Feature And Follow Friday (29).

Q: You are a matchmaker — your goal, hook up two characters from two of your favorite books. Who would it be? How do you think it would go?

I honestly sat here for quite a while trying to think of someone, anyone from two of my favourite books, but couldn't so I cheated and picked two characters from a favourite series that will never end up together.

I picked William - The Ever Randy (my favourite, Gena please write his book soon!) and Viola - Keeper Of Narcissism (one of my new favourite characters) from the Lords Of The Underworld Series by Gena Showalter.

Now for anyone who knows this series and has especially read Paris' book you will know that William is extremely vain and so is Viola, so you can imagine they'd be together and all they'd be talking about was their looks.

It may make for an extremely unhealthy relationship but would be extremely funny to read about.

Book Review (90).

The Darkest Seduction (Lords of the Underworld #9)

by Gena Showalter

Publication: 28th February 2012

Publisher: HQN Books

Pages: 504

Genre: Paranormal Romance

Age Appropriate: Adult

**Warning Contains Spoilers From Previous Books In The Series**

At long last, New York Times bestselling author Gena Showalter unveils the story of Paris, the darkest and most tormented Lord of the Underworld….Possessed by the demon of Promiscuity, immortal warrior Paris is irresistibly seductive—but his potent allure comes at a terrible price. Every night he must bed someone new, or weaken and die. And the woman he craves above all others is the one woman he'd thought was forever beyond his reach …until now. Newly possessed by the demon of Wrath, Sienna Blackstone is racked by a ruthless need to punish those around her. Yet in Paris's arms, the vulnerable beauty finds soul-searing passion and incredible peace. Until a blood feud between ancient enemies heats up. Will the battle against gods, angels and creatures of the night bind them eternally—or tear them apart?

My Thoughts.

I along with a lot of fans of this series were eagerly anticipating Paris' story and while it was good it didn't live up to my expectations, don't get me wrong I gave this book five stars but that also has a lot to do with other subplots going on in the background and the other characters, including my favourite William-The Ever Randy (please Gena write his book next please!!!!).

While I really wanted Paris to be happy and to be that I knew he would end up with Sienna, I didn't find their relationship as exciting as previous couples in the series, but it wasn't all bad Paris the keeper of Promiscuity found that as long as he had Sienna he didn't need to sleep with anybody else, one particularly funny part involving Paris' relationship with Sienna came when all the Lords and their wives/girlfriends held an intervention for Paris to stop him making out with himself (nobody else could see Sienna besides anyone heaven/hell related) so they had no idea it was Sienna he was kissing, Anya's speech was hilarious and with her being one of my favourite characters in the series I'm always happy when she gets a chance to shine.

Of course every couple in this series has their problems they need to solve before their happy ever after comes around and Paris and Sienna was no exception, Cronus told her she needed to gain Galen's trust  and if she didn't that Paris and the rest of the Lords would die but we all know that Cronus is always up to something and in this book he finally gets his come-uppance.

Zacharel an angel who works with Lysander, is sent to help Sienna and try to convince her to join the upcoming angel war, I'm very excited to see what his story will be like which is coming out this year.

Kane finds himself in a very bad situation and I felt so bad for him and what happened to him but he was eventually saved by the Four Horseman and I'm intrigued to find out what happens especially with the female he met at the end.

We were introduced to some new Lords and a new character Viola keeper of Narcissism and minor goddess of the afterlife, I loved her she was like the female version of William with how much she loves herself and her screeching (their form of tweeting), she was just hilarious and has moved in with the Lords and their mates and I love how each of them pawn her off to one another to get rid of her.

Galen kidnaps Ashlyn and offers her in trade for Legion who after her time in hell is afraid of everyone and spends all her time shut away in her room but to save Ashlyn goes to him promises to stay if her doesn't hurt anybody, I can see that this might be the start of a new relationship, Galen seems almost obssessed with her and I'm interested to see how that will pan out.

Ashlyn finally has the twins and their names are hilarious as much as William who delivered the twins tries to come up with substitutes.

