*This book was provided to me by the publisher in exchange for an honest and fair review*
Summary
It starts with a whisper: “It’s time for you to know who you are…”
Violet Eden dreads her seventeenth birthday. After all, it’s hard to get too excited about the day that marks the anniversary of your mother’s death. As if that wasn’t enough, disturbing dreams haunt her sleep and leave her with very real injuries. There’s a dark tattoo weaving its way up her arms that wasn’t there before.
Violet is determined to get some answers, but nothing could have prepared her for the truth. The guy she thought she could fall in love with has been keeping his identity a secret: he’s only half-human—oh, and same goes for her.
A centuries-old battle between fallen angels and the protectors of humanity has chosen its new warrior. It’s a fight Violet doesn’t want, but she lives her life by two rules: don’t run and don’t quit. When angels seek vengeance and humans are the warriors, you could do a lot worse than betting on Violet Eden…
My Thoughts
It's going to be hard to touch on all the things I loved about this book without giving anything away, so if I seem annoyingly vague, I'm sorry. I don't want to spoil it for you.
Embrace is chock-full of intriguing, original angel lore and a steamy love triangle. From the get go Violet is easy to relate to and has a clear, engaging voice.
On Violet's seventeenth birthday her entire world is flipped upside down. Everything she thought she knew has been a lie. She is presented with a disturbing truth and the knowledge that her closest friend isn't at all who she thought he was. Instead of doing a crazy amount of moping, she finds a way to cope and move on with her life. Violet has a great inner strength that isn't as nearly as popular in books as it should be. Don't get me wrong, she has physical strength too, but no matter what gets thrown at her, she picks up the pieces left behind and forges on with minimal complaining. I didn't always agree with her choices, but that was the beauty of Violet. She is who she is and she changes for no one.
The lore in the book is fantastic. It was detailed and highly original. Jessica Shirvington's spin on angels and the fact that they can be good and bad, and one cannot exist without the other was just fantastic to read about. If you enoy angel books this is a must read and if you don't it's still worth it. 5out of 5.
First I want to thank Kate for letting me be a part of the cover reveal for her book!!
Now here's all the good stuff :)
Title: Taste
Author: Kate Evangelista
Summary
At Barinkoff Academy, there's only one rule: no students on campus after curfew. Phoenix McKay soon finds out why when she is left behind at sunset. A group calling themselves night students threaten to taste her flesh until she is saved by a mysterious, alluring boy. With his pale skin, dark eyes, and mesmerizing voice, Demitri is both irresistible and impenetrable. He warns her to stay away from his dangerous world of flesh eaters. Unfortunately, the gorgeous and playful Luka has other plans.
When Phoenix is caught between her physical and her emotional attraction, she becomes the keeper of a deadly secret that will rock the foundations of an ancient civilization living beneath Barinkoff Academy. Phoenix doesn’t realize until it is too late that the closer she gets to both Demitri and Luka the more she is plunging them all into a centuries old feud.
Excerpt
I sat up and followed Calixta’s gaze upward. I rubbed my eyes. I didn’t know what I was seeing at first. A statue? My brain refused to snap together coherent thoughts. I didn’t realize I’d fallen so close to one of the garden benches until I stared up at the boy that sat on one. He was strikingly beautiful. His tumble of blonde hair curled just above his sculpted cheekbones. He wore a silk shirt and a loosened cravat, like he’d become bored while dressing and decided to leave himself in disarray. His ivory skin and frozen position was what had me mistaking him for something carved from marble by Michelangelo. Then he sighed—a lonely, breathy proof of life. If I had to imagine what Lucifer looked like before he fell from heaven, the boy on the bench would certainly fulfill that image. My brain told me I had to look away, but I couldn’t.
“Luka,” Calixta said again, her voice unsure, almost nervous. It no longer contained the steel and bite she had threatened me with, which made me wonder who the boy was.
He leaned on his hands and crossed his legs, all the while keeping his eyes fixed on the night sky. His movements spoke of elegance and control. I’d encountered many people with breeding before, but his took on the air of arrogance and self-assuredness of someone used to getting what he wanted when he wanted it.
