Cover Reveal: Obsession by Jennifer L. Armentrout

*jig jig* I’m so freakin’ excited.

Anyhoo, on with what you came for.

~~~~~

Title: Obsession

Series: An Arum Novel #1

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher: Entangled Covet (NA)

Release Date: 5/31/2013

Um … is it just me, or does this cover make Arum’s look HOT!?

Dang!

And here’s the blurb:

He’s arrogant, domineering, and… To. Die. For.

Hunter is a ruthless killer. And the Department of Defense has him firmly in their grasp, which usually doesn’t chafe too badly because he gets to kill bad guys. Most of the time he enjoys his job. That is, until he’s saddled with something he’s never had to do before: protect a human from his mortal enemy.

Serena Cross didn’t believe her best friend when she claimed to have seen the son of a powerful senator turn into something…unnatural. Who would? But then she witnesses her friend’s murder at the hands of what can only be an alien, thrusting her into a world that will kill to protect their secret.

Hunter stirs Serena’s temper and her lust despite their differences. Soon he’s doing the unthinkable—breaking the rules he’s lived by, going against the government to keep Serena safe. But are the aliens and the government the biggest threats to Serena’s life…or is it Hunter?

~~~~~

Is it just me, or does this blurb make Arum’s sound hot, too?

Double diggity dang!

So, what does everyone think of this one? A New Adult spin-off from JLA’s Young Adult Lux series. Everything we’ve come to learn about this author’s created world with the potential for even more heat than Daemon & Katy give us? Dude! Sign me up!

