Monday, November 24, 2014

Quick Thought Reviews

Sometimes I read a book where I just don't have a lot to say about it. Hence the name quick thought reviews. These will be short and sweet.
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Trace of Magic
Release Date: September 30, 2014
Publisher: Bell Bridge Books
ASIN:   B00M4NSPRG
Genre: Urban Fantasy
Review Copy Source: NetGalley
Even the most powerful tracers can’t track you if the magical trace you leave behind is too old. But I can track almost anything, even dead trace. That makes me a unicorn, the Tooth Fairy, the Easter Bunny, and the Lock Ness Monster all rolled into one. In a word, I am unique. A very special snowflake. And if anyone ever finds out, I’ll be dead or a slave to one of the Tyet criminal factions.

Riley Hollis has quietly traced kidnapped children and quietly tipped the cops to their whereabouts one too many times. Now she’s on the radar of Detective Clay Price, a cop in the pocket of a powerful magic Tyet faction. When he blackmails her into doing a dangerous trace for him, Riley will have to break every rule that keeps her safe. Or become a Tyet pawn in a deadly, magical war.

Riley has been hiding her skills forever and it was really easy to see why as TRACE OF MAGIC played out. It was hard to know what to think about Clay. He was a huge mystery and every time you think you know him another wrench is thrown out there. I really enjoyed their tension and slow romance. The flow of the story was great and it was easy to fall into it.

I hate to say it, but I hated the ending. It was a huge bummer after all that the characters went through and sacrificed to stay alive and solve the mystery that was thrown out there. I will be reading book 2 JUST to make sure things get back on track and throw the book across the room if it doesn't.

I gave it 4/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
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Her Lone Wolf
Author: Paige Tyler
Release Date: November 4, 2014
Publisher: Sourcebooks Casablanca
X- Ops Book #2
ISBN:   1402292120
ISBN13: 9781402292125
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Review Copy Source: NetGalley
Leaving him was Impossible…

It took everything she had for FBI Special Agent Danica Beckett to walk away from the man she loved. But if she wants to save his life, she has to keep her distance. Now, with a killer on the loose and the stakes higher than ever before, the Department of Covert Ops is forcing these former lovers into an uneasy alliance…whether they like it or not.

Seeing her again is even worse

The last thing Clayne Buchanan wants is to be shackled to the woman who broke his heart. She gets under his skin in a way no one ever has and makes him want things he has no right to anymore. All he has to do is suffer through this case and he can be free of her for good. But when Clayne finds out why Danica left in the first place, everything he’s tried to bury comes roaring back—and there’s no way this wolf shifter is going to take no for an answer this time.

HER LONE WOLF had a great flow to it. There was plenty of action and danger and a great amount of tension and romance between Clayne and Danica. It was nice to see some more of the world of X-Ops and the corruption  that was starting to show in HER PERFECT MATE.

I enjoyed getting to know Clayne a little more and meeting Danica, It was also great to see a little bit of Ivy and Landon while they all worked together towards the end. I am beyond excited for book 3, which will feature Kendra and Declan.

I gave it 4/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 
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Sunset Rising
Release Date: November 12, 2013
Publisher: Clownfish Publishing
ISBN:   0991733037
ISBN13: 9780991733033
Sunset Rising Book #1
Genre: Dystopian
Review Copy Source: NetGalley
February 2024: Desperate to find refuge from the nuclear storm, a group of civilians discover a secret government bio-dome. Greeted by a hail of bullets and told to turn back, the frantic refugees stand their ground and are grudgingly permitted entry. But the price of admission is high.

283 years later…

Sunny O'Donnell is a seventeen-year-old slave who has never seen the sun. She was born in the Pit, a subterranean extension of the bio-dome. Though life had never been easy, lately it had become a nightmare. Her mom was killed in the annual Cull, and her dad thought it was a good time to give up on life. Reyes Crowe, her long-time boyfriend, was pressuring her to get married, even though it would mean abandoning her father.

She didn't think things could get any worse until she was forced upstairs to the Dome to be a servant-girl at a bachelor party. That's where she met Leisel Holt, the president's daughter, and her fiancé, Jack Kenner.


