Grigori (Brothers of Ash and Fire #1) by Lauren Smith

He’s one of the last of a powerful but vanishing bloodline …
Grigori Barinov is the eldest in an ancient line of dragon shifters and the guardian of his family’s lands and fortune. Sworn to protect their history and magic, he won’t rest until he neutralizes any threat to their existence. When he discovers an ancient manuscript that exposes his family and their dragon lineage has fallen into a mortal woman’s hands, he knows he must get the book back by any means necessary. If that means seducing a nosy American woman with an intoxicating scent, he is more than willing to carry her off to his palatial home deep in the heart of Russia.

She’s the one woman who could expose him to the world…

Madelyn Haynes has never fit in. As an adopted child she grew up in a loving home but never felt as though she belonged. Plagued by mysterious dreams she’s had of a silver scaled beast

So I Married a Sorcerer by Kerrelyn Sparks

Growing up on the Isle of Moon, Brigitta knows nothing of her past, except that she is Embraced: born with powers that forced her into hiding. Everything changes when she learns she’s a princess, hidden away from her villainous half-brother who now rules the kingdom. But he knows about Brigitta, and he’ll do anything to get her back. Unless a certain roguish pirate has anything to say about it…
Rupert is both an infamous pirate and a sorcerer with the power to harness the wind. He’s been waiting nineteen years for revenge—and he needs Brigitta to get it. What begins as a kidnapping of the fiery beauty turns into a fierce attraction. But can he win the captive princess’s heart? 

The Red by Tiffany Reisz

Never make a promise you don’t intend to keep…

Mona Lisa St. James made a deathbed promise that she would do anything to save her mother's art gallery. Unfortunately, not only is The Red painted red, but it's in the red. She soon realizes she has no choice but to sell it.

Just as she realizes she has no choice but to sell it, a mysterious man comes in after closing time and makes her an offer: He will save The Red if she agrees to submit to him for the period of one year.

The man is handsome, English, and terribly tempting...but surely her mother didn't mean for Mona to sell herself to a stranger. Then again, she did promise to do anything to save The Red...The Red is a standalone novel of erotic fantasy from Tiffany Reisz, international bestselling author of The Bourbon Thief and the Original Sinners series.

The Other Side Of Gravity (Oxygen #1) by Shelly Crane [REVIEW]

My name is Maxton and I’m a trader.

I live on a soulless planet where gravity, oxygen, and everything else are sold to the highest bidder on the black market. People are sold on the black market, too. You have to work really hard not to become one of those people. Pay your taxes, keep your friends and family close, and more than anything else—don’t get caught by the Militia. But all the rules changed for me the day I found her.

My name is Sophelia and I’m a stowaway.

I’ve been a slave for almost as long as I can remember. Waiting for the one day, one second, for my proprietor to turn his head so I could run and never look back. Now I'm on the run. And on a planet where no one is on your side and people would turn you in for a good meal or a piece of a silver, being on the run on Landu is the last place you want to be. Until he found me.

Throne of Glass (Throne of Glass #1) by Sarah J Maas [Audio Review]

 

In a land without magic, where the king rules with an iron hand, an assassin is summoned to the castle. She comes not to kill the king, but to win her freedom. If she defeats twenty-three killers, thieves, and warriors in a competition, she is released from prison to serve as the king's champion. Her name is Celaena Sardothien.

The Crown Prince will provoke her. The Captain of the Guard will protect her. But something evil dwells in the castle of glass--and it's there to kill. When her competitors start dying one by one, Celaena's fight for freedom becomes a fight for survival, and a desperate quest to root out the evil before it destroys her world.

Darken the Stars (Kricket #3) by Amy A. Bartol [REVIEW]

Kyon Ensin finally has what he’s always wanted: possession of Kricket Hollowell, the priestess who foresees the future. Together, their combined power will be unrivaled. Kricket, however, doesn’t crave the crown of Ethar—she has an unbreakable desire to live life on her own terms, a life that she desperately wants to share with her love, Trey Allairis.

As conspiracies rage in the war for Ethar, Kricket’s so-called allies want to use her as a spy. Even those held closest cannot be trusted—including Astrid, her sister, and Giffen, a member of a mysterious order with a hidden agenda. But Kricket’s resolve will not allow her to be used as anyone’s pawn, even as the Brotherhood sharpens its plans to cut out her heart.

As the destiny prophesied by her mother approaches, Kricket will backtrack through her fiery future to reshape it. For she knows one thing above all else: the only person she can truly count on is herself.

Sea of Stars (Kricket, #2) by Amy A. Bartol [Audio Review]

Eighteen-year-old Kricket Hollowell was looking for her place in the world when she discovered that the universe was bigger—and more dangerous—than she had ever dreamed. Now, whisked across space to the planet Ethar, Kricket learns that her genetic ability to see the future makes her a sought-after commodity…and the catalyst for war between her star-crossed parents’ clans.

