Willing to Sacrifice Our Love

Expected Publication:  October 21st, 2014

Stone Cold Touch (The Dark Elements #2)

By: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Harlequin Teen

ISBN-13:  9780373211340

Every touch has its price.

Layla Shaw is trying to pick up the pieces of her shattered life -- no easy task for a seventeen-year-old who's pretty sure things can't get worse.  Her impossibly gorgeous best friend, Zayne, is forever off-limits thanks to the mysterious powers of her soul-stealing kiss.  The Warden clan that has always protected her is suddenly keeping dangerous secrets.  And she can barely think about Roth, the wickedly hot demon prince who understood her in ways no one else could.

But sometimes rock bottom is only the beginning.  Because suddenly Layla's powers begin to evolve, and she's offered a tantalizing taste of what has always been forbidden.  Then, when she least expects it, Roth returns, bringing news that could change her world forever.  She's finally getting what she always wanted, but with hell literally breaking loose and the body count adding up, the price may be higher than Layla is willing to pay.....

Review

       When we left her at the end of the first book, Layla's relations with her Warden guardian and his brethren were, at best, strained - at worst, glacial.  Not to mention her devastation at the loss of her boyfriend to banishment (and probably torture) back to his old home - Hell!  Now all Layla has is a snake familiar named Bambi, her best friends Stacey and Sam, and the one Warden who still believes in her, Zayne, her once-upon-a-time crush and fantasy.  When Layla's powers begin to malfunction she has no idea what could be wrong.  No longer able to see auras, she starts freaking out.  Especially when they find out a Lilin (or Lilim, can't remember the exact term/spelling) is in the area infecting people and killing them.  Layla begins opening up to Zayne, but is left reeling when Roth returns, seemingly indifferent to their past relationship.  Can Layla, Roth and Zayne work together to stop the Lilin and will she be able to stop her dark heritage from destroying them all?

       So, what can I actually say without giving so many spoilers you all will hate my guts???!!!  Layla, as in the first book, is still very relatable, strong, kick-ass and yet with a vulnerability that makes it impossible to dislike her.  The whole Layla/Roth/Zayne love triangle still managed to rise above the cliches and anger-inducing triteness.  At the beginning of the book, Layla is grieving for Roth still and she's kind of a mess.  Then Zayne starts to make a move on her, which she wasn't expecting at all.  Not to mention, the whole "powers go wonky" thing gives them the opportunity to actually test the waters.  She can kiss Zayne for the first time ever without stealing his soul!  It definitely changes the rules of the game, and confuses poor Layla even more by making the impossible actually possible.  The chemistry between the two of them is RED HOT.  Then when Roth comes back to help find the Lilin, poor Layla becomes even more of a mess.  There are some kick-ass actions scenes, some great one-liners and overall dialogue.  

        Also, we get to see Layla bonding with her former "nemesis," Danica (who actually turns out to be a truly sweet girl who has the short end of the situation).  The witches were an interesting touch, and I feel like it added another dimension to the paranormal mythology of the overall story.  I really enjoyed witches, for the first time in quite awhile.  That ending though!  I kind of saw it coming, but I really didn't think JLA would go there.  Rest assured, she did!  Overall, I highly recommend this to fans of the first book and as usual, Jennifer manages to avoid the dreaded sophmore syndrome that destroys so many sequels.  Solid writing, enjoyable plot, great action, and truly awesome character development.  I think fans of Team Roth OR Team Zayne need to be prepared to ship both though.  I have no clear favorite at this point!

VERDICT:  4.5/5  Stars

*I reviewed this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie.  No money or favors were exchanged for this review.  This book's expected publication date is October 21st, 2014.*

Your Kiss Might Kill Me

Expected Publication:  February 25th, 2014

White Hot Kiss (The Dark Elements #1)

By: Jennifer L. Armentrout

Harlequin Teen

ISBN-13:  9780373211104

One kiss could be the last.

Seventeen-year-old Layla just wants to be normal.  But with a kiss that kills anything with a soul, she's anything but normal.  Half demon, half gargoyle, Layla has abilities no one else possesses.

