Review: Shadows of the Forest

Shadows of the Forest by Emma Michaels
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received my copy of this eBook in exchange for a fair and honest review.



What the hell did I just read???? This one was weird - Once I got to the end and then had all parts of the story, I could see what I was missing but this one was... Well, it was weird and felt very disjointed. That may have been the intention behind the author's writing style - it just felt like everything lost steam as the story started rolling along.

Kaede, Willow and Usagi - Great use of mythological ideals here. It was beautiful symbolism, however, it felt rushed. There was no real obstacle to getting Usagi back with her family in the land of the living. There was never a doubt that Lily would not do anything to save Cole. I think this was part of the problem.

The relationships were just too perfect - there wasn't enough conflict nor did the stakes raise very high until the very last moment when she had to convince them to get out of the forest. That's not to say that someone wouldn't enjoy the read, but you have to be looking for something uncomplicated and a little weird to really be able to appreciate this one.

I gave this three stars for the idea of a spirit world. I think this story really could have been something if it wasn't so condensed. I think more detail and raising the stakes would make it even harder to put down and make it even easier to love.

View all my reviews

Review: The Viscount of Maisons-Laffitte

The Viscount of Maisons-Laffitte by Jennie Goutet
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received my copy of the eBook in exchange for a fair and honest review.



I really like this one a lot! There was more going on here than just a romance - and it wasn't that it was a thriller, because it wasn't quite a thriller to me - it was more of a romance. There was just more plot to it than the usual thriller romance. Some of the most poignant moments occurred when the stakes were at their highest in the case of the drug ring/stolen paintings.

I really loved how these two came together. Charles and Chastity (though I hated her name, but that's neither here nor there) are first placed in each others' paths as Chastity is the English teacher at his son's school. She thinks that perhaps his son Louis could be doing drugs (he is, but that is merely a side plot) and tries to get him more involved in his son's life.

Charles has a hard time connecting with his son though, he doesn't know how to take interest into his life that isn't intrusive like he had felt his parents had been with his life. He also cannot disconnect his thoughts of his lost wife and the son who came into the world as she left it. There was so much I really loved about this, but the fact that he was not only someone who was considered an aristocrat but also someone who was gainfully employed, a neurosurgeon who helps others (children no less!) and regardless of his pain has so much love to give.

I love that Chastity really had to evaluate the father of her son Tommy's return to her life and had to decide whether she could ever go back to being with him when he was so clearly trying to make that happen. I have a hard time reading relationships like this because I recognize my own vulnerability in this. I have been in that situation before, where my child's father was trying to manipulate me into a relationship because of what he wanted not what was best for me or my child. I think that was part of my ability to be able to pickout who the bad guy was. Like Tommy, I was angry and hurt. I spend may days angry and hurt on behalf of my own child, that I was happy that Chastity found what she needed in Charles in the end. I think if Tommy had not been injured she may not have found that, and that would be a shame!

Again, I really liked this one. four stars only because the ending felt rushed. I would have loved to see some kind of an epilogue where we got to see Charles and Chastity happy and their newly melded family. Excellent!

View all my reviews

Review: Isabella: Pretty Woman

Isabella: Pretty Woman by Jamie Brook Thompson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received my copy of this eBook in exchange for a fair and honest review.



Ok, this wasn't a character driven plot, it wasn't a clean romance (but it didn't qualify for my hotttttt pile) and it wasn't really trying to be like Audrey Carlan's Calendar Girl series, but it was fun in its own way.

Isabella and Reef were probably the most complex characters of the book and even they were a little flat. Reef seems to have it, but he lacks love, respect and partnership that comes from your true love. Isabella is making things work by moonlighting as Madame X's 'Ice Queen' in an escort service. When he hires her for a weekend, they make a connection that neither one of them can deny and suddenly all thoughts are about the dream - the white picket fence, the children, dogs, etc.. You know, that dream that everyone seems to have, except Isabella's is filled with more than the stereotypical one girl and one boy.

I liked their relationship - I liked the evolution! It was a simple, fun read that made you care about the characters and the outcome even without being too complicated.

