Kitty and the Midnight Hour by Carrie Vaughn Review

Amazon/Barnes & Noble

Kitty Norville is a midnight-shift DJ for a Denver radio station - and a werewolf in the closet. Her new late-night advice show for the supernaturally disadvantaged is a raging success, but it's Kitty who can use some help. With one sexy werewolf-hunter and a few homicidal undead on her tail, Kitty may have bitten off more than she can chew?

Urban Fantasy is not my to go genre. Mainly because I feel that everything has been done and every other book I've read is a copycat of something else. I just stick to Fantasy and YA books. I decided to give this one a try, first after reading this awesome review on Rabid Reads and secondly because of the summary. I thought Kitty and the Midnight Hour sounded fun and just went on Amazon and 1-clicked that baby. 
 

I wasn't disappointed. I have to say that the concept behind Kitty and the radio show was very enjoyable. Kitty is a hilarious character. At the beginning of the book, she took me by surprise because I was expecting her to be a badass. She's a werewolf for crying out loud! But werewolves in this book are very different. You see, Kitty is the baby of the pack, she has to be submissive to the other wolves and do as she is told. Her fellow wolves were not the friendliest people/animals around and I was desperate for her to find her place in the pack. I'm happy to say that Kitty grows somewhat of a backbone by the end of the book and I'm excited to see her progress in the next books. 

I feel like the romance takes a back seat in this book. The love interest was there and he's dreamy and everything, but there wasn't enough of him in this installment. Which was a little disappointing, butI'm hoping we'll see more of him in the next book. 

I think overall this was a fun and different Urban Fantasy book. I will definitely continue the series, I can't wait to read more about Kitty and her awesome adventures.

  

Pic2Book Wednesday Challenge #92

Guess the Book Title

This is a weekly challenge where you guess the book title just by looking at the pictures. This game is inspired by the game Scene it? and it's one of my favorite challenges in it! If you want to participate and don't want any spoilers don't read the comments. I'll post the answer of this challenge in next week's challenge.

What's this book's title?

Hints:

• This is book 2 in a series
• A.B. are the authors initials
• This book was published on March 4th

(Update)

 

Extra Hint:

Only for emergencies!!

You will find the book's tittle in this list.  :)

Last Week's Challenge answer: 

Timestorm (Tempest #3) by Julie Cross

Thanks to:  

Kindlemom, Annie Jackson, Jen Ryland/YA Romantics, boricuanbookworms, Laura Thomas, Kelly & cattiea

For participating in last week's challenge!!! 

Crown of Midnight by Sarah J. Maas Review

Amazon/Barnes & Noble

From the throne of glass rules a king with a fist of iron and a soul black as pitch. Assassin Celaena Sardothien won a brutal contest to become his Champion. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown. She hides her secret vigilantly; she knows that the man she serves is bent on evil.

Keeping up the deadly charade becomes increasingly difficult when Celaena realizes she is not the only one seeking justice. As she tries to untangle the mysteries buried deep within the glass castle, her closest relationships suffer. It seems no one is above questioning her allegiances—not the Crown Prince Dorian; not Chaol, the Captain of the Guard; not even her best friend, Nehemia, a foreign princess with a rebel heart.

Then one terrible night, the secrets they have all been keeping lead to an unspeakable tragedy. As Celaena's world shatters, she will be forced to give up the very thing most precious to her and decide once and for all where her true loyalties lie...and whom she is ultimately willing to fight for.

AHHHHHHH! This book almost killed me. Also, forgive me if this review is all over the place. I want to talk about every event that happened in Crown of Midnight, but 95% of them are spoilers. I'll try to stay away from them. Let's start with the romance in the book. OMG things get steamy in a PG-13 kind of way. Which was enough to make my heart so very happy. Even though the romance in the book is a highlight, it doesn't take away from what's important to our characters. Not many authors can balance things out like Sarah J. Maas does. 

There was a lot more things happening in this installment than the previous one. More magic, more action, just more of everything! We get to see what Celaena is capable of and let me tell you something: Celeina is one scary chick. But at the same time she has one of the most beautiful souls ever. The fact that she's risking her life to do the right thing made me love her even more. This girl loves with such a passion and hates with the same intensity.  There was a point in the book where I wanted to hug her so bad and tell her that my heart was broken too. Thinking about it is making me teary eyed. 

I do want to talk about one of the twists in the book. From the beginning of the series, I've been wondering this character's identity. In book one, there's a hint of whom this person is, but the hint gets buried under everything else that was going on, so I kinda forgot about it. But then in book two these clues start to come up again and again and I just loved it. When it was finally revealed I literally squealed! This twist will take this series to the next level!  And I CAN'T WAIT!

Crown of Midnight broke my heart and made me want to kill someone but at the same time it gave me hope. I need the third book in my hands ASAP! I do have to admit that I'm a little scared about one of my favorite characters dying. Maas shows us in this book that she can do whatever she wants, and we have to love it and deal with it. And I only ask the author to please don't go all George R.R. Martin on us

If You Find Me by Emily Murdoch Review and Giveaway

Amazon/Barnes & Noble

There are some things you can’t leave behind…

A broken-down camper hidden deep in a national forest is the only home fifteen year-old Carey can remember. The trees keep guard over her threadbare existence, with the one bright spot being Carey’s younger sister, Jenessa, who depends on Carey for her very survival. All they have is each other, as their mentally ill mother comes and goes with greater frequency. Until that one fateful day their mother disappears for good, and two strangers arrive. Suddenly, the girls are taken from the woods and thrust into a bright and perplexing new world of high school, clothes and boys.

Now, Carey must face the truth of why her mother abducted her ten years ago, while haunted by a past that won’t let her go… a dark past that hides many a secret, including the reason Jenessa hasn’t spoken a word in over a year. Carey knows she must keep her sister close, and her secrets even closer, or risk watching her new life come crashing down.

I don't know how to put my thoughts into words when it comes to this book. I really don't. If You Find Me broke my heart in tiny little pieces. As I reader, I always experienced this feeling of wishing I could dive in the book and save the day. I've never wanted to be able to do this more than with this book. Not to save the day but only to hug Carey and Jenessa. I wanted to adopt these girls and give them all the love they never got from their own mother. Even now thinking about  it brings tears to my eyes. This part of the book was so hard to read. The abuse and neglect these girls experienced made me feel like I couldn't breathe and powerless because I couldn't help them.   

Even though my heart broke in parts of this book I just couldn't help but loving it. In all that darkness and sadness there was hope and healing. I didn't trust anybody just like Carey but in the end almost all of the people she crossed after she got rescued from the camper were so amazing to her and her sister. Her dad and stepmom were highlights in the book. These people wanted nothing else but to make the girls happy and comfortable. They showed the sisters  love and what being a real parent is all about. Their relationship was just beautiful.

This book is beautifully written and is definitely a fast read. I know it sounds like a depressing book, but it really isn't. It was so amazing and powerful. I hope you guys give it a try. I really do.

I'll be giving away a paperback copy of If You Find Me. This giveaway is INT'l and will end on 4/3/14.

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Pic2Book Wednesday Challenge #91

Guess the Book Title

This is a weekly challenge where you guess the book title just by looking at the pictures. This game is inspired by the game Scene it? and it's one of my favorite challenges in it! If you want to participate and don't want any spoilers don't read the comments. I'll post the answer of this challenge in next week's challenge.

What's this book's title?

Hints:

• This is the 3rd book in the series.
• J.C. are the authors initials.
• This book was published on January 28th.

Last Week's Challenge answer: 

Toxic Girl by Chantal Fernando

Thanks to:  

KristiaMar, Laura Thomas, Kindlemom, Carmel @ Rabid Reads, Giselle & Annie J

For participating in last week's challenge!!! 

Cruel Beauty by Rosamund Hodge Review

Amazon/Barnes & Noble

Based on the classic fairy tale Beauty and the Beast, Cruel Beauty is a dazzling love story about our deepest desires and their power to change our destiny.

Since birth, Nyx has been betrothed to the evil ruler of her kingdom-all because of a foolish bargain struck by her father. And since birth, she has been in training to kill him.

With no choice but to fulfill her duty, Nyx resents her family for never trying to save her and hates herself for wanting to escape her fate. Still, on her seventeenth birthday, Nyx abandons everything she's ever known to marry the all-powerful, immortal Ignifex. Her plan? Seduce him, destroy his enchanted castle, and break the nine-hundred-year-old curse he put on her people.

But Ignifex is not at all what Nyx expected. The strangely charming lord beguiles her, and his castle-a shifting maze of magical rooms-enthralls her.

As Nyx searches for a way to free her homeland by uncovering Ignifex's secrets, she finds herself unwillingly drawn to him. Even if she could bring herself to love her sworn enemy, how can she refuse her duty to kill him? With time running out, Nyx must decide what is more important: the future of her kingdom, or the man she was never supposed to love.

I’ve written this review many times. I’m not happy with any of them. Let’s see if this one makes sense. I think I’ve been having a hard time reviewing this book because I really don’t know what I feel. One of the factors I am very confused about is the heroine. Nyx wasn’t likable in my opinion. She’s not your typical selfless heroine that would do anything for her family. No, Nyx is bitter and complains a lot. It gets to the point where she gets a bit annoying. BUT thinking about her as annoying makes me feel guilty. Why? Because I would be complaining and blaming the world for my misfortune.  I think anyone in her position would feel this way.

Also, what makes me feel a little weird about this book was the weirdly unique love triangle and the first kiss. I felt nothing for Shade. I thought that whatever was happening between him and Nyx was very odd and I had this bad feeling about him from the get go. I didn’t get it. Ignifex was what made the book interesting, and I wish he had a bigger story line. I actually loved the chemistry between Nyx and Ignifex. They made me chuckle and sigh a few times. Why the author made this weird love triangle out of the love story in this book, is beyond me. Nyx and Ignifex were amazing together.

The plot was interesting enough to keep me reading. I figured out the main twist pretty early on in the book. The ending caught me by surprise, though. I thought Hodge did a good job with  how things get solved. I don't know if this is a series or stand alone. But I kinda want to read what Hodge comes up with next.

Pic2Book Wednesday Challenge #90

Guess the Book Title

This is a weekly challenge where you guess the book title just by looking at the pictures. This game is inspired by the game Scene it? and it's one of my favorite challenges in it! If you want to participate and don't want any spoilers don't read the comments. I'll post the answer of this challenge in next week's challenge.

What's this book's title?

Hints:

• This book will come out next month.
• C.F. are the authors initials.
• There's two words in the tittle.

Last Week's Challenge answer: 

White Hot Kiss by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Thanks to:  

nadiareads1, Laura Thomas, Annie J, cattiea, Kelly, Cayce, Joyous Reads, Candace, TayteH, Montana @ The Book Belles, Ellen Alwaysyaatheart, Giselle, 

boricuanbookworms, Melanie & 

For participating in last week's challenge!!! 

Transcendence by Shay Savage Review

Amazon/Barnes & Noble

It’s said that women and men are from two different planets when it comes to communication, but how can they overcome the obstacles of prehistoric times when one of them simply doesn’t have the ability to comprehend language?

Ehd’s a caveman living on his own in a harsh wilderness. He’s strong and intelligent, but completely alone. When he finds a beautiful young woman in his pit trap, it’s obvious to him that she is meant to be his mate. He doesn’t know where she came from; she’s wearing some pretty odd clothing, and she makes a lot of noises with her mouth that give him a headache. Still, he’s determined to fulfill his purpose in life – provide for her, protect her, and put a baby in her.

Elizabeth doesn’t know where she is or exactly how she got there. She’s confused and distressed by her predicament, and there’s a caveman hauling her back to his cavehome. She’s not at all interested in Ehd’s primitive advances, and she just can’t seem to get him to listen. No matter what she tries, getting her point across to this primitive, but beautiful, man is a constant – and often hilarious – struggle. 

With only each other for company, they must rely on one another to fight the dangers of the wild and prepare for the winter months. As they struggle to coexist, theirs becomes a love story that transcends language and time.

 

Hmm... This was such a weird book. I don't know how a stumble upon this one to be honest. I think someone on Twitter or Facebook said something good about it and I decided to give it a try. I usually read some reviews of books I'm about to read, but with Transcendence I just went for it. At first I was fascinated by Ehd and his surroundings. It got even better when Beh came in the picture. But the book kind of went south when I realized that Ehd couldn't understand a word that was coming out Beh's mouth. The book has very little dialogue. When I say little, I'm talking about just 1 word conversations, and it was usually the same word. I got frustrated fast. 

