Tag: Paranormal (Page 28 of 52)

BOOK REVIEW: House Rules (Chicagoland Vampires #7) by Chloe Neill

November 20, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

House Rules (Chicagoland Vampires #7)
by Chloe Neill
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

Awesome. Just plain awesomeness. I love Ethan. I love Merit. I adore THEM. It’s absolutely adorable to see them together and even more satisfying that they are going through turmoil-Together. Their love is tested. It is tried. But all I can say is-There I was, reading a perfectly awesome novel where the house goes through it’s most substantial crisis yet and

BAM! All the emotions of a freight train plow me over and I am, once again, mystified by this wonderful and alluring series.

I’ve talked and talked and talked about these books and I can’t say anything you don’t necessarily already know if you have read anything close to all my reviews about my wonderfully flawed vampire (and not so vampire) friends. So, ya know-read it, don’t read it-it doesn’t make a difference to me. But, here are some quotes for you to enjoy if you wish. Aaaaah I love ’em.

Flirty Ethan:

“I see you’re here in this”-he gestured at the shelves-“library all alone. You must be a student here?” He traced a fingertip down the hollow of my throat, lifting goosebumps on my arms.
Since my mind hardly worked when he did things like that, it took a moment for his words to register. Was he initiating a bout of role-playing…about a library?
“Ethan Sullivan,” I marveled. “You have a library fantasy.”
He smiled slyly. “I have a doctoral-student-turned-vampire fantasy.”

Playful Ethan:

Still. He’d had an Aston Martin. A brand-new, right-off-the-lot Aston Martin delivered to him by a very pleased salesman.
“All due respect, a brand-new Aston Martin ‘didn’t do it’ for you? That’s James Bonds’s car.”
“I’m no James Bond,” he cannily said. “I loved the Mercedes. It fit me perfectly. The Aston just… didn’t.”
“So you traded up?” I asked, walking toward the car and opening the door. “Do you treat your relationships in the same way?”
“Yes,” Ethan gravely said. “And I spent four hundred years shopping before I met you.”

New at ‘give as good as you get’ relationships Ethan:

“Okay, then.”
Ethan looked at me. He watched me, really checking my mood and whether that “okay” meant okay in the male sense (“okay”) or the female sense (“possibly okay; it depends on what you say next”).

Possessive Ethan:

Without warning, and before I could correct him, he reached out, gripped the edges of my jacket, and kissed me fiercely. “You are mine and mine alone, and it appears you need reminding. I suggest you return to our apartment; otherwise you’ll be ravished here and now where you stand, and the door is open.”
…
“You wouldn’t.”
He dropped his head, his lips at my ear. Instinctively, my blood singing, I dropped my head back, giving him access to my neck. “Try me, Sentinel.”
“Ethan,” I muttered, the sound pushing him over the edge.
“Too late,” he said, moving to the office door, slamming it shut, and locking it behind him.

Just because I love how she explains things:

For a split second, the entire city swam before us, the edges bent by the curvature of the earth. And then, as if gravity bowed to us instead of the other way around, the world slowed, and that single, gigantic leap became one small step.

There are so many more I wanted to put, but I guess you’ll have to read the series to find them…oh well. 😛

Purchase on Amazon

BOOK REVIEW: Biting Cold (Chicagoland Vampires #6) by Chloe Neill

November 13, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Biting Cold (Chicagoland Vampires #6)
by Chloe Neill
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

By far my favorite in the series to date. It has a mix of everything that has made me fall in love with Ethan and Merit and their world, thus far:

-Action
-Peril
-Romance
-Angst
-Humor
-ETHAN
-ETHAN
-ETHAN
-ETH-eerrrrr

My keyboard must have stopped working for a second…hmm

Anyway….

I loved this. I have fifty-million quotes highlighted (Yes, LITERALLY fifty million, shut up) but this is a non-review. And I think the fact that I am STILL reading this series and it has kept my attention this long speaks for itself. I get bored so so easily! I am obsessed, entranced, unable to stop thinking about it….and it has become a problem.

Me every time I pick up one of these books:

Oh what the Hell, maybe just ONE widdle quote:

His gaze went fierce, and he lifted my chin with his finger and his thumb. “I know you love her. I have no doubt of it. But if it comes down to a choice between you and her, my choice is already made.”
“Ethan-”
“No,” he said, crystalline green eyes boring into me. “You are my choice. I told you before-you are mine, by blood and bone. I won’t let her come between that, no matter how sick she is.”

Aaaaaaahhhhh mah gaaaahd, Ethan….okay, just one more…whoops

I looked at Ethan and smiled a little.
“I love you,” he mouthed.
…..
“I love you, too,” I mouthed back.

