Stone Cold Touch (Dark Elements #2)

Stone Cold Touch

(Dark Elements #2)

Jennifer Armentrout

Release Date:

October 21, 2014

Publisher:

Harlequin Teen

Pages:

464

Source:

My Personal Copy

Reading Level:

Young Adult

Description:

Layla Shaw is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life-no easy task for a seventeen-year-old who's pretty sure things can't get worse. Her impossibly gorgeous best friend, Zayne, is forever off-limits thanks to the mysterious powers of her soul-stealing kiss. The Warden clan that has always protected her is suddenly keeping dangerous secrets. And she can barely think about Roth, the wickedly hot demon prince who understood her in ways no one else could.

But sometimes rock bottom is only the beginning. Because suddenly Layla's powers begin to evolve, and she's offered a tantalizing taste of what has always been forbidden. Then, when she least expects it, Roth returns, bringing news that could change her world forever. She's finally getting what she always wanted, but with hell literally breaking loose and the body count adding up, the price may be higher than Layla is willing to pay...  ~ Goodreads

My Thoughts:

It seems like not very long ago, during a live chat, that Jennifer L. Armentrout announced she was writing a series about gargoyles. And now, here I am writing up a review for the second book in that series. 

It's very hard for JLA to not please me. It has happened in the past, but not with this series! I loved Stone Cold Touch. Maybe not quite as much as White Hot Kiss, but I still loved it.
I guess I should go ahead and let it be known that I am team Roth. I like Zayne a lot as a character and as a best friend. But, as far as a love interest for Layla, I am Roth all the way. Roth is the crown prince of Hell, so I feel he needs a little good in his life. And he definitely needs some love. I like the idea of Zayne being a protector and friend to Layla.
Layla has definitely done some growing up. She has been lied to and betrayed so many times that she is learning she can't even trust the ones she always thought of as her family. Stone Cold Touch ends with her just about losing everything. I can't wait to see how she ends up handling everything in the next installment. Layla has grown so much as a character that I expect her to woman-up and take on the world.
This book has lots of twist and turns along the way making it stay interesting. It was very hard to stop turning pages. Bambi is almost a constant. (Who ever would have though I would love a snake so much) There is plenty of Roth and Zayne, some betrayals, and
the ending was OMG! I cannot believe we have to wait until next year to find out where it goes from here.


If you follow this series leave me a comment on which you prefer. Are you for Roth, Zayne or maybe even Bambi?

Sweet Oblivion (Sweet #1)

Sweet Oblivion

(Sweet #1)

Bailey Ardisone

Release Date:

December 30, 2012

Publisher:

Self-Published

Pages:

386

Source:

My Personal Copy

(Kindle Freebie)

Reading Level:

Young Adult

Description:

 Nariella has a hard life. Hated and beaten by her foster father, she finds solace in the one person who has always been there for her--Rydan, her overprotective best friend. His sheltering only gets worse once Nari collides--literally--with Mycah. a boy being chased by two kinds of evil; a boy who Nari is convinced is either the devil or an angel. But she was wrong. He's something completely different.

 Then there's Namine. A servant who lives in fear for her family, for herself, and for the dying kingdom she lives in. But there is hope, and she's the only one who can bring that hope home to save them all. Namine will risk everything to make that happen, even if it means betraying her king.

People always want the truth until they have it. To be let in on secrets until they get burned by them. Nari is no different. But once she's kidnapped, tortured, and ultimately becomes intertwined in a secret world she never could've imagined existed. She knows there's no going back to blissful ignorance. And maybe she doesn't want to.

If darkness is the absence of light, what results from the absence of truth?

Nothing but Oblivion.

~Amazon

My Thoughts:

 Sweet Oblivion was an extremely confusing read. At one point I told my husband, 'I am 80% finished with this book, and I haven't a clue what is going on.' Most of the book felt plot less. I couldn't figure out what point the story was trying to make or where it was going. The chapters alternate between two point of views- Nariella and Namine. 

 Nariella is girl who is obviously in the real world. That much is easy to figure out, but she is surrounded by characters you know nothing about. Rydan has been Nariella's friend since childhood, but he is so silent and closed off the only thing you really learn about him is he is very talented with music. Then there is Mycah. He just suddenly starts showing up, and when he leaves no one can even remember he was there. Mycah is a very easy to like character. He has a lot of mystery around him that keeps making you want to turn the pages. 

