Everdark (Dark Ink Chronicles #2)

Everdark

Dark Ink Chronicles #2

Elle Jasper

Release Date:

June 7, 2011

Publisher:

Signet Eclipse

Pages:

336

Source:

Borrowed 

Reading Level:

Adult

Description:

When Savannah tattoo artists Riley Poe is ambushed by an undead enemy, she inherits some of the traits of her attackers-and a telepathic link with a rampaging vampire. Now, she's experiencing murder after murder through the victims' eyes. And her new powers will not be enough to stop the horror-or the unending slaughter. . .

Teaser Sentence(s):

Sitting around a roaring campfire on a Georgia barrier island at night with a handful of centuries-old vampires, Gullah conjurers, and adolescent boys with vampiric tendencies made for a way more interesting crowd than any other I'd ever hung with in my wild teenage years, or in my adult years, truth be known. No lie- it was surreal. Bizarre. Oh, and Zetty-can't forget the big Tibetan.

My Thoughts:

Now, bad-ass Riley Poe has vampiric tendencies and is, somehow, even more bad-ass.

Riley is one of my favorite main characters. She is very independent, and doesn't need a man to protect her, even before she had 2 ancient vampires out to get her blood. Eli is a bit too overprotective of her in my opinion. I often find myself wishing he would back off some. 

After everything that happened in book 1, Afterlight, I was thrilled to get to know Seth a little better. Seth also now has vampiric tendencies, and is just as bad-ass as his sister, Riley, when it comes to fighting rouge vampires and newlings. 

I still really liked all of Eli's vampire family, especially his siblings, Phin, Luc and Josie. Luc has a great attitude. He knows Riley can take care of herself, and tries to get Eli to realize that too. Victorian is also a main part of this story. He was made to not seem like such a bad guy in Everdark. I am very curious to see how his story is played out.

Some readers may not enjoy the Gullah accents some of the characters speak with. I am from the South, so reading this comes naturally for me.  I have read a couple reviews where the reader complained of this, so be warned.

I personally enjoy this series. I know vampire stories are everywhere these days, but if you like a good smutty read with not-so-average vampires then you should check this series out. 

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!

The Immortal Rules (Blood of Eden #1)

The Immortal Rules
(Blood of Eden #1)

Julie Kagawa

Release Date:

March 26, 2013

Publisher:

Harlequin

Pages:

464

Source:

Netgalley *

Reading Level:

Young Adult

Description: 

To survive in a ruined world, she must embrace the darkness...

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a walled-in city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten. Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them-the vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself dies and becomes one of the monsters.

Forced to fell her city, Allie must pass for human as she joins a ragged group of pilgrims seeking a legend-a place that might have a cure for the disease that killed off most of civilization and created the rabids, the bloodthirsty creatures who threaten human and vampire alike. And soon Allie will have to decided what-and who-is worth dying for..again.

Enter Julie Kagawa's dark and twisted world as an unforgettable journey begins. ~Amazon

Teaser Sentence(s):

'Zeke's snort sounded suspiciously like laughter. "Allie, you're a beautiful, exotic-looking vampire girl with a katana. Trust me, if anyone is going to attract attention, it's not going to be me."' **

My Thoughts:

I have been on a dark YA reading spree lately it seems. I guess I am a sadist for angst and suffering. the Immortal Rules delivered on all the darkness I was looking for. Julie Kagawa is a very talented Author. Just like in her other series, she makes you feel apart of the world she has created.

 There were a few slow parts through out reading Immortal Rules, but all-in-all it was a good read. I really liked how the Vampire hierarchy was set-up. And I really enjoyed the characters. Allison was a great protagonist. I liked how she chose to stay around humans, and try to hang on to her humanity. Zeke was also great. I really hope Allison meets him again one day. I look forward to the next book in this series, because hopefully Kanin will return. He was probably my favorite character, and he wasn't even around for the second half of the story. I would recommend this book to anyone who was looking for dark YA vampire story.

*I received a free copy of this book from Netgally in exchange for an honest review. I was not paid for my opinion.

 **This passage was quoted from an uncorrected proof. The final copy may differ.

Soul Bender Tour & Giveaway

Soul Bender (A Touched Girl #2)

Robyn Jones

Release Date:
March 11, 2013

Reading Level:
Young Adult



Goodreads  |  Amazon

Description:

How much can a soul take before it breaks?

