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.

"I gave her my trademark smile. It worked every time. She smiled back, and I nodded, telling her to come over. I thought she was going to, until she shook her head and kept on walking. She didn't even give me a second glance. What the hell?" Kindle location 46/1760
 

TITLE: First
AUTHOR: Alyssa Rose Ivy
PUBLISHER: Self-Published
GENRE: Paranormal New Adult
RELEASE DATE: February 1, 2014

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: Top Ten Popular Authors I've Never Read 

*in no particular order

These are a mix of authors, some in genres I just don't read and others in my genre but still haven't read either way. Can't believe how hard this was!

1. Suzanne Collins

2. James Patterson

3. Lauren Oliver

4. Ally Condie 

5. Veronica Rossi--although I keep debating about starting her trilogy!

6. Dan Wells

7. Laurell K. Hamilton

8. Katie McGarry

9. Cassandra Clare

10. Jodi Picoult--although Between the Lines is still on my TBR pile and will likely be the only book I ever read by her. (Unless she and her daughter write a sequel!)

Review--Blood Awakening by Jamie Manning

Ava’s life went from bad to worse the night Chance became a vampire.

He won’t have anything to do with her. Ava understands why—because he blames her—but it doesn’t mean she likes it.

And it doesn’t help that she’s starting to feel something for Erik, the boy who once wanted her dead. Especially when Chance decides that he does still love her, and wants her to be with him for eternity.

Now she has a choice: Humanity…or forever as a vampire with Chance.

But Ava wants nothing more than to be human again. At least, she thought that was all she wanted.

Thankfully her best friend Kayla has a plan to distract Ava from her boy troubles, and they go in search of Kayla’s missing dad. A great idea, but one that brings Sebastian back into Ava’s life. Along with another, more sinister former member of his coven.

Sebastian and Zyris face off against Ava and her friends, resulting in Ava making yet another choice that changes the course of everyone’s lives, and leaves her wondering if being human again is really worth losing everything.

NOTE: There will be SPOILERS from Blood Born!

Blood Awakening is the second book in Jamie Manning's Blood Prophecy trilogy and I have to say it was even better than the first one.

Some time has passed since the ending of Blood Born, Chance is now a vampire. Ava had Aldric turn him in order to save his life. Only thing is, now Chance won't even talk to her. She has spent some time with Erik (off the page) and now there seems to be something brewing between them, she's not sure she wants there to be anything. Hence the beginning of her boy troubles. To help her escape the problems, Kayla enlists Ava's help in finding her dad who has been missing for some time. This includes taking a trip to Boston, and Erik comes along as well to help his friend out.

The trip doesn't prove to be of any leads, but Kayla isn't about to give up. When they return home, it's only to have more added troubles for Ava. Chance is back in school and when Ava wants to see of restarting their tentative relationship again, Chance wants to be with her, but he wants her to remain a vampire. Ava's deal with Aldric involved her killing 100 vampires so that she may regain her humanity, as for now, she's only half vampire and half human. Ava isn't sure she wants to remain a vampire, even for Chance. You can just feel the tension that this is going to bring about!

When the four friends find themselves back in Boston, trying to track down a new lead to finding Kayla's dad, they find trouble instead. The kind of trouble that's vampire. Zyris is a leader of a vampire coven of sorts and she has plans. Plans that involve Chance and possibly even Ava herself.

I have to say that I really did enjoy this one, but yet, there were still a few things that nagged at me. Like when Kayla, Ava and Chance (and Erik) go back to Boston, it's during the school week and while Chance says he can mesmerize the teachers into believing all is well, I have to wonder, how long can he really do that? Time goes by in Boston and yet it seems no one's worried about the missing teens. Not even their parents! Especially when another teenager from their school reluctantly joins Ava and her friends in their crusade. It just makes you wonder, how neglectful are these parents? Why doesn't it get mentioned? Why aren't they calling their teenager's cell phones? And then there was another issue with moving car keys. Seemed like everyone had a set even when people kept getting separated.

But despite those minor issues that just seemed to nag at me when they popped up, I really did enjoy this one! Ava is quite the character and I find her situation fresh and unusual. Ava and crew even learn about a prophecy that is likely going to play a HUGE role in the next and I believe final book. Some of it seemed kind of obvious to me at the time when it didn't really for the characters, but I guess they were caught up in the moment of trying to rescue one of their friends at the time, to not see how obvious it was.

