Tag Archives: 4 out of 5 stars

Clean Sweep Review

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Image from Goodreads

Title:  Clean Sweep

Author:  Ilona Andrews

Published:  2013 by Ilona Andrews, Inc.

Genre:  Urban Fantasy

Purchase Clean Sweep from Amazon
 

Dina’s not sure whether to intervene or not when her neighbors’ dogs are being killed by what seems to be some sort of paranormal creature.  Being an innkeeper, she is just supposed to take care of the inn and her guests and stay out of other paranormal affairs.  Plus the new werewolf in town, Sean, should be the one taking care of this sort of problem.  After all, werewolves are very territorial.  But when approached, Sean doesn’t seem intent to take care of it.  In fact, he acts like a jerk.  Decision made, Dina decides to find out what is killing these dogs, and it’s more then she expected.  Will werewolf Sean decide to help Dina or just get in her way?

Urban fantasy is a pretty cool genre.  Its fantasy that’s set in the modern day world we all know.  And if the author is good it’s believable because its setting is what we’re used to day in and day out.  And Ilona Andrews is a great author.  Who knows, maybe I have a werewolf and innkeeper as neighbors?

Anyways, Dina is a great protagonist.  She is a bit alone in the world though.  Her parents and their inn were lost (we don’t know what happened).  Dina does still have her siblings but they don’t live nearby and aren’t really in the story.  Although she’s alone she is confident and knows her job as an innkeeper.  She decides she’s had enough of her neighbors’ dogs being murdered and decides to do something about it.  In real life, I’d like to be Dina’s friend.   She’s a take charge kind of girl.

In the mist of finding this horrible creature and solving her neighborhood’s problems, she also gets to know Sean a little more.  And a vampire also makes an appearance.  Sounds like Twilight the way I’m describing it, but it’s not similar at all.  However, the vampire and werewolf are definitely attracted to Dina…

I’m pretty sure Ilona Andrews doesn’t know how to write a bad story.  So if you like urban fantasy, or if it’s something that you’re thinking about, pick up a copy of Clean Sweep.  Plus, I’m pretty sure it will keep you entertained, as would her other books as well.

Happy reading!

 

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

 

~Pam

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

Justice (Deck of Lies #1) Review

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Title:  Justice (Deck of Lies #1)

Author:  Jade Varden

Published:  2011

Genre:  Young Adult

Purchase Justice (Deck of Lies, #1) from Amazon.com

 

Rain is transferring to a new high school in the middle of the school year.  She was one of a select few to get a scholarship to a very prestigious and expensive school.  Her first day is awful, especially when she accidently spills something on the most popular girl in the school, Carsyn, during lunch.   However, Carsyn still asks Rain to accompany her and a friend to go shopping after school.  Rain should have thought about it more beforehand, because Carsyn is about to not only get revenge on Rain, but ultimately change her life forever.

Wow, I wasn’t expecting so many things that happened in this book, and that is going to make it pretty hard to talk about without giving anything away!  But it was great.  I love when I’m surprised, and I was, multiple times.

Rain is a likable protagonist, but man, does she have bad luck.  I feel for her, because so many things keep going wrong.  Like big life changing things.  But somehow Rain manages to push past these things and get by.  I guess she has no other choice, but to me she is a strong character.

Also, I knew it was book one of a series, but I still thought that the book would end with closure.  But it didn’t, so now I’m going to need to read the next one to see what happens.  That’s okay though, because Ms. Varden sure does know how to tell a story and keep you intrigued.  So if you like a book that will surprise you and keep you in suspense, pick up Justice by Jade Varden.

 

 

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

 

~Pam

 

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

 

Elect (Eagle Elite #2) Review

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Title:  Elect (Eagle Elite #2)

Author:  Rachel Van Dyken

Published:  December 10, 2013 by Forever (Grand Central Publishing)

Genre:  New Adult, Romance

Click here to preorder/buy Elect from Amazon.com

This is the second book in a series.  So if you like to be totally surprised, go read Elite first.  You can see my review on Elite here.

