Re-Review: Kiss of Snow by Nalini Singh

Publication Date: May 31st, 2011
Reread's Finished Date: May 30th, 2013
Publisher: Berkley Hardcover
Format: Hardback
Pages: 415
Series: Psy-Changeling #10
My Rating: 5/5!!!

Goodreads | Amazon | B&N | Book Depository | Author's Website

Blurb from Goodreads:

The hardcover debut of New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh and her highly acclaimed Psy/Changeling novels.

Since the moment of her defection from the PsyNet and into the SnowDancer wolf pack, Sienna Lauren has had one weakness. Hawke. Alpha and dangerous, he compels her to madness.

Hawke is used to walking alone, having lost the woman who would've been his mate long ago. But Sienna fascinates the primal heart of him, even as he tells himself she is far too young to handle the wild fury of the wolf.

Then Sienna changes the rules-and suddenly, there is no more distance, only the most intimate of battles between two people who were never meant to meet. Yet as they strip away each other's secrets in a storm of raw emotion, they must also ready themselves for a far more vicious fight...

A deadly enemy is out to destroy SnowDancer, striking at everything they hold dear, but it is Sienna's darkest secret that may yet savage the pack that is her home-and the alpha who is its heartbeat.

 

So, a few weeks ago before the release of number 13th in this amazing series, I decided to reread Kiss of Snow cause, well, Hawke is my favorite, favorite, FAVORITE in this entire series (yay, Hawke~ ;P), but I remembered not liking his book as much as I thought I should have. I went back to reread it, and OMG, was it one of the best book decisions I've ever made cause I enjoyed it so much more than the first time! I think that now that I have a handle of who's who (the names and all) and of the entire plot, I could really enjoy the story and Hawke and Sienna's romance that much better.

 

My first review I gave this book an appalling 4-4.5 rating, but I'm going to up this book to a solid, resounding 5. :)

 

Here's my re-review of the book if you're not bored of my little revelation up there (hehe):

 

 

Edit (5/30/13): Just reread KISS OF SNOW and I am wondering how in the world did I not fall in love with Hawke and Sienna in my first read. I mean, THEY'RE AWESOME and Hawke is, let me tell you, one perfect male specimen, right there. With the tortured past, alpha persona, protective nature and silver-gold(even though I imagine him as white)-pelt-hair-ice-blue-eyes (yeah, just had to add that) he has going on for him, and Sienna. She's such an amazing, courageous and beautiful young woman, smart too! I think, like Sascha, she'll make for a really good mate for an alpha, one that gained my respect quite early on in KoS.

The other couple that found their happy ever after (for now, at least) was Lara and Walker. Quite contrasting to the intense, steamy and fast-paced love story that was Hawke and Sienna's, theirs was a more subtle, sweet and tender romance that was as toe-curlingly heartwarming.

The plot and writing were just the right amount of complex and amazing; All that military strategizing and deducing and guessing-games...it really differentiates Singh's novels to other Urban Fantasies-PNRs out there that makes reading her books such a unique and refreshing experience, with equal amounts of the dark-gritty components as with the humor, camaraderie, sense of family and of course, there's her signature writing style of romance. Though there were times when the story scaled just a little too much to the romance than the thriller and the pace got just a teensy bit dull, but hey, who am I to complain? Anyhoo, I'm actually more of a Guild Hunter (if you don't know it yet, this is Singh's amazing other UF/PNR series) fan and not much of a Psy-Changeling fan that I've only read a few installments in this series, but I think KISS OF SNOW has officially amped up the hype for me with regards to the release of HEARTS OF OBSIDIAN this June 4th, just 6 more days away!! I wasn't planning to read it at first, but omg, KoS is just that good.

To sum up this re-review, KoS is as heartwarmingly tender as it is heartbreaking, as complex as it is fast-paced. I loved every heart-pounding moment of it and I'd recommend this series to any Were/UF-PNR/romance fan that doesn't mind a little supernatural and action thrown into the mix.

P.S. Please ignore my very horribly written review way back in one of my earliest posts, written 2 years ago. (That was close to when I first started writing reviews and when I haven't started capitalizing my "I"s yet.) I'm only not erasing it for memory's sake, so don't read it! It's as spoilery as spoilers get. :)

 

 

 

 



Review: The Curse of Gremdon by Ciara Knight

Published Date: December 19th, 2011
Finished Date: December 20th, 2011
Publisher: Crescent Moon Press
Format: eBook for Blog Tour
My Rating: 3.5/5

Blurb from Goodreads:
In a world where marriage is forbidden, sex is only granted to male warriors, and the outer realm is full of murderous creatures, Arianna fights to protect the life of her only living relative, her brother.

Tardon, an elite warrior, is granted anything he desires by the Elders, but finds little joy in the voluptuous women presented to him. Born for the bloodlust found only in battle, complicated emotions emerge when he discovers his equal in the alluring warrior, Arianna.

Charged by the Elders with saving the castle from attack, Tardon and Arianna risk the curse when they traverse the vast outer realm to retrieve serum from the Tree of Life. If successful, the Elders have promised Tardon the right to marry and Arianna the cure for her brother’s death fever. Will their love carry them through or will the discovery of a great deception be their ultimate demise?

My Review

THE CURSE OF GREMDON is a very unique mix of Fantasy and Romance that really captivated me. Usually Fantasy novels will focus less on the romance and more on the wars and conflicts going on in their respective worlds, but TCoG has equal portions of both, and that's what I loved about it. I'm a romance junky, but I'd occasionally also like to pick up a Fantasy novel. There aren't too many of them that have a good romance to back the story up, so I usually steer clear of it. That's why I'd rushed to grab the chance to read TCoG when I read the synopsis and it started going on a tour, and boy, was I glad I did.

**My Summary with Spoilers**

Arianna and her brother are orphans. In order to support him, she has to train and fight to be an Elite Warrior. She's one of the best in her field, but there's just one teensy problem - everytime she's near Tardon, she feels a spark between them. Thing is, women are not allowed to have sex, only those that are given as gifts to the male warriors are permitted the pleasure (sexism is so unbecoming of them! Grrr). Arianna controls her urge well, but it is when her brother falls prey to the deadly glutovirus fever, Tardon comes to her aid by providing her a place to stay in his room in the castle, that with both of them alone in the same room, a fire is ignited within them.

But the secret does not stay hidden from the Elders for very long (only a few seconds, actually. They were ripped apart before they did it), and now the two of them are tasked with an impossible mission, one that killed all others who partook it before - to travel beyond the Outer Circle, into the forests of Gremdon and retrieve the sap from the Tree of Life. Without it, the people will die, but to go beyond the walls of the city is to fall to the curse and turn into one of those hideous creatures, like all the others who went before them.

But as they travel futher out, they discover treachery and betrayals, and an ultimate battle to save their city from the ones who are truly evil...

**End of Summary**

Arianna was a very strong, very resilient woman who would struggle all the way to the end. When an Enforcer (man who are much stronger than warriors but too stupid to be one) caught her in Tardon's bed, he had her neck in his grip, hanging her like nothing but she still continued to fight him. And after the Enforcer dropped her on the ground and she was burning in the inside because of the Elder's magic, she still continued to stay conscious and fight it. She's amazing. Not only that, she is a very sensual woman and she gives voluptuous a whole new meaning, I tell you! Tardon couldn't stop harping on about her overflowing breasts and imagining it burst her vest! Haha, I'm messing with you, but yes, Tardon pointed out that fact a number of times.

As for Tardon, he is the best elite warrior there is in the castle, but he is what the saying calls, "brawn without brains". Not necessarily without brains, just not that much grey matter in that thick skull of his. Lol, but he is a very desirable male. He's strong, he's caring, and um, he's good in bed. 'Nuff said.

The plot wasn't an overly-fantastical one, and I took away that 1.5/5 because it got a little dull sometimes. But there was action (plenty of fightin'), adventure, suspense, and best of all, romance. There wasn't too much emphasis on the last bit. Like I said, it's all about the balance in here. When Arianna and Tardon ventured out into Gremdon, I was so unsure of their fate! But when they saw all those beautiful sceneries, the ones they had before the "curse" descended upon them, it was very heartwarming. Very heartwarming to see them finally acting on their feelings, being happy, and when they finally decided to free the people from the "curse". You'll see the reason for the quotation marks after you've read the book.:)

Overall, I thought this was actually a pretty above average Fantasy novel - the reason for the conflict and conflict itself were a little typical, but I loved the romance and action. It isn't common for a Fantasy book to have that balance, and I read it in two sittings. I'd consider this a very good find! I'd recommend this to any Fantasy fans out there who also wants a little romance.

