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This review and more can be found at The Book Bratz!
From the moment I finished the prologue, Lailah had my hooked and ready to read more. Lailah is a fast paced, action packed, unpredictable thrill ride that we leave you hanging on until the very last page. I won't lie, I have read so many vampire novels that I was nervous about this one. But vampires and angels? Well now that is something new!
Cessie is immortal, she hasn't aged since the first time she died and she doesn't stay dead when she does die. With no recollection of her past lives, except for visions she gets when triggered by an action or an object, Cessie has no choice but to start over. When Cessie rescues a Jonah, a second generation vampire who is being hunted down by his master, a pure blood vampire, to be killed. When Cessie almost gets herself killed, she never imagined to be looking up into the eyes of the boy who had been in her dreams or visions. But soon the Pure Blood vampires aren't hunting for Jonah anymore. They are hunting Cessie. To out run them Cessie joins Jonah and Gabriel along with their few allies to stay alive.
Character wise I loved Cessie. She wasn't totally blind to the vampire world, she learned about them through an relationship that didn't end well. But we learned about vampires as Cessie learned. Now I am pretty sure you are thinking "Who is Cessie?" She is Lailah, her name from her first life. A life that that Gabriel knew her in. As well as the theme the story is Lailah finding out who and what she really is.
Gabriel, is an angel from the dimension of Styclar-Plena (Heaven) sent to the second dimension (Earth). I liked Gabriel's character, but he frustrated me so much. He wanted to Cessie to trust him but he wasn't open with her and kept plenty of secrets. Like one being, that none of the other vampires could know that she was immortal. Like, what? But Gabriel treated her well and genuinely seemed to care about her.
Jonah, is a second generation vampire, who in seeking redemption for what he is, works with Gabriel in saving others of his kind. I don't doubt that Jonah actually cares for Cessie, but I felt he more or less tried to have her affection to be able to feed off of her. But there were times were he was caring and gentle and made me route for him.
Now, I am mixed on the topic of love triangles. I like them, but then I don't like them because I always end up on the wrong side. But Nikki sure does know how to write a love triangle. I couldn't stick with one boy, and the story is about finding darkness within the light, and light within the darkness, at least. So both boys had their imperfections, and their dark and light in them. But both Gabriel and Jonah were swoon worthy, and I changed my mind on who I liked the most several times. My verdict though: I liked Gabriel the most.
I officially declare Nikki the plot twist Queen. There are plenty of twists and turns in the plot of Lailah and that is what keeps you on your toes, but then you have the biggest plot twist in the history of plot twists and suddenly you are not sure what to think anymore. Then the plot twist bought you back to which guy you like best? And oh my feels. It just hits you in the feels. Then on top of all these feels, we are left with a cliff hanger. Now I want to cry.
Nikki has a knack for story telling and her writing sucks readers right into the story. Along with an interesting idea and a plot to leave readers wondering what is happening next. Gabriel is only about a year away! *said trying to be cheery but dying inside because of cliffhangers*
From the moment I finished the prologue, Lailah had my hooked and ready to read more. Lailah is a fast paced, action packed, unpredictable thrill ride that we leave you hanging on until the very last page. I won't lie, I have read so many vampire novels that I was nervous about this one. But vampires and angels? Well now that is something new!
Cessie is immortal, she hasn't aged since the first time she died and she doesn't stay dead when she does die. With no recollection of her past lives, except for visions she gets when triggered by an action or an object, Cessie has no choice but to start over. When Cessie rescues a Jonah, a second generation vampire who is being hunted down by his master, a pure blood vampire, to be killed. When Cessie almost gets herself killed, she never imagined to be looking up into the eyes of the boy who had been in her dreams or visions. But soon the Pure Blood vampires aren't hunting for Jonah anymore. They are hunting Cessie. To out run them Cessie joins Jonah and Gabriel along with their few allies to stay alive.
Character wise I loved Cessie. She wasn't totally blind to the vampire world, she learned about them through an relationship that didn't end well. But we learned about vampires as Cessie learned. Now I am pretty sure you are thinking "Who is Cessie?" She is Lailah, her name from her first life. A life that that Gabriel knew her in. As well as the theme the story is Lailah finding out who and what she really is.
Gabriel, is an angel from the dimension of Styclar-Plena (Heaven) sent to the second dimension (Earth). I liked Gabriel's character, but he frustrated me so much. He wanted to Cessie to trust him but he wasn't open with her and kept plenty of secrets. Like one being, that none of the other vampires could know that she was immortal. Like, what? But Gabriel treated her well and genuinely seemed to care about her.
