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

Heat Level

 

 

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: 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

Review: Vampire Mine by Kerrelyn Sparks

Nothing on earth can make this vampire fall in love . . .

After 499 years of existence, Connor Buchanan has arrived at an inescapable conclusion: he is a cold-hearted SOB. He's been watching his friends—those poor romantic fools—plummet off the cliff into love like a dazed herd of sheep. But not Connor. He knows that love leads to nothing but heartache.

Until Marielle . . .

She is an angel cast down from heaven for disobedience. Trapped in mortal form, she finds a protector in Connor, a Scottish vampire haunted by a dark past. Marielle hopes to heal his broken heart and earn her way back home, but suddenly she has these . . . feelings. This strange yet pleasant physical yearning—for a vampire! Is this the work of a demon luring her into hell, or has this angel found heavenly bliss?

This book is the first one that I read in the series and I am now reading the back list! I had heard a lot about the Love at Stake Series but as I am not that fond of Paranormal Romance, I decided to skip it. However, I met Kerrelyn Sparks at the RT Booklovers Book Fair in Los Angeles in April and I got a signed copy of this book just for the heck of it.

I started reading this when I got home and I could not put it down! I enjoyed the sparks that flew between Connor and Marielle! And just imagine my surprise when I read that Marielle was a Fallen Angel and she was falling in love with a Vampire!
I did cringe at some parts where I thought the curse words were inappropriate especially when they were said in front of Marielle. However, I guess I could excuse this because Connor is a vampire? *shrugs* I did like how the author weaved in a few positive spiritual elements all throughout the story however, I thought the sex scene between Connor and Marielle was a bit awkward or I just felt awkward reading that part. I guess I was just thinking how unlikely an Angel and a Vampire having sex is.

Another element that I love about this book is the way the previous characters were weaved into the story. I love reading about the other characters and now that I am reading the back list, I am appreciating this even more.

 

Rating: 4 Stars

Heat Level: 4

Review: Vanish by Sophie Jordan

An impossible romance.

Bitter rivalries.

Deadly choices.

To save the life of the boy she loves, Jacinda did the unthinkable: She betrayed the most closely-guarded secret of her kind. Now she must return to the protection of her pride knowing she might never see Will again—and worse, that because his mind has been shaded, Will’s memories of that fateful night and why she had to flee are gone.

 

Back home, Jacinda is greeted with hostility and must work to prove her loyalty for both her sake and her family’s. Among the few who will even talk to her are Cassian, the pride’s heir apparent who has always wanted her, and her sister, Tamra, who has been forever changed by a twist of fate. Jacinda knows that she should forget Will and move on—that if he managed to remember and keep his promise to find her, it would only endanger them both. Yet she clings to the hope that someday they will be together again. When the chance arrives to follow her heart, will she risk everything for love?

 

Disappointment does not begin to cover what I felt when I read the sequel to Firelight. I just could not get the love triangle between Jacinda, Will and Cassian.  I just wanted to hit Jacinda in the head. So much so that I just could not finish this book!  I didn't even flip ahead to see how the whole book ended!  I just thought it was so ridiculous for Jacinda to be flirting with these two guys when she was already in love with Will!  Agh!To top it all off, she goes and runs away to Will, who seems to NOT care how she feels and gets caught by Will's dad with Cassian's sister (I forgot her name)!  That was it for me and I just had to stop.

 

A good thing about it was that I did like that Tamra is now a Draki but this still does not make up for the whole love triangle.  I cannot fault Tamra's attitude when she found out that she is now a Draki. It was in the first book how she was treated because she wasn't a shifter, how out of place she was in their "tribe."  I also didn't feel that

 

Rating: DNF

Heat Level: 1

Review: Torment by Lauren Kate

Hell on earth.

That's what it's like for Luce to be apart from her fallen angel boyfriend, Daniel.

It took them an eternity to find one another, but now he has told her he must go away. Just long enough to hunt down the Outcasts - immortals who want to kill Luce. Daniel hides Luce at Shoreline, a school on the rocky California coast with unusually gifted students: Nephilim, the offspring of fallen angels and humans.

At Shoreline, Luce learns what the Shadows are, and how she can use them as windows to her previous lives. Yet the more Luce learns, the more she suspects that Daniel hasn't told her everything. He's hiding something - something dangerous.

What if Daniel's version of the past isn't actually true? What if Luce is really meant to be with someone else?

The second novel in the addictive FALLEN series...where love never dies.

I was a little bit disappointed about this sequel. Again, this book left me hanging and there was still a lot of issues that were left unanswered.

To be honest, I am still a little bit puzzled about the development of Daniel and Luce's love story. True, they are destined to be together and have been falling in love in their past lives, but it was hard to believe how they fell in love in THIS life.

It also seemed that Luce was not that interested with Daniel since it was apparent that she was flirting with another Nephilim. It was just so confusing. Instead of developing Luce and Daniel's love and relationship, we got Luce sulking and holding on to Daniel who doesn't show himself.

Another thing that bothered me was how the book ended. It just left me hanging. I know there is another sequel and Miss Kate might have done this in purpose so the readers would anticipate the next book but I thought this was not appropriate. At least some answers should have been provided to the readers.

Overall, it was a good read. A little bit better than the previous one however it still left more to be desired.   Recommended to those who love Twilight.

Rating: 2.5 Hearts

Heat Level: 1

Review: Fallen by Lauren Kate

There’s something achingly familiar about Daniel Grigori.

Mysterious and aloof, he captures Luce Price’s attention from the moment she sees him on her first day at the Sword & Cross boarding school in sultry Savannah. He’s the one bright spot in a place where cell phones are forbidden, the other students are all screw-ups, and security cameras watch every move.

Even Daniel wants nothing to do with Luce – he goes out of his way to make that very clear. But she can’t let it go. Drawn to him like a moth to a flame, Luce has to find out what Daniel is so desperate to keep secret...even if it kills her.

Dangerously exciting and darkly romantic, FALLEN is a page-turning thriller and the ultimate love story.

~

Falen angels in love with mortals? Forbidden love? Fallen by Lauren Kate tells a story of a mortal, Luce who is reincarnated every 17 years to meet and fall in love with Daniel, a fallen angel. In this life, Luce and Daniel meet in a reform school where both try to fight their attraction to each other - with Daniel avoiding Luce and Luce fighting the attraction.