Reflected in You by Sylvia Day

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Penguin Books

Pages: 400pgs

The Story

Gideon Cross. As beautiful and flawless on the outside as he was damaged and tormented on the inside. He was a bright, scorching flame that singed me with the darkest of pleasures. I couldn't stay away. I didn't want to. He was my addiction... my every desire... mine.

My past was as violent as his, and I was just as broken. We’d never work. It was too hard, too painful... except when it was perfect. Those moments when the driving hunger and desperate love were the most exquisite insanity. We were bound by our need. And our passion would take us beyond our limits to the sweetest, sharpest edge of obsession . . .

The Review

As I fell in love Sylvia Day's Bared to You, I knew with absolute certainty that I MUST read her second book in the Crossfire series. And just when I thought sequels couldn't surpass the first books anymore, boy was I wrong in that department because this sequel did not disappoint at all and talk about this book being so intense and sexy . . . no wait . . . it was SO insane! With massive character craziness, alpha-male possessiveness, raging arguments flying here and there, and with some damn right jealousy messing up relationships entirely, the author really knew how to push her characters over the edge and I loved her for it!

REFLECTED IN YOU, the second installment of the Crossfire series, makes us readers dive deeper in the lives of Gideon and Eva. Not only do we learn more about their pasts but we also learn about what has seriously affected their lives, especially today now as adults, which brings us straight back to their childhoods. Terrible childhoods at that . . . the place were it all started. With sexual abuse, relationships, trust, and sex in general being heavily explored and being the main focal point of the book, I think while it may be disturbing for some readers to read about but I found Day did a splendid job in exploring these issues without giving the 'it's too much' phase, so I applaud her for that!

I think what made this sequel surpass the first book is purely because we finally get to know the characters more - more so with the two main characters, Eva and Gideon. While there is plenty of drama to get your head spinning in all sorts of directions and can be sometimes a little 'too' dramatic at times (maybe a little too hard to handle as well), but being able to understand Eva and Gideon even more now as characters rather than just two random strangers fiercely falling in love . . . it was a great pleasure to read about and my heart certainly ached for them both. Even with a incredibly strong bond between the two characters, I was quite pleased to read about their troubles and see how they worked for their love than just not work for it at all, you know? But damn, talk about the intense chemistry between Eva and Gideon! So hot.

The only little bit of criticism I have for this book was Gideon Cross himself. Even when Eva could be an airhead herself at times for not trusting her man, Gideon sure set himself up for some MAJOR drama ahead of him. I trusted him all the way through the book mind you, but when he kept things very secret and more particularly kept things from Eva it just . . . irritated me so much. While I do understand why he did what he did and with his reasons being very good in certain aspects, but Gideon just really needs to trust Eva more because that young woman - as crazy and jealous as she is - loves him to death and you can clearly see that in this entire book.

Overall, despite the dramatic side of things, REFLECTED TO YOU was a brilliant sequel, even with the smoky hot sex and angry adult angst messing with the character's heads. So if you loved the first book Bared to You than you will seriously love this book twice as more and boy I cannot wait to read the third book . . . I seriously need more Cross in my life I tell you!

The Rating

5/5 stars

Bared to You by Sylvia Day

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Penguin UK

Pages: 360pgs

The Story

Our journey began in fire...

Gideon Cross came into my life like lightning in the darkness—beautiful and brilliant, jagged and white-hot. I was drawn to him as I'd never been to anything or anyone in my life. I craved his touch like a drug, even knowing it would weaken me. I was flawed and damaged, and he opened those cracks in me so easily . . .

Gideon knew. He had demons of his own. And we would become the mirrors that reflected each other's most private wounds . . . and desires.

The bonds of his love transformed me, even as I prayed that the torment of our pasts didn't tear us apart . . .

The Review

I have avoided Fifty Shades of Grey for all good reasons (and I will continue to do so), but after reading some small samples of the book and reading some interesting reviews on it, from what I can tell the book is clearly and completely unbelievable (though I do have a lot of great respect for the author because she's making millions out of a book trilogy and good for her for that!). But regarding this book in particular, BARED TO YOU, while the erotica genre is only for those of a strong heart (yes I just said that) but surprisingly this is one of the most addictive reads I've ever read last year and I'm so glad many people recommended it to me because I oddly . . . LOVED it!

