Follow Friday #15

It's time once again for the Feature and Follow Blog Hop hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read The Feature and Follow Blog Hop is an excellent chance to connect with other bloggers and answering questions about our favorite books. Here's this week's question:

Q: We are about to see a lot of posts & tweets about reader conventions, RT, BEA, ALA and many more are starting soon. Which one would you love to attend? Where and why?

Since I live in Australia I don't have the option or luxury to go to any of these, but boy wish I did. I need to schedule a trip to the US around one of these events just so that I can experience it even just once.
If I had a choice I would probably choose BEA as it seems to be the most popular and biggest one around. I just think it would be quite the experience to see not just other bloggers, but authors as well. We don't have these sort of conventions in Australia, and so it's be one of my dream things to do one of these days.


Happy Friday.

Review: Deadly Desire by Keri Arthur

Deadly Desire (Riley Jensen Guardian #7) by Keri Arthur
Publication Date: March 24, 2009
Publisher: Bantam
Number of Pages: 352
Format: Paperback
Buy: Amazon | Barnes and Noble
Add to Goodreads

Seduction that kills. Pleasure to die for. She just can't resist.... Guardian Riley Jensen always seems to face the worst villains. And this time's no different. For it's no ordinary sorceress who can raise the dead to do her killing. But that's exactly what Riley expects to find at the end of a trail of female corpses used - and discarded - in a bizarre ritual of evil. With pressure mounting to catch one fiend, another series of brutal slayings shocks the vampire world of her lover, Quinn. So the last thing Riley needs is the heat of the upcoming full moon bringing her werewolf hormones to a boil---or the reappearance of a sexy bounty hunter, the rogue wolf Kye Murphy.

Riley has threatened Murphy with arrest if he doesn't back off the investigation, but it's Riley who feels handcuffed by Kye's lupine charm. Torn between her vamp and wolf natures, between her love for Quinn and her hots for Kye, Riley knows she's courting danger and indulging the deadliest desires. For her hunt through the supernatural underworld will bring her face-to-face with what lurks in a darkness - where even monsters fear to tread.

I have a complicated relationship with this series. I wasn't impressed with the first book, but with each book after that I started to really like the series. Now I'm back to the series being blah. I think Quinn is an ass, and stand him. And Riley must be dumb to jump right back into bed and a relationship with him without questioning anything.

While working a new case, Riley runs into bounty hunter Kye Murphy, who was serving as a body guard to her old pack when she was working a case for them.  Riley becomes annoy when he keeps popping up at her crime scenes and repeatedly threaten to have him arrested. Which in lie my first annoyance with this book. After the hundredth time threatening to have him arrested I just want to tell her to STFU. If she wanted to have him arrested she would of done it the second time he showed up. But at the same time there's an attraction that neither one of them can deny, no matter how much they don't want it.

I just want to know is Riley the only guardian that actually works on cases? And why does Riley always gets the worst ones? This book had way too much Quinn in it for my taste, and not enough of Rhoan and Liander or even Kade. I was disappointed that Quinn was her only lover in this book. She has said before that her nature needs more than one lover. And I don't buy this she has two souls so she has more than one soul mate bs. Rhoan is the same thing she is, and he doesn't have more than one soul mate. Riley is more wolf than vampire while Rhoan is vice versa, so if anyone would have two soul mates it would be him and not Riley.

I knew exactly who the killers were once Ben told her that two women own the strip club and couldn't get more information on them. Once Riley starts digging into records and saying oh these must be coincidences, how stupid can you be?! After the first coincidence she should of been very suspicious. And what was with her saying my vampire every page? I get telling strangers I need to get home to my vampire, but beyond that? It's like she wanted everyone to know that she has a vampire. Usually I love Riley. But in this book I just wanted to come through the pages and bitch slap some sense into her.

And luck would have it she finally finds her soul mate, and it's none other than Kye. Which Riley is very upset over claiming she doesn't even like him. She doesn't even know him to make that conclusion. Not to mention both were very flirty and playful during the whole book. All because he's a bounty hunter? He does the same thing she does, except she works for the government and he's pretty much a gun for hire.

