Bookish Treasures

I had to buy the second book right away :)

This review and others can be found at http://www.bookshtreasures.blogspot.com3.5 starsThe Undesirable is a very interesting book. I loved the world it was set in; a war-torn, dictator-run America. This is the first book in an intended series and you can tell as a lot of time is spent on world building and getting to know the characters and their situation. The pace of the book is fairly slow but there is an underlying tension that keeps you on tenterhooks throughout. The romance is lovely with both characters willing to risk everything and turn their backs on all they know just to be with the other forever. I love how much they go through just to try and help one another.This book is quite dark; the feel of Harrison Corners is like that of a war camp. The regime is strict and anyone who disobeys in anyway is killed as are those who are too old or unskilled to be useful. The story isn’t overly gory but nor is it for the faint hearted.The book starts at the mid-point before going back to the beginning. I really enjoyed how that was done as it changed the entire tone of the book; rather than finding out what happens it was all about discovering WHY things happened. In my opinion this is what made the book stand out.This Undesirable is not perfect as a few things were slightly confusing at times but it is worth reading and I think the series holds great potential. I am certainly looking forwards to reading the next book.*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, this has not affected my opinion in any way*

3.5 starsEdge of Truth was a decent book. I liked the mix of dystopian and paranormal elements. You don’t see that very often so it makes the book stand out. Rena is a great character, she is strong, smart and she doesn’t just blindly listen to whatever she is told to do. Nevan is a pretty swoon-worthy guy; you can see why Rena has had a crush on him for so long. The relationship between them is very sweet; I just wish we had seen more of it. I am hoping Edge of Truth is the start of a series so that their relationship can be further explored.I liked the characters “voices”. The way they spoke and the slang terms they used made them seem more realistic. It is how you could imagine people possibly speaking in the future.The dystopian world of this book is interesting but we get to see surprisingly little of it. A few things are briefly mentioned such as the conservation laws, synbot's and some school system that wasn't quite described enough for me to fully understand. I would have liked to know more and in more detail. Overall the world building isn't quite as good as I have come to expect from a YA dystopian.I hope this book has a sequel. The ending ties things up pretty well as far as the challenge the characters face is concerned but there is so much more I want to know. For starters, how the world got the way it is, more about the state of the world and I want to see more of Rena and Nevan’s relationship. There was also a character that seemed like he might be pretty important who helped briefly only to then not be mentioned again. In my mind there is too much left unsaid for it to be a standalone.I would recommend this book to people who prefer not to be overloaded with details. Despite its issues I did still find Edge of Truth to be a highly enjoyable read. The Dystopian/paranormal mix makes it worth reading also.*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, this has not affected my opinions or rating in any way*

This review and others can be found at http://www.bookishtreasures.blogspot.com

 

I thought Strength was a great New Adult book and I loved the paranormal twist to it. It was different to other books of this genre that I have read and I loved that about it. The characters are great, the romance is sweet whilst also being incredibly steamy and the background to the story is very interesting.

 

Rena is such a fiery, powerful character. Although she doesn’t possess any powers, her emotional strength and unwillingness to give up makes her very special. Not many people would be able to remain as strong as Rena does during the things she goes through nor would they try to fight people that basically have super powers.

 

Wallace is another amazing character; sexy, smart and a social outcast due to being misunderstood (yes you heard me right; this is an NA book where the guy ISN’T a popular bad boy who sleeps around all the time). He is also mysterious and secretive with a dark past. Together Wallace and Rena make a couple that you just really want to be together and you root for their relationship.

 

There are some very interesting secondary characters that I really want to read more about especially Cole. I detested him to start but I did grow to like him slightly and there seems to be lots of depth to his personality.

 

I really loved the second half of the book as this is where the paranormal aspects starts to come into play and the action really gets going. The heat between the two main characters also becomes scorching. The sex scenes, well, almost-sex scenes, sizzle with lots of passion and sexual tension.

 

I can’t wait to see what happens next for Wallace, Rena and all the other characters in the next book in the series. After how the book ended I can’t wait for more and I am also looking forwards to finding out more about the Dynari. This is a book I would definitely recommend and I think everyone should mark their calendars for its release in March.

