So Many Books, So Little Time

Synopsis:  As a goddess-born healer, Selah Kilbrid wants nothing to do with the goddess of death and disease, nor any of her human progeny. But when the two people she loves most disappear—her dearest friend Nora Goodwin and her betrothed Lord Henry Fitzalan—Selah has no choice but to leave London in pursuit of Death’s most powerful daughter. Accompanied by a ragtag group of travelers, Selah follows a treacherous path across the Irish Sea to the long-forgotten prison of a witch who once nearly destroyed Ireland. Selah would face any danger to protect those she loves, but what if it means unleashing a greater evil on the human world? Could she risk the lives of many to save a few, or are some sacrifices too great? My Thoughts:  I love this trilogy and I'm so sad it's over!  An Immortal Descent is a fantastic end to the Goddess Born trilogy and I loved every minute of it.  It's a fast paced ride from London to the heart of Ireland with so many twi...

Season of Storms by Susanna Kearsley This is an older Susanna Kearsley book that was recently re-released.  It has both historical and mystery aspects to the story and was a pretty fun read.  Some of the twists were obvious but I still found it to be an enjoyable and engaging story.  I loved the author's description of the workings of a play as well as her descriptions of Venice.  She truly brought the city to life.  Celia, the main character, was young but well-developed and I enjoyed watching her grow as a character throughout the story.  3 1/2 stars. The Night Strangers by Chris Bohjalian This book was so odd.  I really loved it in the beginning, the story was super creepy and I could not wait to see what would happen next.  However, it eventually seemed to take a strange turn and the completely diverged from the original story.  This new 'turn' was still interesting and kind of creepy so I kept reading....but the end...

Publication Date: July 6, 2015 Publisher: Carina Press eBook; ASIN: B00XCYM8XS Series: Goddess Born, Book Three Genre: Historical/Fantasy/Romance As a goddess-born healer, Selah Kilbrid wants nothing to do with the goddess of death and disease, nor any of her human progeny. But when the two people she loves most disappear—her dearest friend Nora Goodwin and her betrothed Lord Henry Fitzalan—Selah has no choice but to leave London in pursuit of Death’s most powerful daughter. Accompanied by a ragtag group of travelers, Selah follows a treacherous path across the Irish Sea to the long-forgotten prison of a witch who once nearly destroyed Ireland. Selah would face any danger to protect those she loves, but what if it means unleashing a greater evil on the human world? Could she risk the lives of many to save a few, or are some sacrifices too great? An Immortal Descent Available at Amazon Barnes & Noble iTunes About the Author Kari Edgren is the author of the Goddess Born series. I...

Synopsis:  Possession. Power. Passion. International bestselling novelist M.J. Rose creates her most provocative and magical spellbinder yet in this erotic, gothic novel set against the lavish spectacle of 1890s Belle Époque Paris. Sandrine Salome runs away to her grandmother’s Parisian mansion to escape her dangerous husband, but what she finds is even more menacing. The house, famous for its lavish art collection and elegant salons, is mysteriously closed up. Although her grandmother insits it’s dangerous for Sandrine to visit, she defies her and meets Julien Duplessi, a mesmerizing young architect. Together they explore the hidden night world of Paris, the forbidden occult underground and Sandrine’s deepest desires. Among the bohemians and the demi-monde, Sandrine discovers her erotic nature as a lover and painter. Then darker influences threaten – her cold and cruel husband is tracking her down and something sinister is taking hold, changing Sandrine, alteri...

Silver Shadows by Richelle Mead Okay, let me start by saying I really love this series and the Vampire Academy series.  I did enjoy this book but I don't think it was as good as the previous ones in the series.  I know the whole point of this books is to set the stage for the final book so I'm cutting it some slack.  The story was really slow for the first three quarters of the book and then it felt like a million things were shoved into the last bit of the book.  There were some big surprises that I was pretty excited about so that helped my opinion of it a lot.  Of course, there was a very crazy cliffhanger so now I have to read the last book!  Silver Shadows is definitely the weakest of the series but still a must-read for fans.  3 stars.   You'd Be So Pretty If...Teaching Our Daughters to Love Their Bodies-Even When We Don't Love Our Own by Dara Chadwick I have had a lot of body issues over the years and I'm terrified of p...

