Review- Embrace by Cherie Colyer

Title: Embrace
Series: Embrace #1
Author: Cherie Colyer
Genre: YA Paranormal

Rating: * * * *

Publishers: Omnfic Publishing

(Dec 20, 2011)

Paperback: 220 pages

ISBN: 978-1936305964

FTC Disclosure: 
e-Book provided by the author via The Book Machine

Madison is familiar enough with change, and she hates everything about it. Change took her long-term boyfriend away from her. It caused one of her friends to suddenly hate her. It’s responsible for the death of a local along with a host of other mysterious happenings. But when Madison meets a hot new guy, she thinks her luck is about to improve.

Madison is instantly drawn to the handsome and intriguing Isaac Addington. She quickly realizes he’s a guy harboring a secret, but she’s willing to risk the unknown to be with him.

Her world really spins out of control, however, when her best friend becomes delusional, seeing things that aren’t there and desperately trying to escape their evil. When the doctors can’t find the answers, Madison seeks her own.

Nothing can prepare her for what she is about to discover.

Dangerous, intoxicating, and darkly romantic, Embrace is a thriller that will leave you spellbound.

Series

Embrace

1. Embrace (2011)

2. Hold Tight (2013)
3. Entwined  April 14 2015

If you like a fast-paced YA paranormal romance with a twisty mystery than this is the book for you. So much happen, so fast, that I was unable to put it down. I read way into the wee hours as I was so intrigued with what was going to happen next. The only thing I wasn't sold on was the insta-love and I'm so not a fan of love triangles. That said, the rest of the book was a joy to read and I'm so glad I've got two more books to read in this series. Yeah! for rainy weekends! I can plop my butt on the coach and read to my heart's content and not feel guilty that I should be doing something else!

Review-The Legend of the Blue Eyes by B. Kristin McMichael

Title: The Legend of the Blue Eyes
Series: Blue Eyes Trilogy #1
Author: B Kristin McMichael
Genre: YA Paranormal

Rating: *****

Publishers: Lexia Press
(Jan 4, 2015)

Paperback: 250 pages

ISBN: 978-0989121811

FTC Disclosure:  eBook provided by the author via The Book Machine

Arianna Grace liked her boring, Midwestern, teenage life where she ignored the many unanswered questions of her childhood. Why were her parents dead? Why did she not have family? Where was she raised until she was five? When someone offers to explain it all, Arianna thinks she's just getting answers. Instead, she is thrown into a world of night humans who drink blood.
On Arianna's sixteenth birthday, her world is thrown upside down when she changes into a vampire. Night humans, or demons, as some call them, live in normal society. Learning all of the new rules of a world she didn't know existed might be hard enough, but it's further complicated by two former-friends that now want to help her take her role as the successor to her grandfather.
There is a war going on between the night humans. Sides have been taken and lines are not crossed. Four main clans of night humans are struggling for control of the night. Divided into two sides, clans Baku and Tengu have been at war for centuries with the clans Dearg-dul and Lycan. That is, until Arianna Grace finds out the truth; she's the bridge of peace between the two sides. But not everyone wants peace. With the night humans divided, Arianna is now a pawn in the war between them. She must choose a side--her mother's family or her father's--and for once in her life, decide her own fate.

I love vampire books. I've read all varieties-scary, funny, silly, sick, YA, boink like rabbits ones- I've read them all. The ones where they catch fire in sunlight,  slap on SPF 100 and walk in the sun, turn to ash with a pointy stick,  fly like a bird, turn to mist, travel through time, have babies, don't have babies, are 30 and gorgeous, are 1000 and gorgeous,
so needless to say I was tickled to be treated to this awesome new vampire world. It blows my mind that as many incredible vampire worlds as there are out in the literary world, McMichael has concocted yet another. Bravo!
I sat down at about 9 one evening to take a peek at this book and did not look up till nearly 3 AM when I finished it. While I'm not a fan of the love triangle (and I suspect it will be a quadrangle before it's over) it wasn't intrusive on the overall story. I'll definitely be back for the rest of the trilogy.

