REVIEW: Archangel's Viper (GH series, #10) By Nalini Singh

Buy The Book:

AMAZON / B & N / KOBO

Author's Page:

Goodreads / Blog / Twitter / Facebook

Genre:

Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal Romance

Summary on Goodreads:

Enter New York Times bestselling author Nalini Singh’s breathtakingly passionate Guild Hunter world with the story of a woman who isn’t a vampire or an angel…or human…

Once a broken girl known as Sorrow, Holly Chang now prowls the shadowy gray underground of the city for the angels. But it’s not her winged allies who make her a wanted woman—it’s the unknown power coursing through her veins. Brutalized by an insane archangel, she was left with the bloodlust of a vampire, the ability to mesmerize her prey, and a poisonous bite.

Now, someone has put a bounty on her head…

Venom is one of the Seven, Archangel Raphael’s private guard, and he’s as infuriating as he is seductive. A centuries-old vampire, his fangs dispense a poison deadlier than Holly’s. But even if Venom can protect Holly from those hunting her, he might not be able to save himself—because the strange, violent power inside Holly is awakening…

No one is safe.

REVIEW

“They let you drive now?" he said in a wondering tone of voice calibrated to get under her skin. "I leave for a couple of years and miss kitty's first steps. Did anyone take photos for the baby album I sent you?"

"It's full of pretty pictures." Holly bared her teeth at him in a caricature of a smile. "Honor is a little concerned about how I keep drawing you with your head cut off," she said in a deliberately thoughtful tone, "but an artist must follow her instincts.”

If you ever read one of my reviews of this series you are more than aware that this is one of my favorite uf/pnr series out there and that since book #5 I've become an obssessed fan-girl a hardcore fan of the potential next couple Aodhan & Illium. I might even say that I started that theory or was one of the first fans that saw the potential, so of course that after every next book I'm religiously praying that Nalini Singh will finally succumb to my dirty mind and that the next installment will be theirs, but the 10th book is actually Venom's book, so tough luck poor Purple, maybe next time. :'( xD

But, despite slight disappointment I was still fairly excited for this book, because Venom, a centuries-old vampire with his seductive viper's eyes has definitely been one of the most intriguing GH characters. I got even more excited after I read that he'll find his partner in Holly, Uram's mysterious creation. Unforutunately, when the book was finally published I was still in the phase "I've lost my reading mojo", so it took me some time to give it a chance, but when I did - I could not stop.

Without spoiling anything, my impression of this is installment is that the story was good, uber action-packed and suspenseful, but I'll have to agree with other fans who also described it as a bit lacking, especially in the romance department. The parts I've enjoyed the most were their witty and snarky dialogues that never failed to entertain me. That's why 3.5/ 5 stars. In the meantime, my never-ending prayer for Aodhan's & Illium's book as in mm couple book continues...

RATING: 3.5 / 5 stars

xoxo,

Purple

ARC REVIEW: Tell Me Something True (Truth In Lies, #3) By Katherine Owen

Genre: Contemporary Romance
Buy The Book:B&N AMAZON KOBO 
Connect With The Author:

Goodreads / Blog / Twitter

Synopsis On GR:

Tell Me Something True is the third book in the Truth In Lies series and cannot be read as a standalone. Please read This Much Is True and The Truth About Air & Water, books 1 and 2 in the Truth In Lies Series, first.
 

TELL ME SOMETHING TRUE
The star ballerina finally marries the major league baseball player and the truth about Linc and Tally—his being her air and she being his water—becomes clear after the couple finally realize that their love is all that matters.

But that was the first day. The day they said, “I do." The day the demons seemed to leave them alone, at least, for a little while.
Nevertheless, there were other days, when all the lies of the past and their ways of coping with their fears caught up to them.

And, this is that story.

"If you believe in fairy tales and happy endings,
and you want to stop right here and bask in the wonderment and joy of it all, please do.
If you want to know the rest of our story,
you need to take a deep breath
and tell yourself that everything will be okay,
that everything works out,
and life happens,
and in the end
love is all you need.
Someone has to tell you these things,
just like someone had to tell me.
All I know is that the truth never dies,
and it does set you free, whether you want it to or not.
And in the end? All you have is love.
Love is all there is."
~ Talia Landon Presley

Author’s note: Tell Me Something True CANNOT be read as a standalone novel. There are two books in the Truth In Lies Series before this one. Those books are: This Much Is True, Book 1 - Truth In Lies and The Truth About Air & Water, Book 2 - Truth In Lies.

