Review: Pure (Covenant #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Pure (Covenant #2) by Jennifer L. Armentrout
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

"Ever since I've met you, I've wanted to break every rule." Aiden turned away, the muscles in his neck tensing. "You'll become the center of someone's world one day. And he'll be the luckiest son of a bitch on this earth."

*Sigh* Oh, Aiden, I think I love you!

Jennifer L. Armentrout is quickly becoming one of my favorite authors. I loved Half-Blood and Pure was even better.

There are those that say the Covenant series is a blatant rip-off of the Vampire Academy series. I agree that there are similarities (Half bloods trained to protect Pures. Strong, feisty heroine, etc.) However, Armentrout's writing is so vastly superior that I really don't care. VA fans, please don't hate me ! I was just never a huge fan of the series. Mainly because if I were Rose I would have beat down that annoying idiot Lissa in the first chapter.

Pure starts shortly after where Half Blood ended. Alex is coming to terms with the death of her mother as well as the knowledge that she is the next Apollyon along with Seth.

" So...uh, you're a Team Edward kind of guy?"
Seth snorted. " No, I'm Team James or Team Tyler's Van, but apparently neither of them won by the look of it. She's still alive!"

I fricking love Seth. He holds his own along Alex's smart-ass comments and an increasing affection between the two is more than obvious. A lot of people don't care for love triangles. However, if it's done well I love the additional intrigue. Armentrout does it right. There are no secretly evil love interests. Both men have admirable qualities but are vastly different. With the strict laws governing the Covenant which forbid romantic relationships between Pures and Halfs, Alex must come to terms with her feelings for Aiden and the impossible future between them. Aiden continues his inner battle regarding his love for Alex. As always, he is noble, un-selfish and the voice of reason.

Alex continues to be cranky as hell and have no filter when she's around other people.

"If he says one more word to me I'm going to take a dagger off that wall and shove it in his eye!"

Armentrout creates wonderful dialogue between her characters. Pure ends with an exciting battle between Daemons, Pures, Halfs and Furies and, of course, a cliffhanger that made me love a certain character even more (Hi, Aiden!).

I cannot wait for the next installment, Diety, out in October.

View all my reviews

Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Review: Insurgent by Veronica Roth
Release Date: May 1, 2012

My Rating: 5 out of 5 stars


You know that book you read that you are so excited about that when you finish you run into your co-worker's office, book in hand, (Yes, I read on company time) and jump up and down until she gets off the phone and proceed to squeal with joy as she looks at you like she can't believe it's only 10:00 a.m. and you've already started drinking?....THIS IS THAT BOOK!!!!!



The story starts shortly after the ending of Divergent and Tris and "the gang" have fled from Abnegation and are on the run. After meeting up with the Factionless (who are surprisingly well organized), they decide to pay visit to the various other factions to see if they can drum up some kind of support to help in the war instigated by Erudite. While Tris is dealing with her feelings of guilt, loyalty, new love and a muriad of other conflicting feelings, their first stop is Amity (  AKA a Republican's worst nightmare). There they run into Marcus who lets them know that Erudite attacked Abnegation for a reason. A long time ago, Abnegation was entrusted with some extremely important information and Erudite wanted it. We do not find out this tidbit of info until the end of the book, but it's a doozy!!!!

Next stop, Candor... ( Side note: there is no way I could live here...If I had to be completely honest with my feelings about people I'd have zero friends and no job). There they run into Lynn, who has become one of my favorite characters in this book. While Tris is dealing with hostility from Christina and others over the death of Will, Lynn says the following line to Tris which cemented my respect for her:

" 'You are brave', she says.'You don't need me to say it, because you already know it.But I want you to know that I know.'
She is complimenting me, but I still feel like she has slapped me with something.
Then she adds, 'Don't mess it up!' "

I don't want to go into much more as there are many surprises along the way. However, I would be remiss in not mentioning Four/Tobias! God, I love this guy! Some of the sweetest moments occur between him and Tris. With the overwhelming gloom surrounding them, it makes it all the more precious. One of my favorite scenes between the two was this one:

" 'I love you', I say...........I am his and he is mine, and it has been that way all along.
He stares at me. I wait with my hands clutching his arms for stability as he considers his response.
He frowns at me. 'Say it again.'
'Tobias, I love you.' I say.
His skin is slippery with water and he smells like sweat and my shirt sticks to his arms when he slides them around me. He presses his face to my neck and kisses me right above the collarbone, kisses my cheek, kisses my lips.
'I love you, too,' he says.

