Whisper the Dead by Alyxandra Harvey (ARC)

Whisper the Dead (The Lovegrove Legacy #2)
Alyxandra Harvey
Exp. Pub.: October 9, 2014 Tomorrow!!!

Gretchen is struggling with her newfound gift as a Whisperer; the constant buzzing in her ears from detecting spells is more frustrating than fun, especially when she is spending time with one of the Order of Iron Nail's Keepers, the icy but strikingly handsome Tobias Lawless. But while Gretchen tries to hide the truth and resolve her feelings for him, London fades from beautiful and bustling to deathly silent ...Something evil is once again menacing Mayfair, and Gretchen and her cousins must use their powers to prevent a horrible sacrifice.

The Lovegrove cousins are back after bottling the Greymalkin sisters into magical containments. Whisper the Dead focuses more on Gretchen this time as she tries to learn her craft - whispers tell her what type of spells are being cast and if anything can be used to make a particular spell stronger. She tries to focus her power into discovering why the wards in the city are going haywire and why elements once contained in certain areas are expanding their turf. But having constant supervision by the Keepers isn't helping her become more attuned to anything other than her rising agitation for her personal new shadow, Tobias Lawless.

 

Hmm... Where to begin. I liked this story, I did. But something felt off about it. I had no problem putting it aside to read other books, which is rare for me when I actually like the story enough. I love Gretchen and Emma especially, and I have the feeling Penelope will get her turn to shine in the third installment. And I love their beaus. Cormac is perfectly sweet for Emma and Tobias is just the kick in the skirt Gretchen needs, and vice versa. Quite honestly, the relationships are what keep me intrigued enough to continue the story, because there are so many things thrown at me I just find confusing. Especially all the magical charms and spell ingredients. Every time I turn around some obscure object is used to ward off something else. Pretty soon I'm sure an chocolate-coated acorn will be used to scare away a squirrel. How the hell do they keep it all straight, because it lacks consistency. Still, the main plot circling the Lovegrove cousins and the Greymalkin sisters is interesting enough to see where this is going to go.

ARC provided by Bloomsbury Childrens for honest review.

A Breath of Frost by Alyxandra Harvey (ARC)

A Breath of Frost (The Lovegrove Legacy #1)
Alyxandra Harvey
Pub.: January 7, 2014

In 1814, three cousins—Gretchen, Emma, and Penelope—discover their family lineage of witchcraft when a binding spell is broken, allowing their individual magical powers to manifest. Now, beyond the manicured gardens and ballrooms of Regency London, an alluring underworld available only to those with power is revealed to the cousins. By claiming their power, the three cousins have accidentally opened the gates to the underworld.

Now ghouls, hellhounds—and most terrifying of all, the spirits of dark witches known as the Greymalkin Sisters—are hunting and killing young debutante witches for their powers. And, somehow, Emma is connected to the murders…because she keeps finding the bodies.

Can the cousins seal the gates before another witch is killed…or even worse, before their new gifts are stripped away? 

Lordy. Where to begin? A Breath of Frost begins with three cousins attending a party in historical society. Emma's mother had long gone mad, and found comfort pocketing an old perfume bottle of hers, which accidentally gets broken and unleashes a massive spell that was binding not only Emma's powers, but that of her two cousins. But apparently, it also opens several gateways to the Underworld that change locations every day, and out with them came the Greymalkin sisters, another trio of powerful witches who had already been banished by the Order. And with them come several witch deaths that Emma is drawn to - which is bad luck, because now the Order believes she's the one responsible for offing them so the Greymalkin sisters can steal their powers. The only way to get them temporarily off her back is to board at a finishing school for young witches, and to work with her cousins, a Madcap named Moira and her on-and-off love interest Cormack to figure out who is really behind the attack, and stop it before the Order permanently removes Emma as a threat to society.

 

Splintered by A.G. Howard (ARC)

Splintered
A.G. Howard
Pub. Date: January 1, 2013

This stunning debut captures the grotesque madness of a mystical under-land, as well as a girl’s pangs of first love and independence. Alyssa Gardner hears the whispers of bugs and flowers—precisely the affliction that landed her mother in a mental hospital years before. This family curse stretches back to her ancestor Alice Liddell, the real-life inspiration for Lewis Carroll’s Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland. Alyssa might be crazy, but she manages to keep it together. For now.

When her mother’s mental health takes a turn for the worse, Alyssa learns that what she thought was fiction is based in terrifying reality. The real Wonderland is a place far darker and more twisted than Lewis Carroll ever let on. There, Alyssa must pass a series of tests, including draining an ocean of Alice’s tears, waking the slumbering tea party, and subduing a vicious bandersnatch, to fix Alice’s mistakes and save her family. She must also decide whom to trust: Jeb, her gorgeous best friend and secret crush, or the sexy but suspicious Morpheus, her guide through Wonderland, who may have dark motives of his own.

Forget what you think you know about Wonderland - 'cause it's all been fluffed and sugar-coated. Sure, Alice went to Wonderland, met all sorts of crazy characters in a vividly, colorful world and got back out to talk about it (eventually), but the tale told to author Lewis Carroll wasn't entirely truthful.

Mystic City by Theo Lawrence (ARC)

Mystic City
Theo Lawrence
Exp. Pub: October 9, 2012 TODAY!!!

Aria Rose, youngest scion of one of Mystic City's two ruling rival families, finds herself betrothed to Thomas Foster, the son of her parents' sworn enemies. The union of the two will end the generations-long political feud—and unite all those living in the Aeries, the privileged upper reaches of the city, against the banished mystics who dwell below in the Depths. But Aria doesn't remember falling in love with Thomas; in fact, she wakes one day with huge gaps in her memory. And she can't conceive why her parents would have agreed to unite with the Fosters in the first place. Only when Aria meets Hunter, a gorgeous rebel mystic from the Depths, does she start to have glimmers of recollection—and to understand that he holds the key to unlocking her past. The choices she makes can save or doom the city—including herself.

Wowsers. It's been a few months since I read a book this awesome.

Aria wakes up to learn she OD'd on Stic, a drug made from Mystic power that, depending on the provider's essence, can be strong enough to kill you. Along with the memory of actually taking the drug, goes all her memories of a trysted love affair with Thomas, the son of her family's sworn enemy. Her family says she loved him enough to defy all their beliefs, but now the two families are willing to reconciliate, with their marriage bringing a divided city together. There's a third party, the Mystics, on the rise threatening to bump them off their high horses, and they're desperate enough to allow this union to occur, if it'll mean keeping their lavish lifestyles. The Mystics are humans with magical essences that can allow them to do some pretty amazing things, like pass through solid walls, shapeshift, manipulate molecular structures, etc, and the normal humans fear their power. Law requires the Mystics to be drained of their power twice a year, which is then used to fuel their city and create an illegal drug called Stic. But a lot of Mystics remain unregistered and hidden beneath the city, but should they all come together to vote for their candidate, their population could easily outnumber the nonmystical folks. And the two families know this.

 

The Roses and Fosters are your typical mob families, controlling illegal substances and influencing laws, and show no hesitation in putting a bullet in the head of a Mystic for absolutely nothing. They like to play God, but Aria is nothing like them. She tries desperately to remember her past and figure out how Thomas could possibly be the man that wrote the love letters she found tucked away, and soon finds herself navigating the back streets where Mystics dwell. Aria is on the hitlist of a lot of rebel Mystics, and soon finds herself at their mercy, only to be rescued by a dark and gorgeous Mystic named Hunter, who always seems to be in the shadows watching over her. There's an instant attraction she can't explain, with his presence always makes her feel safe and comfortable. It's not until she learns Hunter's true identity that she realizes Thomas isn't the only guy from an opposing family that she could've had a secret, forbidden relationship with. But in a world where her every move is watched and double agents are everywhere, Aria's lost in the mix, trying to decipher who's telling the truth and who's spinning nothing but lies.