Okay. That last one was just for me-no one gets how big, how monumental that is. Muahaha. Okay, I’m doooone. ♥

BOOK REVIEW: Talon (Talon #1) by Julie Kagawa

November 10, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Talon (Talon #1)
by Julie Kagawa
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

A ruse. That’s all it was. Pretend to like this girl. Pretend to have feelings, to pursue some kind of relationship. Earn her friendship and trust, knowing I might have to destroy it, and her, in the end.

Ruthless. Julie Kagawa is ruthless. Mad. Intoxicating…Brilliant. I just….I don’t get why people aren’t loving this one. Is it the content? Is it because it’s about dragons and you just can’t get past it? Is it the non-existent love triangle? The not-so-insta-love? Is it because it isn’t over-packed like an action movie full of explosions and power-plays? Is it the substance? OR, is it because it isn’t all about her abilities as a dragon and it focuses more on the romance? Well…see…that’s the problem: That’s why I loved it so much.

Those eyes. I felt like they pierced right through me; that if I didn’t break away now, they would peel me open to see what lay beneath. Deep within, the dragon stirred, growling. She didn’t like this human, I realized. Maybe he scared her, or the intensity of his gaze reminded her of a predator. Or maybe she felt that, if I stared at him much longer, I would lose myself in those stormy eyes and forget all about a certain golden-eyed rogue, waiting for me in the darkness.

This story isn’t about learning her abilities, about Talon itself, or even how she got to where she is now: It’s about being free. It’s about having one summer to be free from the system, to have fun, to not look at her past, to not face her chosen future, to fall in love. And, not only that, it’s about falling in love with the enemy. You know, that person that is sworn to kill you without blinking an eye? That person that would soon rather stab themselves in the eye than to be in the presence of the very thing they fear and loathe more than anything in the world. I mean, how could that ever work? A human and a dragon? But, as they find themselves wrapped in each others’ embrace, one undercover as a ploy to get close to the ‘sleeper’ and one actually being said sleeper, they start to wonder what it would be like to be normal, to stay frozen in that moment together and to never face those harsh realities and responsibilities ever again. But how could they ever be normal when they are both hiding a deadly secret-a deadly secret that could kill each other?

I wanted to spend more time with her; she was constantly in my thoughts, and right now the only thing I wanted was to lean in and kiss her. Which was, of course, disastrous for the mission, but I couldn’t help it. Somewhere between that day on the beach when I’d met her for the first time and the night of the party when we’d kissed in the ocean, she had become something more than a potential target. She had, very inexplicably, become the most important thing in my life.
And that terrified me.

This is Julie Kagawa-Her romance is unrivaled and she embraces forbidden love like she would coddle a child. No one compares and I admire her work greatly. Kagawa is the type of writer that can suck you in without you ever intending for it to happen. She writes beautifully and has a way with words, as my friend said, erasing any remnants of the novel before that you read and loved dearly and holding nothing back-Kagawa takes no prisoners-you will succumb to her writing and drown in her expertly woven pages…there is no way around it.

I clenched my fist around the railing, finally forcing myself to acknowledge what that meant. I’d always known, of course. It was always there, at the back of my mind; I just didn’t want to think about it. But if Ember was the sleeper…I would have to kill her.

If it’s possible, I think her writing is even better than before. This is so different from her previous novels and it really showed in this story. I didn’t once feel she was drawing ideas from her previous works and nothing felt recycled. It was fresh, clean, like a whole new slate. And despite the fact that I had my doubts on whether I would like this story or not, I never once thought, ‘oh, this might be a four,’ or ‘should I take a .5 star off?’. No, this was a five through and through-and as another friend said-she finally beat the 3 star book one curse! I always three star her first books in her series only to love and adore the rest of the remaining books. I am so happy with this book, it’s unreal-seriously.

I sighed again, tipping my head back. My skin was still flushed, whether from anger or adrenaline or both, and my dragon crackled and snapped in myriad different directions. I needed to calm down. I wished I had my board. It was impossible to stay tense while floating on the surface of the ocean, its cold, dark depths lulling you to sleep. The sea was fascinating. It always amazed me how calm and peaceful it was one moment, only to bear down on you a moment later with the power and savagery of a hurricane.

Ember and Garret were just…so fun to follow. Maybe at first I was skeptical as to how the alternating POV would work because she’s never done it before, but I loved every minute of it. I was never mad it switched to one or the other and I loved seeing the events through each of their eyes. I didn’t think it was possible, but I fell in love with yet another of her male leads. Garret, for real, doll, you better watch out-I. Am. Obsesssssed with you.

