Where have I been??

Hey everyone, I have not fallen off the face of the Earth, though it may seem that way. I have been so busy as of late and have just not had the time to write or blog about anything.

I got my new ereader for my birthday and that was by far the best gift I have ever received... next to the super cool white tassel ankle boots I got when I was 12 :) But with the new book and the website where I can download hundreds of ebooks for free, I have been reading up a storm.

Which I suppose is no excuse not to review them as I go, except that I just don't stop reading :)

I hae moved in the last few months, twice. Out of our home in Louisiana and into Ohio. It's much colder here, but the perfect place to curl up next to a fire and read... even though I do miss my days of sitting outside in the wonderfully warm air and reading.

Never fear though my fellow book enthusiasts, I will begin blogging again soon, and I have many many books to review. I can't wait to give you my opinion on them all.

Up and Coming...

I just added a whole lot of new books to my up and coming list. Great names like Cassandra Clare, Melissa Marr, Kelley Armstrong, Carrie Jones, Lesley Livingston... and many more. If you have not had a chance to read any of the amazing stories they have in publication, you need to get on the ball.. SERIOUSLY... where have you been??? Under a rock?? lol

The Mortal Instruments, and the Wicked Lovely series are two of the best teen series out there. Let's not forget the Wondrous Strange series, the Darkest Powers series, or the Need series... I have read at least one book by EVERY author on my Up and coming list.. except Ms. Gwen Hayes. She is a debut author who's book sounds absolutely delicious!!

Check them out, catch up on the ones you are behind on and get ready, 2011 is just around the corner and it seems that we have some amazing reads about to be available to us. EEEK I'm excited.

Great contest!!

Ok guys there is an awesome contest going on right now. No I am not hosting it but some Wicked Lovely ppl are. It's the folks over at Reading Teen: Reading Clean, and they totally nailed this one!! It's a Caster Contest in honor of Beautiful Darkness coming out in just a FEW SHORT DAYS from now!!!! Log onto their webpage, check out the contest, definitely participate and be ready because October 12th is just around the corner!! I wish all of you the best of luck ;)

Book Review: Radiance

This is the first book in a  new series by Alyson Noel. And again she has done a great job.

In the series The Immortals, we are introduced to Riley, who is Ever's sister. Her younger sister who passed away in a horrible car accident, that only Ever walked away from. Riley doesn't cross over at first with the rest of her family, she stays behind with her sister to still experience as much of life as she can.

After finally deciding to join the rest of her family, she will begin to start a new life in a  new place. A place called The Here and Now. She isn't quite sure if it's heaven or hell she is in, but she is somewhat happy to be here. Her family is happy she is here, she that should make her be happy as well. Right?

Her first day of school starts out a nightmare, she gets snubbed by a snob, and is more than a little confused. Especially when classmates who are glowing start to get called up to the front of class. Riley is freaked out, why are they glowing??

Riley still has her sense of humor, even if it is gritty. And then she is introduced to her guide, man things just go from bad to worse.

She has been given a job in The Here and Now. She is a catcher. She will be returned to the Earth plane to help coax across souls of people who are refusing to let go of life, for one reason or another. And guess what? Her first assignment is one that NO ONE has been able to complete, though many have tried and failed.

Riley knows this is how things have to be now, and when her assignment scares the bejesus out of her, she decides not to give her guide the satisfaction of knowing she ran scared. She knows she can do this, and so do this she will. And she will succeed... she hopes.

This was a wonderful read, it was so sweet and funny. I love Riley's character so much. And the best part about this book is after i read it, it made me wonder if maybe my little sister is up there in the Here and Now, doing a job and fulfilling her destiny. I will recommend this to everyone!

Ratings: Number 3 and 4 stars

Radiance
Alyson Noel

Book Review: Clockwork Angel

This is the first book in a new trilogy by Cassandra Clare. I am so excited about the entire trilogy, I loved her first works, The Mortal Instruments trilogy. And now she is back with her amazing talent to give us more to feast our eyes on.

Tessa is headed to a new country, she is going to meet up with her brother for the first time is ages. Only once she gets there everything turns upside down. Kidnapped by the Dark Sisters, and held prisoner in a home. She is more than a little alone, and she is extremely scared. Ever since her arrival, the Dark Sisters have been trying to teach her a dark kind of magic, one she never knew she had abilities for.

After being rescued by a very handsome Shadowhunter, Tessa is thrown into a world that she never thought could exist. Where warlocks and witches, vampires and werewolves are the everyday normal person. Finding out that she isn't the human she always thought she was, and being used as a new tool in the ongoing war between the Shadowhunter and the downworlders. It is all too much for her.

In the mist of discovering a new self, being rescued, and trained, Tessa is finding herself more and more drawn to the Shadowhunter that saved her from the Dark Sisters. Will is attractive and smart, funny in his own dark way, and every time Tessa tries to get close to him he gets just as close and then pulls back away. She is frustrated and can't understand if he is falling for her as well or if he is playing a cruel joke.

James is another Shadowhunter living among them and he is just as handsome as Will, but he is so much nicer, he is calm and polite, helping her to adjust to all the new things in her life. James is the kind of man she should be falling in love with, and it becomes obvious that James is feeling the same way towards her. But for some reason she keeps going back to Will.

When the war breaks out and they are now facing a new enemy, robots. The Shadowhunters take a big blow and they may not be able to make it out of this one alive. When Tessa gets involved using her new found magic things sway in their favor. But then Tessa starts to learn things about who she really is and has always been, but even with these answers she's getting, all she ends up with is more questions.

I loved loved loved this book. Cassandra is my absolute favorite YA author, and I would recommend this to everyone, it's a great read.

Ratings: Number 3 and 4 stars

Clockwork Angel
Cassandra Clare

Book Review: The Dark Hunter series

So here I am back after a few weeks. Sry it has been taking me so long to get around to writing these days, but you know how life goes sometimes :)

I am going to finish reviewing the Dark Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon in this blog. I finally finished the series, yes all 17 of the books. Each and every of them were absolutely amazing!

The first book up is Dark Side of the Moon. This one is about Rayvn, he is different from all the other Dark Hunter. Not only is he a Dark Hunter, but also a Were Hunter. Yet the only ones who associate him are the DH's. Almost 300 years ago Rayvn was betrayed by everyone he held near and dear to him. Becoming a Dh was the one choice he could make to extract revenge. Now because he has crossed that line, he can never go back to his Were family.  Susan was the next big thing when she worked on another newspaper, but falling into a trap sent her career into reverse. Now she works with an old college associate on his tabloid paper, and goes throughout the day one step at a time.  Susan's best friend has her come to the local animal shelter to warn her about some strange things. Once there Susan is accosted with stories of vampires and the undead. Of course it's all made up, except that she has never seen her friend so serious about anything.   Rayvn is currently stuck in Were form by a magic containing band around his throat. Of course no one knows he is a Dh at the animal shelter, so Susan is talked into adopting him, against her better judgment. Once home Susan suddenly gets thrown into the world of the Dark Hunters. After she releases the band from Rayvn's neck, all hell breaks loose.  Both of them having been betrayed by those closet to them makes it hard for either one of them to trust anyone. But with both their lives in danger, and the unrelenting chemistry their bodies seem to have for each other, all they can do is jump in head first and hope they both hit the surface before it's too late.

Next up is Upon the Midnight Clear, another rockin' book in this series. Aidan O'Conner is famous. Like super star famous, but he doesn't care anymore. After he spent his whole climb to the top giving to everyone around him, caring for all of those h was meant to car for, and doing everything in his power to makes other's lives better, he has given up. Not because it got to hard, but because everyone betrayed him. Everyone. When his brother calls a sleeping demon God into play, planning on killing Aiden for finally turning him out, Leta, a Dream Goddess is woken as well. It is time fore her to destroy the demon once and for all. At the same time she is trying to rid the world of this ultimate evil, she has to also protect the human it is after. Leta shows up on Aiden's doorstep in a snowstorm, and the only reason this cold hearted man doesn't throw her out is because he has seen her before. In his dreams. Aiden and Leta have to battle more than just the supernatural evils. They both have personal demons as well that could make survival impossible. If they can get over their pasts and start anew, they just might survive the night, and save the world.

