Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas

Heir of Fire by Sarah J. Maas
January 10, 2015
5 out of 5 Stars

GUYS THIS BOOK WAS AMAZING! In the first too books I was surprised on how well Maas was building her world, and she made it clear that this would be a six book series. I was a little suspicious on how she would do that after reading the first book. Most authors tend to drag out their books so that the books will fit into a trilogy when they are meant to be a stand alone, or so on and so forth. But, Maas really know how to bring her books to life! She Is a fantastic writer, she definitely knows how to keep a reader entertained and interested, THE WHOLE BOOK!! Now I'm going to talk about the book so if you haven't read it leave now!

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

Lost and broken, Celaena Sardothien’s only thought is to avenge the savage death of her dearest friend: as the King of Adarlan’s Assassin, she is bound to serve this tyrant, but he will pay for what he did. Any hope Celaena has of destroying the king lies in answers to be found in Wendlyn. Sacrificing his future, Chaol, the Captain of the King’s Guard, has sent Celaena there to protect her, but her darkest demons lay in that same place. If she can overcome them, she will be Adarlan’s biggest threat – and his own toughest enemy. 

While Celaena learns of her true destiny, and the eyes of Erilea are on Wendlyn, a brutal and beastly force is preparing to take to the skies. Will Celaena find the strength not only to win her own battles, but to fight a war that could pit her loyalties to her own people against those she has grown to love?

So, in the previous book Crown of Midnight the king of Adarlan sends Celaena off to kill her aunt. But little did the king know,  really Celaena is going to find her true self there.

In this book there is major character growth. We see the transition of Celaena Sardothien the assassin, to Alein Ashryver Galathynius future queen of Terraasen. In this book she wasn't her usual strong and relentless self. She was broken and trying to find her way. This book shows that Celaena isn't unbreakable. She is still the same snarky, and cocky person in this book. But, the difference is, as she soon finds out is that she is not the best.

Rowan. We meet Rowan at the very beginning of the book when he comes to take Celaena to her aunt. I immediately didn't like him off the bat. When the arrive to meet her aunt, Celaena finds out that he is a very distant cousin from her, and that he will help her train. When her aunt said train I was confused, and I immediately thought back to the first book. So, yes train. Rowan has to train Celaena up to par, so she can get the answers she needs.

To be honest Rowan is my second favorite character in this series, beside Celaena. These two fight consistently. He calls her a coward to her face, calls her useless, pitiful, a brat. But, even though these two fight consistently, you can just tell there is a connection there. I really hated his character during the first half of the book, every time he got pissed at Celaena for not doing something right and called her a coward, my heart actually hurt for her. But, during the second part of the book, he was sweet, calm, and patient with her. And you could tell the difference it was making in her training too. She went from being a closed out rock to a woman who could use her flames correctly and efficiently.

I can totally feel a relationship brewing between these too. I like him more than I like Dorian or Chaol. He's strong, and knowledgeable and broken just like Celaena. They help each other, mend each other's inner demons. They don't let each other fall down, and that's just what both of them need. I'm really excited for the next book to see more of Rowan and Celaena.

So this fight Scene at the end. With the dark princes. Holy Crap! It was full out madness. During her fighting the princes she is witnessing memories of her past, things she hasn't really faced till now. And those memories are what is pushing her forward. But, Celaena is about to burn out and when she does she collapses, and she witnesses the worst memory of them all. Her parents death. She can see everything. After that memory she can see hear the ghosts of everyone shes lost, and she get up. During this fight Rowan is trying to help her, but his friends are holding him back because they think she's dead. But shes not. When they see an ark of light they know that shes alive. And Rowan and Celaena make a connection 'a rare connection' and share each others magic to kill the .

This book was seriously intense. Even though it took me a while to get into, I'm glad I finished it! Just read it. I consistently recommend this to my friends, and they all love it. So you should read this book too!

Too hot to handle by Katie Rose

Too Hot to Handle by Katie Rose
ARC recieved by NetGalley
Read on: January 7th, 2015
DNF 33%

I didn't finish this book. Normally I'm into the whole 'I'm a player turned lover' story. But, this book just didn't do it for me.

Nikki Case is no fan of baseball. Her ex gambled away a fortune on the sport, and now her PR firm has tasked her with cleaning up the league’s most notorious bad boys. The New Jersey Sonics are known for wild womanizing and booze-fueled brawls, so Nikki expects the worst. Her first stop in the battle to win hearts and minds is star hitter Jake Baldwin—a legendary ladies man so smokin’ he threatens to melt her tough-girl armor.
 
Although his teammates prank her without mercy, Jake admires the way Nikki gives as good as she gets. She may be the queen of frost, but there’s kindling beneath those sultry curves—and he’s just the man to ignite it. But when a PR nightmare lands the Sonics in headlines across the country, Nikki is ready to walk. Only then does Jake realize how important she is to the Sonics’ success—and that winning the love of a good woman is no game.