Jonah, is a second generation vampire, who in seeking redemption for what he is, works with Gabriel in saving others of his kind. I don't doubt that Jonah actually cares for Cessie, but I felt he more or less tried to have her affection to be able to feed off of her. But there were times were he was caring and gentle and made me route for him.
Now, I am mixed on the topic of love triangles. I like them, but then I don't like them because I always end up on the wrong side. But Nikki sure does know how to write a love triangle. I couldn't stick with one boy, and the story is about finding darkness within the light, and light within the darkness, at least. So both boys had their imperfections, and their dark and light in them. But both Gabriel and Jonah were swoon worthy, and I changed my mind on who I liked the most several times. My verdict though: I liked Gabriel the most.
I officially declare Nikki the plot twist Queen. There are plenty of twists and turns in the plot of Lailah and that is what keeps you on your toes, but then you have the biggest plot twist in the history of plot twists and suddenly you are not sure what to think anymore. Then the plot twist bought you back to which guy you like best? And oh my feels. It just hits you in the feels. Then on top of all these feels, we are left with a cliff hanger. Now I want to cry.
Nikki has a knack for story telling and her writing sucks readers right into the story. Along with an interesting idea and a plot to leave readers wondering what is happening next. Gabriel is only about a year away! *said trying to be cheery but dying inside because of cliffhangers*
This review and more can be found at The Book Bratz!
The concept behind the book was interesting, which attracted me to the book to begin with. But as soon as they would talk about Echoes, Cleaving, Inversions, Pivot Points, and what ever else I missed I became terribly confused and frustrated. Every time you finally understood something new was added, which kind of annoyed me. In addition the book was to long and repetitive, I wanted to see more then just walks.
I have never disliked a book character as much as I disliked Del's sister Addie, talk about a giant bitch? I disliked the parts of the books that had her in it, I just wanted to skip and get back to the weird romance of Del and Simon.
She was involved or dating 3 versions of the same guy, especially when she knew that touching and echo from another world was dangerous (there were so many rules, so someone please correct me if I am wrong) Seriously Del?You are already on thin ice and not being an official Walker, because you accidentally cleaved a world, but you are going to run around with different versions of Simon. Ugh.
Since I feel like I am only being negative there were plenty of good things that I enjoyed about this book. Characters, I loved Monty. I think I loved him the most out of everyone else in the book. I thought Simon was alright, but he wasn't the full sundae that I usually prefer. Doesn't mean that I didn't like him though. (Yes, I called Simon a sundae. You know how a good sundae has ice cream, syrup, nuts, caramel, all those yummy things? Well I just felt Simon was was lacking some caramel.)
I liked the secrets and the conspiracy. "The what the hell is the council hiding...?" is what kept me interested. I like books with secrets and conspiracy in them.
All in all I think Dissonance had a lot of potential, and I am excited to see the story grow and continue though. Everything has room for improvement and I didn't think this book was horrible it just wasn't something I like at the moment. For all I know I can reread this in a few weeks and like it better then I did now.
RATING: 2 1/2 ★
The concept behind the book was interesting, which attracted me to the book to begin with. But as soon as they would talk about Echoes, Cleaving, Inversions, Pivot Points, and what ever else I missed I became terribly confused and frustrated. Every time you finally understood something new was added, which kind of annoyed me. In addition the book was to long and repetitive, I wanted to see more then just walks.
I have never disliked a book character as much as I disliked Del's sister Addie, talk about a giant bitch? I disliked the parts of the books that had her in it, I just wanted to skip and get back to the weird romance of Del and Simon.
She was involved or dating 3 versions of the same guy, especially when she knew that touching and echo from another world was dangerous (there were so many rules, so someone please correct me if I am wrong) Seriously Del?You are already on thin ice and not being an official Walker, because you accidentally cleaved a world, but you are going to run around with different versions of Simon. Ugh.
Since I feel like I am only being negative there were plenty of good things that I enjoyed about this book. Characters, I loved Monty. I think I loved him the most out of everyone else in the book. I thought Simon was alright, but he wasn't the full sundae that I usually prefer. Doesn't mean that I didn't like him though. (Yes, I called Simon a sundae. You know how a good sundae has ice cream, syrup, nuts, caramel, all those yummy things? Well I just felt Simon was was lacking some caramel.)