Once Silent Night takes a little bit of a turn in the series. It is not about a Dark Hunter redeeming himself and finding his mate. But about a Daimon who has been cursed with a life of loneliness by his own making. Stryker rules the underworld and leads an army of daimons, the very same daimons that Ash and the Dh's kill on a daily basis. Only this time Styker had pissed off the Gods. His ex wife whom he presumed was dead years ago shows up, and not for a nice family reunion. She is sent to kill Styker, and after he abandoned her all those years ago, breaking her heart, she has no qualms ending his life. As a new evil has turned some of Strykers army against him, and he and his wife are at a never ending war with each other, time seems to crawl by as he has to find an answer to every problem. The one thing he wants more than anything else is to have his wife understand why he left, to have her forgive him, and to be back by his side, forever. When time starts to speed up and they are on the brink of extinguishing their own race, Stryker must face the fact that he has to trust again, or else every one's life will be over.

Now I am blogging the book Acheron, this is my ultimate favorite book in the whole series. All through reading the books you get bits and pieces of Ash;s life and who he is now and who he used to be, but now we get the entire story. I am not going to write anything else about this book because I don't want to spoil any of it. This is by far the one you have been wanting to read if you are enjoying the DH series.

I of course am going to tell you that these are ADULT only books, and will not recommend them to anyone under the age of 18. But I definitely recommend them to all of my readers who are of age.

Ratings: Number 5 and  stars.

The Dark Hunter Series
Sherrilyn Kenyon

Book Review: The Sword

This is the first book in the Sons of Destiny series.

Kelley Doyle, is stuck in the modern day world, but has a fascination with the past. Because of this fascination she has been accused of being a witch.

Being accused of being a witch wouldn't bother her so much, if threats didn't come along with it. From notes posted at her house, to someone hanging a noose outside her door. Letting her know that they used to hang witches in the old says. The police department doesn't care, and Kelley is actually getting scared.

When they set her house on fire with her inside it, she is all but dead. Until she is pulled form her world into another. Sat down in the middle of a castle in a foreign land, Kelley is freaking out. Even worse is the fact that there are men here that are holding her down and they are talking to her in a language she doesn't understand. All her worse fears are running through her mind.

Once they are all able to understand each others language, Kelley realizes that she is not only in another land, she is in another world completely. One where magic is the main source of power, and most people here have magic.

Saber is the oldest of the eight sons. And he is terrified in some ways of Kelley. He knows that the prophecy says that he is to fall in love, and with that it will bring a great disaster. That is why he and his brothers were exiled on Nightfall Isle to begin with, and why women are forbidden to be on the isle.

But even though Kelley and him fight, and the coming disaster is on her heel. He still finds himself falling in love with her. The only thing he can do is embrace his destiny and pray she loves him in return.

This was a very good book, and a great start for this series. I can't wait to read the rest of them. The only complaint I have, is the covers look like 80's cheesy romance novel covers. lol. But this is an adult read, so I will only recommend it to ALL of my adult readers :)

Ratings: Number 5 and 4 stars

The Sword
Jean Johnson

Book Reviews: Goddess Summoning Series

So far I have only read four of these wonderful books. I'm not sure exactly how many there are out there, but I can't wait to get my hands on them.

The first book I am reviewing is The Goddess of the Sea. Since this is the First in the series. This was a awesome book. I have always been in love with the magic of the sea myself. So when you add the mermaids and the Goddesses and Gods to the mix. I just fell in love with the book.

Twenty five year old Air Force Sergent, Christine Canady, or CC as everyone likes to call her, is alone. SHe joined the Air Force to get out of the small town she grew up in. She never felt like she belonged there. For that matter, there is no where she has ever felt like she really belonged.

On the night of her birthday, the loneliness is overwhelming. She is about to fly to another country, in a war zone, to do her job, she needs more in her life. Getting too drunk by herself on wine, she decides she needs the help of magic in her life. She can't do it on her own anymore, and she knows that every woman has a little magic in each of them.

Casting a summoning Spell, asking the Goddess Gaea to bring Magic into her life, CC feels rejuvenated. Going to bed drunk and happy for once. She dreams of a man she has never known. But even stranger is she is under water when she dreams of him. Like she is floating in the sea.

Waking up the next morning makes CC realize that she really is a lucky woman, she has almost everything she has ever wanted in life. The next day CC heads out to her overseas duty. At the airport she meets a God Like handsome man, Sean. Ever though he is an officer, he still wants CC to call him by his first name. She feels so strange, she knows she has always been average looking, but this beautiful man is looking at her like he is shy, and sneaking glances in her direction.

Before CC can do anything about the handsome man, her worst fear comes true, the plane crashes. In the process the man who switched seats with her, Sean, is killed. CC is devastated, but also she is struggling to get to safety so she doesn't die in the crash as well. When she tries to reach the surface, something from below pulls her down into the depths of the sea.

Changing places with a mermaid in order didn't seem like that big a deal, after all she was able to live. But when Sarpedon starts to pursue her she has to escape. The Goddess grants her the gift of legs and sends her back to land, in ancient Wales. Here she needs to find true love, in that she will be able to escape Sarpedon forever.

But land is not where she finds true love. It is in the waters that CC realizes she truly wants to be. Even more so she wants to be in Dylan's arms. The beautiful merman who has helped her discover what a magical world the sea can be.

In order for them to be together, they have to escape both the clutches of Sarpedon and the Abbott. And even then they may not be able to stay together. Only the Fates know their true destiny.

This was a GREAT read, I loved it sooo much. But again, it is an adult novel. So no one under the age of eighteen, sorry guys.

Book number two is the Goddess of Spring. Again this was another wonderful read.

Lina is a baker in Tulsa, and unfortunately she hired the most unqualified accountant in the area. Because of this she owes more money than she can imagine to the IRS.

Demeter is the Goddess of the Harvest, and her daughter is Persephone, the Goddess of Spring. The underworld needs the appearance of a goddess to bring new life into the weary lands, but Persephone is not yet mature enough to visit the underworlds.

When Lina Summons Demeter, asking for help in saving her bakery. Demeter responds, but not in the way Lina expected. Lina and Persephone have now exchanged souls. Lina is in Mount Olympus, while Persephone has become a baker in Tulsa. Each are needed in the others place to help fix a situation.

Once Demeter explains the situation to Lina, she understands what she has to do. Go to the underworld, allow the shades to see her and bring peace and happiness to the underworld, so they all know that a Goddess still cares for them. That part Lina gets, but what she doesn't count on is the fact that the God of the underworld Hades is stunning. The most attractive man she has ever laid eyes on.

Spending time in the underworld becomes harder and harder as Lina realizes that she has fallen in love with Hades, and Hades with her. She feels as if she is living a lie, she isn't able to revel who she really is to anyone. When she finally decides the time is right, Demeter interferes and Hades turns from her, fearing she betrayed him.

Heartbroken, Lina is returned to Tulsa. Her business is thriving, Persephone did an amazing job of turning the bakery around. Lina should be ecstatic, but she can't make herself be as happy as she should be, she misses Hades.

It is time for the Goddess of the Harvest to meddle once again. She realizes she didn't think through all the consequences of her original plan. On both Lina and her own daughter Persephone. Not to mention the underworld and it's God Hades. Now Demeter must set things straight so that true love can flourish.

This was a sweet twist on a classic tale of the Story between Hades and Persephone. I loved it.

The third book was Goddess of the Light. After meeting Lina in Persephone's body, Apollo was dumbfounded. He never met a mortal who would resist him. Now he has been spending his time rethink ing what it is he has been missing throughout his life. He has decided it is Love. The God of light has been missing Love.