Raised among the Wardens - a race of gargoyles tasked with hunting demons and keeping humanity safe - Layla tries to fit in, but that means hiding her own dark side from those she loves the most.  Especially Zayne, the swoon-worthy, incredibly gorgeous and completely off-limits Warden she's crushed on forever.

The she meets Roth -- a tattooed, sinfully hot demon who claims to know all her secrets.  Layla knows she should stay away, but she's not sure she wants to -- especially when the whole no-kissing thing isn't an issue, considering Roth has no soul.

But when Layla discovers she's the reason for the violent demon uprising, trusting Roth could not only ruin her chances with Zayne...it could brand her a traitor to her family.  Worse yet, it could become a one-way ticket to the end of the world.

Review

     This just might be my favorite book by JLA now, even more so than Obsidian.  I think Roth has replaced Daemon in my affections!  That said, I know a lot of people awaiting this book are worried that it's going to devolve into juvenile, annoying love triangle territory.  It definitely does NOT go down that road.  It reminded me a lot of her almost-semi-quasi love triangle in her Lux series.  There are a few moments where you think the heroine might really have to make a decision between the two guys.  But then you realize that she is not confused, and knows what she wants.  Layla knows what and who she wants by the time White Hot Kiss ends.  Even if it might be beyond her reach at that point...

     Layla spends a lot of the book at war with herself, and her craving for the souls of others.  Being half gargoyle she doesn't really fit in with the Wardens of Heaven that raised her, due to her demon half which Layla tries to forget exists.  But she knows that she can never be with Zayne, the guy she likes, because of the need to propagate the race of Wardens by breeding full-bloods together.  And she can't even shift like a real gargoyle.  Not to mention, most of the Wardens wish Layla was dead.  Enter in Roth, an Upper Level demon who is all of the sudden one of Layla's classmates at school.  Turns out that someone in Hell is gunning for Layla due to a yen to start the apocalypse.  Her blood opens the door so to speak, and now that she's seventeen it's game on.  Can she trust Roth, who claims to want to prevent the apocalypse?  Or should she confess everything to the Wardens before it's too late?

     The mythology of this book was really well built, and while I myself didn't know it, a friend told me that originally gargoyles were thought to be Wardens of Heaven and protectors of the people.  So there is some basis in history to that particular nugget!  Also, this book had a great secondary cast of characters including Layla's sex-obsessed and boy crazy BFF Stacey.  She absolutely cracked me up!  Sam, another friend, was a font of random knowledge and always said the weirdest stuff, completely out of the blue (which actually works to Layla's advantage later in the book).  Oh and Roth!  Oh my goodness, what a guy!  I loved the fact that his familiars were tattooed on his body (that could come to life).  A killer snake named Bambi, some vicious kittens, and a dragon named THUMPER.  Also, Roth reminded me a lot of supposed "bad-boy" Daemon Black from the Lux series, but he definitely had more of an edge that Daemon did.  Because Roth is a demon from Hell - so he technically is the bad guy!  

     Layla herself was smart, loyal and could kick-ass, even without the ability to access her Warden abilities.  I loved that she refused to let Roth or Zayne (who was seriously overprotective and yo - mixed signals to the max) boss her around.  The revelation of her Mother and Fathers' identities were pretty twisted, especially that of her father.  That one kind of broke me as a reader!  Poor Layla, to have any hope of being wanted shattered was pretty devastating.  The first sixty percent or so of this book though, is more world-building than anything else and moved kind of slow.  But the shit definitely hits the fan at the end!  Overall, I loved it and am super excited to read the next book in the series and maybe get to know Zayne a little bit better.  I highly recommend it if you're looking for something different or are already a fan of JLA.  You won't be disappointed!

VERDICT:  4.5/5 Stars

*I received this book as part of Around the World ARC Tours, run by the lovely Princess Bookie & also from Harlequin Teen on NetGalley.  No favors or money were exchanged for this review.  This book's expected publication date is February 25th, 2014.*

Dawn of the Apocalypse - Scavenger Hunt, GIVEAWAY and Review!

