DEADLY SWEET LIES by Erica Cameron

Rating: C
Synopsis:
Nadette Lawson knows when you’re lying.

Every night for the past two years, the Balasura have visited her dreams, enticing her to enter their world. And every night she’s seen through their lies. Now, they’re tired of playing in the shadows and they begin to stalk her in the waking world. It’s no longer just an invitation; if Nadette doesn’t join them, they’ll take her family. Forever. She needs help, and the haven she’s seeking may be just out of reach.

Julian Teagan is a master of deception.

To survive, he has to convince the world his mother isn’t useless, that everything’s fine, otherwise he’ll lose what little he has left in this life. He knows the lying won’t be enough to keep him and his mother in the shadows, but it’s all he knows. The only light of truth is Orane, a Balasura who sees past Julian’s facade and challenges him to face the darkness.
Then Orane is killed, and Julian learns his mentor was far from innocent. The Balasura have hunted children like him for centuries, and their next target, Nadette is his one chance at finally being a part of something real. If Julian can just convince her to trust him…

My thoughts on the book:
Deadly Sweet Lies wasn't half as good as its predecessor, in my opinion. The characters were kind of weak, and the little bit of world-building still wasn't sufficient, in my opinion. The writing was pretty good, but the pacing was super slow. It just didn't hold my interest as well as Sing Sweet Nightingale. I did enjoy seeing what happened to the characters of the first book, but the ending of this one really freaking sucked. I just wasn't blown away. 

Nadette was a pretty strong character for the first 75% of the book or so, then she just got annoying. I liked her fine until the really bad things started happening and she acted like an entirely different, weaker character. That threw me and made me not like her as much. Julian also was obnoxious. I didn't like him from the very beginning. Lexi was pretty interesting, and I liked Aisling a lot. Other than that, the old characters were the only ones who stood out and interested me. 

The pacing was super slow, and I got bored several times reading this book. Also, the world-building is still lacking. I get what's going on more, but I could have used a lot more info. It's one thing not to info dump every other page, but it's a completely different thing to not have enough information to make the story make sense. Also some random people just vanished without any explanation at the end, and characters we didn't even meet were mentioned like we were supposed to care about them. I did like that the author had characters of different sexual orientations, and I also appreciated her taking us inside the home of a neglected kid so that everyone could understand more what they went through. Along with that, the writing was pretty good, and she had some memorable quotes in there. However, the ending was awful. It's like it stopped in the middle of the story. This was like a cliffhanger on steroids, and I hated it. Not even sure if I want to read the next installment or not because of that. 

Overall, this book was unique and addressed some important topics, but it just didn't blow me out of the water. I really wish there was more world-building and that the author had tied things up a bit more at the end. The novel wasn't terrible, but it wasn't fantastic, either. 

Read More

Romantic Times 2016: Las Vegas April 12-16 and Aimee Salter Interview

I have to admit that I am super jealous that I can't attend the Romantic Times convention in Las Vegas this year. If you guys haven't heard, they are having a GIANT BOOK FAIR and a Teen Day!! I can't even begin to tell you guys how amazing this is going to be. If you get the chance to go, then you definitely should.

Giant Book Fair
This has got to be the coolest thing I've ever heard of. From the site, "On Saturday, April 16 meet more than 625 authors who will be signing at the Giant Book Fair. The Book Fair will be set up like a GIANT bookstore where all the authors' latest books will be available for purchase." They have some amazing authors lined up, too, including:

Jennifer L Armentrout	Kami Garcia	Julie Kagawa
Keri Arthur	Heather   Graham	CJ Rediwne
Brodi Ashton	Kelly Fiore	Mary Lindsey
Victoria Aveyard	Cynthia Hand	Katie McGarry
Alexandra Bracken	Wendy Higgins	Gretchen       McNeil
Rae Carson	Amanda Hocking	Richelle Mead
Cinda Williams Chima	Ellen Hopkins	Jodi Meadows
Susane Colasanti	Colleen Houck	Lauren Oliver
Kresley Cole	C.C. Hunter	Mary E. Pearson
Kimberly Derting	Larissa Ione	Veronica Rossi
Lyndsay Sands	Nalini Singh	Sophie Jordan

You can find out more about the book fair here (general info) and here (show floor layout).