I'm completely smitten with these two.

Insurgent ends in typical Veronica Roth fashion, with a cliffhanger. But a really, really good one, so it's impossible to be mad at her. I can't believe I have to wait another year for the final book, but if it's as good as this one then who cares.

Teaser Tuesday

A male vampire slid into view between the trees and reached for Simon. Then the creature's head suddenly parted from his shoulders.

A booted foot shoved the decapitated carcass into the dirt.

A man stood over Simon. He was tall and thin, and his face was covered by a headwrap similar to that worn by the high desert Bedouins. Over his eyes he wore smoked, dark glasses. His clothing was dark grey, almost black, a short military jacket and calvary pants with a red stripe, and knee-high, black riding boots. Over it all he wore a long cloak with the hood thrown back. He had a gun belt with two holstered pistols. In his left hand was a basket-hilted  longsword; in his right was a well-blooded scimitar.

The man bounded toward the female vampire. " Take the boy and RUN."  Adele realized the mysterious swordsman was shouting at her. She scrambled to her feet and ran to her prone brother, already hearing the ringing of steel against claws. The stranger in grey seemed eerily familiar, Inexplicably, she was afraid for him and afraid of him at the same time.

I love the Vampire Empire series. Steampunk is a new genre for me, but you throw in Steampunk with a good dose of vampires and I'm smitten. Adele and The Greyfriar have a slow burning heat that is sweet and hot at the same time. LOVE THIS SERIES......

Dual Review: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness
My Rating: 4 1/2 out of 5 stars




This review contains spoilers. Although I have kept the more major parts of this story out, I have still included some prominent scenes that are best read along with the whole book.




" Stories don't always have happy endings....."

I wasn't sure what kind of story A Monster Calls would be when I picked it up. All I knew was that several of my GoodReads friends raved about it and that was good enough for me. Assuming that it was probably some kind of horror/YA hybrid, I jumped right in.
Fast forward to the last 3 pages of the book and here I was:



About half way through the book I started to peruse some of the GR reviews and realized this definitely wasn't going to be the type of book I thought it would be. It's obvious that this story brings about very intense emotions to it's readers depending on their individual life experience. I've been fortunate enough in my life that I have not lost a close family member at a young age. However, this book definitely invoked feelings in me that were uncomfortable, sad, angry, distraught and more.

This is the story of a 13-year old boy named Conor whose mother has cancer. He is an only child who rarely sees his father who lives in the States. While his mother is undergoing chemo, Conor starts to have a nightmare.  A very, very bad nightmare. The gist of the nightmare is not revealed until the end of the story.
One night, Conor receives a visit from The Monster.

" The monster stood in his yard, looking right at him......'OPEN UP', the monster said, it's voice as clear as if the window wasn't between them. ' I WANT TO TALK TO YOU' "

Side Note #1: The illustrations in the book are amazing. I've been told that the paperback has more pictures than the ebook but this pic from my Nook shows the brilliance of Jim McKay.

Side Note#2: The time 12:07 plays a prominent role throughout the book. I finished this book on Saturday afternoon at .............yep, 12:07. At which point I freaked the fuck out and had to be sedated.