According to Alameedan prophecy, one house will rise to power and the other will be completely wiped out, and Kricket’s precognition is believed to be the weapon that will tip the scales.

A target of both the Rafe and the Alameeda houses, Kricket finds protection—and a home—in the arms of Trey, her Etharian bodyguard-turned-boyfriend. But her visions of what’s to come disturb her deeply, especially since she must discover whether the gift of foresight will allow her to rewrite the future, or if her fate is as immovable as the stars.

Providence (Providence #1) by Jamie McGuire

 

Struggling with her father's death, Nina meets Jared Ryel, presumably by chance. However it soon becomes clear that he knows more about her than even close friends. When her father's former associates begin following her in the dark, Nina learns that her father was not the man she thought he was, but a thief who stole from demons. In searching for the truth behind her father's death, she stumbles upon something she never expected, and something Hell wants, that only she holds the key for. Jared risks everything to keep the women he was born to save, by sharing the secret he was sworn to protect.

 

 

5 Angel Saving Stars

Re-read Audio version. I love audio books. I love audio books even more when I re-read my favorite reads. It’s like you are experiencing everything for the first time and with DOUBLE the emotions.

If you have read this series or want to re-read this series. The AUDIO version is the perfect way to go.

Providence=swoon

I have kissed boys, some of those boys more than once, who never have kissed like that.

That’s because you kissed boys, sweetheart

It’s a mysterious, intriguing and super romantic book.

Nina is coping with the recent death of her father and the beginning is just so sad. You feel for Nina and ache for her. On her way back from the funeral, she shares a cab with Jared, who is 100% mysterious. I had no idea what direction this book was going to go, so I am glad I went into it blindly because everything was a surprise to me. The book is about Nina discovering the truth to her father’s death and who Jared really is.

Who is Jared? Where did he come from? What’s his story? It’s a BIG FAT mystery and I was itching to finding out.   Uncovering who Jared and what role he plays was my favorite part of the book.

Jared and Nina

I love both characters equally. I think Nina is awesome, she’s very level-headed, passionate and at times reckless, but usually for a worthy cause. She doesn’t always do things I agree with and sometimes I just think to myself, is she really going to do that? But it just makes the book a little more intense and a little more ROMANTIC.

Jared is pretty much the whole package and more, he’s very protective and wears his heart on his sleeve. At times Jared can be a bit emotional, but he cares for Nina so much, you want him as your boyfriend or husband if you are my age.

The Tension

There’s a slight love triangle with Nina’s best friend Ryan, this I enjoy because you want some friction, also Jared’s sister, Clare who isn’t too keen with Nina. I really liked Clare’s character and it made Nina’s character a bit more realistic, because I believe not everyone should love the heroine.

As I was reading Providence, I forgot Jamie McGuire also wrote Beautiful Disaster another favorite of mine. I see a lot of same style of writing with, passionate characters, epic love story and a huge roller coaster of emotions written in the book. I like that Providence isn’t a contemporary romance novel, a little fantasy makes it different.

If you are looking for a heart-warming, drool-worthy, romantic-filled book. This one is for you.

Audio

It’s narrated by Carly Robins and it’s about 14 hours. This is my first Carly Robins narration and I really enjoyed her voice. Her voice sounds youthful, which is important to me since Nina is young too.  She doesn’t change her voice during Jared’s parts in a dramatic way. There is a distinction between the Jared’s and Nina’s voice, but Jared’s voice isn’t super deep. I kind of like that because it kind of shows Jared’s age. I didn’t want to hear a super deep voice when I was imagining Jared.  The pace was perfect and I felt like I wasn’t going to miss anything. I really felt Nina’s emotions, her highs, lows and even when Jared turned her on and yes that is important to me (you know it is).

 

An Audio copy was kindly provided 

 

Providence - AMAZON (KINDLE) | AMAZON (AUDIO)

Providence - Trilogy Bundle - AMAZON

 

 

Jamie McGuire was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma. She attended Northern Oklahoma College, the University of Central Oklahoma, and Autry Technology Center where she graduated with a degree in Radiography.

Jamie paved the way for the New Adult genre with the international bestseller Beautiful Disaster. Her follow-up novel, Walking Disaster, debuted at #1 on the New York Times, USA Today, and Wall Street Journal bestseller lists. Beautiful Oblivion, book one of the Maddox Brothers books, also topped the New York Times bestseller list, debuting at #1.

Novels also written by Jamie McGuire include: apocalyptic thriller, Red Hill; the Providence series, a young adult paranormal romance trilogy; Apolonia, a dark sci-fi romance; and several novellas, including A Beautiful Wedding, Among Monsters: A Red Hill Novella, and Happenstance: A Novella Series.

Jamie lives on a ranch just outside of Enid, Oklahoma with her husband, Jeff, and their three children. They share their thirty acres with cattle, six horses, three dogs, and a cat named Rooster.

