Book Review (401): I Saw Her Standing There (Green Mountain #3) - Marie Force

I Saw Her Standing There (Green Mountain #3)

by Marie Force

Publication: 4th November 2014

Publisher: Berkley

Pages: 400

Genre: Contemporary Romance

Age Appropriate: Adult

Buy It:  Amazon, Barnes & Noble,Chapters Indigo, Books-A-Million, WalMart and IndieBound

There’s a budding romance on Butler Mountain, but in the hornets’ nest known as the Abbott family, keeping a secret is no easy feat…

Colton Abbott and Lucy Mulvaney have a secret. Colton’s nosy siblings have begun to put the pieces together, but it’s not like Lucy to keep things from those closest to her—especially her best friend, Cameron, who recently moved to Vermont to live with her true love, Will. But Lucy isn’t about to tell Cam she’s having a fling…with Will’s brother.

Flitting between New York and Vermont is exhausting, so Lucy is looking forward to a long weekend with Colton at the Abbott family lake house in Burlington. Too bad Will and Cameron have the same idea, and once Colton and Lucy are caught red-handed (and red-faced), will their clandestine romance lose its appeal or will their secret beginnings be the start of something lasting?

My Thoughts.

I Saw Her Standing There is a delightfully fun contemporary romance, book three in the Green Mountain series, continuing the love lives and dramas of the Abbott siblings.

Theses books are extremely enjoyable with each and every new couple providing laughs and drama as they work towards their happily ever afters.

Following Colton Abbott and Lucy Mulvaney as they continue their secret romance, they are busted when Colton's older brother Will and his girlfriend Cameron, who also happens to be Lucy's best-friend, plan to spend the weekend at the Abbott family's lake cabin and arrive there to find Colton already there with Lucy, once the cat is out of the bag it's not long before news of their relationship has spread through the small town, the problem is the logistics of the distances that they both live, Colton in Vermont and Lucy in New York, with neither not wanting to leave their hometown's, how are they going to make this a permanent thing when there's six hours distance separating them?

Another great installment in this series, which is a definite must read and has me anxious for the fourth book.

I've fallen completely in love with the Abbott's, their town and their stories, Marie has brought to life a wonderful series that will keep you captivated and thirsty for more.

I give this 4/5 stars.

With more than 3 million books sold, Marie Force is the New York Times, USA Today and Wall Street Journal bestselling, award-winning author of more than 30 contemporary romances. HerNew York Times bestselling self-published McCarthys of Gansett Island Series has sold more than 1 million e-books since Maid for Lovewas released in 2011. She is also the author of theNew York Times bestselling Fatal Series from Harlequin’s Carina Press, as well as the Treading Water Series and numerous stand-alone books.All You Need is Love, book 1 in her new Green Mountain Series from Berkley Sensation, was aNew York Times and USA Today bestseller in February. The second book, I Want to Hold Your Hand, will be out in June, and the third book, I Saw Her Standing There, is coming in November. In 2014, Marie will have eight mass-market print releases—the first five Fatal Series books from Harlequin and the first three Green Mountain Series books from Berkley. While her husband was in the Navy, Marie lived in Spain, Maryland and Florida, and she is now settled in her home state of Rhode Island. She is the mother of two teenagers and two feisty dogs, Brandy and Louie.

Join Marie's mailing list for news about new books and other possible appearances in your area. Follow her on Twitter @marieforce and on Facebook. Join one of Marie's many reader groups by viewing the complete list here. Contact Marie atmarie@marieforce.com.

(ARC) Book Review (400): Chasing Power - Sarah Beth Durst

Chasing Power

by Sarah Beth Durst

Publication: 14th October 2014

Publisher: Bloomsbury

Pages: 376

Genre: Fantasy

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

Buy It: Amazon  /  Barnes & Noble  /  Book Depository

Sixteen-year-old Kayla was born with the ability to move things with her mind-things like credit cards and buttons on cash registers-and she has become a master shoplifter. She steals to build up enough money for her and her mom to be able to flee if her dad finds them again . . . which would mean grave danger for them both. 