Pamela just got out of the most horrific marriage she could imagine. Duane seemed to be perfect when they were dating, but from day one of their marriage he caged her. She hated it. Now it's been two years since he divorce, and six months since he finally got the clue that they would never b together again. It is time for her to get back out there and see what she could find for herself  in the world of men.

Las Vegas is where her job takes her, she is a interior designer. Las Vegas is also Bacchus realm. He has claimed it for himself. And he is more than a little angry when Zeus decides to open a portal and give the Goddesses, Gods, and Nymphs the chance to visit it on the weekends.

What angers him even more is the fact that the twins Apollo and Artemis are visiting. He hates them. Bacchus decides that a small ritual to get back at them will do as payback. He has his Nymphs perform a summoning spell to bind a human to a God to Goddess.

Unknowingly Pamela whispers the words of her hearts desires during the spell and binds herself to Artemis. She wishes for true love. Artemis decides that her brother is the perfect person to give this mortal what her heart desires.

Apollo has never felt so alive as he has the last few days being with Pamela. But when he and Artemis get trapped in the mortal realm without there powers, Bacchus thinks he has set the perfect trap. It isn't until Zeus punishes him that he decides that what he has done isn't enough.

Now that Apollo has fallen in love with Pamela, he is going to kill her. It's up to Apollo and Artemis to save Pamela's life before all is to late. And to save their love, now that they realize they are soul mates.

I Love P.C. Cast's work :)

The final book I read in this series was Goddess of the Rose. Mikki is the last one in her family. Both her mother and grandmother died in the last five years, and she has never found a man to make her happy enough to settle down and have a family. But she always has her roses. They make her happy.

She has a family secret to keep the roses alive and thriving. Her blood. On the new moon every month, she cuts a small slit in her palm and feeds the roses with her blood mixed with water. They flourish with that better than they would any other fertilizer.

Coming home from another horrible blind date, Mikki decides to check on the roses in the Rose Garden, it has been under construction and she is sure the workers have trampled the roses. On her way to the gardens she is stopped by the local acting group who is setting up and doing sound checks in the park. They need her help to do sound checks since they can't seem to find their main actress. She obliges. What she doesn't realizes is that once she starts reading the lines in the script, her mind takes over and somehow she starts saying a summoning spell to invoke to Goddess Hecate.

Once the sound check is over, Mikki is extremely embarrassed, she doesn't know where that came form she was just supposed to read the lines, not make up ones of her own.

Just like she thought the roses in the garden look terrible because of the construction. She knows what she has to do. Mixing her blood with a little water she feeds the sick roses. She also feeds the roses around the Guardian statue that is in the main part of the gardens, after all the statue has been there for as long as she can remember. In the process of feeding the Roses she accidentally gets some of her blood on the statue.

Leaving the gardens, she hears a terrible noise, then before she knows it she feels like she is being attacked. When she wakes up, she is not at home. In fact she is in the room that her dreams have been taking her to night after night lately.

Extremely afraid, and thinking she has finally went out of her mind. Mikki is introduced to the Realm of Roses, where the Goddess Hecate reigns. Unknowingly Mikki awakened the guardian of the realm after centuries of sleep and now she has come to this place to be the next High Priestess Empousa. The keeper of the roses in this place.

At first Mikki is scared and intrigued by the guardian. But she quickly gets over her fear, and realizes that it is being replaced with love. But the guardian is not just any old person. He is half beast half man. With horns on his head and hooves for feet. But that doesn't stop Mikki. She falls in love with him anyway.

Mikki is tricked into letting Dream Stealers into the Realm of Roses, once they are there the guardian has to battle them. Even though they get defeated they have already done damage to the roses. Disease spreads like wildfire through the plants, and nothing Mikki does can save them. But she knows in her heart what she must do.

Even though she loves the guardian with all her heart, she knows that the Realm of Roses is truly her home and where she belongs. She knows that sacrificing herself to save the roses is what she has to do. She only hope that everyone can forgive her for what has to be done.

This is a wonderful story of beauty and the beast, where the beast stays they way he is and the animal inside is what fuels the passions. In both the beauty and the beast. I loved it. and I recommend these books to all of my adult friends!!!

Ratings: Number 5 and 4 stars

Goddess of the Sea
Goddess of Spring
Goddess of the Light
Goddess of the Rose
P.C. Cast

Book Reviews: Sons of Destiny

I am so far behind in reviewing the books I have been reading. I have about ten books I need to review, but I have been so busy lately that by the time I get a chance to sit down and focus on writing I'm too exhausted. But here I am now to update all of you on these books that have kept me thoroughly interested these last couple weeks.

The first book I am reviewing today is the second book in the Sons of Destiny series, The Wolf. I have already done a review on the first book, The Sword.

This book was no less intriguing than the first one. Wolfer, the second oldest of the eight sons, has to meet his destiny now. It is his turn to fall in love and fulfill his part of the prophecy. The only problem is his heart was already captured years ago, before they were exiled onto Nightfall Isle. The fair Alys was a neighboring child that grew up with the boys. Even though she was five years younger than Wolfer, she was always by his side.

Wolfer doesn't know how he will fall in love when there are no women on the island. But he is sure that when the time comes he will know. Alys is currently afraid for her life. After the death of her parents she was taken to live with her uncle. A man who is evil in every way possible. He lives to frighten and torture everyone around her. Even though he has wanted to take Alys to his bed on more than one occasion, she has managed to talk him out of it. But since the price on her head is very valuable, her uncle has sold her to the highest bidder as a wife and slave. Now is the time for her to escape.

Escaping to Nightfall Isle is the only chance she has a t freedom. She knows Wolfer is there and she has been in love with him since she was three years old. Praying he still loves her, she escapes. Now it's time for all of their destinies to unfold. Hopefully they can all survive, especially when her uncle decides to attack in full force.

This was a good book, but just like the last few books I have been reading and reviewing, it is an adult novel. So I'm not recommending it for anyone under the age of eighteen.

Now onto book Number three, The Master. In book number one the prophesied disaster they faced was the fact that Dominor was kidnapped by a visiting country. The country was a  group of men who were out to claim new lands in the name of their kingdom. They had suffered oppression at the hands of women for generations and had staged and uprising. Freeing them form the clutches of those women who would keep them captive.

When they found out that Dominor was a very powerful mage they drugged him and kidnapped him. Once shackled in magic binding restraints, there was nothing he could do until they reached their destination. Unfortunately their vessel was overtaken by rival sea goers. Everyone on board was taken prisoner.

Dominor was taken to port and to the auction block where he was put up for sale as a slave. Though he tried to protest that he was not a commoner and should not be put through this treatment, it changed nothing.

Serina has been working manically for months now to finish the mathmagical formula to right the wrongs that generations past created. She has finally discovered what it is she needs. A foreign man, who is a powerful mage. One who is willing to mate with her and produce a child.

The Fates it seems took Serina to the market the same day Dominor was being actioned. A foreigner, and a powerful mage. She couldn't have asked for anything better than that. Now to get him to agree with her plans, and preform the ritual.

Unknowing that his older brother has completed his part of the destiny, it is now Dominor's turn to find his soul mate. As he and Serina work out the plans of her formula, things begin to change between the two of them. Now they just have to figure out what will happen once he fulfills his part of the prophecy.

I am in love with this series, and I can not wait to read the rest of the book. I recommend them to all my adult fans. They are delicious books :)

Ratings: Number 5 and 4 stars

Jean Johnson
The Wolf
The Master

Book Review: Tithe

Sooo, I have been partially absent these last few days. Mostly due to the fact that I am having serious internet problems. But all in all that is no excuse to get as behind as I have. I am doing this review on Tithe by Holly Black. But I have about four or five other reviews to do today as well. All on books I have read since I last blogged. Again, I'm sorry for the delay.

Tithe, A Modern Faerie Tale, was a really good read. I actually bought the book because Holly Black is going to be one of the authors at the Smart Chicks Kick it tour in Houston Tx in just a few weeks. I wanted to have something with me for each author that is going to be there to sign, but I wanted to make sure I read each thing before I went. As it was, I chose this book by Holly Black, and it was an excellent choice indeed.

