Review: Fire and Bone by Rachel A. Marks

Fire and Bone

(Otherborn #1)

Rachel A. Marks

4.0/5.0 Stars

After accepting an invitation to a party, Sage goes from being a homeless teenager desperately trying to survive on the streets of L.A. to finding out she is actually the daughter of a Goddess. Her whole life is a lie and the world is way more fantastical than she ever imagined.

The beginning 1/3 or so of this book was a little bumpy for me.  She doesn’t know what is going on and neither did I.  It’s a little wordy and the lack of clear answers gets a bit frustrating.  Not enough to give it up but it lacked the “can’t put it down” factor. Once it evens out and the pace picks up some, it was definitely worth the wait.

The characters are the biggest strength in this book.  Sage is a fantastic MC and her reactions to certain events were true to who she is and her background.  There is an element of love triangle which is totally not my thing but in this case it was definitely integral to the plot.  Both of the interests are very different and compelling in their own right. 

Overall, I really enjoyed Fire and Bone and would definitely recommend it.  The Irish mythology was refreshingly different from the typical YA fantasy reads and the characters are well drawn and layered.  I will definitely be adding the sequel to my TBR.

***I received a copy of this book via Netgalley in exchange for my honest review***

Review: The Queen's Choice by Cayla Kluver

The Queen's Choice

(Heirs of Chrior #1)

Cayla Kluver

2.0/5.0 stars

The Blurb:

Magic was seeping out of me, black and agonizing. I could see it drifting away. The magic that would let me pass the Road to reach home again.

When sixteen-year-old Anya learns that her aunt, Queen of the Faerie Kingdom of Chrior, will soon die, her grief is equalled only by her despair for the future of the kingdom. Her young cousin, Illumina, is unfit to rule, and Anya is determined not to take up the queen's mantle herself.

Convinced that the only solution is to find Prince Zabriel, who long ago disappeared into the human realm of Warckum, and persuade him to take up his rightful crown, Anya journeys into the Warckum Territory to bring him home. But her journey is doomed to be more harrowing than she ever could have imagined.

My Review:

That blurb, you guys. That. Blurb. Faeries, royalty, harrowing journey- yes, yes, and yessss (Gollum voice optional). I jumped at the chance to read this. Though I haven’t read any of Cayla Kluver’s previous works, I’ve always heard good things about it so this was a gimme. Unfortunately, the only thing The Queen’s Choice ended up giving me was a mad case of boredom.

The book starts off with a giant info dump in the Faerie land of Chrior, which shall henceforth be known as Dullsville. Every character we met in Chrior was so boooring. The fiance, especially. He was around for all of two minutes before I decided he was a no-go as a romantic lead. He was like a little puppy doing whatever it's told. Not knocking puppies, I love puppies, but I sure as hell don’t date them. Her Aunt, the Queen, tells her that she is dying and that unless her wayward son, Zabriel, will come back and rule Anya is going to be the next Queen. She send’s Anya’s cousin, Illumina, to retrieve him so she can at least see him once more before she dies. But Anya doesn’t trust Illumina to find him and convince him to come back so she decides to sneak away on her own to find him. Usually I’d find the set-up of that stupid on Anya’s part and I did but I was so tired of Chrior that I was like “yay! Let’s leave! Great idea!”. She crosses into the human realm and things get really interesting…for about two minutes.

The writing style of this book was beautiful. Cayla Kluver has an almost lyrical way of describing things and I did appreciate that at first but it was so overdone that it lost its charm long before the halfway point. I love long books but this one desperately needed to be trimmed. They could have easily cut out 100 pages, maybe even 200, and not lost anything important. The pacing was slow and tedious.

The characters were where it really failed for me. Anya is quite possibly one of the most boring narrators I’ve ever read. Her thought process was so flat that I spent the majority of the book wondering why anyone wanted to be around her. Her human traveling companion, Shea, I liked…at first. She at least had some personality. Which was cool until she ended up having multiple personalities. Not medically speaking, I could roll with that. This was like ‘we need this to be said/happen in the plot so Shea do a complete 180 for no apparent reason’. I actually did like Zabriel but by the time we meet him it was way too little way too late to redeem this at all for me.

