{Trailer Sunday} Rebel Spring by Morgan Rhodes

Love, power, and magic collide with war in the second book of the Falling Kingdoms series

Auranos has fallen and the three kingdoms—Auranos, Limeros, and Paelsia—are now united as one country called Mytica. But still, magic beckons, and with it the chance to rule not just Mytica, but the world...

When the evil King Gaius announces that a road is to be built into the Forbidden Mountains, formally linking all of Mytica together, he sets off a chain of events that will forever change the face of this land, forcing Cleo the dethroned princess, Magnus the reluctant heir, Lucia the haunted sorceress, and Jonas the desperate rebel to take steps they never could have imagined.

{Audio Book Review} Kiss of Frost by Jennifer Estep

Series: Mythos Academy #2

Narrator: Tara Sands

Publication date: March 19, 2013

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

ISBN-13: 9781469283883

Synopsis  

You always hear that what other people think doesn’t matter but when it turns out that those other people are reapers, you better pay attention. One incident it can be a coincidence, but two in a day make you wonder doesn’t it.

Now in hopes of finding my own safety and shaking danger out way I am off to the school’s Winter Carnival, a place where students go to ski and party hard.

 My weapons training hasn’t really progress and let’s face it you can’t have your own personal super hero come and save you all the time, no matter how hot the Spartan is.

Let’s hope the goddess Nike picked the right champion and that my magic doesn’t start playing games on me.

Review

Here is the thing with Jennifer Estep, when I think I have her book all figured out there comes a game changer, which I love. The only problem is that she gets repetitive and that I have to wait all the way to the end for things to stop popping up and surprise me.

I love the characters, especially Gwen Frost, the main character. She has a good ethic and she may not be the brightest of the bunch but she is learning to trust other even when her magic has been keeping others at bay in fear of watching things she would rather not.

Either Tara Sands is lowering the sarcastic Veronica Mars vibe and playing more with her voice in this audio book or I am growing used to her style for this series, let’s hope it’s the first one.

It seems that Jennifer Estep is letting her secondary characters come out of the background and play a little more , not only that, she also teases you in this book with the idea that some of the characters that you wouldn’t have given a second glance have more layers and have secrets of their own. I hope this tendency continues, it would really help the world of Mythos Academy expand.

Rating:

{Audio Book Review} Touch of Frost by Jennifer Estep

Series: Mythos Academy #1

Narrator: Tara Sands

Publication date: August 1st 2011

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

ISBN-13: 9781469283876

Synopsis  

Mom was a great cop, a strong woman that fought for justice and loved her family. Now she is gone, she left me and grandma behind and now thanks to an invitation to join Mythos academy now we can’t be together.

In the academy I am not like the others, here where Vikings, Spartans and descendants of other great warriors come to train and perfect their crafts I am still a freak. Call it a blessing, call it a curse but we see the story behind the things, they talk to us, share with us more than I would like to know. Don’t get me wrong it comes in handy here and there but it comes with a big side dish of  TMI.

Now in a school that loves to give classes about mythological history and trains younglings in the ways of the warriors a murder has happened, the place that was said to be the safest for us has been violated, the strange thing was that this person died while I lived, both of us in the library practically alone and only one of us made it out. Don’t get me wrong I am happy to be alive, but why her? Why me?

Review

First Frost had a Veronica Mars kind of feel to it, sadly the narrator took that a little too far, she limited the inflections of her voice to a smart-ass Veronica that kill my Genna Frost buzz at the beginning of the book, I am not going to lie it took a while to get over it.

Besides that, the story was fun and honestly I just couldn’t wait to see how Genna really fitted into this mythological world and the actual mythology. If you are in the market for some evil Loki then you might want to give touch of frost a go.

There were some things that were easy to decipher but there were others that gave me a good surprise and spiced up the story.

