Book Review – Twisted by Emma Chase

Title: Twisted
Author: Emma Chase
Series: Tangled
Published: March 2014


SYNOPSIS:

When spontaneous and carefree meets cautious and responsible, falling in love can get just a little Twisted.

There are two kinds of people in the world. The ones who look first, and the ones who leap. I’ve always been more of a looker. Cautious. A planner. That changed after I met Drew Evans. He was so persistent. So sure of himself – and of me.

But not all love stories end happily ever after. Did you think Drew and I were going to ride off into the sunset? Join the club. Now I have to make a choice, the most important of my life. Drew already made his –in fact, he tried to decide for the both of us. But you know that’s just not my style. So I came back to Greenville. Alone. Well, sort of alone....

What I've come to realize is that old habits die hard and sometimes you have to go back to where you began, before you can move ahead.

TWISTED picks up two years after Tangled’s end, and is told from Kate’s POV.



MY REVIEW:

Emma, can we be best friends? Because seriously. If you're half as funny in person as you are in writing, we need to be besties. But I'm kind of an introvert, so maybe we should just do this whole friendship thing online. Okay? Perfect.

So Drew and Kate. They are a messed up kind of beautiful. When they're on track, they're sickeningly sweet in love and wickedly awesome dirty in bed. 

What I love about the way these stories are told is that the narrator, this time Kate, talks to the reader as if we're having a conversation. And that makes me really feel like I'm part of the story so I feel every emotion (good and bad) tenfold. The humor is great, the misunderstandings are tragic, the heartbreak is epic, and the conclusion is perfect. 

I reread the playground scene several times because as big of an asshat as Drew can be, Drew in love is a force to be reckoned with. He's willing to sacrifice just about anything to have Kate...and that's just downright dreamy.

Thanks for keeping me up all night with a "just one more chapter" book, Emma. I LOVED it!


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Book Review – Tangled by Emma Chase

Title: Tangled
Author: Emma Chase
Series: The Tangled Series
Published: 2013


SYNOPSIS:

When rich, handsome, and arrogant meets beautiful, brilliant, and ambitious, things are bound to get tangled.

Drew Evans is a winner. Handsome and arrogant, he makes multimillion dollar business deals and seduces New York’s most beautiful women with just a smile. He has loyal friends and an indulgent family. So why has he been shuttered in his apartment for seven days, miserable and depressed? 

He’ll tell you he has the flu.

But we all know that’s not really true.

Katherine Brooks is brilliant, beautiful and ambitious. She refuses to let anything - or anyone - derail her path to success. When Kate is hired as the new associate at Drew’s father’s investment banking firm, every aspect of the dashing playboy’s life is thrown into a tailspin. The professional competition she brings is unnerving, his attraction to her is distracting, his failure to entice her into his bed is exasperating. 

Then, just when Drew is on the cusp of having everything he wants, his overblown confidence threatens to ruin it all. Will he be able untangle his feelings of lust and tenderness, frustration and fulfillment? Will he rise to the most important challenge of his life?

Can Drew Evans win at love? 

Tangled is not your mother’s romance novel. It is an outrageous, passionate, witty narrative about a man who knows a lot about women…just not as much as he thinks he knows. As he tells his story, Drew learns the one thing he never wanted in life, is the only thing he can’t live without.

MY REVIEW:

Un-freaking-believable. 

This book was so fantastic — funny, raunchy, and heartwarming. It's told from Drew's perspective and the voice of the entire book is so good it just reels you in. The story is told as if Drew is confiding in a friend and he holds nothing back. He tells it all....the good, bad, and the ugly. And there is plenty of all of that with Drew. 

There are so many golden nuggets of hilarity throughout the entire book, I can't even begin to name them all. I just know that I'll have certain things added to my vocabulary now, like "Going Ralphie" on someone :) 

This book is short, but it delivers big. Read it! You'll love it...and Drew.

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Deviation and Conviction ebooks on Sale for $.99 each!