 

*I received an e-arc copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, this has not affected my opinions of the book in any way”

4.5 starsThe first book in this series, Stitch, is one of the best books I have read this year. Needless to say I was very eager to read the second instalment in this unique New Adult dystopian series. Whilst Shudder was not quite as good as the first it was still amazing. It is packed full of exciting action, thrilling suspense and beautiful romance. Although this does not have the mind boggling twists of Stitch, there are still plenty of shocking revelations that kept me on my toes throughout.Samantha is a master of suspense; everything is shrouded in mystery so you are never quite sure what is going on. This is further enhanced by some characters from the first book being called different names (for various reasons that will make sense if you read the book).Alessa is so beautifully real in this book. She is working for the rebellion yet part of her wants to stop fighting and just live a calm safe life with those she loves. Throughout the book she struggles with the moral dilemma of weather to just keep her friends and family safe or to risk everything for the greater good. I loved this aspect of the book as Alessa’s earlier thoughts make her final choices so much more moving.Isaac is such a great character and I one of my favourite parts of Shudder is that we finally get to see him and Alessa together. They have such a beautiful romance though of course it has a lot of pressure being put on it by external influences.The secondary characters come alive more in this book. A favourite for me was “Phoenix” who seemed to have such a fresh understanding of all that was going on. Both her and also Nikhil are two of the characters who had minimal roles in book 1 to then become important figures.This book is from a few more pov’s than the first which helps to give the reader a greater perspective of the whole story. We even get to see how Paragon and all that is happening is viewed by those who created it. Now that is a very interesting perspective to see. Overall this is another fantastic book by Samantha Durante. I was expecting an incredible read and Shudder did not disappoint. The ending comes with a few shocking reveals that (yet again) leaves me desperate to read the next (and final) book of this trilogy. I highly recommend Shudder and if you are yet to read Stitch then what are you waiting for? Read it now!*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, this has not affected my opinions or rating in any way*

Requiem for Blood was different to what I was expecting. It is very dark, gory at times and also has several rather sad moments. The book is about Olivia, a teenage girl who has spent her entire life in a colony of humans who want to be vampires. They hide away from the sun and slaughter other humans to then drink their blood in the hope that one day the will become true vampires. Olivia deals with a moral struggle about the life she lives that is only made worse when she is turned into a full vampire.Despite it being much darker that I expected, I really enjoyed Requiem for Blood. The blurb also made it seem like there would be a stronger element. I thought it was more of a tale of self-discovery and dealing with turning into a monster. The lore about vampires used is this tale was really unique and original. It was very different from what is generally used in books.All the characters were strong and well developed from Olivia and Troy who I both felt for to all the secondary characters. I recommend this book to everyone who can handle darker elements and wants a unique paranormal tale.I really hope that this is the start of a series. I want to see more of Olivia and Troy and the world they live in and I hope that they both finally get a happy ever after.*I received an ecopy of this book in exchange for an honest review. This has not affected my opinions or rating in any way*

This review and others can also be found on http://www.bookishtreasures.blogspot.com

 

I enjoyed this book. It is the story of a girl who was once a child movie star known for making amazing films but has now fallen from grace and is remembered as “that actress who ended up in rehab”. Willow has issues and things in her past that she would rather forget but she is just now learning that turning to drugs to forget about reality doesn’t help. Finding true love might just be the solution she has been looking for.

 

I loved how strong Willow was in the book, she is very vulnerable but she is also a fighter. She also has a very snarky humour that I found entertaining and made me like her. “Willow Avery. Actress, Cancer, and according to my team, on my last leg before porn.” I also liked that she is down to earth, she doesn’t want fame and to be followed around by paparazzi all the time, she just wants to get on with her life.

 

Willows surf instructor Cooper is charming, sexy and he has a few secrets of his own. They both know that a romance together would be a bad idea but neither of them can resist the attraction. In my mind they have the perfect relationship; they both make the other a better person and are perfect together. There are also some steamy but still sweet sex-scenes in the book.

 

This book doesn’t overly go into details about Willow’s drug problem other than the occasional mention of her wishing she could just take a pill and go back to not feeling anything. This book had the potential to be very dark but I found it to be a heart-warming and joyful read. Especially the ending; it was perfect.