Anna Pierce has a vampire boyfriend, a driver's license, real friends for the first time since she was five, and now she faces one of her biggest challenges, senior year at a mostly all girls Catholic high school. Sure, she's a member of the talking crowd now, but she'll never be like everyone else. How can she when the first of her kind has camped out in her dreams? 

Little dead girl Emily decides Anna's destiny can wait no longer. It's time for this generation's Touched girl to hunt. Trained in a virtual dream landscape to destroy all in her path, Anna must choose between her destiny, the one beat into her on a nightly basis, and her legacy, the one instilled in her by her parents.

Along the way, old enemies remain dutifully obsessed, new foes lurk in the shadows, and odd Little Duckie Anna Pierce sets out to be social.

Teaser Sentence:

'"Do you know what it's like to be craved by the love of your life?"'

My Thoughts:

I do not even know where to begin on my thoughts for Soul Bender. This read was a work-out on my emotions and feelings. (Don't you love when books do that to you? I do!)

I absolutely loved the new character, Cody. I was even starting to favor him over Peter. I cannot even explain how I felt when I found out his dirty, little secret. I am still not sure how I feel about this. Do I like this idea or do I have to hate him now? Hmm..I guess we will see. 

Peter really pissed me off is this book. He did manage to redeem himself, but I was a part of the Peter-hating fan club for a while. I loved this though. I really enjoy when a book makes me feel strong emotions. Even though I am angry with certain characters at certain times, I really am proud of the author for being able to accomplish this. 

I love how far Anna has come since the beginning of the Soul Walker. She has grown and matured into a totally bad-ass Touched Girl. Her new powers are awesome, and I love the new vamps that are introduced because of her new gifts. I really am excited to see what happens to her next.

You should absolutely go to Amazon right now and purchase this series! 

About Robyn Jones

I'm the mom of two hardcore boys. My oldest trained me to be matter-of-fact, no frills. My youngest wants the whole singsongy sweet package. Thank goodness for reading and writing because they are my sanity makers. I know life is all about the journey, that's why I like my fiction to be all about the destination. I want to be taken somewhere not here when I read, same goes with the stories I create. Thrills, chills, tears, and laughter, but there has to be something to hold on to at the end.

Blog | Twitter | Goodreads

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Follow the tour HERE

**So sorry I am a day late, Robyn. Forgive me? :)

Rise of the Fallen (All The King's Men #1)

Rise of the Fallen

Donya Lynne

Release date:

March 23, 2012

Publisher:

Phoenix Press

Pages:

181

Source:

Kindle Freebie

Reading level:

Adult

Description:

In the streets of Chicago exists an uneasy, centuries-old truce between vampires and their distant cousins, a race of shifters called drecks. Vampire enforcement agency, All the King's Men (AKM), is charged with maintaining the truce, but when volatile enforcer Micah Black loses his mate and falls into the biological agony that results from the broken bond, he tests the boundaries of the truce by seeking out Apostle, a leader in the dreck community. Micah wants Apostle to kill him, a request Apostle is more than happy to fulfill.

When ex-Army medic Samantha Garrett inadvertently disrupts the plot and saves Micah's life a chain reaction set Micah's heart on a collision course with Sam's, but he will have to protect her from Apostle and her obsessive ex-husband, Steve, if they will have a chance at forever. Can Micah hold his emotions together to keep Sam alive?

Teaser Sentence(s):

'"The fallen has risen. Back from the dead to walk among the living once again."'

My Thoughts:

This is one of those Kindle freebies that has been on my iPhone for *shrugs* I have no idea how long. I randomly started reading it when I was out and found myself with some time and no book. 
I really liked the first half of the story, even though I felt like I was reading something from The Black Dagger Brotherhood by J. R. Ward. The second half just felt like it was written too quickly. Everything was wrapped up in a hurry like there should have been more to it. 
The two main characters were awesome. I loved Samantha. She wasn't your ordinary can't-take-of-herself-chick. She is ex-Army and totally bad-ass. The romance between Micah and Sam was believable and didn't seem forced. But the whole story between her and her ex-husband didn't seem well thought out. It just seemed thrown together when the story was having downtime.
I would suggest this to someone who just needed something smutty to read. I enjoyed it enough to finish reading it, but I am glad it was a freebie. 

*New Release* Soul Bender

JUST RELEASED!

