Mortal Enchantment by Stacey O'Neale
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summary:
In Kalin Matthew's world, elementals control the forces of nature. They are divided into four courts: air, woodland, fire, and water. At sixteen she will leave the life she's built with her mortal mother. Kalin will move to Avalon to rule with her father—the elemental king of the air court. Along the way, she's attacked by a fire court assassin and saved by Rowan, a swoon-worthy elemental with a questionable past.And now, her father is missing. And she'll need help from Rowan to find out what happened to him.

My Thoughts:
Well that was a fun read :) I'm really glad I read the prequel novella first because it gave me more insight into Rowan. I understood his attitude in this book because of the novella. First, the positives. I really enjoyed the two main characters, Kalin & Rowan. Their interactions were fun and flirty and the dialogue was great, which is very important to me. If dialogue doesn't feel real or doesn't feel how people really talk to each other, then it doesn't work for me. I liked, not loved, their relationship. I found myself wanting more from it. I'm trying not to be too specific because I usually, unintentionally but inevitably, give something away ;)

I loved the premise of the book. I'm always up for anything Fae, and the elemental aspect was right up my alley. The world building was good (more on that later) and I could really picture most everything the author was describing. The politics and strife between the courts was well done.

I really liked the authors writing style, she knows how to make characters relatable & you could tell a lot of heart & soul was poured into this story and these characters. She made me want to know what happens next, so of course I can't wait for the next installment :)

Ok, now on to the less positive. I felt that the story, as a whole, was a bit rushed. Like I said above, the world building was good, but I would've liked even more detail. When they're on the beach, I want to feel the sand between my toes and the sun beating down on me. When the wind is blowing up a storm, I need to feel it. I felt like there needed to be more character development, as well. I would've loved to get to know Kalin even more. Most of the time, her reactions to this world that was totally new to her were spot on, but occasionally, it didn't ring true for me.

Kalin & Rowan's relationship also felt rushed. Getting from point A to point B in a relationship needs to be a curved and crooked path, not a straight line, and I felt it was a bit straight here. But it was still yummtastic ;)

Having said all that, I very much enjoyed this book, it was a fast, fun read and I'd recommend it to anyone who loves a good YA fantasy!

Format: Paperback ARC provided by the author for a fair & honest review

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Sanctum by Sarah Fine
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary:
A week ago, seventeen-year-old Lela Santos’s best friend, Nadia, killed herself. Today, thanks to a farewell ritual gone awry, Lela is standing in paradise, looking upon a vast gated city in the distance—hell. No one willingly walks through the Suicide Gates, into a place smothered in darkness and infested with depraved creatures. But Lela isn’t just anyone—she’s determined to save her best friend’s soul, even if it means sacrificing her eternal afterlife.

As Lela struggles to find Nadia, she’s captured by the Guards, enormous, not-quite-human creatures that patrol the dark city’s endless streets. Their all-too-human leader, Malachi, is unlike them in every way except one: his deadly efficiency. When he meets Lela, Malachi forms his own plan: get her out of the city, even if it means she must leave Nadia behind. Malachi knows something Lela doesn’t—the dark city isn’t the worst place Lela could end up, and he will stop at nothing to keep her from that fate.

My Thoughts:
Holy crap on wheat toast! This book is frakkin awesome...so happy I picked it up!

This story is about a lot of things, friendship, loyalty, abandonment, depression, substance abuse, suicide...and all of it is handled very well. Having gone through something like this very recently, not going to hell or dealing with anything supernatural, but having a very good friend dealing with addiction & depression, this book really struck a chord. When someone you love is hurting, there's nothing you won't do to try to help them...and sometimes, people just don't want to be helped.  That's a really hard thing to accept, that someone doesn't want help or doesn't feel they deserve help. I cried a lot while reading this book.

This book...this book cracked my heart open, poured the contents all over the floor & stomped on them...then drop-kicked me in the gut just for good measure...then filled my heart & stitched it up & gave me a bear hug. Five stars is nowhere near enough for this book.

Format: Kindle Edition

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Wanderlove by Kirsten Hubbard
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary:
 It all begins with a stupid question:

Are you a Global Vagabond?

No, but 18-year-old Bria Sandoval wants to be. In a quest for independence, her neglected art, and no-strings-attached hookups, she signs up for a guided tour of Central America—the wrong one. Middle-aged tourists with fanny packs are hardly the key to self-rediscovery. When Bria meets Rowan, devoted backpacker and dive instructor, and his outspokenly humanitarian sister Starling, she seizes the chance to ditch her group and join them off the beaten path.

