Review: Ten Reasons to Stay by Sabrina Jeffries

Genre: Historical Romance | Series: School for Heiresses

Publish: 4/6/13 | Pocket Star

Format: egalley | Requested via NetGalley

In "Ten Reasons to Stay," previously published in the anthology The School for Heiresses, lessons go far beyond etiquette and needlepoint. Eliza Crenshawe’s lesson is to look before she leaps. But when she discovers that her new guardian plans to marry her off without so much as a Season, she forgets all that. She flees—on a horse she unwittingly steals (oops!)—from Colin Hunt, a newly minted earl who wants nothing more than for her to go home…or stay forever.

This novella was a very quick read for me.  I was able to read it in a couple of hours or so.  While this had a very promising plot, I thought the story was ok.  Maybe because it is a novella and the author had to shorten the storyline - it just didn't work for me.  I like my romance to be well developed and not a lust at first sight type of thing.  Normally, I shy away from novellas because of this reason.  However, I love Sabrina Jeffries' work so I decided to give this a shot.

The story starts of as the heroine, Eliza sneaks into the stables of Colin to "borrow" a horse in the middle of the night.  Of course, she is caught by Colin and so starts the steamy interrogation.  It ends a couple of days later with both h and H proclaiming their love for each other.

That last sentence really felt fake to me and felt very implausible.  I can imagine attraction but not proclamations of love, no matter the circumstance.

I gave this romance 3 hearts because of the hero and heroine.  I love the sparks that flew between the two.  The interaction between them was exciting, I thought.  I love Eliza's spunk.  Their interactions and come backs were very entertaining.  Without that, I would have put the book down.

I also love Colin.  He is trying to put the past behind him after his anger and hurt when his wife died.  And I could see that Eliza was the right woman to make him love again.  For a novella, this had a couple of steamy sex scenes.  I thought both were written very well.

Eliza's uncle is the villain.  Apparently, he owes a lot of money to a brewer who will not accept any payment other than Eliza's hand in marriage which is precisely the reason why she run away from her uncle.  I honestly thought this villain was weak.  I mean, in the end, the villain accepts his mistakes and promises to change his ways when Colin demanded that of him.  This was very, very disappointing.

Again, this brings me back to the romance which was pretty much unbelievable.  I recommend this novella to those who enjoy a quick read and a spunky heroine.

My Rating

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Review: Seduced by Innocence by Kimberly Kinrade

Genre: Paranormal New Adult Romance | Series: Seduced Trilogy #1

Published 1/21/13 | Daring Books

Format: ebook | free in exchange for an honest review

Their passion will destroy them.
Only true love can save them.

"Liquid fire poured into me, filling me with the intimate sense of him as he leaned in to claim my lips with his own. I reached for him, needing him closer, but my arms couldn't close the distance between us, which grew wider with each hitched breath. So close to finally feeling something real, something carnal and deep, I cried out in frustration, dropping my hands as he disappeared. My cries deepened into a frenzy of panic and my eyes flew open. I clutched my blanket and stilled myself to calm my racing heart.

Just a dream. Always just a dream."

Rose Wintersong didn't have an ordinary upbringing. Raised in what most would call a hippy commune, but what is actually a powerful coven of witches, she never questions the life fate chose for her.

Until she meets Derek O'Conner.

Derek challenges everything Rose believes and forces her to see the secrets hidden beneath the whitewashed walls of her idyllic country life.

Rose knows she should walk away, that the sexy martial arts instructor is bad news bred to create discord in her tight community… but the animal magnetism between them is impossible to fight.

Caught between the passion of first love, and the steady beat of the life she's always known, Rose must choose between the innocence of her youth or the pleasures of womanhood—but lost innocence comes at a price, and Rose harbors a dark secret that could destroy everyone she loves—including Derek.

Submit to the Seduced Saga as Derek and Rose face their future while unraveling the mysteries of their past.

This is the first book that I read by Kimberly Kinrade and I thought it was okay.  I am not sure if I will read the next book in the series but I'll just see if I will be tempted enough to read it because of the cliffhanger in the end.