Back to the book....Conor has an ongoing problem at school with bullying. He also has figured out that everyone now knows about his mother because of an error in judgement from his friend, Lily. She told a friend about Conor and it spread to everyone after that, resulting in Conor being treated differently, almost invisible. What transpires at school is heartbreaking and infuriating. He lashes out at Lily and ends up completely alone. Towards the end of the book, Conor receives a note in class from Lily that says:

"I'm sorry for telling everyone about your mum
I miss being your friend
Are you okay?
I see you!"

That scene destroyed me.I was a complete wreck and at the same time couldn't have loved Lily more.

The Monster continues to visit Conor to tell him three different stories. Each one which will eventually help Conor process the circumstances of his life.

" 'There is not always a good guy. Nor is there always a bad one. Most people are somewhere in between., the Monster said'."

 As this was a short book it is hard to relay some of the most profound moments of the book without giving things away. At times,  I hated the grandma, the dad and even the mom. But in the end, I loved all of them for what they were.
Not flawless but flawed. Like all of us.
In the end, I realized that this wasn't just a story about loss. It was a story about a sad, lonely and confused boy who had to deal with too much, too soon. In the end, it was also about a boy who let go of all of these things and forgave himself and the people who love him with the help of a big, scary monster.
This is an incredibly beautiful story and one of the best written novels I have ever read. The last ten pages alone border on perfection. It is sad, funny, disgusting, frustrating and just plain lovely.

This is a dual review with Samina at Escapism from Reality as part of a new series of  buddy reviews from the girls at:

Please check out Samina's blog for a different perspective on

A Monster Calls.

Friday Favorites

This is a post started by Sue over at Satin's Bookish Corner. 

We'll gush and  fawn over our most beloved characters out of our absolute favorite books.

If any of you who run blogs would like to join in and do a post on your blogs with your favourite book people let us know and we'll leave a link at the bottom of each post every week telling our followers to pop on over and check it out. and at the end of your post if you could do the same for us.

There is an episode of the T.V. show friends where they each make a "Freebie List". A list of five celebrities that if you were ever given the chance,you could sleep with anyone on that list, with no repercussions. I have a similar list of my favorite male characters called "If you were real, I'd make you my sex slave" or " If you were real, we'd all move to Utah and get married and live in a commune".
Listed from 5 to 1 ( 1 being my absolute fave ), here's MY list of freebies..........:

5. Bill and/or Eric from Sookie Stackhouse/True Blood - I realize this is a bit of a cop-out in not choosing one or the other. The problem is I love Bill more in the books. However, Eric in True Blood is quite yummy. Ergo, I'll take either.....


4. John Pritkin from The Cassandra Palmer Series - This is a lesser known series but one of my absolute favorites. Cassandra Palmer can communicate with spirits and has had an ongoing steamy relationship with vampire Mircea   ( yummy ). Her good friend , John Pritkin, the serious, talented mage who has saved her life on many occasions, and has a fierce following among Karen Chance fans, has some brooding sex appeal. Pritkin has an intense chemistry with Cassandra that can't be ignored. He's a selfless, brave and funny hottie who I hope will finally make a major play for Cassandra in the next book.

3. Curran from The Kate Daniels Series - Oh, Curran, you magnificent king of a man. Curran is the ultimate alpha. A Were-Lion who heads all the clans in the futuristic Atlanta area. I adore his relationship with Kate Daniels and he is the ONLY man strong enough to go toe to toe with her. Their banter is some of the best I have ever read and they are completely made for each other.


2. Jericho Z. Barrons from The Fever Series - Okay, I realize this is a gimme. Barrons is on EVERYONE'S list and David Gandy is everyone's quintessential Jericho. But look at him, Jesus Christ, had to include him.
 

1. Terrible from The Downside Series- For anyone who has read this series you are competely aware of the magnificence that is Terrible. Everyone knows him by that name alone. I'm not sure if he even has a last  name ( Smith? ). What he lacks for in pretty boy good looks he more than makes up for with a personality that is sheer perfection. He loves the protagonist, Chess, fully and unconditionally. Plus, he sports some serious mutton chops and has awesome taste in music.

Okay, there's my list. Who's on yours?

