Review: The Forever of Ella and Micha

The Forever of Ella and Micha by Jessica Sorensen

Genre: New Adult Romance

Published May 28, 2013

 

 

I received this ebook from Hachette Book Group through NetGalley for an honest review.

 

I absolutely loved The Secret of Ella and Micha so I jumped at the chance to get my hands on this sequel. And it was just as good as I hoped it would be. This begins about where the first book left off and Ella is back in school in Las Vegas. Micha is on tour with a band and they do not get to see each other often. After he gets offered a month long gig in New York things start to get a little rough. Ella is battling her own demons and trying to deal with her past and struggles she has with possible depression and anxiety. Together they must learn to work through their doubts so that they can finally be together.

 

I am a huge fan of Jessica Sorensen and have been reading her books since she was in the middle of writing the Fallen Star series. Her writing has just gotten better and better, and she has a way of writing that allows you to feel the characters emotions and sucks you in to the story with them. I found myself holding my breath throughout Ella and Micha's struggles and almost biting my knuckles in fear of things not working out. There were a lot of little twists that had me saying 'Don't you dare' and then the next minute letting out a sigh of relief. And in the end I got my happily ever after and now have a smile on my face.

 

I recommend this series to New Adult readers and 18+

 

My Rating: 5 stars

 

Amazon

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Review: Evan Burl and the Falling

Evan Burl and the Falling by Justin Blaney

Genre: YA Fantasy

Paperback received from the author for an honest review

 

 

 

 

Description from Goodreads:

 

My father abandoned me when I was an infant.
My friends have turned against me.
My uncle beats me.
The most powerful people in the world want me dead.
They all have one thing in common.
They think I’m turning into a monster.

I’m starting to worry they’re right.

 

My review:

I started this book with the paperback version, but finished it off with the newly edited ebook version that had a different ending.

 

When Justin Blaney asked me if I would be interested in reviewing his book Evan Burl and the Falling I went and read the blurb to see if I would be interested. And after reading the above description I was really intrigued and anxiously said yes. Once I read the first chapter I was hooked. Justin Blaney has a way of writing that keeps you turning pages to try and unravel the mystery. And this book had a lot of mystery. Just when I thought I had one thing figured out I would turn a few pages and find things had changed, and things were not always as they seemed. The mystery and thrilling ride was kept going until the very end when everything finally came together, yet it left a little mystery for a sequel but not enough to have me screaming "WHAT!"

 

Evan Burl has been living as a sort of orphan at Daemanhur castle with his uncle Mazol. There are orphans called the fallings that fall from the sky in chests that open magically with a key that was sent with the chest before it. And there are machines that run as if by magic that all the orphans are forced to work on even though they have no idea what they are making. This is all part of a much bigger thrilling story of sapience and those that would do anything to control it and use it for their own power and gain. Evan discovers he is in the middle of it as he begins to uncover his own powers and the delusions that come with it. Evan just wants to do what was right and save his family from Mazol and his henchmen but even he can't predict where the story will go.

 

One of my favorite characters was Cevo. Cevo was pure evil. This character is severely warped. Here is one of my favorite thoughts of his:

 

"The problem was, every time I killed someone I created a whole lot of work for myself."

 

And Anastasia with her alternate persona Terisma was also a whole nuther ball game of trouble:

 

"Terisma looked like a nightmare pretending to be a candy cane."

 

I found this to be a fantastic story with everything you could want to hold your attention: Fabulous evil villians, a boy that just wants to do what's right, magic, a mystery to solve, and a thrilling journey.

 

And I love this quote about Evan:

 

"Maybe it doesn't matter what my father thinks about me. What the letters say I'll become. Maybe I don't have to become a monster. maybe I can choose my own path."

