Unveiled

Unveiled
Trisha Wolfe

Publication Date: September 8, 2011
Finish Date: February 11, 2012
Source: Review Copy from Trisha Wolfe
Format: eBook

From Goodreads:
Amongst the wasteland lies the gleaming city of Karm. A Camelot-esque utopia built from the ashes of a dying world.

Seventeen-year-old Fallon is no daughter of Karm.

She's its assassin.

Raised by a secret society of rebels, she's bent on bringing down the king's sham of an existence. But her first mark, one of the king's top knights of the Force, makes her question everything. Even her heart.

Wow, what a surprise this turned out to be. I received this for review from the author months ago and I cannot believe I didn't read it until now. I was pleasantly surprised and I really hope that she plans to turn this into a series.

Fallon has a mission. Brought up to see the error of the kings ways and to fight him. When she gets her first mission, it's to kill one of the king's knights. She doesn't question it. She's been taught not to. But what if her target is innocent? The unthinkable happens making her question everything she has been brought up to believe in. What will she disobey? Her duty or her heart?

I was really surprised at this book. It is a short story, I read it in about half an hour and usually with short stories I find I don't like them as much as novels as I feel I don't have enough time to connect with the characters. Unveiled is without a doubt the exception. I really loved this story. From the first page I was drawn into this new world and I didn't want to stop reading. I was hooked and I loved the characters from the moment I met them, this doesn't happen a lot. Usually it takes me a while to like the characters but in this one I just connected with them straight away and to me, that shows what a superb author Trisha is.
I love Fallon, I loved her bravery and her indecisiveness. Throughout the story I just loved seeing her struggling between what she was feeling and what she was supposed to be doing and I thought this was such a great thing to see in such a short story. I instantly fell in love with Xander. He is so sweet and all the way through I was thinking, no she can't do it and I was completely gripped and could not put the book down until I had found out what happened.

I love the world-building in this book, I love the story-line, I love the characters. I am really ashamed that I didn't pick this book up and read it as soon as I got it for review. I really loved it and I really hope the author will decide to make this a series as the ending left me wanting more.
I will definitely be picking up the other works from this author.

Half Black Soul (Alexa Montgomery Saga #2)

Half Black Soul (Alexa Montgomery #2)
H.D Gordon

Publication Date: January 31, 2012
Date Read: January 28, 2012
Source: Review Copy from Author
Format: eBook

From Goodreads:
In the past few weeks Alexa Montgomery has had her entire world flipped upside down. She's gone from living a semi-normal teenage life to a life full of vampires and werewolves who all expect her to deliver them from the control of an evil dictator.

Alexa is the last of her kind; a Sun Warrior, and now she has left the safety of Two Rivers to search for her mother, but she's left her sister behind to do so, and Nelly is the one person that she was told that she must always protect. Kayden, a vampire who is Alexa's other half, has followed her on her journey. But, secrets are about to come out, relationships will break and danger lies just up ahead. Will Alexa be able to get through all of this and make it out alive? And, will she be able to protect Nelly from danger when she is so far away?

*Spoilers from Blood Warrior in this review. If you haven't read Book 1 you may not want to read this review.

*Squeel they used part of my review for the blurb =D

Wow! This book was definitely not what I expected at all. I really loved the first book in the series, Blood Warrior and HD blew me away with her writing and her story in that but Blood Warrior is nothing compared to this book. It is a million times better and there's so many twists and turns I was shocked at the things happening.

Alexa has left the safety of Two Rivers to go find her mother. Along with her is Kayden, her other half, the Libra to her Warrior and he will do whatever it takes to protect her. But by going on her quest, Alexa has left behind her sister. The one person she was told to always protect. Secrets will come out, relationships will break and danger lies just ahead. Will Alexa be able to face all that she does and come out of it alive? And will she be able to protect Nelly from danger when she is so far away?