The ending was strong and rather enticing but not enough to get me to read the next book. There are just too many books and too little time to spend that many pages being bored out of my mind.

Review: Division of the Marked by March McCarron

Division of the Marked
March McCarron
3.5

For all of written history, on the day of Da Un Marcu, fifty boys and girls across the three kingdoms are marked. They become a class apart from society. Taken to join their brothers and sisters, the Chisanta, they enter a culture of knowledge-keepers, martial artists, and possessors of strange and wonderful abilities.

When Yarrow discovers himself marked, he feels lost and lonely; until he meets Bray, a spirited and curious girl with whom he feels uncommonly connected. As the two of them become familiar with their new lives, unaccountable events unsettle the peace. A mysterious murder leaves the Chisanta in confusion. Odder still, one of the fifty children never arrives. In the years that follow, more and more children of the Chisanta go missing.

Ten years later, the devastating truth comes to light. The death of a young marked girl is uncovered. Yarrow and Bray—separated for a decade and grown apart—are thrust back together to investigate the crime. Can they overcome their differences to save the fate of their kind and the peace of the nation?

Overall, this is a really good book.  It took me a minute to get into it, but once I did, it kind of grew on me. 

It starts out kind of slow.  However (to be fair) it is an epic fantasy, and they do tend to be heavy on detail and take a little longer to really take off.

 In the end though, it was all worth it, because once it gets going, it gains momentum pretty quickly.

Things get really interesting once the two opposing groups come together to work towards a common goal.  It was rather amusing watching them have to learn to live and work together to figure out the mystery of the missing children. 

Those were probably some of my favorite moments.  Those are the moments that pushed me to not just like the characters, but *love* the characters.  Not only did I really love Bray and Yarrow, I absolutely adored the supporting characters as well. 

There are some seriously heart-wrenching moments in the book too.  I can't talk about them without spoiling something, but we'll just say there were times where I looked like this:

Also, I love how the mystery unfolds.  It is honestly what kept me going through some of the slower parts.  I was so intrigued to know how all of it would play out, and McCarron does a good job of building it up.
  
Oh, and the cliffhanger ending... we all know how I feel about a good cliffhanger!

Overall, I think the book was a little detail heavy (for me) and I would have liked for the pacing to be a bit quicker.  However, despite all of that, McCarron still created a mystery and characters that I was able to feel invested in and fall in love with.  I'm really excited to see what happens in book two!

Cover Reveal & GIVEAWAY: Cutlass by Ashley Nixon

We are super excited to reveal the cover for Cutlass, the upcoming YA Fantasy by Ashley Nixon.  Young adult? Check. Fantasy? Check. Pirates? Gimme gimme gimme.  I can't wait to read this one! Be sure to add it to your TBRs and scroll down to enter the giveaway for a $25 Amazon card!

Cutlass by Ashley Nixon 

(Cutlass Series #1) 

Publication date: April 23rd 2014

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

Synopsis:



Notorious pirate Barren Reed has one thing on his mind: Revenge against the man who killed his father. So kidnapping his enemy’s fiancé seems a perfect plan…until he actually does it.

Larkin Lee is more than a pretty face and fiancé to a powerful man. Her fierce personality is enough to make any pirate want to push her overboard.

But when the King of the Orient comes to Barren with a task—to find the Bloodstone, a powerful gem thought only to exist in legend, Barren sees another opportunity to destroy his enemy. Together, Barren, Larkin and a crew of pirates set off to find the stone, only to discover it caused the death of Barren’s own mother and Larkin’s, too. As his strongest allies turn into his greatest enemies, and the life of the girl he kidnapped becomes more important than he ever dreamed, Barren’s quest for revenge becomes a fight to save the Orient.


Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18755539-cutlass?ac=1




a Rafflecopter giveaway ___________________________________________________________________________________

AUTHOR BIO:
Ashley was born and raised in Oklahoma, where the wind really does sweep down the plains, and horses and carriages aren't used as much as she'd like. When she's not writing, she's hard at work on her Master's degree in Library Science and Information Technology, working out, or pretending she's Sherlock Holmes. Her obsession with writing began after reading the Lord of the Rings in the eighth grade. Since then, she's loved everything Fantasy--resulting in an unhealthy obsession with the 'geek' tab on Pinterest, where all things awesome go.


