Book Review (127): Blood Storm - Rhiannon Hart

Blood Storm (Lharmell #2)

by Rhiannon Hart

Publication: 1st August 2012

Publisher: Random House Australia

Pages: 384

Genre: Fantasy

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

**Warning This Review Contains Spoilers From The Previous Book In The Series**

The rain wanted to be ocean; the ice in the mountain caps wanted freedom. I never knew that water held such longing. The clouds above my head rumbled like a growling wolf, impatient to release their burden. I held the rain there a moment longer. I turned to Renata, heard her gasp and knew my eyes glowed blue.

I spoke a single word. 'Rain.'

In the Second Book of Lharmell, Zeraphina and Rodden must travel across the sea to find the elusive ingredients that will help them to win the coming battle against the Lharmellin – but shadows from Rodden’s dark past may come back to haunt him. And while she learns to harness her new abilities, Zeraphina still fights the hunger that makes her crave the north – not to mention avoiding her mother, who wants to see her wayward daughter married to a prince at all costs.

My Thoughts..

Why it has taken me so long to read this series is definitely beyond me, it's full of adventure, humour and a great sizzling tension between out heroine and hero, Zeraphina and Rodden.

The first book Blood Song was so good and this one was as good as the first, but with a killer ending that left me jaw-droppingly speechless and desperately needing and wanting the third book to read, unfortunately it won't be released till next year.

It's been five months since the end of the last book, Zeraphina has stayed in Pergamia, training with Rodden to eventually defeat the Lharmellen's, her seventeenth birthday is drawing near and her mother Queen Renata is back home in Amentia searching for a husband (preferably a Prince) to marry Zeraphina now that she will be of marrying age, but Zeraphina is not interested in marrying somebody just to produce heirs, she want's to marry someone of her own choosing, she's also in love with Rodden but he doesn't seem to reciprocate her feelings.

'Me and Rodden nothing. I'm marrying a limp-wristed inbreed and I can't wait.'

Rodden has discovered a lot of mysterious deaths outside of Pergamia which point to Harmings, he and Zeraphina journey to these places to investigate and also to collect materials to make up the poison which is fatal to all with Lharmell blood, there is a lot of action and adventure in their travels and nothing ever really runs smoothly, there is an incident at home in Armentia when they arrive to visit the mines, Zeraphina's betrothed has been chosen by her mother, and he's a extremely awful character who you only wish bad things for especially after what occurs between them both, we also find out Rodden's back story and how he came to have Lharmellen blood flowing through this veins, and it's such a tragic story, you feel so bad for him and I can definitely understand why he's the way he is.

And then the end, I don't know what to say, this book would have to have one of the biggest cliffhanger's I've ever read, and I've read a lot!

It's just cruel to have us read that and then expect us to have to wait soo long to see it resolve itself, and it had better because I just don't think I could handle it if it doesn't.

Fingers crossed the third book comes out in a hurry!

I give this 4.5/5.

A Big Thanks To Random House Australia.

Cover Reveal: The Elementals - Saundra Mitchell

The Elementals (The Vespertine #3)

by Saundra Mitchell

AETHERBORNE is the third and final book in Saundra Mitchell's trilogy that began with THE VESPERTINE.

Expected publication: June 4th 2013 by Houghton

Book Review (126): Blood Song - Rhiannon Hart

Blood Song (Lharmell #1)

by Rhiannon Hart

Publication: 1st September 2011

Publisher: Random House Australia

Pages: 290

Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

I wanted to turn but I was held captive by the song on the wind. I’m coming, I told the voices. Please, wait for me.

When her sister becomes betrothed to a prince in a northern nation, Zeraphina’s only consolations are that her loyal animal companions are by her side – and that her burning hunger to travel north is finally being sated.

Already her black hair and pale eyes mark her out as different, but now Zeraphina must be even more careful to keep her secret safe. Craving blood is not considered normal behaviour for anyone, let alone a princess. So when the king’s advisor, Rodden, seems to know more about her condition than she does, Zeraphina is determined to find out more. 

Zeraphina must be willing to sacrifice everything if she’s to uncover the truth – but what if the truth is beyond her worst nightmares?

My Thoughts...

Zeraphina is Princess of a land called Amentina, but the kingdom run by her mother Queen Renata is falling into disrepair, their crops are failing due to extreme cold weather, they have no money and the only way to survive is to have Lilith, Zeraphina's older sister marry a wealthy Prince.

Lilith's fiancee dies and after a brief period of mourning, Prince Amis of Pergamia requests her hand in marriage, encouraged more by her mother than her own desire to marry him she agrees, encouraged by Zeraphina who feels a pull towards the north where Pergamia is.

I was thinking of blood again so I went to practice my archery.

The pull that Zeraphina feels isn't normal, she craves blood and after a childhood illness which changed her hair and eye colour she knows she's not normal, she wants to find out more about what happened to her and feels going with her sister will give her some answers.

Once there she becomes accquainted with Rodden, the King's advisor, who has the same hair and eye colouring as she does and she realises that he's the same as she is and that he knows what they are and more about Lharmell where people like them are from.

Zeraphina and Rodden have an antagonistic love-hate relationship, their encounters with each other are quite funny and provide a lot of amusement throughout the story.

'Don't talk to me, don't look at me, and don't touch me,' I said, taking my arm back as soon as we reached the high table.

He snorted, 'That's rich, coming from someone I found only yesterday hiding under my bed.

Zeraphina takes it upon herself to find out anything and everything to do with Lharmell and tha war they have going on against Pergamia, after Rodden isn't forthcoming with information about the situation.

