World After (Penryn & the End of Days, #2) by Susan Ee

In this sequel to the bestselling fantasy thriller, Angelfall, the survivors of the angel apocalypse begin to scrape back together what's left of the modern world.

When a group of people capture Penryn's sister Paige, thinking she's a monster, the situation ends in a massacre. Paige disappears. Humans are terrified. Mom is heartbroken.

Penryn drives through the streets of San Francisco looking for Paige. Why are the streets so empty? Where is everybody? Her search leads her into the heart of the angels' secret plans where she catches a glimpse of their motivations, and learns the horrifying extent to which the angels are willing to go.

Meanwhile, Raffe hunts for his wings. Without them, he can't rejoin the angels, can't take his rightful place as one of their leaders. When faced with recapturing his wings or helping Penryn survive, which will he choose?

• Genre: Paranormal, Supernatural, Dystopia, Urban Fantasy, Dark, Post apocalyptic
• Creatures: angels
• Age: young adult
• Source: owned ebook 
• Read from November 21 to 23, 2013

FINAL RATING: ★★★★/★★★★★

Legend: Collector's Edition by Marie Lu

A collectors edition of Marie Lu's acclaimed first novel, with bonus material not available in the mass market version.

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Full of nonstop action, suspense, and romance, this novel is sure to move readers as much as it thrills.

• Genre: Dystopia, Romance, Science Fiction, Futuristic Earth, Post Apocalyptic
• Age: young adult
• Source: Arc of Collector's edition received for an honest review from Gauntlet Press, thank you.
• Read from October 03 to 14, 2013

FINAL RATING: ★★★★/★★★★★

Sweet Release (Blakewell/Kenleigh Family Trilogy #1) by Pamela Clare

For five pounds in cash, the convict was hers. Though Cassie hated the slave trade, her Virginia plantation demanded the labor, and she knew this fevered man would surely die if she left him. But as his wounds healed and his muscled chest bronzed in the sun, Cassie realized Cole Braden was far more dangerous than his papers had indicated—for he could steal her breath with a glance and lay siege to her senses with a touch.

Abducted, beaten, and given a new name, Alec went from master of an English shipbuilding empire to fourteen years of indentured servitude in the American colonies. There, he was known as Cole Braden, a convicted ravisher and defiler of women. And while he longed to ravish the auburn-haired beauty who owned him, he knew his one hope of earning her love—and his freedom—was to prove his true identity. Only then could he turn the tables and attain his ... Sweet Release.

• Genre:Historical, Romance, Suspense
• Age: adult
• Source: owned ebook
• Read from July 13 to 14, 2013

  FINAL RATING: ★★★★/★★★★★

On the Island (On the Island #1) by Tracey Garvis-Graves

When thirty-year-old English teacher Anna Emerson is offered a job tutoring T.J. Callahan at his family's summer rental in the Maldives, she accepts without hesitation; a working vacation on a tropical island trumps the library any day.

T.J. Callahan has no desire to leave town, not that anyone asked him. He's almost seventeen and if having cancer wasn't bad enough, now he has to spend his first summer in remission with his family - and a stack of overdue assignments - instead of his friends.

Anna and T.J. are en route to join T.J.'s family in the Maldives when the pilot of their seaplane suffers a fatal heart attack and crash-lands in the Indian Ocean. Adrift in shark-infested waters, their life jackets keep them afloat until they make it to the shore of an uninhabited island. Now Anna and T.J. just want to survive and they must work together to obtain water, food, fire, and shelter.

Their basic needs might be met but as the days turn to weeks, and then months, the castaways encounter plenty of other obstacles, including violent tropical storms, the many dangers lurking in the sea, and the possibility that T.J.'s cancer could return. As T.J. celebrates yet another birthday on the island, Anna begins to wonder if the biggest challenge of all might be living with a boy who is gradually becoming a man.

• Genre: Romance, Contemporary, Survival, Drama
• Age: New adult
• Source: owned ebook 
• Read from July 09 to 10, 2013
• Buddy read with my darlings Nab & Basuhi & Pavlina, Jerry aka 9 3/4 and Monisha (click on names to see their reviews)

FINAL RATING: ★★★★/★★★★★

Fallen Too Far (Too Far, #1) by Abbi Glines

To want what you’re not supposed to have…

She is only nineteen.

She is his new stepfather’s daughter.

She is still naïve and innocent due to spending the last three years taking care of her sick mother.