 

Gotta say Mystic City had me wrapped up from beginning to end, and I was forced to lose half a night's sleep cause I just couldn't put it down. Mystic City has it all: forbidden love, lies and deception, family betrayal up the wazoo, and magic and danger around every corner. Lawrence's world is easy to picture and I still keep seeing neon green lights when I close my eyes. If this isn't on your list of must-haves this year, you're seriously missing out. Buy the hardback peeps, cause it deserves a permanent place on the bookshelf.

 

 

ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley for honest review.

Ordained Blog Tour and Giveaways! (INT)

The Ordained Blog Tour is now underway! To celebrate, I'll be giving away a couple of paperbacks, several eBooks and lots of bookmarks at various sites. To find out where to enter, just head over to my tour page!

Ordained tags: Urban Fantasy, Hunters, Magic, Witches, Demons, Mythology, New Adult

Normally, the school creates the hunters - not the monsters.

Abby Sorrensten likes to play rough. Ripping the horns off the heads of demons, manipulating lightning and setting things on fire with the flick of your wrist can give you a serious rush. So she probably wasn't the best choice for the Order's experimental training program. Thirteen years of isolation, lack of affection and a bruised and broken body from horrendous training sessions creates more than just an exceptional fighter. It creates an evil within - an evil responsible for the several deaths the night she left.

Two hundred years later Abby resurfaces as the very thing the Order trained her to kill: a vampire. A mythical demon has set his sights on the school and only the ordained hunter has the powers to face it. Unbenknownst to the Order, Abby's their precious ordained one and their only chance for survival. As much as she would love to leave them hanging, she's not willing to risk the life of Emily, a fellow friend and hunter also fed up with the organization.

But for Abby, locking herself away in a fortress filled with angry descendents of those she killed causes suspicions and tensions to run high. Abby must learn the demon's weaknesses for battle before the Order learns hers.

 

Something Witchy This Way Comes by Veronica Blade

Something Witchy This Way Comes
Veronica Blade

Synopsis: Brainiac Tessa McClean’s newly discovered magical powers give her hope of an escape from her inadequate life. But the thrill of being a witch fades when she learns of a rival coven and begins to suspect her own coven’s objective. Evidence tells Tessa to trust one side, but instinct drives her toward the other.

When Hayden Anders, the most delinquent kid in school — and the toughest — offers self-defense lessons in exchange for tutoring, the timing couldn’t be better. Though the idea of hanging out with a bad-boy that tempting is unnerving, staying alive amidst warring witches takes priority. She vows to hold onto her values and not surrender to the bad-boy she begins to secretly want.

Together, Tessa and Hayden uncover the truth about the two factions — a truth that explains why the covens will stop at nothing to lure her to their side. Tessa has only a matter of weeks to form an alliance with one coven or the other, but the wrong decision could cost Tessa the lives of all those she loves — including Hayden.

Bleh heh heh...lots of romance scenes in this one.  J

This book jumps right to the point of the story, with Hayden, a delinquent that knows how to protect himself, being asked to look after fellow classmate Tessa until the proper protection detail arrives to do it themselves. The only reason Hayden does it is because the school administrator said he could make quite a bit of his misbehavior disappear from his permanent file and help him get his grades up a bit before graduation. Lucky for them Hayden’s trying to turn his life around and willing to go along with it cause he had no idea what he’d really gotten himself into. And neither did poor Tessa, who finds out she’s coming into some magical powers. Not really a bad thing, but there are two covens out there that expect her to take a side in a war that’s been going on forever. Both have hidden objectives that make it difficult for Tessa to choose, especially when she learns her older sister’s choice got her killed.

What I really enjoyed the most was the romantic tension between the two as they were now forced to spend all their time together. Hayden is a little bit free with the women…well, actually, he’s quite the hound dog. Tessa had one bad experience with a guy and finds it hard to trust any of them, particularly Hayden, who hooks up with a girl everywhere he goes. But she can’t deny an attraction is growing for him exponentially, and his jealous behavior every time a guy moves in on her proves he’s having the same problem.

I loved this book. The plot moved smoothly, as did their relationship and I enjoyed every minute of their frustration. Alright, there were times when I wanted to smack Tessa and tell her to get over Hayden’s past and realize he was trying really hard to better himself for her, but mostly, I just loved it. J Something Witchy This Way Comes is definitely for mature audiences and worth every minute you spend reading it!