There were some great gems throughout the book, but I loved this one the most:

"Look, I just wanted to take you somewhere familiar so I could be comfortable. I swear I have no other intentions. It's just I'm a nervous damn wreck around you, and - "

"You don't seem nervous," she interrupts.

"Trust me this is an act I use on all my customers. I just wanted us to be somewhere familiar today and see where things could go."

"I'm a customer? Is that how you see it?" She bites at her bottom lip as though I've struck a nerve. "Because you're sort of confusing me."

"No, I don't see you like that. Damn. This is hard. I'm confusing the hell out of myself."

I loved that Jamie Brook Thompson allowed her hero to be vulnerable and awkward. This is something that many romance authors don't take the chance with their Alpha male. They can still be an Alpha with an awkward, vulnerable moment. Thank you for giving this nervous candour in Reef!

I really enjoyed this - It would have had five stars if I'd felt more depth to the characters. Four stars and two thumbs up!

View all my reviews

Review: The Day He Went Away

The Day He Went Away by Jennifer Millikin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received my copy of this eBook in exchange for a fair and honest review.



I feel like I have lost a part of my own soul here reading this tale! Kate and Ethan have been the inseparable peas in a pod since they were five years old. They shared everything, from a birthday to every significant event in their lives, and just shortly before Ethan is set to go on tour again with the military, they even share their hearts more deeply than they ever have before. But it's a dream that isn't meant to be. No matter that Ethan has loved her, more than just as the best friends that they have been for most of their life but deeply and passionately... It's a dream that come crashing down around them like his helicopter out on a recon mission.

Enter Nick... He was Ethan's best friend in the army. He's even wrangled a tour guide duty from Kate, but all of this is before Zane came pounding on her apartment door at two in the morning to tell her that Ethan was gone forever. Nick knows how much it hurts, knows something about how to handle it, and he knows that he promised his friend that he would take care for his best girl if he didn't make it home.

If you want a good cry with the slow burn of a man who helps a woman through her grief and helps her to recapture her own soul while falling in love... THIS is the book for you! You will run the emotional gamut!



Make sure you have your tissues at the ready!

Five stars and two sobbing thumbs up!

View all my reviews

Review: To Move the World

To Move the World by Regina Sirois
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received my copy of this eBook in exchange for a fair and honest review.



There are not enough words to describe just how much I loved this book! I am not normally a lover of historical romances. They have to be incredibly well written and they have to captivate me from the start, generally they have to make me fall in love with their heroine from the get go. I've read another in the Power of the Matchmaker series that was very well written but that I had a hard time getting in to because the characters didn't hook me right out of the gate. Regina Sirois did this. She had me rooting for Eve and the happiness that I desperately desired her to have from the first line of the story!

I felt like Eve Brannon, officially grown and a woman of the world. Truly, typed words simply exude sex appeal. My coveralls, however, exuded only the smell of sheep. I sat for a moment, staring at the piece of paper and wondering if the Eve Brannon on the page would ever be the same Eve Brannon typing the words. Well, obviously I can't say it right. Only that it felt like there were two of me, and both of them were thinking about woolen socks and blue eyes and a man at the threshold of my room.

Eve is such a real character! I feel like, if I closed the book and were by chance to peer in the mirror, I would see something rather like what she had seen writing her name on the brand new Smith Corona. I think the ability to identify with her (despite the differences between 1939 and 2016) was what made me love this so much.

I spent the entire book rooting for Jonathan, I never once really thought that she would end up with Alan, that was too easy. It wasn't really overt, but you could tell from the minute that she met Jonathon Doran that that was the man for her.

If you have a love for pre WWII romances, this one should captivate you! When you're done, go read The Truth About Fragile Things which I also adored, by this author, that will have you weeping and proud with the same breath!

Five stars and two enthusiastic thumbs up!

View all my reviews

Review: Ahsoka

Ahsoka by E.K. Johnston
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



Ahsoka Tano, my favourite Togrutan Padawan survived so much and lived for so long, long enough to make her mark on Rebel history!



Ahsoka was long overdue and much wanted in the Star Wars canon series of books. I couldn't have loved it more if I tried, though I may be biased with my great love of her from Star Wars: Clone Wars and Star Wars: Rebels. There was so much more to her story and so much more that needed to be told and E.K. Johnston did a wonderful job doing that!