Review- Darkness Haunts: (Sensor #1) by Susan Illene 4 1/2*

Title: Darkness Haunts
Series: Sensor #1
Author: Susan Illene
Genre: Paranormal Romance

Rating: 

Publishers: CreateSpace Independent Publishing

(Feb 14, 2013)

Paperback: 386 pages

ISBN: 978-1481861182

FTC Disclosure: eBook provided by the author via The Book Machine

 Melena Sanders faced her fair share of danger with insurgents and terrorists when she served in the U.S. Army, but now she is about to go up against a new threat. Her best friend, Aniya, has disappeared while on a trip to Fairbanks, Alaska—a supernatural haven. Most humans have no idea darker races lurk amongst them. Mel knows better. If she wants to get her friend back, she’s going to have to go in alone—but not unarmed. Melena has a few special skills the Army didn’t provide, but the odds are still against her. She’s got to come up with a plan fast that doesn’t involve her, or her friend, dying. But danger likes to play it rough. A war for power is about to rise in Fairbanks and if she wants to get Aniya back, she’s going to have to step right into the middle of it.

Series

Sensor

1. Darkness Haunts (2013)

2. Darkness Taunts (2013)

2.5. Chained by Darkness (2013)

3. Darkness Divides (2014)

3.5. Playing with Darkness (2014)

4. Darkness Clashes (2014)

5. Darkness Shatters (2015)

Tempting the Moon (2014)

I love urban fantasys that are populated by more than one creature of the night. I especially love that Mel can  sense them in a world that is as of yet unaware of them. She is a kickass ex-military and doesn't let her lack of powers keep her from saving a friend. I love a good twisty, turny story and especially love the fact that there are 5 plus books already out in this series so can I can jump right in and binge read. If you like suspense and adventure in your urban fantasy--this is the next series for you.

Review-Tales of Ever (Volumes 1-6) [Kindle Edition] Jen Wylie 5*

Author: Jen Wylie
Genre: YA Fantasy
Rating: * * * * *
Publishers: Untold Press, LLC
(Mar 23, 2014)
Paperback: 288 pages
ISBN: 978-0615995502 
FTC Disclosure: ARC provided by the author via The Book Machine

A few months ago, I was a normal girl. Life sucked, and just like everyone else, I took the simple things for granted. At least until I got this new power, a "gift" my mom called it. Apparently, I'm a firestarter. I didn't want to be. I didn't ask to be. It would be cool if it wasn't so dangerous and I knew how to control it. When an uncle I'd never heard of showed up to take care of me after my mom died, I should have been grateful. As it turned out, my whole family isn't normal and more than a little bit crazy. I thought things couldn't get any worse. I was wrong. They banished me to Ever.

* * *

Welcome to Ever.

Ever; a deadly realm where feared, powerful, and dangerous magical beings are banished. It's not a world, but a magically created prison you can never break out of. Who, or what, made Ever? I've no idea. They were powerful, and cruel. That is all I can tell you.

Ever is like, and unlike, every other world. Nothing is safe. Safety is a dream. Ever is a nightmare. Few survive their first day. Nothing is what it seems. If something appears safe, it isn't. If something appears dangerous, well it is, but probably more than you think.

Ever has no sun, no moon, and no stars at night. Time is told by the ever changing color of the sky where portals open, dropping new inhabitants or new terrors. Time does pass. Don't worry, you won't get old. You won't live that long.

The landscape changes without reason from desert to jungle. The flora isn't safe at any time. There is food, if you can find it without getting eaten yourself. Most plants and animals are poisonous. So is the water.

Are you afraid? You should be. This is the end. It gets worse of course. Remember the portals? Do you think angels come through? Innocent people rarely do. Mostly, it is evil people, people too powerful to kill. Their magic works here. The creatures are worse.

Do you understand? Well, you will eventually, or you'll die. There is no escaping Ever.

~Tales of Ever is an action packed young adult novel, enjoyed by adults and teens yet also suitable content-wise for readers 10 and up. Originally written as a novella series, it has been reworked and is now available as a complete stand alone novel. 

Amazon Hot New Release! Amazon Top Reader Rated! Amazon Fantasy Best Seller!

Thoroughly fascinating! The world building was captivating and so visual. I felt like I was by Misha's side as she traveled through Ever searching for her father. It was a fast read that had me wishing for more. This fantasy world was fun and dangerous and filled with interesting and questionable characters. A fun read-great for all ages.

