Firstly, massive thank you to the S&S Galley Grab for drawing my attention to this book. I had never heard about Legacy before, after reading the blurFirstly, massive thank you to the S&S Galley Grab for drawing my attention to this book. I had never heard about Legacy before, after reading the blurb I decided to go ahead and download the ARC. I ended up reading this book in one day.
Legacy has been getting some mixed reviews from what I've seen so far, but honestly I really enjoyed this book. The story itself follows 16 year old Katy whose father and step-mother ship her off to an exclusive boarding school in Massachusetts. While Katy first gets there however she realises people in the town seem to hate her for some reason, as if being shipped off to the middle of no where wasn't bad enough, she has no one to turn to either.
Katy soon discovers that the town is full old witching families and her mother went to the same school she is now attending and lived in this small town before she passed away. She discovers family she never knew she had, falls head over heels for classmate Peter and discovers some powers of her own, all while trying to decode one town secret after another.
To me Legacy was a really great and enjoyable read. I'm glad to have discovered it as I hadn't really heard anything about it in the book blogger world. The writing style in the book isn't as great as some of my other recent reads, but this is no way makes it a bad book or difficult to read. To me it just seemed a bit choppy in places, which is probably more down to the fact that I was reading an ARC and editing changes rather than Molly Cochran's actual writing style. I'm sure the final book is released it will have been fixed up a bit more.
The character of Katy is good as a main character, she is believable, likeable, and readers can can easy get wrapped up in her story. As most of you will know, I'm a sucker for any YA that involves some type of boarding school, so to me the setting of a school in a mysterious little town in Massachusetts really drew me in right away. I would however have liked to have seem more of the school life and academic side to the story. Especially for a YA novel, I think setting a book in any kind of school requires the author to get the point across to readers that education is important, which I didn't see this time around. That is really the only reason this book got 4 and not 5 stars from me.
The plot itself is a bit predictable at some points, and at others it was full of twists and turns. I like the mix of being able to guess what was happening and having the unexpected pop up on the next page. Like most YA books there is a love story tangled up throughout this book as well. To me this love story seemed believable and wasn't over the top like love stories can be in some YA paranormal books. It was sweet and didn't happen too fast for me.
I really enjoyed the ending of this book, the last few chapters where like a whirlwind of emotions which really swept me away into this witchy world.
Overall I thought it was a really great read and I hope Molly writes some more about Katy in the future....more
If you have been following BelleBooks for a while, you will know by now that I am in love with The Bloodstone Saga. So I was thrilled when I got an ARIf you have been following BelleBooks for a while, you will know by now that I am in love with The Bloodstone Saga. So I was thrilled when I got an ARC of the last book in the series, My Tattered Bonds. Massive thank yous have to go out to Courtney for once again sending me a copy to review, and for once again completely blowing my mind with her amazing plots, characters and writing style.
As I mentioned this is the last book in the Bloodstone Saga, I took a little bit longer reading this book than I have any of the previous books in the series, purely because I really wanted to savour this one and try to drag it out a bit longer, I really did not want the series to come to an end just yet!
My Tattered Bonds picks up where we left Harmonia and her family in With My Last Breath, confused, shocked and determined to get little Raquel back once and for all. Although in order to do that, they need to find her first. Their search takes them into the heart of the underworld where they encounter a number of dangers and obstacles.
I loved reading about the underworld and the different lands in it. Hades is also a great new character to the book, at parts this book did remind me of Richelle Mead's Dark Swan series. Most of you know how much I gush about that series as well! My Tattered Bonds does have similarities but of course it is an entirely different plot with different characters. The fact that it reminded me of Dark Swan just shows how great the writing and plot line in this book truly is!
The book is full of unexpected twists and turns, just like the rest of the books in the series. The love story between Harmonia and Cadmus only seems to get better with each book, and with this one the love between them is beautifully written. There are a few familiar faces in this book from the previous books in the series, it was nice to see them again and find out what they are doing now as the saga draws to an end. There was also a few new characters in the book as well. To me bringing in new characters at the end of a series can be a bit hit or miss. On this occasion however the new characters bring the story to a whole new level.
