Mar 31, 2016

Follow Friday

This is a weekly blog meme hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read

The Rules:
  • The goal is to increase blog followers, make friends and have something to post.
  • You create your own post using the post prompt.
  • You leave your link and thumbnail in the linky list that links back to your post prompt.
  • Once you have your post up and linked, visit other posts and tell them hi. The point is to FOLLOW them not just comment.
  • If you see a post that just hit it to the moon, or just want to show appreciation to a fellow blogger friend, like their name on the linky list to show some appreciation.
  • The person with the most likes gets chosen as the next Feature (you can be chosen every 90 days unless we are in need of features)
  • It is required that if you participate that you have to follow the FEATURE. It is a big no-no to participate and ignore the feature. They are the special snowflake in this little blizzard.
  • As a participant it is up to your discretion on how you want people to follow. Please post RSS, GFC etc if you have a follow of choice.

Specific RULES:

  • Put your Blog name & URL in the Linky thing. You can also grab the code if you would like to insert it into your posts.
  • Grab the button up there and place it in a post, this post is for people to find a place to say “hi” in your comments and that they are now following you.
  • If you are using WordPress or another CMS that doesn’t have GFC (Google Friends Connect) state in your posts how you would like to be followed FOLLOW as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don’t just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don’t say “HI”
  • Follow as many as you can, as many as you want, or just follow a few. The whole point is to make new friends and find new blogs. Also, don’t just follow, comment and say hi. Another blogger might not know you are a new follower if you don’t say “HI”
  • If someone comments and says they are following you, be a dear and follow back. Spread the Love…and the followers
 
 This week's prompt is: 3 Favorite Book Boyfriends, What Books They're In, and Why You'll Always Love Them
 
 
 
MY ANSWER:
 
DAEMON BLACK
The Lux Series by Jennifer L. Armentrout
I looove Daemon! Yes, he's a total asshat in the first book, and it takes awhile to warm up to the guy. But pretty much by book 2, and hell we can say book 1 what with Oblivion giving me the better insight to his head, I fell in love with this guy! Underneath his prickly demeanor is a guy who would go to the ends of the earth just to make Katy smile and happy. Sigh...


BONES
The Night Huntress Series by Jeaniene Frost
What's not to love about Bones? He's another one of those types who would do anything to protect the ones he loves! And when that's Cat, well let's just say, don't make him angry! I love how deeply he cares and even when Cat struggle to realize her feelings, he was patient...for the most part! ;)


REYES
Charley Davidson Series by Darynda Jones
Reyes  is death personified and oh...death looks good. Real good! LOL! Despite being super sexy and romantic, Reyes really cares for Charley. He gets rather angry when she gets herself into life threatening situations. Yet, he lets her make her own mistakes, for he knows she's the kind of woman who can take care of herself...most of the time anyway! LOL! I've got to get caught up in this series!







 
 

Mini Review--Ruler of the Beasts by Danielle Paige

Danielle Paige delivers a dark and compelling reimagining of a beloved classic, perfect for fans of Cinder  by Marissa Meyer,  Beastly by Alex Flinn, and Wicked by Gregory Maguire.

When the Cowardly Lion set off for the Emerald City in The Wonderful Wizard of Oz with Dorothy and the others, he sought courage above all else. This digital original novella is the sixth installment in the prequel arc to the edgy and thrilling New York Times bestsellers Dorothy Must Die and The Wicked Will Rise, and is the Lion’s story after he got what he’s always wanted.

The Lion’s wish has finally come true—he is the courageous ruler of the forest and all of its beasts. But the Lion is bored—he misses the days of his adventures with Dorothy, the Tin Woodman, and the Scarecrow. When Glinda the Good Witch shows up unexpectedly and tasks him with a mission back in the Emerald City, he jumps at the chance to do something exciting, even though he knows she’s not telling him the entire truth.


Danielle Paige continues telling the story behind how Dorothy came back to Oz in her best-selling Dorothy Must Die series. Ruler of the Beasts explores what the Lion was up to during her absence and his story, at least, was much more interesting than the Scarecrow’s.

