Salcious Sunday Review: For His Pleasure by Kelly Favor

 

by Kelly Favor

Summary: When twenty-two year old Nicole Masters gets a highly coveted internship working for one of the largest advertising companies in the world, she can't believe her luck. But Jameson International isn't just any company. It's owned by thirty-two-year-old business mogul and celebrity, Red Jameson.

Red is known for his high flying lifestyle; dating models and hanging with the rich and famous.

The powerful billionaire can have any woman he wants, and the naive college graduate can't imagine making much of an impression on her new CEO. But when Red Jameson takes notice of her and invites her up to his secluded office one day, everything changes.

As it turns out, the powerful businessman also has a voracious sexual appetite, and it's been whetted by none other than Nicole herself. And Red needs to be in charge at every turn.

Nicole isn't just any girl though, and Red Jameson's shocked to find that the young intern is more than a match for him in a battle of wits and will.

For His Pleasure is a 30,000 word tale of lust, submission, power and ultimately--a love story for the ages

Review: There are some amazing books out there about love at first sight, happily ever after, and other things that might be a stretch of the imagination for real life but work beautifuly in books to the point where you fall in love with them. This is NOT one of this books. 

             To be honest I'm getting a little tired of the instant love kind of story mainly because it is just not practical to fall for someone you don't know left  from right about. Maybe I am not enough of a romantic to really by into these kinds of love, but it still works in other reads, but not in this. Let's start with the main character, Nicole. She is a spoiled rich brat who's parents pay for her to live in the city and figure out what she wants to do for a job. I will give her a little credit, she did go to college and she did well, and I fully understand it is hard to start out right out of college financially, but let's have a reality check and have a job before living somewhere you can't afford shall we? Getting over her family/living situation she doesn't help herself when the second she gets an internship at a big company, she immediately HAS SEX WITH THE BILLIONAIRE OWNER. Come on, he just picks her up one night, has one dinner with her and they make kink-love that night? Then to top that little scenario, when he doesn't call her for, like, 3 days she goes into a depression about it? He pretty much told her she would be nothing but a sex toy, and she still had her heart break for NO GOOD REASON!

              Speaking of Red, he just seems like the typical billionaire playboy, and it doesn't seem like anyone is trying to convince he isn't one. We know zero about his life or his family or even his business really, and you won't find anything out in this book either. Maybe in the next X number of books in this series  you will, but not in this one, and Nicole doesn't find out anything about him either. I didn't read anything that made him seem like a horrible person, just someone who liked sex a little, shall we say, rough? But at the end when her parents threaten to stop paying for apartment because they don't want their daughter to be with this middle-aged, billionaire who goes through models like yesterdays news, he goes to their house with her to prove they are really a couple? WHAT?!?! 

             I'm not sure how they went from sub/dom to bf/gf but I just don't believe this story and that's were I just can't like it. 2.99 for a 70 page story that pissed me off the whole was not worth it, and there are so many more to this series that I will not be wasting the money. If my rant didn't tell you what I am going to give this book, maybe I need to go back and write some more, but my opinion is PASS PASS PASS- My opinion: Pass!

Young Adult Thursday Review: Tithe by Holly Black

 
By Holly Black

Summary:
                Sixteen-year-old Kaye is a modern nomad. Fierce and independent, she travels from city to city with her mother's rock band until an ominous attack forces Kaye back to her childhood home. There, amid the industrial, blue-collar New Jersey backdrop, Kaye soon finds herself an unwilling pawn in an ancient power struggle between two rival faerie kingdoms - a struggle that could very well mean her death