First of, I have to say that I hate the cover!  I know the saying but still!  See, when I go to a library or bookstore, I look at the cover first before I read the blurb in the back and this does not scream "read me!"  The same goes for when I am virtually browsing books.  I did love the small pictures (rose and wolf) before each chapter since each chapter is written in the POV of both protagonists.  There are also quotes from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet before each chapter which I thought was a lovely addition, sort of like an introduction on what was to come.

That being said, I thought the book was okay.  It was a pretty quick read for me and at 188 pages (epub).  The story pretty much runs like Romeo and Juliet with a feud between two families of different "species" so I will not give a recap of how the story went.  Rose, is a sheltered witch with an evil mother Rainbow (really, a better name for a villain should have been picked) who tries to control Rose and their coven.  The book seems like a coming of age of both protagonists as both are trying to find out who they are.

When both of them meet, there is an instant attraction with Rose realizing that Derek is the one she has been dreaming of almost every night.  Derek, on the other hand, tries to be a different person and change because Rose makes him a better person.  I would have loved it more if the author explored more on the development of Rose and Derek's love.

I did like that the author wrote in Rose and Derek's POV because I love reading about a guys' POV.  There is just something about reading in a male perspective that I think is more romantic because I kind of get an insight to what he was thinking.  Plus, it's always great to have a chance to look at their mind.

I mostly read adult romances and occasionally read YA/NA romances but I thought this lacked a little bit of romantic development between Rose and Derek.  I recommend this book to those who love to read about star-crossed lovers.

My Rating

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Review: Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Genre: YA Dystopian

Series: Lunar Chronicles #1

Published 1/3/12 | Feiwel & Friends

Format: ebook | purchased

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population. From space, a ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction. Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

This is a story about a cyborg named Cinder who lives with her "stepmother" and two "stepsisters.  They are not technically her step anything since she was adopted.  Now, this cyborg is a mechanic and lives in a Dystopian earth in a city called New Beijing.  She meets Prince Kai when he seeks her out to fix his old android.  There is also a plague going on called letumosis and I assume that it is like the Beubonic Plague that hit the world back in the middle ages.  The story pretty much revolves around the ball that everyone is invited.  This ball becomes Prince Kai's coronation ball due to the passing of the current Emperor due to letumosis.  Cinder also becomes a "test subject" when her stepmother/guardian volunteers her against her will to submit to the letumosis research when her sister Peony gets the disease.  During the testing, it is then discovered that she is in fact not a human but a Lunar (or someone who is from the moon) and that she is immune to the disease as all Lunar's are.  The scientist also discovers that she is the long lost princess and heir to the throne of Luna.

 

Once the king dies, the current Lunar Queen, Lavena comes to Earth in the guise of paying her respects when in fact she is bent on war and is interrested in becoming the Empress of New Beijing by marrying Kai.  At the palace, she spots Cinder and discovers that she is a Luna and is threatening war unless Kai looks for her.

 

Cinder crashes the ball (even though she was invited) to let Kai know that Queen Levana has plans for war and plans to become Empress so she can start the war.  This doesn't go as smoothly as she hopes because Cinder is discovered and is also exposed as a Lunar and a cyborg, both of which Kai does not know.  The story ends with a cliffhanger, with Cinder locked in jail.

I have mixed feelings about this book.  Although I enjoyed it, I had problems with most of the plot.  This was a pretty quick read for me but I expected more from reading the blurb.

 

I'll start with the cons first.

