ARC Book Review: How We Deal With Gravity by Ginger Scott

Author: Ginger Scott
Release Date: July 6th 2014
Publisher: self published
Pages: 244
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Rating 4 stars

When her son Max was diagnosed with autism, Avery Abbot’s life changed forever. Her husband left, and her own dreams became a distant fantasy—always second to fighting never-ending battles to make sure Max was given opportunity, love and respect. Finding someone to fight along her side wasn’t even on her list, and she’d come to terms with the fact that she could never be her own priority again. 

But a familiar face walking into her life in the form of 25-year-old Mason Street had Avery’s heart waging a war within. Mason was a failure. When he left his hometown five years ago, he was never coming back—it was only a matter of time before his records hit the billboard charts. Women, booze and rock-n-roll—that was it for him. But it seemed fate had a different plan in mind, and with a dropped record contract, little money and nowhere to go, Mason turned to the only family that ever made him feel home—the Abbots. 

Avery loved Mason silently for years—until he broke her heart…completely. But time and life have a funny way of changing people, and sometimes second chances are there for a reason. Could this one save them both?

My Thoughts:

This ARC was kindly provided from the author in exchange for an honest review.

This is a heart breaking story of Avery, a single mother who struggles everyday to raise her autistic son Max. Her entire life is layed out in a checklist that she has to follow to the T for her son to be comfortable and not act out as she described. The opening scene of the so soft spoken and heartbreaking that it had me absorbed into the book immediately.

Meet Mason street, a rock band singer whose dream ended stortly after it began. In an attempt to piece his broken pieces and lick his wounds, Mason returns back home, at the house he spent most of his childhood. Ray Abbot's home, Avery's father. Everyone is pretty happy to see him there except Avery who still remembers the time he broke her heart.

As the story progresses the characters change a lot and develop into something beautiful and real, I liked that they achieved what they wanted from all along and that they did not lose their track with the pages. I came to love Mason, because he became a sweet man, that actually cared about the people around him and he is not scared to show it. As for Avery, she learned how to live her life and little more and started believing in second chances, and that the world doesnt always circle a checklist.What I appreciated about Avery even more was the fact that although she crazy in love with Mason, she did not lose focus on Max and his constant needs.

Max, was always in the background BUT the author did a great job of somehow centering him. Everything involved around him no matter he wasnt talking a lot, or was just playing on his ipad, I got to give her credit for this. It was just amazing, and something not all author can actually work around.

The writing was brilliant, with a double POV, I felt like I knew everything that was going inside Avery's and Mason's head, the feelings where strong and the ride was hard. The plot is really down to earth, dealing with real life issues, autism, acceptance and second chances.

I gave How We Deal With Gravity four stars because I would like to read a little bit more of Max since he was the center of attention of everyone.

Book Review: If I Stay by Gayle Forman

Author: Gayle Forman
Publisher: Dutton Juvenile
Publication Date: April 2nd 2009
Series: If I Stay
Pages: 201
Rating: 3 stars
Buy on: Amazon
Add to: Goodreads

Just listen, Adam says with a voice that sounds like shrapnel.

I open my eyes wide now.
I sit up as much as I can.
And I listen.

Stay, he says.

Choices. Seventeen-year-old Mia is faced with some tough ones: Stay true to her first love—music—even if it means losing her boyfriend and leaving her family and friends behind?

Then one February morning Mia goes for a drive with her family, and in an instant, everything changes. Suddenly, all the choices are gone, except one. And it's the only one that matters.

If I Stay is a heartachingly beautiful book about the power of love, the true meaning of family, and the choices we all make.

My Thoughts: 

I was avoiding this book mainly because it was being compared to Lovely Bones and then some people were saying that it will appeal to Twilight fans. I loved twilight ,dont get me wrong ,but I didnt want to read something similar, or worse, a fan fiction.

When I started If I Stay, I couldnt really get into it. Maybe its me, but the writing seemed to me simple and more like 5th grade-ish. Like a kid trying to write a composition. Seemed to me that the emotions were flat and didnt give me the excitement I was expecting – the excitement I expect from every book – to connect with the main characters. I thought of giving it up and I am glad I didnt because then the twist came and the writing transformed to something astoundingly amazing and lively.

I was captivated by the beauty of the words the author was using, how the sentences were so alive and gave me goosebumps from the horror and amazement of what I was reading. Memories blended with the present creating a serene (almost) and yet gloomy atmosphere. If Lovely Bones was all about death, If I Stay was all about the celebration of life and the choices we make and how things can change within a millisecond.

Although the writing was beautiful and the characters well crafted and lively and the plot down to earth (if you exclude the paranormal element), I still felt like something was missing. Mia seemed cold to me, like literally, she felt nothing, or she was trying to suppress the feelings that overwhelmed her. Towards the end of the book, I think Mia had an epiphany of some sort and she started feeling everything and then the book became an emotional roller coaster because from 0 feelings you go to a crazy amount of feelings and all the things that you were reading all this time come down to crush you and yes, you tear up.