The Lion is getting bored with being the King of the Beasts. Life just isn’t as fun when there’s no adventure to be had. So when Glinda asks a favor of him; namely to find a powerful necklace that’s hidden somewhere in the Emerald Palace, the Lion figures why not? He’ll have to befriend Ozma and hope that she might know where the mysterious necklace is.

Before he knows it though, the Lion is starting to see Ozma as a friend. One he’d do just about anything for. Including trying to outsmart one her enemies. But he still keeps his initial motives a secret from her.

I found myself sympathizing for the Lion towards the end of this one, but then at the same time, realized he put himself in his predicament. And then of course, I also remember that all the cheerful friends Dorothy made are downright evil in the series itself. In a sense, it makes it hard to sympathize for any of them throughout this last set of novellas. Although, I still never quite understood what made Glinda snap and turn out the way she did. Unless she really was always that way and we never saw it. But I digress.

Each of these novellas is like a piece of a puzzle that tells us how Dorothy came back to Oz. Though, our first prequel novella really does tell us that, these other novellas actually seem to come before that despite the order Goodreads dictates. And even the Tin Woodman’s story kind of falls into place after Dorothy’s return…so the order of novellas is a bit of a mess, but really since I’m reading them in the order they release vs timeline order, it doesn’t seem to matter in the long run! They’re still enjoyable in a little way! I’ll be curious to see what the last novella will entail though since we’ve already gotten to Dorothy coming back to Oz in these novellas. Only time will tell I guess!


Overall Rating 4/5 stars





Random Thursday

One last round of That's a Fact Jack: A Collection of Utterly Useless Information [Updated] by Harry Bright and Jakob Anser for a little while at least! I got some Disney stuff planned for a few weeks! Yay Disney!!


"Ice-skaters skate on water, not ice. At 32 degrees Fahrenheit, ice has a liquid surface measuring 1.5 millionths of an inch. Below -31 degrees Fahrenheit, the liquid layer becomes so thin that a skater's blades would stick rather than glide across the ice."

Wow. That's just weird!


"The average lifespan of an NHL hockey puck is seven minutes. Those that don't fly into the stands are removed because they warm up from friction and bounce on the ice. Game pucks--chilled to -10 degrees Fahrenheit for maximum performance--are kept in a freezer in the penalty box."

That's another thing I never knew! Or really thought about!!








Mar 30, 2016

Review--Untamed by A.G. Howard

A post-Ensnared collection of three stories—available in both print and e-versions.

Alyssa Gardner went down the rabbit hole and took control of her destiny. She survived the battle for Wonderland and the battle for her heart. In this collection of three novellas, join Alyssa and her family as they look back at their memories of Wonderland.

In Six Impossible Things, Alyssa recalls the most precious moments of her life after Ensnared, and the role magic plays in preserving the happiness of those she loves. Alyssa’s mother reminisces about her own time in Wonderland and rescuing the man who would become her husband in The Boy in the Web. And Morpheus delves into Jeb’s memories of the events of Splintered in The Moth in the Mirror, available in print for the first time.

This collection expands upon Ensnared's epilogue, and includes some deleted scenes to provide a “director’s cut” glimpse into the past and futures of our favorite Splintered characters.
 


Untamed is a collection of A.G. Howard’s novellas in the Splintered trilogy. Granted, The Moth in the Mirror was previously published as an e-novella only, but we still have two brand new stories in this one, The Boy in the Web and Six Impossible Things.

The Boy in the Web was basically the story of how Alyssa’s parents met. Alison was going through similar changes that we saw Alyssa go through. She talked to bugs, and a strange moth man visited her in her dreams. He was shaping her up to be the future queen. While this story was part Alison remembering her time with Morpheus, it also became a trip down memory lane via the train where you can see memories, with her husband Thomas.

We learn who Thomas was before, a young boy named David destined for great things that were somewhat Wonderland related. And then he becomes a prisoner in Sister Two’s (or was it One?) graveyard. It wasn’t until Alison rescued him that everything changed, including him.

It was a bit of a slow story, perhaps I’ve spent too much time away from this particular Wonderland. But while I liked seeing how Alyssa’s parents met, it really wasn’t all that memorable of a story.