1. Dystopian theme - The story takes place in a dystopian Earth after World War IV in a place called New Beijing.  Supposedly, this country arrose in the same location of Beijing, China. 
   However, there was lack of references to the Chinese culture.  True, the name Kai sounded Asian but his whole name Kaito didn't sound Chinese but Japanese.  There was a mention of chopsticks used but that was it!  I thought the author lacked in the aspect of incorporating the Chinese culture in the story.  Also, I thought the character Kai was not Asian, based on the description of the character.
2. Lunar People - There was also a mention of Lunar people.  However, I feel that the author lacked description about the race e.g. how did they get there, why do they have powers, etc.  After readin the whole book, I am still looking for the answer to this.
3. Descriptions - Another thing that I thought was lacking was the descriptions of the places.  I didn't get the feel of New Beijing.  I wasn't transported to New Beijing.  Since this is a futuristic/dystopian theme, I would have expected the author to take us to the city/country.  I expected there to be vivid descriptions that can aid mu imagination build my own New Beijing in my mind but this never happened.  I picture New Beijing as a dump, overcrowded city, akin to the middle ages.  Now with my thoughts of the middle ages, I cannot picture having hovercrafts and other highly advanced machinery in the city.
4. Cyborg - With the heroine a cyborg, i would have expected more from her.  I mean, she was cyborg.  Don't cyborgs have increased strength or something?  In this case, I see her as a teen with disabilites.  I guess this was what the author wanted the cyborg to be protrayed as but still, I felt it was unbelievable.  Cinder also did not meet any other cyborgs in the story.  I would have assumed that with the advancement in technology, there would have been others at least mentioned.  I get that the cyborgs were descriminated in that world but still...
5. Romance - I thought the romance between Cinder and Kai was very underdeveloped.  I did not see how Cinder could fall in love with Kai and vice versa.  I thought the romance was pretty shallow.  Granting that Cinder was only 16, I would think that a love that can change the course of their world would have to be developed further in the story.  As it was, it just felt shallow and reminiscent to tween attraction.  Even the kissing was meh.

Now, on the pros.

I have to tell you that the premise of the whole thing is freaking awesome.  I give props to the author for thinking about it.  I mean, a cyborg Cinderella? An alien race living on the moon out to start war on earth? A beubonic like plague in a dystopian world?  Come on, don't tell me that wasn't an amazing idea?!  I had a "I wish I thought about this" moment.  I thought the android Iko, was funny and was an awesome minor character, although a bit of an airhead. 

 

I enjoyed reading about this futuristic tale of Cinderella and hated the cliffhanger in the end.  I am looking at reading the next book Scarlet to see what would happen next. 

 

My Rating

 

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Review: Everneath by Brodi Ashton

Genre: Young Adult Paranormal/Urban Fantasy

Series: Everneath #1

Published: 1/24/2012 | HarperCollins / Balzer + Bray

Format: ebook | borrowed from the LA Public Library

Buy: Amazon | B&N

Last spring, Nikki Beckett vanished, sucked into an underworld known as the Everneath. Now she's returned--to her old life, her family, her boyfriend--before she's banished back to the underworld . . . this time forever. She has six months before the Everneath comes to claim her, six months for good-byes she can't find the words for, six months to find redemption, if it exists.

Nikki longs to spend these precious months forgetting the Everneath and trying to reconnect with her boyfriend, Jack, the person most devastated by her disappearance--and the one person she loves more than anything. But there's just one problem: Cole, the smoldering immortal who enticed her to the Everneath in the first place, has followed Nikki home. Cole wants to take over the throne in the underworld and is convinced Nikki is the key to making it happen. And he'll do whatever it takes to bring her back, this time as his queen.

As Nikki's time on the Surface draws to a close and her relationships begin slipping from her grasp, she is forced to make the hardest decision of her life: find a way to cheat fate and remain on the Surface with Jack or return to the Everneath and become Cole's queen.

Everneath is loosely based on the Greek mythology of Persephone and Hades and of Orpheus and Eurydice with mentions of the Egyptian gods Isis and Osiris.  The story starts 6 human months after the feed where the main protagonist Nikki awakens after being sent to the Everneath (or the Underworld).  The Feed or Feeding is the way an Everliving (those immortals that live in the Underworld) can continue their immortal lives by stealing/freeding on the emotions and memories of the living (humans).  The feed lasts for a hundred years which is like 6 months of human time.  Once you have been fed upon, either the sacrifice dies, becomes old, or in rare cases, survives.  When a sacrifice survives, she then has a chance to become the Queen of the Underworld, with her Everliving the King.  If the sacrifice survives however, becomes old, she is then taken by the shadows and is brought to the Tunnels (Hell, if you wish).  The three main characters of the story are Nikki, Jack and Cole.