But for twenty-four year old Rush Finlay, she is the only thing that has ever been off limits. His famous father’s guilt money, his mother’s desperation to win his love, and his charm are the three reasons he has never been told no.

Blaire Wynn left her small farmhouse in Alabama, after her mother passed away, to move in with her father and his new wife in their sprawling beach house along the Florida gulf coast. She isn’t prepared for the lifestyle change and she knows she’ll never fit into this world. Then there is her sexy stepbrother who her father leaves her with for the summer while he runs off to Paris with his wife. Rush is as spoiled as he is gorgeous. He is also getting under her skin. She knows he is anything but good for her and that he’ll never be faithful to anyone. He is jaded and has secrets Blaire knows she may never uncover but even knowing all of that…

Blaire just may have fallen too far.

• Genre: Romance, Drama
• Age: New adult / Mature Young adult
• Source: owned ebook 
• Read from April 11 to 12, 2013

FINAL RATING: ★★★★/★★★★★

Incursion by Aleksandr Voinov

When the local authorities ask Kyle Juenger to hunt a shape-shifting Glyrinny spy, he can't refuse. After all, he can use the reward to replace his paralyzed legs with cyberware, and maybe even to return to his home planet. Besides, he hates the morphs-those invasive, brain-eating monstrosities whose weapons cost him his legs.

Kyle's best lead is the Scorpion, a mercenary ship armed to the teeth. Grimm, the "Scorpion's" pilot and captain, fascinates Kyle. He's everything Kyle lost with his legs, and he's from the same home world. He's also of the warrior caste-half priest, half savior. But Grimm's been twisted by life as a merc, and Kyle's stuck undercover as a criminal on the run.

That doesn't stop Grimm from coming on to Kyle, or from insisting he's more than the sum of his past and his useless legs. But Kyle has other concerns-like tracking a dangerous morph who could be wearing anyone's face. And as if things weren't complicated enough, Kyle can't tell if Grimm is part of the solution . . . or part of the problem.

• Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Romance, Science Fiction (Space)
• Creatures: shapeshifters 
• Age: adult, Glbt
• Source: owned ebook
• Read on February 23, 2013

FINAL RATING: ★★★★/★★★★★

Cut & Run (Cut & Run #1) by Abigail Roux & Madeleine Urban

"Cut & Run Series: Book One"

A series of murders in New York City has stymied the police and FBI alike, and they suspect the culprit is a single killer sending an indecipherable message. But when the two federal agents assigned to the investigation are taken out, the FBI takes a more personal interest in the case.

Special Agent Ty Grady is pulled out of undercover work after his case blows up in his face. He's cocky, abrasive, and indisputably the best at what he does. But when he's paired with Special Agent Zane Garrett, it's hate at first sight. Garrett is the perfect image of an agent: serious, sober, and focused, which makes their partnership a classic clich: total opposites, good cop-bad cop, the odd couple. They both know immediately that their partnership will pose more of an obstacle than the lack of evidence left by the murderer.

Practically before their special assignment starts, the murderer strikes again this time at them. Now on the run, trying to track down a man who has focused on killing his pursuers, Grady and Garrett will have to figure out how to work together before they become two more notches in the murderer's knife.

• Genre: Mystery, Suspense, Contemporary, Romance
• Age: adult, Glbt
• Source: owned ebook 
• Recommended to Kristalia by: Rain ~miss kinky knickers~
• Read on February 19, 2013

FINAL RATING: ★★★★/★★★★★

Old Blood (Experiment in Terror #5.5) by Karina Halle

 

A haunting novella from the Experiment in Terror Series...

From her harrowing introduction in Darkhouse, the spectre known as “Creepy Clown Lady” has been a constant fixture in Perry Palomino’s life. But beyond the horrid makeup and piercing stare lies Pippa, a woman just like everyone else.

Well, not quite.

When Perry discovered Pippa’s message to her and Dex on the EVP recordings, she thought she heard the last of the old woman’s message. She was wrong. In the novella Old Blood, Pippa relays the tale of her troubled and tortured past, revealing how an aspiring actress and loving mother fell into madness and how an unfathomable betrayal led to her untimely death.

For Perry, the repercussions of her message are life-shattering.

Old Blood is #5.5 in the series and occurs between books #5 On Demon Wings and #6 Into the Hollow.

