Winter - Marissa Meyer

The Lunar Chronicles has come to an end with Winter.

Winter is a lovely princess, the step-daughter of Queen Levena. She is admired by all the Lunar people, and despite the three scars on her face, it is said she's more beautiful than the Queen. And unlike to Queen, she does not need to use her glamour to make it appear she's beautiful. She just is. But not using her glamour, means her mind plays tricks on her.

Winter despises her stepmother. She doesn't like the way Levena treats the people of Luna. She doesn't like the way Levena treats her. She knows Levena would never approve of her feelings for Jacin, the palace guard.

But now, it's time for Winter to stand up to her stepmother. She joins Cinder, Scarlet, Wolf, Cress and Thorne in their effort to launch a revolution and de-throne Levena.

Meyer does a great job of building up to the war. She also answers questions we have had since book one. We learn more about the disease, Letumosis, and how the shells were treated. We see Cinder's reactions and thoughts about what to do if she wins and becomes Queen Selene. We learn more about the class system in Lunar, the Nobles vs the Shells.

The Lunar Chronicles was one that I loved at first, but then started to loose some interest. But I'm glad I stuck with it, and finished the series. It was great. Even the play on Snow White in this one.

Blood Kiss - J.R. Ward

I'm a huge JR Ward fan, so spending the week before Christmas, curled up with her latest book, was great!

Blood Kiss is the beginning of a new series, a spin-off to her very popular Black Dagger Brotherhood. We meet new characters, as well as check in with some favourite Brothers. 

Here is the story of Paradise, the blooded daughter of the king's First Advisor. As a member of the elite glymera, she's expected to marry into the elite, have children, have servants, and live a very boring and restrictive life. But she wants more. She applies, and gets accepted into the Black Dagger Brotherhood's training program, where she not only learns to fight, but learns how tough she really is!

Craeg is the opposite of Paradise. He is poor.  He wants to train with the Brotherhood, and eventually, take revenge on those he feels caused his father's death; the glymera.

The story of Paradise and Craeg was great. But what made this book even better was the return of Butch and Marissa. We haven't heard much of them recently, so it was great to see them again.

Marissa must deal with the death of a badly beaten Jane Doe that shows up to her clinic. Not wanting to burden Butch with everything, she keeps it inside. Butch meanwhile, must deal with the ghosts from his own past. Together, they must try to find their way back to one another.

It was nice to get back to the Brotherhood, and meet new characters too.

Fairest - Marissa Meyer

I am a huge Cinderella fan. I have a collection of different Cinderella books. So years ago, when Cinder came out, I gobbled it. But as the series continued, I felt it lost a little something. But I still wanted to see it through, so I continued on.

Fairest is a novella, the story of Queen Levana, and fits in between book 3, Cress and book 4, Winter. And it fits nicely.

Queen Levana is not a nice queen. Since we're talking fairy tales, think of the Evil Queen and Maleficent, rolled into one. And that would be Queen Levana.

Fairest is her story. I almost expected to like her. Often, when a novella comes out, with the "other side" of the story, there's something almost humane about this character, and although you still do not like them, you soften a little towards them.

Not here! I love how Meyer keeps true to the Levana from her previous books. There are times you want to feel bad for her, you may also start to pity her, but Meyer reminds you, that she is evil. Pure and simple.

Having not been as eager towards the series as I had previously been, Fairest was fantastic. It's gotten me excited again. I am looking forward to seeing how this story ends.

The Compounders - Julie Trettel

The Compounders is the debut of Julie Trettel. It's book 1 in a new dystopia series. And it covers alot!!!

The United States of America is going through some turmoil and Mike Jenkins wants to protect his family. He builds an amazing bunker and moves several families in. Here they live, not knowing what's happened to their country, in safety.

After several years of living in isolation, the Elders decide to open the bunker doors. They are allowed outside, but limited time. Holly Jenkins is thrilled to have her freedom and solitude. She sneaks up a mountain to her "special" place to enjoy some quiet time to reflect on the things going on in her life.

And here, she meets Griffon. He tells her about his village and what has happened. The United States of America no longer exists. There is martial law. Food is limited. There is no religion or books. It is worse than Holly's father could have ever imagined.

I was given the book, in exchange for an honest Amazon and Goodreads review (I'll post them shortly). I loved the story. I'm a dystopia fan, and this is probably one of the more realistic ones I've read. I also enjoyed how Holly grew, not just age-wise, but she matured and found herself.

