A Book Obsession..

Unseen

, by KT

Unseen by Rachel Caine

Outcast Season #3

After Cassiel and Warden Luis Rocha rescue an adept child from a maniacal Djinn, they realize two things: the girl is already manifesting an incredible amount of power, and her kidnapping was not an isolated incident.

This Djinn-aided by her devoted followers-is capturing children all over the world, and indoctrinating them so she can use their strength for herself. With no other options, Cassiel infiltrates the Djinn's organization-because if Cassiel cannot stop the Djinn's apocalyptic designs, all of humanity may be destroyed.

Now that Cassiel and Luis have rescued Ibby, his niece, they realize that pearl's threat goes so much deeper than they ever realized. The horrors of what was done to these children, and what the rescued ones must still face comes at a killing blow to them. Stuck between a rock and a hard place, Cassiel must find a way to get into one of Pearl's cult operations, even if is means sacrificing everything she holds dear. Failure is not an option.

While the previous book focused more on romantic development than forward plot momentum, the complete opposite can be said for Unseen. The plot was thrown into hyper drive, with plenty of intense action. Meanwhile, my heart was thrown into a blender as Cassiel experiences her first taste of heartbreak. I should have know everything couldn't have stayed all roses between the two of them. I realize things could have been worse, but that really doesn't make it much easier, especially when all I want to do is strangle Luis for his behavior. Somehow Cassiel, takes all of the blame upon herself, even though she is the one making the touch choices. I mean news flash, if she didn't there wouldn't be a world much longer. How could she just let everything she has grown to love slip through her fingers rather than stand up and fight? She can't and she doesn't, yet it costs hers more than she could have ever realized, so my heart bled right along with hers.

It has been a very long time since I have despised a villain as much as I despise Pearl. My anger is almost all consuming, to the point where I am desperate to get my hands on the final installment just so I can yell: "Ding Dong the Wicked (b)witch is Dead!" At least I hope I will get that satisfaction, Rachel Caine couldn't be quite so cruel to let that psychotic, manipulative creature succeed, right? That being said, I have absolutely no idea how Cassiel could possibly win in the end as she has been thwarted at every attempt and basically demolished each and every time. Not that really is a bad thing as it promises for a completely unpredictable and entertaining final installment.

It still amazes me just how different this series is from the Weather Warden series, yet somehow still can tie into that world so well. The emotions and stakes are so very different that what was experienced before. I can imagine it was no easy feat to accomplish this, so my hat goes off to Rachel Caine for yet again knocking my socks off and thoroughly impressing me with her creative genius. (Even if she does drive me a little batty with her love of cliffhangers. Evil Author! Seriously, I met her on tour and she has the evil laugh perfected. It is quite creepy.) That all being said, I do feel like a little bit of a hypocrite as I flew through Unseen as fast as possible in trying to get one step closer to the resolution, yet I know I will be very sad to say goodbye to another set of awesome characters that I have come to love. It really is a catch 22 situation, but that just shows how enjoyable the books are.

Rating:

Order a copy from Amazon:
Unseen (Outcast Season, Book 3)

Other Reviews:

Previous Books:

Waiting on Wednesday (81)

, 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:

A Perfect Blood - The Hollows #10

by Kim Harrison

Publication Date: February 21st, 2012

Amazon Pre-Order: A Perfect Blood (The Hollows)

A power she can’t deny. A destiny she’s determined to fight.

Ritually murdered corpses are appearing across Cincinnati, terrifying amalgams of human and other. Pulled in to help investigate by the FIB, former witch turned day-walking demon Rachel Morgan soon realizes a horrifying truth — a would-be creator is determined to make his (or her) own demons. But it can’t be done without Rachel’s blood. As a bounty hunter, Rachel has battled vampires, witches, werewolves, demons, and more. But humanity itself might be her toughest challenge.

Unknown

, by KT

Unknown by Rachel Caine

Outcast Season #2

Living among mortals, the djinn Cassiel has developed a reluctant affection for them-especially for Warden Luis Rocha. As the mystery deepens around the kidnapping of innocent Warden children, Cassiel and Luis are the only ones who can investigate both the human and djinn realms. But the trail will lead them to a traitor who may be more powerful than they can handle...

Not quite human, not quite djinn, Cassiel is still struggling as she hovers the line between them. Her human side comes with a whole slew of emotions, the most being centered around her attraction to her Warden partner, Luis. Meanwhile they are still searching for the missing children and have hit many roadblocks along the way. But nothing could have prepared them for what they are about to face, and it will take every last bit of strength and will to make it out of this one alive.