When she's caught stealing by a boy named Daniel-a boy with the ability to teleport-he needs her help and is willing to blackmail her to get it. Together, they embark on a quest to find and steal an ancient incantation, written on three indestructible stones and hidden millennia ago, all to rescue Daniel's kidnapped mother. But Kayla has no idea that this rescue mission will lead back to her own family-and to betrayals that she may not be able to forgive . . . or survive.

My Thoughts.

Chasing Power is an exciting and adventure-filled standalone novel, a tale filled with magical abilities with the sites of the world as it's setting.

Like a scavenger hunt only with ancient items that need to be found, it's a life and death situation where to lose is to gamble on one of our main protagonist Mum's life.

Kayla is a sixteen-year old girl who has a gift, she has telekinesis and has used her ability to steal, money, jewelery whatever she feels like, she takes what she can and saves it for the moment she and her Mum are on the run again, from her abusive Father, Moonbeam who we know as Kayla's Mum, doesn't know that she uses her ability, she has in fact forbidden her from using her telekinesis even in the safety of her own home, one day she gets caught by Daniel a boy who has an ability of his own, he can teleport and he desperately needs Kayla's help to rescue his kidnapped Mum, so after being blackmailed by him she agrees to help and it's here where the action starts.

There's never a dull moment, danger seems to be around every corner, and then there's a bit of romance thrown in as well between Kayla and Daniel.

This was the first book that I've ever read of Sarah Beth Durst, while I do own other books of hers I've yet to have the opportunity to pick them up, however after reading and loving this book I'll be sure to put them higher up on my tbr pile.

Sarah has created an extremely enjoyable tale, with engaging characters and a plot that will surely keep you on the edge of your seat.

Highly recommended.

I give this 4/5 stars.

Sarah Beth Durst is the author of nine fantasy novels for children, teens, and adults, including Conjured, Vessel, and Ice. Her most recent YA novel, Chasing Power, came out in October 2014 from Bloomsbury, and her most recent book for adults, The Lost, came out in June 2014 from Harlequin/Mira. She was awarded the 2013 Mythopoeic Fantasy Award for Children's Literature and has been a finalist for SFWA's Andre Norton Award three times. She is a graduate of Princeton University, where she spent four years studying English, writing about dragons, and wondering what the campus gargoyles would say if they could talk. Sarah lives in Stony Brook, New York, with her husband and children. For more information, visit her at www.sarahbethdurst.com.

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Blog Tour: Book Review (399): The Bodies We Wear (The Bodies We Wear #1) - Jeyn Roberts

The Bodies We Wear (The Bodies We Wear #1)

by Jeyn Roberts

Publication: 23rd September 2014

Publisher: Knopf Books For Young Readers

Pages: 368

Genre: Dystopian/Paranormal/Contemporary

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

Buy It: Amazon | B&N | The Book Depository

A streetwise girl trains to take on a gang of drug dealers and avenge her best friend’s death in this thriller for fans of Scott Westerfeld and Robin Wasserman. 

People say when you take Heam, your body momentarily dies and you catch a glimpse of heaven. Faye was only eleven when dealers forced Heam on her and her best friend, Christian. But Faye didn’t glimpse heaven—she saw hell. And Christian died. 

Now Faye spends her days hiding her secret from the kids at school, and her nights training to take revenge on the men who destroyed her life and murdered her best friend. But life never goes the way we think it will. When a mysterious young man named Chael appears, Faye's plan suddenly gets a lot more complicated. Chael seems to know everything about her, including her past. But too many secrets start tearing her world apart: trouble at school, with the police, and with the people she thought might be her friends. Even Gazer, her guardian, fears she's become too obsessed with vengeance. Love and death. Will Faye overcome her desires, or will her quest for revenge consume her?

My Thoughts.

