{Blog Tour Review} Savor by Kate Evangelista

Mature and explicit content. Not recommended for readers below 18-years-old. Yup, you've got to be that old to read my story. Consider yourself warned.

Publication date: December 1rst, 2013

Publisher: Crescent Moon Press

ISBN-13: 9781939173652

Synopsis

Photography may be one of the most “popular” hobbies out there, but for me it’s a way of life. To be honest with out my camera I sometimes feel like a part of me is missing.

All that passion bottled inside me while getting trying to get the perfect picture drove me into waiting for my muse to call, to tell me who my subject would be for the last work I have to present before I graduate college.

So when her muse strikes it doesn’t matter that it’s in the form of a rock star can she deal with everything that is coming her way?

Review

I was afraid when I started reading this book, it sounded like some fanfict (In case I haven’t mentioned it this is my first Kate Evangelista book so save your torches and angry mob spirits until the end), I’m glad to report that the feeling does fade away, Kate Evangelista gives Dakota a voice that makes you see past the over the top world of the rockstars Dakota has to live in to sink you into a world where Dakota might discover more about herself then she bargain for.

I really liked Dakota even when she was sent into a world above her own she didn’t get comfortable with the commodities it offered, nor did she lose the sensation of wonder when she tried something new. She as a way of pulling you into the story and making you enjoy things through her perspective.

There was a scene in this book with which I had issues with (and it’s in part why there is a warning on the Synopsis), but the characters try to talk about what happened and ended up leaving me with a feeling that it is something that will have a further discussion on book two.

At the beginning of the book there was a point where I thought it would just be a shallow book, you know one of those where the cover is gorgeous but the stuff in it just doesn’t match, fortunately Savor started showing it’s layers where little by little you got more interested in the world Kate Evangelista was giving you, trying to decipher why Dakota did the things she did and why everyone followed Lukas lead.

Honestly I don’t know if I will patiently wait for the second book to come out or if I should just start reading Taste and go all crazy conspiracy theorist on it (aluminum foil hat included).

Rating:

 

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{Promo} Fragile Brilliance by Tammy Blackwell

Series: Shifters & Seers #1

Publication date: November 26, 2013

ISBN: 9781493658

Synopsis  

Maggie McCray has worked her whole life for the opportunity to attend Sanders College. It’s her one chance at becoming a world-renowned artist, and she’s determined nothing will get in her way. But when a murder brings Maggie and her powers to the attention of the Alpha Pack and the tragically handsome Charlie Hagan, her carefully planned future hangs in jeopardy.

Charlie Hagan isn’t happy when the Alpha Female assigns him as Maggie McCray’s personal bodyguard. Just being near the Thaumaturgic threatens to unleash the primal instincts he’s been suppressing for so long. Charlie knows if the coyote is uncaged, then the person he’ll most need to protect Maggie from is himself.

{Review} Snowbound with the Soldier by Jennifer Faye

Publication date: October 1st 2013

Publisher: Harlequin

ISBN-13: 99780373742615

Synopsis  

Seven years have passed since Kara saw Jason, since Jason broke their engagement during Christmas and enlisted in the army without a proper explanation.

Now the loft that Kara’s been working for has been sold and there are really strong rumors that the new management want’s their people to move in, but all those rumors dull up when she finds out exactly who the new management is.

There are times when it’s just time to quit the military life, sometimes it forces you to quit, Jason is a member of the last circle. Now as a civilian he is trying to rebuild parts of the life he left, discovering that Kara is still in town is one of the few surprises that have been waiting 7 years to be discovered.

Review

Snowbound with the Soldier is my first experience with sweet romance, I usually shy away when the genres adult + romance mix because in a lot of them bum! They have sex problem solved which means I’ve either had a really bad experience with this two genres mixed together or that that’s usually how the work, either way I really liked the way this book dealt with romance .

The awkwardness and the first interactions with Jason and Kara feel real and I like how they’re relationship evolves, how not everything is clean and each characters shows the reader their doubts, their hopes and fears.

I like how in this story the reader is a silent and helpless confident that even if he gets a bigger picture the reader is still trying to put two and two together to see everything that happened in this characters during those seven years.

There was a large range of important subjects touched in this story, each one had its place and even if I didn’t like how some of them where enact each of them portrayed  the right message at the end.

I would suggest this story for all of you that will be doing some travelling for Christmas or New Years, this story would be a good companion during those trips or a good little companion during those times out we sometimes need during the holidays.

Rating:

3.5 Broken TV’s

{Traier Sunday} Clockwork Angel by Cassandra Clare

In a time when Shadowhunters are barely winning the fight against the forces of darkness, one battle will change the course of history forever. Welcome to the Infernal Devices trilogy, a stunning and dangerous prequel to the New York Times bestselling Mortal Instruments series.

The year is 1878. Tessa Gray descends into London’s dark supernatural underworld in search of her missing brother. She soon discovers that her only allies are the demon-slaying Shadowhunters—including Will and Jem, the mysterious boys she is attracted to. Soon they find themselves up against the Pandemonium Club, a secret organization of vampires, demons, warlocks, and humans. Equipped with a magical army of unstoppable clockwork creatures, the Club is out to rule the British Empire, and only Tessa and her allies can stop them...

