A Shade of Vampire - Bella Forrest

I read this book because it kept popping up on my "recommended books" on Goodreads and Amazon.  I do love a good vampire story.  This one was a little different than I am used to.

The cover of this book is very pretty.  It fits pretty well with how I pictured the environment in the story.  I haven't read a vampire book yet where the vampires "kidnap" people and take them to their hidden world.  I was also interested in the "vampire royalty" because I have been reading quite a few books about royals lately, but never vampire royals.

This was a pretty creative take on the vampire world.  I thought the environment and situations that the characters were put in was very interesting.  I also got excited and anxious at some parts.  However, I did not develop an emotional connection with any of the characters.  I did have a soft spot for Derek, but it wasn't as intense as the connections I feel with characters in other books.  I was a little annoyed with Sofia.  She was kind of boring but also dumb in that she didn't seem scared that she had been abducted by vampires.  She was just flattered that Derek wanted her to be his.  I felt like if the characters had been developed a little more thoroughly, I would have enjoyed the book much more.

It was a really quick read that I breezed through in one evening, which is exactly what I needed on the day I read it.  I think that the way things were set up at the end, the next books in the series may be better than this one.  I am intrigued to find out what happens to Sofia and to Derek and his family.

The Secret of Ella and Micha - Jessica Sorensen

I seem to be back on my new adult kick these days.  I really liked the Callie and Kayden books, so I wanted to give this series a try and the library had it available.

I didn't really like this one as much as I did the Callie and Kayden books.  Don't get me wrong, it was well-written.  I like Jessica Sorensen's writing style.  I just was not as interested in the back story as I was for the other series.  I was actually more intrigued by the secondary characters, Lila and Ethan, than I was by Ella and Micha.  I will most likely skip ahead and read the Lila and Ethan books.  Ethan was more of my book boyfriend type.

I was interested in figuring out everything that happened to Ella's mother to make her end up like she did.  And I am also curious as to whether Ella and her brother can get their father the help he needs.  I thought the love that had previously grown between Ella and Micha was cute and I wish I had read a story about the two of them before the time period that this book begins.  (Right after I typed that, I looked at the author's website and saw that there is a "Prelude of Ella and Micha" coming soon - so that takes care of that!)

In other Jessica Sorensen book talk, I am SO INCREDIBLY EXCITED to read the Violet and Luke books from The Coincidence Series.  Also...I was thrilled to hear that she is writing Seth and Grayson's story.  I have never read a same-sex book before, but I am excited to read this one.  Seth is one awesome character and I wish he was my friend in real life.  I am excited to read about what I hope is his happily ever after.

Rising - Holly Kelly

I have become really bad about waiting forever after I read a book to blog about it.  I'm sorry.  Real life has been getting in the way of my fictional fantasy worlds.  Anyway, I read this book because it was the book of the month for April in my Goodreads group hosted by the wonderful people of Clean Teen Publishing.  Each month, they pick a FREE book from the CTP authors and everyone discusses the book, like in a regular book club.  If you haven't checked it out, you should definitely join the Goodreads group.  There are some great people who participate.  You can find the group here:  https://www.goodreads.com/group/show/97251-clean-teen-publishing

Obviously from looking at the cover, Rising is about mermaids (well actually mermaid-like creatures called Dagonians).  I've never been a big fan of the whole mermaid craze, but this book is pretty interesting.  It follows a "handicapped" girl through her journey to discover that her handicap really isn't what she believes it is.  Enter hot Dagonian.  It seems like every book I have read recently has a swoon-worthy male character, and this book is no exception.  If I wasn't so afraid of water, I would dive in the ocean in search of this hunky fish boy.

I like Holly Kelly's writing style.  She made me interested in a topic that I have never been interested in.  I loved how there was some mythology mixed in with the mermaid tale (pun totally intended).  I am fascinated by mythology so I was thoroughly engrossed in the story.

The only thing I really did not enjoy is that this was yet another story of boy and girl falling in love too fast.  I would love to read a series where the leading characters did not fall in love instantly or within a few weeks.  However, I am not holding that against the author or this book.  I know that in our book boyfriend fantasy worlds, we all dream of that hottie leading man sweeping us off our feet and having love at first sight (or if you are a male reading this, maybe you dream of finding that perfect girl and having a fairytale romance).

All in all, I did enjoy this book.  With the action at the end of the book and the knowledge that Triton gained, I am curious as to where the story will go in the future.  What can I say?  I'm a sucker for series books.