     So guys I am involved in yet another fun event, this one hosted by the lovely Diane, at Oops! I Read Again Tours.  Me and some other bloggers got together under her direction to bring you this fun scavenger hunt/giveaway and reviews of an awesomely terrifying book, Dawn of the Apocalypse by E.S.P.  Be sure to click on the banner above to be taken to the tour page, so you can visit all the stops and get the clues for the giveaway!  To join the scavenger hunt, all you need to do is collect two words from each tour stop and form three sentences out of them. The first sentence has 11 words, the second one has 2 words and the last sentence has 15 words. Once you collect all words you can try to solve the puzzle and enter the giveaway.  My two words that you will need will be bolded and in red in my review.  I am the last stop for this tour!!!  Good luck and happy hunting! :)

January 1, 2000.
May 21, 2011.
December 21, 2012

These are just a few of the days humans prophesied as bringing catastrophic events that would end the world. We predicted nuclear warfare. Drastic climate change. A call from God.

We were wrong.

Cue the gargoyle invasion—laboratory bred mutants designed to slaughter humans. When the government goes AWOL and gargoyles are swarming by the hundreds, it's up to the citizens of the United States to regroup and save themselves.

Meet Cliff Matthews, a teenage boy separated from his entire family with the exception of his younger sister, whom he is desperate to keep alive. Along the quest to save their lives, he encounters people who aren't all that they seem. Everyday's a battle, but if he can't trust his own species, where does that leave his family?

And we can't forget the man who may be willing to sacrifice Cliff's life, if it means world domination.

In terms of doomsday, no one could've seen this coming. The dawn of the apocalypse…

Review

 

     I can safely state that I have never read anything like this before!  When I first became a tour host for Oops! I Read Again and was looking at the list of available tours, this immediately caught my eye.  Killer gargoyles created from mutated genetic material in a laboratory?  Sign me up!  I'm glad that I participated.  This is definitely an example of the exception to the general rule of junk in the self-publication pile.  This was a book full of rich descriptions, heart stopping action and really sympathetic characters.  It begins in Mexico with a visit by El Presidente to a small village, where they are all attacked by the killer gargoyles.  It's a pretty horrific spectacle.  Then it goes to 15 year old Cliff, at the subway station with the rest of his family.  When his little sisters Angel and Andy have to use the bathroom before they board the train, Cliff is the one to take them.  Fifteen minutes later their entire world is in ruins, half his family is missing and it's up to Cliff to keep his remaining sister safe when Andy disappears with their older brother Todd.  Along with the mysterious Hunter, a girl with some major problems who helps save him in the bus stop, it's up to Cliff to find a way to stay alive in a danger zone.  But when the government's lying to you, the news is reporting bullshit and everything outside is chaos, who do you trust? 

     I honestly had such a great time reading this and I think a big part of that is the fact that NO ONE WAS SAFE.  That's the problem with a lot of mainstream, big publishing house YA nowadays.  If an apocalyptic book makes it to the market, there is one character who is the main focus.  They are guaranteed survival through the whole novel/series.  Maybe they'll die at the end, but no matter what happens during they will be alive.  With E.S.P.'s novel I had no clue who was going to live or die at the hands of the terrifying, flesh-eating gargoyles roaming the New York city streets.  And that's a great feeling to have when reading a book - that you can still be surprised by what's going to happen next!  The multiple points of view from Cliff, Hunter and a few others kept things fresh and especially unpredictable, but there were moments when I really thought Hunter and little Angel, or even Cliff might die.  Thanks for that Ms. ESP!  It made the experience awesome. 

     There were some minor grammatical/spelling errors, but nothing really annoying or obvious.  Plus my copy was an ARC, so maybe they're corrected in the final version.  The ending left things wide open for a sequel and had me wanting one right away.  I have to know what really happened to Cliff, Hunter and Angel dammit!  Plus there has to be more to the main villain than what we were shown.  I wish there had been a little more development on him but overall, a entirely enjoyable reading experience.  I wish there were more like it.

