Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor

"Love is a luxury."
"No. Love is an element." An element. Like air to breathe, earth to stand on.

Before I begin my review, I need to admit something... I....am an e-book hoarder. It's becoming a problem. I have a couple HUNDRED (no exaggeration) books on my Kindle that causes me a quite a bit of anxiety. I agonize over trying to decide what I want to read next! That being said, I've had this book on my Kindle since last summer and I finally decided to give it a shot. Overall, I'm pretty happy that I read this book.

On the outside, Karou is a blue-haired, art student living in Prague. Her classmates know her as a mysterious girl who fills her sketchbooks with monsters with elaborate stories. Little to they know that the monsters and stories that Karou tells are glimpses into her real life. She was raised by these creatures and have come to know them as the only family that she has. Balancing her human life and her secret life can be challenging. One night while running errands for her family, she encounters a shockingly gorgeous, yet deadly man who changes everything that she thought she knew about either worlds.

Good 

• The storyline for this was awesome! You can definitely tell that the author spent a lot of time putting thought into how she wants to shape this fictional world. It was so complex and unique. 
• The story picked up with action right away. I like that it pulled you into Karou's world immediately. No fluff. 
• Kinda-sorta-not really insta-love? It's complicated. I generally hate insta-love stories. This one kind of has this, but in a much more complex way. It didn't leave me rolling my eyes so I'm putting this on the good list. :) 

Bad

• The author's writing style was hard to read in the beginning. So. Many. Commas. Definitely one of my pet peeves. I feel like it breaks up the flow. 
• I feel like I knew the characters but didn't really know them.. if that makes any sense. It was written in third person so of course you don't get to know what the characters are really thinking but it was really hard for me to connect with any of them. 

Overall, it was a pretty good book. I give it 3.5 stars because I loved the story, but it's so hard for me to give a book a high rating when I don't feel like I've connected with the characters. However, don't let that deter you from reading it! I definitely suggest giving it a shot. 

Review - The Vampire Code by E.C. Adams

Title:    “The Vampire Code” 

Author:    E.C. Adams   [No image]

Book Summary:

An Urban Fantasy Romance set in a United States where vampires are another oppressed minority in search of cultural acceptance, and featuring a ruling family that wants to change that - the Fiscards.

As part of their plan to connect with mainstream mortal America, when one of their own is unjustly accused of murdering a human, the Fiscards hire one of New York's hottest young attorneys — a young woman by the name Aurora Lake — to stand by them in Vampire Court.

But not every vampire wants to be assimilated, and not everybody approves of the obvious attraction between Aurora Lake and the vampire Sebastian Fiscard.

As they struggle with their own feelings and with unseen, ancient forces trying to put a stop to their work — and to Aurora — will Aurora and Sebastian overcome The Resistance? And what about their resistance to what their own hearts, mortal and immortal, know to be true?

Author Bio:

A lawyer by profession, E.C. Adams started writing when she decided to take a break from her profession and focus more on her expanding family.

Born in Malta, a tiny island bang in the middle of the Mediterranean sea, she now lives there, but over the years, she's lived in Italy (Rome), England (London) and Cyprus (Paphos).

She loves Greek and Italian food, and throwing lavish parties at home, where all guests are expected to bring a +1 or more.

"The Vampire Code" is her debut novel and the first book in a Series by the name “The Fiscard Vampires”.

Book Two will be published in 2013.

Where to connect with E.C. –

Blog / Site: http://www.thevampirecode.com/

FB Page: http://www.facebook.com/#!/pages/EC-Adams/351173074991874?fref=ts

FB (don’t be shy – send her a request): http://www.facebook.com/#!/e.c.adams.mail

Twitter: https://twitter.com/EC_Adams_

This is how the book starts:

Sebastian Fiscard couldn’t have been older than thirty-five when he died. He sat across from me, wearing a crisp white shirt over dark blue pants and an air of barely contained impatience.

“Help me understand, Mr. Fiscard,” I said. “You want me, a human, to represent your brother, a vampire, in front of a jury of over four hundred vampires, in a murder trial in which the victim was human?”

The vampire sat absolutely still—not breathing, not doing anything, allowing me time to process the information—before he said, “Yes, Ms. Lake. That’s just about it.”

And here’s another teaser… can you feel the chemistry? (The narrator is Aurora):

“You can do it,” Sebastian told me, still bent double. “It won’t even hurt and if you think about it, it will make for a great story to tell your grandchildren some day.” He smiled. How could he smile with a dagger in his back?

I looked at Sebastian then, really looked at him. How many lives had he lived already? This must be a welcome adventure to him, something to kill the tedium of eternal life.

“Son of a bitch,” I whispered….

