Category Archives: Reviews

Book Reviews

What I’ve been reading lately

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So I got a job at a publishing company which is awesome!  I have still been reading, but I’ve been a little behind on writing reviews, so I’m going to do some mini-reviews in this post.

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

 Ilona Andrews is one of my ‘go to’ authors.  I think I’ve read if not everything, most of what she has out there.  What I like about her writing is that it’s not just about the romance, although there is definitely romance in the story.  In Magic Rises, Curran and Kate take a contract to protect a werewolf who is pregnant with twins by two different men.  They know by going it’s a trap to attack Curran and the pack.  While there, Curran appears to take interest in another shifter, and some weird dragon type beings start attacking and killing people.  And worst of all, someone is there who Kate didn’t want to run into for years to come……

This was an awesome read.

                                                         

My Rating:  5 out of 5 stars

                                                                 Purchase Magic Rises:  Amazon

                                                                 ***My husband purchased this book for me.***

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Next up is another series in which I always buy the next book when it comes out, The King by J.R. Ward.  Beth wants a child, but it is extremely risky for female vampires to be pregnant, give birth, and live to tell about it.  Wrath does not want a child.  He can’t stand the thought of Beth being in so much danger.  Not only that, but Wrath is currently under scrutiny by those he rules over, and they are secretly trying to dethrone him.  Will Beth and Wrath’s relationship survive or will the distance between wanting a child tear them apart?

Like I said, this is one of my go-to series.  I’m honestly not sure if this is the last one in the series or not, but I did find myself wanting the book to be over already.  I still think it was a great read, but I think I’m ready for this series to come to an end.

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

Purchase The King:  Amazon

***My husband purchased this book for me.***

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Richelle Mead; I love all of her series so far.  What a great author.  She does not disappoint in the Bloodline series.  This has been on my TBR shelf forever it feels like.  Despite Sydney’s Alchemist upbringing, she is slowly finding herself getting closer and more comfortable with the vampires and dhampirs around her.  One of her teachers is pushing her to use magic, and that still makes her uncomfortable, but her teacher believes she is extremely magically inclined.

Ah, the ending!  I loved it.  I really enjoyed this one so much that I asked my husband to buy me the next in the series a week later.

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

Purchase The Golden Lily:  Amazon

***My husband purchased this for me.***

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

*Contains Spoilers*

Although Sydney was becoming more comfortable with her vampire friends, the kiss that her and Adrian shared caught her off guard….especially by how much she liked it.  Sydney keeps finding out more things about the Alchemists that she doesn’t agree with.  And she finds a man, Marcus, who used to be an Alchemist and is now not.  He’s on the run and is trying to take the Alchemists down, and he wants Sydney to join him.

Sigh.  Another great novel by Richelle Mead!  Sadly, this one just came out so I have to wait a while until the next one, lol.

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

Purchase The Indigo Spell: Amazon

***My husband purchased this for me.***

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These next two are books that I’m a marketing manager for.  I wanted to share them with you guys!

First up, paranormal romance book, The Lycan Hunter!

Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Blurb:

When Alexis James arrives at her first assignment in months, she anticipates the danger and violence rife in her calling as a Lycan Hunter. What she doesn’t expect is a handsome, blue-eyed wolf saving her life and kidnapping her. Surrounded by the enemy, Alexis must not only survive her prisoners but the bonds of a different sort that begin to form against her will.

Mikko Kyran was chosen by the gods to lead his pack, and he has made it his mission to end the eight thousand years of war plaguing his people. The Alpha never suspected that the key to the prophecy ending the Forever War would be held by a smart-mouthed, sexy Hunter determined to kill him.

Can two people from different worlds set aside everything they know about one another long enough to survive retribution from the Hunters, the pack, and the gods? Or will their differences start a war that neither can win?

Written with intensity and depth, The Lycan Hunter is the first in a thrilling new series.

Purchase:  Amazon

__________________________

Want to enter to win a free copy?

Goodreads Book Giveaway

The Lycan Hunter by Kelsey Jordan

The Lycan Hunter

by Kelsey Jordan

Giveaway ends August 01, 2014.

See the giveaway details
at Goodreads.

Enter to win

 

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Next up, young adult book Dangerous Reflections: releasing on June 23rd!

Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Blurb:

Alexis Davenport wants to go home. She hates her new school, her mother for moving her away from her friends, and her father for walking out.

To make matters worse, Alex is haunted by images of strange girls reflected in her mirror. It’s bad enough juggling homework, a relentless bully, boys, and a deadbeat dad; now, she must save the world from an evil presence hell-bent on changing the past – and our futures. Who knew her A+ in history was going to be this important?