My Rating

      

Review: Lover Awakened by J.R. Ward

Published Date: September 5th, 2006
Finished Date: December 18th, 2011
Publisher: Signet
Format: Paperback
Pages: 434
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood #3
My Rating: 4/5

Blurb from Goodreads:
A former blood slave, the vampire Zsadist still bears the scars from a past filled with suffering and humiliation. Renowned for his unquenchable fury and sinister deeds, he is a savage feared by humans and vampires alike. Anger is his only companion, and terror is his only passion—until he rescues a beautiful aristocrat from the evil Lessening Society.

Bella is instantly entranced by the seething power Zsadist possesses. But even as their desire for one another begins to overtake them both, Zsadist’s thirst for vengeance against Bella’s tormentors drives him to the brink of madness. Now, Bella must help her lover overcome the wounds of his tortured past, and find a future with her…

My Review

LOVER AWAKENED is a very dark, very intense book. Lots of misery and tragedy. Personally I like dark and intense books, dark means that there will be action, and the hero and maybe heroine will know how to kick some real, tough ass, and intense means that I will like the writing style of the author cause the novel can incite deep emotions in me. But this is the first time that I say there's a limit to all these. Not that I didn't enjoy LA, I liked the romance, the action and the Brotherhood plenty, but I couldn't stomach how miserable it made me feel at the end. Lol, yes, it is that intense.

**My Summary with Spoiler**

Zsadist is the odd ball in the Brotherhood who has deep, permanent emotional - and physical - scars from an abusive, horrifying past. Z doesn't like to get close to people, the proximity scares him, and he doesn't drink from a female vamp's vein but from a human's. That would normally not be enough to sustain a male vamp, moreover a warrior, a Brother, but that's how strong Z is, even without proper nourisment. (Imagine feeding from tofu once ever alternate day or something and fighting street thugs. Yeah, I think that's a good analogy.) So Z would never have thought that his life would actually have a hint of romance in it.

Bella is part of the aristocrat in the vampire society, a sheltered female with a protective brother and 2 doggens to wait on her and her family (brother and mother only). She's only ever been in one relationship before, but that guy proved to be a coward and they went their separate ways. Who would've thought she has a thing for dangerous males, and when she sees Z, all she can think is to get close to him, to know him. But what she discovers is a man in need, a man who has been hurt but has never been healed. And she still wants him.

But a terrifying lesser, if you'd remember Mr. O from the previous instalments, has become obsessed with Bella ever since he set eyes on her, cause when he sees her, he sees his deceased wife. Well, he's majorly screwed up upstairs, violent, one-track minded, very smart, and the Omega seems to really like him. A very dangerous combination. And when he gets his hands on Bella...

**End of Summary**

I loved to watch how Z started warming up to Bella. Like Rhage with Mary, and Wrath with Beth, Bella started to change Z for the better. I liked those parts. Haha, esepcially when Bella went into her needing period where the male has to "serve" the woman by having sex with her or the woman goes into intense pain. Hahahah, and after that Z was SPENT!XD And when Z became protective of Bella, it was very heartwarming even if he's methods aren't always conventional.

Anyway, other than Z's parts, I wasn't very taken by Bella. I've mentioned this in my review of the previous book, LOVER ETERNAL, that Bella's a little too bold for me. It's not that apparent in AWAKENED, but well, it's still there, and I thought it bordered on pesky. But that's what got through to Z cause he kept pushing her away, and if she took the hint, their thing together would never have happened, so yeah, I guess it's good for their relationship.

As always, I immersed myself into the world of the Brotherhood, and I loved it. I loved them dark and mysterious, and I read LOVER AWAKENED in one sitting. I wasn't wow-ed by the book, but I'm just somehow addicted to them, the Brotherhood. I loved the way the brothers bantered with each other like carefree boys, and how Butch is totally integrated into the Brotherhood's fold. Butch is so full of bullshit! Hahhaha, his sarcasm and wit is hilarious! He brightens up every scene he's in.

Similar to the previous two books, I don't really agree with Ward's writing style the way she alternated POVs between multiple characters. It serves a purpose, but I don't like the way I'm cut off when something interesting or major is happening with a particular character. Especially when the something happening involves Z and/or Bella.

The reason why I took that one star away from the five was because I really don't see the necessity of that death at the end. IT WAS TOTALLY UNCALLED FOR AND STUPID! &*(^&%^$^%#$%$^&*%(&! I don't want her to die.... That was the too dark and intense part. Z's and Phury's past was indeed very heartbreaking and traumatic, but I was preparing myself for the worst, seeing as how broken Z was. But that death at the end....

Anyway, I thought that until the ending, LOVER AWAKENED was a fantastic read that contains everything a Paranormal Romance fan will want - action, suspense, thrill, romance, gore, and heartbreak. I loved Z and Bella when they're together, especially when Z's not being an idiot thinking he's too filthy for Bella to touch and to be close with. Ok he's not being an idiot, I know it wouldn't have been convincing if he let Bella into his life that easily, but I really like the times when they're, well, intimate physically.

A very recommendable read, just like its prequels.

My Rating

    

Review: Lover Eternal by J.R. Ward

Published Date: March 7th, 2006
Finished Date: December 17th, 2011
Publisher: Signet
Format: Paperback
Pages: 441
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood #2
My Rating: 5/5!

Blurb from Goodreads:
In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war raging between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret bound of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Possessed by a deadly beast Rhage is the most dangerous of the Black Dagger Brotherhood.

Within the brotherhood, Rhage is the vampire with the strongest appetites. He's the best fighter, the quickest to act on his impulses, and the most voracious lover-for inside him burns ferocious curse cast by the Scribe Virgin. Owned by this dark side, Rhage fears the time when his inner dragon is unleashed, making him a danger to everyone around him.

Mary Luce, a survivor of many hardships is unwittingly thrown into the vampire world and reliant to Rhage's protection. With a life-threatening curse of her own, Mary is not looking for love. She lost her faith in miracles years ago. But when Rhage's intense animal attraction turns into something more emotional, he knows that he must make Mary his alone. And while their enemies close in, Mary fights desperately to gain life eternal with the one she loves...

My Review

It couldn't have been more perfect than this. This...this is utter perfection personified! There wasn't much lesser-Brotherhood action in this one, but the romance between Rhage and Mary...That's just what romance is all about! That's how you write and develop a love story, not like those tragic crap that is Romeo and Juliet. I cried for them, worried for them, but the HEA (happy ever after) was totally worth that temporary cesspit of misery. I'm telling you, that was the perfect ending to a brilliant story.

**Spoiler minefield**

Rhage has been cursed to become a beast, which he has no control over, everytime he's hurt, angry, or too wound-up with energy. The beast doesn't know who's friend and who's foe, it'll just gobble up whoever's in it's path. He's a handsome guy, but he'd do without it to feel normal. He's got to visit those whores at the nearby club to constantly release some tension and energy, and he hates it.

Mary Luce is a psychiatrist for autistic kids, but is now volunteering at the Suicide Prevention Centre to pick up calls and counsel through the phone. She's been diagnosed with cancer - again - and she's working hard to keep herself busy herself from thinking about her detoriating health. But when she meets John, a pre-transition warrior, she and John will be brought to the Brotherhood to explain things to John (Mary to be a translator since John is mute and needs to use ASL). And when she's there, she meets Rhage and sparks fly.

Rhage is temporarily blinded after changing back from being the beast and is still recuperating, but when he stumbles upon Mary and hears her soothing voice, a reaction is triggered within him, and he must find out more about her. But humans are forbidden to be brought into the Brotherhood, and even if she were allowed into the mansion, everytime Rhage is near Mary, the beast also wants to come out to play...

**End of spoiler region**

If you've read my summary, then you'd know that LOVER ETERNAL focuses primarily on the relationship development between Rhage and Mary, the Hollywood potential and average brunnette. Mary's self-esteem is beyond low, so when Rhage takes notice of her, she keeps pushing him away, not wanting to be a charity case. I like how Ward did that, I mean, how she slowly lets Rhage into Mary's heart, and how Mary resists at the start.

Rhage is beyond AWESOME! He is such a heartbreaker, and he's very self-sacrificial. He absolutely charmed me, much more than Wrath or Zsadist or any one of the brothers. And it's not his looks either. The way he treated Mary, the way he fought for her right to remain in the Brotherhood's mansion, the way he protected her... Oh man.. I loved him so much! Oh, and you should see Rhage with a cherry. Hahaha, he totally charmed Mary with it. A cherry! And whenever he's with Mary, I swear, they are the cutest, most romantic, most compatible couple I have ever seen.

