**Early REVIEW** Broken Gates by D.T. Dyllin

P.J. Stone is a Seer who saw too little, too late.

In the past, her biggest worries were boys and school—but war has a way of changing things. Now, the alien Riders are trying to overrun the world. As the last of their kind, P.J. and her friends must find a way to save humanity before there’s nothing left to save. 

After choosing a mate, P.J. hoped she'd have time to enjoy her love life. But with everything changing so quickly and major secrets revealed, who knows what the future will bring?

Expected Release: May 24, 2013

Published By:  Dragonfairy Press

Review Copy: eARC

VIDEO

Normally I don't add my own video but it just so happened that this song came on while

I was reading and it felt right at that point.  Helps that I love P!NK but really it fits.

REVIEW

  There are no words that I can share on here that would be appropriate as to how I am feeling right this moment.  Dara was my first... New Adult novel that is.  It was wonderful, suspenseful and had me reeling for more.  Broken Gates is my more.  Problem is that now I have a mission to find the Beta's of Open Gates because November is just too far away and I need info like yesterday!  I know they wont tell me but a girl can hope right?!

  Dara pulled out all the stops with this one and as with Hidden Gates there are no dull moments, only action and things going on, leaving you glued to the pages.  There was not one moment of reading this book that I considered putting it down.  The direction that this installment took and the twists that were thrown at me, had me double taking what I read.  The world that P.J. knew is gone and to be honest the P.J. that she used to be is disappearing.  She is step by step finding out that she is meant for more and that these things have been in motion for far longer than she expected.

  Character growth across the board with this one but it all mainly falls on P.J.  She has been through so much and lost even more but that seems to be only the tip of the iceberg for her.  More is happening and something BIG has changed her forever.  She still has Bryn and Khol fighting over her... Kind of. I swear I wanted to kick Bryn so hard!  SO HARD!   Though my fondness for Khol grew I am still Team Bryn and hope he comes out on top.  I mean that guy created some seriously STEAMY scenes and he must continue or I will...

Despite the smaller length of my review I loved and will revisit this one.  The reason there was no gushing?  Simple my bloggish people:  I did not want to ruin one moment of this book!  I don`t think that Dara knows how to be anything but amazing.  Her writing is astounding and has yet to dissatisfy me.  These books are the kind you pick up read and know that you did not waste a moment of your life lost in it, you actually made good use of the time you were submersed in it.  If you are a fan of the New Adult genre and like some paranormal thrown in these books are for you!!

Quotes

  I had no home,  I belonged nowhere.  I was a single leaf separated from my tree of life and set adrift into a sea of nothingness.

I thought I had become tougher, stronger, but in actuality I had just been leaning on Bryn more and more.  And when he decided to walk away from me, I broke into a million pieces.  I had to learn how to rely on myself, and only myself, if I had any hope of truly becoming the person I strived to be.

  "Damn it!"  I sat up with a start.  "Why do I keep passing out, or getting knocked out or whatever?  I swear I've spent more time unconscious in the last year than not!"

"Until not too long ago I thought I was human.  I was raised to think I was human.  I still feel human."

**REVIEW** Destiny's Fire by Trisha Wolfe

It's the year 2040, and sixteen-year-old Dez Harkly is one of the last of her kind—part of a nearly extinct race of shape-shifters descended from guardians to the Egyptian pharaohs. Her home and her secret are threatened when the Council lowers the barrier, allowing the enemy race to enter the Shythe haven.
As the Narcolym airships approach, Dez and her friends rebel against their Council and secretly train for battle. Not only is Dez wary of war and her growing affection for her best friend Jace, she fears the change her birthday will bring. 
When Dez's newfound power rockets out of control, it's a Narcolym who could change her fate...if she can trust him. Dez's guarded world crumbles when she discovers why the Narcos have really come to Haven Falls, and she's forced to choose between the race who raised her and the enemy she's feared her whole life.

Release Date:  January 10, 2012

Published By: Omnific Publishing

Review Copy:  Paperback, 224 pages

Review

  Where do I start with this one?  First of all, though I do enjoy Steampunk, I have to confess that I was relieved that it was not the dominant factor in this novel.   The elements that were Steampunk were actually influenced by one of the types of shape-shifters or it seemed that way.  Then there was the shifter factor that was unique, all descended from guardians of Egyptian Pharaoh's but they are far from one race.  I had no problem reading this one.

