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.

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!

Hemlock by Kathleen Peacock

Publisher’s Summary: Mackenzie and Amy were best friends. Until Amy was brutally murdered.

Since then, Mac's life has been turned upside down. She is being haunted by Amy in her dreams, and an extremist group called the Trackers has come to Mac's hometown of Hemlock to hunt down Amy's killer:

A white werewolf.

Lupine syndrome—also known as the werewolf virus—is on the rise across the country. Many of the infected try to hide their symptoms, but bloodlust is not easy to control.

Wanting desperately to put an end to her nightmares, Mac decides to investigate Amy's murder herself. She discovers secrets lurking in the shadows of Hemlock, secrets about Amy's boyfriend, Jason, her good pal Kyle, and especially her late best friend. Mac is thrown into a maelstrom of violence and betrayal that puts her life at risk.

Kathleen Peacock's thrilling novel is the first in the Hemlock trilogy, a spellbinding urban fantasy series filled with provocative questions about prejudice, trust, lies, and love.

My take: Even though I’ve been getting mixed opinions about Hemlock, I started reading it with an open mind and discovered that I actually really liked it! I was immediately drawn to the story from the very first page.

One of the things I loved about Hemlock is that it’s not only an Urban Fantasy but also a murder mystery! I loved how I was swept into all the crazy left and right story twists while Mackenzie was investigating who killed her best friend! Twits like… Who is a werewolf? What really happened the night Amy died? Who, if anyone, should Mackenzie trust? There is one surprise after another all the way through Hemlock and the end even has a pretty awesome twist!!!

The characters in Hemlock are all pretty likable. Considering everything that Mackenzie had to go through from her past and now present…she is one tough chick! So, even though I’d like to tell you more about the other characters I liked, I think doing that would spoil the story for you. Because, while reading Hemlock, I found that I wanted to like each of the characters, but at the same time I wasn’t really sure if I could or should trust ANY of them. And as far as the romance goes, I of course fell for the “other” guy!

If you like a book with werewolves and/or a murder mystery then you should totally read this one! It’s really good.

Entice by Carrie Jones

Publisher’s Summary: Zara and Nick are soul mates, meant to be together forever. But that's not exactly how things have worked out. Nick is dead-supposedly taken to some mythic place for warriors called Valhalla, where Zara and her friends might be able to get him back. Bedford needs its warriors more than ever, since a group of evil pixies is devastating the place. But even if Zara and her friends can reach Valhalla, there's that other small problem: Zara's been pixie kissed. Will Nick even want to return with her? Especially since she's not just any pixie . . . She's Astley's queen.

My Take: Entice again reminds me why I love this series. I love the world Carrie Jones has created that’s inhabited by all kinds of exotic “weres” (all kinds of were-animals!) and, most importantly, evil pixies. But are all of these evil pixies really evil? I hope not, since Zara (the heroine and main character) is now a pixie queen!

In my previous review of Captivate, I mentioned my biggest irritation with Zara, but luckily this irritating character trait didn’t play a very big part in Entice, and I was relieved!

Nick is missing and Zara is doing everything in her power to save him. She even accepted getting turned into an evil pixie at the end of Entice (the one thing she was most terrified to become) in hopes this will help save him. I loved how, in the beginning of the book, Zara is still not quite comfortable in her new pixie skin, so when she’s put in a situation where she must fight another pixie, she still has trouble being comfortable with committing violence. But throughout Entice, she grows into a strong and confident pixie queen while still holding on to her human personality and goodness. There is one especially kick-butt scene that had me dumbfounded…because Zara, the ultra-dependent girl who always had to be protected and rescued in Need, has now become this super, kick-butt heroine in Entice!

There’s a lot of destruction, war and death in this book. Because of this, Zara has some pretty devastating and heartbreaking losses. I caught myself several times getting all choked up!

A lot of the characters in this book have to learn to accept Zara as a pixie. They have always feared and hated pixies, so accepting Zara as a pixie is hard for all of them! In particularly, it’s Zara’s mother who pisses me off the most. I wanted to reach through the book and slap her silly for treating her own daughter the way she’s now treating her in Entice. I think I will have a hard time liking her mother in future books. Hmm…but I guess she wasn’t really all that great of a mom anyway, since she just pawned Zara off to her mother-in-law. Zara is better off with her grandma and her friends!

And then there is Astley! Ahhhhh…I love Astley! This is one of those dang books where I’m totally torn between what “Team” I’m on. I’ve always had love and the hots for Lucas, but now I have this totally hotpixie king (Astley) to choose from?! Grrrrr! I think I will be sad if she chooses either! I want her to have them both!

Each book in the Need series is a quick read, with action, suspense and very likable characters.

Bloodrose by Andrea Cremer

Publisher's Summary: The third and final installment of the international bestselling Nightshade trilogy!