"There's two kinds of family," Miara said after a moment. "There's the kind like me and Kaeden, where you get born in the right place to the right people and you're stuck with one another. If you're lucky, it turns out okay. The other kind of family is the kind you find."

I'm glad that Ahsoka found her family, finally, in the rebellion. I'm glad that she found Bail Organa and that she took her place in the fight! This book was action packed, giving a glimpse in to what Ahsoka's life was like post Clone Wars and pre Rebels. She learned what path she wanted to be on, something in the middle of the road not quite a Jedi and not quite a Rebel. She became legend!

She allowed herself a small smile at the idea that Imperial monotony was working to her advantage.

She was still the same Ahsoka, the same girl we'd come to know though time and war had changed her. She was alone, adrift, and yet she was still herself, or at least the way I had always imagined her. I think I was afraid that this telling of her life would be something that didn't feel right, or that didn't fit with the expectations I had based on how well I knew and loved the character. I was wrong - it was more than I could have ever dreamed!

The stories that called back to the Clone Wars, the search for her new crystals for her white lightsabers, it was something that was perfectly Ahsoka and fit perfectly with her. The crystals singing to her after a prophetic dream with Master Yoda one evening when she was searching for the right ways to save Kaeden, save her friends on Raada. The right way to protect others and help others who needed it.


(view spoiler)[

"What am I going to call you, if I can't call you Ahsoka?" he asked. "You'll need a code name at the least, so you can deal with other operatives."

They looked out the viewport as Alderaan grew bigger and bigger. It really was a beautiful planet, though Ahsoka would always miss the whispering grass on Raada. Alderaan was blue and green, and a good staging point for galactic uprising. The center, where the thread of all their hopes connected.

"Fulcrum," she said. "You can call me Fulcrum."

"Then welcome to the Rebellion."

(hide spoiler)]

I am so happy and so grateful that I was able to witness the birth of a rebellion legend through this wonderful story!

Five enthusiastic stars and wishes and dreams for more wonderful titles that show us what else Ahsoka Tano did!



View all my reviews

Review: All Is Bright

All Is Bright by Sarah Pekkanen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars



Does she get a happy ending???? I wish there was something more to Elise's story? Is there something more to Elise's story? Sarah Pekkanen please tell me you wrote a happy ending for her too!!!

I think I need her to have a happy ending more than I wanted Ilsa to have her happy ending with Grif. I think I need it because she reminds me so much of me, and I haven't found my own yet!

Heart wrenching and EXCELLENT. I want more!

View all my reviews

Review: Love, Accidentally

Love, Accidentally by Sarah Pekkanen
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This was ADORABLE!



I think there could have been so much more to this story, but the little snippet was perfect. Now I have to read All Is Bright because I want to know more about Elise!

Bookshout has been my home for quick little reads and it's actually had me discovering authors that I didn't know anything about! I would very much like to read more by Sarah Pekkanen now because I really like her use of description and her ability to create characters that hold on to your soul!

Excellent!

View all my reviews

Review: Darkness Reigns

Darkness Reigns by Jill Williamson
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I read this book thinking that I would humour it - I got it for free, Jill Williamson offering a free copy, like many indy authors do. A review wasn't expected, but I'm going to give one because I now want to read this whole series! I really enjoyed this story that can only get deeper as the story goes on.

Living in a Polytheist society can be tough, especially when that society also celebrates distinct class lines and actions that keep the poor poorer. The kings of the land are making sacrifices to the Gods, well one God in particular, Barthos, and that is not what everyone believes is right, especially not Wilek the young prince who can remember watching is father the king sacrifice his own son to said God and still with little result. Even though Wilek has convinced his father that the sacrifices should not be children and innocents, but those who are criminals and convicted of crimes, he still feels great guilt and suffering at the thought of these men that his father is sending to their death in The Gray.

Wilek bucks tradition on many levels. He has fallen in love with his concubine, Lebetta, but that love is not to be no matter how many times she tries to make it more that just the relationship they have. Wilek is promised to Lady Zeroah, and no marriage can be made between a concubine and a prince. He wants to be heir, he wants to be the one of the sons his father chooses to lead the realm, but he doesn't want to rock the boat so much that that will be hindered. He wants to change laws, change the way things are, but he doesn't feel powerful enough to do anything at the moment. I want to see him find that power.