There isn't much I can say about this book. I just didn't like it. And to be honest, I don't really like reading her style of writing, was it first person? Was it third person? I have no idea, It was back and forth.

Also, the way she set up the characters. I didn't like Jake at all, he was way to cocky. Even though he did have a soft spot, he liked talking to his fans, and loved his teammates and team. I just didn't enjoy reading about him.  Also, I didn't like Nikki either. Too uptight, at the beginning. I just didn't like her either. Just all around this book didn't amaze me like I thought it would.

I wouldn't recommend this to a friend. But, feel free to read this book. Just because I didn't like it, Does not mean you wont.

~Alysia

Ravencliffe by Carol Goodman

Ravencliffe by Carol Goodman
January 9, 2015
4.5 out of 5 Stars

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

So, this book was intense. It was another fantastic installment to Goodman's Blythewood series. Not only did it keep me drawn into the book through out the whole book, but it kept me on the edge of my seat, waiting to find out what would happen next.

She’s a student at Blythewood Academy, an elite boarding school that trains young women to defend human society from the shadowy forces that live among us.  After the devastating events of her first year at Blythewood, Ava is eager to reunite with her friends—and with Raven, the compelling but elusive winged boy who makes her pulse race. She soon discovers, though, that the sinister Judicus van Drood hasn’t finished wreaking havoc on Blythewood—and wants to use Ava and her classmates to attack a much bigger target.

Ava’s the only one with any hope of stopping van Drood. But to scuttle his plans, she must reveal her deepest secret to everyone at Blythewood. What’s she willing to sacrifice to do what’s right—her school?  Her love?  Or her life?

I read Blythewood a few days ago and I found it intriguing, how Goodman put forth the story. I felt as if Blythewood (The first book) was one of those openers that lead to a series that got better and better.  And it did! I was delighted to find out that this book 'unlike most series second books' kept me enthralled.

In the first book the romance was there but definitely was not the main plot of the story. I definitely a romance kind of person, so I was worried that this was one of those insta-love books 'which I despise'. But it definitely wasn't. Throughout the second book you can see that Ava is falling more and more in love with Raven. He even takes her to meet his parents. Even if it was one of the most unconventional ways of meeting. Raven teaches Ava how to fly with her new wings. I felt as if their bond grew over the story, and is leading somewhere great.

Lets talk about Ava's new set of wings. At the end of the first book we find out that her father is a Darkling, and that she is half Darkling. It wasn't a big surprise, the whole first book was kind of leading up to that reveal. So when the first book started, you could see that Ava was uncomfortable. She had tightness in her shoulder blades that wouldn't go away. So when her wings finally set loose, she tried to keep them hidden, causing her pain because she wouldn't let them out. When Ava goes into the woods to meet Raven in his tree house escape he shows her what her wings look like. She is apparently a Phoenix, her wings bright golden orange. Shes beautiful.

In this book Goodman finally reveals who her father is. Due to her father 'sorry I forgot his name' being in love with Ava's mother he was exiled from the woods, and the Darklings 'clan'. Apparently Ava's father had no idea she was even alive, till her mother died. When Ava is sucked into a dream light state, she ends up on the titanic while its sinking. She was following the librarian who had a book Ava wanted, she wanted to know where he hid it to keep it safe. Ava was about to be sucked down by a kraken, and a Darkling saved her, taking a piece of her soul with her. After she wakes up she becomes very ill, and Raven sets off to find Ava's father, because he's the one who saved  her. When Raven arrives home, he comes with her father, and Ava gets her soul back. I thought that this was one of those moments in the book where you could just appreciate that she found her father.

Then there is Van Drood, the evil man who's been taking children for his own personal gain. When he ends up successfully taking girls straight from Blythwood school, he takes them to his school that's basically in hell and takes Raven along with him. Ava has to go down there and save them, but only finds Raven when she arrives. Van Drood has taken the girls to the grand opening of a new building that Blythewood is investing in, he plans to blow it up. Eventually leading to the downfall of Blythewood school. But, as we all know that doesn't end up happening and Ava saves the day.

Over all I gave this book a 4.5 out of 5 Stars. I definitely would recommend this to a friend. It had a great plot and I can't wait for the next book.

~ Alysia

Blythewood By Carol Goodman

Blythewood by Carol Goodman
January 6, 2014
4.5 out of 5 Stars

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Let me just start off by saying, holy crap! I was definitely not expecting for Goodman to take this book to the places I didn't expect. I thought this was going to be another one of "those books" that took place in a boarding school, and something bad happens in the story and everything goes to shit, then by the end everything is fine. Nope, not this book. It took an unexpected twist when it introduced paranormal entities who lived in the woods.

Welcome to Blythewood.

At seventeen, Avaline Hall has already buried her mother, survived a horrific factory fire, and escaped from an insane asylum. Now she’s on her way to Blythewood Academy, the elite boarding school in New York’s mist-shrouded Hudson Valley that her mother attended—and was expelled from. Though she’s afraid her high society classmates won’t accept a factory girl in their midst, Ava is desperate to unravel her family’s murky past, discover the identity of the father she’s never known, and perhaps finally understand her mother’s abrupt suicide. She’s also on the hunt for the identity of the mysterious boy who rescued her from the fire. And she suspects the answers she seeks lie at Blythewood.    

But nothing could have prepared her for the dark secret of what Blythewood is, and what its students are being trained to do. Haunted by dreams of a winged boy and pursued by visions of a sinister man who breathes smoke, Ava isn't sure if she’s losing her mind or getting closer to the truth. And the more rigorously Ava digs into the past, the more dangerous her present becomes.

At the beginning of the story we learn that Ava was working at a factory stitching waistcoats. She was a hard worker, and was very good at her job. But when she sees a man lurking off talking to her boss she feels nervous, and she hears a distinct ringing in her head, a brass bell. She was shaken out of her trance by a mysterious boy who told her to get out of the building as fast as she could. She did, but was only caught by the blazing flames as the factory lit up. Her friends were jumping from windows and plummeting to the ground, trying to save them self's from being burned alive. Then she is taken away by the same boy who had told her to leave the building before. He saves her life, but not without consequences.

Honestly, I think the beginning of this book is riveting. It was a very strong way to begin a book, especially a fire the killed hundreds of people. Then Goodman took it to the next level and put her into an insane asylum for 5 months, and Ava didn't even know that was the amount of time she had been staying there. Holy shiz on a cracker.

I was truly surprised by this book. The Gothic theme that it had going for it, worked very well with the story. The folklore and all the different story telling's in the book also surprised me. Normally I'm not a fan of reading folklore or reading about stories that took place in the past. The story about the 7 sisters who made the bells for the kingdom was interesting, and I still don't know what happened to the 7th sister, did she get killed by The Darklings or was she saved by them?

 Then there is the man who keeps following her, the very same man that followed her mother. As the story progresses you see this man more and more, and she learns that this man is pure evil, the man with the billowing smoke. Let me just say, This thing or whatever it is, is C.R.A.Z.Y. Turns out he was her mothers teacher from when she went to Blythewood. He loved her, but she loved someone else.

Not only was this story about her hunting the paranormal entities. But, it was also about Ava's search for her father. Towards the end of the book, she finds a paper that says the entities that was following her mother and herself around was her father. But little did she know, she was wrong. At the end of the book you find out from Raven who her father really is. Her father is one of The Darklings. The very things Ava is taught to kill and protect the world from at Blythewood.

Blythewood. A boarding school. A boarding school that teaches young girls how to kill the fey. Their whole society is based on the story of the 7 bells. Not only do they try to keep girls from finding out the truth about SOME of the creatures in the forest, but they threaten them. Threaten to expel them if the disobey what they are being told to do. To be honest, I definitely would NOT want to go to Blythewood.

But yes, back to the boy who saved Ava's life. Raven. He is one of The Darkling's that live in the forest. He is what is considered evil, even though he is not. Turns out Ava wasn't as crazy as the doctors at the insane asylum thought she was. He is not evil, he is just cursed. Cursed to never return to Faerie, along with the rest of his kind. He is kind, sweet, and risks a lot to save Ava from different events that happen in the story.

So by the end we find out that Ava's father is not the man with the billowing smoke. But, he is one of The Darkling's. Not only is her father a Darkling, but so is Ava. You kind of figured this out towards the middle of the story, but you don't really know till the end when Raven tells her. There is still a possibility that Raven is lying, but who knows I guess i'll have to read the next book.

Yes, I seriously would recommend this book to a friend. It was fantastic! It had me hooked from the very first page. Also, don't get me wrong, the cover also is what made me read it too, ITS BEAUTIFUL! Happy Reading!

~ Alysia

Favorite Adult Books of 2014

All of these books were fantastic! Since this Is my first year I've gotten into reading, I've only had the pleasure of reading a few good adult books. I know that I only have a few posts at this time on my blog, and that's because I just started this blog. I will keep you all updated In the future of the books I read, as soon as I read them! Happy Reading!

Filthy Rich by Dawn Ryder

Filthy Rich by Dawn Ryder
ARC recieved by NetGalley
January 2, 2015
2 out of 5 Stars

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!