Calla has always welcomed war. But now that the final battle is upon her, there's more at stake than fighting. There's saving Ren, even if it incurs Shay's wrath. There's keeping Ansel safe, even if he's been branded a traitor. There's proving herself as the pack's alpha, facing unnamable horrors, and ridding the world of the Keepers' magic once and for all. And then there's deciding what to do when the war ends. If Calla makes it out alive, that is. In this remarkable final installment of the Nightshade trilogy, international bestselling author Andrea Cremer crafts a dynamic novel with twists and turns that will keep you breathless until its final pages.

My Take: First of all I have to say that the last book to the Nightshade trilogy was Fan-Freakin-Tastic!!! There are soooo many things I loved about Bloodrose…well not just Bloodrose, the WHOLE series! I’ve read other wolf books before and the majority of them I thought were just…Meh! But I have a serious obsession with the Nightshade series and I’ve had this passion right from the very beginning. It is so bad that I was majorly determined to get my hands on an ARC of Wolfsbane and then on an ARC of Bloodrose. And my determination paid off nicely. In Bloodrose, the only time I was thinking, “What? Seriously? Is that supposed to be a happily-ever-after???”…was at the VERY end of the book! It’s literally the last few pages. And it’s not an exaggeration that I was thinking, “Huh?” And then I was doing several checks to see if maybe there is an alternate ending. You know?! Like how some movies have a Director’s Cut and Theatrical Version? Well, I want an alternate ending!!! Please??? You will have to read it to find out what I’m saying! And no, I'm not talking about the Ren vs. Shay thingy! So, when you read it, come back and talk with me about it…cause I’m determined to find out what others think.

Bloodrose started right where Wolfsbane left off where Calla and Adne go to try and rescue Ren. So right from the very beginning, the story moves very quickly and there is something continuously going on every minute. There is hardly a moment for Calla to sit and think things over…let alone shower and sleep. They have a mission to destroy the evil Keepers right? What comes first, taking a shower or destroying the Keepers? Personally, I’d pick slaughtering Emile…just saying.

While reading this one I just KNEW that based off of what happened in Wolfsbane, and then with them heading to a war in Bloodrose, they were destined to have tragedy. So while reading I kept thinking about all the characters and how much I grew attached to them. And I REALLY grew attached to each-and-every character, particularly in this book!!! So I kept thinking, “Who could I let go without being unbearably heartbroken?” Oh-My-Gosh!!! There is not a single character that I could spare! Now that I think about it, I couldn’t even pinpoint my favorite character! How could you not love a book that has more than a few characters that you admire? Well, just as I thought, there is a horrifying tragedy…and it had me bawling so bad that my shirt was soaked in tears.

I can’t decide which book I like best in the trilogy because I love them all equally in different ways, but overall, Bloodrose was written perfectly to end the series...even with it leaving me perplexed by the end! I can hardly wait to see what everyone else thinks!

And for all you other obsessive Nightshade fans...I know you are reading this because you want to know who Calla ends up with! Well, I'm not giving any spoilers so you will have to read it and find out for yourself!

Goodbye and farewell, Nightshade…you will be missed!

>

Received review copy from an extremely kind guy with Penguin at the NCIBA Trade Show!

Demonglass by Rachel Hawkins

Summary:  Sophie Mercer thought she was a witch.

That was the whole reason she was sent to Hex Hall, a reform school for delinquent Prodigium (aka witches, shapeshifters, and fairies). But that was before she discovered the family secret, and that her hot crush, Archer Cross, is an agent for The Eye, a group bent on wiping Prodigium off the face of the earth.

Turns out, Sophie’s a demon, one of only two in the world—the other being her father. What’s worse, she has powers that threaten the lives of everyone she loves. Which is precisely why Sophie decides she must go to London for the Removal, a dangerous procedure that will destroy her powers.

But once Sophie arrives she makes a shocking discovery. Her new friends? They’re demons too. Meaning someone is raising them in secret with creepy plans to use their powers, and probably not for good. Meanwhile, The Eye is set on hunting Sophie down, and they’re using Archer to do it. But it’s not like she has feelings for him anymore. Does she?


My Take: Whoa! That was one big bang of an ending. It was also an awfully amazing cliffhanger and I am SERIOUSLY craving for more. I can't even go to bed right now because my mind is still reeling. The ending pretty much felt like a major explosion of fireworks! You know, when you are watching the finale at the end of a firework show and it is so crazy that you almost feel like you can't handle it? Yeah, that is how it made me feel! I can still feel the high.

If you haven't read Hex Hall, then I want to warn you that there will be some spoilers of Hex Hall in this review.

Literally, right after I finished Hex Hall I picked up Demonglass. I was determined to find out if she was really going to have her powers stripped and what the heck happened with Archer! What a twist! Were Archer's feelings for Sophie real or was it an assignment?

