I really like Rhage and Mary. Rhage finding himself and Mary's personal losses and illness turning into a forever future with Rhage and his beast - really nice pairing here. Great follow up to the first.

One of the sadder stories I've ever read - someone who has suffered so much deserves so much happiness in the future, but it's so hard to move past those demons to allow yourself to have it. This one was different from the first two, darker, and started different as well - the connection between Bella and Zsadist having started earlier but their story really beginning with their separation here. Really really like this one.

Butch deserves his story. And Marissia deserves it even more. I'm happy with the way their story plays out. Plus, I like the development of John Matthew (Darius reincarnated) and his friends as well.

Probably my least fav so far, mostly because I think it's weird how it ended between V and Jane. I mean, the ghost thing is a creative out from the human situation (plus the Brotherhood needed a doc), but it's just a little odd. I do like the relationship between Butch and V - a lot.

Phury deserved his story and while parts of it were hard to read, I like him and Cormia. And I like where their path together is leading, what they are doing for the Chosen. Plus, the forward movement in John's story, Qhuinn's placement as his "guard," the return of Tohr (and who is this Lassiter guy?), Rehv's storyline, Xhex, LASH AND THE OMEGA, and Z and Bella's baby girl. Really - this one has the most overall story progression outside of the relationship, which I did like. Plus it leaves a lot more to look forward to now.

Damn - talk about a mind fuck. Left and right and back again, in circles, over and over. And literally the second you think you have anything figured out, this book turns it up-side-down AGAIN. I THINK, at the very end, we learned there are actually no aliens at all, just enhanced humans? Humans did this to their fellow humans? The extreme dystopia inherent in that plot line is horrifying. Truly. and in the middle of it all - poor Marika, or Ringer, as she has completely morphed into. The fact that she is still functioning at all, after everything her mind has been through (and body really) is a testament to the resilience of the young. And her connection with Razor, and what he did at the end to Teacup to set Ringer "free," was a stunner that I should have seen coming (since there is no holding back by Yancey on the loss in this series), but was still dumbstruck to read. And the unpredictability of love (Razor's for Ringer, Ringer's for Teacup and Razor too really, Cassie's for Sam and now Evan, Evan's for Cassie, and whatever is/was going on for poor Ben) - that that's the one thing that may save the human race as we know it, because it's impossible to guess how far someone would go for a person they love. Such a statement. Such a reality, really, if you've ever experienced love and imagined the what you would do if the worst were to happen. I can't wait to read the last one because, honestly, I just really want to know what is actually going on, what the reality is behind this mind fuck of a story. Damn.

I held off reading this for a long time, because the idea of cyborgs didn't really strike me...but eventually the hype about this series in the YA world, plus the fact that it's a bit of a fairy tale retelling (I have a pretty big soft spot for those) got to me. And I'm glad I read it. It was a fun start to a story and I'm excited to see where it goes, now that the Cinderella part is mostly already told. Now there's lots of options for next plot steps. I think I saw the "reveal" like 3 chapters into the book, but I know that's due mainly to the parallells to Cinderella - there's only so may ways it can have gone. However, even knowing what was coming, I enjoyed the read. I think the use of cyborg/technology actually ended up being a pretty cool original spin, and it didn't make things as awkward as I had expected. Also, the tech piece opens up room for a lot of extra tidbits in the story - the Lunar/moon colony, Cinder's mostly death and return from the brink, the ability to hide her origins and Lunar "powers" - pretty creative. I like that inter-weaved with the story we all already know and love. All in all, I think this was a well crafted retelling and start to a new series.

I read the first two Women of the Underworld books almost 5 years ago and was so disappointed that the rest were not available at the library. Now, with my interest rekindled by finding the show Bitten on Netflix, I was super happy to finally get my hands on the next ones. I miss Elena and Clay - they were a fantastic love story that I am sad is relegated to extra characters now, but so far Paige and Savannah (and now Lucas) have been as good of replacements as I could expect. The intrigue here continued over so cleanly from the last book, but also branched off well. I'm excited to see what comes next for the three of them, now that the Coven has kicked Paige out, Savannah has her full powers, and the final threat from Leah and the previous storylines are gone. This was an exciting adventure to read and as the witches discover the full extent of their powers, it'll be interesting to see what other supernatural creatures get added to the mix (and maybe there'll be that promised visit to Bear Valley too). And as always, the female power in the series is just spectacular ~ exactly what I want without being too over the top or unrealistic, with a splash of romance thrown in there. Perfect fun.

I just really enjoy these books. I loved having Clay and Elena and Jeremy back for a bigger role here. And Jamie was a fun new character. Plus, Cass and Aaron getting play time was a really fun addition. It was cool to see a version of the afterlife explored as well...to add another dimension - though now that Lucas has died once, it'll be interesting to see how that affects things/experiences from here on out. Overall, another enjoyable fast paced story that was fun to read. And I see the opening for the future now with Paige training new young witches and partnering more with Lucas, so that'll be fun to follow. Also, Lucas and Benicio getting onto better terms opens up a lot of future drama opportunities.

As always, Kearsley delivers. The setting, the characters, the parallel story lines of past and present, star crossed lovers, the whole deal. This was a beautifully sad love story in the past culminating in a finally well deserved happy ending in the present. I enjoyed the side stories of Rachel/Evan and Vivian/Tom (and reasonably heartbroken by crolina and her poor baby) and the little sprinkling of history, the plague, Charles Stuart, the Cromwells, was fun background flavor that added to the drama. I do wonder what Geoff will feel when he finds out what has happened while he was gone, but since he is known for his dalliances, hopefully his recovery won't be too bad. The idea of fate and the continuation of souls is so interesting, though the loss of choice in who you end up with is an interesting question raised... And also the Prince Charming vs boy next door happy ending is explored here, well done, but perhaps a commentary on who Prince Charming actually ends up being. Overall though, very lovely, lightheartedly love story read, exactly what I wanted and why I keep picking up Kearsley's novels.