This review covers bot Part I and Part II of Stopping Time by Melissa Marr.

I just love free books. Free e-books are even better, because then both my Kindle and myself are very happy. Overall, I was pleased with this little mini-series. These take us back to Irial, Niall, and Leslie. We see where she has come and what has developed since Ink Exchange.

First of all, I love the Wicked Lovely series. I love the universe, the characters, and where the story is going. That being said, Ink Exchange was my least favorite installment in the series. I don't know why, but it was just okay for me. When I recently re-read the series, I skipped it over.

Part I of Stopping Time focuses on Leslie. She's been getting weird calls and always feels like she's in danger. Niall and Irial are still looking after her, though. They have several fae guards who follow her around to make sure she is safe. From where Ink Exchange left off, Leslie is doing better. She's living on her own, taking responsibility, and is attending school. She's getting better, and that's good, because what we learned in Ink Exchange was that she didn't lead an easy life, and her involvement in the Dark Court complicated that. She feels a pull to both Irial and Niall, but realizes that both will destroy her. So she keeps her distance. She watches Irial from afar...sort of. They have weekly meeting where they both pretend to not notice each other, but secretly stare. Yea, creepy, I know. She tells Niall she loves him, but she ignores five out of his six calls, and isn't sure if she's lusting after Irial or not. What's weird is that Niall and Irial really aren't even fighting over Leslie. There is zero competition. I really think they'd be perfectly okay to share her. >.> Awkwarrrdddd.

I don't get the Irial/Niall thing. It really does not sit well with me. A good chunk of Part II of Stopping Time involves them talking about what was past...involves a (platonic?) kiss between the two sexy hunks of Ink Exchange...and I don't like it. I'm not sure if I should like or dislike Irial, and the Niall in Stopping Time, to me, is not the same Niall from Fragile Eternity.

So for me, I'd give Part I and Part II .

This is the third book in the Wicked Lovely series, and is the direct sequel to Wicked Lovely. I am a big fan of Wicked Lovely, so naturally I loved this book too.

Fragile Eternity picks up where Ink Exchange left off. Nothing too drastic has changed between Keenan and Ash, except that summer is drawing closer and because of that, they feel this pull towards each other. Ash is beginning to feel responsibilities for her fae, but is still having a hard time identifying with them. She enjoys the perks of being fae, but wants to hold on to her mortal life, as well.

This book really focuses on Seth. (Um, Yummy.) He's having a really hard time dealing with Keenan and Ash's relationship, even though Ash promises that it's platonic and only a "job". Fae can't lie, remember? He's determined to find some way to spend eternity with Ash, and it seems like everyone else is just as determined to keep him mortal. In a world where everything can hurt him and he's always in harms way, Seth truly is a weak link in Ash's life. Seth ventures deeper into Faerie to find some way to be with Aislinn.

When Seth disappears for 6 months, Ash needs to decide whether to choose to be happy or to mourn Seth. Decisions are made that will change everything, and relationships are changed forever.

One thing I really liked about Fragile Eternity is how the reader gets to explore more of Marr's fae world. You meet rulers of different courts, and see how the outcome of Ink Exchange effects relationships between the Summer, Winter, and Dark Courts. You see Seth becoming not only a "mere mortal pet", but an important part of the story. As for Keenan, I personally went from disliking him, to feeling bad for him, back to disliking him. I'm not sure what will happen with the Ash-Seth-Keenan triangle in the final installment in the series, but it's sure to be wild, dramatic, and heartbreaking.

Fragile Eternity is a book about what you'll do for love, what you'll risk, and what it's like to face failure.

So while I'm reading Fragile Eternity by Melissa Marr, I figured I'd do a quick post on up-coming Young Adult books that I'm really looking forward to. These have official cover art, so when other upcoming books have their cover art, I'll post those too!

Burned by P.C. and Kristen Cast will be the seventh book in the House of Night series. I'm among the minority of readers who really liked the previous book, Tempted, so naturally I'm really looking forward to this. I heard a nasty rumor that it won't be available for Kindle until July. I hope hope hope that is not true! Read http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6917952-burned for the book description. The official book release date is April 27, 2010.