I absolutely loved this book. There were lots of twists and turns and most of the way through it I was shocked by the secrets that came out. I really loved that we say a different side to Nelly. Book 1 was told from Alexa's point of view but this book was told from two points of view, Alexa and Nelly. I really loved that we had these two points of view as we really saw a different side to Nelly. The perception I got from book 1 is that Alexa has this dark side to her character and she really struggles with it throughout this book. But what I didn't really expect was for us to see a darker side of Nelly. Nelly and Alexa have always been so different and come across as one being incredibly strong and will stop at nothing to protect the people they love while the other was seen as more gentle and loving. In Half Black Soul we really see that they are more similar than first thought. Nelly is just as strong and while we always knew Alexa would do anything to protect Nelly even kill for her we see that Nelly feels the same way about Alexa.
You really see a different side to not just Nelly but all of the characters. Jackson really took a backseat in this book but that doesn't mean he is less important to the story. I was shocked to find out some of the secrets in this book and it's fair to say that after this book none of the character's relationships will ever be the same again.

Half Black Soul is really so different than Blood Warrior and it explores much darker themes than the first one. It was brilliant and the first book seems insignificant compared to this one.
If you haven't read Blood Warrior this is not a series to be missed and I would suggest this series to anyone who loves YA Paranormal Romance.
Throughout reading this book This Song kept coming into my head and I really think it's the perfect song for this book and I think it really portrays the things going on this book perfectly.
I genuinely loved this book and I cannot wait for the next book. I really think this series is going to just get better and better. HD has definitely surpassed herself with this book and I cannot wait to read the next one in this series.
Phenomenal!

Therian (Bloody Crescent #1)

Therian (Blood Crescent #1)
Roxanne Kade

Publication Date: October 9, 2011
Date Read: January 1, 2012
Source: Review Copy from Author
Format: E-Book

From Goodreads:
All Amberlyn Darksky has ever wanted is to be normal. But what if normal is everything supernatural and legendary?

Amber has never been ordinary. She has a gift, the ability to see memories through simple touch, and for her it’s a curse. Especially when she has to relive her mother’s death, the night she was born, through her father’s eyes. Leading a sheltered life for years under his constant watch has her yearning for freedom and her acceptance into Cyprus Falls University gives her just that.

She is immediately plunged into a world of true love, heart ache, seduction and horror. With a deepening affection for Tayelon Cree, whose sparkling hazel eyes leave her breathless, and the undeniable allure of Lucard Colbaine, who seems to be immune to her gift, can she accept what either of them represent in her life? And what about the steely eyed vampire who invades her dreams? When the blackouts and nightmares begin, Amber fears the pain that rips into her soul and threatens to destroy her. Before long she is faced with the truth of her destiny, as well as the devastating secrets that surround the people she holds dearest; dark secrets that will truly change the course of her very existence. Amber doesn’t know if she has the strength to accept the hand fate has dealt her. She will have to fight as hard as possible to remain human while the beasts inside her rage to take over.

3 stars, I like the book but there were also things I didn't like about it. Sometimes the story went too fast, sometimes too slow. I liked the overall story, but it took me some time to enjoy it.

The story starts with a prologue, which is a bit confusing, but in chapter one we get to know the significance of it. Then the real story starts. The story is about Amber, a girl who has never been outside in her whole life and now she is going to attend college. The beginning went a bit too fast. I also didn't understand how Amber could act so normal and not be awed by the world, when she first get's outside. Then she gets to college and instantly falls in love with a boy she meets. Then the story slows down a bit and Amber get;s used to college life, makes friends and falls in love. I found that she fell a bit too easy in love, she has never been outside before and not only does she instantly adapt to everything, but she also falls in ove so fast. Their relationship progresses very fast too. I found it difficult to get a sense of the character, but slowly we do get a sense of who everyone is. I also would've liked to know more about the side characters and what their role is.

Also Amber is not just a normal person, but she has a gift. When she touches people she sees their memories. We don't really get to know much about this gift. Does she see all memories or just some? And does how long she touched someone matter? And can she remember all those memories? I really found it disappointing that we didn't get to know more about her gift. I found it very interesting, but there was little attention for it in the book.

Also strange events are happening, Amber has strange dreams, she forgets some things and there are other events that give you a sign that something paranormal is up, but not until the end of the book so we get to know what is happening. I found the paranormal world and the thought behind it very interesting and very thought through. I really liked this part of the story, although I think it took the author a bit too long before revealing what is happening. I won't go into much detail as I don't want to spoil it.