There wasn't a whole lot of forward momentum in the plot department in Unknown. At times it just felt like Cassiel and Luis were just chasing their own tails and running around in circles. However, I don't have too much of a problem with that as this keeps things a little more realistic. If Pearl really is this big bad threat, then finding her couldn't possibly be easy. Also, the very small forward plot momentum was easy to ignore due to the relationship development. When I read the first book, I had suspicions that something was brewing between the two of them, and I was very happy to have that confirmed. Even though they had a very rocky start, there is some major chemistry between them, and it was good to see that development between them. I have a feeling they will really need each other in the coming fights.

If you read my previous review, you know that the main threat was hitting really hard for me, but I couldn't talk about it then without spoiling things. Anytime the threat in a book puts a child at risk I am devastated and stay completely on the edge of my seat the entire book. I was always this way, but now that I have children of my own it is only a hundred times worse. I get all "momma bear" protective and I was absolutely sickened by what these children were going through. To make matters worse, the child who was most personal to Cassiel and Luis is about the same age as my daughter which devastated me even more. The brain-washing, and what amounted to psychological torture made this threat impact me more than any other danger could have possibly have. At least the issues stopped short of anything sexual, otherwise I would have had to have thrown in the towel as I just would not have been able to get through that. Even so, I almost had to force myself to continue on with the book. Really the only thing holding me on was the hope that things would start taking a turn for the better for the good guys.

This was a really hard book for me as on one hand it was enjoyable, especially in the character development area. However, on the other hand I was pretty miserable while reading it. So, I guess in the end I'm having some pretty mixed feelings on how I feel about Unknown. I can't really fault the book because the writing was excellent, and it really did make me feel real emotion, it is just unfortunate that most of them were so negative. However, I think if I can keep holding on the victory will be so much sweeter and emotionally impacting in the end, almost making the journey worth the pain. For now I'm going to give Unknown a solid three rating and look to the next installment.

Rating:

Order a copy from Amazon:
Unknown (Outcast Season, Book 2)

Other Reviews:

Previous Books:

Undone

Book Blogger Confessions (1)

, by KT

This meme is hosted by Tiger from Tiger's All Consuming Books and Karen from For What It's Worth on the first and third Monday of each month.

This week's question:

Deadlines for reviewing and blogging. Do you set them? How do you keep them? What do you do if you can't meet a deadline?

I think I can answer this question with a few pictures:

So, as you can see, I am definitely a scheduler. I used to just post reviews as I wrote them, but some weeks I would have as many as 10, and then others without any at all. Then once, I started getting review requests, it became important to start scheduling as I wanted to make sure to get the reviews posted close to the release date rather than late/early. My ideal posting time of an ARC is within two weeks prior to the release date.

I used to just keep the google calendar as my schedule, but as I started to get overwhelmed, I made the sticky note list. That list makes it easy for me to see when my next unwritten post is due. I used to just read random books and always wound up reading books that weren't due for weeks/months and would somehow overlook one and wind up scrambling at the last minute. I don't force myself to read the books in the order posted here, but I do tend to stick to the ones at the top of the list first. Also, I am pretty flexible with the dates, and am constantly revising the schedule as more requests come in, but it just all seems more manageable, once I put a "date" on it. Granted sometimes that does bite me in the butt as I can get overwhelmed by my inability to say no to a book. I just feel like a heel if I can't review a book sent to me. I've also started to DNF some books, whereas I couldn't in the past. It is a slow process, but I am working on it one step at a time.

It's Monday What Are You Reading? (81)

, 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:

Article 5 by Kristen Simmons (Early Review)
Undone by Rachel Caine (Review)
My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent (Re-Read Review)

Article 5 series rocked my socks! It was such a chilling read that I absolutely not put down!

I was quite hesitant to read Undone, because I was afraid about reading a different character than Joanne. However Cassiel is awesome in her own way, and I really enjoyed the book.

It is funny how different a book can be the second time around. If you have read the rest of the books in the Soul Screamers series, then make sure to check out my re-read review. I definitely had some ranting going on :)

My Upcoming List:

Unknown by Rachel Caine
Unseen by Rachel Caine
Raven Calls by C.E. Murphy (Early Review)

My Soul to Take (Re-Read Review)

, by KT

My Soul to Take by Rachel Vincent

Soul Screamers #1

(Re-Read Review)

She doesn't see dead people. She senses when someone near her is about to die. And when that happens, a force beyond her control compels her to scream bloody murder. Literally.