Review: A Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison

A Perfect Blood by Kim Harrison

My Rating: 3 1/2 out of 5 stars

Ritually murdered corpses are appearing across Cincinnati, terrifying amalgams of human and other. Pulled in to help investigate by the FIB, former witch turned day-walking demon Rachel Morgan soon realizes a horrifying truth--a would-be creator is determined to make his (or her) own demons. But it can't be done without Rachel's blood. - GoodReads

The Hollows series by Kim Harrison has been a must read for me for the last 8 years. She introduced me to the world of Urban Fantasy which resulted in opening the doors to Paranormal, Dystopian etc. etc. I was torn on what rating I wanted to give this book as my love and respect for her books should have immediately rated it 4+ stars. However, I settled on 3 1/2 for the following reason: The 2nd half of this book is fantastic. Easily 4 1/2-5 stars. Unfortunately, the 1st half is about 2 stars and I found myself wanting to put the book down so I could go into the other room and watch paint dry.


I won't go deeply into the plot as this is the 10th book in the series and most people reading this review will be Hollows aficionados and will know where Rachel left off in Pale Demon. The book starts a few months after that book and Rachel is wallowing in self-pity because of what happened to Trent, Al and well, just about everyone else. She has chosen to wear a charm bracelet to keep her from tapping a ley-line, ergo, keeping Al from knowing she is still alive. The Rachel Morgan Pity Party is in full swing and I caught myself putting my adoration for this character aside and wishing she would GET THE FUCK OVER IT.  Unfortunately, a by-product of this storyline is the ommitance of several of the things that make this series so awesome, namely, AL, ley-lines, AL, The Everafter, Oh, AND AL  .....

Fortunately, her resident pixie, Jenks, manages to save the first half of the book with the following lines:

"Tinks tampons, Rachel, let's gooooo."

"...They came at 4:30 in the morning, strung the guy up, finger-painted from blood in a bag, and left in a blue car. A guy with a dog found him 37 minutes later and the I.S. flunky responding hit him with a forget charm and sent him on his way. He's fine but the dog is going to need MASSIVE amounts of therapy.."

...and about a dozen more quips that make Jenks so entertaining. I equate him to a chihuahua who thinks he's a great dane.

Trent makes a brief appearance in the first half of the book but makes up for it in the second half, appearing in all-black and driving his fancy cars and of course, rescuing Rachel with his adorable elf magic. *sighhhhh*      Trent and Rachel continue to ignore what they feel for eachother but I have a theory on how this will play out  (see below). 

Finally, AL (Algariept) makes an appearance at the end of the book but fans of this book SHOULD NOT have to wait 294 pages to hear Al say"Hello, Rachel Mariana Morgan."

A Perfect Blood seemed more like a transition book to me. Almost like Ms. Harrison is setting us up for something big. She has announced that there are only 2 books left in the series (sniff,sniff). I have a theory that the next book will be about Al and Rachel and an eventual hook-up between the two. Trent will find this out and realize his true feelings for Rachel which will be the main storyline of the last book.(fingers crossed).

I still enjoyed this book and will eagerly anticipate February for the next installment of this fantastic series and I'll mirror the wise words of our dear Algariept..... " Welcome back, Itchy Witch,"

Friday Favorites

This is a post started by Sue over at Satin's Bookish Corner. 

We'll gush and  fawn over our most beloved characters out of our absolute favorite books.

If any of you who run blogs would like to join in and do a post on your blogs with your favourite book people let us know and we'll leave a link at the bottom of each post every week telling our followers to pop on over and check it out. and at the end of your post if you could do the same for us.

I just finished the latest in one of my favorite series, The Perfect Blood (The Hollows). For anyone who reads these books you are more than familiar with Trent Kalamack. Trent is an elf. The protagonist, Rachel, has had an ongoing love/hate relationship with Trent for the last 10 books but they have yet to seal the deal. Trent is a very successful businessman and doesn't have time for silliness or flighty women which makes his ongoing "relationship" with Rachel very entertaining. My hope is that these two will eventually end up together but in the mean time, enjoy the sights:

Waiting on Wednesday

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly meme sharing releases we cant wait to get our hands on! Hosted by Jill @ Breaking the Spine.


