Etiquette & Espionage by Gail Carriger

Publisher’s summary: It's one thing to learn to curtsy properly. It's quite another to learn to curtsy and throw a knife at the same time. Welcome to Finishing School.

Fourteen-year-old Sophronia is a great trial to her poor mother. Sophronia is more interested in dismantling clocks and climbing trees than proper manners--and the family can only hope that company never sees her atrocious curtsy. Mrs. Temminnick is desperate for her daughter to become a proper lady. So she enrolls Sophronia in Mademoiselle Geraldine's Finishing Academy for Young Ladies of Quality.

But Sophronia soon realizes the school is not quite what her mother might have hoped. At Mademoiselle Geraldine's, young ladies learn to finish...everything. Certainly, they learn the fine arts of dance, dress, and etiquette, but the also learn to deal out death, diversion, and espionage--in the politest possible ways, of course. Sophronia and her friends are in for a rousing first year's education.

Set in the same world as the Parasol Protectorate, this YA series debut is filled with all the saucy adventure and droll humor Gail's legions of fans have come to adore.

My take: Etiquette & Espionage was a lot of fun to read. Apparently this is a spin-off from Gail Carrieger’s popular adult series, The Parasol Protectorate. Etiquette & Espionage is definitely young adult.

In the beginning of the story there is a really funny scene that had me realize these books are intended to be a fun and funny story. I mean, really, the girls are learning etiquette and espionage on a floating school and it takes a really fast, high jumping werewolf that wears a hat (even when he shifts) to herd them all onto the platform to get them to enter the school? That should tell you!

The characters are all really different. The main character, Sophronia, always seems really concerned about learning how to truly act properly, but she’s so distracted elsewhere that it almost seems like it’s too much of an inconvenience for her to actually learn how to be a lady…even though it’s not like she didn’t really want to learn. This isn’t the case for all of the characters. There’s another girl who I would really like to be consider as the “mean girl;” a girl who really only wants to be a lady and go to a proper etiquette school. And then there’s a girl who seems like she has no intention of being a lady at all. My favorite is Sophronia’s little clockwork dog. So cute! Oh…and the boy that is introduced is cute too.

There is this whole detective thing going on throughout the story, and it all unfolds in the end in a very fun way. I’m really looking forward to reading more from this series.

The Indigo Spell by Richelle Mead

Publisher’s summary: In the aftermath of a forbidden moment that rocked Sydney to her core, she finds herself struggling to draw the line between her Alchemist teachings and what her heart is urging her to do. Then she meets alluring, rebellious Marcus Finch--a former Alchemist who escaped against all odds, and is now on the run. Marcus wants to teach Sydney the secrets he claims the Alchemists are hiding from her. But as he pushes her to rebel against the people who raised her, Sydney finds that breaking free is harder than she thought. There is an old and mysterious magic rooted deeply within her. And as she searches for an evil magic user targeting powerful young witches, she realizes that her only hope is to embrace her magical blood--or else she might be next.

My take: The Indigo Spell was THE best book so far in Richelle Mead’s Bloodlines series! Richelle Mead reminded me once again how each book in her series is always better than the last. I’m so unbelievably in love with this book in more than a few ways.

And the number one reason I love this book so much? Adrian! And oh! Wow! WOW! We get so much of Adrian in The Indigo Spell. I thought there was no possible way I could be more in love with that boy than I already was. But I was so wrong...oh boy...was I wrong! I’m swooning big-time right now!

What I got from a lot of people who are struggling with this series is that the first two books started off slow, and it was hard for some readers to relate to, or even like, Sydney. I didn’t have a problem liking Sydney. I liked her pretty much as soon as she was introduced in VA, but I think in The Indigo Spell it will be a lot easier for those readers to relate to her. There are a lot of things she does in this book that I just absolutely loved, which made me admire her character a lot more. I do understand why some readers may have struggled with the slow start at the beginning of the previous two books, but I don’t think that will be a problem at all with this book. There were so many fun and entertaining things that Sydney was involved in throughout the whole book, that it was almost impossible for this book to be slow.

