Chase the Dark (Steel & Stone) by Annette Marie Review

Series: Steel & Stone #1
Publish: October 17th 2014 by Annette Marie
Format: ebook, 304 pages
Rating: 5 / 4.5

Synopsis: Piper Griffiths wants one thing in life: To become a Consul, a keeper of the peace between humans and daemons. There are precisely three obstacles in her way.
The first is Lyre. Incubus. Hotter than hell and with a wicked streak to match. His greatest mission in life is to get Piper into bed and otherwise annoy the crap out of her. The second is Ash. Draconian. Powerful. Dangerous. He knows too much and reveals nothing. Also, disturbingly attractive — and scary. Did she mention scary?
The third is the Sahar Stone. Top secret magical weapon of mass destruction. Previously hidden in her Consulate until thieves broke in, went on a murder spree, and disappeared with the weapon.
And they left Piper to take the fall for their crimes.
Now she’s on the run, her dreams of becoming a Consul shattered and every daemon in the city gunning to kill her. She’s dead on her own, but there’s no one she can trust — no one except two entirely untrustworthy daemons... See problems one and two.

Review:
  This is the first book from the author that I read so I didn’t really know what to expect. Especially since the synopsis kind of suggests a story that starts in the middle of the action. And it’s really starts with a BANG but not like you would expect. First we get a proper introduction of the more important characters and the world.

  For one I think the slightly dystopian setting is a bit misplaced here because it hasn’t got much of an importance in regard of the story, but helps to explain the new world structure, so can be believable. And I actually liked how the author justified some elements in her story.
  It plays a bit further future from us and a lot of things could be possible she described about their history, at least the non supernatural part of it.
  The story itself quite fast paced and full of action and a bit of humor. We get to know about the structure of the society, how things work and actually it’s easy to understand and follow. Oh, also the way how the people and the government relate to daemon kind is believable. The existing hierarchy, however much it’s infuriates people, is more realistic as it is than it would be otherwise.

  To this exciting story the fantastic characters add a decidedly positive flare.
  Piper is a strong, determined and badass character, who works extra hard to satisfy others expectations, however much it is a losing battle. She has the shortcomings, mainly her blind yearning for magic. She thinks being able to wild magic would be the solution of all her problems and because of this she makes a couple of stupid mistakes and has a few self-pitying session. Those are her more pathetic moments. But I think she is extremely strong and admirable since she still can stand her own without magic. I like it about her. She is quite resourceful when it needed, not as overconfident and judgmental than other prefects and haemons. Thanks to this she forms a freaking amazing team with Ash and Lyre. I loved the dynamic and interactions between the three of them. I just hope that the budding love triangle gets nipped before it has time to really bloom. I don’t like love triangles. Her relationship with her father, who is the main source of her disappointments, is really heartbreaking. But after things she done to save and please him, he doesn’t deserve her attention anymore.
  Lyre is the team ‘peacekeeper’. He is an incubus and tries to lighten the mood in the hard moments which they have quite a lot. He is loyal to Ash but I think, he has a soft spot and feelings for Piper. Doesn’t really have a lot of chance thanks to the girl love history but certainly tries a lot. He is the light to Ash’s dark, they are like completely opposites in almost everything, in appearance and personality, but here and there we see his darker side, too. I like him but he is more like an overprotective and annoying older brother, than a love interest.
  Ash is the brooding, dark star. He is really strong, powerful and has a real understanding about how things go and what’s right but you can feel that he carries an enormous burden. The source of this however stays a mystery; it’s his upbringing, loyalties, his true form or even his past actions. We don’t really get to know. He does a lot of questionable things but doesn’t ask for permission or forgiveness, he is sure of himself and stands beside what he believes in, be it right or wrong.
  I am rooting for him in the love interest department since in this kind of books I like the brooding and dark types, the bad boys.

  After a while the bad guys’ identity becomes quite obvious. There are a lot of good scenes in the book and it flows so fluidly I couldn’t put it down, finished it in no time. I absolutely loved Piper fighting scenes in the ring and in the end of the story, too. She proves herself time and time again, it becomes obvious that she is good and stands a chance in the daemon world, even without magic, but unfortunately her hype doesn’t last long. I hope in the next book she gains a little bit of confidence. I loved the book and can’t wait to read the next installment.

