Review: Sleepless by Cyn Balog

Title: Sleepless

Author: Cyn Balog

Genre: YA, paranormal

Publication date: July 2010

Published by: Delacorte Books for Young Readers

Source: Borrowed from library

Add it to your Goodreads shelf

Buy it: Amazon| Book Depository

Synopsis:

Eron DeMarchelle isn't supposed to feel this connection. He is a Sandman, a supernatural being whose purpose is to seduce his human charges to sleep. Though he can communicate with his charges in their dreams, he isn't encouraged to do so. After all, becoming too involved in one human's life could prevent him from helping others get their needed rest.

But he can't deny that he feels something for Julia, a lonely girl with fiery red hair and sad dreams. Just weeks ago, her boyfriend died in a car accident, and Eron can tell that she feels more alone than ever. Eron was human once too, many years ago, and he remembers how it felt to lose the one he loved. In the past, Eron has broken rules to protect Julia, but now, when she seems to need him more than ever, he can't reach her. Eron's time as a Sandman is coming to a close, and his replacement doesn't seem to care about his charges. Worse, Julia is facing dangers she doesn't recognize, and Eron, as he transitions back to being human, may be the only one who can save her. . . .

Even once they've become human again, Sandmen are forbidden to communicate with their charges. But Eron knows he won't be able to forget Julia. Will he risk everything for a chance to be with the girl he loves?

My rating: ★★★★☆
Eron is a Sandman. Yep, that's right. You know, those supernatural beings who put people to sleep? Pretty cool if you ask me. He was no older than 18 when he died in an accident at the mill where he worked. That was 100 years ago. And now after completing his 100 years as a Sandman, he will have the chance to be human again and finish his "unfinished business." But he has no idea what this "business" is, and his full human transformation is only a few days away. That is, until he starts training his replacement, Griffin, who also happens to be the deceased boyfriend of one of Eron's charges (Julia).

Review: Hush Money (Talent Chronicles #1) by Susan Bischoff

Title: Hush Money

Series: Talent Chronicles #1

Prequel story: Impulse Control

Author: Susan Bischoff

Genre: YA, paranormal

Publication date: August 2012

Published by: Susan Bischoff

Source: Borrowed form library

Add it to your Goodreads shelf

Buy it: Amazon| Book Depository

Synopsis:

They call their abilities Talents, and that’s what they call themselves as well. Talents are people born with supernatural powers, feared by the population at large. Possession of an “unregistered ability” has become illegal, and those who are discovered are forcibly removed to government-run research facilities. For Talents, keeping their secret is the most important thing in their lives. For some, that need for secrecy begins to define who they are.

That’s how it is for Joss, a high school girl who does everything in her power to go unnoticed. She's incredibly bright, but strives to maintain grades that are good yet not too good. She doesn't participate in school activities, keeps quiet in class, eats by herself. Despite her longtime crush on Dylan, she wouldn't even think about trying to talk to him. Joss doesn't make friends of any kind, because friends can draw attention, friends can make you slip up, friends can make things complicated.

When new girl, Kat, steps in to rescue Joss from an uncomfortable situation with Marco, the class jerk, she doesn’t realize what she’s getting into, and it blows up in her face. Joss finds herself torn between a desire to do the right thing, to find some way to help a girl who was kind to her; and her need to mind her own business and fade into. For the first time, Joss begins to question the way she operates, and starts to long for connections with other people--especially a connection with Dylan, who's finally starting to talk to her.

But what's up with Dylan's sudden interest? As Marco’s best friend, can he be trusted at all?

It's bad enough when a girl's got to worry about friends, boys, over-protective dads, and shoes that pinch, but when you throw in blackmail, government agents with guns, and really annoying little sisters...that's just about too much to handle, even for a girl with an ass-kicking superpower.

My rating: ★★★★☆
Jocelyn (Joss) is a Talent. That means she has supernatural abilities. But having these powers has become illegal. That's why all of those who have been discovered are taken away by force to some government-run research facility. Yeah, its as fun as it sounds. The Talents there are treated like lab rats, and not too nicely. That is why it is important for Joss and her family to keep her (and her sisters) powers a secret.

Review: Hereafter by Tara Hudson

Title: Hereafter

Series: Hereafter #1

Author: Tara Hudson

Genre: YA, paranormal, mystery

Publication date: June 2011

Published by: HarperTeen

Source: The publishers via Netgalley

Add it to your Goodreads shelf

Buy it: Amazon| Book Depository

Synopsis:

Can there truly be love after death?

Drifting in the dark waters of a mysterious river, the only thing Amelia knows for sure is that she's dead. With no recollection of her past life—or her actual death—she's trapped alone in a nightmarish existence. All of this changes when she tries to rescue a boy, Joshua, from drowning in her river. As a ghost, she can do nothing but will him to live. Yet in an unforgettable moment of connection, she helps him survive.

Amelia and Joshua grow ever closer as they begin to uncover the strange circumstances of her death and the secrets of the dark river that held her captive for so long. But even while they struggle to keep their bond hidden from the living world, a frightening spirit named Eli is doing everything in his power to destroy their newfound happiness and drag Amelia back into the ghost world . . . forever.

Thrilling and evocative, with moments of pure pleasure, Hereafter is a sensation you won't want to miss.

My rating: ★★★★★
I absolutely loved the book!

Amelia is 18…and dead. She drowned in the river. How, she has doesn’t remember. Now as a ghost she wanders aimlessly, lost. That is, until she meets Joshua. Actually, ‘meets’ isn’t the right word.