Will saving a human lead to the destruction of her people?
Skye is a good mermaid, following her elder’s instruction and staying away from humans. But when a party ship cruises through her part of the sea, Skye ends up saving Vince, a man, from drowning - a crime punishable by death. When the ship comes back, so does she.
Lured by the promise of seeing land and the handsome Vince, Skye boards the ship, but finds that Vince may not be as trustworthy as she first thought. Now it’s a race to save herself and her people from exposure and destruction.
Angel Leya enjoys retelling fairy tales in new and intriguing ways, but she wants readers to know that Skye is no Ariel and Vince is no Prince. In this urban fantasy, female protagonist Skye must struggle to learn the truth about herself, her people and Vince before her actions destroy everything she holds dear. With the help of the elusive Sea King, will Vince become a merman, or will the two choose to be human? It’s anything but the traditional fairytale retellings we all know.
I do not even know where to begin with 'Skye's Lure' because I just did not like it. I'm sorry, but it's true. I felt that it glamorized kidnapping in such a way that...I dunno, it just annoyed me. Skye is suffering from a major case of Stockholm syndrome. I get that she was curious about land and humans, but typically, you don't fall in love with someone who kidnaps you, locks you in a glass tank in their home...and tries to use you for personal gain. Can anyone say human/mermaid trafficking? He was basically trying to be her pimp! But yes, she's in love with him and they run off together to have little psychopath fish babies.
One of the best ways to describe this book would just be lacking. It just wasn't very memorable, in my opinion. This is a prime example why I shy away from short stories. I felt no connection to the characters, and I had no care as to where they ended up. I wasn't pulled into the story at all and I just....well, I didn't like it.
I wish the author the best of luck in her writings, but Skye's Lure just wasn't for me.
What is the most annoying book you've ever read? Was it still good?
In FALTER, a dark New Adult/Adult Urban Fantasy novel, Nevaeh Richards thinks she has found a chance to leave her homeless life behind. When the spirit of the only father she knows is wrongfully taken to Hell, Nevaeh is hurled into a world haunted by monstrous demons, rogue Guardian angels, love that is beyond her control, and a soul-threatening choice between the inherent evil inside her and the faltering faith she is struggling to grasp. Nevaeh and George have lived on the streets as father and daughter since he found her, alone and unconscious, many years ago. When they start a new life employed at Joe's cafe, Nevaeh experiences debilitating visions and frightening apparitions. Adding to the troubling path her life has taken, George suddenly becomes ill and an Animus demon takes his soul hostage in Hell. Unfortunately, the ransom may be more than Nevaeh can afford. As Nevaeh spirals into this supernatural world, Gavyn—the handsome café-owner—tries to convince her that she belongs to a hidden race of people with God-given gifts known as Celatum, and she may be a key player in the Celestial war. However, even after all the otherworldly events she experiences, Nevaeh continues to deny her part in it all. Meanwhile, Archard—a stranger she feels undeniably bonded to—mysteriously wanders in and out of her life, offering none of the answers she suspects he holds. Will Nevaeh attain the faith it requires to fulfill her fate as a Celata and take part in the Celestial fight? Or will she give into the darkness that calls to her for the sake of George's soul and damn herself to Hell?
**We received a copy of this book in exchange for the following honest review**
I honestly don't even know where to begin. Since the day the author sent this book in, I had been looking for an excuse to skip ahead a bit and read it...Finally, the excuse came! As you can imagine, over the weeks that I had been fantasizing about reading Falter, I'd built up expectations and hopes for this book.....and we all know how dangerous that can be. Disappointment is a real thing...and I get to feel it quite a lot with what we do..... I can, however, say that this book went above and beyond my wildest dreams and expectations. It was sooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo good! Do you know how many o's that is? Neither do I, but it's a lot! I've read books kind of similar to this before; Hush Hush, Providence, but this book just had the edge of difference that set it apart from the rest. Is it weird that I automatically root for the one guy/girl that the character always ends up with? It's kinda my thing to be able to tell you the endings of books from the first two chapters (esp books like this..they're my genre), but I was so surprised. It was another one of those times where I was up at twelve to finish a book and then I read the ending and my brain was like "Lol, sleep? What's sleep? Why don't we obsess over this ending instead??" and so I did....I still am. My only minor issue was the whole "God" thing. I don't mean it in a bad way..let me explain. Shell and I avoid books with religious themes and undertones because we want to make CommonBookSense a place where anyone can find comfort through good books. That isn't to say that books based around religion aren't good, I just mean that we don't want to make any one person uncomfortable by forcing our religious beliefs onto them....so we don't do religious things. This book did have religious undertones, but they fit nicely into the theme of the book. They weren't really forced upon you...they were portrayed in a fantasy-based environment, so they didn't follow any 'typical' religious standpoints. All you need to know is that this book is an amazing example of everything a fantasy book should be. While there aren't any werewolves, witches, or vampires, it embodies all the fantastical aspects of what makes a fantasy book so appealing. Guys, honestly, why haven't you bought this book yet?
