Evernight series by Claudia Gray

Evernight

Synopsis:  Bianca wants to escape. 

She's been uprooted from her small hometown and enrolled at Evernight Academy, an eerie Gothic boarding school where the students are somehow too perfect: smart, sleek, and almost predatory. Bianca knows she doesn't fit in. 

Then she meets Lucas. He's not the "Evernight type" either, and he likes it that way. Lucas ignores the rules, stands up to the snobs, and warns Bianca to be careful—even when it comes to caring about him. 

"I couldn't stand it if they took it out on you," he tells Bianca, "and eventually they would." 

But the connection between Bianca and Lucas can't be denied. Bianca will risk anything to be with Lucas, but dark secrets are fated to tear them apart . . . and to make Bianca question everything she's ever believed.

My 2 cents:  I LOVED this book!  I read it in a day, it was a great read!  There were a couple of little plot twists that I did not see coming at all!  If you like to read a book with a great plot, this is the book for you!

I also loved the characters.  Bianca, Lucas, Mrs. Bethany, Raquel, Balthazar...so many great characters!  

I give it 5 stars!

Stargazer

Synopsis:  Evernight Academy: an exclusive boarding school for the most beautiful, dangerous students of all—vampires. Bianca, born to two vampires, has always been told her destiny is to become one of them. 

But Bianca fell in love with Lucas—a vampire hunter sworn to destroy her kind. They were torn apart when his true identity was revealed, forcing him to flee the school. 

Although they may be separated, Bianca and Lucas will not give each other up. She will risk anything for the chance to see him again, even if it means coming face-to-face with the vampire hunters of Black Cross—or deceiving the powerful vampires of Evernight. Bianca's secrets will force her to live a life of lies. 

Yet Bianca isn't the only one keeping secrets. When Evernight is attacked by an evil force that seems to target her, she discovers the truth she thought she knew is only the beginning....

My 2 cents:  This book was even better than the first!  This is the book where we finally get to find out what is really going on with Mrs. Bethany and Bianca's parents.  I love how the author always manages to surprise us with every book.   Again, lots of action, lots of romance, lots of twists...and this book is where I fell in love with Balthazar.  God, I wish he was mine!  5 stars!

Hourglass

Synopsis:  Bianca will risk everything to be with Lucas. 

After escaping from Evernight, the vampire boarding school where they met, Bianca and Lucas seek refuge with Black Cross, an elite group of vampire hunters. Bianca must hide her supernatural heritage or risk certain death at its hands. But when Black Cross captures her friend—the vampire Balthazar—all her secrets threaten to come out. 

Soon, Bianca and Lucas are on the run, pursued not only by Black Cross, but by the powerful vampires of Evernight. Yet no matter how far they run, Bianca can’t escape her destiny. Bianca and Lucas have always believed their love could survive anything—but can it survive what’s to come?

My 2 cents:  Okay.  Let me start by saying I did like this book, but in a lot of ways, I was disappointed.  I think a lot of it had to do with the fact that it did not take place at Evernight.  The first part of the book, where Bianca and Lucas are with the Black Cross is good.  It introduced us more to the Black Cross, and Lucas's "family," which was important I think to understand when we get to the last book.  But when they are on the run...it gets pretty discouraging.  Having read the ending of the series, I understand why now things happened the way they did.  But reading the last third of the book was just heartbreaking to me.  The story takes some even major turns in this book, and it is not a happy ending.  But it was still worth reading, and again, the characters are awesome.  4 stars on this one

Afterlife

Synopsis:  The fourth novel in "New York Times"-bestselling author Gray's Evernight series, "Afterlife" presents the powerful conclusion to the love story between a vampire-born girl and the boy trained to kill her kind.

Against Lucas's wishes, Bianca has let him rise as a vampire.  It turns out he has a very strong bloodlust, though, and is not himself.  After his mother rejects him and Black Cross attacks him, Balthazar and Bianca take him back to Evernight to learn the ways of the vampires.

Bianca, meanwhile, is in hiding from Mrs. Bethany and her parents.  She figures out the Mrs. Bethany is busy trying to trap the wraiths of the school.  Against her better judgement, Bianca investigates further.

My 2 cents:  THIS BOOK WAS AWESOME.  Period.  End of review.  (just kidding!)

I was so happy most of the story was back at Evernight again.  Just like Hogwarts in Harry Potter, I really feel the school is almost like a character in the book.  It just isn't the same without it!  This book was really frustrating to watch Bianca delude herself so many times on so many levels.  But, I suppose it was her learning experience.  I started off the story kind of mad that Bianca is now a wraith.  It felt in some ways, like she was not part of the living.  Which she wasn't, but still.  By the end of the story, though, I was very happy with all her choices.  This really is an amazing series, one of the best vampire series I've read.  If you haven't read it, I hope you pick it up!  I give this book 5 stars!