OH...I’m so tempted to talk about so many things in this review, but I’m so scared that I’ll reveal spoilers. Almost everything I started typing in my excitement while writing this review had to be deleted because I just want readers to experience this book without any hints or spoilers.

Something happens at the end of The Indigo Spell that makes Sydney’s situation extremely complicated, but everything else in this story ended up just how I was hoping it would. I’m more than satisfied with this book! And I’m so extremely excited for, and already impatiently waiting for, the next book in Richelle Mead’s Bloodlines series!

Check out my teaser quote HERE!

Black City by Elizabeth Richards

Publisher's Summary: A dark and tender post-apocalyptic love story set in the aftermath of a bloody war

In a city where humans and Darklings are now separated by a high wall and tensions between the two races still simmer after a terrible war, sixteen-year-olds Ash Fisher, a half-blood Darkling, and Natalie Buchanan, a human and the daughter of the Emissary, meet and do the unthinkable--they fall in love. Bonded by a mysterious connection that causes Ash's long-dormant heart to beat, Ash and Natalie first deny and then struggle to fight their forbidden feelings for each other, knowing if they're caught, they'll be executed--but their feelings are too strong.

When Ash and Natalie then find themselves at the center of a deadly conspiracy that threatens to pull the humans and Darklings back into war, they must make hard choices that could result in both their deaths.

My take: Wow! This book rocked!!! I pretty much knew the moment I picked up this book that it would be one of the darkest books I’ve read in a while, and I was right. I wouldn’t say that it’s as dark as it is scary, but this book takes place in a horribly dark world. A lot of people have characterized this book as a vampire book, but the creatures in Black City are called Darklings. And, in my opinion, Darkling is a much better word for them because they are a different type of creature altogether.

The twist in Black City is purely epic! I was completely shocked, stunned, and left sitting in utter disbelief. Get the picture? The twist is easily the best (or at least one of the best!) story twists I have ever read. Not only was I was caught totally off guard by it, but it brought about many different new complications to the story, which made Black City even more amazing that it already was.

Both Natalie and Ash are great characters. They are from two completely different worlds and their lives collide, literally, in the very first scene of the book. Black City alternates between the POV’s of Ash and Natalie, and it was the perfect balance that kept me entertained from the very beginning to the very last page.

Black City ends in an awesome cliffhanger but, at the same time, it gives you a little taste of where the story is headed so you’re not left completely out in the dark. I can hardly wait to see what other people think of this one.

The Hunt by Andrew Fukuda

Publisher's summary: Don’t Sweat. Don’t Laugh. Don’t draw attention to yourself. And most of all, whatever you do, do not fall in love with one of them.

Gene is different from everyone else around him. He can’t run with lightning speed, sunlight doesn’t hurt him and he doesn’t have an unquenchable lust for blood. Gene is a human, and he knows the rules. Keep the truth a secret. It’s the only way to stay alive in a world of night—a world where humans are considered a delicacy and hunted for their blood.

When he’s chosen for a once in a lifetime opportunity to hunt the last remaining humans, Gene’s carefully constructed life begins to crumble around him. He’s thrust into the path of a girl who makes him feel things he never thought possible—and into a ruthless pack of hunters whose suspicions about his true nature are growing. Now that Gene has finally found something worth fighting for, his need to survive is stronger than ever—but is it worth the cost of his humanity?

My take: Now this book was bizarre! There are quite a few books out there right now where humans are just about extinct, but out of all of them this one is TRULY unique!

I knew this book was really different from the moment I started listening (I have the audio book) as I immediately started getting the chills and wondered if I even had the stomach to listen to the rest of the book without getting too creeped out. Right from the start, the main character is describing the rules he absolutely must follow to survive in a world where vampires are the dominant species and where “hepers” (humans) are pretty much extinct. He describes an absolutely horrifying scene where a heper breaks one of those rules and is attacked and devoured by a classroom full of vampires!!! So, basically, Gene (main character and human) has to pretend he’s a vamp! Luckily, though, it wasn’t too creepy after that particular scene!