Review:  Kaye spent her entire life thinking she was just an ordinary teenager...if you cold call an only child of a rock-n-roll mother who travels from venue to venue, living in squalid apartments and hanging out in bars, an ordinary life. That all changes when her mother is attacked by her boyfriend/bandmate in a bar in Philly one night and it sends both Kaye and her mother back to Kaye's grandmothers' house in Jersey. After re-uniting with friends from her childhood, things start getting a little weird for Kaye. After a weird incident with a boy her best friend Janice is in love with, she runs into a man with ghost white hair and what appears to be armor covering him, but that armor hasn't stopped him from being gravely injured. This man is name Roiben, and he is a fairy knight. This doesn't shock her nearly as much as it should have, because she has been seeing faeries her entire life. Little did she know she was actually a faery herself, and one that was being used to end a long-standing oppression of the solitary Fae from the dark court, called the Unseelie Court. Led by a horrible Queen, they are as they are called, dark. They enjoy pain, blood and torture, and are amused by things that would make most humans squirm. This is the court that Roiben belongs too, but not by choice. After some awful events, Kaye does free these solitaries, but to what end?
            I really liked Kaye as a character, she was strong, independent and smart. Her fae category is a pixie, but the most important part about her in regards to the story is that she is a changeling. Now, a changeling is defined in the book as a faery switched with a human child when they are very young, but it doesn't really give much more information about why, how or what that means for Kaye and it never really gets answered at all, hopefully in the next book it will. The other part about being a changeling that I thought was strange was that she took it really well, and when I say "really well" I mean SHE DIDN'T REACT AT ALL. I don't know if this makes her really strong or really dumb because I would be flipping out if I found all this out, but she doesn't even blink an eye. Don't get me wrong, I said I really like Kaye but I did want to smack or shake her at some point to maybe wake her up to what was going on in her life.
             She also falls in love with Roiben and I couldn't be happier about this pairing. She is a kind, young and sorta giddy new faery and he is the old, honorable and stiff faery. They are like the ying and yang of a faery tale and I loved every minute they were together. He has to take orders from a sick Unseelie Queen, who makes him do horrible things, but he still maintains a sense of knighthood by being chivalrous yet unyielding. On the inside he hasn't let the Unseelie court break him, even after all these years, and having Kaye come into his life almost saves him from being broken, which was swoon worthy. Because of her bravery and whit, Kaye frees him but he in turn saves her life and we all know that is a Happily Ever After waiting to happen.
               I can't deny that I love a good faery story and Tither did not disappoint. I think anybody could read this story and find something they enjoy about it. It has its' intense moments and some heart break, but a great book will take you on a roller coaster of emotions, and Tithe does this and more. - My Opinion: Buy!

Wicked New Wednesday Review: Crewel

 

    By Gennifer Albin

Summary:     Enter a tangled world of secrets and intrigue where a girl is in charge of other’s destinies, but not her own.

Sixteen-year-old Adelice Lewys has always been special. When her parents discover her gift—the ability to weave the very fabric of reality—they train her to hide it. For good reason, they don’t want her to become a Spinster — one of the elite, beautiful, and deadly women who determine what people eat, where they live, how many children they have, and even when they die.

Thrust into the opulent Western Coventry, Adelice will be tried, tested and tempted as she navigates the deadly politics at play behind its walls.  Now caught in a web of lies and forbidden romance, she must unravel the sinister truth behind her own unspeakable power.  Her world is hanging by a thread, and Adelice, alone, can decide to save it — or destroy it


Review:  Adelice Lewys was just a normal teenage girl, living in her country called Aras, when at her 16th birthday everything changes. While going through a testing process to become a spinster, a skill her parents have been teaching her how to hide for the majority of her life, she slips and shows that she does have the talents. A spinster is woman that can weave the threads of the their entire world, adding/subtracting, growing/destroying etc, by using a weave. These woman affect everything in Arras from the weather, food rations, babies and even death. From a very early point in her life, Adelice's parents trained her every night to hide her skills from the governing body, called The Guild (<---  notice the capital T), but she was never sure why they did, until the day she slipped and showed her talents causing The Guild to come and take her away from her family to be trained as a spinster. After a horrible attempt at collecting her, that left her father dead and her mother and sister in the run, she is brought to the training center, thrown in a cell and treated horribly.....that is until they take her out of her prison and treated like royalty. She is given the best rooms, allowed to speak like none of her peers towards anyone, and eventually put under the lead spinster for training called the Crewler. This woman has talents beyond any other spinsters, having abilities to harvest the raw materials needed to make everything in Aras. While training, Adelice encounters so many different obstacles to overcome including the horrible treatment of superiors, their plots to alienate her from the rest of the spinster candidates,  and her final straw, trying to maker her marry The Guilds ambassador. Using a sugical procedure they plan to reprogram her brain (they call it remapping) so that they can control what she is thinking and does. After everything that goes on in the coventry, the threats to her sister and the lengths at which The Guild is willing to go Adelice rebels against them and stops all their plans in place when they hurt her sorta-boyfriend Josten, and uses the powers she has to start what she hopes will be a revolution. I'd tell you how she does that, but even I didn't see that coming at the end of this story!
              What I found most interesting about this book was that I started out thinking this was some sort of either made-up world or almost an alternative world. What I never saw coming was a post-appocoliptic type of story kind of story that we didn't get a whole lot of detail about but still it surprised me, in a good way. I do wish we got more information about the Earth that these people left, more on why they left and how they did so, but I can understand that would be a lot of information for an already 400+ page book. It is deffinetley an interesting concept that the author created and I wish I could say more but it would give away way too many spoilers for you! Let's just say I was fascinated for a whole scene between the crewler and Adelice.
            Speaking of Adelice, I had a hard time liking her as a heroine. I flip-slopped between being really annoyed with her and impressed several times throughout the story. Sometimes she came off as whiney and unmotivated, yet other times I just wanted to give her a fist-bump for thinking up something witty or evading The Guilds plans. I know, I know, she is only 16 AND comes from a place where the government shields most citizens from knowing a lot about...well anything really. I still couldn't get myself to believe in her. Add to that the ending of the story the way it went down, I am not sure she has a plan beyond what she did, and that is just scary.
           That being said, I really enjoyed this story. I thought the author brilliantly described the world, the people and the art of weaving. I could picture everything she was telling me as though it was a picture not a book and that is something that most reads can't accomplish. I'm looking forward to finding out not only where Adelice is heading, but more about her romances and the supporting characters stories because we deffinetly did not get enough back ground on many of the other characters and it left me wanting to know more. Since I burrowed this from the library myself, that's what I think you should too!!- My Opinion: Burrow