Question of the Review
(My "Question Of The Review" button broke, so we get plain text today) What is your DREAM job?
When the river spits Umbra onto its bank, naked and shivering, the only clue to her identity is the arcane brand seared into her skin. A brand hunted by both a murderous necromancer and a handsome stranger. A brand that thrusts Umbra into a simmering conflict between the ascendant Clans and the nomadic Gherza. A brand that may make her the key to averting all-out war.
The Tree of Souls weaves an intimate tale of dark sorcery, doomed love, and implacable revenge, amid an age-old clash of nations, with all the souls of the living hanging in the balance.
**We received a copy of this book in exchanged for the following honest review**
Where do I even begin?? This book was such an amazing read. It pulled me in right from the cover, and I couldn't wait until I finished the post for the day so I could hole myself up and get lost in the pages...You know a book is good when you have to get up to do something and you try to PAUSE the book! I did that after the first TWO chapters! The book is so immersive and makes you ask all these questions. One question gets answered with another question, so you're constantly guessing, but you're also interacting with the world.
The mysteriousness of it was a huge plus. You kept wondering why Umbra was, and just when you thought you figured it out, you were turned right back around.
I hate telling you what the book was about in my reviews because I feel like it's my job to tell you how the book was, not what it was about. But here it's slightly necessary. So, to start of, this girl has washed up on the river bank. She has no idea who she is or where she's from. No memories (besides basic functions, of course), you get a glimpse into her past via flashbacks and the beginning of the story that led led her to be where she is.
This book was beautifully written and executed perfectly. Not many people can pull that off. I was very impressed by the way she switched between first and third person. Not only is incredibly impressive that she was able to switch like that, but also that it was so genius that she did because it perfectly kept the secret about who was who.
I must comment on this because I'm supposed to mention it: The sex scene was written very elegantly and classy. It wasn't inappropriate at all. If you're worried about it, it shouldn't be an issue because it's only a paragraph-ish, so you can skip it....or you can read an awesome example of class..it's up to you, dear reader.
This book is a perfect combination of fantasy, romance, and mystery. I loved it. It was so, so, so good. I've read hundreds of books since I was young, but I have never read anything like this (and fantasy is my genre). You guys NEED to read this! Everything is so shocking and unexpected it's so amazing. Read it! Utilize the links below!
Keep your noses in the pages, and I'll blog you lovelies later <3
Where are some of you guys from? What's your name? I'm only asking because I feel like our relationship is rather one-sided lol.
An impending war between Heaven and Hell looming around the corner.
A Grand Witch who has no idea what she is.
The Prince of Darkness’s obsession in claiming her.
Two sinfully gorgeous men pulling her in two different directions.
As the owner of the coffee shop Déjà Brew in Savannah, Georgia, Anna thought her life was ordinary. That is until her sister is kidnapped by a demon, prompting two handsome men to march into her life unexpectedly. Valen, the sinfully gorgeous, overprotective werewolf who is Anna’s sworn guardian and Roman, the most handsome and powerful Warlock in the entire Netherworld.
Suddenly, her world is stripped of everything she knows and replaced with frightening news about who she really is - a powerful Grand Witch. Now, it’s up to her to draw out her dormant magic, rescue her sister and stop an impending heavenly war threatening to eradicate the human race all while staying alive.
***WE WERE GIVEN A COPY OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE FOR AN HONEST REVIEW***
For the first time in forever (bah bah copyright copyright), I'm writing a review late. I need to get a a grip. I was a week ahead! Ick.
Anyway, I'm writing this day-of because I had some issues with this book, but I wanted to wait a few days to make sure I really had to write this review....and I do.
