Blogger Buddy Love (4) - Readers Confession

Blogger Buddy Love is a feature I started to help some of my fellow Terrible Girls gain exposure and followers. Please check out their blogs and show them some love!

Today's Blogger to Love Is:

Readers Confession

Name of blogger(s): Jenese Leon

Started blog: I started blogging mid May 2012

Top three favorite genres: PNR, UF and Erotica

Genres reviewed: I review all romance types, UF, YA, mystery/thrillers, and erotica

Top five books so far in 2012:

Lover Reborn by JR Ward

Pushing the Limits by Katie McGarry

On the Island by Tracey Garvis-Graves 

Lethal Rider by Larissa Ione

Trying to Score by Toni Aleo

Please go check out this AWESOME blog and show her some love - and followers!

Early Review: Onyx by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Onyx
(Lux #2)
Jennifer L. Armentrout
Release: August 14, 2012
Goodreads     Amazon

Previous books in series:
Obsidian (Lux #1) My Review

Being connected to Daemon Black sucks…
Daemon’s determined to prove what he feels for me is more than a product of our bizarre connection. I’ve sworn him off even though he’s running more hot than cold these days. But against all common sense, I’m falling for him. Hard.
Our relationship issues aren’t out biggest problem…
The Department of Defense is here. If they ever find out what Daemon can do and that we’re linked, I’m a goner. So is he. And when a new boy shows up a school with a secret of his own, things get complicated fast. I need to choose between my own instincts and Daemon’s.
But then everything changes…
I’ve seen someone who shouldn’t be alive. Daemon’s never going to stop searching until gets the truth. What happened to his brother? Who betrayed him? And what does the DOD want from them—from me?
No one is who they seem. And not everyone will survive the lies.

Review: 

“What are we going to do kitten?”

My toes curled at the deep octave of his voice. "I don’t know."

“I have a few ideas.”

I cracked a grin. “I'm sure you do.”

“Wanna hear about them? Although, I'm much better at the show part rather than the tell.”

“Somehow, I believe you.”

“If you didn’t, I could always give you a teaser.” He paused, and I could hear the smile in his voice. “You bookish people love teasers, don’t you?”

Yes, yes we do. Thank you for noticing Daemon.

Sigh. How is a YA character so damn sexy? Daemon Black is back and just as alluring and migraine-inducing in Onyx. I must admit, I was concerned that Armentrout wouldn't be able to keep the magic going in this sequel, but I must bow to the master. Onyx is just as good as, if not better than, the first book in the Lux series.

Daemon and Katy's chemistry continues to spark off the pages throughout this entire book. In this one we see that both Daemon and Katy are finally admitting to themselves that they have feelings for, and not just an attraction to, to each other. Do they admit it to one another? Of course not.

"You know what I've been thinking?"

Why I hadn't crawled over the center console and into his lap yet? Because damn if I was wondering that very thing, but the car was way to small for those kinds of shenanigans. I cleared my throat.

"What?"

Katy, especially, tries to make up a hundred reasons why they can't be together. I really loved reading the back and forth between these two in this book because it was so much deeper than in book one. And all of the Daemon ass-ness is still there. His banter with Katy cracks me up and I still love Katy's strong refusal to give in.

"Not in this lifetime, buddy," I said finally.

"Resistance is futile, Kitten."

We get to see some of Daemon's softer personality traits as well in this one as Daemon becomes closer and closer to Katy.

“Because I know.” Daemon appeared in front of me, eyes narrowed. He thumped his hand off his chest, directly above his heart. "Because I know what I feel in here. And I'm not the type of person to run from anything, no matter how hard it is. I'd rather face-plant against a brick wall than live for the rest of my life wondering what could’ve been. And you know what? I don’t think you were the type to run either. Maybe I was wrong."

There is the introduction of new and mysterious character Blake as well. We can tell off right off the bat that something is up with him and I was wary of him. When new characters are introduced in sequels I am immediately like, "Good guy or bad guy?". Blake's secrets come out as the story rolls on and I liked the addition of him to the story. Because Katy ends up spending a lot of time with Blake, Daemon becomes insanely jealous and there are some arguments between the two that made me want to slap the jerk right out of him!

We also get to learn more about the disappearance of Daemon and Dee's brother Dawson. The whole aspect of the story that dealt with this subject was wonderful and surprising. Toward the end of the book it took twists and turns I was not expecting. This part of the plot was even more fast-paced than the rest of the book and full of action.