Well this was one of those books where It's hard for me to get into. Up until this book I had yet to read any books written by Dawn Ryder. Even though this book seamed like two diffrent books, the first part of the book in Alaska, and the second part when she headed back to LA. I wouldn't have continued If I hadn't reached that second part.

SHE'S FIGHTING FOR CONTROL...

Celeste Connor swore that she'd never be a victim again. After the hell of her abusive ex, the last thing she needs is to be under another man's thumb. But when she catches the eye of fiercely dominant Nartan Lupan at her best friend's wedding, Celeste finds herself drawn into a glittering world of wealth and power that has her body aching and her mind reeling.

HE'S FIGHTING TO MAKE HER HIS...

Nartan is a filthy rich businessman who works hard, plays harder, and doesn't take no for an answer-and he wants Celeste with a hunger he's never before felt. He'll do whatever it takes to have her. But Nartan didn't expect that he'd want still more...

You can tell that Celeste had her gaurd up due to her ex, that abbusive fucker (Pardon my french). I mean I do understand that it was just something she formed to protect herself from people so they couldn't hurt her like her ex did. She was closed off emotionally and didn't really like talking to  people.

While at her best friends wedding in Alaska she meets a man named Taran. It was basically insta-love. I hate insta-love. When she tries to push him away, he doesn't stay away. When she wants alone time, he follows her. I mean whats up with him following her through the woods at the beginning of the book. I was thoroughly frustrated with this book.

I normally don't do those insta-love books. The whole 'as soon as we met each other's eyes I was planning my wedding' sort of deal is not my cup of tea. Even though I didn't like this particular book, don't stop that from dictating whether or not you read it.

Come By: Becca Jameson

Come by Becca Jameson
January 2, 2015
4 out of 5 Stars

SPOILERS AHEAD!!!!

Man was this book HOT! There is a definite chance that I will read the next book. This was a great read. It kept me entertained the whole time. Lets not forget about how hot this cover is too. I honestly think that the cover is what made me buy the book In the first place.

Katy Marks has worked hard for years to make partner at her law firm and be accepted in a man’s world. She hasn’t had much time for play. Now she has a stalker, one of the firm’s partners who hopes to entice her to gain promotion by sleeping with him. Backed into a corner, she grabs an unexpected opportunity. She wards off his unwanted advances by plastering herself against the sexy man leaning casually against the wall outside her uncle’s gym.

Rafe Wesson is stunned by one look at the sexy woman so totally out of place in the gym and finds himself flattened by his best friend and sparring partner. Scrambling to ensure he gets a chance to speak with her, he instead finds himself KO’d by a kiss that rocks his world and hardens him in all the right places.

Katy isn’t Rafe’s type. She’s far too innocent. Besides, she’s the gym owner’s niece. But two dates don’t dampen his desire or release her from his thoughts. Rafe has personal rules against sleeping with a woman before they are fully informed about his dominant ways. But Katy is testing his patience. She wants him, but he fears she won’t be as persistent when she finds out about his preferred lifestyle.

Rafe tries to step away from her, but he can’t ignore the unknown threat that stalks her, and time is running out. Someone wants Katy dead. And Rafe wants Katy...very much alive.

 Lets start out talking about Rafe. When we first meet him he's the MMA fighter, you don't really find out that he Is a Dom till later In the book. He claims that he's some beast, that he can only control his domineering side for so long. But, as you can tell when you read the book he does a very good job at controlling it. He doesn't really lose control, I'm proud that he was able to withstand Katy's persistent attitude to get into his pants so long.

When Rafe and Katy first met It was due to some sociopath that was following Katy and she took charge and basically made out with Rafe right in front of her uncles gym. You could tell that Rafe really cared for Katy by the way he would talk about her, how he consistently thought about what she thought about his lifestyle. He didn't want to tell her because he thought she was the one. But, little did he know was that she would completely and utterly blow his mind when she basically accepts his lifestyle for what It Is and joins him. I also loved how sweet Rafe was with Katy, he was very protective.

 I loved how forward they were with each other. There was a lot of communication, the fact that these people actually talked to each other, and told each other what they did and didn't want was amazing.

Some of you might be thinking 'Oh, this Is a Dom/Sub story, I don't want to read about that.' It really Isn't all about BDSM. It's not the overpowering at all unlike In most BDSM novels. In most BDSM novels the Dom Is extremely controlling, and I felt like Rafe wasn't that controlling at all. There Is no flogging or whipping or anything of that genre, accept for what happens at the club and It's done to other women.

Although this book took me a bit of time to get invested into It, It was well worth it. I would diffidently recommend this book to a friend. The only reason this book didn't get a five star rating is because I thought it was a bit to short. If it happened to be longer and delved into Rafe and Katy's relationship more I would have happily stamped this with a five star rating. Thanks For Reading!

- Alysia