Tag: Fantasy (Page 57 of 121)

BOOK REVIEW: The Ghost and the Goth (The Ghost and the Goth #1) by Stacey Kade

July 25, 2016 / Chelsea / 1 Comment

The Ghost and the Goth (The Ghost and the Goth #1)
by Stacey Kade
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Alona Dare–Senior in high school, co-captain of the cheerleading squad, Homecoming Queen three years in a row, voted most likely to marry a movie star… and newly dead.

I’m the girl you hated in high school. Is it my fault I was born with it all-good looks, silky blond hair, a hot body, and a keen sense of what everyone else should not be wearing? But my life isn’t perfect, especially since I died. Run over by a bus of band geeks—is there anything more humiliating? As it turns out, yes—watching your boyfriend and friends move on with life, only days after your funeral. And you wouldn’t believe what they’re saying about me now that they think I can’t hear them. To top it off, I’m starting to disappear, flickering in and out of existence. I don’t know where I go when I’m gone, but it’s not good. Where is that freaking white light already?

Will Killian–Senior in high school, outcast, dubbed “Will Kill” by the popular crowd for the unearthly aura around him, voted most likely to rob a bank…and a ghost-talker.

I can see, hear, and touch the dead. Unfortunately, they can also see, hear and touch me. Yeah, because surviving high school isn’t hard enough already. I’ve done my best to hide my “gift.” After all, my dad, who shared my ability, killed himself because of it when I was fifteen. But lately, pretending to be normal has gotten a lot harder. A new ghost—an anonymous, seething cloud of negative energy with the capacity to throw me around—is pursuing me with a vengeance. My mom, who knows nothing about what I can do, is worrying about the increase in odd incidents, my shrink is tossing around terms like “temporary confinement for psychiatric evaluation,” and my principal, who thinks I’m a disruption and a faker, is searching for every way possible to get rid of me. How many weeks until graduation?

There’s nothing better than a book that surprises you… in a good way. My story for this book is a long one, dating years back to when I added pretty much anything and everything to my ever-growing tbr pile. I was picky back then, too-Don’t be fooled. However, I didn’t quite know what I loved and how to decipher what made me tick, down to my deepest molecule.

So when I did my most recent delete spree for my tbr pile, this had to go. I mean, it had all the signs of books I try to stay away from: Fugly cover (I know, I know, shut up), hardly any friend’s ratings, no quotes that appealed to me (but I’ll change that in my review 😉 ), and just nothing to back it up and not enough ratings. But, after reading my beloved Mediator series again, I was in the mood for this book. And guess what?? I immediately added it back onto my tbr and bought it immediately. Best decision I’ve ever made (well…).

I pulled the Dodge over to the side of the road on Henderson, next to the tennis courts, flipped the hazard lights on, and waited. Alona hadn’t committed suicide, I knew that. The girl had enough arrogance and self-esteem to choke a horse. She had, however, died a violent and unnatural death, which probably meant she was still tied to the exact place of her death.

So, I guess since it’s so late, I need to get right to the book, don’t I? This story, while not wholly original (what story is these days, really), is done extremely well. That’s just my opinion, but I think I read enough books to have a little bit of room to say that. I know what I like, I know what I don’t, and I’m actually quite picky. This book, what with all its quirky humor and obvious disregard for what is now a social faux pas for our top reviewers today, stood above all cliches…by making itself into one.

I sighed. “Alona.”
“Good luck with class,” she said with faux cheer. “Hope you like musicals. I’ll make sure to tell them Annie is your favorite.”
“Wait, just wait a—”
Without another word, she slipped through the closed door, humming “Tomorrow” under her breath.
Great. Not only do I have an angry spirit guide, but an angry spirit guide with a vindictive streak and an unnatural knowledge of show tunes. Better and better already.

Now let me explain: Alona is your typical stereotypical bitchy cheerleader. So overdone, yeah? Well…that’s all in who you ask. Me? I can appreciate a fun, over-the-top, cliched-and even cheesy-book if done correctly. Do you know how many times I desperately wish for more books like this that aren’t trashed with horrid grammar, misspelling, and nasty characters you just can’t root for? It’s just unheard of these days, and I find it so comical that I turned my nose up to this one because, frankly, it was actually quite adorable.

“Good. I’m not goth.”
“Your hair is black, you have piercings, you wear black all the time and act all freaky—”
“My hair is naturally this color. I have three earrings in one ear, that’s it. This shirt”—I tugged at the fabric across my chest—“ is navy blue, and if I act weird all the time, it’s because of ghosts like you.”