Spirit Bound by Richelle Mead is another can't-wait-for book. This will be the fifth installment in the Vampire Academy series. What will happen with Dmitri? ??!? It's killing the readers. Release it already, Richelle Mead! Read http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6479259-spirit-bound for the description. The official release date is May 18, 2010.

Gotta love the cover art on this book. The cover art on Fallen by Lauren Kate was one of the main reasons I read it to begin with (Yes...I do judge a book by its cover...initially) and was pleased with it. So I'm sure Torment will pick up right where the Fallen left off. I'm looking forward to see what develops with our beloved Daniel and Lucinda. This book will be released approx. September 28, 2010. It's still kind of far away, so there isn't a description yet on Goodreads.

The Reckoning will be the third book in the Darkest Powers series by Kelley Armstrong. This series started out very shaky for me, but the more and more I think about it the more I love it. This series follows Chloe Saunders through her discovery of her paranormal powers and new friends she's made. They are easy, fast reads and are all in all enjoyable. You can read the book description at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6468666-the-reckoning. The Reckoning comes out April 6, 2010.

Radiant Shadows will be the fourth book in the Wicked Lovely series by Melissa Marr. I really love this series, particularly the story line that follows Seth, Ash, Keenan, and Donia. The secondary characters (ahem..Ink Exchange) were very "meh" for me. So I'm hoping I'll like this book, since it doesn't follow my *beloved* Seth. (see my Wicked Lovely review). Radiant Shadows will be out April 20, 2010, and you can read the description at http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6368610-radiant-shadows-wicked-lovely-4

I just love this book. It was hard to me to choose between a rating of 4 or 5 stars, but I went with 4 stars since I liked Fragile Eternity more.

Melissa Marr has created a magical world of fae, kings and queens, and love that will hopefully extend beyond the Wicked Lovely series, and into any other book she may write.

Note: Spoiler alert. This is a tough book to review without spoilers.

I really enjoyed this book. It was incredibly addictive, the cover art is absolutely beautiful, and the characters were enthralling. I couldn't put it down in the day and a half it took for me to read it, which is usually an indicator for me that I'd rather read than do anything else.

Hush, Hush is about a girl named Nora who has been through a lot in the past year. Her father was murdered, and because of that Nora is a bit paranoid and anxious about strangers and possibly getting caught in a bad situation. What a perfect time to have a fallen archangel swoop into your life to attempt to sacrifice you!

Patch is just that. A fallen angel who is looking for a way out of his banishment. Once he shows up as Nora's biology partner, everything she knows is suddenly turned upside down. A mysterious hooded figure is following her, watching her, and hurting her friends. Who can she trust when she doesn't know who is targeting her, and all logical reason points to Patch? After a while, she can't even trust her mind, which she suspects is playing tricks on her. Nora knows she's somehow connected to the weird occurrences, but doesn't want to admit that Patch may be trouble. He shows up wherever she is, but is he putting her in danger or rescuing her from a series of terrifying events?

I loved the angel theme to this book. I haven't read a bunch of angel books, but this seemed comparable Fallen by Lauren Kate. Angels vs. Fallen Angels. It's a somewhat new theme that is rivaling the vampires.

As I said, the story itself was wonderful; I loved the idea and the theme. I had mixed feelings about Nora and Patch, though. Nora was terrified of Patch for most of the book, and then at the very end she decides to start trusting him. I really didn't understand that. Knowing how scared Nora was of everything, it was kind of cruel of Patch to be as mysterious and creepy as he was. (Don't get me wrong, he was totally hot in my mind.) I really felt bad for Nora throughout most of the book. But I didn't really see the point where he changed his mind from wanting to kill her to falling in love with her. The story is told from Nora's side of things, so I suppose you're only supposed to see Patch as Nora sees him. There were times in the book when she would have inflicted physical harm on him, rather than be stuck in the same room as him. So for her to go from feeling an illogical and dangerous connection to him while being terrified to totally trusting was a bit odd for me. The last scene in the book also totally threw me off. When has she EVER been receptive to Patch being close to her? I understand by then, she understood his real motive, but with how jumpy she is, it's kind of off for her character.