Sophie's father takes Sophie, Jenna and Cal with him back to London. Ahhhh Cal...I ♥ him! And I am thrilled he is featured more in this book. But even though he is a hunk and I have the major hots for him, I found that one particular part in the book made him a little bit of a wuss. Seriously? He has this amazing power to heal and his obsession is to heal plants? There is a part in the book where he is holding a plant gingerly in his hands after trying to teach Sophie how to heal it and after the pot holding the plant broke. I'm sitting here thinking, "If you’ve got this amazing gift, wouldn't you be hanging out in some Prodigium hospital to cure some magical creatures? Why the heck are you so freakin' obsessed with plants? " But other than that, Cal is totally hot!

I loved in this book how truly powerful Sophie is and can be. I don't want to give up too much, but it was fabulous and the ending had some more freakin' crazy twists! I was thinking, "Where the heck is this heading?!?" And I am still thinking that!

I have only had this happen with one other book, but right before the crazy ending, I was thinking about how I would rate Demonglass. At that point I thought I would be giving it only 4 stars . . . but after THAT ending...I HAD to give it 5 stars! I highly recommend this series.

Wolfsbane by Andrea Cremer

Publisher's Summary: This thrilling sequel to the much-talked-about Nightshade begins just where it ended-Calla Tor wakes up in the lair of the Searchers, her sworn enemy, and she's certain her days are numbered. But then the Searchers make her an offer-one that gives her the chance to destroy her former masters and save the pack-and the man-she left behind. Is Ren worth the price of her freedom? And will Shay stand by her side no matter what? Now in control of her own destiny, Calla must decide which battles are worth fighting and how many trials true love can endure and still survive.



My Take: Yay! OMG…OMG…OH-MY-GOSH!!! I was finally able to read the book that I have been waiting to read for about 4 months now! This is the actual book that started my determination to get into blogging. It's a long story, so I may blog about it at a later date.

This book was fabulous! The whole storyline was phenomenal! I stand by my statement from when I reviewed Nightshade and say that this series is truly a new fave of mine. I haven’t the slightest idea of how I am going to write this review and prevent spoilers but I am going to try.

I cried like a little baby over and over again throughout the entire book because there is so much shock, heartbreak and despair. “Calla, come over here so we can hug and cry together. You need it more than I do but we can comfort each other. Or, I can come there! I wouldn’t mind taking a look at that academy.” Yeah, that’s me talking to a fictional character (not a quote) but this is what fabulous books do to me. LoL

Holee calla! There were so many intense parts in this book! I was probably looking pretty crazy reading on the edge of my seat, gripping it for dear life, while my eyes were bugging out of my head! Every-Single-Time Calla started feeling that something was not right, I thought to myself, “Oh…my… gosh! WoooSahhh!!!…Here we go again!” My heart, yet again, would rise to its peak and, when everything was over, it would end in another blubber fest.

Obviously, I grew VERY attached to the characters in this book. I particularly grew attached to the new characters who were introduced. There is one really surprising thing I have to say that anyone who has read or is reading Wolfsbane might find shocking; and that is, the male character who actually won me over in this book was Ethan! Team Ethan? Shocking right?! There is one part in the book where he really made my heart melt like a popsicle on a hot day. Most of all, I grew a deep sympathy and attachment to Calla. My heart aches for her! All of the things she had to endure in this book just broke my heart. As Julie from http://www.tableforseven-julie.blogspot.com/ would say, “TEAM CALLA!”

I am still on the fence about the whole Shay vs. Ren thingy. Why????? It’s driving me nuts! The storyline feels like Andrea Cremer is always leaning toward Shay (for Calla).  But why do “I” always lean in the direction of Ren? I really would have liked Ren to play a bigger role in this book.  And the very small role he did play in…TOTALLY SUCKED! I will say that, near the end of Nightshade, I completely fell for Ren, but I don’t know what to think about the whole thing. I am really struggling with this one.

And then there is the cliffhanger! “Andrea, could you have just given me one more chapter! If not, maybe even just a few more pages? Why there?!” Yeah, I get it! To make everyone feel the way I’m feeling right now. Booooo!!!! Do we really have to wait until February to read Bloadrose?

If you are reading this and you haven’t yet read Nightshade, read it now before reading Wolfsbane! And, if you HAVE read Nightshade, make sure you preorder Wolfsbane so you can get it the day it is released! You won’t regret it.

Want to see my review of other books from this series? Click on the pic here:

Six Moon Summer by S. M. Reine

Author Summary:

Rylie's been bitten.

She's changing.

And now she has three months to find a cure before becoming a werewolf... forever.

