The Scoop on Almost Midnight

Almost Midnight is just around the corner, and while it may be a compilation of most of C.C. Hunter's Shadow Falls novellas, there will also be a BRAND NEW NOVELLA featuring Fredericka!!!

Ferdericka will star in her own novella, Fierce! And since I still need to read one of the stories in here, I am definitely buying a copy! Plus it has FIERCE!!!

But what will happen in Fierce? C.C. has the scoop on that!









 

1. Someone Fredericka cares about isn’t someone she should trust.
2. Someone from Fredericka’s past shows up and brings with her painful memories Fredericka would rather not face.
3. Weird and scary crap keeps happening at the falls.
4. Ghosts happen.
5. Fredericka finally feels like she’s part of the Shadow Falls Teams.
6. A certain kick-butt vampire turns out to be someone Fredericka not only can trust, but likes.
7. Fredericka gets a firm talking to from Burnett.
8. A murderer is brought to justice and to his knees thanks to Fredericka.
9. Love happens.

Almost Midnight releases February 2, 2016

ARC Review--Unhooked by Lisa Maxwell

For as long as she can remember, Gwendolyn Allister has never had a place to call home—all because her mother believes that monsters are hunting them. Now these delusions have brought them to London, far from the life Gwen had finally started to build for herself. The only saving grace is her best friend, Olivia, who’s coming with them for the summer.

But when Gwen and Olivia are kidnapped by shadowy creatures and taken to a world of flesh-eating sea hags and dangerous Fey, Gwen realizes her mom might have been sane all along.

The world Gwen finds herself in is called Neverland, yet it’s nothing like the stories. Here, good and evil lose their meaning and memories slip like water through her fingers. As Gwen struggles to remember where she came from and find a way home, she must choose between trusting the charming fairy-tale hero who says all the right things and the roguish young pirate who promises to keep her safe.

With time running out and her enemies closing in, Gwen is forced to face the truths she’s been hiding from all along. But will she be able to save Neverland without losing herself?

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

Unhooked was my first book by Lisa Maxwell and I must say it was pretty freaking awesome! Peter Pan is one of my favorite fairy tales, who wouldn’t want to stay a kid forever and do nothing but have fun? Sure there are perks to being an adult, but there’s still that absolute magic that comes with never growing up.

In Unhooked, we get a different view of Neverland and all it holds. But first, a little about Gwen, our heroine. Gwen is used to moving around endlessly on her mother’s whims, for her mother sees things that no one else can. She comes off a bit…kooky, but naturally, she was right in the end. For when Gwen comes to their latest house, she and her best friend are taken in the middle of the night.

Gwen soon finds herself aboard a ship at the mercy of a Captain, named Rowan. Rowan can’t be more than a few years older than her and his crew of young boys has her grasping for straws. For in this Neverland, there truly are no adults. The oldest is likely Rowan or Pan himself. I found this change to be very interesting and it makes better sense in a way, for that was one thing I never understood, if there are no adults or growing up in Neverland, then why was Captain Hook and his crew adults? Yeah…I still don’t grasp that…but it’s truly no problem here!

Gwen is determined to find her friend, Olivia, who was taken as well, but the Captain isn’t quite rushing to save the day. He’s not villainous like the story once led you to believe. He’s quite the opposite in fact, but he loathes Neverland and the boy who calls himself Pan. So that part of the story still remains true.

There’s a lot that goes on in this story, but I don’t want to get into all the details. Just know that Gwen sees the truth behind the boy called Peter Pan and the infamous Captain who was always his enemy. I definitely liked seeing these differences, even with my love for the original and Disney version. It’s rather fun seeing a twist to a beloved tale. And I absolutely LOVED all the hat tips to the original story as well. We get mentions of boys named John and Michael, a note to take the tunnel that is second to the right…all things that had me smiling with absolute glee!