READ those two novels first and then read this one.

Truth In Lies Series Order:
This Much Is True
The Truth About Air & Water
Tell Me Something True
 

BUY the Truth In Lies Series that many readers say they just can't put down once they start reading! Enjoy!

Something for you! Are you a fan of Katherine Owen’s books or would you like to be? To hear first about Owen’s latest new releases, sign up for her newsletter and get a free ebook of Seeing Julia for doing so. Keep up to date on Owen's novel release dates and other news, sign up for her newsletter http://eepurl.com/benyOD or stop by her websites: www.katherineowen.net or www.katherineowenauthor.com

REVIEW 

 

That feeling when you are writing a review about one of your favorite new adult series...and it's a negative one. *sad sigh* That's why I'll keep it short. First of all I want to say that I pretty much devoured the first two books of Truth In Lies series, but unfortunately I did not like this one at all.

The reasons for my rating:
 

1. the never ending melodrama and overload of angst
2. cheesy content
3. disappointing behavior of the MCs

The only thing I liked about this book is the writing style, but as far as I've seen and read the reviews of other fans of the series I'm definitely in the minority, so as always- the only way to form your own opinion is to read the books yourself.

Check out my reviews of other books in the Truth In Lies series and the interview with the author:

•  Review Of Book 1
• Review Of Book 2  
• Interview 

xoxo, 

Purple

ARC Review: CLOCKWORK HEART (Clockwork Love, #1) by Heidi Cullinan

Summary:

Love, adventure and a steaming good time.
 
Clockwork Love, Book 1

As the French army leader’s bastard son, Cornelius Stevens enjoys a great deal of latitude. But when he saves an enemy soldier using clockwork parts, he’s well aware he risks hanging for treason. That doesn’t worry him half as much, however, as the realization he’s falling for his patient.

Johann Berger never expected to survive his regiment’s suicide attack on Calais, much less wake up with mechanical parts. To avoid discovery, he’s forced to hide in plain sight as Cornelius’s lover—a role Johann finds himself taking to surprisingly well.

When a threat is made on Cornelius’s life, Johann learns the secret of the device implanted in his chest—a mythical weapon both warring countries would kill to obtain. Caught up in a political frenzy, in league with pirates, dodging rogue spies, mobsters and princesses with deadly parasols, Cornelius and Johann have no time to contemplate how they ended up in this mess. All they know is, the only way out is together—or not at all.


Warning: Contains tinkers, excessive clockwork appendages, and a cloud-sweeping tour of Europe. A little absinthe, a little theft, a little exhibitionism. Men who love men, women who love women, and some who aren’t particular.
 

 

Buy links:
Samhain Publishing | Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | All Romance eBooks | iBooks

Connect with the author:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads 

Review:

Rating: 2.75 stars. Maybe. Probably.

This didn't go as well as I had hoped. Since I have enjoyed Heidi Cullinan's books so far, and this was my first full-length steampunk novel, I'm inclined to think the reason I didn't enjoy reading Clockwork Heart as much as I had expected is because it was steampunk. I guess I should just accept it's not a genre for me, and move on. Unfortunately.

Ignoring the fact how much this alternate history where Europe was a war zone depressed me, I could say the beginning of the book was to my liking. Getting to know the main characters Conny and Johann, and reading about them getting to know each other after Conny saved Johann's life was interesting, cute even, given the language barrier. I would've been quite happy if they had spent more time alone in that room, learning about each other, especially after they'd realized they had a language in common, but it was not to be...

In order to save Johann's life, Conny had put a clockwork heart in him, a device everyone was after, as it turned out, therefore Johann had to escape, and Conny with him, plus Conny's best friend wouldn't let him go alone, so he joined them. They all joined the interesting crew of a pirate airship, and set off on their journey to here, there, everywhere. This was the part where my interest in the story started to dwindle. They traveled a lot, met a lot of people, there was always something happening concerning the clockwork technology, they found themselves in quite a few dangerous situations as they were being hunted by Conny's father determined to get his hands on the clockwork heart and use it to become a ruler of Europe. And yet, even with all that going on, I simply couldn't bring myself to care. After a while, even the word clockwork started to get on my nerves, so clearly steampunk isn't my thing.