Links:
https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/5199530.Ashley_Nixon
http://www.ashley-nixon.com/
https://www.facebook.com/ashleynixonauthor
https://twitter.com/Ashleymnixon

REVIEW: Defy by Sara B Larson

Defy
Sara B Larson
5.0/5.0
Publish Date: January 7th, 2013

"A lush and gorgeously written debut, packed with action, intrigue, and a thrilling love triangle.

Alexa Hollen is a fighter. Forced to disguise herself as a boy and serve in the king's army, Alex uses her quick wit and fierce sword-fighting skills to earn a spot on the elite prince's guard. But when a powerful sorcerer sneaks into the palace in the dead of night, even Alex, who is virtually unbeatable, can't prevent him from abducting her, her fellow guard and friend Rylan, and Prince Damian, taking them through the treacherous wilds of the jungle and deep into enemy territory.

The longer Alex is held captive with both Rylan and the prince, the more she realizes that she is not the only one who has been keeping dangerous secrets. And suddenly, after her own secret is revealed, Alex finds herself confronted with two men vying for her heart: the safe and steady Rylan, who has always cared for her, and the dark, intriguing Damian. With hidden foes lurking around every corner, is Alex strong enough to save herself and the kingdom she's sworn to protect?"

I've gotta say, that this perhaps is one of the HARDEST reviews I've ever written because I really am so blown away all I want to do is jump up and down and squeal with delight at how much I loved this book....

even if it made me cry SOB ... a lot.

In all seriousness though, I have never connected with and fallen in love with characters as quickly as I did in this book. Within in the first few chapters she already had me so attached to charecters that I was bawling my eyes out over situations involving them. Seriously, at 10% I called Stacey, my blog partner, and was like "YOU HAVE TO READ THIS!!!!" Which I never, ever do. EVER. Usually, I have to be at least half way through the book before I'll even CONSIDER recommending it, but usually I have to be almost done before I'll give a final go on it.


Larson is amazing. The descriptions of the world and the situations are so vivid. You can feel the anguish, the fear, the unease, the... passion... ;) It's absolutely brilliant. I've never felt so "IN" the world while reading the book. She managed to make me feel everything from utter disgust to butterflies in this book.

Additionally, her characters are phenomenal. I adored Alex. I loved that she was written as a really strong female lead, but that she was still allowed to show fear, and doubt, and question everything and everyone. She was flawed enough to be real. Even when I was SCREAMING at my Kindle for her to STOP questioning things and just GO with it, I still understood WHY she did.

As far as the love triangle went, I thought it was really well done. I don't really mind a love triangle, as long as I can understand why the main character would be torn. I could totally understand being torn between Damien and Rylan, because I'm still torn between the two. I love them both so, so much. Damien is sharp, and witty, and infuriating at times. Rylan is sweet, protective, and her best friend. They are both amazing in their own ways, and they are both beautifully (swoontastically) flawed.

This is definitely going on my list of favorite reads this year. It was a breath-taking, exhilarating ride, and I can't wait to get back on for book 2!

Also!  Sara Larson has a post up on her blog right now for a chance to win a FREE SIGNED ARC of Defy.  I'm entering just because this is definitely a book for my "keeper shelf" and I would love nothing more than a SIGNED copy of it!  So hurry up, don't let me steal all your fun!  Get to entering!

ENTER HERE

GIVEAWAY AND EXCERPT!!! Fallen by Laury Falter

Book & Author Details:

Fallen by Laury Falter
Publication date: April 1st 2009
Genres: Paranormal, Young Adult

Synopsis:

Fallen – the first book in the bestselling Guardian Trilogy…

Maggie is unaware of the terrifying fate that awaits her. It isn’t until she lands in New Orleans for a full year at a private high school and her unknown enemies find her does she realize that her life is in danger.

As a mystifying stranger repeatedly intervenes and blocks the attempts on her life, she begins to learn that there is more to him than his need to protect her and that he may be the key to understanding why her enemies have just now arrived.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/8376729-fallen?ac=1

Purchase:

--Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Fallen-Guardian-Trilogy-Book-ebook/dp/B00280MFEY/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1358172824&sr=1---B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/fallen-laury-falter/1030634673?ean=2940012375438
--Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/274357

----

AUTHOR BIO:

Laury Falter is a bestselling author of young adult romantic suspense and urban fantasy. She has three series out: the Guardian Trilogy, the Residue Series, and the Apocalypse Chronicles.

