Book Review: From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout

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From Blood and Ash by Jennifer L. Armentrout 
Series: Blood and Ash, #1
Genre: Fantasy | Romance | Paranormal
Age Range: New Adult
Format: Paperback, 335 pages.
Source: Sam @ Fictionally Sam
Published on February 16, 2015
Jennifer L. Armentrout: Website | Twitter | Goodread

Synopsis:
A Maiden

Chosen from birth to usher in a new era, Poppy’s life has never been her own. The life of the Maiden is solitary. Never to be touched. Never to be looked upon. Never to be spoken to. Never to experience pleasure. Waiting for the day of her Ascension, she would rather be with the guards, fighting back the evil that took her family, than preparing to be found worthy by the gods. But the choice has never been hers.

A Duty

The entire kingdom’s future rests on Poppy’s shoulders, something she’s not even quite sure she wants for herself. Because a Maiden has a heart. And a soul. And longing. And when Hawke, a golden-eyed guard honor bound to ensure her Ascension, enters her life, destiny and duty become tangled with desire and need. He incites her anger, makes her question everything she believes in, and tempts her with the forbidden.

A Kingdom

Forsaken by the gods and feared by mortals, a fallen kingdom is rising once more, determined to take back what they believe is theirs through violence and vengeance. And as the shadow of those cursed draws closer, the line between what is forbidden and what is right becomes blurred. Poppy is not only on the verge of losing her heart and being found unworthy by the gods, but also her life when every blood-soaked thread that holds her world together begins to unravel.

Book Review: The Return by Jennifer L. Armentrout

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The Return by Jennifer L. Armentrout 
Series: Titan, #1
Genre: Fantasy | Romance | Paranormal
Age Range: New Adult
Format: Paperback, 335 pages.
Source: My Copy
Published on February 16, 2015
Jennifer L. Armentrout: Website | Twitter | Goodread

Synopsis:

From the New York Times bestselling author of the Covenant and Lux series comes a novel of danger, Gods and Titans… and an electric love story which will send you reeling.

A year ago, Seth made a deal with the gods – and pledged his life to them. Now, Apollo has a task for Seth: one which sees him playing protector over a beautiful, feisty girl who’s strictly off-limits. And for someone who has a problem with restraint, this assignment might be Seth’s most challenging yet.

Josie has no idea what this crazy hot guy’s deal is, but he arrives in her life just as everything she’s ever known is turned upside down. Either she’s going insane, or a nightmare straight out of ancient myth is heading her way.

Josie can’t decide which is more dangerous: an angry Titan seeking vengeance? Or the golden-eyed, secretive Seth – and the white-hot attraction developing between them…

Book Review: The Brightest Night by Jennifer L. Armentrout

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The Brightest Night by Jennifer L. Armentroutt 
Series: Origin, #3
Genre: Science Fiction | Romance | Paranormal
Age Range: Young Adult
Format: Hardcover, 512 pages.
Source: My Copy
Published on October 20, 2020
Jennifer L. Armentrout: Website | Twitter | Goodread

Synopsis:

Less than a year ago, Evelyn Dasher was a normal girl, living an unremarkable life.

Now, she’s on the run, under the protection of the beautiful, deadly inhuman Luc. She’s been betrayed by those who were closest to her. And she’s learned truths about herself that she never saw coming–things she once knew, and was made to forget. Truths with devastating consequences. She’s caught in the eye of the storm.

He is the darkest star.
You are the burning shadow.
And together, you will bring about the brightest night.

Book Review: The Burning Shadow by Jennifer L. Armentrout

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The Burning Shadow by Jennifer L. Armentroutt 
Series: Origin, #2
Genre: Science Fiction | Romance | Paranormal
Age Range: Young Adult
Format: Hardcover, 432 pages.
Source: My Copy
Published on October 8th 2019 by Tor Teen
Jennifer L. Armentrout: Website | Twitter | Goodreads
Contains spoilers for The Darkest Star

Synopsis:

When Evelyn Dasher crossed paths with Luc, she was thrown headfirst into the world of the Lux—only to discover that she was already far more involved in their world than she ever suspected.