And that’s the thing-it’s all in your personality. For one, Will wasn’t even a goth. I mean…perhaps he dresses a little dark, but he’s hardly Emo. And his personality, another shocking factor, actually had me swooning from his first POV. He was actually…butterfly inducing from the moment I was in his head. Yikes. Shocked Chelsea. Chelsea is shocked.

“Are you staying … or just passing through?” I asked through gritted teeth.
“Why? Does it matter to you?”
A thousand smart-ass replies leaped to mind, but she would be expecting that. So, I went for the truth. “Yeah, it does.”
Her eyes widened and the faintest hint of pink spread across her face. I grinned. Had I just embarrassed Alona Dare, the Alona Dare?

So back to my original point (man I can get off topic like no-one’s business)-typical cheerleader. Judgmental. Rude. On a pedestal…but she was meant to be this way, therefore making her wholly likable (and don’t forget what I said: Don’t ever judge a book by its cover….)-She had me laughing out loud from chapter one on. Nothing felt overdone, nothing felt cheesy-it was all perfectly balanced and, frankly, had the sweetest message.

But, hey, this obviously wasn’t without its flaws or I’d have given five, right? I think a lot of my problem stemmed from how fucking tired I was. Endless tiredness. Endless running. Go Chelsea run Chelsea find Chelsea clean Chelsea-Go go go. So, yeah, putting this down every 10% really pissed me off, if I’m being honest. When you pick up a book fifty times in 100 different moods, it tends to effect a book.

And yes, while not wholly cheesy, it did have its more exaggerated moments-like his therapist-puh-lease. And Joonie-bleh. Also, I guess I wanted a little….more? But, candidly speaking, that’s really all that bothered me. *shrugs* I just loved it so much.

“You don’t have to follow her,” I said. “It’s Friday. I know exactly where she’s going after school.” No way would Joonie miss a visit to Lily, not after what she’d told me today.
“So are we going, too, or what?” Alona idly flicked a piece of … ghost lint? … off her shorts.

Refreshing, sweet, lots of banter between Will and Alona, and a story that actually fuels itself without reaching, I fell in love within moments. Will was a beautifully tortured boy that I totally didn’t expect and Alona had a hidden life that no one could possibly see behind the veneer….just like she wanted. A story constructed of not only laughter and wise-ass remarks, but learning what it means to be a kinder person-even if she isn’t with her kind anymore and even if she struggles with it up until the very end (perhaps more…). A book filled with muddled social tiers such as jocks and mean girls and cheating bfs, cliched to the max merely to make us laugh….and it surely succeeded. Whether this book is for you or not, I really don’t know. But when life got just a little too tough around here, I turned to what makes me happy, and that’s apparently a ghostly significant other, happy to haunt (and annoy) the one they love just because they can (a la Mediator :P).

************************

Well, color me surprised. This book was not at all what I perceived it to be, once again proving that you can’t simply judge a book by its [horribly cheesy] cover. Cute, funny, witty, sarcastic, well-written, and not at all what I thought it would be like, I fell in love almost immediately with Alona’s snarky attitude and Will’s desperation to not see those who haven’t went to their final resting place.

I still can’t believe I loved this book as much as I did. Even more surprising is that I can’t wait to read the second installment. For those of you judging this book by its cover…don’t. It’s way better than you would ever think-Even with it’s stereotypical nature and play on the social tiers of High School (Though, I think this was done on purpose for comical intents and purposes) (which I loved, btw).

But, for those of you who need more convincing…..

RTC

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BOOK REVIEW – Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicles #1) by Jay Kristoff

July 22, 2016 / Anna

Nevernight (The Nevernight Chronicles #1)
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
The first in a new fantasy series from the New York Times bestselling author.

In a land where three suns almost never set, a fledgling killer joins a school of assassins, seeking vengeance against the powers who destroyed her family.

Daughter of an executed traitor, Mia Corvere is barely able to escape her father’s failed rebellion with her life. Alone and friendless, she hides in a city built from the bones of a dead god, hunted by the Senate and her father’s former comrades. But her gift for speaking with the shadows leads her to the door of a retired killer, and a future she never imagined.

Now, Mia is apprenticed to the deadliest flock of assassins in the entire Republic—the Red Church. If she bests her fellow students in contests of steel, poison and the subtle arts, she’ll be inducted among the Blades of the Lady of Blessed Murder, and one step closer to the vengeance she desires. But a killer is loose within the Church’s halls, the bloody secrets of Mia’s past return to haunt her, and a plot to bring down the entire congregation is unfolding in the shadows she so loves.

Will she even survive to initiation, let alone have her revenge?