There is a bit of newness to this tale when we bring in the fae, and that’s about all I will say on that. Some of it started to make my head turn a bit, but it was because of all the secretness and duplicity. It’s very exciting and different, yet it did get a little twisted at times, but twisted can be good.

After reading the final pages, it’s become clear that this is a standalone and just wow! At first I thought things might be pushed aside for future books, but the characters kept going for all those things that they had to accomplish and then the ending! Holy cow!! It was freaking incredible!! There were soooo many emotions at play too! Maxwell really knows how to tug on your heartstrings!

Overall, I must say that Unhooked was an exciting read! It’s got adventures, pirates, fairies, flying, a hot pirate, tons of action and naturally, just a little hint of romance! It’s the perfect fantasy/fairy tale type read for all readers! I highly encourage reading it because who doesn’t want to return to Neverland in a completely different and exciting way?

Overall Rating 5/5 stars

Unhooked releases February 2, 2016

 

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays

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

"'Look what your guilt has gotten us into,' Greta snapped. 'I swear to God, I didn't survive four years in Mylena only to get thrown in jail in the human world because of you. And if my parents try to ground me because of this, I'm so going to kill you myself.'" Kindle loc. 27%*

*Quote comes from eARC, therefore it and its location are not final.

TITLE: Greta and the Lost Army
AUTHOR: Chloe Jacobs
PUBLISHER: Entangled TEEN
GENRE: Fantasy YA
RELEASE DATE: February 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: Freebie Week! Series I (Hope to) Plan to Finish this Year!

*in no particular order

1. GHOST HUNTER MYSTERY SERIES by Victoria Laurie--the last book! Sob! I can't do it just yet!! :(

2. GODDESS WAR TRILOGY by Kendare Blake--yeah still need to read book 2!

3. SHADES OF LONDON TRILOGY by Maureen Johnson--I deliberately waited to read book 2 because of its cliffhanger ending until I had book 3. I've had both for nearly a year now. Sigh...

4. HOURGLASS TRILOGY by Myra McEntire--yeah...still need to read the last one here. Though when I see it I am reminded of that devastating day that the St. Louis signing had been canceled featuring Myra and others AND I missed the impromptu hangout because it happened earlier than the signing time and I had no idea where they were by then and no one to contact. So yes, that was a very sad day. :(

5. DARK ANGELS SERIES by Keri Arthur--just 1 more book! I gotta finish this as her newest series is already started! And I read it! ;)

6. KITTY NORVILLE SERIES by Carrie Vaughn--gasp!! 2 books behind! And one is the long awaited Cormac book!! What is wrong with me?!

7. SPLINTERED SERIES by A.G. Howard--since it just released in December I am thankfully not to far behind for this last set of short stories!

8. THE PROSPERO'S WAR TRILOGY by Jaye Wells--yeah...fell way behind with this one!

9. ASYLUM TALES SERIES by Jocelynn Drake--I even waited until all three parts in the serial novel were out and yet they all remain unread!

10. THE TAKING TRILOGY by Kimberly Derting--well I'm still ahead since the final book doesn't release until May, but I would like to read this series in its entirety by the end of the year! Loved book 1!!

ARC Review--Greta and the Lost Army by Chloe Jacobs

After spending the last four years trapped in a place of monsters, demons, and magick, the last thing the fierce teenage bounty hunter Greta expected was to ever be back on Earth. But a rare opportunity gives her and the Goblin King Isaac the opportunity to do just that. Now she’s home. With a boy in tow. And her parents have lots of questions.

Although Greta finally has her heart’s deepest wish—to see her family again—every step she takes to reconnect with them drives her further away from Isaac. Greta and Isaac planned for her to return to Mylena and become his queen, but she’s not sure if she can go back to that harsh world, though staying on Earth means giving up the boy she loves.

But a powerful enemy refuses to let Greta escape. A demon who will stop at nothing to destroy her and everything she loves. Even if it means following her to Earth and forcing her to face a fate as unavoidable as love itself.

