Review: Reawakened (Havenwood Falls HIGH #2) by Morgan Wylie

Reawakened by Morgan Wylie
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this eARC novel from Red Coat Publishing. This is my honest review.

Living in Havenwood Falls is an okay place, but for Macy, she feels a bit trapped. Not being able to leave her town for more than a month without losing her memory of everyone and everything from Havenwood Falls is killing her a little bit. Macy wants to travel and explore. And then with the pressure of having to make a huge decision on her 18th birthday in about a month is really stressing her out.

Thankfully she has an awesome boyfriend, a best friend, and pretty much enough support from her parents and family.

But when Macy's witch hunter effects come to light earlier than expected and she almost attacks her boyfriend, who ironically is a witch, Macy freaks out. She just needs a few days alone, exploring, before she makes one of the biggest decisions of her life.

So she leaves. She goes down the mountain and sees what is it like outside of Havenwood Falls.

Then she meets extended family who thrives on their witch hunter intuition, and they give her another choice: to stay with them and hunt with them.

Now Macy has to decide what she really wants to do with her life, and she has to make the decision fast because her time away from Havenwood Falls is coming to the 1 month mark, and she is definitely starting to forget a lot about her life at home.

I am really starting to enjoy these books! Macy was a bit too indecisive for me, but man did I love her boyfriend, Gallad. He was a good guy stuck in a bad boy body and he definitely knew how to make Macy swoon - along with me! I actually would have preferred having Gallad in the book more than what he was, but I know it's Macy's story so I can't be picky ;)

I get Macy's inner battle that she is having, and I feel like her mother should have been more supportive and forthcoming with information about Macy's circumstances. But then again, Macy shouldn't have been a stubborn teenager and should have forced her mother to listen to what she was going through at the time.

Overall this was a good book and I'm glad I was able to get a chance to read this book! I'm looking forward to more in this series!

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Review: Save the Date by Morgan Matson

Save the Date by Morgan Matson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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

Charlie, being the youngest of her 4 siblings, is so excited for her older sister's wedding because that means she gets to see EVERYONE in the same house for the first time since forever. And it's a good thing, too, because her parents have just sold their amazing house for something smaller since Charlie is going to college next year.

But the upcoming weekend is going to be busy with no only the wedding but also the interviews the family is doing for their mother's comic strip. Grant Central, one of the most popular comic strip's in the paper, is coming to an end, so everyone wants to interview the family that inspired the cartoon. And because the family in Grant Central had a dog, the media thought it would be a great idea to get a dog as well! During the wedding weekend...

Eventually, everything that could go wrong, does go wrong. The wedding coordinator they hired was a fraud and mixed up their entire planning, so they were getting the wrong decorations and suits 2 days before the wedding. The house's alarm system is going off everytime someone opens the door and needs to be replaced. The circuit breaker broke, so they had no electricity for awhile. Then they needed to find someone to marry them when plans fell through...

Charlie, determined to make this weekend the perfect weekend with her entire family, made it her mission to fix everything before her sister and brother-in-law could find out about it. With the help of the new wedding event planner worker, Bill, she succeeded for the most part.

But when she got some devastating news about her family after everything was done, Charlie realized that life is not perfect, no matter how hard she tries. And she's going to have to find a way to accept that, because everything is about to change starting now.

I have to admit - I haven't read all of Morgan Matson's books. I've been meaning to, but just haven't gotten around to it yet. But I was really excited to get this eARC and decided to just read it now to make sure I got it done, and I loved it!

This book is so exhausting, to be honest. There was so much stuff going on it was chaotic and overwhelming for me as a reader. I kept thinking to myself, "If this is how a wedding can go wrong, getting married in a court house seems like the best plan!". I had to take breaks from this book just to get a breather in and realize that my life is not that crazy.

Charlie lived in a fantasy world for most of her life, it seems like, and this weekend was a wake up call to her. Being the youngest and seeing everyone go off to live their own life was her whole life. For her to realize that not everything is perfect and amazing was a bit of an eye opener for her, but she needed it. It helped her make hard decisions that she was hiding from, and learn to expect the unexpected.

Fans of Morgan Matson will love this new addition to their collection and new readers will love this fun, quirky, and constant moving novel!

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Review: Ink & Fire (Havenwood Falls # 7) by R. K. Ryals

Ink & Fire by R.K. Ryals
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this free eARC novel from Red Coat Publishing in exchange for my honest review.

Harper is cursed. She's been cursed since she was a child and predicted a man's death by writing it down. Harper can't write anything - not even her name - because she gets possessed by a demon and they make her predict the most awful things.

Even with this curse, though, Harper learned how to read and write, even though she doesn't do it as an adult. The people of Havenwood Falls found a way to teach her with her curse, and Harper is thankful for that, even though she desperately wants to be able to go in a bookstore and read as many books as she wants. But audiobooks have done her well so far, she supposes.

Harper is living her own life, though, and she just bought a house! But there was a signature that her aunt forgot to sign on the paperwork, so Harper decided she can sign her own name, surely... Except she doesn't. She's writing a message for a stranger named Lucas Fox and has predicted his death.

Now Harper has the guilt of sentencing ANOTHER man to death. When Lucas shows up, though, she realizes that he's not a normal human, like her first 'victim'. Instead, he is an angel, and he knows exactly what he is capable of against this demon - the demon he sentenced to prison many, many, many years ago.

With the help from the citizens of Havenwood Falls and Lucas, Harper is starting to understand what her power REALLY is and how she can live with it, instead of being afraid of it.

This was a great novel! I felt so, so, so bad for Harper because growing up not being able to read...!! That is literally hell for me as a reader and librarian! That would be a terrible way for me to live, to be honest.

The instant relationship between Harper and Lucas was a bit much, but I'm glad on how it ended because it made it better about what happened between the two of them and more realistic for me, so it turned out okay in the end. Lucas was so cocky, but if you've been living for as long as he has, I'm not surprised, haha!

The progression with Harper's backstory was amazing and I loved being able to get the little pieces to finally understand how she got her power, so that was great. And I'm glad that Harper is more comfortable with her life now. I can see her doing great things in the town of Havenwood Falls!

Can't wait to go back and catch up on this series to learn about other characters!

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Review: Undeniable by Cherie M. Hudson

Undeniable by Cherie M. Hudson
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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

Chase has had hearing problems her whole life. She has has 22 years to accept it and move on, because otherwise she would be suffering for no reason. No, Chase has learned to live with her crappy hearing and makes sure that everyone around her understands that she is not disabled - she just works a lot harder to have a conversation sometimes.

After an intense first semester as an art major, Chase decided that academics might not be the right scene for her at the moment, and is now living with her parents and working at a pet store. But, hey, she's cool with that. Life goals, right?

Plus she gets to see her awesome nephew, Tanner, who beat leukemia cancer at age 2 as much as she wants to, and hangs out with her sister, Amanda, and brother-in-law, Branden, as much as is properly allowed.

The only hitch to her life is Caden - Branden's Aussie cousin. The cousin whose bone marrow matched her nephews and who ended up saving his life. The Aussie who saw Chase for the first time and fell in love with her.

Even though Caden is going through intense veterinarian school in Australia, whenever he has a moment free, he flies to the US to "visit his cousin". Well, yeah, he loves hanging out with Branden and Tanner, but the REAL reason? He needs to see Chase as much as he can to try to convince her that she is just as in love with him as he is with her.

The only problem is that Chase is determined to never fall in love again after the last time she made that mistake. Caden is not taking a hint though... and there is only so many times Chase can turn him down with her permanent scowl on her face.

Put in a jealous ex, an injured, homeless dog, and a disapproving father, and Chase is realizing what she really wants in life and now she has to figure out how to make it come true.

This was a typical new adult novel that I've read before, but I certainly had fun with it because of Caden's persistence, goofy attitude and Chase's fight to fend her herself attitude. These two are hilarious and are always butting heads with each other because they are determined to win what they want - which is the completely opposite of one another, by the way.

The story with Doofus the dog is amazing and I would have been happy with just that, to be honest. Gotta love dogs, and ones that fight to survive as well!