Blowing the Fifty Shades craze out of the water, BARED TO YOU puts together a crazy-beautiful-but-simple idea and creates something where I don't actually cringe at (finally!) but rather be entertained by and being able to immerse myself with the book rather than turn away from it. Now from what I understand about Fifty Shades of Grey and the samples I've read of it a long time ago, it dealt with a lot of sexual things (things that were way too much for my own taste and things that were pretty disgusting but whatever floats your boat I guess) but with BARED TO YOU there is a vast improvement where sex isn't being entirely used as dominance and not being constantly used in an unhealthy way either to influence the main character's actions . .  . so I'm happy about that certain aspect. But the thing I liked most about BARED TO YOU is the fact that I could actually connect with the characters on an intimate level and I so wanted them to triumph too.

Eva, our main protagonist, was someone so strong and powerful to me. She had a voice of reason than a voice of stupidity, which I have seen from many erotica books in the past, especially from what I've read and heard about Fifty Shades of Grey's main character. Sure, Eva gives into a lot of demands from her love interest, Gideon Cross, but she doesn't allow anyone to push her over and she doesn't like being told what to do nor be scolded in who she should see outside of the workplace, and based on what I've read of her, she certainly let's everyone know if they are doing that to her and tells them off straight away and I loved every single moment of it. She was awesome - very tortured perhaps - but awesome.

As for Gideon Cross, the powerful man with a lot of money hanging off his back pocket, he was also someone very tortured and even though he got on my nerves at times but . . . I really loved him. He's not what every girl should be looking for in a man but being an interesting character I shall overlook that fact. Gideon Cross is a hard character to describe and for all those thinking he'll be another Christian Gray . . . well, I suggest you re-think that again because he's not Gray whatsoever. He's not sick, not abusive, and most importantly he's not one to force things onto a woman . . . especially Eva. Even though argument after argument leads to more sex and yet more sex yet again, but I think despite their complicated bull-crap I actually thought Gideon and Eva were so perfectly matched together and complemented one another. There's really not much else to say except that they are perfect together and not to mention so magnetic.

Overall, BARED TO YOU actually has a storyline compared to Fifty Shades of Gray and sooooooo much better written in many different ways. Splendid in character development, engaging in storytelling, and with large, sexy sparks coming right off the pages in all of the right places, BARED TO YOU is definitely something that should be on your to-read list soon because it was . . . brilliant!

The Rating

5/5 stars

Falling Kingdoms by Morgan Rhodes

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Razorbill

Pages: 412pgs

The Story

In a land where magic has been forgotten but peace has reigned for centuries, a deadly unrest is simmering. Three kingdoms grapple for power—brutally transforming their subjects’ lives in the process. Amidst betrayals, bargains, and battles, four young people find their fates forever intertwined:

Cleo: A princess raised in luxury must embark on a rough and treacherous journey into enemy territory in search of a magic long thought extinct.

Jonas: Enraged at injustice, a rebel lashes out against the forces of oppression that have kept his country impoverished—and finds himself the leader of a people’s revolution centuries in the making.

Lucia: A girl adopted at birth into a royal family discovers the truth about her past—and the supernatural legacy she is destined to wield.

Magnus: Bred for aggression and trained to conquer, a firstborn son begins to realize that the heart can be more lethal than the sword...

The only outcome that’s certain is that kingdoms will fall. Who will emerge triumphant when all they know has collapsed?

The Review

A big thanks to the publisher on netGalley for accepting my request in reading this book early!

After reading the glowing reviews and hearing all about the comparison to one of my favourite series at the moment, George R.R. Martin's Game of Thrones series, I just knew on a whim that I would HAVE to read this book based on those small assumptions. However, even though I have read the author's previous work in the past and quite enjoyed it as well (she's under a different name of Michelle Rowen by the way), but unfortunately for this book I could not connect with it no matter how hard I tried to.