The main reason as to why I preferred the first part of the book over the rest was because at the beginning it was just Conny and Johann and the start of their romance, but later on, with everything going on, they didn't have that much page time together. The romance that was my main reason for reading this book took the back seat. Then, when I got my wish to read about them together, it was in a very, very kinky setting, and they were not alone. Sadly, this kinky-books fan has to admit she did not enjoy reading these scenes. Conny was the main kinky character here, and exhibitionism and sharing partners is what he was into. Not my favorite, either of those, but the main reason this aspect of their relationship didn't work for me was because I wasn't under the impression Johann, who unlike Conny had no experience whatsoever, was fully okay with it. Of course, I could be wrong on this; it's just how I saw it.

After everything I've said, it would be logical I'd conclude this wasn't a series for me, and to call it quits. However, Val, Conny's best friend, who at the beginning was a character who went on my nerves, and whom I wanted to kick out of the book, over time became one I would like to read more about. So, if the day comes when Val gets his own Clockwork Love story, I'd be happy to read it.

Overall, though there were enjoyable parts, I'd say this book was a poor choice for me. If you are a fan of steampunk, very kinky protagonists, and Heidi Cullinan (in that order), then Clockwork Heart could very well be the right choice for you.


***ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***

Until next time, happy reading!

XOXO,

 

Pre-Release ARC REVIEW: Marked In Flesh (The Others, #4) By Anne Bishop

Expected Publication: March 8th 2016 by Penguin/Roc

Genre: Urban Fantasy/ Paranormal

Buy The Book: AMAZON / B & N / BD / KOBO

Connect With The Author: Goodreads / Website / Facebook 

Synopsis On GR:  

 For centuries, the Others and humans have lived side by side in uneasy peace. But when humankind oversteps its bounds, the Others will have to decide how much humanity they’re willing to tolerate—both within themselves and within their community...

Since the Others allied themselves with the cassandra sangue, the fragile yet powerful human blood prophets who were being exploited by their own kind, the delicate dynamic between humans and Others changed. Some, like Simon Wolfgard, wolf shifter and leader of the Lakeside Courtyard, and blood prophet Meg Corbyn, see the new, closer companionship as beneficial—both personally and practically.

But not everyone is convinced. A group of radical humans is seeking to usurp land through a series of violent attacks on the Others. What they don’t realize is that there are older and more dangerous forces than shifters and vampires protecting the land that belongs to the Others—and those forces are willing to do whatever is necessary to protect what is theirs…

*** Spoiler-free REVIEW ***

I hate when this happens, but- it is how it is and I can not lie. The Others by A. Bishop has recently become one of my favorite urban fantasy series and after *that* ending I was highly anticipating the 4th installment- Marked In Flesh.  

It was one of my most expected reads of 2016 and there was no one happier and more grateful than me when I got my ARC request approved, but then I started reading and the strangest thing happened- after first 20 % I got pretty bored. And what's most astonishing that feeling continued for awhile. Why is that? Well, without spoiling anything all I'm going to say is that the biggest reasons for that is the excruciating slow pacing of the story, too many povs and plot which could have been summed in 50 pages insted of 200 in my opinion. To be honest, I had to push myself at times to continue reading and that was definitely a first when it comes to me and this series.

In the book's defense, the 2nd half of the story was pretty amazing- dark, gripping, suspenseful and fun. It reminded me again why this is one of my favorite uf series. The person who entertained me the most this time was our one and only Vlad. "The talk" he and Simon had towards the end of the book made me laugh so hard. And the ending? 3 words- I loved it!

All in all- this was my least favorite installment of the series because of the 1st half of the book, while the 2nd half made me wish the book had never ended, so I'll settle for 3 stars this time.

RATING: 3/5 stars

xoxo,

Purple

YA Thrillers Month: Delicate Monsters by Stephanie Kuehn

Buy links:

Amazon / Barnes & Noble

Author links:

Website / Twitter

Add on Goodreads

SUMMARY

From the Morris-Award winning author of Charm & Strange, comes a twisted and haunting tale about three teens uncovering dark secrets and even darker truths about themselves.