From the end of the previous book I could tell what direction the series is going into. And honestly I didn't want to read this book or finish the series. I'm thankful there's only two more books left.

Rating: 3/5

 

Review: Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Publication date: July 25th, 2012
Number of pages: 376
Format: Paperback
Purchase: Amazon | The Book Depository

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with “freaky” scars on her arms. Even Echo can’t remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.

But when Noah Hutchins--the smoking hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket--explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo’s world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she’ll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again

I will be the first to admit that I have never been that big on contemporary YA romance books, or maybe I am just so used to Genre type books that when a book in contemporary comes around it takes me awhile to adjust.
I had seen this book everywhere before I finally took the plunge and bought it. It sounded interesting, but I was never 100% sure until I was convinced from a friend who said it was her favourite YA contemporary of 2012,  I then decided to go ahead and and take the chance.
I am pleasantly surprised to say that I was glad I took that chance because of how much I loved it.

I like that it was different. I mean yes it was YA contemporary romance, but it also had this allure and mystery factor to the plot that pulled me in as well.
The story was not just about these two characters and how they connected to one another. It was also about how they became the people they are today and their dark pasts where mystery surrounds them to a point that your hearts will go out to them both individually.

From the very beginning I connected with not just Echo, but also Noah. As we see they have been through so much and continue to do so just made me feel for them so much more.
Echo is living a nightmare one she can't remember for the past few months. She knows something happened to her. She understands who is responsible, but what she doesn't understand is how it happened or why it happened. It's a big mystery surrounding this one big event that continues to haunt her very being and always will until she discovers the truth.

Noah is living his own nightmare; though a bit different to Echo's. His nightmare more has to do with his family. He too has been through a tragic event that has changed who he is. But in other ways he is still the same guy it's just certain things that circumstances has changed him.
He loves his brothers more than life itself and they are the one thing making him go through each day... until he sees them again.

Even though these two teenagers are damaged and scarred throughout their own personal issues going on, they somehow find a connection with one another that makes all the pain somehow a little more bareable.  Together they begin the healing process and maybe even find some sort of light amongst the darkness.

Even if you aren't big on contemporary like me; I'd suggest you take a look into this one because it will surprise the heck out of you. Guaranteed.

Rating: 5 stars.

Review: Once Burned (Night Prince #1) by Jeaniene Frost

Once Burned (Night Prince #1) by Jeaniene Frost
Publisher: Avon
Publication date:  June 26th, 2012
Number of pages: 346
Format: Mass-Market Paperback
Purchase: Amazon | The Book Depository

She's a mortal with dark powers...

After a tragic accident scarred her body and destroyed her dreams, Leila never imagined that the worst was still to come: terrifying powers that let her channel electricity and learn a person's darkest secrets through a single touch. Leila is doomed to a life of solitude...until creatures of the night kidnap her, forcing her to reach out with a telepathic distress call to the world's most infamous vampire...

He's the Prince of Night...

Vlad Tepesh inspired the greatest vampire legend of all—but whatever you do, don't call him Dracula. Vlad's ability to control fire makes him one of the most feared vampires in existence, but his enemies have found a new weapon against him—a beautiful mortal with powers to match his own. When Vlad and Leila meet, however, passion ignites between them, threatening to consume them both. It will take everything that they are to stop an enemy intent on bringing them down in flames.

In the first book in the Night Huntress spinoff, we see the tale of Vlad and his love interest, Leila.


The Night Huntress series is one of my favourites in the paranormal romance genre. Jeaniene Frost can do no wrong, and while I was a little unsure on this spinoff at first, which was why it had taken me this long to get around to reading it; I was glad that I did.
I couldn't remember much about Vlad prior to this book, but in Once Burned, I fell in love with him. I fell in love with our heroine, Leila as well.

Leila is not an ordinary human. She for the longest time she has found herself to be a freak, because after an accident as a child she has been able to see things when she touches someone skin-by-skin. She can learn their deepest, darkest secrets and that very skill isn't always a good thing. That very thing can get her into trouble.