Since I previously read The Moth in the Mirror, I skipped a re-read and went straight to Six Impossible Things. I always struggled to enjoy the romantic aspect of the Splintered trilogy. Because as we all know, Alyssa never really made her “choice”. She wanted it all, so she had both boys. She lived with Jeb as a human in the human world and when he died, she readied herself to return to Wonderland and take on her sixteen year old’s self and body again, to be with Morpheus.

I hated this. I hated that she basically chose them both. I think I could’ve liked the story better if she chose one boy or the other at the end of Entwined. But nope. That wasn’t her way. Alyssa has three memories that she recalls as an old woman, readying herself to return to Wonderland. This was basically her time with Jeb. But yet, it wasn’t really the highlights. There’s a memory of her returning to her old world, their wedding, and Jeb’s death. What life was that really?

The latter half of the story is her returning to Morpheus and this is basically the now of things. Then we return to memory lane, again, but this time with her memories of Morpheus. One was from her childhood time with him in her dreams, and the latter two were of when she spent her time with him before returning with Jeb and her parents to her human world.

I think the Team Morpheus fans will definitely enjoy this story more. While I never found a team for myself, I might have leaned more towards Jeb because there were a few things I didn’t like that Morpheus did to Alyssa. I almost feel like Alyssa should’ve just chosen Morpheus and forget the whole human life with Jeb, because that’s basically what kind of happens in some sense. While that human life did shape her in some ways, I feel like none of it mattered in the long run because she chose an eternity with Morpheus. She loved them both, but in the end, really, Morpheus was her true choice.

And I would’ve dealt with that all fine and dandy had she never chosen Jeb as well. And now the latter half of this review has turned into a rant regarding Alyssa’s choices! My apologies.

I did like this story a little more than the first one. I still felt heartsick over Jeb and wondered what kind of life he and Alyssa had, because it wasn’t really mentioned but for her carefree, momentary flashbacks as he died. Though I do think it would be interesting to see what kind of life she and Morpheus have in Wonderland. And there’s quite the surprise at the end as well. If only Alyssa would’ve chosen Morpheus at the series end, I think I would’ve enjoyed this one much more than I did.


Overall Rating 3/5 stars




Review--Midnight Marked by Chloe Neill

As the Chicagoland Vampires series continues, Merit and Ethan find themselves in a deadly game of cat-and-mouse, where winning may require the ultimate sacrifice...

A vampire’s grudges don’t stay dead long...

Merit is one of Chicago's most skilled vampire warriors; these days, she doesn't scare easily. But she and Master vampire Ethan have made a new and powerful enemy, and he won't give up until he owns the Windy City.

With his last plan thwarted, he's more determined than ever to watch Cadogan burn. Ethan has put the House's vampires on high alert, but their enemy will stop at nothing, including pitting vampire against vampire...

In this deadly game of cat-and-mouse, the stakes are life or death—and winning might mean sacrificing everything...


I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.


Midnight Marked is the second to last book in Chloe Neill’s phenomenal Chicagoland Vampire series that has pretty much had my heart since the very beginning. This is a series that has really grown on me over the years, yes I was in love with book 1, but I pretty much grew to love the series even more with each and every book. Watching the characters grow from who they were back then has been exhilarating!

In Midnight Marked, Cadogan House is still dealing with public enemy number one, Adrien Reed. He’s been a thorn in their side for awhile and continues to wreak havoc on their lives, even when he’s no directly responsible. Such as the latest case; a shifter is found dead outside Wrigley field just when Merit and Ethan were about to enjoy a Cubs game, against the Cardinals no less! To make matters even more mysterious, there was a set of alchemical symbols found near the body, which suggests a sorcerer was involved.

And soon the hunt begins for this sorcerer and the murderer. Though Merit and Ethan suspect Reed, there’s no hard evidence to pin him to. The mystery element was pretty strong in this one. There were a lot of people to identify and naturally, the tension to stop Reed once and for all. But there was also a great deal of tension between our cast of heroes. Not only was there some fallout between Ethan and Gabriel with his shifters, but Ethan and Merit were running into personal problems again as well.

