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erinarkin20
Great end to the series!
My Life From Hell is the third (and final) book in The Blooming Goddess series by Tellulah Darling. I am a bit sad to be saying goodbye to these characters. This series has a great mix of snarky characters, serious challenges, and swoony boys….all my favorite things. If you haven’t started this series yet, definitely check it out. Darling mixes in the trials of being a teenager alongside the issues one would face if they suddenly found out they were a Greek Goddess living in a human body.
Book three dives right back into the story and if you remember, My Date From Hell ended with a bang….or knife to the stomach (literally). Sophie has been living with Festos while recuperating from the wound that Bethany gave her since she can’t go back to Hope Park. Another piece to this is now that Sophie remembers everything Persephone did; she is also having visions and doesn’t really know what they mean. Things begin to click as the story progresses but they are just adding to the stress that Sophie is dealing with. Added all together, things are getting really tough for Sophie and I was definitely worried about whether she was going to get through this whole thing.
Along with all that trauma, Sophie has been trying to get Kai to talk to her. Since he found out that Persephone was actually going to betray him the first time they were going to do the ritual he has been closed off and although they have some killer make out sessions, he refuses to discuss anything with Sophie and is still more than a little angry. BUT – Kai is Kai and I do love him. Although he struggles with the past, he really does love Sophie. Trust definitely doesn’t come easy to either of these characters because of how they have grown up but once they get past all the junk, they really are good for each other. I think Sophie says it best “Boys who slay monsters for their friends are dreamy.”
I have to say, Sophie has changed quite a bit since book one and has learned a lot about herself. I liked seeing the growth and seeing her move into being more accepting of who she is and what she can do. I think at the end of this one, with the help of the people around her, she realizes just who is important (Family = Kai, Theo, Fee, and Hannah) and what she values. Her relationships have also changed – throughout this book we see Sophie struggling a bit with the change in the dynamic of her relationship with Hannah as well as Theo.
As usual, this book has quite a bit of action. It also has a few twists I didn’t expect. I won’t give anything away but one of the great parts was getting to see Persephone’s point of view and seeing both Persephone and Sophie together (in a sense). One of the things I like best in all of Darling’s books is the dialogue between the characters and it definitely continues through this final book. It gave me a view of how these characters interact with each other and the dynamic between them. Things have changed throughout but there is always a lot of love with a dose of sarcasm and wit.
The secondary characters definitely shine in this book. With Hannah taking a bit of a back seat in this book, we are introduced to a new character named Oizys and she was a solid fill in. As the goddess of Misery, she is the opposite of everything Persephone is and this created a great dynamic with Sophie. Demeter/Felicia also has a bigger part in this story and we learn more about the relationship she had with Persephone and Persephone’s feelings toward her on top of Sophie coming to some realizations about Demeter/Felicia. When Kiki/Hekate was introduced and put her spin on the story, things started to come together.
I thought Darling did a great job of tying together the past and present as well as giving the reader some insight into all of the different relationships. There were some things that came out in this book (e.g. the friendship between Kai and Festos) that although there was clearly something from their past that impacted their relationships today, we weren’t really aware of and I was happy to get the clarification.
This was a wonderful wrap up to Sophie’s story and although I am sad that her story has ended, I appreciate the way that Darling wrapped it up. If you enjoy Greek mythology, solid characters, and a great story, definitely check this one out.
Thank you to Tellulah Darling and Netgalley for the review copy.
My Life From Hell is the third (and final) book in The Blooming Goddess series by Tellulah Darling. I am a bit sad to be saying goodbye to these characters. This series has a great mix of snarky characters, serious challenges, and swoony boys….all my favorite things. If you haven’t started this series yet, definitely check it out. Darling mixes in the trials of being a teenager alongside the issues one would face if they suddenly found out they were a Greek Goddess living in a human body.
Book three dives right back into the story and if you remember, My Date From Hell ended with a bang….or knife to the stomach (literally). Sophie has been living with Festos while recuperating from the wound that Bethany gave her since she can’t go back to Hope Park. Another piece to this is now that Sophie remembers everything Persephone did; she is also having visions and doesn’t really know what they mean. Things begin to click as the story progresses but they are just adding to the stress that Sophie is dealing with. Added all together, things are getting really tough for Sophie and I was definitely worried about whether she was going to get through this whole thing.
