Siren's Lure (The Aermian Feuds #2.5) by Frost Kay (Review)

       In a world of siren's and dragons, Siren's Lure tells the story of a kidnapped male slave named Hayjen, his ward Mer and their rescuer the pirate Lilja. After being taken as a slave on an enemy's ship, Hayjen dedicates himself to protecting the women with him, and the small child named Mer from the abuse of their captors. Taking their punishments and beatings, he becomes their hero. One day, while being whipped, the ship their on gets taken over by a team of pirates. To his relief, these pirates have a moral compass. They save the slaves, and that is where he meets Lilja, the beautiful pirate captain with some odd behaviours. Lilja is a siren, but she hides it to protect herself and her people. Together, Lilja and Hayden will fight to protect the slave women and get them home safely. 

      The formatting of this book was a mess. It would sporadically jump from the present to the future with no notification or clarification to the readers. It was incredibly confusing and uncomfortable to read. It felt like the chapters of the story were accidentally mixed up and then it was mistakenly published like this. I could not STAND the random jumping back and forth. It ruined my reading experience. If it were rearranged I would have probably enjoyed this novel 100 times more. Other then that, the story was fine. Just fine. I give Siren's Lure the rating of TWO AND A HALF STARS OUT OF FIVE!!!

*Advanced Readers Copy Review*

Book Blitz: Fragments of Ash by Katy Regnery!

Fragments of Ash
by Katy Regnery
(A Modern Fairytale #7)
Publication date: October 1st 2018
Genres: Fairy Tales, Romance, Young Adult

From New York Times bestselling author Katy Regnery comes a dark and twisted retelling of the beloved fairytale, Cinderella!

My name is Ashley Ellis…
I was thirteen years old when my mother – retired supermodel, Tig – married Mosier Răumann, who was twice her age and the head of the Răumann crime family.
When I turned eighteen, my mother mysteriously died. Only then did I discover the dark plans my stepfather had in store for me all along; the debauched “work” he expected me to do.
With the help of my godfather, Gus, I have escaped from Mosier’s clutches, but his twin sons and henchmen have been tasked with hunting me down. And they will stop at nothing to return my virgin body to their father
…dead or alive.
** Contemporary Romance. Due to profanity and very strong sexual content, this book is not intended for readers under the age of 18.**
♥ ♥ ♥ ♥ ♥
Fragments of Ash is part of the ~a modern fairytale~ collection: contemporary, standalone romances inspired by beloved fairy tales.
The Vixen and the Vet (Beauty & the Beast) – available now
Never Let You Go (Hansel & Gretel) – available now
Ginger’s Heart (Little Red Riding Hood) – available now
Dark Sexy Knight (Camelot) – available now
Don’t Speak (The Little Mermaid) – available now
Sheer Heaven (Rapunzel) – available now
Fragments of Ash (Cinderella) – coming October 1, 2018
Swan Song (The Ugly Duckling) – coming soon

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Special pre-order price of $2.99 for a limited time only!

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EXCERPT:

My mind skitters to her face—her beautiful fucking face—and the way she stared at me with those wide eyes and her lips lightly parted. Those lips. She has Angelina Jolie lips. Scarlett Johanssen lips. Liv-fucking-Tyler from the “Crazy” video lips. Except this chick doesn’t look like Liv. She’s got blonde hair and a perfect pout like Alicia Silverstone. I remember the beginning of that video when our girl, Alicia, climbs out a bathroom window in her Catholic school uniform, her skirt riding up to show her black lace panties…and ahhh, yes, I feel my cock twitch just picturing it.
Fuck my life.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Because yeah, I was yelling at Jock, but she was standing behind him, and I didn’t miss the tight lines of her teenaged body under a pair of new jeans and a long-sleeved T-shirt. Her rounded tits strained just a little against the fabric of her top. Not enough to be dirty. Just enough to hate her. Because no guy alive—least of all me—has a right to want someone like her. Or sure, we can want her, but we’ll never have her. Not in a million years.
She looked to be about Noelle’s age—somewhere between eighteen and twenty, and ridiculously young to suddenly arrive alone in the middle of nowhere, put up in an old farmhouse by a couple of aging queens.
How in the fuck is this her best option?
Who is she?
And what exactly is her deal?
I grimace because the headlines of her story—the easy parts—start materializing as I think about what I know about her. I didn’t do all that training for nothing. Plus, I have good instincts. I could practically smell it on her—the fear, the desperation, the way she wouldn’t meet me eyes except to insist that she was an adult.
God, what a joke. If she’s an adult, I’m a French poodle.
Then something occurs to me: it was Jock’s boyfriend, Gus, who gave away the most important part of her story away.
She has nowhere else to go.
And then something else occurs to me, and I wonder, Is she in hiding?
This girl—what’s her name? Amber? Audrey?—is in trouble. Big trouble. The kind of trouble that gets other people in hot water when they were just trying to live their lives and mind their own business. And she’s been dumped on my doorstep. Literally.

Author Bio:
New York Times and USA Today bestselling author Katy Regnery started her writing career by enrolling in a short story class in January 2012. One year later, she signed her first contract, and Katy’s first novel was published in September 2013.
Forty books later, Katy claims authorship of the multititled New York Times and USA Today bestselling Blueberry Lane Series, which follows the English, Winslow, Rousseau, Story, and Ambler families of Philadelphia; the six-book, bestselling ~a modern fairytale~ series; and several other stand-alone novels and novellas, including the critically-acclaimed, 2018 RITA© nominated, USA Today bestselling contemporary romance, Unloved, a love story.
Katy’s first modern fairytale romance, The Vixen and the Vet, was nominated for a RITA® in 2015 and won the 2015 Kindle Book Award for romance. Katy’s boxed set, The English Brothers Boxed Set, Books #1–4, hit the USA Today bestseller list in 2015, and her Christmas story, Marrying Mr. English, appeared on the list a week later. In May 2016, Katy’s Blueberry Lane collection, The Winslow Brothers Boxed Set, Books #1–4, became a New York Times e-book bestseller.
Katy’s books are available in English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Turkish.
Katy lives in the relative wilds of northern Fairfield County, Connecticut, where her writing room looks out at the woods, and her husband, two young children, two dogs, and one Blue Tonkinese kitten create just enough cheerful chaos to remind her that the very best love stories begin at home.
Sign up for Katy’s newsletter today: www.katyregnery.com!

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The Darkest Star (Origin #1) by Jennifer L. Armentrout (Review)

     The first book in a new spin-off series of the Lux series, The Darkest Star takes up years after the events in the Lux series. Now, I'll address the big question that many have right off-the-bat: yes, you can read and enjoy this book without having read the Lux series. I would make the claim that The Darkest Star can be a wonderful continuation of the series, as well as a strong standalone. This novel is the story of Evie Dasher, a young human woman, post-invasion. One day she goes to and alien friendly dance club with her BFF, and gets swept up into a dangerous conspiracy of Origins, Humans and Luxens. Along the way she runs into the handsome and powerful Luc, and finds that she simply cannot shake him.
       I really enjoyed The Darkest Star. I don't really understand the title, so don't read too far into that, but the story itself was really entertaining. Like junk food. Yah, The Darkest Star is like junk food. Its not going to grow you as a person or give you some revelation, but it was sure as heck fun to read. There was some serious romantic tension between Evie and Luc. It was quite spicy. And action-wise, the story was not very action oriented, but a heavy dose of mystery made up for that. All in all, I enjoyed The Darkest Star and give it the rating of FOUR AND A HALF STARS OUT OF FIVE!!!

*Advanced Readers Copy Review*

Spill Zone (Spill Zone #1) by Scott Westerfeld (Review)

      A fascinating graphic novel by the renowned Scott Westerfeld; Spill Zone is the start of a trippy tale where there is a young women named Addison that takes photos of the Spill Zone, illegally.  The Spill Zone is a mystery. Nobody knows what happened, or how it happened, but the city where it happened has never been the same. The Spill Zone almost cannot be explained with words as it defies physics, logic, reality and reason. Puddles there can flatten you to a 2D image, hallways go on forever, people have become floating meat-puppets and animals ooze random gunk. Its a horrifying place that defies imagination. It is quite an experience. 

       I was surprised how much I enjoyed this graphic novel. For the most part, I don't read many graphic novels, but recognizing Scott Westerfeld's name convinced me to give it a try. I loved it. It's trippy and exciting to read, with art that really sets the scene and the mood. Story-wise, not much happened (being how it is a graphic novel and they can only do so much), but what did happen was really exciting and fascinating. I found the fact that Addison's sister was effected by the Spill to be a degree of detail that kept me interested and theorizing. All and all, I really loved Spill Zone and give it the rating of FIVE OUT OF FIVE STARS!!!

*Advanced Readers Copy Review*

Not Even Bones by Rebecca Schaeffer (Review)

      Nita is a psychopath. She spends her days cutting up and dissecting murdered supernatural creatures and people. She's done this ever since she was a child, raised by black market body part traffickers and murderers. She keeps herself sane by only dealing with the dead, but one day, when her mother brings a living boy in to be cut up, Nita crosses a line. She saves the boy, and the consequences of this choice and unpredictable. Nita herself is not fully human, and that makes her sellable as well. To survive she will have to cross lines and make unlikely friends. 

         This book is super gory. Like 90% of the time, its describing some kind of gore or violence. It was very disturbing and made me feel sick to my stomach. This is far from a happy-go-lucky story. I wouldn't recommend it in that way at all. The authors voice it fairly clear and consistent, which is nice. The plot is also fairly well developed for what it is. I have to grant the book these things. Now taking in the immense darkness, violence and gore, I would not recommend Not Even Bones. Its just too graphic. I give Not Even Bones the rating of THREE AND A HALF STARS OUT OF FIVE!!!