I truly love the pacing of these books! Chloe Neill is a master at her craft! The books have all been incredibly enjoyable! The dynamics between Ethan and Merit have been spot on since book 1! And even though they are officially a couple, it doesn’t stop the tension that grows between them, both romantic and not! And of course, there’s still plenty of snark and laughs to be had! This is Merit we’re talking about!

Quite a few exciting things happen in this one! Not only does Merit have to deal with Reed, but another enemy comes to fore. One we weren’t really expecting! I quite enjoyed how Merit handled it too! I won’t divulge in the other exciting things, just be prepared to enjoy yourselves! Of course, any Chicagoland Vampire novel is sure to delight its readers!

I am dreading the next and final book. Only because I am not ready to say goodbye to Ethan and Merit and all their friends just yet! I feel like we’re given a nudge onto their final course, but there’s bound to me more trouble ahead than what we’re given! As we all know, nothing ever comes easy for Ethan and Merit! And while I don’t want the series to end just yet, I do say that they deserve themselves a break and a little R&R to enjoy themselves! And of course, that involves a HEA ending as well!

If you haven’t yet read the Chicagoland Vampires series, I urge you to pick it up now! Not only can you pretty much breeze through the entire series to date, but there’s just one more book to wait for. And did I mention you’ll be able to read Drink Deep immediately after Hard Bitten? Trust me when I say, that’s a VERY, VERY good thing! So come and enjoy and the highlights Chicago and its vampires has to offer with this incredibly awesome series that is a perfection in the world of Urban Fantasy!


Overall Rating 5/5 stars






ARC Review--Nightstruck by Jenna Black

The start of a paranormal horror series from Glimmerglass author Jenna Black.

The night is the enemy, and the city of Philadelphia is its deadliest weapon.

Becket is an ordinary teenage girl, wrestling with the upheaval of her parents' divorce. Her biggest problems to date have been choosing which colleges to apply to, living up to her parents' ambitious expectations of her, and fighting her secret crush on her best friend's boyfriend. That all changes the night she tries to save an innocent life and everything goes horribly wrong.

Becket has been tricked into opening a door between worlds. As dark magic trickles into Philadelphia, strange creatures roam the streets and inanimate objects come to life, all of them bloodthirsty and terrifying. The city returns to normal when the sun rises each morning. The moment the sun sets, most citizens shut themselves in their houses and stay there no matter what they hear.

The magic is openly hostile to most mortals, but there are some it seems to covet, trying to lure them out into the night. While Becket struggles to protect her friends and family from predatory creatures of the night, she is constantly tempted to shrug off her responsibilities and join them.


I received this eARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.


Jenna Black has been one of my favorite authors for years now! I’ve adored her foray into the YA world since Glimmerglass, and when I heard she was writing a horror filled YA read, I knew I had to have it!! Nightstruck was one of the creepiest reads I’ve read in awhile. Not so much where I was afraid to sleep at night, but the things that happened at night in the book, were terrifying! I’m not going to be looking at sewer drains or park benches the same way again!

Becket is your average teenager in some ways. Her parents are newly divorced and she decided to live with her dad in order to stay at the same school so she can graduate with her best friend, Piper. Piper is Becket’s complete opposite. It was kind of amazing that they were friends, because Piper is popular, gorgeous, outgoing, and all over the place. Becket is the more serious type and only gets into trouble when she hangs out with Piper and things get out of control.

Why their friendship works, I don’t know. Becket even mentions she usually has to wait for Piper to have time for her in her busy schedule. But despite Piper’s flaws, she can be a pretty good friend.

The weird stuff starts happening fairly early on when Becket stumbles upon a crying baby while walking her dog at night. Though the baby is far from any she’s seen before. There’s an oddness to it. And when she accidentally cuts herself and blood dripped onto said odd baby, the baby disappeared! So pretty much right away my attention was grabbed with this first scene!

The coming changes were gradual. Becket starts noticing little things throughout the day and then seeing at night how they are totally different. It’s some time down the line where it becomes dangerous to be out at night. There’s also changes in Piper’s behavior. She becomes very unlike herself, it’s like she’s a whole different person!