 

 www.jamiemcguire.com

 

Angelfall (Penryn & the End of Days #1) by Susan EE

 

It's been six weeks since the angels of the apocalypse destroyed the world as we know it. Only pockets of humanity remain.

Savage street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night.

When angels fly away with a helpless girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back...

 

 

4.5 Stars

WOW

YUP… that pretty sums up what I just read… just WOW.

Okay, so I’ve been in a young adult paranormal mood or something with a lot of fantasy. I read the reviews and thought, what the heck, let’s give Angelfall a try. Let me just say this, the cover does not do justice. Angelfall is filled with crazy, drama, action, emotions and lots of EYE POPPING SCENES.

Oh my goodness. I love it!

The setting is a dystopian society and its humans verse Angels. Different right? Usually in the books I read, it’s the angels that are good, but here it’s a nice little twist. Penryn, her sister and mom are out one night and witness Raffe, an Angel, getting attacked. He gets his wings hacked off. Gross, but very dramatic. Penryn tries to save Raffe but in the process Penryn’s sister gets kidnapped. So Penryn strikes a deal with Raffe, Raffe will lead Penryn back to his Angel people and Penryn will get a chance to save her sister.

First off, love the summary. It’s enduring having Penryn try to save her sister and I simply LOVE the tension between Penryn and Raffe.

They do not like each other, but have a common goal.

I don’t know why, but I didn’t want touchy feeling romance, I just wanted raw, gritty and dark. Penryn is hands down hardcore. All Heroines in paranormal books should strive to be her character. Oh, this girl is no damsel in distress (and everyone knows how much I love those kinds of girls), it just works, her kick-butt, attitude. Then there’s Raffe, you can’t but feel bad for the guy, he had his wings hacked off! He does everything he can to just try to get back to his people so he can get his wings sewn back on.

On their journey, there’s plenty of stuff that happens. It’s not a long drawn out book, there’s so much that goes on, your heart BEATS A MILLION MILES! You feel for the two, you are always on guard and you never know who is friend or foe. The thing I love so much about dystopian books is the whole survival tendencies.

What are you willing to do in order to survive?

Then you get to the climatic ending, oh my god. You thought the whole book was intense, oh no, the last few chapters, you are just gripping the pages and wondering how it’s going to end!

Is there a cliffy? Well with any YA book in a series, you have to have close cliffy to keep it going right? I can’t wait for the next book and I’m so bum and so happy the series isn’t done. GAH, what will I do once I have to wait for the next one!

READ IT … it’s worth it!

 

An ARC was provided in exchange for an honest review.

 

Susan Ee is the author of the bestselling books in the Penryn and End of Days trilogy, Angelfall and World After. Her books have been translated into over 20 languages and her short films have played at major festivals. She used to be a lawyer but loves being a writer because it allows her imagination to bust out and go feral.

 

http://www.susanee.com 

 

 

 AMAZON

 

Dark Lover (Black Dagger Brotherhood, #1) by J.R. Ward

Dark Lover by J.R. Ward
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 Yummmyyy black dagger brotherhood Stars

Reading the Black Dagger Brotherhood is like getting an al la cart meal, you get a little bit of everything, there’s romance, action and fantasy.

What kind of World?

This is the world of Vampires. They can’t go out in daylight and don’t need blood from humans. Vampires feed off of the opposite sex, usually with their mate (like husband and wife). Full humans do not turn into vampires (half-humans can), vampires are born and fully “transition” around the age twenty-five. There are evil people called the Lesser who hunt down Vampires and kill them. There is a society of black dagger brotherhood, a group of warriors trained and skilled to fight Lessers and protect their kind.

The series is about the brothers in the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

Summary

Wrath is King, but doesn’t act like it. He’s a warrior and trains and fights with his men. One of his brothers admits to Wrath that he had a child and she will be turning twenty-five soon, meaning she will transition. The father wants Wrath’s help in helping her turn because Wrath’s blood is almost pure vampire. Wrath declines at first, but eventually accepts.

Beth doesn’t know what’s going on, but she knows Wrath can help.

What worked for me

I really liked the story line. I really liked Wrath. I liked the chemistry between Wrath and Beth. Yes, there was insta-lust, but come on, it fits the world.
I’m a sucker for damsel in distress stories! The black dagger brotherhood books are completely these. Beth doesn’t know anything about the Vampire world because she grew up with the humans. When she’s immersed in Wrath’s world, it was really interesting seeing her interaction with other people, especially with the other strong warriors.

There was major character development, not only with the main characters but the side characters.

What didn’t work for me

There was a lot of POV’s going on. A lot of POV’s I didn’t care for. I get that there need to be character development, but sometimes I don’t really care that much what’s going on with the bad guys. Just get to the good stuff!

Beth did frustrate me at times, I think it’s because she was suppose to create tension, which I usually love, but at times, I just wanted to shake the girl.