And now, in order to make an excuse for the rating of If I Stay, I will say that this book confused me a lot when it comes down to how it is written. I didnt know if it was like that on purpose or its just me so I decided to compromise and give it a decent rating.

Efterpi

Quintessentially Q by Pepper WInters (book review by Efterpi)

Author: Pepper Winters

Publisher: CreateSpace

Release Date: December 13th 2013

Series: Monsters In The Dark #2

Pages: 376

Rating: 5 stars

Buy on: Amazon

Add on Goodreads  

All my life, I battled with the knowledge I was twisted… fucked up to want something so deliciously dark—wrong on so many levels. But then slave fifty-eight entered my world. Hissing, fighting, with a core of iron, she showed me an existence where two wrongs make a right."

Tess is Q’s completely. Q is Tess’s irrevocably. But now, they must learn the boundaries of their unconventional relationship, while Tess seeks vengeance on the men who sold her. Q made a blood-oath to deliver their corpses at Tess’s feet, and that’s just what he’ll do.

He may be a monster, but he’s Tess’s monster.

 REVIEW:

For those of you that considered Tears Of Tess a dark and twisted book then you should not read this one. This is a much darker, twisted, painful book that you can possibly imagine. I had to stop reading at some parts just to get myself together from the shock, to register the fact that I was actually reading that particular scene or paragraph.

The book continues where Tears of Tess left off, we read one of the hottest sex scenes and I felt like everything would be okay in this book. Everything would turn out alright and Tess with Q would be able to do what they swore to each other.

The writing was great, the author did a great job with the point of view of Q and to be honest with thought and talked the way I had pictured him doing in the first book, so thats a plus for the story, when the author can actually sense what her fans need and deliver it. She also did a really good job with getting my heart ripped out of my chest.

Tess is being kidnapped under Q's nose and I wont spoil anything to you, I will just warn you that what you will be reading is games and fun, love and romance. It's violence to its extreme to the point that I panicked thinking even for a minute what trafficking victims go through. The only thing that I will tell you is that Tess will go through the 9 circles of Hell and back. As for Q, Q broke my heart into a thousand little pieces.

The writing like I said before was so good and this time the author gave Q a rather more animalistic side entwined with love for Tess. It was a scary narration since we see what a human can actually do if he has the means to take back what was taken from him. How can someone lose hope and find it to the weird places, how you shut down emotionally when someone you love is being forced to do the worst of tihngs, things that are no humanly imaginable and how you cope with these thoughts.

This is one great read with more adventure and pain that ever you ,will more than mesmerized by the talent of the author.

Tears of Tess by Pepper Winters (book review by Efterpi)

Author: Pepper Winters
Publisher: Black Firefly
Publication Date: August 28th 2013
Series: Monsters in The Dark #1
Pages: 376
Rating: 5 stars
Buy on: Amazon
Add on Goodreads

   A New Adult Dark Contemporary Romance, not suitable for people sensitive to grief, slavery, and nonconsensual sex. A story about finding love in the strangest of places, a will of iron that grows from necessity, and forgiveness that may not be enough.

“My life was complete. Happy, content, everything neat and perfect.
Then it all changed.
I was sold.”

        Tess Snow has everything she ever wanted: one more semester before a career in property development, a loving boyfriend, and a future dazzling bright with possibility.
       For their two year anniversary, Brax surprises Tess with a romantic trip to Mexico. Sandy beaches, delicious cocktails, and soul-connecting sex set the mood for a wonderful holiday. With a full heart, and looking forward to a passion filled week, Tess is on top of the world.
       But lusty paradise is shattered.
       Kidnapped. Drugged. Stolen. Tess is forced into a world full of darkness and terror.
     Captive and alone with no savior, no lover, no faith, no future, Tess evolves from terrified girl to fierce fighter. But no matter her strength, it can’t save her from the horror of being sold.
    Can Brax find Tess before she’s broken and ruined, or will Tess’s new owner change her life forever?

Review: 

Tears of Tess ARC was kindly provided by Black Firefly books

 I only have to make one statement on this particular book.
If I was Christian Grey I would probably weep in front of Q. A lot of people related this book to Fifty Shades of Grey and to say the least: They are so so wrong. Tears of Tess is a much darker, much agonizing, much much more mature and well developed book than Fifty Shades. Q himself is a book on its own. Tess herself is a bible on her own. The Plot itself is like nothing I ever read before.

It all starts with Tess...a 22 year old university student getting ready for a vacation to unknown with her boyfriend Brax. From page one I wanted to slap her so hard so she could wake up (that changed later). We see a girl in a relationship that she is not completely happy in, she wants to try new things and then she is scared the reaction of her possessive, yet protective and sweet boyfriend. I read her fears and her thoughts while she was trying to find a way to change Brax.