Why do I have to wait until summer for all the good books? I'm patiently waiting for the follow-up to Anna Dressed in Blood, Girl of Nightmares by Kendare Blake.


In this follow-up to Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas begins seeing Anna everywhere: sometimes when he’s asleep, and sometimes in waking nightmares. But something is very wrong. These aren’t just daydreams. Anna seems tortured, torn apart in new and ever more gruesome ways every time she appears.Cas doesn’t know what happened to Anna when she disappeared into Hell, but he knows she doesn’t deserve whatever is happening to her now. Anna saved Cas more than once, and it’s time for him to return the favor.

I can't wait to see how Cas and Anna's relationship evolves. They had such a great connection in the first book and I hope to see MUCH more interaction between the two.

Release Date: August 7, 2012

This week Im eagerly anticipating is City of Lost Souls by Cassandra Clare...especially since I got tickets for her signing in Naperville, IL! Soooo excited, cant wait to read more about Clary and Jace!

The demon Lilith has been destroyed and Jace has been freed from her captivity. But when the Shadowhunters arrive to rescue him, they find only blood and broken glass. Not only is the boy Clary loves missing–but so is the boy she hates, Sebastian, the son of her father Valentine: a son determined to succeed where their father failed, and bring the Shadowhunters to their knees.

No magic the Clave can summon can locate either boy, but Jace cannot stay away—not from Clary. When they meet again Clary discovers the horror Lilith’s dying magic has wrought—Jace is no longer the boy she loved. He and Sebastian are now bound to each other, and Jace has become what he most feared: a true servant of Valentine’s evil. The Clave is determined to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. Will the Shadowhunters hesitate to kill one of their own?

Only a small band of Clary and Jace’s friends and family believe that Jace can still be saved — and that the fate of the Shadowhunters’ future may hinge on that salvation. They must defy the Clave and strike out on their own. Alec, Magnus, Simon and Isabelle must work together to save Jace: bargaining with the sinister Faerie Queen, contemplating deals with demons, and turning at last to the Iron Sisters, the reclusive and merciless weapons makers for the Shadowhunters, who tell them that no weapon on this earth can sever the bond between Sebastian and Jace. Their only chance of cutting Jace free is to challenge Heaven and Hell — a risk that could claim any, or all, of their lives.

And they must do it without Clary. For Clary has gone into the heart of darkness, to play a dangerous game utterly alone. The price of losing the game is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she even still trust him? Or is he truly lost? What price is too high to pay, even for love?

Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.

MAY,8TH

Review: Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake
My rating: 4 out of 5 stars

Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead.

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.-GoodReads

My Take........
When I was 13, my best friend, I'll call her Evil Kristin, thought it would be funny to scare the living shit out of me. Unfortunately, she decided to make this a regular occurrence as scaring me was so very entertaining. I remember at a sleepover her mother had recently bought the hardcover of the book "The Exorcist". She put it right next to my pillow so that when I woke up it would be staring at me. For those who have never seen the book, here you go:

The next morning I turned over and stared into the eyes of horror and screamed so loud her Siamese cat vaulted off the bed and face-planted into the closed bedroom door.
Good Times!
Evil Kristin continued on her "Pussification of Heather Tour" throughout our teens. She convinced me to watch "The Shining" by telling me she had watched it with her brother and it had a "really sweet ending". Every time I would get up to use the bathroom, she would screech "REDRUM, REDRUM!" and I would usually haul ass back to the bed either slamming my toe into the bedpost or kneeing the dresser at full speed. It was well into my thirties before I would go alone to fill the ice bucket at a hotel.