 The Namine chapters give you very little information to help you figure out the story. It is easy to guess that she is in a fantasy world and not Earth. Other than the not-on-earth thing I had no idea what was happening, or even what the point of these chapters were. 

 Then the last 5% of this book happened. Everything started to make sense, and somewhat fall into place. It really left on a huge cliffhanger, but I loved it! I have not purchased the second book in this series yet, but I do plan to do it when I am able. I really can't wait to find out what is going to happen next. And I think I will understand what is going on better in the next book. The ending had several surprises, and really made the other 95% worth it. Sweet Oblivion was on it way to having a low rating from me, but in the end it was a major turn-around. 

Clockwork Princess (The Infernal Devices #3)

Clockwork Princess

(The Infernal Devices #3)

Cassandra Clare

Release Date:

March 19, 2013

Publisher:

Simon & Schuster

Pages:

568

Source: 

My Personal Copy

Reading Level:

Young Adult

Description:

THE INFERNAL DEVICES WILL NEVER STOP COMING

Tessa Gray should be happy-aren't all brides happy? Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows beings 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.

Charlotte Branwell, head of the Institute, is desperate to find Mortmain before he strikes. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her. For though Tessa and Jem are engaged, Will is still in love with her.

The last words of a dying Shadowhunter provide the clue that might lead Tessa and her friends to Mortmain. But their small group cannot stand alone, and the powerful Consul doubts that Mortmain is coming. Deserted by allies, the Shadowhunters find themselves trapped when Mortmain seizes the medicine that keeps Jem alive. With his best friend at death's door, Will must risk everything to save the girl they both love.

To buy Will time, the warlock Magnus Bane joins with Henry Brandwell to create a device that could help defeat Mortmain. As they all work to save Tessa and the future of the Shadowhunters that resides with her, Tessa realizes that the only person who can save her is herself-for in the discovery of her own true nature, Tessa could become more powerful than she ever dreamed possible. But can a lone girl, even one who can command the power of angels, face down an entire army?

Danger and betrayal, secrets and enchantment, and the tangled threads of love and loss intertwine as the Shadowhunters are pushed to the very brink of destruction in the breathtaking conclusion to the Infernal Devices trilogy. ~book blurb

Teaser Sentence(s):

'Every meeting led to a parting, and so it would, as long as life was mortal. In every meeting there was some of the sorrow of parting, but in every parting there was some of the joy of meeting as well.'

My Thoughts:

It's been a couple weeks since I finished reading Clockwork Princess, and it's still getting to me. I opened the book to check the number of pages, and seriously, my eyes start watering!

Cassandra Clare managed to conclude this series flawlessly. Everything came together smoothly in the end. I never would have guessed the love triangle between Tessa, Jem and Will would have worked out the way it did. I grew really close to these characters throughout this series, and it really is sad to have to let go of them all. In the end, I have never been more happy for a fictional character than I was for Tessa. She got everything she deserved; love, happiness, and answers to secrets long kept. 

If you haven't read The Infernal Devices or Mortal Instruments, I suggest you do so, and make yourself familiar with the world of the Shadowhunters!

Deity (Covenant #3)

Author: 
Jennifer L Armentrout

Release date: 
Novemeber 2012

Publisher: 
Spencer Hill Press

Pages: 
330

Source: 
My personal copy

Reading level: 
Young Adult

Description:

"History is on repeat, and things didn't go so well the last time."

Alexandria isn't sure she's going to make it to her eighteenth birthday--to her awakening. A long-forgotten, fanatical order is out to kill her, and if the Council ever discovers what she did in the Catskills, she's a goner...and so is Aiden.

If that's not freaky enough, whenever Alex and Seth spend time "training"--which really is just Seth's code word for some up-close personal one-on-one time--she ends up with another mark of the Apollyon which brings her one step closer to Awakening ahead of schedule. Awesome.

But  as her birthday draws near, her entire world shatters with a startling revelation and she's caught between love and Fate. One will do anything to protect her. One has been lying to her since the beginning. Once the gods have revealed themselves, unleashing their wrath, lives will be irrevocably changed...and destroyed.

Those left standing will discover if love is truly greater than Fate...

Teaser Sentence:

'"You shouldn't be doing that." The door handle jingled. It wasn't locked. "Alex!"

"I'm naked," I warned.

Silence and then, "Is that supposed to make me not want to come in there?"'

My thoughts:

It is hard to talk about the 3rd book in a series, without giving away spoilers from the other books, so this one may be a little short. 