UPDATE : Because it seems that Nevernight wasn’t shitty enough as it was, it also shows problematic rep for Maori. Please read Anjulie’s brilliant post about it.

MY EYES, O, MY EYES! O, gentlefriends, you may not approve of my decision to rate Nevernight with a severe and lonely star given the fact that I failed to finish it. But I tried, O, gentlefriends, trust me, I tried, yet completing the task of reading all 18,695 pages of this wonder-

There are only 448 pages…

Oh, FUCK OFF, the cat “who is not a cat” (why thank you I KNOW you told me one billion times already – go haunt someone else’s shadow, watch over another balcony with your not-eyes would you even though I don’t even want to know how THAT bloody works)

Truth is, O, gentlefriends, I’m taking my life back. The 42% I read were painfully indigestible and I am very sorry if I offend 99% of my friends who love Jay Kristoff‘s writing but I cannot do this. I CANNOT.

1) The metaphors and similes

First, I don’t like them as a whole. While I do believe that they can add a poetic touch to a novel, if I start highlighting them, it either means that :

a) they’re overused ;
b) they don’t make any kind of sense ;
c) they make me forget the story to focus on the prose, as if the writer was tapping me on the shoulder in a “I am so clever, am I not?” fashion.

Some of them made me roll my eyes.

“Mia caught her temper by the collar, gave it a good hard shake. Clearing her throat, she brushed her crooked fringe from her eyes.”

“Mia sighed. Took her temper by the earlobe and pulled it to heel.”

Others earned a well-deserved WTF?!

“Tric gave another half-hearted stab, but the beast had forgotten its quarry entirely, great eyes rolling as it flipped over and over, dragging its bulk back below the sand, howling like a dog who’s just returned home from a hard turn’s work to find another hound in his kennel, smoking his cigarillos and in bed with his wife.”

O_o

“They’re led by a dozen camels, Tric. A noseless dog could follow this trail of shit in the middle of truedark. If they suddenly start trekking faster than a forty-a-turn smoker with an armload of drunken prostitutes, I think we can find them again.”

????!?!!

2) Heavy wordiness and other useless descriptions

This is a matter of taste, alright? But I can’t do this? Not willingly, at least? Look, I graduated in French Literature and hence have had my fair share of wordy books for the sake of being wordy. After five years, I’ve come to the conclusion that this overwritten and purple writing style does not suit me. Words are meant to carry the story, and not to prove how clever and well-read the author is. Again, in my opinion anyway.

“She introduced her boot to his partner’s groin, kicking him hard enough to cripple his unborn children.”

BECAUSE THAT’S A THING.

Nope. That’s a commonplace.

I tend to find commonplaces useless.

“The horizon was crusted like a beggar’s lips, scoured by winds laden with voices just beyond hearing. The second sun kissing the horizon was usually the sign for Itreya’s brutal winters to begin, but out there, the heat was still blistering.”

Many of you might adore this writing. I do not. Oh, and no, before some gentle soul implies it, it is not because I’m “used to YA” or “unable to ‘get it'”. As I said, I can enjoy classics. Just not the ones that make me want to pull my hair out.

3) There are footnotes as a world-building

Call it as you want, when an author uses LONG footnotes to narrate parts of the world-building, it seems like info-dumping to me. And an annoying one, at that. Honestly? I stopped reading them after two chapters : I had a hard time connecting with the story already, and would have DNFed Nevernight way faster if I had stopped every few pages to read these damn footnotes. More generally, I find it lazy to use footnotes when these legends could have been incorporated into the main story.

There’s also a character who speaks like a Shakespeare’s lad, but at this point, I’m not even counting anymore.

As much as I wanted to love Nevernight, whose blurb made it sound so captivating, I cannot stand this writing and it spoiled my read. If you add it to the facts that :

1) The world-building is a mash-up between the Roman Empire, the Venice Republic, Harry Potter and The Young Elites (not a bad thing per se, but again, distracting) ;

2) The heroine already earned her special nemesis whose only purpose seems to glare and glare and glare again ;

3) I don’t care about any of the characters whatsoever (except Tric. I did like Tric) ;

4) I don’t appreciate the so-called wit of that fucking cat who is not a cat (I didn’t laugh ONCE, alright?) ;

5) I am BORED ;

… Well, you’ll understand why Nevernight and me will part ways now, at 42%.

Mark my words, though : this will be a hit. Oh, well. On my minority shelf it goes.

BOOK REVIEW: This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1) by V.E. Schwab

July 20, 2016 / Chelsea / 4 Comments

This Savage Song (Monsters of Verity #1)
by V.E. Schwab
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
There’s no such thing as safe in a city at war, a city overrun with monsters. In this dark urban fantasy from author Victoria Schwab, a young woman and a young man must choose whether to become heroes or villains—and friends or enemies—with the future of their home at stake. The first of two books.