And finally last but never ever least William who steals every scene he's in, we finally meet his father and find out a little bit more about him, I really want to read his book and I'm assuming his pairing with Gilly, I loved his whole thing with the hair conditioner trust me it doesn't sound all that humorous but it was.

I love the interactions between William and Paris they're a pretty funny duo when they're stuck together,  now I eagerly await to see who will be the main character in the next book.

I give this 5/5.

Australian Book Cover Reveal.

This is to reveal the cover to the Australian release of Jay Kristoff's book 'Stormdancer'.

Stormdancer (The Lotus War #1)

by Jay Kristoff

Release Date: 21st August 2012 By Pan Macmillan Australia

A DYING LAND 

The Shima Imperium is verging on the brink of environmental collapse; decimated by clockwork industrialization and the machine-worshippers of the Lotus Guild. The skies are red as blood, land choked with toxic pollution, wildlife ravaged by mass extinctions.

AN IMPOSSIBLE QUEST
The hunters of the imperial court are charged by their Shōgun to capture a thunder tiger—a legendary beast, half-eagle, half-tiger. But any fool knows thunder tigers have been extinct for more than a century, and the price of failing the Shōgun is death.

A SIXTEEN YEAR OLD GIRL
Yukiko is a child of the Fox clan, possessed of a hidden gift that would see her executed by the Lotus Guild. Accompanying her father on the Shōgun’s hunt, she finds herself stranded: a young woman alone in Shima’s last wilderness, with only a furious, crippled thunder tiger for company. Even though she can hear his thoughts, even though she saved his life, all she knows for certain is he’d rather see her dead than help her.

But together, the pair will form an indomitable friendship, and rise to challenge the might of an empire.

Waiting On Wednesday.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine where you can spotlight an upcoming release that you're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm waiting on....

The Dead And Buried

by Kim Harrington

1st January 2013 By Scholastic Point

Jade loves the house she's just moved into with her family. She doesn't even mind being the new girl at the high school: It's a fresh start, and there's that one guy with the dreamy blue eyes. . . . But then things begin happening. Strange, otherworldly things. Jade's little brother claims to see a glimmering girl in his room. Jade's jewelry gets moved around, as if by an invisible hand. Kids at school whisper behind her back like they know something she doesn't.

Soon, Jade must face an impossible fact: that her perfect house is haunted. Haunted by a ghost who's seeking not just vengeance, but the truth. The ghost of a girl who ruled Jade's school -- until her untimely death last year. It's up to Jade to put the pieces together before her own life is at stake. As Jade investigates the mystery, she discovers that her new friends in town have more than a few deep, dark secrets. But is one of them a murderer?

My Super Sweet Sixteenth Century

by Rachel Harris

11th September 2012 By Entangled Publishing

On the precipice of her sixteenth birthday, the last thing lone wolf Cat Crawford wants is an extravagant gala thrown by her bubbly stepmother and well-meaning father. So even though Cat knows the family’s trip to Florence, Italy, is a peace offering, she embraces the magical city and all it offers. But when her curiosity leads her to an unusual gypsy tent, she exits . . . right into Renaissance Firenze. 

Thrust into the sixteenth century armed with only a backpack full of contraband future items, Cat joins up with her ancestors, the sweet Alessandra and protective Cipriano, and soon falls for the gorgeous aspiring artist Lorenzo. But when the much-older Niccolo starts sniffing around, Cat realizes that an unwanted birthday party is nothing compared to an unwanted suitor full of creeptastic amore. 

Can she find her way back to modern times before her Italian adventure turns into an Italian forever?

The Forsaken (The Forsaken #1)

by Lisa M. Stasse 

10th July 2012 By Simon And Schuster

A thought-provoking and exciting start to a riveting new dystopian trilogy.

As an obedient orphan of the U.N.A. (the super-country that was once Mexico, the U.S., and Canada), Alenna learned at an early age to blend in and be quiet—having your parents taken by the police will do that to a girl. But Alenna can’t help but stand out when she fails a test that all sixteen-year-olds have to take: The test says she has a high capacity for brutal violence, and so she is sent to The Wheel, an island where all would-be criminals end up.