Salacious Sunday Review: Undeniable by Madeline Sheehan

 

by Madeline Sheehan

Summary: Warning: This is not a typical love story. This is an all-consuming, soul-crushing, tear-your-heart-into-pieces story. It’s intense, gritty and raw, dark and disturbing, and it doesn’t happen overnight. This is an epic love story that knows no boundaries and has no time limits. It grows and develops—with hurt, sacrifice, and heartache—over the span of a lifetime.

Eva Fox is the princess of the Silver Demons Motorcycle Club. Growing up with bikers in the club lifestyle is all that she knows. When she’s a young girl, Eva meets the reason for her existence. Deuce West is the sexy, biker bad-ass of the Hell’s Horsemen Motorcycle Club. Like Eva, he was born and raised in the club—but that’s where the similarities end. Their first meeting is innocent, but as Eva matures into a woman, their chance reunions evolve into a fit of lust and love. Fate continues to bring them together time and time again, but their twisted journey is filled with pain, betrayal, and bloodshed that could tear them apart. Eva sees in Deuce what he cannot see in himself—a man worthy of love—and Eva spends her lifetime proving to him that her undeniable love is the one thing he can’t live without.

This is Eva and Deuce’s story.

It wasn’t easy.
Nothing worth doing ever is.
And love is worth everything

Review:     Just like the book summary comes with a warning, so will my review. There is not a single doubt in my mind that this story is an adult only read. It isn't just sex and swearing, which they do A LOT, but this book has everything from rape and abuse to murder and torture. This author definitely took a no-holds-bar approach when writing this and never looked back. It is not for anyone who can't read something and know it is fictional and that is where I will start. If I read a newspaper article like this story I would be horrified., it would be a gut-wrenching case that is no doubt sick and twisted and any other word you can come up with for a story about a man who desperately needs psychiatric help that goes around raping and murdering more than a few people, a women who takes abusive both mental and physical  and ultimately has to do something horrible that I know I wouldn't be able to get over in order to save herself and a man who some would label a pedophile at the very beginning and an asshole (pardon my language) throughout the story. However, this IS a story, it is made up and thankfully don't have to think about someone actually going through this, even if I know someone out there probably has. 

             As a book, I thought it was a great story. It has defined, individual characters that have stories of their own within the bigger plot lines, and they tell those stories without making it drag or slow down within the overall story. It has plot twists that, several times, I did not seem coming.  Being a story about bikers, it is intense, possibly to a fault as I can understand why I see a lot of reviews out there were people just can't like it all due to it's violence and sexual nature. The relationships in this book are really what shine for me. There are several pairs of bikers and women that you want to know what happens too. They go on their individual roller coaster rides dealing with fights and love and babies and everything else there is for two people to go through. You watch different people come together that you probably didn't expect and I had moments where I wanted to reach through my e-reader and strangle a character or two, or maybe just slap some sense into them, but I think that makes a great story too. My opinion starts to waver, however, when some of the more ugly things start to happen.

           I'll start with Deuce and Eva because those are the main characters. There is an 18 year difference between the two, and normally I don't really have a problem with an age difference. However, they hook up for the first time......when she is 16. He gets shot twice for it, but that was......hard to read, you could say. I can understand where people have strong opinions with a book that has a lot of the dark topics it has in it and this is one of them. After the first few encounters of these two, Eva turns 18 and everything is legal between the two of them from then on, but that is a hard place to start. After starting out like that, they go through fighting and never really being together as well as not seeing each other for years at a time. The other big turn off  I could see with these two is the cheating. Particularly Deuce, cheats a lot, and I could never really wrap my head around this. Why did he need to go back to the biker women when he had such a great thing with Eva? He even did it when she was just in the other room. I dont think I will never get this part of the story, but on the other hand Eva and her relationships with men were different for me.