After being kidnapped and told to contact someone, she has no idea what she is getting herself into. When Leila and Vlad meet through unusual circumstances; fire ignites between them to a point that it's not something they will be able to deny... not for long anyway.
But the journey for them to get to the right point won't be an easy one, but I look forward as we go through the rest of the series so that these two can get their happy ending.

I never imagined the kind of woman who would be enough to handle Vlad.. that is until Leila came along. She is such a strong woman, someone who anyone would be glad to have as their heroine in a book. She is everything you could want as a protagonist, as this series seems to be told from her POV, even though it's also Vlad's series and had been promoted as his. But I think it works well though. I think we had to understand Leila to connect with her and feel she is the best possible choice for someone as amazing as Vlad.

Jeaniene has this way with words. Everything she seems to do can capture a reader and bring them in her world no matter what she is writing. I am at the point where  I would read anything she publishes.

Rating: 4.5.

Follow Friday #14

It's time once again for the Feature and Follow Blog Hop hosted by Parajunkee's View and Alison Can Read The Feature and Follow Blog Hop is an excellent chance to connect with other bloggers and answering questions about our favorite books. Here's this week's question:

Q: Have you ever read a book that you thought you would hate -- ? Did you end up hating it? Did you end up loving it? Or would you never do that?

The one that comes to mind was Cinder by Marissa Meyer. For like almost a year I put off buying and reading this book because by the synopsis it just didn't interest me. I think it was for a few reasons. While I love fairytales, but Cinderella as a cyborg? At first I was getting it confused with a cyclops. Don't ask why, they are similar in writing and I was trying to wrap my head around the fact and it put me off.
I then discovered what a Cyborg was and I was still hesitant, but after giving up I decided to go for it after seeing many fantastic reviews for this book. My verdict by the end of the book? I could slap myself for being so stupid and not reading it earlier. I loved it. Just goes to show that sometimes what appears on the outside with your own perceptions doesn't always necessary mean it's what you get on the inside of the book.



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Review: Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3) by Cassandra Clare
Publication Date: March 19, 2013
Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books
Number of Pages: 568
Format: Hardback
Buy: Amazon | Barnes and Noble
Add to Goodreads

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy

Tessa Gray should be happy - aren't all brides happy?
Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute.
A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her.

The conclusion to Clare's The Infernal Devices trilogy is probably one of most anticipated books of the year. The book picks up not long after the last one left off. Tessa is busy planning her wedding, while Will trains his sister Cecily to be a Shadowhunter. And due to tragedy, which honestly I thought was very clever of Ms. Clare, Gabriel comes to the Institute to live.

Even though it's been quiet, Mortmain looms over everyone's minds. Having brought all of the drug Jem needs and even stopped shipping, Jem doesn't have much time left. In which Mortmain makes his move and kidnaps Tessa. Jem, on his death bed, tells Will to go after her and bring her back safe.

I don't want to go into much detail, trying to keep everything spoiler free. But there are a few twists. Most of the theories out there are right in some way. I wished Magnus was in the book more than what he was. But he was amazing as always. And the couples that end up together! Everyone is perfect!

One of my favorite quotes, it's just perfect and I can't stop laughing everytime I read it.

"The next time one of our esteemed members turns into a worm and eats another esteemed member, we will inform you immediately."

Most of our questions were answered in the book. I was more surprised what Tessa ended up being, and thinking about it more raises a few more questions. I'm still not sure how I feel exactly about the ending. One part of me feels like it was a copout. But the majority what I feel is it's perfect ending.

This book was an emotional roller coaster.It will make you laugh, cry, even cuss and want to throw the book out the window. Which I will admit I had wanted to do a few times. Did I mention that it will make you cry? There were several times I had to stop reading because I couldn't see the words through my tears. YOU WILL NEED TISSUES WHEN YOU READ THIS BOOK. This book was just about perfect. A few issues I had, but overall amazing.

