I enjoyed the first series even though it was predictable. When I saw that this book was happening, I wasn't sure what to think. Usually, authors have a hard time knowing when they need to let a good thing alone.

I will say that I picked "the one" right away. It is predictable again. The only thing is that this time we have a girl in control of the selection. I kind of understand why her parents force her into it but don't. They hated it and it's one of the things they worked to get rid of. Yet, here they are forcing their own daughter. I know, I know. They want to take people's mind off the troubles and keep them calm. Well I find it hard to believe this was the only way. I also understand, that's how she gets to write more books.

I had a hard time liking Eadlyn. She is just so whiny and self centered. It's hard to connect with that type of character. Especially, when you just want to roll your eyes. She's the absolute spoiled princess stereotype. I think towards the end she starts to realize this and she becomes a bit more enjoyable. Maybe this whole selection process will change her into a nicer, caring person.

I think the parts I enjoyed the most were the parts about her parents. Throwback was more interesting than present!

Overall, this book was just okay. I didn't hate it but I didn't love it either. The cover is absolutely gorgeous for sure. I'm interested enough to see what happens, that I will continue to read the rest of this series. I just don't know what hurry I will be in.

I am the minority here with this rating. I loved the first book SO much. This book was not what I expected at all and a bit of a disappointment. At the same time, it was really good plot wise. If we didn't have the failed romantic issues in this book, it would have been so much better.

In this book, Kestrel and Arin are just so frustrating. Okay, maybe just stupid. I don't know. Kestrel is supposed to be so smart and cunning but when it comes to her love life, she's the complete opposite. The lack of communication and them jumping the complete opposite conclusions ASAP, was driving me insane. That is what knocked the stars off this book. So far, what they have shown me is that they cannot communicate. At. All. That's a horrible start to any relationship. Arin's pretty stupid for trying to get her to be his, when she's engaged and going to be the next Empress. Then he doesn't take the hints she's trying to give them when he's trying to confess his love again. Instead of realizing that she's in a dangerous place that they could be overheard, he ignores all her attempts and takes it as her not wanting him. Then when he lets go of the sword. What an idiot. I would rather this book have 0 romance than this. It was just annoying.

Otherwise, the secrecy and political war that Kestrel is involved in, was fascinating. At the same time, she's not using her head and strategizing correctly! She knows how the Emperor feels about Herrani and yet goes around supporting them publicly and hanging out with them. When you already have rumors going around, you have to be smarter about that! This is what I don't understand. The whole series so far, she's being pegged as this super smart strategist but when it comes to her own life, she's clueless.

The best part of this book, was when Arin and Kestrel are separated. They both shined and got things done that I don't think they could do together. They made huge strides to try and protect their people.

Also, this book is a really slow read. Even if you are trying to get through it quickly, you won't. It was just impossible and it took more much longer than I anticipated. I don't even know why. The plot was smooth and interesting. I didn't really get bored or anything but it took me a while to get through this.

The cliffhanger is crazy. I can't wait to see what happens. I'm going to hope that the next book will be just as great as the first one. This book was good but I was just disappointed.

I want to thank the publisher and Netgalley for providing me with a copy of this book.

This was an amazing book! I got started it this morning and I just couldn't put it down. It was recommended at work last night (library) and I was so excited to see that Netgalley offered this book. You will seriously go through so many emotions. I laughed out loud several times and cried as well. It was just so moving and a wonderful story. The writing was just so great and the story flowed so well. I devoured this book and I never thought twice about spending my whole day reading this book!

This book is about Ove. He is struggling with the fact that he lost his wife and no longer wants to live without her. He has a very strange personality. He kind of reminds me of a not-as-crazy, Sheldon from Big Bang. He is very particular about things and his wife called him, "the most in inflexible man in the world." He has specific rules and schedules for everything. He doesn't really care to be involved in his neighbors lives, and ignores them. He keeps to himself because he thinks everyone is just idiotic and doesn't want to put up with them. He is seen as a grumpy old man but it's really not true. I think more than anything, he is just misunderstood by many. He may have a certain personality that comes off that way, but he seriously has the biggest heart. He will help people and call them an idiot while doing so but secretly enjoy helping. He will help out anyone who needs it, even if it's taking something from him.

Everyday, he is convinced he is going to kill himself to be with his wife. Until the neighbors move in and start to ruin his days by barging into his life. I think that all along Parvenah knows his struggle. Without knowing it, this family saves him.

The story is just so full of love and hope. I love how we get his background as well. The author will take you back into the beginning of Ove's life and continue his story throughout the book. You understand him and why he is the way he is. You learn about his life with Sonja and the love and hard times they shared. Even though, he had a rough exterior, his inside is like a teddy bear! I just fell in love with his character and all the amazing characters surrounding him.

Such a great story! I HIGHLY recommend this book!!