You can add the title to your Goodreads by clicking on the coverart image.

~~~~~

# 1 NEW YORK TIMES and USA TODAY Bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout lives in Martinsburg, West Virginia. All the rumors you’ve heard about her state aren’t true. When she’s not hard at work writing. she spends her time reading, working out, watching really bad zombie movies, pretending to write, and hanging out with her husband and her Jack Russell, Loki.

Her dreams of becoming an author started in algebra class, where she spent most of her time writing short stories….which explains her dismal grades in math. Jennifer writes young adult paranormal, science fiction, fantasy, and contemporary romance. She is published with Spencer Hill Press, Entangled Teen and Brazen, Disney/Hyperion and Harlequin Teen.

She also writes adult and New Adult romance under the name J. Lynn. She is published by Entangled Brazen and HarperCollins.

Review: Wait For You by J. Lynn (Jennifer L. Armentrout)

Title: Wait For You

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publication date: February 26th 2013

Source: I own a copy

From Goodreads: 

Traveling thousands of miles from home to enter college is the only way nineteen-year-old Avery Morgansten can escape what happened at the Halloween party five years ago—an event that forever changed her life. All she needs to do is make it to her classes on time, make sure the bracelet on her left wrist stays in place, not draw any attention to herself, and maybe—please God—make a few friends, because surely that would be a nice change of pace. The one thing she didn’t need and never planned on was capturing the attention of the one guy who could shatter the precarious future she’s building for herself.

Some things are worth experiencing…

Cameron Hamilton is six feet and three inches of swoon-worthy hotness, complete with a pair of striking blue eyes and a remarkable ability to make her want things she believed were irrevocably stolen from her. She knows she needs to stay away from him, but Cam is freaking everywhere, with his charm, his witty banter, and that damn dimple that’s just so… so lickable. Getting involved with him is dangerous, but when ignoring the simmering tension that sparks whenever they are around each other becomes impossible, he brings out a side of her she never knew existed.

Some things should never be kept quiet…

But when Avery starts receiving threatening emails and phone calls forcing her to face a past she wants silenced, she has no other choice but to acknowledge that someone is refusing to allow her to let go of that night when everything changed. When the devastating truth comes out, will she resurface this time with one less scar? And can Cam be there to help her or will he be dragged down with her?

And some things are worth fighting for…

My Review

Wait For You is the kind of story that takes about 10 seconds flat for you to become absorbed.
And man, was I grateful. Because I had a reading hole that needed filling and nothing short of muchero coolioness would have done.

In this contemporary NA, we have one Avery Posh-Bird, with a horrid past that she’s all too keen to leave behind.

We also have one Cameron Hot-Spanky-Pants, who wants to nudge through the shell Ms Posh-Bird’s deposited herself in.

From the get-go, these two have great chemistry, great camaraderie, and differing personalities that, when placed together, become something pretty awesome. I loved watching their time together. Loved watching the development of their relationship—even though it was a relationship way before either of them realised it—and loved the character development in here too. Loved Cam’s perseverance and the subtleness of it, and the way he needled his way into her heart.

I also appreciated that he wasn’t Mr Perfect. And I don’t just mean that he had what he considered to be a dark secret of his own. I mean in the sense that he struggled to handle certain parts of their relationship. Whilst I wanted to smack him upside the head for appearing to turn away when she oh-so needed him not to, I get that it wouldn’t have been so true to life for a dude of that age to take absolutely everything in his stride and know how to react to it. So, on top of loving all their interactions, I loved the fact that this was kept ‘real’.

Plus there were the side character. The pals of each of the two main players. They were as full bodied and great to spend time with as Cam & Avery, so big kudos for that—though, I’d expect nothing less from this author.

However, there were a couple of things that drove me nuts about this book.

The first has to do with Cam … *cringes and ducks as shoes fly in my direction* Yes, he’s pretty awesome. Lord knows, he says so himself enough times. Just as he tells—often—about his hotness, like we can’t figure that out ourselves when his dark hair falls just so, and he peers up from extremely lush dark lashes with incredibly striking blue eyes, or by the tautness of his abs, and the hotness of his flat stomach, and the rigidness of his—okay, that’s enough of that. Because, for me the guy had a major flaw. Yup, his use and overuse and even more uses of the endearment ‘sweetheart’ made my eye twitch like it had spasm-control issues. Sorry. Truly. But I just couldn’t get on board with a guy that age constantly using that word—not unless he’s a slimeball. Dunno—maybe it’s the Brit V US deal going on.

And the second thing I had issue with? Well, it has absolutely nothing to do with JLA’s writing ability, because her talent at telling a tale is what has me coming back time after time. It was the editing. There were so many errors—grammatical mostly, and some typos—in this book that it became distracting. Errors like you for your, or on for one, and words blatantly absent from sentences … if there were a handful, I could’ve ignored them, but the book was pretty rife.

Those issues aside, though, there’s no denying this is a great read. It was ‘hotter’ than I expected. But majorly enjoyable.

Have you read this title? What’d you think?

Early Review: Apollyon by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Apollyon

Series: Covenant #4

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher: Spencer Hill Press

Publication date: April 9th 2013

Source: Received an ARC for review from SHP.

From Goodreads: 

Fate isn’t something to mess with… and now, neither is Alex.

Alex has always feared two things: losing herself in the Awakening and being placed on the Elixir. But love has always been stronger than Fate, and Aiden St. Delphi is willing to make war on the gods—and Alex herself—to bring her back.

The gods have killed thousands and could destroy entire cities in their quest to stop Seth from taking Alex’s power and becoming the all-powerful God Killer. But breaking Alex’s connection to Seth isn’t the only problem. There are a few pesky little loopholes in the whole “an Apollyon can’t be killed” theory, and the only person who might know how to stop the destruction has been dead for centuries.

Finding their way past the barriers that guard the Underworld, searching for one soul among countless millions, and then somehow returning will be hard enough. Alex might be able to keep Seth from becoming the God Killer… or she might become the God Killer herself.

My Review

Now, there’s every chance the following review will be full of random ramblings due to the fact I have merely minutes ago finished reading Apollyon before sitting down to write. However, I shall do my best to stay focused and make at least a little sense.

First up, here are my feelings on certain aspects of the book.

Aiden. *Le sigh* ‘Be still my beating heart.’ Gush. Mush. Kissy-kissy. To be honest, I don’t normally lean toward Mr Perfect. And make no mistake, Aiden St Delphi is certainly that. He’s strong. He’s loving. He’s protective. He’s (to quote Alex) a ninja. He’s (did I mention?) loving. But I am totally and utterly Team Aiden and have been since Deity.

Seth. Initial thought: Seth is nothing short of a silly w****r! Hopefully though, if one looks deeper, as I have somehow managed to do throughout most of the series, and just as Alex is obviously able to, you have surely got to see the truly messed up and lonely guy within the f’d up exterior. He believes himself strong. ‘Well, I see your weaknesses, Seth baby.’ Because he’s nothing short of 100% vulnerable without even realising it. And I ‘feel’ for the guy, even though I probably shouldn’t. Just as I still hope for redemption for the guy, even though I probably shouldn’t.

