Review: Sweet Reckoning (Sweet Evil #3) By: Wendy Higgins

Title: Sweet Reckoning (Sweet Evil #3)

Author: Wendy Higgins

Published: April 29^th, 2014

Source: Bought

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Goodreads Summary:

It’s time.

Evil is running rampant and sweet Anna Whitt is its target. Nobody knows when or how the Dukes will strike, but Anna and her Nephilim allies will do anything necessary to rid the earth of the demons and their oppressive ways.

The stakes are higher than ever, and Anna is determined that the love she feels will be her strength, not a liability. But trying to protect the ones she loves while running for her life and battling demonic forces proves to be perilous—especially as faces are changing and trust is fleeting. When the Duke of Lust sends Anna’s great love, Kaidan Rowe, to work against her, Anna must decide how much she’s prepared to risk.

In the most sensual and fast-paced installment yet, Sweet Reckoning brings all the beloved Neph together one last time to fight for their freedom.

My Thoughts:

I was definitely excited to begin reading this one, it was finally time for the end of a great series and I was hoping it was going to be an epic one. Although I was a bit disappointed and I don’t know quite what I was expecting it wasn’t as amazing as I had hoped that it would be. So many things happened that I loved in this book but, I just wanted something more epic I guess because of all the build up of where we have been going for the last two books.

I don’t want to give any spoilers away with the summary but, I will say that the time for talk is finally over and Anna is finally ready to do what she has been preparing herself for this whole time, we get to have all of our favorite characters back together and that was one of the things that I loved the most about this book is we get to have everyone together and at times it was just plain adorable. I love Kai and Anna’s relationship so much and there is even more to love in this book.

Anna really felt like she grew in this book finally, she is ready and understand everything that she needs to do. I was proud to see how strong she had become and she was exactly who she was supposed to be. I loved Kai, I have always loved him and the chemistry and steaminess between him and Anna always makes me swoon.

Overall, Sweet Reckoning was a satisfying end to a great trilogy, I love Kai and Anna and they are definitely what made this series for me. I could read about Kai forever and I definitely can’t wait to see what Wendy writes next. 

Review: This Is Not a Test By: Courtney Summers

Title: This Is Not a Test

Author: Courtney Summers

Published: June 19^th, 2012

My Rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Source: Bought

Goodreads Summary:

It’s the end of the world. Six students have taken cover in Cortege High but shelter is little comfort when the dead outside won’t stop pounding on the doors. One bite is all it takes to kill a person and bring them back as a monstrous version of their former self. To Sloane Price, that doesn’t sound so bad. Six months ago, her world collapsed and since then, she’s failed to find a reason to keep going. Now seems like the perfect time to give up. As Sloane eagerly waits for the barricades to fall, she’s forced to witness the apocalypse through the eyes of five people who actually want to live. But as the days crawl by, the motivations for survival change in startling ways and soon the group’s fate is determined less and less by what’s happening outside and more and more by the unpredictable and violent bids for life—and death—inside. When everything is gone, what do you hold on to?

My Thoughts:

I was really interested when I decided to read this one, I had heard some really great things about it I couldn’t wait to see for myself. I have to agree with the many people who have enjoyed this one and it really surprised me how much more than just a book about the apocalypse. I really connected with our main character Sloane, she had lost everything that ever mattered in her life and she wasn’t sure she even cared about living anymore. I felt so much more emotional while reading this book then I ever thought that I would.

Sloane Price is now living with 5 of her classmates in their high school trying to figure what to do now that the world that they have known has completely ended. She didn’t have the easiest life before the world ended and she doesn’t even know if she cares about living anymore at all period. But, now they are all stuck together and trying to figure out what they have to do.

Sloane was such a broken girl and I had a hard time reading about her feelings at times, I really felt for her and she broke my heart. I understood where she was coming from after everything that she had went through but, it was still hard to read. Imagining 5 teenagers trying to survive in their old high school and agree with everything while being scared and alone. Sloane was almost indifferent to everything that was going on around her which was frustrating for me as the reader at times.

Overall, I loved this book. It was so much more contemporary and deep and so much more than I expected and I can’t wait to read more books from Courtney Summers. 

TBR Thursday!

So fellow awesome blogger Sarah, from Words With Sarah created her own meme to help cut down on her TBR pile by, featuring a book each week that she will be reading that has been on the bookshelf for three months or more. I love this idea because that is definitely an issue I have with books sitting on my shelf for way too long.

My read for this week is

Dead Witch Walking (The Hollows #1)
Author: Kim Harrington
Goodreads Summary:

All the creatures of the night gather in "the Hollows" of Cincinnati, to hide, to prowl, to party ... and to feed.

Vampires rule the darkness in a predator-eat-predator world rife with dangers beyond imagining -- and it's Rachel Morgan's job to keep that world civilized.

A bounty hunter and witch with serious sex appeal and an attitude, she'll bring 'em back alive, dead ... or undead.

I am doing something a little different this week, I was in an urban fantasy mood and I have had this one on my shelf forever, I hope I enjoy it! 

Waiting On Wednesday!

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Breaking the Spine, that highlights upcoming book releases that everyone is waiting on.

This weeks selection is:

Forbidden
Author: Kimberley Griffiths Little
Published: November 4th, 2014
Summary:

In the unforgiving Mesopotamian desert where Jayden's tribe lives, betrothal celebrations abound, and tonight it is Jayden's turn to be honored. But by the next morning, Jayden's world has changed forever—she is betrothed to Horeb, the boy she does not love. With their tribe's move to the Summer Lands, Jayden is forced to accept her fate.

Then a shadowy boy from the Southern Lands appears. Handsome and mysterious, Kadesh fills Jayden's heart with a passion she never knew possible. But with Horeb's increasingly violent threats haunting Jayden's every move, she knows she must find a way to escape.

With a forbidden romance blossoming in her heart and her family's survival on the line, Jayden must finish the deadly journey to save the ones she loves—and find a true love for herself.

Set against the brilliant backdrop of the sprawling desert, the story of Jayden and Kadesh will leave readers absolutely breathless as they defy the odds and risk it all to be together.

Top Ten Tuesday: Top Ten Books I Want to Read But Don't Own Yet

 

Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme that is hosted by The Broke and the Bookish, this week's topic is Top Ten books I want to read but I don't own yet. I am going to keep this list to books that are already out because if I don't then my list will go on forever.

1. Legend (Legend #1) By: Marie Lu

I love dystopian and I know that this series is so popular, I don't know why I haven't got it yet or read it but, I know that I need to.

2. Unspoken (Unspoken #1) By: Sarah Rees Brennan

I have heard great things about this series and I have been wanting to read it forever, I love this cover too!

3. Time Between Us (Time Between Us #1) By: Tamara Ireland Stone

I love a good romance and I have been wanting to read this one for such a long time! It sounds like a great series.

4. My Life Next Door By: Huntley Fitzpatrick

I have heard great things about this one and I really need to buy it, it looks so cute!

5. Goddess (Starcrossed #3) By: Josephine Angelini

So, I have enjoyed this series so much and for some reason I never got around to getting this last book!

6. The Archived ( The Archived #1) By: Victoria Schwab

I have wanted to read this book for such a long time I don't know why I haven't checked it out yet but, I know that I need to!

7. Glass Houses (Morganville Vampires #1) By: Rachael Caine

I have wanted to read this series for so long and it's finally completed. I am dying to start it and hopefully I will get this first book soon!

8. Hopeless (Hopeless #1) By: Colleen Hoover

I loved her Slammed series and I can't wait to read more of her writing, I really need to get on that!

9. The Distance Between Us By: Kasie West

I have loved every other book by her so, I know I need to pick this one up too!

10. We Were Liars By: E. Lockhart

This book was so popular this summer and I really want to get it and read it soon!

I'm Back! Update and the Bruno Mars Concert!

Hey guys, so sorry I was gone all last week, I went to the Bruno Mars concert last Sunday and then I was sick all week and I didn't get any reading done or blogging for that matter because I felt so horrible! But, my week started off amazing, I am a huge fan of Bruno Mars and I have been waiting all summer to get to go to his concert and let me just say that he did not disappoint. He is one of the best live performers I have seen in a long time, I think that he sounds better live then on his album. His band is just as amazing which only makes him live that much better. I was having so much fun enjoying the concert I didn't take that many pictures and my friend has yet to upload the ones she took were way better then any of the ones that I got, I did get a short video that I will put up also, So if you guys ever get a chance to see Bruno Mars live I definitely reccommend that you take the chance to see him because I know that I will be there everytime he goes on tour it was well worth the money! I hopefully will get back to posting this week, so I hope everyone enjoys their week!

A short video of Bruno Mars singing Gorilla

Singing Our first Time

His awesome curtain at the beginning of the show

Blog Tour: Black Moon (The Moonlight Trilogy #2) By: Teri Harman, Guest Post and Giveaway!

Goodreads Summary:

Simon Howard accidentally killed three people. Four months later, the nightmares won’t stop. Willa Fairfield, his girlfriend, his soul mate, wants nothing more than to help him move on. But guilt isn’t the only thing getting in Simon’s way. 

When unexplained earthquakes hit the small town of Twelve Acres, and dozens of people go missing, the Light witches discover their most feared enemy, Archard, is still alive. Employing the twisted, dynamic magic of a legendary witch known as Bartholomew the Dark, Archard plans to exact his revenge and take control of the Powers of the Earth on the night of the black moon, a rare lunar event infamous for Dark magic. 

As the Light Covenant fumbles to defend against Archard’s sadistic intentions, Simon’s magic grows inexplicably more powerful, even dangerous. Willa throws all her efforts into solving the mystery of Simon’s transformation, but when the events of the past storm into the present, the couple’s future changes forever

“Authors I Can’t Write Without” by Teri Harman

I am a story addict. I am addicted to reading. It is my love of reading that helped shape my love of writing. It’s symbiotic in some ways: I suck all the greatness from my favorite writers, nourishing my ability to put words on the page.

