Fateful

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Author: Cheri Schmidt
Goodreads Rating: 3.68                

My Rating: 3.5                    

Pages:  365   

 

 A huge fan of Jane Austen, Danielle hopes to find her own Mr. Darcy when she leaves Colorado to attend art school in London. Of course she knows it's silly to wish for that, naive even. But she's met enough males who lacked respect for women, a growing trend it seemed. And at nineteen...well.... However, on only her second night there she gets lost and is threatened by a stalker who proves to be immune to her martial arts training. Before she is completely overpowered, she is then saved by Ethan Deveroux.

While Danielle does find the romance she seeks in Ethan, he's no Mr. Darcy. Her hero is held by a spell which fractures their chance at a happy ending. During the day Ethan is closer to mortal than immortal and can date her like any other man. Yet, as the sun sets, the powerful magic of an ancient curse returns and the evil of that spell is revealed. When that magic begins, Danielle's fairytale romance ends because Ethan Deveroux is a vampire.

 
 

Danielle is a beautiful girl that loves art and Jane Austen.  She has a directional problem that I can relate to, getting lost all to often.  Her Father pursuaded her to train in martial arts so she could protect herself.  She leaves Colorado to attend art school in London.  Her Aunt, Uncle, and cousin live in London and are happy to have her stay with them. 

 

Her fears come true on one of her first nights in London.  Her cousin leaves her at the library and Danielle is forced to see herself home.  When she walks out to get in the car, she notices a man standing against her car.  Trying not to panic she tries to return to the safety of the library only to find the doors locked.  She then begins to walk down the street to find another safe place so she can call her cousin.  Only goes the wrong way and ends up in an ally with the guy right behind her.  While running she runs into another guy that seems to scare the guy chasing her away.  He then shows her the way home.  The beautiful stranger saved her life.

 

She later meets her hero again at a garden party hosted by her Uncle and they begin dating.  She knows there is something different about him, but can't understand what it is.  He is a perfect gentleman and treats her with the utmost respect, but the feeling she gets when he looks at her is definitely not normal.

    

Tiger's Destiny

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Author:  Colleen Houck
Goodreads Rating: 4.74
My Rating: 5
Pages: 464

With three of the goddess Durga's quests behind them, only one prophecy now stands in the way of Kelsey, Ren, and Kishan breaking the tiger's curse.

But the trio's greatest challenge awaits them: A life-endangering pursuit in search of Durga's final gift, the Rope of Fire, on the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal.  

It's a race against time--and the evil sorcerer Lokesh--in this eagerly anticipated fourth volume in the bestselling Tiger's Curse series, which pits good against evil, tests the bonds of love and loyalty, and finally reveals the tigers' true destinies once and for all. 


Tiger's Destiny is filled with adventure that makes you want to never stop reading.  Riveting war scenes that make you feel that you are in the middle of the action and cringe when one of the heroes take a blow.  Bitter sweet scenes that have your heart aching, and happiness that over comes you with emotion.

Kesley's ultimate task is to choose one of the brothers to love and built a life with.  That seems like a simple task, but is too hard for her to do on her own.  She is tested throughout the story by both human and beast.  She knows in her heart what is true, but does not want to hurt either of the brothers.  In the end it is the brothers that make the choice for her.  She knows that it is the right choice, but still has a hard time letting go of the other brother.  

She also has to face her fear of death.  She has held her heart back, scared to be pained by death.  She looses yet another person that is dear to her in death.  It takes a beast to show her that death is nothing to fear and is the natural cycle of life. 

I highly recommend this series! Colleen Houck has a way with words that will make you part of the story and stay with you long after you have finished reading.

In The Mail!

Click here to order @ Amazon

Look what I just received from Amazon!  I am so excited to start reading!  It isn't supposed to be released until September 4th, so I got it a week early. I highly recommend Amazon's Pre-order option.  Keep checking back for the review, coming soon!

Descendant of Darkness



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Author:   Melanie Nowak        
Goodreads Rating: 4.07
My Rating: 4
Pages: 446


The saga continues...