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

The long awaited finale to Chloe Jacobs’ Mylena Chronicles is here at last!! Greta and the Lost Army brings us an amazing and shocking and heartrending ending to the trilogy that grabbed me from the pages from the getgo.

When we last saw Greta, she, the “lost boys”, Siona, and Isaac had managed to return to her world. But the battle is far from over, while they all needed to return to the world Greta once called home, she knows that she, Siona, and Isaac will have to go back to Mylena and defeat Agramon once and for all. But, for the meantime, she feels good to be home.

Naturally, there was a heartfelt reunion between Greta and her parents, though her brother Drew was a little shell-shocked at her arrival and was kind of MIA for her stay. Which was sad in a way. It’s been too long since I read the first book, because I can’t remember how old Drew was when he was almost taken and Greta rescued him and how old he should be now. He’s obviously school age, but I felt like he should’ve been around more than he was, even if he was a minor character.

Greta helps all the boys reconnect with their parents and sees them all home. It was an amazing feeling for her. Only Isaac and Siona remain, for even Wyatt went back home. And soon enough she had to see them off to a foster family, because her parents weren’t able to take care of them as well. It was a bit odd to see everyone disbanding so early on, yet I can understand in some sense that Greta’s parents want to rebuild their family without having new members thrown temporarily in.

For the first half of the book we basically watch Greta try to adapt to human life again. For four years she lived a very different kind of life, and now she’s suddenly expected to go back to the way things were before. She and the boys told her parents a variation of the truth, minus the “other world” part because the last thing they needed was to have to deal with psychologists as well.

Greta struggles to decide whether she wants to go back or not as well. At first, she was all willing to go back to Mylena with Isaac to save his kingdom, but then she starts adapting to her old life for a bit, and wonders, would it be so bad to stay?

Although you do suspect, that at some point she will go back to Mylena, we still have Agramon to deal with. And that’s what the second half of the novel deals with. And what a battle of struggles it was!

Pacing wise, I’d say that the first half was a little slow. I mean, it was filled with great family style moments and all, but there was little else going on. When we return to Mylena, that’s when the action really starts happening as Greta and Isaac start to build their army to take down the enemy. And then that ending…omg…I was scared for a bit! Totally scared! No matter how many times you try to tell yourself that Ending A is likely going to play out, there’s always the possibility of seeing Ending B or some other such letter! But with the way the ending came about, you realize that Greta made the right decision.

I am already sad to see this series come to an end! It has such a Labyrinth feel to it when I first started the series and I still can’t help but see a little of Jareth in Isaac, and what with David Bowie’s passing just a few weeks ago, I’m still left a little melancholy over everything!

The romance was spot on! I love Isaac! He loves Greta so deeply and with his whole heart! He’s totally swoonworthy. And the moments he and Greta share together always leave me grinning like a lovesick fool! And the romance isn’t even a key point in the story. Yes, Greta and Isaac are in love, but they have a kingdom to save and they are actively trying to do that. So seeing them steal a few moments alone together just makes it all the more gushy and swoony! Lol!

Greta is definitely a headstrong heroine! She’s gutsy and brave, and yet still totally human. She bleeds easily and whatnot but that never stops her from fighting for what she wants and you gotta love her tenacity!

Greta and the Lost Army was a truly fitting end to the series! It’s a magical and extraordinary read and I am happy to have read it!

Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars

Greta and the Lost Army releases February 1, 2016

ARC Review--Remembrance by Meg Cabot

In REMEMBRANCE, the seventh installment of the Mediator series, all Susannah Simon wants is to make a good impression at her first job since graduating from college (and becoming engaged to Dr. Jesse de Silva).

But when she stumbles across an ancient murder, old ghosts—and ex-boyfriends—aren’t all that come back to haunt her.

REMEMBRANCE will be the first ever adult installment of the Mediator, published by William Morrow, the adult division of HarperCollins, the company that brought you the YA books in the series. 