Because the Luxen aren’t the only ones with a hidden past. There’s a gap in Evie’s memory, lost months of her life and a lingering sense that something happened, something she can’t remember and nobody is willing to tell her. She needs to find out the truth about who she is—and who she was. But every answer she finds only brings up more questions.

Her search for the truth brings her ever closer to Luc, the Origin at the center of it all. He’s powerful, arrogant, inhumanly beautiful, extremely dangerous…and possibly in love with her. But even as Evie falls for him, she can’t help but wonder if his attraction is to her, or to the memory of a girl who no longer exists.

And all the while, a new threat looms: reports of a flu-like, fatal virus that the government insists is being spread by Luxen. A horrifying illness that changes whoever it touches, spreading panic across a country already at its breaking point.

#1 New York Times, USA Today, and internationally bestselling author Jennifer L. Armentrout returns to the world of the Lux with this steamy, shocking second installment of the Origin series that will leave readers reeling.

Book Review: Rhapsodic By Laura Thalassa

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Rhapsodic by Laura Thalassa 
Series: The Bargainer, #1
Genre: Fantasy
Age Range: New Adult
Format: Paperback, 326 pages
Source: My Copy
Published on November 15th 2016 by Lavabrook Publishing Group
Laura Thalassa: Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Synopsis:
Callypso Lillis is a siren with a very big problem, one that stretches up her arm and far into her past. For the last seven years she’s been collecting a bracelet of black beads up her wrist, magical IOUs for favors she’s received. Only death or repayment will fulfill the obligations. Only then will the beads disappear.

Everyone knows that if you need a favor, you go to the Bargainer to make it happen. He’s a man who can get you anything you want… at a price. And everyone knows that sooner or later he always collects.

But for one of his clients, he’s never asked for repayment. Not until now. When Callie finds the fae king of the night in her room, a grin on his lips and a twinkle in his eye, she knows things are about to change. At first it’s just a chaste kiss—a single bead’s worth—and a promise for more.

For the Bargainer, it’s more than just a matter of rekindling an old romance. Something is happening in the Otherworld. Fae warriors are going missing one by one. Only the women are returned, each in a glass casket, a child clutched to their breast. And then there are the whispers among the slaves, whispers of an evil that’s been awoken.

If the Bargainer has any hope to save his people, he’ll need the help of the siren he spurned long ago. Only, his foe has a taste for exotic creatures, and Callie just happens to be one.

Buddy Read: Rage and Ruin by Jennifer L. Armentrout

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Rage and Ruin by Jennifer L. Armentrout 
Series: The Harbinger, #2
Genre: Fantasy | Romance | Paranormal
Age Range: Young Adult
Format: Hardcover, 576 pages.
Source: My Copy
Published on June 9th 2020 by Inkyard Press
Jennifer L. Armentout: Website | Twitter | Goodreads
Spoilers for The Dark Elements series

Synopsis:
A half human, half angel and her bonded gargoyle protector must work with demons to stop the apocalypse while avoiding falling in love. The Harbinger is coming… but who or what is it? All of humankind may fall if Trinity and Zayne can’t win the race against time as dark forces gather.

As tensions rise, they must stay close together and patrol the DC streets at night, seeking signs of the Harbinger, an entity that is killing Wardens and demons with no seeming rhyme or reason. Forbidden to be with each other, Zayne and Trinity fight their feelings and turn to unusual sources for help—the demon Roth and his cohorts. But as deaths pile up and they uncover a sinister plot involving the local high school and endangering someone dear to Zayne, Trin realizes she is being led – herded – played for some unknown end. As anger builds and feelings spiral out of control, it becomes clear that rage may be the ruin of them all.

