted mother has been as supportive as possible, consulting Sophie’s estranged father—an elusive European warlock—only when necessary. But when Sophie attracts too much human attention for a prom-night spell gone horribly wrong, it’s her dad who decides her punishment: exile to Hex Hall, an isolated reform school for wayward Prodigium, a.k.a. witches, faeries, and shapeshifters.

By the end of her first day among fellow freak-teens, Sophie has quite a scorecard: three powerful enemies who look like supermodels, a futile crush on a gorgeous warlock, a creepy tagalong ghost, and a new roommate who happens to be the most hated person and only vampire on campus. Worse, Sophie soon learns that a mysterious predator has been attacking students, and her only friend is the number-one suspect.

As a series of blood-curdling mysteries starts to converge, Sophie prepares for the biggest threat of all: an ancient secret society determined to destroy all Prodigium, especially her.

Review : In this first book, we get into a Young Adult book with a very common topic. Indeed, we often find in this kind of books, schools that bring together some persons with powers, some very different persons. Therefore, we’re very attentive to the story and the characters to really see the differences with the other books.

Sophia Mercer, alias Sophie is a young witch who doesn’t really know how to use her power. And as she didn’t have any special education for her condition, she uses some spells without even knowing what it could happen next. But everything will change when one of her spell, has practically shown herself to Humans, so she is sent to Hex hall, a school where we can meet shifters, fairies, witches, and even vampires. She wasn’t popular in her old school, and it won’t improve in this one either as everyone seems better than her. But when some persons vanished, and that everyone suspects her only friend Jenna, Sophie can’t let this happen and she decides to understand what is going on !

I really like the story, we can discover all along the book our heroine who is a young girl strong and determined. She would like to live in Hex Hall like the others, but it was without counting on the three witches who always denigrate her, and this makes her life very difficult ! She will evolve little by little to become a vivid person who wants to impose her choices. We’re too really curious by Archer, this boy that every girls love. He is intriguing, but unfortunately we don’t learn a lot of things about him. I confess, that I suspected his revelation, it’s often the same in these books. But as we didn’t know a lot, I would love to learn what will happen to him in the sequel. Jenna is a character we quickly like with her kindness and her big heart. We feel so sorry for her with everything that happens to her.

It was a really great first book, and I’m very curious to see how will evolve Sophie after this end. I hope we will finally meet her father after hearing such things about him.

Hex Hall de Rachel Hawkins

Hex Hall, tome 1

Résumé : Sophie Mercer, lycéenne et sorcière, use de ses pouvoirs sans discernement. Sur ordre d’un puissant magicien, qui n’est autre que son père, elle est envoyée à Hex Hall, établissement ultra-select pour élèves très spéciaux. Spectres, loups-garous et vampires s’y côtoient. Sophie qui est tout sauf discrète, s’y fait vite quelques amis et beaucoup d’ennemis. Parmi ceux qu’elle juge dignes d’intérêt, il y a un séduisant jeune sorcier. Mais l’heure n’est pas à la romance car un terrible prédateur rôde… Et, Sophie, fille de l’un des enchanteurs les plus puissants au monde – et directeur de Hex Hall – est une cible idéale…

Avis : Ce premier volume aborde un sujet très commun dans de nombreux livres de type Young Adult. En effet on retrouve souvent des écoles réunissant des êtres surnaturels. De ce fait on reste très attentifs à l’histoire et aux personnages pour nous permettre de vraiment savoir les différences.
Sophia Mercer, alias Sophie est une jeune sorcière qui ne sait pas très bien se servir de ses pouvoirs et n’ayant jamais eu d’éducation spéciale par rapport à sa condition, elle utilise souvent certains sorts sans réfléchir aux répercutions que cela peut avoir. Mais tout changera le jour où après un enchantement de trop, qui aurait pu la révéler aux yeux des humains elle est envoyée à Hex Hall, un établissement où métamorphes, loup-garous, fées, sorcières et vampires se mélangent. Déjà qu’elle n’était pas très populaire dans son ancien établissement, cela ne s’améliorera pas plus dans celui-ci où tout le monde lui semble supérieur. Mais quand des victimes apparaissent et que la suspecte est la seule amie de Sophie, elle se décide à comprendre ce qu’il se passe.

J’ai beaucoup aimé l’histoire, on découvre tout au long du livre notre héroïne qui est une jeune fille forte et déterminée. Elle aimerait vivre son passage à Hex Hall du mieux possible mais c’est sans compter avec les trois sorcières qui la dénigrent sans cesse, ce qui lui rend la vie impossible. Elle évoluera petit à petit passant d’un personnage renfermé et sans défense pour devenir une personne vive qui sait imposer ses choix aux autres. On est aussi très intrigué par Archer ce garçon devant qui toutes les filles se pâment. Il est intrigant mais malheureusement, on ne découvre que peu de choses à son sujet. Après il est vrai que je me doutais un peu de la révélation que l’on apprend, je pense que c’est toujours un peu pareil dans les livres de ce genre. Mais étant donné que nous ne savons pas grand chose, je reste curieuse d’apprendre ce qu’il deviendra dans les prochains tomes. Sarah est aussi une jeune personne qu’on apprécie beaucoup de part sa délicatesse et sa gentillesse. Tout ce qui lui arrive injustement nous fend le cœur et on espère qu’elle aura plus de chance par la suite.

C’était un très bon premier tome, je suis curieuse d’en savoir plus sur l’évolution de Sophie après cette fin. J’espérais pouvoir enfin rencontrer le père de Sophie ici, mais cela n’a pas été le cas, c’est une rencontre que j’attends avec impatience.