The Knife of Never Letting Go - Patrick Ness - 4 stars

I had been wanting to read this series for a long time and finally have the book. I was not too sure about it when I first started reading it because of the dog in the story being able to share his thoughts with his owner. Actually all animals could share their thoughts. But I have to say the idea really grew on me once I got into the story, and I find that Manchee really added a lot to the story.

This is a great post Apoc book and if you like that sort of thing you will like this one. I have heard people call it a dystopian but I don't see that In this book, at least it does not follow the norm of most dystopian and that is fine with me. I also liked the setting of the book and the thought of aliens being a part of it, it added a nice element to the story as well.

I did enjoy the characters a lot. There are so many characters, and not all of them are good people, which is awesome because I feel like this allows readers to touch on every emotion. Of course I have to say I loved Todd and Viola the most. I do feel like they were pretty grown up for their ages though, and I expect that is due to the situation they find themselves in.

Since I enjoyed this one so much and the cliff hanger that it ended with, I have the other 2 as well and I will be reading The Ask and the Answer very soon. Also in each of these re-mastered books, you will find a short story in the back pertaining to the series. So that is a nice touch I think as well.

A Breath of Snow and Ashes - Diana Gabaldon - 4 stars

Another great book in the Outlander saga. This is book 6 in the series. I did not enjoy this one as much as the others, but still an amazing book. I did find though that this book took a lot more focus than the rest of the series. There is a pretty good cliff hanger in this installment that I both expected at some point, but did not expect at the same time, at least not in the context in which it occurs.

The Characters are all very well done as in the previous books. A lot more characters you get to meet in this, both those you love and those you hate, and of course all the favorites that readers have fallen in love with. I also find that the characters have gotten a lot more complex as does the story itself.

I will be taking a break from the series so I can get other books read, but I do look forward to continuing with the series in the near future.

Silent Night - Robert B. Parker - 4 stars

Chose this as my 2nd Christmas read for this month. This is book 41.5 of the Spencer series, that of which I have not yet read. After reading this one though, I decided I like Spencer as a character, as much as I like Jesse Stone. This type of character is what I describe as a laid back tough guy. They have a softer side, but look out if you cross him kind of guy.

There is not a whole lot of action in this one but it is a Christmas mystery, so I did not really expect it to be very dramatic, but it did have a good storyline that I really enjoyed. I like Spencer a lot so this may push me towards reading the whole Spencer series, all 40+ books since I like his writing style.

However, Robert B. Parker passed away in 2010 which saddens me and I can tell slight differences in the writing styles of those who carry on with his work. This one was done by Helen Brann, who was Parker's Agent and close friend. She did a great job with this one.

Comfort & Joy - Kristin Hannah - 5 stars

I just love reading books for the holiday, some how it makes them more magical that way. This was my first Christmas read for December and I have to say that I really loved it. I really do enjoy Kristin Hannah's writing a lot. The first book I read by her was Winter Garden. Also a very enjoyable read. I especially liked the characters in this book. They are very well written, they are both relatable and believable. I feel like I knew them all personally and I loved that.

There is such a great plot twist in this one, and it was one that I did not expect at all. Be prepared though and keep some tissues on hand because this one is a tear jerker. This is one of those books that you don't want to end, and when it did, it felt like a part of my life was over. I just wanted to go back and read it all again.

"It's a dangerous business...going out of your door. You step into the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to." --J.R.R. Tolkien

Berserk - Tim Lebbon - 4 stars

Chose this for my third read of Spook season. This is also a first time read for me with this author. It was not really all that scary, but it was quite disturbing with our characters slow decent into insanity. I also found that the author has a very poetic style of writing which is quite odd with this type of book.

I enjoyed the characters of this story as well. It was hard though to decipher who was actually good and who was bad. The 2 main characters both has similar personalities and both went though some big changes because of the berserkers. I loved watching them yield to this insanity that the berserker was all about. You have one character trying to stop it all, and one who is more nurturing, the story goes on from there. It truly made me feel like I too was losing my mind.

I would read more by this author, mostly because of his style of writing. It was very poetic, and it easily flowed, making for a pretty quick read. Managed to finish this before spook season ended! Great choice of book I think!

Last Chance - Gregg Hurwitz - 4 stars

I received this book in exchange for a honest review. I was not aware of the fact that it was book 2. I now may have to look for book one because I enjoyed this one so much.

This a YA post apocalyptic thriller set in the small town of Cause Creek. The storyline was pretty amazing, it kind of reminded me of the Joe Ledger series with all of the bio warfare. It was written so well and it was so believable that it had me in hyper drive for most of the story, I just could not put the book down. There is a lot of great action and excitement that makes the adrenalin pump that is for sure.

Love the characters in this book. They are very well developed even though I have somehow missed the first book. Most of them are 18 years and younger and have a lot to deal with since most of their families are either dead or transformed into the very monsters that these kids have to fight against. All of them are very believable and I love the individual personalities. There are also those few who want to cause problems for the majority so it gives this a dystopian feel as well.

Overall a very good read especially if you like Post apocalyptic books. I will definitely be looking for the first book to this series and I will go out and buy a finished version of this one.

The Replacement - Brenna Yovanoff - 4 stars

At first I thought this was going to be a middle grade horror, but discovered it is more YA just because there is a small amount of language that is definitely not suitable for younger kiddos!

I picked this book up last month at our local UBS actually because of my niece Rylee. She likes to read middle grade and YA Horror so it made me start looking for it. I figured if she is a book lover and she likes middle grade or YA horror, then I was certain to as well. So I found this one and was pretty intrigued by both the cover and the synopsis. I had never read a book quite like this one before and it had me right from the start.

There are some pretty disturbing aspects to this story and for Horror, that is very important to me. I was a bit confused at the beginning as to who knew what was going on with Mackie, but it resolved itself the further I went into the story. It is not that the book was 'scary' but it was pretty creepy. I loved the setting I think the most in this book. Creepy small town with a good side and a bad side, but the creepiest part was that the good side was bad and the bad side was abominable. I LOVED THAT! I love the whole feeling of a town that had some ghosts in the closet. but everything was fine.

I also loved the characters in this book. So different but with such a sinister, ghoulish side that they could not see themselves. There are plenty of good characters, bad characters, and those detestable characters that we all love to hate. There was definitely a good mix of personalities in this one. I think IK would have to say that Mackie was my most favorite character, I love what he stood for and what he was willing to give up for the people he loved the most. Then Tate came in at a close second, she is a character who knows what's up and wont take crap from people.

Overall I enjoyed the story a lot and I wish there was a book 2 but pretty sure there is not going to be. This is definitely worth the read. So I will look for more of this author and definitely will look for more YA or MG horror!