Character wise Genna had some good moments, but sadly there was a point in her grieving that got repetitive as we heard about the circumstances that lead to her mother’s demise, which she takes full blame but from the beginning, at least for me, it didn’t feel that she was guilty at all.

The secondary characters I would say that the author is giving us a shy approach in presenting them to us, you see who is important, but because Genna is an outcast she isn’t ready to open up to them and to let us get more time with them. Yet I am looking forward to the second book to explore more of the characters and hopefully Tara Sands will learn from her mistakes and put more life into the life of Genna Frost and the world of Mythos Academy.

Rating:

{Blog Tour Review} First Bite by Dani Harper

Series: Dark Wolf #1

Publication date: October 15, 2013

Publisher: Montlake Romance

ISBN-13: 9781477807590

Synopsis  

Neva was trying to end things before she became a killer, before she lost her identity, before she became like them. But sadly her hopes to save humanity from herself don’t go as planned, especially when Travis Williamson comes along to save her preaching that her life isn’t over.

Now Neva will learn to trust this stranger that has helped her more than once, while they keep moving away from her sire and all the messed up things she entitles. While learning that the guy with the permanent scold may not be as bad as the alternative, and that maybe the life she was forced into isn’t as bad as she was made to believe.

Review

First Bite is a story told from different perspectives in a way that you don’t really need a main title every time the point of view changes from character, it has been a long while since I’ve read something with more than two different P.O.V.’s and I don’t feel like I am trying to figure out just who the hell is the owner of the voice I am reading.

I liked Neva, she may have found it really hard to trust Travis but honestly that just added to the excitement and thankfully she got over it before it got old. Travis on the other hand is hunted by his past and may be in denial of some of the things happening right in front of him, he is strong and refuses to leave Neva until she is no longer a danger to society and he shows her that being a changeling doesn’t equal being a murderer.

Most of the characters that come into play where fun to read, I do have some issues with the villain and her relationship whit our heroin, the foundation of it all leaves to believe some of the things wouldn’t have developed the way they did if their past was truly what we end up learning.

Sometimes this story would throw me of my game with some of the revelations or plot twists it we got, sometimes it was really on the safe side of thing when I feel that this story could have taken some of those opportunities to shine.

Rating: 

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{Trailer Sunday} Bad Unicorn by Platte F. Clark

It wasn't Max Spencer's idea to fight robots, lead an army, or save the world—it just so happens that he's the only living person who can read the most fantastical book ever written: The Codex of Infinite Knowability. The Codex is no ordinary book, and among other things, it describes a unicorn named Princess the Destroyer.

Princess the Destroyer is no ordinary unicorn. She loves nothing more than hunting down, killing, and eating other creatures. After all, what's the point of having a sharp horn on your forehead if you don't use it for destructive purposes? And right now Princess has a very definite purpose: Find Max and retrieve the lost Codex for an evil sorcerer and his mysterious master. If she can do that, she's been promised an all-the-humans-you-can-eat buffet in Texas.

Stuck in another world and with a carnivorous unicorn on his trail, Max must find the courage to save himself, his friends, and, oh yeah...the entire human race.

{Blog Tour Review} Before Midnight by Jennifer Blackstream

Series: Blood Prince #1

Publication date: July 1st, 2013

Publisher: Key Publishing

ASIN: B00DPYZZXA

Synopsis

After a weird event in a land that connects different planes where a werewolf, a vampire, a demon, an angel and a god meet under a mysterious tree there only lies hope for a prophecy to come to life.

After each of the men part our story follows Etienne the werewolf prince that carries the consequences of a blessing gone wrong that has left him being half of what he once was now he is the future heir of a kingdom he can no longer protect the way he was destined to.

As faith would have it there is a solution for his terrible “blessing” but he must act fast yet a stop on the woods marks an encounter with a creature that makes him find the peace he has not known since the day marked him.

Review

Before midnight is an entertaining story that from the very beginning lets you know that if you wish to truly discover all the secrets this book hides you will have to continue with this series up until the very end.

