22) Blood Ties by Mari Mancusi

The Blurb :

The final battle is brewing between Vampires and Slayers. But for Sunny McDonald, the true war is being fought over her heart.

Though now officially back in the arms of her vampire boyfriend Magnus, Sunny finds she still can't forget the gentle mortal Jayden who once saved her life. And when the darkness threatens to steal his humanity, Sunny finds herself with a choice. Stay true to Magnus and the Blood Coven or defy them in a desperate attempt to save Jayden’s soul.

Meanwhile, the Blood Coven is gearing up for its toughest fight yet--going head to head with a splinter group of Slayer Inc who's regrouping in Tokyo, Japan, still determined to take over the world. In dark blood bars and hidden temples, it'll be Vampires vs. Slayers in a showdown that could cost Sunny not only her heart...but also her very life.

My Review :

The Blood Coven Vampire series is one I have been following for a long time. The first few books in the series were fun and enjoyable with some great characters, twins Sunny and Rayne. However it seems that this series has, for me, come to an end. With this installment making the decision for me. I find myself uninterested in how things continue and actually found Blood Ties quite boring and childish.

Yes this series is aimed at Young Adults but for anyone who has been following the series it is plain to see that the characters are not growing up. Despite everything they have gone through and even though they have been around the block a few times, they still come across as naive children. This story in particular seemed to be an echo of many of the previous books. With nothing new really happening. It feels like the sisters are just chasing their tails.

Mari Mancusi is a superb writer and if she writes anything else I will be sure to check it out. However the Blood Coven series has come to an end for me. I won't be getting any more books in the series and will spend my time reading something more entertaining and exciting than Sunny & Rayne's weird messed up soap opera crazy weird life.

23) Night School by Mari Mancusi

The Blurb -

After their parents' shocking revelation about their fae heritage and an attack on their lives, the McDonald twins are forced to hide out deep in the Swiss Alps at Riverdale Academy, a secret vampire slayer training facility. And with no way to contact their vampire boyfriends for rescue, they're going to have to play nice with the locals.

But when Sunny starts acting strange, Rayne realizes that there's more to fear at Riverdale than getting staked by the student body-leading to a showdown in Fairyland that may cost the twins their lives.

My Review -

Book #5 in the Blood Coven series and Rayne is telling the story while twin sister Sunny goes along for the ride. Now this series is not your normal YA paranormal series. For starters this is not serious and is it definitely not trying to act all grown up. Things are not all lovey dovey and happy ever after. Oh and nothing is realistic or really makes perfect sense. This is a series that has grown but has now gone a little silly. Now I have to wonder if it will keep going that way or wise up again.

There are constant references to Disney figures, quite a few nods to Buffy and an amazing amount of talk about other paranormal TV and Film in this book which is actually quite cool in a way. However by the end of the book I was beginning to wonder if I had dropped into a Shrek film by mistake. Things were getting a little too fairyland for my liking.

I like the twins and I was content with the actual concept of the whole series until now. The fairy aspect may have just ruined things. Also there were quite a few loose ends and weird story twists this time around. Sometimes it felt as if the story hadn't been well thought out but thrown together in a rush. Oh and I have to ask...where was the step-sister? Didn't they have a step-sister?

While I like this series I am seriously wondering about pre-ordering the next book when it comes out. I would hate to demote this series but I think I am going to just add it to the wishlist and see if it comes my way. If you have been following the series then this is worth reading. Just don't be surprised if you are left a little disappointed and bewildered. After all, we aren't in Kansas anymore...

January Monthly Giveaway! Vote & Win!

The January Monthly Giveaway is now open! There are five books to choose from and vote for. So make sure you go to the poll <--- and vote for the one you want to win or the one you think deserves to win! Here is a little info about each book on offer. Just click on the book title and author to see my review -


Deadtown by Nancy Holzner


Bad Blood by Mari Mancusi


Shades of Midnight by Lara Adrian


Born of Night by Sherrilyn Kenyon


Born of Fire by Sherrilyn Kenyon


How does the monthly giveaway work?

Well in the sidebar <--- there is a poll. You vote for the book you would most like to win. I pick a name from the subscibers list and that person wins the book with the most votes. So you may not even win the book you voted for! To subscribe to Amberkatze's Book Blog all you have to do is use the box in the sidebar <--- or at the bottom of this post. Everyone who is already subscribed will be entered in the contest as well as new subscribers. If you have not confirmed your email address then you will not be added to the draw!!! The poll will stay open for votes until Saturday 6th of February 4pm (all times are in Central European Time). The winner will be announced later than day.

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For more prizes -

I will draw more than one winner if I have enough money in the Amberkatze's Book Blog Amazon account. You can help fill this account by using one of the following links below to make your purchases on Amazon.com or Amazon.de

11) Bad Blood by Mari Mancusi

When Sunny McDonald finds out that her vampire boyfriend Magnus is about to join with a mate, she is less than impressed. As leader of the Blood Coven he needs someone to help him co-rule but Sunny is a human and doesn't qualify to take the position. So when Sunny meets the chosen candidate Jane Johnson, of course she wants to find some kind of faults. However she finds more than a few faults and she begins to wonder if the supermodel graduate of Oxford university really is who she says she is.

Everyone thinks Sunny is more than a little suspicious of Jane after she fails to answers some easy questions. However Magnus thinks she is jealous and ignores her and jets off to Las Vegas for a Vampire convention. So Sunny and her twin Rayne follow the Blood Coven to the city of sin in the hope they will find out more about Jane and stop Magnus from making a very big mistake. Will Sunny find enough evidence in time? or will Jane get her claws into the Blood Coven and take over?

I have really enjoyed this series and was extremely happy to find there was a new book coming out. I really enjoyed the the change of scenery and the new characters in Bad Blood and the McDonald twins managed to make me giggle at least once in every chapter. This series is a little different to the other YA paranormals so it stands out and isn't hard to follow.

However I have to say that Bad Blood wasn't the best in the series so far. It was a fascinating read and I was finished pretty fast but all the best bits happened near the end and the book was over too soon. The cliffhanger ending has me dying to read the next in the series but I feel a little disappointed that I have to wait for another book to find out more.

All in all this is a great series and one I can recommend to any lovers of the YA Paranormal genre. You really have to start at the beginning of the series to completely enjoy it and all the books have just been re-released with some lovely new covers. So try them out and enjoy. Sunny and Rayne are the only paranormal twins worth reading about!