Anna Dressed in Blood regurgitated similar feelings in me but without the embarrassing, teenage self-consciousness that always followed.
Our fearless leader, Cas Lowood kills/gets rid of the dead that cannot cross over. Cas and his mother move from place to place ridding the towns of whatever evil spirit is wreaking havoc on it's citizens. They move to Thunder Bay, Ontario where the ghost of Anna Korlov is rumored to have slaughtered countless trespassers who have dared to seek refuge in the dilapidated house that she resides in. What follows is a freaky, sweet, endearing and at times, scary as fuck horror story. As Cas has spent his life moving around, he struggles with creating attachments to his high school friends and to Anna as well, because Anna is different than the rest of the ghosts he has killed. The dynamics between Cas and his new acquaintances, living and dead, results in some very entertaining reading and I enjoyed watching Cas' battle within himself to acclimate to his new surroundings.

In spite of my obvious squeamishness to anything scary, I had a blast with this book. The characters were interesting, the dialogue was witty and well-written and the plot moved along seamlessly. I'm glad there is a sequel in the works as I would hate to think I wouldn't be hearing from Cas again.

Review: Sacrificial Magic by Stacia Kane

Sacrificial Magic by Stacia Kane
Published March 27, 2012
My Rating: 5 of 5 Stars



Commence gushing in 5...4...3....2...1


I AM IN LOVE WITH STACIA KANE!!!




If I were ever lucky enough to meet her I imagine it would go something like this:

Stacia: "Hello"
Me: "Heeheeheehee"
Stacia: "What's wrong with you?"


And it would go downhill from there.....





Ms. Kane has done it again with Sacrificial Magic. Creating a world that is gritty, ugly, dirty, exciting and as always, riveting.

After discovering a gruesome murder/sacrifice of one of his employees, Bump asks/orders Chess to use her powers as a witch to figure out who has done this (Slobag?).
Before I continue I feel I must give Bump credit for contributing the following lines to the book which were at the very least, genius!:

"What knowledge you fuckin given Bump on the now-time? New shit, fuckin hopin so. yay? Something on the fuckin use-type side, get that fuckin scum Slobag down."

And my personal favorite,

"Now mayhap you quit givin Terrible the fuckin slurpy-eyes an give Bump the listening,yay?"



My secret hope is that Ms. Kane will someday write a spin-off series done completely in Downspeak and starring Bump.

Back to the story.........as always, Chess continues to be her own worst enemy. With the development of her blossoming relationship with Terrible, her insecurities and self-hatred are in full bloom. At times she comes so close to completely spiraling out of control it is physically painful to read. She cannot accept that she is deserving of happiness or of Terrible's love. She's convinced that it is a matter of time before he figures all of this out and dumps her for good. Ms. Kane has created one of the most unique and sweet love stories in these two. There is a song from Patty Smith called "Dancing Barefoot" that always plays in my head when these two are together. The following lines are perfect:

she is benediction
she is addicted to thee
she is the root connection
she is connecting with he

here I go and I don't know why
I fell so ceaselessly
could it be he's taking over me...

I'm dancing barefoot
heading for a spin
some strange music draws me in
makes me come on like some heroine

she is sublimation
she is the essence of thee
she is concentrating on
he, who is chosen by she

Take a listen for those who aren't familiar with Patty Smith and imagine this playing in the background while they're messing around on Chess's new couch!;)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcbuG2w0Kzo

Terrible continues to be imperfectly perfect in every way. Just when you think you could not possibly love him more he says something like this:

"Love you, too, Chess." He held her tighter, almost as tightly as she held him. If she had fingernails to dig into him she would have, hooks to catch him with and never let go. "You got that, aye? Ain't you know it? Love you right, til it hurts. Ain't goin nowhere, don't need to cry, 'sall right up-"

Fuuuuuuuccckkkkkkk! *stares dreamily at the ceiling*

Going in I didn't think Ms. Kane could top City of Ghosts but she has definately done it with SM. I was sucked in from the first page and felt like her emotional punching bag when I was done. Just like I like it !