When nearly killing a classmate gets seventeen-year-old Sadie Su kicked out of her third boarding school in four years, she returns to her family’s California vineyard estate. Here, she’s meant to stay out of trouble. Here, she’s meant to do a lot of things. But it’s hard. She’s bored. And when Sadie’s bored, the only thing she likes is trouble.

Emerson Tate’s a poor boy living in a rich town, with his widowed mother and strange, haunted little brother. All he wants his senior year is to play basketball and make something happen with the girl of his dreams. That’s why Emerson’s not happy Sadie’s back. An old childhood friend, she knows his worst secrets. The things he longs to forget. The things she won’t ever let him.

Haunted is a good word for fifteen-year-old Miles Tate. Miles can see the future, after all. And he knows his vision of tragic violence at his school will come true, because his visions always do. That’s what he tells the new girl in town. The one who listens to him. The one who recognizes the darkness in his past. 

But can Miles stop the violence? Or has the future already been written? Maybe tragedy is his destiny. Maybe it’s all of theirs.

My rating:

REVIEW

The things that we love tell us what we are. – St. Thomas Aquinas

This book is weird as fuck. There’s no other way of putting it. Psychological thriller at its finest. Honestly, I’m not even sure what is this that I’d read, how to categorize it. It’s not for everyone, that’s for sure. Is it for teens? Honestly, I don’t know. Just because characters are teens, does not make a book YA. Yes, sure things are not that graphically described, but sometimes that vagueness makes it even more eerie. 

But there are some people who find comfort in discomfort. In knocking people out of their hamster wheels and setting them free onto the four-lane highway of reality. Look at Sartre. Look at Kierkegaard. Remember what he said? ‘The crowd is untruth.’ Kierkegaard knew. And people like that, like us, we’re the ones the hamsters should fear. Because other people’s fear, it kind of gets us off. 

The title says Delicate Monsters, but trust me, there’s nothing delicate about this book. Characters are the exact opposite of delicate. They’re flawed, disturbed, and utterly fascinating. We have Sadie, who was expelled from boarding school because she tried to kill her classmate. You can see right away, we’re working with crazy here. Then there’s Emerson, who seems pretty normal at first, but boy is he gonna prove you wrong. And finally, we have Miles, Emerson’s younger brother, who always seems to be getting sick. Makes you wonder, what’s wrong with him?! Well, by the end you find out, and it ain’t pretty. 

There was only so much ruin the mind could rationalize. There was only so much badness that could be suppressed for so long. His guilt, on its own, was utterly meaningless - just a showy type of magic that changed nothing because changing nothing was the endgame all along. 

The novel is incredibly well-written; it’s really short, but the story moves slowly, and everything sort of creeps up on you. When I started reading, things seemed normal, and I thought well, this is okay, nothing that disturbing thus far. But, really soon, characters begin to show their true colors. And whether or not you enjoy their ‘colors’ remains the biggest question. 

Sometimes to end things, you had to go back to the beginning. 

xoxo,

Beatrix

ARC REVIEW: Jefferson Blythe, Esquire By Josh Lanyon

Genre: MM Romance/ Contemporary

Buy The Book: AMAZON B & N  KOBO

Connect With The Author:  

Goodreads / Blog / Twitter

Synopsis On GR: 

In this fast, fun and dead-sexy male/male new-adult caper from multi-award-winning author Josh Lanyon, twentysomething Jefferson Blythe gets lost, gets found, falls in love and comes out...all in the span of one wild summer

After his first relationship goes disastrously awry, Jeff Blythe uses his savings to tour Europe—the old-fashioned way. Armed with his grandfather's1960 copy of Esquire's Europe in Style, Jeff sets off looking for adventure but finds much, much more than he bargained for...

In London, dodging questions from shady criminals about a mysterious package he most certainly does not have is simple. Losing the gunmen who are convinced he's someone else is not. And when George, an old friend, offers him help—and a place to stay, and perhaps something more—things become complicated.

Is George really who he seems? And is Jeff finally ready to act on his attraction?

From Paris to Rome and back again, Jeff and George fall for each other, hard, while quite literally running for their lives. But trusting George at his word may leave Jeff vulnerable—in more ways than one.