The way Jennifer Blackstream blended and twisted the story we all know as Cinderella was beyond my expectations, she made this story feel original, fresh and at times as if I was reading it for the first time.

Loupe the gentle creature that catches Etienne’s eye was entertaining to get to know, the way her circumstances changed and her dreams came crumbling down on her don’t present her as a truly weak women but as a strong woman in the making.

My main issue with this book would be the sex scene in this book, for me if there is going to be a scene giving a lot of importance on the sexy times it better be relevant to the story and in my opinion it wasn’t relevant to dedicate such a word count to this event but also the time it took place wasn’t the smartest one.

Before Midnight is a fast and interesting read that will let you feeling that there is more about this Cinderella then you think you knew perfect for those that don’t mind an explicit sex scene.

Rating:

 3.5 Broken TV's

{Cover Wars} Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore

Hello and welcome to cover wars the place where covers aren’t shy on fighting for your attention and to settle things once and for all you get to pick which cover wears the story best.

Last week we had a book about a girl that was in loved with the Ferryman, we are talking about Surrender by Rhiannon Paille, this edition wasn’t only original VS cover make over but it was also bold and unconventional VS traditional, so let’s see which one you guys liked best shall we?

The winner of last week’s Cover Wars is….

The most traditional cover that is also the Cover Make Over!

Now that we’ve seen which cover from last we you liked shall we move on to this week’s contestants? I’ll take your silence as a yes.

This week we have a first book in the series “Magic Under” the book is called Magic Under Glass by Jaclyn Dolamore, come on and take a look at this book’s blurb:

Nimira is a music-hall performer forced to dance for pennies to an audience of leering drunks. When wealthy sorcerer Hollin Parry hires her to do a special act - singing accompaniment to an exquisite piano-playing automaton, Nimira believes it is the start of a new life. In Parry's world, however, buried secrets stir.

Unsettling below-stairs rumours abound about ghosts, a mad woman roaming the halls, and of Parry's involvement in a gang of ruthless sorcerers who torture fairies for sport.

When Nimira discovers the spirit of a dashing young fairy gentleman is trapped inside the automaton's stiff limbs, waiting for someone to break the curse and set him free, the two fall in love. But it is a love set against a dreadful race against time to save the entire fairy realm, which is in mortal peril.

Now that we all have some sort of idea of what Magic Under Glass is about let’s take a look at all the faces this book has had.

First we have a cover with a girl stumbling into something magical, her movements and the way she is picking at the jewelry box seems like it was something she couldn’t get away from.

Then we have a girl with a key a clue, an opportunity a key full of possibilities with a look on her face that says that whatever it may hide intrigues her.

Wait! don’t go to the poll yet! We still have one more cover, this one changed the concept that the other two were showing, this one takes the illustration route and gives a more graphic description on the name of the book giving it a sweet feeling.

So now you know our contestants ladies and gets so tell us and let us know which one you like best, please vote and/or comment and let us know what you think about them.

{Cover Wars} Surrender by Rhiannon Paille

Hello guys and welcome to Cover Wars, where new and old covers battle it out for your affection, a place where you don’t have to feel guilty for playing favorites.

Last week we had Of Beast and Beauty by Stacey Jay both beautiful covers were wondering which one was more appealing for you guys and so you have voted and the results are in! Your pick is:

Simple and Clean

This week we move from fairy tales retellings into the fantasy realms to a girl that fell in love with the Ferryman, this week we have Surrender by Rhiannon Paille, and for those of you that aren’t really familiar with this story here is the book blurb:

How far would you go to save everything you ever loved?

Kaliel was warned about her love for the Ferryman. One day he will marry the land and leave Avristar forever. She doesn't listen, and because of what she is-- a Flame-- one of nine apocalyptic weapons, she sparks a war. In a desperate attempt to save her home and her love, Kaliel tries to awaken Avred, not knowing she may have to make the ultimate sacrifice.