What a great book! I wasn't quite sure what this was about. I saw the authors and new that I had to read it. This book is about three short stories from the authors and bonus! The bonus is that it has notes, like footnotes, about their writing methods. It's a fun thing to read/see. I don't know about you but I always wonder about those things, in regards to authors.

They have tips and that would come in handy for writers. So this would be a great book if you are a writer or if you just love the authors. I really enjoyed the short stories and this book. I'm not a writer but I really do appreciate their work. It was fun to see a little bit of behind the scenes.

Really cool look at a few of the libraries all over the world. There's all kinds of them and it's pretty neat to see and their thoughts behind them.

I really wasn't quite sure what this book was about. I picked it up because the cover intrigued me. Hah- I know, never judge a book by its cover. Although, in this case, I'm glad I did. I really liked this book. It was another vampire book among the millions already out there. I liked this story though. It was different and I have to say that the main character, Tana, was different than your average human in the vampire mix. She was strong and didn't let anyone tell her what to do. She took things into her own hands and she was saving the other people around her, even vampires. I liked the relationship between Tana and Gavriel. Mostly, that she wasn't a damsel in distress that needed saving. She took charge and she did what needed to be done to stay alive. I'm wondering if this is a stand alone book. The ending was left completely open.

What a waste of time! I was expecting much more. Most of the book is pictures of them during the show.

****I totally thought I had put this review here. I just noticed that it was never added. I'm so sorry! I did put it on my blog and then must have forgotten to add it to goodreads. So weird because I'm always so good at making sure I do. **** This book has been finished for over half a year. I hope that's not why I haven't won a book on here for that time period.

I want to thank Goodreads, Firstreads Giveaways and the Publisher, Scholastic Press for a copy of this book for review. Receiving a free copy has in no way influenced my opinions.



First, this was a big improvement over Defy, the first book. I started this immediately after Defy and I couldn't put it down. There is a lot more action and a lot more of the love story. I love how the "love triangle" is pretty much nonexistent. She is completely in love with Damian and doesn't complicate things to string Rylan along. Although, he is completely annoying in this book. He throws tantrums constantly when he knows that Alexa is in love with Damian. It's so immature and childish. It drove me nuts!



There is a lot more going on in this book that the plot constantly keeps moving. I would tell myself to wait until this is resolved and then I'll pay the bills. An hour would pass and I would still be reading. There is so much going on that there is really no stopping point. That reminds me, I need to pay my bills after writing up this review. :)



I love how Alexa and Damian's relationship grows in this book. It's more of an unselfish love, which is nice to read about. There is so much character growth in this book too. I love Eljin, Jax and Tanoori. It was fun to see their characters evolve and become part of a group. You get to know more of their back stories and it makes them so much more interesting. You get to understand more about their characters in the previous book too.



I really am looking forward to the next book. I need to know what happens next!

I want to thank netgalley and the publisher for providing me with a copy of this ebook. I got through this book rather quickly. It's a decent enough story but I think it raised more questions than anything.



All the problem that Chris has with Mark and we don't get more information on Mark. There should have been some kind of insight or something. We got nothing. Just a bunch of warnings. You definitely can tell he is totally into Sara. She totally understands that he has the certain vibe going but she doesn't seem to care. I think I have a lot of issues with Sara.



She took over Rebecca's job to try to find out what happened to her and totally got caught up. She didn't do much to find her and totally just blew it off to be with Chris. I mean, really? I figured that was the whole point of this book. Also, when it comes to Chris, she didn't make sense. He warned her that she wouldn't like everything about him. She begs him to show her everything and then when he does, she completely freaks out. I mean what did she expect?



Anyways, I did like that this was more about the plot than just sex. It added a lot more to the book. It kept me interested. When there's a book based more on the sexual side, I get annoyed. So this was good about keeping the plot the main focus. I did really like Chris's character. He knew what he wanted and he was always honest with Sara.



Overall, I liked the story enough but in the end I had so many more questions than answers. The cliffhanger at the end was pretty intense. Definitely, how you do a cliffhanger!

I received this book through netgalley. I would like to thank the publisher for the copy of this ebook. This is the 4th book in the series.



This book flowed really well and made it so easy to read. I just flew through this book. Maybe it was all the twists and turns. This book had so much going on that it was very entertaining. These characters have grown so much. Sara and Chris's relationship has come so far and it's great to see the details of how it has happened. Mark isn't really a huge part of the book but is. It's kind of hard to explain. Maybe that he doesn't have a lot of dialogue but he has a big presence in the plot.



I really enjoy the fact that this book has a lot of suspense. It's not just a focused on the intimate relationship of the couple. I think that looking for Rebecca, really added to this series. It's not your typical, they meet, have sex and fall in love. There's more characters and a bigger focus on everyone around them. I'm not sure how I feel about all these women being tied up with the dominant men. Anyways, Chris and Sara have been through a lot and I feel their happily ever after is right around the corner. I just have to say.. I would not be surprised if Rebecca is ALIVE!



Until the next book...