Author: Robyn Jones

Release Date: March 11, 2013

Pages: approximately 89,000 words 

Reading level: YA / NA

Buy it on AMAZON today!

Visit Robyn's Blog

Description:

How much can a soul take before it breaks? 

Anna Pierce has a vampire boyfriend, a driver's license, real friends for the first time since she was five, and now she faces one of her biggest challenges, senior year at a mostly all girls Catholic high school. Sure, she's a member of the talking crowd now, but she'll never be like everyone else. How can she when the first of her kind has camped out in her dreams? 

Little dead girl Emily decides Anna's destiny can wait no longer. It's time for this generation's Touched girl to hunt. Trained in a virtual dream landscape to destroy all in her path, Anna must choose between her destiny, the one beat into her on a nightly basis, and her legacy, the one instilled in her by her parents. 

Along the way, old enemies remain dutifully obsessed, new foes lurk in the shadows, and odd Little Duckie Anna Pierce sets out to be social.

I am excited to read Soul Bender! Be sure to catch the blog tour coming in April. I will be posting my review on April 15th. 

Soul Walker (A Touched Girl Series #1)

Be sure to check back Monday March 11th, 2013 for the release of Soul Bender (book #2 in the Touched Girl series)

Author: Robyn Jones

Release date: December 9, 2012

Pages: approximately 91,000 words

Source: My personal copy

Reading level: Young Adult

Buy on Amazon

Visit Robyn's Blog

Description: 

"I need to get you to the hospital." He was taking responsibility for me. Only my parents had that job. I stretched my hand out in protest, but the lack of depth perception had my trembling fingers grazing his overheated neck. I swore his whole body shook.

When five-year-old Anna Pierce is offered a chance to have nightmare-free nights for the small price of her voice, she jumps at it. Silence has to be better than all-consuming dreams about blood and death and fangy monsters. the bargain she strikes comes with a secondary benefit, visions of a person's future potential. The combination of visions and silence changes her very nature and soon she's diagnosed with autism. Twelve years of living in her head comes to a screeching halt the moment Peter Davis pulls her out of an icy river.

Her new life has her twirling, tiptoeing, and crashing through unfamiliar territory, one filled with a cranky grandma, a knocked up cousin, and unpleasant cousin, a bunch of mostly good vampires and the boy who rescued her.

To top it all off, the deal she made at five is no more. Anna is expected to talk, to figure out her resurfacing nightmares, and to control her ever-growing powers. And she'd better get it done soon because if the good vamps want a piece of a living breathing Touched girl, the evil ones simply want. They''ll take Anna for their very own. -Amazon

Teaser Sentence(s): 

'"You're flirting. Peter Davis who never had to work at getting a beautiful woman to melt for him is flirting with odd little Anna Pierce."...

 ..."I have stashes of chocolate. I love slipping into my soft bed, pulling the covers up to  my chin, and falling off to sleep. I know all the songs your sing by heart. I actually practiced burning grilled cheese sandwiches. Maybe I'm a bit odd too."'

My Thoughts: 

I actually had this book on my to-be-read list for about 2 months, and only recently purchased it. I wish I would have bought it sooner! 

 I love Anna. She is a great protagonist. After over a decade of living in her own non-verbal world she finally gets a chance to have friends and a teenage life. I really like how much of a free-spirit she is. She isn't afraid to dance and twirl when she is extremely happy, and it's interesting to watch her figuring out new emotions like anger. 

The vampires in this story are awesome. I like it when vamps do not live up to the old stereotypes (besides the blood-sucking one, they aren't really vampires if they don't do that). There are 2 types in this series, Hunters and Sires. I liked them both for their own special reasons. The Hunters are quick and deadly, and the Sires have two different sets of awesome fangs. With all that being said, on to Peter. Peter is absolutely my new book boyfriend of the moment. He is a hot, stealthy vampire and Anna's watcher. I loved his and Anna's relationship. You could feel the chemistry between them perfectly. I can't wait to see where the next book takes them. 

I am excited for the next book in this series. I believe Anna and Peter are only temporarily out of trouble. I know those bad, twin vampires are going to do something. I am curious to see if we get to learn anymore about the 'hippie' vampires in the woods. I also look forward to seeing if Anna discovers anymore of her Touched girl powers. Or at least gets a better control on them. 

I definitely suggest you get on Amazon right now and buy your copy!