The Bodies We Wear is ultimately a story about revenge, of Faye who at the age of eleven was forced to take the drug Heam, which shuts your body down for a brief time, almost deathlike, if you're lucky you live or the other outcome is death, whilst under this drug high you purportedly glimpse heaven.

This is not so for Faye who sees hell and believes that's where she's headed, when her best-friend Christian is also forced to consume the drug he is not so lucky and he dies, vowing to avenge his death she's spent the last six years learning to fight and trailing her assailants of that fateful night all those years ago, so that when the time comes she'll kill them all.

It's while out keeping tabs on the ringleader Rufus one night that she meets Chael, a good looking guy her age who seems familiar, he also seems to know an awful lot about her, and when we find out why that is, it will shock you completely, and will change the direction of the story we thought we were getting.

Living with her guardian Gazer, she attends school on a scholarship, but people like Faye who have overdosed on Heam are ostracised, and although the school forbids the students from knowing anything about her, they have rules she has to follow including no fraternising with other students or else she will be kicked out, and with no other school willing to take her, she needs to be on her best behaviour at all times, to graduate and prove to the faculty that just because she overdosed doesn't mean she can't try to make something of herself.

This was a very interesting and captivating story, almost like a dystopian with its world under the grip of the Heam epidemic with no law enforcement able to control the dealers or stop the distribution of the drug, with a smidgeon of paranormal all set in a contemporary setting.

I'm excited to see where this series goes, once you pick this book up it's almost as addictive as Heam, and way too hard to put down, very, very enjoyable.

I give this 4/5 stars.

JEYN ROBERTS is the author of Dark Inside and Rage Within. Her first story was published in a middle-grade anthology called Let Me Tell You when she was sixteen. She graduated from the University of British Columbia with a degree in writing and psychology and received her MA from the prestigious creative-writing graduate course at Bath Spa University. Jeyn is a former singer, songwriter, actress, bicycle courier, and tree planter. Her favorite authors include Betty Smith, J. K. Rowling, Ernest Hemingway, Douglas Coupland, and Jonathan Stroud, and her five favorite books of all time are A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Girlfriend in a Coma, Memoirs of a Geisha, What’s Eating Gilbert Grape, and Harry Potter. Jeyn lives in Canada. Visit her at www.jeynroberts.com or follow her on twitter at @JeynRoberts.   

Book Review (398): Keep Me Safe (Slow Burn #1) - Maya Banks

Keep Me Safe (Slow Burn #1)

by Maya Banks 

Publication: 7th October 2014

Publisher: William Morrow Paperbacks

Pages: 256

Genre: Romantic Suspense

Age Appropriate: Adult

Buy It: Amazon.com / Amazon.ca / Amazon.uk/ Barnes and Noble / KOBO / The Book Depository

A sizzling story of a woman who risks her life and her heart to find a wealthy man’s missing sister—the first novel in a sexy new romantic suspense series from #1 New York Times bestselling author Maya Banks

When Caleb Devereaux's younger sister is kidnapped, this scion of a powerful and wealthy family turns to an unlikely source for help: a beautiful and sensitive woman with a gift for finding answers others cannot.

While Ramie can connect to victims and locate them by feeling their pain, her ability comes with a price. Every time she uses it, it costs her a piece of herself. Helping the infuriatingly attractive and impatient Caleb successfully find his sister nearly destroys her. Even though his sexual intensity draws her like a magnet, she needs to get as far away from him as she can.

Deeply remorseful for the pain he’s caused, Caleb is determined to make things right. But just when he thinks Ramie's vanished forever, she reappears. She’s in trouble and she needs his help. Now, Caleb will risk everything to protect her—including his heart. . . .

My Thoughts.

Keep Me Safe is the first book in Maya Banks' brand new series Slow Burn.