Kate Harker and August Flynn are the heirs to a divided city—a city where the violence has begun to breed actual monsters. All Kate wants is to be as ruthless as her father, who lets the monsters roam free and makes the humans pay for his protection. All August wants is to be human, as good-hearted as his own father, to play a bigger role in protecting the innocent—but he’s one of the monsters. One who can steal a soul with a simple strain of music. When the chance arises to keep an eye on Kate, who’s just been kicked out of her sixth boarding school and returned home, August jumps at it. But Kate discovers August’s secret, and after a failed assassination attempt the pair must flee for their lives.

“I read somewhere,” said Kate, “that people are made of stardust.”

He dragged his eyes from the sky. “Really?”
“Maybe that’s what you’re made of. Just like us.”
And despite everything, August smiled.

I think it’s extremely safe to say that I am absolutely obsessed with Victoria Schwab. It’s not just the characters. It’s not simply her worlds. It’s not the action and peril and ridiculously vivid scenes of utter devastation. No, it’s not just any single one of those things: It’s all of those things.

He closed his eyes, seeking peace, but as soon as the silence settled it was broken, the distant stutter of gunfire echoing against his skull as it always did-the sound invading every quiet moment.
It began with a bang.

Whether every story by this author is for you or not, one can’t argue that every single thing I mentioned above isn’t always in the stories. Even if you might have hated this story (Ooooh those mixed reviews), you have to admit that it still had all the things that make Schwab’s books as excellent as they are. You aren’t ever just simply an observer in her books-No, never an observer. You are a player. You are wholly immersed and interwoven in these characters’ minds and twisted into their intricate web of thoughts, plans, diabolical ways of being. You aren’t someone who is standing in the corner-You are fighting right alongside them.

It was a cycle of whimpers and bangs, gruesome beginnings and bloody ends.

This story, like Every. Single. Other. Book of Schwab’s, was so masterfully executed that you didn’t need something to be happening on every single page-Because, let me tell ya, every single page was building up and thickening the plot into something you can’t even comprehend yet. To say I knew what was going to happen would be a lie. I picked this book up without the faintest idea of where this story was going to go, or even, really, what this story was about! Isn’t that the best thing about our favorite authors, though? You don’t need a plot….you just need to know the book even exists.

“You’re not your father.”
Kate tensed imperceptibly at that, then managed to draw her mouth into a small, cruel smile. “Can I tell you a secret?”
“Of course,” said Rachel.
Kate leaned in and brought her lips to the girl’s ear. “I’m much worse.”

And that’s the case here. I remembered vaguely that it was about monsters….but what’s so funny is that I thought it meant monstrous humans when, in fact, it truly meant monsters. So, you see, I went in kind of blind here. And I wasn’t even sure this was going to work for me, if I’m being honest. I really liked our two main characters, Kate and August (my Auggyyyyyyy), but I wasn’t sure the story was going to be enough for me.

Sunai, Sunai, eyes like coal,
Sing you a song and steal your soul.

I’m not particularly picky when it comes to stories (cough okay okay I’m a little picky about my books…), they just have to have action and romance and characters I can love and maybe some peril and…?? Okay. Moving on. This didn’t have romance. And it certainly didn’t have a ton of action at the beginning-That I can remember, anyway. So I was a bit nervous. I had no clue what this story was going to offer me.

Someone pulls a trigger, sets off a bomb, drives a bus full of tourists off a bridge, and what’s left in the wake isn’t just shell casings, wreckage, bodies. There’s something else. Something bad. An aftermath. A recoil. A reaction to all that anger and pain and death.

But then something amazing began to happen….August began to become, I don’t know, more human. Let me explain-I LOVED both he and Kate right from the start-I had no doubts that I was going to like these guys-My problem stemmed from where their lives and stories were going. I’ve never been one to love a beginning that isn’t epic when I’m not sure about a story and have heard mixed things about what I’m ultimately reading towards. So when I began to get deeper into August’s mind and see how sad and lonely and unsure of his existence he was…I began to, ahem, feel some things.

Suddenly normal felt so far away. It was a cruel trick of the universe, thought August, that he felt human only after doing something monstrous. Which made him wonder if that brief glimpse of humanity was really just an illusion, an echo of the life he’d taken. An impostor sensation.