The no dialogue thing wasn't the only thing that I didn't enjoy about the book. Ehd was OBSESSED with putting a baby inside Beh. He thought about that for 80% of the book. I don't know if the author thought that it was going to be a turn on for readers, but that wasn't the case at all. This guy was on a mission, and he was going to put a baby inside of Beh yes or yes. But even after that I couldn't let go of the book. I just couldn't. I wanted to know how she got there. In a way,  I was obsessed with finding out the truth behind Beh.

Thankfully after 60% or so the plot starts to get very interesting. Then it gets even more interesting but instead of letting me enjoy the awesome last part of the book the author decides to skim through it all and the plot goes fast forward. It kind of left me devastated. UNTIL I read the last chapter. That chapter was 5 stars! I absolutely loved it! 

I don't even know how I feel about this book. I loved some parts and hated some. Because of that I won't be rating Transcendence. I do have a list of thing I wish were incorporated in the book. 

• I would have been ok with Ehd not understanding Beh if only the author would have included either Beh POV or some of her dialogues. I wanted to know what was going through her mind and what she was saying to Edh so bad! 
• More action.
• More hunting! 
• More characters.

If you are looking for something very different, and you are a patient person I recommend this for you. If the author writes a companion book with Beh's POV, I will definitely read it.

PIc2Book Wednesday Challenge #89

Guess the Book Title

This is a weekly challenge where you guess the book title just by looking at the pictures. This game is inspired by the game Scene it? and it's one of my favorite challenges in it! If you want to participate and don't want any spoilers don't read the comments. I'll post the answer of this challenge in next week's challenge.

What's this book's title?

Hints:

• This book was published on February 25th
• It was published by Harlequin Teen
• J.L.A. are the authors initials

Last Week's Challenge answer: 

Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead

Thanks to:  

Laura Thomas, Annie J, Melissa, cattiea, Temara Sheppard & Giselle

For participating in last week's challenge!!! 

Throne of Glass by Sarah J. Maas Review

Amazon/Barnes & Noble

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?

I've come to realize that I'm 100 times more patient with audiobooks than with regular books. With audiobooks,  I can just put my headphones on, and workout, do chores around the house, drive etc etc. If I don't like the book, then I least I didn't waste my time. I thought that Throne of Glass was a perfect example to my weird logic. I'm not saying that Throne of Glass was bad, but I'm the kind of person that to finish a book I have to be engaged pretty early on in the book. The first time I tried to read ToG I didn't feel a connection towards the characters or the plot.

But this review right here of the sequel to Throne of Glass by Kim from The Midnight Garden made me want to give this series another try. I don't regret it guys! This was such a great and entertaining read! 

First of all I have to tackle the love triangle situation going on. The romance in ToG is not as in your face as I thought it was going to be. I'm glad for that. With everything that was going on in the book I wouldn't have liked Celaena to be all: "I love the Prince, but the captain of the guard is so hot that I think I love him too." No. Celaena did enjoy flirting with both Chaol and the prince and got really close to one of them BUT her priority was herself. Winning the tournament and eventually her freedom. I appreciated that. I can't say which guy I prefer because I really don't know who to pick. My heart wants to go with Chaol because Dorian is already a prince it wouldn't be fair for him to get the girl too. Dorian is so adorable, though. I'm Team Celaena...for now.

My favorite part about Fantasy books are the politics and conflicts between kingdoms. I absolutely enjoy a book with complicated plots and evil kings and whatnot. Throne of Glass has this whole thing going on, but it moves a bit slow for my taste. Take the Lumatere Chronicles or  The Seven Kingdoms series. These series moved along pretty fast and something mayor was accomplished in each book. So if what I heard is true and this series will be six or seven books long then I'm afraid I will lose interest in it as time goes on. Let's hope not. I definitely love the characters, and I think the next books in the series will be a lot better and have a lot more magic in them than this one. 

I loved Throne of Glass. Celaena and the rest of  the characters are amazing. The writing was excellent and the author did a great job with the world building. I think fans of YA fantasy will enjoy this one.