• Genre: Paranormal Romance, Horror, Supernatural, Mystery
• Creatures:  ghosts and demons 
• Age: new adult/ adult
• Source: owned ebook
• Read from June 09 to 10, 2013

And the Buddy Read continues with the great Vilda!!

FINAL RATING: ★★★★/★★★★★

Obsession by Jennifer L. Armentrout

 

He’s arrogant, domineering, and... To. Die. For.

Hunter is a ruthless killer. And the Department of Defense has him firmly in their grasp, which usually doesn’t chafe too badly because he gets to kill bad guys. Most of the time he enjoys his job. That is, until he’s saddled with something he’s never had to do before: protect a human from his mortal enemy.

Serena Cross didn’t believe her best friend when she claimed to have seen the son of a powerful senator turn into something... unnatural. Who would? But then she witnesses her friend’s murder at the hands of what can only be an alien, thrusting her into a world that will kill to protect their secret.

Hunter stirs Serena’s temper and her lust despite their differences. Soon he’s doing the unthinkable—breaking the rules he’s lived by, going against the government to keep Serena safe. But are the aliens and the government the biggest threats to Serena’s life… or is it Hunter?

• Genre:Paranormal, Science fiction, Romance, Supernatural, Urban Fantasy
• Creatures: Aliens
• Age: adult
• Source: owned ebook
• Read from June 01 to 04, 2013

FINAL RATING: ★★★★/★★★★★

Opal (Lux, #3) by Jennifer L. Armentrout

No one is like Daemon Black.

When he set out to prove his feelings for me, he wasn’t fooling around. Doubting him isn’t something I’ll do again, and now that we’ve made it through the rough patches, well... There’s a lot of spontaneous combustion going on.

But even he can’t protect his family from the danger of trying to free those they love.

After everything, I’m no longer the same Katy. I’m different... And I’m not sure what that will mean in the end. When each step we take in discovering the truth puts us in the path of the secret organization responsible for torturing and testing hybrids, the more I realize there is no end to what I’m capable of. The death of someone close still lingers, help comes from the most unlikely source, and friends will become the deadliest of enemies, but we won’t turn back. Even if the outcome will shatter our worlds forever.

Together we’re stronger... and they know it.

• Genre:Paranormal, Science fiction, Romance, Supernatural, Urban Fantasy
• Creatures: Aliens
• Age: mature young adult
• Source: owned ebook
• Read from June 01 to 02, 2013

FINAL RATING: ★★★★/★★★★★

Old Blood (Experiment in Terror, #5.5) by Karina Halle

 

 A haunting novella from the Experiment in Terror Series...

From her harrowing introduction in Darkhouse, the spectre known as “Creepy Clown Lady” has been a constant fixture in Perry Palomino’s life. But beyond the horrid makeup and piercing stare lies Pippa, a woman just like everyone else.

Well, not quite.

When Perry discovered Pippa’s message to her and Dex on the EVP recordings, she thought she heard the last of the old woman’s message. She was wrong. In the novella Old Blood, Pippa relays the tale of her troubled and tortured past, revealing how an aspiring actress and loving mother fell into madness and how an unfathomable betrayal led to her untimely death.

For Perry, the repercussions of her message are life-shattering.

Old Blood is #5.5 in the series and occurs between books #5 On Demon Wings and #6 Into the Hollow

• Genre: Horror, Supernatural, Mystery
• Age: mature young adult / adult
• Source: owned ebook 
• Read in February, 2013

FINAL RATING: ★★★★/★★★★★

The Benson (Experiment in Terror #2.5) by Karina Halle

A short, sexy and scary read.

The Benson hotel in Portland, Oregon might look like your ordinary, swanky turn-of-the century hotel, but deep in the heart of this historic icon, lie a few restless souls with secrets that won't stay buried.

Amateur ghost hunters (and your favorite "will they or won't they" pair) Perry Palomino and Dex Foray spend an evening exploring the hotel for their Internet show "Experiment in Terror" - but this is no ordinary hotel and this is no ordinary episode. There's someone here in the Benson, someone dead, who will push the boundaries of what the duo know about ghosts and challenge Perry's very notion of the truth.

The Benson is a short novella in the Experiment in Terror Series. It occurs between books #2 (Red Fox) and #3 (Dead Sky Morning) but can also be read as a standalone and is the perfect primer for anyone interested in the best-selling series.