And this is what reviewers on Goodreads.com and Amazon.com have said:

 “I rate this book as at least 5 stars because it blew me away!” AND “This book has all the moments and elements that we readers love about romance, paranormal and mysteries and this author is able to combine these elements in a way that works! People have tried to write this book for years and wonderfully for us, E. C. Adams has accomplished this.” (Heather - Age 42 , Female , Canada – on Goodreads.com and Amazon.com)

“This is a gripping book with a great love story and we are kept waiting for the next part of this awesome trilogy!”  (Farah - Age 27 , Female , Pretoria, South Africa – on Goodreads.com)

“The twists and turns that follow are unexpected and magical - a great beginning to a unique vampire trilogy.” (Author Sherry Stanfield – on Goodreads.com)

Where to purchase:

Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/Vampire-Code-Fiscard-Vampires-ebook/dp/B00CNAYM54/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1367916591&sr=8-5&keywords=the+vampire+code

Amazon.co.uk: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Vampire-Code-Fiscard-Vampires-ebook/dp/B00CNAYM54/ref=sr_1_10?ie=UTF8&qid=1367916625&sr=8-10&keywords=the+vampire+code

B&N: http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/books/1115247291?ean=2940016756240

Apple Store: http://store.apple.com/us

Kobo: http://www.kobobooks.com/ebook/The-Vampire-Code-The-Fiscard/book-ptm5uz3Dik2_7WP-zFopzg/page1.html?s=I6i7-YF2rE2h6LK1Nz6hgA&r=1

Smashwords: http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/312872



My review:

Aurora Lake is a lawyer who accepts to take on a case for a vampire wrongly accused of murder; hired by his brother Sebastian.  After accepting the case, Aurora is the targeted by the New Ku Klux Klan as well as members of the Vampire Resistance.  During all of this, Sebastian is the one who is always there protecting her making sure that nothing harmful comes to her.

During the trial, feelings are starting to stir within Aurora for Sebastian but she doesn’t want to admit to them or let them show not wanting their relationship to interfere with Robert’s trial.  Afterwards Aurora learns that she is cursed and the only way to break this curse is to have a baby and Sebastian still wants to do whatever he can do to protect her.

Right from the very first chapter I was drawn into the story; the whole human lawyer representing a vampire, human-vampire love story, and everything that happens around them.  I have to say I am intrigued by Sebastian; very stoic and by the law but yet seems so dreamy *drool*; from the description of him you can’t blame Aurora for being drawn to him :D   I thought the story moved along great, enough action to keep it interesting and of course there is the love story aspect of the book.  I am looking forward to the next book to see what happens with Aurora, Sebastian and everyone else ;)

This I Promise You by Tressa Messenger *Giveaway & Book Tour*

Guest Post by Tressa Messenger
Author of
This I Promise You

The Blurb:

You only get one first of anything, and no matter the time, or space, or age, you never forget your firsts.

When thirteen year old Nicky Moore’s parents decide to buy a small summer beach cottage at Atlantic Beach, North Carolina, she thought her life would end.  It didn’t matter the beauty of the area - land and water as far as the eye could see - she was bound and determined to make her family’s summer vacation as dismal as she felt.  That was until she met a boy from down the beach; a beautiful boy, with the most intense brown eyes she had ever seen and a smile that could light the ocean on fire.  A summer that Nicky thought was doomed from the start, turned into a summer that she would never forget; one full of firsts.  It was impossible for her to know years later how one seemingly little decision could change everything forever, but soon, as an adult, Nicky will find out that everything she once thought were real and the promises once made, were lost in a sea of inner turmoil.

A note from Tressa on why she wrote This I Promise You...

I'm not even sure where to begin.  How do you explain what an impact a story has on one self?  This story is one so very special to me and I put a lot of tears into writing it.   

After a friend of mine came to me and presented a book idea to me, which has happened many times since becoming a writer, immediately the story unfolded in my mind. I knew the exact story I wanted to tell. A story that I felt needed to be told. It is a story of finding yourself through young love and trying to maintain that love through life’s obstacles. This story is so very special to me because this story is about me and someone who was very special to me, my first love. I am truly honored to be able to share it with you.

My story is not very unlike the one you are about to read.  I fell in love for the first time when I was just 13 years old with the most beautiful boy I had ever known, Jeremy Hayes Hewett. Some told me it was just a crush, a child’s fantasy, and some just dismissed it all together.  They were all wrong. Yes, I was 13 and that is young, but I knew how I felt and they did not. He was a truly special person who had the biggest heart of anyone I had ever known. We dated the entire school year until I moved away at the end of the school year. We continued to stay in touch after I moved away, but long distance relationships are hard whether you are 13 or 31 and like so many long distance relationships it didn’t last. Slowly, the once constant letters and phone calls started becoming fewer and further in between until they stopped all together. I would always think about him from time to time though whether I was driving through his hometown, or if I heard a certain song on the radio. I sang our song “I Swear” every night for a year.