Overall

There’s a lot of hype with this series and I am glad, I finally took the plunge. It was a bit slow for me at times and I did skim the POV’s I didn’t care for and since the read is so long, I felt like I didn’t really miss that much. I really liked the Wrath and Beth interaction and wished there was more of it.
The thing I love about these kinds of reads of that anything can happen and also there’s a lot to learn about the rules of the world. I was satisfied.

AMAZON

Ignite Me (Shatter Me, #3) by Tahereh Mafi

Ignite Me by Tahereh Mafi
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

6 Shattering Stars

If you are looking for a new YA book, you need to read the Shatter Me Series

If you are looking for crazy drama, action, romance, dystopian society read, you need to read the Shatter Me Series

If you are looking for a kick-butt Heroine, you need to read the Shatter Me Series

---- > I LOVED IT!!!!!!!!! < -----

[General Summary of the plot of the series]

The book is set in a dystopian society. Juliette is a 17 year old girl who has been staying in a sort of hospital/prison. She hasn’t touched anyone in 264 days. Because she can kill anyone who touches her skin.

[Brief Overview of the previous books]

[Shatter Me, Book 1]

Shatter Me, Book 1, is a great intro to the series. You get to know Juliette and really understand the pain she is going through. After being stuck without really any interaction with anyone for 264 days, she gets a new cell mate. Adam. You have to understand Juliette is really messed up in the head. She’s hasn’t had the typical childhood and she doesn’t want to hurt anyone, but it’s hard for her to continually push Adam away.

She later meets Warner, the son of the man who has been keeping Juliette in her cell. Warner wants to use Juliette for mass destruction, a weapon for the army he is the leader of.

So there’s a kind of love triangle between Adam and Warner. NOW, I really do hate love triangles, but this one isn’t really. You love Adam so much and want to punch Warner in the face, so you want this drama.

[Unravel Me, Book2]

I wrote a review for Unravel, so if you already read Shatter Me, move to that review. I do not want to reveal what happens. But I just wanted to say that I never really appreciated this book until now. I finally get why Mafi did what she did and went where she went. It all makes sense! Unravel Me is a good bridge between book 1 and 3. At first it’s a big slow, but you really need to understand the history, especially Warner’s history.

[Ignite Me, Book 3 (A.K.A. Ignite my panties on fire]

Oh GOD, WHERE DO I BEGIN?! I had no idea what to expect with this one. I just knew my feelings were crazy crazy mixed up from Unravel me, so I waited a LONG TIME for Ignite Me and I have to say…

IGNITE ME SURPASE ALL MY EXPECTATIONS AND FEELING. IT was beautifully written, threw me for a crazy loop and although I was guarded at first, Mafi just freaking broke down ALL MY WALLS! I LOVED IT!!!!

There will be spoilers from Shatter me and Unravel Me.

So, Warner loves Juliette. Who knew? Okay, we all did, but who knew his character would be just bam, thrown in your face like that. Basically all you need to know with this one is about Juliette wanting to overthrow Anderson. But the BEST part of this read was….

WARNER AND JULIETTE

Oh my god, the interaction between the two of them is bananas crazy!!!!!

My Highlights

Kenji < ---- I love him so much. Oh, I could just read a book just about him. He’s so adorable and I love the relationship with Juliette and I am so happy he doesn’t have a crush on her because two guys are enough!

Adam vs. Warner < ---- If you ever wanted to see two sexy men go at it, hot damn, please, yes. It’s sexy as hell and I yes, I re-read those scenes.

Pace < ---- the pace of Ignite Me was perfect! It was a fast pace, quick, no BS read. I LOVED IT. There were zero fillers, zero slow points. I couldn’t get enough of it.

Overall, Ignite Me was perfect. I was just amazed on how much Juliette changed from Shatter Me to Ignite Me. She’s strong, she confident and sexy as heck. As much as this book could be considered fantasy YA, it’s a romance book through and through. No, it’s not over the top steamy, but the tension, the underlying of love, it’s what I LIVE FOR when I read YA books.

I can’t get enough Warner and Juliette interaction. It’s just crazy intense, sweet and makes your heart ache. Oh my gah so good.

I wish this wasn’t the final book, I wish there was 100 more pages, but I am VERY HAPPY on how series ended. It was such a high, it was such a bang. Oh my god, I want to read the novellas. EVERYONE NEEDS TO PICK UP THIS SERIES! EVERYONE!!!

Series Order
AMAZON
REVIEW | AMAZON
AMAZON

For more reviews - > http://jacquelinesreads.blogspot.com

View all my reviews

Book Review - Linked (Linked, #1) by Imogen Howson

My first paperback ARC!

4 Stars

I got to be honest… it’s been awhile since I’ve read a Sci-Fi Young Adult read. Not that I don’t like them, it’s just hard for me to find one that can keep my interest. However, I was very surprised on how much I enjoyed Linked

If you liked Across the Universe, then you will love Linked

[Summary]

Elissa has physical pains and doesn’t know where they come from. For three years, she has been seeing visions, getting bruises on her body and feeling pain. She has the looks and was once popular, but because of her health, Elissa’s future seems to be slipping from her grasp. Elissa is offered a surgery to cure her of all of her issues and on the night before her operation, she gets visions and soon meets a girl who is beat-up, but looks just like Elissa. Lin escaped from being imprisoned and now both girls are on the run. Elissa goes to her brother’s best friend, Cadan to help them escape.

