Saturday 22 June 2013

Book Review (234): Abandon (Abandon Trilogy #1) - Meg Cabot


Abandon (Abandon Trilogy #1)

Publication: 26th April 2011
Publisher: Point
Pages: 304
Genre: Fantasy/Paranormal
Age Appropriate: Young Adult
New from #1 New York Times bestselling author Meg Cabot, a dark, fantastical story about this world . . . and the underworld.

Though she tries returning to the life she knew before the accident, Pierce can't help but feel at once a part of this world, and apart from it. Yet she's never alone . . . because someone is always watching her. Escape from the realm of the dead is impossible when someone there wants you back.

But now she's moved to a new town. Maybe at her new school, she can start fresh. Maybe she can stop feeling so afraid.

Only she can't. Because even here, he finds her. That's how desperately he wants her back. She knows he's no guardian angel, and his dark world isn't exactly heaven, yet she can't stay away . . . especially since he always appears when she least expects it, but exactly when she needs him most.

But if she lets herself fall any further, she may just find herself back in the one place she most fears: the Underworld.
My Thoughts.
This was my very first Meg Cabot novel and it definitely won't be my last.
For reasons I can't figure out, this book has a lot of negative reviews, when I posted that I was reading this on Instagram I had no positive remarks given about the book, instead I had people telling me how bad it was, now I would rather give something a go myself before judging it, but I can honestly say I was a little bit worried because so many people can't be wrong right? But I'm happy to say that I'm in the minority of readers that loved it, so much so that I didn't want to put it down at times, and that to me is a sign of a good book.
This story had everything I love in a book, a fantasy/paranormal setting add in the mythology of Hades and Persephone which this book is loosely based on and one hot Death Deity named John and you've got your self one helluva story that kept me entertained all the way through until the very end.
The plot is about seventeen year old Pierce, at the age of fifteen she 'died' drowning in her backyard swimming pool (she was revived but technically dead for a short while), and while dead she found herself in the Underworld, the place where you find out whether you end up in heaven or hell, when she spots a guy who she had met when she was seven years old in a cemetery after her Grandpa's funeral, she immediately goes up to speak with him to tell him what he's doing wrong while running the place, stunned he asks her if she wants to go away somewhere else with him and she agrees, but what Pierce doesn't understand is that by going with him she has become the consort of the Lord Of The Underworld John. After discovering this she panics and manages to escape, but throughout the next couple of years whenever Pierce is in trouble John has a knack of knowing exactly when she needs help and shows up to help her.
After her parents divorce Pierce and her mother move to Isla Huesos, it's there she discovers that not only is the island a big part of John's past but that Furies (spirits that did not end up in heaven) are not happy that she escaped the Underworld two years ago, and they will possess whomever they need to to kill Pierce and destroy John.
But can these two admit their feelings towards each other and unite together to beat the evil out to get them?
I would highly recommend this book to anyone interested in these kind of stories, now I'm off to devour the second book in the trilogy Underworld.
I give this 5/5 Stars.

Book Review (233): How Many Ways (Truly, Madly #1.5) - Cecilia Robert



How Many Ways (Truly Madly #1.5)

Publication: 22nd May 2013
Publisher: Inkspell Publishing
Pages: 20+
Genre: Contemporary Romance 
Age Appropriate: New Adult

After the rain, comes sunshine and no one knows this better than Liese and Frey. Frey has loved Liese from a distance for years, but now life has dealt him the right cards. His dreams have become a reality, and for the very first time, Liese is truly his to touch and to hold.

**Mature Content Warning** 17+ for language and sexual content.
My Thoughts.
This was a very short novella in-between Truly, Madly, Deeply, You and the second book which will be titled Truly, Deeply, Yours.
Continuing on from the first book, Frey and Liese are now a couple and this story deals with their first time sleeping with one another, Frey is waiting for Liese to be ready and to initiate it while Liese is anxious but excited about finally taking this next step in their relationship after being best-friends for so long.
It ends up being a really good bridge between the two books and sets us up nicely for what will happen next between this couple whom have finally found happiness with each other and truly deserve a happily ever after.
I look forward to the second book in this series, if you're a fan of contemporary romance books then definitely give this series a go.
I give this 4/5 Stars.
A big thanks to Cecilia for the review copy. 

Friday 21 June 2013

Preview Package: Cora Carmack's Keeping Her By Avon Books + Garrick POV Scenes From Losing It.