 

 

I loved the writing style. I loved the imagery. I highly recommend this to young and old adults:)

My Rating: 5 Falling Stars

 

Purchase at:

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Review: Darkness of Light

Darkness of Light by Stacey Marie Brown

Genre: Mature YA, paranormal, fantasy, romance

I purchased this ebook for Nook

 

I found Darkness of Light to be very entertaining and almost unputdownable. It had been awhile since I had read the book description, so I had forgotten what it was about and why I was excited to read it. So as I read I was totally surprised by all the twists and big reveals that took place. This is the story about Ember Brycin Discovering who she is and that she may not be human after all. She is a senior in high school near graduating when a few misunderstood catastrophes and encounters with Officer Weiss land her in a school for delinquents. Here she meets Eli Dragen, and now her life will never be the same. She slowly begins to realize there may be more to her than she thought, and not everyone is on her side.

This novel was full of sexual tension between Eli and Ember. Nothing more happened than a few passionate kisses, but there was more than enough banter back and forth to keep the excitement alive. And then there was Torin that would appear to her in her dreams and in odd places to confuse her and the reader even more. Events in the end help explain his place in the story, but until then it is just a guessing game.

I really enjoyed this story and found it to be a great page turner. The end is a little, or a lot, devastating, and I hope the author is hustling to write the sequel:) There are still many many things that need to be cleared up, and I would love to see more of Eli and Torin.

I recommend this to mature young adults and older. Does contain swearing.

My rating: 4 stars

You can purchase:

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Review of Blue Hearts of Mars

I feel like I have been away for so long! Life sometimes does that to you. It has been a busy month. But I am back for now:) Here is a book I recently read.

Blue Hearts of Mars by Nicole Grotepas

I was given a digital copy by the author in exchange for an honest review.

 

This story is about the future and humans are now living on Mars. Androids live among us, they look like gorgeous humans, and are rumored to have Blue Hearts. But the humans and the blue hearts are not allowed to fall in love or marry or date. But as soon as Retta meets Hemingway she is a goner. She falls for him right away, and he her. But there is more going on. There is a sort of revolution going on for equal right for these androids, and Retta and Hemingway find themselves having to run and fight to be together.

This story had some interesting things going on, but a lot bothered me. I think the story was full of too much information. I felt a lot was unneeded and found myself skimming a lot. Also the love was too instalove for me. They fell in love after one day of talking, and then after maybe two weeks, or less, together they were getting married. It was way to fast and unrealistic. I did like the vows they told each other. Very sweet.

This is story about equal rights, young love, and putting aside prejudices to do what's right. And some sweet instalove. Good book for fans of sci-fi and futuristic novels.

 

 

My Rating: 3 stars

 

Purchase at Amazon

Review: A Shade of Vampire

A Shade of Vampire by Bella Forrest

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Purchased on Amazon for Kindle

 

 

 

Book Blurb:



On the evening of Sofia Claremont's seventeenth birthday, she is sucked into a nightmare from which she cannot wake. 
A quiet evening walk along a beach brings her face to face with a dangerous pale creature that craves much more than her blood. 
She is kidnapped to an island where the sun is eternally forbidden to shine.  An island uncharted by any map and ruled by the most powerful vampire coven on the planet. She wakes here as a slave, a captive in chains.
Sofia's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn when she is the one selected out of hundreds of girls to join the harem of Derek Novak, the dark royal Prince. 
Despite his addiction to power and obsessive thirst for her blood, Sofia soon realizes that the safest place on the island is within his quarters, and she must do all within her power to win him over if she is to survive even one more night.
Will she succeed? ...or is she destined to the same fate that all other girls have met at the hands of the Novaks?

Excerpt:
I’d been meandering along the shore for about an hour when I suddenly sensed that I wasn’t alone. Someone was approaching me from behind. My heart leapt. I was so sure it was Ben, that when a stranger showed up beside me, I couldn’t hide my disappointment.

He must have noticed, because a smirk formed on his lips. “Were you expecting someone else, love?” 

I eyed him suspiciously, remembering how many times my father had told me not to talk to strangers. I looked him over, taking in his appearance. My eyes widened. I couldn’t find words to describe how fine a man he was. He was almost beautiful. The first thing I took notice of was how his blue eyes were about three shades brighter than any I’d ever seen before. It was such a stark contrast to his pale – almost white – skin and dark hair. Standing beside me, he was easily more than half a foot taller. His height, broad shoulders and lean build reminded me of Ben, but he had a presence that was far more imposing than my best friend’s.
 