[Elissa + Lin]

I liked Elissa. I thought she was brave, strong and caring, despite her disabilities. She’s also very loyal and she’s the kind of Heroine you can admire. I didn’t really get to know Lin. Mostly I thought Linked was more of Elissa’s story, even though Lin is a main character too. Maybe I just connected with Elissa more. Lin is a big mystery and I was questioning her position throughout the story, which I liked because it kind of gave the plot a little bit of something extra.

[Cadan]

Cadan isn’t a main focal point in the book, but he should be mentioned considering he is the Hero. I liked Cadan. I thought he was arrogant, masculine and mature. I also loved the banter between Elissa and Cadan, it was kind of an adorable love/hate relationship. This is a YA novel, so everything was pretty much PG and all around sweet.

I always thought he was so arrogant, so pleased with himself. Maybe it’s not exactly arrogance – maybe its just that he’s really good at what he’s doing

[Overall]

Linked is a very descriptive book (which usually isn’t something I like) and the beginning was a bit slow. However, once you get past the story build-up, the book sets in motion and it’s a pretty action-pack from there. A bit of the book is about Elissa and Lin on the run. Both girls are completely different because of their backgrounds and both try to understand each other. The second half to middle-end is Elissa, Lin and Cadan on a spaceship escaping from to another planet.

This is what I was envisioning …

There is a bit of some techy verbiage and it kind of reminded me a lot of StarWars. I’m not a huge Sci-Fi fan, but it worked for me and I have no complaints.

I think the negative reviews are due to people not understanding the story. I kept on telling myself this is a Sci-Fi YA read. Also, because Linked is part of a series, I can understand the reasoning to the slow-build-up. Imogen Howson is just setting you up for book 2. Also, I love the cover and the text used to title the chapters (I notice things like that).

I would recommend Linked if you are in the mood for that good Sci Fi YA read.

An ARC was provided through Goodreads first

AMAZON - B&N 

Grasping at Eternity (The Kindrily, #1) by Amanda Hooper

4 Stars

When it comes to fantasy reads, I’m a tough cookie. There has be the right combination of nice writing style, character development and whimsical story telling that makes it a good read for me. I wanted to read Grasping at Eternity for a few reason, 1.) the rave reviews 2.) the cover (I know I shake my head in shame) 3.) book 2, Taking Back Forever comes out at the end of the month.

This is my first Karen Amanda Hooper novel and I have to say, I’m impressed and very satisfied.

On with the review…

[Summary]

Maryah’s parents and brother are attacked and murdered. Maryah was saved by Nathan, who she doesn’t know is her soul-mate. With no family to go to, Maryah lives with her God parents, who happens to be Nathan’s parents. Nathan desperately wants Maryah to remember her past and their relationship, but is becoming restless. Maryah continues to have odd dreams and tries to make sense of them on top of dealing with Nathan’s hot and cold personality.

[Review]

A lot goes in on this read, like many reviewers, I was confused at times, mostly towards the beginning. At one point I had to re-check that I was reading book 1 of the series. But once I got into the story, everything sort of just fell into place. I would describe Grasping at Eternity a mixture between Fallen and Twilight. If you liked the story line of Fallen, but also loved the quirky family-vibe of Twilight then this book is for you.

[Maryah]

I’m pretty much up and down with Maryah. I really liked her throughout the book. I thought she was the typical teenager reacting perfectly towards the recent death of her family. She was a bit upsetting towards the middle-end (when we get to the climatic-ending), BUT that didn’t last long and thank goodness because I would have dropped my rating.

[Nathan]

I liked Nathan. I know call me crazy, especially about that one scene. Two words, hot-air balloon! BUT, Nathan is great. He’s kind of like this tormented soul and when you hear his story you just think to yourself, damn, good thing I am not you. You really did feel his pain, especially with the dream scenes.

[Overall]

There is a slight love triangle in the book, which does add some nice tension, however at times I wanted to slap Maryah for some of her actions. I also wanted Nathan to interact with Maryah a bit more, I think they didn’t really “meet” until 30% into the book.

The story is very descriptive, was a bit long and a little too detailed for some parts. I thought the overall resolution should have been presented during the middle and another issue should have been brought up for the ending.

Overall, I LOVED the fact that EVERYTHING was stated. I mean, there was really no guessing what the main issue was. We have Maryah who erased her memories and then love sick Nathan was dealing with it. Because it’s a fantasy read, I did enjoy the whole “powers of element”, explanation of “Kinderly” and the additional supporting characters. I have a soft spot for Carson.

