Grace Lynn Stevenson and Sebastian Caldwood seem to be from two different worlds. But when Sebastian decides he wants to get to know Grace better, it just seems to happen. Things seem to work out that way a lot for Sebastian. When Grace fianlly admits that she wants to know him better as well, all sorts of strange things begin to happen, but in the process she alienates her family and group of friends. The thing is, she's pretty sure she's better off without most of them. Sebastian's big secret is about to become a huge part of Grace's life - more than you can imagine. What starts as a simple love story turns into a great adventure full of strange paranormal events, but it all seems so believable. I think that's what I like the most about the story. Suzi Davis writes in a way that makes these events seem perfectly normal in her world. There were some parts of Sebastian and Grace's relationship and conversation that got just a little repetitive, but it was easy to fogive with such a great story. This was a great start to the series with a bit of a cliffhanger at the end. While most of the main storyline had a fantastic resolution and all of the questions were answered, there's no doubt that there is much much more to the story still to come. - See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2013/11/review-amber-frost-by-suzi-davis.html#sthash.JRM4AOHE.dpuf

A little disclosure on my part - I'm not a fan of Charles Dickens writing style, but I have always loved the idea behind Oliver Twist.

Olivia has had a hard life with few bright spots scattered here and there. As a foster kid she has learned to take care of herself and keep people at a distance so she doesn't get hurt when it's time to move on again. Her most recent move and change of schools has brought her into the Z's (yes that is what he's called) world. Z is instantly attracted to Olivia's skills on the computer - but he's intentions aren't all that great.

As Z pulls Olivia deeper and deeper into the world of hackers, Olivia is going to have to make some very tough decisions about the morality of what she is being asked to do. Throughout this struggle, Vivi Barnes manages to include some wonderful references straight from Oliver Twist that made me grin each time.

A story full of growth and growing up on every page. Both Olivia and Z are some of the most dynamic characters I've seen. This is very important as the story reaches it's incredible climatic high point that had me sitting on the edge of my seat praying for everything to work out well. Vivi Barnes seems to have captured the spirit of Oliver Twist and brought it to a new life in today's world with today's problems and issues. This was a slam dunk all the way.
- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2013/11/review-olivia-twisted-by-vivi-barnes.html#sthash.TBrxHBXN.dpuf

Mackenzie may know a lot about the mythology of werewolves, but she has no clue they actaully exist until she gets bitten and goes through the change herself. Terrified of what she may do when she turns on the full moon, she runs. When the female alpha of a very large pack finds her and invites her to stay with them so they can guide her through the transition, she jumps at the chance. It doesn't hurt that the very cute and charming Geoff will be with her every step of the way either. But something doesn't feel right, and when Mackenzie starts to figure a few things out, she realizes that things may be even worse than she first thought they were.

The Tempering got off the a bit of a slow start for me with Mackenzie really sinking into a moping phase. I don't blame her for the emotion, it would suck to get changed the way she was, but it did seem to get a little repetitive. Once she meets the other wolves, things change quickly and the story takes off running. This was a big turning point in the momentum of the storyline and it was just far more interesting that the very beginning.

I really loved Mackenzie's character. She's not ashamed of the fact that she isn't the perfect woman, and she doesn't let anyone talk down to her. Her attitude was fantastic and once she got used to her new life, we see it come back with a little werewolf confidence to back it all up. I wasn't a big fan of Geoff until near the end and I'm still reserving judgement until I see what they are up to in book two. A pretty good start to a series, I'm not sure when book two will be out, but I'm going to keep an eye out for it.
- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2013/11/review-tempering-by-adrianne-james.html#sthash.R1HE0NUH.dpuf

Cinderella is one of the most romantic fairy tales in my opinion. Hope keeps the spirit of the Cinderella story alive in her newest book, The Cinderella Seduction. I loved Stephanie's character and her family played their parts in the story perfectly. Constantly relying on her to pick up the slack and take care of things, she never seemed to know how to say no. her step sisters were priceless. I could just picture them screeching in the background and complaining just like the original story.

Nick was an iffy prince charming at first. Known for trying a new flavor of woman every few weeks, he really didn't fit the mold of the traditional prince charming. But leave it up to an adorable seven year old to make a man change his ways for the better. He was chivalrous, charming, and handsome. His daughter managed to show him that being a prince charming was the better way to be.

Their story has a few ups and downs as it goes. Even though it dutifully followed the Cinderella storyline, there were a few surprises thrown in to keep things interesting and different. I may just have to go back and read the beginning of the series.

Diana by the Moon takes place in Arthurian England - but it is far from your typical story from this time period. Diana is a young Roman woman left to run her family's estate after a Saxon raid kills the men. She is a very strong character, but the experiences she had during the raid have left her emotionally scarred with a very hard edge to her personality. The other women left behind, as well as her little sister Minna, are doing everything they can to try and run the estate to make food for them to survive.

Alaric is a soldier with the celt, Arthur. Diana hates Arthur - she places part of the blame of the Saxon raid on his shoulders. Alaric is one of the most loyal soldiers Arthur has and everything he does is for Arthur. When he offers Diana protection in exchange for food and shelter he has no idea how slim things are. As they work the estate together they become more and more close, with an uneasy friendship developing between them.

There is a lot of charcter building in the story which I love. Both Diana and Alaric are so very well developed with a depth to them I don't see very often in a romance. There were a few side storylines amongst the other characters to help keep the story interesting at all times as well. This would have gotten five starts but for two things. One is a pet peeve about either of my main characters having sex during the book with someone other than the other leading character. I know that it happened during the time and it was historically accurate, but it's just something I'm not a fan of. This was a great story and I'm so glad I read it.