I found myself hating him, wanting to hurt him, to drive him away from the red-haired girl who was supposed to be mine.
Breathless, I slumped to the wall, numb with the realization. This anger, these illogical feelings of rage and possessiveness…I was jealous. I was jealous of a girl I was supposed to be stalking, seducing, for the sole purpose of revealing her true nature. This had become more than an objective, more than a mission.
I was falling for her.

An undercover soldier out to kill the girl he’s falling in love with??? Come on. Come ooooooon. How. HOT. is. that? Every look, every touch, every caress…every kiss…..I couldn’t breathe. I was choking on butterflies, my heart swelled to immeasurable proportions. I was biting my lip and covering my mouth with the largest smile on my face because I couldn’t contain my geek out. I don’t know when or how, but he got under my skin…and every time he doubted himself or how he would ever be able to kill this girl he was holding and hoping wasn’t the sleeper, my heart broke a little more…and my evil side cackled without remorse.

At certain (okay, many) points near the end of the story I was gasping out loud, shooting my hand up to stifle my weird sounds, chanting ‘oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no…’. I was smiling so big and then tearing up when the hard decisions had to be made. It was a roller coaster of emotions-up, then down, up, then down, thrown to the side against a massive rock and then pummeled with the ocean waves, then up again. Not once was I bored and it came to a point where this was unputdownable, because I just didn’t know when that ball would drop and they would find out they were sworn enemies…and, hey, I loved those stolen kisses-I am a girl, after all.

Being with him did strange, twisty things to my insides. My dragon instincts did not approve; they still didn’t like this human with his amazing reflexes and bright, intense eyes. They eyes of a predator. But there was another part of me that couldn’t resist. And the thought of never seeing him again was unfathomable. Even if I knew it was probably for the best.

Jealousy (yaaas), lies, betrayal, true love, angst, and much more, this story became an instant favorite. The beginning was mild, I’ll give you all that. But I know Kagawa, and if I know anything, she’s hiding in the shadows with a malicious smile and steepled fingers because the pain will come. Oh, she’ll bring it. I don’t doubt that even for a second. I know her, and I know the end of this book was just the beginning of what we’ll face in the future books. Our little Ember (on a side note, how damn cute is that name? Ember. Like a spark, a flame, a fiery soul trapped and hidden in a tiny, harmless body. So clever and fun-I love her spirit.) and my dear Garret are in for a world of trouble. I don’t know what all is to come or what’s up Kagawa’s sleeve. But I do know one thing: She is a genius and I’ll never doubt her ideas again. Because, in the end, she got me, I’m rooting for the impossible: I want that human and dragon together, damn it!

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

Urrrmmmmmmm….another book by Julie fuckin’ Kagawa??

In 2014, you say?

YES

PLEASE! ! ! ! !

Never in a million years would I have guessed that a book about dragons, DRAGONS, would excite me…but I would read ANYTHING this woman writes-now…..GIVE IT TO ME IMMEDIATELY

BOOK REVIEW: Stone Cold Touch (The Dark Elements #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

October 27, 2014 / Chelsea / 2 Comments

Stone Cold Touch (The Dark Elements #2)
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

“I want you so badly it’s like a hunger that gnaws at me endlessly. It doesn’t go away.” He dipped his head to the space between my neck and shoulder, inhaling deeply. “You have no fucking clue.”

“Then do something about it,” I whispered.

Thank God. Thank. Gooood. I am not going to lie to you all. I have been soooo nervous these last few months about my relationship with JLA. I think it’s because of her NA series. It just doesn’t touch me the way you’d think it should, seeing as she’s been my favorite author for a good two years or so. But, in the last year I’ve started to see and feel….some different feelings. I’ve seen changes in Armentrout’s work. She’s began to use repetitive phrasing occurring in each and every book she produces and anyone who knows me at all knows that is a Hell NO for me. And, I’ll be honest, if it wasn’t such childish phrasing it wouldn’t bother me-at all. But, as it is, Holy crap on a cracker and Holy alien babies doesn’t make me laugh like it once used to in her Lux and Covenant series. No, it makes me roll my eyes. Hard. But, as I said in my last JLA review in her NA series, I really do think her bread and butter is paranormal romance. I felt that was a bold statement and that maybe I was just hoping that was the case. But, here comes Roth and all my doubts were obliterated-this was everything I’ve ever loved about JLA. I knew it. I just knew it.