Rylie's parents force her to attend summer camp, but she's just as miserable at the girls' camp as she was at home-- there's nothing vegetarian for her to eat at the mess hall, she hates hiking and archery, and the other campers taunt Rylie mercilessly.  One night, the bullying goes too far, and Rylie runs away.  She doesn't get far.  It's a full moon, and she isn't alone in the forest...

She wakes up unharmed in her cabin the next morning with no memory of what happened.  The only sign something has changed are the healed scars on her chest, her increasingly keen senses, and her sudden craving for raw, bloody meat.

A boy from the other camp seems to know what's happening to her, but Rylie isn't sure if she can trust herself with Seth. He's way too cute and he knows way too much.

Rylie soon learns that she only has until the end of summer before she becomes just like the monster that attacked her: a man-eating werewolf hungry for human flesh.  Unless she can find a cure, she's going to transforming at the end of the summer and lose her life to the hunger.

My Take:
You have got to be freakin' kidding me! What a tease!

This book was really good and I would really suggest this book to anyone that likes a good werewolf book. There is an ending to this book, but, it is very abrupt.  It left me screaming, "Why does it have to end here!?!?"

S.M. Reine is a fantastic writer. The description of a werewolf change is better than I have EVER read. I could vividly see, smell and taste every bit of the change that Rylie had to go through on each of the six moons.  The story flowed very nicely and kept me entertained.

Throughout the summer poor Rilie endured heartbreak from her parent’s divorce, getting bullied, a tragic loss, a horrific attack AND the curse of becoming a werewolf.  To make it easier on her, there is a hot boy that she sneaks off to see as often as she can.  What a summer!  OK...I'm dying to say it; the bully gets what's coming to her later in the book.  Dang I'm evil!

One cliché I found quite interesting, is that she is an avid vegetarian. The thought of harming an animal is horrific to her. It's a serious problem when you have a wolf stirring inside of you and he’s hungry!  And to limit the wolf with tofu?  Not very smart.

This is a really, quick easy read, so check it out!  I am really excited to see where this story will lead!
Buy on Amazon here:
Six Moon Summer Paperback Edition
Six Moon Summer Kindle Edition
Buy on BN.com here:
Six Moon Summer (Nook Book)

Six Moon Summer Trailer!

Blood Bound by Patricia Briggs

Goodreads Summary: Under the rule of science, there are no witch burnings allowed, no water trials or public lynchings. In return, the average law-abiding, solid citizen has little to worry about from the things that go bump in the night. Sometimes I wish I was an average citizen...

Mechanic Mercy Thompson has friends in low places - and in dark ones. And now she owes one of them a favor. Since she can shapeshift at will, she agrees to act as some extra muscle when her vampire friend Stefan goes to deliver a message to another of his kind.

But this new vampire is hardly ordinary - and neither is the demon inside of him...



My Take: I am happy that Tiffany and Liz convinced me to come back to this series. This book was a lot better than the first. I am actually looking forward to reading the remaining books of this series.

Iron Kissed by Patricia Briggs

Goodreads Summary:  When her former boss and mentor is arrested for murder and left to rot behind bars by his own kind, it's up to shapeshifting car mechanic Mercy Thompson to clear his name, whether he wants her to or not. And she'll have to choose between the two werewolves in her life -- whether she wants to or not.

My Take:  I am having a hard time with this book. I really liked it because it was an easy quick read and the true murderer Mercy was trying to find throughout the whole book totally caught me off guard. What happens to Mercy is something I cannot accept and all I can say is that I am glad there were no details.

The ending has me upset because Mercy has been this really independent woman that will do anything for ANYONE she cares about. Now I have no idea what roll her character will play. The books wouldn’t be any good if she didn’t still have the strong willed personality that she has had throughout the series so far.

I really liked what happens in the end that Ben takes part in. Ben has always been this big jerk but now you see his reasons and his true side. The very end stopped really abrupt so I will be reading the next book soon.

I hope the remaining Mercy Thompson books do not take a toll on me like this one did, but I guess that is partly why the book was good.

New Moon by Stephenie Meyer

Summary: I FELT LIKE I WAS TRAPPED IN ONE OF THOSE TERRIFYING NIGHTMARES…

For Bella Swan, there is one thing more important than life itself: Edward Cullen. But being in love with a vampire is even more dangerous than Bella could ever have imagined. Edward has already rescued Bella from the clutches of one evil vampire, but now, as their daring relationship threatens all that is near and dear to them, they realize their troubles may be just beginning...



I changed my rating for this book from 4 stars to 5 stars after I really thought about it. The reason I originally this book 3 or 4 stars was because of how depressed this book made me feel. As a result to all that emotion, I could not stop reading, I read this book in 1 day. So I decided that this book should receive 5 stars. My original comment is below.

This book will cause a lot of emotion...making you more addicted. I was really depressed through the first half of the book and I even cheated and read little parts of the end to make sure that everything was going to be OK! This book made me even more consumed into the series..

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