Even though I am an action-romance-junky, this book will always be my favourite in the BDB series. I think the romance was so good that it trumped the lack of action. I'd gladly not have the action to read more on Rhage and Mary. I wish there was a novella for him and Mary, not Bella and Zsadist..:( There were still fight scenes, and they didn't have sex until way past the middle of the book, but you wouldn't even take notice of it. I loved how Rhage courted Mary and earned her trust. Mary's so smitten she went a little cuckoo when she heard that Rhage has been with another woman (whore) that night that she actually took initiative to, y'know.. And she's really the sweet and soft woman.

Needless to say, I love Ward's writing style and the way she plans a book. To be able to handle so many POVs is not an easy feat to organise, even though I don't like multiple POVs cause they slow down the pace. It serves a purpose, yes I know, but it doesn't mean I have to like it, and I'm only interested in the protagonists. I'm sure I'm not the minority in this.

I loved the humor and sarcasm when the brothers and Butch banter. They. Are. HILARIOUS! And in this book, you can add in Mary's innocence. Rhage teases her for it! But she's very lovable when she's not in her element. You should see this part, they are absolutely so endearing when they're together:

Keeping his back to her, he stood up and stripped. With some finessing, he managed to get himself under the covers without flashing her a glimpse of what the front of him was up to. That monstrous arousal was nothing she needed to know about.

He faced away from her, lying on his side.

"Can I touch it?" she asked.

His erection jerked, as if volunteering to be the "it". "Touch what?"

"The tattoo. I'd like to… touch it."

God, she was so close to him, and that voice of hers—that sweet, beautiful voice—was magic. But the hum in his body made him feel like he had a paint mixer in his belly.

When he stayed quiet, she murmured, "Never mind. I don't—"

"No. It's just…" Shit. He hated the distance in her tone. "Mary, it's okay. Do whatever you like."

If you haven't read DARK LOVER or you've skipped LOVER ETERNAL, I recommend that whatever you do, read Book 2. You may miss out certain events if you've skipped Book 1 (DARK LOVER), but I assure you, you'd want to miss the facts to read this wonderful piece of literature. It's... You won't regret it. 'Nuff said.

Random Musings:

You know how we get small glimpses of Bella? I've read the synopsis for LOVER AWAKENED, and I know that Bella's gonna be The One for Zsadist. But she's a little too bold for my liking. She's practically throwing herself at the guy. Aaaand I hate it when a girl keeps staring at a guy. I don't know why, but I think it's, well, not right. A little immoral, rude, and not right. I know that it's the only way to get close to Z, but it's just...a little too bold for my liking.

My Rating

 

Ok, guess I'm off to reread the book.B)

Review: Dark Lover by J.R. Ward

Published Date: September 6th 2005
Finished Date: December 14th, 2011
Publisher: Signet Eclipse
Format: Paperback
Pages: 393
Series: Black Dagger Brotherhood #1
My Rating: 3.5/5

Blurb from Goodreads:
In the shadows of the night in Caldwell, New York, there's a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There exists a secret band of brothers like no other-six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Yet none of them relishes killing more than Wrath, the leader of The Black Dagger Brotherhood.

The only purebred vampire left on earth, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But, when one of his most trusted fighters is killed-leaving his half-breed daughter unaware of his existence or her fate-Wrath must usher her into the world of the undead-a world of sensuality beyond her wildest dreams.

My Review

I was expecting so much more from DARK LOVER due to all the raves and publicity it's having. Having that said, I did like it, but am also a little disappointed. There was a slow start, the shifting point-of-views weren't helping at all, and the romance wasn't really developed. But the ending was intense which saved it all, and that's why it didn't end up with a 2.5 or less rating from me.

**Spoiler minefield**

Wrath is the reluctant leader of the Black Dagger Brotherhood. He's the only purebred vampire left in the world, biggest and one of the mightiest. One of his Brothers, Darius, has asked him to be the one who will take care of and offer his blood to his half-breed daughter, Elizabeth, as she goes through her inevitable transition to become a vamp. Wrath's her best bet for survival cause no one's blood is gonna get any purer than his, but Wrath doesn't want the extra baggage and intimacy. But fate has it that he meets Beth, and when he does, he's all but willing to be her caretaker.

But trouble is stirring not far from home, and the lessers, people who traded their soul with the Omega to become immortal zombies, are now becoming a united front, and with them in their game, the Brotherhood is facing a much larger threat. It is Wrath's duty to protect his race, and to step up to his role as King of the vamps and lead them towards a safer future.

**End of spoiler region**

First things first, the description of Wrath was downright hilarious. I mean, yeah he's big and fearsome, but I thought that the exaggeration went too far. He has long, dark hair, shoulders as broad as an I-beam, arms and legs the size of a grown woman's torso... He sounds like Hagrid. I mean, come on, even vamps, whom I remind you, are humanoid creatures, have to obey the realm of  realism. Imagine if your boyfriend is twice your height, so your eye-level will be at the height of his dick. Now that's just disturbing.

The romance wasn't developed; It was more of lust-at-first-sight they've got going on, and they did the deed when they met the second time. I like the relationship between the protagonists to develop, so this aspect of the book didn't quite go along with me.

Two things that I found rather annoying about Ward's writing style were: 1) The shifting point of views (POV), and 2) her assumption that I know what the hell her abbreviations stand for. The pace of the book at the start wasn't very fast to begin with, and the way she alternated the POV between so many other characters was very irritating. I mean, I'm sort of only interested in Beth and Wrath, but she just kept switching to this lesser's POV and I'm like,"Shit, I don't give a damn!" Especially when there's something major happening around Beth and Wrath. And about the abbreviations. What, in the name of English, is SOP? I know SOB, POS, and all, but SOP? Not everyone lives in the same country and speak the same language (as in slangs and such) as you do. At least list it in the Glossary of Terms and Proper Nouns at the front of the book.

Not to say that I didn't like the book, cause there was plenty of action, and I loved the idea of this secret band of brothers who were rather exclusive. Each of the brothers, Wrath, Torhment, Vishous, Phury, Zsadist and Rhage, each had their own curses, but they're really like boys when they're together. Example:

"Yo, cop, what time is it?" Vishous asked, groggy.

Butch reached for the bedside table. Next to his watch was a Red Sox hat, a gold lighter, and a black driving glove.

"Five thirty."

"Cool." The vampire rolled away. "Don't crack the drapes for another two hours. Or I'm up in flames and my brothers will leave you shitting in a bag."

Butch smiled. Vampires or not, he understood these guys. They spoke his language. Related to the world like he did. He felt comfortable around them.

It was damn eerie.

"You're smiling," Vishous said.

"How'd you know?"

"I'm damn handy with emotions. You one of those annoying, cheerful-in-the-moming types?"

"Hell, no. And this isn't morning."

The way they banter with each other is hilarious, and tension may arise sometimes due to the amount of testerone-filled, arrogant males in the same room, but they all really do treat each other like blood brothers. They're a tight group, and when they engage in battle with those lessers, let me tell you, they were hot. The way they fought, the way they moved! Cool.

I loved the characters, even the secondary ones. For example is Darius' doggen (who is something like a butler but more dedicated), Fritz, he is such a darling! He's so cute! Everytime someone rejects his offer to help, he'll seem like a crestfallen puppy. Hahaha, that's probably not very nice, but he really is very endearing. As for the main characters, I love all the brothers. And Beth. Even though Beth is the type of beautiful-but-I'm-absolutely-ignorant-of-that-fact girl, she's still strong, and she loves Wrath, so I like her. But it's a little ironic that Beth is drop-dead gorgeous but Wrath is partially blind so he can't really see her, don't you think?

One thing I found out after reading Book 3 in the series, Lover Awakened (yes, I've read Book 3 already cause I couldn't stand to be away from the world of the Black Dagger Brotherhood), is that Ward can be brutal. I was feeling a little sad for Marissa in DARK LOVER. She was so callously used and, well, discarded. She didn't die, but the way she's been used and ignored after was heartbreaking. But I know that she will find her happy ever after, so I'm not overly upset.

DARK LOVER was a pretty above average read for me - I loved the Brotherhood's dark world, and I love the suspense, action, mystery and romance - and as I've read the next few books in the series, I can safely assure you that it gets better. Waaaay better, so I do recommend this book to readers, and highly encourage them to follow up with the series.

My Rating

       

Review: Fifty Shades Darker by E.L. James

Published Date: September 15th, 2011
Finished Date: December 11th, 2011
Publisher: The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House
Format: Paperback
Pages: 373
Series: Fifty Shades #2
My Rating: 5/5!

Blurb from Goodreads:
Daunted by the singular sexual tastes and dark secrets of the beautiful, tormented young entrepreneur Christian Grey, Anastasia Steele has broken off their relationship to start a new career with a Seattle publishing house.