Now that we are all closer into understanding what this story is about let’s take a look at the covers that are trying to see who wore it best. First we have the original cover, the one that has some eye catching color but doesn’t really give out a lot about the story.

The cover makeover edition of this book decides to take a more traditional route unlike the original that keeps us guessing a little on the intention of the cover, the violet color seem to want to sooth you into the story.

So come on guys spill it out do you have a favorite cover? Are any of this covers more appealing than the other for you? Would you pick one of them up from a shelf no questions asked? Please remember to comment and vote on the poll.

{Review} The Sweetest Dark by Shana Abe

Series: The Sweetest Dark #1

Publication date: April 02, 2013

Publisher: Bantam

ISNB-13: 9780345531704

Synopsis

Lora Jones has always known that she’s different. On the outside, she appears to be an ordinary sixteen-year-old girl. Yet Lora’s been keeping a heartful of secrets: She hears songs that no one else can hear, dreams vividly of smoke and flight, and lives with a mysterious voice inside her that insists she’s far more than what she seems.

England, 1915. Raised in an orphanage in a rough corner of London, Lora quickly learns to hide her unique abilities and avoid attention. Then, much to her surprise, she is selected as the new charity student at Iverson, an elite boarding school on England’s southern coast. Iverson’s eerie, gothic castle is like nothing Lora has ever seen. And the two boys she meets there will open her eyes and forever change her destiny.

Jesse is the school’s groundskeeper—a beautiful boy who recognizes Lora for who and what she truly is. Armand is a darkly handsome and arrogant aristocrat who harbors a few closely guarded secrets of his own. Both hold the answers to her past. One is the key to her future. And both will aim to win her heart. As danger descends upon Iverson, Lora must harness the powers she’s only just begun to understand, or else lose everything she dearly loves.

Review

At first when I read the description I thought it was going to be just another love story, a story about a girl discovering who she really is through a boys eyes, this was not necessarily the case.

Lora Jones give a unique voice from what I imagine the voice of a young girl in the 1915’s would sound, she is independent, has a sense of humor (maybe not a typical sense of humor, but I like it) and she is a smart young women.

Which is exactly what scared me about this book, the uniqueness of her thoughts and the way she views this world sucked me into the story, but it was the boys involvement that made me afraid that she would become a fool for love, she would lose her independence and her voice all of that just for a boy. Yet after a day or two to brave myself back into the book Lora didn’t disappoint me she found a way to be in love and keep her wits.

This story is an interesting mix of historical fiction, dragons, magic and destiny.  I really recommend the world building is good, it helps that it’s in the eve of WWI so if you paid a bit of attention in class it might be easier to picture it, but even if you didn’t care for the history this book is just set on the WWI but you don’t need to know specific dates or events to enjoy it.

 Now I am parked on the waiting for the second book. I can’t wait to see what happens next especially with all the events that transpired at the end of the book.

*Sorry guys for not doing an original synopsis but I couldn’t find anything that didn’t either spoil the story for you guys or said something that I’ve already mentioned on the review.

Rating

{Review} Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer

Publication date: July 26, 2011

Publisher: Philomel

ISBN-13: 9780399254833

Synopsis

Last time we saw Calla she had found out the life she had always lead was all based in lies, searchers, guardians and keepers don’t really play the parts she’s been told. Now captured by the enemy Calla starts learning who is playing which part.

It is time to own up to the consequences of leaving her pack, starting to trust the enemy and deciding the leave everything to protect the boy she loves.

Review

Calla left everything for Shay, the guy that the keepers want dead and the searchers need. The ending in the first book was so good, the cliffhanger was killing me so let’s just say that I entered Wolfsbane the bar was really really high.

The beginning of the book was interesting the tension between the new environment, Calla must learn if she can trust the searchers now that the guardians and the keepers are after her for ditching in an attempt to save Shay.