Heartbroken and soul searching, the vampire Cain believes he has finally found his purpose. He is mentoring Allie, who is grudgingly coming to terms with the fact that she is unique among vampires... The United One. Together with Allie's husband Mattie, they are working to discover her powers, when the vampiress Sindy returns with some new tricks of her own.

Ben and Felicity have tried to leave their past involvements with vampires behind them, settling into human life together, despite having to deal with Ben's vampire hunting father - but is mundane love strong enough to supersede the supernatural?

The vampire Elric has sabotaged his master's plans to control The United One more times than for which he can expect to safely escape the consequences. Coven Master Arif knows what he wants, and the guiding forces behind his plan know how to help him get it... If Elric rebels, he could lose his love, but thwart disaster for the human race. Is staying true to the coven in order to save his love, worth the price the world will pay?

When you are descended from darkness, is it still possible to reach for the light? In times of peace, prepare for war.


I could rant on and on about how I HATE waiting on books to be released, but you've already heard that...

I started reading this series late November 2010.  At that time 3 of the books were out and I zipped right through them and even got to read the 4th that had just come out.  Due to personal stuff in the author's life, the publishing of this book was set back MANY times.  I was hesitant to read it not knowing when the next one would be out. but as always I caved.  I missed Cain too much to wait any longer!

Cain
He is a tortured soul that has been "alive" close to 400 years.  His goal in the "afterlife" is to help other vampires learn a civil way to lead their life without harm to others.  After making the decision to leave the love of his life, Felicity, so that she could have a chance at a normal human life, he suffers daily.  He knows that he made the right decision, but it is painful for him.  He spends his days mentoring Allie and her new found powers.  I still hold out hope for Felicity and Cain. 

Felicity
She is moving on with her life.  Cain is often on her thoughts,but she is sure that he has forgotten all about her by now.  Ben and Felicity are still together and hope for something more some day.  She has graduated college and is now an elementary school teacher and Ben is in law school. 

Allie
The United One.  Cain has figured out that Allie is the only one of her kind and is VERY special.  She has the abilities of all the vampire breeds, but she has to figure them out and control them.  She has been living off of animal blood alone and has no thoughts to change that until a certain someone enters their lives again and starts telling her of all the benefits of human blood.

Mattie
He is soft spoken as always and stands behind Allie 100%.  He starts feeling left out and doesn't know what to say.  With the help of Allie he finds his hidden ability that he had no clue that he had.  He is not afraid to stand up for what he believes in.

Sindy
In and out of every one's lives.  She returns for a great while for what seems like harmless companionship, but that is not what she is known for.  Does she have a hidden agenda?  Cain finally warms up to her and they begin to build a relationship. But is it over before it even began?

Ben
He is still in denial about Allie and will not let her be part of his life.  He is in law school during a portion of the book, then graduates and joins a firm.  He has Felicity and is happy, until vampires start showing up again and catch him off guard.

Overall Thoughts
I really liked this book.  I will have to say that I am not 100% thrilled with how somethings are turning out (Hence the 4 instead of 5). I will just have to wait for the next book to see if things shift back the way that I hope for.  There is a lot of detail in this book that was missing in the others.  It is also a lot longer.  Allie is quickly becoming one of my favorites, I look forward to reading more of her story.  I hope that Cain can find happiness.  The ending of the book with Arif discussion how to lead Allie to join their coven was disturbing!  I hope their plans are not successful!  Since Ben had that emotional break thinking that Allie was dead, maybe he will find a way to let her be part of his life again.  I will be anxiously waiting for the next book! 

Award!

Versatile Blogger Award!

Thank you so much for the nomination Caitlin @ The Y.A Bookworm Blogger!!!  I am so thrilled to recieve this award!  I am new to blogging and recognition like this is awesome. (You can't see me right now, but I am *shining* 

Part of excepting this award is sharing 7 randow facts about myself... So read on to get to know me a little better...

1. I LOVE sticky notes! Only bright colors will do. (no, really you should see my office, I have an obsession!)
2. Disney World is one of my favorite places on Earth!
3. I am an Amazon Kindle owner and promoter!



IT'S ME!!!