I think Deity is the best I have read so far in the Covenant series. I sometimes think JLA is trying to send her readers into an emotional breakdown. I wanted to scream, cry, kick and throw a fit throughout this book. 

There were finally a few gods that had speaking roles. I have loved Greek mythology longer than I can remember, so I was super thrilled when some of the gods started showing up. 

I have decided I am firmly team Aiden. And Deacon and Luke-yep, I like that.

If you have not read this series, add it to your TBR list!

You can check out my review for Half-Blood here, and my review for Pure here.

Beautiful Creatures

Description: Lena Duchannes is unlike anyone the small southern town of Gatlin has ever seen, and she's struggling to conceal her power, and a curse that has haunted her family for generations. But even within the overgrown gardens, murky swamps and crumbling graveyards of the forgotten South, a secret cannot stay hidden forever.

 Ethan Wate, who has been counting the months until he can escape from Gatlin, is haunted by dreams of a beautiful girl he has never met. When Lena moves into the town's oldest and most infamous plantation, Ethan is inexplicably drawn to her and determined to uncover the connection between them.

 In a town with no surprises, one secret could change everything. -Amazon

Author: Kami Garcia and Margaret Stohl

Release date: December 1, 2009

Publisher: Little Brown

Pages: 576

Source: My personal copy

Reading level: Young Adult

Teaser Sentence(s): 'If he only knew. Thanksgiving break had only been a long weekend, but it felt a lot longer, considering that Twilight Zone of a Thanksgiving dinner, the vases flying between Macon and Lena, and our journey to the center of the earth, all without leaving the Gatlin city limits.'

My thoughts: This book really wasn't bad. I have seen lots of bad reviews for Beautiful Creatures, and I don't really get why? I was never bored with the reading. I guess everyone just has different taste. 

 I loved that this was written from the guys point-of-view. It was nice to not be stuck in the whiny mind of a teen-aged girl. Although, I would like to hope Lena wouldn't be the norm. I really liked Ethan and Lena. I read somewhere that Ethan was not relatable. I had no problems with any of the characters in this book. 

 Some of the southern grammar in Beautiful Creature may throw some readers off, but being from Mississippi I had no problem reading the Southern dialect. 

 I would recommend this book. It's a good, dark read. 

  

Rating:

Pure

Description: Being destined to become some kind of supernatural electrical outlet isn't exactly awesome-especially when Alexandria's "other half" is everywhere she goes. Seth's in her training room, outside her classes, and keeps showing up in her bedroom-so not cool. Their connection does have some benefits, like staving off her nightmares of the tragic showdown with her mother, but it has no effect on what Alex feels for the forbidden, Pure-blooded Aiden. Or what he will do-and sacrifice-for her. 
 When daimons infiltrate the Covenants and attack students, the gods send furies-lesser gods determined to eradicate any threat to the Covenants and to the gods, and that includes the Apollyon... and Alex. And if that and hordes of Aether-sucking monsters didn't blow bad enough, a mysterious threat seems willing to do anything to neutralize Seth, even if that means forcing Alex into servitude...or killing her. When the gods are involved, some decisions can never, ever be undone. -back of the book


Author: Jennifer L Armentrout
Release date: April 2, 2012
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Pages: 329
Source: My personal copy
Reading level: Young Adult

Teaser Sentence(s): 'How in the world did they just jump from politics, to a ball, and now to daimon attacks? And here I'd thought I had the attention span of an ant on Red Bull.'

My thoughts: I am going to keep this one short, so I do not get carried away and give any spoilers. I hate spoilers! 
 Once again, I am very pleased with Jennifer Armentrout. She has not disappointed me yet. This book was killer on my heart and love emotions. At some point in this book I turned team Seth and started sticking my tongue out at Aiden. I can't wait to see what Deity has in store for Alex, Aiden and Seth. I couldn't be anymore torn between this crazy forbidden love triangle. 
 I was thrilled the gods made a small appearance. They were lesser gods-called Furies, but I was happy with the small taste I got. And they were pretty kick-ass while they were there. I am keeping my fingers crossed for an appearance of a greater god in a future book. 
 My only complaint is, I wish there would have been more information on what the daimons where doing. There was no lacking on the daimon attacks and battles. I am sure they were carrying out their plans stated in Half-Blood, but I would have liked some confirmation. And my last thought I am going to share: Caleb. Just *sigh* Caleb. 
 I love this series and would highly recommend it. As soon as I finished the last page, I asked myself "Why didn't I order the next book in this series too?" 