Kaye and her mother have moved more times than she can count. Being the daughter of a talented rock star wanna-be, Kaye doesn't have much choice. But even though she misses her childhood 'imaginary' friends, Spike, Lutie Loo, and Gristle, she still loves her mom and will follow her anywhere. But after a strange attack on her mom from the man they were staying with renders them homeless, Kaye finds them returning back home to the seaside of New Jersey.

Unknowingly Kaye enspells her long time real friends Janet's boyfriend into becoming obsessed with her. She doesn't know how she did it, but the fact that it actually happened kind of scares her. Then meeting a dark and handsome stranger in the woods in the middle of a thunderstorm makes things getting even stranger for her.

Roiben is the chosen knight of the Unseelie court. Part of Faerie, of course Kaye already knew this, but she has known about faeries since she was a girl. Everyone has always said they were her imaginary friends, and no one ever believed her. So now explaining things to anyone would be impossible. Until she makes an unlikely aly, Janet's older brother Corney.

Taken prisoner, against her will, but drugged in magical ways, Kaye has to fight to stay alive before she is sacrificed to the Unseelie court. She has a secret weapon that she doesn't even know she possesses until it is almost too late. In the end she could save or destroy the entire structure between the human and faerie realms for the next seven years if she doesn't act fast enough.

This was a great little book, and I think it was the very first book she ver realeased. You can tell Holly Black had what it takes from the very start!!

Ratings: Number 2 and 3 stars

Tithe: A Modern Faerie Tale
Holly Black

One Lovely Blog Award

Well I have been in just the grumpiest of grumpy moods all afternoon, and then I open my email and I get a wonderful surpise.

A wonderful fellow blogger by the name of Lisa M. Potts has awarded me the One Lovely Blog Award. I was so surprised by this that I smiled, despite my sour mood. And thanks to Miss Potts I have been in a much better mood all evening. So thank you again Lisa M. Potts for your wonderful generosity!!

You can check out her wonderful work at Lisa M. Potts . This is the link to her blog.


Here's how it works:




1.Accept the award, post it on your blog together with the name of the person who has granted the award and his or her blog link.

2.Pay it forward to fifteen other blogs you have newly discovered.

3.Contact those blog owners and let them know they've been chosen.

Here are the fifteen wonderful blogs I have chosen in no particular order:
 
1.All Things Dark Hunter
2.Commanding Thoughts
3.Confessions of a Closet Bookworm
4.Reprisal(Now Microwave Safe!)
5.Shadow of Iris
6.The Clumsy Reader
7.Confessions of a Teenage Bookaholic
8.Edel 2200
9.Life, Love, and Thoughts of the Moment
10.Angels and Demons and Portals. Oh My.
11.Black fingernailed Reviews
12.Bloody Bookaholic
13.My Favourite Books
14.Buried in Books
15. Reading with Tequila

Congrats to everyone who recieved this award. It really made my day. I hope it makes yours as well!!

New Ratings System

I have changed the Ratings system. Every post after this one will start the ratings system. So if you don't know what they are or you need to know what each number and star mean, on the left hand side of this page is a link that says New Ratings System. Click it and it will take you strait to the page that explains everything. Enjoy :)

Book Review: Mistress

Emily went from being a somewhat well off girl in her father's home to a nothing, living in the workhouse, barely surviving. After being rescued in a way and given a job at a school for young ladies in London. Even though it was better than the workhouse, it was still barely above surviving and Emily wanted so much more out of her life.

When she was approached by Mr. Twyford about being a model for his new photograph business, she thought that maybe her life was going to turn around for her. Just maybe she could get the kind of life she wanted.

Emily was no no fool and not for a second did she think that modeling for Mr. Twyford was going to be easy, or decent. She rather expected it to be both hard and intimate. But when she arrived to talk to him about his offer, she was surprised that he was offering to take pictures of her in a more modest position than she expected. Though she was still going to have to take her clothes off.

Never having been in love, Emily had made up her mind that she was going to take these photos and have them sold in order to get herself a protector. She was going to make herself a wealthy mistress. She would not go about her life a poor old maid any longer. With the help of Eric Twyfold, this dream would come true.

Unfortunately the heart never listens to the mind, and before she knew it Emily was head over heels in love with Eric. But much to her dismay he didn't seem to have half the bit of interest in her. Not like Mr. Murdoch, who had decided that Emily was to be his new wife, weather she wanted to be or not.

After procuring one of her photos to use as blackmail, Mr. Murdoch secured Emily as his wife. But after he surprised her with his horrid ideas about what she was do to in obedience for him with continuing her pictures, she decided that she had been reckless and foolish in her marriage. The only person to turn to was Eric.

Still heartbroken over her marriage to Mr. Murdoch, Eric was outraged at what Mr. Murdoch had planned for Emily and immediately agreed to help her escape him. With a few ideas in mind the two of them set out to save her from the beast he was. All they could hope for was that the love they felt for each other would out do anything that man had over their heads.

This was a wonderful little read, but it is extremely mature. So I do NOT recommend it for anyone under the age of eighteen. Other than that I would definitely tell anyone else to read this book!

Ratings: Number 3 and 5 stars

Mistress
Leda Swann

Book Review: Ruined

Lisette was murdered in 1853, her body stored in a family tomb and her mother lied to about her death. A curse was placed upon the family that murdered her and has lasted for over a century and a half. Now it is the time for the curse to be over, and no one wants to die.

This was a really good read, it was given to me to read by a friend of mines daughter. She has a wonderful passion for books. Something I wish a lot more younger ppl had.

Rebecca has lived in New York City almost all of her life. Just her and her dad. Rebecca's mom was killed when she was just a baby, so there has always just been the two of them. But now things are changing, she is fifteen and her dad has to go away on business, to China. This isn't just a week trip, this time he will be gone for six months. In the meantime Rebecaa is being sent to live with her Aunt in New Orleans. She is dreading every second that ticks by, taking her closer to that destination.

Arriving in New Orleans is just as Rebecca feared, it's hot and sticky, she doesn't no anyone and no one is nice to her. She realizes as soon as she gets to school that she is destined to not have any friends at all while she is here. But strangely enough, it doesn't bother her. The only thing that she really wants is to get into the cemetery across the street. Especially since her Aunt says that she is to never go there.

Sneaking into the cemetery to follow the 'Them' crowd one night was not exactly the smartest thing to do, but she did it anyway. Almost getting caught spying was even dumber, but on her way out she got lost. Panicked she fell, luckily she was approached by a friendly stranger instead of one of the horrible kids form school. Showing her the way out, the girl gave her a sweet smile and left her be, Rebecca ran home as fast as she could.

Determined to find out who the girl was, Rebecca went back to the cemetery. She found who she was looking for, but wasn't expecting the surprise that came with her. The girl that helped her was named Lisette, and she was a ghost.

After learning about the curse on the Bowman family, and that it was Lisette who was the one appearing to the girls in the family to curse them, Rebecca began to worry. After all she was seeing the ghost as well. Her aunt explained to her the reason, and she was none to happy. After another girl fell too ill, Rebecca was asked to take her place in the Septimus parade. It wasn't until the parade was over that Rebecca realized what kin of danger she was in.

This was the night the curse was supposed to end, and it was the night the last Bowman girl was to die. But which one would it be? Helena or Rebecca?

This was a very cute read.

Ratings: Number 3 and 2 stars

Ruined
Paula Morris

Book Review: Bad Moon Rising

Ok, I know I have been absent for over a week now, but I just didn't want to blog each and everyone of the Dark Hunter novels every time I got finished with one. After all there are around twenty of them :) I haven't finished the whole series yet, I think I still have like four more to go, and I am waiting patiently as I can for them to come in. I have already ordered them.

I have four of the books in the series to talk about in this post, all of them were great books. One thing I have noticed as I am getting closer to the end is that there are more and more Were-Hunter novels. Personally I like the Dark Hunter ones better, but they are all great reads.