We all gush about Daemon and Katy, but the writing for these books is top notch and the plot is swift and interesting as well. I am SO looking forward to the next in this series, Opal, which releases in December! The end of this one really left me wondering where the story will go next!

And now, to end this review, I will share some of my favorite terms that Katy uses in Onyx to describe Daemon:

"douche canoe"

"moments of great dickdom"

"biggest wiener ever"

"suck a jerk"

"Daemon's douche-nozzle side"

"jerk-face"

Always a smartass, I thought, even in the worst situations. I think I kind of loved him just for that. 

Recommended for fans of: green eyes, sexy smirks, YA sci-fi that doesn't melt your brain, Armentrout series, and YA manboys.

    

Blood Before Sunrise by Amanda Bonilla

Blood Before Sunrise
(Shaede Assassin #2)
Amanda Bonilla
Release: July 3, 2012
Goodreads   Amazon

My Review of Book 1

For months Darian and her Shaede guardian Raif have searched for the Oracle who attempted to overthrow the Shaede Nation—and kill Darian in the bargain. But now that they’ve finally found the half-crazed Oracle, for their efforts they are granted a possibility too painful for Raif to imagine, and too enticing for Darian to ignore.
Darian is determined to reunite Raif and the daughter he thought was dead, but her mission quickly proves dangerous when her lover Tyler is almost killed. And when a brooding and mysterious Fae warrior offers his guidance—at an extraordinary price—Darian finds herself willing to risk everything. As her single-minded hunt turns into an obsession, and she and Tyler grow further apart, Darian finds herself caught between the man she loves like a brother, and the man whose love she can’t live without…

Review:

I'd become a one-woman freak show - a new and unique creature, truly the only one of my kind.

Blood Before Sunrise has all the elements of a fantastic urban fantasy - baddass main character with a long sword, unique and interesting paranormal creatures coupled with the old familiar faces, and an up and down romance. In this sequel we find Darian adjusting to her new abilities, or, rather, others adjusting to them. Both Shaedes and Lyhtans are somewhat jealous of her ability to become invisible in both the dark and light now. Darian doesn't seem to really take that much time to get used to this new power, but rather goes about business as usual.

At the start of this one, the Shaedes capture the Oracle who got away at the end of the previous book. She mentions that she knows the location of Raif's long lost daughter and that she is very much alive. This puts Darian and Raif at odds because Darian wants to search for her and Raif, having long ago succumbed to the idea that his daughter is dead, doesn't want to put himself through that again. I just love the relationship between Darian and Raif. Raif is almost like a father figure to Darian even though in appearances they are roughly the same age. Raif is constantly imparting wisdom and advice to her when they are not practicing beating the hell out of each other with swords.

"Darian," Raif said, calm as a still pond, "I'm afraid you're going to have to fight me for the right to kill this piece of shit."

Did he know me, or what?

"Because I swear to you now, he's going to fall beneath my sword."

God I hoped so. I could live with knowing it wouldn't be me ripping his soul from his body as long as the bastard was dead.

Darian's relationship with Tyler in this sequel is very rocky. Something or someone is getting to Tyler and affecting his emotions and abilities and has made him fixate on Raif as a target. Throughout the novel he believes that Raif and Darian have some sort of secret feelings for each other and keeps doing stupid things in his jealous fits. That, along with the plot line of the story that keeps taking Darian to a secret place where Tyler can't sense her, make for a very touchy Jinn.

I loved a lot of the emotional scenes between the two, but I have to admit I got a little tired of it after a while. Tyler's mood swings were crazy and even though it wasn't his fault I was ready for that piece of the story to be over. I really like Darian and Tyler together and I just wanted her to let him in and him to stop being an overprotective ass. Their romantic scenes together are amazing so I'm hoping that in book three they will both get their butts in gear.

He'd be so much better off without me. His life wouldn't be in danger; he wouldn't have to constantly assert himself to Xander. He would't suffer the anguish of wondering if I was dead or alive. And even though I knew all of this, given the opportunity, I doubted if I'd ever be strong enough to let him go. I needed him like I needed air. And the only thing I could offer him in return was an existence steeped in danger and the constant threat of death. 