 

I recommend this to all contemporary romance fans, especially if you like your heroes to have sexy Australian accents, toned bodies and tanned skin ;)

Emma Hart really does know how to write a great New Adult romance novel. Relatable characters, a sweet romance, the occasional steamier scene, a dash of humour and a sprinkling of drama.

 

The story revolves around this challenge "The Love Game" that the two main characters have separately been set. Maddie and her friends are trying to change Braden's womanising ways by showing him how it feels to be "humped and dumped" whilst Braden just wants in Maddie's pants and he knows the only way is through her heart. You can probably guess what might happen next.

 

Maddie and Braden are such a perfect couple but at the same time it is only a challenge. Or is it? The Love Game is told from a dual POV so we get to see each characters side to the story. We get to see them both fall head over heels in love, struggle with their feelings and realise they made quite a big mistake agreeing to the game.

 

I love a book where we get to see the guys POV as it is so uncommon in books yet I think we all want to hear the guys thoughts as he falls in love. The author does an incredible job of getting into the head of a 19 year old guy, or at least I (a girl) think she does :P Braden seemed very real to me. He still has that slightly immature outlook on life you expect from a guy his age but he is starting to grow up and become more mature.

 

The Love Game is a great book that I would recommend to all romance fans especially those that love NA. You get to watch the characters grow up and stop being teenagers that don't realise the consequences of their actions. This book is a perfect example of what makes something New Adult.

 

*I received this book from the author in exchange for a honest review, this has not affected my thoughts on the book in any way*

I read the beta version of this book and it is so good! And this isnt even the final version! You are all going to love it :)

I have seen a few people unhappy about this book as the male character Kai Rowe (apparently short for Malakai) has a similar name to a character in Sweet Evil called Kaiden Rowe.You know what, similar names happen sometimes. An author would have nothing to gain (and everything to lose) by purposefully stealing another characters name. When two characters have the same name, you can pretty much guarantee that the author didn't know when they wrote the book.Now I don't know if I will read the book mainly because I'm usually not a fan of YA contemporary novels but I'm not going to write it off over a name.

This book really suprised me. It had a mystery element to it that i wasn't expecting but really enjoyed :)

Im not 100% sure yet if i want to read this book. I was happy with how the series originally ended (kind of). Everything was finished and resolved, i may still read this though as i did love the first 3 books.

This review and others can be found on http://www.bookishtreasures.blogspot.comSo this book has me torn. Whilst I did enjoy it overall, Elite certainly has its faults. My main issues were all surrounding the believability of the storyline. I can’t go into much detail due to the fact they are all pretty big spoilers so I’m going to be brief. The storyline started off strong but as we started to get into the twists and revelations the plot started to unravel slightly. Once you find out who “The Elect” are it makes absolutely no sense for them to be so powerful in a College that is full of the children of world leaders and other immensely powerful people.The school itself also didn’t make sense, from the people who ran it to the way that all the students acted like they were 13 rather than 18 -22. Oh and they have uniforms. So this school is ran by the mafia. Yes you heard me right, apparently people like the president of the USA are sending their children to a college ran by the Chicago mafia. Children of mafia parents rule the school and boss around the aforementioned children of Presidents. As well as being the biggest bully / in charge of everyone at eagle elite, people ask for Nixon’s autograph a lot (who knew the mafia were such celebrities).At the end of the book we find out that Trace didn’t win the eagle elite scholarship lottery. Her rich mafia grandpa simply enrolled her in the school under her real surname (that she didn’t know). It is never mentioned who the actual winner of the lottery was and nor was it ever mentioned (until the very end) that Trace is registered under a different surname to what she goes by. Nixon somehow never noticed her surname when he was doing all the things like arranging her lunch pass, elevator pass etc. Also when she arrives The Elect mention (without her telling them) that she is the lottery winner, why would they think that when it isn’t actually true?It just seemed to me that when the first part of the book was written the author hadn’t yet decided what was going to happen later in the book and she simply never got around to changing the stuff that then didn’t make sense. Throughout this book I felt like I was reading an early draft that hadn’t yet been checked for content issues.I really wasn’t sure what to think about the romance in this book. Whilst I love reading about a good dysfunctional romance, Trace and Nixon take dysfunctional to a whole new level. Nixon and his friends do some horrible things to Tracey that you couldn’t imagine being easily forgiven (if ever) then once they find out… something, they start to be nice to her and she instantly forgives them. I did like Tracey and Nixon’s connection; they have so much chemistry and passion together. At the moment I do not like Nixon as a love interest, whilst Trace could forgive him for being a huge ass I cant that easily. I much preferred Chase as a potential love interest as he appeared to show some humanity towards Trace. Well, until…. Something else that is a spoiler I can’t mention.Now on to what I liked about this book. I loved the authors writing, she captured the emotion brilliantly and I really felt for Trace. I even teared up slightly at one point. Other than the parts that don’t make sense and could do with being explained or changed I enjoyed the storyline. I liked both the poor farm girl at a school of rich people element and what it later twisted into. The unique plot was a nice refreshing change to read.This is the first in a series and I do plan to pick up book 2. Hopefully reading it will have this book make more sense and I also want to see what happens next. I was certainly hooked in and fascinated by the ending. I do think Elite shows a lot of potential for improvement later in the series and for other books by this author. I am looking forwards to reading something else by Rachel Van Dyken. I was unsure what rating I was going to give this book, either 2 or 3, simply because it has me wanting to read the next book I will give it 3.*I received a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review, this has not affected my opinions or rating in any way.*