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

My most anticipated read of 2016 was Meg Cabot’s Remembrance, because you guys, this book is from the Mediator series!! This was one of my first paranormal YA series I read in a time where there was NO paranormal YA! It was dark times, but luckily I was able to stumble upon a few books here and there, and this series was one of them! And oh, how I ate it up! It totally threw me through a loop when Haunted came out and not only had the covers changed and we went to hardcover vs paperback, but Meg started writing under Meg Cabot for them when she initially wrote them as Jenny Carroll! I was new to basically all publishing things back then, because when I saw Haunted…a tale of the mediator…I thought, “oh that reminds me of Jenny Carroll’s Mediator series!” and then sure enough as I read that description I knew right away that it was the same series!

So long story, short, I’ve been a long time fan of this series. When Meg announced in 2014 that she was writing this book, I was over the freaking moon! And then when Edelweiss approved my request, I was sooo excited! I dove into it as soon as I could and pretty much lost myself into Suze’s world once again!

I didn’t really have time for a series re-read, but in a way, it wasn’t necessary. I remembered enough of the major details, and that’s really all that’s needed. Because this is the first ADULT installment in the Mediator series! While the series was initially YA, this is NOT A YA book! Susanna is grown up now, as it was six years ago when she graduated high school, so she’s 24 or 25 ish. Not sure if it’s ever said, but you basically can do the math! In a way, this book reminded me of my love of watching the Veronica Mars movie. A series I once so loved and then returning back again, nearly 10 years later as well! I think the last book published in 2006 or so, so yes, it was just that magical, just like Veronica Mars’ movie was! This is definitely a read that all Mediator fans MUST read! But I will say, new fans can read this one, just be aware you’ll be majorly spoiled for events of the earlier YA series.

Now onto the actual review, since I spent three long paragraphs gushing over my complete love and adoration for this book and series! Susannah and Jesse have been pretty happy these past years. Though, Susannah is getting a little tired of waiting for the big day. There were stipulations Jesse made before they could get married, and you know, finally have sex. But Susannah has a lot more to deal with then just the relationship woes. Her first problem is that a certain someone comes crashing back into her life to make it a living hell once again. Yes, Paul Slater is back.

Paul has become your basic new millionaire playboy and his heart or some other body part is still set on having Susannah all to himself. He has bought her old family home and tells her of a curse, a darkness that is likely inside of Jesse, her once ghost boyfriend turned human and alive again. A darkness that will take hold of him if the place he died is destroyed. And since he died in Susannah’s old family home, destroying it would put a major cramp in their relationship. Paul requires Susannah to go on a date with him and give him one more chance. Completely ignoring that she is engaged to Jesse. Paul certainly hadn’t changed much since high school!

Susannah’s other problem involves a teenage girl at her old school, where she currently interns un-paid, who happens to have a ghost hanging around her. And naturally, her old mediator skills are being put to use yet again.

In a lot of ways, this book pretty much like reads its YA predecessors. There’s danger, yet Susannah doesn’t seem to care. She keeps certain secrets from Jesse. There’s a good ol’ mystery to solve and a ghost to help.

I did a lot of gushing over this book! We get to see a lot of the characters again, and I was all for that! Even that little twit, Kelly is back in the picture! Seriously, it was like the Veronica Mars movie all over again! Just that absolute love to see all your old friends and enemies again! It was totally gush worthy! I totally see and understand all the long time VM fans’ excitement for the movie, as I was a late to the game kind of girl for that series. But the Mediator series was one I adored from the getgo. I thought book 6 was a fine and awesome ending, but yet, when Meg said she might and then actually writing a book 7 I was over the freaking moon, as I said! It was just awesome!

Susannah still has her same snark, which I loved! In a lot of ways, she is kind of like Veronica Mars, except she sees ghosts amid looking for the bad guys who usually did harm or wrong to the ghosts. And then Jesse is usually there to help her out of course! And let’s just say there’s definitely a good reason why this is an ADULT book! Susannah is very grownup, in her own way, and there’s definitely mature situations, though we have seen that in some YA books these days, but never so much from this original YA series. Plus the case she ends up working is kind of dark, thus another reason to make this an ADULT (ish) read.