The life expectancy of prisoners on The Wheel is just two years, but with dirty, violent, and chaotic conditions, the time seems a lot longer as Alenna is forced to deal with civil wars for land ownership and machines that snatch kids out of their makeshift homes. Desperate, she and the other prisoners concoct a potentially fatal plan to flee the island. Survival may seem impossible, but Alenna is determined to achieve it anyway.

Poison

by Bridget Zinn

12th March 2012 By Disney/Hyperion

A teen girl finds herself a would-be assassin, hunting down her former best friend, the princess of the realm, via the aid of an enchanted piglet.

The Dark Unwinding

by Sharon Cameron

1st September 2012 By Scholastic Press

A spine-tingling tale of steampunk and spies, intrigue and heart-racing romance!

When Katharine Tulman's inheritance is called into question by the rumor that her eccentric uncle is squandering away the family fortune, she is sent to his estate to have him committed to an asylum. But instead of a lunatic, Katharine discovers a genius inventor with his own set of rules, who employs a village of nine hundred people rescued from the workhouses of London.

Katharine is now torn between protecting her own inheritance and preserving the peculiar community she grows to care for deeply. And her choices are made even more complicated by a handsome apprentice, a secretive student, and fears for her own sanity.

As the mysteries of the estate begin to unravel, it is clear that not only is her uncle's world at stake, but also the state of England as Katharine knows it. With twists and turns at every corner, this heart-racing adventure will captivate readers with its intrigue, thrills, and romance.

34 Pieces of You

by Carmen Rodrigues

4th September 2012 By Simon Pulse

There was something about Ellie... Something dangerous. Charismatic. Broken. Jake looked out for her. Sarah followed her lead. And Jess kept her distance, and kept watch.

Now Ellie’s dead, and Jake, Sarah, and Jess are left to pick up the pieces. All they have are 34 clues she left behind. 34 strips of paper hidden in a box beneath her bed. 34 secrets of a brief and painful life.

Jake, Sarah, and Jess all feel responsible for what happened to Ellie, and all three have secrets of their own. As they begin to confront the darkest truths about themselves, they will also find out what Ellie herself had been hiding all along...

In My Mailbox (29).

In My Mailbox Is A Weekly Meme Hosted By Kristi The Story Siren.

Review.

Endure (Need #4) - Carrie Jones

A Big Thanks to Bloomsbury Australia For The Book And The Bag.

(ARC) Betrayed (The Guardian Legacy #2) - Ednah Walters

A Big Thanks To Spencer Hill Press For An Unnexpected But Totally Welcome Package, Not Only Did I Get The Book But 3 Bookmarks For Upcoming Books And  A Guitar Pick For The Next Book In The Jennifer L. Armentrout Covenant Series (Deity).

Brought.

Hunter's Rise (The Hunters #14) - Shiloh Walker

Storm (Elementals #1) - Brigid Kemmerer

Immortal Hearts (Vampire Kisses #9) - Ellen Schreiber

As Dead As It Gets (Bad Girls Don't Die #3) - Katie Alender

Book Review (89).

Celtic Storms (Celtic Steel #1)

by Delaney Rhodes 

Publication: 4th February 2012

Publisher: Delaney Rhodes Publishing

Pages: 314

Genre: Historical Romance

Age Appropriate: Adult

Celtic Storms
Celtic Steel Series, Book 1

Darina O'Malley watched the sun set in the bay from the great tower in O'Malley castle. She said a silent prayer for her cousin, Kyra, hoping the message that was delivered to the MacCahan's did not spell sudden doom for her and her people. If what her Uncle Ruarc had told her was true, she was to be married to a stranger in nearly a fort night, and her world would turn upside down. 

The realization that her clan held secrets which could destroy them forever - chilled her blood. Who was this son of a Laird that she was betrothed to and how would he react when he learned the truth?

My Thoughts.

One of the things I love most is discovering new authors, what's even better is when their book is one that you don't want to put down.

And although I don't read a lot of it I absolutely love historical fiction, especially anything Scottish or Irish related and so I was very excited for this book, and I'm happy to say that I wasn't disappointed it was such an intriguing and exciting read that kept me turning the pages oblivious to anything else.

