4 Star Book Review | Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins

SWEET PERIL (The Sweet Trilogy #2)
by Wendy Higgins
Published: April 30th, 2013
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance
Borrowed from the Library
Purchase: Amazon

Anna Whitt, the daughter of a guardian angel and a demon, promised herself she’d never do the work of her father—polluting souls. She’d been naive to make such a vow. She’d been naive about a lot of things.

Haunted by demon whisperers, Anna does whatever she can to survive, even if it means embracing her dark side and earning an unwanted reputation as her school’s party girl. Her life has never looked more bleak. And all the while there’s Kaidan Rowe, son of the Duke of Lust, plaguing her heart and mind.

When an unexpected lost message from the angels surfaces, Anna finds herself traveling the globe with Kopano, son of Wrath, in an attempt to gain support of fellow Nephilim and give them hope for the first time. It soon becomes clear that whatever freedoms Anna and the rest of the Neph are hoping to win will not be gained without a fight. Until then, Anna and Kaidan must put aside the issues between them, overcome the steamiest of temptations yet, and face the ultimate question: is loving someone worth risking their life?

Cover Review:

In the cover for Sweet Peril, we have Anna and Kaidan in front of a backdrop of an ominous red sky. These clouds are perfect for giving the feeling of danger and an approaching storm, just as we know that evil is fast approaching Anna and her friends.

On the cover of the first book in this series, Sweet Evil, Anna looks sweet and unsure of herself and Kaidan looked like temptation itself. But on the cover of Sweet Peril, Anna looks strong and ready to kick some evil butt, and Kaidan looks like he's putting space between himself and Anna, distancing himself.

This cover perfectly shows the current  dynamic between Anna and Kaidan, while also showing that dangerous and deadly evil is coming for them all.

Book Review:

After the New York Summit and the angel's intervention on Anna's behalf, the Dukes have upped the demon whisperers on patrol, watching all the Nephilim in case they are working for the other side. Even though Anna doesn't want to do the work of getting people to abuse drugs and alcohol, she knows that if she wants to survive she'll need to. But a lost message from the angel's gives Anna hope that all Neph can be free one day. Her father gives her a mission with Kopano to find allies among the Nephilim, those who will stand up and fight against the Dukes. Along the way, Anna and Kaidan put aside their issues for the sake of defeating the Dukes and being free of their control.

So in this book, in order to survive, Anna has become the life of the party. But that's not the biggest change we see in her. Anna has become more confident, tougher, and more determined. These are the kind of things I enjoyed seeing in her. These are the traits she'll need to fulfill the lost prophecy about her defeating the Dukes. So I was happy to see Anna become a kick-butt heroine in this book.

There's a bit of a love triangle that develops between Kopano, Anna, and Kaidan. Anna and Kopano become closer as they travel in search of allies, while Kaidan continues to distance himself. But even when he want to put distance between himself and Anna, he gets extremely jealous when she shows interest in someone else, especially Kopano. I'm always going to be #TeamKaidan, so the closeness between Anna and Kopano didn't make me happy, but that changed when an awkwardness developed between them afterward. Even when Kaidan is being a jerk, he can still make me swoon. Sure, I want to punch him when he's being a jerk, but then he'll do or say something that would just melt my anger and my heart. I'm glad that Anna never gave up on him, even when everyone was telling her she had no chance.

I love Anna's father. The Duke of Substance Abuse will do anything to protect his daughter. Their relationship, even though they haven't been together very long, always made me smile. He has so much love, affection, and pride in Anna. You can see his love for her in everything he does. I think that his faith in her ability to fulfill the prophecy really helped boost her confidence.

There was a really frightening point in the book when Anna and her friends were trapped on an island, hiding, as the Dukes had their fun with some women they brought there. That is when it's truly revealed that they want to be rid of Anna and all the Nephilim for good. I was truly saddened by what they did to Flynn. I really liked him. But this is also the point when Anna knows that the time is coming, very soon, for her to fulfill the prophecy.

Rating:

I gave Sweet Peril a 4 STAR rating. This book had everything - frightening conspiracies, newfound friends, hope given and renewed, and love coming out on top. I'm excited to see how the big battle will go down and who will make it out alive. And I'm definitely looking forward to more of Anna and Kaidan (as well as the rest of the gang).


Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

Wendy Higgins is the USA Today and NYT bestselling author of the Sweet Evil series from HarperTeen and her independently published Irish fantasy, See Me. She is a former high school English teacher who now writes full time, and lives on the Eastern Shore of Virginia with her veterinarian husband, daughter, son, and doggie Rue.

Wendy earned a bachelor's in Creative Writing from George Mason University and a master's in Curriculum and Instruction from Radford. Writing Young Adult (YA) stories gives her the opportunity to delve into the ambiguities of those pivotal, daunting, and exciting years before adulthood.

Feature & Follow Friday | Books From a Burning House

Feature & Follow Friday is a weekly book blogger meme hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read to help bloggers gain new followers on their site.

This week's question is:

Your house is burning down and you have time to select three books you own to take with you. What three books?

My answer:

5 Star Book Review | Stone Cold Touch by Jennifer L. Armentrout

STONE COLD TOUCH (The Dark Elements #2)
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Published: October 21st, 2014
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance
Borrowed from the Library
Purchase: Amazon

Every touch has its price

Layla Shaw is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life—no easy task for a seventeen-year-old who’s pretty sure things can’t get worse. Her impossibly gorgeous best friend, Zayne, is forever off-limits thanks to the mysterious powers of her soul-stealing kiss. The Warden clan that has always protected her is suddenly keeping dangerous secrets. And she can barely think about Roth, the wickedly hot demon prince who understood her in ways no one else could.

But sometimes rock bottom is only the beginning. Because suddenly Layla’s powers begin to evolve, and she’s offered a tantalizing taste of what has always been forbidden. Then, when she least expects it, Roth returns, bringing news that could change her world forever. She’s finally getting what she always wanted, but with hell literally breaking loose and the body count adding up, the price may be higher than Layla is willing to pay…

Cover Review:

The cover of Stone Cold Touch is just like the White Hot Kiss cover, but this time it features Layla and Zayne. I really like the shade of green they used, because it looks like it could be the color of the Wardens in their Gargoyle form.

Because of Layla's inability to kiss anyone with a soul, Zayne got in the habit of touching his forehead to hers and that's what it looks like on this cover. This cover shows the dynamic between Layla and Zayne, they want to be close, but they can't without Zayne dying, so they get as close as possible without too much touching. We see this in the way that Layla has her head turned and her mouth away from his.

I mentioned small things on covers in my review for White Hot Kiss and forgot to mention that it also shows Layla wearing her necklace, so both covers show that. On the back, her necklace is shown with the tagline, "Every Touch Has It's Price." That is a very important statement to this book, because her touch really does have a price and it's a high one.

Book Review:

In Stone Cold Touch, Layla is still stuggling with the aftermath of her battle with Paimon and losing Roth. She's heartbroken and worried that Roth is suffering, all the while her powers seems to be changing. Her Warden family doesn't trust her at all anymore, especially with all the strange things happening around her and they blame her for it. To the Wardens, she feels more like a Upper Level demon and nothing like a Warden. When Roth returns out of the blue, Layla is confused but relieved and happy to see him. But Roth isn't there for her and brings news that a Lilin had been born.

So as you can see, nothing is going right in Layla's life right now. Her powers are changing, she is changing, and the Wardens hate and distrust her for it. The only brightness in the Warden compound is Zayne. And let me tell you, with Roth out of the picture, Zayne has upped his game. While Layla still has her crush on Zayne, she's still hung up on Roth. I have to say that I was really upset with him when he returned. She was sho happy and relieve to see him, but he just brushed her and their time together and a fling. What a jerk! But with each interaction between her anad Roth, you could tell that he was hiding something from her. This was the perfect time for Zayne to make his move. And for a while they were happy. I really don't think that any chances should have been made when it came to Layla's soul-stealing kiss. And there was definitely a price paid for taking that dangerous chance.

A lot of people changed teams after the way that Roth treated Layla, but I could tell that there was more going on. I like Zayne and the scenes between him and Layla were pretty steamy, but it still felt like they were more friends than anything else. And even when Layla was kinda with Zayne, the tension was still there between her and Roth. There were moments when you could tell what he was really feeling and that he still cared for Layla, but we don't know until later why he treated her so bad.

So I was very upset with Roth but I still felt like he was better for Layla. I do think that he more than made up for it toward the end of the book. He really melted my heart when he took care of and protected Layla. And I can't forget when he said, "I love you, Layla. Do you hear me? I've loved you since the first moment I heard your voice and I will continue to love you. No matter what. I love you." That line added with the situation in which he said it was the best. I swooned and I hoped like anything that Layla would return his feelings, but we are left hanging on that end.