I liked the secrets and the conspiracy. "The what the hell is the council hiding...?" is what kept me interested. I like books with secrets and conspiracy in them.
All in all I think Dissonance had a lot of potential, and I am excited to see the story grow and continue though. Everything has room for improvement and I didn't think this book was horrible it just wasn't something I like at the moment. For all I know I can reread this in a few weeks and like it better then I did now.
RATING: 2 1/2 ★
The full review can be found at The Book Bratz!
Let me be honest. I wasn't planning on reading this. I saw the cover, saw the author, and read the summary and backed off. I like Sara's writing, but her books are all the same. Rich girls who make stupid mistakes and now are being tormented about it. I read about it for fifteen books in her Pretty Little Liars series, I wasn't planning on it again. But of course I put myself through the torture because though I wasn't a fan of this one, I want to know what is going to happen.
Sara's writing is great, she sucks her readers in with no problem. The story flows and it keeps your attention. That isn't the problem. I have already said it but this is so similar to Pretty Little Liars. Sara Shepard is a commonly known author now, since both of her books (Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game) had become TV shows, but she always sticks with the same murder mysteries, with rich girls who break the law and try to get out of it. It is boring now. I'm over it.
The characters were well developed, I understood the girls and what was going on in their lives. Some had tragic backgrounds, another was cheating on her boyfriend. Same old. The one thing I hated most about all of them is that, they planned a fake murder in the middle of class, exactly how they would do it, what they would use, ect. and expecting no body to hear them? Really? Then they are so shocked when Nolan is murdered the same way. It really didn't shock me. Sometimes there were clues right in front of their faces and they didn't even notice. Huh? It just frustrated me a lot.
Like Pretty Little Liars there are little subplots too. Who is hooking up with their friend's boyfriend, who is trying to get with the new guy, who is being blackmailed into something. All five girls have something else going on that really doesn't relate to the actually murder. I honestly think this is what kept my attention the most. I'm pretty sure I know who the killer is, all the evidence is pointed right at them. You never know though.
Let me be honest. I wasn't planning on reading this. I saw the cover, saw the author, and read the summary and backed off. I like Sara's writing, but her books are all the same. Rich girls who make stupid mistakes and now are being tormented about it. I read about it for fifteen books in her Pretty Little Liars series, I wasn't planning on it again. But of course I put myself through the torture because though I wasn't a fan of this one, I want to know what is going to happen.
Sara's writing is great, she sucks her readers in with no problem. The story flows and it keeps your attention. That isn't the problem. I have already said it but this is so similar to Pretty Little Liars. Sara Shepard is a commonly known author now, since both of her books (Pretty Little Liars and The Lying Game) had become TV shows, but she always sticks with the same murder mysteries, with rich girls who break the law and try to get out of it. It is boring now. I'm over it.
The characters were well developed, I understood the girls and what was going on in their lives. Some had tragic backgrounds, another was cheating on her boyfriend. Same old. The one thing I hated most about all of them is that, they planned a fake murder in the middle of class, exactly how they would do it, what they would use, ect. and expecting no body to hear them? Really? Then they are so shocked when Nolan is murdered the same way. It really didn't shock me. Sometimes there were clues right in front of their faces and they didn't even notice. Huh? It just frustrated me a lot.
Like Pretty Little Liars there are little subplots too. Who is hooking up with their friend's boyfriend, who is trying to get with the new guy, who is being blackmailed into something. All five girls have something else going on that really doesn't relate to the actually murder. I honestly think this is what kept my attention the most. I'm pretty sure I know who the killer is, all the evidence is pointed right at them. You never know though.
The full review can be found at The Book Bratz!
How am I going to fit all my feelings into this review without making this into an essay? Queen of Someday was an interesting read full of love and betrayal that will leave you wanting more. I am so excited to see where the Stolen Empire series will go.
The story is about fifteen year old Sophie, who is from Prussia. She is sent to Russia to be betrothed to the future emperor, sixteen year old Peter. Simple enough right? No. Sophie's goal was the capture Peter's heart and live out the rest of her life as the Empress, forming a treaty between her beloved Prussia, and Russia. Never along the way though did she expect to fall in love with someone other then Peter, nor did she ever expect any of the betrayal and lies she would be faced with. Queen of Someday is full of twist and turns, capturing your attention and never letting you go.
Sophie is amazing. Generally I felt bad for her though. Sure, she is going to get to marry a handsome Duke, but doesn't she get a say in who she will spend her life with? Sophie makes the best of what she has and is given, even when things sour and she must do things to protect herself and those she loves. She is strong and I admire her character for that. Never would I have the courage to do half of what she does.
The book was a little slow at times but then it picked up. I'll admit, there were moments where my eyes teared up. But the story was so beautiful and heartbreaking that I couldn't help it! Plus, there were two extremely attractive guys, and a duke! The book was an emotional roller coaster (at times) for me. Three guys. One girl. Betrayal. Falling in love. Got my point?
Queen of Someday is a book I adore. Those hesitant on reading historical fiction, I think you will like it as well as I did. October 2015 is the set release date for the second book in the Stolen Empire series and I am really excited to see if it will be as good as this one! (Though I know it will be!)
RATING: 4.5 ★
How am I going to fit all my feelings into this review without making this into an essay? Queen of Someday was an interesting read full of love and betrayal that will leave you wanting more. I am so excited to see where the Stolen Empire series will go.
The story is about fifteen year old Sophie, who is from Prussia. She is sent to Russia to be betrothed to the future emperor, sixteen year old Peter. Simple enough right? No. Sophie's goal was the capture Peter's heart and live out the rest of her life as the Empress, forming a treaty between her beloved Prussia, and Russia. Never along the way though did she expect to fall in love with someone other then Peter, nor did she ever expect any of the betrayal and lies she would be faced with. Queen of Someday is full of twist and turns, capturing your attention and never letting you go.
Sophie is amazing. Generally I felt bad for her though. Sure, she is going to get to marry a handsome Duke, but doesn't she get a say in who she will spend her life with? Sophie makes the best of what she has and is given, even when things sour and she must do things to protect herself and those she loves. She is strong and I admire her character for that. Never would I have the courage to do half of what she does.
The book was a little slow at times but then it picked up. I'll admit, there were moments where my eyes teared up. But the story was so beautiful and heartbreaking that I couldn't help it! Plus, there were two extremely attractive guys, and a duke! The book was an emotional roller coaster (at times) for me. Three guys. One girl. Betrayal. Falling in love. Got my point?
Queen of Someday is a book I adore. Those hesitant on reading historical fiction, I think you will like it as well as I did. October 2015 is the set release date for the second book in the Stolen Empire series and I am really excited to see if it will be as good as this one! (Though I know it will be!)
RATING: 4.5 ★
The full review can be found at The Book Bratz close to its release date!
Out of the wholes series A Cold Legacy is my favorite. Megan Shepherd created and amazing story full of horror, action and romance that kept me wishing for more.
Juliet, Montgomery, Balthazar, Lucy, and Edward have escaped London after killing three of the men who were going to steal her father's research. But not only do they have to worry about Lucy's father hunting them down, Edward is deathly ill and if you doesn't get the medical attention he desperately needs he won't make it. Soon after arriving at Elizabeth's manor in Scotland. Juliet learns things about herself, as well as the inhabitants of the house that will change her life forever.
In my review of Her Dark Curiosity I mentioned how I felt Juliet made horrible decisions and she wasn't the kick ass heroine that she was in the first book. I take that back. In A Cold Legacy Juliet totally becomes that heroine that I knew she could be. Of course, she still makes stupid decisions with out thinking them through, but I figured out that that is her character. Over all though I am happy with Juliet turns out to be, how she has grown and changed since the first book.
A Cold Legacy has an interesting mix of characters, some of which I enjoyed. Others annoyed the hell out of me. I liked Valentina's character at first, I was curious of her past, why her hands were a different color from the rest of her body and why she was so desperate to become the heir of the manor. Then she took a turn and became frustrating. Balthazar is a character that will always hold a place in my heart. I loved every scene he was in, his loyalty, his kindness. If anything good came out of that island it was Balthazar.
The love triangle is solved, finally! The whole thing was so sweet and cute. There are so many feels involved though, so don't say I didn't warn you before hand. A Cold Legacy was just a book that did nothing but evoke a ton of feels.
I have nothing bad to say. I loved everything about this book, as well as this series. The ending of A Cold Legacy was bitter sweet, I finished the last page with tears in my eyes. Good or bad? I won't say, let me leave it at that. I am really looking forward to future books by Megan Shepherd.
Out of the wholes series A Cold Legacy is my favorite. Megan Shepherd created and amazing story full of horror, action and romance that kept me wishing for more.