Finally, when I was nineteen, I contacted everyone that I could think of who knew him or would possibly know how to contact him, and since this was before advances in technology had taken off I decided to leave it up to the universe. If we were meant to be, then we would be. As the years went by the universe remained steadily quiet, so once again I grew impatient and took it upon myself to try and locate him once more. Unfortunately, this time I did find out where he was, but what I found out was the LAST thing I had ever expected to hear. My first love had been dead for three years after taking his life. The impact of his death left me in complete shock, and after the shock, there was guilt. I was utterly consumed by guilt because oddly enough, it had been exactly three years since I had last tried to find him, I felt guilty for not trying harder. I thought that maybe, had I known what he was going through I could’ve helped him.

Well, what I can’t do, as much as I wish I could, is go back and help him, but what I can do now is share this story in the hopes that it may help someone else. So, that is what I have done. He and I may have only had that one perfect year together when we were kids, but it was a time in my life I will never forget. I often wonder had he and I stayed together how would our lives have played out? People always say that if they could go back in time and change anything in their life they wanted to they wouldn’t change a thing.  But if you knew that was the ending would you change it if you could do it all over again? I would.

Find Tressa here :

www.facebook.com/tressamessenger

www.tressamessenger.com

twitter @tressamessenger

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Review - Sentinel by Joshua Winning

Publication Date:  May 1, 2013

Who are the Sentinels? They’re everywhere, but you’ve never seen them. The Sentinels are the world’s best-kept secret, but that secret’s about to come out… Are you ready for it?

A dark fantasy series set in Cambridge, Sentinel is the first installment in the thrilling Sentinel Trilogy, which takes place in a world that everybody knows, but few would recognize. Who are the Sentinels? Who is the mysterious godmother? And why is fifteen-year-old Nicholas Hallow able to sense things that others can’t? Filled with action and mystery, Sentinel takes the reader on a whirlwind adventure with unconventional heroes and a little bit of magic

Cover and Description from Goodreads

My review:

I usually do a recap of what I feel describes the story however I won’t be doing that in this one as I’m still not 100% exactly what the Sentinels are and what their purpose is.  Things happened with Nicholas who apparently is someone “special” for the Sentinels and is sent to live with his Godmother whom he never has met nor has heard about. 

The story was interesting and I’m sure they mentioned in there who the Sentinels where but it could’ve just flown right over my head J  Although I enjoyed reading the book I’m not sure if I will continue on with the series, nothing stood out that made me want to see what happens next.

Review - The Ancient Codex by Louise Herman

Publication Date: December 14, 2012

Genre: Young Adult, Paranormal, Supernatural, Romance

When Faith’s mother starts organizing the second stage of her arranged marriage to wizard, Damien, Faith knew she needed to escape, so she used her school as a place to retreat.

Throughout her after school duties, she meets the intense, alluring Rohan, who changes her life forever.

With his ice cold skin, transfixing eyes and enchanting voice, Rohan took hold of Faith’s heart and soul as soon as they looked at each other.

She knew it was wrong.

There were from two different circles and if the Elder’s found out, the consequences would be catastrophic for all involved, but the more time they spent together, the stronger they’re love grew, until one day someone sees them...

Will their love be strong enough to combat their conflicting mythical needs? And what will they do when Faith is dealt a life threatening blow that forces her to make a heartbreaking decision?

Cover and Description from Goodreads

My review:

Everything in Faith’s life is not normal; she is a witch who has an arranged marriage to Damien, a wizard her age.  She doesn’t like Damien but has decided to make an effort to get to know him since they will have to spend the rest of their life together.  With everything going on, Faith’s need to escape all the happenings brings her to the one place she knows she can and that is at school. 

While at school she meets Rohan, a vampire and feels herself drawn to him both heart and soul although they both know this wrong (inter-circle relationships are forbidden).  Both knowing that what they feel for each other they hide their growing relationship from others until one day they are seen.

Faith and Rohan decide that their love means more to them than anything else so they run off together so that they can be together forever, hiding from the Elders and then one day they are given information that will change them forever.

I really enjoyed this book right from the beginning.  I grew attached to Faith and Rohan’s love story seeing how they choose love over law and would do anything so that they could stay together.  The story moved along perfectly with no gaps or too much information, and there were enough events that took place to keep you enthralled.  Without giving away any of the story because that wouldn’t be fun, there is one major decision that Faith has to make regarding something that will set a whole other slew of events to take place throughout the story and is very interesting to say the least J I am definitely looking forward to the second book in this series to see what happens next!