Kaylee just wants to enjoy having caught the attention of the hottest guy in school. But a normal date is hard to come by when Nash seems to know more about her need to scream than she does. And when classmates start dropping dead for no apparent reason, only Kaylee knows who'll be next.

Let me start off with a warning that this post is NOT a traditional review, and will be quite spoilery. Also there will be a whole lot of ranting and bashing. I'm participating in the Soul Screamers Reading Challenge hosted by Fiktshun. You can either read the books for the first time, or re-read them, and I am doing the latter. I thought it would be fun to do a post of my thoughts about things the second time around with all of the knowledge of the following books. So again, I really would not recommend reading this review if you are not caught up in reading books one through five. You have been warned. ;)

What most surprised me while reading My Soul to Take was the anger I felt at Kaylee's treatment. I remember it bothering me at the time, but not to the extent I felt this time around. It just made me absolutely furious at her family for putting her through the horrors of the mental institution when they knew good and well she wasn't even the slightest bit crazy. I'm rather shocked at how quick she was to forgive them. The aunt and uncle earned a good deal of my fury for their actions and for enabling Kaylee's father to shirk his responsibilities. In my opinion he gave up his right to decide when she should be told about her heritage when he left her. I don't care if he thought he was protecting her. He wasn't. In all reality he was just trying to escape the pain of losing his wife. I bet Kaylee's mother has been "rolling over in her grave" in fury at his abandonment.

Perhaps my annoyance at Sophie wouldn't have been quite so high if I hadn't just read her novella, Never to Sleep. But I found myself wanting to strangle the selfish wench. When I originally read the book, I found her to be a spoiled annoyance, but in the grand scheme of figuring things out, she kinda fell to the background. This time, now that I knew what was happening, it wasn't so easy to ignore her. Right now I'm living with the hope that she will get knocked down a few pegs. (or a lot of pegs, it's all good).

Now, onto the romance. So many more things jumped out at me this time. When I first read My Soul to Steal, I was wrapped up in the mysterious sexiness that was Nash, and Tod was just a guy. Now however my rose tinted glasses have been thoroughly destroyed and I really couldn't stand him this time around. Even if I tried to "forget" all of the terrible things Nash does in the following books, I still couldn't get into the relationship between them this time around. Everything just felt fake and forced. He's known her for so long, but it isn't until he realizes that she is a bean sidhe that he is all of a sudden obsessed with her. It just really lessened the romance for me, because it felt like she could have been anyone else, as long as she was one of his kind. I understand that there might be an innate draw between them due to being the same, but that doesn't make it romantic. I wanted her to want her for who she was, not what.

Now onto Tod. Oh how could I have ever looked at him like he was just a sidekick and not the absolute yumminess that he is? I couldn't help but smile when Harmony told Kaylee to watch out for bean sidhe brothers. Turns up she was right. So, again I found myself really disgusted with Nash as his behavior towards Tod is despicable. Knowing now that it was Nash who was actually supposed to die, I just want to strangle the boy. His behavior and treatment of Tod is completely inexcusable. I realize Nash doesn't have this information, but that doesn't really make it any better. Nash just seems whiny and spoiled, and overall, unworthy. There I said it, He is UNWORTHY!

So, now that I have the rants out of my system, I still have to say that I enjoyed My Soul to Take just as much the second time around. It was really fun to see where everything began with all the new knowledge as "power." I saw so much more this time, and it was quite entertaining, even if I was furious for most of the book. That isn't a bad thing, as the book had to be fantastic in order for me to be so emotionally attached. I'm looking forward to next month's installment, My Soul to Save. I wonder what else I will catch this time around that I didn't the first.

Order a copy from Amazon:
My Soul to Take (Soul Screamers Book 1)

Other Re-Read Reviews:

New Author Challenge 2012

, by KT

Here are the guidelines:

The challenge will run from January 1, 2012 through December 31, 2012.
Since this is an author challenge, there is no restriction on choosing your novels. They can definitely be from other challenges. However, the authors must be new to you and, preferably from novels. Anthologies are a great way to try someone new, but only a third of your new authors can be from anthologies.
I want this to be an easy challenge, so you can pick to do either 15, 25 or 50 new authors. It all depends on how fast you read and how adventurous you want to be. If you reach your goal halfway through the year, don’t stop. Any new author you try can be added to Mr. Linky. We all want to know about your new experience.
After reading your new author, write your review and then come back here and add your link to Mr. Linky. Make sure you include your name and the author, but adding the title is completely up to you.
Bloggers or Non-Bloggers alike are welcome. You don’t have to have a site to participate. You can link up via Facebook, GoodReads or even Amazon if you’d like.