• Genre: Paranormal, Horror, Supernatural, Mystery
• Creatures: ghosts
• Age: mature young adult / adult
• Source: owned ebook 
• Note: short story
• Read in February 13, 2013
   

FINAL RATING: ★★★★/★★★★★

The Iron Daughter (The Iron Fey, #2) by Julie Kagawa

Half Summer faery princess, half human, Meghan has never fit in anywhere. Deserted by the Winter prince she thought loved her, she is prisoner to the Winter faery queen.

As war looms between Summer and Winter, Meghan knows that the real danger comes from the Iron fey—ironbound faeries that only she and her absent prince have seen. But no one believes her.

Worse, Meghan's own fey powers have been cut off. She's stuck in Faery with only her wits for help. 

Trusting anyone would be foolish. Trusting a seeming traitor could be deadly. But even as she grows a backbone of iron, Meghan can't help but hear the whispers of longing in her all-too-human heart.

• Genre: Fantasy, Contemporary,Urban fantasy, Magic, Paranormal, Romance, Supernatural
• Creatures: faeries
• Age: mature young adult
• Source: owned ebook 
• Read from May 10 to 12, 2013

FINAL RATING: ★★★★/★★★★★

Full Tilt by Neal Shusterman

Sixteen-year-old Blake and his younger brother, Quinn, are exact opposites. Blake is the responsible member of the family. He constantly has to keep an eye on the fearless Quinn, whose thrill-seeking sometimes goes too far.

 But the stakes get higher when Blake has to chase Quinn into a bizarre phantom carnival that traps its customers forever.In order to escape, Blake must survive seven deadly rides by dawn, each of which represents a deep, personal fear -- from a carousel of stampeding animals to a hall of mirrors that changes people into their deformed reflections.

 Blake ultimately has to face up to a horrible secret from his own past to save himself and his brother -- that is, if the carnival doesn't claim their souls first!

• Genre: Fantasy, Horror, Dark, Suspense,Mystery
• Age: Young Adult
• Source: owned ebook
• Read on November 29, 2012

FINAL RATING: ★★★★/★★★★★

Cinder (Lunar Chronicles #1) by Marissa Meyer

 

Humans and androids crowd the raucous streets of New Beijing. A deadly plague ravages the population.

 From space, the ruthless lunar people watch, waiting to make their move. No one knows that Earth’s fate hinges on one girl. . . .

Cinder, a gifted mechanic, is a cyborg. She’s a second-class citizen with a mysterious past, reviled by her stepmother and blamed for her stepsister’s illness. 

But when her life becomes intertwined with the handsome Prince Kai’s, she suddenly finds herself at the center of an intergalactic struggle, and a forbidden attraction.

 Caught between duty and freedom, loyalty and betrayal, she must uncover secrets about her past in order to protect her world’s future.

• Genre:Paranormal, Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Dystopia,Science Fiction
• Creatures: Robots, Aliens, genetic manipulations
  
• Age: young adult
• Source: owned ebook 
• Read from December 15 to 20, 2012

FINAL RATING: ★★★★/★★★★★

The Space Between (The Book of Phoenix, #1) by Kristie Cook

 When Life Falls to Pieces, Answers Lie in the Space Between

After a month-long dance tour through Italy, 20-year-old Leni Drago returns to Georgia to care for her great-uncle, only to find him gone, the home they shared empty and any evidence he ever existed wiped out. All that’s left is a journal she can’t open.

Jeric Winters has been searching for a piece of his past for over a year, only to reach a dead-end in Georgia. When an urgent and magnetic pull draws him out of his hotel room, he comes face-to-face with the beautiful dancer who’s been haunting his dreams day and night.

Jeric’s one to stay away from—a bad-boy, hit-it-and-quit-it type—but Leni can’t escape the fervent feelings between them. As their own existences begin to crumble around them and shadowy forms that are more monsters than men attack, they realize there’s more to the connection between them than physical fascination.

To solve the riddle their lives have become, they must embark on a journey that requires them to face their pasts and release their true souls. And they must do it fast—dark ones from another world are closing in, intent on killing them. Permanently.

• Genre:  Fantasy, Paranormal Romance, Mystery
• Age: mature young adult
• Source: owned ebook 
• Read from April 19 to 21, 2013

FINAL RATING: ★★★★/★★★★★

Legend (Legend, #1) by Marie Lu

What was once the western United States is now home to the Republic, a nation perpetually at war with its neighbors. Born into an elite family in one of the Republic’s wealthiest districts, fifteen-year-old June is a prodigy being groomed for success in the Republic’s highest military circles. Born into the slums, fifteen-year-old Day is the country’s most wanted criminal. But his motives may not be as malicious as they seem.