Along with all that trauma, Sophie has been trying to get Kai to talk to her. Since he found out that Persephone was actually going to betray him the first time they were going to do the ritual he has been closed off and although they have some killer make out sessions, he refuses to discuss anything with Sophie and is still more than a little angry. BUT – Kai is Kai and I do love him. Although he struggles with the past, he really does love Sophie. Trust definitely doesn’t come easy to either of these characters because of how they have grown up but once they get past all the junk, they really are good for each other. I think Sophie says it best “Boys who slay monsters for their friends are dreamy.”
I have to say, Sophie has changed quite a bit since book one and has learned a lot about herself. I liked seeing the growth and seeing her move into being more accepting of who she is and what she can do. I think at the end of this one, with the help of the people around her, she realizes just who is important (Family = Kai, Theo, Fee, and Hannah) and what she values. Her relationships have also changed – throughout this book we see Sophie struggling a bit with the change in the dynamic of her relationship with Hannah as well as Theo.
As usual, this book has quite a bit of action. It also has a few twists I didn’t expect. I won’t give anything away but one of the great parts was getting to see Persephone’s point of view and seeing both Persephone and Sophie together (in a sense). One of the things I like best in all of Darling’s books is the dialogue between the characters and it definitely continues through this final book. It gave me a view of how these characters interact with each other and the dynamic between them. Things have changed throughout but there is always a lot of love with a dose of sarcasm and wit.
The secondary characters definitely shine in this book. With Hannah taking a bit of a back seat in this book, we are introduced to a new character named Oizys and she was a solid fill in. As the goddess of Misery, she is the opposite of everything Persephone is and this created a great dynamic with Sophie. Demeter/Felicia also has a bigger part in this story and we learn more about the relationship she had with Persephone and Persephone’s feelings toward her on top of Sophie coming to some realizations about Demeter/Felicia. When Kiki/Hekate was introduced and put her spin on the story, things started to come together.
I thought Darling did a great job of tying together the past and present as well as giving the reader some insight into all of the different relationships. There were some things that came out in this book (e.g. the friendship between Kai and Festos) that although there was clearly something from their past that impacted their relationships today, we weren’t really aware of and I was happy to get the clarification.
This was a wonderful wrap up to Sophie’s story and although I am sad that her story has ended, I appreciate the way that Darling wrapped it up. If you enjoy Greek mythology, solid characters, and a great story, definitely check this one out.
Thank you to Tellulah Darling and Netgalley for the review copy.
Lumiere was a great introduction to the world of Eyelet and Urlick. Both of these characters have issues fitting in and by a twist of fate, are drawn together.
From page one; we are thrown into this steampunk world where for the last nine years the city of Brethren has lived in darkness. Eyelet, the main character, is the daughter of one of the top scientists Brethren has had and immediately we find out that something has happened to him. Additionally, Eyelet’s mother is accused of Wickedry and her world is turned completely upside down.
Because Eyelet suffers from seizures, she could be accused of Madness which would get her locked away. As Eyelet is on the run and searching for her father’s Illuminator (the machine that he invented to help her), she finds it being stolen away by a young man. In an attempt to not lose the machine, Eyelet and Urlick are thrown together and they slowly find that they have similar interests.
I thought these characters were interesting and there was a lot of action throughout the entire story. I though Garlick did a great job integrating the steampunk world into the story of this girl and boy who are both considered outcasts of society. As they slowly build a relationship with each other, they have to learn to trust and that is not something that comes easy to these two because of their childhoods.
The secondary characters add to the story and the connections between each of them tie the whole story together. This was another aspect of the story that I thought Garlick did well – there weren't any loose ends and it all made sense by the time I turned the last page.
There were some challenges with the edits on this book and although they didn't hurt the story overall, there were times that I had to pause to re-read the sentence to make sure I didn't miss something.
This was a solid book one in this series and I am curious to see where Garlick goes with the next book. Considering how Lumiere left off, I will definitely check out book two to see what happens next for these characters.
From page one; we are thrown into this steampunk world where for the last nine years the city of Brethren has lived in darkness. Eyelet, the main character, is the daughter of one of the top scientists Brethren has had and immediately we find out that something has happened to him. Additionally, Eyelet’s mother is accused of Wickedry and her world is turned completely upside down.
Because Eyelet suffers from seizures, she could be accused of Madness which would get her locked away. As Eyelet is on the run and searching for her father’s Illuminator (the machine that he invented to help her), she finds it being stolen away by a young man. In an attempt to not lose the machine, Eyelet and Urlick are thrown together and they slowly find that they have similar interests.
I thought these characters were interesting and there was a lot of action throughout the entire story. I though Garlick did a great job integrating the steampunk world into the story of this girl and boy who are both considered outcasts of society. As they slowly build a relationship with each other, they have to learn to trust and that is not something that comes easy to these two because of their childhoods.