Add to your Goodreads shelf!

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That’s it for me!  Phew, what a long post.  🙂  What have you guys been reading??

~Pam

Reborn Review

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  Reborn

Author:  S.L. Stacy

Published:  2013 by S.L. Stacy

Genre:  Paranormal Romance

Buy: Amazon

 

 

 

 

Back in high school, Siobhan Elliot’s life was simple: Cheerleading, friends, and parties. But that all changed the night she and her friends investigated a mysterious light in the woods. There they found an injured man–an irresistible man with hypnotic blue eyes and magnificent black wings. A man Siobhan recognized. He was the handsome dark angel from her dreams. And with one touch of his hand, he left her with a special gift: a set of mythical wings that would change her life forever. Then he disappeared without a trace. Siobhan thought she would never see him again.

Now, six years later, her dark angel reappears –this time as a teaching assistant at her college. He calls himself Jasper. He challenges everything Siobhan thought she knew about herself and her world. And he’s come back for only one thing: her.

Or so he says. Siobhan is about to find out that nothing is what it seems in this strange, new world.

(Blurb from Goodreads.)

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I love it when a book is surprisingly awesome.  The main character, Siobhan, is pretty kick ass.  As you read in the synopsis, a visitor to earth left her with a pair of wings.  Wings!  And despite the obvious challenges that must have presented, she moves forward with life and just takes it in stride.  Siobhan is part of a sorority in her college, and that was pretty cool to see, especially since I was never in one (I don’t think I even know anyone who was.)  So it was a neat insight into sorority living, plus I felt that made the book unique as well.

Jasper, the dark angel that gifted her with wings, annoyed me a little bit, but I think that was the author’s intention.  And I wish the front page showed how to pronounce Siobhan’s name.  (It is in the book, but not right at the beginning.)  You know when you read to yourself in your head; I think I just mumbled through her name every time.

I’ve never read anything similar to this story, and that’s a good thing.  It gets tiring when you read stories that feel the same, over and over and over again.  Greek gods, myths, college living, romance; it’s all there.  So my hats off to you Ms. Stacy; you made a fan out of me and I can’t wait to read the next one.

 

 

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

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~Pam

 

*****I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.*****   

Tales of Aradia: The Last Witch Review

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  Tales of Aradia:  The Last Witch

Author:  L.A. Jones

Published:  2012 by CreateSpace

Genre:  Young Adult, Teen Fantasy, Paranormal

Buy: Amazon

 

 

 

 

 

Unknown to the humans who hanged innocent people at the Salem Witch Trials, real witches of the hidden race were slaughtered on the belief that they had betrayed the hiddens to the humans. Not one witch survived the genocide, or so it was believed for more than three hundred years. One day a girl named Aradia moves to Salem, Massachusetts, and all that changes.  

(Blurb from Goodreads)

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Ross and Liza are coming home from a doctor’s appointment in which they just got bad news; the chances of them ever having children are slim to none.  Driving home they almost get in an accident and swerve off the road.  With the car now broken, Ross decides to look for help and hears a baby crying.  Long story short, that baby becomes their daughter, the child that they wanted but couldn’t have, Aradia.

This was a good book.  I liked how Aradia knew she was special, but didn’t know why.  She has no clue that she’s a witch, and it takes them moving to a town of other ‘hidden’ beings to figure out what she is.  The story had a nice flow and kept me interested and wanting to go back for more.

However, Aradia did get on my nerves.  Her sense of humor was pretty dry, and I kind of felt embarrassed for her on occasion when she tried to be funny.  She felt a little immature as well, but it is a young adult book and she is a young adult.  So it was just her personality, and that’s fine, she just got on my nerves a bit.

It wasn’t just Aradia who got under my skin; it was her friend Roy too.  I just wish he had more self-confidence; the lack of it was unappealing.  But again, they are young characters.  I’m hoping that he’ll gain some confidence through the series.

Another little thing that stuck out to me was the mentioning of CVS.  This was when Aradia had just moved to Salem, Massachusetts and she was talking to a student at her school.  She was telling him to pick up some medicine.

“Pick some up on the way home.  It’s easy to find.  They’ll have it at CVS.”

“What’s CVS?”

“Oh, right.  Um, Walgreens?  Any drug store (—)”  (location 31 on Kindle)

Again, this does not affect my rating; I’m just throwing it out there.  I’m from the area, and I promise, we know what CVS is (and Walgreens too).  Lol.

Besides Miss Aradia not being my favorite person, she did grow on me, and I did enjoy the story.  All in all, a good young adult book and I recommend it.

