Kay Hooper's new Haven novel "Hostage" is a win!

Description:
Haven operative Luther Brinkman has been sent into the wilderness of the Appalachian Mountains of Tennessee to locate escaped felon Cole Jacoby, a mentally unstable bank robber. Supposedly, Jacoby hid more than ten million dollars from his last heist before he was captured—and rather mysteriously escaped federal custody. And once Brinkman finds Jacoby, the agent is left severely wounded, with no way to convey his location to Haven.

Callie Davis, an agent with the FBI’s Special Crimes Unit, has been in the area for some time, due to the foresight of her boss and unit chief, Noah Bishop. But when she finds the wounded Brinkman, her rescue mission turns into a deadly game of cat and mouse.

What neither Luther nor Callie know is that their quarry is far more than an escaped bank robber. And that in hunting him, they will find themselves being hunted by him, and will discover him to be the worst monster either of them has ever known.



I was seriously disappointed in Hooper's last novel, Haven, but Hostage definitely was better. I picked it up and read it in about 2 hours. I absolutely couldn't put it down.  There are a couple of different stories going on here. First, Luther Brinkman is sent by Haven to the Appalachia Mountains to track a bank robber. He finds him alright, and gets shot in the process. He is found by Callie Davis, an SCU agent that Bishop sent to see if the robber, Jacoby, was a psychic and to what extent. His escape was odd enough to catch Bishop's eye.
Hollis and DeMarco head to Alexander House to try to help Hollis develop her medium abilities. Mrs Alexander wants to communicate with her dead husband, but her brother in law Owen, is of course spectacle. Until Hollis relates something to him that no one knows.
I really liked this book! I absolutely couldn't put it down. I have always loved Ms Hooper's books so I am really glad that this one was as wonderful as the others (escape for Haven). Last thing.. Where's the money?

The Rosie Project, laugh out loud funny!!

Description:

Don Tillman, professor of genetics, has never been on a second date. He is a man who can count all his friends on the fingers of one hand, whose lifelong difficulty with social rituals has convinced him that he is simply not wired for romance. So when an acquaintance informs him that he would make a “wonderful” husband, his first reaction is shock. Yet he must concede to the statistical probability that there is someone for everyone, and he embarks upon The Wife Project. In the orderly, evidence-based manner with which he approaches all things, Don sets out to find the perfect partner. She will be punctual and logical—most definitely not a barmaid, a smoker, a drinker, or a late-arriver.

Yet Rosie Jarman is all these things. She is also beguiling, fiery, intelligent—and on a quest of her own. She is looking for her biological father, a search that a certain DNA expert might be able to help her with. Don's Wife Project takes a back burner to the Father Project and an unlikely relationship blooms, forcing the scientifically minded geneticist to confront the spontaneous whirlwind that is Rosie—and the realization that love is not always what looks good on paper.

I would technically say this is a romance, but an unconventional one!! The only way to explain this book is to say its like Sheldon (From the hit TV series "The Big Bang Theory") trying to find a wife.. and he ends up finding Rosie (who reminds me of the brunette girl from the TV show "Two Broke Girls". I laughed constantly while reading this book. Don Tillman is a professor of genetics at a college in Melbourne, Australia. He is socially inept, just as any genius is, with very few friends, except Gene, another professor, and his wife Claudia.  He decides he needs a "life partner" and comes up with the Wife Project. It is an intense questionnaire for women to fill out so that he can find the "perfect life partner". After a couple of failed attempts,  Gene sends him Rosie, who is completely unacceptable! She is a barmaid, she smokes, she is a vegetarian... Oh so wrong, but he becomes in another project he labels The Father Project in hopes of helping Rosie find out who her biological father is. Many laughs as they try to find DNA for over forty men who went to medical school with Rosie's mother. But he falls in love.. Can Don change his behavior enough to keep Rosie or will he lose her?

I loved loved loved this book! It constantly made me laugh. I suggest everyone read it!

Reaver and Harverster?? Really?

Description:

The Demonica series returns....

WARRIOR OF HEAVEN

Reaver is an angel with a past, a record, and a less-than-heavenly attitude. Powerful enough to fight alongside the fiercest battle angels-and crazy enough to risk his wings on a one-way mission to hell-he's agreed to go where no angel has ever gone before . . . to steal the most seductive and dangerous prize of Satan himself.

ANGEL OF HELL
Harvester is one of the Fallen, a once-heroic angel who sacrificed her wings to work as an undercover agent in hell. But now her cover has been blown, and she's doomed to an eternity of agonizing torture. Even if Reaver can snatch her away from Satan's lair, even if they can fight their way out of the underworld's darkest depths, there is one thing Harvester can never escape-her newfound thirst for an angel's blood . . .

We learned at the end of Rogue Rider that Reaver is Yenrieth, the Four Horseman's father. His memories were wiped and he didn't know who he was. Harvester, also, was taken to Sheoul to be tortured by Satan.
Who knew that Harvester was working for the "greater good" all this time!!

Harvester was Verrine, a peaceful angel who was madly in love with Yenrieth. But she was afraid, and her fear drove Yenrieth to Lillith the succubus, who became pregnant with his children. Yenrieth kind of went on a war path when he found out. Reaver never regains his memories of that time.

When Reaver finds out that Harvester had, after a promise to always protect his children, purposely fallen so that she could rise in the ranks and become the Horseman's Sheoulic watcher, he steals into Sheoul to try to save her.

Unbeknownst to Reaver and Harvester, the Archangel Raphael is working against them, because he always wanted Venisse, he tries his best to thwart them any way he can.

Can Reaver get Harvester out of hell, without his angelic powers?

Yeah, okay HOLY CRAP this was an awesome book. And *** SPOILER****


Reaver and Revenant are TWIN BROTHERS?!?!? WOOOOOOOOOOOAH.. Guess who the next book is about? Woohoo!!

Alright, so read it!

Miracle Road is Emily March's best book yet!

I absolutely cannot believe I forgot to post this review. I am sooooooooooo sorry!!

**************Titled received from NetGalley*******************

Description:
After tragedy strikes his team, college basketball coach Lucca Romano arrives in the haven of Eternity Springs to reassess his life. Even a winning record and big offers can’t dent the wall of guilt that Lucca has built around himself. Nothing can—except maybe a vibrant new neighbor who won’t give up on him.
 
Schoolteacher Hope Montgomery believes in miracles. She has to believe—because giving up would mean crumbling under the greatest loss a parent can endure. Hope understands Lucca’s suffering; she lives it herself every day. However, the high school team needs his coaching expertise, so she sets out to draw him from his cold, solitary shell and into the warmth of life in their small Rocky Mountain town. But when a weak moment leads to consequences that shake Hope’s faith, it’s up to Lucca to put aside his heartache and show the teacher that here in Eternity Springs broken hearts can heal—just in time for Christmas.


This was an absolutely fabulous, heart warming story of Hope, who survived the worst and moved to Angels Rest to find peace. And of Lucca, who survives a horrible accident with the collage basketball team he coached. Lucca takes off but eventually, he is convinced to come to Angels Rest. He unexpectedly runs into Hope when he finds a litter of pups in his closet that belong to the owner of Hope's home. 
Lucca does everything he can to resist Hope of course, but finds it difficult. Hope thought she had her great love, but after the tragedy she survives, finds it difficult to live. 

And this story has the MOST AMAZING ending ever. I absolutely cried. I love love love looooooooved it!! And CANNOT WAIT for another Angels rest book.

Ms March, thank you so much for writing this and all the other books. They are great feel good stories to help someone who is down feel better. I read this at a very hard time in my life and it certainly helped me get through. What's Next?!?!

I can gush a little bit more, but I won't Just.. I really dont have enough words for how much I loved this book.

Aimee Carter's The Goddess test is an Awesome Read!

So, I have seen these books for a couple of years and hadn't made any effort to read them. I was kind of running out of books, so I  had the library order the four pack of the three books and the novella collection (even though I don't read novellas). And I am soooo glad I finally picked it up!

Description:
It's always been just Kate and her mom—and her mother is dying. Her last wish? To move back to her childhood home. So Kate's going to start at a new school with no friends, no other family and the fear her mother won't live past the fall.

Then she meets Henry. Dark. Tortured. And mesmerizing. He claims to be Hades, god of the Underworld—and if she accepts his bargain, he'll keep her mother alive while Kate tries to pass seven tests.

Kate is sure he's crazy—until she sees him bring a girl back from the dead. Now saving her mother seems crazily possible. If she succeeds, she'll become Henry's future bride, and a goddess.

Kate's mom is dying of cancer. She has been fighting it for four years and is finally giving up the battle. She has Kate move them to Eden, Michigan, where she grew up. She wanted to die in her hometown. 

Kate finally starts her senior year of high school and immediately makes a friend in James, who she doesn't really want to befriend but he kind of wont go away. She makes an enemy in Ava, who thinks Kate wants to steal her jock boyfriend Dylan.

Ava invites Kate to a party and picks her up. Turns out to be a nasty prank where Ava leaves Kate in the woods on private property. Ava is injured, jumping into a river and konking her head. Kate jumps in to save her even though she is DEATHLY afraid of water. But Ava is dead. A lone figure appears and offers Kate the chance to save Ava.  Henry, tall, dark, and obviously dangerous. All she has to do is, on the autumn equinox, read the story of Persephone and come to him. She agrees and Ava is alive again, and completely thankful to Kate for saving her life. 

Moving on, two weeks later, Kate has realized that Henry wants her to live with him 6 months of the year, like some strange Greek myth. She decides not to go to him, to refuse his offer. The next morning she finds out Ava is dead. She rushes to Henry's and agrees to his offer. 

Henry tells her she has 7 tests she has to pass for her to become his wife and take over helping him rule the Underworld. Wait.. what? He is Hades? This is soooo not real. However, Hades is able to keep Kate's mom alive, where they can visit in their dreams. 

So, can Kate pass the tests when she has an enemy who has killed eleven past candidates? Can Henry get past his old love for Persephone and come to love Kate?

Yeah, I liked it! I read it in one evening. I will be starting book two today!

Takedown Twenty winding down Evanovich's infamous Stephanie Plum series?

Description:
New Jersey bounty hunter Stephanie Plum knows better than to mess with family. But when powerful mobster Salvatore “Uncle Sunny” Sunucchi goes on the lam in Trenton, it’s up to Stephanie to find him. Uncle Sunny is charged with murder for running over a guy (twice), and nobody wants to turn him in—not his poker buddies, not his bimbo girlfriend, not his two right-hand men, Shorty and Moe. Even Trenton’s hottest cop, Joe Morelli, has skin in the game, because—just Stephanie’s luck—the godfather is his actual godfather. And while Morelli understands that the law is the law, his old-world grandmother, Bella, is doing everything she can to throw Stephanie off the trail. 
 
It’s not just Uncle Sunny giving Stephanie the run-around. Security specialist Ranger needs her help to solve the bizarre death of a top client’s mother, a woman who happened to play bingo with Stephanie’s Grandma Mazur. Before Stephanie knows it, she’s working side by side with Ranger and Grandma at the senior center, trying to catch a killer on the loose—and the bingo balls are not rolling in their favor. 
 
With bullet holes in her car, henchmen on her tail, and a giraffe named Kevin running wild in the streets of Trenton, Stephanie will have to up her game for the ultimate takedown.


When I read Notorious Nineteen, I really thought that Evanovich was winding down the series and that it would be ending soon. I kind of hope it does. As much as I laugh and enjoy the series, I think its time for it to come to an end.. And maybe she can work some more on the Motor Mouth books!

However, Stephanie is the same as always.. Destroying cars, being kidnapped and thrown off a bridge, as well as Lula's .. ah bright wardrobe and Grandma Mazur and her funeral viewings.

The only difference is Kevin. The elusive giraffe that Lula and Stephanie keep seeing near Uncle Sunny's.

Uncle Sunny is Morelli's godfather and Grandma Bella's nephew. Stephanie is out to apprehend him because he, of course, does not show up for his court date. Everyone in his neighborhood loves Uncle Sunny and do their best to protect him. Stephanie, haha, does manage to find him twice but bungles it up.. Getting a broken finger out of one of the deals.

Ranger also approaches Stephanie and asks her to help him with a case. One of his clients' mother was murdered and asked Ranger to look into it. Apparently several elderly women have been strangled and thrown into a dumpster. Stephanie starts her search by going to the deceased funeral viewing and also going to Bingo, since apparently all the women played Bingo.

Stephanie is also very confused about Morelli  and Ranger. She decides to have a real relationship talk with Morelli. Wonder how that goes....

I don't think it was quite as humerous as some of the past books, but I did really enjoy Takedown Twenty.. as much as I think the series should come to and end soon, I will always read and re-read them!

Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead heats up!

Description:

Sydney Sage is an Alchemist, one of a group of humans who dabble in magic and serve to bridge the worlds of humans and vampires. They protect vampire secrets—and human lives.

In The Indigo Spell, Sydney was torn between the Alchemist way of life and what her heart and gut were telling her to do. And in one breathtaking moment that Richelle Mead fans will never forget, she made a decision that shocked even her. . . .

But the struggle isn't over for Sydney. As she navigates the aftermath of her life-changing decision, she still finds herself pulled in too many directions at once. Her sister Zoe has arrived, and while Sydney longs to grow closer to her, there's still so much she must keep secret. Working with Marcus has changed the way she views the Alchemists, and Sydney must tread a careful path as she harnesses her profound magical ability to undermine the way of life she was raised to defend. Consumed by passion and vengeance, Sydney struggles to keep her secret life under wraps as the threat of exposure—and re-education—looms larger than ever.

Pulses will race throughout this smoldering fourth installment in the New York Times bestselling Bloodlines series, where no secret is safe.

As Sydney and Adrian's relationship heats up, Sydney also has to deal with her parents getting divorced, her sister watching her every move, and rushing to find a counter curse for the Alchemist's lily tattoo. Adrian is dealing with the wild up and down mood swings that spirit gives him and helping his Queen find a cure or preventative against Strigori bites.  

I rather enjoyed this book. It focused alot on Sydney and Adrian's relationship. As well as Sydney finding a way to circumvent the Alchemist tattoo so that defectors can't just be re-tattooed and brainwashed. As well as helping Adrian, Sophie, and Rose find a way to prevent Moroi from turning Strigori after a Strigori bite. 
**************SPOILERS BELOW*******************




Sydney and Adrian take their relationship to the ultimate level.
And OH! the cliffhanger!! Sydney is betrayed by her sister and taken by the Alchemists to be re-educated... 

Sarah Maas' Throne of Glass series blows me away!

I have picked up "Throne of Glass" several, probably close to 20 times to read, and never got around to it. The other day, I forgot to take a book to work with me to read at lunch, so I grabbed this one off the shelf. Holy Crap, I cannot believe I ever waited to read this.!

Description: After serving out a year of hard labor in the salt mines of Endovier for her crimes, 18-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien is dragged before the Crown Prince. Prince Dorian offers her her freedom on one condition: she must act as his champion in a competition to find a new royal assassin. Her opponents are men-thieves and assassins and warriors from across the empire, each sponsored by a member of the king's council. If she beats her opponents in a series of eliminations, she'll serve the kingdom for three years and then be granted her freedom. 

Celaena finds her training sessions with the captain of the guard, Westfall, challenging and exhilirating. But she's bored stiff by court life. Things get a little more interesting when the prince starts to show interest in her... but it's the gruff Captain Westfall who seems to understand her best. 

Then one of the other contestants turns up dead... quickly followed by another. 

Can Celaena figure out who the killer is before she becomes a victim? As the young assassin investigates, her search leads her to discover a greater destiny than she could possibly have imagined.

Found as a child along a riverbank by the King of the Assassin Guild, Celaena was taken and and trained. At sixteen, she was the most feared assassin in Adarlen. She was betrayed and thrown into the salt mines to work herself to death.

She survived a year in the salt mines when Chaol, the Captain of the Guard, and Dorian, Crown Prince of Adarlen come for her with a proposition. Participate in the challenge as Dorian's champion for a chance to win her freedom. If she wins the challenge, she must serve four years as the King's Champion (killing anyone he wants) and then she will be free. 

Celaena cannot turn the offer down, but what awaits her in the City of Glass, Rifthold? She despises the king as well as is scared to death of him. 

But Champions start dying, murdered my something unbelievable. At the same time, Dorian comes to have feelings for Calaena, a Princess ally and new friend comes alone in Nehemia, and feelings for Chaol that she knows she cannot act on.

This was SUCH an amazing book. I dont remember the last time a book got a full five stars from me.. but this one.. I'm going to die until book three is released!  

AND a twofer!! The sequel "Crown of Midnight"!

Description :  After a year of hard labor in the Salt Mines of Endovier, eighteen-year-old assassin Celaena Sardothien has won the king's contest to become the new royal assassin. Yet Celaena is far from loyal to the crown – a secret she hides from even her most intimate confidantes.

Keeping up the deadly charade—while pretending to do the king's bidding—will test her in frightening new ways, especially when she's given a task that could jeopardize everything she's come to care for. And there are far more dangerous forces gathering on the horizon -- forces that threaten to destroy her entire world, and will surely force Celaena to make a choice. 
Where do the assassin’s loyalties lie, and who is she most willing to fight for?

This was an absolutely STUNNING sequel to "Throne of Glass". 

So, I have been home sick for a couple of days, and when I finished the first book, I thought I was going to fall apart because I couldn't go get the second book and my sister has my kindle so it was worthless to purchase the eBook. Thank the gods for my sweet as can be boyfriend who went and picked the book up for me at the library! 

Someone develops magic, which has been outlawed for a decade and had disappeared at the same time. Celaena's best friend murdered violently sends her over the edge.  And and ending that will leave you hanging ... I dislike cliffhangers!!! Its so hard to live until the next book is written and released.. I think I am going to cry.

 So very many secrets unveiled about who Celaena is (Which I was totally right about when I guessed it a quarter of the way into the first book, go me!)  

Well, anyways, I am angry at myself for putting off reading these books for so long, because they are excellent. I love the characters, I love the world that Ms Maas has built, and I totally cannot wait to return to it as soon as she writes me another book!

Diana Peterfreund leaves the world of the killer unicorns and enters

I originally found Diana Peterfreund through her man eating unicorn series, and I loved those. I have checked out this book four times and never got around to reading it, but I am glad I finally did. Reading the blurb, it made it sound like some science fiction book, but really its more of a dystopian novel. 
Elliott is a noble Luddite, second daughter of a Baron. Kai is her best friend but he is also a Post, pretty much a slave.

There were two types of people in the world. Luddites, who followed Gods word and lived simply. Then there were the Lost, who thought people could be more. Faster, stronger, better. Gods wratch and war came and the Lost became the Reduced. They were reduced to mute people who were simpletons. The Luddites stepped up to take care of them, teaching them to work and feeding and housing them. But eventually, when Reduced people had children, they became Posts. Fully functional people. One out of 20 Reduced were Posts. 

But some think life should be different. All Elliot wants is to keep her family from going bankrupt and to take care of the people in her care. She secretly manages to cross breed a wheat that is less work and produces more, but her father plows it over for a new racetrack. The Baron is a second son who never thought to inherit, so had no head for figures or how to take care of an estate. Elliot took care of those duties after her mother passed away when she was fourteen, but four years and her father and sisters extravagances are decimating the family fortune. 

Elliot takes on renters at her grandfather's boatyard, to earn more income. Little did she know the young Post who was her friend that ran away when they were fourteen was now a famous, wealthy sea captain. The Innovators found many things on their travels that made them wealthy, but they want to build a sea worthy ship to cross the world and see if there is anything left outside of the 2 islands they have known for centuries.

Im not sure how much father I can go without completely spoiling the story so I will leave it at that. I really enjoyed this one and I believe there is a new one coming soon. Yay! So, give it a chance and read it, ya may like it!

Joelle Charbonneau's new series "The Testing"

Keep your friends close and your enemies closer. Isn’t that what they say? But how close is too close when they may be one in the same? 

The Seven Stages War left much of the planet a charred wasteland. The future belongs to the next generation’s chosen few who must rebuild it. But to enter this elite group, candidates must first pass The Testing—their one chance at a college education and a rewarding career. 

Cia Vale is honored to be chosen as a Testing candidate; eager to prove her worthiness as a University student and future leader of the United Commonwealth. But on the eve of her departure, her father’s advice hints at a darker side to her upcoming studies--trust no one. 

But surely she can trust Tomas, her handsome childhood friend who offers an alliance? Tomas, who seems to care more about her with the passing of every grueling (and deadly) day of the Testing. To survive, Cia must choose: love without truth or life without trust.

Very Hunger Games like type of book.  Cia's colony hasn't had anyone chosing for the Testing in Years. A student's only hope of going to University and living a better life is to pass the Testing.  Her father is a botanist, as well as her brother. They propogate plants to live in the barren world that is left after the Seven Stages of war, some man made and some environmental. The world is a desolate place, but with the help of people like her father, it is becoming a better one. 

Tomas isn't really her "childhood friend". He is someone she knows from school and has crushed on. But she accepts his offer of an alliance, because the Testing is very cut throat. People will do anything, even kill, to win. 

The Testing is hard, mentally as well as physically, but Cia is determined to get through it. Her father's suspicions ring true, though, and she must be very careful with who she trusts. 

This was a great book. I liked the characters and I liked the world that Ms Charbonneau created. I am VERY anxious to read book two!

Jo Jo Moyes' book "Me Before You"

Book Description:

They had nothing in common until love gave them everything to lose . . .

Louisa Clark is an ordinary girl living an exceedingly ordinary life—steady boyfriend, close family—who has barely been farther afield than their tiny village. She takes a badly needed job working for ex–Master of the Universe Will Traynor, who is wheelchair bound after an accident. Will has always lived a huge life—big deals, extreme sports, worldwide travel—and now he’s pretty sure he cannot live the way he is.

Will is acerbic, moody, bossy—but Lou refuses to treat him with kid gloves, and soon his happiness means more to her than she expected. When she learns that Will has shocking plans of his own, she sets out to show him that life is still worth living.

A Love Story for this generation, Me Before You brings to life two people who couldn’t have less in common—a heartbreakingly romantic novel that asks, What do you do when making the person you love happy also means breaking your own heart?


As I sat reading this book last night, I was thinking to myself.. this is an awesome book. I couldn't put it down! Twenty-six year old Lou loses her job at a cafe after six years. She's kind of at loose ends, doesn't know what to do with herself. She lives with her parents and grandpa in England, and everyone just barely scraping by. She is offered a job as a companion to a man who was hit by a motorcycle and is now a quadriplegic. Lou is a pretty upbeat, cheery, chatty type of person and Will's mother thinks she will help Will to perk him up. After leading a very active lifestyle, the accident has left him with no will to live. Lou starts getting him out and about, outside for picnics and traveling to music venues and such.

Venting after this.







OMG the end of this book ticked me off so bad.. Actually, I have to admit, I couldn't handle the suspense so when I was halfway through the book, I flipped to the back. UGH!!!!!!!!!!!! I quit reading it and refuse to pick it back up

Nora Roberts' new Cousin's O'Dwyer trilogy put a spell on me....

Book Description:

With indifferent parents, Iona Sheehan grew up craving devotion and acceptance. From her maternal grandmother, she learned where to find both: a land of lush forests, dazzling lakes, and centuries-old legends.
Ireland.
County Mayo, to be exact. Where her ancestors’ blood and magic have flowed through generations—and where her destiny awaits.
Iona arrives in Ireland with nothing but her Nan’s directions, an unfailingly optimistic attitude, and an innate talent with horses. Not far from the luxurious castle where she is spending a week, she finds her cousins, Branna and Connor O’Dwyer. And since family is family, they invite her into their home and their lives.
When Iona lands a job at the local stables, she meets the owner, Boyle McGrath. Cowboy, pirate, wild tribal horsemen, he’s three of her biggest fantasy weaknesses all in one big, bold package.
Iona realizes that here she can make a home for herself—and live her life as she wants, even if that means falling head over heels for Boyle. But nothing is as it seems. An ancient evil has wound its way around Iona’s family tree and must be defeated. Family and friends will fight with each other and for each other to keep the promise of hope—and love—alive…

We start this book with Sorcha and her three children. Sorcha is the Dark Witch, helping to take care of her people and her friends with spells and magic. She is a good witch, of course. Her husband is off to war, as he usually is, and she misses him something fierce. But Sorcha is ill and getting weaker by the day.  An old evil haunts her, wanting her power, willing to kill to get it. Sorcha uses everything she has to give her power to her children, to make them run, so they will be safe. She knows she cannot defeat the evil witch, but centuries in the future, her descendants will find each other and find a way to rid the world of him.

I love how, in several of Ms Roberts' last books, the male character has been gruff and a jerk, to a point. The female character just shoos it off and does as she likes to get her man. It's pretty hilarious.

I have heard lately that people think Ms Roberts' trilogies are getting old. That the Inn Innsboro was nothing but a publicity stunt to advertise her Inn in Maryland (which I think sounds fabulous!) Who cares?! It was a great setting for a book!  

I absolutely adored this book. Magic and Horses and Ireland. Nothing can go wrong here! Iona is a quirky, horse girl and Boyle is a grumpy horseman. It fits!! I almost didn't care about characterization and plot and all that. I loved this book and thats that!

House of Hades, another Amazing Rick Riordan book!

Time passes slowly in the year between Rick Riordan's books. Fangirls and boys everywhere flock to them when they are released.. and old as I am.. I feel the same way. I preordered it the week before it was released and was antsy and annoyed when it came a whole day late! But, as always, it was worth the wait.

At the conclusion of The Mark of Athena, Annabeth and Percy tumble into a pit leading straight to the Underworld. The other five demigods have to put aside their grief and follow Percy''s instructions to find the mortal side of the Doors of Death. If they can fight their way through the Gaea''s forces, and Percy and Annabeth can survive the House of Hades, then the Seven will be able to seal the Doors both sides and prevent the giants from raising Gaea. But, Leo wonders, if the Doors are sealed, how will Percy and Annabeth be able to escape? They have no choice. If the demigods don''t succeed, Gaea''s armies will never die. They have no time. In about a month, the Romans will march on Camp Half-Blood. The stakes are higher than ever in this adventure that dives into the depths of Tartarus.

Annabeth and Percy are in Tartarus, looking for the Doors of Death. The Doors have to be closed on both sides at the same time. Jason, Nico, and the rest of the gang are in the real world, fighting for every breath they take to reach the House of Hades and get to the Doors of Death. As in each book, there are alot of mini-quests in the BIG quest. Hazel is led off to meet with Hecate, who while at one time was against the demigods, has supposedly chosen to side with them to stop Gaea.  Leo is flung from his boat to Calypso's island. In Italy, little dwarves cause a huge ruckus. Hazel must learn to use the Mist if they have any hope to defeat Gaea. 

Thats just a piece of it. Just WAIT til Jason and Nico meet up with Cupid. 

Non-stop Action made for an excellent read. I was disappointed in the House of Hades. It was supposed to be this big labyrinth but it ended up being a major dud. Otherwise, I really liked this book and am agonizing over the year wait for another!

Waterfell by Amalie Howard.. new YA title

***Thank you, NetGalley, for allowing me to read this book***

THE GIRL WHO WOULD BE QUEEN 

Nerissa Marin hides among teens in her human form, waiting for the day she can claim her birthright-the undersea kingdom stolen from her the day her father was murdered. Blending in is her best weapon-until her father's betrayer confronts Nerissa and challenges her to a battle to the death on Nerissa's upcoming birthday-the day she comes of age. 

Amid danger and the heartbreak of her missing mother, falling for a human boy is the last thing Nerissa should do. But Lo Seavon breaches her defenses and somehow becomes the only person she can count on to help her desperate search for her mother, a prisoner of Nerissa's mortal enemy. Is Lo the linchpin that might win Nerissa back her crown? Or will this mortal boy become the weakness that destroys her?

Rissa's father is dead and the High Court is being overrun. Rissa lives on land trying to fit in with humans and block out thoughts of home at Waterfell. She knows she can never go home, because if she does, she will die too. She immerses herself in field hockey, to use of her spare time so she doesn't think of home, and as she tries to fit in.

I've really enjoyed this book ! Rissa sounds very much like the ultimate mean girl sometimes, and other times like she's reformed. I still haven't reformed my opinion. She goes to the ultimate of private schools and is protected by Handlers. 

Julie Kagawa's Iron Traitor.. friend or foe?

From the author's website:

IN THE REAL WORLD, WHEN YOU VANISH INTO THIN AIR FOR A WEEK, PEOPLE TEND TO NOTICE.

After his unexpected journey into the lands of the fey, Ethan Chase just wants to get back to normal. Well, as "normal" as you can be when you see faeries every day of your life. Suddenly the former loner with the bad reputation has someone to try for-his girlfriend, Kenzie. Never mind that he's forbidden to see her again.

But when your name is Ethan Chase and your sister is one of the most powerful faeries in the Nevernever, "normal" simply isn't to be. For Ethan's nephew, Keirran, is missing, and may be on the verge of doing something unthinkable in the name of saving his own love. Something that will fracture the human and faery worlds forever, and give rise to the dangerous fey known as the Forgotten. As Ethan's and Keirran's fates entwine and Keirran slips further into darkness, Ethan's next choice may decide the fate of them all.

************Galley received from NetGalley.. Thank you************

I started this one a couple times, but I felt like it was kind of slow getting though. This one picks up a week after "The Lost Prince" ends.  Kenzie is sick and her father is completely flipping out, not allowing her to see Ethan anymore. Of course, Kenzie doesn't take it. She does what she wants. She knows she may not have much time left, so she wants to live it as she sees fit, not as her father thinks she should.

Annwyl shows up at Ethan's door, dying. She is starting to Fade. Kierran has disappeared, trying to find a cure. Annywl comes to Ethan for his help. She's afraid Kierran may do something drastic to help her. Their journey takes them to New Orleans, where Kenzie finds them even after being ordered to stay away.  

Okay no more details. Look for this book  October 23rd, and make sure you read all of the Iron Fey series as well as the Call of the Forgotten!

OH! THIS BOOK HAS A MAJOR CLIFFHANGER! I could just strangle someone right now, knowing I have to wait a YEAR for the next one!

I'm definitely feeling the Christmas Spirit in Snow Crystal, Vermont! Thank you Sarah Morgan!

**** This was a title I received from NetGalley***

Kayle Green hates Christmas. The sights, the sounds, the happiness. Bah Humbug! She works at an advertising company and does publicity for companies. And she is darned good at her job.

Jackson O'Neil comes to Kayle because she is the best and his families ski resort, family run for several generations, needs all the help it can get. Kayla agrees to come up for a week and experience Snow Crystals charms so she can better publicize why it is so wonderful.
What she doesn't expect is Jackson O'Neil himself.

This was a wonderful book, even though to me, again this year there have been several, the romance happens WAYYYY to quickly. Even so, it was a very good book, and full of Christmas spirit!

I will do "Anything But Love" anyday! Thank you, Beth Ciotta!

Well, as always Beth Ciotta did not disappoint me. I love her books and I don't think she can do anything wrong. Although there weren't as much Cupcake Lovers as in the previous two books, which saddened me.. And not enough Daisy either. Haha, she's a hoot! I see a new one is coming in the spring.. Woohoo!!

Rachel disappeared and Luke is on a rant. He hires Jayce to find her.. And what does he find? An heiress, a millionaire.. and gone is the mousy lady that intrigued him with her intelligence.. He finds a total bombshell in her place. It can't be the same girl! Reagan, indeed, is the same girl. Rae went into hiding to escape pressures from her mother and stepfather who want her money on her 25th birthday.

Luke flies in to confront her, they have a passionate evening, then he goes home.

Six weeks later, Rae is in Sugar Creek again hoping to save Sugar tots, the daycare, and also the Cupcake Lovers recipe book that they are trying to get published.

K, thats all I am going to tell you. It was a wonderful book, although lacking in the much loved characters from the first two books, and had a very thrown together ending. Anyways, Read, Love, Wait!! lol

Aimee Carter's new YA Dystopian novel "Pawn" is awesome!

Since The Hunger Games ended, I have been looking for a new book that lived up to how great they were. Searching, and searching.. I found one in The Darkest Minds by Alexandra Bracken. Amaaaazing book. Then I searched some more, and I found some that were okay, and I found some good, and I found some bad.

Recently I received a book on NetGalley called "Pawn" by Aimee Carter". I've never read her before, but I see lots of great reviews for her books. I started the book a couple days ago, finished it last night, and I thoroughly enjoyed it!

Blurb from Amazon.com:

YOU CAN BE A VII IF YOU GIVE EVERYTHING.

For Kitty Doe, it seems like an easy choice. She can either spend her life as a III in misery, looked down upon by the higher ranks and forced to leave the people she loves, or she can become a VII and join the most powerful family in the country.

If she says yes, Kitty will be Masked—surgically transformed into Lila Hart, the Prime Minister's niece, who died under mysterious circumstances. As a member of the Hart family, she will be famous. She will be adored. And for the first time, she will matter.

There's only one catch. She must also stop the rebellion that Lila secretly fostered, the same one that got her killed…and one Kitty believes in. Faced with threats, conspiracies and a life that's not her own, she must decide which path to choose—and learn how to become more than a pawn in a twisted game she's only beginning to understand.

In a society where people are fined for having more than once child, and the child ends up in a group home if the fine cannot be paid, everyone has a numbered rank. We never hear about I's and II's, IIIs seem to be the grunts, IVs and Vs have a slightly better chance, and Vs and VIs are the office people, government staff where food is not sparse and lives are lived longer.  

Kitty has lived in a group home all her life and is completely in love with Benjy, who grew up in the same house.  On her seventeenth birthday she has her testing and only receives a III. Knowing she will end up dead before 40 from working a mine or some other menial horrible job, she chooses to go with Tabs to the clubs and sell herself so she can earn money to run away. Promising Benjy she would be back for him when he turns seventeen and has his own testing, she leaves. 

She is purchased for an obscene amount of money, but her buyer doesnt want her for her body. He wants her eyes. Kitty has an extremely rare eye color, the same eye color as the presidents niece, who was killed in a skiing accident. Not wanting it to become public knowledge, they coerce Kitty into agreeing to their proposition without even knowing what it is. She is knocked unconscious and wakes up days later... as someone else.

They have made her into Lila, from her hair, to her toes, plastic surgery done to most of her body. Shes taller, with bigger feet. Daxton Hart, "the president" as we shall call him, tells Kitty that she is now Lila. She will learn to be Lila and live Lila's life or her own life and that of Benjy will be forfeited. To prove his point, he takes Kitty on a hunting spree where they travel to Elsewhere.. its where the elderly, infirm, and useless are sent.. Daxton hunts humans for sport. His target this time.. Nina, the only mother Kitty had ever known, from the group home. Daxton kills her with no remorse. Kitty agrees to do whatever he wants.

Kitty meets Celia, Lila's mother, and Knox, Lila's fiance. They help her learn who Lila was and how to become her. Everyone is under the tight control of Augusta Hart, Daxton and Celia's mother. 

Everything is not as it seems. Knox and Celia seem to be trying to thwart the Hart family and push for change in the government. No more ranking system, like it used to be. Lila apparently had been helping as well, making speeches to the fact, which annoyed Augusta and Daxton.. which is probably the reason Lila died during the skiing trip. 

Okay, I won't give away more of the book. I think that when this book is released in November, everyone should go read it. It was great, and I can't wait for another!

Inhuman (Fetch series #1) by Kat Falls

I've been on a major young adult paranormal/dystopian kick this weekend. Yesterday I finished a book called Inhuman. It was really interesting. It is a dystopian book. A plague was released accidently into the human population and if people are bitten, they become like animals, inhuman and feral. The corporation who boo booed and let it loose, Titan, built a wall on the western side of the Mississippi River, containing the virus to the eastern area of the United States. The book takes place between Davenport, Ia and Chicago. Delaney Park is set with a task to "fetch" an item from Chicago, going out into the feral zone to find it. The chances of death are about 99%. We meet some interesting characters in Everson, the line guard, and Rafe, the not infected but seemingly feral boy raised in the feral zone. I really enjoyed it and hope the next book comes out soon.

New Young Adult paranormal romance .... Hidden Wings by Cameo Renae

This is a new Young Adult title about Angels and Fallen Angels.

Description from Amazon.com

Recommended for young adult readers. The Hidden Wings series is a YA Paranormal / Fantasy with elements of romance, suspense, mystery, horror, and humor. 

What happens when Darkness and Light collide? 
Seventeen is a life changing age for Emma Wise. As her family's sole survivor in a car crash, she is left with a broken arm, and a few scrapes and bruises. But these are only outward marks; inside, her heart is broken and the pieces scattered. Whisked away to Alaska, to an aunt she's never met, Emma starts over. Secrets unveil themselves and now...she doesn't even know who or what she is. A centuries old prophecy places Emma in the heart of danger. Creatures of horrifying and evil proportions are after her, and it will take Emma, her aunt, and six, gorgeously, captivating Guardians to keep her safe. But, if she can survive until her eighteenth birthday... things will change.

I really enjoyed this book, but I thought it was short and parts of the story coalesced too quickly. 

Emma is a likable character, except when she's all like "Tell me what the heck is going on!", which I understand, or the "I'm not a fighter, what do I do" but then all of a sudden has a great idea. 

It had an interesting storyline, and I wish we had learned more about the Guardians. I would like to know how they met and came to live in Alaska and where they came from. I feel like big parts of the story were missing, but it was an alright read. I'm going to try to get the second book, Broken Wings, and see if any questions are answered there.

Emily March's new book Miracle Road is the BEST Angel's Rest book so far!

I received this book via NetGalley (Love you guys!) and devoured it within a few hours. I have such a hard time writing reviews, I'm just not good at it, so I will try my best!

Lucca Romano is a scarred, wounded soul. As a college basketball coach he is the one many young men look up to. On the road home from a game one night, the bus crashes, many injured and some death. Lucca blames himself, of course.  He keeps on though, until one day he breaks. He walks out and disappears with barely any calls to his family to let them know he is safe.

Lucca is pretty much dragged to Angel's Rest by his family. We met the Romano family in the previous book. They hope that Angel's Rest will help him to heal. His best healing comes from Hope Montgomery, Lucca's next door neighbor. When the previous owners dog escapes her new home and Lucca finds her (and puppies!) in his closet, he has no idea what to do and storms next door to Hope, thinking the dog belongs to her.

Hope has experienced her own tragedy. Her daughter was kidnapped and her marraige fell apart, as her husband blamed it on her. She met Celeste's sister who told her about Angel's Rest, so she moved to start her life over and to heal.

Really, I cannot say how much this book moved me. It was very heartwarming, and so feel good...... I get goosebumps when I talk about it, it was just so amazing. My description probably sucks, sorry I just don't write those very well! Its easier to just copy and paste a description and tell why I loved this book so much.

Okay I wont go on and on and on and on.. Just.. READ IT!

P.S. If you like Robyn Carr, Susan Mallery, Beth Ciotta... any good contemporary romance, then this is a series for you!