Now onto the romance! It seems like there is a love triangle brewing. Yup, another one of those. But seriously this is one of the more complex ones. I couldn't figure out which guy I was rooting for more. Ava loves Chance, but he's changed a lot since he became a vampire. And then there's Erik who has been there a lot for Ava recently and she for him. Plus now Ava and Chance are vampires and Erik is still human and a vampire hunter no doubt, so it does leave Ava in quite a predicament.

The ending was pretty awesome! Shocking revelations were happening left and right in the final chapters and they are going to be what sets us on course for the third book. There's even an evil little cliffhanger, but I am trying to stay on the positive side of things, but truly there's no telling what Jamie will have thrown at us! The wait to October is going to be loooong indeed!

Blood Awakening was a thrilling addition to the Blood Prophecy trilogy and while there are a few minor hangups I had as a reader, it was still a very enjoyable read. Nothing like adventure, romance and vampires to make for an incredible read!


Overall Rating 4/5 stars

This read was read for the COYER Challenge!

ARC Review: The Shadow Prince by Bree Despain

Haden Lord, the disgraced prince of the Underrealm, has been sent to the mortal world to entice a girl into returning with him to the land of the dead. Posing as a student at Olympus Hills High—a haven for children of the rich and famous—Haden must single out the one girl rumored to be able to restore immortality to his race.

Daphne Raines has dreams much bigger than her tiny southern Utah town, so when her rock star dad suddenly reappears, offering her full tuition to Olympus Hills High’s prestigious music program, she sees an opportunity to catch the break she needs to make it as a singer. But upon moving into her estranged father’s mansion in California, and attending her glamorous new school, Daphne soon realizes she isn’t the only student in Olympus who doesn’t quite belong.

Haden and Daphne—destined for each other—know nothing of the true stakes their fated courtship entails. As war between the gods brews, the teenagers’ lives collide. But Daphne won’t be wooed easily and when it seems their prophesied link could happen, Haden realizes something he never intended—he’s fallen in love. Now to save themselves, Haden and Daphne must rewrite their destinies. But as their destinies change, so do the fates of both their worlds.

I received this e-ARC from the publishers via Edelweiss in exchange for an honest review, I was in no way compensated for this review.


I was very happy to receive an ARC of Bree Despain's newest series, Into the Dark! The Shadow Prince is a beautifully written tale with a Greek mythology twist! What more could a girl ask for?

Lately most Greek mythology twisted YA reads deal with the ever popular Persephone myth, Bree does this as well--I think because this is the myth that has a lot to speak of, there's love in it, so it's commonly used in most books--but she takes it a step further and twists the myth of Orpheus. Remember him? He went to the underworld after his wife died and played the lyre, Persephone and Hades were so moved by the music that they allowed him to take his wife with him, but was told to never look back at her. And he doesn't...until the very last second. Bree puts a whole new spin on this myth here and I love what's she done with it!

Hade is an Underlord of the the underworld. Hades himself has long since been dead and Persephone is gone as well. Haden's father is the ruler of the underworld and when the Oracle proclaims that Haden will be the Champion that goes to earth and finds the Boon--their "temporary" Persephone, not everyone accepts it well. There's some bad history centering Haden, in where in his father shunned him for something so trifle. Haden has six months to get Daphne to fall in love with him and willingly come to the underworld with him before six months are up.

Daphne is your typical average girl--typical--but her life gets turned upside down when the father she's only seen four times in all her seventeen years comes to collect her. He's got a court order that says she has to live with him now for some time. Having never left her small hometown, she's both excited and fearful. She's not too keen on living with her father who happens to be a famous rock star, too. She gets to attend an elite private school with a very prestigious music program. Life is heading in the direction she wants it to be, because she wants to sing!

And that's about when Daphne and Haden collide with one another. Haden frightens Daphne at first, because, yeah, he acts a little stalker-y, but he's also very clueless about the human world. Seeing him try to adapt to it was quite entertaining. It's obvious that these two will wind up star-crossed lovers and Haden will do whatever possible to protect her, but there's no insta-love here. Yay! But I also wasn't too pleased with how quickly Daphne's feelings towards Haden change. When they first meet, he appears out of nowhere and is acting strangely, before ending it with "Will you willingly come with me?" and then not too long later, Daphne is finding friendship with him. They spend time together at school a bit and she's no longer afraid. I just thought that fear vanished a little too quickly.

Another thing that miffed me a bit was when Daphne's dad was trying to be a dad. He made some good attempts at trying to establish a father-daughter relationship and she completely rebuffs him. Yet, he was making an effort. It kind of struck a personal note with me, but I won't get into it. Basically, I would not have minded myself if my father would've made that kind of effort. I think I might even have been a little more happy about it. Of course my "daddy issues" are a far cry different from Daphne's. So moving on! :)

There's lots more mystery building up in this one as well! So much that it's hard to describe simply without spoilers. Daphne makes new friends who wind up getting tangled in this web of secrets that seem to be surrounding her. Secrets from her father, secrets from her new friends, even secrets from her old friends and they all tie together. It was done in a nicely roundabout kind of way too, not just for simple convenience.