So, about the good parts: The idea of the book is very unique and interesting. So it's not just your typical Twilight-style creatures, twilight-style love triangle. The idea of witches hasn't been played with a ton...well, maybe, but I avoid them. It's hard to make your witches and warlocks match up to Harry Potter. It's always good that they call them warlocks instead of wizards, too. But the way she went about it was great!
Now, the bad (I hate this): There was such an overload of details.....but not the ones you were craving. She lived an hour away from her cafe, yet she was open from 6-10, and still went out. I don't know about you guys, but I'd skip the club after work. And you don't get a lot of details as to how she runs it. There was one mention of a college employee, and the we never heard about her again. Her BFF has supernatural abilities, too. Which would have been okay had there been some hinting to in beforehand. Her family is insane, but they think everything is okay even though someone's disappeared. On that note, the emotions were so off! She's sitting eating bacon and eggs and kissing men when her SISTER IS FREAKING MISSING! Her sister's wedding is still on and she's so happy to go see her parents, all the while someone could be torturing her sister. The author writes one emotion, and in the same sentence says they're feeling another. Like "yes he smirked....angrily"...that wasn't from the book, but you get my point.
I found plot hole after plot hole, I actually think I have to replace the shocks on my read-a-mobile! It was like "Twenty pages ago you said they met yesterday, but now they've not seen each other in a million years...? wat?" and just little details that made you look back and say that that thing already happened, or that it happened a different way a few minutes ago.
What the author was trying to create will be amazing. My problems were none a round of editing can't fix (I know that's probably so insulting, and I'm sorry, but I don't mean it bad). My last review was on the book Ukiyo, and it's hard to read another book after you love another. So, I'll definitely come back to this series. I want to see where Anna is taking us. I'm interested to see if my opinion on the book changes if I read a book that I didn't fall in love with first.
Okay, my lovelies, I hoped you enjoyed this! I have a surprise for you in just a minute! I'm sorry this review is going up late! I hope you guys have a wonderful 4th of July....if you celebrate it, and I hope you all have a wonderful weekend! We're coming up on our one year blogaversery, so we're planning for that, too!
I'll blog you later, lovelies! Keep your noses in the pages!!
What do you guys think is bigger, us passing 20,000 views, our one year anniversary of CommonBookSense, OR the fact that we posted our 100th review this past Monday?
Archaeology professor by day, backup shooter by night…
On a routine assignment, Ukiyo finds herself dragged into a world of danger and deception when she is forced to pull the trigger and kill a man. Torn between the agency that funds her research and a man she knows nothing about, she has to choose sides in a secret war that dates back hundreds of years.
Guardian, protector, and her own personal demon…
Burislav vowed to watch over her, but hiding his cursed birth right ends up being a secret that could cost Ukiyo her life. When he’s forced out of the shadows after more than twenty years, keeping her safe isn’t as easy as he thinks.
Pre-Review talk, my loves. This is important! This will be our ONE HUNDREDTH REVIEW! We have posted one HUNDRED reviews on CommonBookSense! Can you believe this! It hasn't even been a year! Our goal is to have 200 before we're only a month away from our year blogaversery. Thank you to everyone who has stuck around for our inconsistent postings and the blabberings we call reviews. Thank you and hello to all of the new people who have just discovered our little page of the internet (get it? Page, like a book page?)! To honor our 100th review, we're going to be revamping the blog a bit, just making everything a bit more summery. And, for the next 100 reviews (well, at least mine), I'll post a 'Question of the review'! Hopefully some of you will answer in the comments!
To 100 more <3
This book surprised me. Based solely on the blurb, I honestly wasn't sure if I'd enjoy it or not....but I did, I did, I diiiiiddd. I'm such a sucker for books with mysterious-bad-boy characters. Especially books with a strong female lead....And strong Ukiyo is....and hot/myaterious Buri is!!!!
I can't say very much without giving anything away, but this book will be worth your time. It's action-packed and full of unique (and very developed) characters.
The plot stayed consistent...with some plot twists here and there, which are always much appreciated. The author did a very good job with her foreshadowing. I liked it.
I really liked her twist on standard fantastical creatures....very, very creative views of them.Totally changes the typical Twilight view of things.
The biggest thing for me when reading a book has to be the descriptive text. Without it, readers are seeing nothing but darkness. I didn't see a spot of darkness, or even shade, in Ukiyo. The way the author describes feelings and appearances continually amazed me. I felt like I was THERE, like I was breathing in the characters and their hopes and fears. I felt like I could hear the rustle of the leaves, feel the wind brushing past; I was THERE, guys! Seriously, it was astonishing.