{Audio Book Review} Enchanted by Alethea Kontis

Series: Woodcutter Series #1

Publication Date: May 8th, 2012

Publisher: Brilliance Audio

Narrated by: Katherin Kelgren

Duration: 7 hours 51 minutes

ISBN-13: 9780983632931

Synopsis

The child who is born on the Sabbath Day

Is bonny and blithe and good and gay

This was to be Sunday's fate, to be forever blithe and good and gay. But it is a hard fate to fulfill when Sunday is the youngest in a full house and easily overlooked by her loved ones.

On a day where she was trying to get some time for herself Sunday meets a frog who asks her for stories and as a friendship is born the gate for something more opens up leading one night to a kiss.

That night the frog ceases to exist, breaking a curse while leading up to more complications and the resurface old skeletons from the proverbial closet. As things change rapidly can Sunday distinguish friend from foe?

Review

This book in a way reminds me of an infomercial with all the "but wait there’s more". The mix of ingredients make this story full, complex and really enjoyable for those who know some of the stories that surround Enchanted it enriches the story itself. From the retelling of "The frog prince", mixed with the nursery rhyme "Monday's Child", godmothers and enchantments you can't wait to see what new story will jump into the mix.

The audio book is one of those that I fell in love fast and it’s all thanks to the combination of a great story with a great narrator. Katherin Kelgren gives this story a homey fee; and the way she gives each character a unique voice helps the listener stay on track with the story.

I would recommend this book for people that like retellings, this one makes a really complex world where several of the stories we all know are interconnected in interested ways, that left me wondering what story she would add into the mix next and how it will change the story for all of us.

Rating:

{Review} City of Bones by Cassandra Clare

Series: The Mortal Instruments #1

Publication date: March 27, 2007

Publisher: Margaret K. McElderry Books

ISBN-13: 99781416914280

Synopsis

They always say there is a world out there, a world just waiting for us to explore it, but that is a lie.

The world, the real world is right in front of us, it’s always been in front of me but I had never really seen it, until that day I witnessed a murder that no one else could see. From that day forward my world got stranger and more dangerous.

The disappearance of my mother, the opening of this strange world and all its “new” inhabitants where a lot to swallow yet there wasn’t the time to digest everything that was going around when all I could think about was finding the woman that gave birth to me, helped me grow and help them blind me from this new world.

Review

Here is the thing with City of Bones, I feel that I started this book upon false pretenses, first of all there was the huge talk everyone was doing about the movie and even before that the amount of books that this series has sold; the second part was that a girl that attended the Mortal Instruments panel said that Cassandra Clare had said that the story was born from a fanfic she was writing about Hermione Granger and mister Draco Malfoy (you know before he went to the point of no return) which made me supper excited and gave me the grabby hands yet it did not deliver.

Second of all I get the concept of Jace the arrogant boy falling for the first time, but once you get your favorite arrogant boy/men it’s kind of hard for another to really take the spotlight so please feel free to blame Ethan Sullivan from Chicagoland Vampires by Chloe Neill.

Story wise I liked it, the way the different species come to work and how this world works, the story behind this world is interesting and I love the concept that the past comes back to bite them in the derrière.

But the characters really lacked for me, I don’t know if it was because of the Draco-Hermione expectations when it comes to the main characters but when it comes to the rest of the cast I just don’t feel like I got to know any of them or even made a connection except for Luke Garroway who didn’t have a lot of letter count on the book but even then he was the character I found myself most interested in.

I think I will be giving City of Glass a try to see if the characters get to grow, if they leave some of the clichés behind (sorry didn’t know who to mention there where some cliché parts without getting into details) and well you know an excuse for Luke time, but if it doesn’t cut it for me I may let the Mortal Instruments to rest.

Rating:

 

{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

{Trailer Sunday} The Burning Sky by Sherry Thomas

Iolanthe Seabourne is the greatest elemental mage of her generation—or so she's being told. The one prophesied for years to be the savior of The Realm. It is her duty and destiny to face and defeat the Bane, the greatest mage tyrant the world has ever known. A suicide task for anyone let alone a sixteen-year-old girl with no training, facing a prophecy that foretells a fiery clash to the death. 

Prince Titus of Elberon has sworn to protect Iolanthe at all costs but he's also a powerful mage committed to obliterating the Bane to revenge the death of his family—even if he must sacrifice both Iolanthe and himself to achieve his goal.

But Titus makes the terrifying mistake of falling in love with the girl who should have been only a means to an end. Now, with the servants of the Bane closing in, he must choose between his mission and her life.

{Cover Wars} Letters to Nowhere by Julie Cross

Come one come all, welcome to Cover Wars, where covers battle it out in a fierce catwalk so we can decide on who wore it best. Before we take a look a this week's contestant lets reveal the winner of last week's long battle "Dearly, Departed", and the winner for best dressed is....