The level of research that goes into each book in this series always amazes me, My Tattered Bonds is no different. To write about the underworld , Hades, the greek gods and everything else that pops up in this book must require a lot of time and energy spent researching. That effort has really paid off in the case of the entire series. To me each book as well as being enjoyable to read has also taught and gave me a greater understanding about mythology and the ancient world.
The ending completely blew me away, I honestly was not expecting what I was reading! I'm not going to say everything works out perfectly for out favourite characters, or that it's all doom and gloom, you will have to read it for yourself to find out! I will say that the ending brought the entire saga to an end very nicely, and thinking back now I don't really see how it could have ended any differently.
I could gush all day about this book, and about the entire series but I think I will leave it there, i'm sure you get my point! As sad as I am about the series now being finished, I am also super excited for Courtney's new project, The Moonstone Saga. From the title you can kind of guess the books are going to be similar in a way to the Bloodstone Saga, but this time around we have a whole new leading lady!...more
I was so excited to get a copy of Life Eternal from NetGalley to review, just after I finished Dead Beautiful as well, talk about perfect timing! I wasI was so excited to get a copy of Life Eternal from NetGalley to review, just after I finished Dead Beautiful as well, talk about perfect timing! I was really excited to read this one as it's not out till February next year in the US and it doesn't have a UK release date yet!
Life Eternal pretty much picks up right where we left Renee in Dead Beautiful, after all the tragic events that happened at Gotfried, the school is now closed to everyone except the Undead. Renee is shipped off to Lycée St Clement's in Montreal, which is a school solely for Monitors. Although ever since Dante gave Renee her soul back, something just hasn't been feeling right to Renee. She still has no appetite, no sense of smell and she looks much older almost overnight.
At Lycée St Clement's Renee faces some new problems, not only does she have to face a new school full of people who think she is immortal and somehow survived death, but she also has to find away to sneak in some Dante time. Which is almost impossible with a town full of Monitors! She is also having some strange visions, that seemed to be triggered by her new surroundings. And as if that wasn't enough to deal with, Renee is still searching for a way of helping Dante prolong what is left of his life.
While searching she comes across the legend of the nine sisters, who apparently found a way to cheat death and vowed to take the secret to their graves with them. Eight of the sisters were all murdered, presumably by the Undead. The ninth sister was never named in any documents or ever found. It is this sister Renee decides to try to track down.
Firstly, let me just say I loved all the French bits in this book. I really used to love French, but it took a bit of a back seat to Spanish while I was a university. So reading all the French names and streets in this book really started to bring everything back to me! I loved the fact that this book was set in an entirely different place from Gotfried. To me Dead Beautiful taught me all about the Undead, and Life Eternal taught me all about the Monitors.
The story itself is full of twists and turns that kept me gripped to the edge of my seat! I had no clue what was going to happen in this book, every page just seemed full of more and more mystery. I actually read this book in one day, I was completely hooked on it from page one!
There are a few new characters in this book, some of them I grew to love as I got to the end of the book. I really liked Noah, he seemed like a really nice boy and if Dante wasn't in the picture I could really picture him and Renee together.
The legend of the nine sisters was well planned out, looking back, as the story unfolds you can see that the reader is given a small hint here and there. At the time you are too wrapped up in the Renee and Dante story that you don't even realise it's a clue until you reach the end of the book! The plot itself is amazing, although very different to that in Dead Beautiful I think that it works well with this new setting.
Ugh the ending. All I can say is I hope the actual book has an ending, because this ARC didn't. I had to go back and read the last few paragraphs three times before I realised there is actually no ending. The book just stops! I really don't even understand what happened in the last paragraph, it just stopped! Big disappointment to me, but at least I'm pretty sure now that there will be a third book, Yvonne Woon can't just leave it like that. Although I'll probably have to wait till 2013 for it :(...more
Pyxis follows the story of 16 year old Corinne who is still coming to terms with the recent death of her grandmother. She discovers a strange box fillPyxis follows the story of 16 year old Corinne who is still coming to terms with the recent death of her grandmother. She discovers a strange box filled with strange looking liquids that her grandmother left her, with no idea what these colourful liquids could be Corinne thinks they must be some kind of home-made food colourings and uses them to colour icing for her cakes for the school bake sale.
After people who eat Corrine's cakes start acting very strange toward her, Corinne and her friend Ang soon discover that these little bottles do not hold food colourings - but something else entirely! After experimenting on some of their school friends they still have no idea what these liquids are actually for. The two start to dig a little deeper into Corinne's grandmother's past and with the help of Corinne's life long friend Mason they try their best to get to the bottom of things!
Pyxis is an amazing book, to me it is a completely fresh and original concept in the world of YA Paranormal. I like to think that I have read a lot of books in this genre and I can honestly say that there are no books out there with a similar plot line to Pyxis. I have no idea how K.C. came up with the idea for the potions or the history and legacy that comes along with them, those ideas teamed with the three main characters work amazing well together!
As a book blogger, when I hear the words debut novel I can get a little worried about the writing style, you just don't know what to expect. Pyxis is beautifully written, it's not overly complex and it's easy to find yourself completely lost in the pages. The story itself doesn't seem dragged out like some books can be, there is a lot of important information in Pyxis, which is released to the reader in small, manageable chunks. Meaning the story sticks in your head and all the important pieces aren't thrown at you at once, making the book much more enjoyable.
I loved the uncertainty between Mason and Corinne, they whole will they or won't they thing. On one hand it's obvious they like each other and they should just come out and say they like each other, but on the other hand they have been a part of each others lives for so long now would moving forward damage that closeness they already have? I would have liked to have seen a bit more of Ang in Pyxis, it seemed that whenever something important was happening she was always at church or visiting relatives. I don't know if this has any significance or not, guess I'll have to wait for the second book to find that one out!
Overall, the book was brilliant! Well written, it has realistic and likeable characters as well as an original plot line! 5/5 stars for me!...more
Firstly a massive thank you to the author Nilsa Rodriguez for sending me a review copy of this book!
The Rising Moon follows teenager Lia as she unlockFirstly a massive thank you to the author Nilsa Rodriguez for sending me a review copy of this book!
The Rising Moon follows teenager Lia as she unlocks her family history and secrets. Lia has never really fitted in, her dreams about wolves she once has as a child are back, and they are hitting her hard this time around. Following the death of her aunt, Lia finally decides it's time to find out the truth about her dreams and what they really mean and also the truth and the mystery that surrounds her past.
The Rising Moon did have a really great plot line. I loved the whole concept of the two different types of wolves and also the fact there is a vampire and a witch in the book. Throw those three supernatural creatures together and you'll always have a great story! What did let the book down was the characters. For me they weren't real enough. Lia was a great main character, but I would have liked to have seen a little bit more emotion and depth to some of the other characters in the book, without that they seemed a little fake to me.
There was a few parts in the book that I feel could have been cut out and just seemed to make the story drag on. I just wanted to get to the good parts and the action, there was some pretty big chunks in the book I didn't feel was necessary.
Overall it was a really great read and an exciting start to a new wolf series!...more
So those of you who have been following me for a while now will probably know that I LOVE this series! I think I may in fact have a blogger crush on CoSo those of you who have been following me for a while now will probably know that I LOVE this series! I think I may in fact have a blogger crush on Courtney Cole's characters (and yes I just totally made up the phrase blogger crush!!)
So this is the third book in The Bloodstone Saga, there is no massive re-cap of book two. Which I'm grateful for, I don't really like massive re-caps. Just enough to jog my memory is fine with me! I was quickly reminded of book two ended and how shocked I was at the ending! Thankfully book three picks up right at the scene book two finished!
With My Last Breath finds our leading lady Harmonia in Camelot looking for the sword in the stone in order to save her soul mate and restore Olympus. I really love how there is a totally different setting in each book of The Bloodstone saga. In book one we were in ancient Egypt, in book two we were in the land of greek gods and in this one Camelot! Where on earth is book four going to be set?!
This time around we see Harmonia facing some pretty massive challenges, not only does she have the mammoth task of finding the sword, but she also faces some real personal challenges as well. Does she tempt fate and risk changing the world as she knows it in order to help a few people in this one, or should she stand by and watch people die to keep the world balanced. She also has so much anger inside her at the fates for what they have put her though all these years, now that she finally knows the truth what should she do about it?
