Swift Wings Shadowed Heart by Ingrid Seymour

 This book should be rated new adult for make out scenes and language. I always try to look out for parents that are being cautious what young teens read. Therefore I put warnings in my reviews. That being said this is an imaginative start to a world reliant on dragons & powers to survive. In this world dragons have discovered that humans have special powers that when combined with the dragons become stronger. The powers are wind, fire, lightening, water, earth, & listening to peoples thoughts. The latter is called a Weaver and because people were scared of them they killed all the Weavers. To make sure no more develop the gift they have a few people called Neutro's who search for the powers in young children. When they find them they rip the power out of the child so they only have one power left. Rhealyn's Neutro was supposed to call someone more qualified when he discovered she was a Weaver. Instead he thought he was skilled enough to rip the power out himself. Rhealyn was scared to death of the man & because of it the Neutro allowed her pregnant mother to stay in the room. Rhealyn felt like the Neutro was trying to kill her so her powers lashed out. Because the Neutro was a bad man with horrible morals a tragedy occurred that day. Rhealyn lost her mother that day. She and her father grew bitter towards the Neutro. Rhealyn planned to avenge her mother's death. She attended the academy to train to be a dragon rider. That gave her a chance to get close to the Neutro. After she murdered him her plan was to leave to train with her dragon. And after 4 weeks then she would be sent to the front lines to join the war effort. They are fighting Harper & hideous creatures called the screechclaws. The female dragon goddess has disappeared & without her no more dragons can be born. And the dragons are slowly being killed by the screechclaws. When Rhealyn meets Vaylen she is drawn to him. The chemistry & electricity when they touch is off the charts. The problem is he's her superior. According to Sky Order they can't be together. However, when she goes through the testing their powers connect. Something that isn't supposed to be possible. Rhealyn had planned to find a powerful man to marry so they could become a powerful family. Then no one could hurt her again. When she meets her dragon and they bond, something very rare, it seems she has made a ally for life. He promises to never let anything happen to her. As Vaylen and Rhealyn keep coming into close proximity to each other their restraint weakens. Neither can deny the pull. Once they give in it seems all Rhealyn's dreams are coming true. Until the police start looking into her as a suspect. Will Vaylen protect her or will he follow orders like he's always done? There is something about Rhealyn that gets under his skin. He craves her!