In addition to the most amazing book fair of all time, Romantic Times is also having Teen Day for all of the fans of YA lit! 

There are going to be some amazing YA signers at Teen Day, including Amy Plum, Rosamund Hodge, and Morgan Rhodes (aka Michelle Rowan). You will not want to miss this line-up. For more information and the full program for Teen Day which includes some awesome workshops, click here. 

Be sure to like the Teen Day's Facebook page for all of the up to date info!

I was also lucky enough to get an interview with one of the amazing authors who will be at this convention, Aimee Salter. Please see the questions and answers below!

Q: What are you looking forward to at Romantic Times? 
Aimee: I'm a panelist for the Never Too Old for YA panel on Thursday morning. I've got cool swag bags for the readers who join my table, and the entire event will be a game. It's going to be a blast. I can't wait. Add it to your agenda: https://rtconvention.com/event/youre-never-too-old

Q: Which author that you haven’t met are you looking forward to meeting next at Romantic Times?
A:On a personal level I'm super-excited to meet Cora Carmack. We worked together before her books hit the big time, so I've wanted to hug her for a long time!

Q: What’s your favorite romance story? 
A: It's a tie between Katja Millay's The Sea of Tranquility, and Huntley Fitzpatrick's My Life Next Door. I re-read both of these at least once a year. I just adore them. And they both get better every time.

Q: I LOVE My Life Next Door! Romantic Times is in Las Vegas this year - tell us which one of your characters and from which book would win big in Vegas? What advice would you give that character? 
A: The main character, Tully, from Dark Touch, is very ballsy. If she had the resources to hit Vegas, she'd definitely make the most of it. And because she deserves to cut loose, I'd tell her to go for it, but just make sure to always leave enough money left over to, you know, eat.

Q: What is up next for you?
A: I'm working on two projects right now--another YA romance set in the near future with a swoon-worthy celebrity hero, and my first adult romance, an edgy inspirational story I can't wait to share with the world.

How excited do Aimee's new projects sound? If you haven't checked out her books, you have to give them a try. Head on over to her GoodReads page to add them to your TBR list!

As you can see, this Convention is going to be epic, and I am so disappointed that I can't go. However, I want all of you to go and have a great time and post pics and tell us all about it. What are you waiting for?! Register now! Time's running out!

Read More

THE PASSENGER by Alexandra Bracken

Rating: B+
Synopsis:
Passage, n.
i. A brief section of music composed of a series of notes and flourishes.
ii. A journey by water; a voyage.
iii. The transition from one place to another, across space and time.

In one devastating night, violin prodigy Etta Spencer loses everything she knows and loves. Thrust into an unfamiliar world by a stranger with a dangerous agenda, Etta is certain of only one thing: she has traveled not just miles but years from home. And she’s inherited a legacy she knows nothing about from a family whose existence she’s never heard of. Until now.

Nicholas Carter is content with his life at sea, free from the Ironwoods—a powerful family in the colonies—and the servitude he’s known at their hands. But with the arrival of an unusual passenger on his ship comes the insistent pull of the past that he can’t escape and the family that won’t let him go so easily. Now the Ironwoods are searching for a stolen object of untold value, one they believe only Etta, Nicholas’ passenger, can find. In order to protect her, he must ensure she brings it back to them—whether she wants to or not.


Together, Etta and Nicholas embark on a perilous journey across centuries and continents, piecing together clues left behind by the traveler who will do anything to keep the object out of the Ironwoods’ grasp. But as they get closer to the truth of their search, and the deadly game the Ironwoods are playing, treacherous forces threaten to separate Etta not only from Nicholas but from her path home... forever.

My thoughts on the book:
I'll admit that I wasn't a huge fan of Bracken's last series, but I couldn't resist requesting a time travel novel. Needless to say, I was pleasantly surprised. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, and I absolutely loved the characters. The pacing dragged on in a few places, then the ending was a major cliffhanger, which I didn't like too much, but the world-building was spectacular. The writing was well-done, and the descriptions were extremely vivid. I can't wait for the next installment in this series.