I only realized I’d been holding my breath when my lungs protested. I exhaled. My heart sputtered and restarted with a vengeance. Luka tore his gaze away from the stars and settled it on me. I’d expected pitch-black irises, like the other Night Students, but blue ice stared back at me.
“Human,” he whispered.
He reached out, and with a finger, followed an invisible trail down my cheek. I stiffened. His touch, cooler than Demitri’s, caused warm sparks to blossom on my face. He lifted his finger to his lips and licked its tip. He might as well have licked me from the way my body shivered.
Luka’s curious gaze held mine. “Leave us,” he said, but not to me.
“But—” Calixta protested like a spoiled child.
He spoke in a language I hadn’t heard before, remaining calm yet firm. The words had a rolling cadence I couldn’t quite follow, like rumbling thunder in the distance. They contained a harsh sensuality. The consonants were hard and the vowels were long and lilting.
Footsteps retreated behind me.
Luka reached out again.
It took me a minute to realize he wanted to help me up. I hesitated. He smiled. I smiled back timidly and took his hand, completely dazzled. Even with my uniform soaked from melted snow, I didn’t feel cold—all my attention was on him and the way his callused hand felt on mine. Without moving much from his seated position, he helped me stand.
“What’s your name?” he asked. He had a voice like a familiar lullaby. It filled my heart to the brim with comfort.
I swallowed and tried to stop gawking. “Phoenix.”
“The bird that rose from the ashes.” Luka bent his head and kissed the back of my hand. “It’s a pleasure meeting you.”
My cheeks warmed. My head reeled, not knowing what to think. I couldn’t understand why I felt drawn to him. And the strange connection frightened me.
From behind, someone gripped my arms and yanked me away before I could sort out the feelings Luka inspired in me. I found myself behind a towering figure yet again. Recognizing the blue-black silk for hair tied at the nape, relief washed over me. Calixta hadn’t come back to finish me off.
Demitri’s large hand wrapped around my wrist. Unlike the night before, no calm existed in his demeanor. He trembled like a junky in need of a fix. The coiled power in his tense muscles vibrated into me.
“What are you doing here?” Demitri asked.
I didn’t know he’d spoken to me until I saw his expressionless profile. I sighed.
“Phoenix.”
I flinched. The ruthless way he said my name punched all the air out of me. “You owe me answers,” I said with as much bravado as I could muster.
“I owe you nothing.” He glared. “In fact, you owe me your life.”
“I don’t think so.”
Ignoring my indignation, he faced Luka, who’d remained seated on the bench during my exchange with Demitri. “Why is she with you, Luka?”
Trailer
Author Bio
When Kate Evangelista was told she had a knack for writing stories, she did the next best thing: entered medical school. After realizing she wasn't going to be the next Doogie Howser, M.D., Kate wandered into the Literature department of her university and never looked back. Today, she is in possession of a piece of paper that says to the world she owns a Literature degree. To make matters worse, she took Master's courses in creative writing. In the end, she realized to be a writer, none of what she had mattered. What really mattered? Writing. Plain and simple, honest to God, sitting in front of her computer, writing. Today, she has four completed Young Adult novels.
Ever since Kait Swanney could remember, the old crones of the village have been warning her to stay away from the selkies. They claim that like sirens of old, the seal men creep from the inky waters, shed their skins, and entice women to their deaths beneath the North Sea. But avoiding an encounter becomes impossible when Kait is spotted at the water’s edge, moments after the murder of a half-selkie infant.
Kait is woken unexpectedly by a beautiful selkie man seeking revenge. After she declares her innocence, the intruder darts into the night, but not before inadvertently bewitching her with an overpowering lure.
She obsesses over a reunion deep beneath the bay and risks her own life to be reunited with her selkie. But when she lands the dangerous lover, the chaos that follows leaves Kait little time to wonder—is it love setting her on fire or has she simply been lured?
For my part stop in the hop I'm going to give away two books, one for each winner. The first person picked gets to choose between the two books and the second winner gets the other.
I chose these books because they both have strong, butt kicking, female characters that any girl could look up too.