But desire for Christian still dominates her every waking thought, and when he proposes a new arrangement, Anastasia cannot resist. They rekindle their searing sensual affair, and Anastasia learns more about the harrowing past of her damaged, driven and demanding Fifty Shades.

While Christian wrestles with his inner demons, Anastasia must confront the anger and envy of the women who came before her, and make the most important decision of her life.

My Review

Once again, I love the FIFTY SHADES series. DARKER is as stunning as its predecessor, if not more. It was more intense, more emotional, more heartaches and drama, and of course, there were more beautiful, heartwarming Ana-Christian moments.

**Spoiler minefield alert**

Ana's miserable after leaving Christian - er, who wouldn't be? But not the point - and when Christian offers to take her to Jose's Photo Show, she accepts it immediately. Well, even if she can't have him, one more look's good too, true?

But when they meet again, Christian's determined to keep Ana this time, no matter what he has to change, in their agreement, or the way he treats her. Or not treat her...y'know, in their playroom?

Ana moves back into Escala, but she is still not safe. One of Christian's ex-subs, the one who also wanted more, Leila, is back with a vengeance. She's demented (like really gone batshit crazy), and she's stalking Ana and Christian. She even got the certificate to legalize carrying a weapon with her. That was when Christian had bodyguards patrolling around Ana, her workplace, and such. Ana's not happy, but who can go against Fifty when he's in his you-listen-to-me-or-suffer-the-consequence mode?

But their problems don't stop at an ex-sub gone mad, Ana's also got to deal with Mrs. Robinson, the woman whom Ana thinks is a child molester who screwed Christian up when he was fifteen, being a close confidant and business associate to her Fifty. And when she sees Christian going all tender towards his ex-subs, she can't help dam all her insecurities from rushing in and think that she will never be enough to satisfy all of Christian's needs. So, how will this end? Will Ana up and leave Christian again? How far will Christian go to keep Ana by his side?

**End of spoiler region**

Ok, I'm not doing the synopsis any justice. There was a lot happening, and I can't spill all the goodies in one shot, right? So the above minefield is only a simplified times 10 gist of the story. Anyway, AHHH! I loved DARKER so much! I thought I wouldn't like it as much as Book 1 initially, but as I continued reading, it became so emotionally intense I actually cried, not teared, cried...thrice! First time was because it was very saddening, then it became tears of joy. I tell you, James is one hell of a writer.

I said that I didn't like the front that much (well, not really "didn't like", more of a 4 stars than 5 stars didn't like) because Ana was getting bolder. I liked her meek yet quietly-strong character in Book 1, so her being bold was a little unnerving, and frankly, I'm not used to it. But then it was because of her newfound inner-strength that saved her relationship with Christian at the end of the book, so I'm lovin' her boldness now.

Another part that I liked a little less - I still like it even tho it's less likable cause I cannot not like any part of this series (Am I making sense? As my friends say, if you don't make sense, make dollars! Ok lame, moving on) - was Ana being overly obstinate when Christian does something extreme to protect her. There's a freaking killer after her, of course he's going ballistic, and rightfully so. And at the same time, there was this minor crisis going on in his company, so Ana, trying too hard to be independent, going against Christian didn't help the situation or Christian at all. But that's the only part where she was annoying, so I do still really like her. Especially when she's with Christian.:D

About Christian.... Have I ever told you how hot Christian becomes when he's jealous? Being rich has its perks, but there's something about him that makes him so......panties-combusting. Even in such a dark mood.

I like the secondary characters too, especially Taylor. He's cute. In a bodyguardy-fatherly sort of way.

DARKER focused less on BDSM this time and more of the changing scenery, though there was this one scene that was pretty intense. (See, this book is all about intensity.) Christian's willing to accomodate Ana and have more vanillas than BDSM sex, if you get what I mean, but Ana still has that naughty bone in her, and she does want a little BDSM to make things interesting. But that one scene...WOW, real hot. As for the changing scenery... Christian was telling Ana how he wanted to take her on all surfaces of his house so they went at it in the yacht that Christian owned, on the piano, billiard table, lobby table, elevator WITH people inside, you name it.

James' writing style is, once again, a stunner. She writes so beautifully! And very emotionally; Everything very vivid, very intense (again with the word), and her diction is fantastic (very unlike mine. I keep using the word "intense", and I can't seem to find a suitable word to replace it..>:|).

I like how the covers of the FIFTY SHADES series are simple yet sophisticated. It brings out the sleek, elegance but dark world of Christian Grey.

I cannot stress how much I love this book, and how much I recommend this series to any romace lovers out there. I was a little reluctant to start reading Book 1 before because I don't read Contemporary-Romance or anything Contemporary for that matter, other than Urban-Fantasy, but I did, and hell if I regretted it. The characters were amazing, the plot was intense, the writing was fantastic, especially her diction and the way James' could make you cry with the characters...This is really my favourite series of the year. Stunning. Brilliant. GAH! It was so good, so much so that I felt so emotionally bereft when the The End popped out on me..:(

Random Musings:

I find it funny how Ana has this thing for gays. Everytime she sees one, she's like,"I like him already." Lol!

FIFTY SHADES FREED is only going to be out one month from now...NOOOOO!!:((

P.S. This review is considerably shorter cause my sentiments for DARKER is the same as Book 1's, and I don't want to repeat myself overly much.

P.P.S. This review is long overdue already, I know. But it's just so hard to write a five-star review cause I feel like I'm not doing it enough justice.:/

My Rating

       

Review: Bind Me by Stacey Kennedy

*This is an Erotica novel. Please ensure that you're legal to continue reading!!*

Published Date: October 11th, 2011
Finished Date: December 11th, 2011
Publisher: Loose Id
Format: eBook
Series: Pact of Seduction #1
My Rating: 2/5

Blurb from Goodreads:
Four best friends embrace their fantasies and make a pact of seduction to live out their deepest and darkest desires. The women place their lives in the hands of fate and one short straw declares Marley will be the first to awaken her secret wishes.

Reed, a Dom at sex club Castle Dolce Vita, has lived the BDSM lifestyle for awhile, but has yet to find a submissive that suits him. That is until he meets Marley, a woman seeking to indulge her fantasies.

As Reed guides her through a night of pleasure, Marley brings more to him than a perfect submissive--she stirs emotions in him long ago lost. By binding Marley, he runs up against his own limits, and now he has to choose between his self-protective barriers or surrendering to the wildfire Marley has reignited in his heart.

Publisher's Note: This book contains explicit sexual situations, graphic language, and material that some readers may find objectionable: BDSM theme and elements, including spanking.

My Review

Honestly, I was a little bit disappointed with BIND ME. Looking at that gorgeous, very suggestive cover and unique synopsis, my expectations were pretty high. But I think the main reason why I didn't like it that much stems from me recently reading a mighty awesome Erotica-Contemp-Romance-light BDSM book that I highly recommend it to all romanceaholics (FIFTY SHADES series!!), I absolutely loved it so much so that I'll probably compare all the other Eroticas I'm going to be reading from here on out. So this book didn't quite make the cut for me.

A Brief Summary
Marley and her three other friends are bored with their lives, thinking it was time to fulfil their innermost sexual desires, no matter how sinfully wrong it was. Each of them took turns to 'fess up, they picked lots, and Marley had the "good fortune" to have at it first. And as it turns out, being a teacher always in command has made her want to relinquish that control to someone else, and thus, she opted for a BDSM one-nighter.

Reed's just handed his recent Sub who clearly has higher tolerance for pain than what he's comfortable with meting out to his friend, and is looking for a new one. He check through the club's forum for candidates and chances upon Marley.  He's turned-on at the sight of her exquisite beauty, and accepts her request immediately.

Little did he know that this naturally submissive woman with dark hair and pale skin would cause the barriers around his broken heart to come crumbling down, and little does she expect to actually want something more than a one-night stand...

Thoughts
BIND ME was a short novel, more like a novella that I thought was a little rushed. There was some hot sex, but you don't just heal a man with a ravaged heart through lust and orgasms. That was the crux of why I didn't like BIND ME. There was no development in the romance between Reed and Marley, and no effort on Marley's part whatsoever in trying to overcome Reed's emotional barriers other than act the role of the submissive - which is pretty much lying on some surface that's probably not the bed bound up nice and tight. Conclusion's a little cheesy as well.

I liked Marley. She's cool, pretty, and when not being a Sub, she does stand up for herself. Reed is.....odd. Haha, not to say that he's not a good Dom, he's plenty good - his methods are erotic as hell (BDSM style) - but the contrast between his broken self and Dom is a little too intense. His Dom self is confident and self-assured, but the other side... He's all insecurities and jitters.