My gaze settled on his face. 

I realized that he was inspecting me just as closely as I was him. His eyes on me suddenly made me feel uncomfortably vulnerable. I gave my father’s advice a second thought, but quickly canceled out all notions of heeding to his counsel when I reminded myself that he stopped caring a long time ago. 

I straightened to my full height and mustered all the courage I had to keep myself from running away from this stranger. 

Big mistake. 

The confident smirk didn’t leave his face for even a moment.

“Like what you see?”

“A bit full of yourself, aren’t you?” I scoffed, annoyed by his audacity.

He stepped forward, closer to me, and leaned his head toward mine.

“Don’t I have the right to be?”

He knew he looked good and wasn’t about to act like he didn’t. 

“Whatever,” was my oh-so-brilliant comeback. 

My shoulders sagged with defeat as I took a step back, unsettled by how close he was now. I rolled my eyes and did a one-eighty, not quite in the mood to play whatever game this stranger was proposing. 

I would soon realize that I was about to play his game whether I liked it or not. 

He grabbed my arm and turned my body to face him. This motion alone made every single internal alarm I had within me go off in a frenzy. 

This man was danger and I knew it. I tried to wriggle away from his touch, but I was no match for his strength. 

“Tell me your name,” he commanded.

I was about to refuse, but was horrified to find myself blurting out my name in response. 

“Sofia Claremont.”

As soon as I revealed my name, his eyes lit up with a kind of sinister approval. Then he reached for my face and traced his thumb over my jaw line. 

“Hello, Sofia Claremont. You’re one stupid girl for taking a walk alone at this time of night. You never know what kind of evil a pretty little thing like you could happen to come by.” 

I found myself wondering exactly what kind of evil he was. But I was suddenly overcome by the sensations that were surrounding me. My senses took in everything at once. I heard the waves, felt the sand, smelled the ocean salt, tasted the flavor of cherry and saw the stranger’s manic appearance as he stuck a needle to my neck. The effect was instant. I was barely able to gasp, much less scream. I went from sensing everything to sensing absolutely nothing.

My last conscious thought was that I may never see Ben again.



My review and thoughts:

I just finished A Shade of Vampire and I found it to be a lovely addition to my favorite vampire books. This was a quick read and a great start to a series. And lucky for me I own the next book so I can start it right away.

This story is about a seventeen year old girl named Sofia that is drugged and taken an the night of her birthday while out walking on the beach. When she wakes she finds she is in a whole new world she never imagined could be real. She finds herself trapped on an island of vampires called The Shade, and she is being saved for Prince Derek when he wakes. She is to be one of five slaves to him, like a little present for him to do as he pleases with. Luckily she is able to surprise Derek with her insight, and she is now His. But he treats her with respect and love. She comes to truly trust him, and he loses his heart to her.

I completely fell for Derek. I could have used more of Derek. Please give me more Derek.

And his brother Lucas. Not sure if I love Lucas. He is definitely on the dark side, full of danger. I definitely need more of him, too, because I feel like his story was not told enough. I feel he is holding back some secret. I could be wrong, though. Can't wait to find out.

And then there is Ben, Sofia's best friend. He kind of annoys me. I felt he kind of got in the way. I guess someone needs to get in the way to stir things up.

That is all I better say, and I think I kept the twists to myself. I really enjoyed that this was a quick book to read. Sometimes  I just want a quick read!

My rating: 4 stars

Buy A Shade of Vampire from Amazon:
USA, paperback:
http://www.amazon.com/Shade-Of-Vampire-Bella-Forrest/dp/1481280767
USA, eBook:
http://www.amazon.com/A-Shade-Of-Vampire-ebook/dp/B00AOHDMFE

UK, paperback:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Shade-Of-Vampire-Bella-Forrest/dp/1481280767
UK, eBook:
http://www.amazon.co.uk/A-Shade-Of-Vampire-ebook/dp/B00AOHDMFE

Add A Shade of Vampire to your Goodreads shelf:
http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17255435-a-shade-of-vampire


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