My Soul to keep – Rachel Vincent

I guess I am not up with paranormal folklore. When I think of a banshee I was picturing a wailing ghost like figure not unlike the ghosts in Scooby Doo. However with a google search on banshees I discover that they are female spirits who are omens of death and their wailing usually foretell death.
When Kaylee realizes that she can sense when people are going to die and cannot contain the scream that wells up inside her she knows she thinks she is crazy. But instead thanks to Nash, the hottest guy a school, she discovers that she is a bean sidhe (banshee) and a whole new supernatural world opens up to her. Just when she is coming to terms with this new life her classmates begin dying. Kaylee and Nash discover that their powers compliment each other and with Nash's experience in the Netherworld are a force to be reckoned with when they investigate the deaths and try to prevent them.
I found the concept of bean sidhes intriguing as it added to my knowledge of other-world fictional creatures. It is primarily a teen romance story in a paranormal setting. For me it was escapist fiction which I read very quickly and I am interested in reading the sequels to see what happens in the lives of this young couple. 6/10

Pride and Prejudice and Zombies – Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith

"It is a truth universally acknowledged that a zombie in possession of brains must be in want of more brains." Anyone familiar with Jane Austen will realize that this is a twist on her famous opening line of Pride and Prejudice. Lately I have been reading quite a bit of Jane Austen fan fiction. Mostly these follow the lives of Austen's characters such as Elizabeth Bennett after her marriage to Darcy. They are often romantic but lack the wit of Austen's original novels.
After reading the first line of the Pride and Prejudice and zombies I was hesitant to continue reading but I am glad that I did. This book is a parody of Austen's original book, using her original text and adding scenes of zombie fighting action. It is set in a time that England (and the world) has been beset by a plague that afflicted many of the living, turning them to zombies. The Bennett sisters are known, not only for their beauty but for their strength and skill in battle against the zombies in Hertfordshire. This is largely due to their father who sent them to China to learn the ninja arts. Mrs Bennett is still scheming to marry her daughters off and the story follows Austen's plot line but mashes it with zombie fighting mayhem. Elizabeth Bennett and Darcy follow their classic pride and prejudice relationship with small twists but the fate of Charlotte Lucas is not so rosy. The book keeps Austen's original wittiness and perhaps at times ventures into the ridiculous as the characters deal with zombies hoards. But it somehow works. Perhaps it is because Austen's original work was very 'tongue in cheek' about the society she found herself in that the presence of zombies is not as unexpected as it could be. As an Austen fan who enjoys forays into the paranormal, I found this book an enjoyable read. 8/10

Blood Trinity - Sherrilyn Kenyon & Dianna Love

I have been out of the closet for a while now about being a “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” fan. It took a while to admit to people while I surreptitiously watched episodes. I hadn't read much in the vampire genre at all until “Twilight” by Stephenie Meyer. I hadn't heard about these books until just before the book “Breaking Dawn” was released. I picked up a copy and couldn't put it down until I had finished all 4 books of the series. This was my introduction to vampire fiction and since then I have read quite a few different paranormal novels. The latest one I have read was Blood Trinity. I found it hard to put this book down. At the time I was visiting my husband's family and was sneaking downstairs to read my book, berating myself for being anti-social (obviously not enough to make me put the book down and socialize).
Evalle is a Belador, a supernatural warrior who is an outcast from her people as she has an Alternant; she has an abnormality that allows her to shift her shape to a terrible monster. As often these shape shifting monsters are hard to control it is illegal and anyone caught shifting is imprisoned for life. She is barely tolerated by her people but is fiercely loyal to them. She serves them by being a demon hunter. While tracking a particularly nasty demon causing much carnage she finds herself under suspicion of causing the incidents she is investigating. Unlikely friends come to her aid but need to earn Evalle's trust and crack her tough exterior.
This book introduces new species to the plethora of paranormal creatures found with in the genre. The plot moves rapidly and the characters are intriguing hinting at interesting pasts (which I am sure will be explored in further sequels). This book is not a romance, something that Kenyon is usually known, but does have some sexual tension undertones. Initially the book is a little awkward as readers are at a loss to understand words such as Belador and Alternant which are explained later in the book. However it is an entertaining book that invites the reader into a new world and it is great escapist fiction. Evalle is the type of heroine I like, one who is tough but hides a tender heart. She even has a pet gargoyle! Kenyon is a prolific writer, so I am eagerly awaiting the next book in the series. 7/10