These are some of the authors that inspire me, that make me want to try harder in my writing. That make me better.

1. Roald Dahl

Such imagination! Roald Dahl taught me to twist and turn the normal into the bizarre. To stretch my creativity to mold ideas into stories that feel fresh and yet familiar in all the right ways. Favorite titles: ‘Charlie and the Chocolate Factory,’ ‘Matilda,’ and ‘Tales of the Unexpected.’

2. Kate Morton

Beautiful, intoxicating words. Kate Morton’s writing is so amazing – her descriptions, her solid plots, her gothic sense of place. I devour her books and always want to run to the computer when I’m done. Favorite titles: ‘The Forgotten Garden,’ and ‘The Secret Keeper.’

3. Sarah Addison Allen

Sarah does steamy romance and magic realism so well. Her books are magical and her characters authentic. I love her stories and want mine to be as absorbing. Favorite titles: ‘The Sugar Queen,’ and ‘Garden Spells.’

4. Sue Monk Kidd

The queen of emotional narratives that you never forget. I want to write as honest and deep as Sue does. She captures characters and how they feel in every situation so perfectly. That is not easy. Favorite titles: ‘The Secret Life of Bees’ and ‘The Invention of Wings.’

Which authors inspire you?

For more about Teri Harman and her books, including BLACK MOON, the sequel to BLOOD MOON, which Kirkus Reviews calls ‘unusual and absorbing,’ check out the links below…

Blog: http://www.teriharman.com/

Instagram: @teriharman

Goodreads: goodreads.com/TeriHarman

Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/AuthorTeriHarman

Twitter: @TeriHarman, https://twitter.com/TeriHarman


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Stacking The Shelves!

Stacking the Shelves is a weekly meme created by Tynga's Reviews that is all about sharing the books that are being added to your shelves. It could be physical books, ebooks library books, or review books.

I am really bad about posting my hauls, they are so sporadic but, I am going to try harder to post each week, so enjoy!

This has been such a fun weekend, and I am going to the Bruno Mars concert tonight so I am definitely ready and excited for tonight! I also only got one book this week, I can't believe it!

Bought:

I figured since the movie was coming out I really should get around to reading this series!

Review: Deadly Little Secret (Touch #1) By: Laurie Faria Stolarz

Title: Deadly Little Secret (Touch #1)

Author: Laurie Faria Stolarz

Published: December 23^rd, 2008

My Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

Source: Bought

Goodreads Summary:

Some secrets shouldn't be kept...

Up until three months ago, everything in sixteen-year-old Camellia’s life had been fairly ordinary: decent grades; an okay relationship with her parents; and a pretty cool part-time job at the art studio downtown. But when Ben, the mysterious new guy, starts junior year at her high school, Camelia's life becomes anything but ordinary.

Rumored to be somehow responsible for his ex-girlfriend's accidental death, Ben is immediately ostracized by everyone on campus. Except for Camelia. She's reluctant to believe the rumors, even when her friends try to convince her otherwise. She's inexplicably drawn to Ben and to his touch. But soon, Camelia is receiving eerie phone calls and strange packages with threatening notes. Ben insists she is in danger, and that he can help-but can he be trusted? She knows he's hiding something... but he's not the only one with a secret.

From the best-selling author of Blue is for Nightmares comes a story of paranormal romance that's sure to be a thrilling and chilling teen favorite.

My Thoughts:

I have had this book on my shelf for so long and I finally got around to reading it, I haven’t read a paranormal book in a while so I was definitely in the mood for one. I will admit I was so hesitant when I first started this book because it started just like Twilight many of the beginning few chapters scenes mirroring scenes from Twilight, but it is very, very different and it was a great mix of mystery and paranormal that was fast paced, I really enjoyed it and I know that I will be continuing on with this series.

Camila is your average teenage girl until one day a mysterious boy keeps her from getting hit by a car in the school parking lot. She can’t get this boy out of her head, she finally founds out who he is Ben and he is the new guy at school that everyone is talking about, saying he killed his ex-girlfriend although it was said to be an accident. But, Camila is still thinking about Ben constantly. Suddenly mysterious photographs of Camilla with hearts around them start showing up in her mailbox and weird phone calls at all hours are being made to her house. Ben keeps telling her that she is danger and she doesn’t understand why, it is obvious he hiding something and she wants to find out what that is.

Camila was your typical paranormal romance heroine, she didn’t seem to know when she should be worried or scared, and that frustrated me a bit. I felt like she should have been more wary of the fact that she was receiving these weird stalker messages and also be more worried about being obsessed with Ben. I think what really kept me reading was the mystery of it all, as much as I was annoyed and frustrated at the fact that Camila was so curious about Ben, I felt the same way. I wanted to know more about him and I wanted to find out what he was hiding. I was wondering who was leaving her these creepy messages and calling her house all the time. It was really what kept me reading, I love a good mystery and I was not on the right track at all.

Overall, Deadly Little Secret is a typical paranormal romance and fits in perfectly to the genre, it was fast paced and mysterious and I will definitely be continuing on with the series. If you enjoy paranormal romance then check this series out!