Now, okay, hey now-I am NOT an easy sell. I’M NOT. Yes, I love boys most in books and, yes, I care more about them than any other character in existence, but that’s in ROMANCE. Romantic fantasy, sci-fi, WHATEVER. These ~~obsessive~~ feelings stem from the guy pining for the girl AND all the standard wounded boy traits. So no-I am NOT an easy sell…especially when there isn’t any romance to speak of.

August didn’t want to be a monster-one day he just simply came to be in the middle of a disaster and that’s where his life began. This bothers him every single day and causes him grief he can barely stand-he just wants to play his violin and finish a song…and he doesn’t want to pull the souls of anyone to do so.

“I am not a…”
But his throat closed up. The words got stuck.
I am not a monster, that’s what he wanted to say, but he couldn’t. He hadn’t found a way to make it true.

August has a gift, though it’s the mark of him being a monster and why people are terrified of him, and he uses it (after being trained by his family that brought him in) to get rid of the corrupt in the city. But then there are those times when the hunger becomes too much, when he aches to be more human and not the monster everyone says he is. He waits and fights it and he drags out each day without consuming a soul…desperately hoping this time he’ll be able to fight that internal hunger. But, after days of struggling, the pull becomes too much…and then he goes dark. And when he goes dark…no one is safe.

You’re okay, you’re okay, you’re okay.

So you see, I got addicted. *shrugs* sue me. For every mark that got etched upon his skin, signaling that he hadn’t fallen in that many days, my interest grew to an insurmountable typhoon of feels, controlling my every waking thought. So simple, yet so deeply interesting. And I think the best part is that I wasn’t expecting to like August so much. If I’m being real, I guess I just figured it would be another excellent book with a couple of great characters. I never truly thought that I would fall so hard for him or Kate. And, on top of loving these guys so much, the story, again, so simple, just takes you on a journey that you know isn’t the end-it’s only the beginning.

What I mean by that is, I feel like this book didn’t cover weeks or months…just days. And maybe I’m off a little on that (it’s been a bit since I finished) but my point remains the same: This may not have had a million things happen, but it set up a story that can go so many different directions I don’t even know what to expect. I guess I’m just a little leery boasting that soooomuchhappenedomgsogood and then one of my friends who trusts me finishes and is like…that’s it???? I take my recommendations seriously, and I take boasting authors and their work even more seriously…so when I push that an author’s work is forever perfect-that’s saying something.

I love, above everything else, the utter destruction or falling apart of the male lead. Sick as it sounds-Yes, I’m aware that I sound like a very sick individual right now…you are all judging me. And you are right to do so….I really am just that sick of a creature because I LOVE TORTURED MALE LEADS SORRY NOT SORRY-male leads who are perfect just don’t do it for me. They used to years ago, but now I crave something a little more destructive and messy. And, sad as it is (brilliant, sorry I think it’s fucking brilliant), Schwab creates the best of the best when it comes to intricately layered males with imperfections. So when August…well…when things start to crumble…I loved this story even more.

“Kate,” he said with a sob. “I can’t keep going toward the edge-don’t let me fall.” His breath hitched. “I can’t I can’t do it again I can’t go dark again I’m holding on to every little piece and if I let go I can’t get them back I don’t want to disappear-“

And Kate. I don’t know that she was anything special, but for some reason I adored her. I loved her tenacity. I loved her fierceness. I loved how vicious and epic and cruel and calculated and how savage she was. I LOVED HER. And, even more than that, I loved them together. Two lost souls who find each other, protect each other, take care of each other….I just, my heart. My heart aches for them. I love them apart…but even more so when they’re partners.

“That pendant may protect you from the monsters, but it won’t protect you from me.”

The writing, which I shouldn’t even have to mention again since everyone knows I adore this author, is superb. It makes me feel as if I am outside my body looking in, floating above my it, euphoric, giddy, restless, wanting to SCREAM ABOUT IT FROM A MOUNTAIN. From the minute I open up a book by her, I am entranced as if Kaa the snake is singing me a deadly lullaby. I am a loyal fan. Addicted for life. A slave to her writing….and there is literally nothing by her I wouldn’t read.

So, as you can see, I really think I could keep going. I could talk about the world and the darkness and the curfews and the monsters and the other monsters and the medals and their journey and their friendship and their banter (always with the banter, good old Schwab)….but I can’t make this a million miles long. I won’t. It’s too special of a book and I’m starting to just repeat myself and that’s just stupid. So…I’ll leave you with this: This book is unlike anything by her you’ve read before, so don’t go in expecting what you know to be the norm. She went outside the box. She created a dark world with dark ends and gruesome ways to die. She made you wonder what’s to come. She made you cringe when you met someone new or wondered who to trust. She made you question everything. She made monsters scary. She made monsters real….And I am so in love with her for it.