Alex. I enjoyed Alex’s character development in this a lot. And whilst my head is arguing with itself a little because it believes her loosing Seth’s hold on her came a little too easily & too soon with not enough after-glitches, it was also relieved when I realised I wouldn’t have to spend half the book with the frustrating & deluded Alex that was stuck in the cage. And by the end of the book? Yeah, she’s bad-a$$. She believes herself a failure for what happened. I’m hoping she’ll eventually recognise her heroics for what they truly are—seeing as she really did ‘take one (or twenty) for the team’ (and not in the sexual sense of the term).

The god behind it all. I’m not going to name him and this is as much reference as I’m spilling to avoid as many spoilers as possible. But, let’s just say: I had my suspicions from pretty early on. It might have been subtle but the foreshadowing was there and I’d tied all the dangling threads together to create the bigger tapestry, so the reveal didn’t come as that much of a surprise. Just as I already knew who the visitor was pre-glimpse, and what he would turn out to be.

So, why the 4* rating? Normally, I wouldn’t consider a 4* worthy of questioning, but as I raved and raved about Deity, for Apollyon, it is. And I think Deity is wholly to blame for the 4*. Because, whilst most of my reads and how I view them are rated in comparison to other books out there, for some reason, I can’t help but compare JLA’s books to others in her own series. I did the same when I reviewed Opal (Lux #3), and I know I’m doing it again but can’t seem to help myself. Because as far as pacing and excitement goes, Deity leaves Apollyon choking on its literal dust. I get not all books in a series can hold the exact same level of action/intensity/pacing/whatnot, but Apollyon didn’t tear me through it like Deity did. Plus, the writing wasn’t as clean/crisp/tight as it has been in previous books in the series (BUT [disclaimer for the author/publisher]: this WAS an ARC, and so not a finished copy). But the comparisons aside, there’s absolutely no denying Apollyon was a great read, and a great addition to the story of this series. Not to mention, the pacing which hadn’t been particular speedy throughout suddenly went epic at about the 85% mark, and the excitement ratcheted up, and my a$$ was being hauled toward the finish line without warning. But then, whilst I felt the book ended in the ‘right place’, and it couldn’t exactly have been wrapped up tight because the story is far from over, I do love the cliffhangers JLA so often tosses at her read7ers and I kinda missed that. That being said, I’m still 100% totally and undoubtedly looking forward to Sentinel with a major case of the eager beavers.

Have you read this title? What’d you think?

Showcase Sunday #28

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicky @ Books, Biscuits & Tea. The aim of this event is to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week. For more information about how this feature works and how to join in, click here.

Happy Sunday, folks.

BOUGHT:

FREE!

I’ve noticed that Abbi Glines seems to have quite a following for her books, and so I now have The Vincent Boys and this one to check out why.

What can I say? I t had to be done. Though I’m being reeeeaaal restrained and holding off on this one until I’ve cleared a few of my review reads.

BARGAIN! Cost only a couple £ for this on Kindle. Now I can see what everyone else has been raving about. Finally.

GIFTED/WON:

KINDLE FIRE HD!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

This was a gift from my AWESOME friend, Katherine Skye.

You guys have NO idea what this gift means to me. My own Kindle 3G broke right before Christmas, and I’ve been flailing around, needing a new one but with lack of funds due to the seasonal costs followed by my son’s 16th birthday, and I truly sniffled like crazy when I found out this lovely lady had bought me one as a gift.

Another gift from Katherine. I haven’t read this one, so I’m seriously looking forward to it. And dude, is the cover, like, mega strokeable. It’s gorgeous.

FOR REVIEW:

Seen this one about a lot and also seen it highly praised by other authors, so I’m very excited to have been granted a copy.

Another one I’m excited about. I really enjoyed The Immortal Rules, so looking forward to the second book.

Both of those received via NetGalley.

Received for review from publishers for the blog tour.

Received via the Spencer Hill Press UK Share Group.

Do I really need to say how excited I am for this one? Or does the fact it only arrived yesterday and I’m almost done reading it speak for itself?

Yeah, that’s what I thought.

Anyway that’s me. A freakin’ awesome week, even if I do say so myself. 

What’s in your Showcase Sunday?

Cover Reveal: Wait For You by J Lynn (Eeep!)

I’m veeeeeeeeerrrrrrryyyy excited to be taking part in the cover reveal for J. Lynn’s (aka: Jennifer L. Armentrout) Wait For You.

Let’s take a look at what it’s all about:

What do early readers have to say about WAIT FOR YOU?

“J. Lynn creates a wonderful cast of characters that will make you laugh, swoon, and cry. Cam stole my heart.” – Cora Carmack, NYTimes and USA TODAY Bestselling Author of LOSING IT

“For the love of all that is Cameron without a shirt on! Wait for You will have you laughing out loud, fanning yourself and anxiously waiting to know what will happen next.” – Molly McAdams, NYTimes and USA TODAY Bestselling Author of FROM ASHES and TAKING CHANCES

“I don’t think I have ever read a NA Contemporary novel with as much depth as this one. It really moved me and by the end I was just speechless over how inspirational and uplifting it was as well as being sexy and cute and funny and emotional.” - K Books

 “Wait For You is uniquely different from anything else J. Lynn’s written but it might possibly be her best work yet.” – Jenuine Cupcakes

 “For all of you in love with Aiden and Daemon, PREPARE YOURSELVES! Your heart will have to expand a little more for Cam.” Total Bookaholic

 “For the love of all things CAM, this book deserves more than 5 stars.” – Mundie Moms

“I cannot even begin to explain how much I adored this perfectly crafted contemporary.” – Shortie Says

Excited? Ready to see the cover for WAIT FOR YOU?

Below:

And here’s the blurb:

Some things are worth waiting for…

Traveling thousands of miles from home to enter college is the only way nineteen-year-old Avery Morgansten can escape what happened at the Halloween party five years ago—an event that forever changed her life. All she needs to do is make it to her classes on time, make sure the bracelet on her left wrist stays in place, not draw any attention to herself, and maybe—please God—make a few friends, because surely that would be a nice change of pace. The one thing she didn’t need and never planned on was capturing the attention of the one guy who could shatter the precarious future she’s building for herself.

Some things are worth experiencing…

Cameron Hamilton is six feet and three inches of swoon-worthy hotness, complete with a pair of striking blue eyes and a remarkable ability to make her want things she believed were irrevocably stolen from her. She knows she needs to stay away from him, but Cam is freaking everywhere, with his charm, his witty banter, and that damn dimple that’s just so… solickable. Getting involved with him is dangerous, but when ignoring the simmering tension that sparks whenever they are around each other becomes impossible, he brings out a side of her she never knew existed.

Some things should never be kept quiet…

But when Avery starts receiving threatening emails and phone calls forcing her to face a past she wants silenced, she’s has no other choice but to acknowledge that someone is refusing to allow her to let go of that night when everything changed. When the devastating truth comes out, will she resurface this time with one less scar? And can Cam be there to help her or will he be dragged down with her?

And some things are worth fighting for…