            First of all, we have to talk about Frankie, Eva's crazy once-husband, former adoptive brother and generally just messed up guy. He is literally psychotic,  after his father dies in a motorcycle accident he comes to live with Eva and her father and from very young has an obsession with her that is just not right. He sleeps in her bed, though they don't "do" anything from the time they are pre-teens, and he can not sleep at all unless Eva is next to him. As he gets older, he gets even more violent (even in relation to a bunch of crime-wielding bikers) and his obsession gets even worse. This is an abusive relationship, there is not a doubt about that. He forces sex with her more than one time, he pretty much forces her to marry him at one point simply because Eva loves him and wants to help him with all his problems, in the end only enabling his problem though she had only good intentions at heart. Simply put, she loves Frankie, but I don't believe it was ever a love between a husband and wife for her. I think she loved Frankie enough to do whatever she could to help him, but that hurt Eva far more than anything else could have. People can talk about what Deuce and the relationship he had with Eva did to her, but I shoulder the blame for how messed up Eva was squarely in this corner. Frankie is the reason Eva's life is so screwed up, even if I can say she could have got out, and stopped all the horrible things that were going on, I can't blame her for wanting to help someone she loves. I always wonder how family members of people who have done horrible thins can sit in a court room and support them, but I think this is a good example of why this happens. I have never been sidled with a situation like this, but this book may have showed me why they do it. It is messed up, but it is still love and it is still caring about that person that drives them.

              At the end of the story I still wanted Eva and Deuce to be together, despite everything that goes on between them, or between them and other people. I was surprised by this reaction because normally I would say, what is she thinking???? But, after reading the whole story I was happy to see a family between Deuce and Eva and I could see a change to make things better than what they were from the start. It may not be perfect, but I think their relationship is far better having gone through all of this, then just getting their happily ever after an easy way. I have a split decision in terms of my opinion for this book, so I will say this. If you can't get by the swearing (which is every other word) and you really can't stomach the things I talked about,I would pass, but if you want to read a dark, intense story I would burrow it- My Opinion: Burrow/Pass

Young Adult Thursdays Review: Ruby Red

 By Kerstin Gier

Summary:

    Gwyneth Shepherd's sophisticated, beautiful cousin Charlotte has been prepared her entire life for traveling through time. But unexpectedly, it is Gwyneth, who in the middle of class takes a sudden spin to a different era!
    Gwyneth must now unearth the mystery of why her mother would lie about her birth date to ward off suspicion about her ability, brush up on her history, and work with Gideon--the time traveler from a similarly gifted family that passes the gene through its male line, and whose presence becomes, in time, less insufferable and more essential. Together, Gwyneth and Gideon journey through time to discover who, in the 18th century and in contemporary London, they can trust.

Review:   I feel like the Summary from the back of the book gives you a pretty good idea of what is going on, and to avoid giving away too many spoilers I'm going to stick with it for this review. That being said, the only characters I feel I need to tell you about are Paul and Lucy. They are Gwyn's aunt and uncle, though she has never met them, that stole the device that controls time travel back around the time that she was born. When they did so, traveling back in the time with the device essentially cut them off from ever returning to the present therefore losing the device forever. What does this device do you may ask? Well it is called a chronograph and it takes the blood of the time-traveler and sets a date, time and place where they will visit and come back from, making their trips into the past controlled versus randomly poofing into god-knows-where. This prevents people from being hurt, say you are standing in a skyscraper and it isn't built yet ultimately plummeting you 82 stories from the air, or ending up in Victorian England wearing Beats headphones causing suspicion. Now, even though they took the device there is a back up used by the Guardians(the group of time-travelers that use the device), however it doesn't contain the blood of all the people that have the time-travel gene like the one that was stolen does. Why does it contain the blood and what does it do? I have no idea and that's where my problems with this book start, questions.
        This is a 300+ page book that I felt like I got ZERO answers from.
Why does Gwyn's mother fake her birthday? Don't know
Why do Lucy and Paul steal the device? No idea.
How does the time travel-gene work or get passed down? Not a clue.
What is the deal with the Count and why does Gwyn's mom fear him? He's creepy but there was no reason

My point is that I felt like this was an introduction into a story, not a whole book. I didn't get a sense of why the the Guardians exist and what do they do for the world. Gideon and Gwyn don't kiss til THE LAST CHAPTER. I was more confused when I finished this book than I have in a very long time. Cliffhanger does not do this book justice. That being said, I did enjoy where the story was heading and all the mystery surrounding these people, I just felt it was very slow getting to its' point. Gwyn is a little immature and whiny for my taste, but I did get the sense as the book progressed that she was growing up and will do more growing up in the future. I also seemed to see more bravery and inner strength in her than I anticipated, especially when put in some very bad situations in the story. Overall I'll read the second one to find out what happens with these time-travelers but I was left wanting a lot more- My Opinion- Burrow

Cover Reveal!