Cole is the Everliving that took Nikki into the Everneath and bonded with her by taking all her emotions and memories.  They spend bound together for a hundred years when Nikki was able to leave the Everneath by keeping a thought/memory of her human love alive.  She is then taken over by a shade and awakes in a mini-mart in their town 6 months after the was supposedly gone.  She then tries to repair her relationship with her family while staying away from Jack and trying to repair her life.  This basically comprises most of the middle part of the story with the end resulting in Nikki staying above and Jack going to the Tunnels.

Now, on to my review.  I was surprised that I liked the story of Nikki and Jack even though I had serious problems with the inconsistensies and the impossibilies of the whole story.  Let's start of on why I liked it.  The premise of the story IS intriguing.  I was curious about how the author would execute the Persephone and Hades' story.  Another thing that I did like about the story is the way Nikki comes off as a relatable character, although there are just times that you just want to bash her on the head for being so stupid.  Jack, on the other hand, comes off as a love-struck boy that apparently hasen't forgotten Nikki at all with Cole, adding to the romantic tension.  I see Cole as the perfect bad boy and secretly wish that this was a love story about Cole and Nikki.

I love how the author gradually introduced us to the backstory by giving flashbacks of Nikki's memories 6 months ago.  It was integrated in a way that did not deter or confuse the reader and I was able to follow through without digitally flipping the pages back or forward to get what the author was trying to say.

Despite my liking the whole story, or shedding a tear or two (it may just have been my raging hormones or something *shrugs*), I had problems with the story.  I just didn't get why no one put an Amber Alert out for Nikki when she went missing, why her father, being the Mayor of Park City didn't do anything in his power to find his only daughter, why everybody accepted that Nikki came back from Rehab when there were no signs of her acting like she needed to go to rehab before she went with Cole.  The only bad behavior I saw her do was going to concerts with Cole and his band which was not really bad at all since I went to concerts as a teen and was never in any risk of going off to rehab!  *Sigh*  True, she pretty much flipped out when she found out the hit-and-run driver who killed her mom got acquitten AND she caught Jack cheating on her.  That could have been a catalyst but still...

I also thought that the whole time Nikki was pining away for Jack and not talking to him the whole middle part of the book was pretty stupid.  I mean, I am pretty straightforward and with her not talking to him was just stupid.  Jack, on the otherhand, I also expected him to confront her and ask her what her baggage is.  I know guys don't do the confrontation thing but with him saying that he loved her, I thought that would prompt a confrontation.

Now, let's talk about Cole.  I thought that he was the hero in the story!  He had all the makings of a bad-boy alpha hero and I would have liked the story be based on Cole and Nikki.  True, he stole from Nikki but that would have made an awesome love story instead of Jack and Nikki's meh romance.  As a villain, Cole didn't do much of anything; just stalk Nikki like crazy and appearing in her room uninvited (what is it with creeps appearing in girls rooms uninvited?  THAT is not romantic!).  I thought that was serial killer/rapist creepy.

I recommend this book to those enjoy the following books:

My Rating

Review: A Mermaid's Kiss by Joey H. Hill

Genre:  Paranormal Fantasy Erotic Romance
Series:  Daughters of Arianne #1
Published:   12/4/2012 | Penguin Group
Format: ebook | purchased
Buy: Amazon | B&N

Having battled the Dark Ones for centuries, Jonah has lost too many of his angel brethren to them. His noble spirit is weary of endless war—which allows a Dark One to strike the blow that severs Jonah’s wing and sends him plummeting into the sea.

Anna is a descendant of the mermaid whose poignant legend is much darker and more complex than the fairy tale. Though tragedy and isolation are her fate, her longing for love compels her to risk her life to protect the fallen Jonah. When Jonah delays his return to the heavens, Anna’s secret passions are tempted.

