Review: Sweet Thing by Renée Carlino

5 stars Sweet Thing by Renée Carlino.

So the saying goes "If you love something, set it free. If it comes back to you, it's yours. If it doesn't, it never is". As it is, Sweet Thing revolves around the power of love and learning to let go. It is a soul searing, beautifully written story of self-discovery and friendship.

Renée Carlino is truly an artist. She paints pictures in my mind with words and her characters live and breathe. Reliving Sweet Thing through the eyes of Mia makes me feel like having gone on an intense emotional rollercoaster ride. I smile and laugh; sob and cry all the same. Likewise, the love scenes are steamy but they stir emotions rather than my libido. And that is what I really appreciate in an exceptionally good love story.

I love the way Mia and Will's relationship develops and evolves, and how it affects and changes each of them. I am hooked on every page, every sentence, every word from beginning to ending from the moment I start reading. The prologue and epilogue are penned in such an unusual way that makes them very original and remarkably unique as this is the first time I have read them as such.

This is one of the best debut novels that I have read so far and I will definitely be looking forward to more from Renée Carlino.

Publisher: Renée Carlino
Publication date: 14 Apr 2013 (first published 17 Mar 2013)

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“You have to teach your heart and mind how to sing together…then you’ll hear the sound of your soul.”

Mia Kelly thinks she has it all figured out. She’s an Ivy League graduate, a classically trained pianist, and the beloved daughter of a sensible mother and offbeat father. Yet Mia has been stalling since graduation, torn between putting her business degree to use and exploring music, her true love.

When her father unexpectedly dies, she decides to pick up the threads of his life while she figures out her own. Uprooting herself from Ann Arbor to New York City, Mia takes over her father’s café, a treasured neighborhood institution that plays host to undiscovered musicians and artists. She’s denied herself the thrilling and unpredictable life of a musician, but a chance encounter with Will, a sweet, gorgeous, and charming guitarist, offers her a glimpse of what could be. When Will becomes her friend and then her roommate, she does everything in her power to suppress her passions-for him, for music-but her father’s legacy slowly opens her heart to the possibility of something more.

*Blurb from author's website*



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Review: Vicious (Vicious #1) by V E Schwab

4.5 stars for Vicious (Vicious book 1) by V. E. Schwab.

This urban science fiction fantasy is V. E. Schwab's first adult novel, about two brilliant and highly disturbed pre-med students who set out to generate their own superpowers and end up mortal enemies.

In all its brilliancy and originality, the author creates a world where gaining superpowers does not automatically lead to heroism and there always exists a fine line of what it takes to be a hero or a villain.

Though Vicious is not my usual choice of a read, surprisingly I enjoy reading it and love the way this masterful piece of a tale develops, unfolds and concludes.

Publisher: Tor Books
Publication date: 24 Sep 2013

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Victor and Eli started out as college roommates–brilliant, arrogant, lonely boys who recognized the same sharpness and ambition in each other. In their senior year, a shared research interest in adrenaline, near-death experiences, and seemingly supernatural events reveals an intriguing possibility: that under the right conditions, someone could develop extraordinary abilities. But when their thesis moves from the academic to the experimental, things go horribly wrong.

Ten years later, Victor breaks out of prison, determined to catch up to his old friend (now foe), aided by a young girl whose reserved nature obscures a stunning ability. Meanwhile, Eli is on a mission to eradicate every other super-powered person that he can find—aside from his sidekick, an enigmatic woman with an unbreakable will.

Armed with terrible power on both sides, driven by the memory of betrayal and loss, the archnemeses have set a course for revenge but who will be left alive at the end?

*Blurb from author's website*

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Review: Dark Angel by T. J. Bennett

4 stars for Dark Angel by T. J. Bennett.

Dark Angel is a memorable historical fantasy romance with a intriguing plot that is filled with mysterious magical forces.

The author writes beautifully by weaving an enchanting, gripping gothic fairy tale with richly detailed settings, in which a woman with a troubled past shipwrecks on a mysterious island whose master has dark, deadly secrets of his own.

Reading Dark Angel reminds me of the story of Beauty and the Beast. It feels almost like a re-telling of this classic love story where appearance does not matter; love lies in the eyes of beholder; and ultimately love transcends all.

Publisher: Entangled: Edge
Publication date: 21 Oct 2013

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When young widow Catherine Briton is washed ashore, the sole survivor of a violent shipwreck, all she wants is to go home to London. But injured as she is, she can't escape when a shadowy stranger rescues her and takes her to his castle - where she's healed with suspicious, almost magical speed.