I thought the cover and conclusion was solid and left me with a warm bubbly feeling. I recommend this read and look forward to Taking Back Forever

A copy was kindly provided to me by All Night Reads via NetGalley for an honest review

View all my reviews

Fall From Grace (Mad World, #1) by Christine Zolendz

Fall From Grace by Christine Zolendz
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 Stars

I read the reviews prior to reading and I think it’s very key to let everyone know Fall From Grace is a paranormal romance, in fact I am happy that was also addressed in the blurb.

Grace lost everyone in her family and after the recent death of her brother, she goes back “home” to live with her best friend/roommate Lea. Lea’s boyfriend, Connor is in a band and the lead singer is Shane. Shane is a man-whore, who is intrigued with Grace, but Grace is too hung-up on her ex to move forward.

You wouldn’t know this was a paranormal romance until 50% in. So if you are the type of person who likes fantasy right from the start, then this isn’t for you, however, I’m pretty much indifferent, so it worked out okay for me.

I really liked Fall From Grace, maybe I would have rated it higher if there was more tension or the whole paranormal thing was written from the beginning, even though it didn’t bother me that much, it was just odd that the book shifted about 50% in, but these are minor things.

Shane is pretty much the typical “rock-star”, bad-boy, man-whore Hero I love to read. I can’t get enough of these characters, it will never tire me. I really liked Shane, he pretty much was everything I expected and wanted as the Hero. He is of course beautiful and knows it and pretty much lets girls dry hump him throughout the book. Shane flirts with Grace and despite her repeated refusals, he continues to seek her out.

I have no complaints with Grace and even though she pretty much pushes Shane away about majority of the book, there was enough banter back and forth to keep me interested. I also like the fact there really wasn’t a love-triangle (even though I love those), if there was, it was insignificant.

There’s a lot of character development in the first 50% of the book and most of it is focused on Grace, which is fine for me. I sometimes think it’s overboard to drag the Hero’s issues into the story and Shane’s issues were pretty much minor.

I read a few chapters in book 2, Saving Grace and from what I read, the style of writing kind of shifts, I am not sure if I am liking it too much, but I can’t judge based on the first few chapters. I only hope, the tone and feel of Fall From Grace is continued.

If you have a rocker bad boy complex and love a little sprinkle of fantasy, then Fall From Grace is for you.

For more reviews, visit Everyday Shopaholic

View all my reviews

Unravel Me (Shatter Me, #2) by Tahereh Mafi

4 Stars

I want you…

I want all of you…

I want you inside and out and catching your breath and aching for me like I ache for you

OMG, What.Did.I.Just.Read?!!!

DAMN YOU CLIFF-HANGERS…. NOO!!!!

Unravel Me pretty much picks up from book 1, Shatter Me and I’ll admit, the first 30% is pretty slow. Juliette and Adam are still underground and with side-kick buddy Kenji. Everyone is working together in the resistance. There is some tension between Juliette and Adam as new discoveries are revealed with Adam. Then of course we have Warner, who never really went away.

I applaud Mafi for keeping the Juliette and Adam tension alive, also I am so glad no one really leaves, because book 2 of series are notorious for that. My only complaint, I wanted more Juliette and Adam interaction, or maybe cut the book about 30% shorter.

In the beginning we realize something is off with Adam and it’s pretty much apparent fairly quickly and alright, I accept it, not everything can be perfect. Yes, Juliette frustrates me at times. She cries too much and is really indecisive, but the girl can’t touch anyone, so I sympathize.

For a moment I thought there would be a love triangle with Kenji, but thank goodness, he’s just a quirky side-kick character, who kind of grounds Juliette and let’s admit it, he fills in the Juliette-and-Adam gaps, I’m on to you Mafi!

A little over half the book, Warner comes back and I was kind of wondering where he went all this time, I mean, I KNEW he would be back, but I didn’t think it was necessary to write him in so much towards the end. I actually liked Warner in Shatter Me, I guess I have a soft spot for men in power. Most of the interaction with Warner is between Juliette, so if you are expecting crazy jealously from Adam, you don’t get it. If anything, I believe Mafi is introducing Warner’s story (sort of) and I like this a lot.

I went back and forth between 3.5 and 4 stars, but the last 20% made me bump up my rating. There’s plenty of fight, death, action, and “X-Men” kind of like scenes. So, overall, you are kept on your toes.

At 30% I was snoring a little

At 50% I was swooning for Adam

At 75% I got a little nervous and curious

At 85% my HEART.WAS.RACING

At 99% I was screaming NOO!!!!!

I just can’t believe the ending, but I am satisfied, just a little shocked and counting down the days for book 3.


View all my reviews

Everbound (Everneath, #2) by Brodi Ashton

Everbound by Brodi Ashton
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3.5 Stars

His hand was in mine. I was giving him a ball of twine, just as Ariadne had done for Theseus.

I was going back and forth between 3.5 and 4 stars, but I decided to go with 3.5 because Jack really wasn’t in the book, he’s actually None Existent.