***************

Ahhh okay, guys. I do NOT know how she does it. I really don’t. I really liked this book-I DID. But when you can take a book that I’m reading while camping (shoot me, really) and turn it into something I ache for, cherish, crave…that’s the mark of a true author.

And of course, of course, it’s one of my most favorite authors ever-VICTORIA SCHWAB. Seriously-guys, she creates these boys that literally ALWAYS take my breath away. I didn’t understand the importance of that until about a year or two ago (been reading my whole life) and now it’s a mark of only the best, for me. And, hello, Schwab creates boys that are unforgettable, heart-breaking, broken….and I just can never get enough of this author-Or the boys she creates.

Once again, mind blown by probably one of my top three favorite authors of all time. I love you Victoria, maker of strong female leads that aren’t annoying as fuck and boys that make me want to weep and hug them for the rest of their lives, I really do.

RTC. Most definitely.

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BOOK REVIEW + EXCERPT – Torn (A Wicked Trilogy #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

July 19, 2016 / Jen / 0 Comments

I loved this book! I loved these characters! Oh my gosh, I am so excited to see where this series is going to go! And in case you didn’t know, Torn is out today woohoo! I’m so grateful to have read an early copy because Torn was a solid 5 Stars! So check out my 5 Star Review below, read an excerpt that’s a scene between Ivy and someone I loathe (well for 95% of the time because clearly I have issues). I’d love to hear if you have already read the first book or are planning to read this series because I am in desperate need to talk about what happened! WOW, this book was soooo much fun!

BOOK REVIEW + EXCERPT – Torn (A Wicked Trilogy #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

BOOK REVIEW + EXCERPT – Torn (A Wicked Trilogy #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Torn (A Wicked Trilogy #2)
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
Torn between duty and survival, nothing can be the same.

Everything Ivy Morgan thought she knew has been turned on its head. After being betrayed and then nearly killed by the Prince of the Fae, she’s left bruised and devastated—and with an earth-shattering secret that she must keep at all costs. And if the Order finds out her secret, they’ll kill her.

Then there’s Ren Owens, the sexy, tattooed Elite member of the Order who has been sharing Ivy’s bed and claiming her heart. Their chemistry is smoking hot, but Ivy knows that Ren has always valued his duty to the Order above all else—he could never touch her if he knew the truth. That is, if he let her live at all. Yet how can she live with herself if she lies to him?

But as the Fae Prince begins to close in, intent on permanently opening the gates to the Otherworld, Ivy is running out of options. If she doesn’t figure out who she can trust—and fast—it’s not only her heart that will be torn apart, but civilization itself.

Review:

***Spoilers for Wicked. If you haven’t read Wicked yet, you can read my review here***

“I don’t want to die.”

Torn was an emotional ride that was filled with uncertainty and characters I absolutely loved! It was everything I was hoping the second book would be and much, much more! I was left on such a high and I truly can’t wait for the release of the next book to see what happens with characters who have easily become favorites for me. Each and every one of them has embedded themselves in my heart. Ivy is someone who makes me want to be her best friend, Ren makes me want to steal him so he could do wicked things to me and I’d love to carry Tink around in my purse all day so I could hear all of his crazy antics. And I can’t wait to see where their journey is going to go from here!

The hate building inside me burned brighter than a thousand suns, but even with that rage, I always, always felt cold. With each passing day, it was like I was filling up on the inside with ice and shadows. The only time I didn’t feel this way was when I slept.
I felt nothing then.

The horror, uncertainty and utter shock that Ivy felt upon learning that she was the halfling crippled me. I knew that she made the most sense in the back of my mind, but I was truly hoping that Val would be the halfling. Even if that wasn’t very logical. I just couldn’t believe that after she finally opened herself up to friendship and possibly love with Ren, that she was slapped right in the face. Because the man she had fallen for had been sent there to kill her.

I should’ve never gotten close to him.

While Ivy vacillated in telling Ren the truth about what she was, I completely understood her internal struggle. If she told him the truth, what would he do? Turn her in, be the one to kill her or would he just leave since history was repeating itself? It was such a hard decision, and while I started to struggle with her keeping secrets and the truth from Ren, that issue quickly disappeared in my eyes. Why? Because Torn took a dive into a dangerous, twisted area that quickly had me rooting for Ivy and being her biggest fan.