Review- Eugenia Riley - The Great Baby Caper 3 1/2*

Title: The Great Baby Caper
Author: Eugenia Riley
Genre: Contemporary Romance

Rating: * * * 1/2

Publishers: Amazon Digital Svcs

(Oct 1, 2015 reissued  )
Dec 2001 original date

Paperback: 395 pages

ASIN: B00O3USH62

FTC Disclosure: ARC provided by the publisher via The Book Machine

FIND A BRIDEGROOM . . . ON A SCAVENGER HUNT??? 

Oh, Baby! 

Courtney Kelly is determined to become the next CEO of Bootle’s Baby Bower. Then at her company’s annual convention in New Orleans, Courtney’s crazy boss, M. Billingham Bootle, sends her and the other CEO candidates out on a wild, zany scavenger hunt to determine the winner of the promotion. Courtney’s assigned mission: Find the most eligible bachelor in the French Quarter willing to marry her . . . by morning! 

Daddy Darling! 

Daunted by her outrageous task, Courtney is prowling the French Quarter when she encounters suave, sexy Mark, a dashing Brit who quickly sweeps her off her feet and agrees to pose as her fiancé to help her win. But just as Courtney presents her “prize” to her boss, she learns she has been deceived, that the entire scavenger hunt was a stunt staged to get her to marry her boss’s grandson—who turns out to be none other than Mark! Although furious at him, Courtney can’t escape the consequences of an incredible night of passion she and Mark share. Soon the couple is immersed in a marriage of convenience, with a baby on the way. Mark and Courtney must juggle pending parenthood and a bi-continental marriage as they try to track down a wacky industrial saboteur at the baby products company. Can the expectant couple restore bliss to Bootle’s Baby Bower while finding love—and welcoming their own baby—along the way? 

First let me mention this was first released in Dec 2001 in paperback. I'm always pissed when I pick up a book that is a reprint and they don't mention it on the cover as there's a good chance I've already read it if it's by an author that's had as many great books published as Riley has. Most of which I've read. By the way, the cover is much cooler this time around so it's a shame that you don't get the full benefit as it's an eBook instead of print copy.
It was a fun read but I'm fairly sure I've read it before as I guessed way too soon who the saboteur was. Put aside your knowledge of the working world and enjoy the pure fun and romance of the story. It's about love at first sight and screwball comedy reminiscent of the I Love Lucy show. While the story-line was okay, it was a bit long (something you'll never hear me complaining about). It would have benefited by a rewrite to tighten up the story.

Mirror X – by Karri Thompson 4 *

Title: Mirror X
Series: Van Winkle Project #1

Author: Karri Thompson

Genre: YA Dystopian

Rating: * * * *

Publishers: Entangled Teen

(Jul 17 2014)

Paperback: 360 pages

ISBN: 978-1500552992 

FTC Disclosure: I received a free copy for my honest review

I was born more than a thousand years ago. Put into a cryogenic tube at age seventeen, forgotten during a holocaust that decimated the world, I've finally been awakened to a more serene and peaceful future. But things at the hospital are new and strange. And it’s starting to scare me. Everyone is young. Everyone is banded and tracked. And everyone is keeping secrets. The cute geneticist Michael Bennett might be the only good thing in this crazy new world where “life is precious” but no one seems free to live it. The problem is, I don’t think he’s being totally honest with me, either. When I’m told only I can save the human race from extinction, it's clear my freeze didn’t avoid a dreadful fate. It only delayed the horror…
Mirror X is the type of book that stays with you long after you have finished it. I would catch myself thinking about the possibility of being cryogenically frozen and being woken up 1000 years later and being told that you were the only hope for mankind as a plague had wiped out 50% of the population and that the women were sterile. Wow! can you image being 17 and having this dumped  on you. 

While the book started off a bit slow, it quickly built to a twisty turny if a bit abrupt conclusion which will have you anticipating the release of book 2.

One of my main loves of the book was the technology and the world building. Really, really well done. And I must mention how much I loved the cover of this book.

My main gripe was the insta love---don't like it here or any any other novel I read. Yeah, I know she's a teenager but seriously. Would it hurt to take a few pages or a chapter even to let the feelings grow?

Overall, a pretty satisfying read  and I'll definitely be back for more.