The first book is Sins of the Night, which is number eight of the series I believe. I could have the reading order mixed up though, so don't quote me on that :) This one is about Alexion, Acheron's right hand man. He is sent in to take care of business whenever one or more of the dark hunters decide they can do whatever they feel like doing. This time he has been sent to a neutral party's home, someone who hasn't yet turned to the bad side of things. A dark hunteress named Dangereuse, or Danger for short. Alexion request this mission due to the fact that this dark hunter gone rogue was one his brother in arms, Kyros and him were some of the first dark hunters, and now Kyros was turning his back on Acheron. Alexion is there to try and save him before it's too late, but what he doesn't count on is the fact that he needs a type of saving himself. All the years of execution have made him a cold shell of who he used to be, and with Dangers help he could become a man much more than he was before.

The next book I read was Unleash the Night, and it was a Were-Hunter book. This one is about Wren Tigarian, the tiger and leopard mix. To him and his family he has always been an abomination, nothing more than a mistake. Sanctuary allows him to live and work there because that is the law, they must allow him refuge. But now his cousin and Mama Lo are conspiring to be rid of him and it's up to him to find out why. He now has a death sentence to out run and a mark on his back where no matter where he goes he will recognized, after all he is the only one of his kind. His parents made sure they never made a mistake like him again. Even though he is an outcast and looks like a bum, Maggie can't help but be compelled by Wren. He puts off every signal in the world to leave him alone, yet she wants nothing more that to be in his arms. The fact that she is a politicians daughter makes everything even more complicated. In order to save Wren's life they have to figure out who it was that killed his parents. In order to save their relationship they have to save his life. Things are never easy.

Then I went on to read Devil may Cry, I really liked this one. I guess it has something to do with the fact that I like the dark hunter ones better than the were hunter ones, but I don't know exactly. Ex-God turned Dark hunter Sin, had his powers stolen by the Goddess Artemis, so he has thought for the last few centuries. Artemis is terrified he is going to come after her and kill her once and for all so she send her daughter in to take care of him for her, to get rid of Sin once and for all. But no one expected Kat to fall in love with Sin, least of of all Kat herself. But what's worse than Artemis fear is the fact that the gallu demons are getting free and Sin is on a very short time table to reseal the prisons before all hell breaks loose and the end of the world really takes place. But not trusting anyone his entire life has become a habit that isn't easily broken and if Sin can't learn to trust the one person who truly loves him, then everyone will die.

The last book I will blog on here is Bad moon rising. While I say that I like the dark hunter books better, this was a good one for the were hunters. This is the story of Fang and Aimee.. finally. We have got bits and pieces of their relationship through other books, but this was the full thing. When Fang gets attack and is sent to a nether realm, his brother, the only family he has ever had abandons him. But Aimee doesn't, she stays by his side and goes above and beyond to bring him back to her. Killing daimons is a dark hunters job, but she takes it upon herself to rid the world of the ones that have stolen most of Fang's soul. Once back Fang kills a demon and unknowingly takes the demons spirit into himself. In turn the demon begins waging a war inside Fang trying to gain control of him. Fang disappears in order to keep everyone he loves safe. But that bites him in the butt, because that makes him a wanted man. As more and more bodies turn up and him no where to be found they all pin the blame on Fang. He has surrender himself or have his family killed in his stead. Fang is no coward and has never ran from anything. He just wishes he had had a chance to love Aimee the way she deserved to be loved.

These are great books, and i recommend them to anyone over the age of eighteen to defiantly go out and grab them up.

Ratings: Number 3 and 5 stars

Sins of the Night
Unleash the Night
Devil may Cry
Bad Moon Rising
Sherrilyn Kenyon

Book Review: Night Embrace

So I have been scouring through the Dark Hunter series. After Night Pleasures there was Night Embrace, right now I am on Sins of the Night, and it's great so far. This review is going to be about all the ones I have read since my last post.

Night Embrace is about Talon, the ancient Celt. Talon died when his tribe betrayed him, and sacrificed him to the Morrigan, trying to bring peace back to them. But the ultimate betrayal was when they told him that they needed a sacrifice from his bloodline, and he offered himself, they tied him up and then killed his baby sister in from of him when he could do nothing to help her. Sunshine Runningwolf is something else altogether, she is funny and sweet, beautiful and eccentric. And for some reason Talon has found himself falling in love with her. If they all survive he prays that she can love him as well.

Dance with the Devil came next. This is so far one of my two favorite stories in the series. Zarek is a grumpy, cold, vicious Dark Hunter. He hates everyone and everyone hates him. Being condemned to the frozen lands on Alaska for the last nine hundred years has made him even worse. Now it's time for him to be judged or else it's time for him to die. His judge is Astrid, the Fates youngest sister, and she is physically blind, but she has begun to discover that there is more to Zarek that she can see without the ability of sight. If only she can convince everyone else that this is the right decision before it's too late.

In Kiss of the Night, Wulf has been cursed throughout the centuries to be forgotten. The only people who can remember him five minutes after he leaves a room are the other dark hunters, and the squires that are descendant from his brother, since they are of his blood. After one fateful night in a club Wulf meets Cassandra, and she remembers him. Wulf is startled by this and then even more so when he finds out exactly who and what Cassandra is. But then Cassandra gets pregnant and Wulf is the father, even though they have never touched. Protecting humanity has never been more important and now Wulf has gotten his heart involved. No matter what happens he can't let anyone down.

Night Play was a little different. It wasn't so much about the dark hunters as it was about the Were hunters. Vane has only had two other people to count on in his whole life, his brother and his sister. His sister was killed a few months ago and now his brother is all but dead, lying in a comatose state barely moving to even eat. Vane is lost with no one to turn to, until he meets Bride. Bride has just been dumped by her long time boyfriend and she is on the verge of collapse, she is heart broken.. kinda. Vane has seen Bride before and thought her beautiful then, now when he sees her hurting he is all but speechless. After their first nite together the end up mated. Vane is astonished and Bride is terrified, they only have three weeks to bond or else Vane will be alone for the rest of his life. There are things out there though that will go to almost any lengths to make sure it never happens.

The last book I'm blogging about today is Seize the Night, this is my other favorite so far. This one is about Valerius Magnus, the grandson of Kyrian and Jullian's mortal enemy. Because of that family trait almost everyone hates him, and they don't hold back when it comes to showing him. Tabitha has been a pretty big player in the Dark Hunter world. Being a human but going out every night hunting vamps, she does her duty. Tabby is also an empath, and when she comes across Val she feels his pain. Valerius has never let anyone is and is caught off guard when he realizes that Tabitha has reached a part of him that no one ever even tried to reach before. But an enemy from the past is back to finish what he started, and now that Val knows what love feels like he will do whatever it takes to save Tabitha from whatever comes after her and her family. No matter who hates him and is trying to stop him.

Like I said before this series is NOT for anyone under the age of 18 but this is a great series and if you can get a chance to read it i suggest you do :)

Ratings: Number 3 and 5 stars

Night Embrace
Dance with the Devil
Kiss of the Night
Night Play
Seize the Night
Sherrilyn Kenyon

Book Review: Night Pleasures

So this is the second book in the Dark Hunter series by Sherrilyn Kenyon. I unusually read the whole series before I blog on the books, but seeing as this is a looong series, I'm going to do them in ones and twos.

When I first started reading the series I was going to stop at this book. It is where the YA book, Infinity ties in at. I just wanted to catch up to that part, but of coarse that didn't happen. I got hooked. Sherrilyn Kenyon is a great writer. However I will warn you, her writing is for adults only. I will not recommend these books for anyone under the age of eighteen.

Kyrian of Thrace was betrayed by the one woman he ever loved. He gave up everything and everyone that ever loved and cared for him for that woman. In the end she turned him over to his enemies to be crucified and then his Kingdom was overtaken by the Romans. He has never forgotten that.