Where White Hot Kiss seemed to focus on Layla and her demon half, including who her mother is and her powers and learning more about demons. Whereas Stone Cold Touch seems to focus on Layla and her Warden half, or at least her life with the Wardens. A lot of changes happen in this book, and Layla has to grow up fast. There is life-threatening danger to her even in her own home. Layla feels a lot of pressure and feels like everyone is against her. In the first book, it felt like the animosity was just against her demon half, but this book gives that feeling of her being attacked on a whole. There was a moment toward the end of this book that really made me feel terrified for Layla. I really didn't know how she was going to survive that terrible situation.

I was completely shocked by what happened at the end. I wasn't expecting the Lilin to be who it was revealed to be. It kind of mad me a little sad. This cliffhanger is going to start the next and final book, Every Last Breath, off on a bang. It's going to be awesome!

Rating:

I gave Stone Cold Touch a 5 STAR rating. This book was at times shocking, frightening, and insanely romantic. After that crazy cliffhanger, I'm am dying for the next book. Every Last Kiss is going to be beyond EPIC. The wait always sucks, but it also brings the excitement even higher.


Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

# 1 New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer L. Armentrout Lives in West Virginia.

All the rumors you heard about her state aren’t true.

Well, mostly. When she's not hard at work writing, she spends her time, reading, working out, watching zombie movies, and pretending to write.

She is the author of the Covenant Series (Spencer Hill Press), the Lux Series (Entangled Teen), Don't Look Back (Disney/Hyperion) and a yet untitled novel (Disney/Hyperion), and new YA paranormal series with Harlequin Teen.

Jennifer also writes New Adult and Adult romance under the pen name J. Lynn. The Gamble Brothers Series (Tempting the Best Man/Tempting the Player) and Wait for You. Under her pen name, she is published with Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Waiting on Wednesday | Manwhore by Katy Evans

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights an upcoming book release that I'm looking forward to. This week I'm sharing with you the first book in the Manwhore series, Manwhore by Katy Evans. This book is set to be released on March 24th, 2015 by Gallery Books. 

Blog Award | Versatile Blogger Award

Rules of Versatile Blogger Award:

1. Nominate 15 other bloggers relatively new to blogging
2. Let the bloggers know that you've nominated them.
3. Share 10 random facts about yourself.
4. Thank the blogger who nominated you either by leaving a comment or following them and link back to their blog.
5. Add the Versatile Blogger Award picture to your post.

10 Random Facts About Me:

1. I used to hate the color purple, but now it's my favorite color.
2. The index and middle fingers on my hands are slightly bent from being slammed in doors multiple times as I was growing up.
3. I played volleyball for my school when I was in 8th grade.
4. I lettered in Key Club.
5. I absolutely, 100% loathe the Space Balls movie.
6. Me and my younger brothers were all born premature. (My youngest brother died as a baby because he was born too sick).
7. I have social anxiety. Sometimes it's so bad that I either get sick or can't talk at all.
8. I have never been outside the state of Minnesota.
9. I can't drive a motor vehicle. I don't have a license.
10. I'm terrified of birds and bees.

My Versatile Blogger Award Nominations:

Book Cat Pin
TashBrilliantBookBlog
Palmer's Page Turners
The Hardcover Lover
Wonderland's Reader
My Little Corner for Books
Raining Books and Words
I Sold My Soul for Books
Adventures of a Reader
Bibliophilic Madness

Feature & Follow Friday | Fantasy or Realistic

Feature & Follow Friday is a weekly book blogger meme hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read to help bloggers gain new followers on their site.

This week's question is:

Do you like fantasy or realistic books?

My answer:

I like fantasy books more than realistic books. I just need to get away from reality for a while and live something magical. I love stories of the impossible, because the only way to really experience them is in a book.

In my opinion, if you don't read a fantasy-type book at least once in a while, then you must have a pretty fantastic life. And good for you if you do. (I really hope that doesn't come across as snotty. It's not meant to be.)

4 Star Book Review | Eros by Helen Harper

William Shakespeare once wrote that, “Cupid is a knavish lad, thus to make poor females mad.” The trouble is that Cupid himself would probably agree…

As probably the last person in the world who’d appreciate hearts, flowers and romance, Coop is convinced that true love doesn’t exist – which is rather unfortunate considering he’s also known as Cupid, the God of Love. He’d rather spend his days drinking, womanising and generally having as much fun as he possible can. As far as he’s concerned, shooting people with bolts of pure love is a waste of his time…but then his path crosses with that of shy and retiring Skye Sawyer and nothing will ever be quite the same again.