The main issue with this book is that it tried to get the reader to know everything this world was hiding from us now that Calla decided to open her eyes to the truth.  There are three main subjects in this book and only 390 pages to let us know all of them.

All those main subjects in hand plus character development, the expansion of the Nightshade world and all those past and possible future outcomes that call for your attention become a bit of distraction and I couldn’t really get lost on the story.

By the end of the book I couldn’t believe this was the book I had been waiting for a whole year!!! (Yes this book came out on 2011 but it was one of those book that you buy and then suddenly you get scared because they might not be as good as you expected) I am unsure if I’ll be reading Bloodrose, there are many missions ahead and just one book to go, I don’t know if all those stories will have space to breath and let the reader enjoy the story.

Have you read the Nightshade story?? What do you think about it??

Rating:

{Blog Tour Review} The Siren's Secret by Heather Ostler

Series: The Shapeshifter’s Secret

Publication date: June 11, 2013

Publisher: Cedar Fort

ISBN-13: 978146112234

Synopsis

Julia’s world was turned upside down last year. She had to abandoned her life at New York… well we could say she had to leave her life on earth as we know it to save her life. As a result she found out her father had kept a dimension full of secrets all her life.

Now after surviving some quality time with her mother, Julia is ready for another school year at her other dimension boarding school. What she doesn’t expect is that her appearance starts to change in drastic ways, her shifting abilities decrease and the fact that she is cursed force her to leave school and go to Serenity.

 Review

Heather found a way to twist the story into a way that I hadn’t expected. When I read the title I was super excited, what could a shapeshifter have to do with a siren? How would Caleb and Terrence fit into this story? What more does Ossai have to offer?

It was nice to see the characters and the story that made this book memorable to me, to walk in Heather Ostler’s New York, Ossai and Lockham Castle.

The direction this story took was really unexpected; it gave me another sense of Ossai and all we haven’t discovered, not only in all the land we still don’t know but all the problems and races that live in it.

This book gets three broken TV’s because even though I enjoyed the story, there were some setbacks the most important one was that I was expecting a bigger growth from the author on this second installment of the Shapeshifter’s Secret. The second thing, and this may just be me guys, is that at some points of the conversation it felt robotic, like the character was just retelling what had just happened or responding in a way totally expected.

I hope you give The Siren’s Secret a try and make the decision for yourself.

Rating:

 

{Blog Tour Review}Silver Hollow by Jennifer Silverwood

Publication Date: November 9, 2012

Publisher: SilverwoodSketches

ISBN-13: 9781481000147

Synopsis

Writing has always been her passion, but when she is pushed by her editor to write paranormal romance Ami loses her focus.

Now she is getting a letter from her only living relative asking her to join him in England, and after a bizarre series of events that put Ami’s life on the line she decides to flee to her uncle.

What she finds in the Silver Hollow is a lot of colorful characters, a strange house and a hell lot of questions that need answering.

Review

Jennifer Silverwood takes us in a magical adventure where instead of mixing the England we’ve all heard about and sparkling with magic she makes a little nook where the world of the Silver Hollow breaths and lives.
The way the characters talked was weird, not in a frustrating way nor in a way that will make you feel left out (although you might find yourself thinking 'what the hell is he/she talking about' once or twice), I loved it because they helped give a sense that we were not in Kansas anymore but down the rabbit whole. It added a sense of the culture and that there was still a lot that this new world wasn't showing us.

This story may feel a little long, but not in the “Gosh, when is this story going to end” sense but in a sense that this is a story that needs to take its time while it answers but Ami and the readers questions about this new land, its folklore and its people.

I really enjoyed this book, even if I didn’t get my way in a couple of things that happened while this book developed. I would love to be a little brat about it, but honestly this is a good book my only suggestion would be to read it with time and don’t abandon it there are a lot of names going around and you might be lost when you try to pick it up.

Rating:

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