Got another cover reveal this week, this time for Fire Contry by David Estes!!! Coming February 1st, 2013! Check it out:

 

Fire Country

In a changed world where the sky bleeds red, winter is hotter than hell and full of
sandstorms, and summer's even hotter with raging fires that roam the desert-like
country, the Heaters manage to survive, barely.

Due to toxic air, life expectancies are so low the only way the tribe can survive is by
forcing women to procreate when they turn sixteen and every three years thereafter.
It is their duty as Bearers.

Fifteen-year-old Siena is a Youngling, soon to be a Bearer, when she starts hearing
rumors of another tribe of all women, called the Wild Ones. They are known to kidnap
Youngling girls before the Call, the ceremony in which Bearers are given a husband
with whom to bear children with.

As the desert sands run out on her life's hourglass, Siena must uncover the truth about
the Wild Ones while untangling the web of lies and deceit her father has masterfully
spun.

More Info:

 

David Estes was born in El Paso, Texas but moved to Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania when he was very
young. He grew up in Pittsburgh and then went to Penn State for college. Eventually moved to
Sydney, Australia where he met his wife. A reader all his life, he began writing novels for the
children's and YA markets in 2010. He´s a writer with OCD, a love of dancing and singing (but only
when no one is looking or listening), a mad-skilled ping-pong player, and prefers writing at the
swimming pool to writing at a table

And check David and his other books out at these sites!! 

Blog/website
Facebook
Goodreads
Twitter

Blogging

Hey guys, if you've got your own head over to Kate's Blog for an opportunity to see some books before they come out!!!

http://kateevangelistarandr.blogspot.co.uk/2013/01/we-want-youto-be-part-of-list.html

Cover Reveal!

I am very excited to present my first cover reveal for The Dragon Empire by Heather McCorkle.

 

 

 The Dragon Empire: Goodreads

 

 

On Yacrana, dragons stand at the top of the evolutionary ladder instead of humans. Such an advanced species is not without its issues though.

There's trouble in the Dragon Empire, the kind that could start a war between dragons and the races of people. Hidden factions of dragons believe they should rule the lesser races, not simply stand aside and allow them to develop as they will. Having lived so long in peace, the Emperors turn a blind eye, many oblivious that such attitudes even exist.

Despite being only an architect class, emerald dragon, Grendar is willing to risk banishment and death to stop that which his rulers refuse to see. The hope of peace lies not within the scaled breast of a dragon however, but within the hands of a group of people. But if the hidden factions have their way, these people won’t live to fulfill such a destiny. With a reluctant seer at his side, Grendar must leave his precious Empire for the outside world to save those that will one day save his kind.

 

 

 For more information about this gorgeous cover, here is a little more about the author!!

 

 

AUTHOR BIO

Heather McCorkle

I am an author of fantasy, in all its many sub-genres. Living green, saving endangered species, helping other writers, and supporting fabulous authors are a few of my passions. I am also a volunteer for the IS Foundation which works to make the world a greener place. When I'm not volunteering, writing, or surfing my social networking sites, I can be found on the slopes, the hiking trails, or on horseback. As a native Oregonian, I enjoy the outdoors almost as much as the worlds I create on the pages. No need to travel to the Great Northwest though, you can find me here, on my blog, and Monday night's on Twitter where I co-moderate the #WritersRoad chat.

Check her out on the web at these sites:

Website: http://heathermccorkle.blogspot.ca/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/4957267.Heather_McCorkle

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Author-Heather-McCorkle/211058455603533

Twitter: https://twitter.com/HeatherMcCorkle

 

 

I'd just like to thank the author, publisher and everyone involved for the opportunity and look forward to reading this in the near future :)-Kathy 

Salacious Sunday Review: Beauty Dates the Beast (Midnight Liaisons #1)

By Jessica Sims

Summary:                                                         WANTED 
            Single human female to join charming, wealthy, single male were-cougar for a night of romantic fun—and maybe more.

Me: The tall, sensuous, open-minded leader of my clan.