So…Everbound picks up 2 months after Jack sacrifices himself for Nikki. Nikki is very depressed and realizes she can’t save Jack on her own. Nikki begs Cole to help her get Jack back and Cole agrees.

The blurb is pretty short, because basically that is the story. The story is Nikki’s journey in finding Jack with Cole. The ONLY reason why my review will be more positive, than negative is because Ashton wrote a pretty decent read, but I will admit, my major pet-peeves were pretty much hit.

I.HATE.IT.WHEN.THE.HERO.DISAPPEARS I can’t stand “filler” books, because that’s what it is. When an author writes a second book to the series, only for the heroine spending the WHOLE time looking for her Hero, it’s been done SO many times, from Beautiful Creatures to Twilight. I don’t really understand the need for these kinds of book. I think it’s perfectly fine in having the Hero and Heroine together, but still have tension in book 2, I mean, Dearly Departed is a great example of that.

When I started to read I noticed quickly the chapter titles let me know if I was reading in the present or past (another pet peeve of mine), I.HATE.FLASHBACKS with a passion. I was groaning and waiting for the flashbacks or “memories”, but it didn’t come until 50% of the book. When we got to the flashbacks part, it wasn’t so bad, they were pretty short and most of them were memories of Nikki and Jack, so in all honesty I have little complaints, just something I noticed.

I like Nikki and I like reading the whole book from her POV, so I didn’t mind there wasn’t Jack’s POV. I think that would have irritated me because I didn’t want to read his struggles. I never liked Cole, probably because he was the villain in book 1, Everneath, however you kind of see a different side of Cole in Everbound, which in all honesty pissed me off because I am team Jack all the way, but for Cole fans, they should be happy.

So, book 1 leaves off on a major cliff-hanger, which I can’t even describe how PISSED off I was. I didn’t think there would be a major cliff-hanger in book 2 and there wasn’t. I would say Everbound ends and we get a glimpse of book 3’s plot. With that said, I have higher expectations for the next one and will put it on my to-reads list.


View all my reviews

Without regret (Pyte/Sentinel, #2) by R.L. Mathewson

Without Regret by R.L. Mathewson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

3 Stars

It’s going to be hard for me to write this review, considering I’m a huge Mathewson fan, but Without Regret was pretty much okay and mildly disappointing

I loved book 1, Tall Dark Lonely but then again I’m a HUGE Ephraim fan, so I’ll be honest, I had some expectations for book 2 in the Pyte/Sentinel series.

So, it’s Chris’ and his mate’s (Isabella) story. To sum it up, Isabella and Chris are on the run because the bag guys want Isabella and Chris wants Isabella (Izzy), out of the way so Chris’ family aren’t endangered.

Let’s just get this out there, I’m all for the stubborn, arrogant a** hero, but I can only take so much “meaness”. Chris is pretty much an A-hole 95% of the book and this I.DID.NOT.LIKE. Point blank, I did not like Chris, in fact, it was very hard for me to not HATE him. The only reason why I remotely enjoyed reading was for the Ephraim parts.

I’m confused by Izzy, sometimes I like her, sometimes I feel sorry for her and sometimes I feel like she’s just plain silly, but not in a good way. The only way I could justify Izzy and Chris’ connection is because they are “mated”, other than that, it’s very unbelievable Izzy would ever be interested in an a** like Chris.

The story is SLOW, which surprised me because even though I’m use to Mathewson’s descriptive writing, I felt like there was just too much, I think the book could have omitted a good 100 pages. I wasn’t interested in the side-character’s back story, also, I already knew Chris’ back story from book 1, so I didn’t think it was necessary to have it retold several times within Without Regret

I mostly enjoyed the middle and end of the book, pretty much everything in between was either frustrating (because of Chris) or was a snore fest (because of the descriptive writing).

I will move on to book 3, only to hope Mathewson is redeemed.


View all my reviews

Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark side (Jessica, #1) by Beth Fantaskey

Jessica's Guide to Dating on the Dark Side by Beth Fantaskey
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2.5 Stars

I am very torn with Jessica’s Guide to Dating on the Dark Side, I wanted to rate 3 stars, but overall, I feel that the writing quality deserved 2.5 stars.

Jessica is your typical teenage girl, she has a best friend and a crush, however, Jessica is nothing, but abnormal. Jessica is adopted and one day her past comes back. Lucius is a vampire prince and he shows up in Jessica’s life to honor a pact Lucius and Jesscia’s biological parents made, which is, Lucius and Jessica are to be wed when Jessica turns 18.

The summary is pretty cute. I’ve been putting off reading because I wasn’t too fond of the title (I sort of had this idea that it would be a step by step read of a guide book), but I was wrong, so I am glad it’s not what the title claims it to be, very misleading and silly.
I think the fault lies on the writing. I feel like 100 pages could have been edited out and practically the whole story leads up to the last 5 pages and a very disappointing cliff-hanger ending.

