Review 2014

Review: Battle Magic by Tamora Pierce

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Battle Magic by Tamora Pierce

Title: Battle Magic (The Circle Reforged, 3)
Author: Tamora Pierce
Genre: Sword and Sorcery, Young Adult
Publisher: Scholastic Press (24th September 2013)
Blurb:

THE DRUMS OF WAR ARE BEATING.

Mages Briar, Rosethorn, and Evvy are visiting the mystical mountain kingdom of Gyongxe when they are suddenly called away. The emperor of Yanjing has invited them to see his glorious gardens.

During their brief stay, though, the mages see far more than splendid flowers. They see the emperor’s massive army, his intense cruelty, and the devastating magic that keeps his power in place.

It’s not till they leave that they discover he’s about to launch a major invasion of Fyongxe. The mountain land is home to many temples . . . including the First Temple of the Living Circle, which Rosethorn has vowed to defend.

With time running out, the mages race to warn their Gyongxin friends of the emperor’s plans.

Duty, mystery, magic, and terror will drive them apart on the way. And while new friends will do their best to bring the mages together again on the field of battle, deadly enemies hide in every mountain pass, just waiting to destroy them.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

BATTLE MAGIC is Tamora Pierce’s latest novel set in the world of Emelan;it tells the story of the journey that leaves Briar with nightmares mentioned in THE WILL OF THE EMPRESS. The story follows Briar – one of the four mages of Pierce’s CIRCLE OF MAGIC series -, his mentor Rosethorn and his pupil Evvy as they travel through the Gyongxe and Yangjing regions of Emelan.

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Review: Dinner With A Vampire by Abigail Gibbs

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Dinner With A Vampire by Abigail Gibbs

Title: Dinner With A Vampire (The Dark Heroine, 1)
Author: Abigail Gibbs
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Vampires, Young Adult
Publisher: Harper Voyager (11th October 2012)
Source: Secret Santa
Blurb:

One moment can change your life forever . . .

For Violet Lee, a chance encounter on a darkened street draws her into a world beyond her wildest imaginings, a timeless place of vast elegance and immeasurable wealth – of beautiful mansions and lavish parties – where a decadent group of friends live for pleasure alone. A place from which there is no escape . . . no matter how hard Violet tries.

Yet all the riches in the world can’t mask the darkness that lies beneath the gilded surface, embodied in the charismatic but dnagerous Kasper Varn.

Violet and Kasper surrender to a passion that transcends their separate worlds –  but it’s a passion that comes at a price . . .

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

DINNER WITH A VAMPIRE by Abigail Gibbs is the first book in THE DARK HEROINE series. It tells the story of Violet Lee an almost eighteen-year-old who stumbles upon something she shouldn’t have, and gets drawn into a strange and dangerous world.

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Review: Delirium by Lauren Oliver

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Delirium by Lauren Oliver

Title: Delirium (Delirium #1)
Author: Lauren Oliver
Genre: Dystopian, Young Adult
Publisher: Hodder (4th August 2011)
Source: Secret Santa
Blurb:

They say that the cure for love will make me happy and safe forever. And I’ve always believed them.

Until now.

Now everything has changed. Now, I’d rather be infected with love for the tiniest sliver of a second than live a hundred years suffocated by a lie.

There was a time when love was the most important thing in the world. People would go to the end of the earth to find it. They would tell lies for it. Even kill for it.

Then, at last, they found the cure.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

DELIRIUM by Lauren Oliver is the first book in the trilogy of the same name. It tells the story of Magdalena “Lena” Haloway, a girl who is less than a year away from her eighteenth birthday when she will receive the cure for “amor deliria nervosa” – love.

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Review: Angelfall by Susan Ee

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Angelfall by Susan Ee

Title: Angelfall (Penryn and the End of Days Book 1)
Author: Susan Ee
Genre: Dystopian, Urban Fantasy, Young Adult
Source: Secret Santa
Publisher: Hodder (23rd May 2013)
Blurb:

It’s been six weeks since the angels of the apocalypse destroyed the world as we know it. Only pockets of humanity remain.

Savage street gangs rule the day while fear and superstition rule the night.

When angels fly away with a helpless girl, her seventeen-year-old sister Penryn will do anything to get her back.

Including making a deal with the enemy.