I would recommend reading book one first as several characters carry over, but it isn't necessary to have read it to follow the main romance in book two. Total side note - I love how the two covers look next to each other.

Book two of the Immortal Heart series is just as exciting and fun as the first. Kenzie is a fiesty little blood tiger that lives with her family separate from any gens (a group/pack of blood tigers). She's an amazing character - full of spice and not afraid to go head to head with the boys. She was so much fun. On the other hand, Joshua is far far too serious - but he's also really old and lonely. They were a very interesting match and it led to a lot of great word play between the two.

Joshua meets Kenzie when he is sent out to investigate an entire gens that has disappeared. It looks to be done by some of the same baddies we meet in book one. The first part of the book really focuses primarily on Kenzie and Joshua's relationship, but the second have really pulls in the action that vampire vs tiger-shifter can have. There are a few surprises in this one as not everyone's loyalty is where it seems at first, but that just keeps things more interesting.

The ending was just a tad drawn out for me. I would have liked to see them get out of the mountains and into the action again a little sooner, although the addition of a new type of character was very interesting to read about. Book three is supposed to be out any day now, and I hope I can get my hands on it soon.

Evie and Wes are complete opposites. Evie is the wildchild that never follows directions and Wes had followed the perfect path and does everything right. Wes isn't thrilled to find Evie causing a scene on the plane, but something is different about her now - or maybe it's him that's different. It sounds like an intriguing storyline, but I had a hard time connecting to either character. It seemed just a little too one-night-standish to me. *This book was received in exchange for an honest review*

Death is but a Dream is a book about the Greek gods - yes, they're real - as Callie finds out when she sacrifices herself to save a little girl. Hades instantly hires her to become his son's, Plutus, body guard and to try and find out who is trying to kill him. Seems like quite a daunting task for a lowly mostly-dead mortal. She jumps right in though, using the skills she picked up as a detective to try and find out who the assassin is.

I think the part I enjoyed most of this story was Callie's time in the underworld. I loved getting to meet so many mythical characters - and Cerebrus was a big favorite. Her "partner", a fury named Tisiphone, is also a lot of fun and amazingly resourseful when push comes to shove.

The story continually surprised me on every page. So many times it seemed like it was about to wrap everything up, and it would all come apart - but each twist was done in a way that it never seemed to get old. I felt like I had the storyline of three novels in one - and the character development didn't suffer for it either. I think even the gods, goddesses, and various other immortal beings were even dynamic, which I imagine would be difficult since they have such big, set in stone, personalities.

Unfortunately, the only person that did disappoint me a little was Plutus himself. He just didn't grow fast enough for my taste - others may love him though. He needed to come out of his shell earlier for me to have really liked him. But since he was a main character it lowered my rating of the story.

This was a great modern mythology book that I think even young adults would enjoy (even though it is about an adult).

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review* - See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2013/11/review-death-is-but-dream-by-erin-hayes.html#sthash.zlkyrYJR.dpuf

How would you like to have your soul used as a poker chip - a very expensive one - but still a poker chip. Catherine has managed to have her soul traded not once, but it looks like twice now, in a high stakes poker game of the gods. Now, it's not just Greek gods we're talking about here, although Eris does play a very large roll, but gods from across the pantheons. It was really cool watching the different dieties interact with Cat, Marius, and each other. Of course no one, except the gods, is really sure that Cat's soul was up to begin with, but Cat and Marius have promised to help each other out - and maybe save them both from Eris in the end.

Cat was a fun character, but there was so much she never knew about herself - and boy was she pissed when she found out some of it. She was a computer wiz with no social life outside her little techie sphere. There were several times when Marius, the satyr, was ablt to completely steal the show from her. He was suave, sophisticated, and a complete ass - in a humorous way (Cat may disagree with me there). The story was exciting with the various gods all trying to test Cat and see what made her tick - almost like a little lab experiment. I know, a little twisted, but what else to gods have to do.

The only part of this book that rubbed me a little wrong was that it screamed sequel at me. So I hunted and looked to see what I could find. I was enjoying the story so I figured why not read the first one first? But there was none - at least not that I could find. So I kept reading thinking maybe I had totally missed something. They did eventually explain the past that was repeatedly referenced, but it was almost at the end of the book. If I was the author, I would write a quicky novella about Cat's past with Daphne as a prequel - I really want to know more now!

And on a totally random side note: I loved this cover!!!

*This book was received in exchange for an honest review*
- See more at: http://hotofftheshelves.blogspot.com/2013/11/review-wild-card-by-jamie-wyman.html#sthash.tNHd1GSx.dpuf

We all know the story of Shakespeare's Hamlet, probably from high school english class (I was the nerd that loved it), but this is a very different version. The story line is still there and correct, all the people that died still die, and in the same way - we just get a different view of their motives and reasons behind their actions - because this time Ophelia tells the story. Instead of a castle, we have Elsinore Academy - a sprawling old-fashioned highly private school run by the Danemarks - and so the stage is set for one of my favorite tragedies to be told again in a completely new life. The thing that stood out the most for me was the writing itself - it was beautifully written. Dot Hutchison kept the flowing and lyrical style of Shakespeare, but didn't get hung up on the fancy language. The pages flew by and I was captivated by every word. Her desriptions were amazing - both scenery and characters brought to life. Since the story is told by Ophelia, we do not get to see the very end of Shakespeare's original, but we are left without a doubt of what will still happen. Even for people who do not like the original, they will fall in love with this modern telling of one of the most beautiful plays ever written. *This product was received in exchange for an homest review*