In the midst of all this chaos, we also have Becket dealing with her crush, Luke, who is her neighbor and Piper’s boyfriend. It makes the crush complicated because in a way, she introduced the two and a relationship just kind of formed. But since Piper’s going through dramatic changes that she’s no longer her old self, and there’s chaos reigning in the city…you can imagine “things” start to happen. And it was actually done rather well and realistically. Nothing overly clichéd either, at least I thought.

I also really enjoyed that Becket’s dad was in the picture, at least occasionally. More so than you see in other YA novels. His absence is warranted though as he’s the chief of police and when the horror and downright scary stuff starts happening in the city, he becomes a little preoccupied. But he’s still there for Becket when it counts. And you have to admire that. Even when Becket and him got into arguments, like teens do with their parents, I still really enjoyed his fatherly role in her life. He really does want the best for her.

The pacing to this one was crazy! And I mean that in the very best of ways! We don’t really understand what’s happening. There’s just tons of chaos going on at night and it’s really scary because people do die! We even “see” some of these nameless people die. This was in the beginning when we weren’t consciously aware of all the crazy going on. And it’s terrifying. There’s a mysterious guy who keeps popping up around Becket when it was still safe to be outside and naturally, you get the idea of that he might know a thing or two.

Needless to say, there’s a lot I can’t say about this one without getting into spoiler territory! Just know that it’s downright freaky and has a heavy air of mystery to it all because we still don’t fully understand what’s going on here. And the ending…ohdeargod don’t get me started on that ending!! It’s a cliffhanger and it’s pretty high on the scale of screaming WTF repeatedly and endlessly. I both love and hate those! I love the excitement and the not knowing of what’s going to happen next, but I LOATHE the year long wait until the next book! That’s always the worst thing about a cliffhanger! The WAITING!!

Despite that ending that’s going to add nervous tics to my sanity, I quite enjoyed this one! It was a thrilling and engaging read! It keeps you guessing and on your toes because danger is at every corner, especially at night. It seems no one and nothing is truly safe at night, unless you stay inside behind locked doors. And have a shotgun! Kind of glad I read this one just during the day time. It’s an added balm to my personal being, though that ending pretty much ripped apart my sanity in some ways! LOL!

If you’re looking for a read that’s freaking and exciting, one filled with horrors to curl your toes and tingle your spine, and a mystery that’s decidedly dark, you couldn’t choose a better read than Nightstruck. Read it if you dare!!* (MUWHAHAHAHA!!)

*a pun on the scariness and the cliffhanger! LOL! I truly get a little too giddy with these reviews!


Overall Rating 5/5 stars—yes, even with that incredibly painful cliffhanger, I can’t bring myself to knock it down a half star. It was truly and incredibly a GREAT read!


Nightstruck releases on April 5, 2016




 

Waiting on Wednesday

I hate waiting...
Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly blog post by Jill over at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights releases we're eagerly awaiting.


Bad Things Always Come In Threes…

As a thief, I'm good at three things: hiding in the shadows, getting in and out unseen, and uncovering secrets. I put these skills to work for the Sinclair Family, one of the magical mobs that run the tourist town of Cloudburst Falls.

Everyone knows Victor Draconi wants to take over all the other Families--and kill every last Sinclair. What they don't know is that I'm on to him, and no way will I let the man who murdered my mom get away with hurting all the other people I care about. Especially when I've got places to break into, stuff to steal, and Devon Sinclair fighting right by my side…

"An adventurous ride you will never want to get off." --#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout on Cold Burn of Magic.
 

I still need to read the second book! EEK! I'm like behind in nearly every series I read!! LOL!


TITLE: Bright Blaze of Magic
AUTHOR: Jennifer Estep
PUBLISHER: Kensington
GENRE: Paranormal YA
RELEASE DATE: April 16, 2016



The second book in the best-selling Legend trilogy comes to life in this vibrant graphic novel adaptation.