The vacation doesnt go the way they planned, not because of what you may think but because Tess failed to make Brax see what she wanted the most. More action in the bedroom.
While in Mexico, Tess is being kidnapped by human traffickers, her worst nightmares simply could not be compared with what she went through. And this is where the book actually started for me. This is when Tess is being transformed to a strong human being trying to survive under the worst possible conditions, while she is beaten and degraded from animals. I loved the fact that the author did a good job describing the feelings of Tess while she was being abused,the thoughts, the ways she planned to take revenge and get the hell out of there.
Suddenly from an unknown place she found herself in France,being mocked by a rich,twisted, dark Man. A man she loathed at first sight, Q.

Meet Q Mercer ,the most broken, dark, twisted, beautiful character I ever read in a book. The most troubled creature that no one could save or so he thinks. He is a man that doesnt know how to control his feelings and urges and he is even scared of how far he can go with himself. But as the book moves on we learn that beneath every monster there is a broken man fighting with his demons, a man who cant show any emotions because behind all this armor he is too scared and vulnerable.

Tess is being troubled by the need to be touched by Q to be devoured into this twisted world of his. She wanted whips and straps and handcuffs and now she has these and an even more frightening future awaits her. She finds herself attracted to Q and again we see the genius of the author as she made Tess go back and forth in her mind, torn between her old life and the new, between Brax and Q, we see her making the comparisons, troubled and confused between right and wrong until in the end she chooses what she thinks is right.

This is a brutal love story, dont expect romance, poems or roses this is the world of a twisted man with only dark thoughts and actions to mark his life and the life of Tess. I cant say anything more in this review without risking spoiling important things to you.

Tears of Tess has everything in it, from stupid romance, to kidnapping, to violence, rape, human trafficking ,abuse and humiliation to hardcore BDSM. It gives a sense of dark masochism and how it feels to be a submissive. How deep down all of us hide a room with our darkest fantasies, fantasies that even scare us, fantasies that can be released as easily as we thought of them and either get us drowned in blood or drowned in pleasure. A book about self discovery, self appreciation, self understanding and the power of taking control of who you are and coming to terms with.

I simply cant wait for book two.

With the Band by L.A. Witt (book review by Efterpi)

THE FOLLOWING REVIEW CONTAINS ADULT MATERIAL.

Author: L.A. Witt
Release Date: March 22nd 2011
Publisher: Loose Id
Pages: 252
Rating: 3 stars
Buy on: Amazon
Add on: Goodreads, Shelfari

Hard rock band Schadenfreude is finally on the verge of the success that’s eluded them for the last several years. With Aaron McClure as their new lead singer, nothing’s going to stop them…except maybe a steamy, secret relationship between Aaron and bassist Bastian Koehler. Aaron knows all too well what can happen when band members get involved with each other. After all, his last band was a casualty of his last relationship, and Schadenfreude forbids band members from dating for that very reason. But Bastian is too hot to resist, and besides, it’s just sex, so what’s the harm?

Bastian has just gotten out of a long relationship with his volatile ex-fiancée when Aaron catches his eye. The sexy singer is irresistible, and in spite of the potential for strife within the band if this comes out, Bastian can’t help himself.

Their passion in the bedroom is rivaled only by their ambition as musicians, though, and pretty soon, it's going to tear them, and Schadenfreude apart, if they can't get back to playing with the band.

Review:

To be clear before we go on with this review ,I have never ever in my life so far read one single book of gay romance or M/M or whoever you guys call it..this is my first and from what I have heard from other bloggers its a really good read in comparison to other M/M novels out there..and it was...it really was.

Once the book start we get a little background on Aaron, the main character of this book. He is on the way to Seattle, returning from Los Angeles after his band broke up because of him and his boyfriend. Pure drama in my opinion.

Once Aaron meets up with his brother in order to join their band since they fired their singer, he comes face to face with Bastian...German btw. The attraction is instant but the problem is that Bastian is straight so that leaves Aaron alone in the shower masturbating over Bastian. To keep things short Bastian (bisexual) makes the first move and we find both of those rockers in a sequence of pure lust and cheek-blushing sex scenes. So hot I could feel the steam coming off my Nook's screen.
The writer seemed to be doing a great job with the descriptive part of the book but seemed to be doing exactly the opposite when it came to actual dialogues and dropping a little of background info on both of the main characters.

 The good thing with the first page though was the writing, it had me hooked on the book until the end. And after page three or four things went south...really south in a bad way. What struck me the most was the repetition of words and phrases in one single page that made me want to scream from frustation and annoyance. This is Writing 101 there Witt, seriously wasnt that the first thing you learned?

