Every Other Day by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Title: Every Other Day
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Publisher: Egmont USA
Publication Date: December 27, 2011
Source: Thanks Netgalley and Egmont!


Summary: Every other day, Kali D'Angelo is a normal sixteen-year-old girl. She goes to public high school. She attends pep rallies. She's human. 

And then every day in between . . .She's something else entirely.

Though she still looks like herself, every twenty-four hours predatory instincts take over and Kali becomes a feared demon-hunter with the undeniable urge to hunt, trap, and kill zombies, hellhounds, and other supernatural creatures. Kali has no idea why she is the way she is, but she gives in to instinct anyway. Even though the government considers it environmental terrorism.When Kali notices a mark on the lower back of a popular girl at school, she knows instantly that the girl is marked for death by one of these creatures. Kali has twenty-four hours to save her and, unfortunately, she'll have to do it as a human. With the help of a few new friends, Kali takes a risk that her human body might not survive. . .and learns the secrets of her mysterious condition in the process.


Review: Every Other Day captured me with it's unique premise. The premise was unique but some things fell a little flat. 


Even though Kali was one strong heroine who could fight all day long, I couldn't connect to her. Maybe it was because she was so invincible but there was something about her that made me not like her. I liked that she was so strong and independent, but overall she just just seemed a little underdeveloped. 


As for side characters, I enjoyed them. There were definitely some unique people. That might be a understatement, too. It was nice to see Kali, who was a bit of a loner, have a couple of friends. Though, most of the time Kali can handle things on her own.


The plot of Every Other Day was definitely engrossing. It could be a little choppy and busy at times but I was definitely into the story. On almost every page, it seemed, Kali was fighting and there was just so much action. I thought the action scenes were very well done and made sense. Like I said the story was a little busy. Some things just didn't quite make sense to me or fit into what was going on. It was almost like I couldn't keep up.


I loved how Every Other Day ended! In my mind it was the perfect ending. It's not entirely closed off or resolved but I didn't feel a sense that I had to know what exactly was going to happen. You pretty much know.


Overall, Every Other Day incorporates some unique plot lines and while they don't fit perfectly I was thoroughly interested in the plot line. It also offers some characters that can totally kick some butt. 


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Perfect Cover by Jennifer Lynn Barnes

Title: Perfect Cover
Author: Jennifer Lynn Barnes
Publisher: Laurel-Leaf
Publication Date: February 12, 2008
Source: Bought

Summary: Bayport High’s Varsity cheer squad is made up of the hottest of the hot. But this A-list is dangerous in more ways than one. The Squad is actually a cover for the most highly trained group of underage government operatives the United States has ever assembled. They have the perfect cover, because, beyond herkeys and highlights, no one expects anything from a cheerleader.

Review: If you're looking for the book with the perfect combination of cheerleaders and not so ditsy blondes then Perfect Cover is the book for you!

But whose  actually looking for that? I certainly wasn't. But Perfect Cover manages to incorporate cheerleaders that know how to kick some serious bad guy butt. In fact these cheerleaders are spies.

I loved how Barnes turned something like cheerleading into an idea that makes them spies and sweet girls who have each other backs. In fact, that was one of the things I liked most about Perfect Cover. The girls have each other's backs through the entire thing. There was no double crossing, lying, or cheating anyone. It was just very refreshing to not have a group of girls trying to back-stab each other.

Barnes has the most hilarious writing. I saw that in the first book I read by her, Raised by Wolves, and I saw it even more in a older book. Toby, our main character, has the most hilarious, snarky dialogue that I've read in a long time. She's a character that makes you want to laugh all the time. I wouldn't say that she was particularly deep but I feel that she and the others have the potential to become that in the next, and final, book.

There was never a dull moment in Perfect Cover. The girls were always on some sort mission and doing some super funny things.

Overall, Perfect Cover is an almost perfect book. It had a few discrepancies but other than that, I had an absolute blast reading it. Like Ally Carter said on the front cover, "...you'll never look at cheerleaders the same way again." This is so true.


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