You: A deliciously curvy virgin who’s intimately familiar with what goes bump in the night. Must not be afraid of a little tail. Prefer a woman who’s open to exploring her animal nature. Interest in nighttime walks through the woods a plus.

My turn-ons include protecting you from the worst the supernatural world has to offer. Ready for an adventure? Give me a call.

Vampires and doppelgangers need not apply.



Review:      Bathsheba is a human living in a supernatural world. A supernatural world that consists of them leading the entire world in a group called The Alliance. Most in The Alliance are sub-grouped into clans, which is where Beau, the handsome were-cougar comes into her world. Working for a supernatural match-making firm called Midnight Liaisons,  Bathsheba is the office manager and takes care of most of the operations such as setting up client profiles and making connections. Working with her is Sara, her sister and werewolf, the latter being a secret. Keeping Sara's wolf a secret has been Bathsheba's soul mission since Sara was turned by an abusive boyfriend and also the reason they keep having to run every time someone comes close to figuring it out. After a particularly flighty client cancels her dates with Beau, he calls Midnight Liaisons a little desperate to find someone else to fill it, because he is going into heat. Knowing that humans are not allowed to date any supernatural without an Alliance Visa (yes, you heard me right: Visa), Bathsheba decides to save her job by going out on a date with Beau. After attending said date, Bath gets caught by her boss, the siren Giselle, using her sister's secret(which Giselle knew about...to Bath's chagrin) against her, she is set up on dates and promoted to the supernatural clients as the virgin human. After some "interesting" dates, Beau keeps coming back and seems determined to spend his heat week with her. After something attacks the sisters in their own home, and being saved by the stalker-ish Beau, Bathsheba seems to falling for the were-cougar and agrees to go to his winter cabin to stay protected from whatever was in their home. Needless to say she is pulled in further by the experience, that is until his crazy ex-fiance kidnaps her. Making matters worse, she isn't kidnapped just because this chick is crazy, but she also wanted to become a Wendigo, but decided she didn't like it. For lack of a better description, a Wendigo is shifter turned cannibal. By eating their own, a Wendigo gains the powers of that person and become stronger, faster and lives longer than any other shifters. The reason a human Bathsheba is pulled into any of this is because the ex-fiance wants to turn back from becoming one and eating a human will make her one. More specifically, in a jealous rage, she can take away Beau's new love and kill two birds with one stone. After a heroic escape, while saving Beau in the process, Bath is presented with a huge problem concerning her sister. The wolf pack knows about Sara, and they want her. The most frustrating part of this book comes at this moment. When they meet with the wolf pack to negotiate Sara's freedom, they have a plan to tell them she is mated to a member of Beau's clan, therefore enacting a law in The Alliance that mates stay together in his clan, but we won't find out what happens......til book 2!!! Damn you cliffhangers....
               What I liked most about this book was that it didn't have your typical "human falls in love with a supernatural" feel to it, in fact I wasn't sure where this was going at multiple points while reading. Yes, I do think she fell way to fast for a guy she didn't truly know, gave her virginity up at the drop of a hat for him, and got herself into a potentially deadly situation over him.....before even getting a third date. However, the story was interesting and the characters were diverse. It almost took a paranormal romance, mixed in a slight dystopian feel and added some pretty cool mythological story telling and you got this book.  
              A couple things I had trouble with this story were the romance between Bathsheba and beau, and the beginning of the book. I usually can accept some of the love-at-first-sight nonsense A LOT of books in this genre have. I get it, it's destiny, they aren't meant to be together, etc. However, she gave her virginity up in less than a week. After somewhere around 25 years of waiting, she gave it up in less than a week? To a man that could potentially end up sending her sister to the wolf pack, after all the years protecting her, after killing someone to protect Sara, Bath just sleeps with him? Don't get me wrong, I end up liking Beau and I really am looking forward to reading the second book in this series. but can we make it a little hard for the hot cougar to get some tail? 
                My other issue came when I was completely confused during portions of this book. At the beginning, I felt like I missed something in the story, or that I wasn't reading the first in the series. I was confused about the world that it was set in, what kinds of supernaturals were in the story, and what the back story was for Bathsheba. It does get clearer as the story goes on, and I think after finishing it I can see it more clearly, but there was a few moments that I actually had to stop and figure out what was going on. It isn't that complicated I just felt lost and needed to understand things about characters and I didn't get a lot of information. I still felt that way about Beau by the end as well, we really didn't get to know much about his past other than his fiance and a small moment about his father. Hopefully that will come to light as well in the next one.
            My concluding point about this book is that I really enjoyed the story and the world, but I did feel I needed something clearer to read. I will absolutley be reading the second one because of the cliffhanger, I just wish I got a little more in this one. Plus I have a feeling Sara's point of view will be really fun to read!- My opinion- Borrow!

