Review 2014

Review: Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh

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Rock Addiction by Nalini Singh

Title: Rock Addiction (A Rock Kiss Novel, 1)
Author: Nalini Singh
Genre: Contemporary, Erotic Romance, New Adult
Publisher: TKA Distribution (9th September 2014)
Blurb:

A bad boy wrapped in a sexy, muscled, grown-up package might be worth a little risk . . .

Molly Webster has always followed the rules. After an ugly scandal tore apart her childhood and made her the focus of the media’s harsh spotlight, she vowed to life an ordinary life. No fame. No impropriety. No pain. Then she meets Zachary Fox, a tattooed bad boy rocker with a voice like whiskey and sin, and a touch that could become an addiction.

A one-night stand with the hottest rock star on the planet, that’s all it was meant to be . . .

Fox promises scorching heat and dangerous pleasure, coaxing Molly to extend their one-night stand into a one-month fling. After that, he’ll be gone forever, his life never again intersecting with her own. Sex and sin and sensual indulgence, all with an expiration date. No ties, no regrets. Too late, Molly realizes it isn’t only her body that’s become addicted to Fox, but her heart . . .

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

ROCK ADDICTION is the first novel in Nalini Singh’s new sizzling contemporary romance series ROCK KISS. The story follows Molly Webster, a New Zealand native and librarian with a past, as her path crosses Zachary Fox’s – leader singer for the rock band Schoolboy Choir. What starts as a one-night stand somehow stretches into a month long fling.

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Review: Autumn Rose by Abigail Gibbs

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Autumn Rose by Abigail Gibbs

Title: Autumn Rose (The Dark Heroine, 2)
Author: Abigail Gibbs
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: HarperVoyager (30th January 2014)
Blurb:

Her fate is set in stone . . .

Autumn Rose lives in a sleepy seaside town in the south-west of England, but buried deep under the surface of her quiet life are dark secrets. Swirling marks on her skin mark her out as having extraordinary power, but at school she is shunned and condemned by the very people she is sworn to protect.

The appearance of a handsome young man at her school – who has the same curious markings as Autumn Rose – sends her world into turmoil. Plus, there is the fact that Autumn keeps dreaming of a human girl who is about to be seduced by a very dark Prince . . . and Autumn must figure out how to save her before it is too late.

The exhilarating sequel to The Dark Heroine: Dinner with a Vampire, the incredible online sensation.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

AUTUMN ROSE by Abigail Gibbs is the second book in THE DARK HEROINE series. It narrates the story of Autumn Rose a Sage who lives in a sleepy seaside town in south-west England but attends school in London, where she acts as a guardian to protect the pupils and teachers of the school.

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Review: Odin’s Ravens by K. L. Armstrong and M. A. Marr

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Odin’s Ravens by K. L. Armstrong & M. A. Marr

Title: Odin’s Ravens (The Blackwell Pages, 2)
Authors: K. L. Armstrong & M. A. Marr
Genre: Fantasy, Middle Grade, Mythology
Publisher: Little, Brown and Company (13th May 2014)
Blurb:

Seven kids, Thor’s hammer, and a whole lot of Valkyries are the only things that standing against the end of the world.

When thirteen-year-olds Matt Thorsen and Fen and Laurie Brekke, modern-day descendants of Thor and Loki, discovered they were fated to take the places of the Norse gods in an epic battle against the apocalypse, they thought they knew how things would play out. Gather the other descendants standing in for the gods, defeat a giant serpent, and save the world. No problem, right?

But the descendants’ journey grinds to a halt when their friend Baldwin is poisoned and Matt, Fen, and Laurie must travel to the Underworld in hopes of saving him. That’s only the first stop on their journey to reunite the challengers, find Thor’s hammer, and save humanity – a journey filled with enough tooth-and-nail battles and colossal monsters to make Matt and his friends legends in their own right.

Perfect for fans of ancient myths and filled with young heroes, monstrous beasts, and godly enemies, this fast-paced adventure is impossible to put down.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

ODIN’S RAVENS is the second instalment of K. L. Armstrong and M. A. Marr’s epic THE BLACKWELL PAGES. It continues the journey started by Matt Thorsen and Fen and Laurie Brekke in the first book in the series. After the events of LOKI’S WOLVES (review) Ragnarök looks closer than ever, but Matt and his friends are determined to stop the end of the world. Even if that means venturing into the Underworld to try to save Baldwin.

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Review: Visions by Kelley Armstrong

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Visions by Kelley Armstrong (UK edition cover)

Title: Visions (A Cainsville Novel, 2)
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Genre: Thriller, Mystery, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Sphere (14th August 2014)
Blurb:

A GIRL WITH A SECRET

Olivia Jones is smart, capable, loyal . . . and she’s the daughter of convicted serial killers. She’s also hiding a strange secret. She can read omens – subtle signs that warn her of trouble ahead. And if the omens are right, Olivia’s in mortal danger.