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

ANGELFALL is the first book in Susan Ee’s dystopian PENRYN AND THE END OF DAYS series. It tells the story of seventeen-year-old Penryn whose disabled younger sister Paige is kidnapped by an angel. The story follows Penryn on her quest to reclaim her sister, who she is determined to protect at all costs.

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Review: Dark Lover by J. R. Ward

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Dark Lover by J. R. Ward

Title: Dark Lover (A Black Dagger Brotherhood Novel, #1)
Author: J. R. Ward
Genre: Erotica, Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Piatkus (3rd February 2011)
Blurb:

In the shadow of the night in Caldwell, New York, there’s a deadly turf war going on between vampires and their slayers. There also exists a secret band of brothers like no other – six vampire warriors, defenders of their race. Among them, none relishes killing their enemies more than Wrath, the leader of the BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD . . .

The only purebred vampire left on the planet, Wrath has a score to settle with the slayers who murdered his parents centuries ago. But when one of his most trusted fighters is killed – orphaning a half-breed daughter unaware of her heritage or fate – Wrath must usher the beautiful female into the world of the undead . . .

Beth Randall is helpless against the dangerously sexy man who comes to her at night with shadows in his eyes. His tales of brotherhood and blood frighten her. But his touch ignites a dawning hunder that threatends to consume them both . . .

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

J. R. Ward’s series the BLACK DAGGER BROTHERHOOD is considered one of the series to read if you are a fan of the paranormal romance genre. I have been a fan of the paranormal romance genre for a while, but for various reasons haven’t read Ward’s series yet. DARK LOVER is the first book in the series it tellls the story of Wrath the king of vampires and Beth Randall the half-human daughter of one of Wrath’s fighters.

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Review: Tiger’s Voyage by Colleen Houck

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Tiger’s Voyage by Colleen Houck

Title: Tiger’s Voyage (The Tiger Saga #3)
Author: Colleen Houck
Genre: Mythology, Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Hodder (10th November 2011)
Blurb:

With the head-to-head battle against the villainous Lokesh behind her, Kelsey confronts a new heartbreak: in the wake of his traumatic experience, her beloved Ren no longer remembers who she is. As the trio continues their quest by challenging give cunning and duplicitous dragons, Ren and Kishan once more vie for her affections – leaving Kelsey more confused than ever.

Fraught with danger, filled with magic, and packed with romance, Tiger’s Voyage brings Kelsey and her two tiger princes one step closer to breaking the curse.

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

TIGER’S VOYAGE is the third book in Colleen Houck’s superb THE TIGER’S SAGA. It continues the story of Kelsey Hayes American girl who comes across two Indian princes who are cursed into tiger form – Ren and Kishan – and helps them try to break the curse. By the beginning of TIGER’S VOYAGE they have already completed half of the tasks required to completely break the curse, but the final task came with a terrible price – the repercussions of which play out through the book.

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Review: Everneath by Brodi Ashton

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Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Title: Everneath (Everneath #1)
Author: Brodi Ashton
Genre: Mythology, Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Simon Pulse (2nd August 2012)
Blurb:

SIX MONTHS AGO, NIKKI BECKETT VANISHED INTO AN UNDERWORLD KNOWN AS THE EVERNEATH.

Now she’s returned to her old life for another six months before the Everneath comes to claim her. Nikki longs to spend this precious time  reconnecting with the people she left behind – her family and friends and, most importantly, her boyfriend Jack, the one person she loves more than anything.

But there’s just one problem: Cole, the smouldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath, has followed Nikki home, hoping to take her back to the Everneath . . . this time for ever.

Now Nikki only has six months for goodbyes she can’t find the words for, six months to  make the hardest decision of her life, six months to find redemption, if it exists . . .

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

EVERNEATH by Brodi Ashton is the first book in the EVERNEATH TRILOGY It tells the story of Nikki Beckett a high school student who returns from the Everneath to find that six months have passed. She has just six months to say her goodbyes – to her family and friends – before she leaves permanently, when the Everneath claims her back.

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Review: Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black

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Dance of Shadows by Yelena Black

Title: Dance of Shadows (Dance of Shadows #1)
Author: Yelena Black
Genre: Paranormal Romance, Young Adult
Publisher: Bloomsbury (12th February 2013)
Source: Faye of A Daydreamer’s Thoughts as part of her blogoversary giveaway.
Blurb:

An elite academy with the darkest of secrets.