But here's what I struggled with. Holly. I know she's growing and changing and learning what's important and finding her way (and that sentence has too many ands). Holly struggles with her feelings for Milo, her best friends brother and the pastor's son. The Elders would like to see them as a couple. Holly has feelings for him, but she's not sure he's the one. Then she meets Griffon. He makes her feel like no one else. But while she spends her Sundays-Wednesdays with Milo, she secretly makes her way to the cave on Thursdays-Saturdays to be with Griffon.

Then all hell breaks loose and Griffon is shot. She brings him and his family into the bunker for protection. She finds her strength and decides she needs to help the small town. And here she becomes close with Griffon's friend, Jared. And now she's confused about her feelings for him. Yes, she's a teenager. Yes, she flips flops in and out of love, but just when you start loving the story-line, you get sucked into this. Sorry.

Kiss Kill Love Him Still - Jamie Blair & Dawn Rae Miller

I'm a huge Dawn Rae Miller fan. Her books have never let me down, so when I heard she co-wrote a new book, well, I just had to get it.

On Goodreads, Dawn Rae Miller has said, "If you like Pretty Little Liars, John Tucker Must Die and/or Gossip Girl, you'll enjoy Kiss Kill Love Him Still". Well, while I've never seen PLL and don't really recall John Tucker, I did enjoy GG, so of course this would be for me!

Kiss Kill Love Him Still is an easy read. And I can so see it as a TV show. The characters are lovable, yet not likable. They are horrible people, yet they are not. They have bad attitudes yet are funny. They are probably the most shallow characters you'll meet. And since you know this, there's no surprise! You just enjoy the story.

Jackson Landis is found dead. At first, it's unsure if it's accidental, suicidal, drug-related or homicide.

Reggie is distraught. She was his drug dealer. He exchanged sex for drugs, but the thing is, she fell for him. She was also with him the night he died, but he got a text and kicked her out.

Haddie is an overweight, frumpy student who works at the library. In exchange for sex, Haddie wrote Jackson his term papers. Oh, and she too fell in love with him. But if her father ever found out that her purity ring was just for show, she'd loose her trust fund. Hopefully Jackson took this secret to his grave.

Livie is Jackson's girlfriend. Only she's ignorant of his extra-curricular activities. Her activities include shoplifting, which Jackson has videos of. She can only hope to find them before someone else does and she's arrested for grand larceny.

Val is the girlfriend of Jackson's roommate. But she's also in love with Livie. And Jackson knew this, so he was blackmailing her.

Each girl has their reason to love him, yet want him dead. Which one did it? Or did any of them?

Kiss Kill Love Him Still is told in the point of view of each girl. We see their love, hate and fear. And we learn that Jackson had a lot of secrets. And while he was good at keeping secrets, he also shared small bits, as protection. So whoever killed him, must have wanted their secret dead along with him!

Blood Vengeance - Tessa Dawn

The Blood Curse series is definitely one of my least known favourites. It's got everything any vampire fan would want. Vampires, bad-asses, fights, and, in most cases HEA.

Blood Vengeance does not disappoint. This is Ramsey Olaru's story. He's the big, brutal Sentinel who fights with a pitchfork Trident! He learns that Tiffany Matthews, the queen's bestie, is his destiny. Tiffany is no stranger to the world of vampires, and is not thrilled with the idea of being someone, yet along some beast's, destiny.

There are many series out there, that you get to book seven, and there are no more surprises. While you still love the characters and storylines, part of you thinks I could write this. Not here. Tessa Dawn has thrown in all kinds of surprises, you never expected.

In Blood Vengeance we learn a little more about the history of the House of Jadon and how they survived the initial curse. We see a softer, humorous side to Ramsey. We see the tight bond of friendship, between not just Brooke and Tiffany, but the men brothers of the House of Jadon. Now, no destiny can occur without it's struggles, but the obstacle here is one you would not expect. One you never knew could happen. The Dark Ones will do anything, anything to get ride of the Light Ones. But, will they win this time?

Brighter Than the Sun - Darynda Jones

I'm a huge Charley Davidson fan. I mean, seriously, what's not to like about this girl. She's a PI, she names her body parts, she's strong-willed and feisty, and, let's not forget, she's the Grimm Reaper!

For eight books, I've followed her and her antics. And while I love her, I also love Reyes. You know, the son of Satan.

So then here comes Brighter Than the Sun. This is Reyes' story. According to Goodreads, it's book 8.5 of the series. I'm thinking it fits in better after book 1. But does it really matter?

First Grave on the Right introduces us to Charley and Reyes. We see how they meet and as we grow to love Charley, we also love Reyes. But he's always a part of her story. This time, it's his story.