Conversations seemed to circling around the same context of ''How are we going to come forward to our families and friends?'' ,''What will they say?'' etc over and over again it made it tiring and really annoying at times. All the sex scenes started with ''We should stop..'' and ended in pure sex.
Bastian and Aaron didnt seem to be talking about anything else but the situations mentioned above and when they did they cut it short because of more SEX. Seriously?

I also hated how the band responded to the revelation of their relationship and how this thing kept dranging on and on and on. We live in the 21st century for fucks sake, I mean how hard is it to stomach the fact that two people are gay and in a relationship fucking their brains out in secrecy every night?

As for the characters dont expect a lot of depth and a lot of intuition they are just plain. I couldnt even bond with Aaron on Bastian.

The ending was really disappointing because for an unexplained reason it was rushed and cut short.

Three stars it is for the sex scenes and how hot they were.

Breathe Into Me by Sara Fawkes ARC (book review by Eleni)

Author:  Sara Fawkes
Release Date: April 8th 2014
Publisher: St. Martin's Press
Pages: 288
Rating: 4 stars
Buy on: Amazon

How did my life get so broken?  It’s a question Lacey St. James asks herself every day.  Stuck raising her little brother in a trailer park while she works a dead end job at a grocery store, she has a stalker exboyfriend, a bad reputation, and no way out.  

And then, she meets Everett, who changes her entire existence.

Everett is an outsider who’s housesitting his family’s mansion off the coast, and for reasons Lacey can’t understand, he’s completely transfixed by her. He seems determined to show her that life can offer more than she’d ever hoped for, if only she believes in herself.  She desperately yearns to trust him, but what happens when she finds out that everything he’s told her is a lie? 

Review:

I received this e-book as an ARC on NetGalley from St. Martin's Press and I totally loved this book.
Although, there is not a lot to say without spoiling anything to anyone, Breathe Into Me had my attention from page one.

This is just not any romance book out there, its a story about self discovery, self-appreciation and the journey of finding yourself and the power with in you. The book itself it was so good written, the characters so well developed that I instantly liked the laid back conversations between Lacey and her friends, I could actually relate with Lacey ,I felt her happiness and sorrow ,her ups and downs, because honestly this book is an emotional roller-coaster and the ride is hard.

Coming from a broken home, with a dead father and a retired from life mother Lacey can only help her little brother. As she tries to find a way out of her abusive relationship and her ''friend'', she decides that she needs to change. Coming across Everett helped her a lot and he helped her too.

I loved the conversations between them and I appreciated that the author actually took her time developing their relationship slowly that it was almost a torture but the outcome was rewarding. You can actually see the attraction growing between them and you can actually learn a few things about them because the characters have depth, the have emotions and thoughts and that makes them awesome.

What made this book more interesting was the unexpected plot twist that seriously I didn't see coming, once I thought that everything is perfect bam! everything changes, from then on the book becomes a little more serious and the story comes packed with revelations that will everyone speechless. I was actually turning the pages like crazy.

The ending was really good and although I dont know if we will have a chance to see a second part of Breathe Into Me , I am more than interested to read one.

Grotesque by Natsuo Kirino (book review by Eleni)

Author: Natsuo Kirino
Release Date: March 13th 2007 (1st published in 2003)
Publisher: Knopf
Pages: 480
Rating: 3 stars
Buy on: Amazon ,Barnes and Noble

Tokyo prostitutes Yuriko and Kazue have been brutally murdered, their deaths leaving a wake of unanswered questions about who they were, who their murderer is, and how their lives came to this end. As their stories unfurl in an ingeniously layered narrative, coolly mediated by Yuriko’s older sister, we are taken back to their time in a prestigious girls’ high school—where a strict social hierarchy decided their fates — and follow them through the years as they struggle against rigid societal conventions.

Shedding light on the most hidden precincts of Japanese society today,Grotesque is both a psychological investigation into the female psyche and a work of noir fiction that confirms Natsuo Kirino’s electrifying gifts.

Review:

This book confused me so much when it comes to the rating. It;s one of those books that belong in the in between and I really didn't know how to rate it. So I closed my eyes and gave it a 3. 

Like all Natsuo Kirino's books you get to see the story from multiple POV'S and I guess that's a good thing but not in Grotesque. At some point the narration becomes really boring while we get to know the background of Yuriko's murderer , and my opinion is that it was unnecessary for the author to do so in this book. I would like the book a lot better if it was based on two POV's instead of 3. It would me more mysterious and more fast paced and enjoyable rather than painful. Although , I wanted to commit suicide from boredom I couldn't put the book down because it was enjoyable from a whole different aspect...modern Japan.

While the main protagonist lives her life and tells the story of her sister Yuriko we get to see a Japan so much different than the cuteness and the happiness that we know. It's a Japan dark and grey where people judge from appearance and are nosy and above all they see mixed Japanese as ''bastards'' . You get to know the ''goods'' and bad's of prostitution and why people choose this kind of life. Kirino did a really good job with the writing in this one, although the translation had a lot of mistakes and at some points you couldn't make sense, blending fiction with reality in a book that was really intriguing and in the end sad. 

I didn;t enjoy this book as much I did with Out and Real World but I have to give it to her for her writing and the way she makes you see the real world people live in.

Unteachable by Leah Raeder (book review by Eleni)

Author: Leah Raeder
Publisher: Velvet Pony Press
Release Date: July 27th 2013
Pages: 356
Rating: 5 stars
Buy on: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

This novel contains graphic sexual content and strong language. It is intended for mature readers. 

I met him at a carnival, of all corny places. The summer I turned eighteen, in that chaos of neon lights and cheap thrills, I met a man so sweet, so beautiful, he seemed to come from another world. We had one night: intense, scary, real. Then I ran, like I always do. Because I didn’t want to be abandoned again.

But I couldn’t run far enough.

I knew him as Evan that night. When I walked into his classroom, he became Mr. Wilke.

My teacher.

I don’t know if what we’re doing is wrong. The rules say one thing; my heart says screw the rules. I can’t let him lose his job. And I can’t lose him.

In the movies, this would have a happy ending. I grow up. I love, I lose, I learn. And I move on. But this is life, and there’s no script. You make it up as you go along.

And you don’t pray for a happy ending. You pray for it to never end.

Review:

This book is beautiful..simply and amazingly beautiful. It starts with the main protagonist Maise, being in a carnival during a summer night doing nothing but wander around. Since the first sentence, we know that we have nothing to do with the classic heroine that falls easily in love, that gets excited with boys, we have a cynical, sarcastic, wild and no- fucks- given- girl that the author crafted so carefully I thought Maise was real.Apart from that, the whole plot falls under the category of contemporary and it is a cliche love story but  seriously the first two pages of the book did it for me and I couldn't stop reading until the book was finished.

The writing is so so so mesmerising and the words blend together in a way that makes you want to jump out of your bed ,chair whatever and run the world until you find real love. It's so intoxicating sometimes it hurt. While reading this book I remembered how I acted as a teenager in love , when you fear nothing and no one, you are your true self with no restraints and want nothing more that one person in your life. That's what I consider an amazing book, the ability of the author to make you relate with the characters and the story. 

We dive into a real dysfanctional family with a long gone father and a mother who does nothing more than drink all day and according to Maise *suck her clients dicks in her van for more money* , while Maise has to fend for herself on her own. Her whole personality kind of reminds me of a slut or that is until she meets Evan at the carnival and then in his...classroom. 

The forbidden love makes the whole relationship a lot more interesting and anticipating. Maise starts to change her view of the world and the people around her , Evan is just as cute and broken as her. Although, they both are in love they deal with their problems on their own, they box them up and put them in the back of their heads and those boxes are starting to make a wall so tall and crammed up until everything comes down. I loved the fact that they were understanding of each other no matter their age gap and made their mistakes as a couple and then learned and moved on after forgiving each other.

While they try to be careful with what they do and when there are slip ups and a dark figure obsessed with Maise documents her everyday life. Sneaking in classrooms and making out with your teachers must be a huge dose of adrenaline and recklessness and you lose track of time and place until someone sees you. 

The narrating was in past tense giving the sense that Maise was in a different place and time when she was telling the story and that had an extra bit of biterness and sadness in it, I felt like I could hear the rise and fall of her voice while she was telling me the story. It was so alive. 

The 75% of the book is fast and intimate...like really really intimate. Although, I would like a little more talking between them than raw (sometimes) masochistic sex I liked the sex scenes a lot. 

This is a book about growing up and learning from your mistakes, whether you are 18 or 33 you still make mistakes and you still learn. How a person can change her whole life in just a few months and how she sees things after she finds trust and love to the most forbidden person - her teacher.

Unteachable is the kind of book that I will read again some time soon...really soon. Hope you like it too.

Origin by Jennifer L. Armentrout (book review by Eleni)

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Release Date: August 27th 2013
Publisher: Entangled
Series: Lux
Pages: 364
Rating: 4.5 stars
Buy on: Amazon , Barnes and Noble

Daemon will do anything to get Katy back.

After the successful but disastrous raid on Mount Weather, he’s facing the impossible. Katy is gone. Taken. Everything becomes about finding her. Taking out anyone who stands in his way? Done. Burning down the whole world to save her? Gladly. Exposing his alien race to the world? With pleasure.

All Katy can do is survive.

Surrounded by enemies, the only way she can come out of this is to adapt. After all, there are sides of Daedalus that don’t seem entirely crazy, but the group’s goals are frightening and the truths they speak even more disturbing. Who are the real bad guys? Daedalus? Mankind? Or the Luxen?

Together, they can face anything. 

But the most dangerous foe has been there all along, and when the truths are exposed and the lies come crumbling down, which side will Daemon and Katy be standing on? 

And will they even be together?

Review:

One thing that Jennifer Armentrout is for sure is a book thief...and I don;t mean Markus Zusak's book thief. All of the series are pretty similar with Twilight and all the cliche love stories but one good thing the author of the Lux series does is to create amazing characters.

This installation of the book is much much more adventurous and nerve racking. The characters are so good developed that you even feel for the second protagonists of the book that they don't play big roles. I think that the story wouldn't be that successful without them. 

A lot of scenes are predictable and you also see a lot of situations coming which doesn't leave much anticipation to the reader unfortunately but what I liked is how well the action-Part of the book was written. You could actually feel the fear and ''see'' the whole battle scene which for me was amazing. Not a lot of authors can do that. Fear blends with terror and for a brief second affection between the main characters which takes the plot to a whole different level.

So the book had it's flaws and also the goods but I love and hate how it ended. It just leaves you there hanging until the release of the last installation of the series and that makes me want to cry. I don't know what else to say without spoiling it to you so im gonna leave it here and hope you enjoy the book!!

Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout (book review by Eleni)

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Release Date: December 11th 2012
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Series: Lux
Pages: 382
Rating: 4.5 stars
Buy on: Amazon ,Barnes and Noble

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.

Review:

This book made me pull my hair so hard it actually hurt. I don;t know what the author was thinking.
There is so much action in this one than on the first two books of the series and seriously I liked that a lot..also the fact that we actually we get some action from Daemon and Katy helped on finishing Opal faster haha.

I hated that Dee and Katy had a silent fallout and the missing parent thing really started to grow on me. I mean okay we know Katy's mother is working but she can't be absent from the house for days and having her 18 year old daughter running around with a bunch of aliens - no mother would allow that.

I hated Blake more that anything in this one too. I started to like the guy at the second book but he fucked everything up during the end and in this one is no different. First he does the unforgivable to Katy and then he does the ultimate sin - im not gonna say.

Daemon is the only one that doesn't annoy me. He is so so so cute and adorable the whole time that I really wanna kiss him. And YES the book is emotional ,the reader will go through a bunch of emotional roller coasters with this one that he will need more.

I really don't know what more to say without spoiling the whole thing so I'm just gonna leave it here.

Onyx by Jennifer Armentrout (book review by Eleni)

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Release Date: August 14th 2012
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Series: Lux
Rating: 4 stars
Buy at: Amazon , Barnes and Noble

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…

Review:

As it usually happens with all good book series I immediately jumped from book 1 to book 2 in no time. I think I read this one within 6 hours or so and I am so so so excited.
It's been some time since the last time I actually read something so good that I had to devour it so quickly and to tell you the truth Onyx is one of my fav books.

Usually, when it comes to book series the second book tends to be the one where the couple separates or something happens to them...but that's not the case here...actually there was no couple to begin with. The author did more than an awesome job starving the readers for some romance and in this book we get rewarded finally!!! Katy is starting to realise that Daemon is not kidding with the whole I want you, I need you thing and starts to loosen up a little until she completely falls for him...in his embrace. They both keep secrets from Dee and Katy gets a little estranged from her because she wants to protect her until the inevitable happens. What happened in the end of the book I didn;t see it coming and I bet a lot of you wont either.

Meet Blake the new sexy guy at school that makes Katy act weird and date him....yup they went out together. As it turns out Blake has his own secrets and Daemon has a hard time trusting him with Katy.

The plot has a lot of twists and turns that I didn;t expect, things can be good and then turn ugly but that kept me reading because I was so excited about the unexpected. The writing is so intense and also you get to see the character's from a whole different perspective, it's just amazing because that doesn't happen really often.

Totally recommend it.

Obsidian by Jennifer L. Armentrout (book review by Eleni)

Author: Jennifer L. Armentrout
Release Date: May 8th 2012
Publisher: Entangled Teen
Series: Lux
Pages: 335
Rating: 5 stars!!!
Buy at: Amazon , Barnes and Noble

Starting over sucks.
When we moved to West Virginia right before my senior year, I'd pretty much resigned myself to thick accents, dodgy internet access, and a whole lot of boring.... until I spotted my hot neighbor, with his looming height and eerie green eyes. Things were looking up.
And then he opened his mouth.
Daemon is infuriating. Arrogant. Stab-worthy. We do not get along. At all. But when a stranger attacks me and Daemon literally freezes time with a wave of his hand, well, something...unexpected happens. 
The hot alien living next door marks me.
You heard me. Alien. Turns out Daemon and his sister have a galaxy of enemies wanting to steal their abilities, and Daemon's touch has me lit up like the Vegas Strip. The only way I'm getting out of this alive is by sticking close to Daemon until my alien mojo fades. 
If I don't kill him first, that is.