 The plot in this one was wonderfully written and the detailed world made it easy to fall into.  Despite what I thought going in the Shythe and Narcolym are not the only races and the general human public does not know that they exist within their community.  Destiny is unique to her race and with the change upon her she has enough worries, without having to figure out what to do about the Narcos that will soon be swarming her and her friends home. Thing is one of them may just be the key to her blending in.

  Dez was a great strong female heroine but she still had her faults.  She was not afraid to fight for what she felt was right and boy could she fight.  There was a time that she didn't realize her potential but once she unleashed it and had it figured out her strength was all but unstoppable.  Her downfall: falling for two guys.  I know that is petty of me but I can't help but feel that she flipped too easily.  I get that there was two totally worthy guys but to me there was only one clear choice.  Despite this I still love her as a character just her romantic decisions were questionable.

  The romance that I said above was really a wild card throughout the story.  To me there was only one clear choice: Reese.  I do understand why people would flip between Jace and Reese but I had a problem seeing it as right when Jace was more of a brother until it was too late.  Maybe it's the fact that the way Wolfe wrote the circumstances that cause the back and forth that made it so riveting.  Though the romantic interest was Destiny's weakness it for sure wasn't the story's.

  I know that there is a feeling of hot and cold in this review but I was not hot and cold while I read.  I tried writing the review twice before this and you know what it's all these feeling and moments that made this book wonderful.  Wolfe is a talented author and her writing is superb, with a flow that doesn't lull you to sleep but keeps a steady pace that pulls you in and only gains speed.  With amazing world building and extremely well written this one should not be missed.

Quotes

But when he slid his hands along my waist and cupped my hips, my chest fluttered wildly.  A small pain ached in my chest, and I pressed my hand over my heart, urging it to calm.

"And you followed me to my house, that's how you knew where I lived."  I closed my eyes for a moment.  "I don't know if I should feel flattered, elated that you exist, or creeped out."

My communicator came back into focus as my gaze settled over it, and my chest panged.  Furrowing my eyebrows, I gnawed the inside of my lip and wondered why everything with guys was so complicated.

I also tried my best not to look at him during class.  Being so near him I felt raw, like my soul was an open wound being submerged in salt water.  at times it was hard to breathe.

Waiting on Wednesday: Frozen by Melissa de la Cruz & Michael Johnston

Waiting on Wednesday is a weekly event that is hosted by Jill at Breaking the Spine and spotlights upcoming releases that we're eagerly anticipating. 

Can you blame me for waiting on this one?!

Set in 111 C.D., one hundred and eleven years after a Catastrophic Disaster has wiped out 99% of humanity and left the earth covered in ice, this new series introduces readers to a ragtag group of friends and the dawning of a new time. The world of reason, of mathematics and science, is ending, and a new civilization is being born from the ice: a world of magic and mayhem, sorcerers and spellcraft.

Expected Release: September 17, 2013 

Published by: Putnam Juvenile

Format:  Hardcover, 336 pages

Why I am Waiting

1. Have you ever read anything by Melissa?! I have and am excited to get my hands on this!
2. Dystopia/fantasy...  YES PLEASE!
3. Okay so I am a bit of a cover whore and love this one so I have to have it!

What are you waiting on?  Please link me up because your To Buy List can never 

be too long!! 

{COVER REVEAL} Touching Melody by RaShelle Workman

I am unbelievably excited to be a part of this reveal!!!  I have enjoyed RaShelle's novels and though I have not made it to her Dead Roses Series I hope to soon!! Then seeing the cover and synopsis of this I have something more to NEED!!!

Touching Melody by RaShelle Workman

Series: Forever First #1 

Publication date:  June 2013 

Genre: New Adult Contemporary

Synopsis

Maddie Martin's first weekend at college is nothing like she's used to. It's wild, like the wilderness on which the University of Bellam Springs sits. Roped into going to a frat party, she literally runs into Kyle Hadley. The boy she's loved since she was nine. The boy she promised all of her firsts to. But that was before his father killed her parents.

Determined to stay away from him, she throws herself into her music. Practicing piano eases her heavy heart, calms the sadness, and pushes away images of Kyle's face.

Until it doesn't.

Her music professor asks her to play a duet for their annual Graduation Gala. Doing so means she'll be assured another full ride scholarship. It's an opportunity she can't pass up.

But Kyle is the other half of the duet. And that means hours and hours of practicing.

Days and months of seclusion - just the two of them. And it's more than just music. It's passion like Maddie never believed was possible.

The inevitable happens. She falls in love with him all over again.

But, will loving him be enough to erase all the hate in her heart for his father? Can she look at him, and not see the evil in his family tree?

And maybe it's all a set up. Maybe Kyle is only pretending to care so he can finish what his father started, and kill her too.

AUTHOR BIO 

RASHELLE WORKMAN lives on a mountain with her husband, three children, and three dogs. From her back porch she can see the city lights and imagine... She's the bestselling author of the Dead Roses series (Sleeping Roses is being translated into Turkish, and will be available in print wherever Turkish books are sold in 2014), the Immortal Essence series, and the Blood and Snow series.

Author links:

Website / Goodreads / Facebook / Twitter

A Big THANK YOU to

for organizing this!!!

**REVIEW** The Wild Wood by Julie Anne Nelson

In the town of Dunlowe, being different can be deadly. No one knows this better than the seven girls born on the exact same day, at the exact same time. From birth, they've been feared, judged, and controlled. And yet, still loved by their families. Still hoping for a future. Still believing that acceptance would one day come. As their seventeenth birthday approaches, events occur that leave Cecily Daye and the other girls grasping with the possibility that their oppressors might have been right about them all along. Maybe they are as evil as the town has believed. But without an answer, they must make a choice when the town turns on them: to die or to run to the one place no person would follow—they must enter The Wild Wood.

Release Date:  June 29, 2012

Published By: Young Mountain Publishing

Review Copy: Paperback, 297 pages

*received for honest review

Buy IT:

AMAZON

Review

  This book is so much more than a pretty and attractive cover.   Wonderfully written and with such attention to detail, this novel completely surprised me from start to finish.  The evolution of the story, characters and the world that you are introduced to is unique and delightful.

  Cecily Daye is a good girl.  She follows the rules and tries her best to remain outside of the towns and Reverends attention but it's not always that simple.  Marked as evil from her birth along with six other girls born on the same day at the same time, has made all of their lives hard but with their seventeenth birthdays approaching, life is becoming more difficult.  I found myself holding my breath on the day and even more so when Cecily looses someone close to her on that very night.  This is a turning point and there was no going back and no avoiding The Wild Wood that they had been taught to fear.

  With her desire to protect her family and also dreams of actually living Cecily is a great character.  Though she did come off as compliant a few times to start I got it because anything she did not only came down to her "inner evil" but it was taken out on her mother as well.  Thing is when the day came Cecily had no problem stepping up and taking hold of the potential that was hers for the taking.  Her character really developed throughout the novel and developed into someone that was willing to do what was needed and make a sacrifice for what was right.

Though Cecily is the main focus the other girls are not to be overlooked.  Morgan, Stephanie, Abigail, Charity, Amanda and Millie each had their own personality and spot in the seven.  The two that stood out the most for me were Morgan and Stephanie.  Morgan from first mention had my attention.  The girl is calm collected and seems to know more than she lets on but she has also lost more than any other seven... Her entire family.  Stephanie is the opposite and has more than any seven coming from a prestigious family and always seems to hold her head high and even speaks her mind.  Though these two stood out more for me I think each girl is important and different people may connect with different characters.

  Julie has my attention and I was surprised to learn that more people haven't had their attention grabbed by this talented indie.  With a riveting story, creative/individual characters and a fast pace I have no doubt that this book will pick up speed and recognition in no time.    I'm looking forward to picking up the second book in this series The Downs and only postponed it to write the review and fully absorb the first book.  

Quotes

"Cecily, lightnen up.  You kissed a boy--you dudnt cause an earthquake or sacrifice a goat.""I didn't," I said, while giving him the smile he wanted.  "But you know those goats have it coming."

I nodded.  He believed in me.  The last he needed was for me to doubt myself, especially while walking into the place where I would always be doubted.

The grass I walked on was trimmed, the goats tended--they kept looking at me, maybe sensing I was a goat destroyer these days--and after wandering into the shadowy barn, the horses proved happy and well fed.

"How is it possible for beings who kill so much to know anything about love?  I know from their grief that the population of Darienne must love, but I dont understand how any person can do both at the same time." 