I don't know how Chase fought as much as she did against Caden, because you believe me, if an Aussie falls in love with me, I'd be right there professing my undying love back to him! Though I don't think that living in Australia would be in my future...HAVE YOU SEEN THE INSECTS THERE!?! THEY ARE HUGE!!! I can't deal, man, I just cannot deal...

Overall I really enjoyed this story, and I'd be really interested to read the other books in the series to see how the other characters overcame their issues to have their happily ever ending :)

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Review: Awaken the Soul (Havenwood Falls HIGH #5) by Michele G. Miller

Awaken the Soul by Michele G. Miller
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received this free eARC novel from Red Coat Publishing in exchange for my honest review.

Breckin is one of the supernaturals in Havenwood Falls - a nephilim. He's just living out the rest of his days as "normal" before he's forced to join his father in the "family business".

But when he sees a fellow classmate get attacked in the woods, he is swayed to help her. Which is not normal, because Breckin is never inclined to help humans. They just exist, and Breckin ignores them, but not with Vivienne.

He saves her from the reaper, Sebastian, by healing her. Technically Breckin shouldn't have interfered with the reaper's job, but there was something about Vivienne that made him want her alive and healthy, so he healed her. Which made Sebastian really mad and on a vendetta to get what he was supposed to have.

And the kicker? Vivienne might not be quite...human... So now Sebastian is after her for a whole nother reason.

But a connection has started between Vivienne and Breckin - something earth shattering, and both are now in over the heads with this new development. Something that may risking their lives for good.

I have just discovered the Havenwood Falls series - both adult and YA - and I am really starting to love them! This one is so far my favorite! I love that we get a second novel about these characters July 2018 - you can bet I'll be getting that in a heartbeat because I loved both Vivienne and Breckin and I want more!

Because these stories are so short, I think having an additional novel for them is good because we get to know the characters a bit better and can really get involved in the storyline that the author is creating.

Vivienne is one fiery girl, and I love her interactions with Breckin when they start to talk to each other. And Breckin is one hot angel - at least in my head ;) But I love the inner struggle that Breckin is having - especially with the choice he is going to have to make in 4 months on his birthday.

I desperately want to figure out what Vivienne is and how it is going to change the dynamics of this novel, because I have a feeling she may be more powerful than Breckin by the end of it, which would be awesome!

So glad I got a chance to read this book and can't wait for the rest in the series that I'm going to catch up on! :)

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Review: The Last Girl on Earth by Alexandra Blogier

The Last Girl on Earth by Alexandra Blogier
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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

Li is a human girl. Not a big issue, right, being on Earth and all? Except it is, because when the Abdolrean race came to Earth, they killed all of the humans, making their race extinct. Li was saved by a Abdolrean, one who knew her biological mother and father and swore that he would protect Li and raise her as his own daughter.

So Li has had to learn to survive like an extraterrestrial race - one that dominates humans. She has to be stronger, faster, smarter, and can live among them without anyone suspecting that she is the last of her kind.

With her testing coming up to determine where she is going to be training for the next 7 years, Li is a little bit stressed right now. She definitely doesn't need to be falling for an alien guy, when she has to make sure she can become an officer - which is one of the rarest and hardest job to get.

But Ryn snagged her eye the first time she saw him, and he was definitely interested in Li as well. It was a match made in heaven, but a lot of forces are trying to get in the way of their feelings for each other.

As much as Li is loving her time with Ryn, she does realize that she is risking her life for him, when she needs to focus on her life and career.

Things get extremely worse by the end of her training, and Li is going to have to make some tough decisions to determine what will be her future.

Okay, I would probably have given this book 3 stars, rather than 4, but it has so many negative reviews on Goodreads that I wanted to try to give some positivity about this book for potential future readers.

I enjoyed this book. I didn't think that there was in "instant" love connection between Li and Ryn - it did take a few chapters for them to finally hook up, and that is pretty typical for a YA romance/sci-fi/any genre really. She didn't see him across the room and walk over to make out with him, so it took a little flirting and intense eye contact before they decided to be together.

And since this is a shorter book, it happened "all of the sudden" because of that reason as well, I would guess.

I felt for Li because she was literally the only one of her kind in a place where they loathe her species. So Li had a lot of feelings going on inside of her, and she is also a teenagers, so she's expected to be going through a lot of different emotions.

And to top it off, she has to become another species that is BETTER than her species. If that isn't intimidating, then I don't know what is. In fact, Li is pretty badass when you think about it.

Now, there were some things that I think could have been better in this novel, but overall I liked it a lot.

Though one of the things that really frustrated me was when they mentioned how the Abdolreans thought that humans were violent and mean and deserved to be demolished. And how that made Li feel like they were right when she had to DEFEND HERSELF AGAINST ABUSE!!! Because she was getting attacked, and Li decided to fend for herself, she instantly thought that she was violent because of that action. BUT IT WAS SELF DEFENSE AND THAT IS JUST WRONG!!! WRONG!!!

Okay, that was the part that I was most mad about, but I get it. It was part of the back story, and I'm still getting over it, but it's still not enough for me to be giving this book a low star rating.

I think that will be a lot of readers who will enjoy this book when it gets released in January 2018. I hope others will appreciate the beautiful story that Alexandra Blogier created and how intricate she created all of the different universes.

I would definitely be interested in a sequel to see what else happens to these characters, and I am never hoping for a sequel because that means I will be waiting forever for it.

I really enjoyed this! So glad I got an eARC novel!

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Review: Moonlight Sins by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Moonlight Sins by Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received this free eARC novel from the author and Edelweiss in exchange for my honest review.

Julia has decided to start fresh with a new job that takes her away from her family and friends. She's worked in numerous places as a nurse, but this time she will be living in the house where her patient lives, taking care of her basically 24/7 until something changes or there will be a different arrangement.

So traveling to New Orleans is a big step for her. And the night before she leaves, she meets a sexy, attractive, and very intriguding guy: Taylor. Julia decides to let everything go and just have fun for a night - have a one-night stand with a stranger that she will never see again.

Except Taylor left out a few details about himself... including the fact that he is one of her "bosses" in New Orleans, and he knows exactly who Julia is, while she doesn't even know his real name. Lucian de Vincent is one of the richest person in the world, along with his two older brothers Gabriel and Devlin. Their nicknames are Lucifer, Demon and Devil which give an indication at how their personalities are.

Lucian is used to having any girl he wants, whenever he wants, without having to ask. But with Julia, once she realizes who he is and that she will be working for him, is not like any girl he's ever been with. Which makes him want her even more.

There are a lot of mysteries at the house of the de Vincents, including the brothers and the history of their family. Julia is about to get mixed up in the dangers of Lucian's life, but she is also getting mixed up with Lucian, even though she is trying so very hard to stay away.

Soon, though, everything is about to explode, and Julia may be caught in the misfires...

I was so, so, so happy to be able to get this as an eARC!! I loved that it is an adult series - we don't get too many of those from JLA! And it was nice to be able to imagine myself in Julia's shoes and actually be the appropriate age for the hot guy character for once ;)

Julia protects herself so much, that she forgets to live, which is so sad. Her past has jaded her future, and she is just living day to day instead of really enjoying life and everything she can do while she is still young. I'm so glad that she got out there and decided to move and try something new. It was still a pretty secure change, but it was just the start of changing the rest of her life and she definitely needed that change.

Lucian is such a bad boy. But the readers will definitely love that aspect of him (umm, hello? Daemon?). From the very beginning of this book we get a very good look at how naughty and bad he is, but the reader also sees that Lucian is starting to get out of that stage and want something different out of life.

The second he sees Julia, Lucian knows exactly what he wants and he is just persistent enough to keep pursuing it until he gets it.

The mystery aspect of this book was good. Having the family's history as a tie-in was nice and being able to get a lot of backstory was great. I called the person who was pulling the strings for the mysterious things around the house, though I was swayed to think of other characters as the culprit, so it was nice mixture of suspense.

The romance is really the main theme of this book, which I loved so much, but the mystery was a great thing to keep the story going.