U.S. Cover

Now that we've basked on the glory of the winning "Dearly, Departed" cover, it is time to move into this weeks Cover War affairs, this week we have Julie Cross's new book "Letter to Nowhere" where she moves away from the world of Tempest and makes us dive into the world of Contemporary. Let's take a pick into the world of "Letter to Nowhere".

Seventeen year old Karen Campbell has just lost both her parents in a tragic car accident. Grief stricken and alone, her gymnastics coach opens his home to Karen, providing her a place to live while she continues to train, working toward a spot on the world championship team. 

Coach Bentley’s only child, seventeen year old Jordan is good-looking and charming enough to scare away a girl like Karen—someone who has spent ten times more hours on balance beams and uneven bars than talking or even thinking about boys. But the two teens share a special connection almost immediately. It turns out Jordan has a tragic past of his own, grief buried for years. 

As Karen’s gymnastics career soars, her nightmares and visions of the horrible accident grow in strength. She can only avoid facing her grief for so long before it begins to surface and ultimately spin out of control in a very dangerous way. Can discovering love and lust (simultaneously) help with the grieving process or will it only provide a temporary distraction while waiting for reality to hit full force.

Now that we're all a bit more informed we can take a look into a covers, first we have the one I call the kissing cover, the one that shows Karen and hopefully Jordan sharing a sweet kiss with a blurry background as if saying that nothing else matters or that all fades away when they are together.

Next we have the one I call the "Comforting Cover" the one that shows Jordan behind Karen letting her know he has her back, with a subtle hand on her right shoulder as if trying to say that it doesn't matter that she must move forward he will be there for her.

Now you know my opinion of each cover and the names they go by in my head, but here comes the most important part! What do you guys think of this covers? Which cover wore this story best based on the book blurb or if you have already read this book then please share your thoughts.

Letters to Nowhere is now out and you can get it where e-books are being sold.

{Blog Tour Audio Book Review} The Gatekeeper's Sons by Eva Pohler

Series: Gatekeeper's Trilogy #1

Publication date: August 13, 2012
Publisher: Green Press/Eva Pohler

ISBN-13: 9780615685960

Synopsis

After being on a horrible accident that left 15 year old Therese partentless she goes into a come where she meets the sons of Hades, Hipnos and Thanatos, events that happened on during her coma dreams lead up to a deal with Hades himself and a hunt to find her parents killers.
This deal pushes Therese into the gods radar in a good and in a bad way. 

Review

The narrator at times made the book look as if it was parts that where just wrote in a very simple manner, she would move away from the natural flow she was using and move her voice I don't know if in an effort to hide the fact or she felt there was something there to move but she only made those times more obvious  I will be reading this book on another time to see who is really at fault.
When the narrator did some of the voices that weren't Therese and her part as a narrator she sounded at times mechanical, read and killed the flow of the story.
When the Debbie Andreen didn't commit some of this flaws the story had a really amiable flow, and I could do some light stuff around while enjoying this audio book.
From the story Therese unnerved me at the beginning of the story and I was afraid she would go the same path that Bella did in New Moon by Stephanie Meyer when she was saying that she wanted to die, I am glad to report Therese didn't go into the self-harm rout.
I loved Eva Pohler's choice of gods for this book, as much as I like Persephone's retellings I like that Eva is trying to expand the number of gods that get some "camera time". Seen a god in the human world for the first time was interesting I was expecting a more arrogant or a more in control kind of situation but I like the angle that Eve Pohler used on The Gatekeeper's Sons she is truly making this story her own.

Rating:
3.5

{Review} The Heartbreak Messenger by Alexander Vance

Publication date: July 23, 2013

Publisher: Feiwel and Friends

ISBN-13: 9781250029690

Synopsis

When money seems to be tight around the house twelve year old Quentin decides not to be the boy that just stood around and see things fall apart. As luck would have it his new line of work came to him in the form of his best friend's older brother, the guy that was too afraid to end a relationship.
One thing lead to another and now Quentin is known as the Heartbreak Messenger, a name feared by most and a two edge blade that seems to hunt Quentin on every turn.
The world is settling back again, I've been hired to get the stories of what happened to let the world know and hopefully never forget what we've been through.

Review

I enjoyed the way that Alexander Vance voiced this story, it's narrative and the main point he wanted this story to make.
Quentin (the main character) on the other hand is not something I applaud Mr. Vance for, Quentin is a smart twelve year old boy that is in no rush to grow up yet he tries to help his mother, sounds good enough up until now doesn't it? But you see there was this important moment in the book where Quentin could have walked equality lane yet he decides to make his big revelation by going on a walk on macho street.
 That and the lack of sympathy on Quentin's part made him one hundred percent  a character that I could by no means relate to. 
And here is where the mixed feelings card comes into play, as much as I disliked Quentin's attitude and reactions to certain situations the message this book leaves us with is so valuable and not really discussed in real life that I think that it's worth reading.
I would suggest you read that if you wish to read this book with your kids just help them see the parts where Quentin didn't act as he should and then let the big picture that this book is trying to portray come to them.

Rating: