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!