While I enjoyed certain elements of the book including the action scenes and some interesting character dialogue, but what failed to capture my full attention was the character development on a whole, which was not developed in the way I would've liked. With other elements feeling somehow forced such as the romantic plots and the actions some of the characters takes (under no great reasons for doing a certain action if you get my meaning), and I often found myself confused and not enjoying the world of Morgan Rhodes because of all that. But there are some redeemable factors in this book here and there, but there still wasn't enough to keep me very invested in the story as sad as it is.

Overall, while I couldn't necessarily connect with this book but I'm sure - based on what others have said on Goodreads about it - that many other reaeders will enjoy this kind of storyline and the idea the author has put down in order to entertain you all. With plenty of interesting mythologies, complex characters and with some devious political setups throughout the book, and even a nice little touch of the Game of Thrones series, I think many will love this book regardless of my opinion since this book was in simpler terms . . . just not me.

The Rating

2 1/2 / 5 stars

I Made Lattes for a Love God by Wendy Harmer

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Allen & Unwin

Pages: 272pgs

The Story

Elly Pickering has a juicy secret. A secret her PR mum won't let her tell anyone because if the kids at Oldcastle high knew that mega-star Jake Blake (yes, THE Jake Blake, teen sensation and all round heart-throb) was coming to Oldcastle to film his latest movie, they might just explode with excitement.

Elly is determined to get on set and to get more than a glimpse of her Hollywood crush. But now thanks to an unfortunate incident involving a car, a red handbag and the paparazzi, it looks like Elly's lost a lot more than her opportunity to be close to Hollywood royalty. She's lost her dignity, her job and her best friend. How will she ever be able to get everything back to normal?

The Review

A big thanks to Allen & Unwin Australia for sending me a review copy of this book!

This book was . . . cute and I use that word very loosely. When I received this book in the mail I will admit I have heard of Wendy Harmer before, but as far as this book goes, I'm safe to say it was not at all what I would usually read let alone something I would usually pick up at the store or at the library, but when it comes down to it I found this book was a very cute, fun and a very quick read for me, and it would be ideal for younger audiences to read it and be something great to pass the time with.

The reason why I'm giving this book a lower star rating was because it just didn't appeal to me. I guess my main struggle with this book was not being able to take this storyline all too seriously and the characters - as much as they tried to entertain me - just couldn't connect with me personally. Now I don't like to read too many shorter-length books because we just don't get enough time to develop a storyline and we can't get to know the quirky characters as much as we want to along the way. I mean sometimes it works for shorter reads but other times it just doesn't for others, and in this case I felt that was what happened here. I failed to connect with everything but it was still entertaining so I give the author that.

Overall, I MADE LATTES FOR A LOVE GOD is not something I would recommend all too highly but if you enjoy stories that are not too serious and love books with a little bit of glitz and glamour in them, then this book would most definitely be your kind of read. Think L.A. Candy meets of Lola and the Boy Next Door-minus-the-epic-book-awesomeness.

The Rating

2 1/2 / 5 stars

The Blessed by Tonya Hurley

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Hodder Children's Books

Pages: 432pgs

The Story

Brooklyn teens Lucy, Cecilia and Agnes find themselves in the emergency room at Perpetual Help Hospital at the lowest point in their lives. Lucy, the superficial party girl; Cecelia, a drop out rock chick; and Agnes, a hopeless romantic. All rebels running from their lives and themselves, plagued by broken hearts and broken dreams. Enter Sebastian. Mysterious, compelling, seductive. He seems to bring each of them what they long for . . .

But in the battle for his heart, will they lose their souls?

The Review

THE BLESSED tells the tale of three girls leading three very different lives and whom are brought together in a Catholic hospital - all because they had experienced one of the most lowest points in their lives. Agnes, a romantic at heart type of girl, had just tried to commit suicide, Cecilia, a self-made socialite and the next 'IT' girl, was found face down in water and almost drowned, and then there's Lucy, a runaway teen but a very talented and young musician, who was found highly intoxicated. But just when things slowly begin to unravel themselves . . . everything changes when they meet a handsome and a very peculiar stranger, a boy named Sebastian, who gives them each a bracelet, leading to these three girls believing that they are the reincarnations of the saints of Agnes, Cecilia and Lucy. Question is . . . Is he telling the truth?