Bria's a good girl trying to go bad. Rowan's a bad boy trying to stay good. As they travel across a panorama of Mayan villages, remote Belizean islands, and hostels plagued with jungle beasties, they discover what they've got in common: both seek to leave behind the old versions of themselves. And the secret to escaping the past, Rowan’s found, is to keep moving forward.

But Bria comes to realize she can't run forever, no matter what Rowan says. If she ever wants the courage to fall for someone worthwhile, she has to start looking back.

My Thoughts:
I'm completely in love with this book :) I think there's a bit of wanderlove in all of us. This story is kind of a coming-of-age story. What I took away from it is this: you need to be comfortable in your own skin, you need to be ok with being by yourself & doing things by yourself, and you need to love yourself and the person you are. Without that, you'll never fully love anyone else or be loved completely.

I read this thanks to Netgalley and I'm so, so happy I did. I literally wanted to crawl inside this book and live there, forever. This isn't really a review, more an emotional outburst :)

Now, I'm off to pre-order an actual hard copy of this book for my 18 year old daughter...I'm hoping she will love it as much as I did.

Format: Kindle eARC provided by Netgalley

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Never to Sleep by Rachel Vincent
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Summary:
Don't Close Your Eyes.

Sophie Cavanaugh is not going to let her freak of a cousin's strange psychiatric condition ruin high school for them both. Not after all the work she's put into cultivating the right look, and friends, and reputation. But then, Sophie sees something so frightening she lets out a blood-curdling scream--and finds herself stuck in a bizarre parallel world where nothing is safe and deadly creatures lurk just out of sight, waiting for her to close her eyes and sleep...forever.

Could this world be real? Or does insanity run in the family...?

My Thoughts:
While I don't particularly like Sophie (I'm not supposed to) it was nice to get a little insight into her character. Yeah, she's still a bitchy princess, but she's also strong, clever and witty, which was kind of cool to see. I look forward to seeing how this whole life-changing event will affect her and her attitude in the books to come. Maybe her tenuous relationship with Kaylee can evolve into something more than bickering, back-stabbing and insults. Also interested to see what Luca will bring to the series.

I'd love to see an Emma novella soon, hint, hint :)

Overall, I'm totally in love with this series and don't know why it took me so long to finally pick it up. Thanks to Melanie for providing the final recommendation for me to do that :)

Format: Kindle Edition

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The Unbecoming of Mara Dyer by Michelle Hodkin
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary:
Mara Dyer doesn’t think life can get any stranger than waking up in a hospital with no memory of how she got there.

It can.

She believes there must be more to the accident she can’t remember that killed her friends and left her mysteriously unharmed.

There is.

She doesn’t believe that after everything she’s been through, she can fall in love.

She’s wrong.

My Thoughts:
I'm loving this book so far, but utterly perplexed as to what's going on...and that's a good thing :)

Update: Well, now that I've finished I know a bit more about what was happening. Loved the story and all of the characters. Ended with a bit of a cliffhanger so I'm assuming there will be a sequel?? Hoping anyway because I'm still confused about a few things :)

A suspenseful, psychological mystery with a supernatural twist, I'd recommend this book to anyone who loves witty dialogue from realistically drawn characters you will fall in love with.

Update 2: Ok, I just saw that there will be a second book. Guess I should have looked first :)

Format: Kindle Edition

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Reckoning by Lili St. Crow
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Summary:
Nobody expected Dru Anderson to survive this long. Not Graves. Not Christophe. Not even Dru. She's battled killer zombies, jealous djamphirs, and bloodthirsty suckers straight out of her worst nightmares. But now that Dru has bloomed into a full-fledged svetocha - rare, beautiful, and toxic to all vampires - the worst is yet to come.

Because getting out alive is going to cost more than she's ever imagined. And in the end, is survival really worth the sacrifice?

DRU ANDERSON'S NOT AFRAID OF THE DARK.
BUT SHE SHOULD BE.


My Thoughts:
I just don't like it when a series I love ends, not at all. And although I'm not ecstatic about the way this series ended, I get it. And it will not detract any stars from my rating. I do wish, however, that there were more books in the series to delve into this new element in the story.

It was mentioned in the other books but really became a part of the story in this last book. Also, this new revelation about Dru's heritage needs to be explored further. AND, of course, I NEED to find out what happens with Dru & Graves!

That's why I think there will be a new series, not exactly a spinoff, but something else with these characters. Maybe a continuation from Graves' perspective?? Do I sound desperately hopeful?? I am :)

Anyway, loved the book and really sad it's the end of the series.