“You can fight this all you want, but I know the game and the rules,” he said , and my stomach roiled as his icy breath coasted over my cheek. “I know how this ends, little bird. And trust me, you will be consenting sooner than you realize.” – The Prince

Speaking of twisted, can I say how much I hate the Prince? Well, hmm, actually that’s not entirely true. *hides face while I make this confession* Yes he’s creepy and wants to impregnate Ivy so the gates from the Otherworld remain open so he can take over the mortal world. But at times I found him amusing. And I truly don’t know what that says about me at all because the prince was sick and twisted. You see, he had this weird sense of humor and would say and do things that made him appear in a different light. I know that it’s probably because he’s a psychopath and I know without a shadow of doubt not to trust him but his personality had these blue moon moments. In those moments he was entertaining. But then he would do stuff that quickly had him nose diving into the oh-I-hope-you-die category. I loved that the Prince was a complex character that made me second guess my hatred for him but then had me spiraling back into the rallying behind his death. On a side note, I hope Breena dies too!!! I know you’ll agree with me!

As I exited the bedroom, I hit the switch and turned on the fan, grinning when he shrieked.
“That was screwed up!” he shouted as he was flung across the room. (Tink & Ivy)

Thank goodness Ivy had Tink in her life though, because he was a constant. No matter how ridiculous he could be. And trust me, he definitely strays from the bounds of being normal lol. But I loved that Ivy had a male best friend who was from the Otherworld. There’s so, so, so much I want to say about Tink. But I can’t because of huge spoilers. But just know that while I guessed for one thing to be true, the other one I wasn’t even close. At all. Let’s just say that I stared at the page open-mouthed while trying not to gasp. Or maybe laugh. I can’t tell you which. Yeah. I desperately need someone to talk to about that!! But besides loving Tink interacting with Ivy, I freaking adored Tink and Ren’s interactions because those moments were always explosive, hilarious and over the top.

My fingers curled around the top of my dress as I stared blankly at the tile floor. I didn’t know who I was anymore. My breath caught in my chest.

How did I not talk about Ren yet?! After reading Wicked and now Torn, I truly believe that wicked is the perfect word for describing Ren. He is constantly exploding sexuality and I just wanted to crawl into the book and steal him for myself. His looks, his touches, his words everything he does seduces me, um I mean Ivy. And while my heart did break for him as the story unfolded, he proved himself to be the badass sexy fighter that I have easily come to love.

I’m gonna kill her. My hands trembled as I let the bra slip to the floor. I’m gonna kill her. I kept repeating those words as I slipped off my undies.

So now I patiently wait for the next book. The ending of Torn is much, much easier to handle then Wicked, who’s ending left me feeling like my heart had been ripped out of my chest. Although I do love that feeling, since I’m glutton for feeling deep emotions in a book. But I can’t wait to read more about my favorite characters! Come on 2017!!

*Quotes were taken from ARC*

*ARC kindly provided by Jennifer L. Armentrout via Inkslinger PR in exchange for an honest review*

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Excerpt:

[scroll-box]I lifted my right hand, reaching for my iron stake out of instinct, even though I knew it would do no good against the prince.

“You shouldn’t do that.” His voice was deep with what reminded me of an English accent. “I know you want to, but it would be very, very unwise of you, Ivy.”

My hand twitched.

Creepy Prince smiled slightly. “Your friend has been very helpful.”

That got my hackles up. I slid my sunglasses onto my forehead and forced my tone to stay calm and level. “I’m sure she has. Speaking of Val, happen to know where I can find her?”

His lips curled in a semblance of a smile as he stepped closer. The prince was tall, taller than Ren, who was pushing six foot two. My entire back stiffened as I forced myself to hold my ground, even though every instinct demanded that I run and run super fast, because he had almost killed me once before. Correction. He would have definitely killed me if he hadn’t realized what I was and had, I guessed, healed me.

“I’ve been waiting for you,” he said, instead of answering my question, his pale blue eyes fixed on mine.

My hand curled into a useless fist. “That is extremely creepy to hear.”

That cold smile returned. “Why don’t we talk? There are seats across the way.”

“Yeah, that’s not going to happen.”

The slow smile increased but never reached his eyes. “Oh, I know it is.”

Fine hairs rose on my arms.

“What exactly can you do right now?” he said in the same coldly polite voice. “Refuse me?” Creepy Prince laughed, and it wasn’t a bad sound. Again, it was something that was just cold, as if he were mimicking what a human would do. “You can’t.”

“I can.” My palm itched to grab the thorn stake secured under my pant leg, but I held still. I might be reckless, but I wasn’t stupid.

“Really? I will have to beg to differ on that. You see, humans surround us. So many of them, and I have an extraordinary appetite.” His eyes appeared to glimmer as his gaze slithered from the top of my curly head down to my toes. “A rather impressive appetite for many, many things.”