Juliet, Montgomery, Balthazar, Lucy, and Edward have escaped London after killing three of the men who were going to steal her father's research. But not only do they have to worry about Lucy's father hunting them down, Edward is deathly ill and if you doesn't get the medical attention he desperately needs he won't make it. Soon after arriving at Elizabeth's manor in Scotland. Juliet learns things about herself, as well as the inhabitants of the house that will change her life forever.
In my review of Her Dark Curiosity I mentioned how I felt Juliet made horrible decisions and she wasn't the kick ass heroine that she was in the first book. I take that back. In A Cold Legacy Juliet totally becomes that heroine that I knew she could be. Of course, she still makes stupid decisions with out thinking them through, but I figured out that that is her character. Over all though I am happy with Juliet turns out to be, how she has grown and changed since the first book.
A Cold Legacy has an interesting mix of characters, some of which I enjoyed. Others annoyed the hell out of me. I liked Valentina's character at first, I was curious of her past, why her hands were a different color from the rest of her body and why she was so desperate to become the heir of the manor. Then she took a turn and became frustrating. Balthazar is a character that will always hold a place in my heart. I loved every scene he was in, his loyalty, his kindness. If anything good came out of that island it was Balthazar.
The love triangle is solved, finally! The whole thing was so sweet and cute. There are so many feels involved though, so don't say I didn't warn you before hand. A Cold Legacy was just a book that did nothing but evoke a ton of feels.
I have nothing bad to say. I loved everything about this book, as well as this series. The ending of A Cold Legacy was bitter sweet, I finished the last page with tears in my eyes. Good or bad? I won't say, let me leave it at that. I am really looking forward to future books by Megan Shepherd.
***Full review coming after the blog tour on September 5th***
THIS REVIEW AND MORE CAN BE FOUND ON THE BOOK BRATZ!
Captivate Me was equal parts, romance, humor and mystery that wants you It is one of those quick reads you blow through in one sitting on a lazy day. The story has a great pace never leaving you bored and several swoon worthy moments.
The plot was interesting, though it didn't go as deep into the angel thing as I expected it would. It was a major point, but I can see how there really wasn't a reason for it. There is enough information there though to understand what happened and what was caused by it. It left me content and happy. I have never been crazy about love triangles. In certain situations I like them. This was one of those times. You have Levi who is really sweet and obvious in love with Kat and then you have Gabriel who Kat has an instant connection with. So which boy wins her heart? One of them do, and my guess on who it would be was wrong. As usual. Then Pierce throws in a plot twist that no one ever expected. What is it with authors and major plot twists? The kind that make you rethink everything you just read. They really hurt my heart. *sad face*
The romance was cute. Kat and Levi were cute. They were one of those couples where you thought they were dating before they actually where. Kat did care about Levi, she was jealous of another girl that showed interest in him. But then Kat has dreams about Gabriel and then she meets him. Her romance with Gabriel was almost insta-love. Which isn't a bad thing, because in the end it all resolves its self.
Captivate Me met all expectations and threw them out the window. But as usual, now comes the waiting for the second book in the series.
THIS REVIEW AND MORE CAN BE FOUND ON THE BOOK BRATZ!
Captivate Me was equal parts, romance, humor and mystery that wants you It is one of those quick reads you blow through in one sitting on a lazy day. The story has a great pace never leaving you bored and several swoon worthy moments.
The plot was interesting, though it didn't go as deep into the angel thing as I expected it would. It was a major point, but I can see how there really wasn't a reason for it. There is enough information there though to understand what happened and what was caused by it. It left me content and happy. I have never been crazy about love triangles. In certain situations I like them. This was one of those times. You have Levi who is really sweet and obvious in love with Kat and then you have Gabriel who Kat has an instant connection with. So which boy wins her heart? One of them do, and my guess on who it would be was wrong. As usual. Then Pierce throws in a plot twist that no one ever expected. What is it with authors and major plot twists? The kind that make you rethink everything you just read. They really hurt my heart. *sad face*
The romance was cute. Kat and Levi were cute. They were one of those couples where you thought they were dating before they actually where. Kat did care about Levi, she was jealous of another girl that showed interest in him. But then Kat has dreams about Gabriel and then she meets him. Her romance with Gabriel was almost insta-love. Which isn't a bad thing, because in the end it all resolves its self.
Captivate Me met all expectations and threw them out the window. But as usual, now comes the waiting for the second book in the series.