Rating: 4.5/5

 

Revew: House Rules by Chloe Neill

House Rules (Chicagoland Vampires #7) by Chloe Neill
Publisher: Gollancz
Publication date: February 14th, 2013
Number of pages: 352
Format: Paperback
Purchase: Amazon | The Book Depository

In a city full of vampires, trouble never sleeps.

At the tender age of 27, Merit became a sword-wielding vampire. Since then, she’s become the protector of her House, watched Chicago nearly burn to the ground, and seen her Master fall and rise. Now she’ll see her mettle—and her metal —tested like never before.

It started with two . . . Two rogues vanishing without a trace. Someone is targeting Chicago’s vampires, and anyone could be next. With their house in peril, Merit and her Master, the centuries old Ethan Sullivan, must race to stop the disappearances. But as they untangle a web of secret alliances and ancient evils, they realize their foe is more familiar, and more powerful, than they could have ever imagined.

Chloe Neill sure knows what appeals to readers. This may be the seventh book in this series, when I believe it was originally meant to be 3-4 book series, but I still love this series to death (no pun intended.)
As expected by the end of the previous book, the Cadogan House are pulling away from the GP and standing on their own two feet as a united house. Not everyone is pleased. When the GP arrives early, Ethan starts to become suspicious as to the reasons why and fears there is something more going on than they are let to believe.
Not only does he have to deal with the GP, newly-returned Lacey, but he and Merit find themselves getting involved in the disappearances of some young kids-vampires who have gone missing, possibly dead. It's just a matter of whether they can find out who is kidnapping these vampires before it's too late.

There are other things going on. It's a full house and Ethan and Merit try to find time for each other amongst everything they find they have issues they need to deal with between themselves; such as Merit's secret that she has involved herself within the Red Guard and that was something she had yet to reveal to Ethan. That was always a secret that I knew would come out at some point, and when it finally does it's pretty much the reaction I expected, yet I didn't expect. But nothing is ever hunky-dorey when it comes to our favourite characters, so of course they have to deal with the drama that appears in their lives.

In this book we also see more of the shifters, who have taken Mallory in --- who is someone we see a little of, though I wish it was more  of. I hope to see more of her friendship-as it starts to repair---  with Merit in the following books, along with her relationship with Catcher, which is one of the things I adored about the early books of this series.

There are many hilarious lines that come with this series, and some of my favourite ones come from Gabriel. Here is one when they are playing cards ---  strip poker?

“Can I ask about the shirts?” I asked, taking a seat beside Mallory. “Or the lack of shirts?”

“You may not,” Christopher said.

“Yes,” Gabriel mocked, “she may. Once again, the whelps have lost their shirts, Kitten. Literally and figuratively.”
Derek grumbled something unflattering.
Gabriel gave him a quick and withering glance. “Pipe down, or I’ll challenge you again, and we both know how that will work out.” He began flipping cards across the table, creating a seven-card pile for each of us. “The name of the game is Nantucket.”

Though this book was clearly a filler, but I feel we need them from time to time. We can't have every book action-packed, we need others for character and romantic progression. Also so there can be added plots and things, so I have no doubt the next book will bring things up to notch.

Rating: 4.5/5

Waiting on Wednesday [12]: Darkness Unmasked.

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill at Breaking The Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases we're eagerly anticipating.

Synopsis:
The sexy, exciting, suspenseful adventures continue in New York Times bestselling author Keri Arthur's Dark Angels series, starring Risa Jones, a half-Aedh/half-werewolf. She can speak to the souls of the dying and the dead, and can see Reapers, the collectors of souls.

Shortly after her fight on the astral plane, Risa receives a phone call from Madeline Hunter, the leader of the vampire council, ordering her to investigate the death of Hunter's close friend and lover - Wolfgang Schmidt. His body has been discovered wrapped in a web-like substance and has been completely drained. As the body count continues to grow, Risa must summon her gifts to find the dark spirit before it strikes again.

Meanwhile, as the search for the keys that keep the gate to Hell closed grows more intense, Risa begins to unravel mysteries that will have startling consequences for her.