Format: Paperback

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Solstice by P.J. Hoover
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Summary:
Each day brings hotter temperatures and heat bubbles that threaten to destroy the earth. Amid this global heating crisis, Piper lives under the oppressive rule of her mother, who suffocates her even more than the weather does. Everything changes on her eighteenth birthday, when her mother is called away on a mysterious errand and Piper seizes her first opportunity for freedom.

Piper discovers a universe she never knew existed—a sphere of gods and monsters—and realizes that her world is not the only one in crisis. While gods battle for control of the Underworld, Piper’s life spirals out of control as she struggles to find the answer to the secret that has been kept from her since birth.

My Thoughts:
The premise of this book is what prompted me to purchase it, but I was somewhat disappointed with the delivery. The writing is fine, but the story seemed choppy to me. It bothered me that Piper wasn't MORE bothered or concerned with what was happening in her life! She kind of just went with it without question. Weird. That made the story more unrealistic & unbelievable for me.

To be honest, I had a hard time finishing it. Not terrible but not great either. But I get why a lot of people like this book :)

Format: Kindle Edition

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The Juliet Spell by Douglas Rees
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Summary:
I wanted the role of Juliet more than anything. I studied hard. I gave a great reading for it, even with Bobby checking me out the whole time. I deserved the part.

I didn't get it. So I decided to level the playing field, though I actually might have leveled the whole play. You see, since there aren't any Success in Getting to Be Juliet in Your High School Play spells, I thought I'd cast the next best; a Fame spell. Good idea, right?

Yeah. Instead of bringing me a little fame, it brought me someone a little famous. Shakespeare. Well, Edmund Shakespeare. William's younger brother.

Good thing he's sweet and enthusiastic about helping me with the play...and, ahem, maybe a little bit hot. But he's from the past. Way past. Cars amaze him - cars! And cell phones? Ugh.

Still, there's something about him that's making my eyes go star-crossed...

My Thoughts:
Um.....so far, VERY light & fluffy. I mean VERY. Not sure if this book is me. I do like the premise, so I will keep reading :)

**Update: Yes, it remained light & fluffy & cute. The writing was choppy and the pace was way off. The way some of the characters reacted to certain things that, in real life, would need days to wrap your head around, was entirely unrealistic. And the mom, she's perfectly fine with everything that is happening with her teenage daughter. What?!? I mean, why would she have any questions or concerns about the guy from Elizabethan England staying with them? And Edmund, I think he adjusted to the whole situation far too quickly. It was all too easy. I think the writer could have done SO much more with the premise.

I'm sure there will be loads of readers that will love this book. There are some sweet moments, I'll admit, but not enough to carry the whole story or make up for the pacing problems.

Format: Kindle eARC provided by Netgalley

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A Beautiful Dark by Jocelyn Davies
My rating: 2 of 5 stars

Summary:
On the night of Skye’s seventeenth birthday, she meets two enigmatic strangers. Complete opposites—like fire and ice—Asher is dark and wild, while Devin is fair and aloof. Their sudden appearance sends Skye’s life into a tailspin. She has no idea what they want, or why they seem to follow her every move—only that their presence coincides with a flurry of strange events. Soon she begins to doubt not just the identity of the two boys, but also the truth about her own past.

In the dead of a bitingly cold Colorado winter, Skye finds herself coming to terms with the impossible secret that threatens to shatter her world. Torn between Asher, who she can’t help falling for, and Devin, who she can’t stay away from, the consequences of Skye’s choice will reach further than the three of them could ever imagine.

My Thoughts:
So far, this book is just "ok". Nothing to write home about. I'm having a difficult time connecting or relating to any of the characters, they all seem kind of flat. I'm almost halfway through and not sure if I even care what happens to these characters, not a good sign for me. The writing is not bad, it just has an overall generic feel to it.

**Update: Finished the book and my feelings about it have not changed. It didn't get much better, in my opinion. It took half the book to get to the actual gist of it and when it got there, I was left wanting more. Flat, one dimensional characters. The mythology was interesting, but not enough to make me love the story. It just wasn't for me. I'm sure some people will love this, though.

The writing is fine, I just didn't connect with it. The artwork on the cover is beautiful. The book definitely ended in a way that pretty much guarantees this will be a series. I don't think I'll be reading the next book, if there is one, I just can't muster up enough feeling to care about what happens to Skye, sorry.

Format: Kindle eARC provided by Netgalley

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