   

4.   Blue is my favorite color.

   

5.   Work full-time with the State of Florida.

   

6.   Twilight was the book that turned me into a vampire fanatic!!!

   

 7.   I have blond hair. (naturally)

Also as part of excepting the award, I get to nominate 15 other bloggers for the award!  How Awesome is that!  I get to award people for blogging!!!  Click on each of the blog links and check them out! (work in progress)

1. 17
2. **QWERTY**
3. Read, Watch, Listen
4. 365 Books A Year
5.  A Palace of Books
6. Amber Garr
7. Hime Sugar
8. Kindred Dreamheart

Waiting on Wednesday: Finale

"Waiting On" Wednesday is a weekly event, hosted by Breaking the Spine, that spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating.

This week's pre-publication "can't-wait-to-read" selection is:

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Finale (Hush, Hush #4) 

 



By:  Becca Fitzpatrick

Expected Publication Date: October 23, 2012 

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 that they will always be enemies, but there is no turning her back on him. And yet their biggest challenge lies ahead. Can their love survive a seemingly insurmountable divide? The lines are drawn, but it's unclear which sides have been taken. And in the end, will there be enough trust left to rebuild what has been broken?

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Tiger's Destiny

By: Colleen Houck

Release Date: September 4, 2012

With three of the goddess Durga's quests behind them, only one prophecy now stands in the way of Kelsey, Ren, and Kishan breaking the tiger's curse. But the trio's greatest challenge awaits them: A life-endangering pursuit in search of Durga's final gift, the Rope of Fire, on the Andaman Islands in the Bay of Bengal. It's a race against time--and the evil sorcerer Lokesh--in this eagerly anticipated fourth volume in the bestselling "Tiger's Curse" series, which pits good against evil, tests the bonds of love and loyalty, and finally reveals the tigers' true destinies once and for all.

City of Lost Souls



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Author: Cassandra Clare
Goodreads Rating: 4.36
My Rating: 4
Pages: 534


Can the lost be reclaimed? What price is too high to pay for love? Who can be trusted when sin and salvation collide?     Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series.





My Rant on unfinished series
Many Many times I have told myself that I am only going to read books that are part of a completed series.  I can't stand waiting on the next book!  I also have to go back and "refresh" the story in my mind.  Most of the time the author knows that this is the case and will help you remember things in subtal ways.  For the most part, that is what happened with this book.  It took me getting into the book a little for the story came back, but also since this is the 5th book, there were somethings that I had to go back and look at when it was referenced.  I love series don't get me wrong.  I want to stay with charcters I like as long as I can and often find myself slowly reading the last book in hope to make my stay longer.  It really irritates me with this book.  I am going to read the last book in 2014! When I started this series I thought all the books were done.  Then she decided to write an additional 3 books!  I love Jace and Clary so I was happy, but after wiating a year on this book and the last not coming till 2014, yes I am a little frustrated!


Ok, Ok, Ok.... Lets get to the reveiw.....


Overall Feelings
Have I said I love Jace and Clary?  Reading the sample from Amazon, my thoughts were, Jace is missing!?!?!  NO!  I really hope that I do not have to read a whole book without Jace!?!?! Turns out that he is there and not there at the same time.  Poor Clary cannot catch a break! They don't really get the chance to be a couple in this book.  Clary is too busy trying to find Jace and solve problems.  You do get the see Izzy and Simions relationship bloom though.  Sabastian is back and up to no good ( a new race of Shadowhunters!).  As usual with Cassandra Clare, there is a lot going on in this book.  It wasn't easy to find stopping points.  Since the charcters were in different places, the story skipped around a lot.  Simon was awesome!  I can't believe that he would risk EVERYTHING for his friends.  It is almost like Clary is blind to danger most of the time.  I know that she was only trying to help Jace, but she has 0% self preservation!  Magnus and Alec so sad....  The ending was ok.  I wish that it would have went a little longer but I know that she don't it that way to set up the next book.  I don't want to say too much and give it away to thoes that haven't read it so I am going to stop there.  I really enjoyed reading it and I hope that you will too.