Ride And Die Again by Lucia Ashta

 Ridgemore's number two book in the series. This series has vulgar language so keep that in mind before letting your children read it. When in doubt I always read the book before allowing my children too. I'm not a fan of reading books with the f word in it and believe me it's in here a lot. However, this sci-fi book is so addictive I quickly overlooked that. And I am a huge fan of Lucia Ashta! This series is so outside the box from her other genres. Truth be told I'm a huge sci-fi fan. Growing up Saturday's after cartoons they would play old sci-fi movies. That was my daddy daughter bonding time. Okay back to the book. So Mr Chase & I will just call him Chase from now on has the main characters in a private hospital. Jossalyn unexpectedly took three days to wake up after they brought her back to life. The crew fill Joss in on what she missed while she was unconscious. Then Chase came in with armed guards and an offer. He told them the truth. Their parents were his employees who stole him from a secret lab that Chase owned making them his property. You can imagine how that went over. Chase had no doubt their parents were searching for them. He planned to use the kids as bait to lure them back into working for him. Chase promised them anything they wanted. Education at a private school he was creating for kids with special abilities. They could learn any subject they wanted. Advanced classes or college credit. Even any subject they desired. They left immediately for this new school. The school wasn't quite done so he'd built them a mansion to live together in. Their cars were there as well as one for Layla & Hunt. They had a garage big enough to store everything in. State of the art tools & even a painting booth in the corner. They have huge bedrooms & clothes that match the style that they all normally wear. A wall of glass in the mansion. A gaming room, koi pond, Huge fully stocked kitchen. A chef & maids were going to come in while they were in classes or training in their ninja classes. Yep, Chase had brought in 3 martial arts instructors. They knew they could easily be bought because this was everything they wanted to learn. They learned the "parents" were scientists. Jose's even cheated on the other. Brady & Lay's mom turned out to be a real mean unfeeling woman! Griffin actually met the woman who was supposed to be his mom that left his dad when he was little. Turns out it was all a lie! The photos they had all seen of their mom's pregnant were faked. None of them had given birth to them. They were actually born to paid surrogates. Griffin took it hard. And poor Hunt his father they said never existed. But we all know that's impossible! The deal they had to make to find out more about themselves, what powers they had, & uncover what else Chase was hiding. They snooped around & discovered another student that could cause earthquakes & one who was a walking electricity bolt. One was trying to escape the bunker. This isn't even the worst parts. At one point they decide things aren't going as good as Chas wants them so their parents help them be hypnotizing  them. Only something goes wrong that they don't realize at the time. They were basically supposed to erase their memories & remember whatever the recorded message said. The message gets messed up. And unbeknownst to the parents reveal their true colors. They don't care about these kids. They are just as ruthless & manipulative as Chase. Oh and they should really win a Grammy for their acting roles. When they wake up they are in their own homes again with their parents & expected to go back to public school like nothing ever happened. It's A lot harder than they thought. Plus they know they are being watched & recorded. Worst part is the want Joss & Griffin to stay friends this time. And poor Hunt who never goes into a relationship lightly because he dates exclusively when he does is supposed to be Zoe's boyfriend. He only liked her as a friend. And she's hanging all over him & wants to go all the way with him. Everyone in the crew is appalled! He keeps pushing her away. The crew sticks to him like glue. There is a big cliffhanger at the end! And now I have a book hangovers!

When She Returned by Lucinda Berry

 The story of the cult was fascinating. The receipt I expected. How anyone falls for it & would leave their entire family is something I will never understand! Finding out how she disappeared I just don't get it. She was doing an interview on them. That doesn't require you to start going there and expect to have your family join you. I wouldn't want my family anywhere near them. Especially, since she knew it was a cult going into it. Then when she commits she just doesn't even leave a message to let someone know they need to pick up her child. What kinda mother does that? Not a very good one! Abbie was only 5 years old when her mom disappeared. I would never do that. I'd have made arrangements for my child & left a note that didn't point to where I was going. I hope Abbie never figures out that she's the one that triggered her mom to go back to Ray/Abner even though those aren't his real name. If they ever uncover the truth about the three bodies in Oregon Kate could be possibly held accountable for an accomplice to murder. In one of those. I feel so bad for Meredith because she is just as much a victim in this as Kate. This is what happens when you declare someone dead who isn't though. You should wait for a body or evidence before marrying someone else! When they found Kate it splintered Meredith & Scott's relationship. Because to Scott Kate was his soul mate. Meredith was a second. So when Kate comes to live with them with a new baby it ruins everything. Kate can do no wrong in Scott's eyes. He thinks she's going to heal & be her old self. Which is so delusional! Plus he never talks to Meredith about how she feels about anything. He makes her feel like a jealous mean woman without any compassion towards Kate. I must admit Kate is a good actress. I don't know how she does it so well. If it weren't for Meredith I think Scott would have been blindsided by the ending in the book. Poor Abbie is left devastated & probably wondering why her mother never loved her enough.

Cause of Death by Jeffery Deaver

 When Jon's wife dies in an auto accident Jon notices things that the police missed. How did his wife's neck break if the air bags deployed? Why is there only one tire skid mark when the car has front antilock breaks? There is a stranger that shows up at the funeral dressed down & wearing aviator sunglasses that he's never seen before. During the funeral he learns things about his wife's childhood he never knew. Jon is a history professor at a college and an author. He's very smart and very detail oriented. He notices his wife's phone & computer are missing. When he starts trying to put the pieces together to find her killer someone starts planting evidence against him. Framing him for not only his wife but a local hunter. There was also a recent woman that drowned in the river that has Jon wondering if they have a murderer running around planning his next kill. What he stumbles into is so far from what he thought was happening it's almost impossible to imagine. And he learns his wife lived a double life he knew nothing about! She was so amazing that she even led her husband to the perfect person to take her place after she was murdered