By contrast, Mielle becomes the honour maiden to Lady Zeroah. She feels powerless to right the wrongs that she sees in the world. When she finally finds someone she believes to be good, a man that she could love with all her heart, she's faced with the gut wrenching knowledge that she can never have him due to the way the society is created. Trevn doesn't even realize until she tells him, screams it at him, but he feels the same about her and I can't wait to see what he will do to be able to make it possible for them to be together. He is said to change laws and this is the one that I will have my eyes on.

Lady Zeroah wants to be the only one for her future husband, to be certain that she is the only one that he loves and she does want him to love her. She wants him to turn from the polygamous ways of the old kings, to decline the harems and to only choose her as his queen. I want her to be able to do this - because she wants to make the kingdom a better place.

Then there is the cult of empowered magical women... Oh yeah, I know I should find it distressing that a group of powerful women are the "bad guys" here, but I don't think it's them I think it's one of them. Specifically Mreegan. I think Charlon would be the better leader, leading with compassion, but Magon needs Mreegan for something, to make something happen.

I have this feeling that we're looking at something intricate that is about to happen. I can't wait to read more now!

View all my reviews

Review: The Bronze Key

The Bronze Key by Holly Black
My rating: 5 of 5 stars



SWEET MOTHER OF GOD WHAT AN ENDING!



I did NOT see that one coming at all!!!!! I did, however, foresee who the Magisterium spy was although only when they did the thing (omitted due to spoilers) to hear what their witness had to say about the chandelier crash at the party.

EXCELLENT BOOK - leaving me waiting impatiently to see how this plays out in the end. I could expect nothing less from something from Holly Black & the delightful Cassandra Clare!

View all my reviews

Review: Theft of Swords

Theft of Swords by Michael J. Sullivan
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Why did it take me so long to get into this one? I bought the Audiobook from Audible during a huge 2 books one credit sale last year based on the reviews of numerous Goodreads members being so promising... AND THEY WERE NOT WRONG!!!!

I love these books - I'm so sorry I didn't write my review back in July when I finished, I just couldn't form the words to express how wonderful this series is! There isn't just one thing that I can put my finger on that says this, THIS is why Theft of Swords is so phenomenal. I grew up knowing that Fantasy was for me - it was the genre that I adored and I devoured The Lord of the Rings trilogy, fell in love with Dark Towers Boxed Set, and who hasn't delved in to A Game of Thrones? Riyria Revelations ranks right up there with them for me!

So, the beginning of the endless list of things I love about Riyria Revelations:

1) The Characters



Hadrian and Royce are PERFECTION! They're sarcastic, self deprecating, playfully antagonistic, but beyond that they are family. I could read stories about them daily for the rest of my life and be perfectly happy! A cynical thief and scrappy do-gooder at heart being the best mercenary team on the market? YES PLEASE! They fight together, and separately. They fight with each other and against enemies, but they are always there for each other as best friends should be.

Of course, they aren't alone in all of this and Michael J. Sullivan has constructed complex characters that are rich with history and that leave themselves in your imagination wanting to know more about what happens to them and where they come from. The characters are wonderful, and I have to tell you I have adored Myron since the moment he appeared in the story and Gwen... Well, let me sum that up for you in a review of later books how much I love Gwen. The characters really drive the story and I love that.

2) Oh What a WORLD!



One of the biggest pitfalls in Fantasy is not having your world fleshed out. You see those name mentioned above of books that I loved? They were stories that had whole worlds, languages, governments, systems of magic, etc, that remain rich and fertile that we have barely scratched the surface of understanding for. I think even their authors may sometimes feel that they have barely scratched the surface of the stories they could tell within their secondary worlds. This is how Theft of Swords felt to me. Races, religious factions, civil uprisings, there was so much here that I feel like there were stories that we haven't heard, stories that Royce and Hadrian hinted at during their banter between each other and with Alric and it's something that doesn't end.