Here are the prizes:
Rules
Giveaway is open to wherever the Book Depository ships
Must be 13 yrs. or older to enter
Must be a blog follower
Reads With Wreckless Abandon is NOT responsible for items lost or damaged in the mail
Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking The Spine
Though I haven't read anything by Kresley Cole (yet), I know that she is very loved in the worl of adult fiction, so I'm super excited for her debut YA novel. Cover boy is also smokin', so that helps ;)
Title: Poison Princess (The Arcana Chronicles #1)
Author: Kresley Cole
Publication Date: October 2, 2012
Published By: Simon & Schuster
Summary
Poison Princess centers on 16-year-old Evangeline "Evie" Greene, a privileged teenager from Louisiana. When an apocalyptic event decimates her hometown, killing everyone she loves, Evie realizes the hallucinations she'd been having for the past year were actually visions of the future — and they're still happening. Fighting for her life and desperate for answers, she must turn to her wrong-side-of-the-bayou classmate: Jack Deveaux. As Jack and Evie race to find the source of her visions, they meet others who have gotten the same call. An ancient prophecy is being played out, and Evie is not the only one with special powers. A group of teens have been chosen to re-enact the ultimate battle between good and evil. But it's not always clear who is on which side…
Not sure what genre this would fall into exactly, maybe a dystopian and fantasy kind of feel, but it sounds great and I'm loving the cover.
Title: Crewel (Crewel World #1)
Author: Gennifer Albin
Publication Date:October 16, 2012
Published By: Farrar, Strauss and Giroux Books
Summary
Incapable. Awkward. Artless.
That’s what the other girls whisper behind her back. But sixteen year-old Adelice Lewys has a secret: she wants to fail.
Gifted with the ability to weave time with matter, she’s exactly what the Guild is looking for, and in the world of Arras, being chosen as a Spinster is everything a girl could want. It means privilege, eternal beauty, and being something other than a secretary. It also means the power to embroider the very fabric of life. But if controlling what people eat, where they live and how many children they have is the price of having it all, Adelice isn’t interested.
Not that her feelings matter, because she slipped and wove a moment at testing, and they’re coming for her—tonight.
Now she has one hour to eat her mom’s overcooked pot roast. One hour to listen to her sister’s academy gossip and laugh at her Dad’s stupid jokes. One hour to pretend everything’s okay. And one hour to escape.
Because once you become a Spinster, there’s no turning back.
In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren
I'm still on my book buying ban but I ordered these from The Book Depository and just recieved them this past week. I can't wait to start them, Rachel Vincent rocks my world!
How does a girl choose between the one who steals her heart and the one who owns her soul?
Matt and Emily were created for a specific job. Raised and trained as the ultimate angel/warrior team, they are sent down to save, defend, judge and forgive, depending on the 'life' they've been assigned. What they don't realize is that the power of human emotions, such as love, anger, passion and fear can take over even the best of souls, causing them to make mistakes and follow paths that lead to confusion and heartache.
When the reason for their training is finally revealed, the angel/warrior team find themselves thrust into a world they know nothing about. Matt takes over the life of Daniel, a young man with a great deal of baggage. Emily becomes Liz, a girl living in a remote village who relies on nothing more than her own strength to survive. A violent storm erupts one night, and framed in the window of Liz's establishment is a frightening face. Let in by the soul of a Good Samaritan, the two visitors bring with them a past full of secrets that could literally change an angel's path and a warrior's plans.
From murder to redemption, this angel/warrior team must find a way to keep the faith they have in each other in a world that's ripping them apart.
My Thoughts
Until Next Time is told in a way that's pretty confusing at first. The Prologue and Epilogue are told first person by Emily, it's essentially the very beginning of everything and the very end. Then the story is told third person, with the book being divided by two places. Matt and Emily the Angels,when they are in heaven. And Liz and Daniel the humans on earth. This drove me a little crazy, it was hard to find my bearings and I lost my curiosity. But, if you keep reading the story actually gets really good. A heartwarming mix of friendship, romance and loyalty.