I loved the original and intriguing aspects to this story, and Hart has invented a world that had me captivated the whole way through.

I look forward to reading and discovering more of this series and the furthering of the will they-won't they relationship between Zeraphina and Rodden.

I give this 4/5.

Blog Tour: Amateur Angel - Karri Thompson / Review (125).

I'm happy to be today's stop on the Amateur Angel blog tour, hosted by Young Adult Novel Reader.

Amateur Angel

by Karri Thompson

Publication: 1st May 2012

Publisher: Comfort Publishing

Pages: 250

Genre: Paranormal

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

Only 18-years-old, Ashley is no ordinary teenager. Not only is she dead, but upon her death, she mistakenly enters the wrong line in the afterlife, a line meant for trained, guardian angels. With a pair of wings on her back, Ashley is sent to Los Angeles to replace another angel whose "assignment" was none-other-than Cannon Michaels, a current member of the band Sendher, the sexiest man alive, and Ashley's celebrity crush in life.
While exposed to Cannon's selfish, judgmental behavior and his reckless, rock-and-roll lifestyle, Ashley is far from meeting the requirements of a true guardian angel. She misses her family and friends. Will she ever be able to accept her own death? What will she do when she jeopardizes her position as an angel and Cannon's physical safety by falling in love with him?

My Thoughts...

Nooo..... please tell me there is going to be another book, you can't leave us hanging like that! I really liked this book it's a cute, adorable and a fast read, a great addition to all the angels books out there.

The fact that it was such a different take on angels made it fresh and exciting.

Ashley has died in a car accident on her eighteenth birthday, she finds herself in Heaven, she is ushered into a line all the while in disbelief that she's dead, instead thinking that she's dreaming, she finds herself wandering into a line not her own, next thing she knows she's sent back down to Earth into the middle of a guy's massage, who just happens to be Cannon Michaels the lead singer from Ashley's favourite band Sendher.

She learns from the masseuse Claire's angel that she is now Cannon's guardian angel, responsible for his safety.

But Ashley soon finds that Cannon is nothing like his public persona, he is definitely living the Hollywood lifestyle and seems to be on a downward spiral.

Gradually Ashley learns how to do the basic things like learning how to fly and touch things,  and things she shouldn't like having Cannon see her and feel her, which leads to his manager Jonathan thinking he's imagining her.

 And then the ending, well I sort of had an idea of what would happen but there was also a part I never would have guessed and that left me hoping and wishing for another book.

I loved all the characters and especially with Ashley through learning about her job as a guardian angel also had her growing up and knowing that she can't fix everything.

I urge everyone to read this book, it's really good!

I give this 4/5.

About Karri Thompson

As a first-time author, I cannot express- not even in words- how excited I am about the release of my debut novel, Amateur Angel.  It took a lot of hard work and sleepless nights.  There were many disappointments and rejections along the way, but in the end, my persistence and determination eventually paid off.  In many ways, I think writing a novel is easier than finding an agent to represent it and then a publisher to buy it.  Two years ago, I almost gave up on my dream to become an author, but then my son, Kyle, wrote a special poem for me, and it inspired me to write a new book and try again.  The new book was Amateur Angel.

Here is his poem:

        You fail and you fail,

        You fix and you fix,

        You wait and you wait,

        Until you succeed.

I hung this poem in my closet and read it every day when I was getting ready to go to work and each night before I went to bed.  It is still there and always will be.  I know what I’m about to say will sound like a cliché, but based on my own personal experience, the best advice I can give anyone is to always believe in your abilities, hold your head high, swallow your pride, accept criticism and then learn from it, and most importantly, never give up.

I grew up in San Diego County and attended San Diego State University, earning a bachelor’s degree in English, a master’s degree in education, and my teaching credential.  I am a high-school English teacher in the East County of San Diego where I also live with my husband, our son, and two dogs.

Being a lover of Victorian literature, my favorite author is Charles Dickens although I haven’t quite finished reading all of his books.  Someday I’ll finally finish David Copperfield- I promise.  If you are one of my students, you are either laughing or shaking your head at this.

I lead a very busy life, but when I’m not teaching, grading papers, or attending my son’s soccer games, I find time to write novels, my greatest passion.  

Author's Links:

Website

Purchase on Amazon

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Feature And Follow Friday (39).

Q: What blogger inspires you? It can be any kind, it doesn’t have to be a book blog.

I wouldn't say that I've been inspired by just one blogger but by a whole heap of you, when I decided to start up my blog it's because of all the different blogs I came across that were so interesting and well put together.

Cover Reveal: Wicked Kiss - Michelle Rowen

Wicked Kiss (Nightwatchers #2)

by Michelle Rowen

MY KISS CAN KILL. 

I used to be ordinary Samantha Day, but that's changed. Now, after one dark kiss from a dangerous boy, I can steal someone's soul...or their life. If I give in to the constant hunger inside me, I hurt anyone I kiss. If I don't...I hurt myself. 

Bishop is the one whose kiss I crave most, but if I kiss him, I'll kill him. Then there's another boy, one I can't hurt. One whose kiss seems to miraculously quell my hunger. They're both part of a team of angels and demons that's joined forces in my city to fight a mysterious rising darkness, an evil that threatens everyone I know and love. I just wonder if I'll be able to help Bishop-or if I'm just another part of the darkness he's sworn to destroy.... 

NIGHTWATCHERS 

When angels and demons must work together, something beyond evil is rising...

Expected publication: February 26th 2013 by Harlequin Tee