I've never imagined what sort of kidnapping but not quite kidnapping a king would be like, especially if said king was rather noble and very inflated sense of his new title. It was the road trip story set in a magical (and less modern) world that really did it for me. There wasn't just one conspiracy occurring in the story, there were many and all of them supported by little magical elements, religious elements, or racial elements (dwarves and their powers over stone, elves and their near immortality, etc) that wouldn't have been possible if the world of Elan wasn't so solidly constructed.

3) The Intrigue...

You know how to reel a reader in with your words and deliver a hook right at the end just when we think everything is ending it cliffhangers into the next adventure! That's something that a hallmark of great story telling - to be able to hook your reader and be able to frame the next adventure of a series up enough to grip them and make them DEMAND to hear the what happens next. (Or it makes them scream "HOW DARE YOU?!" in all caps on twitter at you for making them wait for the next edition to be published!)



Slowly but surely, I'm going review all of these books... But just this one for now.

Thank you for an incredible series, and one that I will read over and over I am sure! And thank you to Tim Gerard Reynolds for the incredible acting throughout the series. I can't wait to continue adding on to my list!



View all my reviews

Review: Between Hope & the Highway

Between Hope & the Highway by Charissa Stastny
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

I received my copy of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review.

I'm giving this 2.5 stars, rounded up to 3 for here. Yes, there was a slow burn to this, but honestly Rawson was obnoxious throughout. Even when they'd made their peace and finally given in to their feelings, it just made me feel like Liz was settling for something she didn't deserve.



If you saw my status updates, there was a lot of back and forth between the two on the will they won't they scale. At one point I could have sworn they gave me whiplash from how fast they jumped back and forth in their opinions of each other! This story could have ended about (well the ebook said there was 837 pages so...) 400 pages earlier with the same outcome. It was just too much cat and mouse for my liking.

The writing is good, with a good message about God and love, but felt like there was just too much of it. If you enjoy Christian romance with a slow burn, and can handle a long cat and mouse game this one is for you. Apparently, it just wasn't one for me. Swearing throughout and one steamier scene at the end, so it doesn't hit the clean rating.

View all my reviews

Review: Finding Cinderella

Finding Cinderella by Colleen Hoover
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I don't think there are enough words to explain how much I loved this book. Cinderella, or Six, fell on top of Daniel in a storage closet on his spare fifth period and it turned into love. A baby came from that moment in the end, but love was the ultimate outcome. I think I could read a million books like this if there was that much love. I've discovered an author I want to see more of just simply from the honest and real way her characters are written.

EXCELLENT!

I haven't read any of Colleen Hoover's work before, but Finding Cinderella has made me a believer and I want to read more!



View all my reviews

Review: Death Thieves

Death Thieves by Julie Wright
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received my copy of this eBook in exchange for a fair and honest review.

"Well your army isn't all that effective or I'd already be there. Now that I'm rested and fed, I think I could take you." I smiled and flexed my arm for him.

"You and what army?" His lip twitched at the corner. I wondered how long it would take for me to make him laugh.

"I am my own army," I mimicked back at him. His lips quirked again, but no laugh. I'd grown to like his almost-smiles.

I really loved this one! Julie Wright did a wonderful job of mixing a romance into a dystopian universe with time travel, crazy Professor's wanting to rule the world and two teens who were doing their best to be themselves. Summer and Tag have a wonderful story, a boy from the wrong side of the tracks and a girl who was going to be part of the salvation of the Earth. It was sweet and I loved the adversity and obstacles that they came across after he saved her from her own death in 2010 and dragged her kicking and screaming into the 2100's.

Being stuck together, they learned so much about one another. They learned to count on each other and to learn to depend on one another like they hadn't with anyone before. I was sure from the beginning that Professor Raik was a problem and was vindicated in watching them come together, fall in love and defeat him.

Bonus points for the beautiful scene on the "worst day" of Summer's life that left me with so much hope.

A beautiful story about the power of love, the power of family and the beauty of trust in kindred spirits. 4 of 5 stars not for the beautiful writing but for the missed errors from editors. I found a few places where there were grammatical errors and typos were missed causing the wrong word but properly spelled to be included. I can't wait to read more by Julie Wright!

View all my reviews

Review: The Glass Mermaid

The Glass Mermaid by Poppy Lawless
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received my copy of this eBook for free in exchange for a fair and honest review.