Etta was well-developed and a bit stubborn, but she wasn't illogical or rash. She's pretty strong for a YA female lead, and she managed to do that without being a brat. My favorite thing about her is that she actually had feelings and stopped in the middle of the chaos to feel them. I also liked that she had some kind of anxiety disorder because that stuff needs to be talked about more. As someone with GAD, I can appreciate a heroine who is strong but also struggles with panic attacks. Nicholas was a great leading man. He was a good complement to Etta, and he was a bit broken without being angsty. He was also a super strong character, and he was very complex. There were layers to his pain, but he was still willing to give life a chance. We could all learn a few lessons from that, I think. The secondary characters weren't as well-developed, but they felt like real people. We just didn't get to see them a lot. Hasan was a lot of fun, and I would have liked to have seen more of Alice.

The writing was engaging, and the plot was extremely well thought out. Everything tied together nicely, and almost everything made perfect sense. The plot twist at the end sent me reeling, though, and I'm not sure if it felt right or not, to be honest. I haven't really had time to absorb it yet, I think. The last 75% of the story lagged a bit until the very end (93%ish mark), where it moved at lightening speed and ended on a cliffhanger. I really didn't care for that too much. The world-building was well-done, and I could accept and understand the world that Bracken created. The author described each place beautifully, and the descriptions were so vivid that I felt like I was there with the characters. She really did her research/traveling for this book. Again, I like that the action paused when something awful happened to give the characters a chance to feel a full range of emotion. I hate when something that's supposed to be traumatizing happens and the characters just keep going and never deal with it. That's not realistic to me, and it really takes away from the story. Bracken is one of the few authors that I've seen actually let the characters feel before jumping back into the fray, and I appreciated that.

Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone who is looking for a good time travel novel. Bracken's presentation of time travel is a bit different from the other books I've read on this topic, and the story itself is extremely interesting.

Read More

Waiting on Wednesday #46

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week I'm waiting on The Raven King by Maggie Stiefvater.

Release Date: 04/26/16

Synopsis:

The fourth and final installment in the spellbinding series from the irrepressible, #1 New York Times bestselling author Maggie Stiefvater.

All her life, Blue has been warned that she will cause her true love's death. She doesn't believe in true love and never thought this would be a problem, but as her life becomes caught up in the strange and sinister world of the Raven Boys, she's not so sure anymore.

In a starred review for Blue Lily, Lily Blue, Kirkus Reviews declared: "Expect this truly one-of-a-kind series to come to a thundering close."

Why I'm Waiting:

This is one of my absolute favorite series of all time. Stiefvater has created an exhilarating world with realistic and unique characters that you can't help but love. While I hate that this will be the last installment, I really hope that some of what I hope will come to pass actually happens. 

What are you waiting on this Wednesday? 

Read More

Stacking the Shelves #30

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme hosted by  Tynga's Reviews! This meme showcases the books received, bought, or checked out from the library over the past week. 

For Review:

What the Dead Want
By: Norah Olson
Release Date: 7/26/16
Synopsis:
16 -year-old Gretchen takes photographs to understand the world around her, a passion her mother Mona fostered and encouraged when she was still around. Since her mom disappeared years ago, Gretchen and her dad have lived on their own in New York City, haunted by Mona’s absence.

When Gretchen’s great aunt Esther calls unexpectedly to tell her that she has inherited the pre-Civil War mansion on her mother’s side of the family in upstate New York, Gretchen understands nothing except that her aunt needs her help. But what she finds there is beyond her imagination. The house is crumbling apart, filled with stacks of papers and journals from decades, even centuries past, and it’s crawling with rodents. It’s also full of secrets and a legacy of racism and violence so reprehensible that the ghosts of the past are exacting revenge on the living.

Somehow the mystery of Mona’s disappearance and the atrocities that happened on the land during the Civil War are inextricably intertwined, and it’s up to Gretchen to figure out how…before even more lives are lost.

Ivory and Bone
By: Julie Eshbaugh
Release Date: 6/14/16
Synopsis:
A prehistoric fantasy—with allusions to Pride and Prejudice.