The Scent of a Soul

Buy it now!

AMAZON      B&N      BOOK DEPOSITORY 

Description: Fleeing her recent past, Lilliah Woods finds refuge in the anonymity of the present day inner-city slums. As she settles into the seedy apartment she must now call home, she meets mysterious Marek Jamison when he materializes in her doorway demanding to know who she is. From that moment, he becomes a guardian and guide as she gradually discovers his hidden world. As their relationship develops, Lillian learns of Marek's dark past and of a brothers' quarrel he has been embroiled in for years. The quarrel turns into a larger battle of good and evil, liberty versus tyranny, and the separation of love and lust. With Lilliah as the ultimate prize, the deadly conflict reaches out to threaten her family, and the outcome of the final battle will determine her fate. Lilliah must embark on an unexpected path that teaches her to trust in the man she has come to love, and give of herself as she never thought she could...  -Amazon

Author: Jennifer Thompson

Release date: 2012

Publisher: CreateSpace Independent Publishing Platform

Pages: 484

Source: Copy provided by Author

Reading level: Adult- it's a pretty clean read though.

Teaser Sentence: 'He raced to the closed door and kicked it open. He only had to see Dathan's Changed form on top of Candice's half-clad body to Change himself and enter into a whole different realm of wrath. He let out a savage growl.'

My thoughts: When I saw the trailer for The Scent of a Soul, I knew I would probably like it. I love paranormal romances, but I never expected to fall in love with this book. Reading this book I lost sleep, and my housework suffered. It was worth it though. When I finished reading and it became time to decide on my rating I couldn't find one thing I did not like about this book. 

 I have a thing for Scottish guys. Maybe it's because of my Scottish heritage, I don't know, but I loved Marek Jamison from the second I found out he was a Scottish hottie. He was so sweet to Lilliah, and I am not even going to mention rich and handsome. There were so many characters in this story. Each and every one was well written and usually come with a ton of detail. I felt like I got to know everyone. If you have actually read any of my other reviews, then you know I love dual point-of-view. The author made sure you knew what other characters besides Lilliah were thinking when it was needed. I loved getting to see the little glimpses of Marek's mind along with others. Lilliah was a great protagonist. She seemed to stay in trouble most of the time. I can absolutely relate to that though. I never listen either. :) 

 I hate spoilers, so I will not give away Marek's dark secret. I jumped into this book without knowing, and it was fun trying to figure it out. But I will say it did not follow the traditions normally associated with his 'secret', and I really enjoyed the changes and differences. There is a little build up in the beginning where the story is getting set-up and goes a little slow. Once things start happening though, they do not stop. There was constantly some kind of action happening. Hence, why I lost so much sleep, because I could not put this book down! The details in The Scent of a Soul are amazing. Even the tiniest details were not over looked. Every loose end was tied up. I became so attached to every character, and when I read the epilogue my eyes were watering. There was not a single person I was left wondering about. Okay, well I lied there were actually two people I was left wondering about. Candice and Flynn....  I really hope that is another story! 

**I recommend this book to everyone. Please check out the links above to purchase The Scent of a Soul, and click on Jennifer Thompson's name to visit her blog.**

Rating:

Afterlight

Description: Savannah's most unconventional tattoo artist, Riley Poe, loves on the edge. Now she's put over the edge when her younger brother is taken by a sinister cult led by vampires. Her only ally is the hot-tempered vampute Eli Dupre, attracted to Riley's beauty and rare blood type. To save her brother from certain un-death, Riley faces dangers she's never dreamed of, ruthless bloodthirsty enemies, and an evil of endless hunger that wants to devour it all... -Amazon

Author: Elle Jasper

Release date: November 2, 2010

Publisher: Signet

Pages: 336

Source: My personal copy

Reading level: Adult - contains violence, bad language, and sex

Teaser Sentence: 'A melee broke out at the fire; as the group of partiers tried to flee, newlings leapt and chased, and behind them the Dupres closed in.'

My thoughts: I really enjoyed reading this book. There was something about it that made me feel that it wasn't like every other vampire book I have read. Although, I have not been able to pinpoint exactly why it made me feel that way. I really like Eli, and his brothers and sister. And to me, Riley was a tattooed bad-ass that I really could see as one of my friends in real life. I do plan to continue to read this series. I can't wait to see if Riley and Eli's relationship gets steamier. 

Rating: