Obsession by Jennifer L Armentrout ~ Review

Obsession 

By Jennifer L Armentrout

Rating: 4.2

'No one could move that fast. No one human. He's not human.'

'If I hadn't shown up when I had, the Luxen would've easily killed her. Humans were so fragile.'

'It felt right. Like not taking the shit back kind of right. Weird. I knew I needed to stay away from her, but I didn't want to. I also knew I wouldn't.'


One Arum.
One Human.

A deadly secret...and a deadly attraction.

The world is on the verge of destruction, alien and human forces colliding like never before. And Hunter and Serena are caught in the middle.

How far would you go to get revenge? How far would you go to save the people you love?

How far is too far?

An amazing spin-off from the world of Arum and Luxen, 'Obsession' will have you begging for more.

A tale as old as time. Beauty...and the Beast.

To buy today:

 - Amazon

 - Barnes and Noble 

For more info:

 - Goodreads

Confessions ~ A Playlist

Because I have nothing else to do with my time - and I was bored of watching Pretty Little Liars re-runs - I decided to compile together a playlist for one of my favourite YA series. 

So here it is...the not-so finished playlist for the Confessions series by Lousie Rozett!

For Rose and Jamie:
- Jekyll & Hyde by Plumb
- Arithmetic by Brooke Fraser
- Gonna Get Over You by Sara Bareilles
- All You Ever by Hunter Hayes
- Treacherous by Taylor Swift
- Impossible by James Arthur
- Rainy Season by Hunter Hayes
- In Case by Demi Lovato
- More Than I Should by Hunter Hayes
- Poison and Wine by the Civil Wars
- Holding On And Letting Go by Ross Copperman










For Rose:
- Echo by Jason Walker
- Fire Starter by Demi Lovato
- All Cried Out by Kree Harrison
- Out from Under by Joanna Pacitti
- Lonely by Christina Perri

Feisty Female YA Tournament 2013 ~ Now Open!

It's that time of year to vote for the females that have carried their many weapons with care, have taken out more bad guys than you can count on both hands and have shown the world that women are not to be messed with!

It's also a chance to acknowledge that heroines don't have to be simpering, weak or girly - they can have iron backbones and save the day better than any man can ;)

Voting will be open 31 May - 31 July. There will be 7 Rounds:

- Round 1 - top 20 move to Round 2
- Round 2 - top 15 move to Round 3
- Round 3 - top 10 move to Round 5
- *Round 4/Gatecrashers* - top 5 move to Round 5
- Round 5 - top 5 move to Round 6
- Round 6 - top 3 move to Round 7
- Round 7 - WINNER IS ANNOUNCED 31 JULY

If you have your own blog, and would like to help host this event, please post below/message me with:
- Your blog name
- Preferred e-mail address

This tournament will be going on here, on Goodreads, and via Twitter. 

I encourage each and every one of you to get involved, pick teams and participate in our 

group's very own bookworm event that is sure to be heaps of fun :)

CURRENT STATUS: Completed - Winner for 2013 is Maggie Masters (Significance series by Shelly Crane) 

______________

Previous Results:

TOP 3:

 - MAGGIE MASTERS
 - ALEXANDRIA ANDROS
 - RUBY MOORE

ROUND 6:

1.) Maggie Masters (Significance series by Shelly Crane) 

**Received 63% of the votes in Round 5**

2.) Rose Hathaway (Vampire Academy series by Richelle Mead)

**Received 8% of the votes in Round 5**

3.) Ruby Moore (Guardian Angel series by Skyla Madi)

**Received 6% of the votes in Round 5**

4.) Katniss Everdeen (Hunger Games trilogy by Suzanne Collins)

**Received 5% of the votes in Round 5**

5.) Alexandria (Alex) Andros (Covenant series by Jennifer L Armentrout) 

**Received 4% of the votes in Round 5**

ROUND 4:

1.) Isabelle Lightwood

2.) Allison Sekemoto 

3.) Annabeth Chase

4.) Rose Zarelli 

5.) Yelena

ROUND 3:


1.) Maggie Masters
2.) Ruby Moore
3.) Katniss Everdeen
4.) Rose Hathaway
5.) Alexandria Andros
6.) Hermione Granger
7.) Alyssa Gardener
8.) Tris Prior
9.) Claire Danvers
10.) Celaena Sardothien

ROUND 2:


1.) Maggie Masters
2.) Ruby Moore
3.) Katniss
4.) Rose Hathaway
5.) Alexandria (Alex) Andros
6.) Alyssa Gardener
7.) Hermione
8.) Celaena
9.) Allison Sekemoto
10.) Claire Danvers
11.) Isabelle Lightwood
12.) Tris Prior
13.) Annabeth Chase
14.) Meghan Chase
15.) Katsa


ROUND 1:

1. Maggie Masters 
2. Rose Hathaway
3. Ruby Moore
4. Katniss Everdeen
5. Allison Sekemoto
6. Claire Danvers
7. Alyssa Gardener
8. Isabelle Lightwood
9. Tris Prior
10. Hermione Granger
11. Alexandria Andros
12. Annabeth Chase
13. Meghan Chase
14. Katsa
15. Celaena Sarothien
16. Tessa Gray
17. Christina Parker
18. Karou
19. Yelena
20. Finley Jayne
    
    

Finality. Answers. Introspective. Trust. Hope. ~ Awakenings Review

Awakenings (Elemental Series #1)
By Hally Willmott

Rating: 4


'I've always believed there was more...I'd have to be pretty blind not to.'


Stay together. Stay alive.

Jacey Adison's life has always lacked a sense of permanency. She's always been the new kid, the one whose family could - at any time, or at a moment's notice - pack up and move...leaving everything behind. 

But there are some things you can't run from forever. Things that Jacey's parents have tried to protect her and her brother Hudson from, time and time again. Things that are intent on breaking their family apart.

Secrets bring us together. Secrets tear us apart.

As Jacey begins to question the circumstances surrounding her parents' death, she also begins to wonder if everything in her life is as black and white as she once believed. Dreams that she once thought were the figments of her slumbering mind may have sinister connotations, holding in them the key to Jacey's past, her legacy and her future. People who she once thought were friends may have roles in her destiny that she never imagined. 

But one thing's for sure: Jacey's family is keeping something from her. And she'll stop at nothing to find out what it is.

Love lost. Love found.

Jacey's dreams become more and more frequent - muddled and confusing they bombard her with the forms of her parents, lurking evils and a pair of piercing blue eyes. The lines between dreams and reality starts to blur, and a sense of deja vu settles over her as she is faced with people whom she has never met and yet feels drawn to. 

People who seem to know more about Jacey than she does. People who are not of this world. 

A people called the Nemele.

Do you believe in magic?

As the secrets of her heritage and her destiny are revealed, Jacey will be forced to come face to face with shocking truths - developing rare mystical abilities, forging unbreakable bonds, and confronting the evil that her parents have tried to shield her from for so long. Jacey has the power to save the world or destroy it, making her a valuable chess piece coveted by both sides of an age-old battle.

But which side will prevail? 

Finality. Answers. Introspective. Trust. Hope.

A journey of faith. A journey of fate.

Armored Hearts ~ ARC Review

Armored Hearts
By Pauline Creeden and Melissa Turner Lee

Rating: 4

'She moved closer, extended her hand, and ran her fingers through his hair. A shiver shot down his spine. It took all his effort to keep the reaction from showing. He remained still as stone.

"Don't think I don't see who is really beneath the armour...You put up this steel cage around yourself in the form of hostility and disinterest - whichever works to shield you best at the moment, but that's not who you are."'

'He was the rejected, crippled heir. The forgotten and abandoned son of his other. The man no one looked in the eye because they'd have to bend down to do it.'

Rejected. Crippled. Forgotten. Abandoned.

Tristan Gareth Smyth is a young lord with a bleak future. His wheelchair is a prison, a constant reminder of the future he cannot have, and of the fact that no one - no one at all - could truly love a cripple without suffocating him in a downpour of pity. So he resigns himself to a life behind his cold, prickly, uncaring facade.

'He was about to call out a warning to her when it was too late. The branch snapped. The little girl was falling.'

But the future may hold more than he originally thought. When a young girl falls from a tree, Gareth watches in horror - all too aware of his disability - and wills himself to move. Suddenly he rushes towards her, catching her...several feet above the ground.

He can fly. 

'Was she a ghost after all? A phantom?'

Years have passed, but Gareth has never forgotten the girl he saved - secretly using his newfound ability to gain a measure of independency from day to day. His young aunt Tabitha is the only one in on his secret; aiding him in using his ability to covertly protect and watch over the town by night, a suit of armour concealing his features. A rumour of a Flying Knight patrolling the shire steadily begins to grow.

'The dark-haired girl ran backwards, trying to hit the thing, completely oblivious to Gareth directly in her path. Before he could move his chair out of her way, the girl tripped and landed squarely in his lap.'

Jessamine Cardinal Keller is a bold, intelligent, pretty thing, whose refusal to be cowed by Gareth's less-than-charming personality makes her both irritating and intriguing to Gareth - who is adamant that love of any kind is not for him. 

But Jessamine's lovely face conceals a will of steel, and she's never backed down from any challenge before. And she won't now. Not when she's so close to finding the thing she searched for for years.

'Good can destroy evil, but evil is no match for good.'

Gareth's ability may not be as shocking or unforeseen as he may have thought. In fact, it may be the instigator for a war of supernatural proportions. And if he is to keep safe those he loves, he may have to take off the armour he's made for himself...and become the man those closest to him knew he could be.

Mechanical inventions, secret societies, reluctant vows, shape-shifting cats and family secrets - when put together - create a vivid tale that is bound to enchant and enthrall.

Dare You To ~ ARC Review

Dare You To (Pushing The Limits #2)
By Katie McGarry

Rating: 5


"Dammit, Beth! Stop running from me!"

My pulse hammers through my body. She's been running from me from the moment I met her. Not matter how hard I try to hold on to her, she finds a way to slip out of my grasp.

Not anymore. Not today.'


Dare you to make a move...

Ryan Stone and his friends are notorious for their crazy dares. The higher the stakes, the better the game. And no one enjoys the dares more than Ryan, the town's leading baseball jock and golden boy. He's competitive to a fault - losing is never an option. 

Until the day he loses a dare. And that bad-ass chick with the black hair and piercings is to blame. One thing's for sure - Skater Girl's going down.

Dare you to take a stand...

Beth Risk's surname should be warning enough. Her life is like the lyrics to a Marilyn Manson in the flesh. With her pathetic addict mother, her mother's druggie boyfriend and the gritty, dangerous environment of the trailer park weighing upon her, Beth ends up in a situation she'd rather not be in. She's left with no other option then to move in with her baseball star uncle. 

But some things can't be escaped no matter how far or fast you run. Like the past.

Dare you to give in...

Ryan gets the shock of his life to find out that Bulitt County High's newest student, Beth Risk, is not only the niece of his sport idol, but also the Skater Girl who he hasn't been able to shake from his mind since the failed dare. Determined to win the dare once and for all, Ryan does everything in his power to get close to Beth and to befriend her. 

But as he begins to see the girl behind the tough facade, all thoughts of the dare leave his mind. The only dare he's interested in is the one to win Beth's heart. Except, in this dare, Ryan may have just met his match.

Dare you to open up...

Haunted by memories she can't forget, Beth doesn't want roots - doesn't want to settle down, doesn't want to start afresh. Befriending anyone would risk her independence. It would ruin everything she's worked for. But something inside of her rebels. Something kickstarts within her when she sees Ryan. 

A part of her wants to give in. But if she falls, will he catch her? Or will Ryan let her down like everyone else she's ever loved?

Dare you to love...

The unlikeliest of allies. The unlikeliest of friends. The unlikeliest of loves. 

Beth and Ryan will have to defy all odds to be together and to make things work. What starts as a dare slowly evolves into the most bittersweet of battles - the boy with the big heart and fierce will, versus the girl with the girl with the torn heart and fiery temper. 

Place your bets. Roll the dice. Take the leap. Take the chance.

Come on; I dare you to.

The Forgiven Duke ~ Review

The Forgiven Duke (Forgotten Castles #2)
By Jamie Carie

Rating: 4.8


'I need you, my duke. I need you to believe with me and help me find them.'

The land of ice and fire is no place for a lady.

But Alexandria Featherstone is no ordinary lady. After her treasure-seeking parents' mysterious disappearance, Alexandria has personally taken on the task of searching for them - using her sleuth skills to detect subtle clues about their whereabouts and journeying to new places, from Ireland to Iceland. 

Yet the further she searches the more miserables she becomes as the trail grows colder. What if her parents really are dead? What if Alexandria's search is hopeless after all?

He was so close to finding her. But she slipped from his grasp yet again.

Gabriel - the Duke of St. Easton - cannot believe that Alexandria has managed to evade him once again. Worried that he will make her drop her search and return with him to London under his guardianship, Alexandria has boarded a ship to Iceland, with Lord John Lemon at her side. Determined to follow her to Iceland and aid in her search if he must, Gabriel throws himself into the task of uncovering what he can about Alexandria's parents...and the purpose of their secretive journey.

And what he uncovers not only emphasises the danger Lady and Lord Featherstone are in, but could also plunge their daughter into the middle of an all-out war between monarchies over something that, if found, could give the owner more power than they could ever imagine.

Foy Pour Devoir and Valens et Volens collide.

Foy Pour Devoir: “Faith for Duty,” the St. Easton motto. 

Valens et Volens: “Willing and Able,” the Featherstone motto. 

Which will Alexandria and Gabriel take on as they take on the journey of a lifetime? A journey for family, for adventure...for love.

He will not lose her. Not this time.

Gabriel will do whatever it takes to find Alexandria - and to understand the tangle of emotions locked away in his heart, the ones that arise each time he re-reads her letters, or hears her name. 

She will be the life or death of him. But he wouldn't have it any other way.

A tale of two souls and their fight to be with those they love - God's strength the wind in their sails.

Myth & Madness ~ Vengeance Bound Review

Vengeance Bound
By Justina Ireland

Rating: 5+

'Silver chains encircle my arms, leading back to Them and binding us together. My vision splits in three, seeing what They see too. It's like looking at a dressing room mirror, each image slightly different.

Tisiphone's vision is bright colors and a flash of images as she reads his past crimes. Megaera's is cast in red, heat vision more than anything. She sees the pain of his past victims clinging to him. I can see only what is in front of me, but my weakness isn't a hindrance.

Three is the right number. Now we are complete.'


Privacy is hard to come by when you're sharing the inside of your head with two other people.

But Cory Graff's 'mindmates' aren't just figments of her imagination. Cory's mind houses the Furies - the hawk and the serpent - whom she has little control over. Constantly fighting against their bloodlust and thirst for vengeance, Cory seeks a way out of the desperate deal she made as a child...a way to be separated from her 'sisters' who are bound to get her discovered - or, worse, killed.

The hand of justice can be swift. But the hand of love is all the more dangerous.

Niko is unlike anyone Cory has ever met. Though drawn to him, Cory knows that nothing can come of this attraction. After all - she's a monster. She rules the night, bringing those who have committed crimes to their knees and ending their lives with the Furies egging her on. But the Furies are just as curious about Niko as Cory is. One thing is for sure - he is more than he seems.

The fight is on. 

The mind is a battlefield, stained with the blood of murderers, thieves and villains. And Cory wants to end the war on her own terms. 

But when the chance to bring down the one man who ruined her past - her family and her life - arises, can Cory resist the lure? Can she make the choice between vengeance and justice before it's too late?

Sweet Peril by Wendy Higgins ~ Review

Sweet Peril (The Sweet Trilogy #2)
By Wendy Higgins

Rating: 5

'"I need you to be serious."

His blue eyes scorched me. "Oh, I've never been more serious." He leaned his face down to mine, and I wrenched my head to the side.
"You're trying to distract me."
His lips skimmed my neck. "I've no clue what you mean."

Oh, his voice.

"I'm serious," I said, hoping I sounded stronger than I felt.
"We have unfinished business, Kai."

He turned my head back to face him and breathed his next words against my mouth. "Oh I'd say we have quite a bit of unfinished business, little Ann."'


This was one addictive book.

To prove how hooked I am, I give you...
Booknut's Totally Awesome Playlist of Sweet Peril Songs!!

Parties Hosted/Attended by Anna:
- Here We Go Again by Pixie Lott
- All Night Longer (Clean Version) by Sammy Adams
- Bad Influence by P!nk

Kaiden:
- Can’t Forget You by The Darkest Days
- Goodbye to the Girl by David Cook
- Incomplete by the Backstreet Boys
- Drive By by Train
- I Don't Wanna Be In Love by Good Charlotte
- Animal by Conor Maynard

Anna:
- Bad Intentions by Digital Daggers
- State of Grace by Taylor Swift
- Alive by Leona Lewis

Kaiden and Anne:
- We'll Be A Dream by We the Kings ft. Demi Lovato
- Cowboys & Angels by Dustin Lynch
- Distance by Christina Perri

Marna & Ginger:
- I Love It by Icona Pop

Kope:
- I Can't Not Love You by Every Avenue
- Mr Brightside (Cover) by Masketta Falls

Overall, Sweet Peril is a great second book to the series - no cliffhangers and no long term heart attacks!