A sexy romance fantasy, Eros is a seductive re-telling of the classic Greek myth, Cupid and Psyche.

Helen Harper is an English teacher currently living abroad in Malaysia. As a long time reader of urban fantasy, she finally bit the bullet and began to develop her own series of novels.

Helen has always been a book lover, devouring science fiction and fantasy tales when she was a child growing up in Scotland. "I always loved the escapism provided by those genres," states Helen. "No matter how bad life gets, you can always find a route out, even if only temporarily, in the pages of a good book."

The growth of urban fantasy fascinated her - the mix of reality and fantasy along with strong heroic female characters appealed from the very beginning, and inspired her to write her own.

Feature & Follow Friday | #FF on Twitter

Feature & Follow Friday is a weekly book blogger meme hosted by Parajunkee and Alison Can Read to help bloggers gain new followers on their site.

This week's question is:

Do you use the # FF on Twitter on Fridays? If you do, are you afraid you’ll forget someone and they’ll be sad?

My answer:

I don't think I've ever specifically used the #FF feature on Twitter. If someone follows me, no matter what day it is, I'll most likely follow them back. It only seems like the right thing to do.

5 Star Book Review | White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout

WHITE HOT KISS (The Dark Elements #1)
by Jennifer L. Armentrout
Published: February 25th, 2014
Genres: Young Adult, Paranormal, Fantasy, Romance
Provided by published via NetGalley for Review
Purchase: Amazon

One kiss could be the last.

Seventeen-year-old Layla just wants to be normal. But with a kiss that kills anything with a soul, she's anything but normal. Half demon, half gargoyle, Layla has abilities no one else possesses.

Raised among the Wardens—a race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humanity safe—Layla tries to fit in, but that means hiding her own dark side from those she loves the most. Especially Zayne, the swoon-worthy, incredibly gorgeous and completely off-limits Warden she's crushed on since forever.

Then she meets Roth—a tattooed, sinfully hot demon who claims to know all her secrets. Layla knows she should stay away, but she's not sure she wants to—especially when that whole no-kissing thing isn't an issue, considering Roth has no soul.

But when Layla discovers she's the reason for the violent demon uprising, trusting Roth could not only ruin her chances with Zayne… it could brand her a traitor to her family. Worse yet, it could become a one-way ticket to the end of the world.

Cover Review:

What I like about the cover to White Hot Kiss is that it really symbolizes not only parts of the story but also the title. The red and white coloring symbolize the title of the book. The near-kiss really shows the tension that's between Layla and Roth in this book, which I'll talk about more later in this review. One thing I really love about covers is when they show what could be considered small details of a character, such as tattoos. On this cover, Roth's snake tattoo is shown, which also happens to be his demon familiar, Bambi. Bambi, in tattoo form, is one of the most notable characteristics of Roth, so I really liked that they showed her on the cover as well. She also happens to be a character that I really liked, which was unexpected. Then there are the details on the back cover. The ring on the necklace is the one that Layla owns and plays a key role in the story. The tagline, "One Kiss Could Be The Last," describes something that Layla has to deal with on a daily basis - her inability to kiss anyone with a soul. So I really love how this cover alone gives you a pretty good idea about the story. There's really nothing that I don't like about it.

Book Review:

So we have Demons and Wardens fighting it out. Your classic good versus evil, heaven versus hell scenario. It felt like this book is where we learn the most about the demons. Their different classes and hierarchy, their powers and abilities. It felt like less was given about the Wardens. There's even some animosity of a group of humans against the Wardens. There is a group called the Church of God's Children who see the Wardens as unholy and try to discredit them at every chance.

Layla is in the middle of all three of these groups. She's half demon, half Warden, but she's also very human as well.  Because of her dual nature, she's not completely accepted by either side. The Wardens have made it so that she hates her demon half, but because she can't shift or do anything very Warden-like, she's left on the sidelines. The only thing she's allowed to do is tag demons for the Wardens to dispatch back to hell later at night. Layla has a very low sense of self. She doesn't see herself fitting in anywhere. The demons ignore her, the Wardens are wary of her, and the humans are completely ignorant to what she really is.