Review:

Okay I will try to review this book as much as i possible can without making any spoilers and I will stop drooling over Daemon like a girl trapped on a freaking island with no sight of boys for months!!!

Obsidian is amazingggggggggg, is awesommmmmeeeeee it is just GREAT. Okay now lets move to the actual review...

First of all, I loved the fact that the story was not an insta - love kinda romance but a more like I-LOVE-YOUR-GUTS-SO-HARD-BUT-THERE'S-NO-WAY-I'M -GONNA-LET-YOU-KNOW story and that goes until the end of the book. That made me starve me for kissing, sex whatever between the two main protagonists Daemon (sexy dude) and Katy (bookworm). 

To be honest with you the whole thing kind of reminded me of Twilight (yes i know )but a lot more intense and with no corny -cheese lines so don't be disappointed because it's not as stupid, actually I didn't find the book stupid at all except at some points where it was similar to Twilight.

The book is building up suspense in the right speed ,not to fast not to slow but as it should be and that made me turn the pages faster and faster. Also the word usage is amazing and there are some swears in it and a lot of description which i love particularly in steamy scenes..if you know what I mean.

The characters could not be more amazing and developed. I fell in love with Daemon immediately and I adored Katy too. Armentrout created a paranormal romance novel but Daemon and Katy are so human that you can relate to them. They have their faults and make their mistakes and surely they have a lot of stubbornness that you want to slap both of them. The rest of the characters are cool too and I liked them a lot, even the b*** of the whole thing in the end you get to like her. 

To be honest with you, I expected a book with all the cliche situations and a protagonist that falls in a second for the sexy neighbor next door but that was beyond expectations. The author just crashes all the cliches and gives Katy a backbone. 

This is a novel with lots of sense of humor, sarcasm and cleverness that you will enjoy so so so much. I am sure you will never forget this book.

The Storyteller by Antonia Michaelis (Book Review by Eleni)

Author: Antonia Michaelis
Release Date: January 1st 2012
Publisher: Amulet Books
Pages: 402
Rating: 5 stars
Buy at: Amazon , Barnes and Noble

Anna and Abel couldn’t be more different. They are both seventeen and in their last year of school, but while Anna lives in a nice old town house and comes from a well-to-do family, Abel, the school drug dealer, lives in a big, prisonlike tower block at the edge of town. Anna is afraid of him until she realizes that he is caring for his six-year-old sister on his own. Fascinated, Anna follows the two and listens as Abel tells little Micha the story of a tiny queen assailed by dark forces. It’s a beautiful fairy tale that Anna comes to see has a basis in reality. Abel is in real danger of losing Micha to their abusive father and to his own inability to make ends meet. Anna gradually falls in love with Abel, but when his “enemies” begin to turn up dead, she fears she has fallen for a murderer. Has she?

Review:

I have been staring the screen for half an hour now trying to come up with a review for this beautiful, heart wrecking book. I can't...so i will let everything out.

I had this book sitting lost in my nook library for like months now..I always passed it by without even thinking of reading it until i decided i should on those weird moments every bookworm has...grab a book any book and read. I never read the synopsis of books because i hate it. I just open a book and read and this time I was blown away.

It starts with blood and it finishes with blood...the in between is just a heart breaking story of a well bred girl falling in love with the school drug dealer and his cruel reality. The need to help and the need to be understood and loved goes beyond imagination in this story. Was she staying with him because it was something different and exciting to do or because he pitied him or because he loved him? Did she care about him or felt sorry for him and his little sister?

The answer to all those questions came towards the end of the book where Anna forgives the unforgivable act of Abel - then any reader can realize that if you love someone enough you forgive , you continue to care and put yourself second. The relationship between those two made me re-evaluate some things. Some things that I learned long ago and never actually thought about. 

This is one of the books that emotion swallows you full and you can't do anything but continue reading because you love the perfect made characters. Some readers said that they got annoyed with this book but i dont know what...for me it is a perfect read. A perfect depressing love story that will appeal to all the fans of Forbidden.

I loved how the fairytale can be mixed with reality and mystery in a love story so strong that Romeo and Juliet seem like kids love.  The translation seemed a little stiff but knowing German this is how it is supposed to be. The author did a good job with the usage of words and i guess the translator should get credit for it too. 

The Storyteller is one book I will never forget and probably go back to it at some point in the near future.

Simply Irresistible - Jill Shalvis book review by Eleni

Author: Jill Shalvis
Release Date: October 1st 2010
Publisher: Forever
Series: Lucky Harbor
Pages: 311
Rating: 4 stars
Buy at: Barnes and Noble , Amazon

Maddie Moore's whole life needs a makeover.