Book Review: The Lost Book of the White by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu

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The Lost Book of the White by Cassandra Clare and Wesley Chu 
Series: The Eldest Curses, #2
Genre: Fantasy | Romance | Paranormal
Age Range: Young Adult |New Adult
Format: Hardcover, 400 pages
Published on September 1st 2020 by Simon & Schuster
Cassandra Clare: Website | Twitter | Goodreads
Wesley Chu: Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Synopsis:

Life is good for Magnus Bane and Alec Lightwood. They’re living together in a fabulous loft, their warlock son, Max, has started learning to walk, and the streets of New York are peaceful and quiet—as peaceful and quiet as they ever are, anyway.

Until the night that two old acquaintances break into Magnus’s apartment and steal the powerful Book of the White. Now Magnus and Alec will have to drop everything to get it back. They need to follow the thieves to Shanghai, they need to call some backup to accompany them, and they need a babysitter.

Also, someone has stabbed Magnus with a strange magical weapon and the wound is glowing, so they have that to worry about too.

Fortunately, their backup consists of Clary, Jace, Isabelle, and newly minted Shadowhunter Simon. In Shanghai, they learn that a much darker threat awaits them. Magnus’s magic is growing unstable, and if they can’t stop the demons flooding into the city, they might have to follow them all the way back to the source—to the very realm of the dead. Can they stop the threat to the world? Will they make it back home before their kid completely wears out Alec’s mom?

Book Review: PS… You’re Mine by Alexa Riley

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PS… You’re Mine by Alexa Riley 
Series: Standalone
Genre: Contemporary | Romance | Erotica
Age Range: Adult Audience
Format: eBook
Source: Author
Published on January 30th 2016
Alexa Riley: Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Synopsis:
Katie Lovely signs up her class for a project, writing letters to Marines serving overseas, but a calculation error means she has to participate along with the class.

She isn’t prepared for what happens after she gets the first letter.

Sergeant Major Mark Gunner is serving his last tour and looking forward to getting out of the Marines. When he gets a letter that captures his heart, everything suddenly changes.

Their worlds connect and letters flow, creating a love unlike any other.

But when their time is up and the letters stop, will his claim remain?

Warning: This is a super quick, sweet, and dirty read with a small Valentine twist. *whispers* Don’t worry, it’s a happily ever after!

Book Review: Win Some, Lose Some by Shay Savage

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Win Some, Lose Some by Shay Savage 
Series:  Standalone
Genre: Romance | Contemporary
Age Range: New Adult
Format: Paperback, 352 pages
Source: My Copy
Published on September 28th 2016
Shay Savage: Website | Twitter | Goodreads

Synopsis:
For Matthew Rohan, every day is a struggle. Each task others complete without thinking is a challenge for him. Recently orphaned, he has to finish the last few months of high school and take care of his disabled sister on his own. When Mayra comes into his life, his comfortable routines implode. Matthew can’t handle change, but Mayra is unrelenting in her quest to understand him, to show him acceptance and maybe even love. When she breaks through his shell, Matthew’s world will never be the same again. An awkward boy with Asperger’s Syndrome, a persistent girl who pulls him out of his isolated existence, and a lottery ticket that will change their lives forever.

Buddy Read: A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas

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A Court of Mist and Fury by Sarah J. Maas 
Series: A Court of Thorns and Roses, #2
Genre: Romance | Fantasy 
Age Range: New Adult
Format: Paperback, 626 pages
Source: My Copy
Published on May 3rd 2016 by Bloomsbury Childrens Books
Sarah J. Maas: Website | Twitter | Goodreads
Contains some spoilers

Synopsis:
Feyre is immortal.

After rescuing her lover Tamlin from a wicked Faerie Queen, she returns to the Spring Court possessing the powers of the High Fae. But Feyre cannot forget the terrible deeds she performed to save Tamlin’s people – nor the bargain she made with Rhysand, High Lord of the feared Night Court.

As Feyre is drawn ever deeper into Rhysand’s dark web of politics and passion, war is looming and an evil far greater than any queen threatens to destroy everything Feyre has fought for. She must confront her past, embrace her gifts and decide her fate.

She must surrender her heart to heal a world torn in two.