~~~~~~

Yippee!

I’m excited. Can you tell I’m excited?

Aaaaaaaaannnnnnnnnd:

WAIT FOR YOU is available now!

O_O

O_O O_O

You can grab it here:

Amazon

Barnes and Noble

J. Lynn, also known as Jennifer L. Armentrout, is the USA TODAY Bestselling author of the adult romance Gamble Brothers’ series, the young adult Lux Series and award winning Covenant Series. She pretty much writes everything—contemporary, paranormal, and fantasy. All of her books have one thing in common no matter the name or genre: kissing… and stuff. When she’s not busy writing, which is never, she’s usually hanging out with dog Loki, watching reruns of The Walking Dead, or procrastinating on the Internet. You can find out more about Jennifer by visiting the following websites:

Twitter | Facebook | Website

Win Book of Choice in the Follower Love Giveaway Hop!

First up, huge thanks to I am a Reader, Not a Writer for organising such great hops, and to The Reader’s Antidote for co-hosting.

Okay, so what do I have for you lovelies on my stop?

Well, I uhmed and arhed over what to offer, and then finally settled on Book of Choice.

Yep.

BUT … because I like to influence folk in their reading choices, I decided to go through my book list and, with immense precision, hand-picked a selection of books for the winner to choose from. Some of these are books I’ve read that Rocked my World!, and some are books I haven’t yet read but seriously want to.

So, without further ado, here’s the list:

All cover images are linked to Goodreads if you need to check the title out. If you haven’t read the first in a series (in the cases of: Onyx & Deity), I’m happy to provide that book instead so long as it is stated in your entry.

The winner will get to choose ONE title from the list. Prize will be ordered from The Book Depository, so please check TBD delivers to your country prior to entering. Cover may differ to that shown from country to country (or edition to edition).

So, now that’s out of the way, what do you guys have to do for a chance to win?

Simples.

This is, after all, a Follower Hop, so obviously, I’m going to ask you to follow in some way.

Up yonder in the sidebar, if you head up a little, there’s an option to follow this blog by email. Or, there’s an option to follow by Networked Blogs if any of you happen to be on Facebook.

So, simply choose your poison, then head over to the Rafflecopter Form, where there will be more ways to play.

(Alternative LINK for those not on Facebook).

Good luck!