Hunting, gathering, and keeping his family safe—that’s the life seventeen-year-old Kol knows. Then bold, enigmatic Mya arrives from the south with her family, and Kol is captivated. He wants her to like and trust him, but any hopes of impressing her are ruined when he makes a careless—and nearly grave—mistake. However, there’s something more to Mya’s cool disdain…a history wrought with loss that comes to light when another clan arrives. With them is Lo, an enemy from Mya’s past who Mya swears has ulterior motives.


As Kol gets to know Lo, tensions between Mya and Lo escalate until violence erupts. Faced with shattering losses, Kol is forced to question every person he’s trusted. One thing is for sure: this was a war that Mya or Lo—Kol doesn’t know which—had been planning all along.

Unplugged
By: Donna Freitas
Release Date: 6/21/16
Synopsis:
The first book in a provocative new series from acclaimed author Donna Freitas—Feed for a new generation.

Humanity is split into the App World and the Real World—an extravagant virtual world for the wealthy and a dying physical world for the poor. Years ago, Skylar Cruz’s family sent her to the App World for a chance at a better life.

Now Skye is a nobody, a virtual sixteen-year-old girl without any glamorous effects or expensive downloads to make her stand out in the App World. Yet none of that matters to Skye. All she wants is a chance to unplug and see her mother and sister again.

But when the borders between worlds suddenly close, Skye loses that chance. Desperate to reach her family, Skye risks everything to get back to the physical world. Once she arrives, however, she discovers a much larger, darker reality than the one she remembers.


In the tradition of M. T. Anderson’s Feed and Scott Westerfeld’s Uglies, Unplugged kicks off a thrilling and timely sci-fi series for teens from an award-winning writer.

Makoons
By: Louise Erdrich
Release Date: 8/9/16
Synopsis:
In the sequel to Chickadee, acclaimed author Louise Erdrich continues her award-winning Birchbark House series with the story of an Ojibwe family in nineteenth-century America.

Named for the Ojibwe word for little bear, Makoons and his twin, Chickadee, have traveled with their family to the Great Plains of Dakota Territory. There they must learn to become buffalo hunters and once again help their people make a home in a new land. But Makoons has had a vision that foretells great challenges—challenges that his family may not be able to overcome.


Based on Louise Erdrich’s own family history, this fifth book in the series features black-and-white interior illustrations, a note from the author about her research, as well as a map and glossary of Ojibwe terms.

Down with the Shine
By: Kate Karyus Quinn
Release Date: 4/26/16
Synopsis:
There's a reason they say "be careful what you wish for." Just ask the girl who wished to be thinner and ended up smaller than Thumbelina, or the boy who asked for "balls of steel" and got them-literally. And never wish for your party to go on forever. Not unless you want your guests to be struck down by debilitating pain if they try to leave.


These are things Lennie only learns when it's too late-after she brings some of her uncles' moonshine to a party and toasts to dozens of wishes, including a big wish of her own: to bring back her best friend, Dylan, who was abducted and murdered six months ago.

Lennie didn't mean to cause so much chaos. She always thought her uncles' moonshine toast was just a tradition. And when they talked about carrying on their "important family legacy," she thought they meant good old-fashioned bootlegging.

As it turns out, they meant granting wishes. And Lennie has just granted more in one night than her uncles would grant in a year.


Now she has to find a way to undo the damage. But once granted, a wish can't be unmade...

The Crown's Game
By: Evelyn Skye
Release Date: 5/17/16
Synopsis:
Vika Andreyeva can summon the snow and turn ash into gold. Nikolai Karimov can see through walls and conjure bridges out of thin air. They are enchanters—the only two in Russia—and with the Ottoman Empire and the Kazakhs threatening, the Tsar needs a powerful enchanter by his side.

And so he initiates the Crown’s Game, an ancient duel of magical skill—the greatest test an enchanter will ever know. The victor becomes the Imperial Enchanter and the Tsar’s most respected adviser. The defeated is sentenced to death.

Raised on tiny Ovchinin Island her whole life, Vika is eager for the chance to show off her talent in the grand capital of Saint Petersburg. But can she kill another enchanter—even when his magic calls to her like nothing else ever has?

For Nikolai, an orphan, the Crown’s Game is the chance of a lifetime. But his deadly opponent is a force to be reckoned with—beautiful, whip smart, imaginative—and he can’t stop thinking about her.