WOW! I wasn't expecting this!



I wouldn't call this a retelling of a Fairy Tale - there are aspects of The Little Mermaid absolutely, but this one stands on its own. I LOVED Kate! She was so sure of her fate, that she was the last mermaid and that she was going to die alone. Her attraction to Cooper is something that has been growing over time, and though this is a novella, the progress didn't feel fast or rushed. He's been in town for a while and though they haven't spoken, they have had the chance to observe each other and get a feel for who they each are. That attraction is mutual, but not because of her magical siren ways.

Cooper, facing a death sentence of terminal cancer doesn't think going after Kate is a good idea, because he doesn't have the time left to truly love her the way he wants. When his health takes a turn for the worse, Kate has to make a choice. It seems like her life comes full circle and in a way, everything she had lost in her past brought her full circle to the happiness she deserved.

Beautifully written, from both POVs so that you get a feel for what's really going on inside their heads. I am definitely going to be picking up the others in the series now! This is a book in a series but it reads well as a standalone. Thank you Poppy Lawless for providing me this to read - it was fabulous and I can't wait to read more! They have been added to my list!

Four stars, only because I wished for a little more before that epilogue. It felt like there could have been something sweet and fluffy before that ending. Fabulous!

View all my reviews

Review: The Bees

The Bees by Laline Paull
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

What an amazing ride!!!!



This was a glorious tale, I really enjoyed it! I'd been looking since Mort e for another book that brought animals to a level of human consciousness. I would have enjoyed almost anything similar, but this one is probably the best recommendations that the Goodreads audience has given me!

This book follows the story of a lowly sanitation worker bee, Flora 717, and how her life is within the colony. She has an overwhelming love for the Queen, the Holy Mother, and there is almost a religious fury in her devotion but a moral tale that everyone sins is woven through it. No one but the Queen may breed, but Flora (who lay three eggs of her own) loved each one with a fervent abandon while she is cognizant of her sins against the hive and Holy Mother.

Flora teaches that no one is perfect and sometimes that imperfection can be a wonderful thing!

Five hearty stars and two enthusiastic thumbs up for this one! If you have any recommendations for stories similar, please let me know!

View all my reviews

Review: Redemption

Redemption by Jessica Therrien
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received my copy of this eBook in exchange for a fair and honest review.

You have to lose to win...

Yes. Yes, you do. You have to lose your heart, tears, sleep, precious hours stolen from work. You have to lose so much to win in the end with this GLORIOUS series.



Children of the Gods has been a roller coaster of a series! So many moments where my heart felt like it was going to explode from my chest and shatter in to a million itty bitty pieces! I think this book hit the ground running almost as fast as the second, and though it slowed somewhat, this world became the world of a dystopian aftermath - I think if it had been that from the beginning I couldn't take it! The fact that it became that way, it became a world that had to be rebuilt - this is the type of dystopian society that I could get behind (then I am VERY burned out on dystopian fiction!) and that was what Elyse, William, and their rag tag family are trying to do.

I could wax poetic about metaphors in the writing, because I can see so many that I'm sure weren't even implied. I think anyone reading this series will see so many parallels with things we see in our own world and I think there's a beautiful message here that everyone could learn from.

Five very well deserved stars and two enthusiastic thumbs up! Thank you Jessica Therrien for a wonderful series! I can't wait to see what you come up with next!

View all my reviews

Review: Delilah: A Ronnie Lake Cold Case

Delilah: A Ronnie Lake Cold Case by Niki Danforth
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received my copy of this eBook in exchange for a fair and honest review.

This was a fun read! If you've read Stunner, I think you're a little bit better prepared for the story (lots of allusions to things that happened on her "last case" that you don't get real clarification on) and maybe it explains more of the Ronnie Lake character than you get here (I didn't know any more than the blurb about her) but this was a fun read! It can stand alone, but it's better following the first book in the series.

Ronnie Lake reminds me of an older Veronica Mars. She's blonde, sassy and won't let a lead go like a dog with a bone. I like her!



Ronnie is much like a Veronica caricature to me - and I love Veronica Mars, so that's saying something. If she already had the police talk down, she'd be fabulous!

A short, fun read for anyone who likes lady sleuths.