Now, for the question that must always be asked: Will you read the next book??
Heck yeah! I will FOR SURE read the next book! Sadly, unless it's sent in via review request, I won't be able to get to it pretty much until next year haha.
Anyway, the links, and the QOTR (question of the review) will be below. I hope to see you at our TWO hundredth post!
I hope to get to know some of you! Keep your noses in the pages! I'll blog you lovelies later!!
Have you read Twilight? How old were you? Has your opinion changed on it since you first read it?
My answer:
Yes, I've read Twilight.
I was in 5th grade, so about ten?
Yes! I thought they were the best books ever (besides Harry Potter), I read my copy of Breaking Dawn so many times that the front hardcover BROKE OFF! Now, I don't care for it much. I started reading books that, in my opinion, are better written.
Every day is the same: he makes the suns rise and then they set. He looks down at humanity's corruption. He watches wars, people starving, and thieves stealing.
He can't help. Every time he tries, the humans take something from him. They've destroyed his family and he has no doubt that they'd like to destroy him, too.
Adonya is a raven-haired witch with powers that make her as close to a goddess as a human can be. He's wondered what it was like to be with a woman, but all the goddesses are dead.
He can feel it when he touches her—she's as dangerous as all the rest of the humans. Can the power of love join their races together? Or will one of them wind up dead in the end?
**WE WERE GIVEN A FREE COPY OF THIS BOOK IN EXCHANGE
FOR THE FOLLOWING HONEST REVIEW**
I have SO much to say about this book..but first, I must apologize for not posting reviews as much as I should...believe me, Shell has reminded me several times haha. As I stated in a post over the weekend, some medicine my doctor has me taking makes me craazzyyyyyyyy dizzy, and when I try to read it makes me feel like I'm going to puke.
Anyway, you don't care about my sob story, you're here for the review!!
I have read several books similar to this (or so I thought). The whole 'fall in love with an immortal' thing is, albeit, slightly overdone...But some people prefer their steak cooked that way........and some people are vegan (or a vegetarian), but that's beside the point.
I realize that I probably offended one or many of you. If I offended you by saying "vegan" before "vegetarian", I'm sorry....but people would have been offended even if I said vegetarian first.
If you're angry I even brought up vegans/vegetarians, well, it was a fact, and YEW CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH, as someone apparently very famous once said.
Lastly, if you're offended that I mentioned that some people like to eat meat, well, you're just gonna have to suck it up because people eat meat and also because this is the internet and I can say what I want. That is also a fact.
#WhySoSerious #IdoAsIPlease
This book was very unique. All of the books similar to this that I have read have been through the eyes of the one falling in love with said immortal. The mortal with a comparatively shorter life span, might I add....which is typically true when you compare an immortal to a mortal. Who'd have thought? Anyway, as I was saying, this book was different in that aspect. It was through the life of Bright, the god. It was a very new experience, as well as quite humbling, to read something like that.
There were a few awkward parts. For example, the first third of the book is mostly without dialogue, and it was beautifully written, but I found the periods of extended dialogue to be slightly stiff. As well as the fact that the time period where this book takes place is a little lost on me...they spoke with very modern language, so I would picture them in slightly-modern times....but then Bright was wearing robes and a loincloth. I found that it was very jarring to be yanked from the book by something like that..But I found my eyes simply passing over these minor issues as I was thrown hazardously back into the world of Bright and his problems.
I also found Bright to think of things in a rather vulgar way, but it was easy for me to overlook those minor grievances as I was eagerly turning the page. I really like Bright. I found myself comparing him to several of the sun gods I've met on my reading adventures.
I can say, without a doubt, that if E.B. Black decides to send me the next book, that I will pick it up and read it without hesitation. Bright's Passion was a book that I thought about when I wasn't able to read it; I was thinking of what was happening while I was away. The book was very entertaining..And really, that's all that readers ask for.
I'll leave you lovelies with this.
Keep your noses in the pages and I'll blog youuuuu later!!
E.B. Black kindly sent us her bio, so here it is (the one on her Goodreads is amazing, as well, so you should really click that link up there to read it):
E.B. Black is the annoying author who lives in the head of a nerdy housewife named Elizabeth. Elizabeth tries to live out her days by walking her dog, spending time with her husband, doing housework, and watching television, but E.B. Black makes her drop everything to type out weird fantasy stories. Elizabeth is asking anyone who read this to please send help.