There wasn't a whole lot of romance going on in this one. Still book one, so that's a good thing. But as I did say, Daphne and Haden do have a connection of sorts and it's obvious that it's going to head in that particular direction. Will there be some obstacles in their way? Definitely! Will some of those be other romantic partners? Who knows! All I know is that I am definitely looking forward to the next book!

This was definitely a worthwhile read! I loved the combined myths of Persephone and Orpheus. These days, it's usually just the Persephone myth getting all the book action, so kudos to Bree for taking it at a different spin!!


Overall Rating 4/5 stars 

Into the Dark: The Shadow Prince releases March 11, 2014

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:

The Ghoul Next Door by Victoria Laurie (5 stars)

Bad Blood by Lucienne Diver (4 stars)

Hell Bent by Devon Monk (5 stars)

White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout (5 stars)

Grave Matters by Jana Oliver (5 stars)

Currently Reading:

 Blood Awakening by Jamie Manning

What I Plan to Read this Week:

First by Alyssa Rose Ivy

The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison

Other Posts of Interest:

Teaser & Top Ten Tuesdays

Release Day Launch Blitz--White Hot Kiss + Contest!!

Waiting on Wednesday

Random Thursday

Cover Copy Reveal--Red Blooded

Cover Art Reveal--Prudence

Follow Friday

Clean Out Your E-Reader Challenge Round 2!

Top 5 Sundays

Stacking the Shelves

Cover Copy Reveals--Rhodes & Roth!

Love, vengeance, and greed spark a deadly quest for magic in the third book of the Falling Kingdoms series

Prince Magnus has just witnessed torture, death, and miracles during the bloody confrontation that decimated the rebel forces. Now he must choose between family and justice as his father, the cruel King Gaius, sets out to conquer all of Mytica. All Gaius needs now are the Kindred—the four elemental crystals that give godlike powers to their owner. But the King of Blood is not the only one hunting for this ancient, storied magic. . . .   

THE KRAESHIANS join the hunt. Ashur and Amara, the royal siblings from the wealthy kingdom across the Silver Sea, charm and manipulate their way to the Kindred, proving to be more ruthless than perhaps even the King of Blood himself.
 

THE REBELS forge ahead. Princess Cleo and vengeful Jonas lead them, slaying with sweetness, skill, and a secret that can control Lucia’s overpowering magic—all so they can use the Kindred to win back their fallen kingdoms.

THE WATCHERS follow Melenia out of the Sanctuary. They ally in the flesh with King Gaius, who vows to use Lucia’s powers to unveil the Kindred.

The only certainty in these dark times is that whoever finds the magic first will control the fate of Mytica. . . . but the four element gods of the Kindred have other plans.

OOoh I soooooo cannot wait to read this one! Once I finally dived into Falling Kingdoms I was enamored with the story! I fell soo in love with the world, the characters and the multiple storylines and how they connect to one another. I'm taking a guess that this might be Jonas on the cover. Unless it's one of our newer characters, but I was betting more on our four main characters we've been dealing with the past two books!

Gathering Darkness releases December 9, 2014

More Four! Fans of the Divergent series by #1 New York Times bestselling author Veronica Roth will be thrilled by Four: A Divergent Story Collection, five short stories told from Four's perspective. Each brief story—"The Transfer," "The Initiate," "The Son," "The Traitor," and "Free Four"—explores the world of the Divergent series through the eyes of the mysterious but charismatic Tobias Eaton, revealing previously unknown facets of his personality, backstory, and relationships.

The collection of stories that had to be delayed for some time, but now the cover is up!! I liked it. It sticks with the trilogy in some way, but is still on its own, separating from it. That we have the Ferris wheel is a sort of bittersweet treat. Since to me, it's sort of our first moment with Four and Tris. Definitely cannot wait to read these! I did read the first story when it released on time, but when the others were going to be delayed, I just decided to wait to buy the book itself!

Four releases July 8, 2014

And there's also a newer release date for Jennifer L. Armentrout's Stone Cold Touch. I was under the assumption that it would be out in November, but now Goodreads and Amazon both say it will release October 28, 2014! At least it's October! Obviously once a cover gets revealed along with book description I will repost for all its shiny glory!

Stacking the Shelves

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!