 Cora and Jay Crownover will be participating in a Goodreads chat on 6/26

Will be hosting a FAKING IT book club on Cora’s facebook page on 6/27 from where you can live chat with Cora about the book and ask her all your burning questions.


Thursday 20 June 2013

Book Blast & Giveaway: Addicted To You - Colina Brennan


When twenty-one-year-old Leah Carter's latest one night stand burglarizes her apartment, her roommate forces her to attend therapy for sex addicts. Leah insists she isn't a sex addict; she just doesn't do relationships. After all, sooner or later, everyone lets you down.
At first, the group sessions are little more than an education on how to be promiscuous. Until she meets the newest addict—blue eyes, killer body, and a smile that tempts relapse.
Psychology student Will McLean is posing as a fellow addict while researching a case study on unusual addictions. But the more he learns about Leah, the more certain he is that his desire to break through her walls and unearth her secrets has nothing to do with his assignment.
As the uncertainties spike alongside the sexual tension, the only thing Leah knows for sure is that falling in love would be disastrous. Too bad love might be one addiction she can't kick.


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Colina Brennan is a new adult writer with a love for the fantastical and the romantic. When she isn’t writing, she’s attached at the hip to her kids or chasing her dog or daydreaming about what she wants to write next.






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Book Review (232): Truly, Madly, Deeply, You (Truly Madly #1) - Cecilia Robert


Truly, Madly, Deeply, You (Truly Madly #1)


Publication: 21st March 2012
Publisher: Inkspell Publishing
Pages: 82
Genre: Contemporary Romance
Age Appropriate: New Adult
Buy It: Amazon  All Romance Books

Four days before Valentine’s Day, Liese Hansfeld is determined to shut the door to her house, as well as her heart, for her annual four days of mourning her one true love. Little does she know her best friend Freytag Meier is just as determined to keep her from her ritual. He’s ready to pick the lock to her apartment door and camp in her living room if that’s what it takes.

What Freytag isn’t prepared for is the surge of deep-rooted emotions he feels for Liese, but two things stand in his way: the grief and guilt she still clutches close to her heart, and a man who threatens to snatch Liese from under Frey’s watchful eye. Frey is determined to distract her into forgetting her pain. But is that enough to ease her grief, or help her see he can be more than her best friend?
My Thoughts.
Having read and loved Cecilia's book Reaper's Novice (curently only 99 cents, trust me it's money well spent, go and buy it now) I was eager to read this and see if Cecilia writes contemporary romance as well as she does paranormal and I'm happy to say that she does!
I love this kind of a story, the best-friend who's secretly in love with their best-friend whom is completely oblivious to other friends feelings and this is true of Freytag (Frey) who is in love with Liese who has been in mourning these past two years and she shuts herself away four days of the year around Valentine's Day, we don't really find out into later on in the story who Liese is mourning but the name Bastian keeps being brought up, and while there are clues scattered throughout the story I did figure out what had happened before it was revealed at the end but that's alright it was still written in such a way that was still emotional and made an impact on the storyline when you realise what Liese has been through.

This year Frey has decided that enough's enough and he is going to camp out in her living room and try to get her out her funk by keeping her busy whilst secretly hoping that she may feel the same way he feels about her, and so through dancing and skiing and the interest of a boy named Ben whom Liese has dated once or twice and Frey's ex Carmen, can these two best-friends find their way to each other, and can Liese let go of the grief and guilt she's been carrying around with her for far too long?

I loved this book but Reaper's Novice is still up there in terms of my favourite Cecilia Robert's story, if you love contemporary romance/new adult books then definitely consider picking this one up.

I give this 4/5 Stars.

A Big Thanks To Cecilia For The Review Copy.

Cover Reveal: The King (Black Dagger Brotherhood #12) - J.R Ward


The King (Black Dagger Brotherhood #12)

The newest installment in J.R. Ward’s #1 New York Times bestselling Black Dagger Brotherhood series.  Wrath and the Brotherhood are locked in an epic battle over his throne and the very future of the vampire race.
Expected publication: March 25th 2014 by NAL Hardcover
I'm So Excited For This One!

Wednesday 19 June 2013

(ARC) Book Review (231): The Vampire With The Dragon Tattoo (Love At Stake #14) - Kerrelyn Sparks


The Vampire With the Dragon Tattoo (Love at Stake #14)


Publication: 27th August 2013
Publisher: Avon
Pages: 384
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Age Appropriate: Adult