The Damned by Renee Ahdieh

Fantastic sequel to The Beautiful!

As the tale unfolds, the background story of each member of Bastien’s unique family is revealed. The mystery surrounding the Court of Lions unravels. Celine now works as a seamstress in a shop with Pippa and two other women. Odette is the benefactor of the shop but Celine has no other memories of Odette or anything surrounding Sebastian. Celine does keep having intense dreams about a man she doesn’t recognize and they make her wonder who he is. Pippa mentions the restaurant Jacques’ and Celine’s memories click a little, so she goes to the restaurant expecting answers, only to be turned away and even more confused. As Sebastian searches for a way to be unmade, he learns who Celine truly is and becomes part of the deal to return her to her heritage. Another secret reveals itself and brings the Brotherhood (werewolves) and the Fallen (vampires) to a chaotic frenzy. Fantastic sequel to The Beautiful! 5 stars!

I’m with the Banned by Marlene Perez

Paranormal fun!

Tansy is trying to adjust to being the Vampire Queen. She lives with her granny, who she trusts more than anyone else in the world. Tansy discovers more about her estranged mother and the father she’s never known. Her boyfriend Vaughn is dealing with life changing issues on his own. The book starts out recapping the events from the first book and moves onto more intensity. I enjoyed the mix of characters and events which made an enjoyable read, 4 stars!

The Afterlife of the Party by Marlene Perez

The Afterlife of the Party by Marlene Perez
Tansy is a witch with a crush on Vaughn, one of her best friends. The three of them go to a party with their mutual friend Sky because she’s dying to see a new band perform. She’s supposedly dating one of the band members and wants Tansy and Vaughn to meet him. Once they arrive at the party, he doesn’t treat Sky any differently than any other girl and seems overly interested in Tansy, to the point where he bites her neck. Vaughn and Tansy freak out and Sky seems to be in some kind of trance that they can’t snap her out of. They manage to get Sky and leave the party and go to Tansy’s home to get help and advice from her grandmother. Sky is missing the next morning, so Tansy and Vaughn leave to find her. They’ve infiltrated a vampire cult and, with Tansy and her grandmother being witches, they have some power to use against the bloodsuckers. When Travis bit Tansy, he unknowingly created a striga Vie which gave her more powers against the vampires. Tansy also learns things about her mother that have been kept secret from her. I like Vaughn’s character and the values he has. The strong relationship between Vaughn and Tansy warms my heart. We all need true friends like that. 4 stars for this witch/vampire story combo!