Melinda Metz

Shay has been sick her whole life. In fact she is pretty much known as “The Sick Girl” at school…not Shay, but “The Sick Girl”. She has some undiagnosed blood disorder. Shay’s Mom even married the doctor who has made it his life’s ambition to cure Shay. Her step-dad has added something to her blood transfusions that gives her visions, and almost makes her feel “normal”. But it wears off. Little does Shay know that that the blood she is getting is from a non-human source.

I show more read “Crave” because I’d gotten a galley of the second book in the series. I thought the authors did a great job of describing what Shay had gone through as “The Sick Girl”…and then her rebellious streak when she started to feel better. I was kind of surprised that Shay’s Mom couldn’t see and relate the rebelliousness as Shay feeling better. But then if she had, the story wouldn’t have been able to progress. I was amazed at the callous nature of the Doctor/Step-Dad. Boy, talk about a wolf in sheep’s clothing!

The story was easy and quick to read, even if predictable at times. I thought the authors did a great job of creating Shay’s illness and all it entailed. And thought it brilliant to have Gabriel’s story roll out through the visions. Very enjoyable read! show less

First off, really cool cover! I love the close up on his face, the sinister red sky, and that deep purple eye. Now I don't remember Gabriel having purple eyes, but I love it on the cover image. This was a fresh and very original spin on the YA vampire genre that has saturated the market. It was very fast-paced, and in the beginning had a touch of that "what it means to be alive" storyline to it that I tend to enjoy in any book.

Seventeen-year-old Shay has pretty much accepted that fact that show more her life is near an end. Having lived her whole life with a rare, seemingly untreatable blood disorder, she has given in to being "the Sick Girl". She is used to being treated like fragile glass by her friends and teachers and extremely protected by her mother. Then her stepfather/doctor starts giving her a new treatment that not only gives her more energy and strength than she has ever had, but also gives her strange visions during the transfusions where she seems to be experiencing the life of vampire. She chalks the visions up to a side-effect, but begins to crave the transfusions more and more often, as the strength each one gives her is short-lived. While she has the strength, though, she finally get to live like a normal teenager, and it's quite interesting to see the things she chooses to do with that opportunity. Though some of the decisions are bad, the choices she makes give her character flaws and realism.

The real action of the book begins when she finds out exactly where this mysteriously addictive blood is coming from! She finds the vampire, Gabriel, that she has been envisioning during her transfusions chained up in her stepfather's office! She helps him escape and the adventure begins and doesn't stop until the end of the book.

I loved how the vampires were given very human traits, they were almost imagined as regular humans with different eating habits. They are scientist, and consider their group to be family. They are shown to have some compassion, never actually killing the humans they feed off of, and only take very young orphans who will remember no other life to raise into "the family" and even then they to choose whether to become vampires or not when they are old enough. They made them out to be very human and not monsters, which worked perfectly for the plotline, or else why would you care that one of them were chained up and being forced to give his blood?

The plot twists and turns throughout and the romance is heart-pounding!
The ending is the only semi-negative I saw in this book. Although I know this story has more to come and would not have a resolution in this book, the ending was still a very abrupt and somewhat painful cliffhanger. I quite literally thought I might have been missing a few pages, I was so sure that it couldn't have ended so mid-action. But regardless, it will be a long wait for the next installment, and I will definitely be excited to read it! show less

If you love cats you will love this book. If you love the modern Cinderella stories where the reader sees what the characters don't and you can't turn the pages fast enough to find out if they ever get out of their own way and allow nature to take its course-- Then you will love this story. If you're a reader that simply enjoys a fast read, populated with appealing, believable characters Talk To The Paw will appeal to you.

MacGyver is Jamie Snyder's cat. Well, actually he's "the man in her show more life." She trusts him, confides in him and since swearing off real men as companions, MacGyver is her #1. MacGyver isn't convinced his human is really finished with men...he can smell her loneliness. Whether Jamie is aware of it or not, MacGyver knows his human needs companionship he cannot provide. Surprisingly MacGyver notices their neighbor, David is emanating the same odor as his Jamie. Could it be they are both lonely and are putting off a scent only the cat recognizes?

MacGyver (the TV character) might have been a top-notch, can do, can make anything out of anything dude. But Macgyver the cat is a loyal, loving, can do-kind-a-cat that resorts to becoming a cat-burglar to help his human. Jamie's neighbor David recently lost his wife Clarrissa and despite the urging of his friends, simply is not ready to move past his mourning. He has a dog named Diogee that has no clue his human is lonely. MacGyver seems to be the only one, human or pet that recognizes how perfect Jamie and David could be together. All they need is a push. So the cat starts stealing David's laundry...a sock here, a towel there. Jamie figures out who the odd laundry pieces belong too - but sees David as merely a friend. MacGyver is like "what is wrong with these people?" "Why do humans complicate something that comes so very natural in the animal world?"

Can Jamie and David see past their personal issues and view the big picture right in front of them? Or are they destined to complicate that which should come about so naturally?

MacGyver the cat will quickly win you over. You will be silently cheering for the humans in the story to get as smart as the cat. His loyalty and dedication to Jamie are admirable and positively adorable. Talk To The Paw is a quick read, that keeps you warmly enveloped in the story right up to the very last page.

I loved the story. Being a cat lover, with four of the adorable, aloof, highly intelligent fur babies at home, Talk To The Paw had me wondering if they smell my feelings too. (They sure act like it!)

Happy Reading,

RJ show less

It's an automatic 5-stars for me, so I'm not even going to try being serious.

I first read this when I found it at the town library, and part way through reading the series, the TV series came out, and I was ALL. IN.

After binging the Roswell: New Mexico remake, I wanted to revisit the original books and show, and I regret nothing. Pure nostalgia.

Did I enjoy it while I was reading it? Yes.
Do I remember anything about it a few weeks later? No, not at all.

Didn't help that I watched the show more corresponding episodes at the same time. At any rate, my two remaining brain cells have long moved on.

It's one of those things where the facts are almost irrelevant because they're buried under a franchise that I love whole-heartedly with childish loyalty, without objective criticism. Any distinct features about the book itself have mixed and blurred with my memories of reading it as a kid, watching the show as a kid, and watching the remake as an adult.

Basically, I'll take the story of Max, Isabelle, Michael, Liz, and Maria any which way you serve it to me, and I'll say "Thank you, more please!" and that's just how it is sometimes. show less