After escaping from the Republic's stronghold, Day and June are on the run in Vegas when the country learns that their Elector Primo has died and his son has stepped in to take his place. They meet up with the rebel stronghold of the Patriots—a large organization straddling the line between the Republic and its warring neighbor, the Colonies—and learn about an assassination plot against the Elector. Using threats and blackmail to get what he wants, the Patriots' leader, Razor, convinces June to let herself be captured by Republic soldiers so she can win over the Elector and feed him a decoy assassination plan. But when June realizes that the new Elector is nothing like his father, she must work with Day to try to stop the Patriots' plot before Razor can fulfill his own devastating plans.


So excited that we get to see more of this series in graphic novel format! I'm still mourning the loss of Vampire Academy! To end at Shadow's Kiss? That's just torture!! Besides, I would've LOVED to SEE Dmitri as a Strigoi!

TITLE: Prodigy
AUTHOR: Marie Lu
, adapted by Leigh Dragoon
ILLUSTRATOR: Kaari

PUBLISHER: G.P. Putnam's Sons Books for Young Readers
GENRE: Dystopian YA
RELEASE DATE: April 26, 2016





 

Mar 29, 2016

ARC Review--Reckoning by Veronica Wolff

IN THE GAME OF EVIL, THERE IS ALWAYS A FINAL RECKONING

Annelise’s slaying of Vampire Dagursson has thrown the Isle of Night - and her own heart - into chaos. Though she shares a bond with the vampire Carden, her connection to Ronan grows deeper as he protects her from those who seek justice for and power from Dagursson's death.

But there's one thing Ronan can't protect her from - his sister, Charlotte, who is alive and sworn to destroy Annelise and everyone she holds dear. Now Annelise must decide who she trusts as she embarks on a suicide mission to rescue the most important woman she’s never met: her mother.

Trapped in a deadly game against an ancient evil, not everyone will be left standing as Annelise faces the final reckoning.



I received this book from the author in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.


Nothing, repeat nothing, makes me happier when a beloved series finally gets its conclusion! And this really applies to the series that get canceled or waylaid due to whatever reason. And when Veronica asked me if I would like a review copy of this one, I couldn't type fast enough to respond! I LOOOOOVED The Watchers series! It's been almost three years since we last got to see everyone, so there was that hesitancy that comes with returning, but it wasn't long before I was back into everything. Sure I couldn't remember everyone or all the past events, but Annelise and Veronica are a marvel together at getting you back on track with where things are at and where they are about to go!

Reckoning is the long awaited final book in the The Watchers series by Veronica Wolff and it was definitely worth the wait! Annelise is keeping it a secret that she was the one to kill Dagursson, and it's definitely noted that he's missing. No one but Ronan knows what happened, and she can't even bring herself to tell Carden. It's a very dangerous secret, plus she still has the very powerful, very coveted weapon that killed him. Or Ronan does, but same thing! ;)

Ann is more determined than ever to leave the Isle of Night and find her mother who she now knows is alive, being held prisoner somewhere. Though Charlotte, Ronan's sister who is alive and very much a vampire is set to make her life miserable. She unleashes plenty of terrors all too soon, and promises to basically kill everyone Ann loves. But naturally, Ann won't let that happen.

Ann plans to use everything she's got to find her mother. She will rescue her from whatever hellish prison she's being held in. But naturally, a little trouble happens along the way, and even before her journey!

Reckoning was one action packed thrill ride! There's sooo many fight scenes, and pretty much since the beginning I have marveled at Ann's strength. She was more brain than brawn, but she has come a looong way! She's incredibly brave and even when she gets knocked down a hundred times, this girl gets back up again and again!! She's the perfect heroine to have in a YA novel, because she came from nothing (in a way) and while she was smart, she wasn't Buffy strong. But now, I'd say she could give Buffy a run for her money! Or they're at least on even footing! I've loved watching her character grow!

And I have loved the romance in this one! It's always kind of been in the background of whatever has been going on, which was awesome! While we've pretty much had a love triangle since the earlier days, I was always team Ronan! Probably because he came along first and yeah...swoon! But Carden is something else! He's a vampire, but he genuinely cares for Ann. He agrees to help her with her quest, despite having divided loyalties when it comes to her and the vampires. He's totally swoon-worthy as well! It has been an impossible challenge to figure out who Ann would choose in the end and I won't say a word about it anymore!