Last year I read books from 94 new to me authors. Holy cow!! And to think I was worried I wouldn't hit 50!!! So with nervousness, I'm going to shoot for about the same number again, give or take a few. Officially I'm going for 90 :) Wish me luck!

Thea Harrison (Dragon Bound)
E.S. Moore (To Walk the Night)
Juliet Blackwell (If Walls Could Talk)
Dianne Sylvan (Queen of Shadows)
Dianne Duvall (Darkness Dawns)
Regan Hastings (Visions of Magic)
Katie Reus (Alpha Instinct)
Erin Kellison (Shadow Bound)
Tricia Rayburn (Siren)
Lauren Dane (Heart of Darkness)
Lynn Viehl (If Angels Burn)
Kristen Simmons (Article 5)
Geralyn Dawson (My Big Old Texas Heartache)
Dan Wells (Partials)
Mandy M. Roth (Gypsy Nights)
Ruth Cardello (Maid for the Billionaire)
Marie Lu (Legend)
Marisa Chenery (Soul Hunger)
Mari Carr (Black Jack)
Veronica Wolff (Isle of Night)
Andrea Cremer (Nightshade)
Shelli Stevens (Dangerous Grounds)
Jennifer Blake (The Rent-A-Groom)
Christina Henry (Black Wings)
Beth Revis (Across the Universe)
Elizabeth Lapthorne (Scent of Passion)
Jessica Spotswood (Born Wicked)
Benedict Jacka (Fated)
Nina Bruhns (Catch Me If You Can)
Darlene Gardner (The Misconception)
Andrew Fukuda (The Hunt)
Brigid Kemmerer (Storm)
Linda Poitevin (Sins of the Angels)
Amber Scott (Fierce Dawn)
Sharon Shinn (The Shape of Desire)
Debbie Viguie (The Thirteenth Sacrifice)
Donna Fasano (Return of the Runaway Bride)
Patricia Watters (Adversaries and Lovers)
Hannah Jayne (Under Wraps)
Kevin Emerson (The Lost Code)
Christie Craig (Divorced, Desperate, and Delicious)
Felicity Heaton (Ascension)
Lori Villarreal (Twelfth Moon)
Rachel Gibson (Simply Irresistible)
Anna Carey (Eve)
Michelle Sagara (Silence)
Veronica Rossi (Under the Never Sky)
Pamela Palmer (A Blood Seduction)
Cat Patrick (Revived)
Galaxy Craze (The Last Princess)
Bella Andre (Take Me)
Tracey Deebs (Tempest Rising)
Maia Underwood (Surviving Passion)
Laura Taylor (Intimate Strangers)
Patricia McLinn (Almost a Bride)
Anne Greenwood Brown (Lies Beneath)
J. Meyer (Intangible)
Linda Grimes (In a Fix)
Kasey Mackenzie (Red Hot Fury)
James R. Tuck (Blood and Bullets)
Kira Brady (Hearts of Darkness)
Nina Berry (Otherkin)
Terry Spear (Savage Hunger)
Kim Curran (Shift)
Angie Fox (Immortally Yours)
Tate Hallaway (Precinct 13)
Gwenda Bond (Blackwood)
Ruth Frances Long (The Treachery of Beautiful Things)
Saranna DeWylde (How to Lose a Demon in 10 Days)
Talia Vance (Silver)
Sarah Rees Brennan (Unspoken)
Jamie Quaid (Boyfriend From Hell)
Meg Maguire (Headstrong)
Amanda Carlson (Full Blooded)
Emily Hainsworth (Through to You)
Katee Robert (Wrong Bed, Right Guy)
Anton Strout (Alchemystic)
Jackson Pearce (Fathomless)
Sara Daniel (Construction Beauty Queen)
James Phelan (Chasers)
Malinda Lo (Adaptation)
Jill Archer (Dark Light of Day)
Cate Lord (Lucky Girl)
Michelle Vail (Undeadly)
Corrine Jackson (Touched)
Darynda Jones (First Grave on the Right)
Emily McKay (The Farm)
Leigh Evans (The Trouble With Fate)
Macy Beckett (Sultry With a Twist)
Delilah Marvelle (All I Want for Christmas is a Duke)
Maire Claremont (All I Want for Christmas is a Duke)
Brittany Geragotelis (What the Spell)
Robin Covington (Secret Santa Baby)