In Brighter Than the Sun we learn Reyes' side of the story. We are brought into his nightmare with Earl. We see his love for his sister Kim. And we learn how Charley saved him from the nightmare that was his life.

If you're a fan of Charley's, and how could you not be, you'll love Reyes' story too.

Witches of East End - Melissa de la Cruz

Meet the Beauchamp women. They are witches, who are forbidden to use their magic.

Joanna is the mother. She has the power to heal. For centuries she has been forbidden to use her powers, but when a little boy falls ill, she goes against the council's orders, and heals him. Soon, she starts helping others, and even brings one back from death.

Ingrid is the oldest daughter. She has the power of foresight. Having lived a quiet life as a lonely librarian she feels compelled to help her friend, suffering from infertility. Soon, word gets out that she can help, and women come to her for help and her "magical knots".

Freya is the wild one. She's fallen in love with Bran and is engaged to be married. But she's drawn to his brother. And her happiness spills over to her work, as a bartender, where she begins making magical potions that allows others to fall in love.

It would appear all is well, despite them using their magic, until things in their little down go bad. An elderly couple is attacked, a young girl goes missing, the waters are polluted and people are getting extremely sick. Is this the work of the witches? Or is there something more evil out there?

Kiss of a Demon King - Kresley Cole

While it sucks being sick, the upside is all you do all day long, is sit with a cup of tea and read.

And read is exactly what I've been doing for the last couple of days.

Meet Sabine, Queen of Illusions. Her main goal in life is to survive. After dying many times, and being brought back to life by her sister Lanthe, survive seems make sense. Unfortunately, she is also the half-sister to Omort the Deathless (like he cannot die). Sabine and Lanthe are at his service since he has given them a poison that causes a painful death. Asides from the antidote, the only way to stay alive is to take the poison continuously, which he provides, as long as they do what he says.

Omort's latest request, is for Sabine to capture and seduce Rydstrom, the demon king. But Sabine has plans of her own. She plans to use Rydstrom to help her over throw Omort, and gain her freedom.

Meet Rydstron, the deposed demon king. He is finally within reach of his goal, the killing of Omort and recapturing his throne. However, on his way to meet an accomplish for his quest, he is captured by Sabine and her illusions.

And so the battle of wits begins.

Will Rydstron escape? Will he seek revenge? Or will they realize they really have a lot more in common then meets the eye and work together? But, can they trust one another?








 

The Veil - Megan Chance

The Fianna Triology comes to an end in The Veil, and it offers new twists that, really, you didn't see coming.

Grace has found the archdruid who can help her develop her powers as the veleda. She still hopes he'll provide her a spell that will prevent her death. Her working with the archdruid, also means she's kept away. Away from Patrick and the Fomori and away from Diarmid and the Fianna.

In the first two books, I really wasn't a fan of Patrick. But here, he shines. You see a new Patrick, and you like him. Which is horrible, because how can the triangle work if you like all parties involved?

Aiden grows more in this final book. He is a strong brother, that doesn't allow his choosing the Fianna to affect his concern for Grace. In the end, his family matters, not his allegiance.

Diarmid continues to be the torn soul. Torn between his love for Grace and his love for his brothers. But even as Patrick shines, Diarmid still is able to be the hero you fell in love with.

What was really great about this final installment, was seeing both sides of the immigrant story. We see the reasons why Patrick wants to "save" Ireland, and how the Irish see their new life in America. We see the influence of the Fianna on the new immigrants.

While I love myths, mythology and folklore, I've never been interested in Irish folklore, but I do think that's about to change!

The Bourbon Kings - J.R. Ward

Did you grow up in the eighties?

Did you mom watch those scandalous night time soaps?

Familiar with Dallas?

Dynasty?

Ever get sucked into the lives of the Ewing's, Carrington's

or Colby's?

Did you or your mum spend a summer wondering

Who Shot JR?

Well,

if you're nostalgic for those days

this is the book for you!

Meet the Baldwins. 

They are a powerful family

that has been making the best Bourbon

forever.

And like every wealthy, 

old money family,

they are scandalous.

Edward,

the oldest of the siblings,

was the heir apparent.

Until his trip to Mexico where he was kidnapped

and tortured.

Now he is half the man he was.

But still cannot forget the woman

he loves.

Can he swallow his pride

and admit the truth?

Lane fell in love with Lizzie.

But she's the head gardener.

Can their love be real?

Well,

not when his girlfriend turns up pregnant

so he marries her.

But he's never forgotten Lizzie.