By Viki

Infinity Bell (House Immortal) by Devon Monk Review

Series: House Immortal #2
Publish: March 3rd 2015 by Roc
Format: ebook, 368 pages
Rating: 5 / 4.5

Synopsis: Matilda Case isn’t normal. Normal people aren’t stitched together, inhumanly strong, and ageless, as she and the other galvanized are. Normal people’s bodies don’t hold the secret to immortality—something the powerful Houses will kill to possess. And normal people don’t know that they’re going to die in a few days.
Matilda’s fight to protect the people she loves triggered a chaotic war between the Houses and shattered the world’s peace. On the run, she must find a way to stop the repeat of the ancient time experiment that gifted her and the other galvanized with immortality. Because this time, it will destroy her and everything she holds dear.
Caught in a cat-and-mouse game of lies, betrayal, and unseen foes, Matilda must fight to save the world from utter destruction. But time itself is her enemy, and every second brings her one step closer to disaster....

Review:
  After getting over the minor gross details in House Immortal I got sucked into the series, so it wasn't even a question to read the second book. Especially after the cliffhanger. We get a wider picture of the original and quite complex world the story played in. There is a lot of new element in this book and is really exiting, too mainly because it doesn't spend that much time explaining the world mechanics. However I still think that it wouldn't be a functional world structure but that dosen't important in case of the book.

  The wonderful cast returned and there are a coule of new character, too. Matilda is still a really strong and badass heroine dispite the fact that she lived a really sheltered life. Her character developes in some regard, but we get to know her more naive side too. Especially when it's about his brother. She wants to protect the people and its good but her blind faith in Quinten is ine of her stupidest mistake. However at the end she starts to think for herself and that is a positive inprovement. Her relationship with Abraham blooms in this story, not in tha space I expected and after the last chapter of the book I have serious doubts about their future. My heart broke for her, but still hope for a happy ending.
  Abraham didn't change a bit, but we get to know a bit more about his real personality. He proves time and time again that he is a true leader, but not a uppity. Dispite this he still stays a mystery, and don't even start with his change in the end.
  For me this book is not perfect because of Quinten, I absolutly hated him. He is one of the most megalomanic and even egoistic character I ever read about. He was supposed to be so smart but didn't think that if you change a monumental event in the past the present will completly change. Oh and he even blamed Matilda for a lot of things, he didn't have a right. In Matilda place I would have leaved him behind.

  The cliffhanger in the end simply killed me and broke my heart. I really looking forward the next book and hope for the best. I think the author built a fantatic world and impressed me with her uniqe idea, made me thinking of trying her other series again.

By Viki

Step-Lover by Bella Jewel Review

Series: -
Publish: March 9th 2015 by Bella Jewel
Format: ebook, 231 pages
Rating: 5 / 4.5

Synopsis: You’ll only ever have one forbidden love.
Care to know why?
Because when you find it, forbidden love that is, you’ll forget everything else. You’ll forget your first kiss. You’ll forget the first boy who made you smile. You’ll forget all the bad, and remember all the good. You’ll forget that it’s wrong. You’ll forget that it hurts. You’ll forget everything that came before him.
Forbidden love, it has a way of changing you. The secrets. The lies. The guilt. You want something so much you no longer care about the world around you. The passion takes away the pain. I’ve felt it. I’ve lived it. I didn’t need it, but it chose me.
I met him before I knew. I loved him before I knew.
I didn’t know that he was my stepbrother. I knew I had stepbrothers, but I didn’t know he was one of them. Now I know, I have to walk away. My mom, she deserves this happiness so much more than I do. If she ever knew…it would destroy her.
You have to understand why.
I saw my father die right in front of my tiny, eight year old eyes. He took my sister with him. All that’s left is my mother and I. She’s found her happy place, the only place she’s had since our worlds were destroyed.
So you see, I can’t have him.
I can’t want him.
But there’s this problem with passion, and love, and destiny.
It doesn’t give you a damned choice.