The Stillwater Girls by Minka Kent

 A woman and three girls live in a cabin in the woods. They live off the grid. They are fed lies by the woman they call Mama. When Mama takes Evie to the doctor be she's sick she doesn't come back. She left the other two girls alone for over 76 days. They have limited food & supplies. They can barely keep warm & winter is coming. One day a big man shows up. He breaks into the house & stays for a few days. He positions a bed in front of the door at night to keep them from escaping. Until Wren who's the oldest decides to put sleeping medication in his food. When he falls asleep they sneak out & run to the nearest house. Niccolette is a woman who can't have children. She had to have a emergency hysterectomy. She and her husband live at the edge of the woods. Wren & Sage come to their house & Niccolette takes them in because they are already adults. The girls are skin & bones and their clothes are tattered. There clothes are all handmade. Wren stars remembering more things about a woman she has dreamed about her whole life who is not who she called Mama. When the police find a body they check the DNA to see if the woman was really their mother. It turns out she wasn't. I won't ruin the big twist as to who the youngest girl Evie really is. It's a big shock! Poor Niccolette thought her husband was having an affair on her & in fact that couldn't be further from the truth. That man deserves an award for carrying the burdens he was for his wife. And for staying by her side. The ending is so heartfelt & sweet though it makes me melt.

Keep It In The Family by John Marrs

This book blew my mind. I am surprised at the twisted reasoning for the senseless killing of innocent children. While I didn't mind when Debbie's monster parents died. Way to go grandpa. We should all have grandparents like that! Debbie's mom was crazy. I don't know what mental illness she had but she had to have had one. I mean teaching your children how to pick out the victims you kill is really sick. And then killing your kids best friend. When Debbie & her brother accidentally watch a video tape that is mislabeled they witness his death. And their mom goes crazy. George, Debbie's brother, she believes is murdered by her parents. But as Tim goes on it seems she's not clear what happened to him. She thinks he joined the military at one point. Then she thinks her parents killed him. Then she hires a private investigator to locate him. Only she finds out he has no birth certificate. They can't find him. I feel so bad for Dave because Debbie tricks him into thinking he killed a girl he hit with a stolen car when Debbie finished her off. He left to get help. That forever ties them together as they flee the scene. They get married at sixteen with her grandparents permission. But Debbie gets the urge to "save" children she assumes need it. Poor kids, kids whose parents don't watch them or take care of them good enough. She uses the same killing habits her parents had except she strangled them. Debbie & Dave have a son named Finn. Debbie is very overprotective of him. Yet, in their family you will learn they all keep secrets from one another. When Finn marries Mia instead of his high school sweetheart Debbie is furious. Mia comes from money & fame. Finn is a Plummer from a poor family. Mia & Finn buy the house Debbie grew up in. During renovations they discover 7 bodies in the attic. All children stuffed in high end leather suitcases. Mia is pregnant & standing on the ladder when she falls. She has to have the premature baby. She blames herself for almost killing him. Because of this she goes through a depression & refuses to bond with the baby. And because their house is being investigated they have to stay with Dinner parents. Debbie steps up & takes care of the baby. Mia can't get over seeing the mummified child in the suitcase. She has PTSD from it. She starts obsessing over the children's identities. Then trying to figure out why Dave never mentioned he knew some of the victims because he went to school with two of them. Then she starts snooping around the house. She starts asking Finn questions. He thinks she's gone crazy. However, she's connecting the dots, she just doesn't have all the pieces. Later she discovers a warehouse with another 40 suitcases filled with children.And Dave ties her up. Then he kills himself. He thought he had stomach cancer turned out to be an ulcer. Debbie blames Mia for his death & attacks her. Luckily it was at the police station. I forgot to mention that Mia finds out Finn never stopped seeing his high school sweetheart & they have a four year old daughter together. Mia moves back with her parents. Debbie thinks Mia & Finn are getting back together. She plots to stop it because they try to stop her from seeing their baby when they suspect Debbie isn't Finns mom. Mia secretly does a DNA test on Finn & his parents. They aren't his parents it turns out. He was a kidnapped child whose sister was a victim of the killer. Debbie gets the ultimate revenge she kidnaps their baby. She doesn't think they are fit parents anymore by her standards. Will they ever find their baby or did Debbie kill him? She's not saying. As new evidence comes to light they discover Dave wasn't the killer in the family. I feel sorry for Finn because not only was he not raised by his parents but the people who raised him killed his sister. And you know they say the apple doesn't fall far from the tree? Keep that in mind while reading. But I still see Finn as a manipulated kid who was raised wrong, therefore a victim