There's a bit of vampire politics in this one as well. Had I had time for a series re-read, I might have been able to follow it better. But since I didn't, I can say that it wasn't too hard to follow along. There's just a bit of history behind some of the leaders that I didn't quite grasp to fully understand what was happening in the moment. But regardless, I was pretty much able to follow along with the general gist of things!

Reckoning has everything one can want from a series finale, there's action, humor, sprinkles of romance, heartache, tears, and an ending that leaves you entirely satisfied with where the characters are at! I was happy with where everyone I cared about ended up. I probably had one lingering question as to one's character's fate, but I'm pretty much playing out that fate in my end...and it's well deserved!! LOL! Not telling anything about what I'm thinking either!

If you haven't read Veronica's Watchers series yet, well now is the time!! You can binge the entire thing without my painful wait that I suffered! And don't forget the novella, Dark Craving that was a bit of saving grace for me in between and plus, you get to get inside Ronan's head!! EEP!! I've thoroughly enjoyed every minute of this series and I can't recommend it enough to you all!


Overall Rating 5/5 stars



Reckoning releases April 6, 2016






Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays

Teaser Tuesday is a weekly feature hosted by MizB of Books and Beat


Here are the rules:
 

1. Grab your current read
2. Open to a page
3. Pick out 2 lines that are SPOILER FREE
4. Name the title, author, etc.

I couldn't decide between the two teasers I picked, so naturally, you get both!!


"'I do trust you. Implicitly. And I named you Sentinel because I knew what you could be. Who you could be. If I had to do it over again...' p. 155


'She looks fierce,' Ethan said, 'because she is.'

Luc looked back and forth between us. 'I feel like I don't want to know what's happening right now, so I'm going to just walk away and let you handle it.' Luc did, backing up until he'd put enough distance between us." p 213





TITLE: Midnight Marked
AUTHOR: Chloe Neill

PUBLISHER: NAL
GENRE: Urban Fantasy
RELEASE DATE: March 1, 2016






Top Ten Tuesday is an original feature/weekly meme created at The Broke and the Bookish. This feature was created because we are particularly fond of lists here at The Broke and the Bookish. We'd love to share our lists with other bookish folks and would LOVE to see your top ten lists!

Each week we will post a new Top Ten list  that one of our bloggers here at The Broke and the Bookish will answer. Everyone is welcome to join. All we ask is that you link back to The Broke and the Bookish on your own Top Ten Tuesday post AND add your name to the Linky widget so that everyone can check out other bloggers lists! If you don't have a blog, just post your answers as a comment. Have fun with it! It's a fun way to get to know your fellow bloggers.



This week's topic is: 10 Of My Most Recent 5 Star Reads


*in no particular order
**I am writing this post very early! I expect to be very busy Easter weekend, and weekends are when I plan my posts and such, so I write this over a week early!



1. ASSASSIN'S HEART by Sarah Ahiers--this one was sooo good! Far better than I had anticipated! I loved how incredible all around this one was, and that while the romance was important to the story, it wasn't the main focal point either!
2. THE PROPOSAL by Meg Cabot--a novella, but an awesome one! Kind of biased as I ADORE this series! But still an awesome and fun read!!
3. RECKONING by Veronica Wolff--this review will be coming up later this morning! I LOVED it! Been dying for the conclusion to this series and I was very happy with this one!


4. TEMPTED BY FIRE by Erin Kellison--looooved this one!! Dragons! A slow burning romance! And of course, "slow" is a hard choice of words to describe it, considering the romance does blossom in this first book, but it wasn't right from the getgo. Hence, slow! ;)
5. FORGED IN ICE by Alyssa Rose Ivy--I pretty much LOVE and adore all this woman's Paranormal books! They are just sooo good!
6. UNHOOKED by Lisa Maxwell--an incredibly awesome Peter Pan retelling with Hook as our hero! Swoon!


7. THE VAMPIRE'S FAKE FIANCEE by Kristen Painter--I looove her Nocturne Falls novella series! They are all so incredible and swoonworthy!!
8. THE WARRIOR by Victoria Scott--it had been eons since I read the first two books of this series, but I really loved how this one ended!
9. ANNA AND THE VAMPIRE PRINCE by Jeanne C. Stein--I loved this added adventure with Anna and her Vlad! So many Vlad's these days, but swoon! I love them all!


