The Twin's Daughter by Lauren Baratz-Logsted

DOES NOT A CHILD RECOGNIZE HER OWN MOTHER?

Lucy Sexton is stunned when a disheveled woman appears at the door one day...a woman who bears an uncanny resemblance to her own beautiful mother. The two women are identical twins, seperated at birth and raised in dramatically different circumstances: one as a member of high society, the other in a workhouse. Lucy's mother quickly resolves to give her sister the kind of life she has never known, and the transofrmation in Aunt Helen is remarkable. As time goes by, Lucy herself transforms into a young woman, falling in love with a childhood friend she was once sure she hated. But in what should be a happy household, something is very, very wrong. And as Aunt Helen and Lucy's mother become ever more indistinguishable, Lucy begins to suspect that her aunt's now familiar face may mask a chilling agenda.

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== Once I read the jacket, I pretty much knew what it was going to be about. But I hated this book from the beginning. This book could of easily done without the turn of the century backdrop. That's why I hated it most. The only part I liked was Kit's letters to Lucy. I pushed through the book because it promised twists and turns and I had nothing else to read during my vacation at my in-laws.==
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The Lost Saint (a Dark Divine Novel) by Bree Despain

A FAMILY DESTROYED
A LOVE THREATENED
AN ENEMY RETURNS

Grace Divine made the ultimate sacrifice to cure Daniel Kalbi. She was infected with the werewolf curse while trying to save him, and lost her beloved brother in the process.

Desperate to find Jude, Grace befrinds Talbot, a newcomer to town. But as the two grow closer, Grace's relationship with Daniel is put in danger--in more ways than one.

Unaware of the dark path she is walking, Grace begins to give into the wolf inside of her--not realizing that an enemy has returned and a deadly trap is about to be sprung.


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==It had been quite a while since I read the first book. I had to re-read it again before I tried this one. So when I first opened the book of The Lost Saint, it was hard to swallow the first few pages. I didn't want to hear about training, I feared this book was going to be cheesy. I groaned for a few chapters.

Even as Daniel started to drift away, I thought this story was only too expected. With the entrance of Talbot, I dove right into the story. I knew how it was going to probably end, but I didn't care anymore. I loved this book as much as I loved the first when I first read it so many years (months?) ago.

I didn't like how it ended...just like that. It could of ended a little earlier. It would of made sense if it did. But to give it such a "cliff hanger" it felt so much like late night novelas or old school Dynasty or Dallas. But this book and author are charming enough to get away with it.

I am only sad that I do not know when the next one is coming....I will continue with this series =)
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Hereafter by Tara Hudson

CAN THERE BE TRULY LOVE AFTER DEATH?

Drifing 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 love. 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 into the ghost world...forever.

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==I was a little disappointed in this book. I felt it was dumbed down too much for it's potential readers. Even though, this genere is Young Adult, authors like Stephenie Meyer and Suzanne Collins don't have to dumb the story down to enthrawl their readers.

The author spent more time explaining every detail of a characters body movements than the scene around them. It was very difficult to image yourself in the story world. I felt the only background she truly described was the backyard of the Mayhew's house.

The characters could of been more, especially Eli. I thought the ending was predictable with Jillian. I felt the way everything was ended and swept under the rug was diappointing. It's like the author dug herself so deep, that she didn't know how to end it. It felt like the shower dream from Dallas.

I just felt sad that authors today don't fully develop their stories in the first books. They linger and drag out the stories so they can have sequels. She left so much dangling, you kind of have to read the next one to know about rest of the story. But I think, this series I will skip. ==
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