I am so excited to read about Gabriel and Devlin's story, who I am assuming that book #2 and #3 will be about since this one was nicely wrapped up. Gabriel is so lovable and Devlin is a bit...intimidating. So it will be interesting what kind of girl they both end up with.

I have a feeling that readers are going to really enjoy this book and will be anticipating the next book in the series as soon as they finish this one!

Loved it! :D

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Review: Airports, Exes, and Other Things I'm Over by Shani Petroff

Airports, Exes, and Other Things I'm Over by Shani Petroff
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

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

Sari has things going on for her. She just went to an AMAZING concert with her best friend, and then she is going to Florida with her boyfriend for spring break. No parentals, sunshine instead of Manhattan's dreary weather, and sometimes hanging out with her grandma, who she was staying with.

But when Sari shows up to the "party of the year" where her boyfriend is, she finds Zev kissing his ex-girlfriend. Now, things are going dreadfully wrong. She escapes to Florida, hoping that she can get over Zev's betrayal, but nothing seems to be working. Not even the cute boy she saw at the pool, sadly.

Then Sari gets a phone call asking her to perform at a club. She gets to play her guitar and sing her songs in front of hundreds of people! At a very popular club! All she has to do is get home and get ready for her big break, but her parents won't let her come home early, and the day she is scheduled to go back, a huge storm is rampaging through New York, which is delaying flights left and right.

To top it off, she is stuck with Zev bothering the crap out of her and the new, hot guy, Fitz, helping her as much as he can. Sari just wants things to be better, but it seems that there are a lot of forces that are determined to make things worse.

Now on top of Zev's betrayal and whether she wants to forgive him, she has to figure out a plan to get home before her life long dream of being a perform goes up in smoke.

This was a cute little novel. I felt really bad for Sari - she was always getting one type of bad luck following another bout of bad luck. She just really couldn't catch a break, and when she did for a little bit, she didn't really appreciate it until it was gone.

I didn't like the way she acted around Fitz. She was just tagging him along while she was trying to figure out her life, and that wasn't nice at all. I know that's not the way that she saw it, but that was how I was reading it.

I get the no trust with Zev thing, but she was not only give him whiplash with her moods, but me as well. It was hard to keep up with her emotions, but I guess that's what makes this book realistic, because most teenage girls act like this.

Zev was very persistent, and I liked that about him. He was determined not to lose the best thing in his life and kept trying over and over again. Trying even when I would have given up, honestly, haha.

Overall this was a good book. I'm glad I got a chance to read it, and I'm sure many readers out there will really enjoy this story of second chances and life long goals and dreams.

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Review: The Power Club by Greg Gildersleeve

The Power Club by Greg Gildersleeve
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this free eARC novel from Red Coat Publishing in exchange for my honest review.

Damon lives in the district because he has a supernatural power - he can conjure darkness around himself, making everyone near him blind by the darkness. Everyone who lives in the district has a power, a gift, and they must stay there if they want to keep their power - per the government's rules.

Damon loves his power, and he wants to join a Power Club so he will then be able to use his power in public. Otherwise, he has to not use it, and Damon definitely doesn't want to do that.

When he tries out for a group with Kyle, Danner and Vee, they reject him because his power isn't that cool and not very useful for them. But when Damon gets ganged up by 3 older kids and Damon is the one who wins, they decide he is pretty cool, and he joins their Power Club along with Ali and Denise.

Pretty soon, though, Damon doesn't just want to be a part of the Power Club - he wants to be a hero and save people who are in trouble. But when his group, the government, and the bullies who ganged up on his all try to stop Damon in different ways, Damon has to make sure that he is really doing what he wants, or if it would be too much of a risk overall.

This was such a fast read! Seriously, just a couple of hours and I was done! Whoo! I really enjoyed this story and thought it was a great way to incorporate the idea of wanting to be different and unique, while being surrounded by people who just want to be ordinary and normal.

I got the feeling that there may be another novel coming in the future, the way that Greg Gildersleeve ended this novel, but maybe it was more for the effect of things are going to happen, but you as the reader will have to figure it out in your own imagination. Could be either, but if there is another book, I can definitely see a lot of middle-grade readers very happy about it.

This has a lot of relationship issues that the characters had to work through and they had their own personalities and ambitions in life, so it was nice to see kids so young want something so strong to work toward.

While this is definitely a light read that will keep kids entertained, it has a lot of subtle messages hidden in the text that I feel like parents will really enjoy and would want to read along with their kids.

Very much enjoyed it! :)

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Review: Turtles All the Way Down by John Green

Turtles All the Way Down by John Green
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Aza's best friend Daisy hears about a billionaire from their area has gone missing, and Daisy is determined to find out information about him so they can get the $100,000 reward. And since Aza knows the billionaire's son, Davis, Aza is the go to person to start smoozing up to Davis. It also doesn't help that Aza kinda sorta likes Davis, so talking to him after a long time of no talking is a bit stressful for Aza.

And Aza doesn't need any more stress in her life because of her condition that she is in - spiraling from one thought to another to another and another until Aza can't escape from the quicksand that is her own thoughts and mind. But Aza is learning how to cope with it...she thinks...maybe.

Having the mystery of Davis's father is a great distraction, though, even if she is conflicted on how to keep her investigation separate from her feelings for Davis.

The longer Aza keeps her symptons to herself, the more her thoughts are taking over, but Aza is FINE... right? Aza is going to have to figure out what life really means and what she wants from life in order for her to overcome the inner struggles that are fighting their way to the top, before she is too far gone.

I adore John Green. His novels are so inspiring and enjoyable and addicting. This novel was the perfect follow-up novel to The Fault in Our Stars because it is so original and unique and powerful. It is completely different, and yet it is it's own novel that takes the reader away to a whole other side of the word "illness" and makes the reader understand circumstances that they may never have experienced if they never read this book.

The beginning of this book jumps you right into Aza's mind - the spiraling and the vastness where your thoughts can take you to. The never ending spiral that will take you away from society and trap you where no one can reach you.

To make that the first scene for the readers to experience was an amazing idea by John Green. It has the readers instantly understand what Aza goes through and how difficult it is for her, even if it may be hard to explain to the people around her.

There were moments in this novel where I was in Aza's head with her, where I literally felt like I was having those conversations and how I thought it would never end. John Green did an amazing job giving readers an inside look at this mental illness that Aza has, which shows just how much of an amazing writer he is.

All of the characters in this book were partially broken - either with a disease, missing parents, or poverty. These characters are not perfect, even if they are situated in a perfect world. This definitely showed how an everyday, normal person really lives, and how they live day by day.

Aza's friends and family are not perfect, and they make mistakes that hurt others, but the one thing that was very prominent in this book is forgiveness and acceptance, and I love that so much. There is not enough of that in today's world, and to be able to read it in a novel is just amazing for me.

I am so glad that I finally read this book and that I own a signed copy of this book. I definitely won't be forgetting this story any time soon, and I will now be looking forward to John Green's next novel, whenever that may be :)

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Review: The Iron Trial by Holly Black and Cassandra Clare

The Iron Trial by Holly Black
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Call has grown up learning to hate magic from his father. But because both of his parents were taught to use magic, Call has to go through a series of tests to see if he is going to be trained for the next 5 years. So, naturally, Call is going to fail his test. It shouldn't be too hard, since he is always failing something in life and if there is anything physical ed related, his injured leg with his limp will help him out in that case.

Except Call is failing so terribly, that he actually gets picked by a Master! Call doesn't want to go, but it seems that he doesn't have a choice in the matter and leaves that very day without his father.

Now Call has to try to fail his lessons, so then he might get to go home that way. After being told that won't work - that instead his magic would be bound, locked, and he will always feel like a part of himself is lost - does Call then start to really become serious in learning how to use the elements and be one of the best in his class.

Then dark, hidden secrets start to get unraveled - things that Call would have never dreamed of. With these new revelations, Call has to determine what to do, because a war is abrewing, and it seems that Call might be in the middle of it...

