Review: Fame and Privilege

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

From Goodreads:

Billionaire Jenn Cooper has run her own movie studio for the last 3 years with the utmost success. Everything in her life has been easy due to the wealth and privilege she's been afforded. Ryan Price is a young and talented manager in Hollywood who represents up-and-coming starlet Julia Belle. What will happen when Price and Cooper try to collaborate on one of Hollywood's most promising stories to date? Let's just say that things in Hollywood never follow the script.

The title says it all! Fame and Privilege tells the story of instant-love between two people and how they try to resist each other to save their reputations.

Review: Dreams of Fire

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

From Goodreads:
Meet Kara Hartman, a young painter living and working in D.C. She would love to let you believe she is just an ordinary young woman with a dream of sharing her art with the world. But she is hiding an astonishing secret: Kara can wield magic, the most powerful force in the universe. Traumatized by the loss of her brother, she wants nothing more to do with magic. But when an old foe resurfaces, hellbent on destroying all that she loves, Kara has no choice but to embrace the only power that can stop her.

The beginning holds promise but ends up flat in the end.

Review: What Heals the Heart (Cowbird Creek #1)

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

From Goodreads:
Joshua Gibbs survived the Civil War, building on his wartime experiences to become a small town doctor. And if he wakes from nightmares more often than he would like, only his dog Major is there to know it.

Then two newcomers arrive in Cowbird Creek: Clara Brook, a plain-speaking and yet enigmatic farmer’s daughter, and Freida Blum, an elderly Jewish widow from New York. Freida knows just what Joshua needs: a bride. But it shouldn’t be Clara Brook!

Joshua tries everything he can think of to discourage Freida’s efforts, including a wager: if he can find Freida a husband, she’ll stop trying to find him a wife. Will either matchmaker succeed? Or is it Clara, a woman with her own scars, who can heal the doctor’s troubled heart?

Two stars? Two and a half? Maybe three, but not full three. What Heals the Heart is captivating, but there were a few things that bothered me.

Review: Hamartia

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

From Goodreads:
Grace's nine-year-old son, Jordan, is dying. First, the Metagenesis disease will tear his soul from his body, and then it will kill him. Desperate for a cure, Grace agrees to take part in an illegal clinical trial cloning souls. Supported by her best friend Kay, the two embark on the ultimate "Vegas Vacation" to the past in search of the right soul to clone, racing against time to save Jordan's life. But someone is trying to stop them and when they discover why Grace must make a choice: let her son die or kill her husband. If she kills her husband, she triggers widespread Metagenesis, sealing the fate of the human race with a new plague.

Humanity is counting on Grace choosing to let her son die.

Hamartia = A fatal flaw leading to the downfall of a tragic hero or a heroine.
'' There's supposed to be an action that reveals the protagonist's hamartia.''

Review: Of Shadow and Light

'' ''Even for the immortal, life is always uncertain. You should always say goodbye; you should always tell those that matter you love them.'' ''

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

From Goodreads:
She will be the one to take his coldness,
She will unveil the Unseelie darkness and show them light.
She will unite what should never have broken.
The daughter of the moon will teach him love and the radiance of the sun.
Her inner light will purify the tainted ones,
And she will guide the fey by wisp-light.

'Prophecy of the Dark Prince'

Messina Doe was just looking for a warm place to spend the night. What she discovers is a place the human race had long ago buried and forgotten.

The dark Fey haven't forgotten humans. The throne room of the Unseelie court is the hottest underground nightclub around, but if you step through the wrong door, there is no going back.

No one ever escapes. Never.

Once, someone did.

Messina doesn't know what she's getting herself into when she accepts the offer to go to an underground party. The party for her only begins when it ends for the others. And it isn't something anyone would willingly participate in. 

Review: Under the Scrubs

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

From Goodreads:
My life is ordinary, steady, predictable. And I’m okay with that. Working long shifts at the hospital is all the excitement I need.

But when a simple rescue-attempt goes wrong, I find myself in the arms of an arrogant, yet sexy FBI agent.

Kai Evans is what I’d call way out of my league. Yet, we end up dating. Sort of. That’s if you count fast-bike escapes and kissing while bullets fly around us as a date.

While Kai tries to keep me safe and alive, Tyler Moore--an ex FBI agent with a smart mouth--slithers into my life. Turns out, Kai and Taylor have a history. The kind that can’t be erased with a simple handshake.