“Okay. First off, ew.” My lip curled. “Secondly, I don’t want to hear about any of your appetites.”

One dark eyebrow rose. “Oh, but you should know that I could kill twenty of these humans in less than five seconds and feed on the rest, leaving them to believe that it was this little red-headed girl who murdered these innocent people.” His voice dropped even lower as he leaned in and icy air brushed my cheek. “You deny me this, those lives will be on your hands, little bird.”

Anger flushed hotly as my eyes met his. There wasn’t a single part of me that doubted anything he said. He had me. God, I hated to admit it, but he had me.[/scroll-box]

Things are about to get Wicked in New Orleans…

Don’t miss the first title in the series, WICKED!

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My 5 Star Review **

About Jennifer L. Armentrout:

#1 New York Times and #1 International Bestselling author Jennifer lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing, she spends her time reading, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen. Her book Obsidian has been optioned for a major motion picture and her Covenant Series has been optioned for TV. Her young adult romantic suspense novel DON’T LOOK BACK was a 2014 nominated Best in Young Adult Fiction by YALSA.

She also writes Adult and New Adult contemporary and paranormal romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Website ** Facebook ** Twitter ** Torn on Goodreads ** Author Goodreads

Reading Order & Links: Amazon (click on covers), iBooks (click on titles) & Book Depository (click on book #)
Wicked #1 Reviews: Jen	Torn #2 Reviews: Jen	Brave #3 Reviews:

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BOOK REVIEW: Air Awakens (Air Awakens #1) by Elise Kova

July 8, 2016 / Chelsea / 3 Comments

Air Awakens (Air Awakens #1)
by Elise Kova
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Synopsis:
A library apprentice, a sorcerer prince, and an unbreakable magic bond...

The Solaris Empire is one conquest away from uniting the continent, and the rare elemental magic sleeping in seventeen-year-old library apprentice Vhalla Yarl could shift the tides of war.

Vhalla has always been taught to fear the Tower of Sorcerers, a mysterious magic society, and has been happy in her quiet world of books. But after she unknowingly saves the life of one of the most powerful sorcerers of them all—the Crown Prince Aldrik—she finds herself enticed into his world. Now she must decide her future: Embrace her sorcery and leave the life she’s known, or eradicate her magic and remain as she’s always been. And with powerful forces lurking in the shadows, Vhalla’s indecision could cost her more than she ever imagined.

Now that I have time, the gravity of what I promised lays heavily on my shoulders. How am I not going to fangirl about a guy?? What’s the point otherwise? I mean, obviously I have a ship and obviously it was my favorite part about the book-I mean, duh-it’s me we’re talking about here. And yeah, sure, there are fifty million things I guess I could talk about, but why bother if I can’t talk about what I want to?

So, alright whatever, fuck it–All I want to talk about is Prince Aldrik, so that’s what I’m going to talk about. Short, sweet, and to the point.

The prince spirited her away the next day, and two days after that. Each time there was some clever excuse, and when those ran out he simply materialized between the shelves in the library and they would slink off together like children.

In a sea of fantasy, Aldrik, wait, scratch that, Prince Aldrik is exactly what I have been looking for. He’s snarky. He’s sarcastic. And, let’s face it, he’s one of those misunderstood bad boys. I. LOVE. THAT. He’s dark-haired and silver tongued and…well, I’m sure you get the picture. Every time he was in the story my heart was pounding and my stomach erupted in butterflies. I really couldn’t ask for more in a story, especially during this busy time for me.

“You are my friend, whatever this commoner’s friendship is worth.”
When he spoke it was slow and deliberate, little more than a whisper. His voice had a richness to it that she had never heard before. “It is worth very much.” His eyes consumed hers.

I will admit that, at one point early on, I put this down because I just wasn’t feeling it-I mean, the writing is nothing special and I’ve never really been a fan of ‘I am’s instead of I’m and other such contraction draw outs. But, honestly, sometimes all you need is a book that makes you smile, swoon, and wish for your ship to sail. And, for that, this book was everything. Onto the next.

*disclaimer* Was in middle of starting second paragraph when I heard news that extremely upset me so this won’t be a good review like I had wanted. I also lost the will to care. At least it’s just the first book. *shrugs*

*****

I am SO in love. Thank you, Brittney…..Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouuuuuuuuu!!!!!

I am so beyond words happy I trudged through and got past that…odd…beginning! Everything after had me all smiley and giddy and excited and a totally happy little monkey. I cannot WAIT to write a review on this….I’ve not seen the guys’ names much in reviews in specifics so this is going to be REALLY hard for me.

Challenge accepted.

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Tag: Fantasy (Page 57 of 121)

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