I had absolutely no intention of ever reading these books.  I really enjoyed Maggie Stiefvater's 'The Wolves of Mercy Falls' series but when The Raven Boys first came out, it did not appeal to me at all.  I heard nothing but good things about and still I didn't want to read it.  I'm always the person who reads something that is super hyped up and doesn't like it and I figured that would happen this time. No matter how much hype I heard about the series, I just wasn't interested...until this Fall.  I don't know what made me do it but finally after years of hearing about this series, I finally gave in and decided to try it.  Why didn't I read it sooner???  The Raven Cycle is weird and creepy and awesome.  I don't really know how to describe it; there are all kinds of unusual things that just boggle my mind but are so cool at the same time.  Maggie Stiefvater is some sort of uber creative evil genius for coming up with this story.  It has ...

Synopsis:  Selah Kilbrid may descend from the goddess Brigid, but her heart beats—and breaks—the same as any human. Yet enduring the scorn of London’s most noble lords and ladies is a small price to pay for a chance at true happiness. Selah would endure much more for love, and her betrothed, Lord Henry Fitzalan, is prepared to challenge anyone foolish enough to stand in their way—even another goddess born. But when a captivating young gentleman draws Selah into a world shadowed by secrets, she is forced to confront her darkest fears. What if some differences are too great to overcome and a future with Henry is doomed from the start? With these doubts threatening her impending marriage and the very last of Brigid’s fire draining from her soul, a violent attack on an innocent child pushes Selah to the very edge of her power. She must find a way to cross into the Otherworld and regain her strength—or forfeit the streets of London to death and disease. My Thoughts:...

  Code Name Verity by Elizabeth Wein I feel bad for saying this, but this book didn't really do anything for me.  I know a lot of people raved about it and had so many emotions about it but I just didn't get it.  It was very slow and hard to get into and I guess I just wasn't overwhelmed by the big event.  It wasn't a bad book and I really enjoyed a lot of the interrogation scenes (not because I enjoy that but because they were well-written and the dialogue was interesting).   I really wanted to love this book but I just didn't.  3 stars.   Sinner by Maggie Stiefvater I loved the Wolves of Mercy Falls books so I had to read this book.  It's all about Cole and Isabel and it was  really good.  Cole is a fascinating character; he's a total smart-ass but also a very sensitive soul.  I enjoyed getting to know him more and watching him deal with his demons.  He is a very unpredictable character so there were a lo...

Publication Date: December 1, 2014 Carina Press eBook; ASIN: B00OHV6MFA Series: Goddess Born Genre: Historical/Paranormal/New Adult/Romance Selah Kilbrid may descend from the goddess Brigid, but her heart beats—and breaks—the same as any human. Yet enduring the scorn of London's most noble lords and ladies is a small price to pay for a chance at true happiness. Selah would endure much more for love, and her betrothed, Lord Henry Fitzalan, is prepared to challenge anyone foolish enough to stand in their way—even another goddess born. But when a captivating young gentleman draws Selah into a world shadowed by secrets, she is forced to confront her darkest fears. What if some differences are too great to overcome and a future with Henry is doomed from the start? With these doubts threatening her impending marriage and the very last of Brigid's fire draining from her soul, a violent attack on an innocent child pushes Selah to the very edge of her power. She must find a way to cross...

Synopsis:  The power to heal is her divine gift, the fear of discovery, her mortal curse. Selah Kilbrid is caught between two worlds. A direct descendant of the Celtic goddess Brigid, she is bound by Tuatha Dé law to help those in need. Yet as a human, she must keep her unique abilities hidden or risk being charged for a witch. In 1730 Pennsylvania, the Quaker community of Hopewell has become a haven for religious freedom—and fanaticism—and there are those who would see her hanged if the truth were revealed. For eighteen years, Selah safely navigates the narrow gap between duty and self-preservation, until the day a prominent minister uncovers her secret. Obsessed with her power, Nathan Crowley disregards her betrothal to a distant cousin from Ireland and demands marriage in exchange for his silence. Selah stalls for time, but when news reaches the Colonies of her cousin’s death, time has run out. Rather than submit to Nathan, Selah coerces a stranger to pose as he...