And when Pasha, Nikolai’s best friend and heir to the throne, also starts to fall for the mysterious enchantress, Nikolai must defeat the girl they both love... or be killed himself.


As long-buried secrets emerge, threatening the future of the empire, it becomes dangerously clear... the Crown’s Game is not one to lose.

Mercy
By: Rebecca Lim
Release Date: 4/20/16
Synopsis:
Mercy wakes on a school bus bound for Paradise, a small town where everyone knows everyone else's business... Or thinks they do. But Mercy has a secret life. She is an angel, doomed to return repeatedly to Earth, taking on a new human form each time she does, in an effort to resolve a cataclysmic rift between heavenly beings.

In Paradise, Mercy meets Ryan, an eighteen-year-old whose sister was kidnapped two years ago and is presumed dead. When another girl is also taken, Mercy knows she has to act quickly and use extraordinary powers to rescue her, even if it means exposing her true identity.

An electric combination of angels, mystery and romance, Mercy is the first book in a major new series.

Exile
By: Rebecca Lim
Release Date: 5/18/16
Synopsis:
An electric combination of angels, mystery and romance, EXILE is the breathtaking sequel to MERCY in a major new paranormal romance series.

There's something very wrong with me. When I wake up, I could be anyone…

An angel in exile, Mercy is doomed to return repeatedly to Earth, taking on a new human form each time she does. Now she "wakes" as unhappy teen Lela, a girl caring for a dying mother but never herself.

As her shattered memory begins to return, Mercy remembers Ryan, the boy she fell in love with in another life, and Luc, the angel haunting her dreams. Will Mercy risk Lela’s life to be reunited with her heart’s true desire?


An electric combination of angels, mystery and romance, Exile is the second book in the spellbinding MERCY series.

The Queen of Blood
By: Sarah Beth Durst
Release Date: 9/20/16
Synopsis:
An idealistic young student and a banished warrior become allies in a battle to save their realm in this first book of a mesmerizing epic fantasy series, filled with political intrigue, violent magic, malevolent spirits, and thrilling adventure

Everything has a spirit: the willow tree with leaves that kiss the pond, the stream that feeds the river, the wind that exhales fresh snow . . .

But the spirits that reside within this land want to rid it of all humans. One woman stands between these malevolent spirits and the end of humankind: the queen. She alone has the magical power to prevent the spirits from destroying every man, woman, and child. But queens are still just human, and no matter how strong or good, the threat of danger always looms. 


With the position so precarious, young women are chosen to train as heirs. Daleina, a seemingly quiet academy student, is under no illusions as to her claim to the throne, but simply wants to right the wrongs that have befallen the land. Ven, a disgraced champion, has spent his exile secretly fighting against the growing number of spirit attacks. Joining forces, these daring partners embark on a treacherous quest to find the source of the spirits’ restlessness—a journey that will test their courage and trust, and force them to stand against both enemies and friends to save their land . . . before it’s bathed in blood.

Bright Blaze of Magic
By: Jennifer Estep
Release Date: 4/26/16
Synopsis:
Bad Things Always Come In Threes…

As a thief, I'm good at three things: hiding in the shadows, getting in and out unseen, and uncovering secrets. I put these skills to work for the Sinclair Family, one of the magical mobs that run the tourist town of Cloudburst Falls. 

Everyone knows Victor Draconi wants to take over all the other Families--and kill every last Sinclair. What they don't know is that I'm on to him, and no way will I let the man who murdered my mom get away with hurting all the other people I care about. Especially when I've got places to break into, stuff to steal, and Devon Sinclair fighting right by my side… 


"An adventurous ride you will never want to get off." --#1 New York Times bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout on Cold Burn of Magic

What did you stack your shelf with this week?