Celestra Forever After - Addison Moore

I cannot tell you how long I have waited for this book.  I've missed the adventures of Skyla, the Oliver boys, and my favorite Sector.  Celestra Forever After is a new adult continuation of the Celestra Series.  It even has our favorite (and not-so-favorite) characters from The Countenance Series.  I must admit, I can't get enough of Cooper Flanders.

Isn't the cover so neat?  I love the blue butterfly being the only color against the background image.  CFA picks up with Skyla and Gage off to Host.  The book takes us through the emotions of losing Logan and rekindling love with Gage.  It brings back Laken and Coop and introduces Skyla to Kresley and Grayson from The Countenance Series.

I think the author really outdid herself this time, as far as the Celestra books go.  It is beautifully written and full of emotion.  I fell in love with Gage all over again.  I felt betrayed and distraught over Gage's secret.  And for once, I did NOT see that one coming.  Gage's secret was shocking and heartbreaking, but it did not make me love him any less.

I loved that my other favorite characters like Ellis and Giselle were still there and still made me laugh.  Ellis with his burnout persona and Giselle with her innocence helped me find humor amidst my heartbreak.

This is a wonderful new chapter in Skyla's story.  I am glad that the end of the other  books did not mean the end of the Celestra story.  I cannot wait to find out what happens next and what role Chloe will play in everything.  I hated Chloe in the Celestra books.  She was evil, vindictive, and just all around a horrid person.  In CFA, she was still her usual unlikable self, but I can't help feeling that maybe she has everyone fooled.  I hope that as this series moves on, Chloe will have a chance to redeem herself.  It was a nice touch that while the CFA book alternated between the POVs of Skyla, Gage, and Logan, the very last chapter included Chloe's POV.  That made me believe that Chloe has a very big part to play in the future of this series.

The Key (The True Reign Series, book 1) - Jennifer Anne Davis

The Key is yet another great book with a killer cliffhanger.  Usually I start talking about the beginning of the book, but I am still distraught over the last paragraph and I finished reading this last weekend.  If I didn't already have a ton of books that I recently purchased to read, I would have immediately bought the sequel, Red.  I still probably will in the next couple of weeks.

Isn't the cover so pretty?  It looks mysterious and intriguing.  That's exactly how the book is.  The cover is very fitting to the story line.  As the series title suggests, this is a book about royalty.  I am not going to give a synopsis of the story line because I don't want to give away any spoilers, but it's a great one.  I loved being transported into a world of royalty.  There is so much, drama, deceit, betrayal, and hope in this book.  I became emotionally attached to Rema, the main character.  I kept hoping that she would realize who she was and that the evil powers that be would become defeated.

Every sentence of this book held my interest. Every chapter made me feel something.  This is a very well-written book.  As everyone knows, I love books that make me feel something.  And to make me feel multiple emotions is even better.  I cheered for Rema and wanted her to succeed.  I fell in love with Darmik because I truly believed that he was the good one in a family of a heartless king and an even more despicable prince.  I hated Prince Lennek and I wished I could crawl into this fictional royal world and punch him in the face.

And the ending!  It's one of the best cliffhangers I have read.  I sat on my couch with my mouth hanging open for what felt like eternity because I couldn't believe THAT was how it ended.  I cannot wait to find out what happens next.

The Wasteland - Emily Sims

I feel like it's been forever since I made a post.  I've been pretty sick and though I am just now getting to posting about the books I've been reading, I did finish them several days ago.  The first book I read this cycle was The Wasteland by Emily Sims.

The Wasteland is filled with a seemingly magical world of Royals, Commoners, and Guardians.  From the first chapter, we learn that Lylah and her sister Evie are Royals.  Powerful and beautiful and regal.  Unfortunately for Lylah, something tragic happens and she finds herself in a barren wasteland surrounded by a primitive group of people.

I felt sorry for Lylah for not being able to remember who she was or what she was, but I knew that she was safer if she didn't know.  The whole first half of the book, I was in constant anticipation for the day that Lylah would remember who she was.  I was angry at Matteo, the handsome leader of the primitive people because he was so mean to Lylah in the beginning.  I fell in love with the children in the book.  They were so sweet, yet their innocence had been taken from them because they constantly lived in fear of the enemy.

All of the action and excitement came at the end of the book.  I was nervous and angry and excited all at the same time while reading it.  I was angry because of the betrayal that Lylah faced at the end.  I am not sure if the author is going to have other books to follow this storyline, but I wouldn't be surprised if she did.  The last page left me wanting so much more.  I need to know what happens to all of the characters.  If she writes another, I will likely read it.