Showcase Sunday #21

Showcase Sunday is a weekly meme hosted by Vicky @ Books, Biscuits & Tea. The aim of this event is to showcase our newest books or book related swag and to see what everyone else received for review, borrowed from libraries, bought in bookshops and downloaded onto eReaders this week. For more information about how this feature works and how to join in, click here.

Seems ages since I was here last, but I got a few paperbacks over Christmas, so I figured I’d pop in and share them with you. I’m relieved for them, as my Kindle broke right before Christmas, which means aaaaaaaallllll those 100′s of books on there? Yeah, can’t get to them. But I’ll still showcase the ones I received for review right before it bust, in the hope I’ll still be able to get to them when I replace it.

BOUGHT:

This was mega cheap, a couple £ or something, so nabbed it to try.

Already have this one on my Kindle, but wanted the hard copy. So glad I bought it. Quite possibly the shiniest, prettiest, cutest thing ever.

Another paperback I just had to have. Though I did buy it on my Kindle, too, so I wouldn’t have to wait for it to arrive before I read. :p

GIFTED/WON:

Won this during the UK appreciation month run by Bookaholics Book Club and Book Passion For Life. I did win a prize from each blog–the other being the Numbers trilogy, but I’m still waiting on my other prize to arrive.

Only had this one as my WoW a few weeks back. And now I only it! Thanks to my good friend Katherine sending it to me for Christmas.

Another Christmas gift off Katherine. Just need to buy The Summoning and I can head into these. Been wanting to check them out for ages.

And I had an ARC copy of this forwarded to me of this by my good writer friend, L.S. Murphy.

I’ll include this one in gifts, because Katherine (again–she spoils me) tried to gift me this for my Kindle but Amazon wouldn’t allow it, thanks to different country regs, but I managed to nab a copy of my own. This is what I was reading when my Kindle broke. Currently stuck at around 60% :\

FOR REVIEW:

Got this one via NG, and managed to read it before my Kindle broke. Enjoyed it a lot. (Review HERE)

This is one of the review copies I didn’t manage to get to.

And this is the other one *le sigh*.

Oh, well.

Anyway that’s me. 

What’s in your Showcase Sunday this week?

My Eager Beaver List for 2013!

First up, I would like to wish my blogging friends, blog readers, and all the great authors out there who keep us entertained, a Happy & Healthy 2013!

Okay, on with my post.

I toyed a little with different ideas for my New Year’s Day post, but in the end I figured, as I ended 2012 with my favourite reads of the year, what better way to begin 2013 than by shouting about the upcoming titles I’m eager to get my hands on.

Here’s my list (in no particular order):

Apollyon (Covenant #4) by Jennifer L. Armentrout.

Obviously.

For obvious reasons.

~~~~~~~

The Elite (The Selection #2) by Kiera Cass.

Loved The Selection, and I’m so excited to find out where the story takes us next. It’s been a pretty impatient wait for me so far.

~~~~~~~

Spirit (Elemental #3) by Brigid Kemmerer.

LOVE the Merrick brothers. And Ms K writes with such ease, her words just flow across my palate like silky cream pudding with a good dose of hunk.

~~~~~~~

Soul Avenged (Sons of Wrath #1) by Keri Lake.

This one promises dark desires and a kick-a$$ heroine, and Lycans! I’m loving lycans.

~~~~~~~

Walking Disaster (Beautiful #2) by Jamie McGuire.

Travis. Need I say anything more?

~~~~~~~

Dare You To (Pushing the Limits #2) by Katie McGarry

I seriously fell head over heels for Noah in Pushing the Limits, and I adore Ms McGarry’s writing style and ability to weave a tale of broken teens finding a better way of life. This is way up on my must read pile.