I actually enjoyed this novel a lot! I loved the inner struggle that Call had the entire time. I felt so bad for him being bullied in normal school, and then when his new friends stood up for him in magic school? It seriously made me feel warm and fuzzy to know that he finally belongs somewhere.

I know a lot of readers have said this is a Harry Potter alike novel, and I admit that I can see that, but I don't think that this book is a Harry Potter book. There are so many differences, but if everyone is only going to focus on the similarities, then of course that is all you are going to see. The main difference though? Call doesn't want to be there, and Harry did. That alone tells you that these are two different people and two different stories. For people to base this book and give it a low rating because of a few similarities of a popular series is ridiculous and immature.

I loved the first month of training for Call, Tamara and Aaron. I can just picture the three of them getting so annoyed by having to separate sand into different piles, but I can also see how that is strengthening their magical skills.

The only reason I'm not instantly picking up the next books in the series is because the 5th and final book is not published yet. I'm not going to get so involved and committed to this series, only to have to wait 10 months to read the ending. So I'll probably either re-read the book, or hopefully remember the important parts of this first book, and then dive into the next 4 books of the series to see how it ends. I have a good idea, but I still need to know!

I definitely enjoyed this book and it will be a great series to recommend to readers who have enjoyed Harry Potter and Percy Jackson :)

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Review: It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover

It Ends with Us by Colleen Hoover
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Wow. This book...it is so intense.

I'm not doing my typical synopsis of the book, and then my thoughts/comments. This book just needs to be read to be able to understand the depth of the story and to fully understand how raw this book is.

I love Colleen Hoover and everything she has written. And this book? The fact that it was based on aspects of her life and she was brave enough to write about it in a way to make all readers comprehend and completely understand how this event changes everyone's lives - whether it be the people causing the issue or the ones who witnessed it - is so amazing.

I could never in a million years know what Lily was feeling during this novel. I say that I would be the strong one, the one that wouldn't fall into the statistics, but I will never know until I am in that situation - which I hope to Hell that I never am. And for her to go through that feeling twice in her life, through 2 different viewpoints of it? It's so sad and gut wrenching.

Ryle and Atlas are both great guys for completely different reasons. I loved being able to read about Lily and Ryle's relationship as it was happening, and I loved reading Lily and Atlas's relationship through the letters Lily wrote when she was 15-16. Both loves of Lily's life were necessary, even if many would disagree with this sentence. Lily became the great person she did because of these two men that she fell in love with and the experiences she went through with each of them.

I am so, so, so mad that it took me this long to read this book. Seriously, I had no excuse because it's been on my personal bookshelf at my home since the day it was released into the world.

But honestly? I'm glad I decided to wait and really get connected with this book - to really feel what I needed to feel. And waiting a couple of years to ensure that I'm more mature and older, to really understand the consequences of decisions and to better know myself, was worth it. I have never gone through this event - not really - but being able to understand how I would have acted during this helps me feel the raw, bitterness of this story.

If you are like me and have been wanting to read this, but haven't gotten around to it, I would highly recommending opening up the book and start reading. Because it won't take long to get sucked into this story, and then you will be hooked until the very end.

Colleen Hoover is a goddess of writing, and I have 2 more of her novels sitting unread on my shelf that I will find and start reading soon to make up for my stupidness of leaving her books hanging.

Such a great, great novel.

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Review: Forlorn by Gina Detwiler

Forlorn by Gina Detwiler
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

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

Grace has had a lot of bad luck so far in her 17 years, but little does she know that she has a guardian angel who has been saving her over and over. And it all started when she was in a car accident with her parents. Grace was the only survivor, and there was no humanly way she should have survived that accident.

Now, she has just survived another incident when a student comes to school with a gun and starts shooting. Her guardian angel was there with her, but so was Jared - a hot loner who isn't who he seems to be. In fact, he's a Nephilim - a hybrid of human and angel. And ever since he saved Grace's life, she can't stay away from him.

Grace has a way to stop the demons from winning the never-ending war, and she is going to find a way to make it happen and save Jared from being changed by his father. Even though Grace is only human, she has been thrust into the supernatural world throughout her whole life, and now she is going to find a way to save the boy she loves.

This book...wasn't really for me, to be honest. I love a good romance and a good story about fallen angels/supernatural aspects, but I just couldn't connect to this novel. The different point of views was hard to keep track of at the beginning because the reader wasn't introduced very well. Then Grace isn't a really likable character for me. The author didn't really give a lot of emotions when it came to Grace - something for the reader to REALLY feel when it was her point of view. One minute she is hunky dory, curious about Jared, then the next she is madly in love, but doesn't really have the emotional aspect to show us readers.

It was just very distant for me.

And then the angel/Nephilim aspect was a little too teachery for me, and not very well because the narration would go in and out when they were telling the characters about the history.

I don't know...sadly it just didn't keep me as entertained as I would have liked it, and I found a lot of reasons to get distracted from reading, which is never a good sign for me.

I was hoping for something more, but I'm sure that other readers will enjoy this story a lot better than I did when it comes out on the 30th!

I'm very glad that I was able to get an eARC of this book, and I will look into the author to give her other books another chance in the future :)

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Review: Say You'll Remember Me by Katie McGarry

Say You'll Remember Me by Katie McGarry
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

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

Drix took the fall for a crime he didn't commit, and now, 1 year later, he is a changed man. Through the governor's program, the Second Chance Program, he really has changed his ways. Before he was following the path of his father, high all of the time, drinking excessively, playing in a band that was a bad influence, and he was falling apart. He was only wanting to escape the pressures of life, but now that he has gone through this rehabilitation program, Drix wants more for himself and his family. He wants to fight his way to succeed and make something of his life.

When he sees a cute girl getting harassed by college guys, Drix decides to help her. Before he would have fought the other two boys for being jerks, but now he just made sure to keep by Elle's side and that the college guys got the message to leave her alone.

What Drix didn't know was he was protecting the governor's daughter, Ellison, and putting himself in her life in a way he never thought could be possible. Because the governor is essential his new "boss" and Drix definitely isn't good enough to be with the governor's daughter, as an ex-criminal (to the public eye, at least).

Elle is so tired of everyone treating her differently. If it's not the admiration she gets from her thousands of fans on social media, then it's harassment like what she is going through at the fair. All she wants to do is play Wack-A-Mole. Why can't a girl play a game in peace, without someone ruining her alone time?!

When she gets saved by the boy that she has heard her father talk about, she wasn't expecting to be so attracted to him. But she is, and she knows that her father would never let her be with him. Even them being friends is not good enough for her father, and since he is in the process of being re-elected for a higher slot, Elle cannot make any mistakes to ruin his election.

Elle has always been harshly criticized by her parents. She needs to be perfect, because she is representing her father. And now, she is taking a larger part of her fathers election campaign, so she really needs to do everything right on par.

But when Elle is with Drix, she can be her true self. She doesn't have to worry about what the media or what her family will say, she just DOES. Her smiles and laughs are completely pure - no forcefulness behind them.

Sadly they can't be together, or else it will ruin her father's program and his campaign for election. But when the real criminal who framed Drix is revealed, both Drix and Elle are going to have to figure out what is the most important thing in the life and make a decision on what they are going to do, because no matter which choice they make, it will destroy something else that means the world to them.

I love Katie McGarry. All of her books are superb and she always gets me feeling so many emotions. This book was just as amazing as her other ones, and I'm so glad I got an eARC!

Drix is a great guy. Sure, he was a terrible person a year ago, but he has changed and now he knows that he cannot be that guy anymore. Not because he is being watched by the media, but because that guy was going nowhere and Drix wants more for himself, and for his younger sister who was starting to follow his path. So everything he does, every decision he has to make, has it's toll on him. He is so guarded, because he knows how terrible life can be, and he won't get his hopes up, just to have them be crushed over and over.

But with Elle, he starts to hope, and it is the most beautiful thing to read about. Seeing him open up to Elle is amazing and it makes the reader see just how much he wants to be the best person he can be.