From very different worlds, June and Day have no reason to cross paths—until the day June’s brother, Metias, is murdered and Day becomes the prime suspect. Caught in the ultimate game of cat and mouse, Day is in a race for his family’s survival, while June seeks to avenge Metias’s death. But in a shocking turn of events, the two uncover the truth of what has really brought them together, and the sinister lengths their country will go to keep its secrets.

Full of nonstop action, suspense, and romance, this novel is sure to move readers as much as it thrills.

• Genre: Dystopia, Romance, Science Fiction, Futuristic Earth, Post Apocalyptic
• Age: young adult
• Source: owned ebook 
• Read from February 12 to 13, 2013

FINAL RATING: ★★★★/★★★★★

Crossing the Line (Pushing the Limits, #1.5) by Katie McGarry

 Katie McGarry captivated readers with her “riveting, emotional”* Young Adult debut, Pushing the Limits. In this gripping novella, she tells the story of Lila and Lincoln, who discover that sometimes it’s worth crossing the line for love…

Lila McCormick, Echo's best friend from Pushing the Limits, first met Lincoln Turner when tragedy struck both their lives. But she never expected their surprise encounter would lead to two years of exchanging letters—or that she’d fall for the boy she’s only seen once. Their relationship is a secret, but Lila feels closer to Lincoln than anyone else. Until she finds out that he lied to her about the one thing she depended on him for the most.

Hurting Lila is the last thing Lincoln wanted. For two years, her letters have been the only thing getting him through the day. Admitting his feelings would cross a line he’s never dared breach before. But Lincoln will do whatever it takes to fix his mistakes, earn Lila’s forgiveness—and finally win a chance to be with the girl he loves.

• Genre: Contemporary romance,  Chick Lit
• Age: Mature Young Adult
• Source: owned ebook 
• Note: short story
• Read on April 04, 2013
   

FINAL RATING: ★★★★/★★★★★

The Snow Child by Eowyn Ivey

Alaska, 1920: a brutal place to homestead, and especially tough for recent arrivals Jack and Mabel. Childless, they are drifting apart--he breaking under the weight of the work of the farm; she crumbling from loneliness and despair. In a moment of levity during the season's first snowfall, they build a child out of snow. 

The next morning the snow child is gone--but they glimpse a young, blonde-haired girl running through the trees. This little girl, who calls herself Faina, seems to be a child of the woods. She hunts with a red fox at her side, skims lightly across the snow, and somehow survives alone in the Alaskan wilderness. 

As Jack and Mabel struggle to understand this child who could have stepped from the pages of a fairy tale, they come to love her as their own daughter. But in this beautiful, violent place things are rarely as they appear, and what they eventually learn about Faina will transform all of them.

• Genre:Historical fiction, Magical realism, Fairy Tales, Mystery
• Age: adult
• Source: owned paperback and ebook
• Read from March 15 to 31, 2013

FINAL RATING: ★★★★/★★★★★

Red Fox (Experiment in Terror, #2) by Karina Halle

With Book Two of the Experiment in Terror Series, Perry Palomino and Dex Foray trade in the stormy Oregon coast for the unforgiving deserts of New Mexico.

In the for­got­ten town of Red Fox, New Mex­ico, a Navajo cou­ple is tor­tured by things unseen and by motives unknown. Wild ani­mals slink through their house in the dark, a bar­rage of stones pound their roof nightly, and muti­lated sheep car­casses are turn­ing up on their prop­erty. 

Armed with a cam­era and just enough to go on, Perry and Dex travel to the des­o­late locale, hop­ing to film the super­nat­ural occur­rences and add cred­i­bil­ity to their flail­ing web­cast. Only their show has a lot more work­ing against them than just grow­ing pains. Tested by dubi­ous ranch hands, a ghost from Dex’s past, and shapeshift­ing decep­tion, the ama­teur ghost hunters must learn to trust each other in order to fight the most ancient of myths…or die trying.

• Genre: Paranormal, Horror, Supernatural, Mystery
• Creatures: shapeshifters 
• Age: new adult, adult
• Source: owned ebook 
• Read from March 09 to 12, 2013
   

FINAL RATING: ★★★★/★★★★★