Once again there is a bit of a twist in this book. Even though I've come to expect twists in each book in this series, I still never see it coming! This one came as a complete shock to me! I'm not going to say exactly what happens as I know this book isn't due out for a couple of weeks yet. But lets just saw WOW and leave it at that!
I honestly cannot believe how much research and hard work must have gone into this book. The reader is thrown straight into Camelot, the descriptions of the buildings, surrounding lands, food and even the clothes are exactly what I would have imagined Camelot to be like. I actually couldn't stop myself thinking of the BBC programme Merlin every time someone was mentioned!
Overall I loved this book. Out of the whole series so far this one is by far my favourite! I am so excited to see where the next book is going to be set and also to find out how Harmonia's story will end!...more
I was so excited when this book arrived in the post for me to review from Bloomsbury! I was a latecomer to the Drake Chronicles series, but am actuallI was so excited when this book arrived in the post for me to review from Bloomsbury! I was a latecomer to the Drake Chronicles series, but am actually glad of that now! I don't think I could have waited in between books to find out what was going to happen. I am so lucky to have read the first four books in the space of a week!
Bleeding Hearts is told from Lucy, Connor and Christabel's points of view. Which is a little different this time around, the past 3 books have only been told from two characters points of view. I liked this little change as it was nice to hear from Lucy again, I hadn't read her point of view since way back in book one.
Christabel is Lucy's cousin, who is living with Lucy for the time being. Although Lucy hasn't told her anything about the Drakes or vampires. Instead she lets her cousin think that her parents are just really strict because there are gangs in Violet Hill, so they both have a sunset curfew. Christabel is mistaken for Lucy and kidnapped by the new Hel-Bar leader. Connor Drake who is falling for Christabel goes after her which soon finds them both trapped in an impossible situation and neither of them know if they will survive.
I really enjoyed all the little quirks that Christabel has, especially her passion for reading! She is a really great new addition to the series and I'm looking forward to reading more about her and Connor in the future! We do see some more of our other favourite couples in this book as well, Lucy and Nicholas, Solange and Kieran, Isabeau and Logan, Hunter and Quinn.
I'm really starting to feel like every single Drake brother is going to fall in love before this series comes to an end, I really cannot wait to see who the rest of the brothers are going to fall for!
The ending of this book left me completely shocked! Lucy has made a completely life changing decision and Solange leaves the reader on a complete cliff-hanger! I really cannot believe the book ended like that, I need book 5 pronto!!...more
First of all I want to say a massive THANK YOU!!! to the author, Courtney Cole who very kindly asked me if I wanted a review copy of Fated! This is my First of all I want to say a massive THANK YOU!!! to the author, Courtney Cole who very kindly asked me if I wanted a review copy of Fated! This is my third Courtney Cole book, and her writing has never disappointed me yet!
This is the second book in the Bloodstone Saga and it starts up pretty much where we left Macy after everything that happened in Every Last Kiss.
After everything that Macy went through in the first book you would think that she could finally sit back, relax and have a bit of a normal life now right? WRONG!! Fated has even more action and drama in it that Every Last Kiss did...infact I actually think I love this book more than I loved Every Last Kiss!
Fated follows Macy as she pieces together even more pieces of the jigsaw puzzle that is her life. She discovers the shocking truth about who she really is and what her real purpose is. Along the way Macy comes face to face with Witches, Greek Gods and Flying Horses, really what more could you ask for in a book? Saying it like that it may seem that Courtney Cole has tried to cram too much into the one book, but believe me everything slots into place perfectly!
The book is full of twists and turns which left me literally speechless at parts. I just could not believe all this was happening to poor wee Macy! I was very close to tears at one point as well!
Overall a brilliantly written and thoroughly researched book. And I'm going to say it, it ends on a cliffhanger!! Courtney how can you do this to me? I literally cannot believe how Fated ended and I am DESPERATE for the next book now!
I have had Spellbound on my Kindle for ages now but never quite got around to reading it. As part of my Review Catch Up Challenge I decided to go aheaI have had Spellbound on my Kindle for ages now but never quite got around to reading it. As part of my Review Catch Up Challenge I decided to go ahead and read this one! I could kick myself for not picking it up sooner, much sooner! I was hooked on this book from page one, I mean come on the main character is also an Emma!