But again, I was in high school when I started reading the “adult” books, so I’m not saying this is like Fifty Shades of Grey but any means. Just be aware that there is a bit more romantic element to it, plus a disturbing (ish) twist to the case Susannah works.

I had not one complaint about this book. None whatsoever! It was positively perfect for me. But as I said, I am a long time fan of the Mediator series, so returning to this world was a delight for me! It was nice seeing all the characters again and having some of that same feeling to the series from when Suze was a teenager. It’s definitely a read for all fans of Meg Cabot’s Mediator series! It’s positively to die for! LOL!

Overall Rating 5/5 stars

Remembrance releases February 2, 2016

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:

No Ghouls Allowed by Victoria Laurie (4.95 stars)

Grave Visions by Kalayna Price (Early Copy) (4 stars)

Queen by Aimee Carter (4.5 stars)

Currently Reading:

Greta and the Lost Army by Chloe Jacobs (ARC)

What I Plan to Read this Week:

Forged in Ice by Alyssa Rose Ivy (ARC)

Other Posts of Interest:

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays

Waiting on Wednesday

Random Thursday

Stacking the Shelves--all the SIGNED goodness!!!

Stacking the Shelves--all the SIGNED goodness!!!

This weekly meme is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

Stacking The Shelves is all about the books we are adding to our shelves each week, sharing with you our excitement for our newest titles and maybe have you discover a new book in the process!


Wow! Wow wow wow!! I'm still staring at all my pretties from this week! There are SO many I can't wait to read! And a few I still need to get caught up in series wise, but it's going to be fun!

Here's what I bought:

 

Truthwitch by Susan Dennard--SIGNED!

Passenger by Alexandra Bracken--SIGNED!

The Dirt on the Ninth Grave by Darynda Jones--SIGNED!

Feverborn by Karen Marie Moning--SIGNED!

My unsigned but still desired buys:

 Sanctuary Bay by Laura J. Burns & Melinda Metz

The Proposal by Meg Cabot

Fire Study by Maria V. Snyder--UK YA edition for my collection! And sadly, this was another "very good" edition that came to me as "okay" or "fair" the spine is much more worn than I thought it would be and I think in transit some of the back cover and bottom edges got ripped. It was a heartache for sure, but again, I tell myself I'm only collecting...now if only I had a bookcase where I could dedicate it to all Maria's books! I'm sure I would have half of it full if it was a 3 shelfer that is!

For review:

Greta and the Lost Army by Chloe Jacobs (ARC)

Forged in Ice by Alyssa Rose Ivey (ARC)

THANK YOU Entangled TEEN, Netgalley, and Alyssa!!

And that was my incredible haul this week! Already diving into Greta and the Lost Army and loving it so far! What did you all get this week?

Review--Queen by Aimee Carter

PAWN...CAPTIVE...QUEEN?

Kitty Doe is a Blackcoat rebel and a former captive with a deadly connection to the most powerful and dangerous man in the country, Prime Minister Daxton Hart. Forced to masquerade as Daxton's niece, Lila Hart, Kitty has helped the Blackcoats take back the prison known as Elsewhere. But Daxton has no intention of ceding his position of privilege—or letting Kitty expose his own masquerade. Not in these United States, where each person's rank means the difference between luxury and poverty, freedom and fear...and ultimately, between life and death.

To defeat the corrupt government, Kitty must expose Daxton's secret. Securing evidence will put others in jeopardy, including the boy she's loved forever and an ally she barely trusts. For months, Kitty's survival has hinged on playing a part. Now she must discover who she truly wants to be, and whether the new world she and the rebels are striving to create has a place in it for her after all.