A TOWN WITH A PAST

Taking refuge in the old, secluded town of Cainsville, Olivia is busy investigating her parents’ shocking case. But when the body of a missing girl is dumped in her car, she is forced to change tack. The trouble is, there’s only one man who can help her – Gabriel Walsh, the self-serving, morally ambiguous lawyer who has betrayed her trust one too many times.

A KILLER WITHOUT MERCY

Gabriel and Olivia are convinced that someone in Cainsville is responsible for the murder. But secrets have a habit of staying buried in this small, eerily friendly town. And digging too deep has very dark consequences . . .

A twisting and atmospheric thriller, Visions is a fast-paced, gothic tale laced with passion, mystery and murder.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

VISIONS is the second book in Kelley Armstrong’s new adult series CAINSVILLE. VISIONS continues the story of Olivia Jones, who we first meet in OMENS (review), as she struggles to come to terms with the events and revelations of the previous novel. The story begins just weeks after the events of OMENS, and someone is not content to let things lie.

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Review: Brazen by Kelley Armstrong

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Brazen by Kelley Armstrong

Title: Brazen (Women of the Otherworld, 13.1)
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Subterranean Press (15th December 2013)
Blurb:

NICK SORRENTINO KNOWS everyone in the supernatural world considers him the Pack’s playboy, the pretty but not very useful werewolf whose only reputation involves his amorous exploits.

Usually, Nick couldn’t care less what anyone outside the Pack thinks of him. But when it affects his hunt for Malcolm Danvers, a psychotic bogeyman from the Pack’s past, it matters.

Necessity forces Nick to team up with mercenary half-demon Vanessa Callas to run Malcolm to ground in Detroit. Together, they discover Malcolm is more deadly than ever. And he wants to play.

It’s time for Nick to prove he’s not just a lover. He’s a fighter.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

BRAZEN is a novella set in Kelley Armstrong’s fantastic WOMEN OF THE OTHERWORLD series; the story is set after the events of the final book 13 (review), with the North American Pack determined to hunt down Malcolm Danvers and deliver justice. The Alpha of the pack Elena has left Nick Sorrentino in charge of hunting down clues to Malcolm’s whereabouts, and it looks like finally the Pack might be close to getting justice.

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Review: Forbidden by Kelley Armstrong

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Forbidden by Kelley Armstrong

Title: Forbidden (Women of the Otherworld, 10.2)
Author: Kelley Armstrong
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Subterranean Press (31st December 2012)
Blurb:

THE TEAM-SPIRIT SIGN by the side of the highway seems a good omen to loner Morgan Walsh, as he drives to what could be the most important visit of his life – a chance to join the North American Pack. Then he wakes naked in the woods, surrounded by wolf tracks and a ring of suspicious cops. The situation only gets worse when he’s bailed out by Alpha-elect Elena Michaels and Clayton Danvers, her terrifying enforcer and mate.

Disappointed that such a promising young werewolf risked exposing them, Elena isn’t expecting anything from the pesky retrieval job except some much-needed alone time with Clay. Instead, she finds a different kind of evil stalking the streets and forests of Westwood, New York. Trapped in town by a snowstorm and sabotage, Elena, Clay and Morgan must find the mysterious threat before it sets its sights on them.

Rating: **** (4 stars)
Review:

FORBIDDEN is a novella that takes place in Kelley Armstrong’s brilliant WOMEN OF THE OTHERWORLD series. FORBIDDEN is set between FROSTBITTEN (review), where we first meet Morgan Walsh, and WAKING THE WITCH (review). The novella tells the story of Morgan Walsh who decides to accept Elena’s invitation in FROSTBITTEN and see if he has the ability to join the North American Pack. Things, of course, don’t go quite to plan and Elena and Clayton find themselves in Westwood, New York having to bail Morgan out.

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Review: To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

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To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before by Jenny Han

Title: To All The Boys I’ve Loved Before
Author: Jenny Han
Genre: Contemporary, Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Scholastic (7th August 2014)
Source: Won on Twitter from @ScholasticUK
Blurb:

Lara Jean’s love life is about to go from imaginary to out of control.

Laura Jean Song keeps love letters in a hatbox her mother gave her – one for every boy she’s ever loved. She can say anything she wants, because the letters are for her eyes only. Until the day they’re sent out . . .

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

TO ALL THE BOYS I’VE LOVED BEFORE by Jenny Han is a standalone novel, which follows the story of Lara Jean Song. Lara Jean is the middle sister of three sisters who live with their Dad, their mother died when they were younger. In a hat box gifted to her by her mother, Lara Jean keeps a collection of love letters to boys that she has loved. Then one day the letters that were meant for her eyes only get posted.