From Goodreads:  After traveling through time in Shadow of Night , the second book in Deborah Harkness’s enchanting series, historian and witch Diana Bishop and vampire scientist Matthew Clairmont return to the present to face new crises and old enemies. At Matthew’s ancestral home at Sept-Tours, they reunite with the cast of characters from A Discovery of Witches —with one significant exception. But the real threat to their future has yet to be revealed, and when it is, the search for Ashmole 782 and its missing pages takes on even more urgency. In the trilogy’s final volume, Harkness deepens her themes of power and passion, family and caring, past deeds and their present consequences. In ancestral homes and university laboratories, using ancient knowledge and modern science, from the hills of the Auvergne to the palaces of Venice and beyond, the couple at last learn what the witches discovered so many centuries ago. My Thoughts:  I loved this trilogy, but T...

The Morning Star by Robin Bridges This is the third book in the Katerina trilogy and I was a little disappointed by it.  I really liked the first two books but I just struggled to get into this one.  There was a lot going on and it was hard to keep track of things.   I did like the way the author wrapped things up between Katerina and Georgi but the whole thing just seemed kind of anticlimactic.  3 stars. The Secret Daughter of the Tsar by Jennifer Laam I really enjoy alternative histories as well as anything about Russia so I was really drawn to this book.  I love the idea of a surviving Romanov no matter how fictional the story may be.  This book is based on the idea that Nicholas and Alexandra had a fifth daughter who was spirited away from the palace and raised in Europe.  It bounces between past and present and I especially loved the parts of the story set in Imperial Russia.  The way the author set up the story of the fi...

The Fiery Heart by Richelle Mead I love this series so much and this book was a great addition to the series.  I loved reading Adrian's point of view and the story in general was just awesome.  Sydney's sister makes an appearance in this book and I am so not a fan of hers.  There is also a crazy cliffhanger ending.  I seriously don't know if I can handle waiting until the next book comes out!  4 stars. Allegiant by Veronica Roth Okay, I'm going to be honest, I have never really been a super fan of these books.  I think these are books I read simply because they were so popular.  I wasn't wowed by Divergent but I did enjoy Insurgent so I decided that I needed to finish the series.  Allegiant was just okay.  I didn't like the ending and the story took turns that kind of surprised me.  Overall, I am just not impressed by the trilogy in general.  3 stars.

From Goodreads : Anastasia Romanov thought she would never feel more alone than when the gunfire started and her family began to fall around her. Surely the bullets would come for her next. But they didn't. Instead, two  old hands reached for her. When she wakes up she discovers that she is in the ancient hut of the witch Baba Yaga, and that some things are worse than being dead. In modern-day Chicago, Anne doesn't know much about Russian history. She is more concerned about getting into a good college--until the dreams start. She is somewhere else. She is someone else. And she is sharing a small room with a very old woman. The vivid dreams startle her, but not until a handsome stranger offers to explain them does she realize her life is going to change forever. She is the only one who can save Anastasia. But, Anastasia is having her own dreams... My Thoughts:  I have been wanting to read this book for a long time and I'm so glad I finally got to it!  It w...

From Goodreads:  Having had no choice but to use her power has a necromancer to save Russia from dark forces, Katerina Alexandrovna, Duchess of Oldenburg, now wants to forget that she ever used her special powers. She's about to set off to pursue her lifelong dream of attending medical school when she discovers that Russia's arch nemesis--who she thought she'd destroyed--is still alive. So on imperial orders, Katerina remains at her old finishing school. She'll be safe there, because the empress has cast a potent spell to protect it against the vampires and revenants who are bent on toppling the tsar and using Katerina for their own gains. But to Katerina's horror, the spell unleashes a vengeful ghost within the school, a ghost more dangerous than any creature trying to get in. My Thoughts: I loved A Gathering Storm so when The Unfailing Light came out, I knew I had to read it.  I really like the idea of a paranormal story set in Imperial Russia and I...