And poor Elle. I feel so much for her. Seriously, I don't know how she let her parents control her life the way they were. Her parents should be so ashamed at how they treated her because Elle is just a teenager. She is not the run running for any political chair, and she should be able to live her life like a normal teenager, instead of being the perfect person. I guess that appearances mean everything, but there has to be a limit on how to treat someone, and her parents crossed it way over too many times.

I loved seeing Elle do the things that she wanted to do. It broke my heart in the scene where Drix is teaching Elle how to play an instrument, and she was too scared to touch any of them, because the last time she did at a political event, her mother slapped her hands and yelled at her. The memory of that time made Elle never want to touch another musical instrument again, and watching her mentally struggle when Drix was making her play was heartbreaking.

Drix and Elle are so good for each other, but they let other things in their life stop them from doing what they want to do, so having them together was great for the self confidence.

And the story about Thor, their dog, literally broke my heart. I was sobbing and remembering memories of the same thing that I went through, so McGarry definitely knew what would really connect with readers.

This was an amazing novel and I'm so glad that I got a chance to read this. I know that all of Katie McGarry's fans will love it, and even newbies to McGarry will fall in love with this hearbreakingly, but inspiring novel about second chances.

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Review: Bound by Kirsten Weiss

Bound by Kirsten Weiss
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this free eARC novel from Red Coat Publishing in exchange for my honest review.

Karin and her sisters Jayce and Lenore have lived int he town of Doyle their whole life. When their mother died in childbirth with the three of them, their aunt Ellen took them in and raised them, while also teaching them about the magic in their family.

Bad news is about to hit the town of Doyle for the Bonheim sisters. Their aunt's cancer came back and it is in her bones, spreading throughout their whole body. And to make matters worse, Karin and Jayce found a dead body in Jayce's coffee shop. Now the police are suspecting Jayce, even though the culprit is out free somewhere.

Jayce gets a lawyer from out of town - Nick - to help her get free and clear from the charges. Karein doesn't expect to be as attracted to him as she finds herself to be, though. Now, Karin has to figure out who is framing her sister, how to save her aunt from this disease that is killing her, and how to end the family curse that will kill her and her sisters if they have children.

Things in Doyle just got a lot harder for the Bonheim triplets...

I haven't read a witchcraft novel for a long time, and I realized how much I missed it! I really enjoyed the story of these three sisters and boy do they have a lot of drama to go through in this book.

And it's nice that there is normal family troubles along with the supernatural issues that are happening. Plus Karin is also falling in love, so that is a normal, everyday thing that happens and keeps the book separated between different types of issues so it's not as smothering for one piece over the other.

I was also pleasantly surprised that I didn't figure out the real culprit! I can usually figure it out way before it is revealed and then I'm like, oh, that was obvious, but this one stumped me until the last minute! But I also didn't really have a good suspect in mind because it was a very tricky situation!

I may have to keep my eye out for the next books in this series - I especially want to read Lenore's story since she is an introvert and a bookworm who works in a bookstore :)

I'm very glad that I got this as a free eARC and I will be keeping my eyes out for the next in the series!

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Review: A Kiss in the Dark by Gina Ciocca

A Kiss in the Dark by Gina Ciocca
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

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

Macy is starting off senior year in a way that she never imagined: down 3 friends, not on the cheerleading team, and on the sidelines taking photos. She had everything going for her junior year with her best friends Meredith, Ben and Jadie, and she was crushing hardcore on the transfer student Joel. Homecoming was coming up, and things were looking promising when Joel finally got around to asking her to go with him.

But senior year, Meredith and Ben are not talking to her anymore, and things are ridiculously weird with Joel, who broke her trust last year. The only solid thing in her life is Jadie, who has been by her side for the whole year.

When Macy gets kissed by a mysterious guy during a short blackout in the football field, she tries to figure out who it could be. Even the new guy, Noah, is a suspect since he was close to her on the field and he's been flirting with her since he transferred to the school.

Things are not as they seem, though, and there is one particular night junior year that Macy cannot remember entirely, which makes her believe that something very major shifted the balance of her life. But no one is willing to tell her exactly what happened, so she is trying to fit the pieces together.

She just hopes that her senior year doesn't end up like her junior year: in flames.

Okay, I know I gave it two stars and I feel really bad about it, but this book was just "okay" for me. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. The beginning was very rocky for me. So much that I almost stopped reading it. It was throwing me around and around and I couldn't distinguish which characters were who, and the going from junior year to senior year definitely was not helping. I know that this was to keep the reader guessing and to basically keep them as lost as Macy was, but it just made me mad that I couldn't figure out which character was which person in Macy's life.

Once I finally put the right characters into their proper places, I was a little better. But right off the bat, I called the major mystery. It was so obvious to me that I just wanted to shake Macy and yell at her all of the secrets that were being thrown in her face. Because it was like the sun was right in front of her, but she seemed to be in the only dark, raining cloud - that's how ignorant she was.

The second mystery was pretty good, even though I figured it out about a chapter before, but that one wasn't seen at chapter 3 like the first secret.

I did finish this book and I did enjoy the ending of it. Everything was wrapped up all nice and pretty, even though that's not how high school is at all, but I accepted it. It was just the repetition of everything that really got to me.

I think there will be tons of readers who will love this story and every agonizing teen angst that comes along, but for some reason it just wasn't for me this time. I am very grateful that I was giving the opportunity to read this as an eARC and I am definitely still going to be on the lookout for more books by Gina Ciocca!

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Review: Alpha's Queen (Havenwood Falls #6) by Lila Felix

Alpha's Queen by Lila Felix
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received this free eARC novel from Red Coat Publishing in exchange for my honest review.

Atlas is not happy that she is in an arranged mate with the black bear prince of Havenwood, but she is willing to sacrifice 90 days of her life to guarantee that her people of the cinnamon bears will have a better life. What Atlas wasn't expecting was to be so attracted to Harrison. From the moment that her blindfold was taken off, she was stunned and hooked.

Harrison so does not want to be the Alpha of his people. He has it all planned out that after the 90 days, him and his mate will part ways, and he can live a normal life while his cousin takes control of the clan. Then he sees Atlas and his world was tilted. Not only is she a looker, but she is also kind, strong, passionate, and really makes his bear happy.

The more Atlas and Harrison are around each other, the harder it is to avoid the attraction between one another. But forces are out there to try to separate them, because not everyone is happy with the things that are happening in the bear community. Atlas and Harrison are going to have to figure out what it is they are wanting, and they they are going to fight like hell to stop the forces against them before it's too late.

This was great! I love shifter stories, and I haven't read one about bear shifters, so I was really excited about this one! And I wasn't disappointed! Atlas is a badass and she is so brave to go through this terrifying event of an arranged mating for her people. And Harrison is so naive when it comes to his life, so I'm glad that Atlas was there to open his eyes and make him take a step in the right direction to fix the problems in his clan.

The attraction between Atlas and Harrison was just exploding off of the pages. I can't believe they lasted apart for as long as they did, because I would have caved in a lot faster than they did, haha!

This was a great novel and I am so glad that I was able to get a chance to read this! I'm going to have to look into this series, and this author's other novels. I think a lot of readers are really going to love this book!

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Review: Tarnished Crown by Erin Watt

Tarnished Crown by Erin Watt
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

You can read this story for free on Wattpad: https://www.wattpad.com/394937742-tar...

Gideon has always taken care of his family being that he is the oldest brother of 5 boys. When his mom and younger brother Easton were in trouble, Gideon was the first person to be there and fix it.

When he saw Savannah for the first time, he knew that he wanted to be with her. But because of the craziness that is his life and what events unfolded with his parents, he ended up hurting Savannah rather than being her hero and her one true love.

Now, three years later, he has a chance to fix things between them, but only if Savannah wants Gideon still.

Savannah was extremely hurt by the things that Gideon did three years ago, so she is going to start off fresh when she goes to college next year. Sure, Gideon will be there too, but she is not going to let him stop her from attending one of the best schools in the subject that she wants to study.