 

My Rating:  3 1/2 out of 5 stars

 

~Pam

 

*****I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.*****     

Nightcrawler Review

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  Nightcrawler

Author:  John Reinhard Dizon

Published:  January 2014 by Black Rose Writing

Genre:  Action, Mystery, Thriller, Suspense

Purchase: Amazon

 

 

 

 

Nightcrawler is about the exploits of Sabrina Brooks, the heiress to the Brooks Chemical Company. Bree is trying to pick up the pieces after her father’s death, and is now in a position to live up to a personal commitment to use her resources to benefit the oppressed. She is intrigued by the notion of conducting a guerrilla campaign against drug gangs in New York City, and accesses top-secret archives detailing Government contracts for developmental research of chemical weapons. She uses her wizardry in chemistry to concoct weapons for her own use as a vigilante known as the Nightcrawler. NYPD undercover officer Hoyt Wexford becomes friends with Bree, and begins to suspect she knows the identity of the Nightcrawler. Her sudden interest in a series of terrorist attacks in the New York area makes him believe she may be investigating a group called the Octagon. He tries to follow her but is too late to prevent a showdown between the Nightcrawler and the mysterious Reaper. Hoyt rescues Bree and learns her secret identity, and together they plan to stop the Octagon once and for all in preventing a chemical attack in NYC on the Fourth of July. This is a pulse-pounding thriller straight out of world headlines, with an unforgettable heroine fighting impossible odds against fiendish arch-criminals. For suspense fans looking for some chick lit with international intrigue, Nightcrawler is one not to be forgotten.  (Blurb from Goodreads)

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I liked the idea of this book; a kick ass female super hero.  Sabrina is rich and her father recently passed away, leaving her to decide if she should run his chemical company or walk away from it.  She always liked the idea of law enforcement and she decides to use what she has available in the company to take down the bad guys, even if it is illegal.  She throws on a suit as a disguise and calls herself the Nightcrawler.  Throw in a little romance with a police officer trying to find out who the Nightcrawler is, and you have yourself a good story.

Nightcrawler was a pretty good read.  I had a few problems with it though.  The flow of the book felt a little choppy.  Although I can’t quite put my finger on why, that’s just how it felt to me.  Also, former terrorist attacks on the US were mentioned; 9/11 and the Boston Massacre.  Now, it took me a few mentioning’s of the Boston Massacre to realize that the author was actually talking about the marathon bombings that happened last year.  At first I thought he was talking about the actual Boston Massacre that happened in 1770, and didn’t quite understand the relevance.  I can understand his confusion though, because after the marathon bombings the news called it that (Boston Massacre) a few times (I know, I’m from Boston.)

Overall though, it was a good story.  Maybe if someone could do a re-edit and fix the wording (change massacre to marathon bombing) and help the story flow a little smoother, then it wouldn’t be good; it would be awesome.

 

My Rating:  3 out of 5 stars

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~Pam

*****I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.*****       

The Tower (Deck of Lies #2) Review

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Image from Goodreads

Image from Goodreads

Title:  The Tower (Deck of Lies #2)

Author:  Jade Varden

Published:  2012 by Jade Varden

Genre:  Young Adult

Purchase The Tower from Amazon

 

 

 

This is the second book in a series, and the story continues right away.  Who killed Laurel?  River is still the prime suspect and Rain still believes he is innocent.  She decides that since most others are out for his blood, she’ll have to be the one to prove his innocence.  On Rain’s quest for clues the police take interest in her.  They think that she might have been involved in Laurel’s death.  That she might have been an accomplice to River.  Rain’s flabbergasted and scared, but she doesn’t let it stop her from moving forward to try to find the real murderer.  But in her pursuit she finds more than she’s looking for.  Maybe she would have been better off in the dark….

As I mentioned this is the second book in a series; I definitely wouldn’t recommend reading it as a standalone.  (But the first one is really good, so go read it!)  The story picks up right where it left off.  I was hoping for more Rain and River interaction, but he was jail.  Also, Rain’s father was his lawyer, so her going to see him was out of the question.

There were a lot of names and family history going on in this book, and I had to keep backtracking and thinking about who was who.  I probably just should have written it down, but that was something that I didn’t really like in the book.  I like to read to enjoy, not think too much about what it is that I’m reading.  You know?

A lot more facts about Rain’s life were revealed, and we were left with another cliffhanger!  I did really enjoy the story though, and I’m looking forward to the next one in the series.

 

My Rating:  3 1/2 out of 5 stars

~Pam

*****I received this book free from the author in exchange for an honest review.*****