 

Trace’s grandfather is in hiding for killing the De Lange leader.  Nixon has to figure out if the De Lange family was behind Trace’s parents’ murder, and he needs to find out fast.  One of the original Sicilian families has come over to investigate the death of the De Lange leader, and they want Trace’s grandfather to pay; a life for a life.  Nixon needs to work fast to save Trace’s grandfather, but he also needs to keep Trace under protection, keep their relationship a secret.  So Nixon and Chase do the only thing they can think of, have Chase who is already acting as Trace’s bodyguard also act as her boyfriend.  Will Nixon’s plan have a happy ever after or will Trace forget about Nixon, and fall in love with Chase?

Warning:  once you read the prologue you’re not going to want to stop.  Elect is a continuation of Elite.  The only thing that’s different is that the story is told through Chase’s and Nixon’s point of view instead of Trace’s.  I normally am partial to the female’s point of view, but I still thought this was a great book.

I love to be surprised when I read a book, so I hope I’m not giving too much away.  As you can probably guess there ends up being a sort of love triangle with Nixon, Trace, and Chase.  That’s all I’ll say about that.  🙂

The one thing in the story that didn’t feel real to me was how the characters acted like carrying a gun, beating people up, etc, was no big deal.  But then when I thought about it, if that is the life that they grew up in, then maybe they are just so used to it and desensitized about it all by the time they are in college.

I have some go-to authors, and Rachel Van Dyken is becoming one of them.  She has an art for storytelling; she brings you into her world and you don’t want to leave.   I would definitely recommend Elect.

Elect is available to buy on December 10th, 2013.

 

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

 

~Pam

 

*****I received this book free from Netgalley, in exchange for an honest review.*****         

 

Hope Rises from the Ashes Review

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Image from Goodreads

Title:  Hope Rises from the Ashes

Author:  L. F. Falconer

Published:  2013 by Outskirts Press

Genre: Romance, Fantasy, Feels like a Historical Romance, Hard to categorize 🙂

Click here to buy Hope Rises from the Ashes from Amazon.com

 

 

 

****This is the second book in a series, so if you like to be totally surprised you might not want to read this review.  ****

 

The story starts out with Collie and a young boy hiding under a wagon while the boy’s father is being devoured by a huge lion with wings.  Collie and the boy, Natt, manage to escape alive.  They soon meet up with two Tillaman warriors who give them a ride to their town.  Since her money is lost in the wagon that the lion attacked, Collie ends up agreeing to allow one of the warriors to pay for her food and her place at the inn as long as she’ll be his mistress.  This goes against Collie’s morals, but she doesn’t want to be put out on the street, and her heart is already broken thinking her first love is dead.  The situation goes from bad to worse though, as the man who is supposed to be protecting her, turns out to be a monster himself.

I should have read the first book, but even though I didn’t I was able to follow the story.  And wow, what a story!  It had me hooked from the first page.  The story is a little dark, so if you only like to read about flowers, unicorns, and rainbows, this probably isn’t the book for you.  Seriously though, this book deals with not only heartache, but physical abuse.  However, Collie is a strong woman and pulls through.

The point of view changes back and forth from Collie to one other.  I’m usually not a fan of the point of view switch-a-roo, but it was done from chapter to chapter and done for a reason which I don’t want to give away if you’ve read the first book.

Also, the genre is a little hard to categorize.  It feels mostly like a historical romance, but there is a little fantasy in there; a dragon, a flying lion.  But even with those aspects of fantasy, the story feels closer to reality than fantasy.  The author even states in the beginning, “Thus, I deliver Hope Rises from the Ashes (again, a story that rides the cusp of genre.  Purists beware.)”

Although this story is pretty dark, it is really good.  I didn’t want to stop reading; I had to find out what happened next.  Pick up a copy and get lost in Collie’s world for a while.  In the end, you’ll be glad you did.

 

My Rating:  4 out of 5 stars

 

~Pam

 

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