I think Jessica is ridiculous, she really does act like a silly teenage girl and I do not care for her at all, she only redeems herself towards the end, which probably was the most interesting part of the read. I found Lucius to be pretty funny, although it took me a bit to get comfortable with his dialogue, I finally was okay with it, but I thought it was a bit dramatic and not necessary. Lucius tried to speak like his from a different time-period, but it didn’t quiet flow, it wasn’t like I was reading a Jane Austen’ novel.

There’s plenty of banter back and forth, which I LOVE in a book, but there was just too much in the book. Like I said, 100 pages could have been omitted. I felt like the whole story was a tease for the final 5 pages and it left me feeling a little angry, okay, a lot angry and downright pissed off.

The story was too descriptive, also, I didn’t care for Lucius’ letters to his uncle, (it was a different take of Lucius’ POV), it should have been 100% Jesscia’s POV, or 50/50 with Lucius.

Finally we get to the twist, the part I was kind of confused. So, yeah it wasn’t anything expected, but I didn’t think there were enough clues in the beginning of the book for me to I don’t know accept the twist. I felt like it was kind of thrown in there just to be “different”.

I’m debating if I should continue on with the series or leave it as a lost cause. I am undecided for now.


View all my reviews

The Essence (The Pledge, #2) by Kimberly Derting

The Essence by Kimberly Derting
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

2 Stars

One word to describe The Essence would be BORING or maybe ANNOYING. Book 2 picks up where book 1, The Pledge left off. Note, if you haven’t read book 1, I would suggest NOT reading this review. I remember liking The Pledge until the ending. When I found out Sabara was stuck in Carlaina (Charlie) in The Pledge I was 100% grossed out, regardless I still liked the characters and decided to continue with book 2, The Essence.

I don’t even know if there is a summary to The Essence, I would just say it’s about Charlie being tormented by Sabara. If all 3 books were out, I would suggest skipping book2 and just go to book 3, in all honestly The Essence was unnecessary and completely a “filler” book. I am shocked by the positive reviews.

I love the Max and Charlie story line, why was there only a few handful of pages of the relationship written? I don’t know. I don’t need the book to be completely relationship related, but the other side plots needed to be more interesting and I felt like nothing really happened.

I can’t get past the fact Sabara is related to Max, how could Charlie kiss Max? This isn’t like “The Host”, where the characters aren’t related, I can’t explain my uneasiness, I mean, towards the end the whole grandmother thing was kind of explained and seemed less creepy, but I still can’t get past it. I need to, but I can’t.

As for side characters, I would say all of them were… meh.
I am debating if I should move to book 3, considering I was mildly satisfied with the ending of The Essense. I think my over all issues were mainly driven by the main plot, Sabara being stuck in Charlie.

I didn’t think the whole book was going to be about Sabara being stuck in Charlie, I thought it was going to be a minor challenge that the characters would work towards fixing, but I was wrong and very upset. There were so many times I wanted to throw the book at the wall because I was just so annoyed with Charlie, I wanted to shake her, I wanted to punch her in the face, I wanted her to fix her problem instead of being in stupid denial.

I don’t like single layer books. This book had a fairly simple problem and it wasn’t enough to be the main focus for the entire book. I wanted more Max and Charlie involvement, I just simply wanted more.

I do not recommend.


View all my reviews

Predestined (Existence Trilogy, #2) Abbi Glines

Predestined by Abbi Glines
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

4 Stars

”SHE IS MINE”

I need to fan myself because Dank = HOTT. I am very surprised on how much I loved reading Predestined. I didn’t really give a review on book 1, Existence, I think it was too short for me to form an opinion and I am glad I waited because I can happily say I am happy for the series!

Predestined picks up about 1 month later and there isn’t a dry moment. Usually book 2 of supernatural series are always filler books to me, like when the guy leaves or there’s a stupid issue that seems so easy to get over and no one seems to know how to solve it, but Predestinedhad none of that. Predestined was jam pack with action, drama, mystery and crazy possessive boyfriend.

If you haven’t read book 1, Existence stop reading this review.
Dank and Pagan are officially together, however Leif has gone missing. All seems well for Pagan, until a soulless creature has claimed Pagan’s soul as his and of course Dank is having none of that.

I really liked Predestined, we get a better glimpse of Leif and all honestly I didn’t think Leif was all that bad. I think Leif is just misguided and a bit young, I am very interested in the in between book centered on Leif’s character, it would be nice to have his POV.

I LOVE Dank, I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again; I love crazy obsessive possessive boyfriends! Dank and Pagan are fairly level-headed characters, there wasn’t a moment where I was annoyed or didn’t agree with the decisions they were making. I am also glad there are Dank and Pagan’s POV’s.

I really liked the overall theme of Predestined, it was just a sweet love story with a few supernatural stuff thrown in to make it a little different, but in a very good way.

I recommend!


View all my reviews