The first two books in The Sophisticates Series, Deviation and Conviction, are now available for $.99 each from July 22, 2014 until July 29, 2014. Download your copies now before the kindle countdown deal is over.

Deviation

Being a Sophisticate of the Program seems like it’d be a pretty sweet deal: a little genetic alteration and anyone can be smarter, faster, and stronger. It’s a dream come true. All you have to give up is your freedom.

Cleo is a Sophisticate and she has a bright future in the Program. But she has a secret. When she gets upset, bad things happen. Explosive things. Things she can’t control.

When her secret is discovered, she’s sent to the Academy to train in the military branch of the Program. She’s destined to be a human weapon in the war that’s been going on since Wormwood occurred nearly 30 years ago. She soon learns that although her ability is unique, there are others like her — other Sophisticates with lethal skills and odd code names like Archerfish and Mimic Octopus.

Immersed in a dangerous game of supernatural powers and dubious motives, Cleo doesn’t know who to trust. Ozzy, the annoyingly attractive cadet who has perfect aim in weapons class and deviant lips behind closed doors, begs her not to use her powers. He’s the golden boy of the Program, but can she trust him? Or will she find herself a target, caught in his crosshairs?

Buy Deviation on Amazon

Conviction

The Others are out there. Somewhere. And the Program wants the Deviant Dozen to find them. 

As a member of the Dozen, Cleo is still learning to master her deviation and she’s not having much luck. With the ability to cause explosions with just a thought, losing control always results in fiery disaster, making Cleo feel like a monster. She vows to ignore the urge to use her deviation and reclaim her humanity. But when terrible things start to happen at the Academy and Cleo is blamed for actions and events she doesn’t remember, she fears that the monster is taking over and she is becoming the dangerous weapon the Program created her to be. 

The one bright spot in Cleo’s life is Ozzy, the cocky Sophisticate with perfect aim who makes her heart race. But it seems whenever things start to heat up between them, Ozzy is sent away on another secret mission, and Cleo is left alone to ponder their relationship and deal with the aftermath of the accusations made against her. 

As the evidence against Cleo becomes more compelling and her closest friends turn against her, she finds her own conviction waning as she wonders if she really is as innocent as she wants to believe. And Cleo isn’t the only one struggling. Ozzy has always defined himself by his perfect aim and superior deviant skills, but after failed missions and bad choices, he realizes he can no longer trust his skills—or himself. 

Caught in a storm of shocking allegations and harsh punishments, will Cleo’s conviction finally break her?

Buy Conviction on Amazon


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Indie Book Review – Not Yet by Laura Ward

Title: Not Yet
Author: Laura Ward
Published: July 28, 2014

SYNOPSIS:

Emma Harris is learning that life is just a series of lessons. 

Lesson #1: Nothing goes the way you plan.
Lesson #2: You can’t trust men. Especially not the pretty ones.
Lesson #3: Turns out, appearances are almost always deceiving.

Emma thinks she has life all figured out, and what she knows isn’t good. For years, she’s put her big sister, who was born with Down syndrome, first. Now Emma’s ready to start her own life, but fate has other plans. To do the right thing for the sister she loves, Emma’s dreams will just have to wait.

She doesn’t plan on meeting Landon — a rich, flirtatious jock, who never has to wait for anything. Not for attention, not for money, and certainly not for girls. Meeting Emma marks the first time in his life that he’s had to fight for something. And Landon doesn't know how to lose.

Emma has no interest in wasting her summer with a superficial guy like Landon. But very soon she realizes she is wrong about him. The question is, can she trust him? Or will he let her down like every other guy in her life? But most importantly, can Emma trust herself enough to live the life she's always dreamed of?

Life has a way of sneaking in the most important lessons when you aren't looking. And once the heart gets involved, that's when the real learning begins.


MY REVIEW:

This is a touching and heartwarming story about how sometimes it's just not the right time to fall in love, but just because the answer is "not yet" it doesn't mean it's "no." Ward created a cast of characters that were easy to care about and root for. I loved getting to see Landon's side of the story. His interactions with his best friend, Dean, were funny and at the same time, we got to see that he wasn't just the cocky jock...he was sweet too. I loved watching him grow, mature, and become worthy of a relationship with Emma. 