I wasn’t thinking as I reached over and plucked the hamburger right out of his hand. Twisting at the waist, I threw the hamburger on the floor behind Roth as hard as I could. The satisfactory splat it made as ketchup and mayo splattered like a gruesome burger massacre brought a wide smile to my face.
Stacey let out a burst of shocked laughter.
Roth glanced down at the hamburger and then his gaze slowly tracked back to mine. His eyes were wide. “But I really wanted that hamburger.”

I was in a sleepy haze allll weekend. I’m not guna lie. It was a struggle to read any and every page for whatever reason (Hey, it was a busy weekend!) so I was extremely nervous it would effect my overall feeling for the whole novel. This is partly true, but it was so good that I still came out thinking, ‘Wow, 5 stars!!!’ I missed some of the sexiness. I missed some of the peril. But nothing can beat peril peril peril peril peril and sexy scene sexy scene sexy scene and a badass twist near the end….it was one hot or action-packed thing after another and it became difficult not to see what was right in front of my face. One thing I do know is that when book three comes out, I will be doing a re-read….and I never do re-reads (hardly) before a new release for a series. It takes too long and makes me all flighty. Point being-this will be like a whole new book to me when I re-read it because I missed so much.

I almost rushed Roth right then and threw my arms around him, but a low growl rumbled from behind me. At first I thought it was Abbot’s response, but when I realized it was coming from Zayne, I couldn’t move.
Roth tilted his head to the side, watching me as a slow, roguish smile graced his lips. “Are you…seriously growling at me, Stony?”
“I’m about to do a lot more than growl.”
He chuckled. “That’s not very appreciative.”

I will also admit another thing-to those of you who loathe love triangles, pass this one up. I’ve always thought Armentrout is very clear about who is going to be the final male in the end. It’s always been easy to tell. But…I think she was approached by her marketing people for this one because what was once a landslide victory for my dark demon Roth is now a murky, convoluted mess of a Zayne and Roth banana split. Seriously. This is her first novel where (everyone is supposed to vote for which guy she ends up with) I have no clue if my guy will win. Like….really? Why, Jen?? Whhhhyyyyy? It was excellent, sure. But it was also clear that Layla is in love with two guys. I’m not going to lie, though, I think her feelings are stronger for Roth. I really do. Zayne has been someone she’s loved since she met him. Roth is that fresh guy that swooped her up when Zayne didn’t want anything to do with her….and I think that really impacted her. She just won’t let him go….and I think Armentrout kinda did that on purpose-All of Zayne’s scenes were super hot and sweet and I wouldn’t DIE if she ended up with him because of all the nuts who would vote for him but I really and truly believe, that despite what JLA is saying on the voting page, she wants and believes she should be with Roth. It was like that in book one, and then it did a complete 360. And every word or phrase kinda hinted at how much Roth got under her skin and how he let her be herself. I loved that…and I think it was a true reflection on the author’s feelings. The truth of what she wants came out in her writing.

Roth came back up the step, crowding me. As he dipped his head so that his mouth nearly brushed mine when he spoke, I refused to back away. “I know why you say that. I even understand it, Layla. I get it. I hurt you and deserve every single one of your lies.”
I stilled as his warm breath danced over my lips.
“But there is so much you don’t know or understand,” he said, tilting his head so that his words brushed the lobe of my ear, sending a shiver down my neck. “So don’t claim to know what I really want or what I would do to protect it.”

I really have a soft spot for Layla. She’s funny, loyal, determined. She’s flawed and not altogether a goody-goody. I like her obsession with sweets (ie sugar cookie cookie-dough) because it helps her to satiate the urge she gets for soul-sucking lol. I love how that’s her replacement. I like how she interacts with her friends and how she doesn’t shy away from a battle. There are many things Layla is, including scared a lot of the time, but she’s not a coward. I love it.

“Shut up, whore of Satan.”
My mouth dropped open and my head was about to spin Exorcist-style. I stepped forward as Roth cracked his neck, signaling he was ready to end this little conversation. “Call me that one more time and I’ll give you something to fear.” I had no idea where those words came from because, even with Zayne’s training, I wasn’t really a fighter, and I wasn’t a badass, but my lips curved into a cold, tight smile. “That’s a promise.”

So, I will stop here because as I said, the details are fuzzy as it is and I will be re-reading this anyway but I’ll sum up a bit-The plot was super strong (for me) and there was a lot of love in this one. It wasn’t the loving I wanted but we still got plenty of each guy. I liked the mystery behind who was reeking havoc on the school and wardens alike, even more I liked the way Armentrout channeled her evil side again (she hasn’t been so evil since my fav books Obsidian, Onyx,and Opal) and let the blood and betrayal fly…and we know how I love that. I don’t know, I just really love this series, and even more I love that it’s a trilogy. 5 books is too many, three will sum this all up perfectly….and I can’t wait to see who our part demon chooses….you assholes better vote for Roth.