View all my reviews

Review: Uprising

Uprising by Jessica Therrien
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

SWEET GOOGLY MOOGLY!!!!!!


I received my copy of this eBook in exchange for a fair and honest review.

Uprising hit the ground running and I don't think it ever stopped. Oh sure, there were some sweet and swoon worthy moments, but the stakes were even higher and they did. not. stop! Jessica Therrien has woven a tale that has me glued to the edge of my seat wondering just how this is going to play out! I can't wait to start Redemption but I'm dreading the end of this saga at the same time!!!

The ties to Greek mythology get deeper here, we finally get to understand the kind of sick and sadistic ideas that Christoph is willing to commit mass genocide for, and how far Elyse and her rag tag band of freedom fighters have to go to win the war. Although, I don't know if this is a war that can be won with any less than mass casualties.

The swoonworthy moment of the book - the impromptu wedding of William and Elyse! The heartbreaking moment of the book - the loss of his memories of it all! I have tripped back and forth between squealing joy to heart wrenching sobs throughout my reading!!!!

More, more I say I want more! This is excellently written - fast paced and adrenaline pumping in the right areas, down to soft and tender in others. I'm thrilled that I was accepted to read and review the series - this group is going to make it to my all time favourites, I'm sure!

Two enthusiastic thumbs up and five stars, if I could give more I would!!!! Excellent series!

View all my reviews

Review: Oppression

Oppression by Jessica Therrien
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I received my copy of this eBook in exchange for a fair and honest review.



I am a slut for Greek mythology!!!!! I know the myths, I read them ALL! I know about the gods, their powers, and the allure of all their tales. I know the sensationalized items like Hercules and Xena, and yes I liked them too. The premise of the gods being not only real, but not gods at all but beings with powers unlike our own but appearing human and aging so much slower than us... I LOVED IT!!!!!

Elyse and William are a love story that I can get behind, a destined to be relationship they are stronger together because they will be the parents of the next generation's Oracle. I have this marked as YA - it is and it isn't, it would qualify as a 'Mature' YA because the characters are adults by the end of the first book, but that's the feel it gave me.

I don't know why, the beginning was slow - scratch that, I do know, there was a lot of description at the beginning and flashbacks that really weren't entirely important to the overall plot and they dragged a little. But once William and the other Descendants were in the picture, things started to pick up. When the action starts, this is something that Jessica Therrien has done exceptionally well! I can feel the urgency and the fear that starts pressing down on them. I can feel how high the stakes are thanks to the expressive writing and description. EXCELLENT!!!!! I cannot wait to pick up Uprising now and see where this goes.



Four stars, but only because of the slow start. This gets two very enthusiastic thumbs up from me too! Read it, you won't be disappointed!

View all my reviews

Review: King of the Friend Zone

King of the Friend Zone by Sheralyn Pratt
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I received my copy of this eBook in exchange for a fair and honest review.

"Kiss is final ingredient," she insisted. "No kiss. No cookie."

"Well, that settles that then," Esme said brightly.

Next to her, Hunter sighed and stuck his wallet back in his pockets. She looked up at him in relief ready to give him the signal to run for it when his lips darted down and met with hers in a lightning fast peck of a kiss that was gone before she even knew it had landed. Still, it sparked as if she's been shocked with static electricity, leaving her a bit shaken.

"There!" Hunter announced, turning back to Miss Pearl. "Now let me try this famous cookie of yours."

Miss Pearl is back and at it again with another entry in the Power of the Matchmaker series, King of the Friend Zone, only this time as a woman selling magical cookies. Sound corny? No, not to me! This was a wonderful story about two friends who turn in to lovers and discover that their true love was right there the whole time.

Esme and Hunter have been friends since they were babes in diapers because of their mothers. In fact, there isn't a memory that doesn't feature Hunter in Esme's childhood, and neither for Hunter, aside from the ones that feature their other friend Luke. A transition in to a romantic relationship should have been something that was easy to come about, only one problem though...

The book opens on Esme's engagement to her boyfriend Jon Bauer, surprising Hunter and leaving him out in the cold. Hunter's always known that he loves Esme, much more than the way a brother from another mother should love their sister. Jon sees that, he even confronts Hunter about it and eventually demands that Esme cut off all contact with him. I never thought she could do it, but she did. I recognized things I've done before, cutting off friends for the sake of a relationship, and that never works out well! The realization that Hunter is so much a part of her life that she can't be without him... Well that's beautiful payoff indeed!