One of the things I particularly liked about this book was how it incorporated people with special needs in a way that shaped and molded the characters of the story into better people. I can't recall any other books that face this subject matter so strongly and positively. Ward has an incredible message and incorporates it wonderfully into Emma and Landon's story: Everyone is equal. And those who are special, even though they're different, have something to teach us if we pay attention.

I also loved how Emma and Landon learned life lessons throughout the book. It was clever how the lessons were highlighted at the end of each chapter, reminding the reader (sometimes with humor and sometimes with heartache) what Emma and Landon learned as they navigated the obstacles of their lives. Sometimes the life lessons were positive, sometimes they were negative, but there was always a message. The best one? "Sometimes it's the wait...the not yets of life that are the very best lessons of all to learn."


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Indie Book Review – Courage and Other Demons by Jill Daugherty

Title: Courage and Other Demons
Author: Jill Daugherty
Series: Courage Series
Published: January 19, 2013

SYNOPSIS:

“It occurred to me as I stared into the darkness that it was probably a good thing it had taken so long for me to see Simon for who he truly was. If I hadn’t fallen in love with that sweet and kind boy, I wouldn’t have gotten on a plane with him to fly halfway across the world; I wouldn’t have trusted him enough to do what he was asking me to do. And as angry as I was, as much as I hated what my life had become, I knew I had to do what Simon and the others were asking me to do. It all came down to one inescapable belief. I would have to kill or be killed. There were certainly other pieces of the puzzle that were more complex and harder to understand, but that one piece was very clear and unrelenting and it drove me forward, even in those moments when giving up seemed like the most sensible choice I could make.”


The end of the world will start in the suburbs of Denver with a faery transfer student from Ireland. If you think that’s totally ridiculous, then you understand how Maggie O’Neill feels. In all of her sixteen years, faeries were something you read about in children’s books. They didn’t actually show up on your doorstep. They didn’t kiss you and make your knees go weak and whisper sweet nothings in your ear. Until Simon Brady, that is. Simon changed everything. He makes her heart race and her skin burn with excitement, but he has also changed her core beliefs about the world and made her see it as a dark and dangerous place filled with monsters that belong only in the lines of faery tales. There is no doubt in Maggie’s mind that she loves Simon, but can she see past who he is and find a place for him in her heart?


MY REVIEW:

I'm fascinated with the idea of faeries and can't resist reading stories about them. Daugherty created a unique version of fey that was completely captivating. She seamlessly wove Irish myths and legends about faeries into the present day world to make the story believable and exciting. 

I was a little heartbroken at the end of the book with the loss suffered after the faery battle. I was sad to see it end like it did and I worry about what that means for the relationship between the main character, Maggie, and her best friend, Lexie, in the next book. 

The good news, no matter how much heartbreak and sadness and tragedy there is in Courage and Other Demons, the reward is Brandon, Maggie's little brother. He's a riot. I think the DAM scene was quite possibly my favorite in the entire book. Brandon could totally be fey himself...an ornery one like Puck from a Midsummer Night's Dream. 

This is a great read by a talented Indie author. Check it out!


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Book Review – Dreams of Gods & Monsters by Laini Taylor

Title: Dreams of Gods & Monsters
Author: Laini Taylor
Series: Daughter of Smoke & Bone
Published: April 2014

SYNOPSIS:

By way of a staggering deception, Karou has taken control of the chimaera rebellion and is intent on steering its course away from dead-end vengeance. The future rests on her, if there can even be a future for the chimaera in war-ravaged Eretz.

Common enemy, common cause.

When Jael's brutal seraph army trespasses into the human world, the unthinkable becomes essential, and Karou and Akiva must ally their enemy armies against the threat. It is a twisted version of their long-ago dream, and they begin to hope that it might forge a way forward for their people.

And, perhaps, for themselves. Toward a new way of living, and maybe even love.