Andrew Fukuda has created a type of vampire in The Hunt pretty much unlike anything else out there. For one, a human could never have a relationship with one of these vampires!!! These vampires sleep, but not in coffins or in the ground…they sleep in “sleep-holds” on the ceiling. But the weirdest difference for me is how these vampires kiss each other! When a male vampire “kisses” a female vampire, he does it by sticking his elbows into the female vampire’s armpits. Bizarre! Right?

From the start of this book until the finish, the whole story was very compelling. I was hooked from the moment Gene was chosen for the hunt, and I could hardly wait to see how the heck he was going to keep the other vampires from discovering who he really was during the “training sessions” for the hunt! And, no, the training sessions didn’t go well for Gene!

One thing that really pissed me off about the book is how Andrew Fukuda emphasized how super “smart” this Gene is. And the reason it pissed me off is because there were so many times throughout the book where I thought Gene was just a big idiot. In fact, I got unbelievably frustrated with him on multiple occasions just because of the stupid things he did…his decision making was so stupid, it was even worse than what I think would be common sense even from someone like me who wasn’t raised to hide that I’m a human from a bunch of vampires!

Anyways, my favorite characters actually come into the story way later, so I can’t talk too much about them. There is one character in particular that I thought showed true promise, but then that character just ended up pissing me off.

The end of The Hunt has a crazy awesome twist, and I’m dying to see where the story will lead and where that twist will take the story!

Spell Bound by Rachel Hawkins

Publisher’s summary: Talk about terrible timing…Just as Sophie Mercer has come to accept her extraordinary magical powers as a demon, the Prodigium Councel strips them away. With her powers locked inside her, Sophie is defenseless, alone, and at the mercy of her sworn enemies – the Brannicks, a family of warrior women who hunt down the Prodigium. Or at least that’s what Sophie thinks, until she makes a surprising discovery. The Brannicks know an epic war is coming, and they believe Sophie is the only one powerful enough to stop the world from ending. But without her magic, Sophie isn’t so sure.

The only known spell that can help Sophie regain her magic is at Hex Hall – the place where it all began, and now the headquarters of the evil Casnoffs. Together with her best friend, the vampire Jenna; her boyfriend, Archer; her fiancé, Cal (yeah, her love life is complicated); and a ghost for a sidekick, Sophie must battle an army of demons. But even with her friends at her side, the fate of all Prodigium rests on her shoulders alone.

Sophie’s bound for one hell of a ride… Can she get her powers back before it’s too late?

My take: Holy crap! That was certainly the best way to end the series! I have to give Rachel Hawkins a round of applause because this is for sure a series that I will keep on pimping out to anyone who will listen. LOL!

It was pure torture to wait for the release of Spell Bound! The moment I got it in the mail I’m pretty sure I squealed! I was so eager to get my hands on Spell Bound that I went home on my lunch break to check the mail! So, yes, I read this book almost immediately after the release date.

Spell Bound starts off pretty much right where Demonglass left off, and that was a relief because Demonglass has a freakin’ crazy but awful cliffhanger. The entire book flows perfectly, and it kept me on my toes the entire time. Even if I had a moment’s thought that I could relax, BAM, something would happen and I was back on my toes again.

The characters in this trilogy play a tremendous factor as to why I adore this trilogy so much. Sophie, for one, is a kick *ss protagonist! I almost forgot until I picked up this book how totally awesome her snarky humor is! Her personality adds that perfect touch to the trilogy, and I totally love her. I wish Sophie and I were BFFs because that would totally rock! Archer! Oh Archer! I love you Archer! Anyways, Archer compliments Sophie without a glitch. I think some of the best parts in this trilogy were whenever Sophie and Archer would banter back and forth. Then there’s Jenna; she is the best BFF for Sophie! Jenna is such a sweet, cute, loveable vampire that I just wanna squeeze and hug. Lastly, there is Cal! He is the sensible sweet guy who I just love to love, and I would totally be OK with taking him home to meet my dad. Oh, my, gosh! I almost forgot Elodie! I couldn’t stand that chick in Hex Hall but she turns out to be one of my fave characters in Spell Bound.

