Half-Blood - Jennifer L. Armentrout

Okay, I just realized that I never published my review for this book.  I read it earlier this month.  I am such a bad blogger!  Shame on me!

Half-Blood picks up where Daimon left off . . . with Alex being rescued from the daimons by the Covenant, including Aiden, the super-hot Sentinel.  Alex struggles to fit in at the Covenant after being gone for so long with her mother.  She gets trained by Aiden to try and prove to her uncle and step-father that she has what it takes to stay at the Covenant and train to be a Sentinel.  She wants to kill the creatures responsible for her mother's demise.  Unfortunately, Alex finds out that her mother is not really dead - she has turned into one of the evil creatures that hunts the Hematoi.  Alex has to struggle with training, figuring out how she can combat her mother, and trying not to fall in love with a forbidden pure-blood.

The story takes us on a fantastical journey in the world of the Hematoi, beings descended from gods.  It is full of mythology, action, humor, and attraction.  The book was very well written and held my interest over every word.  I read the entire thing in one sitting and honestly cannot wait to read more.  I am very happy that our library has this series in circulation and will be placing a hold on the next book soon.

Wait for You - J. Lynn

I was so excited to pick up Wait for You by Jennifer Armentrout, writing as J. Lynn.  My friend Cara read this series in a matter of a couple days and was raving about it, so I knew I had to check it out.  I was not disappointed!

I had trouble reading the beginning, not because the story was bad, but because it takes place in an area in West Virginia where I have some not-so-pleasant memories.  Once I got past my own issues, I devoured the book.

This is another new adult romance.  Avery moved from Texas to West Virginia for college to escape the horrible memories of what happened to her at a Halloween party several years ago.  She has never dated and is kind of fearful of relationships, so of course she meets Cam, the epitome of book boyfriend.  Cam is instantly intrigued by Avery and Avery keeps shooting him down until one day she wakes up to her desires and gives him a chance.  She learns to deal with her issues and enjoy life in college.

The author takes us on an adventure of falling in love, facing our past demons, and learning to trust.  It is a beautifully written love story that left me wanting more.  The characters are so well-developed.  I found myself easily able to relate to them and wishing that I knew them in real life.  I have a serious fictional character crush on Cam, the studly former athlete.  I'm pretty sure that Jennifer Armentrout could re-write the phone book and it would be equally amazing.  I love her writing style and her fictional worlds.

I immediately purchased the other two books in the series and cannot wait to read them.  Hopefully by the time I finish the next two, the fourth book will be out.  I even bought the actual physical books so I could have them for my book collection.

Concealed in the Shadows/Released from the Darkness

The awesome author, Gabrielle Arrowsmith, is having an anniversary party over on Facebook for the anniversary of the publish date of Concealed in the Shadows.  As part of the games for the party, I am including the book trailers for both CITS and RFTD.  These are both excellent books and I highly recommend reading them if you are into the dystopian genre.  Check out the book trailers below:

Concealed in the Shadows trailer

Released from the Darkness trailer

Misunderstandings - Tiffany King

As indicated from my last post, Misunderstandings (Woodfalls Girls #2) was released this week. I haven't read the first book in this series yet, but it didn't seem to matter when I read this.  I was able to follow the story just fine.  I went on a mad adventure trying to find a paperback copy and finally succeeded at Barnes & Noble, though I had to make someone go "to the back" to get it. Not sure why they didn't have it out on display the day after it released, but the important point is that I finally got my copy.

I have to begin by saying that I REALLY enjoyed this book.  After reading so many romance books, they kind of start running together for me, but this one was different enough to really capture my attention.  Rather than having alternating POVs of characters, it alternates between present day and the past relationship of Brittni and Justin.  That was a creative touch that I haven't encountered before.

The characters were very well written.  I could relate to them easily and felt their emotions.  Their relationship and the obstacles they faced were pretty realistic.  Justin is my perfect book boyfriend, even though he comes off as a player and a butthead.  He's got the tattooed-bad-boy-artist thing going for him, which is incredibly sexy.  He was not obnoxiously cheesy like some leading men are in romance books.  Brittni was very easy to relate to with her quick wit and skepticism over the bad boy.

All in all, I absolutely loved this book.  I can't wait until No Attachments comes out in paperback so I can add it to my ever-growing bookshelf.  Tiffany King is a fabulous author and I cannot wait to read more of her books.

Release Day! Misunderstandings - Tiffany King

Misunderstandings

A Woodfalls Girls Novel

by Tiffany King

Available Now

Purchase Links

Penguin.com

Amazon

iBookstore

Barnes & Noble

Books-A-Million

Target

Indie Bound

Powell's

“Funny, real, moving and passionate, Misunderstandings is a MUST-READ for NA contemporary romance fans."--New York Times bestselling author Samantha Young

“Super sweet and swoon-worthy!”— #1 New York Times Bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout

Just when she thought things were going up…

Two years after a devastating breakup, Brittni Mitchell has moved on from Justin Avery—or so she tells herself. But when she returns to Seattle for her best friend’s engagement party, Brittni finds herself the victim of a disastrously timed elevator breakdown. She’s trapped with the last person she wants to face, and forced to recount the past she desperately wants to forget.