*Advanced Readers Copy Review*

Book Blitz: Veiled Waters by H.G. Lynch!

Veiled Waters
by H.G. Lynch
(Unfortunate Blood, #5)
Publication date: July 24th 2018
Genres: Paranormal, Romance, Young Adult

They’ve faced ghosts, fought witches, and escaped the clutches of a lunatic cult…but this may be their most difficult enemy yet.

The new girl. One girl with the power to take Reid’s eye away from Ember, the power to break friendships, the power to destroy relationships. 

And to top it off? Something is drowning students in the local lake.

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Previous books in the series:

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EXCERPT:

“REID!”
A sudden, familiar voice yelling his name from some great distance jerked him awake and he gasped. All he saw at first was endless, impenetrable blackness, but only for a second before his eyes adjusted and he was staring at the ceiling past Ricky’s concerned face. The younger boy’s eyes glowed blue-green in the darkness.
Slowly, Reid realized his heart was pounding on his ribs, he was gasping, and his hand was clenched tightly around Ricky’s wrist, so tightly he could feel it as a tiny bone snapped under his fingers. Ricky hissed in pain, but didn’t try to pull away, his mouth tight but his eyes gentle. With a shudder, Reid pulled his hand back to himself, and stared at Ricky with ghosts behind his eyes.
“Sorry,” he muttered apologetically, his voice hoarse. Had he been screaming in his sleep again? Most likely. No wonder Ricky had woken him. This was getting beyond ridiculous.
Ricky just nodded, rubbing his wrist as it healed swiftly and neatly. He was examining Reid carefully, kneeling on the floor by his bed. There was deep, serious worry in his face that Reid could read effortlessly in the dark. Not wanting to see it, Reid turned and glared at the useless dream-catcher on his wall. It hung there innocuously, the glass beads shining and the feathers still and pale against the dark wall.
“I guess I was right the first time; Feathers and beads do jack all to help nightmares,” he said shakily.
With a sigh, Ricky retreated back to his own bed and sat there, gazing evenly at Reid, who shifted uncomfortably. He noticed then that he was drenched in sweat and it was sending chills down his spine. His light hair clung to his forehead and ears, and his hands trembled on the mattress. He clutched the bed sheets to hide the shaking.
“They’re getting worse, aren’t they?” Ricky asked plainly, leaning forward to rest his elbows on his knees.
Not meeting his gaze, Reid nodded, running a hand through his messy, damp hair.
“There has to be something that would help. We could get you drugs, or Ember could make a potion I’m sure. We must have a recipe in one of the grimoires.Ember would have the power—”
“No,” Reid protested bluntly. The thought of Ricky going to Ember and asking her to make a sleeping potion or elixir to banish nightmares…her surprise and confusion, her hurt when Ricky explained what it was for…No.
Ricky started, frowning. “But why? It’s not like it’d put her out to do it. I’m sure she’d do anything to help you.” he insisted.
Reid just turned away, looked out the window as he got to his feet. He put his back to Ricky as he yanked his damp t-shirt over his head and tossed it onto his bed.
“Unless…” Ricky said slowly, and Reid could practically hear the gears turning in the boy’s head. “Unless she doesn’t know about this yet…”

Author Bio:
     H.G. Lynch is a Paranormal Romance author from Scotland. She is an avid reader, and cat-lover. She spends most of her days writing, while wrestling her cat off her laptop. She loves horse-riding, Star Trek, and snow.
     Her books are dark paranormal romances.

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Damsel by Elana K. Arnold (Review)

      Damsel is a tale of darkness, darkness and darkness. Ama is a damsel. One in a long line of women 'rescued' by the current prince from a great fire-breathing dragon. Having no memory, and essentially having no past, she has no real choice but to stay with her 'hero' and marry him, becoming his Queen. But something is just not right. Abuse after abuse, horrifying experiences are thrown at Ama, making her question the honesty of her hero and the wisdom is trusting him. Besides this there is not much else to say about the novel. It was just a sad, miserable story with little character development.
       Depressing, rapey, disturbing and yet somehow still boring, Damsel was not a good read. I was grossed out 99% of the time because of all the rapey connotations, and the outright rape, as well as just bored 1%, wanting the story to stop. This novel was a sadness-extravaganza , where essentially everything was bad and horrible. Nothing good happens to the main character and that is supposed to be interpreted as deep. It isn't. Its just brutal to read. And to top it off, the plot was unorganized and the characters were flat, especially the secondary characters. I do not recommend Damsel and give it the rating of ONE AND A HALF STARS OUT OF FIVE!!!

*Advanced Readers Copy Review*