This review and others can be found on http://www.bookishtreasures.blogspot.comWhen I first heard about this book I was really excited to read it as it was being marketed as a New Adult fantasy novel, a combination of my favourite category and genre. I was expecting great things from this book and it did not disappoint. Starting the book I was slightly concerned that it would not be what I was expecting due to its opening that seemed slightly immature. Luckily the book quickly redeemed itself and was nothing like what the opening led me to expect; the opening scene is not a good reflection as to what the rest of the book is like.This book is very unique and stands out amongst the many NA novels that are currently available. Not only is it one of the few NA fantasy novels that exists but its fantasy world is unique. It is set in a world quite like ours except supernatural creatures roam and everyone knows about their existence. Collectively known as mystics, there are four different types – shifters, vampires, mages and elementals. King Hall is set at a mystic university that specialises in training the future leaders of the four mystic races.Also adding to the uniqueness of King Hall is the fact that unlike most other NA novels, romance is not the driving element of the storyline. In fact there is minimal romance. However romance lovers don’t despair! This book does still have its moments with scorching sexual tension between some of the characters and a definite possibility for romance in future books. A prominent aspect to this book is friendship. Whilst true romantic love takes a backseat in King Hall, other types of relationships are beautifully showcased. The story follows Lily and the three other future mystic leaders through their last year of University whilst learning everything they need to be able to rule. The four have probably the best friendship that I have ever seen in any novel. They support one another through the good and the bad and the best moments in the book revolve around their easy banter.Lily is a great protagonist. She has gone through so much tragedy and she would be killed instantly if it was discovered she was a hybrid but she still has so much strength. She doesn’t run away from her problems and take the easy route but instead does what would be best for the good of others. All of the supporting characters are equally as perfect as Lily; from cheeky Jack to beautiful Pearl, sexy Ezra and even the four kings each character is well crafted and developed.I’m not sure if the author plans to do anything like this but I think King Hall would greatly benefit from a prequel. This book launches you into the action and there are clearly lots of important things that happened before the timeline of the book started. I fully understand why the author wrote the book the way she did as it does work the best but there is so much stuff alluded to that I would have loved to see. Whilst all past events that were necessary to help understand the story were mentioned throughout the book; I would love to see how Lily’s story started, especially her meeting and mating with Dominic.The ending to this book was explosive, astounding and left me wondering what direction the author will take the story in the next book. If you like frilly, fluffy books King Hall probably isn’t for you but if you like gritty, raw and powerful novels then you will most likely love this book. I will definitely be reading the next book in this series as soon as I can possibly get my hands on a copy. I would definitely recommend King Hall to all urban fantasy, paranormal or NA fans.*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review, this has not influenced my opinions or rating in any way*

I found the synopsis slightly misleading. Whilst there is a slight paranormal element it isn't revealed until the very end of the book (literally the last 5 or so pages). Up until that point it seemed more like a contemporary novel that dealt with mental illness.I still liked it though.There had better be a second book!

Great book about two people with very different lives unwilling to let anything keep them apart. Some amazingly steamy scenes too!Full review coming soon :)