Forests of the Fae: Devlin's Door - Kristine Kibbee

                Forests of the Fae: Devlin’s Door is the first book of a very promising series written by Kristine Kibbee. Suitable for young adults and up, this book has the perfect amount of action and adventure to keep the interest of this age group. From the first page the author grabs the reader’s attention, teasing about the mysterious abandoned town named Nowhere Town where, decades ago, all of the inhabitants vanished seemingly overnight.  Anne, spending the summer with her redneck aunt and uncle and nasty cousin Lexie, stumbles upon the secrets of Nowhere Town, including ghostly inhabitant Grace, evil fairies, and Grace’s diary which brings the town back to life. This book is very well written and has wonderfully detailed characters and creative settings, both in this world and the fae world. Devlin’s Door is definitely a fun and entertaining read. All of the characters are realistically written, in particular the teenagers who are very believable in their actions and dialogue. The description of the way of life of the fae and their world is imaginative and well thought out, sometimes drawing from well-known fae lore and sometimes with some new concepts of this fantasy world. I love reading a book where one can tell the author has spent a lot of time developing a brand new world and that is quite evident in this book. I hope to enjoy the second book in this series soon. I read this book on my ereader and it formatted well. The cover is very well done, both interesting and eye-catching.

Her Charm Was Contagious - DH Markov

I really enjoyed this book but I can honestly say that I was questioning whether I would or not. The synopsis was a bit vague about what the story was about but as soon as I started reading I knew I would enjoy it. I love a book that grabs me from the beginning and the style of writing is always important in doing this for me. This author writes in a way that caught my interest from the beginning. Without “talking down” to the reader, he/she immediately opens up the world of an ER from all perspectives, including the doctors’ and nurses’ thoughts about various situations that can occur. The medical terminology used throughout the book is explained in layman’s terms without interrupting the flow of the book. The pace is steady the whole way through with twists that lead to the excellent heart-stopping ending (not what I was expecting but in a most deliciously exciting way). There are no cracks in the story, even when there is a time jump. It was never confusing as to what has happened or who is who. The author made the story believable, even if I didn’t like the actions or thoughts of the medical staff, and it seems obvious that the author has knowledge of how a hospital and medical practice is run. Sometimes with so many characters it is hard to remember who is who but in the case of this book they are each written with such individuality that there is no problem remembering who they are and investing in each one, whether it’s to wish them well or wish them thrown through a window. I love the fact that each character has both bad and good qualities, which is important for me because I need to care about them, for good or bad. Keith is a perfect main character. He has some bad qualities but for the most part is a good guy, just flawed like all humans. That made him human for me and hoping he survived it all. The part of the book with the murder/suicide was brilliantly written. Like many readers, I run a movie in my mind of what I am reading and this scene was heart-wrenching. The wife’s pain of her husband’s betrayal was written with so much realism that the ensuing violence didn’t seem gratuitous, rather it seemed needed so as to express her twisted hurt. The egos of the doctors is written in a believable way, heinous as they may be. The editing, punctuation and grammar were all perfect.
I truly enjoyed reading this book and, sadly, almost didn’t choose to read it because looking at the cover and title I assumed it was just a romance. After reading the book I understand the title but the cover is a bit misleading and may compel non-romance readers to ignore an entertaining read. I was genuinely surprised at how much I enjoyed this book and glad I read it.