BOOK REVIEW: Hard Bitten (Chicagoland Vampires #4) by Chloe Neill

October 24, 2014 / Chelsea / 0 Comments

Hard Bitten (Chicagoland Vampires #4)
by Chloe Neill
Purchase on: Amazon, iBooks
Add to: Goodreads

…he stroked my jawline with his thumb. “You can run. You can keep running to the ends of the earth. But I won’t be far behind you.”

Oh. My. God. Really?? Reeeeaallyyy?? Ugh, that was a low blow. It’s not that I didn’t think this would inevitably happen in one of these books, it’s more that I didn’t expect it to happen so early. It was epic, amazing….unexpected. It was everything I’ve wanted from my latest obsession (cough, Ethan, cough), but everything that could bring my world crashing to the ground in a burning heap of perished dreams.

It’s been a few days since I finished this book, so the emotions I felt upon finishing in my sleep-deprived state have long since vanished, leaving only a hollow, dull ache where my heart should be. I asked for the peril, I asked for something wicked and jaw-dropping to happen, and it did. Go figure-an author actually did what I asked, but made it better. Not often do my evil wishes get granted, but it seems that when they do, they are granted full-force, causing me to lose my breath in what can only be an indignant, albeit shocked, gasp.

This world has captured me-stolen my heart and made it impossible to breathe without one of the installments firmly within my grasp. Even as I read an absolute favorite of mine, I felt my thoughts swirling together and convoluting what was happening within each novel-that’s a feat I don’t take lightly.
I’m sorry, guys, but Ethan has shown his true colors. He is just….perfection. I adore this hulking man-vamp. He made a fatal error in the last book (Okay, actually, he made a devastating mistake, let’s change that last phrase in light of recent events) and he is truly trying his hardest to make up for it. It was precious, sweet…..not words that I suppose generally apply to vampires, much less God damn Ethan Sullivan, but he’s trying. Maybe he is still that up-tight, pretentious boss that all of Cadogan House love to make fun of, but he’s becoming more human each and every day-he’s saying things that make my heart melt into a puddle of goo and he’s making proclamations that can only be described as someone who has fallen madly in love….and it’s all because of Merit.

”Ethan-“
“No. I will never be far behind you.” He tipped up my chin so that I could do nothing else but look back into his eyes. “Do the things you need to do. Learn to be a vampire, to be a warrior, to be the soldier you are capable of being. But consider the possibility that I made a mistake I regret-and that I’ll continue to regret that mistake and try to convince you to give me another chance until the earth stops turning.”

Merit, still nursing her wounds from the saddening events from the previous novel, is stubborn and fierce as ever. She’s a force to be reckoned with and is strengthening herself so she can protect the house and it’s master under any and all circumstances. I understand her heart is broken, oh my god, do I get it…..but poor, poor Ethan. He really did screw up, that’s for sure. A job before a girl you think you love?? Not fair-but, again, he did what he thought was best for the house, and, even though he still loves Cadogan House, he realizes there’s something about companionship , and let’s face it, Merit, he can’t live without. He’s lived centuries without love or someone to laugh and/or relax with, and in comes Merit breaking his carefully sculpted mold. It’s understandable, to me, that he was nervous of what he might do to protect the girl he loves so he made what he thought was a smart decision, a decision that he regrets every day.

My stomach growled at the smells; there was only so much blocking that a vampire could do. I silently promised myself a deep-fried candy bar and a paper tray of bacon-wrapped Tator Tots if I made it through the night unscathed. Not a good nutritional combo, but I figured the odds were low anyway.

The thing is, I love Merit. She really never does wrong in my eyes-selfless, fierce, loyal, loves with all her heart even as she has her guard up-what’s not to like?? So I didn’t roll my eyes when she ignored his advances and I didn’t get mad when she didn’t just take him back-she’s a great character. But, there’s so much more to it than that. In this book, because they aren’t physically involved (technicality), they have connected on a much deeper, more visceral level. It’s hard to say that she doesn’t see or feel that. I just hope…well, what the fuck? What does it matter what I hope-if wishes were fishes, we’d all throw nets, right?

I can’t say what I hope or wish or feel, because it would spoil what is. But, I refuse to believe it, so I guess you all need to read to see if you believe or not, that this is real. No way. I guess that’s why I’m just sitting back, tapping my fingers on my desk, pondering, waiting for the inevitable prestige…if you get what I’m sayin’.