Here's the thing about this book: I thought the concept of the storyline had an interesting direction going for it and it did seem pretty unique too compared to the many other YA books out there. Having read one of Tonya Hurley's previous works, a book from her young adult Ghostgirl series, I thought she could pull it all off somehow with this storyline but unfortunately for my own excitement and unfortunately for this author - whether this is by unpopular opinion or not - this book was one of the most bizarre books I have ever read and one of the most disappointing ones as well. As much as I hate giving low-star reviews and while I do try to point out some great parts in a book, however I just didn't like this book at all and I couldn't appeal to any of it either. It was just weird, strange and confusing.

Even with some interesting information about saints here and there, but it was the characters more than anything else that had continued to push me further and further away from the boo itself. Agnes, Cecilia and Lucy are characters you're either going to love or hate and while Agnes was the only real girl I 'didn't mind' for a minute or two, but as for the rest of them . . . they just fell flat for me all the way through the book because they weren't believable enough and were just a huge mess to begin with  I mean, the main and crucial element that is to blame for all of this lack of connection to the book was by having the three perspectives told from all of these three girls - it all clashed together, you know? Perhaps if it was told by one of the girls instead of all three, maybe I would've liked this book more but what's done is done and sadly there's nothing much left to be said regarding the characters.

Another element that surprised me was the violence towards the end of the book. These three girls who are supposedly 'saints' suddenly went over the edge and became extremely violent. I was left thinking, "Really? Is that even possible?". Obviously it was for them . . . so if you end up reading this book you will know what I mean about the violence. I can take violence - I admit this - but I don't like violence if it suddenly came out of the blue and for no real reason whatsoever either . . . it just doesn't make sense to me.

Overall, THE BLESSED was something that didn't work for me. I honestly have no idea what else to say except that I still have no idea what I've just read. Other than its pretty pictures on the inside and its pretty book cover, if you happen to be a fan of something containing very strange circumstances and perhaps something with a little interesting twist to it, then I would definitely recommend this book to you! But as for me and what I'm going to do next, I'm going to stick with reading better things!

The Rating

1/5 stars

Scent of Magic by Maria V. Snyder

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: HarlequinTeen Australia

Pages: 416pgs

The Story

Hunted, Killed—Survived?

As the last Healer in the Fifteen Realms, Avry of Kazan is in a unique position: in the minds of her friends and foes alike, she no longer exists. Despite her need to prevent the megalomanical King Tohon from winning control of the Realms, Avry is also determined to find her sister and repair their estrangement. And she must do it alone, as Kerrick, her partner and sole confident, returns to Alga to summon his country into battle.

Though she should be in hiding, Avry will do whatever she can to support Tohon’s opponents. Including infiltrating a holy army, evading magic sniffers, teaching forest skills to soldiers and figuring out how to stop Tohon’s most horrible creations yet; an army of the walking dead—human and animal alike and nearly impossible to defeat.

War is coming and Avry is alone. Unless she figures out how to do the impossible ... again.

The Review

A big thanks to HarlequinTeen Australia for sending me an ARC copy of this book!

For those readers who know me well enough (mostly judging by my reviews), you would know of my EPIC love for Maria V. Snyder's work and in the second installment of the Healer series, SCENT OF MAGIC, the author has yet again impressed me with her splendid words of wisdom, beautiful settings and down-to-earth character interactions. Really I should not be too surprised by saying these words . . . she's honestly one of my favourite authors out there right now!

Like in all of Maria V. Snyder's books, the one thing I've always admired about her is how she writes incredibly strong, witty, and sassy young women as her female main leads, and Avry is clearly all of that combined, especially in this sequel! Avry has always possessed this great voice and it's a true pleasure to see how she interacts with the things all around her, including the supporting characters. However, unlike in the first installment of the series, readers are introduced to Avry's perspective once more AND also to Kerrick's, Avry's main love interest, perspective which, for me, was quite an interesting turn and a very exciting one at that. Being able to not only hear Avry's side of things but also Kerrick's just made me giddy on the inside because I really have lot's of love for Kerrick's character and while he may not have spent a lot of time actually being with his girl, Avry, but viewing his side of things was a real treat.