A dancer with a talent she never wanted.

A legacy she can’t escape.

Vanessa Adler is dancing in her sister’s footsteps as a student at the exclusive New York Ballet Academy. Margaret Adler disappeared three years ago and Vanessa is searching for answers.

Dance is in Vanessa’s blood, in her soul – and perhaps it holds the key to the mystery. But the academy is a sinister place, plagued by fierce rivalry and scandal. Finding her sister is going to be dangerous, and the sexy, charismatic Zeppelin Gray may lead her far beyond the truth she is looking for . . .

Rating: *** (3 stars)
Review:

DANCE OF SHADOWS by Yelena Black is the first book in the series, with a sequel coming out in Winter 2014. It tells the story of Vanessa Adler, the younger sister of Margaret Adler who attended the New York Ballet Academy and then mysteriously disappeared. Three years after this Vanessa follows in her sister’s footsteps and attends the academy, determined to unravel the mystery and find out exactly what happened to her sister.

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Review: Coco’s Secret by Niamh Greene

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Coco’s Secret by Niamh Greene

Title: Coco’s Secret
Author: Niamh Green
Genre: Chick Lit, Contemporary
Publisher: Penguin (15th August 2013)
Source: Penguin Ireland
Format: Finished Copy
Blurb:

Coco Swan has always been embarrassed by her name . . .

With a name like Coco, people expect you to be as exotic and glamorous as the famous designer, not an ordinary-looking small-town antiques dealer who could win an award for living cautiously.

But when a vintage Chanel handbag turns up in a box of worthless bric-a-brac, Coco’s quiet world is suddenly turned upside down. Where did it come from? And is it just coincidence that it’s the same bag Coco’s late mother always wanted for her?

When Coco discovers a mysterious, decades-old letter hidden in the bag’s lining, she sets off on a quest to piece together the story behind it, stumbling across secrets that span three generations as she goes.

Could the beautiful Chanel bag be about to teach Coco more than she wants to learn? Or will it show her just where her heart can take her if she lets it lead the way?

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

COCO’S SECRET by Niamh Greene tells the story of Coco Swan who lives in Ireland and runs an antiques shop. Coco bids on and wins a box of odds and ends at a local auction, in which she later uncovers a vintage Chanel bag that contains a letter which sends her on an adventure.

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Review: A Shiver of Light by Laurell K. Hamilton

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A Shiver of Light by Laurell K. Hamilton (UK edition)

Title: A Shiver of Light (Merry Gentry #9)
Author: Laurell K. Hamilton
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Publisher: Bantam Press (3rd June 2014)
Blurb:

I am Princess Meredith NicEssus. Legal name Meredith Gentry, because princess looks so pretentious on a driver’s licence. I was the first faerie princess born on American soil, but wouldn’t be the only one for much longer . . .

Merry Gentry, ex-private detective, now fill-time princess, knew she was descended from fertility goddesses, but it was only when she learned she was going to have triplets that she began to understand what that might mean. Infertility has been the curse of the high ranks of faerie for centuries and now the nobility – of both sexes and of both courts – are coming to Los Angeles to woo the exiled Merry and her male courtiers. They will do anything to have children of their own.

But the attentions of Taranis, King of Light and Illusion, are a more pressing – and deadly – problem. He once forced himself upon Merry – and now he is claiming one of her children as his own.

To save herself and her babies, Merry calls upon the most dangerous powers in all of faerie: a god of death, a warrior known as Darkness, the Killing Frost, and a king of nightmares. They are her lovers, and they will confront the high courts of faerie – and do whatever it takes to contain the war that threatens to engulf the innocent humans who are now in very real danger of becoming collateral damage . . .

Five years after Divine Misdemeanors, Merry Gentry is back – and her life’s become a lot more complicated . . . and even more dangerous.

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

A SHIVER OF LIGHT is the latest installment of Laurell K. Hamilton’s MERRY GENTRY series. A SHIVER OF LIGHT takes place several months after the end of the previous book in the series, DIVINE MISDEMEANORS, with Merry due to give birth only days away. Life is, of course, never easy or quiet for America’s only faerie princess.

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