To conclude I liked this story, and it had a lot of potential, but it just isn't great. I liked the paranormal twist and world in this story. The story sometimes moved too fast and sometimes too slow. I will be reading the next book, because the ending makes me really curious as to what will happen.

Life Eternal (Dead Beautiful #2)

Life Eternal (Dead Beautiful #2)
Yvonne Woon

Publication Date: May 1, 2012
Date Finished: January 5, 2012
Source: Review Copy from Usbourne Publishing
Format: Paperback
Pages: 398

From Goodreads:
Renée Winters has changed. When she looks in the mirror, a beautiful girl with an older, sadder face stares back. Her condition has doctors mystified, but Renée can never reveal the truth: she died last May, and was brought back to life by the kiss of her Undead soul mate, Dante Berlin.

Now, her separation from Dante becomes almost unbearable. His second life is close to an end, and each passing day means one less that she will spend with the boy who shares her soul.

Just when Renée has almost given up hope, she learns of the Nine Sisters—brilliant scholars who, according to legend, found a way to cheat death. She can’t shake the feeling that they are somehow connected to her dreams, strange visions that hint at a discovery so powerful, and so dangerous, that some will stop at nothing to protect it.

Renée thought she knew the truth about life and death. But there is a secret woven through history that holds the only hope for Dante and Renée. Unless they find answers soon, their time together is doomed to be cut short.

So, I finished this book like literally five minutes ago so you will have to excuse me if this review is a little all over the place but I can barely think straight right now let alone write down my feelings towards this book.
If I had to describe this book in a one word it would be WOW! This book completely blew me away.

Renee is desperate to find a way for her and her soul-mate Dante to be together, but as she starts to unravel the mystery that may save them both she puts her life in danger. Will she be able to survive long enough to find out a way for them to be together?

I really loved the first book in this series Dead Beautiful. I think it was a fantastic start to a series and I couldn't really fathom how Yvonne was going to beat the first book. But boy did she do it. I didn't think I would like this book more than the first one but I did. It is a million times better than the first book and I seriously could not put it down. I devoured this book in one day and I am left reeling needing the third instalment now.
The one thing I thought I wouldn't like about this book is that there isn't very much of Dante in this book as they got separated at the end of the first. I love Dante, he is such a fantastic character and I was really sad to find that there wasn't very much of him in this book. However, I see that it is all for the better. I love Renee, and I love what she goes through throughout this book. How she doubts her feelings and whether she is doing the right thing and I think this is just something that she needed to go through.

Noah, ::sigh::. Usually when a second male romantic interest comes into the second book in a series I get a little annoyed, however that didn't happen in this book. I loved Noah. He is so sweet and as much as I love Dante the more I read this book the more I started to love Noah and by the end couldn't really decide who I wanted Renee to be with. Well until Dante came back into it and then I completely switched back to Team Dante.

This book is one of the best zombie books I have ever read. I'm not actually sure if they are classed as zombie books but to me it is. It's a glamourous zombie, called the Undead. This is probably my favourite zombie series of all time and I love so many zombie books. It's just fantastic and Yvonne blows you away with her writing and sucks you into the story so much I was unaware of anything else going on around me. All I could focus on was the story.
One this Yvonne is an expert at is torturing her readers. I cannot believe how she ended this book. I was turning the page going Noooooo, it can't end there I need more. I am so excited for the next book in this series, which will also be the final one and I am very excited to see how it all ends.

This is just one of those books that you will be left thinking about days after finishing it. I loved every moment of it and I'm actually really sad that I read it so quickly. This series is a must-read for everyone.
Phenomenal!

Supernaturally (Paranormalcy #2)

Supernaturally (Paranormalcy #2)
Kiersten White

Publication Date: January 5, 2012
Date Read: January 2, 2012
Source: Review Copy from Publisher
Format: Paperback
Pages: 336

From Goodreads:

A lot has changed in the six months since Evie escaped from the International Paranormal Containment Agency with her shape-shifter boyfriend, Lend. She finally has the blissfully normal life she’s always dreamed of, including: 
1) A real live high school 
2) A perfectly ordinary after-school job 
3) Her very own locker (and by the way, rusted metal is every bit as awesome as she imagined) 


But Evie’s not-so-normal past keeps creeping up on her...and things get pretty complicated when you factor in: 
1) A centuries-old, seriously decaying vampire stalker 
2) A crazy faerie ex-boyfriend who is the perpetual bearer of really bad news 
3) A major battle brewing between the faerie courts where the prize in question happens to be...Evie herself. 