After the betrayal he was turned Dark hunter, given the chance to extract his revenge on her. But he couldn't do it. Even though she had betrayed his heart and soul, he still loved her, and couldn't take her life. So he walked away, and now walks the earth protecting humans from the things that would kill them in the night.

When he wakes up handcuffed to Amanda he doesn't know what to do. She was mistaken for her vampire hunting twin sister Tabitha in the hopes that Tabby would kill him on sight. Unfortunately their capture didn't bank on her having a twin, or did he.

As Kyrian tries everything in his power to slay the demonic forces that have set out to kill him, but when the prophecies reveal that only a Dark Hunter with his soul can kill his foe, Kyrian is at a loss. The only way to get his soul back is for him to fall in love, and to have someone fall in love with him. Ever since his wife betrayed him, he has never, NEVER trusted anyone remotely enough to even think that. Until Amanda.

She gets to him like no other woman has ever done. He loved his wife more than anything in this world and beyond, with his whole heart and soul, so he thought. But the way Amanda makes him feel is beyond imagination. H=It makes a mockery of what he felt for his wife, but he dares not hope that she feels the same for him, less he be cursed again.

Amanda loves Kyrian more than she could ever explain, and she will give anything to help him get his soul back. Together they can make everything happen and everything come together the way it should be.

This was a really good book, but like I said, definitely not for younger readers AT ALL.

Ratings: Number 3 and 5 stars

Night Pleasures
Sherrilyn Kenyon

Book Review: Fantasy Lover

The main reason I bought this book was because of the book Infinity by Sherrilyn Kenyon. Infinity was her first YA book, and after reading it I found out that some of the characters form it actually spin off from her Dark Hunter series. And Fantasy Lover is book one of that series. Book two is where Infinity actually ties into the Dark Hunter series, but after reading this one, I might actually have to go ahead and read the whole thing :)

Grace is a twenty nine year old, successful phychatrist. Well she is a sex therapist, but still she has her PhD. She has a best friend, her own home and a great career, but she is lonely. Sometimes it's not so bad, after what her ex did to her, ripped her heart out, she wasn't in the mood for anyone else.

Selena, Grace's best friend, totally disagrees with her. She thinks that four years without sex is ENTIRELY too long. Even though she understands then pain Grace went through with Paul. Selena buys a book with a picture of the most perfect man anyone has ever seen in it. With this book comes a summoning spell, all you have to do is speak the man's name three times and he appears. Once he has appeared to you, the summoner, he is your love slave for exactly one month.

Getting Grace tipsy on her birthday, Selena talks her into summoning Jullian of Macedon, son of Aphrodite. When nothing happens Grace laughs it off and Selena goes on home. Then Jullian appears in Grace's living room, completely naked and ready to please her in any way she wants. She freaks out.

Grace was used and thrown away like garbage, she refuses to do that to Julian. So instead of going about this the normal way and him being a sex slave, she decides to treat him like a normal person, like a human.

Julian's brother finds out there is a way to lift the curse that he has been under for two thousand years, and Grace is exactly who he needs to save him, but in the process they can not have sex. Not until the very last night of his summoning. Once they agree to it, things start to change, and they both realize that they have fallen in love. But neither one want to let the other know, for a multitude of reasons.

In the end, everything works out has it should, and payback is a bitch. I really liked this book. But I would not recommend it for anyone under the age of eighteen, due to the fact that it is HEAVILY laced with sex and sexual innuendos.

Ratings: Number 3 and 5 stars

Fantasy Lover
Sherrilyn Kenyon

Book Review: Forgive my Fins

I finished this book this afternoon. With my bestfriend now four states away I will have a lot more time for reading :(

Enough of my personal life. Forgive my Fins was a very adorable read. When I first read about it online I thought it sounded like a good book, then when my favorite bookstore got it, The Page Turner, I definitly went and bought it :)

Lily is in love. The popular guy, swim team jock, on the news team, cute as can be, funny, flirty, everything she could possibly want in a guy. The fact that she is in love with him doesn't help when he has no clue of it. She has been silently fawning over Broddy for the last three years, and now with only weeks before her eighteenth birthday, she has got to tell him. She is convinced he feels the same, and that once she tells him her secret, they will swim off to her kingdom and live happily ever after.

At least that's what she wants to happen. But her very annoying neighbor, Quince seems to pop up at every chance she has to be alone with Broddy and ruin the moment. Not only does he ruin the moment for her then, but he has also been aggravating her in every way possible for the last three years. She hates him.

Unknown to Lily, Quince doesn't feel the same way about her. During the spring fling dance, he sneaks up on her and kisses her. In Lily's world a kiss is akin to marriage. The kiss forms a bond and now Quince is turning into a mer. Poor guy has no idea what he is in for, but worse than that, she only has weeks left and he has no thrown a huge wrench in her plans.

Taking him with her to Thalassinia, her mermaid kingdom, where her father is the king. Lily is going to have a separation done, and remove the bond. She does not want to spend her life attached to this human. Once there she thinks her daddy will be happy to see her and willingly give her the separation. She is in for a big surprise. Not only does he not grant it but he stipulates that they remain bonded for a week, to test out their new feelings.

After fighting the bond so strongly, Lily eventually begins to realize how Quince feels about her. She starts to question how she feels about him. After years of torture from him, she is getting to see a new side of him, a nice side, romantic even. She doesn't know what she wants anymore. But she will go through with the Separation anyway, it's whats for the best. She still loves Broddy.

Once the bond is removed and Lily goes back home, she realizes that it was never Broddy she loved. She is in love with Quince, but now that the bond has been removed he will be immune to becoming mer and therefore be on land for the rest of his life. Going after him would mean leaving behind her kingdom and staying on land. Lily decides what is best for her and finally she does something for herself, breaks away from being a coward.

This was a a wonderful little book. I would love to have friends of mine read it. It was a magical love story, and I am excited about a sequel!!

Ratings: Number 3 and 2 stars

Forgive my Fins
Tera Lynn Childs

Book Review: The Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flammel

So this review has been too long coming. Sorry about that. I started the series about two weeks ago. Usually it wouldn't have taken me but a week to breeze through these, but I have been so busy these past weeks it's ridiculous.

That being said, I finished up the fourth book this morning, The Necromancer. I really enjoyed this series. Reading the reviews on the cover of the book, one said that it was a great read for the post Potter era. I guess I can agree with that. Seeing how this originally came out right after the Harry Potter series made it big :) But at the same time, this series had it's own personality, it came to life on it's own accord with no help from any of the wizarding world of the Happy Potter books.

In the first book the Alychmest, Nicolas and Pernelle Flammel are introduced as well as the twins of legend, Sofie and Josh Newman. The Flammels have been searching for centuries for the twins of legend. While they have come across many sets of twins, have verified the auras, ones of silver and gold, and had the twins awakened. None have ever panned out to be the ones they were searching for, to their, and the worlds disappointment. But Sofie and Josh are different, they don't just have silver and gold auras. They have pure auras. There hasn't been a pure silver aura since Joan of Arc. and the last Pure gold was Midas himself.

Stumbling upon these twins was a great circumstance, but before they have the chance to actually speak to the twins, to explain to them the process, Dee finds the Flammels. Dee is an Immortal, but unlike Nicolas and Pernelle, Dee was made immortal but his Elder masters, which in turn makes him in debt to his master. Dee has been searching for the codex, the book that holds the secrets to all mankind, for centuries. He has been hunting the Flammels for the same amount of time, for they are the guardians of the book.

With Dee attacking, the twins are thrown into a battle between the humani and the Dark Elders. The Dark Elders and the ones that serve them are bent on bringing them back to the earth realm and enslaving the humani. Or using them for food.

With Sofie and Josh newly being awakened, and learning the elemental magics as fast as they can, they are pushed the very edge of exhaustion. Fear that they are losing their minds, and scared they are going to lose each other, they race through time and shadowrealms, trying to save all the humani before everything and everyone they know gets destroyed.

These were great books, and as I finished up book for I was delighted to find out there will be a fifth book out later this year, The Warlock. I am excited!!