The secondary characters add to the story and the connections between each of them tie the whole story together. This was another aspect of the story that I thought Garlick did well – there weren't any loose ends and it all made sense by the time I turned the last page.
There were some challenges with the edits on this book and although they didn't hurt the story overall, there were times that I had to pause to re-read the sentence to make sure I didn't miss something.
This was a solid book one in this series and I am curious to see where Garlick goes with the next book. Considering how Lumiere left off, I will definitely check out book two to see what happens next for these characters.
3.5 stars
Darkside Sun was a book that was brought to my attention and when I read the summary I was intrigued (hence the shelf it is on). I was pleasantly surprised with this story – there were some good and not so good parts (from my point of view) but in all, I thought this was a good book one for this series and I am interested to see where Adams goes with it.
Addison has always felt different – at least since she was six years old when she started seeing weird things happening to the walls in her house and other odd things coming through them. Now that she is in college it is a bit more difficult to hide the crazy stuff and on the day that we are introduced to her, she is headed to her Ancient Civilizations class which is taught by Professor Green. It also happens to be the day that she loses 30 minutes of her day with no idea what the heck happened. As she gets to class late, she realizes that Professor Green is going to make an example of her. What she doesn’t know is that something will come through the rift and expose her secret to Professor Green.
As the story unfolds, Addison finds out that Green is more than just a professor. He is part of a secret society called the Mortal Machine that has been tasked with protecting the world from wraiths and ensuring they don’t cross over and ultimately take over this world. As Addison is pulled unwillingly into this world, she is also threatened with losing the only person who has meant anything to her, her dad.
Green drags her into the Machine and slowly comes to understand just how much power Addison possesses. Mostly because, as we come to find, he has been watching her for years and know she can not only see the rift, but she can see the wraiths that are coming through. This is a big deal because no one else can do this. To keep her in line, he continually threatens to take away her identity and memories not only for her protection but for her dad’s. In the end, she does give in and decides that she will help if they promise to protect her father.
Addison was a bit confusing. She was quiet and allowed people to walk all over her at times and then there were other times where she was forceful and stood up for herself. I liked her more when she stood up for herself and as she started to grow into who she is and became comfortable with the power inside her, she became a more interesting character. I am interested to see what changes with her in the next book as she went through a lot and without giving away the end, I have a feeling that what happened will make an impact.
I’m not really sure how I feel about Asher Green. I get it…he is fighting hard against the draw he has toward Addison based on the things he has been led to believe by the Machine but the way he spoke to her and at times, treated her, made me cringe. I wish there were more of the parts where he wasn’t so cold and withdrawn from Addison. It might have made the feelings these two had for each other more believable. With that said, the ending was a killer and I can’t believe what he decided to do.
I liked the secondary characters and thought they added something to the rest of the book. Sofia and Remy are great and balance out the personalities of the other Sentinels. Where most of them are standoffish and don’t interact well with others, these two adapt to Addison’s personality and the human things she brings to the Machine, like touching, talking about things and just being human. I do have a feeling there is more to the Colonel than has been explained and I am curious to learn more about him.
I am interested to see where Adams goes with the rest of this story as there are still quite a few loose ends. Izan and his motives were not really resolved as he kind of disappeared at the end of the book. Additionally, we find out more about Addison’s mom but I’m hoping we get more exposure to who she was and where she is now. Obviously there is more to come with Asher and Addison but I just don’t know what and based on the ending, you can bet I will be checking out the next book to learn more. If you like a fast paced, paranormal that has some definite UST, you might like this one.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy.
Darkside Sun was a book that was brought to my attention and when I read the summary I was intrigued (hence the shelf it is on). I was pleasantly surprised with this story – there were some good and not so good parts (from my point of view) but in all, I thought this was a good book one for this series and I am interested to see where Adams goes with it.
Addison has always felt different – at least since she was six years old when she started seeing weird things happening to the walls in her house and other odd things coming through them. Now that she is in college it is a bit more difficult to hide the crazy stuff and on the day that we are introduced to her, she is headed to her Ancient Civilizations class which is taught by Professor Green. It also happens to be the day that she loses 30 minutes of her day with no idea what the heck happened. As she gets to class late, she realizes that Professor Green is going to make an example of her. What she doesn’t know is that something will come through the rift and expose her secret to Professor Green.