Novel provided by author for honest review.

Crave by Melissa Darnell (ARC)

Crave (The Clann #1)
Melissa Darnell
Pub Date: October 25, 2011

Synopsis: Savannah Colbert has never known why she's so hated by the kids of the Clann. Nor can she deny her instinct to get close to Clann golden boy Tristan Coleman. Especially when she recovers from a strange illness and the attraction becomes nearly irresistible. It's as if he's a magnet, pulling her gaze, her thoughts, even her dreams. Her family has warned her to have nothing to do with him, or any members of the Clann. But when Tristan is suddenly everywhere she goes, Savannah fears she's destined to fail.

For years, Tristan has been forbidden to even speak to Savannah Colbert. Then Savannah disappears from school for a week and comes back…different, and suddenly he can't stay away. Boys seem intoxicated just from looking at her. His own family becomes stricter than ever. And Tristan has to fight his own urge to protect her, to be near her no matter the consequences….

Romeo and Juliet had it easy compared to these two...

Savannah and Tristan are descendents from a line of witches called The Clann. When the two were just twelve years old, they had a pretend wedding; the end result: Savannah's family got kicked out of The Clann and Savannah shunned by all their children. Once high school began, Savannah was all but used to their taunts and misbehavior, but the attraction for Tristan still ran deep. When Savannah gets really sick her freshman year, her single mother finally tells her the truth. Her father was not only a vampire, but an incubus, meaning Savannah can draw energy from both blood or a kiss, which is why The Clann freaked out when she kissed Tristan, their leader's son.

Now Savannah's drowning in rules. Stay away from the members of The Clann, whose blood she'll crave most. Never use magic - don't even think about trying to learn on your own. Oh, and yeah, you can never dance again, or play sports, or trully participate in anything  because vampires excel beyond humans abilities with everything they do and you'll only draw attention to their species. Do any of these things and you'll instigate a war between the species. No pressure there...Oh, and members of The Clann and a few vampire watchers are everywhere spying on you just waiting for you to screw this up...but no pressure!

Miserable, Savannah moves forward with her life the best she can, fighting hard to find some enjoyment. The vampires ruined her chances to join the Charmers, the school's drill team, but they wouldn't stop her from becoming one of their managers so long as she promised not to be a backup dancer. But Savannah's slowly becoming her father and his incubus abilities are seeping through. She accidentally gaze-dazes a few boys and sends them into psycho-stalker mode, drawing the attention of Tristan, who still secretly longs for Savannah too. He secretly uses his magic to set them right and decides enough is enough - he'll do whatever it takes to be with her, even if her kiss will slowly drain his life away.

With the way Crave ended, I have a feeling I'm gonna be a little mad at Covet, cause I see the huge freakin' bump in the road for Tristan and Savannah's relationship. And I was really enjoying their secret rendevous. But now that it's out, everyone will be at the brink of war and the two will be ripped apart. But at least I'll still have their dream connection to swoon over. Sigh...

ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley.

Winterborne by Augusta Blythe

Winterborne
(Universe Unbound #1)
Augusta Blythe

Synopsis: Sixteen-year old Mia Winterborne is destined to be special. Details are sketchy, though, as her dad disappeared with all the answers when she was five. Mia only knows that she'll inherit her kickass superpowers on her seventeenth birthday. Helping Mia prepare for her anticipated ascendancy is Loie Bryce, her best friend and eternal sidekick extraordinaire. The girls' intense friendship has never wavered until now, when Andreas arrives in Salcey Ridge. They both fall hard for the British hottie, who quickly becomes a fixture in their lives. When they discover that Andreas is not who he appears to be, the frightening reality of Mia's powers finally hits home. The nearer Mia's birthday draws, the more the danger escalates and long-buried lies are exposed, putting the girls on a path that they never expected.

Winterborne was unique in that for once we get to witness the action through the eyes of the supernatural's side-kick. Mia has always known that when she turned sixteen, she was going to inherit some pretty wicked supernatural powers. Her dad was a Universal, a human with extraordinary powers that helped keep the Ancients (pixies, leprechauns, hellhounds, etc) in line. As Mia nears her birthday, she and her side-kick Loie are practicing like mad during summer to see if her powers are leaking through yet. But the only thing really going on are all these weird occurrences happening around them, like a bunch of foreign birds trying to divebomb them and icky green slime around their home. I say 'their' home cbeause even though their just besties, Loie has a room of her own at the Winterborne manor. Hey, if your parents died when you were five and all you were left with was a drunk, angry grandmother that didn't care if you came home, you'd stay away too. Lucky for Loie, Mrs. Winterborne was really great friends with her mom and considered Loie her second daughter.

Anyways, summer's dragging on so enter the hottie from Britain that just moved to town. Turns out he's a Universal too, sent to watch over Mia. Ancients have apparently been trying and failing to attack Mia for awhile and now that she's close to ascension, they're desperate to kill her off. They're even willing to go after human Loie, so she gets protection by association. 

I wasn't particularly fond of Mia through most of the novel. It's not that she's cruel or uncaring, but she's quite selfish, always focusing on herself. She even got upset with Loie for kissing Andreas, whom they both liked, as if Loie didn't deserve a chance to be the center of his affections. And it doesn't help that Loie keeps Her Heiness on the throne by always doing what she wants and feeding her rapid-growing egotism. But luckily Mia gets smothered with a hefty dose of humility so I ended this novel with a smile on my face and a sense of justice for side-kicks everywhere!

Winterborne had plenty of action, mystery. and paranormal characters popping in to ruin their special moments. Some things were predictable but you probably won't hit it exactly on the mark like you think you will. I'm not ashamed to admit that I started the sequel Ravenstoke the moment I finished this novel because I really want to see where this is going. Now that the powers have ascended, I'm really anxious to see how Mia and Loie take to this new world and deal with the constant threat of Ancients hunting them down...and if we get to see what Sanctuary looks like where a lot of the Universals hide out at.

Add it to your GoodReads and find it at Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Copy provided by Author for honest review.

Spellbound by Cara Lynn Shultz (ARC)

Spellbound
Cara Lynn Shultz

Synopsis: What's a girl to do when meeting The One means she's cursed to die a horrible death?

Life hasn't been easy on sixteen-year-old Emma Connor, so a new start in New York may be just the change she needs. But the posh Upper East Side prep school she has to attend? Not so much. Friendly faces are few and far between, except for one that she's irresistibly drawn to—Brendan Salinger, the guy with the rock-star good looks and the richest kid in school, who might just be her very own white knight.

But even when Brendan inexplicably turns cold, Emma can't stop staring. Ever since she laid eyes on him, strange things have been happening. Streetlamps go out wherever she walks, and Emma's been having the oddest dreams: visions of herself in past lives—visions that warn her to stay away from Brendan. Or else.

Spellbound was a decent read. However, if you pick this up, the storyline and character actions are completely predictable. In spite of that, I was considering giving it four stars because it kept my attention enough to read through it swiftly without any snags or disinterest. That was until I hit 80% in the novel. The last 20% has dropped my rating down to three stars cause I was so disappointed. Emma Conner had been reincarnated several times since the curse was placed on her and her lover, and she's died every time. So I expected something spectacular to try to kill her off in this novel. But alas, the danger presented to Emma that threatened to take her life and exact the curse once again was completely unspectacular. Utter disappointment on that front. I wanted something supernatural and worthy of the curse, not some...well, you'll see. And unfortunately, Emma suddenly became stupid in the end, falling for things she shouldn't have, which was another disappointment cause the author protrayed her as a fairly smart MC up until that point. (Please don't make an MC temporarily dumb...allow a surprise attack if you must, just don't make them a sudden idiot to put them in danger).

I'll read Spellcaster cause I did like the characters, I just hope they'll have more supernatural issues to deal with next time. Pick up Spellbound at the library or used bookstore if you'd like, but don't spend too much money on it. It's worth a read but most likely won't get a permanent spot on the bookshelf.