Broken Hearted by Leia Stone & Julie Hall

 This book was so good! I felt sad for Isolde because her parents divorced when she was fifteen and it devastated her. Because she was the oldest of seven girls she felt she had to be brave for her sisters. Her mother is the Queen of the Winter Court. And because Princess Aribella never returned to Faerie Isolde had to go into the portal to kill her mate. However, Dawn, Aribella, Zander, Stryker, Zane, & Adrien found a way to project a ghostly image of themselves to explain to her that everything they were ever told about the Ethereum lords was a lie. That they were actually killing their mates & they had a plan to stop the curse. Isolde told no one and trained like she was told. Except she made a crucial mistake. Her words to her mother tipped Queen Lilliana off that she wasn't going to follow the queens plan. Let's face it the queen is a ruthless killing machine. She seems emotionless. Now when Isolde gets to Ethereum she runs into Adrien literally. And he's deliciously without a shirt on the beach. Of course, his clingy wench fiancee isn't too far behind him. Adrien gives her a warm welcome but the wench (I'm just going to keep calling her that because, if the shoe fits) is immediately mean. And unfortunately Adrien caves to all the wenches suggestions. Especially, after drinking a tea the wench keeps insisting he drink. Which raises red flags immediately to Isolde. Isolde learns she needs to wait for Zane to arrive and escort her to the Wise Ones. Everyone assumes they are mates but Isolde feels no special connection to him. When they test the theory it's pretty funny. This leaves them confused. Until they realize Adrien is marrying the wrong woman. Then they figure out that tea is a love potion. Isolde races off to stop their wedding. While Zane goes back to his castle. He found out he has to go to Faerie to help Lorelei. He needs to figure out how to open a portal to Farie. Isolde develops a brotherly bond with Zane who is nothing but kind and sweet. You can tell the poor guy is lonely. Isolde finds out the wedding was moved up & she barely makes it to the wedding on time. Luck is on her side as she sneaks into the castle & finds him. It's a hilarious scene as she shoves him into a closet to try to reason with her brainwashed mate & convince him the wench is a witch. She witnessed her make the tea & use a spell on it. I'll leave the hilarious details of how she solved the problem & kidnapped him from his own wedding. Lol! Now mind you this whole time Isolde is fighting her attraction to him. And she doesn't believe in mates  because of what happened to her parents. My thoughts are she didn't marry her mate (her mother) because she never went into Ethereum. The Summer Court champion always went. Isolde never wants to get married so she doesn't have to go through that pain. She was pretty traumatized by the whole experience. Trying to break the love spell placed on Adrien is a horrible experience. It was hard enough to read what he went through. That poor ma had fever, vomited so much he almost couldn't breathe, and had the worst stomach cramps. All while he called out for the wench & practically broke Isolde heart hearing it. When the spell broke they set off for the belly of the sea. There they were to combine their magic into the shadow heart. Pirates attacked on the way. Followed by sirens but Adrien rescued them. And they had a very steamy kiss in order to prove they were mates. Then Queen Lilliana threw Isolde sister through the portal. And poor Seraphina was kidnapped by the wench. Who blackmailed Adrien into taking the potion again. Except this time it didn't work as well because he had bonded with Isolde. While Isolde rushed Seraphina to a healer. The further away she got from Adrien the more painful it was for her. Being so far from her mate made her realize she loved him. She was terrified he would be forced to marry the wench or worse be hurt. This turned out longer than I anticipated so I will let you read the ending because you know I hate to ruin it for you. I will say Dawn & Zander are pregnant with more than one baby. It will be interesting to see if they have all girls, all boys, or a mixture. Normally in these lands they have all males or females. 