The ending to Spell Bound was incredible! Nearing the end of Spell Bound, there is a gut-wrenching tragedy and the story started to get extremely crazy and chaotic, and I started to worry that Rachel Hawkins might not be able to end the series properly! Once it was all over I thought, “Holy crap! She totally pulled it off!” She tied up everything as if she knew exactly how it was going to end and how it was going to get there.

This trilogy has a nice mix of magical creatures in the urban fantasy world, but the series primarily surrounds witches and demons. If you're looking for a book with totally awesome characters, an amazing romance, a lot of action, and some fun twists, then this is the series for you!

The Golden Lily by Richelle Mead

Publisher's Summary: Tough, brainy alchemist Sydney Sage and doe-eyed Moroi princess Jill Dragomir are in hiding at a human boarding school in the sunny, glamorous world of Palm Springs, California. The students - children of the wealthy and powerful - carry on with their lives in blissful ignorance, while Sydney, Jill, Eddie and Adrian must do everything in their power to keep their secret safe. But with forbidden romances, unexpected spirit bonds, and the threat of Strigoi moving ever closer, hiding the truth is harder than anyone thought.

Populated with new faces as well as familiar ones, Richelle Mead's breathtaking Bloodlines series explores all the friendship, romance, battles and betrayals that made the #1 New York Times bestselling Vampire Academy series so addictive. In this second book, the drama is hotter, the romances are steamier, and the stakes are even higher.

My Take: I totally LOVED this book! I know I’ve said this before, but I can honestly say, once again, that I love the second a whole lot better than the first. I’ve noticed this as a trend with Richelle Mead’s books. The first sets the tone for the series, and then each book tends to get better and better.

In The Golden Lily, Sydney (the protagonist) finally starts to think for herself and to think about what she wants. Before The Golden Lily, Sydney was always extremely paranoid, constantly worrying about what the alchemist leaders might think of her, always trying hard to do everything “right” and “by the book.” She still does, in a way, but now she's trying to live a little bit of a normal life. Only, her “normal life” keeps getting interrupted by issues with the vampires she’s supposed to keep under the radar, and I particularly found that to be quite funny.

Richelle Mead introduces a new character named Brayden. He’s the perfect match for Sydney, and when I say “perfect match,” it’s because he’s just like Sydney…to-a-tee! Do I like this new Brayden? Sure, but in my opinion, he is a little TOO much like Sydney. Brayden’s an even better Sydney than Sydney is! Yeah, I know that doesn’t make sense, but it does to me. Hehehe!

Now I totally have to talk about what I love most about this series! Adrian! Adrian! Adrian!!! I am quite the Adrian fan! I fell for Adrian hardcore in the Vampire Academy series! And now The Golden Lily has me seriously swooning over Adrian! I love you Adrian! He’s such a hottie!

The ending to The Golden Lily was utterly brilliant! A lot of craziness happens in the last few chapters, and the last chapter is breathtaking!!! But the very last page sucked…hardcore! Why oh why do I have to wait another whole year for book #3?

The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa

Publisher's Summary: MY VAMPIRE CREATOR TOLD ME THIS:

"Sometime in your life, Allison Sekemoto, you will kill a human being. The question is not if it will happen, but when. Do you understand?"

I didn't then, not really.

I DO NOW.

Allison Sekemoto survives in the Fringe, the outermost circle of a vampire city. By day, she and her crew scavenge for food. By night, any one of them could be eaten.

Some days, all that drives Allie is her hatred of them. The vampires who keep humans as blood cattle. Until the night Allie herself is attacked—and given the ultimate choice. Die…or become one of the monsters.

Faced with her own mortality, Allie becomes what she despises most. To survive, she must learn the rules of being immortal, including the most important: go long enough without human blood, and you will go mad.

Then Allie is forced to flee into the unknown, outside her city walls. There she joins a ragged band of humans who are seeking a legend—a possible cure to the disease that killed off most of humankind and created the rabids, the mindless creatures who threaten humans and vampires alike.

But it isn’t easy to pass for human. Especially not around Zeke, who might see past the monster inside her. And Allie soon must decide what—and who—is worth dying for.