But Gideon is determined to win her over. Savannah has built a wall around her heart and she is so much tougher than what she was three years ago. Savannah can handle anything that he throws at her, but she wasn't expecting him to want to tell her the truth. That is a curve ball that she wants the answers to, which may just melt the wall around her heart enough to let him back in.

However, the nightmare that is Gideon's life is still following him, and he needs to figure out the right way to handle everything before he loses his last chance with Savannah.

I love the Royals series. Ever since the first book's synopsis was roaming around and I caught onto it, I realized how much I love the situations that all of the characters are going through. Because even though the books were focused on Ella and Reed, all of the characters were dealing with an issue in their life in some way. And in this short novel, we got to see Gideon come into a full circle in the end.

Being able to get the story firsthand from Gideon and Savannah was great. It really hit hard core how they started off and how they ended. We always heard about the terrible break up, but seeing the events unfold on why they broke up was just gut wrenching.

I'm very proud that Savannah stuck to her guns and really made Gideon work for a second chance, even though she really wasn't going to give him one. But once she realized the whole story, she realized that things were not as they seemed, and life was about to get rough now that she was included in the roller coaster ride of the Royal life.

I'm so glad that I got a chance to finally read this, and as always I'm looking forward to more novel by Erin Watt :)

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Review: Somewhere Within (Havenwood Falls HIGH #4) by Amy Hale

Somewhere Within by Amy Hale
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received this free eARC novel from Red Coat Publishing in exchange for my honest review.

Zoey has been moving from one place to another since she was 7 years old. Each place is in a big city for her dad's work and Zoey is always the outcast at school. With her pale skin and pitch black hair, she tends to get bullied and pushed around by the other kids.

When her family moves to Havenwood Falls, CO, things are turning out to be the same thing when it comes to bullies at school. But some things are pretty different. Now she has a great friend, Meredith, who sticks up for her when she's being pushed around. And Havenwood Falls is a very small town, not a big city. Oh, and the other change? Her grandfather that she never really knew about lives there and is a very big deal in this small town.

When Zoey finds out that she is a frost dragon and will be transforming soon when she turns 16 in a couple of weeks, she never saw that coming. Zoey is the weird, shy, awkward girl - not some badass frost dragon.

The more time Zoey spends in Havenwood, the more she realizes that she belongs there. Some people have issues with supernatural people, but she may be able to find her place in this new home. And she may have caught the eye of a certain popular human boy, but there are many forces in place that are trying to keep her away from him.

Zoey has a lot to learn about being a dragon, but she is sure going to have a fun time figuring it all out!

I have never read any of the Havenwood Falls novels - normal of High alike. So I was interested in what these were all about. I love dragon novels, so this seemed like a great place to start!

Overall, I enjoyed this book. I've read other dragon books that I love so much, but because this was a novella novel I feel like I wasn't able to connect as much with the characters as I would have liked to.

Also, Zoey was way too understanding and accepting of being a frost dragon. I don't care how cool you are, anyone who hears they are a dragon will freak out, but Zoey really didn't do that too much.

And the transformation scene with her aunt? That totally would not have gone as smoothly for her very first time changing into a huge DRAGON!! There would have been a lot more hiccups than she had, but she was able to fly within a few minutes after changing. Totally not realistic.

The romance was flat for me. I felt more excitement with Kai, even though I knew that it wasn't going to happen, but that would have made for an interesting novel, haha.

There were things that I didn't quite believe as much as I could have, which made me not love the book so much, but it was a great short story that kept me entertained until the last page. I will definitely be interested in more novels in this series to see what other authors have come up with and whether the series is something to fall in love with. I'm very grateful that I was able to experience this series that many readers love, and I know that they will love this next installment to their collections!

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Review: Brave by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Brave by Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received this free eARC novel from the author in exchange for my honest review.

Publication date: Dec. 11, 2017

After everything Ivy's been through, she's not sure if she will survive the mental and physical torture that she went through. Sure, she's alive, and she's not near the Prince anymore, but that doesn't mean that she is back to her normal self. Now she is guarded. From the strangers that she is staying with, to even Tink and Ren. Because as much as she would love to fall back into her normal routine, Ivy's life has changed forever, and she's not free and clear yet.

Not only that, but she is changing on the inside. She has cravings and darkness inside of her, and Ivy has no idea how to control it. It's driving her crazy.

And on top of everything else, she is surrounded by people who she doesn't trust, and also who don't trust her changes either. There is no way for Ivy to release this tension and frustration that she has rolling around inside of her, and she's going to crack.

The Prince is out there, and he's still looking for Ivy to be able to carry out his final plans. Ivy is going to have to figure out how to control herself, before it ends up costing her her life. And she's going to have to find a way to communicate about what is happening to her, before she ends up losing the two people in the world who mean the most to her.

Gah. This was a killer book. There was so much in here! At one point, I thought that everyone who has read this so far was lying and saying it was "done" with this book, because there was no way that things were going to get resolved when I only had 20% of the book left, and then I was going to be PO'ed!

But Armentrout gave a phenomenal book that was full of laughs, tears, heartbreak and an ending that will do. For now. :)

The title for book 2 was on par: Torn. Because Ivy and Ren were torn with their feelings throughout the novel. But it could have been the title for this book as well, because Ivy was torn between different cravings and urges and thoughts that she had with herself. If you thought that Ivy was having a mental breakdown during book 2 like I thought, you just wait until this novel because Ivy is going through a lot of emotions and she can't figure out a way to get past a lot of crap that she went through.

This book was about Ivy, completely. She had to find a way to push herself past her comfort zone and get back to the ambition of the Old Ivy. There were many great scenes with Ren and Tink, but this book is Ivy, from start to finish. And I loved that, because as much as I love the sexy or hilarious scenes, seeing Ivy be able to find herself again and to love herself was the best part. It shows the reader that you can go through anything, and still be able to find a way to be okay with yourself in the end.

There were a lot of twists and turns, a lot of surprises and OMG moments in this novel that will keep the reader on the roller coaster ride until the very last chapter. I think readers are going to be so happy with this last novel in the series, and we will be able to get a novella to see additional characters in fall 2018! Yay!! We will all be waiting on pins and needles for that!

I am so glad that I got a chance to read this book earlier, and I am so grateful that I get to read amazing books by Jennifer L. Armentrout because she has such amazing messages hidden in her books that can be completely relatable to us normal humans. ;)

I think everyone will love this book, and I cannot wait until the next JLA book comes out! (Because I am a greedy reader who takes, and takes, and takes :D But they are just so good!)

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Review: Torn by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Torn by Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

After Ivy was betrayed by one of her best friends and found out a very dark and dangerous secret about herself, she didn't know what to do. The information that the Fae Prince let loose has changed Ivy's entire world, and now she has no idea who she can trust now.

She wants to trust Ren, because she is love with him, but if he ever found out about this secret, he would be torn. Torn between his duty, and torn between his feelings for Ivy.

Ivy can't talk to the Order about this, either, because they haven't believe anything else she has been telling them, but with this secret they would take it very seriously. And she's not sure if they would try to protect her or kill her.

Then Ivy goes to Tink - who, by the way, has SO MANY secrets he's kept from Ivy - and finds out more about the Fae world than anyone else knows.

Soon, though, the Fae Prince catches up with Ivy, and by blackmailing her has captured her with no rescue in sight. Ivy is a strong woman who fights fae all day, every day, but after being mentally tortured by this group, she may just give up in the end.

I am so disappointed in myself... I should have read this book WHEN IT FIRST CAME OUT!!! But alas, I didn't because I couldn't handle another cliffhanger from the infamous JLA. And then to find out that this one DOESN'T have a cliffhanger?? I'm hanging myself right now. Sigh.

Oh well, it's done and overwith, and I have finally gotten to this book and loved every minute of it. Ivy is such a strong character, and to have watched her get hurt and bullied and tortured to the point where she is a shell of herself is just gutwrenching. But it was so real, because anyone in her situation would have gone through the same thing. In fact, they would have given up a lot earlier than Ivy did, so even though she was being broken over and over again, she was still being strong.