Review: Divergent

 by Veronica Roth

Summary:  In Beatrice Prior's dystopian Chicago world, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue--Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is--she can't have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles alongside her fellow initiates to live out the choice they have made. Together they must undergo extreme physical tests of endurance and intense psychological simulations, some with devastating consequences. As initiation transforms them all, Tris must determine who her friends really are--and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes exasperating boy fits into the life she's chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she's kept hidden from everyone because she's been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers unrest and growing conflict that threaten to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her


Review: WARNING: This is going to be an obnoxiously gloating review because I LOVED THIS BOOK! I read this in three days....tops. I know I read a lot and I have a blog, but I am not an exceptionally fast reader, but I still finished it that fast! Tris is one of the greatest characters I have read about in a long time. Not only is she tough, brave and determined, but she is also kind, smart and self-less (letting her Abnegation roots show with that trait). However, Tris isn't some heroine that makes it all look easy or a superhero that built to be the best, she is just like you and me. She is a person that is thrown into an exceptional situation, and has to work hard through many challenges that don't always end well for her. She may falter a lot but she never gives up! Tris gets her ass kicked (multiple times), attacked, watched by the leaders and verbally attacked by another faction, which would probably break even the toughest of people, but not her. My point is, that Tris is awesome and definitely a female character I can get behind. 
     Four on the other hand is just swoon worthy. I mean really ladies, let's be honest, he is everything you could possibly look for in a book boyfriend (yes, I just used that term-deal with it!) and so much more. I am still left with all sorts of questions about him, such as how he got through testing without being detected as divergent and the whole history with his father, but from everything we do know about him I'm not sure I see any flaws! It surprises me to see a dauntless character that is also a fair balance of brutal but caring and not be kicked to the side of social order, but that's probably because he is the bad ass of any of them and could probably just knock them out.  It was comforting to see that along with Tris he has maintained his Abnegation roots and hasn't been lost in the "faction before blood" that most of the other people in this world seem to have done. 
     The group of friends that Tris keeps was another highlight of this book for me. Coming from all the factions and having varying personalities, I feel like each served as a catalyst in this story for Tris to become everything she is at the end. From former Candor, Christina to the couple of Dauntless born recruits they make a great clique of people that ultimately show great support when any of the friends need it, and loyalty when it counts (well, for the most part). These friends and the other people Tris loves are some of the reasons I am eagerly anticipating the second book in the series, they created all the traits I already listed that make me love this character. I know some of them are already dead, but I really hope they make a comeback in 2, or I'm going to be pretty sad :(
      Good guys aside, the bad guys are were I think I differ in opinion than the a lot of reviews I have read on the inter-webs about Divergent. I love the fact that all the "villains" in this book I truly hate. I could care less if Erik, Max, Peter and Jeanine get what is coming to them. They are evil. Plain and simple, just evil. They want power and they will kill any and everyone to get it, no matter faction or blood or anything else. I like my bad guys straight up evil, none of this wishy-washy I'm-really-a-good-guy nonsense. Erik is a violent bully, but really just a puppet for Jeanine, the Erudite leader-who just wants the power to control every faction and lead. Divergent did not disappoint, in my own opinion, when it came to antagonists. 
    Overall, I think Divergent succeeds in teaching lessons about people and groups. In a flooded genre of Dystopian YA literature, it stands out as being one of the best. It drew me in, kept my entertained and left me wanting more, which I will personally be fulfilling that need by reading Insurgent as soon as possible. It is marketed as a young adult book but I think it would keep any age group engrossed in its' pages and suggest that you BUY IT, obviously! - My Opinion: Buy!

Review: The Mating

 

By: Nicky Charles

Summary:  Elise had no idea when she came home that day that she'd end up mated to a complete stranger. A new Alpha and the need for an alliance between packs have made her a pawn

Review:           Since that summary doesn't say much about what this book is about, I'll give a little more background information. Elise is thrown into an arranged mating with an Alpha from a boarding pack by her father to gain an alliance. Seems like something that is pretty harsh, but Elise doesn't seem to think her father cruel, which seems odd to me but werewolves sometimes don't make sense to me!!! Anyways, Elise has to find her ground in a brand new pack with complete strangers, get to know her new husband that she just met, and figure out how to assert her dominance as the alpha's mate....all while horrible things seem to be popping up among them including an environmental problem, a pack member being shot, and a ex-pack member coming back for revenge....or at least that's what it seems.