The thing about Layla is that she's more unique than anyone knows, and that uniqueness is what has put her in the crosshairs of a powerful demon, bent on releasing Lilith and raising the Lilin. If that were to happen, Armaggedon would begin, and no one wants that to happen. Not the demons, not the Alphas, and definitely not the humans. So that's where Roth comes in. He was sent from hell to find who is after her and stop them.

We learn a lot about Layla's origins in this book. Who her mother and father are, the true meaning of her existence, as well as some of her abilities. One ability that puts a damper on any kind of love life is the fact that her kiss is lethal to anyone with a soul. So her crush on Zayne, her childhood best friend, has to stay just that. But with Roth's arrival, the fact that he has no soul is a temptation that's hard for Layla to resist.

Zayne + Layla + Roth = a love triangle. Zayne knows Layla probably better than anyone, but Roth can understand a side of her that Zayne can't. The thing about love triangles, especially one like this where it's the girl caught between her best friend and the hot new guy, is that it's almost always the hot new guy that is chosen. So these kind of love triangles I really don't like very much. The fact that Layla can get close to Roth and actually kiss him, gives Roth a huge advantage over Zayne in this book. I can say that I am 100% #TeamRoth. The best friend, meaning Zayne, needs to stay in the friend-zone. I just didn't feel it between him and Layla. Whereas with Roth you could feel the tension between him and Layla. It just builds and builds until they can't hold back anymore. Their relationship and interactions literally gave me tingles.

Being so invested it Roth and Layla, the ending to this book was extremely bittersweet. When Roth told Layla "I lost myself the moment I found you" it broke my heart. It's a testiment to JLA's writing that those 8 words could be so powerful and full of so much emotion. The Bonus Content at the end of the book (which is only available in the print version) is the Devil's Advocate Scene from Roth's point of view, and it really shows you the reason he chose to do what he did at the end. Which also makes the ending sequence and the aftermath even more bittersweet and heartbreaking. I was this close to ugly crying. This close.

Rating:

I gave White Hot Kiss a 5 STAR rating. I loved the story. I loved the characters. I loved the romance. I just loved the whole freaking thing. LOVED IT. I wish I didn't have to return it to the library. I want to keep it.


Author Links: Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads

# 1 New York Times and USA Today Bestselling Author Jennifer L. Armentrout Lives in West Virginia.

All the rumors you heard about her state aren’t true.

Well, mostly. When she's not hard at work writing, she spends her time, reading, working out, watching zombie movies, and pretending to write.

She is the author of the Covenant Series (Spencer Hill Press), the Lux Series (Entangled Teen), Don't Look Back (Disney/Hyperion) and a yet untitled novel (Disney/Hyperion), and new YA paranormal series with Harlequin Teen.

Jennifer also writes New Adult and Adult romance under the pen name J. Lynn. The Gamble Brothers Series (Tempting the Best Man/Tempting the Player) and Wait for You. Under her pen name, she is published with Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Waiting on Wednesday | Garrett by Sawyer Bennett

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights an upcoming book release that I'm looking forward to. This week I'm sharing with you the second book in the Cold Fury Hockey series, Garrett by Sawyer Bennett. This book is set to be released on February 17th, 2015 by Loveswept.

Carolina Cold Fury star Garrett Samuelson never wants to miss out on a single minute of fun. Whether he’s playing hockey, hanging out with friends, or walking the red carpet with a new date on his arm, he lives every day to the fullest. When he meets Olivia Case, he sees someone who’s exactly his type—confident, sexy, smart . . . his next fling. But the more he pursues her, the more Garrett shares a side of himself that other women don’t normally get to see.

Olivia has been keeping a secret. While Garrett lives for the next thrill, Olivia’s not sure she’ll live to see the next day. She’s undergoing treatment for some serious medical issues, and she doesn’t have time for a relationship with no guarantees—especially one with a hot-as-sin womanizer who won’t take no for an answer. But as she gets to know the real Garrett, Olivia can’t help falling for him . . . hard. To reveal the truth would mean risking everything—but you can’t score without taking the tough shots.

Why am I looking forward to reading Garrett? When I read the first book, Alex, I really enjoyed the story and characters - Garrett being one of them. His personality was so different from Alex's that he immediately drew my attention. I can't wait to see how things work out for him when he meets Olivia. I love seeing the differences between the mask he shows the world and his true face when with the woman he loves. How will he change? Will they get a HEA? Or will secrets tear them apart? I'm just a sucker for a really good romance and Garrett has all the makings to fit that description.