Review: War of Hearts by S. Young (Samantha Young)

War of Hearts by S. Young
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received this free eARC novel from the author. This is my honest review.

Thea is an unknown supernatural. She can't figure out what she is, but she knows she's damn strong and fast. Living her life on the run is not ideal, but she's making it work. However, when an Alpha werewolf is sent to hunt her down and return her to a horrible man, Thea realizes she can't run from him. Not when Conall has the ability to track anyone once he gets their scent. And Thea definitely tried, only to be thwarted by Conall's ability.

Now Thea is being forced to go to a terrible man who's only mission is to get more power, while trying to figure out a way to get out of this mess. Plus her attraction to Conall isn't helping the slightest, especially when he thinks such terrible thoughts about Thea.

The more Thea and Conall are together, though, the more they realize that they are just on the brink to finding out Thea's heritage, and opening up a whole new can of worms they will have to deal with.

I love Samantha Young. I have read all (or close to all?) of her books and I have enjoyed every single one of them. So when I got a chance to read this new genre of hers, I was extremely excited! I loved the mystery, the adventure, the suspense. This book has everything you could ever ask for.

I do have to admit, once Thea's abilities were revealed to the reader, I automatically guessed what she was. This storyline follows closely to a popular TV show (I'm not telling you what it is because that will give away Thea's species), and I was right when her species was revealed. That didn't deter me from liking the book, though!

Thea is an amazing character. She's been through so much in such a short amount of time in her life and she's still a person who cares about others in need of help. She is super powerful, but she doesn't let that change her personality or abuse her powers to benefit herself.

And I loved the interactions between her and Conall. She sure tested him quite a bit throughout their travels and it aggravated him to no end, causing me much amusement!

Also, while the author says this is a standalone novel, I wouldn't be surprised if this world gets revisited again in her future novels to expand on another aspect of this storyline. There is definitely an ending that could be open for more books, and I would not be upset if I got to see Thea and Conall as side characters in another storyline for new adventures! :)

I'm so glad I got a chance to read this eARC and I'm looking forward to more by Samantha Young in the future!

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Review: The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller

The Shadows Between Us by Tricia Levenseller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received this free eARC novel from Edelweiss. This is my honest review.

Alessandra is a woman on a mission: She wants to be Queen. She wants to rule the people better than what everyone is forced to do. She is going to change things - for the better - and she will do it herself. Once she kills the Shadow King. And she has the perfect plan to do it. She will get what she wants, no matter the cost...

I seriously, seriously loved this book!! I think I love it even more than the Daughter series (and I really liked those)! Alessandra is bad ass - and I love that Tricia Levenseller always creates amazing heroines who can take care of themselves and save the men in their lives, rather than being the damsels in distress. The amount of times that she put down people, where she laughed in their faces because they thought she couldn't do something because she was a girl, was amazing and made me proud to be a woman. I want to be more like Alessandra and every other Levenseller female characters, because they know who they are and they strive to be better. They don't let anyone tell them they are lower or dumber or weaker because of their sex.

And I loved how this was set in the past, but Alessandra had the mentality of a woman in the 21st century when it comes to sexuality, knowledge, and fashion. The mixture between the two made this book even better!!

Alessandra also spread her thoughts and beliefs to other women in her life - telling them they can be strong and determined and to go after what they want instead of waiting for the guy to do the initiating. She told them to be their own selves, dress in their own fashion and comfort, and not to fear denial in life.

There were so many great messages in this novel, and I wish I could quote some passages from the book (I'll have to wait until it's published) that were really inspiring and relevant.

And that was just my amazement with Alessandra. The interactions between her and the Shadow King?? Oh, my... I was pining and hoping and praying and fearful that everything was going to go wrong. The anticipation was excruciating painful for me waiting for SOMETHING to happen. Don't worry, the time will come, but you must be patient.

I seriously cannot express how much I loved this book. I am going to fight the temptation to re-read it right now, because I have so many books to read, but I WILL be buying a hard copy of this book to add to my collection because it was just that great. I'm so glad I got a chance to read this free e-ARC!

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Review: Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller

Warrior of the Wild by Tricia Levenseller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received this free eARC novel from Edelweiss. This is my honest review.

Rasmira is one tough chick. She is being groomed to be the next leader of her village, so she's had a harsher life than any other female in her town. Plus she's not respected by her peers. The boys her age are mad that she's good at being a warrior and beating them, when she should be doing more feminine things.

When she is betrayed terribly at her trial to become a woman and a warrior, she has to re-establish her place in the world. She promised her sister that she would make it out of the wild alive and to defeat her mission that was given, impossible as it may seem, or die trying. What she doesn't expect is two guys also in the wild, who failed their warrior trial, and have made a life for themselves in the land where nothing is expected.

The longer Rasmira is with Soren and Iric, the more she starts to BECOME a leader, rather than just be inducted as a leader. But she still has to complete her mission before she can go home. The mysteries slowly become unraveled and Rasmira may just be able to pull it off - but only with the help of her new friends.

Okay, this book was so great! I loved Rasmira. She is a fighter through and through. She never gave up, she was always assisting Soren and Iric, and she was also fighting against the absolute betrayal she left in her village. And let's just mention - that betrayal was god awful! I had to re-read the page over and over again to really comprehend what had happened. That was so messed up and I don't blame Rasmira for being mentally scarred from that experience.