Okay all! I told you last week that I was a bad little girl with the book buying! Now it's time to show you what I bought! Although ONE book is a keeper copy and I did already read ANOTHER ONE! So that's two less I added to my TBR pile then what's shown!

 

Grim edited by Christine Johnson--a keeper copy (see review here) look below at real life pictures! This book is sooo cool!

The Undead Pool by Kim Harrison--a SIGNED EDITION!! look below for the pictures!

White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout--See review here (you bet I read it already!)

The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin--a recent slew of reviews convinced me I HAD to give this series a shot!

Crazy in the Blood by Lucienne Diver

Rise of the Blood by Lucienne Diver

Unite Me by Tahereh Mafi--Bookworm Brandee's recent review of Destroy Me convinced me I had to move forward with this series!

Unravel Me by Tahereh Mafi

 My SIGNED copy of The Undead Pool from B&N! It had a special page for Kim to sign and an emblem on the cover to note that this baby is a FIRST edition and SIGNED! :D

 And check out the copy of Grim! There's no removable cover, this is a hardback with a red ribbon bookmark sewn in! It's like the traditional book of fairy tales! This is such an AWESOME anthology! My pictures don't do it justice! Plus it was filled with great stories as well!

Then not books, but still VERY important to note I bought these DVDs:

Thor

Thor: The Dark World

Gotta have me my Chris Hemsworth!


So that was my A-MAZING haul! What did you get this week?

Top 5 Sundays

Top 5 Sundays is a weekly blog meme created by Larissa at Larissa's Bookish Life.

Every Sunday I will post a TOP 5 list on the blog. It can be about anything and every week I'll have a new theme {You can vote on next week’s theme on my left sidebar!} and I will ad the Mr.Linky bellow the post so you can do a list with the theme and add you link to it.

Rules:

1 - Write a post listing your TOP 5 choices within the theme I chose (or was chosen on a poll) for the week.

2 - Mention this Blog on the post and link back to it.

3 - Feel free to use the Feature's image (there is a smaller size version of it bellow)

4 - After you've finished your post, add you link (of the post, not your blog's main page) to the Mr.Linky at the end of that week's post.

5 – If you don’t have a blog to post, just leave your list in the comments =)

This week's topic is: Book Series You Don't Want to End!

*in no particular order

THE HOLLOWS SERIES

by Kim Harrison

This was one of my first adult UF series. So sad to see it coming to an end next year. But as will be a theme here, all good series must come to an end before they just start to be needlessly drawn out.

NIGHT HUNTRESS SERIES

by Jeaniene Frost

Well this one technically ended already just this year. I was sad to see it end, but I did like the way Jeaniene ended it! Of course if I had me an Ian book, I could die happy! ;)

WOMEN OF THE OTHERWORLD SERIES

by Kelley Armstrong

Another series that already ended, but one I was sad to see go. I loved Kelley's series. Loved having different narrators with each book and returning narrators as well. Upside is that there's still novellas and other short stories Kelley's got cooked up, so it's like it's not really over, but is for full length novels.

SCHOOL SPIRITS SERIES

by Rachel Hawkins

This one's a bit difficult to explain. Word is that the series is on a hold of sorts. Not sure when or if it will be picked up again, but I enjoyed reading about Izzy and hope that we get to return to her world again someday!

THE FEVER SERIES

by Karen Marie Moning

Another difficult one to explain. While it does seem that the series is over, in a way it's still continuing with Dani's series. Word is now that Dani's series will be combined with Mac's in a sense that we'll hear from more than one narrator. Either way the series continues, so I'm happy. But will be sad when it does come to its final end.

 

Clean Out Your E-Reader Challenge Round 2!

It seems I need to do another cleaning of my e-reader. Not as deep as November, but since Because Reading is Better than Real Life and Fantasy is More Fun were doing this challenge again in March, I thought I'd better join in and make myself read some of the recently bought ebooks and novellas I got!

I'm thinking my goal then is going to be the Spring Cleaning 5-9 ebooks!

Since I buy mostly real books I don't have too many kindle books on there! Especially not since my deep cleaning from November! So the Spring Cleaning ought to do it for me!

Ebooks that I bought that were under $5 at the time--they might be up now--will be:

No Place Like Oz by Danielle Paige

First by Alyssa Rose Ivy

Who Needs Enemies by Keri Arthur

Blood Awakening by Jamie Manning

Such Sweet Sorrow by Jenny Trout

These are the 5 I intend to read. There may or may not be more when it comes to March. But this is my goal! And who knows a Netgalley book might even pop up in the meantime and get added as well! I have a few still ongoing open requests that haven't been answered as of yet!