But there are bigger threats than Jael in the offing. A vicious queen is hunting Akiva, and, in the skies of Eretz ... something is happening. Massive stains are spreading like bruises from horizon to horizon; the great winged stormhunters are gathering as if summoned, ceaselessly circling, and a deep sense of wrong pervades the world.

What power can bruise the sky?

From the streets of Rome to the caves of the Kirin and beyond, humans, chimaera and seraphim will fight, strive, love, and die in an epic theater that transcends good and evil, right and wrong, friend and enemy. 

At the very barriers of space and time, what do gods and monsters dream of? And does anything else matter?


MY REVIEW:

This book was like an exquisite, rich dessert. I could only read small bits of it at a time, needing to digest and appreciate the beautiful writing in small amounts. 

Dreams of Gods & Monsters is not a book to be devoured, it's a book to be savored. Every sentence, every event, every moment is carefully orchestrated and written in a way that sucks you into the world of Karou and Akiva. 

The characters are vivid and the story is so realistic, it's hard to accept the possibility that Eretz, chimaera, seraphim, godstars and nithilam don't actually exist. (At the very least, let there actually be Zuzana because I love the hell out of her!) 

There is just the right amount of humor, romance, suspense, action, mystery, and soul to make this a story you will never forget. This book is heavy (literally since it's over 600 pages and figuratively since the language is so gorgeous). I would recommend the Daughter of Smoke & Bone trilogy to all lovers of fantasy.


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Book Review – Days of Blood & Starlight by Laini Taylor

Title: Days of Blood & Starlight
Author: Laini Taylor
Series: Daughter of Smoke & Bone
Published: 2012

SYNOPSIS:

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil held a wishbone between them.

And its snap split the world in two.

Once upon a time, an angel and a devil fell in love and dared to imagine a new way of living – one without massacres and torn throats and bonfires of the fallen, without revenants or bastard armies or children ripped from their mothers’ arms to take their turn in the killing and dying.

Once, the lovers lay entwined in the moon’s secret temple and dreamed of a world that was a like a jewel-box without a jewel – a paradise waiting for them to find it and fill it with their happiness.

This was not that world


MY REVIEW:

This book was incredible. Written in different points of view, the writing is poetic and enthralling. I was worried I wouldn't know what was going on since it had been a while since I had read Daughter of Smoke & Bone, but I got right back into the story quickly and loved every page of it. 

I loved Mik and Zuzana in the first book and am so glad they were in this story to bring their sweet humor to lighten up the darkness of the world Karou is thrown into. She has discovered her past and knows that she fell in love with the enemy. Now Akiva and Karou have to discover where their loyalty lies—with each other or their individual races. Through Taylor's amazing writing, I can feel Karou's turmoil as she tries to decide if love has any place in her new reality or if some betrayals and histories are too deep to ever overcome. 

I didn't think Laini Taylor could top the writing in her first book...but she did. She DID! 


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Book Review – Daughter of Smoke & Bone by Laini Taylor

Title: Daughter of Smoke & Bone
Author: Laini Taylor
Series: Daughter of Smoke & Bone
Published: September 27, 2011

SYNOPSIS: 

Around the world, black handprints are appearing on doorways, sorched there by winged strangers who have crept through a slit in the sky.

In a dark and dusty shop, a devil's supply of human teeth grow dangerously low.

And in the tangled lanes of Prague, a young art student is about to be caught up in a brutal otherworldly war.

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.

When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?


MY REVIEW:

A....Mazing. Beautifully written and well done through and through. 

Laini creates an amazing world of angels and devils (chimaera) unlike anything I've ever seen or read about before. She flips the tables on the reader, taking the myths and legends we're so familiar with, smashing them to bits, and piecing them back together in monstrous perfection like they were something from Brimstone's resurrectionist table. Because sometimes the good guys aren't as good as they'd like us to think. And sometimes things that are horrifying, are really quite beautiful and lovely if we have the patience and strength to look deeper.

Akiva and Karou are a modern day Romeo and Juliet with a twist and this story was gripping and fantastic. Can't wait for the next one.


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