Undone

, by KT

Undone by Rachel Caine

Outcast Season #1

Once she was Cassiel, a Djinn of limitless power. Now, she has been reshaped in human flesh as punishment for defying her master--and living among the Weather Wardens, whose power she must tap into regularly or she will die. And as she copes with the emotions and frailties of her human condition, a malevolent entity threatens her new existence...

Cassiel, the hardest, most un-human Djinn has defied her master and has been imprisoned in human form without the ability to draw on her powers. Without a direct tie to the Mother, she knows she will surely die, and is about ready to accept that fate when she realizes she can draw small amounts from the Weather Wardens. It sounds like torture to her, living off of the scraps of others, but her attitude starts to change once she realizes the potential good she can do. Even so, it will be a very long and bumpy road as she adjusts to her new way of existence, but she can't take too much time as a deadly force is just waiting on the horizon, and it has its sights set on her.

I'm not really sure why I expected the Outcast Season books to be Joanne 2.0, but they most definitely were not. Granted it has a been a long time since I read Joanne's books, but I remember her to be very determined to do the right thing, sympathetic, loyal, and a little flighty at times. Cassiel is absolutely none of those things, at least not at the start. She is so cold and hard, yet there also is a vulnerability about her that kept her from being completely closed off. As she learns what it means to be human she slowly grows a heart and attachments with others, even if she isn't really sure what to do with those emotions. A lot of her internal dialogs show her believing that the attachment is only due to the fact that she needs the Wardens in order to survive, but I don't believe that to be the case. I think there is a really connection there, and I can't wait to see it grow even more.

For almost the entire book I was being driven crazy because I wanted to know why Cassiel was cast out and that information was not revealed until the very end. Looking back I think that build up to the reveal was actually a good thing because I wouldn't have looked at things the same way, and I would have really missed that suspense. Although I will say that when she finally revealed the reason, my jaw literally dropped and I was just so speechless. To be honest I was quite surprised she actually refused in the first place, considering how cold she was in the beginning, but let me just say it's probably a good thing she did. Well, there really is no probably about it. I'm just really interested to see where things go from here.

The unique thing about this series is that it happens at the same time as the Weather Warden books, with Undone being back a few books in the timeline. So considering the fact that I know the outcome of those books, you would think that the big bad threat in this book wouldn't seem so, well threatening. However that could not be further from truth as it hits home with an issue that is really personal to me. I have to be quite vague here in order to not spoil things, but whenever something involves this type of issue I am always extremely attacked to the outcome of the plot. Perhaps after I read the next book I'll be able to address that issue more in depth as it shouldn't be quite a spoiler by that point. For now I'd be happy to discuss things in the comments, and close this review up here. I have to say that overall Undone was a rather impressive read, and I'm looking forward to diving into the next installment.

Rating:

Order a copy from Amazon:
Undone (Outcast Season, Book 1)

Other Reviews:

February R.A.K.

, by KT

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

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 right 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 with Nook 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 February 2012 [HERE]
See who else is participating [HERE]
If you have any questions regarding RAK, please contact us via the following: rakbybooksoulmates @ gmail . com

I love this!!
Here is my wishlist

Waiting on Wednesday (80)

, 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:

A Beautiful Evil - Gods & Monsters #2

by Kelly Keaton

Publication Date: February 21st, 2012

Amazon Pre-Order: A Beautiful Evil

A power she can’t deny. A destiny she’s determined to fight.

When Ari first arrived in the dilapidated city of New 2, all she wanted was to figure out who she was. But what she discovered was beyond her worst nightmare. Ari can already sense the evil growing inside her—a power the goddess Athena will stop at nothing to possess.

Desperate to hold on to her humanity and protect her loved ones, Ari must fight back. But Athena’s playing mind games, not just with Ari but with those she cares about most. And Athena has a very special plan for the brooding and sexy Sebastian.

Ari is determined to defeat Athena, but time is running out. With no other options, Ari must unleash the very thing she’s afraid of: herself.