Rating:

Daimon / Half-Blood

Description: "Love in my world usually ended up with someone hearing 'I smite thee!' as she was cursed to be some lame flower for the rest of her life." For three years, Alexandria has lived among mortals-pretending to be like them and trying to forget the duty she'd been trained to fulfill as a child of a mortal and a demigod. At seventeen, she's pretty much accepted that she's a freak by mortal standards... and that she'll never be prepared for that duty. According to her mother, that's a good thing. But as every descendant of the gods knows, Fate has a way of rearing her ugly head. A horrifying attack forces Alex to flee Miami and try to find her way back to the very place her mother had warned her she should never return-the Covenant. Every step that brings her closer to safety is one more step toward death... because she's being hunted by the very creatures she's once trained to kill. The daimons have found her. -Amazon

Author: Jennifer L Armentrout

Release date: May 6, 2011
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Pages: 86
Source: Free copy from Publisher's website. Get it here.
Reading level: Young Adult 

Teaser sentence: 'Matt would go to school on Monday and tell everyone how I'd gone Xena Warrior Princess on the douchebags.'

Description: The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi-pure-bloods-have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals-well, not so much. Half-Bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures. Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1: Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden. Unfortunately, she's crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn't her biggest problem-staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery: being turned into a daimon, and being hunted by Aiden. And that would kind of suck. -Amazon

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Release date: October 18, 2011

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

Pages: 304

Source: My personal copy

Reading level: Young Adult

Teaser sentence(s): 'The grin increased to a full smile. And... oh, man. He had dimples. The air in my lungs died.'

My thoughts: Okay, here is a list of things I am obsessed with: (1) Jennifer L Armentrout (2) Greek and Roman mythology (3) A great Young Adult Novel (4) and probably my most favorite, Forbidden Love. The Covenant series has all of those things and more. I was a very happy girl when I finished Half-Blood. 

  Daimon (pronounced DEE-mun) is not a necessary read. You could start the series off at book one, Half-Blood, and you would not be too confused. The novella does give you incite to what happens in the few weeks before the story actually starts, and there are referrals to some of these events in Half-Blood. All-in-All I do not think it would ruin the story if you couldn't get your hands on a copy of Daimon. 

  So far, I haven't read anything by Jennifer L Armentrout that I haven't went all fan-girl over. I love her writing style and I love her kissing scenes. Alex is a great kick-ass girl character, and I completely fell for Aiden. The characters are great, the story is great. Half-Blood gets the rarely given 5 star-rating. I cannot wait to get my hands on a copy of Pure. If I had it, I would be reading it right now!

Rating:

Fallen

Description: There's something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori. Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price's attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah, Georgia. He's the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move. Even though Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce-and goes out of his way to make that very clear-she can't let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, she has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret...even if it kills her. -Amazon

Author: Lauren Kate
Release date: December 8, 2009
Publisher: Delacorte Books for Young Readers
Pages: 464
Source: Borrowed from a friend
Reading level: Young Adult

Teaser Sentence(s): '"I fall in love," he explained, taking her hands and holding them tightly. "Over and over again. And each time, it ends catastrophically."'

My thoughts: I honestly did not like this book. The first 3/4 of the book were really boring in my opinion. I will say though, the last 1/4 of the book did gain a little of my attention. Luce was not intriguing to me at all, but in her defense she did spend most of the book having no clue what was going on. I couldn't really find anything about the characters that I liked. Daniel's attitude should be different in the second book, so that gives me a little hope for him. I will give the second book in this series a chance, since it seems like the first book was a lot of set up. A younger reader, which this book was intended for, would probably enjoy it better than I did.

Rating:

The Iron Daughter

Description: Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen. As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey-ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her. Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart. -Amazon

Author: Julie Kagawa 
Release date: August 1, 2010
Publisher: Harlequin Teen
Pages: 304
Source: My personal copy
Reading level: Young Adult - very mild language

Teaser Sentence:  'As we escaped SciCorp and fled into the streets, the last thing I remembered was watching the door close behind me on the stairs and seeing Ash's face through the window, a single tear frozen on his cheek.'

My thoughts: I really enjoyed this book. It was a fun, fast read for me. Ash and Ironhorse are my favorite characters. I love it when a book makes your heart flutter with emotion if even for a second, and I got that a couple times out of this book. The teaser sentence I posted was one of those moments. I do plan to continue this series. I am excited to see where Ash and Meghan end up.

Rating: