Kishaz Reading Corner: A Shiver of Light by Laurell K. Hamilton

Disclaimer: I received no compensation from the author or publisher for this honest review.

About the Book

Merry Gentry, ex–private detective and full-time princess, is now the mother of triplets, a rarity in the high ranks of faerie. And not everyone is happy about it, including Taranis, King of Light and Illusion. He’s using the human courts to sue for visitation rights, claiming that one of the babies is his. To save herself and her children, Merry will use the most dangerous powers in all of faerie: a god of death, a warrior known as the Darkness, the Killing Frost, and a king of nightmares. They are her lovers, and her dearest loves, and they will face down the might of the high courts of faerie—while trying to keep the war from spreading to innocent humans in Los Angeles, who are in danger of becoming collateral damage.

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Here's what I'm giving it:

Rating: 4 stars

Here's why:

This is the long awaited ninth book in the Merry Gentry series. For the fans of the series, you should give this a read. It feels like the way Hamilton used to write and I liked it.

We finally learn more about Meredith, her kings and her babies in the latest installment to this series. What I enjoyed the most was that the sex didn't drown the story. There was enough that it complimented the flow of the overall plot which was a breath of fresh air.

We also learned a little bit more about Meredith's mettle and what makes her tick.

Would I recommend this book? Yes.

DON'T MISS THE OTHER BOOKS IN THIS SERIES

Netgalley/Review Tour: Cursed by Fire by Jacquelyn Frank

Disclaimer: I received no compensation from the author, Netgalley or the publisher for this honest review.

About the Book

For centuries, Dethan has been trapped in a fiery inferno for defying the gods and snatching the power of immortality. Condemned to have his battle-hardened body licked by flames only to regenerate and be consumed all over again, Dethan has lost all hope—until the Goddess of Conflict appears. She will release him from torment—if he’ll use his power and strength as a warrior to raise an army and defeat a fierce enemy faction of gods.

Free to live as a man once again, Dethan meets Selinda—heir to the throne of Hexis—and his thoughts quickly turn from the conquest of cities to the conquest of this headstrong beauty. Betrothed to a cruel, calculating powermonger, Selinda needs a champion, and so Dethan enters into another bargain: If she will share her bed—and her body—with him, Dethan will save her city from destructive forces within and without. As the lovers ignite a searing passion, Dethan will risk all—even the wrath of the Goddess of Conflict—for a chance to make Selinda his forever.

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AMAZON

Here's what I'm giving it:

Rating: 4.5 stars

Here's why:

I am in love with this couple. Dethan and Selinda make up one of the best pairings I've read in a while.

Scarred, yet beautiful and with a innate fierceness and love for her people made Selinda one of the most believable characters I've read about in a while. Dethan was no slouch either in that department.

Intelligence, flaws, redemption, treachery, I read this book in one day and can't wait to read the next one in the series.

Well done, Ms. Frank, well done.

Would I recommend this? That's a resounding YES!

Netgalley & Edelweiss Reading Challenge 2015 - Updated

If you wish to participate, you can sign up HERE.

Orginally I was going to work only my 2013 & 2014 lists. But then I re-read the rules and realized i can include my 2015 books, too. So I'm adding them to the bottom.

I'm having a slow start on the level I chose [Gold Level  (50 books)] but I'm going to continue to plug away at the lists.

TBR 2013
A Shimmer of Angels - Lisa M. Basso
Broken Forest - Eliza Tilton
Compliance - Maureen McGowan
Defy
Dragonwitch - Ann Elisabeth Stengl
Dream Girl
Echo Prophecy
Elfin
Endless
Escaping Reality
External Forces
Forbidden to Love - D.A. Wills
Hereafter
Hero's Lot, The - Patrick W. Carr
King Hall
Mage Fire - C. Aubrey Hall
Mistress of the Solstice
Night Creatures
Rebels Divided
Rival
Runes (book one) - Ednah Walters
Safe in His Arms
Scrap - Emory Sharplin
Sekret
Shadow Allegiance
She Is Not Invisible
Spirit - Brigid Kemmerer
Stargazing from Nowhere
The Bane - Keary Taylor
The Dominant - Tara Sue Me
The Naturals
The Professional
The Silver Chain
The Trials of the Core
The Waking Dreamer
Tin Star
Turned
Unspoken
Will in Scarlet - Matthew Cody
Winds of Purgatory

TBR 2014
Alex + Ada volume 1
A Secret Colton Baby
Black Rook
Blind Faith
Blood Assassin
Blood Orange Soda
Catch Me When I Fall
Clipped Wings
Cursed by Fire
Dark Hope
Darkness
Dark Wolf Returning
Danny Dirks
Desired
Divided
Don't Judge a Lizard by His Scales
Dragon Defender
Fire Heart
Forbidden
Freed
Jhanmar World Travellers
Lingering Echoes
Longing
Love's Paradox
One is Enough
On Her Watch
Outshine
Raytara - Judgement of the Stars
Seed
Shadow Heart
Since You've Been Gone
Star Trek: Khan
Stitching Snow
Street Fighter Origins: Akuma
Tales from OZ
The Amulet of Sleep
The Boy a Thousand Years Wide
The Circle
The Fifth Vertex
The Mark of the Dragonfly
The One
The Professional
The Thirteenth Tower
Waking up Pregnant
We are the Goldens
Worth the Fall
Wrecked


TBR 2015 (so far)
Emissary
In Search of Lost Dragons
Monster Squad: The Iron Golem
Rocco's Wings
Seeker Arwen (Elys Dayton)
The Adventures of Blue Ocean Bob
Witches Be Burned

Kishaz Reading Corner: Insurgent by Veronica Roth

Disclaimer: I received no compensation from the author or publisher for this honest review.

About the Book

One choice can transform you—or it can destroy you. But every choice has consequences, and as unrest surges in the factions all around her, Tris Prior must continue trying to save those she loves—and herself—while grappling with haunting questions of grief and forgiveness, identity and loyalty, politics and love.

Tris's initiation day should have been marked by celebration and victory with her chosen faction; instead, the day ended with unspeakable horrors. War now looms as conflict between the factions and their ideologies grows. And in times of war, sides must be chosen, secrets will emerge, and choices will become even more irrevocable—and even more powerful.

Transformed by her own decisions but also by haunting grief and guilt, radical new discoveries, and shifting relationships, Tris must fully embrace her Divergence, even if she does not know what she may lose by doing so.

Buy the Book

AMAZON

Here's what I'm giving it:

Rating: 4 stars

Here's why:

For the longest time, I had trouble reading a dystopian novel. It wasn't that I didn't try or that I had any inherent dislike for the genre. No, it was more along the lines of trying and failing to sink into the characters and setting the author was trying to provide.

Roth's series has given me hope that there are other dystopian novels that I might find enjoyable.

Her style of writing and character development brought me running to the table for seconds. Insurgent, did not disappoint. With as much action, suspense, and thought-provoking questions as the first, I became a true believer in the dish she was serving.

Watching the growth of the characters as well as surprise twists with some others made me enjoy the ride even more.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, I would. Heading toward the last book in the trilogy. Can't wait to see how it all ends.

DON'T MISS THE FIRST BOOK IN THIS SERIES

Book #1

Read my review

Buy the book: AMAZON

Free ebooks Review: Runes by Ednah Walters

Disclaimer: I received no compensation from the author, publisher, Free Ebooks for an Honest Review, or Netgalley for this honest review.

About the Book

Seventeen-year-old Raine Cooper has enough on her plate dealing with her father’s disappearance, her mother’s erratic behavior and the possibility of her boyfriend relocating. The last thing she needs is Torin St. James—a mysterious new neighbor with a wicked smile and uncanny way of reading her. 

Raine is drawn to Torin’s dark sexiness against her better judgment, until he saves her life with weird marks and she realizes he is different. But by healing her, Torin changes something inside Raine. Now she can’t stop thinking about him. Half the time, she’s not sure whether to fall into his arms or run. 

Scared, she sets out to find out what Torin is. But the closer she gets to the truth the more she uncovers something sinister about him. What Torin is goes back to an ancient mythology and Raine is somehow part of it. Not only is she and her friends in danger, she must choose a side, but the wrong choice will cost Raine her life 

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Book #2 Amazon

Book #2.5 Amazon

Book #3 Amazon

Book #3.5 Amazon

Book #4 Amazon

Here's what I'm giving it:

Rating: 3.5  stars

Here's why:

This is the first of two reviews that I'm doing for Ebooks For Reviews. Also, I originally received Runes via Netgalley back in 2013.

What I like about this first book is the fact that Norse mythology is used. I'm a huge fan of mythology (no matter the country) and especially of the pantheons that aren't often covered in fiction.

With that being said, I'd like to dive in to some of the good moments of this book. The main character, Rain with an E, is of the sassy breed of heroine that I like to dive into. The way she sparred with Torin St. James (her male counterpart) was refreshing.

She wasn't intimidated by him at all. If anything, her emotional response to him scared her more than his bad boy demeanor.

The secondary characters, Cora & Eirick, were well-fleshed out and were great foils to Raine.

Some of the other characters were not as developed which leads me to one of my peeves about stories. If you're going to use characters, please have them be more than a token drop in the bucket. The "baddies" were not very threatening and then some of them appeared and were going in the blink of the eye.

Also the romantic parts for certain characters felt rushed and awkward. Other than that, this was a good solid read.

Would I recommend this book? Yes, I'm reading the second one as we speak.