Blogoversary - Day 2

It's here! It's here!

Blogoversary and 1,000 Followers Giveaway!

*throws confetti*

Welcome to Day 2 of my Blogoversary! 

I can NOT believe its already been a whole year! 

AND just to make things even better, I just hit 1, 000 followers a couple weeks ago!

*throws more confetti*

Each day this week, Monday through Friday, I am posting some of my favorite reviews from the past year as well as a different giveaway every day! So be sure to come back every day and enter. All giveaways will end Sunday night (August 3).

To keep my posts from being crazy long, I am only posting bits and pieces from the reviews I'm sharing. You can can find links to all reviews in their entirety under the Reviews tab.

Today's favorite reviews: Urban Fantasy

Iron Crowned

(Dark Swan #3)

Richelle Mead

Goodreads     Amazon

Notable Book Quotes:

“Oh," he said to Kiyo, voice completely devoid of emotion. "I see. It's your turn again.” 

“Now get some clothes on before the women around here are driven into a frenzy."

He gave me a mournful look. "I'm afraid that'll happen with or without clothes, my dear.”

Review Quotes:

Eugenie's flaws are one of the things I love most about the character, so I suppose I can't really complain when she makes flawed decisions. I can also tell you that this book continues to perpetuate the back and forth we've seen throughout the rest of the series (Kiyo-Dorian-Kiyo-Dorian-Kiyo-Dorian......you get the idea). 

If you're a regular Mead reader, you know that the third book in the series is typically where the bottom drops out and Mead leaves you with a big cliff hanger. This one is no different. Mead continues the Dark Swan series with just as much action, romance, and tension filled moments as the first two books, and this one is my favorite of the trio. 

Summoning the Night

(Arcadia Bell #2)

Jenn Bennett

Goodreads     Amazon

Notable Book Quotes:

“I don’t want secrets between us,” I said. “Not ones that matter, anyway. I keep secrets from everyone all day long. But not you. Okay?” He tugged me toward the bar stool, closing the remaining distance between us. “I’ve been waiting for you to say that for weeks,” he whispered. 

“Oh, really? Is that why he’s hot and bothered for Arcadia here?” Kar Yee tossed an accusatory glance my way. She was well aware that honesty wasn’t one of my strong suits. “Probably,” Jupe confirmed. “My dad says he likes her so much that if she kicked him in the balls, he’d just thank her.”

Review Quotes:

Bennett outdoes herself with Summoning the Night, packing action, fun, romance, and a hyper teenage boy into one wonderful urban fantasy. 

The Arcadia Bell series is, for me, like breathing in fresh air. Many aspects of the series are fairly unique for UF.

It is also a bit unique that Bennett writes such a strong urban fantasy without any fantasy creatures. There are other series, of course, which manage this successfully as well. However, there just aren't that many and I highly enjoy the original use of magic in this series. Every aspect of the way Cady uses magic is believable and there are no questions left unanswered about her or Lon's world. 

My Life As A White Trash Zombie

(White Trash Zombie #1)

Diana Rowland

Goodreads     Amazon

Notable Book Quotes:

"The nurse wasn't lying to me or messing with my head. No, I was simply a loser. Overdose. Great. Well, this was a new low for me, and it didn't help that it was totally believable." 

"Then I couldn’t resist. I took a deep breath and yelled: “Zombie Super Powers, Activate!”

Review Quotes:

A ZOMBIE! I love the original premise for this book! Angel's journey is amazing and extremely entertaining. She gets a lot on her plate very quickly. Someone has mysteriously rescued her, made her into a zombie, and set her up with a job (as the person who picks up dead bodies at crime scenes and assists in autopsies). At least this job gives her easy access to her new craving...brains!

Angel makes more than one transformation as the story unfolds. Not only is she learning how to handle her new predicament and her new...eh...hunger, but she is also learning to have some confidence in herself. As Angel's story goes on, we see her gain some self-dignity and pride. Its nice to see these changes. It made me feel like I really knew Angel, and I was pulling for her the whole time. 

Now, keep in mind that this book is about zombies. That means some grossness. There were a couple times when I got a tiny bit squeamish (I really hate when fingernails fall off...), but really all of the gross stuff is written really well and not over the top.

Blood on the Bayou

(Annabelle Lee #2)

Stacey Jay

Goodreads     Amazon

Notable Book Quotes:

"Shit happens. The only thing I have power over is how I deal with the shit." 

“We’re people who knew older versions of each other too well to ever see the new person standing in front of us.”

Review Quotes:

This sequel to Dead on the Delta exceeded all my expectations and thoroughly impressed me. Jay gives us the two things I wanted more of after reading the first one: a more in depth mythology of the fairies and more romantic and sexual tension than I could shake a stick at. 

Meanwhile, Tucker continues to lounge seductively in various spots around Annabelle's house and do mysterious and creepy things. 

Author Stacey Jay gives us some nice surprises here as well. There were some plot twists that I did not expect and I love being surprised when reading. I really hope there will be many more Annabelle Lee books to comes, because I am not ready to let this series go - I devoured this book!

Shadow Bound

(Unbound #2)

Rachel Vincent

Goodreads     Amazon

Notable Book Quotes:

"If you live in the dark long enough you start to forget what light looks like." - Kori 

"I stared at her, awed by her strength and determination. She'd done time in a hell I could only imagine, and come out intact. 'I feel sorry for all the people who will die without ever meeting you, Kori. But the selfish part of me is happy, because I don't even want to share you with the people you already know. Most of them don't deserve you.'" - Ian

Review Quotes:

Vincent's second in the Unbound series is darker and more intense than the first while still managing to have the same superior world building. 

Kori's POV was almost certainly the most difficult to write, although seeing her through Ian's eyes was almost just as painful. She is definitely a dark and twisty character, someone not used to being so vulnerable. As you can imagine, she is quite a bit messed up after her time in Tower's basement and her fear for her sister, her attempt to keep Ian at arm's length, and her conflicting feelings about convincing Ian to sign with Tower all roll together into a big ball of crazy. Despite her frailness, she is still a skilled ass kicker when need be. She is a wonderful and faulted character that I really enjoyed.

Ian is, of course, a wonderful balance to Kori. He is strong and sexy, but knows when to be honest and gentle with Kori. He has some secrets that come out slowly throughout the story, much like Liv and Cam's secrets in book one. 

Giveaway Day 2

Urban Fantasy Anthology

Dark and Stormy Knights

Enter on the Rafflecopter form below. Must be 13 or older and live in the UA/CAN.

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