Darian is a great leading lady but sometimes her decisions drive me crazy. I believe that was a complaint I had with the first book as well. She does some really ridiculous things in the name of keeping those around her safe, but her reasoning often doesn't make sense. For example, Darian is given an 'item' that is very powerful and that she knows nothing about. She decides not to tell anyone about it, even those she trusts with her life. She doesn't even tell anyone when the powers of the 'item' and what it does start to become clear. She doesn't go to anyone to get information - even though she has the King of Shaedes, a thousand year old Jinn, and a Shaede assassin she calls her brother at her disposal. I just thought that was really weird. You trust these people with your life, but not your interesting trinket? Its true that Darian is not used to relying on others, and that does make sense. She was alone for almost a hundred years and is just now learning how to 'play nice with others'.

I didn't have the first clue how to relate to anyone on a personal level. God, I was so broken, it made me sick.

"Darian," Ty said, his voice no longer angry but full of compassion, "you have to learn to let go and open up. You're not alone anymore. You have to trust the people who care about you and allow us to help you."

I enjoyed the second half of the book much more than the first half. Often, in the first half, I was too busy getting angry with Darian or Tyler and felt like I was reading the first book all over again. But, in the second half, the story really shines. We get a super crazy 'bad guy' (I mean, really unhinged and demented) and a change of setting that was both beautiful and strange. I loved everything about the second half of the book!

This is a terrific urban fantasy series, even with its speed bumps. I am looking forward to see what book three has to offer us!

Recommended for fans of: urban fantasy with unique creatures, stories with Fae, infuriating but lovable characters, overprotective but sexy love interests, and plot twists.

   

Stacking the Shelves (11)

Stacking the Shelves is a *new* weekly meme to feature all the books that have made their way into our homes this week! 

Stacking the Shelves is hosted by Tynga's Reviews.

FOR REVIEW:

(Click on cover to go to Goodreads)

  
 

(Click on title to go to Amazon)

Gunmetal Magic (Kate Daniels #5.5) by Ilona Andrews (Review)
Shadows Before the Sun (Charlie Madigan #4) by Kelly Gay
Kept (Coveted #2) by Shawntelle Madison
The Iron Wyrm Affair (Bannon and Clare #1) by Lilith Saintcrow
Girl of Nightmares (Anna #2) by Kendare Blake

GIFTED:

(Click on cover to go to Goodreads)

  

(Click on title to go to Amazon)

Taken By The Others (H&W Investigations #2) by Jess Haines
Deceived By the Others (H&W Investigations #3) by Jess Haines
Shadows (Lux #0.5) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

Thanks SO much to Temara for Shadows and to Donna from Book Lover's Hideaway for the Jess Haines books.  :)

I have a lot of wonderful things going on this week to check out!

It's my Blogoversary!

Blogoversary Giveaway Day #1

Blogoversary Giveaway Day #2

Blogoversary Giveaway Day #3 (INT)

Blogoversary Giveaway Day #4

Blogoversary Giveaway Day #5 (INT)

Gunmetal Magic Blog tour: 

Ilona Andrews' favorite Kate Daniels moments plus giveaway!

Gunmetal Magic Giveaway

What goodies did you add to your shelf this week?

Cover Reveal: Winterblaze by Kristen Callihan

Winterblaze

(Darkest London #3)

Kristen Callihan

Release: February 26, 2013

Goodreads     Amazon

This will be the last in the trilogy and will be Poppy's book.

Blogoversary - Day 5

It's here! It's here!

Blogoversary and 1,000 Followers Giveaway!

*throws confetti*

Welcome to Day 5 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: Book Obsessions

Head Rush

(Disillusionist Trilogy #3)

Carolyn Crane

Goodreads     Amazon

Notable Book Quotes:

"I used to say happiness was the absence of something - the absence of darkness, hate, fear. Especially fear. I thought, if I could get rid of my fear, life would be great...I see that I was wrong. Happiness isn't about getting rid of my fear. Happiness is when something outshines my fear." 

With that I skate off from the man that was once my hero, leaving him there in the dark parking garage, with all his plans, hopes and dreams. This man I will attack and betray tonight. The man I just might die with. 

"In some parts of the world they don't have a word for snow, because they don't know what it is. I never had a word for this. Love's too trite. It's more than that - just more".

