Cover Love (20)

This feature is hosted by Carmel @ Rabid Reads. The rules are very simple. Choose a cover (or two, or three), preferably new-ish, and share what you like about it. Grab the graphic or don't just so long as you link back.


My picks this week:

Cartoonish cover *sigh* I love those.

This is a creepy cover. The bloodied rose gives me goose bumps. I wonder who gave it to whom and why. I do want to read this book. :D















What are your picks this week?

June In Retrospect

Sorry I'm late with this post, guys! I had some stuff going on, but I'm here now.

June was a little slow, or so I see it. Here are the books I managed to read this month:

1. Dime Store Magic - Kelley Armstrong
2. Industrial Magic - Kelley Armstrong
3. Haunted - Kelley Armstrong
4. Cinder - Marissa Meyer
5. Evermine - Hailey Edwards
6. Eversworn - Hailey Edwards
7. The Stone of Darkness - Resa Nelson
8. Of Poseidon - Anna Banks

I didn't manage to read as much as I wanted, but I'm hoping July will be more productive. I am behind with my reading and my reviewing, I know. I'll work hard this month to fix that.


Books I reviewed this month:

1. Dime Store Magic - Kelley Armstrong
2. Industrial Magic - Kelley Armstrong
3. In Love With An Angel - Federica Bosco
4. Cinder - Marissa Meyer
5. Evermine - Hailey Edwards
6. Eversworn - Hailey Edwards
7. I've Got Your Number - Sophie Kinsella
8. A Hint Of Frost - Hailey Edwards
9. Stolen - Kelley Armstrong

Follow Friday (17)

Welcome to Follow Friday hosted this week by Parajunkee and Alison!
The main idea behind FF is just to go see a bunch of new blogs you may never have seen before, and follow the ones you like (and they’ll follow you back!) It’s a total win/win, so take a peek around!


This week’s question is:



Q: Birthday Wishes -- Blow out the candles and imagine what character could pop out of your cake...who is it and what book are they from?


Just one? *frown* Oh, there are so many great, hot male characters out there. Even some female characters too that I'd like in my cake. *taps chin* Let's see, I would LOVE to get Acheron and Savitar from Kenyon's Dark Hunter series. Ummm... Oh, and then there's Cherise Sinclair's Doms. Don't ask which, 'cause I can't decide *sheepish* And Lestat :D

What about you?

Book Review: Industrial Magic by Kelley Armstrong

Author: Kelley Armstrong
Series: Women of the Otherworld #4
My Rating: 5 cups
Publisher: Random House of Canada
Publication Date: January 26, 2010
Blurb: (from Goodreads)

Meet the smart, sexy — supernatural — women of the otherworld. This is not your mother’s coven...

Kelley Armstrong returns with the eagerly awaited follow-up to Dime Store Magic. Paige Winterbourne, a headstrong young woman haunted by a dark legacy, is now put to the ultimate test as she fights to save innocents from the most insidious evil of all.. . .

In the aftermath of her mother’s murder, Paige broke with the elite, ultraconservative American Coven of Witches. Now her goal is to start a new Coven for a new generation. But while Paige pitches her vision to uptight thirty-something witches in business suits, a more urgent matter commands her attention.

Someone is murdering the teenage offspring of the underworld’s most influential Cabals — a circle of families that makes the mob look like amateurs. And none is more powerful than the Cortez Cabal, a faction Paige is intimately acquainted with. Lucas Cortez, the rebel son and unwilling heir, is none other than her boyfriend. But love isn’t blind, and Paige has her eyes wide open as she is drawn into a hunt for an unnatural-born killer. Pitted against shamans, demons, and goons, it’s a battle chilling enough to make a wild young woman grow up in a hurry. If she gets the chance.

This second book about Paige and Lucas was so great! I loved reading it. Besides the paranormal elements, I felt like I was reading a very good mystery novel. There where a lot of other great things that stood out, but the mystery killer part was the most important one for me.

I liked seeing Lucas and his family play a bigger part in this novel. While he was present in Dime Store Magic, I felt like Lucas was still a huge mystery to me. Not that it bothered me, but I wanted to know more about him. So learning about him, his family and, ultimately, about how the Cabals and their world works, was one of the reasons I loved this novel.

I loved the suspense, the element of danger that this story had. Also, I loved the fact that I couldn't figure out who was the killer, until the very end, when the killer was revealed. I had lots of weird theories about his identity, but I never felt like I had a good idea about him. So that's what made it a good mystery for me *shrug*

One of the things I liked is that we get to see some old friends, like Adam (*swoon*), Cassandra, Jeremy and his Pack. We also meet Savannah's mom, Eve. I didn't know what to think about her when she was in a scene. I was convinced she was just as bad as the other characters thought she was, that she surprised me.

I loved the book and I can only hope we get to be in Paige's POV again soon. And yes, I'm still waiting for Savannah to grow up so that she can hook up with a certain hot male (*wink*).

Can't wait to read Haunted and be in Eve's POV and learn more about her, how she was before her death and how she is now. And also, I'm getting sadder with each and every book I read that the series is coming to an end *sniffle*.

News and some changes

Hey everyone! I hope you had a very lovely weekend.

Sorry I've been missing the last few days, life's a little #%@$% and apparently "she can't be ignored" *rolls eyes* The heat in my neck of the woods is killing me!! And the humidity sucks. So that makes reading a little difficult. That and studying, but I manage to ignore that last part :P

I thought long and hard and I realized I needed to do some changes in my reviews, specifically with my rating method. During the Wicked Wildfire Read-A-Thon I read a book that... confused me. While the writing style, the character development, the psychology of each character were asking for the highest rating I could give, it was also a book that made me so uncomfortable I simply couldn't give it more than 2 cups. That doesn't mean the book was bad. But it was so out of my league and certain scenes made me squirm (and not in a good way). So that is why I'll have a secondary rating system that will be only for showing my comfort level while reading the books I'll be reviewing. I'm going to use Jolly Rogers for that. (I'm a geek, ok? :P) I'm going to have that explained better in my Review Policy & Rating System page.

The second change is that I'm going to use icons for various genres. I though they looked cool and fun and also helps the reader know the genres/main idea behind the book/age restrictions and what not. So I put my non-existent drawing skills to use and so far so good. I hope that I'll start using these icons by second week of July. The designs are mine, inspired either by real objects or crazy stuff from my imagination. I can't wait to start using them. They'll probably look as bad and ugly as you're imagining them, but I'm actually very proud of them *shrugs*

That's it for now. No major changes, just small things I felt were needed ;)

Book Review: Eversworn by Hailey Edwards (+18)

Author: Hailey Edwards
Series: Daughters of Askara #3
My Rating: 5 cups
Publisher: Samhain Publishing
Publication Date: June 26th 2012
Blurb (from Goodreads):

Steal the salt. Bind the grimoire. Escape the male.

When an exchange of stolen goods in the Feriana marketplace turns sour, Isabeau stumbles from the encounter bruised and laden with new orders to complete an even larger heist. With her child’s life at stake, there’s no room for error—or allies. 

Armed with a lethal book of spells, she strikes a dangerous bargain with Roland Bernhard. Steal a shipment of salt from the Feriana colony, and she’ll have her freedom—and her daughter. It’s all she’s ever wanted. At least it was…until she runs into Dillon Preston.

Dillon is out of commission after a mine explosion, and itching for a distraction. He gets it when the female who saved his leg arrives at the colony with nothing but flimsy excuses and even flimsier attire. She’s after something, but is it him—or the salt?

Trapped in a desperate bid to gain true freedom, Isabeau is willing to sacrifice her life for her daughter’s, but Dillon has other plans. He wants a package deal, and he’s not willing to lose either female, even if it means the future king of Sere’s head will roll.

Warning: This title contains a heroine desperate to save her daughter and a hero determined to make them a family. It also includes wings, horns and other assorted appendages.(less)

I really enjoyed this story. You get to see so much more magic being used than in the previous two books and you also get to see the negative part of overusing that magic and the responsibility that comes with using magic and glamour. I liked that part a lot, being able to see the not so pretty side of magic.

We get to learn more about the background of this world, though I'm sure there are more details we haven't learned yet. I liked how the story of how the Evanti were enslaved. I love a good history tale, be it real or fictional, and this one was amazing. I can only hope we'll get to learn more about the world in the future.

I liked the love story between Isabeau and Dillon. I liked the changes they brought in each other and the chemistry between them. Oh, and Dillon was sooooo sexy. I loved his true form, without the glamour and all that magic covering him. And I have to say, he was funny at times. Or maybe that's just my twisted sense of humor? Anyway, I enjoyed his character. And I loved how he protected Isabeau's daughter. You gotta love a big, bad-ass demon who manages to get wrapped around a little girl's finger in an instant. I have a feeling she'll be a little troublemaker :D

Isabeau was surprising. She's the opposite of what we know about how her people are. She's aware of what magic does to people and how it can corrupt and destroy and so she doesn't use it unless necessary. I also respected her for not trying to lie about the things she did, even if it meant losing a dear friend. She accepted the consequences without making excuses and I loved that about her. Her story also managed to break my heart a little.

I know it's too early, but I am SO ready for book 4. I can't wait to go back into that world and learn more and more about it.