The Sister Under The Stairs by Steena Holmes

 I only had two suspects and neither was the kidnapper. Jessica was the popular flirty win who liked to push the limits. Paige was the smart obedient and reserved twin sister. When Jessica is kidnapped Paige is blamed by her parents for breaking the family rules. They are never to walk alone. Yet, there is a double standard because Paige can ride her bike home alone after work. After Jessica is taken Paige starts working for a organization that helps find missing persons used for sex trafficking. The book is very vague on the sex abuse thankfully. Paige has a son who she is fiercely protective of because of losing her sister. And all the missing people and families she deals with. She has a fantastic fiance who is a rock of support. When her father dies they move in with her mom. Her mom & her have a horribly strained relationship because she blames Paige. Her mom also wants to hold a funeral for Jessica & move on. But Paige will never give up on Jessica until she has proof she's dead. Jessica is sold several times to different people. One is a monster. However, she is taken from him by another man promising to be her savior only to end up beating her, starving her, causing numerous miscarriages, and giving her a son with Downs Syndrome. Through a series of mistakes the man loses Jessica. He thinks if he kidnaps Paige everything will be okay because he gave the other daughter back. The horrible thing is their is more than one wolf in their midst. And no one can believe who the kidnapper is. He lures Paige away & drugs her. Will the others be able to find out before he snaps.

The Girl Who Was Taken by Charlie Donlea

 This one had me guessing throughout the whole book! And while I got who was originally kidnapping them, I was clueless as to who wanted the girls. And the answer is sick and twisted! I had three or four suspects in mind but never the actual killer. The kidnapping of Nicole's cousin really messed her up. Enough for an online predator to attract her. Casey started this creepy club for people obsessed with kidnappings. To be initiated you have to agree to be kidnapped. Twisted right? Yet there were over twenty members! Megan was a girl everyone but Nicole loved because Nicole was jealous. Megan created a program to help middle school kids transition to high school. She also went to Africa to help Doctors Without Borders. She had a bright future & a guy who liked her. A point Nicole tried to exploit by trying to seduce the guy. Thank goodness he had a strong backbone. After joining the Capture Club Nicole got the idea to have Casey kidnap Megan as a prank. However, she had no idea what Casey really had in mind. I'm not going to ruin that surprise for you. No one saw Megan, Nicole, or Casey after that night. Until Megan escaped two weeks later. Unfortunately, she was drugged most of the time so she has no idea who took her. She goes to therapy & has her therapist write a book about her experience. But only because her family & everyone think if she does it's a sign she's recovering. She doesn't have the heart to tell her family that she will never be the same person again. I mean to me that would be obvious but her therapist even thinks it's possible. 

Fast forward to the present Livia, Nicole's sister has changed her medical degree to become a medical examiner. She keeps thinking she will see er sister's body come through at some point. Instead she finds a body of a homicide victim that she just can't stop asking questions about. She starts connecting the dots & finds several missing girls that have the same details but across different states. She starts investing this herself. And she ends up discovering a lot of similarities. Things really start to come together when she talks to a member of the Capture Club. He ends up being invaluable! He really should be a criminologist. Megan contacts Livia and they end up helping each other. Megan is trying to remember where she was first kept. When she figures it out they go investigate. When Megan sees the place she was kept she remembers who kept her there for two weeks before she escaped or was she let go? The end such a shocker!