The more time Catherine spends in the castle, the more her curiosity rises where her fiercely handsome new "master," Gerard, is concerned. As she begins to investigate, though, her discoveries only bring more questions. It seems Gerard isn't the only one on the island keeping secrets...

The small town is full of strange mysteries and townspeople who know more than they should about her. And when a hulking beast that stalks the nearby hills and valleys catches up to her, Catherine must figure out what's going on before it's too late.

*Blurb from FantasticFiction*

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Review: Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen

4.5 stars for Garden Spells by Sarah Addison Allen.

Garden Spells is an impressively charming, light-hearted, easy read with likeable characters and a dose of sweet humor.

There is just the right amount of suspense and secrecy centering on the extraordinary Waverley sisters and their special, almost magical connection with an enchanted apple tree to keep me intrigued and turn the pages incessantly.

Overall, a remarkable debut novel.

Publisher: Bantam Books; Later Printing edition
Publication date: 1 Jan 2007

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The women of the Waverley family -- whether they like it or not -- are heirs to an unusual legacy, one that grows in a fenced plot behind their Queen Anne home on Pendland Street in Bascom, North Carolina. There, an apple tree bearing fruit of magical properties looms over a garden filled with herbs and edible flowers that possess the power to affect in curious ways anyone who eats them.

For nearly a decade, 34-year-old Claire Waverley, at peace with her family inheritance, has lived in the house alone, embracing the spirit of the grandmother who raised her, ruing her mother's unfortunate destiny and seemingly unconcerned about the fate of her rebellious sister, Sydney, who freed herself long ago from their small town's constraints. Using her grandmother's mystical culinary traditions, Claire has built a successful catering business -- and a carefully controlled, utterly predictable life -- upon the family's peculiar gift for making life-altering delicacies: lilac jelly to engender humility, for instance, or rose geranium wine to call up fond memories.

Garden Spells reveals what happens when Sydney returns to Bascom with her young daughter, turning Claire's routine existence upside down. With Sydney's homecoming, the magic that the quiet caterer has measured into recipes to shape the thoughts and moods of others begins to influence Claire's own emotions in terrifying and delightful ways.

As the sisters reconnect and learn to support one another, each finds romance where she least expects it, while Sydney's child, Bay, discovers both the safe home she has longed for and her own surprising gifts. With the help of their elderly cousin Evanelle, endowed with her own uncanny skills, the Waverley women redeem the past, embrace the present, and take a joyful leap into the future.

*Blurb from Goodreads*

Publisher: Bantam; 1 edition
Publication date: 28 Aug 2007

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Review: Master of Crows by Grace Draven

5 stars for Master of Crows by Grace Draven.

Master of Crows is an enthralling tale of romance, danger and magic.

Grace Draven brings fantasy romance to a totally different level by writing beautifully, a storyline that centers on not just the romance aspect but fantasy as well. It is not solely a love story with the male protagonist in mage robes casting a few dark spells here and there, masquerading as fantasy; it is a plot, rich and deep in a vividly painted fantasy world, with well developed characters dipped in heavy doses of light humor immersed in a slow buildup of romance.

My only grievance is that the initial 10% of the story is slow-moving as the author lays the foundation of her world building. But once that is done, I have a hard time steering my eyes away from the story. It has such a fierce grasp on me that I happily obliged to ride the journey alongside the characters.

All in all, an enchanting and magnificent fantasy romance, one of the rare few whereby the characters leave deep impression long after the book is read.

A jewel of a story with an equally matching gem of a book cover.

Publisher: Grace Draven
Publication date: 8 Aug 2011

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What would you do to win your freedom?

This is the question that sets bondwoman, Martise of Asher, on a dangerous path. In exchange for her freedom, she bargains with her masters, the mage-priests of Conclave, to spy on the renegade sorcerer, Silhara of Neith. The priests want Martise to expose the sorcerer’s treachery and turn him over to Conclave justice. A risky endeavor, but one she accepts without hesitation–until she falls in love with her intended target.

Silhara of Neith, Master of Crows, is a desperate man. The god called Corruption invades his mind, seducing him with promises of limitless power if he will help it gain dominion over the world. Silhara struggles against Corruption’s influence and searches for ways to destroy the god. When Conclave sends Martise as an apprentice to help him, he knows she’s a spy. Now he fights a war on two fronts–against the god who would possess him and the apprentice who would betray him.

Mage and spy search together for a ritual that will annihilate Corruption, but in doing so, they discover secrets about each other that may damn them both. Silhara must decide if his fate, and the fate of nations, is worth the soul of the woman he has come to love, and Martise must choose continued enslavement or freedom at the cost of a man’s life. And love.

*Blurb from author's website*

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Review: Twist Me (Twist Me #1) by Anna Zaires

1 star for Twist Me (Twist Me book 1) by Anna Zaires.

