The Empath by Erica Crouch

Odessa is a seventeen year-old girl who has been forced into the life of being a charlatan by her mother, who is devoid of any real power. Odessa having a strong moral compass tries to convince her mother that shamming people is a bad idea only gets punished if she does to much to go against her. However after her mother is rendered disabled in a seance gone so very wrong, she is the one to run the show, reading tarot and palms to keep them fed. But when someone wants her to hold another seance, to open the door one more time, will she be strong enough to face it?

I really liked this book. It might help that I have a minor fascination with the Tarot, and the occult to be honest. And this book handles these ancient practices perfectly. From sage to ward away evil spirits, to the descriptions of her tarot and palm readings. Erica really nailed it.

The characters are also extremely well developed. From the antagonist Madame Elena, and the sweet strength that is Odessa, to the sweet charming nature of Benjamin. She weaves them throughout the story to keep you attached, or to further the story.

All in all this book was wonderfully done and I look forward to reading more of the series.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange for my review which I freely and honestly give.

Midnight Watch by M.J. Lowell

 A very skilled thief has his eye on extreme prize. The Empress of Midnight, the Faberge egg designed in honor of Halley's Comet, that is in the possession of Dimitri Petrovich, a man with questionable. All that's standing in the way of the prize is investigator Cassiopeia Reynolds and Agent Parker from Interpol, and a state of the art security system. Will the exploits of Dimitri and his porn-star mistress distract them? Or will they get too wrapped up in each other?

This is the brand new novella by M.J. Lowell, the author of Reckless Games and it defiantly doesn't disappoint. There is suspense, and intrigue, and lots of steamy moments that keep you hooked. The characters are fantastic, the descriptions are tres manifique.

 This book contains scenes that are of an adult nature so if you aren't into that I'd avoid this book. If not it's pretty much amazing.

This novella gives you a tantalizing hook into a brand new series, one that I can't wait to get a hold of.

Pretty Little Liars by Sarah Shepard

A group of five friends bound by a terrible secret, but when the keeper of the groups secrets, Allison, disappears the group falls apart. Three years later four of them reunite. Now some one is telling all of their secrets. Their lives could be ruined if anyone finds out the secret that bound them together originally. The only question is who could this person, this -A person.

This book was free on Amazon the other day and since I really like the series on ABC Family. This book didn't disappoint it about covers the first episode and there are some differences but none too insane. A couple of the main characters have siblings that don't exist in the book series, along with a few other minor differences.

The book switches between the perspectives of the four main characters; Spencer, the perfect one, Hanna, the preppy, Aria, the rebel and Emily, the sporty one. Each of them of have secrets to hide, along with ones that they share.

This is a good book series, for young adults.

Whisper by Stacey R. Campbell

A boarding school haunted by the ghost of the founders daughter, Elsie Stewart. Who died with a terrible secret, now one hundred years later, it's time for the secret to be revealed. Halle finds her journal while helping clean out the attic of the administration building. This reveals that there is a treasure hidden somewhere on campus. She enlists the help of her big sisters friend Leigh, Leigh's roommate and her boyfriend, and Elsie's distant retaliative Callum. Callum and Leigh have a past, but that doesn't stop sparks flying every time they're near each other. Will they be able to find the treasure before the end of school? And will Leigh and Callum manage not to kill each other? All this and more await you within the pages of this book.

This book has everything, mystery, intrigue, romance, and suspense. The point of view switches between Halle, Leigh, and Callum. The main perspective however is Leigh's as you read more from her than from anywhere else.

I really loved the setting of Lakeview Academy. It's described as a vast campus, with several dorms, several sports fields, it seems amazing. I always wished I could go to a boarding school, but since that never happened I just live vicariously through books like this.

Whisper is the second book in the Lakeview series, but this book is perfectly capable of standing on its own. There is a few references to the previous book, but nothing that will make you completely lost and confused if you don't read the first book.

If you have a chance to read this book I highly recommend it, for myself I'm going to have to obtain the first book.

I received this book courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for my free and honest review.

Bond & Benevolence: Good Samaritan by J.C. Johnston

All Ophelia ever wanted was to play an instrument, then one magical day she revives a violin in exchange for a promise she will take good care of it and learn to play.  Her first lessons come from Samantha, the same girl who gave her the violin. Seeing as Sam's father is a bit... over protective, he escorts her to the lessons. While there he starts to open up to Gail (Ophelia's mother) something he hasn't done since Sam's mother died. Time goes on and the parents fall in love, and everything seems perfect, but looks aren't what they seem. When some problems from Sam's fathers past come into the present thing will never be the same.

I really enjoyed this book. It was well written and I truly enjoyed the character of Sam. How she turns from a good spirited young girl, to a woman changed by tragedy, betrayal, and the loss of all of her mother figures.

This book is told from Ophelia's perspective, but she isn't the main focus, it's Sam. The changes she goes through the decisions she makes, focused on her. You do see hints of Ophelia but not as much as you'd expect from a story written in first person. It threw me a little bit at first but I grew to like it.

Another thing that I enjoyed was the starkness of the differences between Ophelia and Sam's background. Sam grew up in one of the richest communities, where as Ophelia grew up in the Bronx. The writer seemed perfectly at ease with both settings.

I am so happy I got a chance to read this book. It's one of those that show the best and the worst of humanity side by side. Where the evil may seem insurmountable but the good slowly chips away at it little by little. It helped restore my faith in humanity a little bit.

I received this book courtesy of NetGalley in exchange for my review which I freely and honestly give.

Mindspeak by Heather Sunseri

Lexi Mathews attends a high school for the uber wealthy. Where privacy and protection are par for the course. Everyone at this school has secrets, Lexi's just happen to be a tiny bit more dangerous, seeing as her father is a researcher in the realm of genetics. Some of his work has questionable ethics, so at school no one knows that Lexi is related to him. That is until she meets new student Jack DeWeese. His father had worked with hers on some projects with sketchy moral grounds. That's not all, Jack and Lexi both have abilities that they have no idea where they come from. When Lexi starts getting threatening emails she has to decide to either face her problems, or run away and hide.

This was a pretty decent book. It was a bit of a let down due to the fact that it had all this lead up about "The Program" and you never really get any information about them. And that sucks because it would make the book so much better.

Don't get me wrong the book had a lot of very strong points. Such as Lexi and Jack's abilities. Those abilities grow and kind of change throughout the story. Which I really enjoyed.

Lexi and Jack are also very interesting characters and well developed. The side characters are also very well developed. I enjoyed that the villain of the story wasn't an obvious choice. I don't know about you but I adore when that is the case. If I can guess it within the first few chapters then the entire story is a bit of a let down.

I'm probably not going to read book two, because the series didn't capture my attention enough. It's a decent read but not one that I'd read over and over again.

September Wrap up for the 1,000,000 Challenge

At the end of my first month doing the 1,00,000 challenge I have read 25 books, 2 one act plays and 6,894 pages.

Some of my favorites from this month were:
The Testing: the entire series was amazing. I am so glad I found it, best YA dystopian series I've read this year.
The Thirteenth Tower: An amazing fantasy novel that I received from NetGalley. It was such a good read and I highly recommend it to fantasy lovers.
The Dead Drop: Best thriller I've read this year. It's full of action and suspense, and it keeps you guessing until the very end. I received this book courtesy of NetGalley.
Reflections of Queen Snow White: A novel about life of Snow White after she gets her happily ever after. I received this book courtesy of the author.

I can't wait to see what new books I find and read in October.

To see a list of all the books that I've read and how many pages the are look here. Thanks for all of the support :)