~~~~~~~

Lover at Last (BDB #11) by J.R.Ward

I believe pretty much every BDB fan out there is waiting on this one. Goodness knows, we’ve been craving some resolution for these two characters for long enough.

~~~~~~~

And then I’d also better mention the couple titles scheduled for 2013 but whose titles &/or covers are yet to be revealed.

Like Darkest Day, The 19th Year Trilogy #3, by Emi Gayle.

Divergent #3 by Veronica Roth.

Throne of Glass #2 by Sarah J. Maas.

And Sunrise, Ashfall #3 by Mike Mullin.

So, what titles are you looking forward to in 2013?

Bookaroo-Ju’s Top Picks of 2012!

Well, 2012 is coming to a rapid closure, and it’s hard to believe I’ve been book blogging for over 10 months already. What else I find amazing is how my reading material has altered over this past year. Like a switch has been flipped, I’ve gone from reading primarily adult titles to as much YA/NA as I can get my hands on. Maybe it’s because I’m getting older now, and I’m trying to relive my youth. *snort*

Anyhoo, I figured, what better way to wrap up my first year in book blogging than by shouting out about my top ten titles read in 2012.

Sounds simple, right?

Um … well, according to Goodreads, I got through 120 books in 2012.

Now does it sound simple?

But fear not. I managed it somehow. Here goes.

In in the order I read them, coz it was toooo hard to organise all ten into a tidy line, here are my top picks.

Iiiiiiiiiiin 10:

She should have run. Now, she’ll have to fight. Eighteen year old Birdie may be homeless, but she’s surviving, that is until a mysterious guy throws money in the air like a crazy game show host and she grabs some with the idea she’ll be able to buy dinner that night. In that singular moment, unassuming Birdie becomes the girl in everyone’s viewfinder. Thugs want to kill her. Money-guy wants to recruit her. The very hot, very rich and very out of her league Grey Mathews wants to save her. Birdie, though, wants nothing to do with any of them until she realizes fate didn’t bring them all together. Her heritage did. Now, with only twenty-one days left, she’s got to decide whether to follow in the footsteps of those before her or risk her life for people she’s only just met.

Debut author Julie Reece has created a great UF/PNR for YA readers, filled with Norse mythology, action, and romance to boot. RECOMMEND!

 

My Review.

~~~~~

Iiiiiiiiiiiiin 9:

In Beatrice Prior’s dystopian Chicago, society is divided into five factions, each dedicated to the cultivation of a particular virtue–Candor (the honest), Abnegation (the selfless), Dauntless (the brave), Amity (the peaceful), and Erudite (the intelligent). On an appointed day of every year, all sixteen-year-olds must select the faction to which they will devote the rest of their lives. For Beatrice, the decision is between staying with her family and being who she really is–she can’t have both. So she makes a choice that surprises everyone, including herself.

During the highly competitive initiation that follows, Beatrice renames herself Tris and struggles to determine who her friends really are–and where, exactly, a romance with a sometimes fascinating, sometimes infuriating boy fits into the life she’s chosen. But Tris also has a secret, one she’s kept hidden from everyone because she’s been warned it can mean death. And as she discovers a growing conflict that threatens to unravel her seemingly perfect society, she also learns that her secret might help her save those she loves . . . or it might destroy her.

Debut author Veronica Roth bursts onto the literary scene with the first book in the Divergent series–dystopian thrillers filled with electrifying decisions, heartbreaking betrayals, stunning consequences, and unexpected romance.

LOVED! Fell in Love with Beatrice. Fell in love with Tris. RECOMMEND! 

 

My Review.

~~~~~

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin 8:

What eighteen year old Mac Thorne doesn’t know will probably kill her. In exactly eight months, five days, three hours and thirteen minutes, Mac has to choose what she’ll be for the rest of her life. She has no choice but to pick. As a Changeling, it’s her birthright. To Mac, it’s a birthchore. Like going to school with humans, interacting with humans, and pretending to be human during the pesky daylight hours. Once darkness descends, Mac can change into any supernatural form that exists-which makes her as happy as she can be. That is, until Winn Thomas, the biggest geek in her senior class, figures out there’s more to what hides in the dark than most are willing to acknowledge. In this first of the 19th Year Trilogy, Winn might know more about Mac than even she does, and that knowledge could end their lives, unless Mac ensures the powers-that-be have no choice but to keep him around.

Fresh world building. Fresh outlook on supernaturals. And a feisty female to lead the way. RECOMMEND!

My Review.

~~~~~

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin 7:

No one knows what happened the night Echo Emerson went from popular girl with jock boyfriend to gossiped-about outsider with “freaky” scars on her arms. Even Echo can’t remember the whole truth of that horrible night. All she knows is that she wants everything to go back to normal.But when Noah Hutchins, the smoking-hot, girl-using loner in the black leather jacket, explodes into her life with his tough attitude and surprising understanding, Echo’s world shifts in ways she could never have imagined. They should have nothing in common. And with the secrets they both keep, being together is pretty much impossible.

Yet the crazy attraction between them refuses to go away. And Echo has to ask herself just how far they can push the limits and what she’ll risk for the one guy who might teach her how to love again.

I do believe Noah may just be my favourite book boyfriend To Date! LOVED him! And Echo was just a GREAT character to travel alongside and get to know. RECOMMEND!