Read More

SING SWEET NIGHTINGALE by Erica Cameron

Rating: B-
Synopsis:
Seventeen-year-old Mariella hasn't said a word in four years, and it's not because she can't: it's because she won't. She has nothing to say because no one would believe there's a world she can only visit in her dreams. And no one would understand why Mariella promised her silence to Orane, the man who introduced her to this world.   Hudson is only eighteen, but he's survived a lot--including a run-in with creatures he calls the "dream demons", creatures he blames for the recent death of his four-year-old brother. Struggling to cope in the aftermath of this loss--and guided by signs even the practical Hudson can't ignore--he moves to a new town and comes face-to-face with the one thing he never thought he'd see: another victim of the demons.  Mariella and Hudson have both been chosen by demons from a world that exists within ours, a world where beauty and magic mask cruelty and greed. Hudson has seen the gruesome reality of these beings, but Mariella is still in their thrall. She's in love with her captor, Orane, and is convinced she doesn't need saving. It's up to Hudson to show her the truth about the demons before she's lost in their world forever.

My thoughts on the book:
I wasn't sure what to expect when I requested this book on NetGalley. I was hoping for something different, and I got it. This novel is definitely unique. The characters are fully-developed, and the author has a pretty good voice, especially for her first book. The pacing was spot on, and the relationships were believable and natural. The world-building, however, was lacking. Other than the lack of understanding about the world Cameron created, I really enjoyed this book and look forward to the sequel.

This story was told from Hudson and Marielle's alternating first person perspectives, and they each had their own unique voice, for the most part. Hudson's voice was rougher, which suited him, considering all that his character had been through. He was really interesting and very complex and flawed. I loved that about him. Despite the rough (and a bit scary) exterior, he was a really good, sweet guy, though. He wasn't super angsty and whiny like a lot of male leads with bad pasts. Likewise, Mariella was a decently strong heroine. She annoyed me at first until I realized she was more or less under a spell of sorts. Her voice had a dream-like quality to it that really made her situation believable and made her a relatable character. The secondary characters were entertaining and well-developed, too. No filler characters in this book. I really liked Dawn. She was a lot of fun.

The writing itself was decent, but the descriptions and world-building were almost non-existent. I still don't understand why the dreamworld creatures/demons/whatever they were did what they did, and I don't know exactly what they are. The concept is brilliant and lovely and horrific, but the explanations were lacking. I hope that the next novel delves more into the world-building. This book had a lot of setting up the story and situation, and I get that, but I needed more information. You'd think with nearly 400 pages that there would be some serious world-building, but there wasn't. The action and suspense were pretty much nonstop, though, and the novel was unique enough that it kept me interested. The ending tied things up nicely, even though I didn't feel like I knew much more than I did about the dreamworld.

Overall, I'd recommend this book to anyone who's looking for something different in the YA Paranormal genre. There's light romance, but the book focuses more on people and what makes them tick than anything else. This was definitely an interesting read.

Read More

Follow Friday #50

This is a meme hosted every Friday by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read, where book bloggers answer a question each week and check out how others answered it. It's a cool way for bloggers and viewers to connect and learn more about each other!

This week's question:

3 FAVORITE BOOK BOYFRIENDS, BOOKS THEY’RE IN, AND WHY YOU’LL ALWAYS LOVE THEM.

1. Clayton Danvers from Kelley Armstrong's Otherworld Series - He was my first true literary love of my adult life, and I still adore him. He's a fantastically complex character: smart, strong, tortured, loyal, loving, devoted, and of course, hot. The changing into a werewolf thing when times get tough doesn't hurt things either. He'd always keep a girl safe. 

2. Bones from Jeaniene Frost's Night Huntress Series - Bones is hot, British, and a badass vampire. He has tons of... ahem... experience, so things would be interesting, and he's a master vampire with his own line of vampires. Also, he can fly, which could make for some really fun dates. Did I mention he's British?

3. Warner from the Shatter Me Series by Tahereh Mafi - Talk about misunderstood, poor Warner had a horrific childhood and had to act like a monster just to stay alive. However, when he loves, he loves hard, and he's not really a psychopath. He just needs someone who can accept him for who he really is, not who his terrible father made him out to be. He may not be the best at expressing interest in females, since he tends to come across more stalkerish and like a kidnapper, but he would do anything in the world for those he loves. He also is willing to do the awful, terrible, difficult things to protect others. This guy really tugged at my heartstrings, and while I think we'd need a lot of couple's therapy, he'd totally be worth the effort. 

Read More