Yay friends!

My friend Ben and I were talking about doing a joint review for a book. Any ideas on what book you'd like to see reviewed? Fair warning, the review will be snarky, sarcastic, and effing hilarious. :) Let me know if you have any suggestions!

Blood Rites Review

So, to go along with my theme from my first review of The Grey Wolves series, this was my response to Blood Rites by Quinn Loftis: 

Not all of it was good squealing either but I'll get to that later. Blood Rites picks up right where The Prince of Wolves left off. Jacque is preparing for the ceremony with Fane that will bond them for the rest of their lives. Before they can make it official, there is an accident that leaves Fane no choice but to put off the ceremony. Fane and Jacque are torn apart and they must find a way to reunite.

Good
- For the millionth time.. Jen and Sally are hilarious!! Drunken Jen singing Katy Perry? Uh-mazing. 
- I'm so happy that there is a growing love story between someone other than Fane and Jacque. I mean, I love them but it's nice to see another story, too!
- I liked seeing the multiple point of views throughout the book. I think it provided so much to the story to be able to know what the others were thinking.
- I actually ended like liking Jacque's dad. I thought he was a total asshat until he proved that he actually cared about her.

Bad
- I wanted to know a little more from Lucas' point of view once he went a little cuckoo for coco puffs.
- I didn't like the hospital scene very much. It didn't seem real to me at all.
- I think this book almost gave me panic attack.. hence the bad squealing I mentioned earlier. I was stressing out while I was reading it! I actually had to physically get up and pace while I was reading because I was so worried about the characters. How sad is that? 


I give this book 4 stars. I really enjoyed this book and I love how the characters are developing. I think it's great that Loftis doesn't focus on just one storyline and tries to incorporate new stories with the characters that are already established. I can't wait to see what happens with Jen!! I can't wait to start reading Just one Drop. Before I finish, I'm going to leave you with my favorite quote from the book:

"Fine, be the first werewolf raped by a drunken teenage girl. Whatever dude, it's your rep." 

Everyone needs more friends like this. :)

A Beautiful Dark

One of the Lovers of Paranormal's Books of the Month (BOTM) was A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies. Usually I'm pretty excited to write reviews for books but for some reason I put this off all day. On the night of her surprise party, Skye meets two mysterious boys named Asher and Devin. She shrugs off the strange encounter until she gets to school and finds out that they have transfered to her school. Asher and Devin are complete opposites. The only thing the two have in common is their goal to get Skye's attention. Strange things keep happening to Skye and she has no idea what is happening to her. Asher and Devin drop a major bomb on her and she finds that she is caught in the middle of the two boys. Skye has to choose between order and chaos and she has no idea which boy to believe.

Good
- I like how they described the Order and the Rebellion. It kind of touched on angels and fallen angels but tried to change it up a bit.
- The cliffhanger ending. I usually hate cliffhangers but it fit very well with this book. It didn't give me a panic attack but I do want to know what happens in the next book.

Bad
- Meh. Overdone story line.
- I really need to learn more about these characters. Hopefully they will develop in the next book.
- The climax was... anticlimactic?
- Skye.. why are you so boring?? Whyyyy??

Alright. I give this book 3 stars. This fell in the middle for me. I didn't love it but I didn't hate it. I finished it and my reaction was "meh??" I thought about giving it 2 stars but I stuck with 3 because I do want to know what happens next. Overall, I wouldn't put this on the top of your To-Read list but don't hesitate to give it a shot.

Time Mends Review

After the heartbreaking ending of Destiny Binds, we find Scout mourning the loss of Alex and recovering from her injuries. When she thinks things can’t get worse, she realizes that she is more apart of the Shifter world than she previously thought. Scout, Charlie, Jase, and Tally find themselves in more trouble than they could have imagined.

  Good
 - I cannot say it enough. Scout is a badass. She’s hilarious, sarcastic, and genuinely cares about people. This pretty much sums up why I think I would be friends with Scout: I’ve never been a runner by nature. My general philosophy was, why run if you’re not being chased?” Ahh. A girl after my own heart.
 - This book made me both laugh out loud and cry (on separate occasions of course). The characters were funny and Blackwell made me care so deeply for the characters that my heart broke when theirs broke.
 - The book gives you a really good understanding of the Shifter world and their politics.

  Bad
.. Okay I’m not kidding. I’ve been trying to come up with something that I disliked about this book and I can’t think of anything. I know nothing is perfect but I really can’t come up with anything!

 I love love love love this series! I finished the first one yesterday and found myself worrying about the characters all day. I had to finish another book to review before I let myself pick this one up but I definitely could not wait to find out what happened. I rate this book 5 stars but I'd rate it higher if I could.

**Spoiler Alert**

 And now for my rant I REFUSE TO BELIEVE THAT ALEX IS DEAD. No. No. No. I really hope that Blackwell isn’t cruel enough to keep him as a constant character in this book if she does not intend on bringing him back somehow. Seriously. My heart was breaking even though I was happy he was still in the story. I liked that Blackwell addressed that it is completely possible to love two people. Although Scout will never stop loving Charlie, she is aware that she will always belong with Alex. Yes, I hate love triangles but Scout seems to deal with it in a different way. Also, Jase better not be backstabbing asshat or I will flip out. One of the reasons why I loved Jase so much is because he cares so much about Scout and is extremely protective (although it can be extreme at times). If this image of Jase is shattered I will be so upset! Anyways, September 11, 2012 better come soon because I need to know what happens!