VERDICT:  4/5  Stars

*I received a review copy for my Kindle, courtesy of Oops! I Read Again Tours and the author, E.S.P.  No money or favors were exchanged for this review (I promise, I'm still poor! :).  This book was published August 9th, 2013.*

 

 

About E.S.P.

Being the daughter of an accomplished author, E.S.P. grew up listening to stories and telling her own to classmates. After writing for several years and even publishing some short works, she finally decided to take the plunge to write (plus finish!) a full length novel. Thus, Dawn of the Apocalypse was born. When she's not writing, she's either reading books, blogging at whoistheserialreader.blogspot.com, or watching eighties movies twitter.com/bloggerESP

Purchase Links:  Amazon

 

 

THE GIVEAWAY

 

 

Lions, and Tigers and Gargoyles...OH MY!

Expected Publication: September 8th, 2012
Redemption (Hearts of Stone # 1)
By: Veronique Launier
Flux
ISBN-13: 9780738730745

Guillaume: For five hundred years I've existed as a gargoyle. Perched atop an old Montreal church, I've watched idly as humanity wanders by. With the witch Marguerite gone, there is no one left to protect, nothing to care about. I never planned to feel again. But then a girl released me from my stone restraints, allowing me to return as a seventeen-year-old human boy. I must find out all I can about this girl's power . . .

Aude: Getting attacked twice in as many days is strange in itself, but even stranger is the intriguing guy I keep running into. There's something so familiar about him, like a primal drum rhythm from my dreams. But spending time together only raises more questions--about my heritage, a native Mohawk prophecy . . . and an unearthly magic threatening our city...

Review

   Aude, called 'Odd' by her friends, thinks that she is abnormal to begin with.  All she wants is to stay in the background of life, except when she's on stage with her band Lucid Pill.  But then she is attacked twice in one week and her life begins to spiral out of control, shifting her priorities.  It might be important to finally find out who her Father was after all...and maybe puzzle out why she might have a connection to an ancient Mohawk prophecy that seems to fortell the apocalypse.  Guillame was a gargoyle for over five hundred years.  But only for the last seventy have he and his brothers been on top of a church in Montreal, forced to watch the world pass them by.  Once able to shift between human and gargoyle the end of the family line of their charge, witch Margeurite, put an end to that ability.    Marguerite's family had a bargain with Guillame's - protection in exchange for the essence that kept the gragoyles alive.  Then Aude is attacked near their church and chants some words, bringing them to life again.  But without a witch of Margeurite's line to give them essence, the boys will become gragoyles again soon.  Determined to find out why Aude was able to wake them, Guillame insinuates himself into Aude's life to get the answers.  But Aude is hearing tribal drums and having odd encounters that point to her involvement in a prophecy.  The gargoyles aren't the only ones interested in her and it will take some team work to make sure that they all make it out alive - starting with Aude and Guillame trusting each other.  I thought that I had read almost every type of supernatural fiction humanly possible.  Then I saw this book and the word GARGOYLES in the description and flipped out!!!  I was super excited to read something so out of the common way.  Plus, the connection to Mohawk culture completely sold me, because I love anything Native and always have.  Aude is stubborn, a little bit selfish but totally full of heart and love for her Mom and her friends.  Guillame has lived a long life with plenty of mistakes, but he still has something in him that is heroic and redeemable.  My main complaint would be the slow-build, but that is understandable considering it's the first in a series.  I liked the double point-of-view, because it let me see things from Aude AND Guillame's perspectives which fleshed out the story considerably.  The major conflict was with the Terra Cotta Man and it felt resolved too easily, but I can see the makings of a superb villain in Vincent.  It will be interesting to see where Launier goes with it.  The romance wasn't immediate which was a nice change from most YA paranormal books.  The shock of Aude's heritage was pretty interesting as well.  I should have seen it coming but didn't.  I am really excited and highly recommend this for anyone looking for something fresh and original.

VERDICT:  4/5

*I received an Advanced Reading E-book Copy from the publisher, via NetGalley. No money or favors were exchanged for this review. This book's expected publication date is September 8th, 2012.*