Spellbound follows sixteen year old Emma as she moves in with her aunt in New York and attends a posh prep school with her cousin. While there she encounters the usual mean girls and befriends the freaky witch girl, Emma also feels a strange pull towards heart throb Brendan that she can't quite explain. When some really strange things start happening to her, Emma confides in her new witch friend and attempts to do some research of her own, although she learns more that she bargained for about herself.
I really loved this book, It would have been a 5 star rating except I was really confused about where she was actually living until the very end of the book. Throughout the story the reader keeps getting told she was at her aunt's house, but then she would go over to her cousin's house to visit her? Maybe I missed it somewhere but right up until the end of the book I thought they should all be under the one roof. Until I realised at the end there are 2 aunts, one she is living with, and one who has a daughter, her cousin who lives nearby.
Honestly I went through the entire book so confused about this! It probably was explained somewhere but I just didn't get it. Thats the only reason this book didn't get a 5 star rating from me.
I loved the descriptive language used throughout Spellbound especially when it came to Emma's dreams. I don't want to give too much away but I loved seeing her past lives unfold in her dreams. As for Brendan, I think we have a new book hottie to crush on! I loved his character and personality, it fell in so well with the feel of the book! Personally I can't wait to find out how Brendan and Emma's relationship is going to unfold!
Loved this book, and really wish I read it sooner! I'm glad I have an ARC of the second book, Spellcaster to get started on right away....more
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book to review.
Just like Sleeping Beauty Vampire Slayer, this is another choose your own path kind of booI was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book to review.
Just like Sleeping Beauty Vampire Slayer, this is another choose your own path kind of book. I know I've said this before, but I love these type of books!
This book follows the typical story of Cinderella, but with a twist! Cinderella's mother was a powerful witch, and Cinderella has been practising hard at both magic and ninja skills, when she gets the chance to enter the magic competition it seems like all her dreams have came true.
I really liked this book, and I hope that Maureen McGowan releases more of these choose your own path books!...more
This book is meant to be a bit of a twist on the classic story of Sleeping Beauty, although to be honest I was lucky enough to get an ARC of the book.
This book is meant to be a bit of a twist on the classic story of Sleeping Beauty, although to be honest I didn't even think of the original story of Sleeping Beauty once while reading this! It stands out on it's own, the characters and storyline is brilliant!!
It is such a great book, I read it in one sitting and could not put it down! It is also a 'choose your own ending' book, which I loved when I was little, and have not seen one of these types of books for so long, so I was over the moon when I discovered that. The only thing I would have liked to have seen was perhaps an alternative ending, for example if the reader made the wrong decision at some point in the story it got Lucette killed, and the reader would have to start again. Thats what I enjoyed most out of these types of books when I was younger....more
I was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book, at first it was hard to get into and I had to keep putting it down then going back to it again lateI was lucky enough to receive an ARC of this book, at first it was hard to get into and I had to keep putting it down then going back to it again later.
But from about halfway through the book I started to really enjoy it, the storyline is good and I really liked the main character, Amelia. I liked the whole good vs evil concept about the afterlife, but at times it did seem a little confusing. It is a bit repetitive and you can start to see where the story is going a times, but it was a nice good read. ...more
I received an arc of this book from Netgalley, and it took me a while to finish it. Not because I didn't like it, I just kept putting it down and starI received an arc of this book from Netgalley, and it took me a while to finish it. Not because I didn't like it, I just kept putting it down and starting something else.
So now I have finally finished it, I wasn't too sure about the book at the beginning but after a while I really started to like the story. It is a kind of mix between a fantasy, magic, and dystopian novel, with a bit of strong feeling about being green and saving the planet thrown in!
The story follows Kelsa, a 15 year old girl whose father has recently passed away. While still trying to come to terms with his death a strange boy keeps appearing everywhere she goes telling her she must come with him and help him.
Finally Kelsa gives in and hears what he has got to say, and agrees to help him. This then leads to a road trip where Kelsa has to use magic to help save the world. Of course nothing is ever as simple as that, there is a number of people who don't want Kelsa to succeed and a lot of obstacles standing in her way.
I did enjoy this book, although I hated the ending, I don't want to give away the ending but lets just say it was not what I expected!...more
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