Now it’s all about settling the score between them, and Taylor has the perfect weapon to use against Kai…

Me.

When you accidentally stick your fingers into something you weren't supposed to you might gain something great, or if things take a turn to the worse, lose it.

Review: Daughter of Fire

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

From Goodreads:

Laura led a sheltered, middle-class existence. Oh, she knew she was adopted, but what did it matter? A lot when her birth mother is murdered and the killers come after her next...for reasons that are deep in her very blood.

Based on the synopsis, there isn't much to go on so deciding to read this book was a true leap of faith. This time it just went in the wrong direction. Laura knows she is adopted but hasn't confronted her adoptive parents yet. Then the police officers arrive to inform her that her birth mother has been murdered and that they think that the killer is after Laura as well. Thrust into witness protection that fails to protect her leads Laura on a hunt to find the truth behind her mother's death and ultimately, her own true heritage.

Review: Eternal Soul

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

From Goodreads:
Reign Elise La' Roche is savvy in business, evasive in love, and private and protective when it comes to her personal life. Born in the flavorful city of New Orleans, she is also the descendant of powerful hoodoo magick, age-old African mysticism and dark family secrets. This Creole beauty is content living a charmed existence; that is, until a strategic retaliation against her father changes her life forever. Reign is suddenly tossed into a whirlwind of betrayal, magick and the awakening of a whole new world where nothing appears to be in her control.To protect and preserve her lineage, Reign soon learns that she must embrace the one thing she'd fought years denying...a bloodline of ancient power. And with time, Reign evolves from a successful artist and gallery owner, to a woman of unlimited means and potential with one climactic goal: vengeance.

I am quite disappointed with this book. Too high expectations when going in played the most part in this, but still. The book took entirely another direction than I thought it would.

Review: Realm of Beasts (Legend of the Nameless One #1)

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

From Goodreads:
An enchantress and a wizard get tangled in the grisly plans of an undead creature.
Tor Lir, the Nameless One, is unsure what he is. However, he knows he was born to bring balance to the powers of good and evil.
Forsaking his birthplace and fleeing from suggestions of a dark knowledge he’d rather not discover, he decides to take his fate into his own hands.
A chance encounter with a dead body, a dangerous beast, and a desirous creature lead him on the path to Paradise, where he senses imbalance.
Banished from her village and lost in a wicked forest, Citrine makes a deal with a dark creature, but that was before she found Paradise—the legendary land of a friendly giant.
Falling in love with the land, Citrine takes advantage of her time to study the lore of herbs and craft a spell of protection for her mythical beasts.
When darkness creeps into Paradise, bringing the mysterious Nameless One and an omen of death, Citrine realizes the consequences of her actions spell danger for herself, her beasts, and Paradise.
As time runs out the undead come to life. Citrine faces the ultimate showdown as everything she holds dear is ripped away.
Will the Nameless One save Paradise or destroy it to welcome an era of peace?

Reading the synopsis of the book again after finishing the book, I wonder, if the synopsis is meant to serve as the primary introduction to the world of the book, so that there doesn't have to an introduction in the story itself.

Review: Shadow Eyes (Shadow Eyes #1)

'' ''Are you sure you're ready to have your eyes opened to the truth?'' ''

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

From Goodreads:
Iris thought she could ignore the shadows…until they came after everyone she loved.

Seventeen-year-old Iris Kohl has been able to see both dark and light figures ever since a tragic incident three years ago. The problem is, no one else seems to see them, and even worse…the dark figures terrorize humans, but Iris is powerless to stop them.

Although she’s learned to deal with watching shadows harass everyone around her, Iris is soon forced to question everything she thinks she knows about her world and herself. Her sanity, strength, and will power are tested to the limits by not only the shadows, but also a handsome new teacher whose presence scares away shadows, a new friend with an awe-inspiriting aura, and a mysterious, alluring new student whom Iris has a hard time resisting despite already having a boyfriend. As the shadows invade and terrorize her own life and family, Iris must ultimately accept the guidance of an angel to revisit the most horrific event of her life and become the hero she was meant to be.

Iris didn't want to see the shadows. She wanted to be normal, but little did she know that her life would be far from normal. Meeting new people and navigating the treacherous path of being a teenager in the middle of real-life drama might just be the beginning.