REVIEW

The short version of my thoughts about this book would be: mixed feelings. This type of reads are probably the hardest to review for me, because I can't say neither I liked it nor I hated it and to be honest I'm really lacking any inspiraton right now and two of my most expected reads of 2016 are waiting for me on my shelf, so I'll keep it short.

I read and enjoyed Lanyon's Dangerous Ground Series last year which was for the most part just like this one- a suspenseful, action-packed, advetourous and humorous mystery/ crime story with a little romance, which was more of a background story. The protagonist Jefferson Blythe, a 22 year old American sets off on a short journey around Europe in order to escape the drama back home and give himself some time to finally figure out what he wants from life- to continue being this person others expect him to be or to finally let go of his fears and be his true self, but the journey turnes out to be more than he bargained for. A crazy stalker girl and her gang, a dangerous mob boss on his tail, the constant life or deaths situations and an old friend who brings back all these long forgotten, supressed feelings- this is definitely not the the journey he paid for. This is the type of a journey where he could loose more than his heart.

The focus of the story was the mystery which was at the same time the part that annoyed me and made me yawn the most. No offense, the whole story behind the mystery (and the poorly done villains) seemed from time to time quite bizarre and unrealistic, not to mention the anticlimatic ending. At some point I really stopped caring or trying to solve it and that is never a good thing. On the other hand I've enjoyed the romance and the characters for the most part, even though they did have some immature drama queen moments. The parts I've enjoyed the most are the detailed description of all the places Jefferson visited in London and Paris. It made me want to buy a ticket, but then I remembered my financial situation and delayed my travelling plans, lol. Btw. The abrupt, unfullfilling ending left me thinking: What? That's it??? The book is definitely one epilogue short.

All in all, I can't say this wasn't a well-written story like always when it comes to Lanyon's work, but as a whole, I must admit I liked her Dangerous Ground series much more.

RATING: 3 /5 stars

xoxo,

Purple

ARC Review: BUTTERFLY DREAMS by A. Meredith Walters

Summary:

In a powerful romance hailed as “heartbreaking, real, and breathtakingly beautiful” by Stacey Lynn, New York Times bestselling author A. Meredith Walters tells the story of a troubled young woman and the unforgettable guy who teaches her to live—and love—to the fullest.
 
She’s waiting to die. . . . Corin Thompson is paralyzed by her obsession with mortality. Having lost both of her parents, she is terrified by the idea that she too will die young, and she loses control at any sign of illness. But when Corin connects with someone who has survived a very real brush with death, she begins to see the world in a whole new way.

He’s learning to live. . . . As Corin struggles under the weight of her neuroses, Beckett Kingsley is attempting to rebuild a life that feels all too temporary. With the ever-present threat of heart failure never far from his mind, he just wants to make the most of whatever time he has left. And that means pursuing the girl he never expected to find.

Together, Corin and Beckett finally learn to let go of their fears and take solace in everyday pleasures. Who knows what the future holds? After all, nothing lasts forever—the only promise they have is right now.

 

Buy links:
 Amazon | Barnes & Noble | Kobo | iBooks | All Romance eBooks 

Connect with the author:
Website | Facebook | Twitter | Goodreads 

Review:

Rating: 3 stars.

Butterfly Dreams is only my second book by A. Meredith Walters, but from what I've read in those novels, and what I've gathered about some of her other works, I've come to the conclusion she's an author who doesn't shy away from difficult subjects, and making her characters go through a lot of suffering over the course of a few hundred pages. Unfortunately for Corin and Beckett, the stars of Butterfly Dreams, they weren't spared the heartache, and not the emotional kind.


Beckett had suffered a heart attack, and diagnosed with genetic heart defect. Corin's heart problems, on the other hand, were in her head. Ever since losing both of her parents when she was a teenager, she'd become obsessed with her own mortality. She was convinced there was something seriously wrong with her even if all her test results kept coming back normal. Her latest source of anxiety was her heart. So certain she was she had some kind of heart disease, she joined a support group for people with heart issues. That was how she and Beckett met. 