 

My Review.

~~~~~

Innnnnnnnnnn 6:

“History is on repeat, and things didn’t go so well the last time. “

Alexandria isn’t sure she’s going to make it to her eighteenth birthday–to her Awakening. A long-forgotten, fanatical order is out to kill her, and if the Council ever discovers what she did in the Catskills, she’s a goner… and so is Aiden.

If that’s not freaky enough, whenever Alex and Seth spend time “training”–which really is just Seth’s code word for some up-close and personal one-on-one time–she ends up with another mark of the Apollyon, which brings her one step closer to Awakening ahead of schedule. Awesome.

But as her birthday draws near, her entire world shatters with a startling revelation and she’s caught between love and Fate. One will do anything to protect her. One has been lying to her since the beginning. Once the gods have revealed themselves, unleashing their wrath, lives will be irrevocably changed… and destroyed.

Those left standing will discover if love is truly greater than Fate…

HUGE fan of the Covenant series. And as much as I love Seth, and he won me over in Pure, Deity was, without doubt, the book of the series so far. RECOMMEND!

 

My Review.

~~~~~

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin 5:

Meet Celaena Sardothien.
Beautiful. Deadly. Destined for greatness.

In the dark, filthy salt mines of Endovier, an eighteen-year-old girl is serving a life sentence. She is a trained assassin, the best of her kind, but she made a fatal mistake: she got caught.

Young Captain Westfall offers her a deal: her freedom in return for one huge sacrifice. Celaena must represent the prince in a to-the-death tournament—fighting the most gifted thieves and assassins in the land. Live or die, Celaena will be free. Win or lose, she is about to discover her true destiny. But will her assassin’s heart be melted?

Now … I’m not naturally a fantasy fan, so any time a fantasy title grabs me by the curlies and keeps me reading along at breakneck speed and panting to know how it’s all gonna play out … trust me, I’m impressed. I fell in love with these characters. And I am eagerly awaiting book 2. RECOMMEND!

My Review.

~~~~~

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiin 4:

INTENSE. DANGEROUS. ADDICTIVE.

Abby Abernathy is a good girl. She doesn’t drink or swear, and she has the appropriate number of cardigans in her wardrobe. Abby believes she has enough distance from the darkness of her past, but when she arrives at college with her best friend, her path to a new beginning is quickly challenged by Eastern University’s Walking One-Night Stand.

Travis Maddox, lean, cut, and covered in tattoos, is exactly what Abby wants—and needs—to avoid. He spends his nights winning money in a floating fight ring, and his days as the ultimate college campus charmer. Intrigued by Abby’s resistance to his appeal, Travis tricks her into his daily life with a simple bet. If he loses, he must remain abstinent for a month. If Abby loses, she must live in Travis’s apartment for the same amount of time. Either way, Travis has no idea that he has met his match.

Travis Maddox just might the. most. screwed up. character I’ve ever read. And I fell in love with him. You MUST read Beautiful Disaster, if only for him. RECOMMEND!

My Review.

~~~~~

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin 3:

Gabriel Merrick plays with fire. Literally. Sometimes he can even control it. And sometimes he can’t. Gabriel has always had his brothers to rely on, especially his twin, Nick. But when an arsonist starts wreaking havoc on their town, all the signs point to Gabriel. Only he’s not doing it. And no one seems to believe him. Except a shy sophomore named Layne, a brainiac who dresses in turtlenecks and jeans and keeps him totally off balance. Because Layne has a few secrets of her own…

Man, do I Loooooooove the Merrick Brothers. To be honest, I had a hard time choosing between this one and Storm, coz Gabriel and Chris as both just so awesome. But Gabriel’s moodiness and anguish he managed to make me experience for him won the toss. It’s awesome. If you haven’t read this series, why the hell not? RECOMMEND!

My Review.

~~~~~

Iiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiin 2:

“I’ve left some clues for you.
If you want them, turn the page.
If you don’t, put the book back on the shelf, please.”

So begins the latest whirlwind romance from the bestselling authors ofNick & Norah’s Infinite Playlist. Lily has left a red notebook full of challenges on a favorite bookstore shelf, waiting for just the right guy to come along and accept its dares. But is Dash that right guy? Or are Dash and Lily only destined to trade dares, dreams, and desires in the notebook they pass back and forth at locations across New York? Could their in-person selves possibly connect as well as their notebook versions? Or will they be a comic mismatch of disastrous proportions?

Rachel Cohn and David Levithan have written a love story that will have readers perusing bookstore shelves, looking and longing for a love (and a red notebook) of their own.

Ah, yes, Dash & Lily. EASILY the cutest, most endearing, and most heart-warming book of the year. READ IT, PEOPLE! RECOMMEND!

My Review.