Now Sunny is wanted for treason. If they catch her, she'll be executed. She thought Leisel's betrayal was the end. But it was just the beginning.

I was completely entranced by SUNSET RISING from the first chapter.  Sunny was so easy to like and relate to. There were a ton of twists and turns and although I had my favorite love interest, it was hard not to be heartbroken for the other.

Great world, great characters, great story, just all around great! When I got to the end, I really, really wanted more. In fact, I emailed the author right away for a review copy of WORLDS COLLIDE.

I gave it 5/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 
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Night Sky
Author: Suzanne Brockmann, Melanie Brockmann
Release Date: October 7, 2014
Publisher: Sourcebooks Fire
Night Sky Book #1
ISBN:   1492601446
ISBN13: 9781492601449
Genre: Paranormal YA
Review Copy Source: NetGalley



SHE’S THE ULTIMATE WEAPON IN FIGHTING DESTINY.
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Suzanne Brockmann and her daughter Melanie Brockmann have written a pulse-pounding novel of paranormal suspense set in a near future both fantastic and frightening. “Original and exciting, NIGHT SKY propels readers into a dangerous future. Loved it.” —Melissa Marr, New York Times bestselling author of Made For You and the Wicked Lovely series
Skylar Reid is shaken when Sasha, the little girl she babysits, is kidnapped. Scared that the weird dreams she’s been having about Sasha are real—and even more afraid that Sasha is already dead. When a mysterious girl with extreme butt-kicking abilities roars into town on a motorcycle and, well, stalks Skylar things get even weirder. Supergirl Dana tells Sky that she also has abilities – that a hormone in their blood makes them stronger, faster, smarter. A hormone that the makers of a new drug called Destiny will murder to get their hands on.
Dana and Milo, her dangerously hot yet oh-so-forbidden partner in crime, want Sky to join them in their mission – to mold Sky into the ultimate weapon. She can sense there’s something about her abilities they’re not telling her. But the only way to save Sasha and stop other girls from being taken is to embrace the weird…and fight Destiny.


I enjoyed the story that NIGHT SKY told, but here were also a LOT of slow points, lot of drawn out build-up  and for the length of the book, I wish I would have remembered more of what happened.

There seemed to be a LOT of world building missing from NIGHT SKY, I would say that's because that information is in the prequel DANGEROUS DESTINY, but it wasn't there either. It would have saved me from being completely confused in the beginning of the book. I probably won't continue with book 2.

I gave it 2.5/5 stars 

* This book was provided free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 
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Braving Fate
Author: Linsey Hall
Release Date: November 10, 2014
Publisher: Bonnie Doon Press
ISBN13 9781942085010
Genre: Paranormal Romance
Review Copy Source: NetGalley
 

As chaos looms, a warrior queen is reborn
Bookish academic Diana Laughton has been having terrible dreams. Dreams of battle, dreams of blood... dreams so vivid she's living them day and night. When demons invade her quiet life, she wonders if she's going mad. Or if perhaps she's remembering a past life she had no idea existed...

In the midst of betrayal, he must protect her
Mythean Guardian Cadan Trinovante loved and betrayed Britain's warrior queen Boudica two millennia ago. Now he's tasked with protecting mortals whose lives affect the fate of humanity. His latest assignment is Boudica herself, reincarnated as a woman with no idea of her past or her fated future. Though in the irresistible form of Diana Laughton, it's possible Cadan has once again met his match...

To succumb to seduction could prove fatal
Thrown together in a shadowy world that exists alongside our own, Diana and Cadan must fight not only the demonic forces that want Diana dead, but a past and a passion that have lasted centuries. Their desire could be deadly. But as evil from the underworld unites against them, their only hope could be each other.

There was a nice flow, the characters were nice and although the storyline was interesting I had a hard time staying in it. I can't even really pin down why as I didn't really see any 'faults' it just didn't draw me in and hold me hostage.

I really liked one of the supporting characters and wish we would have learned a bit more about her. I AM thinking of reading the next book as it has her as one of the main characters so that is good!

I gave it 3/5 stars

* This book was provided free of charge from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. 
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