I have to admit, their story sounds more appealing to me in theory. What I actually read about them, well, I wasn't overly impressed. I did like Beckett from the start, but I wasn't so lucky with Corin. That girl, she would not be winning Miss Congeniality any time soon, that's for sure, but I don't think it was just her prickly personality that made me unable to care for her as I did for Beckett. I'm no stranger to anxiety, so Corin's troubles should've made her more relatable, but I failed to connect with her. Instead of understanding her actions, I was more annoyed by them than anything. To be honest, I didn't get Beckett's fascination with her, or why he was so determined to become a part of her life. Come to think of it, their transition from friends to boyfriend-girlfriend didn't feel as a natural progression of their relationship. It just sort of happened. I knew it was coming, but I didn't care for the way it happened. 


What I did like was what came next. Beckett, ever the optimist trying to make the most of every day, was an excellent influence on the always focused on death Corin. This was the point where I finally grew to like her, and every step she made be it in being a better girlfriend, friend, sister, or learning to enjoy life, living in the now, letting go of the past, or making progress in controlling her anxiety, it was great. Most of all, I liked the epilogue. The story got sad towards the end, and that epilogue was everything. I loved how it was done. 


Butterfly Dreams will be joining the books I read and wished they were written differently to give me more feels, but even so my heartstrings were tugged at, and that was all I wanted. I'm not an expert on A. Meredith Walters' books, therefore I'm not sure whether this would be the right first book by her to read or not, but to those who are already her fans, this could be another book to their liking.  



***ARC provided by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.***
 

 
P.S. Both Purple and I were given the opportunity to read an ARC of Butterfly Dreams, so if you'd like a second opinion on it from someone who liked it less than I did, click here.


 
Until next time, happy reading!

XOXO,

 

PRE-RELEASE ARC REVIEW: Unmasking Zach (Ellery College #2) by Edie Danford

Expected publication: December 1st 2015
 by Samhain Publishing, Ltd. 

Genre: MM Contemporary Romance

Buy The Book:
AMAZON / KOBO /B & N

Connect With The Author:

GR

Synopsis On GR:

The missing piece of the puzzle might be the one piece he can’t keep.

Before heading for grad school, Zach O’Malley needs downtime from his superhero-worthy schedule. Painting houses seems like the perfect summer gig for some mindless mellowing out.

There’s just one wrinkle in Zach’s Zen plan. Coworker Kirby Kurtcehajic, a hippie kid who starts hitting on him with happy and hardcore voracity three seconds after they meet. And has the ability to make his mind and body leap with a single smile.

Kirby would be the first to call himself a cockeyed optimist, but even he admits he’s had a tough year. After busting his knee, losing his cat, and accidentally demolishing his Vermont house, seducing way-too-serious Zach is the ideal distraction.

But when another spectacular mishap lands Kirby in crisis, Zach puts on his superhero cape to come to the rescue. And as boundaries dissolve, Kirby realizes he may be in too deep. Because the end of summer is coming, when Zach will be moving on, and Kirby will have to continue his quest for independence—alone.
 

Warning: Contains an unlikely friendship, an unwanted attraction, undeniable emotions, and enough outdoor sexy times to make a full moon blush.

RATING: 2.5 / 5 stars
 

*** REVIEW ***

I've read this book 3 -4 weeks ago, but unfortunately real life has prevented me to write  a proper review until now. To tell you the truth, I barely even remember the plot now, which can only give you insight into what kind of impression it left on me as a reader and that is: forgettable.

The story did start out good at first, I even thought that it might be a winner, but later on the more the plot developed the more I was losing interest in it. That's why I'll keep it short. The biggest reasons for my rating are:

a) The plot's main focus was the romance which became boring for me, especially in the 2nd half of the story.

b) The characters were portrayed quite one-dimensional and there were a lot of questions about them left to our imagintion.

c) There were some soap opera moments which made me wish I were a dnf reader. Even one of the characters in the book compares one situation to soap opera, so there you have it.

All in all, the book ended up rather disappointing and therefore I give it 2.5/5 stars.

***

Dear friends, bloggers, followers and authors,

Sorry for being AWOL for about a month now. I've taken a second job to teaching (which barely paid the bills), so I have almost none free time nowadays which I usually spend sleeping or hanging out with friends and family since I barely see them during the week. That's why I'm forced to take a break from the blogger life until I find a job with reasonable working hours, lol. I will try to keep in touch from time to time. Miss you,

 

xoxo,

Purple