I dove into Aimee Carter's Queen, yet again not remembering the previous events well. This is the problem of a reader who reads too much! LOL. Though, luckily, Aimee does a good job of giving us enough of a recap to see where we are at the beginning of the story. And once again, we find Kitty working with the Blackcoats in order to bring Daxton Hart down once and for all.

We know now that the man claiming to be Daxton Hart isn't the real Daxton, but Victor Mercer as Kitty learned he was Masked as Daxton years ago. Now the goal is to prove it to the country that he's a fraud.

Kitty and Knox and the rest of the Blackcoats continue to struggle to get the upper-hand in this deadly game that they play with Daxton. Every time it seems one or the other gets ahead, the other comes around and pushes them back. We see this and feel the incredible frustration that Kitty and the rest suffer.

It's not long before Kitty is caught by Daxton, while she knew what she was getting into, she's not sorry for her choices. For now she can see Grayson and the real Lila. And for awhile things are calm, and then that's when the storm comes.

It's hard to properly describe the events without describing the events. You know? LOL. But basically this plot is thick with tension. There are so many unknown factors in this game and at the crux of it all, you really just want Daxton to die a slow and painful death. Vindictive much? Well, maybe, but if you're already invested in this trilogy then you know it's warranted. Daxton is just one horrible person.

One of the things that I liked was the nice subtle romance. True, we have a bit of a love triangle going on, as we could pretty much see coming. But the nice thing, again, is that it too is subtle. And soon enough the triangle is no longer an issue, yet there are no "lovey dovey" moments to be bogged down with. While I do enjoy the occasional romantic interlude, it was a refreshing change to not have that going on here.

I was a bit upset by the lack of Knox in this book. Around the halfway point, he takes an exit. I won't get into the details of that, but you can clearly see his lack of presence. And then there's the worry for his well-being, since he is wanted for "treason" or whatever such farce Daxton claims. But when he is around, one can't help but notice the chemistry between him and Kitty. And while I thought Benjy was a sweet guy and all, I was all for Knox in the romance sense.

The ending to this one couldn't be more perfect! I'll admit, I was getting a bit upset with how some things turned out or were pushed under the rug. And it nearly changed my rating for this one. But in the  last paragraph or two, we are saved, the ending struck home! And I'll stop there before I say something I don't mean to!

Overall, I have quite enjoyed this series! It's a far cry different from my usual reads, as there was no paranormal or fantasy elements, magic, or anything "odd" about this book. But it still has plenty of intrigue and suspense and action to keep me turning those pages as fast as my eyes can read! It's rare that I divert this much from my favorite genres, but when Aimee Carter is already one of my favorite authors and the plot sounded more than intriguing enough, I knew it wasn't that much of a risk in reading this. Sure enough, I was right!

If you're looking for a read filled with intrigue, backstabbing plots, and more plots to overthrow a tyrannical government, and a heroine who rises to the challengers thrown at her again and again, you couldn't choose a better series than The Blackcoat Rebellion!


Overall Rating 4.5/5 stars

Random Thursday

Time for more fun with That's a Fact Jack: A Collection of Utterly Useless Information [Updated] by Harry Bright and Jakob Anser! We're making some headway into this little book of nonsense! This week's facts are some more shockers!

"Dr. Seuss wrote Green Eggs and Ham after his editor challenged him to produce a book using fewer than 50 different words. The words are: a, am, and, everywhere, are, be, boat, box, car, could, dark, do, eat, eggs, fox, goat, green, ham, here, house, I, if, in, let, like, may, me, mouse, not, on, or, rain, Sam,say, see, so, thank, that, the, them, there, they, train, tree, try, will, with, would, you."

That was pretty surprising, but makes sense it repeats itself a lot! LOL! Never knew it was just 50!

"The first chapter of Joseph Heller's Catch-22 was published in the quarterly literary magazine New World Writing #7 in 1955 under the title 'Catch-18'. The same issue carried a chapter from Jack Kerouac's 'On the Road', published under a pseudonym."

Did not know this at all!