Darina is the oldest of five daughters in the O'Malley clan and after the death of her father Laird O'Malley they are in need of a new Laird after a curse put on the clan from a spurned woman, no males have been born into the family in years,  and so they have arranged a marriage between Darina and Patrick the eldest son of the MacCahan clan who will become Laird and take the O'Malley name.

While both Darina and Patrick are hesitant about the marriage once they meet there are definite sparks between the two and I loved their scenes together,  I also liked the fact that Patrick wasn't perfect unlike most books, he has a severe stammer and has lost a great deal of use in his right hand due to it being crushed by a horse when he was a boy, but I found that that just added to his allure not to mention that he is tall,dark and handsome.

This story although set in 1457 had the women in the O'Malley clan yards ahead of other women from that time, they all worked at their shipping business, were all taught to fight to defend themselves, wore pants which was a big no no in those days and were free to sleep with men before marriage, I think this added to the intrigue of the story and kept me reading on.

Patrick also arrives with a young boy Braedan in tow with his nanny who has a connection with the O'Malley clan unbeknown to either him or  the O'Malleys's which I thought was a great twist and added another layer to the story.

And there is a subplot involving the spurned woman who put a curse on the clan, Odetta who sacrifices young boys  in order to use black magic to start a war.

I can't say enough good things about this book I loved it and if this sounds like your kind of thing then definitely check it out.

I need to definitely hunt the next books down in this fantastic series.

I give this 4.5/5.

Waiting On Wednesday.

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking The Spine where you can spotlight an upcoming release that you're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm waiting on....

Dualed (Dualed #1)

by Elsie Chapman

26th February 2013 By Random House

Would you live through the ultimate test of survival?

The city of Kersh is a safe haven, but the price of safety is high. Everyone has a genetic Alternate—a twin raised by another family—and citizens must prove their worth by eliminating their Alts before their twentieth birthday. Survival means advanced schooling, a good job, marriage—life.

Fifteen-year-old West Grayer has trained as a fighter, preparing for the day when her assignment arrives and she will have one month to hunt down and kill her Alt. But then a tragic misstep shakes West’s confidence. Stricken with grief and guilt, she’s no longer certain that she’s the best version of herself, the version worthy of a future. If she is to have any chance of winning, she must stop running not only from her Alt, but also from love . . . though both have the power to destroy her.

The Program (Program #1)

by Suzanne Young 

April 2013 By Simon Pulse

Sloane knows better than to cry in front of anyone. 

With suicide now an international epidemic, one outburst could land her in The Program, the only proven course of treatment. Sloane’s parents have already lost one child; Sloane knows they’ll do anything to keep her alive. She also knows that everyone who’s been through The Program returns as a blank slate. Because their depression is gone—but so are their memories.

Under constant surveillance at home and at school, Sloane puts on a brave face and keeps her feelings buried as deep as she can. The only person Sloane can be herself with is James. He’s promised to keep them both safe and out of treatment, and Sloane knows their love is strong enough to withstand anything. But despite the promises they made to each other, it’s getting harder to hide the truth. They are both growing weaker. Depression is setting in.

And The Program is coming for them.

Catherine

by April Lindner 

January 2013 By Poppy

True love never dies in this modern retelling of one of literature's most haunting star-crossed romances, Wuthering Heights.

Catherine is tired of struggling musicians befriending her just so they can get a gig at her Dad's famous Manhattan club, The Underground. Then she meets mysterious Hence, an unbelievably passionate and talented musician on the brink of success. As their relationship grows, both are swept away in a fiery romance. But when their love is tested by a cruel whim of fate, will pride keep them apart?

Chelsea has always believed that her mom died of a brief illness, until she finds a letter her dad has kept from her for years--a letter from her mom, Catherine, who didn't die: She disappeared. Driven by unanswered questions, Chelsea sets out to look for her--starting with the return address on the letter: The Underground.

Told in two voices, twenty years apart, Catherine interweaves a timeless forbidden romance with a compelling modern mystery.