To learn more about Laury and her novels, visit her at:
Website: lauryfalter.com
Twitter page: twitter.com/LauryFalter
Facebook page: facebook.com/pages/Laury-Falter/196033543803745
Goodreads page: goodreads.com/author/show/4061922.Laury_Falter

----

Excerpt:

 

“I apologize for the delay, Abaddon.”

I turned my head to find Eran standing beside me, no more than a few inches away.

Excitement swelled inside me, so powerful I couldn’t have contained it if I’d wanted to. The nervousness now displayed on Abaddon’s face gave me even stronger encouragement.

I wanted so desperately to reach out and wrap my arms around Eran, wanted it more than anything in the world. My desperate yearning was only being held back because I still couldn’t move.

I’m not sure Eran would have allowed it anyways. He was a warrior, and he was now engaged in battle. Besides, I was nothing more to him than someone to save.

Eran didn’t look my way but kept his focus on Abaddon, who stepped back a few paces, his confidence faltering.

It was Sarai who strolled forward, self-assured, placing herself in the middle.  

As she strolled by Abaddon, she mused, “Don’t worry, I believe I can handle this one.” Her face curled up into a hideous grin as she continued her approach.

I knew then what she planned…but it was too late.

“Eran, so good to see you again…” she whispered in a low drawl.

“No!” I screamed enraged, waiting for Eran to fall to the ground, whimpering with desperation as Rufus had done.

Eran remained standing.

A moment passed and Sarai’s face contorted, confusion setting in. Her state of shock became more defined, deepening further when he finally replied.

“You don’t work on me, Sarai…” I watched in disbelief as his gorgeous smirk, the one I missed so deeply, rose up. Eran turned and his stunning eyes settled on me, concentrating so intently I could not have mistaken his message. “I’m already in love.”

The world changed for me at that moment. As Eran’s confession hung in the air, I felt the passion and the power in me swell. Nothing was impossible now.

Sarai’s mouth fell open, a shaken sigh escaping. She then looked at me, her eyes narrowing in fury as Eran’s words sunk in.

Eran flippantly disregarded her, turning to address Abaddon. “You are outnumbered. You are overpowered. You have allowed yourself to be cornered. Shoddy work, Abaddon.”

As I watched their interaction, it dawned on me that Eran was enjoying this moment and that it appeared to have been long overdue. I felt a smile on my lips, nearly causing me to giggle.

It was then Abaddon released me. I fell to the ground, hitting it hard but overwhelmed with relief. I glanced up, wondering what power Eran had over Abaddon to give up his hold on me.

In an instant, I realized what had happened.

Abaddon had let me go willingly. He needed his energy – all of it – for another reason…

Leaning forward, Abaddon’s arms extended, his feet sweeping up from the ground, as he lunged for Eran.

----

GIVEAWAY !!!!

 

REVIEW: Counting Shadows - Olivia Rivers

Counting Shadows
Olivia Rivers
Publish Date: July 1, 2013
3.5/4.0


This is one of those books that is really hard to rate.  The first half of the book is very set-up heavy.  You learn a lot of back story and are very much in Faye's head.  The majority of the first half is set in Faye's rooms while she mopes over her dead lover and plots her revenge on the person who got him killed.

It doesn't really pick up until Lor finally convinces her to leave her rooms and then all hell breaks loose Then things get really freaking interesting, really freaking fast.

The first half of the book was around 3 stars for me, but when it got going, it shot up to a 4.  So, since I was torn with what to give it, I just split the difference and called it a 3.5.  I don't want that to discourage you from reading it though, because I have a feeling book two is going to be REALLY interesting.

Overall, its a good story, and I understand why the beginning was the way it was.  In this case, you are going into a story where the love interest is dead.  The beginning is meant to show you how much she cares about him, and all that he gave just for her.  It's meant to help you feel the connection between them and help you understand why Faye is so hellbent on finding his killer.