Can he win her back?

Gin is the only daughter.

A free spirit.

Not very educated,

but with a body like hers

does she need one?

Her one true love

is a man she's been playing games

with for years.

But when she confesses her true feelings

will he believe her.

Welcome to Charlemont.

It's not Dallas and oil.

It's Kentucky and Bourbon.

Paper Towns - John Green

I have a rule at home;

if there's a movie made,

based on a book,

you need to read the book first.

This is why my son has yet

to watch the Harry Potter movies.

So when I was at the cinema,

and saw a preview for Paper Towns

I figured I better read it,

in case I wanted to see it.

Quentin Jacobsen was once great friends with this neighbour,

Margo Roth Spiegelman.

Now he loves her from afar.

Until the night she sneaks into his bedroom

and takes me on a midnight adventure.

They extract revenge

on those that Margo viewed

as having caused her pain.

They sneak into Seaworld.

They have a great time!

The next day, 

Margo's not at school.

Her parents say she's run away.

She's done this before.

But Margo has left behind some clues,

and Quentin,

along with his buddies,

are out to find her.

The Law of Moses - Amy Harmon

A friend of started a FB group,

where we recommend books,

share ones we loved,

basically get excited about books.

A bunch of them were chatting about

The Law of Moses

and how they thought it was the best book

they'd read in June.

Of course,

that meant I needed to read it.

And I have to admit,

I loved it!

The Law of Moses

tells the story of Moses,

a crack baby left in a basket in a laundromat.

His mother was killed

and with his "special needs" 

he's been shoveled back and forth

between family members.

He is an artist,

who feels the need to paint

the images that run through his mind.

Not only does his art control him,

but it also scares everyone around him.

It's viewed as a curse.

Georgia is a neighbourhood girl.

She sees beauty in Moses and his art.

But their relationship

isn't a normal one.

And Moses has rules.

Laws.

And not falling in love is one of them.

My absolute favourite part of the book, 

was Georgia telling Moses to think of his 5 greats.

I love the 5 greats.

I need to start focusing more on my five greats.

Stay tuned...

Beyond the Kingdoms - Chris Colfer

I have been waiting for this book for months!

I even sat outside the bookstore,

enjoying my Starbucks,

and walked in as soon as it opened,

to get it

the day it was released.

The Masked Man is on the loose.

Alex is determined to find him.

So determined,

that she forgets her duty as

Fairy Godmother

and she looses control of her powers.

Feeling they have no choice,

the fairies strip her of her title.

So now,

with no rules to hold her back,

Alex, her twin brother Connor

with the help of Jack, Goldilocks, Red and Mother Goose

are off to find the Masked Man.

They learn the potion he stole

will allow him to enter any book,

and he plans to recruiting the most evil

characters he can.

And so,

in this fourth installment of

The Land of Stories,

our favourite fairy tale characters

now find them in wonderful pieces of literature.

The travel to Oz, 

Wonderland,

Never Neverland.

They meet 

(the future) King Arthur

and Robin Hood.

But can they stop the Masked Man??

Luckiest Girl Alive - Jessica Knoll

Hmmmm.......

I finished reading 

Luckiest Girl Alive

this afternoon,

and am still decided how I feel.

It's one of those books that grip you.

That make you feel.

That messes with your emotions.

I had to put the book down several times,

because I could feel my mood turning dark.

And that darkness stayed with me

for an hour or so.

Ani FaNelli seems to have it all.

She's a writer for Woman's Magazine. 

She's engaged to a wealthy man.

She has great clothes.

She's skinny

(although she complains about how fat she is).

But this doesn't seem to be her.

Earlier on, 

she lets it be known that she works hard to be who is she.

She's fake.

But in high school,

something terrible happened to TifAni.

This is what has contributed to who she is today.

And just when you think you know the full story,

you don't.

And the ending....

can someone help me understand it?

Heaven is for Real - Todd Burpo

I saw a preview for the movie 

based on this book,

and decided I needed to check out the book.

I've read TONS of negative reviews

about this book,

that I almost hesitate to write about it.

I'm not Christian.

I can't even claim I have a lot of faith.

(I've seemed to have lost it.)

But this book really touched me.

Colton Burpo,

aged 4,

 was really sick

and had surgery.

Things didn't look good

and his parents feared the worse.

But Colton pulled through.

Later, 

he starts talking about the time he was in the hospital

and how he went to heaven.

He knows things about the Burpo family

that he shouldn't know.

He describes his time

with Jesus, God, John the Baptist

and he even mentions meeting his 

great grandfather

(who died long before he was born)

and his sister

(his mother had a miscarriage before he was born).

