I wavered between three and four stars for this book so many times, but just when I rolled my eyes in annoyance something surprising would happen. So true rating is 3.5 stars.

Overall, a slightly uneven sword and magic series that I'm intrigued to continue.

Spoilers ahead.

I'm hoping with the paring down of the HUGE cast of characters with many deaths (way to GRRM it Rhodes) that the next installments will be a bit easier to follow. My biggest annoyances revolved around Cleo's romance with her body guard and Lucia's magic which is just there all of a sudden and not explained.

Thankfully the body guard is dead and hopefully more magic info in the next book. Also, I'm super tired of the "I'm in love with my sibling, gross I feel terrible, but HEY now found out my sibling isn't related to me by blood, so GOING FOR IT!"

Honestly don't know if I should consider this 100% read as I started skimming through the melodrama at a certain point, but overall I did enjoy a bit more of Noah and Echo. You definitely need to read the first book to understand what is going on here, and the endless TALKING about the same problems the characters faced in the first book gets tiring, but enjoy the sexy parts. There's quite a few of them, mostly a will they or won't they finally do it vibe with constant interruptions by circumstances and friends, and of course a nefarious ex.

This story was like fast food to me. I binged it all down because I HAD TO KNOW WHAT HAPPENS, then I felt sort of bad after. Rhodes sure likes to shock; I lost count of the number of characters who got sword-ed in the heart. The problem for me it shocked, but then I didn't really care. For my adult brain there just wasn't enough character development for the deaths to matter or make me sad.

Plus, the sheer amount of hormonal longings became a litle overwhelming. The love is very teen, hyperbolic and all consuming until the next pretty face comes around. I also found out the third novel is not the last, so I'm feeling I've read enough until this series is complete.

What a mystery! Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn reminded me of some of my new favorite TV Shows, Its Always Sunny in Philadelphia, The League, Arrested Devlopment. Why you ask? Well those TV shows are cutting edge for their writing and hilarious, yet you do not like the the characters. They are not good people, and generally don't have many redeeming qualities. I found this to be true in Gone Girl. I actually hated the characters, yet the mystery kept me involved till the end.

Definitely one of those books you need to read (because everyone is) so you can have some watercooler chat. I recommend, but not everyone will enjoy reading this. Thankfully I read fast so I didn't have to spend too much time in Flynn's world; once you start you will not want to.

Sarah is a horny almost 16 year old who's first, only boyfriend dumps her right before her family takes their annual trip to the coast. She's know Tucker forever, and they dated for a year before he left her for the popular girl he was tutoring. He accuses her of just observing the world, as she is completely wrapped up tracking the path of a comet. Sarah is irate, and decides to perform a different experiment - on herself. She starts acting like her older sister Scarlett, taking her clothes, copying her attitude, and soon attracts the attention of a local boy named Andrew. Andrew is 19. They fall in love and their relationship gets really serious, real fast and things come to a head at her sister's fancy going away party.

This book made me uncomfortable. I wanted to like Sarah, who was often delightfully quirky, but she made horrible decisions and was a COMPLETE teenager. Whiny, petulant, and a huge liar. There was a lot of descriptive sex acts (this may be my first YA book with described oral sex performed on a girl) which is fine, but the fact Sarah was lying about her age made me queasy. I felt bad for the guy.

I think teens will really like this book, but I'd rather hand them Forever by Judy Bloom (which this book is described as being the modern version of).

Not really for me, but in the hands of older teens it would make for a good conversation piece if their adult knew the content and discussed it with them.

re-read July 13-14 2015 in preperation for Book 2. Entrancing.

The title, description,and cover art of this book hide the really awesome story of Princess Lia and her attempt to create her own fate. Pearson has built a wonderfully detailed world, including various languages, a map which wasn't included in the digital ARC copy I reviewed, and an array of warring factions that all have enough ambiguity that you do not know who to root for. Everyone has their reasons for violence and deception. Kudos to Pearson for tricking me with the most clever use of a 'love triangle' I have read in recent times and damn her for the cliff hanger. Now I can't wait until 2015. :)

**Reviewed from a free copy received from www.netgalley.com

This book gave me so many FEEEEELS. Lia and Kaden have made it across the wasteland to Venda, where she is now a prisoner of the Komisar. Rafe also makes his way into the Komisar's court, and all three play a dangerous game of deception and lies. As much as Lia desires escape, she gradually finds herself drawn to the Vendan way of life and the Vendan people. Her "gift" continues to grow as she learns more and more about the mysterious Gaudrel, Venda, and Morrighan.

I'm adoring this series. Pearson keeps me on my toes. She gives all of her characters beautifully poetic voices and makes them leap off the page. There is SO MUCH KISSING, and I love it all, every minute of it. I won't say much more about the love triangle from the first book - you need to read it yourself.

As with the first book, this ending killed me and I can't wait for the next installment.

A really sweet play on the Robin Hood fairy tale, complete with a sassy, hard-working highland lass and a dashing Eastern European prince. I appreciated the fun dialogue and the tension built between the two leads, and the sexy stuff was just sexy enough without becoming gross for such a light spirited tale. Lots of fun.

Thank you to www.netgalley.com for the ARC!

I love the new Colorado setting for this series, and the mountains! Hot sexy S&R fire fighters are also a good thing too.

The heroine was feisty, and Shalvis always does a great job of not letting silly lies drive her story. Can't wait for more.

I adore when an established author defies his normal genre for such a fun treat. Drunken Fireworks is a short audio-story that feels like an awesome bar story told to you by the town drunk, a drunk with the best Maine accent ever. I won't say much more than that, but as a victim of friends who love to play with fireworks, this made my day.