**REVIEW** This is What Happy Looks Like by Jennifer E. Smith

When teenage movie star Graham Larkin accidentally sends small town girl Ellie O'Neill an email about his pet pig, the two seventeen-year-olds strike up a witty and unforgettable correspondence, discussing everything under the sun, except for their names or backgrounds. 

Then Graham finds out that Ellie's Maine hometown is the perfect location for his latest film, and he decides to take their relationship from online to in-person. But can a star as famous as Graham really start a relationship with an ordinary girl like Ellie? And why does Ellie want to avoid the media's spotlight at all costs? 

  Release:  April 2, 2013

Published By:  Poppy

Review Copy: ARC, 402 pages

**Provided by HBG Canada 

Review

  This is What Happy Looks Like was a really cute read. I'd like to say it wasn't predictable but at times it really was. This didn't take away from the book, I still enjoyed it but often seen what was around the corner. Though there was one aspect I didn't really see coming and I will discuss it later on. 

The story starts off with some really fun emails. They were kind of like emails gone wild but not in a nudity kind of way. What started as a mistake turned into a deep but light friendship filled with information that you wouldn't really share with a stranger. This does turn into more when suddenly Graham has the chance to meet Ellie. Problem is Ellie wants nothing to do with the fame, the cameras or the problems that come with having movie stars in town. These are the very thing that Ellie and her mother have spent many years trying to avoid. The story became one of two people with the same wants but two very different ways of living life.

I was never really sure on how I felt about Ellie. She had the entire hidden past thing going but for the most part lived a full life in her little Maine town. Even not telling her best friend about her email romance is kind of a big deal. Though Ellie has a cute and sweet thing going for her I for the most found her bland and predictable. So basically I liked her but never loved her or really got invested in her. The same thing could be said for Graham. He was sweet and not what I expected from a movie star. He was exceptionally grounded but there seemed to be a sound reason for that. His rocket into fame wasn't exactly planned or worked for it started simply with wanting to impress a girl. I didn't find myself falling in love with him but he is the kind of guy that I would want someone I cared about with.

Despite not being overly impressed with This is What Happy Looks Like, it was a cute, clean and fast read. I think the thing that bugged me the most was how easily the two characters just rolled with the problems that came at them and didn't really work for what they wanted. The writing however was wonderful and so easy to get caught up in. I would recommend this for someone that was looking for a light read with a little romance.

Quotes

But it had been about his pig, Wilbur, who had apparently, to his horror, gotten ahold of a hot dog during a barbecue.My pig, the email had read, is now officially a cannibal.

But the truth was, he was pretty sure he was falling for a girl he'd never met before, a girl whose name he didn't even know.

After the first movie came out, it had been the opposite; each time someone recognized him in public, it was like a benediction, like in some strange way he was being knighted: Graham Larkin, Somebody.  But now- now it was the lack of recognition that made his heart thump in his chest...

Weekly Report: Part 2 of 3 **Things I Bought**

Weekly Report is my way of showing you from week to week (most of the time) what new books I received and what has gone on in the past week.  So basically it's a report for all the awesome that I got and shared!  Originally I posted IMM by Story Siren this is just my version with a little extra ;)

Welcome to part 2 0f 3!!  Books that were purchased.  This means for some that 

I used a GC.  Actually most I used a GC from Chapters.  All but three are actually from the Chapters GC I recevived.  I got amazing deals on Scarlet, Requiem and Clockwork Princess.  Emblaze & The Nightmare Affair are from Amazon because  I won a GC forever ago and due to my trip to visit Evie I was able to cash in on it.  Anyway not that you want to hear the how, you want to know that WHAT.  So this is what I got.

*note * all book names lead to GR page.

Closed Hearts by Susan Kaye Quinn

Every Never After by Lesley Livingston

False Memory by Dan Krokos

Clockwork Princess by Cassandra Clare

Requiem by Lauren Oliver

Emblaze by Jessica Shirvington

The Nightmare Affair by Mindee Arnett

What Went On

Reviews

Opal by Jennifer L. Armentrout HERE

Dark Star by Bethany Frenette HERE 

The Evolution of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin HERE

Grasping at Eternity by Karen Amanda Hooper HERE

Other

Waiting on Wednesday: HORDE HERE

Well that's what I got over the last 6 weeks for purchases!!  Not much but they are awesome!  Leave me comment if you have a moment but make sure you LINK ME UP!!