-- June 4th, 2013 release.


I just finished reading "Darkness Hunts", and I need this one STAT. Risa & Azriel are quickly becoming my favourite otps.
The tension between them is just burning through the pages in book 4 of this series. They are just as amazing as Riley & Quinn.

Review: Heaven by Alexandra Adornetto

Heaven (Halo #3) by Alexandra Adorentto
Publisher: Harper Collins
Publication date: August 30th, 2012
Number of pages: 422
Format: Paperback
Purchase: Amazon | The Book Depository

Only sixteen when she started the series, Ally Adornetto knows how teen hearts beat, and this long-awaited conclusion is certain to be her most popular book yet.

Bethany, an angel sent to Earth, and her mortal boyfriend, Xavier, have been to Hell and back. But now their love will be put to its highest test yet, as they defy Heavenly law and marry. They don’t tell Beth’s archangel siblings, Gabriel and Ivy, but the angels know soon enough, and punishment comes in a terrifying form: the Sevens, who are rogue angels bent on keeping Beth and Xavier apart, destroying Gabriel and Ivy, and darkening angelic power in the heavens.

The only way Bethany and can elude the Sevens is to hide in the open, and blend in with other mortals their own age. Gabriel and Ivy set them up at college, where they can’t reveal their relationship, and where there is still danger around each corner. Will Bethany be called back to Heaven – forever – and face leaving the love of her life?

The conclusion to young author, Alexandra Adornetto's angelic trilogy comes to an end with "Heaven."

In the final book, Hell will have fury like archangels storm. After the end of Hades, where Bethany and Xavier got engaged during graduation, the Gods, or in this case the Angels gave their disblessing on this union.
Bethany and Xavier are more in love than ever, and not even the angels and God can stop them from being together. Who says who makes the rules on love? Why does Love have restrictions? Their love will be tested in this final conclusion as they all will battle the forces of evil and even good.

Marriage is hard enough for normal people, but when one of those people is an angel and one human... that makes things a little more complicated than most.
This end will reveal so much. Revelations I didn't see coming, and things from the past that make known in the present. It makes things... destined, if you will.

I was excited to read the final end to this trilogy. I loved the first two books, and while I liked a lot of this book, I sometimes felt I wanted to slap Bethany from time to time.
I did admire them for never backing down on the love they have for one another though, and as things get revealed, you begin to understand that maybe they were always meant to fall in love and change the course of things. That maybe.. not everything is set in stone.

I adored that we discovered more about Ivy and her past and how it relates to certain people in the story. We never get to see much of the others before, and so I was excited to read more about who she is, and what she has done before.
Gabriel is also someone who surprised me. I have always liked his relationship with his siblings, but also with Molly. Gabriel is someone who likes to be in control, but Molly makes him... not in control so much, and I think that scares him and makes him unpredictible. I do think he and anyone else deserves some unpredictibility and out of control stuff to happen. It'll help him in the long run.

There was some slow parts, some things I was disappointed in, but all in all, I felt it was a nice ending to this trilogy. Alexandra Adornetto had a knack for detail, and that was what drew me into this series to begin with. I look forward to see what she does next..

Rating: 3.5 / 5

Review: Clockwork Prince by Cassandra Clare

Clockwork Prince (The Infernal Devices #2) by Cassandra Clare
Publisher: Walker Books
Publication date: December 6th, 2011
Number of pages: 496
Format: Paperback
Purchase: Amazon | The Book Depository

In the magical underworld of Victorian London, Tessa Gray has at last found safety with the Shadowhunters. But that safety proves fleeting when rogue forces in the Clave plot to see her protector, Charlotte, replaced as head of the Institute. If Charlotte loses her position, Tessa will be out on the street--and easy prey for the mysterious Magister, who wants to use Tessa's powers for his own dark ends.