Review:
  Nowdays there is so much book about step- siblings you practicly find one for every day. I'm pretty choosy about these kind of stories but I like Bella Jewel writing style so I picked it up.
  She doesn't dissapoint, I only have one little problem with it and thats why I couldn't gave it a perfect rating.

  First of all about the plot. It's pretty straight forward and not really that complicated. Thanks to that it's a light but fantastic read. I love how its unfolds from a simple family vacation to a serious disaster. There's a lot of heartbreaking emotion in the background and a couple of times I almost started to cry. It's quite a delight to watch how 6 people became a tight and loving family. I loved the family dinamism and the relationships Aria formed with the trhee brother.
  For the most part, I did enjoy the story, sure it had its moments and the characters drove me crazy, especially Aria because let me tell you if somebody did to me what Blade did to Aria I would have kick him to the curb after the first time. But Aria blindly and at some point I think even selfdestructively loved him. This was my problem. And then there was the fact that she still suffered because of the nightmares. That was a bit overkill for me. Oh and don't even talk about Blade actions. I loved most of the secondary characters and I can't wait for their respective stories.

  There is everything in the book romance, tragedy, action and humor. The ending felt a bit rushed but overall, I'm statisfied and happy with it. Bella Jewel done it again.

Magic Breaks (Kate Daniels) by Ilona Andrews Review

Series: Kate Daniels #7
Publish: July 29th 2014 by Ace
Format: ebook, 400 pages
Rating: 5 / 4.5

Synopsis: As the mate of the Beast Lord, Curran, former mercenary Kate Daniels has more responsibilities than it seems possible to juggle. Not only is she still struggling to keep her investigative business afloat, she must now deal with the affairs of the pack, including preparing her people for attack from Roland, a cruel ancient being with god-like powers. Since Kate’s connection to Roland has come out into the open, no one is safe—especially those closest to Kate.
As Roland’s long shadow looms ever nearer, Kate is called to attend the Conclave, a gathering of the leaders from the various supernatural factions in Atlanta. When one of the Masters of the Dead is found murdered there, apparently at the hands of a shapeshifter, Kate is given only twenty-four hours to hunt down the killer. And this time, if she fails, she’ll find herself embroiled in a war which could destroy everything she holds dear. . .

Review:
  Finally, after almost a whole year waiting here is the next installment in the Kate Daniels series. There are only 5 or so 'long' series that I follow and this is one of those and probably my favourite one. My only problem is that there is whole year long waiting between books. It's a fantastic story but in this and the previous book I started to notice really small changes in the general direction of the plot, I don't say that these changes are bad just different. I'm curious where it's headed.

  In the beginning of the series there were different main stories, what didn't really related and behind those run Kate own background story. Where Kate parentage and abilities were a bit hidden from the readers and gradually came to light through the first 5 book. I really liked those because there was a sense of mytery behind the whole, otherwise interesting, exciting and adventurous plot. However in the sixth installment everything became clear and started to focus on Kate mission, the one she got from Voron. This is true for Magic breaks, too. Don't get me wron I still love the series, mainly because of the characters and the world the story is playing, but between the pack politics and the problems with Kate father there is too much drama for me. It's still interesting and action packed but if you doesn't pay attention you can miss something importat and became a little confused in the end. I loved a bit more when Kate came and after a minimal investigating work, she fought her way through the bad guys. Beside this little detail story wise everything else stayed the way I love it or became better. Although I think the plot is bit rushed here and there and drawn out in the beginning but that can be easily overlooked.Oh and another thing, for some reason the writer duo started to use mor detailed retrospections, which I think is not necessary since anybody who wants to read the book will stast with the first and not the seventh.

  Kate is my all time favourite female character.I love her personality, she is a real badass. Sure there are quite a few obstacle in her way and most of them pack related since she doesn't really know how to handle those problems, still her head is always held high and if it necessary she pulls her killer persona out and put everybody in their place. She has a hard and not quite friendly childhood, she became a trained killer and due to this she was a little emotionally closed of in the beginning. Well until Curran and Julie, sure she cared about people that she didn't show it. Since her family came into the picture however, Kate started to change. And in this book this change reached a whole new level. I would say that Kate shows the most emotion in here. In my opinion Kate character developed a lot and became more human . I just love her more.
  Curran is still supporting Kate in everything she needs. Their love is really strong and beautiful. Unfortunately, he isn't present most of the book, I missed him really much. But when he is there he is one of the most caring and protective man, but he has a hard edge, if somebody gets in his way there is no telling what is gonna happen. I always liked him but after this book I absolutely love him. There is a huge and surprisisng decision on his part, which just strengthen his relationship with Kate.