From Goodreads:   Tessa Gray should be happy - aren't all brides happy?  Yet as she prepares for her wedding, a net of shadows begins to tighten around the Shadowhunters of the London Institute. A new demon appears, one linked by blood and secrecy to Mortmain, the man who plans to use his army of pitiless automatons, the Infernal Devices, to destroy the Shadowhunters. Mortmain needs only one last item to complete his plan. He needs Tessa. And Jem and Will, the boys who lay equal claim to Tessa's heart, will do anything to save her. My Thoughts:  I can't believe it's over!  I have said it before and will say it again, the Infernal Devices is so much better than the Mortal Instruments. I loved this whole series and I loved the way the author wrapped it all up   I could not put this book down at all!  I loved all the little romances that popped up and all the action that was going on as the Shadowhunters tried to fight and stop Mortmain.  I a...

From Goodreads:  Qhuinn, son of no one, is used to being on his own. Disavowed from his bloodline, shunned by the aristocracy, he has finally found an identity as one of the most brutal fighters in the war against the Lessening Society. But his life is not complete. Even as the prospect of having a family of his own seems to be within reach, he is empty on the inside, his heart given to another.... Blay, after years of unrequited love, has moved on from his feelings for Qhuinn. And it’s about time: The male has found his perfect match in a Chosen female, and they are going to have a young—just as Qhuinn has always wanted for himself. It’s hard to see the new couple together, but building your life around a pipe dream is just a heartbreak waiting to happen. As he’s learned firsthand. Fate seems to have taken these vampire soldiers in different directions... but as the battle over the race’s throne intensifies, and new players on the scene in Caldwell create mortal ...

From Goodreads:  In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch--a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood--or else she might be next. My Thoughts:  I love this series so much!  I just can't get enough of these characters and the worlds of Moroi and Alchemists.  Sydney is as awesome as ever in this installment ...

From Goodreads:  What price is too high to pay, even for love? When Jace and Clary meet again, Clary is horrified to discover that the demon Lilith’s magic has bound her beloved Jace together with her evil brother Sebastian, and that Jace has become a servant of evil. The Clave is out to destroy Sebastian, but there is no way to harm one boy without destroying the other. As Alec, Magnus, Simon, and Isabelle wheedle and bargain with Seelies, demons, and the merciless Iron Sisters to try to save Jace, Clary plays a dangerous game of her own. The price of losing is not just her own life, but Jace’s soul. She’s willing to do anything for Jace, but can she still trust him? Or is he truly lost? Love. Blood. Betrayal. Revenge. Darkness threatens to claim the Shadowhunters in the harrowing fifth book of the Mortal Instruments series. My Thoughts:  This book was, for the most part, a complete and utter disappointment.  I hate leaving series unfinished but I am not...

From Goodreads:  Dani “Mega” O’Malley plays by her own set of rules—and in a world overrun by Dark Fae, her biggest rule is: Do what it takes to survive. Possessing rare talents and the all-powerful Sword of Light, Dani is more than equipped for the task. In fact, she’s one of the rare humans who can defend themselves against the Unseelie. But now, amid the pandemonium, her greatest gifts have turned into serious liabilities. Dani’s ex–best friend, MacKayla Lane, wants her dead, the terrifying Unseelie princes have put a price on her head, and Inspector Jayne, the head of the police force, is after her sword and will stop at nothing to get it. What’s more, people are being mysteriously frozen to death all over the city, encased on the spot in sub-zero, icy tableaux. When Dublin’s most seductive nightclub gets blanketed in hoarfrost, Dani finds herself at the mercy of Ryodan, the club’s ruthless, immortal owner. He needs her quick wit and exceptional skill to figure out what’s fre...