Review Quotes:

 Head Rush, the final book in this amazing trilogy. Carolyn Crane is a talented writer that really knows how to keep your head spinning. The surprises and twists keep coming, the love scenes are hot hot hot, and the first person point of view never gets annoying. 

Oh Packard. What a wonderfully flawed hero. He is completely amazing in a totally messed up way. 

I wanted the wrongs of book two righted immediately! But Crane makes us wait, showing us all the while just how powerful Otto is. 

The Hour of Dust and Ashes

(Charlie Madigan #3)

Kelly Gay

Goodreads     Amazon

Notable Book Quotes:

"Bare knuckles and butterflies, that's me." 

“For the record,” he said, looking up at me with a crooked smile, “this is not how I pictured removing your pants for the first time.”

“That confidant, are we?” 

His smiled filled out, deep and brimming with humor. “When something is this inevitable. Yes.” 

He tossed my wet pants into the pile with the rest of my soiled clothes, then turned back and froze.

"You're wearing SpongeBob underwear."

Shit.

My gaze flew downward and my mortification was finally complete. "Emma got them for me...for my birthday." What the hell. I might as well get it over with. "Patrick is on my ass."

Review Quotes:

Speaking of super hot and sexy (nice segway, right?), the tension continues to build (and build and build and build...) between Hank and Charlie in this book. Gay writes the slowly developing romance that I love in urban fantasies. The sexual tension between these two is delicious, and I love how in each book we learn more and more about Hank.

Everything in Gay's world is completely believable, and that is a testament to her excellent writing and her wonderful imagination.

 This series is insanely good and highly recommended! 

The Shadow Reader

(McKenzie Lewis #1)

Sandy Williams

Goodreads     Amazon

Notable Book Quotes:

“If I were a good man,” he says, “I’d acknowledge that he is an honorable fae.....I’d step down and let you have the man you’ve always wanted, but, McKenzie, I’m not as good as him. I never will be, and I can’t step down. I’ll fight for the chance to be with you.” 

"I dedicated my life to my king. I should have dedicated it to you". 

“Fine," he says, his words coming out breathless. "I'll save your precious sword-master, McKenzie. But I will never, ever give you back to him.”

Review Quotes:

A-MAZ-ING. How is it possible that more people are not talking about this book? I stayed up till four in the morning two nights in a row to read this book.....it was that good. And this is from a debut author? Holy crap, I can't wait to see what else she has in store for us.

And the men.....oooooh, the men! The love triangle in this book is the very best kind - there is no right or wrong answer, no smarter choice.

Ahhhhhhhh!!! (That's my fangirl scream...). This book was simply amazing. You spend most of the time trying to decide who the bad guy is and who the good guy is, and how on earth this is going to end. The story was spellbinding, addictive, and reminiscent of Moning's Fever series. Even though I can see how a reader might be on either team here, I am literally in love with Aren. Add him to my book boyfriends list! And read this book......NOW!

Chasing Magic

(Downside Ghosts #5)

Stacia Kane

Goodreads     Amazon

Notable Book Quotes:

"Warmth spread through her chest and up to her face, warmth that had nothing to do with pills or booze or anything else. It was trust heating her from the inside, making her feel like a real live person who mattered. The kind of trust she didn't think he gave to anyone else. The thought made something swell inside her, something wonderful and painful all of once. The kind of trust she knew she didn't deserve." 

"Shit. You so fuckin pretty, Chessie. True thing. So. . . . .ain't even can breathe sometimes." 

She was still who she was, after all. A junkie, a liar, someone who didn't know how to have a relationship, someone who really didn't deserve whatever happiness she managed to find. Someone terrified she'd do the wrong thing, say the wrong thing, terrified that she was going to fuck this up like she did everything else.

Review Quotes:

Stacia Kane knocks another one out of the park with my favorite installment so far in this gritty and intense urban fantasy series.

Kane's uncompromising portrayal of Chess is one of my favorite things about this series. I have never read another book that digs so deeply into the mind and soul of its main character. Kane certainly doesn't glorify drug use, but neither does she give Chess unrealistic characteristics or goals. Chess is Chess.

Terrible is just as charming and lovable in this book as always. Sometimes in between books in this series I forget why it is that I adore him so damn much, but Chasing Magic reminded me why I love me some Terrible. He loves Chess come hell or high water, and he sticks by her side knowing who and what she is, always there for her at her best or worst.