With the help of the handsome, self-destructive Will and the fiercely devoted Jem, Tessa discovers that the Magister's war on the Shadowhunters is deeply personal. He blames them for a long-ago tragedy that shattered his life. To unravel the secrets of the past, the trio journeys from mist-shrouded Yorkshire to a manor house that holds untold horrors, from the slums of London to an enchanted ballroom where Tessa discovers that the truth of her parentage is more sinister than she had imagined. When they encounter a clockwork demon bearing a warning for Will, they realize that the Magister himself knows their every move--and that one of their own has betrayed them.

Tessa finds her heart drawn more and more to Jem, though her longing for Will, despite his dark moods, continues to unsettle her. But something is changing in Will--the wall he has built around himself is crumbling. Could finding the Magister free Will from his secrets and give Tessa the answers about who she is and what she was born to do?

As their dangerous search for the Magister and the truth leads the friends into peril, Tessa learns that when love and lies are mixed, they can corrupt even the purest heart

In what was one of the most anticipated books of 2011, this one did not disappoint.
When this story picks up, it has only been a few weeks since the end of Clockwork Angel, and Will has been avoiding Tessa like the plague.
Tessa, meanwhile has been spending more time with Jem, and while the two of them become closer, Tessa still can't seem to remove Will from her head -- or her heart.

I read this book within 24 hours, and I loved it. This series just keeps getting better and better.
Tessa grows stronger emotionally and physically in this book than where she started off, in the beginning of Clockwork Angel.
The betrayal of her brother, Nate shocker her to pieces but that's nothing compared to what happens in this book.
Not only does Nate appear, but he seems to be in the middle of the whole mess with mortmain once again.

Will/Jem: I love their friendship, and we begin to understand more about the bond that ties them together. I just don't know how this triangle with Tessa is going to work and have their friendship not get wrecked.
Maybe if she chooses herself in the end and disappears? I don't know. I guess we won't know until Clockwork Princess comes out in 2012 to discover those answers.

There are so many questions that need to be answered in the final book in the trilogy. What is Tessa? Will she choose Jem or Will? her head or her heart?
Will they catch Mortmain?

There was a few people in this book who surprised me. One would be Sophie, who has grown into quite a strong young woman.
And the other is Jessamine. Now her, sometimes I wanted to wring her neck for being so niave and stupid, and sometimes I wanted to hug her for her innocence.
Charlotte and Henry. They really are a good team no matter what they seemed to think. There was definite progress and you begin to understand them and their marriage a bit more... and there is something that might just surprise you.

The triangle: Jem, Will and Tessa.
Yes, she has grown closer to Jem during this book.. but her heart is always been on Will, and that certainly does not change in this book.
Will has always kept Tessa at arms length for a reason and that reason just might tear them apart forever.
As much as Tessa may try.. she can't seem to remove her heart away from Will. He brings fire. heat and everything she has never had but always wanted before.
A mere touch sets her body alight. But he has always been this forbidden fruit, where she never thought she could be with him. Whether it was because there was no future there, or from Will's own doing.
Even when she is with Jem.. a part of her lies with Will and always "will" LOL

I enjoyed the friendship between Tessa and Jem, but romance? I don't know.. It kinda was a tad awkward for me to read about. I had an open mind (even though I am Team Will), but there was something about it that just seemed off. Like she was settling for something because she couldn't bare to hurt him.
And now she can't have the real one she wants, because she feels she can't hurt Jem. It's such a tricky situation. I don't envy Tessa, because whomever she chooses the other one will end up hurt.

Will,
Oh Will. What can I say? I have always loved him.. ever since he turned up in the first book. He captured my heart and there was always something about him that was kept hidden inside his heart.
And his secret finally was revealed. It wasn't what I was expecting, but it makes sense and you begin to understand where he is coming from.
There is so much depth to him, so much hurt and love in his heart, that you just want.. need him to be happy.. but the only person that does that is Tessa.


There was some shocks and some surprises in this book. Twists and turns.. And of course, a cliffhanger.
It was a wild journey Cassie takes us on, and one that will conclude in Clockwork Princess. Can it come out now? No? Darn.

If you are a fan of The Mortal Instruments series, and if you loved Clockwork Angel, the first book in this series.. then this second installment is a must read.

Rating: 5 out of 5