Jonah’s destiny lies beyond her desire—and if she repeats her ancestor’s mistakes, heartache will be her only reward. But as she falls more in love with him, Anna wonders if she’ll lose her heart and her dreams to save Jonah’s soul…

This story is pretty tough for me to review.  At this time, I do not want to give out a summary of the story and I will just go ahead and give my thoughts.  The story starts, innocently enough with a mermaid, Anna rescuing an angel falling from the sky.  Apparently, this angel, Jonah was wounded in a war between Angels and Dark Ones that has been going on for centuries.  Wounded and unable to fly, Anna saves him and with his direction, brought him to an underwater cavern that has magical properties.  At this point, Jonah asks Anna to perform joining magic to help revive him.  This is where the erotic part of the book kicks in.  They do this joining magic all throughout the book and it seemed like both of them, Anna especially, cannot keep their hands off of each other.

I had a hard time swallowing some of the aspects of this book.  Yes, sex is normal and yes, it is a way to procreate but an angel having sex is just too much for me to take.  Another thing that bothered me while reading this book is the obvious parallels of The Little Mermaid.  For the life of me, I just kept thinking about the Disney version and couldn't focus on the adult story but the children's version.

We also meet Mina, a witch (half mermaid half dark one) that is sort of a guardian to Anna.  This witch basically resembles a skinny and young Ursula that is not out to take over the ocean.  So yes, she does had the octopus legs with half of her upper body scarred/ugly/deformed.  She is the one who directs Jonah and Anna to go inland to the Dessert Crossroads in Nevada where Jonah will find help and answers.

The third thing that bothered me is that this mermaid turned into a PIXIE!!  I thought this was too much for a fantasy for me.  Yes, I am reading fantasy but never did I read about a mermaid turning into a pixie!  Sheesh.  This could have been omitted.

The fourth thing that I could not agree upon was how Anna was such a martyr.  While Jonah was sulking and grumbling about how he is not used to being human (Mina turned him human by day and angel by night so the dark ones and the angels couldn't find him), she was doing all the work.  For an angel, there were some parts int he book that I thought was so uncharacteristic of an angel.  In fact, he was a jerk sometimes and I couldn't believe Anna fell for him.

Fortunately, he redeems himself by the end of the book by giving himself over to the dark ones in exchange for Anna's life and with a stand-off between him and the angels, headed by Lucifer.  In this book, Lucifer is in charge of Hell but he is not a fallen angel per se and not a devil as we know it.  So, Anna and Jonah have their HEA.

Two characters mentioned in this story is a peek Mina and David (a human-born angel and part of Jonah's legion) romance.  Book #2 of this series is A Witch's Beauty.  I am still debating weather I am going to read it.  I recommend this book to those who love Lila DiPasqua.

My rating: 3.5

Heat Level: 6

Review: After the Abduction by Sabrina Jeffries

Genre: Historical Romance

Series: Swanlea Spinsters #3

Publish Date: June 4, 2002 | Avon

Format: ebook | purchased
Buy: Amazon | B&N

After two London Seasons -- and a score of resoundingly dull society suitors -- lovely Juliet Laverick still longs for only one man: Morgan Pryce, the dashing scoundrel who kidnapped her two years ago. But her determination to bring him to justice hasn't waned, either -- not even when the man she, mistakes for Morgan, his twin brother Sebastian, tells her some shocking news: Her mysterious paramour has disappeared.

Sebastian, Lord Templemore, dares not admit that he's the one Juliet seeks -- that it is his kiss she still yearns for.  Confessing to her abduction would bring disaster and scandal upon them both. But how can he convince Juliet to forsake her pursuit of her dream lover -- when all he dreams of is holding her in his arms again?

I am currently reading Sabrina Jeffries' backlist.  I believe I started reading some of her backlist last year but I wasn't able to read any book from the Swanlea Spinster Series.  This book can be read as a stand alone however, there are mentions of the other sisters.  Unfortunately, this story picks up after Juliet gets abducted (hence the title After the Abduction, duh!) so we never get to read about how she was abducted but we do get an answer as to why.