~~~~~

Annnnnnnnnnnd in the NUMBER 1 HOTSPOT IN MY LIST OF TOP PICKS OF 2012 ISSSSSSSSSSSSSS:

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…

Thanks to his alien mojo, Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarro connection. So I’ve sworn him off, even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But we’ve got bigger problems.

Something worse than the Arum has come to town…

The Department of Defense are here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we’re linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And there’s this new boy in school who’s got a secret of his own. He knows what’s happened to me and he can help, but to do so, I have to lie to Daemon and stay away from him. Like that’s possible. Against all common sense, I’m falling for Daemon. Hard.

But then everything changes…

I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. And I have to tell Daemon, even though I know he’s never going to stop searching until he gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?

No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies…

Dude! This book just completely rocked my world. What more is there to say? Other than DAEMON BLACK!!!!! anyway? HIGHLY RECOMMEND IF YOU HAVEN’T READ IT YET YOU’RE OFF YOUR ROCKER GET ON ITTTTTTTTTT!

My Review.

~~~~~~

So, what are YOUR top picks for 2012?

Oh, and Happy New Year!

 

Review: Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Title: Opal

Series: Lux #3

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Publisher: Entangled Publishing

Publication date: December 11th 2012

Source: I own a copy (or 3)

From Goodreads: 

No one is like Daemon Black.

When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well… There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.

But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love.

After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different… And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.

Together we’re stronger… and they know it.

My Review

Okay, this review was a real toughie to write, to the point I’ve taken 24 hours to gather my thoughts before putting fingers to keys.

Anyone who knows me will already know that Jennifer L. Armentrout ranks right up at the top of my list of favourite authors. I mean, I fell in love with her writing from the moment Daemon Black captured my heart in Obsidian, and my review of that more than reflects my opinion of her ability as a great author. And then when I read Onyx—man, that one pretty much blew my head off with its awesomeness.

But Opal? It just didn’t wow me as much as I hoped. And I’ve spent the past hours trying to figure out why.

Firstly, I think its editing stumbled my flow a few times. As well as a few typos/errors, there were a couple of inconsistencies that had me going ‘Huh? WTH?’ that, by no means, should have been missed in the edits. However, I’m not going to go into detail about those, because I know they’ve already been brought to Jen’s attention, and that she has made a statement about them, and that’s good enough for me. Authors and editors, at the end of the day, are only human.

Onto the actual story then. *heaves huge sigh* Daemon’s snark is so what attracted me to the guy in the first place. In Obsidian, we get it constantly, all aimed at Katy, right up until the very end. Even in Onyx, when he’s changing his mind about Katy, we still see it in his attempts to p-off Blake. First book had me snorting every chapter; second had me laughing out loud. In Opal, I think I only ‘tittered’ twice. This is a big comedown. And I missed Daemon Black. Damn, did I miss him. Even Katy didn’t seem as sharp with her wit—though I imagine Daemon’s lack of digs at her had a whole lot to do with that.

Instead, the wit and extremely fun banter seemed to have made way for a serious amount of kissing.

Now don’t get me wrong. I like kissing in a book. But, dude, this seemed to be on almost every other page. To the point it got repetitive (sorry). It was also to the point it vastly slowed down the pace of the book. I normally whizz through these titles. This one didn’t seem to really get started until around 47% when I thought, okay, now it’s getting interesting. There was also some foreshadowing done that made me suspect most things that were going to happen as the book progressed. Considering it’s Katy’s POV, I’m surprised she wasn’t on the ball about them sooner—especially as she spent most of the book in suspicious mode. Some of them were just little things, like Blake showing up. I think a little less obvious mention of him prior to his first appearance would have given his appearance more of an impact. But that might just be me, and a personal preference.

So did I enjoy the book?

Well, yeah, of course I did. Admittedly, if this was a title by any other (less loved by me) author, then it would most likely have rated only a 3. However, due to the fact Ms Armentrout long ago suckered me into her worlds, and I loved Daemon (and Katy, I guess :p) enough to keep reading until I got happier with the juicier (not sexier) bits. Plus, not to mention the ending. Now, I know some folk are going a little wild about the ending, and the fact it’s such a cliff-hanger, but I kinda appreciated it. I mean, sure, I saw something coming, because it always does in JLA’s books, but I’d already convinced myself it was going to swing the other way, and so I was left somewhat surprised. For these reasons, mostly my love of JLA’s writing, it hurts me to rate this one less than 5. But it wouldn’t be honest of me to do otherwise. So, for that reason, I give this one …

Have you read this title? What’d you think?