Review: Destroyer's Blood (Blood Series #1)

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

From Goodreads:
Dev shook his head, spitting out dust and rock chips. The last rays of the setting sun stained the ground crimson. “Betrayer,” he murmured, ears still ringing from the terrific explosion, “we have a problem.”
The cryptic message from Olympus changes everything... One moment Devcalion and Betrayer are free, climbing up Half Dome without a care in the world, the next they are dragged into battle with the Destroyer, Zeus’s ancient foe.
The Dark Power is merciless, and time is running out. It’s up to Dev and Tray to try to stop him, or the world of men and gods is doomed.

I really should start to learn how to DNF books before it's too late. Before the only feelings, I have the author's baby is discontent and frustration. Destroyer's Blood intrigued me from the beginning. The concept of ancient Greek mythology and the disputes between the ruling gods has always been close to my heart, and, in a way, are what got me into reading in the first place. So, almost every time someone presents me with an opportunity to dive back into that world, I take it. I take it because I enjoy the lores, I enjoy the mystery and the great adventures.

Review: The Colonel and the Bee

'' ''Ignorance weighs far more than knowledge.'' ''

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

From Goodreads:

The Amazing Beatrix works as an acrobat in a 19th Century circus, no home or family to speak of. When a daring escape from her abusive ringleader crosses Beatrix's path with that of the daring adventurer Colonel James Bacchus, the unlikely pair team up, fly to safety aboard the Colonel’s miraculous four-story hot air balloon, and begin a grand quest to find the most precious gem in the world, The Blue Star Sphinx.

If the heroes can outmaneuver the deadly treasure hunters, escaped convicts, and double-crosses that await them, they may win the treasure they seek, or better yet, a sense of true belonging.

Witty banter, colorful characters, and exotic locations pack the fantastical, globe-trotting adventure that reads like Sherlock Holmes meets Around the World in Eighty Days.

Let's be honest, I could not get in this book. I tried and tried to get in, to truly love the book and its colourful writing. Maybe it was the way it was written, maybe I couldn't understand the characters. Whatever the reason may be, the further into the book I got the less I enjoyed it.

Review: Ice Cream Castles (Hot in the City #1)

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

From Goodreads:

When uptight Eli crosses paths with world-weary Naomi, culture clash ensues. After a strained encounter, the pair later discovers that what they share in common outweighs their differences. ICE CREAM CASTLES is a May-December romance that explores grief, understanding, and acceptance, with a passionate twist. It will leave you wanting more.

The two characters are total opposites, never meant to work together. But opposites attract, right? 

This Novella is a quick read in between books. You'll spend an hour or two with it. The novella brings two unlikely people together from different phases of lives. The other trying to live in the aftermath of a bad divorce and the other grieving a great loss and a recent betrayal. 

Opposites attract might be the key to this book. But most of the time they were too much different to work at all. Like, if you're that different to start with, how is it possible that you can find a common frequency together. Eli is a neat-freak, so to say. Order and cleanliness are the cornerstones in his life, staying on schedule and deep in the middle of his comfort-zone are what he strives for. Naomi lives in the middle of chaos, in her apartment and in her social life. How can they work together when their living styles are so far from each other.

Ice Cream Castles is a quick read with less than a hundred pages. It's a nice read. I just couldn't connect with the story at all.

Review: The Replacement (The Replacement #1)

'' It's been one year since I met Merrick. Six months since I knew I could not live without him. Three months since we started to run. Three days since they caught me. ''

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

From Goodreads:
Angelica was willing to do almost anything for Merrick, until they were caught. Her punishment for breaking Lymerian law is unthinkable, but at least she will live. In fact, she might live forever. This YA Sci-fi novel is the first in a series by debut author Bianca Sierra-Luebke.

The Lymerians have been living in secret on Earth for centuries. Angelica is their newest replacement, taken to ensure the survival of this long-lived race and to discourage falling in love with a human. Yet Angelica is not like the previous replacements. Even her Architect is unusual. Clara, commander of the Slayers and deadliest of the Lymerians, is chosen. When she steps forward, their fates are sealed. The Laws of Liturgy are binding. As Clara and two Guards descend into the dungeons with Angelica, the entire race wonders what kind of Lymerian will return when the transition is complete.

Full of deception, heartache, and despair, this dark novel is for readers that love a great twist. Bit by bit the story unfolds, changing everything you thought you knew the page before.

You have to read until the very last sentence to get the idea of what the book is about. So buckle up, be patient, and bring snacks.