A romantic suspense story, about a woman named Ramie St Claire, who is an empath able to get psychic readings off items belonging to people, over many years she has helped Police find many kidnapped people using her gift, but it has taken it's toll, with her ability she not only sees what every violent thing the victim endures but she feels them as well just as if she was the one being hurt.

Ramie who is on the brink of a nervous breakdown, suffering debilitating panic attacks hides herself away in an isolated cabin far away from everyone, but that doesn't stop Caleb Devereaux from discovering where she is, desperate for her help to find his kidnapped sister Tori, and without taking no for an answer he shoves Tori's scarf into her hands not understanding the repercussions of what it will do to Ramie in her fragile state, vowing to come back and help her once his sister is rescued, he returns only to find she has fled.

A year later and Ramie is on the run from a psychopathic killer who is stalking her and who has a psychic link to her as well, she seeks out the help of Caleb who owes her for the whereabouts of his sister, taking her into his home to protect her, they soon tentively start a relationship and while this seemed to be a case of insta-love, they still made a cute couple.

But it's not long until her stalker discovers her whereabouts and starts playing cat and mouse games, determined to get to Ramie no matter what it takes.

I thoroughly enjoyed this story, the plot was fast-paced and full of action, with a host of intriguing and likeable characters, this is one book that will leave you hard pressed not to finish in one sitting.

Maya has captured the atmosphere, stress and tension of someone in this kind of environment and encapsulated it perfectly, this was my first book I've ever read of hers but it sure won't be the last!

I give this 4/5 stars.

My name is Maya Banks and I live in Texas with my husband and three children and our assortment of pets. I’m more of a cat person, but my daughter became convinced she NEEDED a dog. So convinced in fact that it became her mission to convince her father and me. She prepared a two page handwritten proposal that detailed WHY she needed a dog, and well, after I sent her to her father (I knew he wouldn’t tell her no) we embarked on the search for the perfect dog. The journey that was two hours away and that I got pulled over for speeding while I was on the phone with my agent who had an offer from a publisher for one of my books… The officer wasn’t impressed. He wrote me a ticket anyway. Thus, I now tell my daughter that her dog turned into one very expensive concession! But isn’t he cute?

When I’m not writing, I love to hunt and fish with my family. We all love the outdoors and go on family hunting trips every year. We also love to travel. One of our more recent trips was to Scotland, which was every bit as comical as National Lampoon’s European Vacation. You know the part about “Look kids, Big Ben, Parliament” as they went round and round the roundabouts? Yeah, that was us, only we couldn’t even get out of the airport in Glasgow without hitting three of those suckers.

Perhaps the most rewarding aspect of a writing career is getting to meet so many wonderful readers. There’s nothing better than dishing books with someone who loves the romance genre as much as I do. Romance readers are passionate and vocal. We love our books, love our happily ever afters, and we love to spend time talking to others about our favorites. THIS is why I love my job so much, and I’m so grateful to readers who gave ME a chance when I began my career. So thank you.

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(ARC) Book Review (397): This Is How It Ends - Jen Nadol

This Is How It Ends

by Jen Nadol

Publication: 7th October 2014

Publisher: Simon Pulse

Pages: 320

Genre: Mystery

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

Buy It: Pre-order on Amazon, Barnes & Noble or find through Indie Bound.

This Is How It Ends on Goodreads.

If you could see the future, would you want to? After the disturbing visions Riley and his friends see turn out to be more than hallucinations, fate takes a dangerous twist in this dark and suspenseful page-turner.

Riley and his friends are gearing up for their senior year by spending one last night hanging out in the woods, drinking a few beers, and playing Truth or Dare. But what starts out as a good time turns sinister when they find a mysterious pair of binoculars. Those who dare to look through them see strange visions, which they brush off as hallucinations. Why else would Riley see himself in bed with his best friend’s girlfriend—a girl he’s had a secret crush on for years?

In the weeks that follow, the visions begin to come true...including a gruesome murder. One of Riley’s closest friends is now the prime suspect. But who is the murderer? Have Riley and his friends really seen the future through those mysterious binoculars? And what if they are powerless to change the course of events?