Rasmira is by far a strong willed woman who is on a mission to complete her goal. I have never seen/read about a character that was so determined to prove everyone she can achieve their impossible mission.

The romance between Rasmira and Soren was cute, but I would have been okay without it being in the book, honestly. This was Rasmira's story and she killed it to the very end of the book with her awesomeness!

I'm glad I finally got a chance to read this and Tricia Levenseller is quickly becoming a must have author in my personal library! So I'm going to snatch up as many books as I can from her and enjoy the show!

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Review: Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller

Daughter of the Siren Queen by Tricia Levenseller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I can't believe it's taken me this long to read this amazing book. I think it's because I didn't want the story to end for these amazing characters because now that it's done? I'm very sad.

I love Alosa and her crew. This is the first novel I've read about that had a female dominant crew and I loved it so much. They have such a great relationship with everyone on the ship and it's a family. It's not about who can fight the best or who had the most gold. Alosa saved all of these women and gave them a purpose.

Seeing the sirens in their environment was great. We got to see the other part of Alosa's heritage and it definitely explained so much of Alosa's character.

And Riden? Gah, he's one of my favorite book boyfriends. I wish we could have gotten more of his viewpoint than just book one chapter one, but I'll have to be satisfied with that. His vulnerability is something women desire men to have because it makes it easier to understand what they are thinking.

This is definitely a series I will revisit over and over again. I love everything about it and am still amazed it's this author's debut series. I definitely recommend it to everyone :)

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Review: Riden's Chapter by Tricia Levenseller

Riden's Chapter by Tricia Levenseller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I don't know how I didn't know about this chapter!! But I have remedied this and have now read it :) I seriously love Riden, so being able to get a glimpse into his head was great! I loved reading his initial reaction to seeing Alosa for the first time, and then the last statement? Yeah, he's a goner!

I'm excited to dive into the 2nd and last book to see what is in store for Riden and Alosa. These characters are awesome :)

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Review: Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller

Daughter of the Pirate King by Tricia Levenseller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received this free eARC from Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.

Alosa is being kidnapped by a rivaling pirate of her fathers. But really, every pirate is an enemy of her father's since he is the pirate king and rules everyone on the water. And now she is getting on a different pirate ship than her own as a prisoner because of her fathers status.

Or that is what she wants the pirate crew to think. Captain Draxen is going to use Alosa leverage against her father to get what he wants, but Alosa intended to get captured by this specific pirate crew. Draxen's father, before he died, had a secret map that was 1 missing piece out of 3 that her father needed to get the whole map back in one piece. Alosa's mission is to find that missing map and hand it to her father.

As much as Alosa, who is a captain of her own ship, hes to be a feeble prisoner, she struggles to keep her emotions in check when the first mate, and brother to the captain, Riden, looks over her and "interrogates" her.

Every night, Alosa breaks free of her cage in the briggs and searches the entire ship. But the longer she is on the ship and the more places she looks, the more she realizes that the map may not be where she thought it was. However, her father will be very angry if she fails in this mission, so it is Alosa's determination that she has to find the map that makes her a bit reckless. Makes her start to use her...abilities...that she shouldn't use. And she starts to use them in front of people who notice little changes about her - especially Riden.

Alosa's time is running out, and she still needs to find the map. But will she find it in time before her father shows up?

I LOVE THIS BOOK!!! Love, love, love. I'm a sucker for pirates, but usually it is the smutty adult romance novels where the pirates are the guys and they are swoon worthy. Granted, Riden is very swoon worthy, so I got my typical pirate novel I guess.

But seriously? I loved Alosa even more! Every review I read says she is the female version of Jack Sparrow and honestly, she really is! Her fiery red hair definitely explains her personality and her knowledge of so much stuff stuns me. I want to be Alosa!!

She is smart and fit and determined and naive in some ways. Her reaction toward the unruly men on the ship who treated her badly was amazing because she wanted to kill them. And we got a very clear indication at the beginning of the book that Alosa is not afraid to kill anyone who gets in her way.

Well, except Riden. She's not sure why she is against hurting him, but she doesn't want to if she can help it. (This is where the naive part comes in....)

I am so, so, so glad that I was able to get this as a free eARC and I'm so mad that I'm just getting around to read this now. I'm even more mad that I have to wait for the second and final book in this series for 9 months!! I want to know what happens!! I can only see good things!!

I seriously suggest everyone to read this book because I loved it so much. Yeah, that's a good recommendation...not...but it is a great book and I cannot wait to continue Alosa and Riden's story!

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Review: Arrogant Boss by Olivia Hayle

Arrogant Boss by Olivia Hayle
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this free eARC novel from Book Sirens and the author. This is my honest review.

This was a cute novel. I thought that Julian was going to be more...arrogant than he was, but he was pretty mild and thoughtful when it came to Emily. He didn't pursue Emily as hard as he could have, and he wasn't that smug for being a millionaire. He was just a down to earth kind of guy who made a lot of money and was a bit nerdy, but a hot nerd.

Emily's concerns were warranted, but I think she stretched it out a bit too far. Everyone is a grown adult, but she wanted them to act like teenagers at first, which is a bit silly if you think about it. I do appreciate how she took care of her younger brother though. The amount of stress and responsibility she had I can't even imagine, but she did it and was still her bubbly self, which I really respected.

Overall I enjoyed this book. I'm glad I got a chance to read it and I'll be on the lookout for more books by this author!

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