Review: Between the Shade and the Shadow

'' ''Between the shade and the shadow lies a bond. Two minds intertwined. Two hearts beating as one. Two creatures who breathe and bleed together. And the stronger the shadow, the stronger the bond - the stronger the bond, the stronger the sprite that emerges.'' ''

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

From Goodreads:
In the deep heart of the forest, there are places where no light ever shines, where darkness is folded by pale hands and jewel-bright eyes, where the world is ruled by the wicked and kept by the wraiths. This is where the Sprites of the Sihl live.
But Sprites are not born, they are made. On the path to Spritehood, spritelings must first become shades. They do so by binding a shadow: a woodland creature, who guides them through their training. Together, they keep from the light and learn to enchant living things, to bind them, and, eventually, to kill them.
Yet, not all spritelings are born with malice—they must earn it or they are condemned. What happens then to the spriteling who finds a shadow where she shouldn’t? What happens if that particular spriteling wasn’t born with malice at all?
Ahraia was that spriteling. She ran too close to the light and bound herself to a wolf, a more powerful shadow than any that came before it. Now a shade, her shadow marks her for greatness. But a test is coming, and the further they wander out of the darkness, the deeper they wander into danger. Ahraia’s time is coming and what awaits her at the end of her test will either make her or kill her . . .

I have to begin with saying that I did not finish this book entirely. Most of the time, I had trouble keeping up with the surrounding world so much, that I couldn't concentrate on the plot. Here's the reason why:

Review: The Lion of Ackbarr

★ ★ ☆ ☆ ☆

From Goodreads:

Fifteen-year-old Mika is to be married to a foreign boy she has only met a few times, despite her family mourning the recent and unexplained disappearance of her twin brother, Kaylan.

Forced to live in a strange land, far from her home in Cassai, she is resigned to her life as a lady until the day she discovers her new family dead around her. Mika escapes the city and disguises herself to travel to Ackbarr, certain she will discover the real reason for her brother’s disappearance.

Meanwhile, her dreams are filled with a predator stalking the forests of her homeland. Dreams that make her wake, trembling with the feel of iron blood filling her mouth.

Was I uncomfortable reading this book? Yes.  Was it necessarily a bad thing? Yes and no.

Review: Fated Loss (Red Rose & Black Ash #1)

★★☆☆☆

From Goodreads:
For two years, her memories were lost.
For two years, she believed a lie.
For two years, thousands of lives rested in her hands. But she didn't even know.

Because she can't remember her past, Rose Kristal thinks she is an ordinary girl until her sixteenth birthday. On that day she discovers she is far beyond ordinary. On that day she remembers what she had forgotten. Now with thousands of people in peril, Rose needs to take back what has been stolen from her.
Second by second, time ticks down and challenges pile up as Rose struggles to reclaim her kingdom from a vile tyrant. One who is determined to vanquish her. And to make matters more complicated, she is falling for a kind guy with a deadly secret.
But Rose's biggest fear—losing the one she loves to the prophecy.

She finds a diary in her locker at school. Deciding to read, she first finds something unbelievable, a diary about fairies! And then she sees it, the entry is signed with her name, a name combination not so often seen.

Double-Review: After Sunrise (Never Lose Sight #1.5) & Out of the Dusk (Never Lose Sight #3)

★★☆☆☆

After Sunrise on Goodreads:
After receiving a call from his commander, Sergeant Brett Parker rushes overseas to the military hospital, where two of his Marine brothers are recovering after an IED explosion decimated the rest of their unit. Struggling with survivor guilt, Brett's thoughts are dark and tortured until he encounters the beautiful brunette in the cafeteria. Lauren Cage always dreaded getting "the call" every military family fears. Flying to Landstuhl, Germany to her wounded brother's bedside, she battles the grief threatening to overtake her. Being in a foreign country is intimidating for a young woman traveling alone, but when she meets one of her brother's best friends and comrades, her anxiety subsides. After five emotional days, Brett is forced to return to war and Lauren goes home to New York. For over a year, they secretly burn up the internet with a scorching love affair neither time or distance could deny. When entanglements from the past threaten to pry them apart, Brett is faced with a personal dilemma and is forced to embrace his heart's desire.