I can't say much about the plot, cause there really isn't much to go on about. If you take my above summary, add in a few sex scenes, that's pretty much it. The sex scenes were plenty hot - yes, that I can assure you - but the rest were mediocre. It kinda made me feel dirty after reading it. :/

Oh well, if you're looking for a quick, erotic read, BIND ME's the one for you. It wasn't bad, but I guess I won't be delving too fast back into this series.

My Rating

             

Review: Fifty Shades of Grey by E.L. James

Published Date: May 26th, 2011
Finished Date: December 9th, 2011
Publisher: The Writer's Coffee Shop Publishing House
Format: eBook
Series: Fifty Shades #1
My Rating: >5/5

Blurb from Goodreads:
When literature student Anastasia Steele is drafted to interview the successful young entrepreneur Christian Grey for her campus magazine, she finds him attractive, enigmatic and intimidating. Convinced their meeting went badly, she tries to put Grey out of her mind - until he happens to turn up at the out-of-town hardware store where she works part-time.

The unworldly, innocent Ana is shocked to realize she wants this man, and when he warns her to keep her distance it only makes her more desperate to get close to him. Unable to resist Ana’s quiet beauty, wit, and independent spirit, Grey admits he wants her - but on his own terms.

Shocked yet thrilled by Grey's singular erotic tastes, Ana hesitates. For all the trappings of success – his multinational businesses, his vast wealth, his loving adoptive family – Grey is man tormented by demons and consumed by the need to control. When the couple embarks on a passionate, physical and daring affair, Ana learns more about her own dark desires, as well as the Christian Grey hidden away from public scrutiny.

Can their relationship transcend physical passion? Will Ana find it in herself to submit to the self-indulgent Master? And if she does, will she still love what she finds?

Erotic, amusing, and deeply moving, the Fifty Shades Trilogy is a tale that will obsess you, possess you, and stay with you forever.

My Review

I am in awe; In pure and undiluted awe and shock over FIFTY SHADES OF GREY. This is seriously some heady stuff; I'm addicted! FSoG is the very first novel where I would be more than willing to give a rating higher than 5/5. It really is beyond perfection, and I was utterly ensnared by its characters, plot, and James' writing throughout the reading process that I felt so sorry when it ended. In a freaking cliffhanger, no less!!! But we will come to that later.

**Spoiler minefield alert**

Anastasia "Ana" Steele is in her last year doing her degree in WSU, Vancouver. Her best friend, Katherine "Kate" Kavanagh - or the Kathering Kavanagh Inquisition, as Ana calls her when she gets into her interviewer-reporter mode - managed to snag a time slot to interview Christian Grey, CEO of Grey Enterprises Holdings, one of the richest, most eligible bachelor in the country, but she fell prey to the flu bug, and so Ana has to take Kate's place as interviewer.

Ana is a jeans and T-shirt person, so when she dresses in a casual-formal skirt and shirt to the gleaming glass fortress that was Grey's office, she feels a little intimidated. What's worse is that the moment she steps into his office, she falls flat on her face. She feels arms around her, and when Grey helps her up and she takes her first real look at him, oh you know she's a definite goner. He was absolutely gorgeous, but with a cold and distant demeanor. She's intimidated, and as the interview went on, she embarrasses herself multiple times, and so she flees as soon as she's done with Kate's list of interview questions, trying her best to put him out of her mind. Well, she's probably not going to be seeing such a high profile person again, right?

Wrong. Grey turns up at the hardware store where she works, and he expresses his wish to see her again. Who is she to refuse? Anyway, Grey tells her explicitly what he wants in a relationship in her - a BDSM one no less. Ana is intrigued with him and his lifestyle, being a complete innocent when it comes to anything sexual. But as they got to know each other better, she finds out that Grey is actually a man with many dark secrets, is haunted by a terrible, abusive past, and is fifty shades of fucked-up. She falls for him, but can she pull him back into the light? Will she be enough for him as she is?

**End of minefield**

Once again I feel obliged to reiterate: I LOVED this book. This series, actually, since I couldn't concentrate enough to do up this review and gone ahead to devour Book 2 immediately after Book 1. (That cliffhanger is to be blamed!!) I wanted to do a quickie review, combining both FIFTY SHADES OF GREY and FIFTY SHADES DARKER (book 2, and also one of my absolute favourites) initially, but thought better of it cause I am probably going to be gushing about my love for both books. So, the gushing commences.

The plot. There was actually a plot! I shall endeavor to explain why I am in shock. Usually, Eroticas exist as standalones because they consist of insubstantial plots and storylines, harping on about panties-melting, sadistic males, timid as hell pushover heroines, mindless sex and orgasms repeated throughout the whole book, probably on every alternate page, and pseudo-loves. But when I saw that FIFTY SHADES OF GREY belonged to a series, trilogy in fact, I was intrigued. And now that I've read it, my whole view on Erotica-Romances has changed. I wasn't that into Eroticas before, nor Contemporary-Romances (this is the first contemp romance I've read so far, honest), but this story really just makes me want to delve further into this two sub-genres while I wait for their sequel-brother, FIFTY SHADES FREED, to be released. Christian was a little domineering, but he doesn't overstep boundaries. Ok, maybe in a few occasions, but they're done so as to protect Ana, and they're really, heartwrenchingly sweet. So I did like his overbearingness, surprisingly. And Ana stands up for herself. But I will be gushing about the characters in a later paragraph(s).

The writing. I LOVED E.L. James' writing style! She's funny, witty, and her diction is fantastic. I loved how the words are complex, but not overly so, but it actually became a little educational. Haha, I had to unearth my dictionary a few times to check up on a few difficult words, and I did like it. Other than the parts where it gets so exciting and I stop checking the dic. She could express very subtle details in the story, and even in one-sided conversations like when Christian is on the phone and only uses a few words to respond to the caller, I could actually understand who he was talking to, how he felt about the conversation, and most importantly, what he was talking about. I know it may sound like simple matters, but I'm telling you, it's not. James' is really a talented author. She even employed a very special way of communication between the protagonists - via emails! Haha, you must be thinking, "Whaaat?" right? But which other books have you read where the people communicates through emails? It has always been dialogues, isn't it so? Admit it! Haha, and those emails between Ana and Christian are HEE-larious! Wonderfully entertaining and unique and special and...sigh, they are so childish and endearing when they're being cute together.

Example:

 From: Anastasia Steele
Subject: Verbose? 
Date: May 31 2011 19:08 EST
To: Christian Grey

Sir, you are quite the loquacious writer. I have to go to dinner at Bob’s golf club, and just so you know, I am rolling my eyes at the thought. But you and your twitchy palm are a long way from me so my behind is safe, for now. I loved your email. Will respond when I can. I miss you already.
Enjoy your afternoon.

Your Ana

----

From: Christian Grey
Subject: Your behind
Date: May 31 2011 16:10
To: Anastasia Steele

Dear Miss Steele

I am distracted by the title of this email. Needless to say it is safe – for now.

Enjoy your dinner, and I miss you too, especially your behind and your smart mouth.

My afternoon will be dull, brightened only by thoughts of you and your eye rolling. I think it was you who so judiciously pointed out to me that I too suffer from that nasty habit.

Christian Grey
CEO & Eye Roller, Grey Enterprises Holdings Inc. 

You should see the continuation, it's gets funnier. But I can't quote the back without the front cause then it wouldn't have made much sense, and I can't quote the entire thing because then it'll be too long, so oh well. But he's very different in real life compared to when he's emailing Ana. Haha, and it really is heartwarming when you see him relax and let the depraved little boy come out.

And then there's the other funny parts:

" How could he mean so much to me in such a short time?  He’s got right under my skin… literally. "

Hahaha, yeah, literally.

The characters. Oh my hell, they were so hot together. I really cannot stress it enough. I am intoxicated by both of them, Ana and Christian/Fifty/Grey. I loved how Ana was a meek yet brave yet obstinate yet compassionate yet intelligent yet witty girl. She is the perfect heroine. I've kind of grown tired of reading the typical snarky and badass heroines nowadays, or the overtly timid pushovers that seem to dominate most of the Erotica genre. I said Ana was witty, not snarky. There's a fine line between those two, but I prefer witty instead of snarky. Snarky just sounds immature and childish. And then there's our dear, aloof, tortured, brilliant male protagonist, Christian who is actually a sweet closet romantic. I adored him. He was showing Ana all these impossibly beautiful sceneries, whispering impossibly tender, sweet nothings to Ana yet it doesn't come off as cheesy. And when they're together, they practically just made my book combust into ashes. Spontaneous combustion, that's how they affected me. Loved, loved, loved them.

 Oh, and incidentally, Ana has already described her Fifty Shades quite perfectly in the book:

"I know he’s moody, difficult, funny, cold, warm… jeez, the man is a walking mass of contradictions."

Yep, that pretty much sums him up. He is such an enigma that I love. But not the love love kind of thing, cause I'm not Ana, and I think Ana really is like his other halve, the only other person who can compliment him. They're perfect together, in every sense of that word.

Only one eetsy beetsy thing that I noticed. Christian has well-manicured hands! Or was it nails..? But "well-manicured" sounded so gay to me. Oh well, but after some time I was thinking would you rather go for well-manicured or chipped and caked with black dirt, and I chose well-manicured. And why does he have condoms everywhere he goes?!?! They're at a boathouse, he sinks his hand into his pocket, and OUT comes a condom; They're in a lift, and OUT comes a condom; They're god-knows where, he sinks his hand into a pocket and OUT comes a condom! I mean, really? You might say he's just being an always-ready kind of person..but really?

I loved FIFTY SHADES OF GREY with all my heart; So much so that even before I finished the book, I already wanted to rate this book a rating higher than 5/5, and that's saying something. It has all I ever wanted in a romance book, even though I thought that I was a hopeless Paranormal-Romance-Urban-Fantasy geekfan, FSoG helped changed my perception. Even though one of the things I hate the most is a cliffhanger to sour my mood, I thought that this cliffhanger was the best cliffhanger I've ever encountered (and the fact that the second book was already out lightened my mood considerably!:D). No doubt my favourite book - and maybe series - of 2011. I'd really, strongly encourage ALL romanceaholics out there to give this a try if you haven't done so already.

Random Musings (which you will not understand if you haven't read the book):

If you're reading the ebook like me, can you search the words,"Heart failure" into the search box? I LOVED that scene! Haha, it made me laugh so hard, especially at the heart failure in italics part. That was one epic moment. My heart literally stopped together with Ana's. Ohh, Fifty is really such an unpredictable male.

Oh, and the other part where I couldn't stop laughing was:

“Good. Until tomorrow perhaps.” He turns to leave, then pauses. “Oh – and Anastasia, I’m glad Miss Kavanagh couldn’t do the interview.” He smiles, then strides with renewed purpose out of the store, slinging the plastic bag over his shoulder, leaving me a quivering mass of raging female hormones. I spend several minutes staring at the closed door through which he’s just left before I return to planet Earth.

Somehow, I found the phrase "quivering mass" very funny and suggestive.XD

And I love the pun "Fifty Shades of Grey". Haha, think about it. It's really mindfuckingly cool. (Sorry for the language, but this book incites very strong emotions in me.)

My Rating

  

Review: Boyfriend from Hell by E. Van Lowe

Published Date: September 10th, 2010
Finished Date: Did Not Finish
Publisher: White Whisker Books
Format: eCopy for Tour
Series: Falling Angels #1
My Rating: 1/5

Blurb from Goodreads:
Fifteen year-old Megan Barnett and her single mom, Suze, have a special relationship—they are friends, close friends, who do almost everything together.

“But come on, guys, she’s my mother… Can I really tell her that while we’re snuggled up on the sofa watching Spider Man Three, I’m secretly undressing James Franco with my eyes? Of course not…”

The special bond takes a turn for the worse when Suze decides to start dating again. She hasn’t had a man in her life since Megan’s father left ten years ago.

Enter two mysterious young men, Megan’s new classmate, sinfully attractive bad boy, Guy Matson, and the dangerously handsome art dealer, Armando. Before long Megan and Suze both wind up in steamy relationships.

But neither of the handsome pair is quite what he seems. In fact, one of them is Satan, with his sights set on a new bride. Megan has precious little time to figure out how to stop him. If she doesn’t, either Megan or Suze are quite literally going to HELL.

My Review

I ditched the book. Couldn't stand the male protagonist and the heroine. I don't even want to rate it.

The heroine was a bad friend and an even worse daughter who lies to her only kin - her mother. Her mother who only wanted another chance at love, which her daughter pretended to approve, but secretly backstabs her and her dates, and tries at every turn to ruin what her mother tries so hard achieve. It's nauseating. And when her two friends finally acts on their feelings for each other and are obviously way head over heels for each other, she says she's fine and wishes them luck, but inside she bitches about it, saying her friend is naggy (your friend just wanted to gush about her feelings, and you can't even listen?), and later on starts to develop a tinge of jealousy.

The hero? No better. He uses his influence over heroine to convince her to ditch school, play truant, and steal the school's letter to her mother informing mother about her recent rebellious behaviours. He is overly haughty, arrogant, and full of himself. I really couldn't stomach it any further.

And are all jocks really IQ-challenged? Cause there's that stereotype heavily enphasized here.

But there were a few redeemable qualities that I've noticed. For example is Lowe's phrasings.

"It was Sunday afternoon. The next day. We were seated at the food court in the Glendale mall, digesting my problem along with a double order of curly fries."

It was cool. And there was this one part that was super awesome. I loved how Guy could recite poetic lines but didn't come off as cheesy. Example:

"There can only be one hero,” he crooned softly, and he touched my hand.

Another jolt. No, bigger. Because of Guy’s touch, an electrical storm was raging inside me.

“Yeah.” The word fell from my lips, a soft tremor. Get a grip, Megan! This is what you’ve been waiting for.

“And to the victor goes the spoils. Right?”

Huh? What does that mean? He leaned in.

“Right?” he repeated, his breath on my face.

“Yes… Right.”

I guess he could be romantic if he wanted to. And badass. Sexy, smart. Just from a little poetry. Haha, yep, so there were good stuff, but the bad overrode the good, so.:/

Pity really - so much potential...

My Rating

Review: Fractured Light by Rachel McClellan

Published Date: Febuary 8th, 2012
Finished Date: December 6th, 2011
Publisher: Cedar Fort
Format: eARC via Netgalley
My Rating: 4.5/5!

Blurb from Goodreads:
I’m dying, I thought. This was unexpected and not at all how I envisioned my death. I was supposed to die gardening in a flowerbed as a hundred-year-old woman, not as a seventeen-year-old trapped in a lake beneath inches of ice.

Llona Reese is used to living on the run. After the Vykens killed her parents, she knew they would eventually come for her too. She can’t take any chances. But when she starts to make friends for the first time in her life, she gets careless and lets her guard down. Big mistake.

As an Aura, Llona can manipulate light and harness its energy. But if she wants to survive, Llona will have to defy the Auran Council and learn to use her power as a weapon against the Vyken whose sole desire is to take her light. Now she’s caught in something even bigger than she can understand, with a power she can’t wield, and no one she can trust, except, just maybe, a mysterious stranger.

In this breathtaking and romantic adventure, Rachel McClellan delivers a truly mesmerizing story that will keep you guessing to the very end.

My Review

The first thing that came to me after I read the The End was: Perfect. Actually no, scratch that. The first thing that came were actually incoherent "WOWOWOWOWOWOW" then came the finality of "Perfect". I think that this book is definitely well-deserving of that adjective. And shortly after that came the shoutings (still in my head, of course) demanding the sequel for FRACTURED LIGHT.

**Minor spoiler minefield alert**

Llona Reese has been an orphan since she was ten - her mother died when she was but a toddler by a Vyken, a demon who can walk in sunlight only if it drank the blood of an Aura, and her dad when she was ten hunting down the Vyken who killed his Aura wife. She's been on the move with her uncle, Jake, who was more of an older brother, trying not to stay in one place for too long and not making any friends who would just become a burden in her heart. But this time, Llona doesn't feel like moving. She's found a friend in May, and was saved from a painful fall by Christian, who quickly won her trust and subsequently, her heart.

People are dying one-by-one in Bountiful, and they all somehow has a connection to Llona - the high heel of the victim ends up on her lawn, the victim's body left in her car and blood splattered onto her car. And with her guard slipping, her luck doesn't hold up for too long, cause now that she's settled down in Bountiful, Utah, it makes her easy prey, and the Vyken that made her an orphan all those years back isn't going to let her slip through his fingers quite so easily this time..

**End of spoiler region**

Let me just say this again cause I can hardly contain the excitement within me: I loved, absolutely adored FRACTURED LIGHT. Even though it took some time to immerse myself into the scenes, it was still an attention-grabber and after the initial few pages, I was honestly hooked! It is a magnificent story with very realistic and relatable characters, and a fantastic yet believable plot that was simply filled with action, suspense, thrill, romance, and surprises. And a little fear added into the mix along with the aforementioned thrill. The best thing I liked about the plot was that I couldn't guess what was about to happen next! Y'know usually (and almost always for YA novels) readers would be able to predict or have an idea of how a story will play out and who would end up how, but I couldn't, at all, for FL. That was how good it was, and it literally kept me glued to its pages, turning it as fast as my brain could read. It was amazing, really.

I loved McClellan's writing style, I really do. It was mature, humorous, witty, and really entertaining. An example:

[Christian (male protagonist) is speaking to Llona]

“I never told you, but the first time I saw you, I thought I was looking at an angel. You were walking to school wearing a white t-shirt and jeans. You’d taken off your hat when you thought no one was looking and your hair fell down your back like wings unfolding. I think this was one of the rare times I saw you as your true self.”

If I could talk, I would’ve been speechless.

A little cheesy at the start, but I was stunned for a few minutes then I started cracking up. Hah! The irony is epic. You have to be in the moment to have found as much humor in it like I did. Ohoh, and another one (but this one's a little more somber):

" That night I focused more on my light bullets, and with the moon’s cycle no longer affecting my strength, thanks to Christian’s very dangerous, yet highly effective training on the mountain, it came much easier. In a matter of days, I had them piercing through just about anything. And it couldn’t have come at a better time, because I couldn’t shake the feeling that something big was coming. The tick tock of death’s clock was growing louder. "

I loved the way she phrased things, it gave it a very sophisticated feel, and I had such an enjoyable time reading it. Unlike those YA, and sometimes Adult Fiction novels, who employs a more informal (and a little childish) writing style.

I loved the cast. As I've mentioned before, the entire cast is made up of very realistic and relatable characters. Which means that I would probably have acted and chosen the things that they chose to do at any specific circumstance. I'm not explaining this right. Y'know how sometimes authors make heroines (or heroes) choose an option which is obviously the wrong, and most of the time the stupid one, just so that there can be a plot to elaborate on where there was now an obstacle to be overcomed by the protagonists? But FL wasn't like that. Even though Llona (properly pronounced as E-o-na, by the way) was mature and always picked the sensible option, shit just somehow manages to find a fan to hit, and trouble always ends up at her door. It made it all the more engrossing to read.

Oh, and don't let me get started on Christian. He is one hot Guardian. Yes, he is Llona's guardian! AHHH, haha! Every Aura out in the world is assigned a guardian, and Christian's Llona's!! Lol, Christian's Llona's. Sounds funny. (Random musing: Why are all the Christians I'm reading about so hot? The book I'm reading now, FIFTY SHADES OF GREY, is about one Christian Grey, whom I feel obliged to say, is a goddamned alpha male. Trust me on it; I can hardly keep my attention away from the book - and him - for more than a few minutes! But I'm digressing) Because of his enhanced genetic makeup, Christian moves faster than normal human beings, and is stronger. Please don't compare him with a vamp cause that's totally de-cooling him. He's so much more awesome than them. And way, waaaay, more awesome.

The only thing I found odd was the cover. It's beautiful, yes that it is, but it misled me to think that this was going to be a Fantasy novel, but it turned out to be URBAN-Fantasy. Lol, not that I minded, not at all actually, just... It was misleading. This may be a for me only, but just saying.

I'd love for all of you good readers to be able to read FRACTURED LIGHT also, but it's only going to be released approximately 2 months from now..:( Haha, do I sound like I'm gloating?XP Anyway, since you're reading this review (past all my verbosity before), I assume that you and I have similar tastes in books, so I humbly beseech you to get your hand on a copy of FL when it's out. I assure you it's totally worth your money, time, effort, living space, and brain space.

Random Musings:

I went on to read the bio on the author, and was pleasntly shocked! LOL! I have to quote this since I know most readers won't go on back to read the acknowledgements:

" Rachel McClellan was born and raised in Idaho, a place secretly known for its supernatural creatures. When she’s not in her writing lair, she’s partying with her husband and four small children. Her love for storytelling began as a child when the moon first possessed the night. For when the lights went out, her imagination painted a whole new world. And what a scary world it is . . . "

It's so unique..and cool! And the picture she posted was very ghost-like, mind you. I freaked out a little when I flipped the page and a big, half the page, ghost-Rachel was staring out at me. *shudder*

Oh and McClellan replied to my email saying that there will be a sequel!!!!! SQUEAALLLL! But it's only going to be out Feb, 2013. *sobs uncontrollably* Lol, my rep is totally tarnished with the sobs.

My Rating

Loved it to bits and pieces and munches and crumbs!;D

Review: The Vampire, The Witch and The Werewolf: Chains of Silver by Louisa Bacio

Published Date: November 18th, 2011
Finished Date: December 4th, 2011
Publisher: Ravenous Romance
Format: eARC for Tour
Series: The Vampire, The Witch and The Werewolf #2
My Rating: 2.5/5

Blurb from Goodreads:
Adopted at birth, Silver Ashe discovers her blood-brother Trevor Pack is a werewolf, with a vampire and witch for lovers. All her teachings about the evils of the paranormal Others come into question. She runs to a family friend, Nick, for help.

Nick Stake takes his hobby as a vampire hunter personally. He strives to rid the world of evil bloodsuckers. When his best friend’s “kid” sister comes to him for advice, Nick discovers Silver’s more than grown up. He battles his growing desire for Silver and blindly holds true to his convictions.

Once Silver reaches her sexual maturity, she’ll inherit her full genetic heritage and turn into a werewolf. When death comes calling, Silver and Nick must face their darkest fears in order to break free from the chains that bind.

My Review

An Urban Fantasy-Paranormal Romance Erotica that includes explicit m/m scenes, it has the action that I loved both on the battlefield and between the sheets, if you get what I mean.

I wouldn't lie and say I loved CHAINS OF SILVER, in fact, the reading process was rather laborious. But I wasn't lying about the action. I loved how the characters always had to fight for their lives and even navigate emotional minefields since the couples haven't been living long together and are still getting to really know each other.

**Start of spoiler minefield**

Silver is an orphan, adopted into the family of a preacher, his wife, two sons and one daughter. She never was fully accepted into the family, and living in their home always felt temporary. Only Jude, her oldest foster brother ever made her feel welcomed. Enter Jude's best bud, Nick. Nick works as part-time vamp slayer and part-time waitor at the local Club Blood. (Not a very creative name, but let's not dwell on the inconsequential.)

Nick has always viewed Silver as a younger sister, sensing in her the girl that was his biological deceased one, but Silver's always had a crush on Nick, and it has been blossoming throughout the years, just like how she blossomed into the beautiful woman with silver hair she now is. And when a gorgeous, determined young woman set her sights on something, how can that something have the strength to reject her? When being with her's so natural, has been for years?

But now that Silver's come of age, she's been granted the right to open the envelope at the adopting agency that contains the only message from her biological family, and in that envelope is a way to contact her brother who was indeed alive. And mated to a female and another male. And that guy happens to be Trevor from Book 1. Now Trev's got the duty of breaking the news that Silver's actually a Were and she'll have her first change after she loses her virginity. Also, Nick's found a nest of vamps to clear, and this time, his "little" extermination escapade could very well kill him and Silver if they aren't too careful...

**End of spoiler zone**

I thought that the plot was a little dull and boring, to be honest. Nothing ever seemed to be happening and when it does get interesting, it tends to get solved conveniently. Though after the three quarters mark it did get a hell lot more interesting, the last battle was also a little anti-climatic. It consisted more of dialogues, getting to know each other, and sex. Yes, Silver was incessantly thinking about doing the deed, even when Nick and her were going into a closed down amusement park which was most probably the location of the group of vamps they were hunting. Talk about being horny..

However, I did like Bacio's writing style; The humor and unique phrasings were almost enough to cover the dull plot. Example:

"One drink, and she already acted tipsy. The head between his legs definitely wanted to take advantage of her. But the more elevated one on his shoulders knew that playing with Silver was dangerous business."

Head between his legs? LOL.

This book is written in a selective third person point of view where it changes from mainly Silver (heroine), to Lily (protagonist of Book 1, New Orleans Threesome), to Nick (hero), to Trev and Law (heroes of Book 1), then back to Silver. It's good in a way that the shifting perspectives only got confusing a few times, justifiable considering the multiple characters that had to be included, and we got to know what all of them were thinking. Bad in a way that the second-guessing and suspense factors were hence sorely lacking.

One thing I really couldn't tolerate at the beginning was Nick's insensitivity to Silver's feelings, but he slowly became more understanding and gentle towards her, so all's comin' along just fine by me. Silver's a little childish and gay initially, but you could see her mature as she went through some real tough adversities. She was an independent girl who knew how to keep her wits about her when the shit hits the fan, and I really liked that about her. Just the part I mentioned above where she kept wanting to get laid by Nick ticked me off a little, other than that, she's totally cool.

And another thing is how the focus of the book is a little scattered. Yes, I do want to know the goings-on with the Threesome (meaning Lily, Trevor and Lawrence), but shouldn't the focal point be fixated on Silver and Nick? This should be more of their story, but a big portion of the time it reverted back to Lily, Trev and Law's POV and them having sex. I'm fine with sex scenes, it's just I really can't appreciate m/m Eroticas, y'know what I mean?

A teeeensy weensy flaw I spotted. There was one part where Silver saw a ghost in her room in the Threesome's house (and I have no idea why Bacio wrote this scene because she didn't mention anything about the apparition nor the scene anymore in the book), she was asleep in bed with Nick and she jerked up and shrieked. Here's how the scene played out:

  "Someone else had joined them, and someone else watched them. Fearful of what she might see, Silver opened her eyes slowly. A small girl, about five years old, stood in a the corner of the room watching her, and Nick.

  Silver startled. How the hell did that child get in here, and in the building itself? Lily had mentioned something about ghosts, but Silver thought it was just to keep her from moving in. The lights of a passing car shone in the window, passing through the little girl, and illuminating her transparency.

  With a shriek, Silver sat upright, without disrupting Nick’s sleep."

Right, cause if you shriek in the middle of the night and the person sleeping beside you doesn't wake up, that's totally normal, right?

It wasn't that I didn't enjoy CHAINS OF SILVER, it was probably more of I had higher expectations and CoS didn't quite meet them. But otherwise, I thought that it was a pretty cool read, though a little lukewarm, but still fun and enjoyable.

My Rating

Review: Destined by Jessie Harrell

Published Date: November 17th, 2011
Finished Date: December 1st, 2011
Publisher: Mae Day Publishing
Format: Paperback
Pages: 260
My Rating: 3.5/5

Blurb from Goodreads:
When Psyche receives a prophecy gone horribly wrong, she learns that even the most beautiful girl in Greece can have a hideous future. Her fate? Fall in love with the one creature even the gods fear.

As she feels herself slipping closer into the arms of the prophecy, Psyche must choose between the terrifyingly tender touch she feels almost powerless to resist and the one constant she's come to expect out of life: you cannot escape what is destined.

Destined is a fresh and heartachingly romantic retelling of the Cupid & Psyche myth from debut novelist, Jessie Harrell.

My Review

First things first: I love the cover. Seriously, I mean, look at it! It has that very soft feel with that white and purple color combination, and the cushions.. And of course the model's absolutely beautiful. That cover is a real winner, I tell you. It was what caught my attention, then came the synopsis mentioning Greek mythology and I knew at that moment that I was a goner; I had to read DESTINED.

**Major spoiler ahead**

Psyche is the most beautiful girl of all Greece, and after having her portrait painted, she shot to stardom. Her beauty caught the attention of Aphrodite, Greek Goddess of love, beauty, pleasure, and procreation. Aphrodite named Psyche her daughter, and in exchange for wealth and fame, she wanted Psyche to marry her immortal son, Eros (a.k.a. Cupid).

Eros, having been in love with a mortal girl once and brutally ditched, was furious when his mother proposed the idea in front of him and Psyche, who could be the very shadow of the girl he once loved. Psyche was adamant about opposing the idea of getting married so soon, and especially to a self-absorbed jerk like Eros. Since both of them disobeyed her so forthrightly, Aphrodite got mad and secretly commanded Eros to make Psyche fall in love with a hideous man who treated his woman badly. Eros would've done the deed gladly, thinking that beautiful women shouldn't be allowed to roam scot-free breaking men's hearts, but when he found Psyche crying in her garden (read the book to find out why she's crying), that gave him pause. He lowered his arrow of love/cupid arrow but accidentally nicked himself, and that made him fall in love with her with an all-consuming passion. HAH, all that historical Greek drama.

Anyway, since Eros can't let Psyche fall for another, he had to try his hand at meddling with Fate, and to circumvent his mother's orders and make Psyche fall in love with him. Kinda hard since her first impression of him is worse than bad and that she hates him already. But he did, and because of her listening to the advice of a petty, jealous kin, Psyche ruined Eros' plan and they had to go their separate ways. But Psyche can't let him go now, not when she has already lost her heart to him, so she embarks on a crazy adventure to win back Eros' trust, and to win the right to be by his side. Forever.

**End of spoiler zone**

Apart from a few flaws of the book (and they are pretty major), I did like DESTINED. It was a very beautiful narration of the historical fairytale of Cupid and Psyche.

I'll talk about the flaws first before I gush about the good. The biggest and most obvious flaw I spotted was the too-modern way of writing. I mean, you don't call someone a "twit" in Ancient Greece. The word hasn't even been invented in Ancient America! Lol, if there was such a thing. And you don't celebrate birthdays with cheesecakes. I mean, what? It's 2 generations after the epic Trojan War and you're bringing out cheesecakes? That's like 1900 B.C. we're talking about. And the way Psyche acted, she was practically a modern day American teenager. She was EIGHTEEN and she wasn't even married! Heck, her older sister wasn't even married. Girls in those days were eligible when they turn fifteen (or was that Ancient Egypt? But it shouldn't be far off)! The interactions were off and, well, just too modernised. If not for the modern language, I'd have gladly given this book a 4 or 4.5. I really liked it. A lot. But I do understand the dilemma that Harrell had because DESTINED is a YA novel, and to go with that genre, she couldn't use olden English.

Another thing I noticed, though significantly less important, is that Harrell switched between using the Greek gods and goddesses Roman and Greek names. For example, she used the name Aphrodite, which is the Greek counterpart to Venus, but she used the name Ceres, which was the Roman counterpart of Demeter. Really minor, but I saw it, so, just saying.

Thirdly, Helios wasn't the sun god anymore when Apollo was born. The titans were overthrown when the Olympians took over. In some texts, people believed that Apollo and Helios were one and the same, but in others, they believed that they were two separate entities. But even if they were two distinct gods, Apollo took over as sun god, so there couldn't be a Helios and an Apollo together in the book at the same time, and Apollo couldn't not be the sun god if he was in the story, which was what Harrell wrote.

Fourthly, even though the cover is gorgeous, it doesn't match the Ancient Greece setting. It was very misleading.

Anyway, now on to the things I did like. THE CHARACTERS!! I loved Eros and Psyche! Eros more because he was absolutely flawless, Psyche a little lesser because I'm not into pretty princesses. Much. Eros was, of course, drop-dead gorgeous and an impossible charmer, but under all that, he's just a guy suffering from a lost love and a really nice, kind, and loving romantic. Psyche, even though she indulges herself in crying when trouble comes along, she always stands up again, show the shit who's boss, always gets the job done and the problems solved. She's amazing, and she demonstrated great strength on her journey to find Eros after he left her. And when both of them are together, they are just one of the sweetest couples I have ever seen.

The first time I saw that our male protagonist would be Eros, I was thinking "isn't Cupid small, gay and so inconsequential"? And I saw reviewers gushing about him and his swoon-worthiness. I was so cynical about it all, but after I read DESTINED, I realised I was so wrong. Harrell made him sound so cheeky and so, well, sexy! And the way he wielded his arrows weren't gay at all. Trust me on this.

Other than their personalities, most of them had very human feelings. Like, for example, Chara, Psyche's older sister, felt jealousy and resentment towards Psyche when Chara was forced to marry an old king in the neighbouring, powerful country of Mycenae and Psyche got to have a handsome and charming god as her fiance. It made them seem more real and believable... More relatable.

The plot was fantastic. Harrell managed to balance romance, action, suspense, and all the other dynamics really well. I loved how she used the legend of Heracles' (or more commonly known as Hercules) 12 Labours and made a very clever imitation of it. The way Heracles was tricked into doing 12 instead of the original 10 labours because the person who ordered the labours done, who is King Eurystheus of Mycenae, managed to find loopholes. Harrell managed to do that. That, in itself, is a truly amazing feat. Subtle loopholes are difficult to create, and she actually incorporated her version of the 12 Labours (though Psyche's one was only 2) into DESTINED. Amazing, really amazing.

I have always harbored a deep interest in Greek mythology, and I loved how Harrell included some of the other gods and goddess as secondary characters. Hermes and Eros joked about stuff like brothers, Eros making Zeus fall for mortal women, and others. The only thing I was miffed about was that Hera wasn't such a philanthropist as Harrell depicted her to be. In all the history texts, Hera was, simply put, a B(itch).  Nicely put, unkind. But well, her being a saint at heart worked in the protagonists' favor so I was actually feeling thankful that Hera was nice.

DESTINED is a beautiful debut novel about love, strength, and familial ties, cleverly using Greek mythology to portray these values. Other than the overly-mordernised language that bugged me a lot, I loved the cover, I loved the story, and I loved the characters... What more can a bibliophile ask for? I'd recommend this to YA Lit and Greek mythology fans.

P.S. I REALLY want a sequel!!!!! Sigh, but Harrell has just replied my tweet saying that she's planning a companion novel featuring a new couple! Well, at least now I still have something to look forward to.:D

My Rating