As the story unfolds, Addison finds out that Green is more than just a professor. He is part of a secret society called the Mortal Machine that has been tasked with protecting the world from wraiths and ensuring they don’t cross over and ultimately take over this world. As Addison is pulled unwillingly into this world, she is also threatened with losing the only person who has meant anything to her, her dad.
Green drags her into the Machine and slowly comes to understand just how much power Addison possesses. Mostly because, as we come to find, he has been watching her for years and know she can not only see the rift, but she can see the wraiths that are coming through. This is a big deal because no one else can do this. To keep her in line, he continually threatens to take away her identity and memories not only for her protection but for her dad’s. In the end, she does give in and decides that she will help if they promise to protect her father.
Addison was a bit confusing. She was quiet and allowed people to walk all over her at times and then there were other times where she was forceful and stood up for herself. I liked her more when she stood up for herself and as she started to grow into who she is and became comfortable with the power inside her, she became a more interesting character. I am interested to see what changes with her in the next book as she went through a lot and without giving away the end, I have a feeling that what happened will make an impact.
I’m not really sure how I feel about Asher Green. I get it…he is fighting hard against the draw he has toward Addison based on the things he has been led to believe by the Machine but the way he spoke to her and at times, treated her, made me cringe. I wish there were more of the parts where he wasn’t so cold and withdrawn from Addison. It might have made the feelings these two had for each other more believable. With that said, the ending was a killer and I can’t believe what he decided to do.
I liked the secondary characters and thought they added something to the rest of the book. Sofia and Remy are great and balance out the personalities of the other Sentinels. Where most of them are standoffish and don’t interact well with others, these two adapt to Addison’s personality and the human things she brings to the Machine, like touching, talking about things and just being human. I do have a feeling there is more to the Colonel than has been explained and I am curious to learn more about him.
I am interested to see where Adams goes with the rest of this story as there are still quite a few loose ends. Izan and his motives were not really resolved as he kind of disappeared at the end of the book. Additionally, we find out more about Addison’s mom but I’m hoping we get more exposure to who she was and where she is now. Obviously there is more to come with Asher and Addison but I just don’t know what and based on the ending, you can bet I will be checking out the next book to learn more. If you like a fast paced, paranormal that has some definite UST, you might like this one.
Thank you to the publisher for the review copy.
Really enjoyed this one and will be downloading the audio of book two immediately.
Not sure if I will continue...someone might just have to give me the rundown for book 3.
So a few people I know were tweeting/talking about this book so I was super happy when I received a copy.
Sam is a player and best friends with Ally who is a self-proclaimed geek. When Ally's boyfriend of 2 years breaks up with her, she asks Sam to teach her how to be more like him. I loved the switching point of views as it gave both sides of how the story progressed without creating a lot of repetition.
One of the great things about this story was the way the relationship changed between Sam and Ally. I liked the main characters and yes, even Sam. He was up front and honest about what he was willing to give and only as roles were reversed did he start to realize how lonely a life it was. The secondary characters (Rachel, Ian, Etienne, etc.) were great too.
The fact that there are Angel/Buffy/Spike references in this book along side Pinky and the Brain only made it that much better. I enjoyed the dialogue and thought it added to the interactions between all of the characters.
I liked this book and it was a fairly quick read. Also a good sign - I didn't really want to put it down.
Sam is a player and best friends with Ally who is a self-proclaimed geek. When Ally's boyfriend of 2 years breaks up with her, she asks Sam to teach her how to be more like him. I loved the switching point of views as it gave both sides of how the story progressed without creating a lot of repetition.
One of the great things about this story was the way the relationship changed between Sam and Ally. I liked the main characters and yes, even Sam. He was up front and honest about what he was willing to give and only as roles were reversed did he start to realize how lonely a life it was. The secondary characters (Rachel, Ian, Etienne, etc.) were great too.
The fact that there are Angel/Buffy/Spike references in this book along side Pinky and the Brain only made it that much better. I enjoyed the dialogue and thought it added to the interactions between all of the characters.
I liked this book and it was a fairly quick read. Also a good sign - I didn't really want to put it down.
There should be more than 5 stars available for this book...this series.
The Forever Song is book three in the Blood of Eden series by Julie Kagawa and oh my god I am going to do my best to review this so that I don’t include any spoilers. If you have read books one and two, you know that Kagawa doesn’t hold anything back and she takes the reader through just about every single emotion – this I what I love so much about this series. The other thing I love is that even though this is the final book, I had no idea what to expect her to do with these characters and their journey because even if I did go in expecting something to happen, I knew Kagawa would do something unexpected.
If you haven’t read any of the other books of this series I recommend you stop here, go get them now, and begin so that by the time this book comes out, you can dive right in.