Angel's Ink (The Asylum Tales #1)

by Jocelynn Drake

16th October 2012 By Harper Voyager

(Description from author)
The series is firmly settled in the urban fantasy genre, set in what I like to call an open world (ie, everyone knows about all the other races and has for a really long time, allowing everyone to live side-by-side in a relative, occasionally strained, harmony.) Some of the races that you meet in this series include, but are not limited to: humans, elves, trolls, dwarves, pixies, werewolves, vampires, ogres, minotaurs, incubus, faeries, goblins, and many many more that are fighting to get their time on the page. 

At the center of this mess is Gage Powell, a tattoo artist who owns a parlor in a sketchy little neighborhood in Low Town called Asylum. In a world that is naturally filled with magic, it only makes sense that many of the non-magic folk (like humans) could use an edge. In this world, tattoo artists aren't just tattoo artists. They are also licensed potion stirrers. For the right price, they can help you get an edge. Need courage, love, or luck? A tattoo artist can stir a potion to be placed in the ink of a tattoo that can help you achieve those things. 

Unfortunately, Gage has a secret that keeps coming back to haunt him despite his attempts to keep his head down and his nose somewhat clean. Lucky for him, he had a pair of employees that help him out. The first is Bronx -- a patient troll who manages to keep a level head and his sense of humor when things get bad. The second is Trixie -- a elf who is pretending to be a human because she's got her own problems, but she still manages to make time to give Gage a hand when he needs it.

The Other Normals

by Ned Vizzini 

25th Setember 2012 By Balzer + Bray

Given the chance, fifteen-year-old Peregrine “Perry” Eckert would dedicate every waking moment to Creatures & Caverns, an epic role-playing game rich with magical creatures, spell casting, and deadly weapons. The world of C&C is where he feels most comfortable in his own skin, so when his parents ship him off to summer camp Perry is sure he’s in for the worst summer of his life.

Everything changes, however, when Perry gets to camp and stumbles into the World of the Other Normals. Perry’s new otherworldly friends need his help to save their princess and prevent mass violence. As they embark on their quest together, Perry realizes that his nerdy childhood has uniquely prepared him to be a great warrior in this world, and maybe even a hero.
Bestselling author Ned Vizzini delivers a compulsively readable and wildly original story about the winding and often hilarious path to manhood.

Incarnation

by Emma Cornwall

18th September 2012 By Gallery Books

Lucy Weston tracks down the novelist Bram Stroker in her search to reveal the dark force who made her a vampire—and regain her humanity in the process.

In the steampunk world of Victorian London, Lucy Weston, a character in Dracula, seeks out Bram Stoker to discover why he deliberately lied about her in his popular novel. With Stoker’s reluctant help, she tracks the creature who transformed her from the sensual underworld where humans vie to become vampires to a hidden cell beneath a temple to madness and finally into the glittering Crystal Palace where death reigns supreme.

Haunted by fragmentary memories of her lost life and love, Lucy battles her thirst for blood as she struggles to stop a catastrophic war that will doom vampires and humans alike. Ultimately, she makes a choice that illuminates for her—and for us—the true nature of what it means to be human.

Book Review (88).

Fury (Mercy #4)

by Rebecca Lim

Publication: 1st May 2012

Publisher: Harper Collins Australia

Pages: 384

Genre: Paranormal

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

**Warning Contains Spoilers From Previous Books**

Heartbreak. Vengeance. Fury.

Mercy is an exiled angel cast down to earth and forced to live out thousands of different lives for her own protection. Betrayed by her eternal love, Luc, Mercy burns with fury. The time of reckoning is here and now she must wage open war with Luc and his demons. Ryan’s love for Mercy is more powerful than ever, but loving an angel is mortally dangerous. As their two worlds collide, Mercy approaches her ultimate breathtaking choice.

Hell hath no fury like Mercy ...

My Thoughts.

This is the final book in the Mercy series, a thrilling end to a fantastic series that was very hard to stop reading.

We come to the battle that the first three books in the series have been working towards, I found the start of the book to be pretty slow going I didn't finish as fast as I did the previous books and I kept picking it up and putting it down even reading another book in-between which I never do, thankfully towards the middle of the book it starts to pick up and we get a bit more action and excitement that I became a fan of in the other books.

The book takes off straight after the ending of the previous book and Mercy and Ryan take refuge in a church while they wait for the demons to disappear.