The critics claim this is fake.

All I know,

was this book was written with innocence

and purity.

Critics feel that the book claims

Christianity is the only religion.

I never got that.

I know people who have a strong belief

in their religion

and I have never felt they thought 

they were better.

This book gave me some hope.

Hope that things happen for a reason.

Hope that there is a purpose.

Hope, that one day,

I may find my faith again.

The Mark of Athena - Rick Riordan

It is time to save the world!!!

Members of the Greek,

Camp Half-Blood,

and the Roman,

Camp Jupiter

must come together on a quest

to stop the rise of Gaea.

But things don't go as planned.

Annabeth, Jason, Piper and Leo 

arrive at Camp Jupiter.

They are not trusted,

and things go from bad to worse

when Leo is taken over by an Idolan

and attacks the camp.

Percy, Hazel and Frank,

join them as they escape and head to Rome,

to try and stop Gaea. 

And this is not an easy task.

They need to save Nico

who is held captive.

And Annabeth

has a side quest of her own.

She has been given the task

to follow the Mark of Athena

and find something that was stolen

when the Romans conquered the Greeks.

This will,

apparently,

help unite both sides. 

But can the seven

do all this in time?

The Girl on the Train - Paula Hawkins

I've read a lot of reviews,

comparing this book to

Gone Girl.

People who loved the latter

are recommending this one.

Well...

I'm someone who wasn't crazy about

Gone Girl

but I loved this one!

The Girl on the Train

is a psychological thriller

told in the POV of the three leading female characters.

Rachel is an alcoholic.

Her marriage fell apart

when she became depressed that she could not conceive.

She turned to alcohol for comfort

and her husband turned to someone else.

Now, 

she's bitter, divorced and

unemployed.

Yet everyday,

she rides the commuter train to London

where she watches the houses as they go buy

and imagines the life of the people in them.

Megan has a loving husband.

But she has secrets

which causes anxiety.

She seeks the help of a psychologist

and starts to feel better.

Anna seemingly lives a perfect life.

She fell in love with a married man,

but he left his wife for her.

Now they have a beautiful daughter.

But his ex-wife keeps calling

and harassing them.

One day, 

while on the train,

Rachel sees something shocking.

It shatters her image of the people in the houses.

Then a girl goes missing

and Rachel believes she has important information.

Suddenly the lives of these three women

have become intertwined

and what happens next

is shocking!

Never Never - Colleen Hoover & Tarryn Fisher

A few friends have mentioned 

having read 

Never Never

and loving it.

So of course,

I had to add it to my TBR list. 

And I'm solo glad

I did!

Charlie and Silas

are at school.

When suddenly,

they realise they have no idea

where they are,

or who they are.

They have no memories at all.

Eventually they realise,

they are both in the same position.

They learn they have been dating for the last 4 years.

They learn their relationship has been rocky 

recently.

But they still have no idea who they are

or what has happened to them.

Never Never follows their journey

to learn what has happened to them.

It covers 48 hours in their life,

then,

it suddenly ends,

making you wait for.....

Did you ever see that

Friends episode

where Joey is reading

Little Women and it gets sad

so he puts the book in the freezer

to "cool off" a little?

Well,

that's what 

Never Never Part Two

did to me.

Every couple of chapters,

I had to put the iPad down

and calm myself down a little. 

Silas suddenly finds himself in his car.

He has no memory of how he got there.

In fact,

he has no memory of who he is.

He finds papers and letters all around him

saying that this has happened before.

For the past week,

every 48 hours,

at 11:00 am,

he looses his memory.

Charlie has gone missing.

And it's up to Silas to find her.

But with no memory of who they are

how can he do this?

So now...

I wait...

for Part Three to come out.

Soon. 

I hope.

Eighth Grave After Dark - Darynda Jones

Charley's back!!!

I love her.

If she were not a fictional character

we'd be buds!

She's crazy, sarcastic

and loves coffee.

Although in this 8th installment

she's pregnant and off the 

caffeine.

Charley and her husband,

Reyes,

also known as Satan's son,

have taken refuge in an old convent.

The 12 Hellhounds

are after her

and her unborn baby.

This is the one place

they are all safe,

on sacred grounds.

But this is Charley.

You know she'll find trouble,

or does it find her?

Her step-mother,

who always mistreated her,

suddenly wants to make amends.

Reyes seems to be getting sick

and weak.

And then, 

she's given a case.

A teen has gone missing.

And all this happens, 

just as she's about to pop!