Life isn’t exactly normal for Eva Parker: the stronger Eva’s emotions, the faster nearby electrical devices die. Eva can’t have a cell phone, use a computer, or be in a car for more than a few minutes without killing it. Dealing with her electricity-killing curse makes living in modern-day Los Angeles complicated enough for Eva—and that was before she was blackmailed into hiding a stolen baby elephant and partnered with Hudson, a sexy electrical engineer Eva just met.
Dodging repeated attempts on her life made by ruthless corporations hunting the elephant is easier for Eva than quelling her growing affection for Hudson, and while protecting an elephant is hard, controlling her curse is a lot harder. However, Eva must do both, because if she lets her emotions free and falls in love with Hudson, neither of them will survive.
Enchanting and quirky, Tiny Glitches fuses electrifying romance and high-voltage suspense in a rollicking adventure.
So, as you hopefully know, I reviewed Rebecca's OTHER two books last week, A Fistful of Evil and A Fistful of Fire (you can see the respective reviews by clicking the book titles), and she was VERY, VERY nice and offered to send me an ecopy of Tiny Glitches...but I already downloaded it, so there wasn't any need for that.
At first, I was a little worried that Tiny Glitches wouldn't quite live up to the Madison Fox Series because, let's face it, they're some of my favorite books. I was so worried by this that I went to my mom and asked her for advice. She, of course, said I had an obligation to be honest, even if I adore Rebecca Chastain (she is honestly so nice). I knew she was right, but it turned out to be something I really didn't need to worry about.
Tiny Glitches was nothing like any paranormal fantasy book I have ever read, and I have read a LOT. You really can't even compare it to the Madison Fox Series, it's almost like they're written by a totally different author. Sometimes when you read books of the same genre, by the same author, you can see aspects of the other books in the one you're reading and it's not necessarily a bad thing, but it was a surprise to realize that, had I not intentionally downloaded it because she's basically my new favorite fantasy author, I would have never have guessed the same author wrote it. Not only because the books are so different, but also because her characters are complete opposites. It was like she changed her writing style to match the way the current character thinks and talks. I would honestly love to read a book by her that switches P.O.V because I just know it'd be amazing.
In the beginning I was slightly confused about Eva's powers, but I liked the way you just kind of jumped right into the story. And...I mean, an elephant? Powers? Hot guy? Random crazy chick? Handcuffs? Kidnappings? Treason? FBI?? Ninjas?! This story had everything. The only thing missing was Niko, but Hudson helped ease the pain...a little. I just love Niko, okay? You're all just going to have to accept it.
There was a lot going on in this book, and Jenny kept me as confused as she kept Eva and Hudson, which I think might have been the point. In the end, it kinda worked. You figured everything out in the end.
Every time something happened with Eva's powers, and Hudson got annoyed, I was mentally screaming at Eva to stop being so stupid and just tell Hudson about her freaking powers! She kept feeling super bad about it, but instead of helping them both she just let him blame it on poor Kyoko. I mean, the man was totally cool with lots of illegal stuff, why wouldn't he be cool with her powers?
I can't believe Hudson reacted that way when Eva told him! That was such a jerk thing to do! And, it was so obvious that it was her fault about the phones and cars. Her house runs on GAS for crying out loud! It's HIS fault she was kidnapped; if he'd have believed her and stayed the creepy guy wouldn't have been able to snatch her! Stupid Hudson.
In the end, I expected her to get total control of her powers, but it was nice that she didn't. The ending can't be TOO perfect....I was confused about why Eva's aunt had control, but she didn't, but it wasn't enough confusion to overpower the story.
Okay, so, honestly, I want this book to be made into a movie so bad. It'd be hilarious to see a bunch of random stuff floating through the air and the actors trying to ignore it...I want it to happen.
Overall, I really enjoyed reading this book. I found myself daydreaming about what would happen next, instead of doing whatever was keeping me from getting lost in the book. Yet again, Rebecca has greatly impressed me with her ability to describe surroundings in such a way that I never had to ask myself what something looked like. Honestly, whether or not she asks me/us to read/review her books, I'm gonna do it. I love the worlds she creates around her characters and I can't get enough of them.
I can't wait to get lost in her next book, but, unfortunately, I have other books that I must read first. I have to be fair to the other authors...but it'll happen.
Alright, my loves, the links will be below.
Keep your noses in the pages. I'll blog you lovelies later!
