Waterfall by Lisa T. Bergren-KINDLE #4

Gabriella and her sister Evangelia are in Italy with their mother an Etruscan artifacts archeologist. Both of their parents were archeologists, but now that their father has passed away their mother is on her own in her search for Etruscan treasures. While at their mother's latest discovery the girls decide to do some exploring on their own.

Gabi and Lia find themselves in one of the Etruscan tombs that their mother has been excavating. Knowing that they should never touch anything, Gabi is tempted by hand prints on one of the walls. When she places her hand print in one it fits perfectly. Instead of cold stone there is a warmth emanating from it. She has Lia put her hand into the smaller print which fits perfectly. Movement starts happening and even though Gabi tries to hold onto Lia, the girls are separated.

Coming out of the tomb Gabi finds herself in the middle of a battle between 2 families. She soon realizes that she has been transported to the 14th century where there are lords and ladies and where loyalties can be bought for a price.

Marcello, in the heat of battle, is startled to see Gabi appear. He cannot figure out why a girl would be wearing such clothing and also be in the middle of a battle. He offers Gabi shelter in his castello. He feeds her and clothes her as a proper lady. Marcello is not the lord of the manor. His father is still alive(but has suffered a stroke), and his older brother is still alive although very sickly. Marcello has command of his knights though and they are loyal to him. Marcello is also betrothed to lady Rossi. A union between her family and Marcello's will prove very advantageous.

Obsessed with finding her sister, Gabi insists on being allowed to return to the tombs. With unrest all around and battles at every turn Gaby feels the restriction of being a woman in the 1300's. Also with her growing attraction for Marcello and his for her, Gabi knows she must find her sister quickly and return to the 21st century before it is too late.

WOW WOW WOW! I loved this story! I read it on my Kindle, but I think I may have to go buy the trilogy(Cascade is already out and Torrent is coming out soon), just for the covers of the books! They are gorgeous! There was suspense(biting my nails) and toe-curling kisses(sigh) that kept me turning the pages late into the night.

Dust & Decay by Jonathan Maberry

For 7 months Tom has been training Benny, Lilah, Nix, and Chong how to survive in the Rot & Ruin. Preparing them for their trek east in search of the jet they all saw fly over them months before. Nix cannot wait to leave all of her memories behind. Lilah cannot wait to feel freedom outside of the fences. Chong is only going for an overnight camping trip to further his training and of course to be with Lilah for a little while longer.

Once in the Rot & Ruin though things do not go the way they planned. Things seem to be happening in the Ruin that indicate that Gameland is once again up and running. While checking out a dead body they encounter Preacher Jack. A man whose title doesn't match his evil countenance.

When they all become separated things go from bad to worse. Not only struggling against the living dead, they are also having to contend with an evilness in humans that they never thought possible.

Once again Jonathan Mayberry has kept me on the edge of my seat! There were times in the story that I would get so stressed out that I had to set the book down for a while! This is an ARC copy that I received at TXLA in April. Jonathan Mayberry was kind enough to autograph it for me. It comes out in stores in August of 2011. I cannot wait for the next book in the series!

Rot & Ruin by Jonathan Maberry

Tom and Benny Imura survived First Night when the world as they knew it turned upside down. Where the dead became reanimated. They lost their parents that night.

Mountainside is their home now. A town surrounded by fences to keep the zombies away. Benny is now 14 and has to choose a job in order to keep receiving his full rations. Tom earns a living as a bounty hunter. He goes out into the Rot & Ruin to find people's family members and put them to death permanently.

Benny loves to hang out with Charlie Pink-Eye and his hoodlum friend The Motorcity Hammer. He loves to hear their stories of how they kill zoms out in the Rot & Ruin. In Benny's mind compared to Charlie and Hammer his brother Tom is a coward.

As time has finally run out for Benny to find a job he agrees to go with Tom out into the Ruin to see what the "family business" is really like. What he learns is that Tom doesn't just randomly kill zombies. He teaches Benny that each zombie used to be a REAL person, a member of a family and deserves that respect. Tom "quiets" the zombies he is sent out to find. He reads them a letter from their family member and he then quiets them so they are no longer roaming around as zombies. It gives closure to the family member. This confuses Benny as he has a strong hate for the zombies and after all of Charlie's and Hammer's stories he has never thought of them as being real people.

Benny finds that not all bounty hunters are as compassionate as his brother Tom. In fact he hears about a place that some of the bounty hunters take innocent children to and make them fight zombies. When Benny happens to get a collector card of the "Lost Girl" one day he finds that this is a "mythical" girl that is supposedly out in the Ruin who may know some of the dealings of the bounty hunters.

As a storm rages over the city and the fence fails Benny finds out to what lengths these bounty hunters will go to protect their interest in the gaming park. Benny and Tom go out into the Ruin to rescue Benny's friend Nix and to find the Lost Girl who may be able to show them where the games take place. What happens while out in the Ruin is horrible and will change their lives forever.

Oh my goodness! Why have I waited so long to read this book? It was soooo good! Really though I'm glad I waited because I have my copy of Rot & Ruin and the sequel Dust & Decay autographed by Jonathan Maberry. Dust & Decay comes out in August but I snagged an ARC copy at the TLA conference I went to. Yay me! Anyway, this was such a good book. I had to close it several times because I couldn't take the suspense, but then I would have to open it and read on to find out what happens! Even though this is a zombie book I was more interested in the human relationships that were going on. Excellent read!

Eclipse by Stephenie Meyer

Wow Jacob is persistent! Sometimes to the point of being annoying! Two of my most favorite parts in the book were when Bella punched Jake's jaw and the tent scene.

I was glad to see the end of Victoria and her newborn army. After 3 books it is about time that Bella and Edward catch a break from all of the drama and calamity that seems to follow their relationship.

This was one of my favorite in the series. I loved the humor in it and Edward's devotion and love for Bella.