She’s going to have to look back…

When Brittni left her podunk hometown for a big city college experience at the University of Washington, hooking up with a guy like Justin Avery was not part of her plan. Between Justin’s attention-grabbing tattoos, cigarette smoking, and bad boy attitude Brittni quickly chalked him up as “Mr. Wrong.” But his charm was unrelenting, and Brittni’s decision to give Justin a chance quickly turned into the worst choice she ever made.

So that she might be able to move forward.

Now she’s stuck with Justin—literally—and the complicated web of misunderstandings that tied up the truth for two years is about to unravel.

USA Today Bestselling author Tiffany King is a lifelong reading fanatic who is now living her dream as a writer, weaving Young Adult and New Adult romance tales for others to enjoy. She has a loving husband and two wonderful kids. (Five, if you count her three spoiled cats). Her addictions include: Her iPhone and iPad, chocolate, Diet Coke, chocolate, Harry Potter, chocolate, zombies and her favorite TV shows. Want to know what they are? Just ask.

For information on any of Author Tiffany's titles, visit her blog at www.authortiffanyjking.blogspot.com

Where to connect with Author Tiffany

Twitter- @AuthorTiffany

Facebook- AuthorTiffanyKing

Pinterest- Tiffany King

Blog- authortiffanyjking.blogspot.com

Goodreads- Tiffany King

Email- authortiffany@yahoo.com.

"Dreams do come true...Dream big."

Now or Never - A.J. Bennett

I was intrigued by this book when I saw it for free on Amazon.  An adult romance with characters who have a dramatic past?  I love it.  Unfortunately, this book was not exactly what I had hoped for.

The premise behind this story was good.  A girl in a seriously abusive relationship is finally able to leave the situation and try to start her life over.  I hoped it would be an inspirational story about overcoming abuse and finding love after all of your self-worth had been taken away.  It was not.  While I was proud of Grayson for leaving her abusive situation, that was about the only thing I liked about her.

Once Grayson got out of the relationship and moved back with her family, she became a walking disaster.  She fell in love with the bad boy, while hooking up with tons of random men - even a married man.  She rarely used protection in her escapades.  She definitely needed to be smarter about things.  While I realize this is fiction and anything you want can happen in fiction, being that irresponsible in real life would likely lead to diseases and unplanned pregnancy.

I also hated her for falling back into the same kind of ridiculous relationship.  While our token "bad boy" was not physically abusive, he was emotionally harsh.  He would have his fling with her, then totally blow her off.  He appeared to never really be into her, and she kept falling at his feet like a sad little puppy.  After each time he would blow her off or be rude and condescending to her, she would crawl back and put up with it.  If she was a real person, I would scream at her to have some self-respect.  I also wanted to slap him for treating someone like they were nothing.

On a positive note, the story was pretty well-written.  I liked the author's language and writing style.  I've read reviews from people who did enjoy the book, so I hope my dislike doesn't stop others from reading it.  It just personally was not a good fit for me.

Wicked Hunger - DelSheree Gladden

I had heard great things about Wicked Hunger and saw it on the freebie list on Amazon, so I immediately downloaded and read it. I was not disappointed.

This book is a dark YA paranormal read told from alternative POVs of Van and her brother Zander.  As the title suggests, the main plot of the story is about Vanessa (Van) and her brother's "Wicked Hunger."  It's not a vampire story, as I first expected.  It is a unique, suspenseful read about a hunger that is only fed with pain, which makes Van and Zander very dangerous.

While Van and Zander eat actual food, their body craves pain.  They feed off of the pain of others and sometimes this can lead them to lose control and take a life.  It was very dark and scary to read about the struggles that they had trying to control their hunger.  It drove their brother mad.  Literally.  He ended up in a psychiatric hospital.  The hunger created secrets between Van and Zander, and Zander's secrets were very intense.

Despite the fact that our main characters are dangerous and could potentially kill everyone, I really liked them.  I even found two book boyfriends:  Ketchup and Noah.  Ketchup is always loyal to Van, and though I sometimes was annoyed at his persistent love for Van, how could I not crush on a guy named Ketchup?  And Noah liked Van for who she was, regardless of all the scary stories he had heard about her.  I found it admirable that he was willing to form his own opinion of her, rather than judge her based on rumors.  In addition to book boyfriends, this book had the crazy family member, over-protective grandmother, and character that you love to hate.

Wicked Hunger was also very well-written.  The plot and character development were both very well created.  I hung onto every word and was very sad when I reached the last page.  I cannot wait to read the next book in the series.  Even though crisis was averted at the end of this book, I can only imagine what drama and danger will be present in the next installment.