My Take: The Immortal Rules by Julie Kagawa is brilliant in so many ways! First, Julie Kagawa wrote it! Second, we have a post-apocalyptic world with vampires in control! How could it not be brilliant, amazing, awesome, horrific and gruesome?

Julie doesn’t hold back even from the very beginning of The Immortal Rules as she paints a horrid picture of the world that Allie lives in. As the story progresses it only gets so much more brutal. After a horrifically tragic attack on Allie and her crew, Allie becomes the one and only thing she hates the most and now she has to live with it!

The one thing that I loved most about The Immortal Rules is Allie! She has strong survival instincts, she’s tough and she’ll throw herself in front of danger to protect others. And even though I already thought Allie was a heroine in the beginning of the book, the heroine she becomes by the end is not even a close comparison! Allie is majorly kick butt and she totally rocks!

One scene after another throughout the whole, entire book brings increasing heart-pumping horror, intensity, action, tragedy…and betrayal! And those betrayals were the hardest parts of the story for me to swallow…because each and every time Allie was faced with ANOTHER betrayal, my heart broke for her. And of course the best part of the story is the beautiful but complicated romance that progresses throughout the book.

This book was astonishing, and Julie Kagawa proves once again how truly creative she is.

Balthazar by Claudia Gray

Publisher's Summary: For hundreds of years, the vampire Balthazar has been alone—without allies, without love.

When Balthazar agrees to help Skye Tierney, a human girl who once attended Evernight Academy, he has no idea how dangerous it will be. Skye’s newfound psychic powers have caught the attention of Redgrave, the cruel, seductive master vampire responsible for murdering Balthazar and his family four centuries ago. Now Redgrave plans to use Skye’s powers for his own evil purposes.

Balthazar will do whatever it takes to stop Redgrave and exact his long-awaited revenge against his killer. As Skye and Balthazar stand together to fight him, they grow closer—first unwillingly, then undeniably. Balthazar realizes his lonely world could finally be changed by her. . . .

In a story filled with forbidden love and dark suspense, one of the most beloved characters in Claudia Gray’s New York Times bestselling Evernight series will captivate readers with his battle to overcome his past and follow his heart.

My Take: This book is exactly what I needed after reading the Evernight series. I grew a serious attachment and had the major hots for Balthazar. With Balthazar’s story left open-ended in Evernight, I craved for more of him and that is exactly what I got. Duh…that’s why the book is named Balthazar. LoL

This book reminded me of how much I love Balthazar! He’s so freakin’ yummy! I will admit that there were moments in the Evernight series when he would bug the living crap out of me because of his crazy obsession with trying to save his sister Charity from being an utterly and totally evil vampire. I wanted to yell at him, “Would you please give up already? She’s not going to change! She actually likes being a crazy psychotic killer!” In fact, when I read Evernight I would have been thrilled if someone would have accomplished killing her! But now that I know Balthazar’s backstory, I now understand that it would have killed him if something had happened to her.

From the previous series I learned that Balthazar had a crazy past and I wanted to know more about it, but at the same time I was hoping for him to have an amazingly happy future. So I wasn’t sure what I truly wanted from this book. But guess what? We get both! Throughout the book there are a lot of flashbacks of Balthazar’s past but, at the same time, the majority of the story takes place in the present. In the present, Balthazar gives himself the job of protecting a human friend that he met at Evernight Academy, a girl named Skye. She’s in danger because some really powerful vampires are hunting her, and Balthazar is determined to keep her safe.

I don’t remember much about Skye in Afterlife, only that Bianca was jealous of her and Lucas’ friendship. So I really liked learning more about her character in Balthazar. Claudia Gray did an amazing job with Skye’s character, and I think what I loved most was how truly human she is. I now understand why Lucas liked her so much.

This book has action, suspense and an amazing romance. If you liked Evernight, then you will for sure love Balthazar!

Quote to share!

“Balthazar was the kind of guy who used totally correct spelling and punctuation even when texting, which was sort of bizarrely hot. She was in serious trouble if commas could get her going.”

Buy it here:
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