I just wanted to take this opportunity to say THANK YOU to my Secret Santa, who gave me some fantastic gifts.
My gifts from Secret Santa
My gifts from Secret Santa
Thank you Secret Santa!
I hope everyone is having a great day and got loads of fantastic gifts.
Image by FontMeme
Hope everyone has a great day today, whatever they are doing!
I will be spending today with my family, probably eating too much!! A review will be going up on December 27th and my last review of 2012 will be going up on December 28th, but you probably won’t hear from me before then. I would love to know what (if anything) you got for Christmas. Please leave a comment below, or a link to a blog/vlog.
Wolf Pact by Melissa de la Cruz
Title: Wolf Pact (Wolf Pact I-IV)
Author: Melissa de la Cruz
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Atom (25th September 2012)
Blurb:
Once enslaved in the darkest pits of the underworld, Lawson and his pack were destined to become the Hounds of Hell. Escaping to earth bought them a little time, but their old masters soon catch up with them and take away the one thing Lawson is desperate to keep hold of – the girl he loves.
Now, Lawson needs to hunt the beasts he was running from if there’s any chance to seeing her again.
When Bliss, a mysterious ex-vampire, turns up on her own to search for the Hounds it seems she might hold information that will help. But will she be able to trust this insolent, dangerously good-looking boy when she knows that he has a wolf’s soul?
Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:
Wolf Pact is a spin-off novel from Melissa de la Cruz’s brilliant Blue Blood series, which is why I picked it up. It is also contains a character from her Witches of the East book, though there doesn’t appear to be a direct link between the stories. Wolf Pact is a brilliant read, and does not read at all like an adjunct to Blue Bloods, once I started reading I was quickly engulfed in the world and before I knew it I’d reached the end.
Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares by Rachel Cohn & David Levithan
Title: Dash & Lily’s Book of Dares
Authors: Rachel Cohn and David Levithan
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: MiraInk (5th October 2012)
Blurb:
I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the self, please.At the urge of her lucky-in-love brother, sixteen-year-old Lily has left a red notebook full of dares on her favourite bookshop shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept.
Curious, snarky Dash isn’t one to back down from a challenge – and the Book of Dares is the perfect thing to keep him occupied this Christmas.
As they send each other on a snowbound scavenger hunt across Manhattan, they’re falling for each other on paper. But finding out if their real selves share their on-page chemistry could be their biggest dare yet.
Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:
I picked this book up in my local bookstore on a whim. I’d heard over the blogosphere that this book is the perfect book to get you in the mood for Christmas, and whilst I was somewhat dubious about these claims I thought I’d give it a go. Instead of a book full of Christmas cheer, I found a charming, unputdownable contemporary romance that stole my heart a little.
UnderWorld by Meg Cabot
Title: UnderWorld (Abandon Trilogy #2)
Author: Meg Cabot
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Macmillan (27th September 2012)
Blurb:
PIERCE ISN’T DEAD. NOT YET.
But John Hayden, lord of the Underworld, has taken her to the place where the spirits of the deceased gather. He says it’s for her safety, to protect her from the vengeful Furies. But could he have other reasons for keeping her close?
Pierce might be safe in the Underworld, but she soon learns that the people she loves back on earth are not. Can she convince John to release her in order to save her family – or will the price he asks her to pay be too high?
Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:
UnderWorld is the second book in Meg Cabot’s Abandon Trilogy, the series re-imagines the Persephone myth in the modern day. I really loved the first book Abandon in the trilogy (you can find my review here) so I was really looking forward to getting my hands on this book.
Defiance by C. J. Redwine
Title: Defiance (Courier’s Daughter Trilogy #1)
Author: C. J. Redwine
Genre: Dystopian, Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: Atom (6th September 2012)
Blurb:
RACHEL’S WORLD IS CONFINED to the protective walls around her city. Beyond them are violent wanderers, extreme terrain and a danger straight out of legend: a beast called the Cursed One that devastates everything in its path.
When Rachel’s father foes missing, she is desperate to search for him. But her attempts to flee the city bring her to the attention of its overbearing ruler. His efforts to control her make the world within the walls seem as dangerous as that outside.
Her only chance for escape is Logan. Once her father’s apprentice and now her sole protector, he feels that helping her might mean losing her completely. But if he can put his feelings aside, they might be able to save more than Rachel’s father. They might be able to break down the walls, and set their people free.
Rating: ** (2 stars)
Review:
In the autumn Defiance seemed to be the book to read on the blogsphere. I wasn’t too sure about the blurb, but I loved the cover. So, when I saw it in a local bookstore I decided to give the book a go.
