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3.5 Stars

Book Review: Living Violet by Jamie Reed

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“Love indulged the masochist”

 -Jaime Reed, Living Violet

  • Publication Date: December 27, 2011
  •  Genre: Paranormal Romance
  • Pages: 304
  • Publisher: Kensington

He’s persuasive, charming, and way too mysterious. And for Samara Marshall, her co-worker is everything she wants most–and everything she most fears. . .Samara Marshall is determined to make the summer before her senior year the best ever. Her plan: enjoy downtime with friends and work to save up cash for her dream car. Summer romance is not on her to-do list, but uncovering the truth about her flirtatious co-worker, Caleb Baker, is. From the peculiar glow to his eyes to the unfortunate events that befall the girls who pine after him, Samara is the only one to sense danger behind his smile.But Caleb’s secrets are drawing Samara into a world where the laws of attraction are a means of survival. And as a sinister power closes in on those she loves, Samara must take a risk that will change her life forever. . .or consume it

 

 




Samara Marshall has never understood the attraction women seem to have to her co-worker Caleb Baker, besides his violet eyes, Caleb is pretty average. Yet all of the women who enter Buncha Books can’t keep their hands of him and when people start dropping dead in Samara’s hometown of Williamsburg, VA she learns that Caleb has his own secret; he is being possessed.

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Book Review : Half-Blood Jennifer Armentrout

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  • Genre : Fantasy
  • Pages : 304
  • Publication Date : October 18th 2011
  • Publisher : Spencer Hill

Synopsis : The Hematoi descend from the unions of gods and mortals, and the children of two Hematoi-pure-bloods-have godlike powers. Children of Hematoi and mortals-well, not so much. Half-bloods only have two options: become trained Sentinels who hunt and kill daimons or become servants in the homes of the pures.Seventeen-year-old Alexandria would rather risk her life fighting than waste it scrubbing toilets, but she may end up slumming it anyway. There are several rules that students at the Covenant must follow. Alex has problems with them all, but especially rule #1:Relationships between pures and halfs are forbidden.Unfortunately, she’s crushing hard on the totally hot pure-blood Aiden. But falling for Aiden isn’t her biggest problem–staying alive long enough to graduate the Covenant and become a Sentinel is. If she fails in her duty, she faces a future worse than death or slavery . . .

I know what you are thinking. How have I not read this book ? Jennifer Armentrout is probably every bloggers favorite author.

In 2011 Armentrout started off at two small presses (Spencer Hill and Entangled) , since then she has gained legions of fans and  plenty success to accompany it. She was one of  Entangled Publishing’s first books to be produced in mass market papaerback and the first Spencer Hill author published in hardcover.

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Dealing With After : Miracle by Elizabeth Scott and Leaving Paradise by Simone Elkeles

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 It’s time for another head to head book faceoff ! These two novels were ones I read months apart and just really didn’t have much to say about. I wasn’t even going to review them but, then I realized they dealt with the same issue; The After. What happens after a traumatic event that shakes not only our protagonist, but also a small town community.

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Audiobook Review : Between The Lines by Tammara Webber

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“Fame is people screaming your name, loving you, hating you, all on a whim”

–Tammara Webber, Between The Lines

 

 

  • Release Date: November 15th, 2012
  • Genre: Contemporary
  • Hours: 8 hours 48 minutes
  • Publisher: Brilliance Audio 

Synopsis:  Reid Alexander is used to getting what he wants – and what he wants next is his newest costar, Emma Pierce. The universe is lining up nicely to grant his wish, until he’s confronted with two unexpected obstacles on location: a bitter ex-girlfriend and a rival for Emma’s affections.
Emma Pierce just got her big break after years of filming commercials and made-for-TV movies. Winning the lead role in a wide-release film – opposite the very hot Reid Alexander – should be a dream come true. But Emma’s heart is hiding a secret fantasy: she wants to be a normal girl 

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Book Review : The Madman’s Daughter

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  • Release Date: January 29, 2013 
  • Genre: Sci-Fi/Historical
  •  Pages: 432
  • Publisher: Blazer + Bray (Harper Collins Children)


Synopsis : Inspired by H. G. Wells’s classic The Island of Dr. Moreau,The Madman’s Daughter is a dark and breathless Gothic thriller about the secrets we’ll do anything to know and the truths we’ll go to any lengths to protect. . . Sixteen-year-old Juliet Moreau has built a life for herself in London—working as a maid, attending church on Sundays, and trying not to think about the scandal that ruined her life. After all, no one ever proved the rumors about her father’s gruesome experiments. But when she learns he is alive and continuing his work on a remote tropical island, she is determined to find out if the accusations are true.

. . . and you thought you had father issues. Juliet Moreau’s life has been world of hardship since her disgraced father, the mad Dr. Moreau,  abandoned her family leaving them to ruin. Years later a chance encounter leads Juliet to her father and his mysterious island inhabited by strange islanders.

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Book Review : Shadow and Bone by Leigh Bardugo

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  • Release Date: June 12, 2012 
  • Genre: Fantasy/High Fantasy
  •  Pages: 358  
  • Publishers: Henry Holt and Co. (Macmillan)

Synopsis: Surrounded by enemies, the once-great nation of Ravka has been torn in two by the Shadow Fold, a swath of near impenetrable darkness crawling with monsters who feast on human flesh. Now its fate may rest on the shoulders of one lonely refugee.Alina Starkov has never been good at anything. But when her regiment is attacked on the Fold and her best friend is brutally injured, Alina reveals a dormant power that saves his life—a power that could be the key to setting her war-ravaged country free. Wrenched from everything she knows, Alina is whisked away to the royal court to be trained as a member of the Grisha, the magical elite led by the mysterious Darkling.


 I heard a lot about this book in the YA blogging community and was ready to jump on the bandwagon. I really like Macmillan’s Fierce Reads novels, but Shadow and Bone was a lukewarm book for me. I could never get caught up in the story and it took me a while to really sit down and finish this one.

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