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Review: The Girls from Corona del Mar by Rufi Thorpe

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The Girls from Corona del Mar by Rufi Thorpe

Title: The Girls from Corona del Mar
Author: Rufi Thorpe
Genre: Contemporary
Publisher: Hutchinson (14th August 2014)
Source: Chloe from @WindmillBooks
Blurb: 

‘Why did Lorrie Ann look graceful in beat-up Keds and shorts a bit too small for her? Why was it charming when she snorted from laughing too hard? Yes, we were jealous of her, and yet we did not hate her. She was never so much as teased by us, we roaming and bratty girls of Corona del Mar, thieves of corn nuts and orange soda, abusers of lip gloss and foul language.’

An astonishing debut about friendship made in youth, The Girls from Corona del Mar is a fiercely beautiful novel about how these bonds, challenged by loss, illness, parenthood, and distance, either break or endure.

Mia and Lorrie Ann are lifelong friends; hard-hearted Mia and untouchably beautiful, kind Lorrie Ann. While Mia struggles with a mother who drinks, a pregnancy at fifteen, and younger brothers she loves but can’t quite be good to, Lorrie Ann is luminous, surrounded by her close-knit family, immune to the mistakes that mar her best friend’s life. Then a sudden loss catapults Lorrie Ann into tragedy: things fall apart, and then fall further – and there is nothing Mia can do to help. And as good, kind, brave Lorrie Ann stops being to good, Mia begins to question just who this woman is, and what that question means about them both.

A staggeringly honest, deeply felt novel of family, motherhood, loyalty, and the myth of the perfect friendship, The Girls from Corona del Mar asks just how well we know those we love, what we owe our children, and who we are without our friends.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

THE GIRLS FROM CORONA DEL MAR is Rufi Thorpe’s debut novel. It tells the story of Mia’s friendship with Lorrie Ann from their late teens to their late twenties. Thorpe explores the friendship of two Southern Californian nineties girls as they grow-up and experience different things and become different people.

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Review: Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead

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Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead

Title: Silver Shadows (Bloodlines, 5)
Author: Richelle Mead
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Penguin Books (29th July 2014)
Blurb:

TWO LOVERS, TORN APART . . .

THEIR WORLD HAS BEEN DESTROYED . NOW SYDNEY AND ADRIAN ARE STRUGGLING TO PICK UP THE PIECES AND FIND THEIR WAY BACK TO EACH OTHER. BUT, FIRST, THEY MUST SURVIVE.

Sydney is trapped and surrounded by enemies. Every day is a struggle to hold on to her identity and the memories of those she loves. Meanwhile, Adrian is told to forget Sydney, but he won’t give up hope – though old demons and temptations are beginning to taunt him.

Their worst fears have become a chilling reality. Sydney and Adrian are facing their darkest hour yet . . .

Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:

SILVER SHADOWS is the fifth book in Richelle Mead’s epic BLOODLINES series. It continues the story of Alchemist Sydney Sage and Moroi Adrian Ivashkov as they fight to be together in a world that wants to pull them apart.

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Review: The Witch with No Name by Kim Harrison

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The Witch with No Name by Kim Harrison

Title: The Witch with No Name (The Hollows, 13)
Author: Kim Harrison
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Urban Fantasy
Publisher: Harper Collins (9th September 2014)
Blurb:

In 2004, Kim Harrison made her debut with Dead Witch Walking, an electrifying urban fantasy novel full of action, mystery, romance, and humor, which introduced bounty hunter and witch Rachel Morgan. Over the course of twelve books, Rachel confronted numerous threats, vanquished a range of cunning and powerful enemies, risked her heart, suffered haunting loss, and nearly lost her life. Now, in The Witch with No Name, Kim Harrison brings back her wildly popular heroine for one final, epic battle.

Rachel Morgan’s come a long  way from the klutzy runner fleeing a bad job. She’s faced vampires and werewolves, banshees, witches, and soul-eating demons. She’s crossed worlds, channeled gods, and accepted her place as a day-walking demon. She’s lost friends and lovers and family, and an old enemy has become something more.

But power demands responsibility, and world-changers must always pay a price.

That time is now.

To save her best friend Ivy’s soul and the rest of the living vampires, to keep the demonic ever-after and our own world from utter destruction at the hands of fanatics, Rachel Morgan will risk everything.

Rating: ***** (5 stars)
Review:

In THE WITCH WITH NO NAME Kim Harrison brings her epic THE HOLLOWS series to a close. In concluding the story Harrison draws all the threads together from the previous books, and gives fans a final story which might just, possibly, answer the question all fans want to know – does Rachel get a happy-ever-after?

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