My Thoughts.

This Is How It Ends is a mystery with a paranormal slant, focusing on a pair of binoculars that seems to show the future.

When a group of friends: Riley, Trip, Sarah, Natalie and Tannis find the binoculars they never expect that what they each see while looking through them would ever actually happen, especially when Riley sees himself in bed with his best friend Trip's girlfriend Sarah, who also happens to be Riley's crush, knowing that he'd never betray Trip like that, with none of them willing to believe what they were shown they think nothing more of it until Natalie's Dad is murdered just like she saw in the binoculars, and when she becomes a suspect her friends band together to find the real murderer.

Within this story we have two mysteries, one of the murder and the other of the unexplainable future visions that the binoculars have shown them all.

While I did enjoy this story, it wasn't anything spectacular, it is a quick read though and is a good book to read if you have time to spare.

I wasn't a big fan of the ending, and I just wish that it hadn't been left the way it was, leaving the readers with questions that were never answered.

I give this 3/5 stars.

Jen Nadol grew up in Reading, Pennsylvania and graduated from American University with a BA in literature. She's lived in Washington DC, Boston, NYC and now, an old farmhouse north of the city with her husband and three sons. When she's not writing, she's probably tending to the farmhouse or the sons, reading, cooking, skiing, or sleeping.

You can find her online on facebook and twitter or visit her author pages at Simon & Schuster, Bloomsbury, Amazon and Goodreads.

Book Review (396): The Fall - Bethany Griffin

The Fall

by Bethany Griffin 

Publication: 7th October 2014

Publisher: Greenwillow Books

Pages: 400

Genre: Horror

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

Buy It: Amazon + Barnes & Noble + The Book Depository

Madeline Usher is doomed.

She has spent her life fighting fate, and she thought she was succeeding. Until she woke up in a coffin.

Ushers die young. Ushers are cursed. Ushers can never leave their house, a house that haunts and is haunted, a house that almost seems to have a mind of its own. Madeline’s life—revealed through short bursts of memory—has hinged around her desperate plan to escape, to save herself and her brother. Her only chance lies in destroying the house.

In the end, can Madeline keep her own sanity and bring the house down?The Fall is a literary psychological thriller, reimagining Edgar Allan Poe’s classic The Fall of the House of Usher.

My Thoughts.

The Fall is based on the Edgar Allen Poe story The Fall Of The House Of Usher, while I've never read this story or anything by him at all, this book has left me intrigued enough to at some point seek out some of his works.

This was written in a jumbled way with each chapter jumping around to the main character Madeleine's various ages throughout the story, but all mixed up, we start the book when she's eighteen then move to say her ninth, then something else etc, while it was an interesting way to write the book quite often once I'd started a new chapter I'd have to go back to read how old she was in the chapter heading, so while I did end up confused at times I still really enjoyed this book.

The Usher family is cursed, especially those that inhabit The House Of Usher, the house seems to be alive and with each generation finds a favorite and does it's best to keep that person beholden in it's interiors forever, until their untimely deaths at a young age which is the fate of the Usher family legacy, that and the sickness which causes fits and the loss of any sense of time.

Madeleine has been chosen over her twin brother Roderick as the chosen heir of the house, when she was younger she believed that the house protected her, it wasn't until after Roderick is sent away to school to hopefully escape the curse that she soon realises that the house is evil, and it destroys everyone and everything that resides in it.

With the appearance of a young Dr Winston who will be assisting the other two doctors in residence at the house, it's not long till he too succumbs to the evilness that hides in the walls and Madeleine finds herself even more of a prisoner than she ever was, she plans to find a way to escape and leave the house forever, but will the house ever let her go or will she end up like all the rest of her ancestors that met a tragic end, never to leave.

I wasn't a fan of the open-ended finale to to this book, I'd rather be told by the author what happens instead of trying to figure it out myself, that is the one thing I found most disappointing about this story.