And it wasn't just the Fae breaking her, but also her own brain. She was torturing herself with thoughts that she didn't confirm - only things that she herself believed - and they were breaking her spirit even more. Ivy was too hard on herself and she should have been hoping for the best outcome, but too many things in her life have broken around her and she finally gave up, I think.

Tink is awesome. Ren is awesome. And Ivy is a badass who I would love to have a fraction of her strength in my life. These characters are so real and JLA makes you feel so much for them, that the reader feels like they are real. They have so many flaws and emotional rollercoasters that it is hard not to imagine yourself in their shoes and feeling their emotions.

I am so glad that I read this, and I'm going to dive right into the 3rd and final book *cries* to see how it all pans out. As much as I'm glad I have the third book, I'm getting so emotional that it is almost over!

So the moral of this review is: Don't wait to read JLA's books. Dive right in, knowing that you will have your heart wrenched out of your chest, because it will be an amazing adventure. :)

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Review: Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Wicked by Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I have the whole trilogy in my possession, so I decided to re-read this amazing book again! And I was so not disappointed. In fact, I'm just going to re-post this book review that I wrote the first time that I read this novel :)

This is my original review from December 2014:

OMGOMGOMGOMG. As I was reading this book, I texted all of my friends and went, JLA is a God! She really outdid herself in this novel. I mean, I'm a JLA fan til I die, but I really loved this book. Ivy tried oh so very hard to resist Ren, but it was not to be. Besides, why would anyone want to resist Ren?

I've read numerous novels about fae and this definitely followed the stereotype, but that's good in my book because I didn't have to figure out the new rules of this storyline. It was nice to see that there can be kick ass girl fae hunters as well as guys.

And seriously, if you have never read JLA you don't know that she is the reference queen. No, I'm not kidding. She references everything! And to make ya'll understand, I'm going to list everything she references. Be prepared for a long list...:

Daryl Dixon/Walking Dead
Merida/"Brave"
Twilight
Games of Thrones
Harry Potter/Dobby
Tink/Peter Pan
"Rule" by Jay Crownover
Braveheart
Ariel/The Little Mermaid
Belle/Beauty and the Beast
Theo James
Jensen Ackles/Supernatural
Resident Evil
Dr. Who

And I'm sure that there are a ton of other references, but these were either the obvious ones or the ones I know about.

So I totally called the ending. It was one scenario or another because I think I've finally figured out JLA's writing style, but I definitely was not surprised by what happened. But I'm so excited to see how everything pans out, I'm just upset I have to wait until Spring 2015!! It's too far away!

So glad I bought the kindle version so I could devour it and I cannot wait to get my physical copy to look at the cover and pet it and smell it and gaze adoringly at it... Yeah, I do that. Oh well. You would too if you had it.

Read it. You will not be disappointed!

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Review: Dear Fahrenheit 451: A Librarian's Love Letters and Break-Up Notes to the Books in Her Life

Dear Fahrenheit 451: A Librarian's Love Letters and Break-Up Notes to the Books in Her Life by Annie Spence
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I didn't think that I would like this book as much as I did, but after I read the Introduction - the INTRODUCTION - and was laughing my ass off, I knew that this was going to be a great book. Especially for librarians because we can relate to a lot of these stories and thoughts that Annie has working at a library.

And sure, there were some books that I didn't know, but the stories that Annie had in association to these books were hysterical.

But I think my all time favorite was Grey by E.L. James. I don't think I will ever forget the story she had with that book, because I am SO GLAD that I have never had that happen to me working in a public library so far, haha!

This was a great comic relief for me to be able to realize that working in a public library and having emotional ties with inanimate objects is perfectly normal. Or, I'm going to believe that anyway, but it was a great book and I'll be interested if she will write any more compilations in the near future :)

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Review: Bound to You by Alyssa Brandon

Bound to You by Alyssa Brandon
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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

Megan is desperate to find her mate. As an 18 year old werewolf, an alpha born from the Alpha of alphas, she is having a hard time finding the person she is supposed to spend the rest of her life with, but that makes sense since she is not a normal werewolf. When her father throws a party and invites all of the single eligble guy werewolves, Megan cannot wait to find the one for her.

Sadly for her, though, she does find him, though their first meeting is not how Megan has foreseen it. In fact, James is outright mad that he is her mate. That doesn't stop him from going through the initiation, but he isn't warm and caring toward Megan. And he treats Megan as if she's not even there, barely acknowledging her.

Megan is sure that James is going to open up to her soon, that she just needs to give him time. She decides to do projects around the castle that she now lives in to keep herself busy, but also to give James her space.

The more she is around her new pack, the more she realizes that warrior werewolves are a bit different than a normal werewolf pack and Megan is going to figure out a way to make it better. But the more James keeps pushing her away from their bond, the more Megan wonders if she can live a life where she is not welcomed.

When wraiths become an issue and risk her packs life, Megan has to decide if she wants to leave this life behind or if she wants to stay and fight for the new people in her life.

I am very glad that I got this eARC! I really enjoyed it! There were a few moments where Megan was being a baby and saying the same thing over and over and over again, but otherwise I flew through this book and loved reading about the different characters.

Megan has always been put aside in life for her other sisters, so this mate bond means so much more for her. It's a bummer she gets stuck with James who never wanted to have a mate, but in the end things work out.

James is a haunted man, and it's no wonder he is keeping his guard up. But he should realize that Megan is not going to hurt him intentionally because she is such a sweet thing.

And can I just say that the tension between James and Megan was steamy?! Jeez, louise, I was blushing haha!

Overall, I really liked this novel. And I'm hoping that there might be another book coming?!? Because I use more James and Megan in my life! I'll have to keep an eye out for more from this author and I definitely recommend this to readers :)

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Review: Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk

Blood and Sand by C.V. Wyk
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

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

Attia is a princess, but nobody knows that. Her people were slaughtered by the Romans - they want to rule the world and they had to take out the small villages that surrounded Rome. Attia's people were one of those small villages. Even though they are well known for their fighting ability, they were outnumbered 10 to 1, and everyone was massacred.

Attia is the only one that survived, and that is because they think she is a lowly girl, rather than the kings daughter, the next ruler of her people. And now she is being sold as a slave. Attia is waiting her time, waiting until she is healed enough, and then she is going to kill the person who bought her and branded her as if she was a sheep.

Thankfully, she got a good deal out of her enslavement - if you can call anything good when being a slave - because she was given to Xanthus, the Champion gladiator of Rome. Xanthus is not like most gladiators in the fact that he hates what he does. He has been trained since a child to fight and be the best gladiator when his own small village was raided and destroyed, just like Attia's home.

Xanthus is not going to force Attia to do anything to his bidding, because he himself hates being slave. He is not going to make someone else be his slave. So they have an understanding that they follow, and life is okay for the most part.

But both Xanthus and Attia are out for blood, and they are out to kill the ones who ruined their lives by killing their friends and family. With the political uprising happening in Rome and Pompeii, they may be able to get their wishes come true, but they can also have things go up in smoke when things don't go their way.

I am not a history geek, so this book was hard to follow when the author was talking about historic events that really happened and tried to figure out how the story was going to end. When I did like about this book was the fighting, the redemption, the understanding between Xanthus and Attia, and the characters development throughout the novel.

I love Attia. She is badass and she is the best fighter in this whole novel, and that includes all of the gladiators and soldiers together. She was trained in a way to make her invincible, and she can knock down a man 3 times her size without a hitch in her breathing. And she is so determined in her ways to make sure that she avenges her family that nothing is going to stop her.

Xanthus is amazing. He has learned to fight to survive, to the point that he is the best out there, but he grieves every time he has to kill someone because of the sport that everyone so loves to watch. He is a slave, but he is treated like a god some days. That can mess with a person, but Xanthus doesn't let it get to his head that he is the best - he just wants to be free.

This was a great novel that kept me entertained and entranced throughout the whole novel. I was always wanting to know what else is going to happen and was not disappointed with anything.