I do not enjoy reading Twist me. Perhaps I am too jaded to appreciate this New Adult dark romance which is well liked by so many others.

On a serious note, I find it hard to take pleasure in revelling a story which centers on stockholm syndrome, or otherwise known as capture-bonding whereby the hostage expresses empathy and sympathy, and have positive feelings towards his/her captor, sometimes to the point of defending and identifying with them.

Besides a disturbing theme, the plot is awfully shallow with poor background and world building. It is essentially an incredulous tale of a sweet lovely damsel and a strikingly gorgeous male protagonist that screams lust, desire and mating. There is such copious amount of graphic sexual content that I find myself skipping chunks in hope to reading something constructive.

If dark, twisted and disturbing fabrication is your thing, give it a try. But if you are after some decent romance with substance, I would say look elsewhere.

Publisher: Mozaika Publications
Publication date: 31 Jul 2014

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Kidnapped. Taken to a private island.

I never thought this could happen to me. I never imagined one chance meeting on the eve of my eighteenth birthday could change my life so completely.

Now I belong to him. To Julian. To a man who is as ruthless as he is beautiful—a man whose touch makes me burn. A man whose tenderness I find more devastating than his cruelty.

My captor is an enigma. I don’t know who he is or why he took me. There is a darkness inside him—a darkness that scares me even as it draws me in.

My name is Nora Leston, and this is my story.

*Blurb from author's website*

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Review: River Marked (Mercy Thompson #6) by Patricia Briggs

4 stars for River Marked (Mercy Thompson book 6) by Patricia Briggs.

The events in River Marked take place a short distance from Mercy's usual hangout in the Tri-Cities. While looking for a nice place to honeymoon and relax with Adam, Mercy gets herself and her mate implicated in a series of complicated endeavors. Besides the risky undertakings that smoke of powerful magical creatures and heaps of fast-paced action fighting, readers are granted glimpses of Mercy's innermost feelings as she longs for her missing father and coming to terms with what the Coyote reveals.

After the last two remarkably fabulous stories in the series, it would be untruthful to say that I am not disappointed with River Marked. While I agree that book 6 is still a well written fantasy tale with good storyline, I feel that it somehow lacks the distinctive punch delivered in the prior few. Or perhaps my own expectations of this series has risen much along with the folklore developments.

All in all, River Marked is still a good and enjoyable read.

Publisher: Ace; Reprint edition
Publication date: 1 Mar2011

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Car mechanic Mercy Thompson has always known there was something different about her, and not just the way she can make a VW engine sit up and beg. Mercy is a shapeshifter, a talent she inherited from her long-gone father. She's never known any others of her kind. Until now.

An evil is stirring in the depths of the Columbia River-one that her father's people may know something about. And to have any hope of surviving, Mercy and her mate, the Alpha werewolf Adam, will need their help...

*Blurb from FantasticFiction*

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Review: Silver Borne (Mercy Thompson #5) by Patricia Briggs

5 stars for Silver Borne (Mercy Thompson book 5) by Patricia Briggs.

Coyote-shifting garage mechanic Mercedes stars again in this fifth book of the Mercy Thompson series, an urban fantasy along with paranormal romanace novel that has her embarking on yet another thrilling adventure in the Tri-Cities.

Silver Borne as narrated from Mercy's first person point of view, is as much her story as well as werewolf Samuel's, who has been existing for far too long and miserable over being his own lone alpha. The author spins a seamless tale of Mercy's attempt to return a magical book to a fae friend-of-a-friend, her handling of Samuel's depression and the challenges she face in her efforts to fit in and match up to the wolfpack's expectations. The world building is rich with well-rounded characters some of which more likeable than others, making the fantasy story more convincing and lifelike.

There is a spring of surprise as the story concludes with a twist and I am certainly delighted with such a brilliant ending. This brilliancy is what sets a fabulous author apart from the rest.

A note on the book cover.. this is by far my favourite book cover picture of Mercy. The angle and pose for the photo has done great justice to Mercy as she not only appears tough as a cookie but demure and exotic, with intricate rose tatts on both her arms and back.

Publisher: Ace; Reprint edition
Publication date: 30 Mar 2010

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Being a mechanic is hard work. Mercy Thompson, for instance, just spent the last couple of months trying to evade the murderous queen of the local vampire seethe, and now the leader of the werewolf pack - who's maybe-more-than-just-a-friend - has asked for her help. A book of fae secrets has come to light and they're all about to find out how implacable - and dangerous - the fae can be. OK, so maybe her troubles have nothing to do with the job. But she sure could use a holiday ...

*Blurb from FantasticFiction*

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