The story picks up with Allison, Kanin, and Jackal hunting down Sarren. They need to catch him before he spreads the virus. On top of that, Allison wants revenge for what he did to Zeke and she doesn’t care what it will take to get him. Throughout the first quarter of the book we get to see how Allie still struggles with the monster inside of her. Without Zeke, she feels like she doesn’t have anything else left to keep her human and I thought this part was done really well. I think she had to fight that internal battle and face the pain of what happened before she could move forward.
Thankfully there is a balance of personalities around her as she faces this struggle. If she were alone with Jackal, I have a feeling she would have followed his path and become the monster she hated. Kanin is the one that helps her understand the choice is hers but she has to live with it…and his disappointment.
I really enjoyed seeing the relationships between these characters. Jackal is still the same old Jackal but as the story progresses, there is a shift in him. Yes, he wants to survive and will always take care of himself but now he is finding himself trusting Allie and helping other people. I love that despite that fact, he never really changed his personality. He was up front about what he wanted and didn’t apologize for anything he did. Also, his level of sarcasm was perfect.
As the group makes their way along the path of destruction that Sarren has left on his way to Eden, they are met with a number of surprises – none of which I can talk about without giving anything away…so I won’t. All you have to know is that Sarren is a twisted and deranged vampire who is doing whatever he can to break Allie and destroy the world. He doesn’t hold back at all and as Allie, Kanin, and Jackal uncover each horror he has left for them along the way, you can see just how crazy and determined he is.
I can’t really say much more about how the story progresses without potentially giving something up so I won’t. Just know that this series had me hooked from the very first page of book one and I never once lost interest in these characters and the paths they took. Kagawa has written a series that will have you running through every single emotion (good or bad) and begging for more. These books will be on my “Books I will love forever and ever” shelf for a long time (probably forever…) and if you are looking for a smart, well written, no holds barred, vampire series I recommend you start with this one.
To Julie Kagawa I say:
Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin TEEN for the review copy!
The Forever Song is book three in the Blood of Eden series by Julie Kagawa and oh my god I am going to do my best to review this so that I don’t include any spoilers. If you have read books one and two, you know that Kagawa doesn’t hold anything back and she takes the reader through just about every single emotion – this I what I love so much about this series. The other thing I love is that even though this is the final book, I had no idea what to expect her to do with these characters and their journey because even if I did go in expecting something to happen, I knew Kagawa would do something unexpected.
If you haven’t read any of the other books of this series I recommend you stop here, go get them now, and begin so that by the time this book comes out, you can dive right in.
The story picks up with Allison, Kanin, and Jackal hunting down Sarren. They need to catch him before he spreads the virus. On top of that, Allison wants revenge for what he did to Zeke and she doesn’t care what it will take to get him. Throughout the first quarter of the book we get to see how Allie still struggles with the monster inside of her. Without Zeke, she feels like she doesn’t have anything else left to keep her human and I thought this part was done really well. I think she had to fight that internal battle and face the pain of what happened before she could move forward.
Thankfully there is a balance of personalities around her as she faces this struggle. If she were alone with Jackal, I have a feeling she would have followed his path and become the monster she hated. Kanin is the one that helps her understand the choice is hers but she has to live with it…and his disappointment.
I really enjoyed seeing the relationships between these characters. Jackal is still the same old Jackal but as the story progresses, there is a shift in him. Yes, he wants to survive and will always take care of himself but now he is finding himself trusting Allie and helping other people. I love that despite that fact, he never really changed his personality. He was up front about what he wanted and didn’t apologize for anything he did. Also, his level of sarcasm was perfect.
As the group makes their way along the path of destruction that Sarren has left on his way to Eden, they are met with a number of surprises – none of which I can talk about without giving anything away…so I won’t. All you have to know is that Sarren is a twisted and deranged vampire who is doing whatever he can to break Allie and destroy the world. He doesn’t hold back at all and as Allie, Kanin, and Jackal uncover each horror he has left for them along the way, you can see just how crazy and determined he is.
I can’t really say much more about how the story progresses without potentially giving something up so I won’t. Just know that this series had me hooked from the very first page of book one and I never once lost interest in these characters and the paths they took. Kagawa has written a series that will have you running through every single emotion (good or bad) and begging for more. These books will be on my “Books I will love forever and ever” shelf for a long time (probably forever…) and if you are looking for a smart, well written, no holds barred, vampire series I recommend you start with this one.
To Julie Kagawa I say:
Thank you to Netgalley and Harlequin TEEN for the review copy!