Unfortunately, while I can imagine how horrendous her loss is, I have a hard time connecting with a character who is dead.  So while I felt for her, and I understood her motives, I really didn't care about him.

Lor on the other hand... HOLY HELL!  Lor can call me sweetheart any damn time he likes.  He is seriously sexy with his cocky lines and tattooed self.  *drool*

I absolutely adore his random fears as well.  They seriously cracked me up.  Although, I'm still not sure what is up with his nervous twitch.

Oh well, he's hot anyway.

Overall, I'm still recommending this as a read, because although the first half of this book is kind of slow, I have a feeling that book two is going to be awesome.

Especially after the cliffhanger she threw in at the end that left me making this face (minus the fur):

I'm totally psyched to read book two!

BLITZ: GIVEAWAY AND EXCERPT - COUNTING SHADOWS BY OLIVIA RIVERS

Book & Author Details:

Counting Shadows by Olivia Rivers

(Duplicity #1)

Publication date: June 30th 2013

Genres: Fantasy, Young Adult

 

Synopsis:

Two hearts, one kiss…

…Nothing left.

Faye’s soul-mate is everything she should hate—an Angel, an outcast, an enemy. Ashe is just one more imperfection in her life that somehow makes everything… perfect.

Until he’s murdered.

With the only person she loves ripped away, Faye sets out to avenge Ashe’s death. The task seems impossible, until she finds Lor—an Angel who looks nearly identical to Ashe’s killer. Arrogant and hot-headed, Lor is everything Ashe wasn’t. But Lor is connected to her soul-mate’s past, and Faye needs him to find the killer—even if Lor is potentially deadly.

But when Faye discovers that Ashe’s past isn’t as black and white as she thought, she faces an impossible choice: Give up the hunt, and risk the lives of others. Or continue pursuing Ashe’s murderer, and forfeit the lives of everyone in her family—including herself.

Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/18132530-counting-shadows?ac=1

Purchase:

—Amazon: http://www.amazon.com/Counting-Shadows-Duplicity-Olivia-Rivers-ebook/dp/B00DQIBZLQ

_______

Excerpt: Counting Shadows by Olivia Rivers

I face a dark cell, one far from any window and trapped in shadows. I take a step toward it, and then back, unable to see anyone in the darkness.
Then a figure steps forward into a faint patch of light, and I let out a choked sound.
It’s him.
Young, about my own age. Tanned skin. Muscular and well-built, but taller than any Irradorian. Sharp facial features, strong jaw, and the scar that runs from his right eyebrow down to his bottom lip—
The scar. It’s not there. I frantically scan the man’s face another time, but the scar is still missing.
The man in front of me raises an eyebrow and leans against the bars of his cell. “You like something you see?”
“No,” I blurt out.
I don’t like this. I hate this. This man looks exactly like Ashe’s killer, but… he’s not. As I look over him a second time, I notice a few more subtle differences; this man is a little taller than Ashe’s killer, a little younger, and he has a tattoo on his collarbone. I can only see a portion of the black ink, but it’s enough to prove this isn’t who I’m looking for. Ashe’s killer didn’t have any tattoos.
But maybe he just got the tattoo after he killed Ashe. Maybe… No. He could gain a tattoo, but he could never lose a scar.
This isn’t the man I’ve been searching for.
The man in the cell hisses in a breath, reminding me that I said something offensive. “Ouch.” The way he speaks reminds me of Farren’s sarcastic drawl, only this man’s is much more practiced. He has a slight accent that somehow manages to make his husky voice sound elegant, but it just makes me shudder. His voice sounds so much like Ashe’s killer’s. “That hurts, sweetheart. Like an arrow through the heart. Words can kill, you know.”
My chest constricts, knowing how right he is. Knowing he knows how right he is. It was words that killed Ashe, just a few whispers in the ear of Father. And, somehow, this man is tied to that.
I glare at him, doing my best to look intimidating, despite the shivers crawling over my skin. “What’s your name?”
He bows deeply, the motion even more sarcastic than his words. “My name is Lor. At your service, sweetheart.” He looks up and winks. “Any service.”
“I’m not here to play games with you,” I growl.
“Too bad.”
“I want to know right now. What part are you playing in this? How do you know my Guardian’s killer? What did you have to gain from his death?” I gasp in air, suddenly out of breath.
Lor tilts his head and stares at me for a long moment, his eyebrows raised in amusement. “You know,” he says, his voice softening to a tone that’s darkly patronizing. “Where I come from, it’s considered rather rude to come barging into someone’s prison cell and accuse them of murder. That’s usually done before the whole incarceration thing.”