But all in all this was a creepy tale that was made even more disturbing reading it at night and hearing noises, my imagination did run wild, especially with the events that happen inside the house in this book, this would be a perfect Halloween read for those who like to scare themselves with tales like this.

Quite enjoyable.

I give this 4/5 stars.

1.	I didn’t ever really give up on writing, I just went through a long period where all I wanted to do was READ. I’d write a paragraph, read a book or two, write another paragraph. And for a long time, all of my creativity was consumed by teaching.
2.	At some point the creativity reasserted itself and I wrote Handcuffs. It was a book that I needed to write, and I still love it very much.
3.	After Handcuffs I spent some time figuring out what I wanted to write, what I could add to the world of literature that was different and unique. After several learning manuscripts, I wrote my Masque of the Red Death.
4.	It’s actually quite bizarre to see myself listed as the author of Masque of the Red Death (Poe’s story is The Masque of the Red Death).

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(ARC) Book Review (395): Mortal Gods (Goddess War #2) - Kendare Blake

Mortal Gods (Goddess War #2)

by Kendare Blake

Publication: 14th October 2014

Publisher: Tor Teen

Pages: 341

Genre: Fantasy/Mythology

Age Appropriate: Young Adult

Buy It: Amazon + Barnes & Noble + The Book Depository

Ares, God of War, is leading the other dying gods into battle. Which is just fine with Athena. She's ready to wage a war of her own, and she's never liked him anyway. If Athena is lucky, the winning gods will have their immortality restored. If not, at least she'll have killed the bloody lot of them, and she and Hermes can die in peace.

Cassandra Weaver is a weapon of fate. The girl who kills gods. But all she wants is for the god she loved and lost to return to life. If she can't have that, then the other gods will burn, starting with his murderer, Aphrodite.

The alliance between Cassandra and Athena is fragile. Cassandra suspects Athena lacks the will to truly kill her own family. And Athena fears that Cassandra's hate will get them ALL killed.

The war takes them across the globe, searching for lost gods, old enemies, and Achilles, the greatest warrior the world has ever seen. As the struggle escalates, Athena and Cassandra must find a way to work together. Because if they can't, fates far worse than death await.

My Thoughts.

I love books featuring Greek Mythology, while usually most books are retelling's of famous couples in Greek lore, this series is unique in that the Gods and Goddesses of ancient times are alive and present in the current day.

With the main focus on Athena, Hermes and Cassandra Of Troy (reincarnated in the present day), they are in the midst of war against Hera, Aphrodite, Ares and countless others I'm sure we don't know about yet.

With all of the Gods and Goddesses dying of an affliction associated with their given powers, they are hoping to find a way to stop their deaths, while at the same time not being completely sure of why this is happening.


Without giving too much away, we pick up the story after the devastating end of Antigoddess, with the addition of some new characters in Odyseuss, Achilles and Calypso to join team Athena, having the two weapons of war as they are known in Cassandra and Achilles, hope is on her side, but not everything goes to plan and we are left with a bit of a cliffhanger that will leave you desperate to get your hands on the next book.

Kendare's writing has a way of drawing you into the story and keeping you absorbed all the way to the very end.

Packed with action, suspense and vengeance this was a great instalment to this series.

An exciting and refreshing take on the Greek Mythology, this is one series that has me captivated and thirsty for more!

I give this 4/5 stars.

Kendare Blake is an import from South Korea who was raised in the United States by caucasian parents. You know, that old chestnut. She received a Bachelor’s degree in Business from Ithaca College and a Master’s degree in Writing from Middlesex University in London. She brakes for animals, the largest of which was a deer, which sadly didn’t make it, and the smallest of which was a mouse, which did, but it took forever. Amongst her likes are Greek Mythology, rare red meat and veganism. She also enjoys girls who can think with the boys like Ayn Rand, and boys who scare the morality into people, like Bret Easton Ellis. 

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