                 I'll start by saying, as much I enjoyed this book I couldn't ever shake a feeling of annoyance with Elise. I found her to be whiny and oblivious, although different than most of the female werewolves in other books, I'm not sure if it was in a good way. That being said, I loved almost everything else about this story. I loved the different characters, you got to know a lot about all the wolves in Elise's new pack and how their dynamic worked. Plus, I think I fell in love with Kane a little bit because he was a tough Alpha male that really loved and cared about his family. He may have been the typical non-sharing male about his feelings but he worked ridiculously hard to make sure his whole pack was safe and happy, I can tell why Elise falls in love with him....eventually

                  Bottom line? This book had a great love story mixed with some really interesting plot twist that you really don't see coming. It has enough werewolf aggressiveness to satisfy that brutal part of a pack life, but in the end they get their happily ever after!- My opinion- Borrow

                      

Review: Forever Fae

 By L.P. Dover

Summary:  He leans down, lips parted, and then our lips connect……….We didn’t know that this one kiss has FOREVER changed the Land of the Fae.
According to the Prophecy proclaimed many years ago, Princess Calista of the Summer Court is destined to change the Land of the Fae from the evil determined to destroy it. Her powers are phenomenal, and she secretly trains for battle with her handsome warrior friend, Merrick, who unbeknownst to her protects her heart as well, in hopes of keeping it for himself. At least, until the seductive Prince Ryder attends the Guardian Ceremony and instantly sends a fire burning through her veins and a connection so deep they both discover a love above anything imaginable.
No one knows how Calista is destined to change the kingdoms, but there is one that does. He not only craves Calista’s power, but her body as well, and his goal is to steal her power, make her his Dark Queen, and take over the Land of the Fae.
Will the evil succeed in claiming Calista’s soul? Or will the two men that fight for her heart save her from despair, and help her fulfill her destiny to become what she was meant to be.

Review:   Forever Fae was a pleasant surprise I came across in a Goodreads group, Read4Review thread. L.P. Dover was kind enough to be giving out copies in exchange for an honest review....and I couldn't be happier for deciding to sign up! Taking place in the Land of Fae, with semi-familiar courts of faeries The Winter and the The Summer courts ( I say familiar because you may recognize some players in faerie lore such as Queen Mab and King Oberon) this story revolves around two young adults, Princess Calista and Prince Ryder. This is their love story, one that not only took some detours along the way but tested whether or not their love story was going to be based on what they felt for each other.....or destiny.

               After sharing a vision during a dance while celebrating the Guardian Ceremony for Princess Calista, a Summer Court tradition that placed one of those love-story detours A.K.A Merrick (her best friend) in front of them. Ryder and Calista have to figure out what they feel for each other versus what fate has in store for both them and the entire Land of Fae. While their love is blooming, a nasty Sorcerer is plotting his revenge against the Fae by using some of the most trusted people in both the Winter and Summer courts, and all he wants his Calista's powers. 

               I'd like to start with Calista and her powers. Personally, I loved Calista! She is independent, powerful and just plain no-nonsense type of girl. She isn't a damsel in distress, she can stand on her own two feet, use her powerful magic when she needs too and she fights hard to not just be the princess she is supposed to be but protect the people she loves. As much as the men in this story do go to save her from the Sorcerer, she plays just as big a role in getting herself out of harms way than they do. She also isn't afraid to define the relationships the two most important men, Merrick and Ryder, have with her. She puts Merrick in his place as both best friend and Guardian but not love interest. Ryder on the other hand, got a good taste of what Calista thinks about his jealousy of Merrick and what that could cost him if he isn't careful! Basicly she is kick-ass but still able to fall in love and get her happily-ever-after.

              Secondly, I'd like to say that one of my favorite things in stories is the ability to create an original and vibrant world, and this story is one of my favorites in a long time. I can picture what this world looks like in all the courts, I can see the black forest when I'm reading about it, and the characters in the story are easily placed within that world, exactly where their suppose to be. I also can see the connection of the Land of Fae and the human world, which is an added bonus to the already awesome setting. Not many people can connect a fictional world and the real world well, and even though we don't really enter the human world in this book, you can see a connection. In other words, the world to me is complete and I love that! 

               Overall, I'm going to give this book a BUY because I thought it was an awesome read and think you should support an author like this that has such obvious talent and really deserves to get more people reading their stories!!!! - Rating: Buy

Giveaway Over at Another Blog!

Kelly over at ohdamnbooks wrote a wonderful review and is having a giveaway for books coming out in 2013!! Check it out!

http://ohdamnbooks.blogspot.com/2012/12/everbound-most-anticipated-2013-book.html

-Kathy