In one fell swoop, Maddie loses her boyfriend (her decision) and her job (so not her decision). But rather than drowning her sorrows in bags of potato chips, Maddie leaves L.A. to claim the inheritance left by her free-spirited mother—a ramshackle inn nestled in the little coastal town of Lucky Harbor, Washington.

Starting over won't be easy. Yet Maddie sees the potential for a new home and a new career—if only she can convince her two half-sisters to join her in the adventure. But convincing Tara and Chloe will be difficult because the inn needs a big makeover too.

The contractor Maddie hires is a tall, dark-haired hottie whose eyes—and mouth—are making it hard for her to remember that she's sworn off men. Even harder will be Maddie's struggles to overcome the past, though she's about to discover that there's no better place to call home than Lucky Harbor.

Review:

This book made me laugh, cry, love and do the same stuff all over again. In other words is a love story about finding yourself and taking control of your life.

I don;t have a lot to say about this book because it is just a cliche love story with a lot of humor. The writing was amazing and the characters were more than just developed. I believe that any reader will be able to find himself in one of the characters.

I loved Jax so much. He is hot, sexy, romantic, understanding and so so so so good it hurts. For a second i thought he was the ultimate boyfriend and made me look at mine with a whole another perspective hahah. What I didnl;t like is that the author made him too good to be true and that is kind of stupid, it felt like he was a superhero with no faults at all.

The whole book itself was a nice experience to me. The description was amazing that I thought I was next to Jax and Maddie walking around Lucky Harbor.

I totally totally recommend this book.

How To Love by Katie Cotugno book review by Eleni

Author: Katie Cotugno
Release Date: October 1st 2013
Publisher: Balzer + Bray
Pages: 389
Rating: 4 stars
Buy at: Amazon, Barnes and Noble

Before: Reena Montero has loved Sawyer LeGrande for as long as she can remember: as natural as breathing, as endless as time. But he’s never seemed to notice that Reena even exists…until one day, impossibly, he does. Reena and Sawyer fall in messy, complicated love. But then Sawyer disappears from their humid Florida town without a word, leaving a devastated—and pregnant—Reena behind.

After: Almost three years have passed, and there’s a new love in Reena’s life: her daughter, Hannah. Reena’s gotten used to being without Sawyer, and she’s finally getting the hang of this strange, unexpected life. But just as swiftly and suddenly as he disappeared, Sawyer turns up again. Reena doesn’t want anything to do with him, though she’d be lying if she said Sawyer’s being back wasn’t stirring something in her. After everything that’s happened, can Reena really let herself love Sawyer LeGrande again?

In this breathtaking debut, Katie Cotugno weaves together the story of one couple falling in love—twice.

Review:

I AM SO CONFUSED AND CONFLICTED OVER THIS BOOK THAT I KEEP THINKING AND THINKING ABOUT IT.
The book tells the story of Sawyer and Reena two completely different individuals who fall in love and do everything wrong or at least wrong in the eyes of a 20-year old that went through this shit and thought it was right. sigh. 
  Reena was in love with Sawyer since she could remember herself and at the age of 15 - socially awkward and by nature quite sees her best friend hooking up with Sawyer - then life goes to hell.
She stops speaking with her friend and spends 7 months alone working after school and trying to cope with life and heartbreak until Sawyer reaches out to her.
The book is divided in before and after chapters making it totally exciting for the reader (no sarcasm there) to want to read more from the Before and more of the After story. Now here comes the conflict. I don;t know if i hate Sawyer from the Before or I love him because he is an 18 year old that messed everything up for himself and Reena due to personal problems and drugs but he is there every time for her because he loved her. 
Now that I think about it i have an explanation for his actions - it was Reena, because she wanted to leave the shitty town , travel the world and leave Sawyer behind to bear with heartbreak. Eventually he is the one that walks out on her leaving her pregnant (he didn't know) and alone to cope with her religious father and a judgmental town.

The After story is two years later when Reena has a baby and suddenly Sawyer returns from the dead. No one knew where he was or what he did and of course they were not sure if he was alive. She turns her life upside down and the old feelings start to resurface again once she spends a little time with him. She makes some hasty decisions right there and then and goes back to his house for ''dinner'' and she totally loses it when they kiss -so she takes 5 steps back. I hated the After story because the only person that actually showed some kind of emotion was Sawyer and at some point i really really threw the book on the wall because Reena was so stupid. 
The writing makes the reading even more interesting and simply you can;'t put the book down no matter how much you want it to. I loved the characters but I would like to see a little more emotion and a little more of Sawyer. Reena was a Snow Queen with absolutely no expression of emotion and that was really frustrating because -lets all admit it - who likes a character like that?
Otherwise the book is an amazing read that I totally related with the characters and the story itself because as a sketchy teenager I was i went through the same shit- sans the pregnancy - and now I am married to the boy that made my life so interesting and crazy.