Once I got into the book I loved the characters. All very unique with very human flaws and interesting quirks. I especially like Faith and Charles, their flirty banter kept me smiling and Liz and Jason, both stubborn and honest keeping me serious.
The Angel lore was an intriguing mix of traditional and original. You could follow along on certain points and be totally surprised on others. This story isn't all Angels though, if you set aside the moments Matt and Emily go home, your left with a story of a group of friends just trying to make it in the world and hold true to their beliefs and each other. The cool thing about the series is every book is going to be about different characters that the souls of Emily and Matt live in, so you'll get something new and exciting every time.
Overall it's a great story. If you're into Angel books or romance you should definitely check it out. Aside from the first third of the book throwing me for a loop I ended up really enjoying it. 4 out of 5.
For the rest of the Until Next Time Tour schedule GO HERE
Waiting On Wednesday is a weekly meme hosted by Jill @ Breaking The Spine
This boo is pretty far off in the future but LOOK at it's cover it's so beautiful!
Title: Renegade
Author: J.A. Souders
Publication Date: November 13, 2012
Published By: Tor Teen
Summary
Since the age of three, sixteen-year-old Evelyn Winters has been trained to be Daughter of the People in the underwater utopia known as Elysium. Selected from hundreds of children for her ideal genes all her life she’s thought that everything was perfect; her world. Her people. The Law.
But when Gavin Hunter, a Surface Dweller, accidentally stumbles into their secluded little world, she’s forced to come to a startling realization: everything she knows is a lie. Her memories have been altered. Her mind and body aren’t under her own control. And the person she knows as Mother is a monster.
Together with Gavin she plans her escape, only to learn that her own mind is a ticking time bomb... and Mother has one last secret that will destroy them all.
I LOVE The Demon Trapper's, Riley is wicked cool, and Beck has that melting rugged quality. So excited for this book!
Title: Foretold (The Demon Trapper's #4)
Author: Jana Oliver
Publication Date: August 2, 2012
Published By: Macmillan Children's Books
Summary
Stand by as Riley prepares to kick some serious demon butt for the last time in this thrilling, dramatic and sexy conclusion to THE DEMON TRAPPERS series. Riley’s always known that Beck had a chequered history, but she’s not prepared for what it actually means to be in love with a guy with this many dark secrets. Now that he’s finally admitted to himself that he’s in love with her too, there’s no more hiding the truth about his past. And as it turns out, fending off a demon apocalypse is nothing compared to what’s to come...
Some great books this week, I'm especially excited about Balthazar. He was my favorite character in Claudia Gray's Evernight novels and I'm glad he gets a chance to be center stage. I'll definitely be picking this up when The Book Buying Ban is lifted lol.
In My Mailbox is a weekly meme hosted by Kristi @ The Story Siren
I've decided to go go on a book buying ban until May 1. This is mostly to save some cash but also to try and cut down my TBR pile and get some books read that have been neglected for too long. Now to see if I can actually handle it.
Q: What book would you love to see made into a movie or television show and do you have actors/actresses in mind to play the main characters?
I know I'm a YA book blog but I also read a lot of adult fiction, mostly Urban Fantasy. Hands down I pick the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning, from the moment I read Darkfever I thought "HBO needs to make this a show!!" In my opinion it would blow True Blood out of the water and I'm a pretty die hard fan of that show. Not to mention Mac could kick Sookie's Ass. Can you imagine getting to LOOK at a real flesh and blood Barron's every week?!?! JESUS, I'd probably die of heart failure. It's impossible to find the right Barron's but I'm gonna give it a shot, please don't be angry if you read the books and I don't do him justice, I don't think anyone could.
NOTE: If you haven't read the Fever series by Karen Marie Moning you are missing out, go do it....Now!
Here goes....
I picked this guy for Jericho because he is smokin' hot
I picked Amber Heard because she could pull of the flirty southern belle, and the kick ass Mack from later in the books.
Now I'm going to attempt V'lane and Danny
Holy Crap, I think I just switched to Team V'lane!
These are my favourite characters from the books but I could go on all night, so I'll just leave it at that.
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