So much for normal...

I honestly don't know what to write in this review. I have so many mixed feelings for this book, I really liked it yet it really annoyed me and had me irritated most of the way through.

Evie finally escaped the clutches of the IPCA and found the normal life she had always craved with her boyfriend. But then things start going wrong in the paranormal world and she is sucked back in to help. But she has unknown trouble brewing for herself, are those she considers her allies really her friends or her enemies?

Evie, Evie, Evie, what are you doing? I loved her in the first book. I thought she was such a sweet character and I loved her relationship developing with Lend. However in this book she just annoyed me all of the time. In Paranormalcy I loved how she confided in Lend about everything, what she was, even when she thought she was evil she was still honest with him. I don't quite understand why she went from confiding in them to lying to him about everything and keeping all these secrets. I hate that she kept so many secrets from him when she knows how he loves her and trusts her.
I loved Lend in this book. There wasn't quite enough of him in the book for me and I kept reading and reading hoping that Lend was going to show up soon. The same was with Reth. As much as I disliked him in the first book and was Team Lend I couldn't help but missing him throughout the book. He definitely makes the story more interesting.

I think the storyline was really good and that's what made me enjoy it more. The storyline was as addictive as the first and I couldn't put it down as I needed to find out what happened. I still love this series and the ending left me optimistic that the final book will be better. I love Kiersten's writing style, it's bleeping amazing and I love how fun and light-hearted it is.

All in all I think this book wasn't as good as the first in the series, Evie just irritated me too much and the main character is very important to me. I am looking forward to seeing how the series ends.

Paranormalcy (Paranormalcy #1)

Paranormalcy (Paranormalcy #1)
Kierstan White

Publication Date: January 6, 2011
Date Read: December 31, 2011
Format: e-book

From Goodreads:
Vampires. Werewolves. Faeries. Shapeshifters.

Evie's always thought of herself as normal. Sure, her best friend is a mermaid, her ex-boyfriend is a faerie, she’s falling for a shape-shifter, and she’s the only person who can see through paranormals' glamours, but still. Normal.

Only now paranormals are dying, and Evie's dreams are filled with haunting voices and mysterious prophecies. She soon realizes that there may be a link between her abilities and the sudden rash of deaths, and even worse, that she is at the centre of a dark prophecy promising destruction to all paranormal creatures.

Paranormalcy was the first book I bought on my kindle when I got it back in January 2011 and I only just read it. I know right? It's about time. Truth be told I only actually started it because I received book 2, Supernaturally for review from Harper Collins. Well now I have read it all I can say is what the hell was I waiting for? This book is really good. I really enjoyed it.

Evie works for the IPCA, the International Paranormal Control Agency. She is human who can see through paranormals glamours. But as things get more dangerous Evie is faced with a life-changing truth, is she really human or something more?

I really enjoyed this book. I thought the writing was a great change. It's very light hearted and fun instead of the usual dark and dramatic writing style you usually find with other Paranormal books.
I really loved how in this book there is a mix of lots of different paranormals, you have elementals, vampires, werewolves, shifters, fairies. The lot. It was great seeing them all interacting with each other.

I really like Evie, she's a great heroine, she's not as strong as other heroines in YA books but I loved her all the same.  I love Lend, I think he is possibly the sweetest character ever. Usually I always fall for the bad boys in books but not in this one. I don't think there was a scene with Lend where I was sat going AWWWWW at the book. It was such a cute book. I really don't like Reth. I don't know what it is and I know a lot of people love him but to me he was just uber creepy and he freaked me out a lot.

I'm really looking forward to reading Book 2 Supernaturally and seeing what happens. I really don't know why I waited so long to read this. It's so good. It's a nice fast, light read and with uber cool characters you can't go wrong. Now, on to Supernaturally.....