The Girl Who Looked Beyond The Stars by L. B. Anne

 I loved this book and I'm 51 years old. Not the age it was written for. Sheena is a girl that sees things no one else can. Until she meets Mr. Tobias at the hospital. There she witnesses what looks like an angel heal her father. She scares it off trying to communicate with it. She also saw something when she was four years old. Most of the kids think she's crazy at school. She has two best friends until a mysterious girl shows up at school. This girl doesn't normally eat lunch. She doesn't talk of where she came from. And keeps transferring into classes that Sheena is in. Mr. Tobias recognizes that she is like him. He tries to help her but she is to scared to learn all she needs to know before something happens to Mr. Tobias. Sheena can see the future & prevent things from happening. Which she & her friends think is great until she finds out about the murks (evil things that can hurt her friends because she told them everything). The murks will use anyone to get Sheena to renounce her powers. As it is Sheena & Mr. Tobias are part of a very small group of people called the gleamers. Mr. Tobias uses his power to help the police find missing people or help solve a murder. When Sheena finds that out she just wants to be normal. But that's not how her gift works.

Thirst by Charlene Hartnady

 Coarse language, plot was lacking a lot. Most of the book was about them getting physical. If you like smut this is the book for you. I honestly can't believe I finished it. Bellicent which is an awful name is a girl born without magic. She lives with the vampires but may as well be a human. She has no vampire traits. She is half human. After meeting the king & hooking up with him she learns he is going insane unless he finds his mate. What kind of shifter book lets his father find his mate but then let's him cheat on her with everyone? There are very few because it destroys the whole concept of mate or the one. It's different than a marriage! Anyway I won't keep going off about that, though I'd like to. Bellificent never met her father because he was human & she can't reveal the supernaturals to humans. When she tracks him down she finds out she was lied to. When the cards are finally all on the table it turns out her entire family lied to her. She finds out her dad is a powerful supernatural who wants to use her. She can't bare the thought of not marrying Thane because she loves him & he will die without her. She hunts down her father. There is a small twist in the story. It is a very anticlimactic ending and that's the end. I'm definitely not reading anymore in this series!

Those Empty Eyes by Charlie Donlea

 I was fine until they jumped to the Camp Montague Appalachian Mountains. Because they started talking about the past and a girl with an older brother. And Alex had a younger brother. Both boys played baseball which was further confusing. And they didn't use names of these two kids at came because that would have given them away. At first I thought it was Tracy the journalist. Then the real female I figured out because they tried to kill Alex & Annette. But I thought her brother was Buck because he was doing illegal stuff for the company & it was his job to teach everything to Alex. He did a great job of it because otherwise Alex never would have connected the clues that everyone who was murdered used the same law firm that she worked for. Had she never asked Annette for help with her families murders the case would be unsolved. Well half unsolved. Did she not catch the fact that Jacqueline said there was a guy helping her? It would make her sick if she ever figured out who was helping her! And the guy's wife would probably be filing for a divorce! She had morals! I am glad that he felt guilty enough to help her. I can't imagine how awful it was for Alex to wake up and find her whole family dead. And the cops were stupid enough to jump to the conclusion that a 17 year old girl who was in shock killed her whole family! I just don't understand that part. They put her in a juvenile detention center for two years where she is bullied & forced to relive seeing her family dead thanks to the crime scene photos being leaked to the press. How can the kids get away with that? Then the cop that lost her job & her husband who is a defense attorney help her through her murder trial & help her sue the state for defamation of character. However, everyone still thinks she did it. She moves to England. And it works for a while. She cut her hair & put on glasses. But then two people recognize her & try to blackmail her. Thank God Garret had paid someone to watch her over there & keep her safe. They end up using the couple to get information for Alex to help her with more evidence in her families death. And the couple are threatened that their loved ones will pay the price if they reveal Alex's location to anyone. All in all a pretty good book.