Pompeii City On Fire by T.L. Higley

Ariella was sold into slavery as a young girl to an evil Roman politician. She escapes him by disguising herself as a young boy and joins a gladiator troupe. They arrive in Pompeii to entertain the citizens who's boredom and debauchery has turned into a demand for more and more bloodshed in the arena's.

Cato has escaped to Pompeii after his failed political career in Rome. He is determined to live a life of leisure as a winemaker. What he doesn't count on is the corrupt leadership of one man who is determined that Cato will not usurp his authority in Pompeii.

When Cato chances to meet the young "lad" Ari and discovers her secret he is determined that she will no longer fight in the arena. Sparks fly between the two. Ari's heart has been hardened by years of abuse and she is determined not to let this Roman into her heart. When Cato's sister is wrongly sent to jail he is determined to end the corruption that has been governing Pompeii. What he doesn't count on is the evilness of this ruler, the support of local Christians, and the simmering mountain of Vesuvius. Will Cato find faith in the Christian's Messiah or will all be lost to evil?

I have said before that I am not usually a fan of Historical fiction. But T.L. Higley writes in a way that captures and holds my attention. I loved her novel Guardian of the Flame and Pompeii City On Fire did not disappoint me. The characters and story have stayed with me even after the exciting ending of the book!

Twelfth Grade Kills by Heather Brewer

Vlad's dad has returned from hiding which leaves Vlad feeling confused, angry and happy all at once. He is needing answers from his dad but they are slow in coming.

Em has given Vlad until the beginning of the New Year to hand over his dad Tomas to the Vampire Council or Vlad will stand trial and be killed. Joss has been given until the New Year to slay Vlad. If Joss doesn't kill Vlad by that time the Slayer Society will kill everyone in Bathory, humans and vampires.

Vlad is convinced that he is the prophesied Provus. Will his powers be used for good or for evil?

People keep telling me that this is the last book in the series, but I am not convinced. Heather Brewer has left the ending wide open for another sequel. At least that is the way I see it! I am not impressed with the ending of this book. In fact I am really disappointed! That doesn't mean I didn't like the rest of the book. At least Vlad wasn't bawling every other page(see other reviews of the series).

Bliss by Lauren Myracle

 



Bliss is the offspring of hippie parents. They have gone off to Canada to dodge the draft. Bliss is living with her grandmother. She will be attending Crestview Academy. Having recently been living in a commune Bliss is unaware of how normal teens act.

Being assigned a student mentor that blows her off she becomes friends with another set of girls that all seem to be enthralled with the girl who was supposed to mentor her. Being kind-hearted Bliss is very disturbed when she sees a girl named Sandy being treated badly because she is "different" from the other girls. Deciding that she is not going to be like that she befriends Sandy.

From her first day Bliss feels an undercurrent of evil in the school. She hears a voice in her head. She learns about the "ghost" of a girl who killed herself. She feels that every time she goes by Hamilton Hall she hears the voice of this girl. She tries to block her out.

It doesn't take long for Bliss to realize that there is something  not right about Sandy. She senses an underlying evil in her and tries to avoid her. Sandy is very much interested in things of the occult. Everything comes unravelled at the Winter Dance, and a horrible event changes everything.

I have to admit I was really liking this book until the end. It was a fast read interspersed with quotes from The Andy Griffith Show and some Manson trial transcripts which were very interesting. I felt like the scary part of the book was building and building and then I was just disappointed. And maybe this is my fault, but I just wasn't "getting" the end of the book. Seems like things were just left hanging and unresolved. Did Evil win?