10. REMEMBRANCE by Meg Cabot--sigh...a book I've been waiting years for without realizing it! Okay, I knew about it the last two or so, and those were long years of waiting! But I read this early last year and ADORED it!! This was my favorite series as a teen so to see Suze all grown up and in another novel made me VERY happy!!

BONUS PICK: (because it was just another two 5 star books down from this last above read)

OBLIVION by Jennifer L. Armentrout--because Daemon ALWAYS gets high marks! Even if he was an asshat in the first book! But I shall forever remember Katy's spaghetti solution and will smile with glee!





Mar 28, 2016

DNF ARC Review--Once Upon a Dream by LIz Braswell

What if the sleeping beauty never woke up? Once Upon a Dream marks the second book in a new YA line that reimagines classic Disney stories in surprising new ways.

It should be simple--a dragon defeated, a slumbering maiden, a prince poised to wake her. But when said prince falls asleep as soon as his lips meet the princess's, it is clear that this fairy tale is far from over.

With a desperate fairy's last curse infiltrating her mind, Princess Aurora will have to navigate a dangerous and magical landscape deep in the depths of her dreams. Soon she stumbles upon Phillip, a charming prince eager to join her quest. But with Maleficent's agents following her every move, Aurora struggles to discover who her true allies are, and moreover, who she truly is. Time is running out. Will the sleeping beauty be able to wake herself up?



I received this ARC from the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I was in no way compensated for this review.


Sadly, so very, very sadly, I was unable to even finish reading Liz Braswell’s Once Upon a Dream. Much like her first Twisted Tales, this one has a LOT of potential, but somewhere along the line things just didn’t mesh well with me. It opens up with Prince Phillip as the main character and then what I assume is a new chapter starts with Aurora in what’s like the dream world.

This is where I started to slip and lose interest. Things were interesting for awhile, as we are seeing the story of Sleeping Beauty told in a completely different way! Aurora’s parents are selfish and evil people, the three good fairies are actually evil, and Maleficent is the benevolent one come to rescue Aurora from a painful life.

And so Aurora and Maleficent live happily together in the castle, thought the world around them has gone dark and practically dead. It’s a dangerous place, so everyone who remains from the terror her parents enacted on the world, live together in the castle.

And that was likely about 50 pages or so, which can be where I tend to DNF a book, but I like to at least go for one hundred. But this book moved so slowly. And I haven’t even gotten to seeing Phillip as the description described. I assume he would’ve made an appearance. Perhaps he would know more of what’s going on with Aurora, for she thinks she’s living real life. Only the book’s description has me believing we’re in the dream world.

I wanted to like this one. I SO wanted to like this one, but I just couldn’t. It was not at all for me. Yet, this series has so much potential! The idea of it sounds incredible!! But it’s just something about the language or buildup. At least for me. I remember the first one just left me feeling blah. And I really thought I would enjoy this one more because it’s based on one of my favorite Disney movies…but it just didn’t work for me. I think here it all amounts to the pacing. The pacing was just so slow moving and when I saw I was only 10% in, I just couldn’t fathom reading this anymore.

So sadly, I had to DNF Once Upon a Dream, much to my dismay. If you’re at all fan of Disney, fairy tale retellings and don’t mind a slower pace, then this one definitely might be more your cup of tea than mind! Don’t let me review scare you off from reading this one. But as it’s said, not every book is for everyone.




 

It's Monday! What are You Reading?

It's Monday! What Are You Reading? is hosted by Sheila at Book Journey. It's a fun meme where we gather to share what we've read last week and our reading plans for this week.


Last Week I Read:

Nightstruck by Jenna Black (ARC)--Review to come at a later date
The Straw King by Danielle Paige (3.5 stars)
Wink Poppy Midnight by April Genevieve Tucholke (4 stars)


Currently Reading:

Midnight Marked by Chloe Neill


What I Plan to Read this Week:

Untamed by A.G. Howard


Other Posts of Interest: