A Book Obsession..

Waiting on Wednesday (64)

, by KT

Don't miss my giveaway of an early copy of Drink Deep. Ends tonight!

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights an upcoming release we are greatly anticipating.

My pick this week:

Drink Deep - Chicagoland Vampires #5

by Chloe Neill

Publication Date: November 1st, 2011

Amazon Pre-Order: Drink Deep (Chicagoland Vampires, Book 5)

Clouds are brewing over Cadogan House, and recently turned vampire Merit can't tell if this is the darkness before the dawn or the calm before the storm. With the city itself in turmoil over paranormals and the state threatening to pass a paranormal registration act, times haven't been this precarious for vampires since they came out of the closet. If only they could lay low for a bit, and let the mortals calm down.

That's when the waters of Lake Michigan suddenly turn pitch black-and things really start getting ugly.

Chicago's mayor insists it's nothing to worry about, but Merit knows only the darkest magic could have woven a spell powerful enough to change the very fabric of nature. She'll have to turn to friends old and new to find out who's behind this, and stop them before it's too late for vampires and humans alike.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone (ARC Review)

, by KT

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, scorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grown dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherwordly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages--not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers--beautiful, haunted Akiva--fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Karou lives two lives. In one she pretends to be a normal teenager going to art school. In the other she works for monsters, running odd errands full of danger. Her blue hair sets her apart from others, as well as her fluency in many different languages, some not known to humans. But aside from all this, she really has no idea who she truly is as she was raised by the monsters she works for. Everything changes the day she meets Akiva who is so much more than he seems. He should be the enemy, but there is a terrible draw between them. His presence opens up so many questions, but not all should be answered for they will mean devastation and irrevocable change in her life.

Karou is a very unique character, unlike any other that I have read about. She is a mix of so many things. One minute she will seem wise beyond her years, and in the next, she was just your normal teenager, rebellious and a little frivolous in her choices. I think this endeared me to her even more because while she had incredible maturity due to the way she was raised and her "job," there were parts of her that were still quite young and well, human. It wouldn't have been hard for that innocence to have been driven out her considering she was raised by monsters themselves, and yet her naivety and unflinching loyalty held true. Even when she felt a powerful draw to Akiva, who should be her enemy, and lost her heart to him, she still didn't betray her monster family. It would haven been so easy to let herself become all consumed by Akiva, and turn her back on the others, especially since they had been so secretive, but then she wouldn't be the amazing character that she is.

There were more than enough secrets in Daughter of Smoke and Bone, that reading it should have been frustrating due to a lack of answers. Surprisingly, that just wasn't the case. As the story slowly unfurled, bits of information and knowledge were pieces together, to reveal the secrets of the past. This was weaved into what was happening in the present to get a clearer picture of why things were they way that they were, and what that meant for the future. I for one cannot wait to see how things pan out between Akiva and Karou, especially with the shocking information she found out near the end, as it is something that will not just be easily swallowed.

My first thought after finishing this book was: "Wow. Just Wow." This came as a slight surprise considering my initial impression of the book. I'll admit that at first the lyrical prose turned me off just a little bit. Typically when I read a book I want to be able to easily immerse into it, forgetting the world around me for a short time. So, when a book is written in an almost poetic sense, sometimes it can be hard to get that immersion, as it just doesn't flow like regular speech. However, after just a short while, I no longer saw the poeticness of the prose, as the story had completely taken over. I cannot imagine anything that would have made Daughter of Smoke and Bone possibly any better than it was as it was written exactly as it should have been. That should teach me for doubting it in the first place. As soon as I finished reading it, I instantly went on a web search to see when the next installment would be released, as I cannot stand to wait the industry's standard of a year plus wait between books. So, if you are a fan of the paranormal, or even a book that just effortlessly flows due to an impeccable writing style, then you really do not want to miss Daughter of Smoke and Bone. Definitely the top YA read of the year so far!

(Received a copy from the publisher)

Rating:

Buy now from Amazon:
Daughter of Smoke and Bone

Other Reviews:

Challenge Categories:

It's Monday! What are you reading (64)

, by KT

It's Monday! What Are You Reading, hosted by Book Journey, is where we gather to share what we have read this past week and what we plan to read this week. It is a great way to network with other bloggers, see some wonderful blogs, and put new titles on your reading list.

Here's what I read this past week:

Seers by Heather Frost (Early Review)
Spider's Revenge by Jennifer Estep (Review)
Tris and Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison (Early Review)
Lord of the Wolfyn by Jessica Anderson (Early Review)

Fly by posting this week. Check out my reviews to see what I thought.

Also, don't miss my giveaway of an early copy of Drink Deep by Chloe Neill!

My Upcoming List:

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor
Succubus Revealed by Richelle Mead
Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
The Iron Knight by Julie Kagawa (Early Review)

Lord of the Wolfyn (Early Review)

, by KT

Lord of the Wolfyn by Jessica Anderson

Royal House of Shadows #3

For practical Reda Weston, nothing could explain how reading a sexy version of “Little Red Riding Hood” catapulted her into another realm—face-to-fang with the legendary wolf-creature who seduced women. A wolf who transformed into a dark, virile man . . .

Dayn cursed the Sorcerer that turned him wolfyn and damned him to a lonely fate. As a beast, he mated with women to gain strength. Strength he needed to rescue his royal palace. But as a man, he craved Reda’s heated, sizzling touch. With little time left, Dayn had to either embrace his wolf to save his kingdom…or fight to save his woman.

Reda always knew there was something special about the Red Riding Hood book her mother gave her as a child. However, she never expected her to suck her in and launch her out into a completely different realm, putting her face to face with the man or well wolf she fears yet is inexplicably drawn to. Dayn was cursed to become both vampire and Wolfyn when his land was overtaken by the Blood Sorcerer. He has only lived for finding a way back to his royal siblings with the hope of taking back their rightful kingdom. All that changes when Reda stumbles into his lair. He'll have to decide between his heart and duty, a decision no man should ever have to make.

Like Lord of the Vampires, this book is set many years after the siege of Elden. However, what makes this book a little different than the others is that Dayn is not comfortable with who he is. He is constantly at war with both his natures and holds not a little bitterness for his curse. Reda is quite similar to him in that she is waging her own internal war as well. She knows that magic is real, yet those believes have been drilled out of her by therapists and her father. She also has a problem with confidence and freezes up under pressure which in turn makes her feel like a coward. The two of them are quite damaged from the start, and it will take a lot for them to open up to one another.

I'm not really sure how I feel about Dayn and Reda as a couple. As individuals, they were a mess, but as a couple I'm not sure they were much better. Neither one opened up to the other really at all throughout the book, so I didn't really feel any depth or emotional attachment. Both of them just kept making rash decisions and continued to repeat the same mistakes over and over again. Reda in particular really bothered me with this as she went from feeling utterly betrayed to making a MAJORLY life altering decision with Dayn with no real transition. The believability of the relationship was stretched a little thin and ultimately it lowered my enjoyment of the book.

While I have been enjoying this series, it is becoming quite frustrating as nothing seems to be progressing. It just seems like the same similar stories are told over again with new characters. There just hasn't been much satisfaction thus far, and I'm afraid Lord of the Wolfyn has been the least fulfilling of them all. Things just ended too abruptly for me to really believe in their ongoing happiness. That being said I realize now that things won't be wrapped up until the final book (at least I hope), so it isn't as if there was a lot to work with as far as the ending. I guess I just would have preferred a little bit more concreteness when it came to Reda and Dayn together. In the end, the book was enjoyable, I just wished for a little more. I look forward to the final installment to see where everything has been heading.

(Received a copy from Netgalley)

Rating:

Pre-order from Amazon:
Lord of the Wolfyn (Harlequin Nocturne)

Previous Books:

Other Reviews:

Challenge Categories:
Outdo Yourself
Paranormal Romance
New Author
Shifter

Tris and Izzie (Early Review)

, by KT

Tris and Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison

A modern retelling of the German fairy tale "Tristan and Isolde," Tris and Izzie is about a young witch named Izzie who is dating Mark King, the captain of the basketball team and thinks her life is going swimmingly well. Until -- she makes a love potion for her best friend Brangane and then ends up taking it herself accidentally, and falling in love with Tristan, the new guy at school.

I'm gonna start off with a warning that this review will be full of spoilers, as there is no way to really explain why I felt the way I did without talking about some of the major events. Also, as a forewarning, I really did not care for the book at all. I only finished it due to its short length and my inability to stop something in the middle no matter how much I dislike it.

The sudden change of love and devotion between these characters was so unrealistic to the point of absurdity. You have Izzie and Mark being so in love, but then in walks Tristan and BAM! she only has eyes for him. Granted there was supposed to be a love potion involved (I'll get into the ridiculousness of that in a moment), but it still was excessive. Then, you have Mark who is so devoted to Izzie and is such a wreck after she is hurt, yet not a few days later he just accepts that Izzie doesn't care about him, and Oh! Wait! He is madly in love with the best friend, Brangane. I understand that there had been a long brewing attraction there, but you just don't fall completely out of love with one person, and head over hells for another in the next moment. Life just doesn't work that way. It would have been easier to swallow if Mark hadn't have been so instantly crazy for Brangane, to the point where he was extremely violent to Izzie when Brangane got hurt. You can't be in love with a person and then hate them so much the next, it just didn't make sense at all.

Now, for the love potion. This will be just one example of Izzie's extreme immaturity and selfishness. Her mother had warned her that love potions are forever, and nothing, not even death will break them. Yet what does Izzie do? She steals one of her mom's and tries to give it to Brangane and Tristan. She tells herself it's so her friend can find love, but she really does it because she has this attraction to Tristan that she wants to avoid. Of course the joke was on her when she winds up taking it instead which spurs on an all consuming connection to Tristan, and generally makes a mess of everything. What made matters worse, was that she didn't even have any real remorse, and lived in a denial state that the potion could be broken rather then stepping up to face the consequences of her actions.

This book could possibly appeal to a younger audience, but it will seem much too juvenile for anyone sixteen and up, perhaps even younger depending on the maturity level. The characters just come across as whiny and incredibly immature, making everything seem quite one dimensional. Also I really felt cheated as this "retelling" of Tristan and Isolde had nothing in common with the original story, nor was there any tragedy. Maybe I would have liked it a little more if the characters had had a little more maturity. Perhaps it would be better marketed as a middle grade rather than a young adult. It's just a shame that the story did not live up to the beautiful cover, but in the end this is one of those times that proves you can't judge a book by its cover.

(Received a copy from Netgalley)

Rating:

Buy now from Amazon:
Tris and Izzie

Other Reviews

Challenge Categories:

Drink Deep Giveaway

, by KT

That's when the waters of Lake Michigan suddenly turn pitch black-and things really start getting ugly.

Chicago's mayor insists it's nothing to worry about, but Merit knows only the darkest magic could have woven a spell powerful enough to change the very fabric of nature. She'll have to turn to friends old and new to find out who's behind this, and stop them before it's too late for vampires and humans alike.

If you are anything like me, the devastation of Hard Bitten made waiting for the next installment incredibly painful. So you can only imagine my excitement when I received not one early copy, but two. I'm going to give away the extra copy to one lucky winner. Good Luck!

Rules

US only please
Fill out form to enter
Contest ends at midnight 10/12

Want to see Chloe in person?

Thursday, November 3rd

BARNES & NOBLE

Oakview Mall

3333 Oakview Drive

Omaha, NE 68144

402-691-4557 (phone)

7 PM

Meet Rachel Caine & Chloe Neill!

Sunday, November 6th

BARNES & NOBLE

2100 North Snelling Ave

Roseville, MN 55113

(651)-639-9256 phone

2 PM

Meet Rachel Caine, Chloe Neill, and Andrea Cremer (author of the Nightshade series)!

Come to the bookstore, meet the authors, have your books signed, and participate in a raffle drawing to receive cool prizes!

Waiting on Wednesday (63)

, by KT

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event hosted by Breaking the Spine that spotlights an upcoming release we are greatly anticipating.

My pick this week:

Trance - MetaWars #1

by Kelly Meding

Publication Date: October 25th, 2011

Amazon Pre-Order: Trance

Kelly Meding’s war-ravaged Los Angeles is ground zero for the ultimate Meta human showdown in this sexy, action-packed new series.

Fifteen years ago, Teresa “Trance” West was a skilled telepath and a proud member of the Ranger Corps. But ever since the Rangers were inexplicably rendered powerless at the climax of the devastating Meta War, she’s bounced from one dead-end job to another. Now her powers have reappeared just as mysteriously as they vanished— only they’re completely transformed and more potent than ever. And they’re threatening to destroy her.

Trance heads to Los Angeles to track down the surviving Rangers and discover who restored her powers—and why—but a phantom enemy is determined to kill them before they can reassemble. As they dodge his deadly attacks and come to terms with their new role as heroes, Trance and the rest of the team set out to annihilate the sinister madman . . . only to discover their own powers are his greatest weapons.

Seers (Early Review)

, by KT

Seers by Heather Frost

Seers Trilogy #1

For Kate Bennet, surviving the car wreck that killed her parents means big changes and even bigger problems. As she begins to see auras and invisible people, Kate must learn to trust Patrick O'Donnell, a handsome Guardian, or risk her life being overrun with Demons. She soon realizes that both she and her heart are in big-time trouble.

Kate's life changed forever when her parents were killed in a car wreck that she survived, as she can now see auras, and always knows other people's emotions as a result. She does a good job at hiding this from almost everyone as otherwise would gain her a quick trip to the loony bin. Then invisible people start showing up without auras, and one of them claims to be her guardian who needs her help in fighting against demons. She quickly gets wrapped up in the mess of it all and finds herself as a particularly nasty demon's latest target. She'll have to learn fast if she has any chance at getting out of this mess alive.

While the story was intriguing, it wasn't enough to distract me from the overabundance of teen angst in terms of Kate's relationship with her boyfriend Aaron, and her attraction towards her Guardian, Patrick. (Guardian like an Angel, not a parent figure). I realize that things will change drastically when you have a life altering even like Kate did when she lost her parents, so it really wasn't a surprise that her relationship had gone a little stale. However, I did have a problem with how she strung him along. He couldn't have been more understanding about everything and tried his best to give her the time and space she needed, but it never was enough. She should have let him go long ago, rather than dragging things out because she thought she needed that stability. It was obvious that there really wasn't any comfort or stability to be had as she couldn't really stand to be around him. It got even worse once she started having feelings for Patrick and much of the book was spent on her angsting over what to do. This really lessened my enjoyment of the book, which is a shame, because the rest of it was quite good.

The world behind Seers was really unique and quite interesting. It showed a different take on the afterlife, and there were several aspects I really liked, especially how things are handled with young children who pass on. I especially liked how only the truly evil, are denied the change to reach paradise. Another unique thing was the handling of the "Angels" and Demons. They definitely were not what I've come to expect from these type of beings, the biggest difference being that they were not celestial beings, but were once human. I love any book that can change the "rules" when it comes to certain paranormals, as long as those changes are handled well, and are made reasonably believable. The changes were pulled off without a hitch in Seers, making for an impressive read.

Seers was a blend of highly enjoyable aspects blended with a few things that really lessened the experience for me, granting it a solid three rating. I will say that it should rate higher to a teenage reader as they are able to relate a little more to the angsty parts that really irked me. It is told mostly in Kate's first person perspective, but there are a few parts that switch over to Patrick's point of view. This only helped to further enrich the book as it helped to another side of things. Things were wrapped up decently without a hard cliffhanger, but you can definitely tell the book is part of a trilogy as there were obvious set ups for much more to happen. Seers is a fresh look on the conflict between Demons and Angels, as well as the humans who get caught in-between that will be sure to entertain and I look forward to reading the next installment.

(Received a copy from Netgalley)

Rating:

Pre-order from Amazon:
Seers (Seers - Trilogy)

Other Reviews:

Challenge Categories:

It's Monday! What are you reading (63)

, by KT

Radiant Desire by Inara Scott (Early Review)
Chosen by Blood by Virna DePaul (Review)
Chosen by Fate by Virna DePaul (Early Review)

Radiant Desire was a very enjoyable read. The romantic progression was realistic and there is plenty of character growth. It was a fun, modern fairy tale for adults.

Chosen by Blood and Chosen by Fate are the first two books in the Para-Ops series. The best thing about these books is that while they are paranormal romances that are mostly focused on the couples, there also was plenty of outside plot development, making for a well rounded read.

My Upcoming List:

Seers by Heather Frost (Early Review)
Spider's Revenge by Jennifer Estep
Tris and Izzie by Mette Ivie Harrison (Early Review)
Lord of the Wolfyn by Jessica Anderson (Early Review)

October R.A.K

, by KT

I love this! ;)

Here are the rules:

COMPLETE RULES RE-CAP:
Please read carefully & follow all rules!

Please sign-up each month that you can participate (and by participate, we mean give as well as receive).
Show off your participation by grabbing our RAK button (code is in the sidebar).
Create a wish list (on Amazon, Goodreads, or your blog etc) and post it in the Google Doc located in each R.A.K post for the month.
If you choose to do a R.A.K for someone, check out their wish list and contact that blogger directly for their information.
Once you receive a RAK, send us an our new email to [rakbybooksoulmates @ gmail . com] so that we can update the Google Doc. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU SEND EMAILS TO THIS ADDRESS!
E-book participation is limited to files being gifted directly to a person from the e-book store. Amazon's Kindle Store is set up to allow this, as well as the Kobo store and we believe Barnes & Noble as well.
At the end of the month, SHOW US YOUR R.A.K by making a "RAK Wrap-Up" post. This post should include who you SENT gifts to as well who you RECEIVED gifts from :)

OPEN TO EVERYONE including all our International brethren!

Remember, there's always the Book Depository and they offer FREE shipping!

Easy peezy!!

Links you will need:

Sign up for October [HERE]
See who else is participating [HERE]
If you have any questions regarding RAK, please contact us via the following: rakbybooksoulamates@gmail.com Good luck to all the giveaway participants and thanks for joining and passing on the kindness!

You guys ROCK!!