Ratings: Number 3 and 3 stars

The Alychemst
The Magician
The Sorceress
The Necromancer
Michael Scott

Update: My absenteeism.

Ok so I know that I have been MIA for like.. a while now. and I am sorry about that. I have had a lot on my plate but I have a few books to blog. You know how I really don't like to blog a book in a series until I have finished the whole series?? Well that is one of the reasons I have been absent. I started the Wake, Fade, Gone trilogy by Lisa McMann.. but haven't been able to get my hands on Gone yet.. argg. Then I started the Need, Captivate, Entice series by Carries Jones, and even though Entice isn't out yet, I can't find Captivate around here. ALSO, I'm reading the Secrets of the Immortal Nicolas Flammel, which is a four book series, and I would have soo been done with it weeks ago but I have been helping my best friend move :( Then of course my Sunday and Tuesday nights are wrapped up in TV land these days.. but only for a few more weeks as the seasons are coming to an end. TrueBlood and Pretty Little Liars have got me hooked.. True Blood for the 3rd season in a row. The final reason I have been behind on my blogging is my writing, yes people I picked it back up. Some of you know that I have been published before, but only in poetry books, and it was years ago. Now I'm going to focus on stories. fiction of course, and I have a great story in my head and I have been putting the pen to paper.. err typing it out ya know. So excuse me for being away, but as soon as I can I will be blogging some more books!!!

Info on the Fallen series by Lauren Kate!!!

So of course like many curious fans out there, I sent a letter to the author of Fallen. I wasn't expecting a response so quick though. I was excited by her reply and I can't wait for the upcoming bookS, yes I said books. There will be four total in this series, how great is that!!!

I posted the who letter in my notes section on the facebook page associated with this blog, check it out and I hope you all enjoy!!! Just click the link below:

Fallen Info

Book Review: Fairy Tale Lust

First thing I'm going to say, if you are under 18 you should not read any farther than this. Since I leave my blog open to everyone since MOST of my reviews are about YA books, I have lots of underage readers. However, this book is definitely NOT an YA book.

Secondly, this was a funny book. It is supposed to hold erotic tales for women, in the fairy tale setting. So that makes it a short story book. Some of the stories were in fact very, very... erotic. But others were just plain dumb, in my opinion anyway. There were a couple that were just so darn cute, about finding your true love, or your true love coming back to you.. with the steamy sex scenes thrown in for good measure.

I'm not sure if I would recommend you go out and buy this book, unless this is something you are into, I got it as a free copy. I found it interesting, but I find most books at least somewhat interesting :) This book has everything from vampires and werewolves, to bondage and gingerbread men, there should be something for everyone in here. I even have one favorite story, In the Dark Woods, by Kristina Wright.

Her story is about angels and the devil, about a faithful wife, a cheating husband and a mistress who doesn't care he is married. I know it's wrong, but this story I liked. But hey, to each their own ;) If you read it I hope you enjoy.

Ratings: Number 2 and 5 stars

Fairy Tale Lust
Kristina Wright

Coming this Winter

This upcoming winter.. I'm not giving more details than that right now, I will be hosting a contest or two on this blog site. The winner(s) will receive signed copies of some of my favorite books of 2010, and a prize pack... Most, if not all, of those books have been blogged on here. The contest will only be for the ones who are following my blog, so make sure you sign up as a follower. I am soo stoked about the contest and I am getting excited to see who all participates. So be ready everyone, winter is just around the corner !!!

- Danielle Thomas

Book Review: Hush Hush

This book came out earlier this year, and for some unknown reason, I have just now picked it up to read. The cover looks enticing, and reading the back cover was intriguing, so I have no excuse why I waited so long to read it. But it was worth the wait, this was a really, really ... really good book :)

Nora is a normal girl, going to high school, having a best friend, doing all the things that normal girls do. At least that's what she tries to do anyway. Things have been hard on her and her mom since her dad was murdered last year, and she has come to the conclusion that the 'presence' she feels sometimes, is her dad watching over her. Her best friend, Vee Sky, is boy and shoe crazy, and the two of them are tied together by the invisible ropes that keep friendships going for many, many years, no matter what, that is the one thing that Nora is thankful for, more than anything.

Patch is a transfer student with a mysterious air about him, and a mysterious past, no one knows anything about him, and when the biology teacher makes them switch partners, and Nora is assigned to learn 'who' Patch is, the word nervous is just a mild way of explaining how she feels.

Elliot has just transferred into their school as well, and after a little digging Nora discovers the reason is so he can run from a very disturbing past. He was a suspect in a murder investigation, the only suspect.  His girlfriend was thought murdered, then later ruled as a suicide. Now all his interest seems to be focused on Nora, and he doesn't like to take no for an answer. As much as this bother Nora, Vee is excited, Elliot's best friend, Jules, is Vee's new love interest, and Jules is almost as elusive as Patch.

Even though Elliot seems to be pursuing Nora, she is not interested in him, and tries to make it perfectly clear. Patch seems to become more and more intense every time they meet, something inside her tells her to run away from him, as fast as she can, but another part of wants to melt into his arms. After Vee is attacked while they are shopping, Nora is convinced that Elliot is up to no good, but Vee is convinced that Patch is behind it.

When the new school shrink, Mrs. Greene, starts to push Nora more and more about staying away from Patch but gives her no explanation why, Nora starts to worry. She has a feeling inside her about Patch that she just can't explain. She really doesn't want anyone to warn her away from him, but at the same time she wants to run as far and as fast from him as she can.

Nora is going to have to choose between Elliot and Patch before this is all over, and her wrong decision could cost her her life, but then again.. she may not have a decision in that... her life as she knows it may be over, things are not as they seem.

Ratings: Number 4 and 3 stars

Hush Hush
Becca Fitzpatrick

Book Review: Linger.

Linger is the second book in the Wolves of Mercy Falls series. And it is just as good as the first one.

Grace was bitten by the wolves, werewolves to be exact, when she was a little girl. Shortly after she was bitten, her dad accidentally left her in the backseat of his car, asleep, in the sweltering heat, and she practically cooked to death. That event in itself is what lead Grace, Sam, and Isabel to believe that it was the extreme heat, the temperature at which her body got, that cured the 'wolf' inside her. Which in turn lead them to inject Sam and Isabel's brother with meningitis, to raise their bodies core temperature higher than it should ever be. Sam survived the experiment, Jack didn't.

It's wintertime now, and Sam is human, has been human the entire time. Even though it's real, he wakes up each morning and walks around in the cold each day, and goes to sleep each night, as a human, it's is still hard for him to accept.

Grace is sick, Grace never gets sick. She has been having dreams about her shifting into a wolf, the wolf she should have been, but never was. Her head hurts, her stomach aches, and she has an on again off again fever, especially at night when the wolves are howling.

Cole was a rock star, lead singer of the band NARKOTIKA, but his life meant nothing to him, he choose to be a wolf, to escape everything he had been constantly already running from. Beck promised him that he would be lost forever once he changed, that's exactly what he wanted... didn't he?

Isabel couldn't forgive herself for Jack's death, it was her fault, no matter what anyone tried to tell her, she knew it was her fault. She was slowly getting more and more lost in a world of self loathing. Until she met Cole, who was finally finding his way out of that very same world.

The 'cure' they found for Sam may not be a cure at all, as Grace gets sicker and sicker, they remember that after a wolf has stopped shifting for about fifteen years, it finally dies. Grace never shifted to her wolf form, but she was still bitten, and it's been about fifteen years now, Grace is dying from not shifting. They need to find a cure, one that will save her life and one that will allow her and Sam to remain together. And they need to do it fast.

This was an awesome book, and I absolutely can not wait for the third one in 2011, Forever. Maggie Stiefvater has done a wonderful job with this series!!

Ratings: Number 4 and 3 stars

Linger
Maggie Stiefvater

Update: This thing is awesome, compare your writing...

