Review: Ever After

by Kim Harrison

Genre: Urban Fantasy

Series: The Hollows, #11

Author: Kim Harrison

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Publisher: Harper Voyager

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Where to Purchase: Amazon || Kindle

Reviewed by: Aimee

Source: Review copy from Publisher

Rating: 5 out of 5 (♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥)

“What are you doing now?" Al questioned "Seeing if your circumcision is gone? It is."

My expression went blank, and Trent hesitated.

He looked at me, and I put a hand to my mouth, face flaming. "Oh. My. God. Trent. I'm sorry"

"Um" Trent said, clearly at a loss.

"Call me tomorrow," Al said seriously, "I've got a curse that will take care of that. Unless you like the snake in a turtleneck look”

What. A. Ride. Another brilliant home run for Kim Harrison. This book and Pale Demon might possibly be my favorite books to date out of this whole series. And I got exactly what I was desperately missing from the previous book, A Perfect Blood, more Al, Newt, and the ever-after. Just like Pale Demon, Ever After is packed with action, excitement, and truly clever and interesting developments. Kim Harrison has a very creative imagination and I LOVE it! I had a hard time putting this book down to see to the responsibilities in my own life… like the feeding and caring of my kids. Sadly, it's a good but unfortunate indicator that a book is truly awesome when my family suffers from super quick meals and an extremely early bedtime schedule.

There are lots of twists and turns that I'd love to gush about like a silly little fangirl, but I won't ruin the story for you by spilling spoilage all over this review. Despite the excitement trying desperately to burst forth from my lips, I am going to bite my tongue. Hard. And keep my big mouth shut. I'll use duck tape, if necessary. So lets get on with what I CAN tell you...

One thing solidified for me while reading Ever After. A Perfect Blood really was the odd book out. I'm not sure if any of the elements of that story will be revisited in the next and last two books. But nothing from that story made it's way into Ever After except for the brief appearance of Felix and Nina. In fact, A Perfect Blood now seems like an intermission between Pale Demon and Ever After, because Ku'Sox is back on the scene. Now he's causing problems for Rachel and Al by tampering with the ley line she accidentally made to quicken it's pace in the destruction of the ever-after. Along with tampering with the ley lines, Ku'Sox is also stealing rosewood babies for some nefarious and mysterious reasons. I must admit, this part of the story made me really uncomfortable. I don't like when innocent children are victimized in stories. So I was on pins and needles knowing these kids were in the hands of the Demon that consumes souls. This predicament, of course, has the demon collective gunning for Rachel's head if she doesn't fix the problem and the world above wondering if Rachel isn't the one responsible for the missing rosewood babies. But what book wouldn't be exciting if Rachel's life wasn't in peril? Running for her life has been her standard MO since book one. If it isn't the FIB it's always going to be someone.

We do get to see some interesting developments for the sweet little gargoyle Bis and also some interesting dynamics developing between Jenks and the wingless fairy, Belle. But we don't get to see much of Ivy in this particular book, or the wolf pack for that matter. I can't say that I'm sorry about that either. I was always a little bit annoyed with the whole Rachel--Ivy struggle. Mostly because it seemed to continue on relentlessly through most of the books and it was never a part of the story I connected with. But I would like to see some resolution for all of the vampires without their souls. To see that Rynn Cormels faith and absolute demand in Rachel's abilities is not misplaced. I've got my fingers crossed.

This book was a blast and a page turner. Ever After will not disappoint any of you faithful Hollows fans. It's most definitely the answer to any ever-after, newt and Al deficiency you may have been suffering from the previous installment. Unfortunately, there are only two books left in this series. Which makes me very sad. I hate it when a really good series comes to an end. But I'm really looking forward to the resolutions Kim Harrison has planned for the ever-after and what's going to come next for Al, Rachel and Trent. It's quite bittersweet actually. I'm extremely excited and can't wait for the next installment but equally bummed that it's all going to come to a complete and final END. I think I shall have to cry.

If you're a newbie to The Hollows and haven't picked up this series before, do so NOW by picking up the first book Dead Witch Walking and join the rest of us in an alternate reality where bioengineered tomatoes nearly wiped out the human race and exposed the supernaturals from the ever-after living among them incognito. This is one series that should be on everyone's favorite list. It's literally at the top of my list of all time favorites. It's also one of the few series where the narrator for the audiobook format, Marguerite Gavin, is absolutely perfect!

Review: The Siren

by Tiffany Reisz

Genre: Erotica; Contemporary Fiction

Series: The Original Sinners, #1

Author: Tiffany Reisz

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Publisher: Mira (Harlequin)

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Where to Purchase: Amazon || Kindle

Reviewed by: Aimee

Source: Kindle Purchase

Rating: 5 out of 5 (♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥)

"Oh, my God," Wesley breathed. "What did you do?"
"Nothing. I wanted to hit him but hitting a masochist is pretty pointless. Wesley?" She finally looked him full in his face. For a moment his brown eyes turned silver and she saw Michael's face floating in front of her. "What if I'm a bad person, too?"

"You're not a bad person. If you were a bad person you wouldn't be sitting fully dressed in a bathtub with no water in it because you're terrified you might be a bad person. The devil doesn't worry about going to hell."

"Only because he's already there."

Oookay… what to say about this book? Definitely one for my shelf of ambivalence. Which I stupidly got rid of. Now I'm temped to bring it back. Not a story for the faint of heart. If your easily offended… explore no further. I gave it 5 stars for the writing, character development and plot alone. It is exceptionally good at being disturbing, offensive and controversial at times. If I judged it solely on the romance… it would fail, because I'm not even sure it is a romance. Not in this first book, at least. If, however, I judged it on how well it's written, how interesting the characters are, how seamless the plot/storyline flows together and how thought provoking it is, then it's definitely earned it's 5 stars. There is so much more going on in this story than dark and twisted sex and it truly is "thought provoking" (emphasis on the thought and the provoke). I never expected to encounter, in an erotica novel, such profoundly complicated characters written into a complex yet beautiful (love?) story.

The main character of the story, Nora sutherlin, is an erotica writer who teams up with a new editor to try and perfect her work. Her goal? She wants to feel like an actual writer with talent, an artist rather than your typical purveyor of cheap smut. Because her latest novel is rather personal. Her new editor, Zach Easton, is not happy in the least to be partnered with her and he automatically assumes from the start that Nora is a talentless hack. Zach states that if she can't produce something truly worthwhile in six weeks, he will not sign a contract with her. Other key characters in the story are Wesley, Nora's live-in intern and Soren, Nora's sadistic ex-lover.

I'm not really sure this story fits into the erotica genre alone. The amount of sex is equivalent to that of your average romance novel. Perhaps it is the "TYPE" of sex that has earned it a classification of erotica. But if I had to classify it myself, I'd have to make something up like, Erotic Horror Romance or maybe Contemporary Horror Romance. Because the violence that occurs can be a bit frightening, even if it is consensual. These two quotes by the main character, Nora Sutherlin, are very telling and help give a little perspective.

“I know people think erotica is just a romance novel with rougher sex. It's not. If it's a subgenre of anything, it's horror."

"Horror? Really?"

"Romance is sex plus love. Erotica is sex plus fear.”

-----

"Hurt but do not harm? What's the difference?"

"Hurt is a bruise on the outside. Harm is a bruise on the inside. If you're a masochist, pain feels like love to you. Not being hurt is what hurts.”

Dark, disturbing, twisted and uncomfortable… yet for every uncomfortable moment, there are also light hearted, humorous and profoundly beautiful ones. Plus, it has one major saving grace that kept me from tossing it aside when things got a little too dark for me. The characters all have varying points of views. Some you can relate to, some you can't. It doesn't just throw BDSM at you and expect you to completely connect. I couldn't relate to Nora's point of view MOST of the time. Pain, torture and humiliation are a form of love? This is something I still have not been able to wrap my head around. And believe me... I tried. It also shows you that the initial assumptions we often make of people we don't know are usually hopelessly flawed.

Seeing as how there are parts I found a bit too controversial for my taste, I still don't know whether I love or hate this book. I've been vacillating between the two emotions for days now. I guess I love to hate it just as much as I hate to love it. Hence it's designation to the shelf of ambivalence. But I do recommend it if only for the beautiful writing alone. Only I do it with a strict warning! Prepare yourself for moral, mental and emotional disturbances if your not accustomed to the TRUE world of kink/BDSM. Believe it or not, The Siren makes Fifty Shades of Grey look completely vanilla. Don't read it expecting Prince charming, a fluffy romance and HEA's (At least not in the first book). If your not into erotica or totally offended by the idea of BDSM… avoid it. If your curious… then by all means, read it! You can expect some emotional self discovery by many of the characters and a surprisingly beautiful story despite the dark and uncomfortable parts. And with that, I'll leave you with a few more of my favorite quotes.

“Excuse me," Zach began, trying to regain control of the conversation, "but didn't I repeatedly insult you this morning?"

"Your kvetching was very fetching. I like men who are mean to me. I trust them more."

------

“S&M is as psychological as it is physical and sexual, Zach. Imagine being as deep inside a woman’s mind as you are inside her body.”

------

"You still love him, don't you?"
Nora smiled sadly up at him.
"Many waters." She ran a hand through her wet hair and let water drop from her fingertips to the floor.
"Many waters cannot quench love," Wesley finished the quote. "River's cannot wash it away."
"Nor will rivers overflow it," she corrected.

Review: Poison Princess

by Kresley Cole

Genre: YA Paranormal Romance

Series: The Arcana Chronicles, #1

Author: Kresley Cole

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Publisher: Gallery (Simon & Schuster)

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Reviewed by: Aimee

Source: Audible Audiobook Purchase

Rating: 5 out of 5 (♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥)

Her eyes are a cornflower blue--the color bold against her pale cheeks--but they're heartbroken. This waif has known loss. Who hasn't since the apocalypse? She's about to know more. "Come closer." She hesitates to set foot on the front porch. "No, come to me!" After taking a deep breath, she makes her way to my door; I shudder in anticipation, a spider poised on its web.

I haven't done this in a long, long time because I've had so little time to read and even less time to write about it, but I have to say something about this book. I just have to.

At first I was really worried about Poison Princess. Jumping on the YA bandwagon after writing adult romances does not always result in a success for every author. But I was very pleasantly surprised because Kresley Cole hit this one out of the ball park (cue applause). Her writing style for this series is a bit different from her adult (Immortals After Dark) series. But it rocks just the same and you can still see her Kresley-isms showing through with a little bit of the typical Cole camp sprinkled in here and there.

“Hey, you've still got your endangered hymen. Which means you'll make it to closing credits - I'm s.o.l.”

Poison Princess is yet another novel in the very progressively growing and wildly popular dystopia genre. It's based on the tarot… in case you didn't already notice by the name of the series itself. It's also really unlike any other kind of paranormal YA book I've read so far. It may have some similarities to other books in the dystopian genre, but other than that it's pretty unique. I don't want to go into too many details about the similarities it may share with other dystopians, because I think that spoils some parts of the story and should be left to the reader to discover on their own.

The two main characters of the story (Evie and Jack) embark on a journey after an event known as the flash nearly brings about the total destruction of the world. As they journey forward with two completely different goals in mind, the two slowly discover secrets about one another. Evie's goal, to find her grandmother so she can ask for guidance and gain understanding on what's happening to her. Jack's goal, to go in the complete opposite direction Evie wants to go in order to keep her alive and out of danger. But the path to all the answers Evie needs lays straight through all the perils Jack wants to avoid. Along the way, they encounter other kids that are having the same type of disturbances that Evie is having; undergoing the same type of changes. But why and for what purpose? Well, I can't tell you that. You'll have to find out on your own.

Now lets dish about the two main characters, Evie (Evangeline Green) and Jackson Deveaux ( J.D. or Jack Daniels). They couldn't be more different from one another if they tried. Evie is a cheerleader from a wealthy parish school in Louisiana who thinks she's going insane and Jack is the creole (cajun french speaking) bad boy from the wrong side of the swamp with a possible criminal background. There is so much tension between these two. You can't help getting frustrated at both of them for their thoughtless words and stubborn behavior around one another. There is a lot of denial going on between the two that makes you want to slap them silly. But it's the type of denial and frustration that makes for really good chemistry and a very, very good story.

“If you touch me like that again, Evangeline,” he began in a husky tone, dropping to his seat once more, “in the space of a heartbeat, I will have you off this bike and onto the closest horizontal surface. And I woan be picky, no.”

As you can tell, I am totally and whole heartedly going to recommend this one. Especially if you're a Kresley Cole fan, double especially if you're a fan of YA dystopia and triple especially if you like bad boy characters that you can't decide whether to swoon over or hit upside the head with a frying pan. Loved it! The only con's I had with Poison Princess are the same con's I seem to always have with Mrs. Cole's writing… addiction and withdrawal. I so need the next book. Like NOW! So to sum up… you can't lose with this one. READ IT! That's not a request.

P.S. - Kresley Cole is hosting a "Spread the Love" giveaway to promote her new book. If you hurry to enter (deadline is midnight October 31st) you have a chance to win a new iPad or an ereader! So don't delay! For more giveaway details, click here --->SPREAD THE LOVE!