Prince of Wolves Review

       Ahhh. Prince of Wolves by Quinn Loftis. There are so many things that I can say about this book but I think this pretty much sums it up: 

        Jacquelyn had no idea that spying on her neighbors' new exchange student was going to change her life forever. The moment their eyes meet, she feels this unexplainable pull to him. However, Fane knew right away how she was going to change his life.  He was a werewolf and they were destined to be mates for life. Before Fane can even get to know Jacque and let her grasp the concept of werewolves, Fane is challenged by the Alpha of the local pack. The local Alpha, Lucas, is convinced that he has claimed Jacque for his own mate. Fane has no choice but to meet his challenge in order to spend the rest of his life with his new found love. 

Good

- Good gracious, can I list THE ENTIRE BOOK under my good list?? I know I can't but hey, it was worth a shot. 

- The writing was hilarious! I loved the characters so much and I felt so close to them! Not gonna lie, I think I'd be the Jen in the group. 

- I loved that Jacque has such amazing friends. I feel like a lot of protagonists don't have close friends or end up pushing them away. I think it was refreshing to see a strong and supportive friendship. 

- Somehow I didn't feel like killing Fane for being so possessive. I usually cannot stand controlling and possessive men in books (*cough* Edward Cullen *cough* Christian Grey *cough*). However, Fane's sense of possessiveness was so endearing. He knew he couldn't help it and explains this to Jacque. 

- Jacque and Fane can actually have a godforsaken conversation with one another! They can have a conversation without fighting or just giving in to their hormones. Thank goodness. If I have to read about a girl who cannot get her hormones in check around a guy again I might scream. 

Bad

Honestly? I can't think of anything to put on this list. Not. One. Thing. 

      Upon finishing this book my heart was full of fuzzies and I was grinning like an idiot. This is probably the highest compliment I can pay to a book. It made my heart so happy!! As you all can probably tell, I love book characters like they're real people and I freaking love Fane and Jacque's story. Love love love! So (as if you couldn't tell, I give this book 5 stars for making me feel like this when I finished: 

Now, what are you waiting for? GO READ THIS BOOK RIGHT NOW! 

Bonds of Fenris Review

        I received a free copy of Bonds of Fenris by S. J. Bell from the author in exchange for an honest review. Talia Thornwood was turned into a werewolf a year ago. For the past year, she has been living with her pack in a rundown house and trying to keep her inner animal inside. She had to cut ties with all of her friends and family in order to keep herself from hurting them. She thinks that this lonely way of life is the only way she can survive until she meets Corwin. He's able to shift back to human form during the full moon and socialize with humans. Talia is determined to have Corwin teach her how to he is able to control the wolf inside. It is a difficult and eye-opening lesson but Talia is up to the challenge.

Good
- I think Bell did a good job of describing the tension of having so many werewolves under one small roof. You could feel the frustration that each of the pack mates felt living in the house.
- The inner turmoil that the werewolves felt were very well described in the writing.

Bad
- I felt like there were many parts in the book that were rushed.
- Even though the book was told in Talia's point of view, I still don't feel like I know much about her character. I can't really explain why this is but that's how I felt after I finished reading.
- The other pack mates felt too flat to me. I mean, Bo was the sensitive one, Marlene was the smart one, and Pierce was the angry one. I like my characters to not fit into these little molds.
- I really didn't feel as if much was going on in this book. Even when there was "action" I didn't worry much about the characters or get nervous about what was going to happen next.

        Overall, I give this book 2 stars. I don't want to but I have to be honest. The book was just okay for me. I didn't have any strong feelings on either side of the spectrum; I didn't love it and I didn't hate it. I do appreciate the different approach to werewolves, though.

Reckless Magic (Star-Crossed #1) Review

            Sometimes when you finish a book, you feel this giddiness that you can't explain and you can't wipe a smile off your face. This was my exact reaction after finishing Reckless Magic by Rachel Higginson. My boyfriend took one look at me and asked, "So, I guess you're reading something good right now?" Yep. Basically. Anyways, this story is told in 16 year old Eden Matthew's point of view. Eden has had a history of being thrown out of schools after mysterious incidents that she was apparently causing. Eden finds herself starting over at another new school and vows to keep herself out of trouble. Before she even has a chance to try to stay out of trouble, Eden meets Kiran Kendrick. Everyone arounds her warns her to stay away from Kiran but he makes it extremely difficult for Eden. Strange things keep happening when the two of them are close and Eden finally accepts the truth. She is a witch. Before she can grasp everything that is changing in her life, she must find a way to save her best friend and a way to be with a boy she is forbidden to be with. 

        Before I start my Good/Bad list, I have to say this was a strange book for me to review. I'm not going to lie, in the beginning I was not digging Eden's character. I thought she was a complete airhead. However, as I kept reading I found myself being sucked in to the book and falling in love with Eden and Kiran's story. This is pretty unusual for me. It is usually very hard for the main character to redeem themselves after making a bad first impression.

Good

- I loved the history behind Eden's parents. It is obviously a story that will grow even more with the next books. 

- I loved Avalon! Yes, he's a bit crazy and protective but I think he means well. 

- The love story! If Kiran was real, I'd make googly eyes at him all the time! *swoon*

- The overall concept of the magical world was interesting. It sets the series up for a lot of great drama. 

Bad

- I hated Eden for a while. She was so clueless to everything around her! She didn't seem to question anything that was told to her. I think that she will grow stronger as a character, though. 

- I really didn't like the way that everyone kept Eden in the dark about everything. I'd be way more pissed if I was her! 

- There were a lot of spelling and grammatical errors. It might have been from when I converted it to .mobi but a few other reviewers had the same problem. 

- I wish Eden would have done less standing around and staring and more fighting during the action scenes. 

          I give this book 4 stars. I cannot wait to read the next book to find out what happens! I think I accepted that this book isn't entirely focused on the action as much as it does the love story. I'm okay with that. I mean, the series is called "Star-Crossed" so you know that there will be a big focus on love. As long as you go in to the book looking for more love story than action I think you will love this book!