My Life Next Door by Huntley Fitzpatrick
Title: My Life Next Door
Author: Huntley Fitzpatrick
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Dial Books (14th June 2012)
Blurb:
“ONE THING MY MOTHER NEVER KNEW, AND WOULD DISAPPROVE OF MOST OF ALL, WAS THAT I WATCHED THE GARRETTS. ALL THE TIME.”
The Garretts are everything the Reeds are not. Loud, messy, affectionate. And every day from her rooftop perch, Samantha Reed wishes she was one of them . . . until one summer night Jase Garrett climbs up next to her and changes everything.
As the two fall fiercely for each other, stumbling through the awkwardness and awesomeness of first love, Jase’s family embraces Samantha – even as she keeps him a secret from her own. The something unthinkable happens, and the bottom drops out of Samantha’s world. She’s suddenly faced with an impossible decision. Which perfect family will save her? Or is it time she saved herself?
A transporting debut about family, friendship, first romance, and how to be true to one person you love without betraying another.
Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:
I saw a lot of My Life Next Door in the lead up to this summer, and as I thought the cover was gorgeous and the blurb intrigued me I thought I would give it a go. My Life Next Door is a sweet, adorable read with hints of laughter and some darkness.
Fae Guardian by Nicolette Reed
Title: Fae Guardian (Soulstealer Trilogy, #2)
Author: Nicolette Reed
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Nicolette Reed (8th December 2012)
Source: Nicolette Reed, the author.
Format: E-book
Blurb:
Dealing with wedding day woes, naked elven rituals, a best friend with a biting problem, dragon battles, and a war brewing between the selkie and the fae are only the beginning for Valora, the Fae Guardian.
Valora needs to get Aric out of her mind if she’s going to live happily ever after with Dooley. But nothing is ever easy with magic. Tying herself and Dooley to Aric becomes a matter of life and death, not just for them but for all of the Realms and even those beyond the portals to Earth.
But can Valora handle the affections of two half-fae brothers? She has to if she wants to save the Realms — a world filled with cloud cities, volcanic mountains mined by dwarves, deserts inhabited by dragons, and lakes teaming with ferocious selkie. And getting the two of them to get along may be her biggest battle yet.
Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:
Fae Guardian is the second book in Nicolette Reed’s brilliant Soulstealer Trilogy. It continues Valora’s story from Fae Hunter (you can find my review here) – although the events of Mane Attraction (you can find my review here) takes place in between the books, and I would highly recommend reading it before you start Fae Guardian as it does answer some questions. Like Mane Attraction, this is very definitely an adult book!
If I Die by Rachel Vincent, UK edition cover.
Title: Before I Wake (Soul Screamers #6)
Author: Rachel Vincent
Genre: Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Publisher: MiraInk (6th July 2012)
Blurb:
EVEN DEATH CAN’T GET YOU OUT OF HIGH SCHOOL.
Covering up her own murder was one thing, but faking her life is much harder than ex-teen banshee Kaylee expected. Now she’s fighting to stay visible to the human world and struggling to find time alone with her new reaper boyfriend Tod.
To stay in the mortal realm, Kaylee must reclaim stolen souls and, when her first assignment brings her face-to-face with an old foe, she knows the game has changed. Her immortal status won’t keep her safe. And this time Kaylee isn’t just gambling with her own life . . .
Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:
I really enjoyed the fifth book, If I Die, in this series so I was really looking forward to reading Before I Wake. I was NOT disappointed. Vincent took all the things I enjoyed in If I Die and multiplied it in Before I Wake. Like the rest of the series this book is narrated by Kaylee and continues her story.
Mane Attraction by Nicolette Reed
Title: Mane Attraction (A Soulstealer Novella, Book 1.5)
Author: Nicolette Reed
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Nicolette Reed (14th November 2012)
Source: Nicolette Reed, the author.
Format: E-book
Blurb:
Being a demon trapped in an elves body seemed a prison at first, but Mane has gotten used to his new home in the Riparian forest amongst the elves. When the waters of Lake Mavrovo start to run red it seems a sure sign that the demon king that cast him out may rise again. In order to investigate he will need to navigate the dominion of the selkie, and they aren’t known for playing nice.
Going from an apartment in the suburbs of Seattle to living in a castle at the bottom of a lake in the Realms was one change that Kit had to get used to, being half-selkie was another. Now she has to get used to the changes she undergoes after the selkie sleep. One that involves bloodlust and lust of a whole different kind. A problem she is hoping Mane will help her with.
Rating: ****(4 stars)
Review:
I really enjoyed Fae Hunter (read my review here) the first book in the Soulstealer ‘verse, so when Nicolette kindly offered me the chance to read this book I jumped at the chance. This book really lived up to my expectations. It is very definitely an adult book, as there are “sexy times” in it – so not one for younger readers!
The Flutterby Room 