Stacia Kane could take a poo on the floor and call it "Pooping Magic" and I would almost certainly love it! She is an amazingly talented author that delivers again and again!

Giveaway Day 5

(This one is international!)

August 7th Releases

Book Obsessions to Come!

Winner's Choice: Pre-order of one of these!

Two Weeks' Notice (Revivalist #2)

Biting Cold (Chicagoland Vampires #6)

Girl of Nightmares (Anna #2)

 You must be 13 or older to enter. This giveaway is international as long as you live somewhere The Book Depository ships!

a Rafflecopter giveaway

Three Days to Dead by Kelly Meding

Three Days to Dead
(Dreg City #1)
Kelly Meding
Release: November 4, 2009
Goodreads     Amazon

They’ll never see her coming. . . .

When Evangeline Stone wakes up naked and bruised on a cold slab at the morgue—in a stranger’s body, with no memory of who she is and how she got there—her troubles are only just beginning. Before that night she and the two other members of her Triad were the city’s star bounty hunters, mercilessly cleansing the city of the murderous creatures living in the shadows, from vampires to shape-shifters to trolls. Then something terrible happened that not only cost all three of them their lives but also convinced the city’s other Hunters that Evy was a traitor—and she can’t even remember what it was.
Now she’s a fugitive, piecing together her memory, trying to deal some serious justice—and discovering that she has only three days to solve her own murder before the reincarnation spell wears off. Because in three days Evy will die again—but this time there’s no second chance. . . .

Review:

It's not every day that someone sees a reanimated corpse. Likewise, it's not every day a person becomes a reanimated corpse. My day was decidedly much worse, so I did the first sensible thing that came to my mind. I stole her tennis shoes.

I'm going to give this book a subtitle - Three Days to Dead: Evy Takes a Beating.

The start to Meding's Dreg City series has nonstop action and a kickass heroine. This is a series I can't wait to read more of already! Obviously, I'm a little late to the game, as this was first released a few years ago. But better late than never, right?

Evy is a terrific leading lady with all the ass kicking skills you'd want out of your urban fantasy chick. Meding puts her in the unique position of waking up in someone else's body and gives her quite the constraining time limit of three days to figure out what happened to her. Evy is smart and tough as nails, but even she has to get used to being in this new body. Her new body isn't exactly the same as her old one and she has to get used to being taller and out of fighting shape.

I loved watching as Evy got used to this body. My only complaint is that she seemed to be pretty complacent about being in a different body for a large part of the book. I know that, in her world, the unusual is fairly normal, but it seems that being in a different body would take more of an emotional and psychological toll. Evy does finally breakdown and eventually come to terms with looking, sounding, walking (etc.) different, but I think it would have made sense for this to happen a little earlier in the story.

The world that Meding has created is riddled with paranormal creatures, from vampires to trolls to goblins, etc. Everything under the sun exists here and Evy's job as part of a task force of humans is to police those creatures when needed. Evy must now figure out why her team was murdered and who eventually killed her. The way that Meding set up the chapters, with the beginning of each telling the reader how much time Evy had left before, is very creative. Also creative is the way the readers discovers what happened leading up to Evy's death in bits and pieces as Evy remembers it herself.

A big part of the story is also Wyatt, the leader of Evy's former team and someone who has harbored feelings for Evy for a long time. He is equally strong and sensitive and is quite the ass kicker himself. He's the one who brought Evy back from the dead and he works with Evy to figure out the events leading up to her capture and death. Evy continually pushes away his affections, knowing how he feels about her but not willing to give in. Sometimes it was a bit heartbreaking to watch her push him away.

"This was [his] idea of a happy ending?" I asked. "Me dying, you putting yourself on the line to bring me back, and for what? To stop a war in a world that doesn't want us here?That wouldn't give a rat's ass if we both keeled over and died? Is that what we're fighting for?"

Wyatt shook his head. "No, I'm not fighting for this world. I'm fighting for you, because against my better judgement, Evangeline, I fell in love with you. With your sparkle and every and wit. With the way you used to cut your own hair, even though it was never straight or even. With the look on your face when you drank hot chocolate. For everything you put into your job and never got back from it."

This is a terrifically gritty and sordid read and I look forward to the rest of the series!

Recommended for fans of: dark urban fantasy, ass kickery, difficult relationships, original plots,  paranormal creatures.