Out of the Dusk on Goodreads:
After many long years as a Marine, Brett Parker knows the meaning of war. Hardened and tired of death and destruction, he prepares for the most important mission of his career: to win back the woman who has his heart. He was certain he would never hold her again—until a promise to his dying mother takes him on a journey to reclaim the love he lost.
Lauren Terrelli would never forget the boy who broke her heart. Finding happiness after Brett was hard enough; losing it again almost destroyed her. Unexpectedly widowed, Lauren’s sole focus became her bakery, but a voice from the past changes everything.
Lauren soon learns Brett is not the same man she knew all those years ago. As his world spins out of control, hers begins to right itself for the first time.
Brett is ready to fight for his Beauty, but the demons in his head are far worse than he could ever imagine. Is he strong enough to let Lauren lead him out of the dusk? 

Review: My Lady Zane

'' ''Take this and open it as you wish, to know that I am with you. I have fallen for you, Betty Zane. I will wait for you, always.'' ''

★★☆☆☆

From Goodreads:

Letters from the States came often and, sometimes, more than five at a time. Marines do love to get mail. Not email. The real thing. Good old U.S. Post mail. Handwritten. Had to be. It was 2003 and Sergeant Leah Ann Sullivan read her mail every day, addressed to her 2nd Battalion, 3rd Marine Regiment, which was just south of Fallujah, Iraq. The mail was from her grandmother, with whom she was very close. One hell of a story was laid out in those letters. A love story in the time of the American Revolution. Leah never knew she had such history in her family. Leave it to Grandma, always so full of great stories. On Leah's breaks from her duties, the letters brought her back to a time when America was young A time when the country was undiscovered and her ancestors had to protect Fort Henry and their colony. There was a lot to lose in the 1700s, around the Ohio Valley. Local tribes wanted their land back, and the British knew how to take advantage of that. Betty Zane was the girl who had to grow up fast on the frontier. She was raised by her four brothers. Her older brother, Colonel Ebenezer Zane, taught her how to protect herself, use her instincts, and shoot a long rifle. Then, Betty fell in love with Zach. Their love was immediate and deep. She never stopped loving him, even when she was forced to go to school in Philadelphia. All she wanted to do was to come home and marry the boy she loved, a boy who was becoming a man and who helped transform Fort Henry into Zanesville. Betty would find a way. But the Shawnee Warrior with the scar on his brow was out to take everything from the Zanes. He lost his brother because of Betty and her brother. He lost the respect of his tribe. He was losing his land. He found his opportunity with the British Captain Pratt and the American traitor George Girty. They were just as determined. They conspired to take down the Zanes and Fort Henry. But they threatened the wrong girl. A girl who was becoming a woman, who loved her man and her country, and would do anything to save them. The letters told Betty Zane's story well, and Grandma knew what she was doing. The stories stirred something within Sergeant Leah Ann Sullivan at just the right time. Her Captain has assigned her to lead a mission. A "Red Eye Op." Now it is her turn. She is about to find out just how damn tough she is. Who is the ruthless enemy in the dark of the Iraqi desert, taking out her fellow Marines? Who are the two unknown soldiers who have compromised her team? Will she have the time to tell the Marine named Vargas how much she cares for him? With her Captain's faith, and a team who has put their trust and respect in her, Leah is about to embark on her own journey. A journey of self-discovery and intestinal fortitude, and high risk. One that takes us to the ending of a true story, about a female warrior in the past that will forever change who this warrior is in the present.

If you know how the movie Dear John begins then you know the beginning of this book. Minus the love interest.

Review: Aftan Whispers (Estalia #2)

'' ''Over there, they've got a saying. Those together last the longest.'' ''

★★☆☆☆

From Goodreads:
He didn't know how savage the world was - until he met Deni.

As the days grow darker in the Estalian Empire, young Tyler stays positive by helping others. But when he meets a girl on the run with enemies in the highest places, Tyler's life gets complicated fast. Deni isn't afraid to kill, and she’s got a secret that could tear apart the sky.

In a mortal chase that takes them from a besieged city across the war-torn countryside, Tyler soon discovers that the Empire’s guardians are their most dangerous foe. Worse still, Deni is faced with a terrible choice: remain hidden and save herself - or expose herself to prevent the oncoming darkness.

If you're looking for a visceral ride packed with steampunk machines, stunning action sequences and ambiguous moral choices, you’ll love Phil Williams’ latest post-apocalyptic adventure.

This is the second book in a series called Estalia. You don't have to read the first book to read this one, they can be read independently. But I do recommend reading the first one, it could shed light on many questions the Aftan Whispers left unanswered.