  There is a lot of surprise in this book, mostly from the pack side. They, as a whole, don't really like Kate, they don't think that she is a capable leader mainly because she isn't a shifter. And they show their disapproval every chance they get. Sure there are a few invidual, who know and suport Kate and I love them. One of my favourite character is Dreke from the very beginning. But in the last two book there was a lot of changes supportive charavcter wise, too. For example some of them took a whole one-eighty or just simply became irrevelant. Some of them dissapeared from the limelight. I miss Julie. Howeve I can't wait to see Hugh die. He transformed from the feared warlord to a maniac with an unhealty obsession with Kate. He just simply annoying.

  In the end of the book we we can see a lot of surprises. There is a part in the plot I'm a little dissapointed in. I won't say in which because it plays a huge part in the whole but I expected a bit more from it. Especially based on the previous books. I'm dissapointed in the how but not in the outcome. I think it is a more acceptable than what I was expecting. I love how it turned out and can't wait for the next book. I got an absolutely fantastic, beautiful and magical story again.

Lick (Stage Dive) by Kylie Scott Review

Series: Stage Dive #1
Publish: October 11th 2013 by St. Martin's Griffin
Format: ebook, 232 pages
Rating: 5 / 4.5

Synopsis: Waking up in Vegas was never meant to be like this.
Evelyn Thomas’s plans for celebrating her twenty-first birthday in Las Vegas were big. Huge. But she sure as hell never meant to wake up on the bathroom floor with a hangover to rival the black plague, a very attractive half-naked tattooed man, and a diamond on her finger large enough to scare King Kong. Now if she could just remember how it all happened.
One thing is for certain, being married to rock and roll’s favourite son is sure to be a wild ride.

Review:
  Then I first came across this book, I wasn't etirely sure about it because the author previous books I didn't like. Fortunately when I finished I was really relieved. It is a fantastic and beautiful book about a sweet romance between Evelyn and David. There is a distinctive humor in it. I love the way how the author writes the dialogues, it is phenomenal and because of it the romantic line feels so much stronger, emotional that it's amazing.

  Both of the main characters personality is detailed and for me likeable. I like that their relationship is began with a crazy, impulsive decision wich shows quite well waht kind of life David have. Sure it's not so favorable for Evelyn who has a life plan, but their meeting turns everything upside down. But she represents David connection with the ordinary world, what he desperately craves. Thanks to that they form a dynamic link and learn a lot from each other about life, love and what is really important in the end. However both character learn in my opinion Evelyn developes the most during the story. She realizes she doesn't want her planed life and starts to disciver herself more. It is an interesting process to follow.
  Oh and I absolutely love David's character. He is kind from the beginning and fortunately he doesn't have the ususal and overused rock star personality traits. It is easy to empathize with him.

  The romance is beautiful. I love their chemistry and the little light hearted back and forth between them. The whole relationship feels honest and authentic. Especially after they realize that the attraction is really threre and not just the cause of their drunkennes. In emotions the book is a spot on. Congratulation Kylie Scott, good job. It isn't forced or overdramatic. Indeed you can find a lot of tension in the story but it just became more intense because of it. The only thing I don't like quite much is the fact that Evely leaves David every other turn. He has to beg and work a lot for her, a little bit too much inmy opinion.

  I have to mention the supportive characters, too. They're all built up exceptionally and despite their part in the plot I like almost all of them. There is david ex who is a hateful and obnoxious but excellent at that or my personal favourite Mal, the funny, charming drummer, who created a lasting impression.

  It is a new adult book and like this genre or not, I still recommend it. I isn't falling into the usuall box, like others about rockers so it is a breathe of fresh air. A fresh, light, sexy, fascinating story.