I'm not sure if this is a stand alone novel or not. I guess it could end where this book ended, but neither character got what they really wanted in the end, so it wasn't concluded as many books are. But it also wasn't a huge cliffhanger ending that you had to have the next book in your hand. It was just an ending. I would definitely be interested in reading the second book to see what happens with all of the characters and whether they get their revenge or not, so I'll be keeping an eye out for more books by C.V. Wyk in the future!

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Review: Once She Dreamed (Part 2) by Abbi Glines

Once She Dreamed by Abbi Glines
My rating: 1 of 5 stars

I'm not even going to do a overview of this book, because I'm just done with it.

Sammy Jo is beyond naive at this point. She goes off with a stranger that she has met a total of 10 times and expects her happy ever after? No. Then she starts to think that she is doing something wrong when Hale is upset with something she did? No. Sam is thinking that she is not doing her job right when in fact Hale is judging her person and trying to change her. And Sam is letting him! Sure, she is mad during the moment, but she doesn't try to stop him.

Then when Hale has finally been pushed too far, he starts to abuse her, and Sam has NO ONE to turn to because of the situation she has put herself in. She is helpless. Sam never thought to go out and learn self defense when she moved to the big city. No. Hale was going to protect her. Guess again.

And then the whole Ezra thing. Seriously? First she hates the guy and thinks he's a weirdo who she just wants to leave her alone. And then he's doing a creepy stalking thing where he is always around when Hale is gone, and basically tells Sam that he is going to follow her around so she might as well just let him join her during her shopping and food outings.

So then, of course, Sam realizes that she likes Ezra as more than a friend and wants to be with him instead of Hale, who is being weird. Magically Sam is now in-lust with another guy, but he is so mysterious and Sam wants to know all of his secrets.

And then the end? When Sam thinks she can change Ezra's mind because of their sexual attraction? That's just a load of crap and it is very degrading to Sam as a person. Don't try to change someone's mind with your body. He told you the score, he told you his situation, and you still basically bullied him to do what you want.

I don't feel pity or anything toward Sam, and I feel bad about it, but it's true. Sam deserved everything she got because she was a little child with her head in the stars hoping that all of her dreams would come true without lifting a finger. Sam is everything I hate in a woman because we are independent beings and we need to be able to take care of ourselves and make our own dreams come true, rather than rely on a big, strong, handsome man to come to the rescue.

I really wish I didn't hate this book so much, but I can't pretend I liked it. I love Abbi Glines books so much, so I'm very upset that I didn't love this one just as much. I will definitely continue reading her books, and I will be getting rid of my copies of this series so I don't have to stumble upon them again and remember the terrible time I had with this.

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Review: Once She Dreamed (Part 1) by Abbi Glines

Once She Dreamed by Abbi Glines
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Sammy Jo lives in a small, podunk town in Alabama, and she wants out. Sammy wants to discover the world and live in big cities. Being married to a farmer and popping out kids is not in her future. Even though she is getting a vibe from one of her best friends that he wants to do just that with her.

When a mysterious man, who is definitely not from her town comes into the sweet shop that she works, Sammy may have just found her ticket out. Because Hale is very much interested in Sammy when he keeps coming every so often just to buy cupcakes.

Then Sammy gets the chance of a lifetime: to be a housekeeper for Hale in Brooklyn! Now she can live her life, even though she will be leaving her family and friends. But Sammy is ready for this change, no matter what she has to sacrifice.

Wow... I don't think I've ever give an Abbi Glines novel 2 stars before... I just... I couldn't handle this book.

First, Sammy is dumb. I mean, there is naive dumb and then there is just plain dumb. And sadly Sammy was part of the second option. I get wanting to go off and live a different life than what you've been handed, but she is just too much for me.

And Sammy never even thought about going to school and getting scholarships/grants/loans. Believe me, you can get loans no matter what your family situation is. The only problem is to have to pay them back.

She doesn't even have a goal for a CAREER!!! She literally just wants a man to swoop her off her feet and take her on adventures. SAMMY HAS NO IDEA WHAT SHE IS DOING!!!

Now, don't think I'm a snob. Many don't know what they are doing and that is fine, but Sammy expects a free ride and she doesn't have a plan to get there. It's just really frustrating for a person like me who has had to work my butt off to get where I am and I am an independent woman who would never trust a stranger to move thousands of miles away and rely solely on that person - that stranger!

And second, the language and dialogue in this book was just terrible. I get maybe trying to distinguish that this is in the south, but it was just plain bad and made me cringe on multiple occasions.

Lastly, the repetition in this book was driving me insane. Sammy thought about one thing, then she said it outloud to her friends/family, and then she thought about it AGAIN!!!

I am going to read part 2 to see what happens because I also bought it, so I might as well, but I may have to delete these books from my kindle because I don't think I will re-read them again. It's sad, because Abbi Glines is one of my go-to authors that I instantly buy, but this was really a huge let-down for me.

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Review: Garnet's Story by Amy Ewing

Garnet's Story by Amy Ewing
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Reading Garnet's story really reminded me of how much he had changed throughout the series - probably the one character that changed the most to be honest. I didn't like him at the beginning of the series, but came to really enjoy him toward the end, so reading his story brought back all of the unlikable feelings.

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Review: The Wishing Well by Amy Ewing

The Wishing Well by Amy Ewing
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

This story/book was mentioned many times throughout the trilogy, so it was nice to finally read it! And I don't know what it is about older sisters, but they must be something else in this world. Though Violet wasn't anything like that, so I dunno.

I enjoyed this short story, and it definitely didn't take that long to read!

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Review: Sil's Story by Amy Ewing

Sil's Story by Amy Ewing
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

It was nice to see Sil's story! She is so gruff and hardcore and tough when we are reading Violet's story, that I never would have imagined she was a scared 16 year old girl. I would have thought she was like her older self the whole time!

And for her to not know what is going on? That would be very scary. Violet had a lot of people helping her through this process, but Sil was all alone and had to feel all of those new feelings without anyone to guide her.

Sil is a very strong character and I am glad that things ended up the way they did with her. She may have worked her butt off, but she deserved everything she got in the end and I'm really glad that I got a chance to read this short story!

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Review: The Black Key by Amy Ewing

The Black Key by Amy Ewing
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Violet has been recruiting other surrogates to overthrow the royal families of the Jewel, because living as a slave is not something that anyone wants to do anymore. They are human beings and they deserve to be treated as such. Especially since it was Violet's people who used to live on the island before the royal families killed them and took their land.

Now Violet is out for justice, and she is gathering forces with other people who do not want to be treated like furniture anymore.

But before they can carry out their plans, the Exector and the royals have changed tradition: they are having the Auction in April rather than in October like normal. This means that Violet has to get the word out to people faster and hope that they are the right people to talk to, rather than making a mistake because of the fast pace they are put under.

And then the Duchess does something so terrible that Violet risks all of her plans for: she takes her younger sister, Hazel, to be the new surrogate for her daughter. Now, Violet is returning to the palace of the Lake to make sure that her sister is alive and try to find a way to get her out, or to at least keep her safe until the Auction.

There are so many risks and dangerous things that are about to happen, and Violet is hoping that her newfound ability will work - otherwise the royals will win and destroy the "servant" population.

I am so glad that the book ended like this! This last book was all about action and determination and it was so fast-paced I finished the book in no time and loved every minute of it!

I did get annoyed with Violet (no surprise there) because of the way she was treated others. Sure, I said that I liked her being able to stick up for herself and making her own decisions, but I didn't like the way she was bossing everyone around like a royal does, and how she thought she knew what was best for Ash. Ash is is how person and he was making his own decisions before Violet got in the picture, so for Violet to tell him no on what he wanted to do was wrong. I'm glad he went behind her back and did what he needed to do for himself, and I'm glad that Violet had no say in the final matter.

I loved Raven still, and I loved Garnet still. The niece actually grew on me as well.

Also? The Duchess's death? So loved it. Along with Raven's revenge too.

I am really glad that I stuck with this series because this last book made it up for all of the ups and downs I had with the other two novels. While it wasn't my all-time favorite series, it is a series that I won't forget, and it certainty has made my perspective of life realize that my life is not that bad. It could be a helluva lot worse!

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