Soo a favorite author of mine posted this on her Twitter account, and I went ahead and checked it out for myself. It analyzes your writing and compares it to other famous writers, letting you know who you write like. I was impressed. I submitted a few of my posts from here, a few from my other blog, and I put in some of my actual ' writing' , as I am in the middle of kind of writing a story myself :). My results were James Joyce, I got him over 4 times, which is exciting. Arthur Conan Doyle, Stephen King and Dan Brown, all of which are GREAT writers. So you guys should head over there and check out your writing style, it was really cool.

http://iwl.me/

Book Review: Radiant Shadows.

The fourth book in the Wicked Lovely series was a great book. Even though the series didn't follow the same main characters throughout each book, it still did the same thing that it seems all series do, to me anyhow, it gets better the deeper into it you get.

Radiant Shadows was about Ani, a halfling. Even though nature should have placed more mortal into her than faery, she got 'lucky' so to speak, and was turned more faery than mortal. She loves it, except for the fact that now that the faeries know what she is, she has to move to the Dark Court and leave behind her sister and brother. Rabbit and Tish, other halflings that have been hiding in the mortal realm with her, away from the High Court.

Devlin was give orders almost fifteen years ago to kill the halfling. Sorcha is the High Queen, and Devlin is her Bloody Hands, he never disobeys his queen. Until then, and until now. Sorcha is so upset about her son, Seth, returning to the mortal world to be with his beloved, Aislinn, that she sends Devlin to go there and stay for awhile. Go to the mortal realm and look after her Seth. While there Devlin sees her, the halfling he was ordered to kill fifteen years prior, and he is drawn to her like he has never been drawn to anyone, mortal or fey. Ani is both.

Bananach gives Ani an order, to kill people she cares about, she can't fulfill this order, and now she is on the run. Her and Devlin run as far as they can, until he gets word that Sorcha has done something terrible in search of her son, and Faerie itself is falling apart, now they have to return. And face War.

Once back inside of Faerie Devlin learns secrets he never thought could exist, and him and Ani, along with Rae, a dream walker, redefine Faerie and begin bringing it back to it's original beauty. They begin doing what need to be done it order to save all the fey, and save both the faery world and the mortal one.

This was a wonderful book!!

Ratings: Number 3 and 3 stars

Radiant Shadows
Melissa Marr

Book Review: Fragile Eternity.

So I have finished books three and four of the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr, really good books by the way. Usually I wait until I have finished an entire series before I write about the books, but she has made this almost impossible as her books do not follow one specific person, they jump to different characters as the leading lady, so I am forced to blog about each individual book :)

Fragile Eternity wasn't so much about a leading lady as it was about Seth deciding that his mortal weakness was just too little too much for him to remain by Aislinn's side anymore, and he decided to do whatever it took to change that fact. Either he was going to become Faery or die, but he had to try. He wasn't going to give his woman to Keneen without  a fight, of some soft.

After all the faeries he knows and trusts turn his request down, Bananach, War personified, decides that Seth's becoming faery actually has some benefit to her, so she brings him to her sister, the High Queen, Sorcha. Who makes the trade, she give Seth his faery abilities, in trade he has to stay with her for one month in Faerie out of every eleven he is in the mortal realm. But Sorcha has an alternative motive, she has always wanted a son.

Seth now is faery, but his one month Faerie is actually six months in the mortal realm and no one has heard anything from him, Aislinn has all but given up hope of his disappearance, and has finally given Keneen leave to try and make her love him, the Summer King.

When Seth returns, Keneen is devastated and flees, leaving behind Aislinn to rule the Summer court alone. Bananach still has not gotten her war, and Seth is more confused than ever, he did all this to be closer to Aislinn yet it seems to have pulled them further apart.

Really good book, I definitely recommend it to all my friends :)

Ratings: Number 3 and 3 stars

Fragile Eternity
Melissa Marr

Smart Chics Tour.... I'm more than a little excited.

I will be attending the Signing in Houston on September 14th at Barnes and Noble, I really hope to see some of you there, this is going to be absolutely awesome!!!!

Smart Chicks Tour - Toronto

Date: Saturday, September 25, 2010
Time: 2:00pm - 4:00pm
Location: CHAPTERS - Brampton, ON
Street: 52 Quarry Edge Drive
City/Town: Brampton, ON

Description: Alyson Noel, Kelley Armstrong, Melissa Marr, Kami Garcia, Margaret Stohl & Jeri Smith-Ready

----
Smart Chicks Tour - Cincinnati, OH

Date: Friday, September 24, 2010
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Location: Joseph-Beth
Street: 2692 Madison Road

Description: Melissa Marr, Alyson Noel, Kelley Armstrong, Margaret Stohl, Jessica Verday & Jeri Smith-Ready

* Kami Garcia will be there to sign.
----
 
Smart Chicks Tour - Dayton, OH

Date: Thursday, September 23, 2010
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Location: BOOKS & CO: AT THE GREENE Dayton, OH
Description: Melissa Marr, Alyson Noel, Kelley Armstrong, Jackson Pearce, Kami Garcia & Jennifer Lynne Barnes

* Margaret Stohl will be there to sign.
-----
 
Smart Chicks Tour - Dayton, OH

Date: Thursday, September 23, 2010
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Location: BOOKS & CO: AT THE GREENE Dayton, OH

Description: Melissa Marr, Alyson Noel, Kelley Armstrong, Jackson Pearce, Kami Garcia & Jennifer Lynne Barnes

* Margaret Stohl will be there to sign.
-----
 
Smart Chicks Tour - 2nd Stop Houston, TX

Date: Wednesday, September 15, 2010
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Location: Site TBD - Hosted by Blue Willow Books

Description: Kelley Armstrong, Melissa Marr, Alyson Noel, Holly Black, Sarah Rees Brennan, Margaret Stohl & Cassandra Clare

* Kami will be there for the signing.
-----
 
Smart Chicks Tour - Houston, TX

Date: Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Time: 7:00pm - 9:00pm
Location: BARNES & NOBLE - THE WOODLANDS Houston, TX
Street: Woodlands Mall - 1201 Lake Woodlands Dr. #3008

Description: Kelley Armstrong, Melissa Marr, Alyson Noel, Holly Black, Cassandra Clare, Kami Garcia & Rachel Vincent

* Margie will be there for the signing.

Book Review: Ink Exchange

Ink Exchange is the second book in the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr. I liked this one just as much, almost a little bit more that the first one. I guess that comes with the territory with almost all series, the more you read into them the better the books get.

Leslie is Aislinn's friend, the have been friends as long as they can remember, but lately Leslie's life has fallen apart. Even though no one knows it, she puts on a good face, she doesn't let anyone know, even Aislinn. Her mom took off, leaving her with her drunk dad and druggie brother.

After her brother decides to drug her and use her body as a payment to some of his druggie friends, Leslie has had enough. Her life is her own and she needs to take it back, take back control. She decides that the first step is to get a tattoo.

After spending months and months she finally decides on the tattoo she wants. Unfortunately she doesn't know that this particular tattoo comes with a cost. The ink used for this tattoo with attach her and the King of the Dark Faeries. She will provide him a way to feed off not only the faeries but mortals now too. Ever since the Summer Court found their Queen, and Beria was destroyed, the Dark Faeries have been suffering, becoming weak. They live off the suffering of others, the fear and emotions that others put off. Now Leslie is going to give him more of what he needs, only she doesn't know it yet.

Niall is determined to keep Leslie safe. He has been advisor and friend to Keenan for over nine centuries, and he has helped Keenan finally bring peace to his Kingdom. Niall has not always been a Summer Farey, but he is determined to never become what he once was, even though he is falling in love with Leslie. He will denounce his Kingdom before he will let anything happen to her.

Once Leslie realizes what is happening to her, it is almost to late to stop it, Niall has found a way to save her. Once the connection is broken Niall thinks she will come to him, be with him, but Leslie has other plans of her own, ones that don't include any faeries at all.

This being the second book made me definitely look forward to the third, I can't wait to read it!!!!

Ratings: Number 3 and 3 stars

Ink Exchange
Melissa Marr