Patch and Nora begin a relationship, and Hush, Hush follows the development for that relationship. Knowing that there will be a sequel is really exciting, because I'd like to see what happens and what dangers they'll face next. I'd also like to see how Nora develops as a young woman, and how she'll face her personal demons involving trust and anxiety.

This story has gotten A LOT of comparisons to Twilight, and that is something I'd like to address. Yes, they met in biology class, but that is where the similarities end. Patch's reasons for being close to her are not about a lack of self control; they are about him wanting to use her to gain his humanity. Yes, he's teetering on the edge of love and death, but that's really it. If you go into this book expecting a Twilight story, you'll be disappointed.

This book is full of suspense and tension from beginning to end. The villain isn't really a complete surprise, but it's a book that is worth reading. I look forward to reading the rest of the series and once against getting drawn into Becca Fitzpatrick's world of fallen angels and ancient wars.

There aren't enough positive things I can say about this book. Seriously, this is one of the most enjoyable books I've ever read. I've never done this, but I actually contacted the author to let her know how much I enjoyed this book. It's packed with action, horror, early budding romance, loyalty, and sorrow.

Meghan Chase just turned 16. On her birthday, she discovers her brother has been kidnapped by the Unseelie Fae, and her best friend isn't who she thought he was. Meghan decides to plunge forward on an epic quest to rescue her four year old brother, Ethan.

This book is action packed. Every chapter kept me on the edge of my seat. Something was always happening...there was little to no down-time, which I really liked. I haven't really experienced a book that kept moving as fluidly as this one did. On Meghan's journey through Nevernever, she is always moving around, always facing some sort of danger, always making deals to save her friends, and almost dying several times. She makes new friends, more enemies, and finds love with an Unseelie Prince who is just as likely to kill her.

I really liked the Ash-Meghan relationship. I could feel it, which is something I haven't felt in the last few YA books I've read. I liked their interaction, and I really liked Ash's character. As the Unseelie Prince, he's cold and pretty ruthless. But spending forced time with Megan thaws him out, so to speak. He shows very tender moments. The beginning of the book portrays him as a bad guy, and throughout most of the book, you aren't quite sure which way he'll go.

Even the secondary characters are nicely developed. Robin "Puck" Goodfellow is hilarious. I can see him as the guy you'd be best friends with. Always joking, but extremely loyal. Grim is also a great character. He serves as the leader figure throughout the novel. He starts on the journey by helping Meghan find her way for a price, but soon her realizes he'll receive much entertainment from watching Megan deal with Puck and Ash, who are also mortal enemies and are constantly jabbing at each other. By the end of the book, I think Grim cares for Meghan. I'm sure we'll see the sarcastic cat again. His favor from Meghan basically implies it.

All in all, WOW. I almost want to re-read this book right now, just so I can experience the novel again. I'm so happy this is book one of a 3-book sequel. "The Iron Daughter" comes out later this year, and I cannot wait.

This is Julie Kagawa's first book, and she's sure to make quite an impression in the young adult/fantasy community. I can't wait to see more from Ash, Meghan, and Puck.

First, I'd like to say that I hate bashing books. I feel very very guilty for not liking Valiant, by Holly Black. I'm extremely easy to please when it comes to reading. I can only think of a two or three books that I sincerely did not like. So keep in mind, this isn't anything against the author. Any author who can write imaginative stories gets 5 stars in my mind. It's just *this* particular book that didn't sit too well with me.

Valiant is book two of the Modern Faerie Tale series. But don't be surprised that it's not a direct sequel of Tithe. I gave this book 2 stars, and really did not like it. I still finished it, but I could have lived without it. That being said, it took me FOREVER to finish it. When I like what I'm reading, I fly through it in 1-2 days, depending on how much sneaking around at work I want to do. When I don't like what I'm reading, it takes me 2 weeks, like Valiant did. (Well, I had the flu for 3 of the 14 days. But still. Ridiculous.) I'm also a bit OCD, so I couldn't finish Tithe, and not read Valiant. I like continuing series and hoping they get better.