While I cannot giveaway the storyline (because that would seriously suck for you), but I can say in cruelty for those who have yet to read this sequel . . . the cliffhanger at the very end was such a killer! A real killer. Literally I was so shocked beyond belief and I seriously can't believe I have to wait so long for the next installment to arrive. I just hope everything is cleared up by then but until that day comes . . . I'll just patiently wait here at home as long as I can . . . even if it kills me!

Overall, SCENT OF MAGIC was everything I hoped for and more from Maria V. Snyder! Full of action, deceit, danger, and with a little bit of romance to settle down our fangal feels of many, many emotions, I can definitely say I'm impressed. Really impressed, even if I preferred (at times) the first book of the series to this one.

The Rating

5/5 stars

Finale by Becca Fitzpatrick

Release Date: Out now!

Publisher: Simon & Schuster

Pages: 464pgs

The Story

Fates unfurl in the gripping conclusion to the 

New York Times bestselling Hush, Hush saga.

Nora is more certain than ever that she is in love with Patch. Fallen angel or no, he is the one for her. Her heritage and destiny may mean they are fated to be enemies, but there is no turning her back on him. Now Nora and Patch must gather their strength to face one last, perilous trial. Old enemies return, new enemies are made, and a friend's ultimate betrayal threatens the peace Patch and Nora so desperately want. The battle lines are drawn—but which sides are they on? And in the end, are there some obstacles even love can't conquer?

The Review

A big thanks to Simon & Schuster Australia for sending me a review copy of this book!

FINALE is the fourth and final installment of the bestselling series Hush Hush by Becca Fitzpatrick. Having enjoyed the previous three installments in the series - even though we did knock heads at times - I was still delighted to read this final book as it was coming to a close and I was looking forward to seeing what was going to happen to each of the characters, and of course, to see whether Nora and her fallen angel lover Patch would finally get the ending they clearly deserve, especially after all they have been through. In most cases yes . . . everything was achieved but all of the character's actions came with a lot of consequences in their wake. Some good and others bad.

Now I'll admit that this series wasn't perfect. Not in the very least. But considering how much action, romance, tension, and not to mention danger Becca Fitzpatrick managed to put altogether into her final book . . . I have to say FINALE was definitely my favourite book in the entire series and hooked me right from the beginning, and much more than the other books - Hush Hush, Crescendo, and Silence - ever did. For sure there were times where I questioned a lot of the character's actions and wondered why they weren't doing a certain something to make a dire circumstance so much better but the struggles needed to be included to engage the reader and hope for the best for them, so in that case it didn't really matter because we ended up with such a great book and a crazy BANG! for the final Hush Hush book so it was pretty great.

Here's the thing: I love Nora as a main character. She's not the brightest girl out there nor in my top favourites on my heroine lists (it's a well known fact among other readers) but she's a brave one and because of that remarkable quality of hers, I think she certainly shined in this book because of it. So despite her jealous ways when it comes to Patch, her fallen angel boyfriend, and even when she makes decisions that you know are going to lead to trouble . . . but she's the kind of character where we can't help but care about her and we just WANT a happy ending for her no matter what. So take that Nora haters! Haha. As for our fallen angel, Patch, he's one character that does a lot of crazy things in his life too - and still does actually - and yet we still can't help but love him for his bad boy ways, even when he surprisingly delivers very cheesy lover one-liners to Nora (they were pretty cheesy, okay?). But together, Patch and Nora, they make the ultimate couple for readers and never give up on their relationship (even when it seems like they should) which is clearly shown in this particular book, so I was pretty happy on that part.

Overall, FINALE was a great end to a well-loved series despite its ups and downs. While the ending was perfectly wrapped up with a nice and cute little bow, but I will say it wasn't at all how I pictured it to end but it doesn't matter anyway because I enjoyed this book and it definitely was a grand finale for both the story and for its characters. You can't really ask for more than that from a final book, right?

The Rating

5/5 stars