AUTHOR BIO:

Olivia Rivers is the author of five novels, ranging in genres from Epic Fantasy to Contemporary Romance. Along with being a writer, she’s a freelance digital artist, a literary agent assistant, and a high school student. She’s a nerd at heart, and is a hopeless fan-girl for Doctor Who and Pokémon. Olivia lives in California with a dog who thinks he’s a cat, a cat who thinks he’s a dog, and a kitten who is just generally confused. 

Author Links:

Website: http://oliviarivers.blogspot.ca/

Goodreads: http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/6548741.Olivia_Rivers

Twitter: https://twitter.com/RiversOlivia

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Review: Keeping Merminia

Keeping Merminia (Merminia #2)

Emm Cole

4.0/5.0

*NOTE: This is BOOK 2 of the Merminia Series, so be warned that this review has book one spoilers.

At the end of Meminia (Book 1) Ulric has possession of Adessia's ring giving him powers over land and sea that no man with his ego and aggression levels should have. He's just gone all creeptastic and waltzed onto shore to start some serious shit with the land dwellers. 

 

Selinne has buried her brother, become lead Merminian, been abandoned by Gabriel, and has just had a friendly chat with her dead father. Her father delivers a message from the Fate's themselves declaring Selinne must get back Adessia's ring, it's her destiny. 

 

Book two begins with Ulric continuing his rampage and seizing Dencur with Adessia's ring. He leaves everything beyond the city walls in complete chaos, because he's Ulric, and he can

.

Selinne must attempt to save Merminia from ruin by journeying into Dencur to battle it out with the crazy warlord giant and finds a hesitant group to aid her on her trek. 

 

However while Selinne works to stop Ulric from destroying all that she holds dear, her friendships are pushed to their breaking points. 

 

With the final battle between humans and Enchanteds looming on the horizon, both Seline and Ulric will find out just how much they both stand to lose. 

 

First of all... I must say, I'm very surprised by this series. I usually can't get into a mermaid series. I'm not sure if it's because they all seem to have that human meets mermaid and falls madly in love romance element or if I just can't connect with fins. Whatever the case may be, they generally just aren't my thing.

Merminia is different though. For one, Selinne is not in love with a human and humans are not in love with her. Why it took so long for me to find a series that operates this way, I don't know, but I'm ecstatic about it.

Also, it's just a good story, and even though the characters possess fins, I found them easy to connect with. Cole does a great job of creating well rounded characters that are flawed enough to make them believable. I found her characters very easy to love... or hate... depending on who we're discussing, but they each did things that completely surprised me.

Speaking of surprise... very few things went the way I expected them to go in this book. If we narrow down to important things that went the way I expected, not a damn one of them went the way I thought it would. NOT A SINGLE FREAKING ONE! So either I'm really losing my touch here, or Cole is a master with plot twists. I'm going with master of plot twists.

Oh, and the end of the book... yeah... it was one of those things I totally got wrong. Yeah, I'm all sunshine and rainbows and then here comes Cole with a big shiny metaphorical dagger to stick in my metaphorical side and twist. Then she just leaves it there... to linger and fester and drive me completely insane. 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not knocking the ending AT ALL. Like I have said before, I love a cliffhanger. I really do. I loved this one too. It was, however, one of the cruelest cliffhangers I've seen in awhile. 

It's really a fantastic Indie read, and I'm so, so glad that I decided to volunteer for it. The only thing that I will say is kind of odd about the series is the POV switch. Book one is 3^rd person, switch POV, and Book two is 1^st person, dual POV. It kind of threw me when I hit chapter one of book two. HOWEVER, I will say that I really PREFER 1^st person POV, so I wasn't too brokenhearted over the switch. It was just strange to see in the middle of the series. Other than that, I give mad props to Emm Cole for creating an amazing story... with mermaids... that I actually want to read.

BTW... Ms. Cole... when is book three coming out???  Ya know... if you need someone to read it...