As I have mentioned, the story starts about 2 years after Juliet Laverick gets abducted by Morgan Pryce.  Juliet, her brother-in-law Griff Knighton, and sister Rosalind (A Dangerous Love) are off to confront Morgan Pryce's brother Lord Templemore and demand to know where Morgan is so they can stop the rumors circulating around the ton that Juliet eloped with Morgan but was returned to her family, ruined.  Who were they to see at Charnwood (Lord Templemore's estate) but Morgan himself!  Apparently, Sebastian, Lord Templemore was masquerading as Morgan and was in fact the one who kidnapped Juliet!  Of course, Sebastian did not admit to it when Juliet recognized him.  So starts the sizzling cat-mouse game Juliet and Sebastian play as she tries to catch Sebastian in the act and make him admit that he is the one who abducted her.  When Sebastian admits to her and not to her family, Juliet leaves him and goes back to London.  Sebastian follows and proposes marriage again.  The book ends with Juliet and Sebastian marrying, Morgan returning to England, and Rosalind giving birth to a baby.

After the Abduction is a really great read.  Not one of the best by Ms. Jeffries but a great read.  Without reading A Notorious Love, which was the book where Juliet was abducted, I was able to follow the story.  I loved the tricks Juliet pulled to try to make Sebastian admit that he was Morgan, that he was the  one she fell in love with all those years ago.  Their banter was electric and I thought that they were perfect for each other.  Another thing that I loved about the story was when Juliet demanded that Sebastian come clean with her family about the abduction.  I thought this was realistic and fit with Juliet's family values.  This was also a great way for Sebastian to redeem himself and prove his love to her.

What I do not like about this story was not Juliet but Rosalind.  I thought she was irritating and just did not anything to the story.  I wanted to skip through all the parts where she was acting irritatingly crazy because she wasn't able to conceive.  I haven't read the first book and now, I am debating weather I will  read it.

Rating: 3.5 Stars

Heat Level: 4

Review: Twilight by Stephenie Meyer

Isabella Swan's move to Forks, a small, perpetually rainy town in Washington, could have been the most boring move she ever made. But once she meets the mysterious and alluring Edward Cullen, Isabella's life takes a thrilling and terrifying turn. Up until now, Edward has managed to keep his vampire identity a secret in the small community he lives in, but now nobody is safe, especially Isabella, the person Edward holds most dear. The lovers find themselves balanced precariously on the point of a knife-between desire and danger.Deeply romantic and extraordinarily suspenseful, Twilight captures the struggle between defying our instincts and satisfying our desires. This is a love story with bite.

What more is there to say about Stephenie Meyer's Twilight? I understand that it is a very popular book but this book didn't capture me as it should have.

I struggled while reading this book. First of, I didn't really get the obsessive love/relationship Bella had with Edward. The times that Edward was watching Bella while sleeping without her knowing really creeped me out. I thought it wasn't very romantic (although some might view it as romantic) and it felt stalker-ish. Next, I hated that these breed of vampires glittered in the sunlight. This really re-wrote the vampire lore that I just could not accept. I mean, how scary can a vampire be if he only GLITTERS in sunlight?  No.  Vampires burn and turn to ash.  Period.  Lastly, I just did not get Bella's attitude towards her friends. Not spending time with them and devoting all her time to her new boyfriend is not a good thing to write in a book meant for teens.  Teen angst and social pressure notwithstanding; I think it is just giving teens (and adults, for that matter) that obsessive love is good.  Which is not. IMHO.

I have to admit though, that Bella and Edward did have chemistry together. I felt that their first meeting was electric, and their second meeting was like "love at second sight." I appreciated the inner struggle that Edward had to go through and his hesitance to be with Bella. It does help that I read Midnight Sun, based on Edward's point of view, that was leaked before it was even released.  That made me understand his inner struggle with his attraction to Bella.

I gave this book 3 stars because I thought it had some promise but the glittering and the attitude of the characters just ruined it for me.

I have also read the other 3 books in this series.  May or may not be reviewed.

 

Rating: 3

Heat Level: 1