"Because the last two months have shown me a life without Hunter, and that really isn't an option for me," Esme confessed. "I may love him, yes, but part of me is worried that I actually need him to be who I want to be, and that kind of freaks me out."

"That you and Hunter have a synergetic relationship that helps both of you be better people?" Grace asked.

"Not when you put it that way, no," Esme said, finally digging down and daring herself to say the fear that had been spinning in her mind for weeks. "But... what if we don't work? What if we go there with each other and we bomb and I lose him?"

I loved Sheralyn Pratt's writing here. I haven't read any of her other books, but after reading this, I think I would love reading them too! I loved the little side bits about Grace and her husband which means that I will have to read The Kiss That Launched 1,000 Gifs because I want to know how they came to be!

This was a fantastic read and another fantastic entry in the Power of the Matchmaker series. Two very enthusiastic thumbs up and 5 stars!



View all my reviews

Review: Shadows on Snow

Shadows on Snow by Starla Huchton
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

When I was a child, my godmother told me stories before I fell asleep every night. She once said stories are more than the sum of their parts - they are whispers from ancient powers that dwell within the earth, travelling from ear to ear until they reach their intended destination. They are calls to action, meant to send the chosen on journeys of great importance. Truth may be lost through retellings, but when the person they are meant for hears the story, no matter how diluted, they will know this truth as certain as they know the air they breathe.

I found this book quite by accident, and I have to tell you that I am ABSOLUTELY overjoyed that I did!



I love fairy tales. I grew up on them, they fed my little creative soul and (probably to the detriment of them and several British television programs *I'm looking at YOU BBC*) have spoiled me for every potentially regular love affair. I think I will forever be looking for my Prince Charming, ever since first hearing Snow White and Cinderella, or maybe it would be better understood by any Doctor Who fans as I'm looking for my Rory Williams. This is a story WORTHY of the Ponds!



Have you ever seen a gender bent fairy tale that meets every criteria of a KICK ASS heroine and a kind, gentle, and genuinely good person for the hero? No, me neither, at least not until I found Shadows on Snow! The seven Princesses of Bern (I see what you did there Starla Huchton!) decided to be kick ass protectors and do something, ANYTHING, when they learned that the dastardly King Alder had wed Prince Leopold's mother and was trying to take over yet ANOTHER kingdom through the vile act of murder. Raelynn and her sisters decide that this is the time, they will fight back and not let another Queen fall victim to his treachery. Rae is an absolutely amazing Princess Charming. She is a kick ass female worthy of being in leagues with Amy Pond herself!!!!

"Know this. I killed two before putting arrows into a third that day. If you so much as speak ill of Prince Leopold, I'll have your tongues as trophies."

You bet sister, you are fucking AWESOME! In fact, every last one of the Princesses of Bern meet the fucking AWESOME criteria for me. I want to know if they turn up anywhere else in their own tales... Maybe they could have love after all too? Just a thought... I'd love to hear about when the girls were younger and what their lives were like in Bern before King Alder was around to torment them.



If you remember Snow White at all, *SPOILER ALERT*, you know that the Prince wakes Snow from the sleeping curse with True Love's kiss. I don't think any true love's kiss could be quite so dramatic as this one:

"Whatever power I have, let me give it that he might live."

My words drifted in the silence of the throne room. Slowly, I lowered my lips to his, pouring every hope, every desire, every plea within my heart into a single kiss. I would give it all - body, breath and soul - to see his smile one last time.

A gasp. An explosion of color. A vortex of power so strong that I clung to him for fear I might be ripped away from the one I'd sworn to protect. I refused to relinquish my hold. Nothing would take him from me. Nothing.

If you love fairy tales, if you love Snow White and you love KICK ASS women characters... Read this book. Read this book and then pick up the next volume in the Flipped Fairytales Series. You will not be disappointed if you do. Best money you will spend - by far.

Amazon.com / Amazon.ca - Just to make it easier for you to get!!!!


View all my reviews