Mercy gets to spend a lot of time in her own skin so to speak after having spent centuries possessing other people's bodies, she and the Eight Elohim are at war with Luc (Lucifer) and his army of fallen angels

Luc needs Mercy to help destroy the world but in the last book she came to realise he doesn't love her and was just using her, not only that but he was responsible for her exile. 

Mercy spends some time in this book freeing some of the Eight that have been captured by Luc and been tortured in hopes to gather together and destroy Luc once and for all.

Mercy and Luc's relationship was quite a bit up and down in this book,  it was a bit back and forth on Mercy's part of deciding whether or not to break up with him to save his life and I wish that they could have been a bit stronger together as a couple.

We also welcomed back some characters from the previous books: Lauren (Ryan's twin sister) from the first book who finally gets to meet the real Mercy and Gia from the previous book who was Irina's assistant and one of my favourite characters from the series.

I would have loved to have known more about the Eight I think that they were very interesting characters and would have liked to have read more about them.

I was very happy with how the series finished it was exactly what I wanted, now if only we could get a series about the Eight I'd be very happy.

I give this 4/5.

A Big Thanks To Lara @ Harper Collins Australia.

(Arc) Book Review (87).

Team Human

by Justine Larbalestier, Sarah Rees Brennan

Publication: 1st July 2012
Publisher: Allen & Unwin Australia
Pages: 372
Genre: Paranormal
Age Appropriate: Young Adult


Just because Mel lives in New Whitby, a city founded by vampires, doesn’t mean she knows any of the blood-drinking undead personally. They stay in their part of town; she says in hers. Until the day a vampire shows up at her high school. Worse yet, her best friend, Cathy, seems to be falling in love with him. It’s up to Mel to save Cathy from a mistake she might regret for all eternity!

On top of trying to help Cathy (whether she wants it or not), Mel is investigating a mysterious disappearance for another friend and discovering the attractions of a certain vampire wannabe. Combine all this with a cranky vampire cop, a number of unlikely romantic entanglements, and the occasional zombie, and soon Mel is hip-deep in an adventure that is equal parts hilarious and touching.

My Thoughts.

I loved this book it was a totally different aspect to your normal everyday vampire book, ever since this appeared on Goodreads I've been dying to read it and so I was really happy when I received this arc.

Best friends Mel and Cathy are walking to school one day when they are distracted by somebody in a hazmat suit, knowing that it could only be a vampire inside it Cathy is extremely excited having been interested in them her whole life.

You see New Whitby is described as Las Vegas but with vampires who have their own section of town patrolled by their own policeman, they live in houses that are from centuries past and some of them even dress in clothes from the olden times.

So straight away Cathy is smitten with Francis (the vampire) but Mel is not a fan especially since another good friend Anna's father ran away with a vampire patient he had.

So while Cathy is trying her best and finally achieving to get close to Francis, Mel is totally against them being together and after threatening Francis with some information she found out about why he was enrolled at school he leaves  without a word to Cathy so she turns up at his house, Mel realises where she's gone and after breaking into his house they are caught by the owner of the house Camille a vampire cop and her human son Kit.

After professing their love to each other Cathy and Francis after only being together not even a month decide that they want to be together forever and so Francis asks Cathy to change into a vampire and she agrees.

The problem is there is a 10% chance that Cathy could become a zombie, yes in an original idea in a vampire book,  in turning a human if it doesn't work you die or turn into a zombie who then gets destroyed.

So Mel teams up with Kit who has some classic lines in never having associated with humans before he knows only what he's seen on t.v and his reactions to things had me laughing out loud, to change Cathy's mind.

We also have a subplot in which her friend Anna is worried about her mum who is the school principal acting suspicious so Mel investigates sometimes with Kit tagging along.

I loved Mel as a character she was a tough tell it to you straight kind of person who would do anything for her friends and I can't wait to continue on with her other adventures in the next book being released next year.

I highly recommend you pick up this book  it puts a spin on your classic vampire stories and it's full of action and humour and may even get you thinking that if you had the chance to become a vampire would you take it?

I give this 4/5.

A Big Thanks To Allen & Unwin Australia.