The writing style wasn't the problem. I've adjusted since Tithe. It was easy to follow. Holly Black paints a very surreal image of her faeries. It's really quite beautiful in my mind...more so than other YA books I've read. Which leads me to the classification of this book. This book is NOT a young-adult book. I'd say it's appropriate for upper teens, but in no way the middle-school age range. It's very very dark, and has aspects of teen life that I wouldn't want my teenager reading. Drug-use is glorified with no real consequences, other than Val realizing at the end that, "hey, I don't need this!" So that is something that really bothered me. I didn't want to read about these kids (yes, they are kids) shooting up Never and tripping through NYC.

Lolli. Lolli pissed me off. She would have been better jumping in front of the train. The kitten scene really bothered me, too. I don't like how numb and emotionless Lolli was. I'm glad she was "missing" at the end of the book. Good riddance. Luis. I actually liked how his character evolved through the last 30% or so of the book. He showed that he was not a prick like Val had thought all along. I actually really didn't get the whole Val/Ravus relationship thing. I didn't feel the relationship, even though I realize the book ends at a starting point for them. It felt forced, and kind of like Val was so screwed up, she went for the Troll.

There are a few good things I have to say about the book, though. I liked how it tied in with Tithe, and followed the same story line. We see Kaye again at the end of the book, even though she doesn't have a big part. She's basically non-existent, but it lets the reader know that we'll see her again in Ironside. I also like the theme for the book. It really was okay. For me to not like a book, is rare. I usually like everything I pick up, and will read them over and over again. This, I will not be reading again. However, I'm happy I read it, because when I read a series, I like to get the whole picture, including the off-stories.

I'm going to read Ironside, and hope that I'm more taken with Kaye and Roiben again.

I decided to create this blog because: a) I love reading, and b) I love writing. What better than to combine them? I've been doing reviews here and there at http://www.goodreads.com/booknookreview, and wanted to bring the reviews to their own blog.

So here's a little about me and what I like. I've never been a big blogger, so forgive me if this isn't "right" in the blogging world. I grew up surrounded by books. My mom has hundreds, and one of my most permanent memories growing up has involved the giant wood decorative bookshelves lining the living room. My mom has always been a huge reader. (Finally got her on Goodreads...but she hasn't accepted my friends request!) I've been reading pretty constantly for about 10 years. It really all started when my mom handed me Jude Deveraux's A Knight in Shining Armor. I loved that book. Just loved it. I read it over and over again, and got lost in the time-traveling love story every time. Everytime I cried my eyes out at the end, and felt little gratification that they ended up together in spirit. So I "branched out"...to other Jude Deveraux books. I found that there were some I liked, some I loved, and some I didn't care to even look at. Historical novels were the ones that I was interested in. I felt a connection with these fictional people who would have lived in a time foreign to me. I didn't feel a connection with people and events in a modern time I'm familiar with.

Eventually, I read all of Deveraux's historical and paranormal novels. Time to branch out even more. I read other authors...Madeline Hunter being one that I liked. She writes historical romances. I really loved her books, also. Eventually, I found myself being more and more drawn to paranormal romances and urban fantasies. I've also read some science fiction, young adult, plain fiction, and a good chunk of historical non-fictions.

I tried my hand at writing when I was a teenager...I wrote this huge saga about a girl who gets mysteriously transported to another world, and discovers she is the heir to the throne in a long forgotton kingdom. (Don't steal my idea or I'll come and throw Koolaid on your white carpet.) It printed out at about 250 pages, but that's where it stopped. Editing was not my thing. My younger sister, Sarah, had a blast reading it one summer, though. I'd like to pick up writing again someday.

May 2009 I invested in an Amazon Kindle 2, and it's the best purchase I've ever made. I really don't save a TON of $$$ on books, but a few bucks here and there...it should be making up for the $360 price tag any day..>.> But seriously. It's a great device for avid readers who want to be able to have their entire bookshelf anywhere they are. And I don't have a huge amount of space for books. It's really the perfect option for me. Once I got my Kindle, I haven't NOT been involved in reading a book. It's a black hole for money, but it's money well spent. I like supporting authors. :)

Right now? I'm finishing up the Modern Faerie Tales by Holly Black. Those reviews will come shortly.

What can I say? My heart will always be drawn to paranormal novels.